Book Review // The Fall of Deadworld Omnibus by Matthew Smith

Time for some 2000 AD. I feel like I’ve leaned hard into Warhammer to finish the Horus Heresy, but I think I need a cleanse. Before you start worrying that the world is collapsing, don't panic. I haven't wandered too far outside my comfort zone.

I'm simply swapping the worlds of constant warfare and genetically enhanced super-soldiers for the mean streets of Mega-City One.

Well... kind of. This time we're heading somewhere considerably darker.

The Fall of Deadworld by Matthew Smith takes us away from Dredd himself and into the origins of one of 2000 AD's most terrifying groups of villains: the Dark Judges.

The book brings together three stories covering the early stages of the fall of Deadworld and the Dark Judges' rise to power, and considering I've always had a soft spot for the weirder and darker corners of the Dredd universe, this was right up my street.

Book Details

Title: The Fall of Deadworld Omnibus
Author: Matthew Smith
Publisher: Rebellion Publishing / 2000 AD
Type: E-Book
Page Count: 450

The Blurb

COMETH THE HOUR, COMETH THE FALL

In time, the whole world will be a graveyard, a charnel pit for billions.

In time, a tiny few will be all that remains, fighting back against the terrible, rotting "greys" until none are left. In time, the Dark Judges will rule unquestioned over an empty world.

But before the end of Deadworld must come the fall...

The Review

Technically, this is a three-story omnibus following the early stages of the Dark Judges' coup. Personally, though, it felt more like a two-part novel. Bone White Seeds and Grave Flesh Flies very much feel like Parts One and Two of the same story, while Red Mosquito stands on its own as the opening tale, and honestly? It was a rather pleasing structure. To make life easy, I am splitting it into its three parts, so let’s go!

Red Mosquito

This was my favourite of the three stories. We follow the initial coup through the eyes of an unsuspecting thug-for-hire who suddenly finds himself caught up in something much bigger than he could possibly have expected. As the city begins collapsing around him, corpse-like Justice squads start roaming the streets, and nobody really seems to know what the hell is happening. Our unlikely hero accidentally becomes the guardian of the one man who may possess the knowledge needed to stop Mortis and his Red Mosquito plan.

I really enjoyed this one. There's a great sense of confusion throughout the story because we're experiencing the fall from the street level. Nobody has all the answers. Nobody knows exactly who is in control, and as the situation gets worse, we slowly plunge deeper into the darkness of Deadworld.

That's something I really liked about The Fall of Deadworld. We're not simply told that this world is doomed. We get to experience what that actually means for the people living there, and Red Mosquito does a fantastic job of showing the beginning of that collapse.

Bone White Seeds & Grave Flesh Flies

The next two stories follow Misha and, for me, these really feel like one continuous story split into two parts. Misha was once part of a group of survivors, but as the story progresses, we slowly discover more about her connection to the Hall of Justice and why she has become such an important prize for the sisters Phobia and Nausea, and this is where things get wonderfully strange.

You spend a good portion of the story wondering exactly what is happening to Misha. Is she losing her mind? Is someone controlling her? Can she trust what she's experiencing, and, perhaps most importantly, who is actually in control? It kept me intrigued right through to the end.

I also really enjoyed getting more time with Phobia and Nausea. The Dark Judges obviously get most of the attention when we talk about this corner of the Dredd universe, so it was nice to see the sisters getting a little more room to breathe. They're interesting characters, and after reading this I'd happily spend more time exploring their particular brand of dark dealings.

The Dark Judges

One thing worth mentioning is that this book is actually a little lighter on the Dark Judges themselves than I expected, and I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. Instead, we're getting a lot more background and lore about Deadworld and how the Dark Judges actually went about seizing control. Mortis is the main Judge we spend time with, and I definitely came away knowing more about him than I did going in. That's probably my favourite part of these kinds of stories. I love getting the extra bits of lore that make a familiar character or faction feel slightly different.

You already know the destination; we know the world is going to die, and that The Dark Judges will win. But watching the road that leads there is what makes the story interesting.

Final Thoughts

I definitely needed this, and I enjoyed The Fall of Deadworld. It's a dark little journey into one of the strangest corners of the Judge Dredd universe, and while it probably isn't the book I'd recommend to someone who has never encountered 2000 AD before, I think fans of Dredd and the Dark Judges will get considerably more out of it.

For me, Red Mosquito was the standout story, but I also really enjoyed the two-part Misha story and getting more time with Phobia and Nausea. It's packed with background, lore and world-building, and sometimes that's exactly what I want from a Dredd book. I don't always need Dredd or in this case Death himself. Sometimes I just want to see what horrible things are happening elsewhere in this wonderfully messed-up universe. And Deadworld certainly delivers on that front.

Sector 102 Thoughts

Naturally, reading a book about an entire world collapsing has got me thinking about Sector 102. Because apparently I can't read anything anymore without trying to steal something for my own setting. What I really want to take from The Fall of Deadworld isn't the Dark Judges themselves. It's the street-level collapse. I can imagine a Sector 102 story where something terrible is happening inside the city (maybe Kelp Pharmacy overplayed their hand), but our street-level characters have absolutely no idea what it is.

The Judges are suddenly everywhere. Communications are failing. Citizens are being told to stay indoors. People are disappearing. Kelp Pharmacy starts locking down its facilities, and nobody is explaining anything. The citizens are simply watching their world fall apart around them. I'd love to create a Sector 102 character who is basically the wrong person in the right place. Maybe a low-level criminal, hired muscle or petty smuggler who gets caught up in the beginning of some much bigger disaster.

He's not a hero. He's not a Judge. He doesn't have the skills to save the city. He's just trying to survive.

And somehow, he ends up protecting the one person who knows what is really happening. That feels very Sector 102 to me. Maybe heading more into the RPG side rather than the wargaming. But a completely ordinary nobody stumbling into something far bigger than themselves while the Justice Department desperately tries to keep the truth hidden.

Have you read The Fall of Deadworld? What did you think of the Dark Judges' origin stories? And, as always, let me know what you think I should be stealing for Sector 102!

Thanks for reading.