‘The Wraithbone Phoenix’ Spreads Itself Too Thinly
The Wraithbone Phoenix (2022) by Alec Worley offers a variety of thrills and excitement but not much else. As another entry in Black Library’s Warhammer Crime series it skirts the edges of crime fiction and leans heavily into adventure fiction. The Wraithbone Phoenix doesn’t demand much from the reader and sometimes that just what you need.
The Sunstriker has served the Imperial Navy for millennia but its time has come to an end. Resting in the scrapyard of Varangantua it awaits its ultimate fate of destruction. However, the Sunstriker still carries a secret. A secret few know about and even few willing to take the risk to retrieve it.
Baggit, a ratling and hustler, and his ogryn companion, Clodde, have a price on their heads. Baggit served aboard the Sunstriker and knows the secret it contains. The Wraithbone Phoenix, a priceless xenos artefact, lies somewhere within the Sunstriker. Baggit knows that if he can get to the Phoenix before anyone else he can get the price on his and Clodde’s heads lifted.
However, the secret of the Wraithbone Phoenix is not Baggit’s alone. Some very powerful people know of its existence and will stop and nothing to obtain the artefact. So now the race is on to retrieve the Phoenix at all costs. Including an individual so mysterious and deadly it may bring the wrath of the Empire down on Varangantua.
I have previously read another entry in the Warhammer Crime series, Bloodlines (2020) and found it to be enjoyable fun. The Wraithbone Phoenix, however, doesn’t live up to the quality of its predecessor. This is primarily due to its lack of focus.
Alec Worley does an admirable job of bringing the Warhammer 40,000 world of Varangantua to life. The imagery is vivid and the characters fit their surroundings. Yet, this is where it starts to fray. Worley introduces a huge cast of characters and then tries to give each of them some time in the spotlight. Trying to give so many characters a voice on serves to lessen the impact they might have on the story.
The huge ancillary cast just serves to allow Worley to dispatch these characters in the most gruesome ways he can imagine. This is perfectly fine for a typical Warhammer type novel but if you are looking for something with more depth then The Wraithbone Phoenix will disappoint you. Gritty violence, yes. Gritty mystery, no.
This huge cast also belittles the central mystery of the story. Worley even goes so far as to make a joke about so many people knowing about the Phoenix. This is where the crime aspect of the story takes a back seat.
Alec WorleyThe Wraithbone Phoenix falls into the crime category simply because most, if not all, the characters are either criminals or corrupt officials. Instead the story is primarily a big treasure hunt and the fact that the players are criminals is beside the point. Give Baggit a fedora and whip and he’s a knock-off Indiana Jones.
With some judicial editing and trimming of the fat The Wraithbone Phoenix could be a standout adventure yard. As it is it’s a bit bloated. It was a struggle for me not to set the book aside and DNF it.
I wanted to like The Wraithbone Phoenix but I can’t say I did. If you enjoy the Warhammer 40K world and you don’t expect much in the way of a mystery then The Wraithbone Phoenix may interest you. If you are expecting a Warhammer take on something like Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon (1930) then you need to look elsewhere.
