In Review

21 November 2008 22:14 BST

Death's Head by David Gunn

Published by Bantam Press, hardback, 368 pages, £12.99.

In a nutshell

Space marine fights and sleeps his way across galaxy

What's it all about

Ever get the feeling you were meant for better things? There you are, tied to a post in a desert being whipped by your foreign legion commander when aliens smash the fort to pieces and save you.

Discovering you can telepathically talk to them gets you out alive, and from there it's a short hop to the intergalactic SAS, commanding your own specialist team, and saving the galaxy. Oh, and it helps if you are not entirely human (but didn't know this) giving you special powers, find a wise-cracking gun with an attitude (I kid you not), and if you bed a few temptresses along the way.

Who's it by

This is the appropriately-named David Gunn's first novel. I was not at all disturbed to read in the sleeve notes that he has "an impressive collection of edged weapons and sleeps with a shotgun under his bed". He is also "smartly dressed, resourceful, and discrete", apparently.

As an example

"I'm naked, I've been in the cage for fifteen days and Fitz severed half the wires on my prosthetic arm before locking me away. I'm so thirsty, I'd probably drink this man's blood if I could get him close enough. . . ."

"He thinks he can take me."

"I grin."

Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster

Why not, if you are a struggling screenwriter or a studio with $100m to burn for a summer blockbuster this could work. Action, sex, special effects, and a hero with a heart "makes few friends" – reads the psych report – "utterly loyal to the ones he makes". What could go wrong?

What the others say

"It isn't subtle or particularly smart, many of the situations and ideas you meet along the way will be very familiar to any science fiction fan, but the book isn't trying to prove how clever it can be. Instead it's dedicated to being a fun ride, making a flimsy plot hang on an enjoyable central character placed in increasingly difficult situations," Owen Jones, SFF World.

"First-time novelist Gunn . . . delivers a hilarious far-future shoot-'em-up featuring a flawless antihero . . . readers are much more likely to cackle with glee than to point and snicker. Some may accuse Gunn of autobiographical wish-fulfillment that would make a fan-fic author blush, and Sven's adventures read almost like a novelization of a movie or video game." - Publishers Weekly

So is it any good

Lying in the sun with it in front of me and a cold drink by my side I read this book in one sitting. Like a Van Damme film or a Linkin Park track you know what you are getting into within a few lines. It won't win many awards, but that doesn't make it less enjoyable for fans of the genre.

Escapism of the highest order, great fun for a beach read or a long train journey.

6/10

James Andrews



"Loved this book, read it in one night then read it again the night after and enjoyed it just as much." - Gillian Langtree

"I can't get it out of my head; despite the simple protagonist, I can't help but love how a set character could be so diverse!" - Nayru Holmes