[Fluff] Best 40k Books I.

[SubZero]

The Callidus is quite a horny little devil, I'm beginning to envy Jaq... (p.148 at the moment).

Since i've started with the middle book, do you think its worth reading the first book in the series?

[SteveO86]

Since i've started with the middle book, do you think its worth reading the first book in the series?

Uuummm, YEA!! It's a very interesting series. I would say get 'The Inquisition War' This way you can read the whole series and get the short stories as well since they fill a few blanks in.

[DayWalka]

Can you purchase 40K books from any book retailor such as Dymocks ?

[Gorb]

@ Fire and Steel: Sons of Fenris. Got it last week, very, very good book. Not William King, but still just as absorbing and well developed.

Spoiler

It has Madox! It's worth getting just to see what he does. Also, look out for Fallen DA info!

Also, Armour of Contempt (Dan Abnett). Anyone else read this? According to a couple of sources this is the last Gaunt's Ghosts book that will be released. Looking at the end of the book, I don't think that this is the case. What do other readers think?

[Fire and Steel]

Thanks Gorb, I might look into it then!

As for Armour of Contempt being the last I can almost say with 100% confidence that there is no truth in that. On his site he's mentioned working on the next Gaunt book, Only in Death, and I think I've seen it listed elsewhere. Either that is the last book or there is one more after that (I think).

You can take a look here to see where I saw it: http://theprimaryclone.blogspot.com/

[FerociousBeast]

This is the beginning of an index of the reviews here in this sticky. I've found the thread entirely too long to be useful, so I'm attempting to help the situation out.

This is most definitely a WIP. Please point out any errors.

I have attempted to put individual books in a series under the general name of the series, as you will see below, if there are at least three books in the series. But if I fail to put a book under its series header, PM or let me know somehow. Thanks.

The Guidelines for Entry into the Index (also WIP)

To be included, a post must be at least four sentences of pure review and at least fairly well thought out. Reviews of three good sentences will be considered and in rare circumstances, two.

Simple recommendations or mere mention of events in a book are not indexed. There is sometimes a very fine line between mentioning events and reviewing those events and thus the book, and my judgment is used to sort the two instances. Any disagreements you may have with my decisions I will happily look in to.

Discussion of another review is not normally indexed, so to see any discussion which may exist, you must view the page linked to. However, if I feel that the discussion of another review ends up reviewing the book itself as well, I may index it. This will be noted when it occurs.

Any review which practices unprotected spoilage will not be included for obvious sanitary reasons.

Thus far I am indebted to: SteveO86, Robert Frazer. Many thanks!

]The Index

(Note 1: The titles of novels in a series will be listed under the correct series header and with the series name preceding it. IE, False Gods will be listed under "The Horus Heresy Trilogy" as "Horus Heresy #2: False Gods by Graham McNeill". If you can't find the title of a book you are looking for, perhaps it is in a series and thus not in alphabetical order. If so, Ctrl-F (Search Page) will find you the appropriate section.)

(Note 2: After the archival of the Best Books I thread, the page numbers were somehow thrown off, whether due to post deletions or whatever I don't know. So most of the "Page X" markers will be slightly off, probably listed as one to three pages higher than the posts' actual positions.)

Angels of Darkness by Gav Thorpe
Page 4, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...9&postcount=50, my first and thus far only review
Page 6, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...5&postcount=76, in response to the above
Page 6, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...5&postcount=78
Page 41, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=601

Ciaphas Cain Series by Sandy Mitchell
Page 10, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=137
Page 30, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=441
Page 30, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=447, a long and detailed review of all four of the Ciaphas Cain stories. Check this out if interested.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ciaphas Cain #1: For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell
Page 10, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=138
Page 46, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=680

Conquest of Armageddon by Jonathan Green
Page 16, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=236

Dawn of War: Ascension by C.S. Goto
Page 15, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=222

Death World by Steve Lyons
Page 49, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=724

Deus Encarmine by James Swallow
Page 4, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...1&postcount=59

Double Eagle by Dan Abnett
Page 10, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=143
Page 43, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=633

The Eisenhorn Trilogy by Dan Abnett
Page 7, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...5&postcount=97
Page 29, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=423
Page 35, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=524

Faith and Fire by James Swallow
Page 23, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=335
Page 29, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=426

Fifteen Hours by Mitchel Scanlon
Page 45, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=674
Page 48, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=720

Fire Warrior by Simon Spurrier
Page 4, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...1&postcount=70
Page 9, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=126, praise from The Lord of All Fluff for a generally hated novel!
Page 40, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=596, again from Frazer, notable mostly because it is evidence that the once-avowed hater of all things Tau has now in fact been converted into a bona fide Tauphile!

Gaunt's Ghosts Series by Dan Abnett
Page 3, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...3&postcount=40
Page 22, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=325
Page 23, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=345, Andkat trashing Gaunt's Ghosts
Page 27, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=392, ditto above
Page 28, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=408, and again
Page 29, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=423, not Andkat this time
Page 29, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=431, ahem, back to Andkat...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Gaunt's Ghosts #?: Ghostmaker by Dan Abnett
Page 24, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=352

Gilead's Blood by Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent
Page 7, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=102

Grey Knights Series by Ben Counter
Page 44, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=653, a... cutting... criticism of the Grey Knights Series...
Page 43, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=633
------------------------------------------------------------------
Grey Knights #1: Grey Knights by Ben Counter
Page 23, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=345, short but to the point
Grey Knights #2: Dark Adeptus by Ben Counter
Page 16, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=237

Horus Heresy Artbooks by Alan Merrett
Page 36, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=536

Horus Heresy Trilogy by Various Authors
------------------------------------------------------
Horus Heresy #1: Horus Rising by Dan Abnett
Page 23, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=346
Page 27, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=392
Horus Heresy #2: False Gods by Graham McNeill
Page 31, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=452
Horus Heresy #3: Galaxy in Flames by Ben Counter
Page 39, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=578
Page 44, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=655

The Inquisition War by Ian Watson
Page 4, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...1&postcount=70
Page 8, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=107
Page 8, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=108, in response to above
Page 9, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=123
Page 29, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=423
Page 47, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=700, Warning: Very slight unprotected teaser/spoiler

The Last Chancers Series by Gav Thorpe
Page 48, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=718

Liber Chaotica by Marijan von Staufer and Richard Williams
Page 10, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=147

Lord of the Night by Simon Spurrier
Page 17, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=323
Page 31, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=463

The Nineteeners by ?
Page 13, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=192

Ravenor by Dan Abnett
Page 23, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=340
Page 38, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=565

Rogue Star by Andy Hoare
Page 37, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=542

Shira Calpurnia Series by Matt Farrer
Page 44, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=654, a decent review of the series, but it's "Rogue", SteveO, not "Rouge"! Sorry, that's one of my spelling pet peeves...
-----------------------------------------------------------
Shira Calpurnia #1: Crossfire by Matt Farrer
Page 38, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=560

The Soul Drinkers Series by Ben Counter
Page 17, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=248
Page 43, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=633
--------------------------------------------------
Soul Drinkers #2: The Bleeding Chalice by Ben Counter
Page 1, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...44&postcount=8
Page 9, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=122
Page 10, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=138
Soul Drinkers #3: Crimson Tears by Ben Counter
Page 29, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=422

Space Marine by Ian Watson
Page 1, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...17&postcount=6
Page 1, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...07&postcount=7
Page 10, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=141

Storm of Iron by Graham McNeill
Page 10, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=137

Tactica Imperialis: A History of the Later Imperial Crusades by Dan Abnett and Andy Hoare
Page 48, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=710

Uriel Ventris Trilogy or Ultramarines Trilogyby Graham McNeill
Page 36, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=540, recommendation to read Storm of Iron before the last book in the trilogy
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Uriel Ventris #3: Dead Sky, Black Sun by Graham McNeill
Page 38, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=560
Page 38, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=567

Warrior Brood by C.S. Goto
Page 13, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=194
Page 43, http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=643

[Azara]

ahh would like to clear up a few things, jaq draca? harlequin? are we talking about a sequel to Farseer?

[SteveO86]

Draco, Harlequin, and Choas Child are all part of the same series. 'The Inquisition War' as far as I know there has been a sequel to 'Farseer' as of yet and very unlikely there will be one unfortunitly.

FerociousBeast: Amazing Post, Although I was actually writing some book reviews of my own. I only have about 8-10 reviews and was I just thinking of creating a separate thread that would contain nothing but book reviews just for an easier ability for people check out some one's opinion of a particular book instead of some one asking in this insanely long thread lol.

P.S. Just to fill in some of the '?'s:

Deus Encarmine was by James Swallow (As well as the sequel, which I am not able to spell off the top of my head)

Crimson Tears was by Ben Counter (Part of the Soul Drinker Series)

Storm of Iron was by Graham McNeill (Ties in with Dead Sky, Black Sun)

Grey Knights was also by Ben Counter (As well as the sequel Dark Adeptus)

For The Emporer was by Sandy Mitchell (As well as the rest of the Ciaphas Cain novels)

Also: feel free to P.M. me if you wanna confirm any info anything or if you want some of my other reviews I have not posted yet and they are just as detailed at my Ciaphas Cain reviews.

Edit:

DayWalka: I just saw you post, It depends on what the book store carries and most likely they will have one or two 40k books, hell I was walking threw this old book store and stumbled upon Conquest for Armagdeddon I didn't ask why but how much lol, I've walked in another book store saw only 2-3 40k novels. Some 40k you will not be able to get at book stores that will most likely be only to get from doing Mail Order from GW or BL (i.e. Shira novels, some Necromunda novels, Storm of Iron, etc) but most book stores local or big names should have a few novels althought it most likely will pay off to call before you go to save some time.

[Robert Frazer]

FerociousBeast - that's certainly a sterling and sedulous effort! Keep it up.

Just a quick nitpick - the link to my review of Fire Warrior doesn't head there but instead leads to a Guest on the Inquisition War trilogy. Try this one instead:

http://forums.relicnews.com/showpost...&postcount=126

[MagosMechanicus]

I got my preorder of Tactica Imperialis - A History of the Later Imperial Crusades (by Dan Abnett and Andy Hoare) a few days ago, so I might as well add to the reviews a bit.

The book is short, like all BL background books I've read. Took me about five hours to unhuriedly read through it all. It's got some pretty nice and detailed looks at four Imperial campaigns, although the last campaign does end very abruptly. It didn't quite live up to it's name of a strategic treatise holding the distilled wisdom of ten milennia, but this is made excusable in a fluffy sense because it purports itself to be one of many volumes of the Tactica Imperialis, allowing this particular volume to dedicate itself more to examples than abstract instruction. The campaigns covered are greatly varied in size and the forces involved. There are illustrations throughout, and they are fairly good, although quite a few of them you may have seen before. I for one was particularly intrigued to see the Infantry Command from Winter Assault being used as a command post during one of the campaigns, 412th Cadian markings and all, despite the regiment not being involved in the campaign. There are new illustrations too, though. Mostly they're commander portraits or infantry, several of the latter showing them in action. There's also two Titan pictures.
Overall, it's a good read for those who like the "history book" style and copious illustrations, but novels will give you more bang for your buck.

[FerociousBeast]

Blast! I hate to see errors so early in the making. Oh well. It's fixed now, just hope there are not too many more. This thing will be a beast to edit on my dialup connection.

Thanks to SteveO for the help. I'm throwing ?'s in wherever I'm not absolutely sure of something, to remind me to go back and check when I'm done with the body of the index itself.

I would like to add that there are a lot of apparently good books which aren't getting reviewed much simply because everyone seems to take for granted that everyone knows how good they are, and thus one sentence recommendations are thrown out instead of three to four sentence reviews. Eisenhorn being the prime example. To make up for this I'll have some "special awards" at the end to recognise such books and other interesting specimens.

It's going a bit quicker than I thought it would, largely due to the lack of substantial reviews and the prevalence of lists of recommendations, which aren't included in this index.

[SteveO86]

I agree with you FerociousBeast about the good books that are taken for granted mostly Eisenhorn as the best example (other examples would be the HH series, Ravenor series, and so forth). Some other real good series would have to be 'The Last Chancers' omnibus, 'The Inquisition War' (Also probably the most controversial 40k book ever lol), Blood Angels novels.

No problem FerociousBeast seriously, I've read a nice chunck of the 40k books available and I am more then happy to help/answer anyone's questions.

[DougyM]

I get the feeling that andkat realy hates GG's.

And seeing how his tirades against the books make up most of its reviews...

I KY, thoroughly endorse any and all Ghosts books, especialy Honour guard, Last command, armour of contempt.

[Fire and Steel]

I laughed reading some of Ankat's review, simply because some of what he says is entirely true. Doesnt mean I dont like it though, I still love the Ghost sure as sure and will keep reading them. Not to mention I'm really looking forward to The Founding Omnibus so I can finally read those Ghost books I havent been able to find yet.

Wonderful work by the way compiling that list, it makes for fun reading.

[Gorb]

Great compilation, saves a lot of time browsing through the thread.

@Fire and Steel: Only in Death, eh? Looks like misinformation from GW staff. Probably to make the new book more exciting when it actually arrives!

[zellthemedic]

The latest Ctrl+Alt+Del comic "It's a wash" has a reference to what seems to be Eisenhorn...

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php

Lucas is reading it.

[Fire and Steel]

I saw that myself and was pretty excited when I spotted it.

[SteveO86]

Thought I would finally begin to post some of the reviews I had made a while back...


Also to add to FerociousBeast compilation, since I there is nothing concerning 'The Last Chancers' in there I thought I would start with that.


I read this Omnibus in 5 days (2 days on 13th Legion, 2 days on Kill Tea, 1 day on Annihilation Squad). One thing I loved about this book was the dark sinister background which is applied to the book, which fits warhammer 40k perfectly in my opinion. Kage’s struggle for freedom and independence is just spectacle to watch, his attitude toward Schaeffer and his will to survive keep the books interesting along with the action in this book alone make it a great 40k novel.



13th Legion

The first book in the series so we will evidently start here. The book starts off decent enough and introduces you to characters (And if you have read the short story before this book you know a lot more about some of the characters as well as get a taste of what is to come). Periodically threw the book little narratives will appear and describe a completely different part of the book just to keep you in suspense and give you the notion that there is more them meets the eye to this book. And there is. With that said Schaeffer and his penal legion see quite a bit of action as well as get thrown into some interesting situations whether it is dealing with some alien world or each other, this is a penal legion mind you just filled with criminals and other vile 40k low lives, so the book also has moments where the character must deal with each other and there are some characters in which they go into a little bit of detail so you can get the feel of the type of people that Kage has to deal/live with. Then toward the end is when Schaeffer reveals his primary motive which sends the characters you’ve learned (and possibly loved) into the oven (or frying pan, if I may say). That and it does not have one of those typical endings it has got the best ending compared to many other 40k books that just puts the icing on the cake showing exactly how grim it is in the 40kk universe (But that is just my opinion, however others will think it is a real bad ending since Kage does not really do the smartest thing, and screws himself). So overall this is one hell of a good/exciting book contains everything a 40k book should contain action, insidious plots, betrayal, and the best part there is more to come. However not to seem bias or make this book look like the best thing that was ever printed, I will go ahead and throw a wrench or 2 in the gears that turning. A few little tid bits that may seem to like ”No way” or “He can’t do that” moments would be Kage’s run-in with the Inquisitor at the end (You will know it when you get there) and it is almost impossible to predict what the Inquisitor does and what he actually does, you would really never expect an Inquisitor after all he is an Inquisitor. Another thing which really is not out stretched is the fact that the Penal legion is almost like the “special forces” of the imperial guard however Gav does make them as near invincible as Abnett does in Gaunt’s Ghost, but there is just so much expected of a bunch criminals known as the 13th penal legion. I would have to say the way Inquisitor acts at the end is more a “wtf” moment then anything, but if you get past that it is an extremely good book.



Kill Team

The second book in the series which picks up a bit after the first so a bit of time does (However they don’t really emphasize how much passes), however the story does fill a blank or to which is referenced in ‘Kill Team’ itself. The short story also adds more Kage’s character and just showing how resourceful he can be. Let just start with saying that this book is like half a story as there are a few unanswered questions that really don’t seem to make sense, that is until they are revealed in the third but until you read the third book will get definite answers that questions can really bother someone, however if you are very familiar with the 40k universe you have a good idea on what happens (I was like “Wasn’t he just……uummm….ok”) but they will not tell what happens until the third book (‘Annihilation Squad’). Now to continue on with ‘Kill Team’ Kage has more insight then he did the first book and more knowledge of Schaeffer. As with the first there is the drama of him dealing with his “comrade” if you will as well as his constant clashes with Schaeffer so on top of the mission he still has to deal with own people. This novel also has a different objective then the first novel so these books do not keep recycling the same plot as the previous book. This book also features the Tau (which not many books do other then ‘Fire Warrior’, ‘or The Emperor’, and the upcoming sequel to ‘Rouge Star’ as well as ‘Rouge Star’ itself so that is a nice treat). The book has Kage in a different position so he not just a foot soldier this time Schaeffer has him train his new squad which has its tolls on Kage himself. Similar to the first novel this will have some side stories within the book which will haunt you until they reveal the true meaning in the third book. This book also reveals more about Schaeffer and Kage themselves and about their relationship. Their mission itself happens very fast so there is not as much action as their is in the first book. This is more like ‘Mission Impossible’ and Gav also brings back some Characters from the first book (And those characters also add to the suspense which will be revealed in the third book) so reading the first will add more insight to this one. I will also be honest Schaeffer and his ‘Kill Team’ do seem to take a page from Gaunt’s Ghost here a little bit although they do get it get out with quite a bit of scratches and wounds, they have use that ‘Calvary arrives at the end after the real work done’ but I am sure that was part of the plan anyway. Since this book does lack the amount of action that their was is the first book, it sure as hell makes up for it with all the mysterious happens and betrayals and shows a dark side of the tau which is not something you don’t see everyday. So over all this is a decent but not as good as the first book, and until reading the third book this book may seem ‘unfinished’.


Annihilation Squad

The third and final book in the series. This book here pretty much finishes up and answers all the questions from the second book, as well putting Schaeffer and Kage in a new mission involving Armageddon yes that’s right Armageddon that big campaign GW had some years ago involving the Orks, Black Templars, and the Steel Legion mainly (The Salamanders Chapter were in that codex well). At which it is a very rare thing for any of the BL books to involve a major part of GW fluff (Excluding the new HH series). So if any one is a fan or has been around for the Armageddon campaign this book may bring back some memories, you will also want to the whole series before this one to get the whole picture. And so begins Kage’s next venture in hell and back (quite literally in this novel…well except the back part..Hahahaha) this novel also brings back some old characters from the first and second novel which is a nice little surprise (which this book is full of). This book is also a great wrap up for the series, also like before Kage and Schaeffer really go at (literally) as well explaining the origins of a few of the characters. The book also reveals who Kage really is and puts Kage threw more torment then the last 2 books combined. This novel also brings back the good intense action that the first one had besides I can not imagine a stroll threw Armageddon not being full action and adrenaline, the action does pick in this book as well some “problems” arriving throughout the mission which constantly keep the book exciting. The book also does touch on some very delicate subjects of the Armageddon War (Well if anyone was around for it or knows the details that is) however the book does change the direction of the war so you do not have to worry so major fluff change and even the book does effect the war the book does not say for sure. The book also does focus on Kage’s personality a little more and considering what happens/happened to him it keeps the book anything but boring. Similar to the first novel this book will be one of those “Love it of Hate it” types. The novel quite literally in cliff hanger (No pun intended) and while this book answers almost all the questions then ending does leave still quite a few answers but I serious could not see the series ending as it did. I would also have to say without this book answering/confirming a lot of the questions from the second book the series would be lost so this book does quite a good job at putting the pieces together.


So overall the series the was really good, however it may seem weird until you read the whole series because ‘Kill Team’ seems to go off on a lot of tangents until everything is explained. All three book also keep it interesting with objectives and “obstacles”. Also out of almost all the other 40k books I have read this is probably one of the most if not grimmest book (With the exception of maybe ‘Back from the Dead’ but that is a Necromunda novel), and also as I noted above I read this omnibus in 5 days just because it is very well written and there are quite a few twists and turns that keep it very interesting. I also believe and this is just my opinion that it had a real respectable ending that remains true to the series, since all the books ended leaving some questions I found ‘Annihilation Squad’ remaining true. So I would really recommend this book to anyone that has read it or is a fan the Imperial Guard, and while there some fluff over looks (which over book has) and some moments that just don’t seem true to the 40k/Inquisition fluff it is still a very interesting/gripping series. Hope everyone enjoyed reading this and if any one has different opinions feel free to express them the more reviews the better.

[Hodgeh MkII]

13th Legion

I have the omnibus and read "13th Legion" only, but Thorpes detailing on Kage's pysche considering all the grim burtality and shit he goes through is good. The climax action was rather blehh.. but, there were some cool characters, too bad they ALL DIE.

Spoiler Tags Added-Andkat

[SteveO86]

Hodgeh MkII: Considering you only read the first book.......Your comment is premature.......and wrong. Although I will agree that the Climax wasn't not the greatest.




Here is another review for FerociousBeast's compilation that has not been mentioned yet.


Fifteen hours

Now this book is pretty much one of a kind and it could probably have “Imperium’s funniest home videos” as a sub title since this does touch on the dysfunctional part of the Imperial Guard. Do not get me wrong this is an interesting and pretty grim book, I also believe this book could have had some great potential had it not been so short (However then it would not have been the grim tale it was so I suppose it does work out). The book pretty much revolves around a new Imperial Guard recruit getting accidentally thrown into a full scale war. This book does have an interesting setup of characters threw out novel and the main character’s do advance themselves however you more over learn about instead of seeing them ‘grow’ in the novel. This novel may seem like your basic Imperial Guard vs. Ork struggle for a planet and at first glance this may seem like but a spin off of Armageddon. This is pretty much the opposite, this is a toned downed version of the Armageddon war and I do believe Mitchel Scanlon did a decent job on his first novel, and did pretty well describing the new recruit in the War. He also does stay true to some of the Imperial Guard dogma, examples would be how the commissar’s, commanders, and the Imperial Guard who with the recruit (as well as how he is treated by everyone else). I also think Mitchel did a real good describing on exactly how strong the Orks are and their battle techniques as well as a few little other little details. However also be warned this book does have a great deal of action in as you might expect it does have a Ork attack, bombardment, as well as a nice mission the new recruit is sent on but I was just expecting a bit from and Ork/IG war over the planet. I do suppose that was intended since the book really does focus on the new recruit and first ‘Fifteen Hours’ and does focus on him very nicely to on how he gets to know everyone and what actually goes on. They also hit on the point that the Imperium is very misinformed and shows a couple of “screw ups” on the Imperial guard side, Mitchel almost gives the idea that the Imperium is very unreliable and almost a joke in itself (Of course I may be going too far). Overall I would say that this is still a very good read, if you are an Ork, Imperial Guard fan, Armageddon fan, or you simply want to see the Imperium trip over their shoe laces you will want to read (and probably enjoy this book.)

[Azara]

You cant get much grimmer then the 15 hours books plot being a result

Spoiler

of a mistyped number.

Also i found traitor general surprisingly good for a 1 time read since the chaos side semed somewhat 'civilised'

[Chosen Terminat]

So, are we supposed to say our favorite 40k books? Mine's Straight Silver.

[JaqTaar]

Ravenor Rogue:
http://blacklibrary.com/product.asp?...1041&type=Book

In the third book of the series, Ravenor continues his persecution of the arch-heretic Zygmunt Molotch – a hunt that has, for him, now become an obsession. When another band of Inquisition agents is slaughtered, Ravenor and his team go rogue, pursuing their quarry in direct contravention of Inquisition orders. Thrown through time and space, pitted against enemies of limitless power and cunning, just how much must Ravenor and his team sacrifice to save the day?

I wonder if this other Inquisition team involves someone known from another Abnett novel or comic strip. Imagine the carnage if Molotch would kill Eisenhorn and Ravenor freaked out...

Just this "thrown through time and space"-bit sounds a bit weird.

[SteveO86]

Chosen Terminat: This thread has grown so much it is pretty much anything concerning the 40k books, there are also a few post concerning the fantasy books but no where as many as the 40k books in this thread. So any concerning 40k fantasy books.

Azara: Yea I found that to be the most disturbing part LOL. That and I do not really want to include spoilers in my reviews .

And yet this will probably be last review of the night. He is my review of 'Death World'

Death World by Steve Lyons

Here we have the first Catachan Jungle fighter’s novel and the first book by Steve Lyons. This novel is also what may expect from Catachan novel dealing with a death world and a horde of Orks at the same time and do put an emphasis on the death world. The book starts out easy enough with out Catachan army on their way to a supposed death world named Rogar IIII and the first you will notice is the attitude of the character’s and their personalities, they pretty much as you would expect a Catachan cocky with an almost Gun-Ho attitude (very similar to a Rambo attitude). After all they are the Catachan Jungle fighter’s and they live on a death world of course they are going to be cocky when battling an enemy on death world, and that is the start put them in their element and they will have the advantage right? However this death world has some surprises of its own and so the Catachan’s are taken out of their element as fast as they put in it which adds some real depth and suspense to the book since no one knows what the death world can throw besides the regular stuff they are able to anticipate, and Steve Lyons does a real good job at displaying the knowledge of the Catachan’s of death worlds in particular as well as how cautious they can they be so he shows both sides of the Catachan’s, it also changes the mood of the novel when they begin to realize the reality of the situation. That all being said this book is full of twists and turns and really no way to predict what will happen next. My only complaint about the books are the Orks the Ork battles were intense but they are suppose to be all over the Rogar III and yet you do not see them until the end of the novel so a bit more then half of the novel involves the Catachans going at it with the Rogar III then the Orks so do not expect this to a plain book of IG vs. Orks because this is much more. So overall this is a decent book anyone who is a Imperial Guard or Catachan fan will definitely enjoy this book, it also has open ending so do not expect a happy ending or a welcome home party for our fellow Catachans either.

[SubZero]

Such an unfinished ending to Harlequin - unable to find Draco or Chaos Child anywhere, its all sold out. Same with Inq Wars trilogy.... this is torture.

[Robert Frazer]

I wonder if this other Inquisition team involves someone known from another Abnett novel or comic strip.

I doubt that we're going to enjoy cameos from Inquisitor Defay or Inquisitor Riker, the characters that featured in Abnett's Inquisitor Ascendant comic strips. There's a one-line plug of Defay's adventures in the Eisenhorn trilogy (he make mention of Defay as a man of excellent character that does the Holy Orders credit!) but his team cannot have been slaughtered by Molotch, because...

Dark Secrets That Mere Mortals Were Not Meant To Meddle With

Defay has already achieved that himself! In the climax to the second book of Inquisitor Ascendant, Riker was killed by Interrogator Gravier in an act of devoted loyalty to his former master, Defay; Defay, though, with his untrained psychic talent unleashed in traumatic circumstances, had succumbed to the dominion of Chaos. He pumped the hapless Gravier full of bullets as a sign of gratitude...! The fluff next encountered Gravier over a decade later in Post Mortem, a single strip published shortly before Warhammer Monthly was discontinued. He was entombed in the experiment-crypts of Urdesh - his body now moulded into a new prototype of combat servitor! He (it?) was spirited out of this ignominious abode by an Imperial Assassain, but to what end will sadly remain unknown until the Black Library revives its comics again.


I suppose Defay or Riker are still options, though, as Inquisitor Ascendant was not exactly dated and so the events in the Ravenor series could take place before those described above. Yet then you have to ask why they could appear in the comic, unless Inquisitorial 'team' doesn't extend to the Inquisitor himself.

[Andkat]

New thread is located here. All further discussion on the matter of 40k novels should be relocated there; this thread is now archived and inactive.