‘Memories of Broken Glass’ – Rob Young (Black Library)


Page Count: 33 Pages

Yes I’m in the office today, how did you guess…? 😉 The page count goes down and it’s a Black Library read (more often than not) so, here we are.

I ended up really enjoying ‘Longshot’, and ‘Transplants’ too, so when I realised that there was a another prequel to be read, I went straight out and bought it in anticipation of an early morning commute that went exactly how I thought it would.

At only 33 pages long, there isn’t enough of ‘Memories of Broken Glass’ for an in-depth post so we’re all about quick thoughts and first impressions here today. Hope you don’t mind… 😉

Darya and Ullaeus lie in ambush on the glass deserts of Kizmir, waiting for their high-value target to pass along a scouted route in order to spring their trap. As they look for ways to distract themselves from the seemingly endless hours beneath the baking sun, Darya tells the story of her last mission for the Cochlerati Janissaries and how she was dragged from their ranks and given to the Cadian 217th.

I know I just said that ‘Memories’ is only 33 pages long etc but you wouldn’t think it on that initial first read. Young doesn’t have a lot of room to work with but that doesn’t stop him from making the best use of every single word to craft a tale that is gripping to say the least. Whether it’s waiting, with Darya and Ullaeus, for their target to arrive or travelling with Darya and her Sergeant through the jungles of Graxis IV, the tension is expertly maintained by Young, giving us not only a big reason to keep reading but also some important insight into Darya’s previous life as a sniper and how it informs her new life with the 217th. And that’s really the whole point of ‘Memories’; it’s a not a tale of ‘what happens’, more a tale that shows us why Darya is the person that she is today (and yes, there are some well placed fights/explosions to stop the plot getting too maudlin’). Darya’s character is all the more fleshed out for this approach and I reached the end of the tale feeling glad that I had spent time with her. ‘Memories’ stands up well as a story in it’s own right but excels in filling the gaps hinted at in ‘Longshot’.

Another entertaining read from Young then, the wait for the next ‘Darya Nevic’ tale starts here 😉

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