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Kal Jericho #1
Blood Royal
Meet the Underhive's Deadliest Bounty Hunter!
Kal Jerico has been in the Underhive for nearly his whole life. With his partners, the cunning halfbreed, Scabbs, and the former noble turned ganger, Yolanda, he carves out a living as a bounty hunter, mostly to pay off his gambling debts...
But all that changes when he receives a communique on behalf of his father, Lord Helmawr, high ruler of Necromunda. A rogue noble has stolen a priceless artefact and it's Kal's royal duty to hunt him down and retrieve it. Without his usual partners to rely on, Kal must team up with a long-lost relative to bring in the bounty... or die trying.
Blood may be thicker than water, but for Kal it's only as thick as his next paycheck!
Kal Jerico has been in the Underhive for nearly his whole life. With his partners, the cunning halfbreed, Scabbs, and the former noble turned ganger, Yolanda, he carves out a living as a bounty hunter, mostly to pay off his gambling debts...
But all that changes when he receives a communique on behalf of his father, Lord Helmawr, high ruler of Necromunda. A rogue noble has stolen a priceless artefact and it's Kal's royal duty to hunt him down and retrieve it. Without his usual partners to rely on, Kal must team up with a long-lost relative to bring in the bounty... or die trying.
Blood may be thicker than water, but for Kal it's only as thick as his next paycheck!
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 9, 2005
About the author
Gordon Rennie
396 books34 followersFreelance writer for over 20 years – When he’s not being ungainfully employed as a BAFTA-nominated video games scriptwriter, he keeps himself busy writing comics, novels, screenplays and Doctor Who audio plays. Comics work includes Predator, Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Missionary Man, Necronauts, Caballistics Inc and Absalom, and Dept. of Monsterology for Renegade.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 31, 2023
Sometimes a 4.5 for me. Losing a point for the sexism though for sure.
Usually I like to read books in the order they were released, but this is my first foray into the world of Necromunda. I believe this is the third book published in that setting so far. However, this is the first book in a trilogy featuring the bounty hunter Kal Jerico. Now, I don't know if the original game books featured him as a character when they were released in the 90's and this is the first attempt at a novelization, or if this an entirely original character made up by the authors... I might pick up a copy of the original game book someday to find out, plus I do like a lot of the old art from the original game compared to the new 2020 edition. Both editions look cool, there's just something about that old art that is nostalgic for me I suppose, but I never played Necromunda when it was originally published.
All that being said, I think this novel lived up to my expectations. It's a novel from the mid 2000's and a game franchise tie-in to boot, so you should not expect a complex tale or anything people would consider "high literature," which can be stuffy and boring, so yes, it has its downsides too! But, if you're after stupid fun, this book could hit the mark. Now, I love the Necromunda setting, but being across the pond, I don't always get a whiff of what's going out of the UK until it's been released for years and thus I have recently found novels from this setting! Given the length of the book you can expect a short campaign styled story that will feel like an RPG session that was run over a few nights at most. The world build of Necromunda is rather short on details and I think the expectation of the authors is that the reader will be somewhat familiar with the setting and potentially Warhammer 40k in general, so this book tends to focus mainly on the action. Which, I think is probably true to form of the Necromunda game style at the time with it being more about fast paced gang warfare.
Kal Jerico isn't a ganger, in fact, he's a bounty hunter and he works for the highest bidder as it were. Kal is, by far, the most fleshed out character since the book is primarily about him, but we get some insight into his companions Yolanda and Scabbs. Yolanda, an ex-member of the Escher gang, was probably my favorite character, and I think she was probably the most badass of the whole group. In "Blood Royal" there are a string of mysterious murders, which start with the deaths of other bounty hunters. The curious part is that upon finding the bodies they are all drained of their blood and swiftly this turns into a bounty given to hunt for a vampire. Now, I think vampires are kind of stupid, so I groaned whenever I ran into this. I know Warhammer 40k tries to basically include everything from every imagined setting ever, but could we not have a focus on this? However, I was pleased to see that it's not really the same thing here. The vampire in question is a corrupted individual from the upper classes in the spire and now they are hunting in the Hive and even the Underhive. So, Kal and his crew take the contract and try to hunt down the vampire.
Amidst all this, there is a conspiracy brewing in the up spire area and Kal finds himself stumbling into a bigger situation than he ever expected. As usual, the problems of the nobles have trickled down to the Underhive and the remnants of a small Escher gang, the Wildcats, with Kal find themselves crossing paths with a Spyrer force from the spire. Will they figure out that in order to beat the vampire? Or will they continue to fight each other? The book does a pretty solid job of presenting that conflict in an action packed way and with an outcome that I found rather enjoyable in the end.
Naturally, there are a few problems here and there. If you are not familiar with Necromunda it can feel kind of overwhelming to have the characters travelling all over the place from the Hive, to the Underhive, to the Wastes and to the Spire. So, this is probably not a book you can pick up totally unfamiliar with the situation. The worst part of the book is the writing of the female characters. As readers we are treated to a description of all of their boobs. Every character is "buxom," the word of the day in that authors mind for sure. I think they managed to vary it up once and say "voluptuous" in one scene. But rest assured, when female characters are running from one place to another, we certainly get some insight on how their chest is reacting. There is no balance here, men are not described similarly. There are no Conan level characters, no Adonis to fawn over. I even tried to figure out a justification for this in some respects to the setting since a lot of the women were from the Escher gang and the Escher gang is into genetics.... so, maybe they were "enhancing" their feminine features more? So uh... it was important for us to be aware of that? Yes, uhm.... that's it. I just can't give these guys the benefit of the doubt though, because there is one scene where a female bounty hunter is killed, she is literally in the book for a couple of paragraphs before being killed... but do we walk away knowing her chest size? Oh for sure we do! Pertinent information, now we can feel bad about her death right? We shall mourn the boobs lost on this day... much tragedy. It's kind of a good thing the rest of the book was mostly just action packed fun, because otherwise I think I would have fixated on how stupid this was and hated the book. It's almost an attempt at fan service without it being an anime/manga! So, basically, you really can't stand fan service, parts of this book will be truly tedious. With games like this at this time frame, I do expect a degree of male gaze writing, it's still bad writing though and hopefully the newer launch fixes some of it. I am not opposed to fan service per se, I have nothing wrong with women being described as attractive or hot even... it's just the excessiveness of it or the imbalance with male characters that makes it bad or if that's all these characters have to them with no other substance. Sure, real life people can be shallow, but we'd hardly consider them interesting to read about in a book.
There were two other poorly written parts with female characters and when you run into it, it feels like the two authors just forgot what the other had written. There are two women on the Spyrer team, apparently, but for the longest time you think there is only one. The first one we meet, Chimone, goes on an internal monologue about being the only female Spyrer and proving herself etc. In a play to give her character a lot more depth and so on. But then later on, I guess they forgot about that part of the book and we find out another Spyrer Leoni was female the whole time?? It's just confusing.
The detractions are sort of made up a bit with the conspiracy that interfaces with the spire. The political intrigue aspect of this book was kind of interesting and unexpected in a book this short. So, I did kind of enjoy that and we got to see quite a few of the major characters playing in the Necromunda world. Sometimes I think the authors tried to include too many characters though. They really should have streamlined how many people they included in this book or, you know, maybe spent less time giving names to all the women and describing how "buxom" they all were. I think there is one woman in the whole book where we never learned about her breasts and I was shocked, because I was waiting to find out by the end!
In the end, this book is stupid fun if you can get beyond some of the writing style and some slight inconsistencies internally. Kal and his friends are a cool group to read about and it's good fun with a bit of hijinks for good measure. So, if you're familiar with Necromunda and want fast paced fun in that environment, I think this novel hits the mark in that regard. Just don't wander in expecting a gritty and tense noire tale or anything like that.
Usually I like to read books in the order they were released, but this is my first foray into the world of Necromunda. I believe this is the third book published in that setting so far. However, this is the first book in a trilogy featuring the bounty hunter Kal Jerico. Now, I don't know if the original game books featured him as a character when they were released in the 90's and this is the first attempt at a novelization, or if this an entirely original character made up by the authors... I might pick up a copy of the original game book someday to find out, plus I do like a lot of the old art from the original game compared to the new 2020 edition. Both editions look cool, there's just something about that old art that is nostalgic for me I suppose, but I never played Necromunda when it was originally published.
All that being said, I think this novel lived up to my expectations. It's a novel from the mid 2000's and a game franchise tie-in to boot, so you should not expect a complex tale or anything people would consider "high literature," which can be stuffy and boring, so yes, it has its downsides too! But, if you're after stupid fun, this book could hit the mark. Now, I love the Necromunda setting, but being across the pond, I don't always get a whiff of what's going out of the UK until it's been released for years and thus I have recently found novels from this setting! Given the length of the book you can expect a short campaign styled story that will feel like an RPG session that was run over a few nights at most. The world build of Necromunda is rather short on details and I think the expectation of the authors is that the reader will be somewhat familiar with the setting and potentially Warhammer 40k in general, so this book tends to focus mainly on the action. Which, I think is probably true to form of the Necromunda game style at the time with it being more about fast paced gang warfare.
Kal Jerico isn't a ganger, in fact, he's a bounty hunter and he works for the highest bidder as it were. Kal is, by far, the most fleshed out character since the book is primarily about him, but we get some insight into his companions Yolanda and Scabbs. Yolanda, an ex-member of the Escher gang, was probably my favorite character, and I think she was probably the most badass of the whole group. In "Blood Royal" there are a string of mysterious murders, which start with the deaths of other bounty hunters. The curious part is that upon finding the bodies they are all drained of their blood and swiftly this turns into a bounty given to hunt for a vampire. Now, I think vampires are kind of stupid, so I groaned whenever I ran into this. I know Warhammer 40k tries to basically include everything from every imagined setting ever, but could we not have a focus on this? However, I was pleased to see that it's not really the same thing here. The vampire in question is a corrupted individual from the upper classes in the spire and now they are hunting in the Hive and even the Underhive. So, Kal and his crew take the contract and try to hunt down the vampire.
Amidst all this, there is a conspiracy brewing in the up spire area and Kal finds himself stumbling into a bigger situation than he ever expected. As usual, the problems of the nobles have trickled down to the Underhive and the remnants of a small Escher gang, the Wildcats, with Kal find themselves crossing paths with a Spyrer force from the spire. Will they figure out that in order to beat the vampire? Or will they continue to fight each other? The book does a pretty solid job of presenting that conflict in an action packed way and with an outcome that I found rather enjoyable in the end.
Naturally, there are a few problems here and there. If you are not familiar with Necromunda it can feel kind of overwhelming to have the characters travelling all over the place from the Hive, to the Underhive, to the Wastes and to the Spire. So, this is probably not a book you can pick up totally unfamiliar with the situation. The worst part of the book is the writing of the female characters. As readers we are treated to a description of all of their boobs. Every character is "buxom," the word of the day in that authors mind for sure. I think they managed to vary it up once and say "voluptuous" in one scene. But rest assured, when female characters are running from one place to another, we certainly get some insight on how their chest is reacting. There is no balance here, men are not described similarly. There are no Conan level characters, no Adonis to fawn over. I even tried to figure out a justification for this in some respects to the setting since a lot of the women were from the Escher gang and the Escher gang is into genetics.... so, maybe they were "enhancing" their feminine features more? So uh... it was important for us to be aware of that? Yes, uhm.... that's it. I just can't give these guys the benefit of the doubt though, because there is one scene where a female bounty hunter is killed, she is literally in the book for a couple of paragraphs before being killed... but do we walk away knowing her chest size? Oh for sure we do! Pertinent information, now we can feel bad about her death right? We shall mourn the boobs lost on this day... much tragedy. It's kind of a good thing the rest of the book was mostly just action packed fun, because otherwise I think I would have fixated on how stupid this was and hated the book. It's almost an attempt at fan service without it being an anime/manga! So, basically, you really can't stand fan service, parts of this book will be truly tedious. With games like this at this time frame, I do expect a degree of male gaze writing, it's still bad writing though and hopefully the newer launch fixes some of it. I am not opposed to fan service per se, I have nothing wrong with women being described as attractive or hot even... it's just the excessiveness of it or the imbalance with male characters that makes it bad or if that's all these characters have to them with no other substance. Sure, real life people can be shallow, but we'd hardly consider them interesting to read about in a book.
There were two other poorly written parts with female characters and when you run into it, it feels like the two authors just forgot what the other had written. There are two women on the Spyrer team, apparently, but for the longest time you think there is only one. The first one we meet, Chimone, goes on an internal monologue about being the only female Spyrer and proving herself etc. In a play to give her character a lot more depth and so on. But then later on, I guess they forgot about that part of the book and we find out another Spyrer Leoni was female the whole time?? It's just confusing.
The detractions are sort of made up a bit with the conspiracy that interfaces with the spire. The political intrigue aspect of this book was kind of interesting and unexpected in a book this short. So, I did kind of enjoy that and we got to see quite a few of the major characters playing in the Necromunda world. Sometimes I think the authors tried to include too many characters though. They really should have streamlined how many people they included in this book or, you know, maybe spent less time giving names to all the women and describing how "buxom" they all were. I think there is one woman in the whole book where we never learned about her breasts and I was shocked, because I was waiting to find out by the end!
In the end, this book is stupid fun if you can get beyond some of the writing style and some slight inconsistencies internally. Kal and his friends are a cool group to read about and it's good fun with a bit of hijinks for good measure. So, if you're familiar with Necromunda and want fast paced fun in that environment, I think this novel hits the mark in that regard. Just don't wander in expecting a gritty and tense noire tale or anything like that.
March 28, 2024
Wonderful stuff following the exploits of Kal, Scabbs & Yolanda through the Underhive on a vampire hunt. What’s not to love here?!?!
February 13, 2013
Before I get into it, because I'm going to nitpick, I did like this book. I've yet to read a Necromunda, or really any book in the 40k universe that I didn't come away with something that made me glad I read it.
Now this is a Kal Jerico book, so it is bounty hunting, only this time the client is his father, Lord Helmwar, planetary governor of Necromunda.
The target is Kal's insane, blood thirsty brother (it seems that there are about 200 offspring). Through the pursuit we get to see pretty much all aspects of Necromund from the upper spire, to the Underhive, to the Ash Wastes (although that was strangely placed within the hive). We also get to see several houses. Delaque have their usual role of spies and assassins and act as antagonists here. Kal is bounty hunting with Yolanda by this point (partners up with her in the comics), so her Escher Gang the Wildcats play a big part, especially towards the end. We also even get a brief glimpse of a Goliath couple and a general idea of how bad it can be living in the Underhive through them. We see an Van Saar gang, but they get torn up before we really get to know them. Lastly, and perhaps unsurprisingly given where the bounty comes from, there are Spyers, but their execution is strange. Explained (thankfully), but strange.
Now the nitpicking. The authors don't seem to really understand how the hives on Necromunda work. First, the Ash Wastes are outside the hive. This can be overlooked given the shear volume of the hive, perhaps there are wastes within, especially in the lower, more run down levels, but this is not the impression I got when I was reading. Next a leader is described as carrying a heavy plasma gun, something you can't do in the game. Lastly & the thing that bugged me the most, Kal is described as carrying a pair of lasguns. In 40k, lasguns are rifles & in his rules, Kal carries special laspistols that fire like lasguns. Yes the potential for confusion is there, but this is a big part of his character, so it really should be gotten right.
Finally a general criticism of the book. It ends with a massive reset button. There is no growth or addition to any of the characters. You learned that Kal was the son of Lord Helwar and that Yolanda descended from the upper hive in the comics, so nothing new there. He's no better off than he was before, not even briefly. Really, while a fun read, you wouldn't loose anything by skipping it either.
Now this is a Kal Jerico book, so it is bounty hunting, only this time the client is his father, Lord Helmwar, planetary governor of Necromunda.
The target is Kal's insane, blood thirsty brother (it seems that there are about 200 offspring). Through the pursuit we get to see pretty much all aspects of Necromund from the upper spire, to the Underhive, to the Ash Wastes (although that was strangely placed within the hive). We also get to see several houses. Delaque have their usual role of spies and assassins and act as antagonists here. Kal is bounty hunting with Yolanda by this point (partners up with her in the comics), so her Escher Gang the Wildcats play a big part, especially towards the end. We also even get a brief glimpse of a Goliath couple and a general idea of how bad it can be living in the Underhive through them. We see an Van Saar gang, but they get torn up before we really get to know them. Lastly, and perhaps unsurprisingly given where the bounty comes from, there are Spyers, but their execution is strange. Explained (thankfully), but strange.
Now the nitpicking. The authors don't seem to really understand how the hives on Necromunda work. First, the Ash Wastes are outside the hive. This can be overlooked given the shear volume of the hive, perhaps there are wastes within, especially in the lower, more run down levels, but this is not the impression I got when I was reading. Next a leader is described as carrying a heavy plasma gun, something you can't do in the game. Lastly & the thing that bugged me the most, Kal is described as carrying a pair of lasguns. In 40k, lasguns are rifles & in his rules, Kal carries special laspistols that fire like lasguns. Yes the potential for confusion is there, but this is a big part of his character, so it really should be gotten right.
Finally a general criticism of the book. It ends with a massive reset button. There is no growth or addition to any of the characters. You learned that Kal was the son of Lord Helwar and that Yolanda descended from the upper hive in the comics, so nothing new there. He's no better off than he was before, not even briefly. Really, while a fun read, you wouldn't loose anything by skipping it either.
March 16, 2021
This wasn't much good now, was it?
Not sure were to start. I can't say I was expecting a masterpiece but the story was rather meh. A lot of the characters and their behaviour felt really out of place for the setting.
Which brings us to the setting... Did the author(s) just get some rough notes about what Necromunda is and the general 40K universe? Because they did not seem to have any but rudimentary knoweledge about it. Hive Primus is at one point noted for being 10 miles high, but there is no real sense of scale whilst in the underhive, or Hive City as the authors call it at times. Or do they mean the underhive, nobody knows including themselves...there is no feeling of the crampy, derelict, grim dark world that is necromunda but instead we are shown more of a gnereric sci fi world.
And seriously, whats with all the deacriptions of females as buxom? Was that the word of the day? There is quite a lot of fixation on bossoms... which feels rather like I'm reading some fan fic by a teenager.
Nah, there are a lot better books set in Necromunda.
Not sure were to start. I can't say I was expecting a masterpiece but the story was rather meh. A lot of the characters and their behaviour felt really out of place for the setting.
Which brings us to the setting... Did the author(s) just get some rough notes about what Necromunda is and the general 40K universe? Because they did not seem to have any but rudimentary knoweledge about it. Hive Primus is at one point noted for being 10 miles high, but there is no real sense of scale whilst in the underhive, or Hive City as the authors call it at times. Or do they mean the underhive, nobody knows including themselves...there is no feeling of the crampy, derelict, grim dark world that is necromunda but instead we are shown more of a gnereric sci fi world.
And seriously, whats with all the deacriptions of females as buxom? Was that the word of the day? There is quite a lot of fixation on bossoms... which feels rather like I'm reading some fan fic by a teenager.
Nah, there are a lot better books set in Necromunda.
April 12, 2024
If you like Ciaphas Cain, and you like Necromunda - I recommend trying this series out. They're not as good as the Cain series but they are still very good. They also give you a great sense of the vibe of the Underhive.
July 16, 2021
Abandoned
May 5, 2023
Interesting enough, but I was left feeling as though I may have missed a few things along the way.
May 25, 2018
I was spending too much time looking at Infinity miniatures, and I had not even finishing painting my first Necromunda gang. I thought some background reading would help me focus on the GW game. So I looked for a light reading that would expand the meta of the game, but I am not sure it fulfilled any of these two expectations. The book is short enough it does not take that long to finish it, and it has plenty of action, so it should be fun to read, right?
Well, I think my big problem is that the plot can be summarized in one line: There is a vampire in the Underhive, and Kal Jerico has to hunt him. That’s it. There are a few other things around: a conspiracy in the highest ranks of Necromunda's government, a gang leadership war, spies…but it seems mostly fluff to me. It looks like Kal Jerico is on a mission, and you follow him and a retinue of characters around. I think it would have been more enjoyable as either a short story, or a longer novel, giving room for the characters and the setting to grow.
It is not however, a complete disaster. The characters might be simple and archetypical, but reading about them feels like playing an RPG with your friends: sometimes stupid, sometimes goofy, still fun nevertheless. And even when I think there could be a ton more background information, the feeling is 100% Necromunda. Which might not be very different from 100% Judge Dredd, but still.
The biggest downside of feeling like an RPG session for teenagers is, well, boobs. It might be an exaggeration, but it seems to me the chest of every single female character is mentioned. What is not is that two different characters are described as buxom not one page apart. I am not going to start a rant on gender inequality on the Warhammer universe. Still, would it be possible to present a little bit less objectification? Or objectify some of the men too? I am sure more than one reader of the opposite persuasion might find the Goliath brutes highly desirable. Or objectify the characters and do something else than nudge-nudging?
I am not sure I will read “Cardinal Crimson”. Then again, I also said that I was going to read at least 12 non-game related sci-fi/fantasy novels before getting to the gaming material...
Well, I think my big problem is that the plot can be summarized in one line: There is a vampire in the Underhive, and Kal Jerico has to hunt him. That’s it. There are a few other things around: a conspiracy in the highest ranks of Necromunda's government, a gang leadership war, spies…but it seems mostly fluff to me. It looks like Kal Jerico is on a mission, and you follow him and a retinue of characters around. I think it would have been more enjoyable as either a short story, or a longer novel, giving room for the characters and the setting to grow.
It is not however, a complete disaster. The characters might be simple and archetypical, but reading about them feels like playing an RPG with your friends: sometimes stupid, sometimes goofy, still fun nevertheless. And even when I think there could be a ton more background information, the feeling is 100% Necromunda. Which might not be very different from 100% Judge Dredd, but still.
The biggest downside of feeling like an RPG session for teenagers is, well, boobs. It might be an exaggeration, but it seems to me the chest of every single female character is mentioned. What is not is that two different characters are described as buxom not one page apart. I am not going to start a rant on gender inequality on the Warhammer universe. Still, would it be possible to present a little bit less objectification? Or objectify some of the men too? I am sure more than one reader of the opposite persuasion might find the Goliath brutes highly desirable. Or objectify the characters and do something else than nudge-nudging?
I am not sure I will read “Cardinal Crimson”. Then again, I also said that I was going to read at least 12 non-game related sci-fi/fantasy novels before getting to the gaming material...
May 28, 2020
Good sci-fi set in the Necromunda part of the 40K universe.
Takes a more humorous approach to the underbelly of the Imperium, as bounty hunter Kal Jerico has to retrieve secrets that could destroy the ruling house.
Characters are well written, plenty of action keeps it moving along at a good pace.
Takes a more humorous approach to the underbelly of the Imperium, as bounty hunter Kal Jerico has to retrieve secrets that could destroy the ruling house.
Characters are well written, plenty of action keeps it moving along at a good pace.
February 28, 2014
I've always like Kal Jerico stories, because he is basically a swashbuckling version of Blackadder (from series 3), complete with repugnant but loyal sidekick, Scabs (Baldrick).
Unfortunately, when I read the stories, I hear the characters talking with those particular voices.
Unfortunately, when I read the stories, I hear the characters talking with those particular voices.
April 12, 2014
A bounty hunter (in a future / mystical world) searches for a valuable object and fights a ‘vampire’ plus various other foes.
I found the setting / characters interesting but in some places slightly confusing.
I found the setting / characters interesting but in some places slightly confusing.
Read
September 8, 2016A fun little book set in the ‘grim future’.
December 29, 2017
A really fun rip roaring tale of adventure. Just what you would expect from the team of writers, and from a book based on Necromunda.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews