The Life Eaters by David Brin and Scott Hamilton
01/12/2003 . Source: Martin Jenner 
pub: DC Comics/Wildstorm. 144 page hardback graphic novel. Price: $29.95 (US). ISBN: 1-4012-0098-2. check out website: www.earthlight.co.uk
In our world, the SS of Hitler's Third
Reich were rumoured to have revived the mysticism of the old world,
attempting to practise magic and believing themselves the heirs to
a curious blend of knightly traditions from Charlemagne to Arthur.
In
the world of 'The Life Eaters', the allies are in trouble - the magic worked and
the troops wading ashore during D-Day are met not only by tanks and gunfire but
also by the living avatars of the Norse gods.
 As
the allied forces fall back and the Nazis prepare to invade North
America, a small group of soldiers head into the heart of the enemy
in a desperate attempt to destroy the Aesir and level the playing
field...
A generation later and half the world lies under the rule of the
Norse pantheon, the Nazis who summoned them are no longer the masters
but obeying the Aesir's every wish.
The war has expanded, pushing
into every corner of the globe, but others have summoned gods of their own and
now the supernatural entities duke it out on the battlefield, annihilating whole
battalions. Meanwhile, a small contingent of rebels, what remains of the United
Nations, struggle to banish all of the gods from Earth and return it to human
rule, while in the Middle East, the devoted of all religions gather, old feuds
forgotten in the face of false 'gods'.
The idea of the gods taking
a hand in the Second World War is an interesting one with lots of potential, but
splitting the book to cover two separate stories hampers any great depth of plot.
The first third details the allied commando attack on the Aesir in WWII and despite
the fact that it sets the scene and provides motivation and inspiration for the
irritatingly unnamed hero it seems fairly irrelevant to the main body of the tale
- a few short pages would have sufficed.
The main storyline deals with
events in what is roughly the present day. As the war spirals out of control,
it focuses not on the super-powered characters but on the normal everyday humans.
Examining the nature of heroism, 'The Life Eaters' argues that it is not super-human
abilities but the nobility and strength of will of normal people determined to
succeed regardless of the odds that makes a true hero. The final showdown is dramatic
and exciting, yet emphasises the story's theme of humans as the true heroes. While
characterisation throughout is skimpy at best, in a way this reinforces the idea
of humanity as a whole, working to preserve their way of life and man's place
at the top of the hierarchy. Similarly, the namelessness of the main hero only
serves to build on this idea of selflessness, working for something greater than
one man.
There is a clever blend of science and fantasy, from the equatorial
gods burning oil fields to speed up the greenhouse effect and fry their icy northern
rivals to Ragnarok and Loki's chosen climbing Yggdrasil to escape the dying world.
Although 'The Life Eaters' reads a little like a list of all the disparate elements
David Brin took a liking to. Nazis...check! Gods and ritual magic...check!
Rocket packs and mecha...check! If it were just a blend of fantasy and modern-day
reality it would have worked but the strange futuristic technology feels out of
place and no explanation is ever given as to how tech in Brin's world advanced
so much faster than ours following the Second World War - realism is sacrificed
on the altar of Big Shiny Robots. A shame, as apart from that the world
is a realistic one, with the effect of the gods on this century's events portrayed
in a plausible and thought-provoking manner.
Scott Hampton's art is
excellent, being both detailed and realistic. There is nothing of the abstract
in his work, each frame showing what is there and nothing else but doing so in
vivid, intricate detail. In particular, those frames showing locations and immobile
objects are superb, giving each place and item an individuality and life of its
own. The only place Hampton's art fails to satisfy is in effectively giving the
impression of movement but that is a minor complaint only.
All in all, this is a thoughtful and well-drawn blend of fantasy
and realism, one which wins bonus points for having one of those
cute ribbon bookmarks built in.
Though the epilogue leaves things open for a second book, I feel
there's little that could be added and Brin's messages of co-operation
and the power of normal people have been hammered home effectively.
Insightful and indifferent, 'The Life Eaters' will find a welcome
place on my 'Everyman Heroes' shelf.
Martin Jenner 
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