Category: Extended Universe

Quick Review – Warhammer 40,000: Witchbringer by Steven B Fischer

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Quick Review, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer2 Comments

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 25 November 2022)

Series: Warhammer 40,000/Astra Militarum

Length: nine hours and 33 minutes

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Stars

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Fresh Warhammer 40,000 fiction author Steven B Fischer presents Witchbringer, a compelling and particularly intense novel that dives into the complex life of an Imperial sanctioned psyker.

I have been having a lot of fun with Warhammer 40,000 fiction this year, and one of the more interesting Warhammer books that I have recently enjoyed is the awesome debut novel from Steven B Fischer, Witchbringer.  I have been meaning to review Witchbringer for a while, especially as it had a fantastic plot synopsis behind it.  As I am currently in the middle of Fischer’s latest book, Broken Crusade, I thought that this was the perfect time to highlight Witchbringer on my blog, especially as it was a clever and memorable addition to the franchise.

Plot Synopsis:

An Astra Militarum Novel

Once a Cadian captain, Glavia Aerand’s psychic talents see her pressed into service in a new role, to fight and die as a sanctioned psyker.

READ IT BECAUSE
This story offers a rare glimpse into the mysterious process of becoming a sanctioned psyker in the service of the Golden Throne, and you’ll learn what that means for those who are found strong enough to serve.

THE STORY
Suffer not the witch to live, unless by their service they might earn redemption. This is the creed of the Scholastica Psykana, a brutal foundry in which those with psychic power might be taught to serve. On the eve of her sanctioning as a primaris psyker within these very halls, Glavia Aerand, former captain of the Cadian 900th Regiment, receives a startling premonition – one concerning her old unit, and a dangerous psychic artefact hidden on the planet where they are deployed.

After a reunion she never expected – or wanted – Aerand finds herself mired in a vicious campaign on the psychically active world of Visage, where the shallow seas and endless fogs are rumoured to swallow the souls of the dead. Haunted by growing suspicions of her new commander and the manifestations of the sinister relic, Aerand must trust in her new-found abilities to keep her former comrades alive, and confront an ancient threat that could consume Visage entirely.


Witchbringer proved to be an outstanding and particularly powerful Warhammer 40,000 novel that combines compelling insights into a unique class of human soldier with a great plot centred around damaged characters.

This cool Warhammer 40,000 book primarily focuses on Glavia Aerand, former soldier and newly sanctioned primaris psyker.  A trained and authorised witch who uses her unnatural powers to fight for the Imperium of Man, Aerand is an outcast amongst her fellow humans, who view her gifts as tainted and borderline heretical.  Starting off with a dark sequence in the Scholastica Pyskana, a gothic school aimed at training and controlling powerful psykers, the story soon moves on to the main plot when the protagonist receives a vision warning that her old regiment is in danger.  Journeying to Visage, a war-torn swamp world, Aerand finds her regiment in shambles, her former friends no longer trust her, and nobody capable of remembering the previous pysker lord assigned to them.  What follows is an exciting and intense narrative as Aerand simultaneously fights against the rebels and their native witches, while also trying to regain the trust of her comrades.  At the same time, Aerand must unravel both the dark conspiracy engulfing the planet and the secrets her commanders are hiding.

I felt that Fischer produced a compelling and exciting Warhammer 40,000 narrative that really dragged me with its intense storytelling.  The author got the right balance of unique grim Warhammer elements, complex character development, and dark intrigue, all of which melded well with the typical military fiction story fans of the franchise have come to expect.  Fischer does a brilliant job increasing the threat of his story, and the desolate swamp setting of Visage takes on a real life of its own, especially when it comes to grizzly fights against swamp witches and disturbed spirits.  At the same time, the focus on the protagonist’s isolation from her old comrades, who distrust her due to her tainted abilities, adds a great emotional heart to Witchbringer that cleverly works into the larger secrets of the main narrative.  Fischer does a great job bringing the dark plot of Witchbringer together for an exciting conclusion, and readers will appreciate the inevitable carnage that follows.  This is an overall impressive and well-written story that I had an amazing time listening to.

Witchbringer was an interesting addition to the Warhammer 40,000 canon, especially as it was part of the Astra Militarum series that seeks to follow adventures of the various human soldiers fighting in the bleak future.  As such, Fischer expertly explores the sanctioned psykers of the Astra Militarum, including their training, their unique role in combat, and the way that the common trooper views them.  While I do think that Fischer overpowered his protagonist, for the most part this proved to be very fascinating novel about sanctioned psykers, and I enjoyed how the author highlighted the protagonist’s human side.  As such this is a great read for established fans of the franchise, and I am sure most Warhammer 40,000 players and fiction readers will appreciate Fischer’s excellent debut to the genre.  Fischer also ensured that there was enough context and explanation of the more complex universe elements for newer readers to follow along and anyone can probably come in and enjoy Witchbringer, especially if they love a distinctive science fiction thriller.

As with most Warhammer fiction, I chose to enjoy Witchbringer on audiobook, which is easily the best way to appreciate the franchise.  The grim dark setting and intense action of any Warhammer 40,000 novel is deeply enhanced when read out to you and I love the array of talented narrators that work to bring these amazing stories to life.  In Witchbringer’s case, it was narrated by Amy Rockson, who is relatively new to the franchise.  Rockson had a pretty good take on the unique flow of a Warhammer 40,000 audiobook, and I felt she inhabited the various characters extremely well.  The more supernatural elements of Witchbringer’s plot really came to life when read out by Rockson, and I enjoyed how much passion she injected into the various fight scenes.  With a run time of around nine and a half hours, Witchbringer proved to be an easy audiobook to get through quickly, and I had a wonderful time listening to this amazing piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction.

Overall, Warhammer 40,000: Witchbringer proved to be an amazing book, and I really enjoyed checking out Steven B Fischer’s debut novel.  Featuring a captivating tale of mystery, mayhem and moving character moments, Witchbringer was a great addition to the Warhammer 40,000 canon, and it proved hard not to become addicted to its impressive story.  This is a powerful and excellent read from an author who looks set to be a fantastic feature of the franchise’s fiction going forward.

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Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Throwback Thursday14 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1989)

Series: Discworld – Book 8 / City Watch – Book One

Length: 13 hours and 29 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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I recently revisited one of my favourite books in Terry Pratchett’s iconic Discworld series, Guards! Guards!, and I just had to review it to showcase how much fun this series can be.

I have never made any secret of the fact that I love all things Terry Pratchett as the Discworld books were one of the formative series of my youth.  A massively popular series set on a flat world carried through space on the back of a giant turtle and four elephants, the Discworld books present a range of unique fantasy adventures, backed with exceptional comedy and satire.  This series is so much fun, and I honestly love every single Discworld book, having read them all multiple times, usually while laughing myself silly.  Indeed, I am such a big fan of this series that I named my blog after a location in the universe.  Despite my overwhelming love for this series, I haven’t reviewed many Discworld books (the exception being Moving Pictures and The Last Continent).  That changes with my review of the outrageously funny Guards! Guards! which I recently enjoyed while on a road trip.

Guards! Guards! is a particularly entertaining addition to the Discworld series that I have a lot of love for.  Serving as the first book in the City Watch sub-series, Guards! Guards! sees Pratchett blend his typical fantasy and comedy elements with a complex murder mystery.  This book follows the ragtag city watch of this world’s main recurring city, Ankh-Morpork, as they try to solve a series of deaths caused by a monstrous murder weapon.  Due to its brilliant and hilarious story, as well as the fact that it perfectly sets up the rest of the awesome City Watch books, I generally consider Guards! Guards! to be one of my absolute favourite Discworld novels, and I have featured it in various Top Ten Tuesday lists over the years.

On the fantastical and impossible Discworld no place is more dangerous, corrupt or morally unhealthy as the legendary and stinking city of Ankh-Morpork.  The Disc’s largest city, Ankh-Morpork has many terrors haunting its urban depths, where life is cheap and death lurks around every corner.  However, not even the hardest criminals, deadliest wizards or most manipulative politicians are prepared for an ancient and malevolent creature that is about to be unleashed upon the city.

A shadowy secret brotherhood has engineered an elaborate plan to seize power in Ankh-Morpork through use of an unlikely weapon, a dragon.  Summoning a fully formed fire-breathing dragon to cause terror, the brotherhood hopes to use the resulting carnage to bring in their own puppet to control the city.  However, the dragon has its own ideas about what sort of terror it wants to bring down on humanity.

With the rest of the city powerless against the dragon, it falls to the ramshackle Ankh-Morpork Night Watch and its depressed captain, Sam Vimes, to try and stop it.  The only problem is the Watch are the biggest joke in the city, incapable of standing up to normal crime, never mind carnage caused by magical dragon.  But with an unnaturally keen new recruit guilting them into action, and a terrifying dragon fanatic with a crush on Vimes keeping them in line, the Watch is going to try and save the day, even if no-one wants them to.

Guards! Guards! still reigns supreme as one of my top Discworld novels from the always impressive Terry Pratchett.  Featuring a unique plot, loaded with an outstanding mix of mystery, humour and fun fantasy elements, Guards! Guards! brilliantly sets up one of Pratchett’s best sub-series while presenting its own epic and powerful story.  An exceptional read from start to finish, this book gets a very easy five-star rating from me, and I love it so damn much.

The plot of Guards! Guards! is so damn clever and is peak Pratchett in its inventiveness and impressive characters.  Presenting an entertaining and humourous noir murder investigation in a fantasy series, Guards! Guards! has a lot of moving parts to it, including some impressive character-driven story arcs, all of which come together beautifully for a particularly intense and insane story.  Starting off very strong with some great introductions to various key characters, including the young and keen Carrot Ironfoundersson, who journeys to the massive and corrupt city of Ankh-Morpork to join the Night Watch, providing fresh blood, irrepressible honesty and uncontrolled enthusiasm to the small squad of rejects and failures currently staffing it.  Carrot’s arrival corresponds with the start of a bold conspiracy, as a secretive mystic brotherhood plots to dethrone the Patrician and take over the city.  The initial scenes of this book are extremely good, and I love how Pratchett expertly sets up the entire narrative with some hilarious moments, including the opening sequence with the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night, whose petty ideology shows you just what sort of criminal minds we are truly dealing with.

Things go in a chaotic direction as the Night Watch, led by the drunk and depressed Captain Vimes, witness a direct murder by dragon and begin their own investigation into the matter.  Pratchett expertly pivots the story around from its comedic fantasy start into a complex police procedural/noir murder investigation, as the protagonists try to find out why the dragon is terrifying the city and who benefits from the apparent crime.  At the same time, several great character arcs emerge, including a truly nice, if unconventional romance, new friendships, and a fun analysis of dragon mythology.  There is a great twist about halfway through the book as the down-and-out Night Watch witness an interesting change to the classic dragon fantasy tale that sees a unique king take over the city.

The final third of the book is some of Pratchett’s strongest writing, as Vimes identifies the true culprit and must work to undo the damage they caused.  There are some great moments in this last part of the book as Pratchett presents his own unique and hilarious take on classic fantasy tropes, including the famed million-to-one shot, the heroic rescue, and the successful defeat of a dragon.  I felt that the identity of the main villain of the story was very clever, and Pratchett sets it up well with subtle clues, although if you know Pratchett’s thoughts on certain government positions it’s not too surprising.  Still, the final confrontation between the protagonists and this villain is great, and being literal has never been so deadly.  Pratchett leaves Guards! Guards! on a hopeful note, and it’s impossible not to come away with a smile on your face.

Pratchett was really on-point when it came to writing Guards! Guards! and I loved how perfectly it came together.  As with all books in the Discworld series, Guards! Guards! features an exceptional mixture of fantasy and humour elements, as the unusual and cynical Discworld produces some unusual situations, layered in with a great plot and some fantastically complex characters.  A lot of the humour is derived from classic fantasy scenarios that are taken up to 11 and shown in outrageous manners, accompanied by sarcastic comments from the characters as they witness them.  For example, this book serves as an ode to the guards and watchmen from classic fantasy fiction, and there are some funny scenes when these self-aware guards realise how expendable they are in a fantasy story.  However, Guards! Guards! also features a brilliant third element as Pratchett also features a compelling crime fiction read, accompanied with an addictive murder mystery.

The blend of fantasy and crime fiction elements works incredibly well, and it is highly entertaining to watch a serious investigation consider magic, suddenly appearing dragons, and the unique background setting of Ankh-Morpork.  I also loved how many clever and subtle jokes Pratchett was able to weave in because of these crime fiction inclusions, and he ends up lovingly roasting so many classic tropes from police procedurals and noir detective novels.  Despite having read this book many times, I still laugh like crazy at all the humourous moments in Guards! Guards!, especially as you always discover a new joke or pun you previously missed.  I honestly don’t have time to list all the funny scenes in Guards! Guards!, but favourites include the various meetings of the petty and mostly incompetent Elucidated Brethren, Carrot’s naïve overreactions upon discovering crime in the city, and various musings on how to achieve a perfect, million-to-one chance.  Pratchett once again expertly backs up his humour in Guards! Guards! with a series of entertaining footnotes spread throughout the book, that prove to be nearly as much fun as the main story.  These brilliant footnotes contain additional jokes, sarcastic comments, or interesting expansions of the Discworld universe, and they always bounce off the main story perfectly, providing extra laughs and food for thought where necessary.  I really cannot emphasise just how well this blend of genres worked with Pratchett’s unique and endearing humour, and it proves impossible not to have an exceptional time while reading this book.

As with most Discworld books, Guards! Guards! works exceedingly well as a standalone novel, and I feel that anyone wanting a laugh could easily jump in and follow the story without any issues.  Due to its early position in the shared Discworld universe, you don’t have to know anything about the other entries in the overarching series to jump right in, as Pratchett goes a tad light on some of the more outrageous Discworld elements.  As such, I consider Guards! Guards! to be one of the very best entry novels to new Discworld readers.  It also proves to be a brilliant first book in one of Pratchett’s best sub-series, and so many key details of the subsequent City Watch books are introduced here.  This includes some excellent early looks at the chaotic city of Ankh-Morpork and key recurring characters in the larger universal plot.  Ankh-Morpork is a great background setting for Guards! Guards! and it was the first book completely set within the bounds of the city.  I loved seeing this crazy city in even more detail, and all the fun elements set up here help to make it an epic setting.  As such, this is a great book for any Discworld reader, new or old, and it’s one of my favourites for very good reason.

As with pretty much all of Pratchett’s works, the key things that made Guards! Guards! so impressive were the amazing and unique characters that were featured throughout the plot.  Pratchett had a real knack for producing complex, multi-layered figures who can be both comedic and tragic at the same time, and who you couldn’t help but love.  Guards! Guards! was a particularly good example of this, as Pratchett featured a range of brilliant and entertaining characters who would go on to be become major recurring figures in the Discworld canon.  Indeed, Guards! Guards! is one of the most significant books for new characters, and it is frankly amazing how many exceptional major and iconic figures were introduced here.  Each of these characters were so well written, and you have to love both their specific arcs in this book, as well as how they were expanded on in later works.

The most prominent character in Guards! Guards! is Captain Samuel Vimes.  A cynical and damaged man whose habit of calling out social inequities has seen him assigned to the joke position as head of the Night Watch, which he deals with by drinking vast amounts of alcohol.  A parody of every hard-drinking cop and private eye in classic noir fiction, Vimes starts the book with no prospects and too many dead friends.  Given new purpose when the dragon appears in the city, Vimes turns his innate rebellion to a purpose and tries policing and detecting.  Pratchett does an exceptional job setting up Vimes here in Guards! Guards!, and it is no wonder he goes on to be one of his top protagonists.  Vimes’s depressed investigative method proves quite successful, and it was entertaining to watch Vimes attempt to solve the case while sarcastically calling out his fellow citizens’ base stupidity and selfishness.  Pratchett also sets up an impressive redemption arc around Vimes, which comes about through a combination of trusted colleagues, romance, and a renewed determination to uphold the law.  While he ends the book still irritated with the world, the road forward to Vimes doing bigger and better things is well established, and you really get drawn into his arc as a result.

Another impressive character is naïve and innocent City Watch recruit, Carrot Ironfoundersson.  Due to his complex home situation and a late life revelation that he’s human rather than a dwarf (being six and a half feet tall wasn’t a clue to him), Carrot is sent to Anhk-Morpork with a desire to become a watchman, which he incorrectly believes is a noble calling.  Thanks to his literal personality and highly moral upbringing, Carrot proves to be an anathema to the lawless folks of Anhk-Morpork, as he comes to town bringing justice, enforcing obscure laws, and actually arresting thieves: “change your ways”.  A brilliant parody of ultra-righteous fantasy kings, Carrot serves as an outstanding comic relief for much of the book, especially when it comes to his wholesome interactions with the exceedingly criminal inhabitants of the city.  However, beneath his comedic cover, Carrot is written as a complex figure of change, and his ability to inspire the other characters, either through guilt or determination, leads to some big moments.  Pratchett did an amazing job with Carrot in Guards! Guards!, and it was fascinating to see how he evolves from his initial innocent personality, to a more clever, but still determined, character.

Aside from Vimes and Carrot, the other two watch characters are Sergeant Fred Colon and Corporal Nobby Nobbs, both of whom are excellent and solid comedic characters.  The stereotypical fat sergeant and dodgy corporal, Pratchett has fun setting them up as unassailable fixtures of the Night Watch as they do the jobs nature intended for them, and I love how they play off each other.  While Colon has some hilarious scenes, including his attempt at archery and his various ill-timed run-ins with the dragon, you can tell that Pratchett had a lot more fun writing Nobby.  While not all his over-the-top characteristics from the series are shown in Guards! Guards!, Nobby is still a particularly entertaining figure.  Between his coarse language, petty criminal mindset, and uncharacteristic foppish behaviours, every scene with Nobby is highly amusing, and I love how Pratchett expanded off clever stereotypes about lifetime corporals to create this wayward figure.

Outside the members of the City Watch, there are a fantastic array of figures who help to make Guards! Guards! a particularly enthralling story.  This includes one of the few female characters in the book, Sybil Rankin, a dragon-loving heiress who ends up being Vimes’s unlikely love interest.  Deliberately written as the direct opposite of a noir femme-fatale in both personality and appearance, Sybil is a force of nature, using her accumulated nobility to pull the Night Watch, especially Vimes, into her orbit.  It proves impossible not to like Sybil as you watch her confidently go after Vimes or try to put the dragon to heel, and she ends up being one of the most complicated female characters that Pratchett wrote (which is saying a lot when you think of some of his other great female characters).

The other major character that I want to separately highlight is the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, Lord Havelock Vetinari.  While he has appeared in previous Discworld novels (notably Sourcery), this is the first book that showcases him as a full character.  Generally depicted as a Machiavellian mastermind and one of the few people capable of controlling the chaotic city, Vetinari has some great early scenes.  However, it’s not until the second half of the book when you realise just how fantastic a character he is.  Deposed by the false king, Vetinari initially appears to be completely powerless in the dungeons, until Vimes is thrown in with him and begins to realise that he is still in control, especially as he’s managed to cultivate a new intelligence network (procured by providing wartime strategy to magical rats), while also getting locked in a dungeon specifically designed to keep him safe.  His subsequent scenes tormenting the book’s real antagonist and talking about the nature of humanity with Vimes really cement him as an impressive figure, and the seeds for his many later inclusions as the Disc’s ultimate political mastermind are well sown here.

While I know I’ve been going on a bit about characters (blame Pratchett for being such a good writer), I just need to highlight a few more figures who have a great role in Guards! Guards!.  This includes the Librarian, one of Pratchett’s most iconic characters, who proves to be just as much fun outside of a wizard focused book, and it was entertaining seeing him interact with a separate group of friends.  You get a great introduction to the character of Cut-My-Own-Throat Dibbler, whose mercantile tendencies are on full display here.  The unusual swamp dragon Errol proves to be an unlikely pet, and his arc about finding love and his true form was particularly heartwarming.  Finally, I must mention the book’s great antagonist, who fully embraces the mad tendencies that his position demands.  While I won’t go into too much detail about who he is, I will say I loved seeing his various internal rants about the world, and the scenes with his incompetent henchmen were so damn funny.  All these characters, plus even more hilarious figures, are instrumental to so much of Guards! Guards! brilliant charm and humour, and after being introduced to them here, it’s impossible not to follow them on their full journey.

I have had the pleasure of reading Guards! Guards! in a couple of different formats over the years, but to my mind the best way to enjoy this book, and indeed any Discworld novel, is on audiobook.  The Discworld audiobooks are something very special, and I find that the unique stories, excellent humour and elaborate characters really come across when read out by a passionate narrator.  With the recent re-release of various Discworld audiobooks, there are now two different unabridged versions of Guards! Guards! fans can enjoy, and I want to highlight them both here.

The first Guards! Guards! audiobook is the original version with the talented Nigel Planer, who narrated 22 of the original 23 Discworld audiobooks.  Guards! Guards! is one of his best performances, and it set the scene nicely for many of his subsequent Discworld audiobooks, especially as he settled on a lot of key character voices and tones here.  While it has been a little while since I’ve listened to Planer’s version of Guards! Guards!, I have enjoyed it so many times it is permanently engrained in my head (I used to grab the tape cassette version out of my local library all the time).  Planer, who does all the voices himself, really captures the essence of Pratchett’s storytelling and excels at expressing the author’s unique humour through his vocal work.  I also felt that his portrayal of many of the key characters was second to none, and he really brought to life all the City Watch protagonists, as well as some other long-running figures, in some impressive ways.  He would revisit many of these voices in multiple subsequent performances, and it is a testament to his skill that the initial tones he came up with here, worked so well in the later books.  I frankly have so much love for Planer’s original take on Guards! Guards!, which definitely still stands the test of time, and his excellent and heartfelt voice work defines many of the City Watch characters for me.

While Nigel Planers original version is perfect, current Discworld fans may be more familiar with the latest audiobook production of Guards! Guards!, which was part of a recent re-recording of all the Discworld books.  These new audiobooks each feature a different famous British performer voicing the main plot, while acclaimed actors Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy have key roles in every single production.  While these have been out for a little while, I only just listened to my first one .  Coming in at a runtime of 13 and a half hours, which is a tad longer than the roughly 10-hour long Planer version, this Guards! Guards! audiobook was extremely fun, and it served as excellent entertainment on a recent road trip.

The new version of the Guards! Guards! audiobook is primarily voiced by British radio and television personality Jon Culshaw.  Culshaw is amazing in the role, and I was deeply impressed with his take on the Guards! Guards! characters.  Each unique character comes across extremely well in Culshaw’s capable hands, and I enjoyed his take on their unique characteristics and eccentric personalities.  He perfectly showcased protagonist Samuel Vimes’s drunken despair and depression, while various other key members of the watch, such as the extremely keen Carrot and the more cautious Colon, are shown extremely well.  I also felt that Culshaw did an incredible job with several complicated figures from the story, such as the infamous watchman Nobby Nobbs, who Culshaw gifts a gruff and weaselly voice that sounded a lot like David Bradley or Jon Pertwee.  His Lord Vetinari is also amazing, and the deep and threatening tones really capture the character’s dangerous nature.  Finally, I felt that his take on the main female character, Sybil Ramkin, was just perfect, and you really got the full blast of her big personality and excessive aristocratic characteristics.  Many of the other side characters were also perfectly portrayed to my mind, and I must highlight the excellent way in which he disguised the voice of the main antagonist during some key secret society scenes.

Culshaw’s primary narration is well backed up by Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy in their respective roles.  Serafinowicz provides the voice of Death whenever he appears in this audiobook, which works out extremely well even with Death’s relatively minor role in Guards! Guards!.  Serafinowicz has an exceptional Death voice, and hearing it suddenly appear throughout Guards! Guards! is so damn epic, especially during one scene where Death is hiding amongst the soon-to-be deceased.  Nighy, on the other hand, narrates the various footnotes.  Nighy was a perfect choice for this, and his calm, consistent tones, echoing Peter Jones’s similar role in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio and TV editions really highlighted the subtle comedy of these footnotes.  I felt that all three of these distinctive actors really vibed together in the Guards! Guards! audiobooks, and the switch between them was seamless, allowing for a particularly awesome listen.  Throw in an interesting short afterword about fantasy elements by acclaimed author Ben Aaronovitch, and this proved to be a remarkable and compelling audiobook I could not get enough of.  While Nigel Planer’s original narration of Guards! Guards! is always going to live in my head rent free, I felt that this new version more than lived up to the hype surrounding it, and I really appreciated the unique and powerful performances these new narrators brought to the table.  Frankly both of the audiobook versions comes highly recommended by me, and it is impossible to be dissatisfied by them at all.

Whew, well in case you could guess from this massive review (it got away from me), I love Guards! Guards! and I have some very strong feelings for it.  One of Terry Pratchett’s best Discworld novels, Guards! Guards! is the perfect blend of fantasy, crime fiction and humour that you could ever want, and I always get wrapped up in its elaborate story.  A wildly entertaining and comedic novel from start to finish, Pratchett added so much heart to this book, and you get drawn into the impressive characters and compelling, crime fiction plot.  A brilliant start to the City Watch subseries, Guards! Guards! is so damn good, and I know I will be reading it many more times in my life.  I can think of no better way to emphasise just how amazing Guards! Guards! is than to mention that I used it to introduce the Discworld to my wife, who is now powering through the series on her own.  So do yourself a favour and check this book out now!

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Warhammer 40,000: Lazarus: Enmity’s Edge by Gary Kloster

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer1 Comment

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 9 March 2024)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 11 hours and 47 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Secrets, lies and devils from the past converge around the Dark Angels in this exceptional Warhammer 40,000 novel from Gary Kloster, Lazarus: Enmity’s Edge.

I have been on a real roll with Warhammer 40,000 fiction this year, as books like Da Big Dakka by Mike Brooks, Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward, Oaths of Damnation by Robbie MacNiven and Renegades: Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick have all proven to be exceptional additions the Warhammer canon.  But despite how awesome the above books and others have proven to be, I am still keen for more.  That is why I made sure to listen to a copy of the early 2024 novel, Lazarus: Enmity’s Edge by new-to-me author Gary Kloster.  An interesting entry that follows members of the iconic Dark Angels chapter, Lazarus: Enmity’s Edge was a book I nearly didn’t read this year, but I was sure glad that I did.

For over 10,000 years the Space Marines of the Dark Angels chapter have defended the Imperium of Man from all manner of insidious threats, all while keeping their own terrible secrets hidden.  Maintaining watch for fallen members of their order, the Dark Angels are forced to balance their Chapter’s need for secrecy and revenge with their solemn duty to keep humanity safe from the monsters and heretics stalking the stars.  But not every member of the Dark Angel’s inner circle believes that the battles of the past should impact the Chapter’s future.

Lazarus, Master of the Dark Angels Fifth Company, knows the burden that history can have on the soul.  The first Primaris Marine to hold rank within the chapter’s inner circle, Lazarus finds himself haunted by the battle that killed him and forced him to undergo the Rubicon surgery.  Determined to rid the universe of all psykers and the foul forces of Chaos behind them, Lazarus is a dedicated warrior, although one that questions the secrets that impact his ability to fulfill his duty.  That is why, when an ancient beacon located on the planet Reis is activated, the Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Angels, Azrael, summons Lazarus and his Fifth Company to fulfill an old debt of honour.

A thousand years before, the Imperial Knight world of Reis was nearly overwhelmed by a rampaging army of daemons, resulting in the destruction of the planet’s war machine guardians, and only through the intervention of the Dark Angels was Reis saved.  But now, after years of peace, Reis finds itself under attack from a new foe, one that may cause another daemonic incursion.  Determined to ensure the daemons stay in the warp, Lazarus arrives to assess the situation on Reis, but soon discover that not everything is as it seems.  The planet is a hotbed of sinister politics, ancient grudges, and long-buried secrets, all of which conspire to drag Reis closer to destruction.  Forced to navigate the planet’s complex history, Lazarus discovers a terrible enemy hiding deep within the planet’s jungles, one that, like Lazarus, refuses to die.  To save Reis and his brothers, Lazarus must uncover the true hidden past of the planet and understand the origin of the grudge that could turn the Dark Angels against the Imperium they are sworn to protect.

Wow, Warhammer 40,000 fiction is in peak form in 2024 as Gary Kloster deeply impressed me with Lazarus: Enmity’s Edge.  Featuring a particularly complex and captivating narrative that blended awesome action and great characters with a clever and well-written plot, Enmity’s Edge proved to be extremely addictive, and I found myself irreversibly hooked.  Exciting, intense and loaded with all manner of intrigue, Enmity’s Edge is one of the best Warhammer books of 2024 and gets a full five-star rating from me.

I must admit that when I first decided to check out Enmity’s Edge, I didn’t quite know what to expect.  Space Marine focused Warhammer 40,000 novels can sometimes be an overloaded, action slog colloquially known as “Bolter porn”, and I was initially slightly worried that was the direction Enmity’s Edge was going, especially as it started off with an intense war sequence against orks.  However, Kloster instead showcased a remarkably compelling and layered Warhammer 40,00 novel that made excellent use of its Dark Angel protagonists and a unique, secret-laden background setting.  The initial battle serves as a great introduction to the main protagonist, Lazarus, and his command staff, and you get a sense of his tactical skills, as well as his dislike of psykers and the secrets of his order.  This leads nicely to the more complex part of the book, as the reader is introduced to some interesting side characters, as well as the world of Reis, where Lazarus and his company are sent to.

Arriving on Reis, Lazarus discovers a unique world of secrets, lies and hidden history, with the populace attacked by a mysterious fungal infection that has taken over various host bodies.  Quickly diving into the fray to determine the full extent of the threat, the first half of the book sees the Dark Angels essentially taking on the zombies from The Last of Us with an intelligent malevolence behind them, and these unique antagonists prove an interesting alternative to the classic villains of the franchise.  From there the story devolves into an intriguing combination of sequences, as Lazarus attempts to uncover his true opponent, while also dealing with attacks on multiple fronts.  This leads to some compelling and occasionally brutal scenes, including a continued conflict inside an Adeptus Mechanicus base, as well as some other great sequences scattered throughout the planet.  The author spends some substantial time building up some impressive and moving character arcs, as various figures deal with the chaotic events in different ways.

The author does an excellent job building up a great hidden villain who the protagonist must uncover, and the secrets and mysterious surrounding the figure really adds to the intrigue of the story.  While the identity of some of the antagonists are a little predictable, the journey getting there is impressive, and I loved the setup to the answers that Kloster subtly hid through the earlier parts of the book, with the reliance on understanding the past to survive the future being a great recurring theme.  This leads up to a particularly intense and dark final third as the antagonist’s very long-term plot comes to dramatic fruition.  Kloster does a masterful job of building up tension and substantially upping the stakes in the leadup to this, and you find yourself deeply engaged as you wait to see how everything will unfold.  There are some brilliant moments here, including a ton of over-the-top action, some fantastic plot resolutions, and several particularly tragic moments as the protagonists face overwhelming foes.  The overall resolution is very clever and builds on some excellent prior story inclusions and character growth, that Kloster wraps up perfect.  The end result is an awesome, memorable and particularly enthralling standalone story, that really showcases just how cool and complex a Warhammer 40,000 story can be.

I really enjoyed how Enmity’s Edge came together, and I felt Kloster had a great writing style the ensured a powerful and intense story.  His entire complex narrative was a ton of fun from start to finish, and it proved to be well showcased through several compelling protagonist perspectives.  While there is a ton of awesome and intense action in this book, as is required for a Warhammer 40,000 novel (war is in the name for a reason), the focus on a more subtle threat ensured that Enmity’s Edge stood out from the pack.  I particularly appreciated how subtly Kloster set up a lot of key story elements early in the book and they all paid off extremely well, with a great theme on the lessons of the past recurring in an excellent way.  I also must highlight the great new setting of the planet Reis, which Kloster made fantastic use of.  The Warhammer 40,000 universe is home to a multitude of intriguing and unique worlds, but Reis really stood out to me thanks to Kloster’s vibrant descriptions and the clever way the planet’s complex history and disposition played into the narrative.  An Imperial Knight planet (a feudal world governed by mech pilots who take the whole knight thing way too seriously) that has fallen on hard times thanks to the destruction of the ruler’s battle suits, Reis is a hotbed of dark history, lingering secrets, and intense rivalries, covered with useful fungus.  Kloster perfectly introduces and then utilizes this planet throughout the narrative, and you find yourself getting really drawn into the revealed history, especially as it produces a particularly effective and dark antagonist.  These writing elements ensure that Kloster’s captivating narrative pops in the reader’s mind, and I was really impressed with how he presented this excellent Warhammer novel.

In addition to being an outstanding read, I also felt that Enmity’s Edge was an excellent piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction, and one that really emphasizes how clever and compelling a story in this canon can be.  Focusing on the Space Marine chapter, the Dark Angels, Kloster presents a gripping standalone narrative that makes great use of the franchise’s unique features and history without getting too bloated or lore heavy.  Thanks to how effectively the author covers these franchise inclusions, I felt that readers unfamiliar with Warhammer fiction could easily jump into Enmity’s Edge without too much pre-knowledge and still deeply enjoy the plot, especially as it really showcases how cool the iconic Space Marines can be.  More established Warhammer 40,000 fans will naturally get a lot more out of the story, especially as Kloster explored some particularly awesome aspects of the universe.  I personally loved how well he showcased the various squads featured within a specific Space Marines company, and it was fun to have a mixture of troop specializations and vehicles which reminded me of tabletop gameplay at times.  He also does an outstanding job showcasing the Dark Angels, who are one of the more popular Space Marine chapters for a reason.  This proved to be a very strong book for Dark Angels fans, and I appreciated how he veered away from the typical topics you’d expect for a Dark Angels novel (completely focused on the Fallen), and instead showed them facing a fresh foe with some excellent motivations to hate them.  As such, this is a highly recommend read for all Warhammer fans that might also attract a few new readers to the franchise.

One of Enmity’s Edge’s real strengths was the excellent batch of characters that Kloster set the narrative around.  This includes the titular protagonist, Lazarus, Master of the Dark Angels Fifth Company, who proves to be an intriguing central character.  A well-known tactician, secret holder, and one of the few commanding Primaris marines (an upgraded Space Marines) in the Chapter, Lazarus proves to be a great main figure for the plot.  While some Space Marine characters in fiction can be a little one-dimensional, I felt that Kloster did an excellent job turning Lazarus into a complex figure, haunted by his previous battles, concerned about the future of his chapter, and bitter about those friends he has lost to psykers.  There are some great scenes featuring Lazarus throughout Enmity’s Edge, especially as he showed a lot of humanity to a certain point-of-view character, and it was intriguing to see his tactical mind in action.  He also proves to be an excellent foil to the excellent main antagonist of the plot, and they had some compelling scenes together.

Aside from Lazarus, Enmity’s Edge featured a raft of notable support characters, including several major members of the Dark Angels Fifth Company.  I particularly enjoyed the imposing and unfailingly honorable figure of Ancient Jequn, the Fifth Company’s veteran standard bearer.  Jequn has a particularly tragic arc in this book, and I really grew attached to him and his resolve throughout the run of Enmity’s Edge.  Other enjoyable characters included members of Lazarus’s command squad, an Adeptus Mechanicus tech-priest whose technology reflects their obsession with birds, and the various key rulers of Reis.  The antagonists of Enmity’s Edge are also well set-up and utilized, and while I won’t got into too much detail of them here, they had some brilliant sequences, and really enhanced the overall narrative.

However, I felt that one of the best characters in Enmity’s Edge was Learned Ysentrud, an enhanced human of a type found only on Reis called a Wyrbuk, who finds themselves helping the Dark Angels.  Essentially a living repository of knowledge, Ysentrud becomes a key figure in the plot as she provides the Dark Angels with history and insights into Reis that allow them to uncover the plot’s big mystery.  Probably the book’s main point-of-view protagonist after Lazarus, Ysentrud had one of the more relatable character perspectives in Enmity’s Edge, as she finds herself surrounded by the demi-god figures of the Space Marines as they engage in combat.  Not only does Ysentrud’s perspective help to bring readers a little more into the plot, but I really enjoyed the compelling story arc Kloster wove around her as she attempted to find her courage and prove her worth to the Dark Angels.  Kloster’s entire arc around Ysentrud was really well written, and I felt that her complex personal narrative was a particularly strong part of the book.

Those familiar with this blog will be unsurprised that I chose to enjoy Enmity’s Edge on audiobook, which is how I primarily check out all my Warhammer content.  As with most Warhammer 40,000 books, Enmity’s Edge came across extremely well in this format, and you are in for a really good time listening to it.  Coming in with a runtime just short of 12 hours, listeners can get through Enmity’s Edge’s audiobook in no time at all, especially once you get caught up in its fantastic story.  The intense action, elaborate sequences and deep intrigue of the plot is perfectly enhanced by having it read out to you, and I loved hearing the elaborate descriptions of the setting and the unique characters within it.  I was also very impressed by narrator John Banks, who has lent his voice to several Warhammer audiobooks over the years.  Banks did a remarkable job diving into the various characters featured within Enmity’s Edge, and I also felt that his amazing voice lent a lot of gravitas to these figures.  While all the characters are given excellent and fitting voices, I particularly loved his take on the various Dark Angels characters featured throughout the plot.  He gives these genetically enhanced, ancient warriors the booming and commanding voices you would expect, and their emphatic declarations sound really cool here.  I absolutely powered through this excellent audiobook, and I would strongly recommend it as the very best way to enjoy Enmity’s Edge.

Lazarus: Enmity’s Edge by Gary Kloster was another excellent 2024 Warhammer 40,000 novel that I could not get enough of.  Featuring a complex and intense plot of betrayal, secrets and dark history, Enmity’s Edge grabs your attention early and ensures you can’t put it down as you rush towards the end.  One of the best Warhammer 40,000 novels of the year, Enmity’s Edge is a must read of all fans of the franchise, and I really loved its brilliant story.

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Warhammer 40,000: Lelith Hesperax: Queen of Knives by Mike Brooks

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer1 Comment

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 27 July 2024)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 5 hours and 59 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of the rising stars of Warhammer fiction, Mike Brooks, presents another exciting, character-focused narrative within the grimdark Warhammer 40,000 universe with awesome novel, Lelith Hesperax: Queen of Knives.

Those familiar with the franchise will know that Warhammer 40,000 fiction is on fire at the moment.  There are some very talented authors out there writing exciting and compelling adventures based on the game’s various factions, and readers are finding out just how fun and complex stories written in this universe can be.  Out of all the fantastic authors writing Warhammer fiction in recent years, one of the most impressive is Mike Brooks, who is shaping up to be one of the franchise’s big writers.  A talented fantasy and science fiction author, Brooks has been producing some excellent books in recent years that either focus on unique Warhammer 40,000 characters or one of the game’s non-human factions.  Books like Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom, The Lion: Son of the Forest (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023), Brutal Kunnin, Warboss and Da Big Dakka (one of my favourite books and audiobooks from the first half of 2024), have been extremely epic, and I am always down for more stuff from Brooks as a result.  As such, I made sure to grab a copy of his other 2024 Warhammer 40,000 novel, Lelith Hesperax: Queen of Knives, which was another interesting and memorable addition to the canon.

In the far future, the fallen and capricious drukhari heal and hold back the grim prospect of death by inflicting pain on others.  The dark streets of their city, Commorragh, run red with blood as millions of prisoners are killed in their gladiatorial arenas to slake their citizens’ bloodlust and need for suffering.  To survive in this brutal city, a drukhari needs to be smart, deceitful or a natural killer, and no killer is more revered in Commorragh than Lelith Hesperax.

A legendary gladiator, Lelith Hesperax has long reigned as the Grand Succubus of the most powerful Wych Cult in Commorragh, her blades having carved through thousands of challengers, potential rivals and alien captives.  But after years of fighting for herself, Lelith has found a new cause to draw blood for.  Abandoning Commorragh, Lelith now fights against daemonic hordes alongside the nomadic cultists of the Ynnead, who seek a different way to survive as a species.  However, while she’s been away, new rivals strike at Lelith’s holdings back at Commorragh.

Warned by the mysterious Harlequins of a rising threat against her, Lelith returns to Commorragh to find that much has changed.  Her Cult of Strife is no longer feared or respected, and many of the city’s inhabitants openly plot against her and her followers.  Shocked at how far her status has fallen in her absence, Lelith knows that the only person capable of causing this much disruption to her empire is the undisputed ruler of Commorragh, Asdrubael Vect.  Forced to contend against the schemes of a master manipulator, Lelith believes that the only way to survive is to remind the city just how dangerous she is.  But with Vect’s web of manipulation surrounding her, can even Lelith cut herself free, especially when her opponent forces her to fight against the only person in Commorragh she doesn’t want to kill?

Mike Brooks continues to showcase just how good he is at bringing the various complex figures of the Warhammer 40,000 universe to life with this exciting new read.  Expertly capturing the legendary drukhari killer, Lelith Hesperax: Queen of Knives was an awesome and captivating read I had a lot of fun getting through.

This latest book from Brooks is a quick but very intense and well-written read that successfully gets into the head of an iconic drukhari character from the games.  Told exclusively from the perspective of the main character, Lelith Hesperax, Queen of Knives moves at an extremely fast pace; after a fast introduction to set up how much Lelith’s life has changed since leaving to work with the cultists of the Ynnead, you are thrust into the action when a bored Lelith is warned about a rising threat back in Commorragh.  This effectively brings the reader back to the main setting, which is for the best, as Commorragh is a particularly awesome location for any Warhammer 40,000 novel.  The protagonist is soon embroiled in a sinister array of intrigue, as it becomes clear that the undisputed leader of the drukhari, Asdrubael Vect, is working against her, and is using a figure from Lelith’s past, Morghana Nathrax, as his catspaw.

Forced on the backfoot in a fight for the first time in her life, Lelith attempts to find a way to counter the moves of her shadowy opponent, while also trying to avoid a fight with Morghana.  This results in some excellent action set pieces and moments of intrigue, as Lelith gets back to her dread drukhari roots.  The fight sequences surrounding the protagonists are sharp, exciting, and necessarily brutal, and I appreciated how well Brooks balanced the action with overlying intrigue and plotting.  The author also spends a good chunk of time diving into the protagonist’s personality and past, and a few well-placed flashbacks help to provide additional emotional attachment and show Lelith’s complicated relationship with Morghana.  Everything leads up to the inevitable confrontation, which goes in some very interesting and emotionally charged directions.  While I felt that Brooks could have added in another layer of intrigue to the protagonist’s final ploy to make the book really stand out, the conclusion of the book was generally pretty satisfying, and Queen of Knives turned out to be an excellent standalone read.

Due to the book being deliberately focused on one iconic protagonist, Queen of Knives does by necessity have a character-driven plot, which revolves around some fantastic figures.  Naturally the most prominent of these is the book’s sole perspective character, Lelith Hesperax, who proved to be quite an awesome protagonist to follow.  Brooks chooses to jump readers right into the midst of Lelith’s current adventure at the start of Queen of Knives rather than immediately focusing on her backstory, which I think worked from a narrative perspective, as it brought readers quickly into the plot.  There is a useful drip feed of information about her past and her nature as the book continues, enough that reader’s unfamiliar with the protagonist can easily enjoy Queen of Knives, while also allowing Brooks to control the audience’s understanding of the protagonist’s motivations and feelings.  Readers soon come to appreciate that Lelith is a complex figure, torn between her love of violence and glory and the new path of redemption she finds herself on with the cult of Ynnead.  As such, Queen of Knives proves to be a key chapter in Lelith’s story, as she returns to her old ways, only to discover a new side to her life and a potential romance.  I loved seeing Brooks’ examination of the protagonist’s various complex layers, and it made for quite a moving book as a result.

The main protagonist is well balanced by several great supporting characters, each of whom have their own unique impact on the narrative.  The two I really want to focus on include new character Morghana Nathrax, a figure from Lelith’s past who develops a real love-hate relationship with the protagonist.  Morghana’s well-balanced admiration and hatred of Lelith ensures that conflict is inevitable between them, even though Lelith wants to keep her alive, and Brooks writes quite a complex relationship between them.  However, my favourite supporting character is the main antagonist of Queen of Knives, the notorious ruler of Commorragh, Asdrubael Vect.  Vect is a particularly awesome figure in the Warhammer 40,000 canon, so it was cool to see him utilised here in Queen of Knives.  Even though Vect only appears in one sequence at the end of the novel, Brooks does an outstanding job building him up as a brilliantly devious figure, effortlessly manipulating all the drukhari in the city, including Lelith and her followers.  You really come to appreciate the fear that all Commorragh has for Vect as the book continues, and his one appearance ensures that you understand why he commands such fear.  I really loved how well Brooks built up these characters, and it made for some awesome reading as a result.

I felt that Queen of Knives was a great Warhammer 40,000 novel, especially as Brooks expertly explores and utilises so many cool lore elements throughout his story.  It proves to be a deeply compelling look at the iconic and always enticing drukhari faction.  The drukhari, or the dark eldar, as older fans may know them, are the Warhammer 40,000 universe’s resident space elf murder pirates, and have a long history in the game.  Despite that, there isn’t a lot of fiction out there about them, with Brooks’s other 2024 novel, Da Big Dakka, being the only recent book to strongly feature their perspective that I can recall, and even then, more focus was given to the ork characters in that book.  As such, it was a real pleasure to have a novel completely dedicated to the drukhari, and Brooks does an outstanding job diving into the faction’s culture, mentality and other vital lore elements.  This includes a fantastic look at the iconic dark city of Commorragh, one of the most dangerous places in the Warhammer 40,000 canon.  A noted seat of deceit, bloodshed and easy death, Commorragh did not disappoint as a background setting from Queen of Knives, and Brooks ensures it plays a key part in the story.  Throw in some other interesting, if relatively brief, looks at the other Aeldari sub-factions (particularly the Ynnari), and there is a lot of interesting lore here for Warhammer 40,000 fans to appreciate.  As such, Queen of Knives is probably best enjoyed by those who already have an established connection to the franchise, although thanks to Brooks’s excellent writing, a new reader could probably come in and enjoy Queen of Knives without too much context.

As with most things Warhammer that I enjoy, I made sure to grab a copy of Queen of Knives on audiobook, which proved to be as epic as always.  The fast-paced plot, intense action and unique characters of Queen of Knives unsurprisingly came across extremely well in the audiobook format, and I really got absorbed into the story as a result, especially when it came to the elaborate depictions of the sinister city of Commorragh.  Coming in with a runtime of six hours, Queen of Knives is a relatively short Warhammer audiobook to get through, and I managed to knock it off quickly once I got stuck into it.  I really enjoyed how Queen of Knives came together, and I particularly enjoyed the narrator Antonia Beamish.  Beamish, whose work I previously enjoyed on the Warhammer Horror audiobook Sepulturum, was really impressive with her narration of Queen of Knives, and I liked her take on the main protagonist.  You really get a sense of the predatory nature of the various drukhari characters that Beamish voices throughout this audiobook, and I felt that these figures were all given fitting and impressive voices.  This great voice work helped ensure that the audiobook was once again the best way to enjoy this excellent book, and you are guaranteed to have a lot of fun listening to Queen of Knives.

Overall, Lelith Hesperax: Queen of Knives was another amazing book from Mike Brooks, who once again showcases his ability to write complex Warhammer 40,000 fiction.  Combining a compelling and intrigue laden narrative with great character work and a particularly distinctive Warhammer 40,000 setting, Queen of Knives was so much fun, and I really powered through it.  A highly recommended read, I look forward to seeing what Brooks will write next.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Interceptor City and Elemental Council

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Waiting on Wednesday, Warhammer5 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight two epic upcoming Warhammer 40,000 novels that are sure to be extremely awesome, Interceptor City and Elemental Council.

I have been on a massive Warhammer 40,000 roll lately, brought on by all the amazing books from this franchise that have been released this year.  I actually did another Waiting on Wednesday post on upcoming Warhammer 40,000 novels a few weeks ago, but in the short time since I published that post, even more fantastic new entries in the franchise have been announced.  As such, I thought I would do a quickly supplementary Waiting on Wednesday here to highlight another two epic upcoming Warhammer 40,000 books I am hoping to get my hands on.

The first of these books is Interceptor City by Dan Abnett.  Abnett is an absolute master of Warhammer 40,000 fiction, having written multiple novels within the franchise, including a couple of series universally accepted as the seminal works of Warhammer fiction.  I have fallen deeply in love with many of Abnett’s books, with his Eisenhorn trilogy and Gaunt’s Ghosts books earning a well-deserved place on my list of best Warhammer 40,000 novels.  As such, I will instantly grab anything new written by Abnett, but his next book, Interceptor City, is going to be something very special indeed.

Interceptor City is the long-awaited sequel to one of Abnett’s best novels, Double Eagle.  Double Eagle was a brilliant and epic read that followed a band of aerial fighter pilots as they attempt to save a planet under siege from a horde of enemy bombers and fighters.  I just read Double Eagle for the first time a couple of weeks ago in preparation for this sequel and it is frankly one of my new favourite Warhammer 40,000 books, especially as it featured an impressive story, great characters, and some of the most exciting and elaborate aerial action sequences you are likely to see.  I cannot emphasise just how impressive Double Eagle was, and it got a very easy five-star rating from me.  As such, I am extremely excited to now get my hands on the sequel, and Interceptor City has a great plot concept behind it.

Plot Synopsis:

The Imperium is locked into a gruelling war of attrition for the fate of Vesperus during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade – a dead hive on the planet Lysander nicknamed ‘Interceptor City’. Former ace fighter pilot Bree Jagdea is forced to give up her relatively safe life of supply runs, and is enlisted in the infamous Circus 66 squadron, whose contributions to the war effort are far more dangerous. In Vesperus’ lethal rat runs, the smallest error means certain death – the only question is whether Bree can make it through this hellish gauntlet alive.

While the plot synopsis above is a little short, it none-the-less has got me very excited for Interceptor City.  Bringing back one of the main protagonists of Double Eagle, Bree Jagdea, for another dangerous flying adventure is going to be a ton of fun, and I look forward to seeing how the character has evolved since her previous book, especially when dragged into another dangerous fighter ace squadron.  It also looks liked Abnett is setting up a pretty awesome scenario with the pilots forced to fight another brutal war, this time in the remnants of a Hive City.

Look, based on how much I love Abnett’s writing and just how awesome and epic the first book in this series, Double Eagle, was, there was no way that I wasn’t grabbing Interceptor City later this year.  However, I really love the cool sound of the plot above, and I cannot wait to see what crazy aerial antics Abnett will feature in the gritty spires of this new setting.  I am expecting another particularly impressive and action-packed adventure in Interceptor City, and I have a feeling this will end up being my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novel released in 2024.

In addition to the awesome Interceptor City, we will also be blessed with a more unique and intriguing Warhammer 40,000 novel with Elemental Council by author Noah Van Nguyen.  Set to focus on the always fascinating T’au faction, Elemental Council will see a band of specialist T’au come together in one ruling body to ensure the successful subjugation of a conquered human planet.  However, as this is the Warhammer universe, nothing is going to go their way.

Plot Synopsis:

As the Fifth Sphere Expansion continues to annex Imperial worlds on the galactic fringe, fewer and fewer planets are acquiescing peacefully to the change in leadership as the T’au Empire heads deeper into human space. Pockets of resistance are a constant thorn in their side, and one such insurrection threatens to overwhelm the recently acquired world of Cao Quo in Elemental Council – a new Warhammer 40,000 novel written by Noah Van Nguyen, author of The Godeater’s Son and Yndrasta: The Celestial Spear.

This exciting new story of intrigue and clandestine warfare stars an Elemental Council, luminaries from each of the Empire’s castes. Brought together by the enigmatic ethereal Yor’i to pacify the resistance, they’ll need to work together to forge their unique skills into an unbeatable team.

And unbeatable they will need to be, as the insurgency is no mere rabble of disorganised instigators, but one commanded by the ruthless and brilliant Brother-Sergeant Artamax – a Space Marine of the Raptors Chapter. As one of the few Chapters to specialise in sabotage, infiltration, and guerilla warfare, the Raptors are exactly the kind of Astartes you don’t want meddling in the stability of a newly conquered world.

If that was all they had to contend with, the Elemental Council would be hard-pressed, but soon even more devious enemies begin to emerge from both sides of the divide, with the fate of Cao Quo in the balance. Who they are and what their goals are is a mystery, but one you’ll be able to uncover soon.

The T’au are one of the more interesting factions in the Warhammer 40,000 canon, and there is an unfortunate dearth of books told from their perspective.  As such, I am curious to read Elemental Council when it comes out, especially as you will get a good look at each of the T’au’s four castes and how they work together for the Greater Good.  Of course, I am also quite intrigued to see how these brilliant T’au minds fare against the relentless fury of a deadly Space Marine, and I like the idea of a sabotage focuses lone Space Marine, and what over enemies emerge, gumming up the works for them behind the lines.  This mixture of unique, faction-specific characters has a lot of potential, and I cannot wait to see what sort of awesome and elaborate narrative the author comes up with here.

It looks like Warhammer 40,000 fans are in for an awesome time in the coming months, as we have another two epic books coming out soon.  Interceptor City and Elemental Council sound so damn cool, and I look forward to exploring their compelling new narratives.  I honestly believe that both these Warhammer 40,000 books have a ton of potential, and I am very excited to get my hands on them once they come out.

Warhammer 40,000: Double Eagle by Dan Abnett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer19 Comments

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 1 January 2004)

Series: Warhammer 40,000/Sabbat Worlds

Length: 10 hours and 16 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The master of Warhammer fiction, Dan Abnett, takes to the skies with the deeply addictive and ultra epic fighter pilot novel Double Eagle.

Readers familiar with this blog will know that I have been extremely damn obsessed with Warhammer fiction the last couple of years, having spent a substantial amount of time reading and reviewing numerous books from the franchise.  Of the many Warhammer fiction authors I have read during this period, one of the most impressive is the legendary Dan Abnett, who has written so many exceptional and powerful books around the franchise, including several series considered to be the seminal texts of the extended universe.  I have had a ton of fun with many of his books, including his brilliant Eisenhorn trilogy (Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus), and he has multiple entries in my current favourite Warhammer 40,000 books list.  However, his best-known series is the iconic Gaunt’s Ghosts books, which I am currently in the middle of reading.

The Gaunt’s Ghosts books are a beloved and key series of Warhammer 40,000 fiction that seeks to give readers a moving look at the lives of the frontline human soldier in this grimdark universe.  Set in an extended, multi-planet campaign, known as the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, the Gaunt’s Ghosts books follow a ragged regiment of soldiers as they attempt to survive the dark servants of Chaos coming for them.  I am having an exceptional time reading the Gaunt’s Ghosts series, and in 2024 alone I have read two particularly epic entries, Straight Silver and Sabbat Martyr.  However, before I dive any further into the series, I decided to read the spin-off novel, Double Eagle, which I have had on my to-read list for a while now.  Double Eagle was an interesting and unique novel that follows members of an airmen wing who were introduced in the fifth Gaunt’s Ghosts book, The Guns of Tanith.  Set after their mission with the Ghosts, Double Eagle follows these pilots, including a few characters from The Guns of Tanith, in a brutal new campaign.

War has engulfed the Sabbat World system as the forces of the Imperium of Man attempt to reclaim multiple worlds invaded by the forces of Chaos.  After years of fighting, the Imperium’s crusade has reached a tipping point, with victory or defeat for the entire campaign hanging on the results of a few key battles.  While the fighting is fierce throughout the system, nowhere is it more desperate than the beleaguered world of Enothis.

After failing to conquer the Chaos footholds on Enothis, the infantry and armoured forces of the Imperium are in full retreat, attempting to traverse miles of hostile terrain to return to safe territory, all while being harassed by relentless enemy aircraft.  With the fate of the planet in the balance, the commanders of the crusade deploy multiple squadrons of Imperial fighters and bombers to Enothis to turn the entire conflict into an air war.  If the Imperial pilots can hold back the advancing tides of Chaos and allow the ground forces to regroup the war for Enothis may be won.  But if the airmen fail, then Enothis and the entire Sabbat Worlds campaign is doomed.

Amongst the pilots sent to Enothis are the elite flyers of the Phantine Air Corps.  Veterans from the recent war to liberate their home planet of Phantine, the pilots of the Phantine Air Corps are determined to do their bit in this new conflict.  But the battle for Enothis will be unlike anything seen before, as thousands of Chaos aircraft descend on the planet, hoping to obliterate the defenders.  Severely outnumbered, can even the dogged Phantine pilots hold back the approaching tide of dark air machines before the planet is conquered, especially with an unnaturally skilled Chaos ace stalking the skies, determined to bring every opposing pilot down in flames?

Just when I think that Dan Abnett couldn’t impress me even more, I go and read Double Eagle.  A brilliant, intense, and exceptionally well-written novel that focuses on a particularly cool aspect of the Warhammer universe, Double Eagle blew me away with its great characters and elaborate air combat sequences.  I had an incredible time with Double Eagle, and it gets an easy five-star rating from me.

I deeply, deeply enjoyed Double Eagle, as Abnett took the brief of a Battle of Britain-inspired Warhammer 40,000 story and applied his usual impressively detailed style and powerful character-driven storytelling to produce an outstanding and addictive read.  Perfectly spinning off from the previous Gaunt’s Ghosts books and bringing the reader to another adventure in the expansive Sabbat World Crusades, Double Eagle has a brilliant narrative loaded with action that goes hard and fast for your feels and refuses to let go once it has you firmly in your grasp.

Double Eagle starts off quickly, getting the reader across the brutal new campaign and the importance of the aerial war that emerges, you are soon introduced to multiple characters and shown some initial awesome sequences with some explosive dogfights.  From there the story moves at a fast but smart pace, as you follow several distinctive and often overlapping character arcs throughout the length of the brutal campaign on Enothis.  You really get dragged into each major protagonist’s story as they attempt to survive the flying war.  There are some excellent battle scenes in this first half of the book and Abnett really shows how epic he can make a fighter pilot dogfight very early on.  The characters each experience some highs and lows in the first half of the book, and it doesn’t take you long to get attached the protagonists and their complex personal tales within the confines of the main story.

However, it is the second half of the book where everything comes together perfectly.  Each of the protagonists experience some version of personal loss or difficulty, and the impact of the war slowly drains them, taking them to some dark places.  Abnett sets up a brilliant underdog narrative around the protagonists, as the massive fleet of Chaos airships seek to crush them.  You can really see the parallels between this narrative and the Battle for Britain at this point, especially as the tired and severely outnumbered Phantine fighters and their local allies attempt to hold back the overwhelming and often Germanic-inspired forces coming for them.  Everything leads up to a massive final confrontation, as the protagonists engage in a series of brutal and drawn-out dogfights and aerial confrontations as we lead up to the finale.  While a couple of the character arcs leading up to this are a tad unsurprising, the way that Abnett writes them makes you love every second it.  The author brings everything to an epic close with continued and captivating action that honestly is impossible not to react to at times.  There are some very powerful moments at the closes, especially when some characters get everything they want, and you come away from Double Eagle wishing Abnett had made this book even longer.

Abnett once again masterfully crafts his compelling narrative together in such an effective way that I honestly just couldn’t stop listening to this book.  Making excellent use of multiple complex perspectives, you are swiftly drawn into the lives of several ordinary soldiers drafted into the deadly aerial war against a massive opposing fleet.  Featuring a range of complex characters arcs, Abnett expertly balances the character-driven plot between the various perspectives, while also featuring an epic war story that hits in all the right places.  Abnett’s use of quick-fire perspective changes works to create an excellent and fast-paced narrative, and it works especially well in some of the novel’s more intense sequences.  Speaking of action, you can’t talk about Double Eagle without discussing the amazing and epic aerial fight scenes and dogfights that make the book so damn distinctive.  Abnett did a remarkable job of harnessing the energy and feel of classic World War II fighter combat and bringing it into the Warhammer 40,000 universe.  Featuring many, many awesome sequences of aerial combat, Double Eagle really feels like you’re in a futuristic Battle for Britain as you witness fights between small groups of fighters fending off mass raids from Chaos forces, as well as sequences from the perspective of Imperial bombers.  The resulting dogfights between advanced fighter craft works so damn well in the context of the story, and you are treated to some truly epic sequences.  I was constantly enthralled by the brilliant aerial combat and flight sequences, and Abnett did an exceptional job expressing the intensities of flight, the ultra-fast pace nature of the combat, and the craziness of a massed aerial battle.  I could have honestly spent many, many more hours listening to Abnett’s descriptions of aerial combat, and there are so many excellent writing elements to this book that drag you in.

Double Eagle also proved to be an interesting and particularly strong Warhammer 40,000 novel that is really going to appeal to a wide range of readers.  Spinning off from the Gaunt’s Ghosts books, Double Eagle is tailor made for fans of the original series, although familiarity with the Gaunt’s Ghosts books isn’t necessary to enjoy this epic book.  While there are a few references, returning characters, and discussions about the overarching Sabbat Worlds Crusade, for the most part any reader can easily dive into Double Eagle and follow the story with no issues at all.  As with most tie-in books in the franchise, Double Eagle is best enjoyed by existing Warhammer fans, who will once again enjoy Abnett’s compelling insights into the canon.  I know that I really loved the exploration of Warhammer 40,000 air combat, and I loved how Abnett explored the physics, as well as the reasons why aerial fighters are still utilised in a universe where space travel exists.  However, I also felt that Double Eagle would serve as a pretty good entry point to any new readers interested in finding out why the Warhammer 40,000 universe is so damn cool.  Indeed, readers who are a fan of aerial focused military fiction or World War II fighter combat fiction can very easily jump into the new world here, as Abnett really presents a tale they would enjoy.  I need to read more Warhammer books from Abnett (I have several currently in my queue), and I currently very excited to read the recently announced sequel to Double Eagle, Interceptor City, which is set to be released later this year.

I found that the writing element that really brought Double Eagle together where the excellent characters at the heart and soul of the plot.  Focusing on several intriguing pilot characters, Abnett dove into the mindset of these flyers and did an amazing job capturing their love of the air and their desire to be the best.  However, as the book continues, you see a darker side to many of these characters, as the toil of war drags them down into their own mental hells.  While it did take me a little while to get across every protagonist, I eventually got drawn into the excellent character-focused storylines that Abnett set up in Double Eagle, and it was great to see the return of several characters introduced in The Guns of Tanith.  This includes the Phantine flight commander, Bree Jagdea, and the bombardier Oskar Viltry.  Jagdea proves to be a great centre for much of the plot, and her steady determination to keep her flight together and survive the various rigors of war, really strike a chord with the reader.  Viltry’s narrative is a little more complex, as the veteran pilot is suffering from trauma after being shot down and captured in The Guns of Tanith.  Certain about his own impending death, Viltry spends much of the book as a morose and depressed figure, until he finds someone worth living for.  Viltry’s storyline proves to be particularly heartfelt, especially as he has a relatively nice romance angle, and I felt that Abnett really captured his trauma and desire for a better life.

Aside from Jagdea and Viltry, Double Eagle also features several other impressive perspective characters who really bring the narrative together.  This includes young Phantine pilot, Vander Marquall, who serves as a major protagonist.  A rookie pilot fighting in his first campaign, Marquall has a massive desire to prove himself.  His obsession with becoming an ace and being respected becomes an overwhelming part of his character, and you find yourself occasionally disliking him, while also simultaneously cheering him on.  Thanks to his interactions with the other characters, Marquall gets some much-needed perspective at times (that scene with his mechanic at the end was brilliant), and I felt he had one of the most complex, dark and relatable storylines in the entire book.  Abnett rounds out the characters with local pilots August Kaminsky, a wounded veteran no longer allowed to fly, and Enric Darrow, a rookie without a plane after getting shot down in the opening scenes by the novel’s big bad.  While parts of Kaminsky and Darrow’s storylines are a little predictable, you really get invested in their various battles, especially as Abnett produces some interesting character moments and interactions for them.  I especially loved the hilarious exchanges between Kaminsky and Jagdea during one fun sequence, and Darrow proves to be a very likeable and determined young character to get behind.  These main characters, plus an excellent supporting cast, were great to follow in Double Eagle, and it will be awesome to continue at least one survivor’s story in the upcoming sequel.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that I ended up listening to Double Eagle on audiobook, as there is frankly no better way to enjoy an epic Warhammer 40,000 novel.  While I always gush about how much I enjoy a Warhammer audiobook, I frankly really need to emphasise just how impressive and exceptional Double Eagle was in this format.  The many, many aerial combat sequences come across so damn well when they are read out to you, and I loved how easily it was to visualise the fast-paced and exceptional flight scenes.  You really get lost in the battles when you listen to them, and I was frankly buzzing the entire time I was listening to Double Eagle.  Part of the reason this audiobook was so damn good was the inclusion of one of my favourite audiobook narrators Toby Longworth.  Longworth has lent his voice to most of Abnett’s Warhammer 40,000 novels in recent years, and frankly the two are a match made in heaven.  The story comes across so effectively in Longworth’s voice, and he really makes every scene, especially the exciting action sequences, that little more epic.  I also really love the fantastic and compelling voices he uses for the various characters.  While a couple of character voices sounded the same as those Longworth used in the Gaunt’s Ghosts audiobooks, I felt that they perfectly fit every figure they were assigned to, and you really get drawn into the matching character arcs as a result.  Frankly this audiobook was perfect, and I had so much fun listening to it.  With a run time of just over 10 hours, the Double Eagle audiobook is very easy to power through, and that is exactly what I did.

With an elaborate, powerful and addictive story about glorious battles in the sky, Double Eagle was a particularly epic Warhammer 40,000 novel that proves impossible not to fall in love with.  Another exceptional novel from Dan Abnett, who once again shows why he is one of the best authors of Warhammer fiction, Double Eagle had me hooked from the very first chapter, and I honestly couldn’t stop reading it until the very end.  This book comes very highly recommended, and I cannot wait to read the sequel later this year.

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Warhammer 40,000: Daemonbreaker by Jude Reid

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer3 Comments

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 24 August 2024)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 7 hours and 27 minutes

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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Gird yourself in faith, fury and fire, as fantastic author Jude Reid presents her latest Warhammer 40,000 novel, Daemonbreaker, which follows a complex figure as she blazes forth into the darkness of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

After having a wonderful time with Warhammer 40,000 novels like Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward, Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick, Siege of Vraks by Steven Lyons and Oaths of Damnation by Robbie MacNiven, there was no way I was going to stop loving this franchise this year, so I eagerly dove into the cool new audiobook, Daemonbreaker by Jude Reid.  Reid, who really impressed me last year with Creed: Ashes of Cadia (one of my favourite debuts of 2023), presents an intriguing and dark novel that follows members of the Adepta Sororitas, the Warhammer 40,000’s resident nuns-with-guns.

On the battlefields of faith and fury, few warriors in the Imperium of Man can match the battle prowess of Celestian Sacresant Aveline of the Order of the Sacred Rose.  A deadly sister of the Adepta Sororitas, devoted to killing the mutants, witches, heretics and daemons that oppose the Emperor, Aveline is always eager for greater combat, and soon finds the ultimate opportunity she has been waiting for, defending the fortress world of Cadia from the ravening forces of Chaos as they embark on their 13th Black Crusade.

However, before Aveline can join her sisters in the massive battle for Cadia, she has been assigned final sacred duty.  Sent to Orrison VIII, a minor shrine world in the Cadia Gate system, Aveline is tasked with securing the desert world for the Emperor and scouring the forces of Chaos from its surface.

Desperate to find glory on Cadia, Aveline chafes at the slow speed of the mission on Orrison VIII, especially as their primary target, a deranged Chaos sorcerer, is content with playing a slow game of cat-and-mouse with her.  However, when Aveline finally gets her chance to face the enemy, she finds herself confronting a dark foe who knows her name and has a sinister scheme to destroy her and her sisters through her own arrogance.  If Aveline is unable to stop the dark Chaos forces before her, a deadly foe will be unleashed upon Holy Terra that could destroy the heart of humanity as it faces its darkest moment.

Daemonbreaker was a fantastic and compelling Warhammer 40,000 novel that expertly features an iconic faction and looks at the faith and emotions lying beneath their militant surface.  Jude Reid continues to impress with this cool novel and I had an excellent time getting through the intense and exciting story, which seeks to bring to life the figure of Celestian Sacresant Aveline who recently got her own model in the game.

I must admit, before diving too far into this review, that I sometimes found it a little hard to connect with Daemonbreaker at times, primarily because I’ve never been a massive fan of the Adepta Sororitas as a faction.  They’re honestly a little too one-note for me at times, and I never been especially drawn to their fiction as a result.  However, I felt that Reid was able to lift her narrative above some of the inherent limitations of this faction throughout the course of the book.  It helped that Daemonbreaker was a relatively shorter Warhammer 40,000 novel, so Reid sped up the plot, which in turn kept the reader from getting bogged down.  The resulting story is exciting and intriguing, as author quickly sets up the primary plot of the hunt for Chaos on Orrison VIII, while some initial compelling action set pieces help grab the reader’s attention.

The main narrative moves at a quick pace, with the protagonist leading her force into several encounters out in the desert while battling her own emotional turmoil and disappointment.  However, everything in the story changes around the halfway point of Daemonbreaker, when the author decides to throw the entire status-quo of the book on its head.  Thanks to a combination of the protagonist’s mistake and a major Warhammer 40,000 universe event, everything gets substantially more desperate for the protagonists, and Reid goes a little nuclear stacking the odds against them.  While there are a few gaps in the storytelling, the second half of Daemonbreaker is extremely fun and exciting, as the protagonists face impossible odds and encounter the very worst the universe has to offer.  There is a ton of tragedy and some horrifying moments as the reader races towards the end of the book, and it proves harder and harder to put it down as you near the conclusion.  Reid loads up some big final battles that showcase just how grim things can get in this universe, before the expected miracle brings things to a close.  Readers come away from Daemonbreaker feeling pretty satisfied with how things come to an end, although I did feel that part of the plot was a bit thin in places.

Reid has a great handle on writing Warhammer 40,000 fiction, and this is on display again in Daemonbreaker.  There is a notable cutdown in the exposition and Reid brings the reader right into the action and carnage which made it an easier book to get through, especially considering the faction focus.  The various action sequences come across as gritty and powerful, and you can feel the raw emotions of the protagonists as they encounter their dark opponents and the dreadful things they need to overcome.  Reid ensured that this was a concise and well-contained narrative through her use of two point-of-view characters, and I appreciated the excellent alternating perspectives.  Both protagonists were very well written, with the main story around Celestian Sacresant Aveline being the most prominent.  A deadly, if arrogant, sister of the Emperor, Aveline finds her devotion challenged by her own selfish desires and issues, which leads to dark things in the middle of the book.  While I didn’t always connect with Aveline as a character, I felt that Reid wrote a rather good redemption arc around her, and she becomes a lot more likeable and relatable in the second half of the book, especially as she comes to recognise her hubris and flaws.  Recognising these things allows her to fully appreciate her fellow sisters and leads her into the right place for the final arc of the plot to unfold.

Aveline is well balanced by the second perspective character, Novitate Gwineth, a young, keen and determined figure, whose eagerness to become a member of the Adepta Sororitas is drawn from her impending doom.  Reid writes an interesting and unique Warhammer storyline around Gwineth having haemophilia, which ensures that her days on the battlefield and in life are limited.  Wishing to die as a full sister, Gwineth’s keenness becomes a key part of the plot, and I loved seeing her grow into the role she wishes, especially as her innocence and determination are a driver for the rest of the cast.  The rest of the characters within Daemonbreaker are also very fun, if sparingly used.  I do perhaps wish that the author had added in additional perspective, preferably from a villain’s point of view, as I feel that would have enhanced the narrative to a degree, especially to provide some missing plot answers or explain the motivation and plans of the antagonists.  However, for the most part, this was a very well-written story with some intriguing protagonists, and one that I had an excellent time getting through.

The author has really gotten the hang of showcasing the grim and intriguing Warhammer 40,000 universe, and I loved some of the directions and figures that she featured within Daemonbreaker.  I especially felt that Reid does an excellent job examining Adepta Sororitas faction, the Sisters of Battle, within the book.  The various different units and figures of the faction are dropped into the plot fairly seamlessly, and even someone unfamiliar with the Adepta Sororitas unit types can easily appreciate their role in the plot.  I must also once again emphasise that Reid was able to overcome my disinterest in the classic Adepta Sororitas depictions with her clever narrative and compelling writing.  While this was a great Warhammer 40,000 novel, I feel that Daemonbreaker is perhaps a book best left to established Warhammer fans, as Reid does feature some heavy lore elements, and Adepta Sororitas players will probably get the most out of it.  Still, a new reader can easily come along and have a lot of fun with Daemonbreaker, as Reid’s story gets quite intense, personal and brutal.  You may have to ignore the fact that Daemonbreaker mainly written to promote a new model released in the tabletop game, but if you can get past that, this is a book well worth checking out.

Naturally, I ended up grabbing Daemonbreaker on audiobook, as this format is the absolute best way to enjoy a Warhammer book.  I really cannot emphasise how much more epic a Warhammer 40,000 tale comes across when it is read out to you, and I always have so much more fun listening to it.  This is particularly true when it comes to all the epic action, and I felt that the carnage in Daemonbreaker was very strongly enhanced by the audiobook format, with listeners also able to appreciate the compelling characters and intriguing lore while it’s being read out to you.  With a runtime of around seven and a half hours, this is a relatively short audiobook, and one that listeners can really power through, especially when they get caught up in the action and compelling character arcs.

One of the big highlights of this audiobook for me was the fact it was narrated by the appropriately named Faith Alabi, who really dives into the complex Adeptus Sororitas characters with her voice.  Each of the key protagonists is given their own unique voice, and I liked how well Alabi expressed their holy rage, and personal issues.  Alabi’s excellent voice work is cleverly supported by some fun additional audio enhancements, which I thought was a fun way to express some unique elements of the Warhammer 40,000 canon.  For example, the cybernetic figures, such as members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, have a noticeable robotic voice modulation that really tries to capture their machine nature, while communication occurring over vox-casters (radios), are filled with static and sound effects to emulate how the voices would sound in real life.  In addition, certain audio effects give dark and otherworldly voices to the antagonists, such as a particularly booming tone that makes the dialogue of a Chaos sorcerer antagonist that more impactful, or freaky vocal effects that make a major daemon seem even more powerful.  These audio effects work extremely well alongside Alabi’s narration, and I really appreciate the effort the producers made to drag listeners further into the story.  As such, those who decide to check out Daemonbreaker on audiobook are in for a very fun treat and this is such an awesome way to enjoy this fantastic addition to the Warhammer 40,000 canon.

Daemonbreaker was another amazing Warhammer 40,000 outing from Jude Reid, and one I was very glad I checked out.  The author effectively brings the main character to life in this book while also showcasing a compelling and intense Warhammer narrative of sacrifice, tragedy and holy war.  As such, Daemonbreaker is an excellent read for all fans of Warhammer 40,000 fiction, and I cannot wait to see what Reid takes on in the future.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Star Wars: Reign of the Empire: The Mask of Fear by Alexander Freed

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel, Waiting on Wednesday5 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I check out one of the most promising upcoming Star Wars tie-in novels, with the first book in Alexander Freed’s Reign of the Empire trilogy, The Mask of Fear.

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I must admit that I have been a little lax recently in my reading of Star Wars fiction, especially as I have had some amazing experiences with the franchise over the years.  However, there is one upcoming Star Wars trilogy that I won’t be avoiding, and that is the intriguing and epic sounding Reign of the Empire trilogy by acclaimed author Alexander Freed.  Freed is an outstanding author who previously greatly impressed me with his incredible Alphabet Squadron trilogy of Star Wars novels.  Made up of the fantastic novels Alphabet Squadron, Shadow Fall and Victory’s Price, the Alphabet Squadron novels were a dark and gritty war series set in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi, which provided a dark follow-up to the classic film.  I became a big fan of Freed thanks to the Alphabet Squadron trilogy and I have been keen to see what he was going to write next in the Star Wars universe.

Well, it turns out that Freed’s next foray in Star Wars fiction is going to be another intriguing and awesome series with the Reign of the Empire books.  Set after the events of the prequel trilogy, the Reign of the Empire books will provide readers with a fresh take on how the Empire rose and maintained power and how the initial seeds of rebellion were born.  The first book in this series, The Mask of Fear, is currently set for release in February 2025, and it is one of my most anticipated books coming out in the first half of the new year thanks to its exceptional focus.

Plot Synopsis:

Before the Rebellion, the Empire reigns, in book one of a trilogy told through the eyes of Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Saw Gerrera.

“In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire! For a safe and secure society!”

With one speech, and thunderous applause, Chancellor Palpatine brought the era of the Republic crashing down. In its place rose the Galactic Empire. Across the galaxy, people rejoiced and celebrated the end to war—and the promises of tomorrow. But that tomorrow was a lie. Instead the galaxy became twisted by the cruelty and fear of the Emperor’s rule.

During that terrifying first year of tyranny, Mon Mothma, Saw Gerrera, and Bail Organa face the encroaching darkness. One day, they will be three architects of the Rebel Alliance. But first, each must find purpose and direction in a changing galaxy, while harboring their own secrets, fears, and hopes for a future that may never come, unless they act.

I’m very excited for The Mask of Fear, particularly as Freed looks to expand on the events surrounding the early days of the Empire.  Some previous television shows, such as Andor and The Bad Batch, as well as the Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comic series, have done an outstanding job of exploring this part of the Star Wars history, and it is frankly one of my favourite periods of the franchise.  I am really interested in seeing Freed’s take on it and based on the author’s previous powerful and intense depictions of the Star Wars universe, I am envisioning a dark and realistic take on the early days of power and the events that led the main characters into their rebellion.  I am especially keen to see how Mon Mothma, Saw Gerrera, and more, reach their state of rebellion in shows like Andor or Star Wars Rebels, and this should be an excellent, wide-reaching, character-driven Star Wars series.

Based on the author, the period of Star Wars history, and the excellent synopsis above, I am expecting a lot of great things from the Reign of the Empire trilogy.  Alexander Freed is such an impressive author, and he is going to weave some real magic be exploring this fantastic part of the franchise.  I have no doubt that The Mask of Fear is going to be a particularly strong introduction to this new trilogy, and this will probably be one of the top science fiction or tie-in novels I read in 2025.  I cannot wait to check it out and I know I will love every second I spend with it.

Warhammer 40,000: Oaths of Damnation by Robbie MacNiven

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer3 Comments

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 24 August 2024)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 10 hours and 57 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare to follow the most damned heroes in the Warhammer 40,000 canon in the impressive and intense new novel from Robbie MacNiven, Oaths of Damnation.

Recurring readers of this blog will know that I am constantly in the mood for fun and exciting Warhammer 40,000 action, which is why I listened to the awesome new book, Oaths of Damnation, the moment I could.  Written by new-to-me veteran Warhammer author Robbie MacNiven, a man with a lot of experience writing about complex Space Marines, Oaths of Damnation was one of the more intriguing Warhammer 40,000 books of 2024, and I really loved the opportunity to check out the infamous Exorcists Space Marines Chapter.

In the far, war-torn future, the Imperium of Man is under constant attack from the forces of the Chaos gods and their deadly daemon servants.  Few within the Imperium, even amongst the legendary Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes, can fight against the daemons of Chaos on an equal footing, but there is one Space Marines Chapter, the Exorcists, that takes the battle to them in the most unorthodox and heretical of ways.

The Exorcists are an elite and secretive Chapter of Space Marines who make the ultimate sacrifice to fight the forces of Chaos.  Willingly accepting daemonic possession as part of their initiation, prospective Exorcists need to banish the daemon within themselves to join the Chapter.  Those who succeed become fierce warriors who are now resistant to the corruption of Chaos at the cost of their own fractured souls.  However, those that fail suffer a fate worse than death as they become Broken Ones, living prisons for the daemons summoned and expelled by the rest of the Chapter.  Few in the Imperium know the sacrifices that this Chapter makes to fight the enemy; if it were to become common knowledge, all the Exorcists would be put to the flame as heretics.

As such, when a dark conspiracy sees a Broken One containing a powerful daemon, the Red Marshal, escape from the Exorcists custody, the Chapter sends a unit of its elite Hexbreakers to hunt it down before their secrets are exposed.  Led by the dogged Almoner-Lieutenant Daggan Zaidu and powerful psyker Codicier Torrin Vey, the Exorcists strike force journeys to Fidem IV, a planet littered with ancient battlefields, to hunt down the Broken One and destroy the daemons within.

But as the Exorcists battle across the planet looking for their prey, it soon becomes clear that members of the Word Bearers traitor Space Marines Legion are on Fidern IV, seeking the Broken One for their own sinister purposes.  Worse, a dangerous connection exists between Zaidu and the Red Marshal, one that could endanger the entire mission.  Can the Hexbreakers succeed and hunt down the Broken One before it is too late, or will their Chapter’s darkest secret be unleashed upon the entire Imperium in a wave of blood?

Oaths of Damnation was a particularly intriguing and intense Warhammer 40,000 novel that really showcased MacNiven’s skill as an author.  Featuring a detailed look at a particularly cool faction in the Warhammer 40,000 canon, Oaths of Damnation was an excellent and exciting read that constantly grabbed my attention and refused to let go.

I really enjoyed the fantastic narrative contained within Oaths of Damnation, especially as MacNiven was able to produce a book that allowed him to tell his own distinctive story while also expertly highlighting the Exorcists Chapter.  Oaths of Damnation’s story starts off strong, with a look at the Broken One’s bloody escape from the Exorcists’ custody, which effectively sets up the Red Marshal as a deadly antagonist.  The following story moves at a quick pace as. With only a minimal amount of exposition and introduction, the protagonists set forth to Fidern IV to find the escaped Broken One, only to encounter opposition from the desperate daemon and the Word Bearers.

What follows is a series of intense and well-written battle sequences as the Exorcists pursue their target across the planet and fight against the various forces of Chaos.  MacNiven ensures a compelling story structure, as the protagonists face determined opposition, brutal fights and unexpected setbacks on the way to victory.  The author also spends time diving into the psyche of several key characters, which adds some intriguing intensity of the plot, especially as many find themselves distracted or conflicted by the mission.  MacNiven anchors the end of story on two massive action set-pieces that push the Exorcists to the limit and force them to face their internal and external daemons.  I liked some of the fun, if not unexpected, twists that MacNiven threw in in the lead up to the final battle, and the constant prophetic hints about dark events to come really enhanced the intensity of the plot towards the end.  The final confrontation is particularly impactful and moving, especially as there are some major sacrifices being made and all manner of carnage to behold.  I really appreciated the dark ending that MacNiven left the story on, and no-one should come into Oaths of Damnation looking for a happy ending.

MacNiven did an outstanding job capturing the dark and grim nature of the Warhammer 40,000 universe with his writing, and I felt that this was an extremely strong read overall.  While there are some complex lore events contained within, for the most part Oaths of Damnations was an accessible novel, even for those readers unfamiliar with the canon (although some basic Warhammer 40,000 knowledge would be helpful).  The author does an excellent job exploring the plot through the perspective of multiple complex characters, which resulted in a very compelling read, as many of the protagonists are forced to continually overcome their literal inner daemons.  I felt that this focus on damaged characters, as well as the intriguing examination of some unique Warhammer lore, helped Oaths of Damnation escape the ‘bolter porn’ label that many Space Marine novels are painted with.  That being said, Oaths of Damnation does have some particularly striking action sequences that fans of Warhammer 40,000 battles will really enjoy.  MacNiven clearly has a gift for showcasing Space Marines in all their martial glory with his writing, and you really get a sense of their power, intensity, and sheer destructive capability.  I also deeply enjoyed how he richly depicted their fighting capability and style, and the way in which he detailed the impacts of the bolt shells, the durability of the power armour, and the strength of their attacks, was honestly some of the best representations of Space Marines in combat I have ever seen.  I really cannot emphasise how impactful MacNiven’s writing style was, and Oaths of Damnation is a great book for all Warhammer fans, especially those buzzing for some Adeptus Astartes action after playing Space Marine 2.

A major highlight of this book for Warhammer 40,000 fans is the inclusion of the very cool Space Marines Chapter, the Exorcists.  A band of secretive and hidden Space Marines who willingly allow themselves to be possessed so they can learn to fight daemons better is an awesome concept, and MacNiven did an outstanding job showcasing this to the readers of Oaths of Damnation.  With only minimal lore dumps at the start of the novel, MacNiven ensures that the reader gets a sufficient and intriguing idea of who the Exorcists are and how they become lethal daemon fighters, and it proves fascinating to dive deeper and deeper into their Chapter as the book continues.  Not only is there is a great focus on how and why they damn themselves, but I also really appreciated the comprehensive way in which MacNiven tried to explore the other side effects of becoming an Exorcists, as well as the unique culture that they share.  The concept of the lingering bond that each Exorcist holds with their Never-brother, the daemon that possessed them, so much so that they still hear fragments of their voices and gain personality traits or combat abilities reminiscent of their former possessor, was particularly cool, and the author does an excellent job of showcasing it.  MacNiven also expertly covers the concept of the Orison Cults, social and ceremonial cults of the Exorcists dedicated to specific rituals and combat styles, and which serve a vital part in the larger Exorcists culture.  It was fascinating to see the ways that the now practically soulless Exorcists try to retain their humanity throughout their day to day lives, and how they replace the holes in their being with ritual and false comradery.  This combination of Exorcists’ lore, and MacNiven’s compelling dive into the deeper motivations and minds of its members, made for outstanding reading and it fun to see this complex and damaged Chapter in action.

I also have a lot of love for the compelling main characters featured within Oaths of Damnation.  While Space Marine characters in Warhammer fiction can sometimes be a little dull, the main two protagonists of this book, Almoner-Lieutenant Daggan Zaidu and Codicier Torrin Vey, each has a complex background and connection to the target that ensures that the reader is drawn into their story.  Zaidu’s is particularly fun, as Zaidu feels substantial guilt and anger at the damage caused by the Red Marshal, as it was the daemon that formerly possessed him.  Determined to end the connection between them once and for all, Zaidu lets his recklessness control him in many parts of the book, and it was deeply compelling to see how obsessed he became.  Vey on the other hand is a veteran Space Marines librarian, who stands as the beacon of knowledge to the group.  The man responsible for Zaidu’s possession by the Red Marshal, Vey bears a lot of guilt within himself, and he works hard to keep Zaidu safe from his own anger, impatience and desperation to kill his Never-brother.  Vey and Zaidu play off each other perfectly throughout Oaths of Damnation with their troubled mentor/mentee relationship, and MacNiven makes sure to hit all the right emotional notes to get the reader involved in their tales of personal woe.

In addition to Zaidu and Vey, MacNiven provides some fantastic alternative perspectives from several other members of the Exorcists who journey to Fidem IV.  As with the main two characters, each of these Exorcists are deeply troubled and damaged because of their former daemonic possession, and each then battles with the side-effects of the process, as well as the lingering taint of their Never-brothers.  This ensures that Oaths of Damnation has a rather dour tone to it at times, but seeing these damaged, yet highly determined and loyal Space Marines in battle is powerful and really drags the reader in.  The Exorcist characters are well balanced by a raft of compelling and distinctive villains, including a darkly charismatic Dark Apostle with great ambitions and a weary veteran Word Bearer who has started to question his role in the universe.  However, the most important villain is the fallen daemon known as the Red Marshal, who hungers for freedom and a return to power.  You get several intriguing trips into the Red Marshal’s mind, and I enjoyed seeing his boiling rage and determination to regain his god’s dark favour.  These great characters really helped elevate Oaths of Damnation’s plot, and I enjoyed seeing all their respective narratives unfold.

As usual, I ended up grabbing this cool Warhammer 40,000 novel on audiobook, which is my preferred way to enjoy books from this franchise.  While all Warhammer audiobooks are great, I felt that Oaths of Damnation came across particularly well in this format, and you really got dragged into the action and excitement as it was read out to you.  I personally found myself absorbing the complex lore surrounding the Exorcists a little better while listening to it, which helped with the overall impact of the story.  Oaths of Damnation also strongly benefited from the excellent narration of Charles Armstrong.  Armstrong, who previously impressed me with his narration of the Warhammer Crime audiobook, Bloodlines by Chris Wraight, did another excellent job in Oaths of Damnation as he expertly showcased the elaborate story with his voice.  I particularly enjoyed his compelling take on the various characters featured within the novel, especially the main protagonists, and he really captured their dark inner feeling and dedication in multiple scenes.  This proved to be an epic audiobook, and, with a runtime of just under 11 hours, it is one that dedicated listeners can get through fairly quickly.  I personally would recommend this format as the best way to enjoy Oaths of Damnation, or indeed any Warhammer 40,000 novel.

Oaths of Damnation was a particularly strong and exciting piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction that I had an incredible time getting through.  Robbie MacNiven has produced another gripping and intriguing read that cleverly dives into the complex lives of a unique Space Marines chapter, and I loved every second of it.  An intense, dark and action-packed read, Oaths of Damnation really expresses the grimdark nature of the Warhammer 40,000 universe and you’ll have a very hard time escaping once you get sucked in.

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Warhammer 40,000: Siege of Vraks by Steve Lyons

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer5 Comments

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 22 June 2024)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 9 hours and 48 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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The always impressive Steve Lyons once again dives into the wars of the legendary Death Korps of Krieg with this epic new novel that shows just how massive a Warhammer 40,000 campaign can be with the ultra-exciting and intense Siege of Vraks.

I have been having a ton of fun with Warhammer 40,000 fiction this year, as complex books like Da Big Dakka by Mike Brooks, Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward and Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick have greatly impressed me.  However, few have had the scale or pure brutality of the amazing new release, Siege of Vraks by Steve Lyons.  The third standalone book by Lyons that focuses on the Death Korps of Krieg (see my reviews for Dead Men Walking and Krieg), Siege of Vraks brings to life a massive event from the Warhammer 40,000 canon (as featured in several game books), with the long-running siege of the planet of Vraks.

In the far future, humanity has been forced to fight on many brutal battlefields, but none are as infamous as the slaughter that occurred on the planet Vraks.  Once a vital armoury world used to supply regiments throughout the Imperium of Man, Vraks has become tainted by humanity’s greatest enemy.  Thanks to a corrupted cardinal, the entirety of Vraks’s population has fallen under the sway of the Chaos Gods and have risen in rebellion against the rest of the Imperium, believing themselves to be fighting in the god Emperor’s name.

Desperate to reclaim the vital world, the Imperium has no choice but to send in a massive besieging invasion force to purge the traitors.  Only a completely relentless force has a chance of success on the bloody fields of Vraks, and to that end the stoic soldiers of the Death Korps of Krieg have been chosen to lead the attack.  Experts at sieges, fanatically stubborn, and desperate to wipe away the stain of their planet’s historical betrayal, the soldiers of Krieg are prepared to destroy their enemy no matter the cost.

However, even with the implacable Krieg soldiers leading the assault, Vraks is no simple planet to conquer.  Its massive central fortress is impregnable, and the entire population of planet has been mobilised to fight against the Krieg, equipped with the massive arsenal of weapons previously held in Vraks’s armoury.  To defeat their enemy, the Krieg will need to spend years and millions of soldiers to slowly approach and wear down Vraks’s fortresses.  But with the constant battle drawing the attention of other malign Chaos forces to Vraks, can even the massed forces of the Krieg win this impossible siege, or will these fearless soldiers finally face an army even their devotion and dedication to duty is unable to overcome?

Siege of Vraks was another particularly strong Warhammer 40,000 novel from Lyons, who excels at diving into the grimdark core of Warhammer fiction.  Filled with an insane amount of action, Siege of Vraks proves to be an intense and addictive siege novel that cleverly explores a well-established lore event and presents it in an outstanding and moving way to the reader.

The story of Siege of Vraks is one of action, sacrifice and self-discovery, as it recounts the events of the titular siege in its own compelling way.  Starting off with a quick prelude that covers the events that led up to the conflict, the main story starts a few years into the war and then goes all the way to the very conclusion of the siege which occurs after years of brutal fighting.  Rather than having one concise narrative thread, Siege of Vraks is instead made up of a series of connected storylines set around key events of the war.  Each of the initial chapters features a new central character caught up in a different battle and scenario of the war, and often focuses on them fighting in dangerous or impossible situations.  While these initial chapters are often linked by the inclusion of recurring character Confessor Ignea Tenaxus or by showing different sides to the same battle, for the most part they are unconnected and some of their messages and themes remain self-contained within the chapter.  However, as the book continues, a few point-of-view characters return for another chapter, often years removed from their last appearance.  These characters, especially Colonel Tyborc, will then continue their storylines from the previous appearances, which often play into the larger events of the overall siege in some interesting ways.  While I imagine the slightly disjointed way that Lyons tried to capture the siege might not be for everyone, especially those who would prefer seeing every event from one character’s eyes, I thought that it was extremely clever and fit into the unique mindset of the Krieg regiment.

The rest of the book takes places over a series of years as Lyons attempts to capture the entire epic and lengthy sieges.  The author includes multiple time skips here to showcase the dragging length of the battle, often interspersed with useful context inclusions that provide an overview of the carnage.  These time skips move the story along at a sensible pace and the reader is never lost, especially when it comes to the key recurring characters. While Lyons is primarily showing the carnage of war from the perspective of the fighter on the ground, you get a good understanding of just how big the scope of the fighting is, and really get drawn into the over-the-top action.  The loosely connected character arcs continue in the second half of Siege of Vraks, and there are some complex stories being featured here.  I particularly enjoyed the fascinating standalone chapter that followed the interrogation of a local inhabitant of Vraks after he defected and pretended to be a member of a Krieg regiment.  While other chapters featuring recurring character Colonel Tyborc provides some unique insights into the mindset of a Krieg soldier and what being a hero means to them.  All these chapters are loaded with some intense action, intriguing discussions, or shocking occurrences, as the horrors of war, and even darker things, take their toll on the Krieg soldiers.  Everything leads up to the conclusion of the siege, with final battles, deadly confrontations, and despair in the aftermath, leaving plenty for the reader to get drawn into.  This ended up being a particularly epic narrative which I personally really enjoyed.

As I mentioned above, Lyons features a more fractured narrative structure in Siege of Vraks that shows detailed snapshots of key parts of the larger war and the lives of certain protagonists.  Considering that the overall siege lasts many, many years and features a lot of smaller, pointless battles, this is honestly the best way of doing it, and I think that Lyons’s choice provided the best view of this conflict, while also taking the time to explore multiple characters and storylines.  The resulting book has an interesting flow to it, as you are introduced to new dark scenarios and figures in peril, and forced to watch them participate in a pointless, unrelenting conflict.  While some may not connect with the way in which Lyons dived the book between characters and time periods, I really appreciated the way it was told, and other readers’ dislike will be well bridged by the book’s awesome action.  There are so many impressive battle sequences featured throughout Siege of Vraks, and you see the Krieg soldiers and their allies face off against all manner of opposing forces, from corrupted civilians to daemons and traitor Space Marines.  All these scenes are particularly epic, as Lyons succeeds in showcasing the elaborate big battles of the franchise, and you really get drawn into the resulting carnage.  There is a palpable desperation in many of these sequences, as the Krieg soldiers face off against terrible odds, and Lyons also adds in a bit of horror in places, as Warhammer 40,000 zombies, disgusting daemons, and even more terrors enter the fray.

Due to all this cool action, Siege of Vraks is a highly accessible read to those readers unfamiliar to Warhammer fiction, and any general fans of science fiction and military fiction can have fun with the over-the-top battles featured in the book.  Indeed, I personally felt that Siege of Vraks was one of the few of the franchise novels that really captured the epic scope of a Warhammer 40,000 war, as this book captures a literal world-spanning conflict with millions upon millions of casualties.  Lyons really takes the time to explore just how devastating a full-on war in the franchise can be, and I appreciated seeing the extent of this slaughter here, compared to other Warhammer books that focus primarily on one regiment or relatively small-scale conflicts.  As such, long-term Warhammer fans will also get a lot out of Siege of Vraks, especially as Lyons really does a good job of capturing this event, which has been discussed in some of the games books for ages and showing it to the reader from the soldier’s perspective.  However, the thing that will appeal most to established Warhammer 40,000 readers, is Lyons’ portrayal of the awesome Krieg soldiers.

Due to their dour background, German World War I aesthetic, and the utter devotion to death and duty, the Krieg are a particularly popular faction in the Warhammer 40,000 games and extended fiction, and Lyons is the undisputed author of them.  His previous books have all explored different aspects of the faction, with Krieg looking at their history and the events that made them, while Dead Men Walking showed them as near-soulless automaton, especially through the eyes of the desperate civilians they were there to save.  In Siege of Vraks, Lyons goes a slightly different way and presents a more nuanced and complex portrayal  that fans of his previous works will really appreciate.  For the first time, Lyons features several Krieg perspective characters, and you are given some intriguing insights into their mind, which proves to be highly fascinating.  While on the surface they are dedicated and fanatical fighters, you do see some threads of humanity in several of the characters, such as ambition, fear and uncertainty.  I liked how Lyon tries to humanise the Krieg soldiers in places, especially around main character Colonel Tyborc who struggles with the notion of being a hero when all he wants is to fight the war and redeem his planet.  Tyborc’s arc proves to be particularly compelling in places, especially as his experiences cause him to doubt the war they are fighting in, and lead to an infamous showing of fear.  Despite this attempt at showcasing humanity, Lyons is clear that the Krieg have their own unique drive and take on human nature, such as when one Krieg character sends his older Commissar on a suicide mission because he believes its more merciful than letting him retire.  As such, there are some complex depictions of the Krieg here in Siege of Vrak, which serve as an interesting comparison to some of the author’s previous novels, and I felt that Lyons’ dive between different Krieg characters produced a very complex read.

Unsurprisingly to anyone who has read one of my Warhammer 40,000 reviews, I chose to enjoy Siege of Vraks in its audiobook format.  I have waxed poetic many times about how awesome I find Warhammer audiobooks to be, and this proved to be the case again with Siege of Vraks.  The many intense and over-the-top battles really come across in an epic way when read to you, and I personally find that I can envision the action much more effectively this way.  I also find that the complex character interactions and personal developments that Lyons loads up into the story are expertly captured by this format, and I believe that I got a lot more out of the audiobook than reading a physical copy.  It helped that excellent narrator Timothy Watson returned for Siege of Vraks.  Watson has previously really impressed me with Lyons’ previous audiobooks, as well as in The Lion: Son of the Forest by Mike Brooks, and it was great to see him continue to add his own spin these Krieg-focused books.  Watson is very effective at conveying the excessive violence and intensity of the Warhammer universe with his narration, and you really get drawn into the action as a result.  I also really love the Germanic accents that Watson attributes to the various Krieg characters, especially as it fits into their faction aesthetic.  While the various Krieg characters all sound a little similar (which does fit into their potential clone background), the narrator does a good job differentiating between these characters, and you are never in doubt about who is talking.  This excellent narration really helped to drag me into the Siege of Vraks audiobook, and I honestly flew through its near 10 hour long run.  There is honestly no better way to enjoy Siege of Vraks then on audiobook, and you are going to have a great time doing so.

Overall, Steve Lyons’s Siege of Vraks was a particularly epic and intense piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction, that is going to appeal to a lot of different readers.  Loaded with massive and over-the-top action sequences, Siege of Vraks had me hooked from the very beginning, especially as the author once again expertly showcases the iconic Death Korps of Krieg.  This was such a great read, and all fans of Warhammer fiction and excessively massive science fiction battles, are in for an amazing treat with Siege of Vraks.

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