Danie Ware’s Judge Anderson novella Bigger Than Biggs follows on from Alec Worley’s three Year One novellas, and sees the Psi-Judge tackling biker gangs and delving into dark secrets in the Big Meg. On secondment to the uncompromising Chief Johnson in Sector-19, Anderson stumbles upon something big when the rescue of a kidnap victim leads to hints of sinister goings-on beneath the Eee-Zee Rest block. Johnson won’t sanction an investigation due to the political connections of the block’s owner, but Anderson’s gifts tell her something terrible is about to happen, and it’ll take someone with her talents to stop it.
Taking in breathless motorbike chases, visceral close-confines action and lashings of psi-powered mystery, it’s a fast-paced, action-packed thrill-ride concealing a dark tale of how ambition and grit can turn to horrifying greed and exploitation. Alongside her assigned partner Judge Marshall – calm, capable and understanding – and scrappy biker Vex, Anderson has to negotiate violent gangers, confusing premonitions, traumatised witnesses and her buttoned-up, bureaucratic commander, not to mention the ravenous presence of something lurking beneath Eee-Zee Rest (which, without spoiling anything, turns out to be pretty dark indeed). This is Mega-City One so it’s all set to the backdrop of privation, barely-contained anarchy and hardline, uncompromising characters.
Where the stories comprising Judge Anderson: Year One were all about the rookie Anderson trying to understand what being a Judge would mean for her, this is a natural progression towards a more confident character who’s found her feet but is still working to really prove herself. It’s helpful (though not essential) to be familiar with the previous stories as foundations which this then builds upon, focusing less on Anderson’s wider motivations and more on throwing her into danger in order to explore how the strange blend of power (physical, psychic and societal) and compassion affects her decision-making. This is a character who’s isolated by her very nature, who constantly deals with resentment not just from civilians but from her peers and superiors, but whose fundamental tenacity manifests in a satisfying blend of brutal arse kickery and almost naive hopefulness.
A little more grounded than Worley’s novellas, it makes good use of Anderson’s psi abilities without relying on them, occasionally going all-in on the psychic weirdness but mostly giving her scattered snatches of sights, sounds and memories to try and interpret on the fly and under pressure. It’s still a 2000AD story so for all Anderson’s introspection there’s more than enough darkness and violence as well, and Ware does a great job of investing locations and characters with an authentic tone to suit the setting. If there’s a touch of inevitability around the plot, that’s entirely forgivable given the constraints of a 130-page novella, while a satisfying mixture of badass action and compelling character work means it’s entertaining and enjoyable from start to finish.
Click this link to buy Bigger Than Biggs.
Click this link to buy Judge Anderson: Year Two which contains this novella alongside two others.