Starhammer: A Review

I've thought about doing book reviews and I'm torn on the idea. One, I don't think very many of you will read these (and that's okay... I get it), and two, I don't want to spend an insane amount of time drafting a full blown book review. That takes time away from the real work.

So instead, I think I'll do something like this when I finish a book worth reading. Christopher Rowley's Starhammer was a hell of read. And you should try to get your hands on a copy. You'll be a little hard pressed to find one, however. The book was first published in 1986 and is out of print. You'll have to snag a copy on Amazon. 

Why should you read it?

Well, other than this being a direct inspiration for Halo: Combat Evolved (the direct inspiration for my book), this is fun, pulpy Sci-Fi that'll take you out of this world. 

Starhammer

Thousands of years in the future, humanity ran into another space faring race called the laowon. The laowon are far more advanced than humans and decided to enslave a large portion of them. Both races live in their corners of the galaxy, but the laowon used humans to breed their own slave population and created new human breeds to fill certain needs (like pinheaded guards). 

Jon Iehard is the protagonist and is from one of the slave populations in laowon controlled space. He escapes the Laowon Imperium, settles on a human space hub, and eventually finds work in the police—specifically work in the Murder Squads, who eliminate serial killer terrorists. 

Iehard is tasked with finding a wanted man in the Laowon Imperium. A man who is linked to a religious terrorist group. It's this job that sends Iehard on the run and on a journey to uncover an ancient super weapon known as Starhammer.

The Connection to Halo

Without giving too much of the plot away, the inspirations from Rowley's work is evident. The main protagonist named Jon to John in Halo, the floating mote named Rhapsodical Stardimple to 343 Guilty Spark, the super weapon Starhammer to Halo, the ancient race of batrachians to the Forerunner. 

The biggest draw, however, is the Vang: a parasitic life form that Starhammer was created to destroy. Much like the Flood in Halo and how Halo is used to kill the Flood's food source (ie. life). 

The Vang is more fully fleshed out in the follow on books, but they make an appearance here. And man, are they good. The way that Rowley introduces their history and lore sent chills and when you eventually do encounter the Vang, you want more. 

My Thoughts

The book itself is solid. I gave it a 4/5 stars on Goodreads. At times, it felt like it was a 3.5 star book. The pacing of the plot is solid, although at times it can feel a bit too fast (which I'll take over a slow book anyway). The world building is phenomenal and clearly the strength of this book. Because this was written in the '80s some of the Sci-Fi tech might seem dated, but that adds to the charm of this book.

Where the book struggles is character development. Most of the characters aren't fully fleshed out, some I wish were explored more but are literally just tacked onto the plot. There's a lot of names to keep track of. Anything laowon was difficult to follow since there's always new laowon characters introduced inside a complex political structure. 

The ending also felt a bit rushed. The climax is fine, but then it just sort of... ends? The questions raised at the beginning of the book are answered, but some of those answers felt rushed. 

Newletter is up!

 

Photo: NASA

Newsletter is up! You can subscribe here to get monthly updates about upcoming books. 

I picked beehiiv because it's free up to a certain amount of subscribers. If I should happen to pass that threshold, I might move to Ghost. But that means I get to stay here on Blogger because that's also free.

Consider this a soft launch. Since the books won't be ready for publication for a hot minute, I won't be "advertising" the newsletter or blog as much. But if you want to stay up to date this early, consider yourself an early fan.

Writing Update: May 20, 2026

1/7 Wpns Co., 3rd Platoon, Helmand 2014

Just a little update today.

I'm finally done with the very, very rough draft of my second Afghan deployment. Both Sangin 2012 and Helmand 2014 are complete. 

So, what's next? Besides revising and cleaning up those memories, I'll be reaching out to others for their perspective on events. I'll be doing interviews and working with them to get their stories right. That's the hard part. Because I really want to nail that part. 

This book is far from being complete but this is a big step forward. 

Writing Update: May 11 2026

Over the weekend I reached a milestone: I finished the first draft of my first novel.

This book is my first step into the science fiction world. Basically, I took Halo CE's story and made it a bit more realistic from the Marine's point of view. This is still far away from being completed, looking to hopefully have this thing out sometime next year at the earliest. Working title is Erebus. 

More details to come and I'll be working on other smaller projects in between drafts (to include my Afghan memoir). 

What am I reading?

Halo Edge of Dawn—I finished this last week. If you're a fan of the Halo: Infinite, this is a solid book. What was meant to be a DLC and continuation of the campaign was turned into a book. Kelly Gay is an excellent writer. That said, I have a lot of issues with the direction of the plot (or lack thereof) within the book. This is a reflection of Halo Studios decision making and not Gay's. 

Starhammer—This has been a fantastic read.

Dark Tower IV: Wizard and the Glass—Always have a Stephen King novel at the ready

Lots of boring business books. 

What am I watching?

As much of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as I can (which hasn't been much recently) and Aliens (1986).

Second City Hockey: Artyom Levshunov

Happy Draft Lottery day. 

For some Blackhawks fans, today was a circled event and another "win" for Kyle Davidson and his rebuild. For others, it's another reminder of a lost season. 

Today's post isn't meant to debate the merits of the rebuild. It is what it is, and we are here. 

Instead, I present to you: Artyom Levshunov.

Clicking that link brings you to an article I wrote last week. I just forgot to share it here. Depending on how the lottery balls roll tonight, I may or may not have thoughts. That also depends on my motivation to write Hawks stuff. Which is fleeting these days.

Writing Updates: May 2 2026

The release of Halo: Campaign Evolved is just around the corner. While it's not a new Halo game, I'm excited to revisit Installation 004. My interest in Halo has faded over the years. It has nothing to do with how 343 Industries has handled the franchise (well, not entirely). I've just moved on from gaming in general. 

Given that Halo has over 30 books since 343 Industries took over (and have since rebranded themselves as Halo Studios), you might think that I'd be burying myself in the lore. Well, I've tried. Numerous times.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's difficult to get drawn into the Halo universe. My work-in-progress novel is heavily based around Halo: CE, and even Bungie took the series in a slightly different direction following their first game. But I'm just not all that interested in the series as I used to be. I think it's how the Spartans have become Power Rangers.

Also, I felt adding Craig as the cover photo was fitting for this post.

What am I reading?

Halo Edge of Dawn—see above

Starhammer—Here's some science fiction that slaps. 

Dark Tower IV: Wizard and the Glass—Always have a Stephen King novel at the ready

Lots of boring business books. 

What am I watching?

Well, the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are on, and if you're not watching the Buffalo Sabres, you're wrong. My predictions are virtually in the toilet. Which you can see below (updated as of Saturday).