Quick Review – Outrider by Mark Wales

On October 7, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Quick Review, Thriller2 Comments

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia (Trade Paperback – 25 June 2024)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 354 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Former Australian soldier and current media personality Mark Wales presents a particularly exciting debut novel with the gripping thriller Outrider. A gritty, intense, and absolutely action-packed dystopian thriller, Outrider is an awesome Australian novel readers will have a hard time getting away from.

Plot Synopsis:

Jack Dunne will do anything to save his son.

A violent civil war. An unstoppable enemy. One road to freedom.

In the wake of a global conflict, foreign forces occupy part of Australia, quashing all but a few pockets of local resistance. The tense stalemate ends in 2034, when Jack Dunne reignites the war.

Dunne is an Outrider, one of the last elite special operations soldiers in the Resistance. As the enemy prepare to eliminate the freedom fighters once and for all, he is tasked with his final mission.

If Dunne and his eleven-year-old son achieve the impossible, and survive, they’ll secure their future across the border in Free Australia.

But the road to victory will be bloody.

A cinematic action-thriller from bestselling author and veteran Mark Wales. Explosive and exhilarating, Outrider is a heartfelt father-and-son story of survival, resistance and hope.

Outrider was an intriguing and complex novel that envisions a dark near future for Australian and sets loose a bold new action hero into the resulting carnage. Set after a Chinese invasion of Australia, Outrider follows formidable resistance solider Jack Dunne and his son, Harry, as they attempt to save the lives of the last standing rebel fortress in Victoria from an upcoming war. Given a mission to journey across occupied Australia to recover a military asset who can provide specialised assistance in the upcoming battle to come, Jack and his son will need to run a gauntlet of bandits, Chinese soldiers and members of the collaborating Victorian militia working for them.

This was an intense and exciting piece of Australian fiction, and Wales really dug deep to present an authentic tale of desperation and war. Quickly and effectively introducing the 2034 dystopian setting, Wales takes the reader right into the action with a series of brutal early encounters that also set the rest of the narrative in motion. From there, the story turns into an intense, Mad Max-style road trip as Jack and Harry embark on their journey to reach the required military asset and bring them back before it was too late. This proves to be an excellent continued sequence, as the protagonists encounter obstacles and conflict, while also endearing themselves to the reader with a dive into their motivations and the history of events that drive Jack on. The second half of Outrider proves to be even more epic and intense, as the protagonists desperately attempt to overcome the deadly forces coming for them. This all leads up to the massive and impressive full on war sequence, with the fate of free Australia in the balance. Wales does not disappoint when it comes to this final massive fight sequence, and readers will be blown away by how impressive the carnage gets.

Wales really dug deep here and produced an outstanding and fantastic debut novel that I just could not get enough of. Making excellent use of his initial plot idea of a futuristic invaded Australia, Wales launches into a sharp and exciting narrative, that keeps grown in intensity as the book continues. Unsurprisingly, considering the author’s background, the action sequences in Outrider are particularly well written, and Wales does an excellent job portraying the carnage of combat to the reader. Each of these action sequences are well paced out and highly realistic (well, besides the highly advanced weapons), and the reader gets really drawn into them as a result as you can practically feel every shot or explosion. While the main appeal of Outrider is the action and exciting story, I really appreciated that Wales took the time to set up several complex and compelling characters. I felt that his protagonist, Jack Dunne, was an outstandingly damaged and angry main figure, whose loss of his wife is still raw for much of the book. These intense emotions, as well as the bond he continues to form with his young son as they journey across Australia, adds a powerful edge to Wales’ narrative, and it helped Outrider be more than just an awesome action novel.

The final fantastic element I want to highlight about Outrider is the intriguing background setting of an invaded Australia. Wales paints a haunting and disturbing picture of how this potential invasion would occur and in what form it would look like, and I liked the dark realism behind his ideas. I particularly enjoyed how he portrayed the Chinese as only occupying key sections of Australia, rather than the whole continent, which honestly makes a lot of sense, and it allows the protagonist to slip between different parts of the country as a result. The dive into collaborators and traitor militias continuing most of the fighting against the resistance, with China and the US playing proxy wars in the background, also had a tinge of realism behind it, even if we’d like to think differently. Finally, the grim details surrounding the invasion add an urgent edge to the plot, and you find yourself pulling for the protagonists even more, especially after a powerful scene where they witness certain train carriages going by. All of this proves to be an incredible background to a particularly exciting and engrossing read, and I loved seeing Wales’ intense look into the future.

Outrider by Mark Wales proved to be a particularly cool Australian thriller that I had an awesome time getting through. An inventive and intense debut novel from Wales, Outrider comes highly recommended, especially for fans of Australian fiction with a ton of action, and it is really worth checking it.

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Warhammer 40,000: Dead Men Walking by Steve Lyons

On March 30, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer8 Comments

Dead Men Walking Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 30 November 2010)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 10 hours and 42 minutes

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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Two relentless foes face off in the intense Warhammer 40,000 novel, Dead Men Walking by Steve Lyons.

Dead Men Walking was an epic novel released back in 2010, that featured a brutal and compelling story I really fell in love with. This novel follows the trend of books that highlight the adventures of specific regiments or units of Imperial Guard, such as Catachan Devil by Justin Woolley, Kasrkin by Edoardo Albert, Steel Tread by Andy Clark, and the Gaunt’s Ghosts books by Dan Abnett, which has been very fun. Dead Men Walking was the author’s first look at the legendary Death Korps of Krieg, one of the most distinctive and dark regiments of Imperial Guard soldiers, who he covered again back in 2022 with Krieg. This new novel sets the Death Korps onto a whole new battlefield with deadly results.

Hieronymous Theta is a small and relatively young world in the Imperium of Man. Populated by nearly nine billion people, it is slowly becoming an important industrial hub, as its cities and massive spires build up. But as the inhabitants of the capital, Hieronymous City, expand their mining operations deeper they encounter something unexpected and terrifying, the Necrons. Unfeeling and inhuman ancient xenos encased in living metal, the Necrons are an unrelenting force determined to exterminate the human pests they find inhabiting their world by any means necessary.

As the citizens of Hieronymous City begin to panic, unable to stand against the encroaching Necrons and their deadly technology, their apparent salvation lands on the planet in the most unlikely of forms, the Death Korps of Krieg. One of the most feared and mysterious regiments of the Astra Millitarum, the Death Korps of Krieg come from a world destroyed by civil war which seeks to redeem itself by producing soldiers solely dedicated to the Emperor and his victory.

As the Death Korps land on Hieronymous, they take the war to the Necrons and begin a determined siege to retake Hieronymous City from the outside. But as the Krieg regiments push forward, the people of the planet soon begin to realise that the Death Korps might not be the salvation they hoped for. The soldiers of Krieg’s only goal is to defeat the Emperor’s foes, and they are willing to sacrifice anything to achieve victory, including the citizens of Hieronymous. With battle joined, the fate of Hieronymous hangs in the balance. But does anyone truly win when two implacable and unrelenting armies go to war?

This was an extremely interesting, intense and dark novel from Steve Lyons, who follows up his previous Krieg novel in a big way with this outstanding read. Featuring a moving, action-packed and highly cynical story, Dead Men Walking was probably one of the better Warhammer 40,000 books from last year, and I had an exceptional time getting through it.

I really liked the fantastic story that Lyons came up with for Dead Men Walking, especially as it successfully showcased both opposing armies, the Death Korps and the Necrons, without actually featuring any perspective characters from either side. Instead, the focus is reserved for the other humans caught in the middle of the conflict, including the Imperial Commissar attached to the Death Korps, the governor of the planet, and several citizens who find themselves caught in the crossfire of the war and are forced to adapt to survive. I love how Lyons set the early narrative out, with the perspective characters slowly becoming aware of the dangers beneath them. The slow build introduction of the Necrons, a force the humans don’t know but the reader is very aware of, was handled perfectly, and there is a lot of great anticipation that pays of well when they finally attack. The scenes of carnage and utter terror that emerge for the characters stuck in the city really hit home with their realism and intensity. Indeed, there is a bit of a horror vibe to the story at this point, and Hieronymous City turns into an excellent wasteland setting for the characters to subsequently attempt to navigate.

Once the city is in ruins, the book turns towards the landing Death Korps, who begin prosecuting a deadly war against the Necrons. This moves the story into a fascinating new zone, as you get some fantastic battles while also witnessing several characters soon caught up in the city as everything changes around them. I loved the various unique, personal stories that emerged, and the focus on characters watching both the Krieg and Necron forces battle it out proves very powerful. As the story continues, each of the main characters suffer in various ways, especially as they begin to realise that the unrelenting, victory-focused Krieg are just as dangerous as the Necrons, and there are some deeply powerful moments as they lose their humanity in the carnage of war. All of these mostly independent character narratives go in some dark directions, especially as the background war gets even darker, and not everyone survives the various conflicts to come. These storylines either end or coalesce together as the book comes to a head, and you really appreciate the impressive narrative that Lyons weaves together. I loved how grim and cynical the story got at the end, and Lyons provides a particularly memorable conclusion that really highlights just how unfair the Warhammer 40,000 universe can be.

Lyons really came up with a brilliant story for Dead Men Walking, as he balanced the need to highlight two interesting Warhammer 40,000 factions, while also telling his own unique narrative. Telling the story of the Krieg and Necrons from the perspective of the third-party characters caught in the middle of their war was such as clever move, especially as it provided some fascinating contrast between the two factions. The author provided such a dark vibe for Dead Men Walking, and the terrified civilians, the crumbling city and the relentless troops waging war without a care for those around them were all handled brilliantly. I think the narrative split between the various characters caught up in the fray was done well, and you get to see all sides of the conflict, and the darkest actions of both opposing foes. I also loved how well Lyons showcased the main city setting throughout the book, as the collapse of the once proud city mirrors the loss of humanity for the various protagonists. Dead Men Walking can easily be read as a standalone novel, and new readers can just fall into its dark and unique story. Indeed, this might be a pretty good entry point, as the views of the confused and horrified civilians provide some good opening observations about two key factions. Naturally, established fans of the franchise will get a lot more out of Dead Men Walking, especially as Lyons really showcases both iconic groups in some fantastic ways.

I absolutely loved the portrayal of the Krieg soldiers in Dead Men Walking, and they really are some of the most entertaining figures in the Warhammer 40,000 canon. Unlike his other novel, Krieg, where Lyons spent a great deal of time focusing on the origins of the Krieg soldiers with flashback sequences, Dead Men Walking showcases them purely through the eyes of other human inhabitants of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. To the common soldier or citizen of the Imperium of Man, the Death Korp are unnaturally dedicated, unwavering and heartless, focussing on the battle to the exclusion of all others. Thanks to their harsh training, indoctrination, and history, they have a very black-and-white view of the universe and will stop at nothing to win, even if that means sacrificing their comrades or allies for a strategy. Lyons really highlights their near-inhuman mentalities throughout the course of Dead Men Walking, and thanks to the perspectives of the non-Krieg soldiers, you see them in a much more sinister light. There is something very concerning about the simple mathematic they put behind their strategies, and I loved how well Lyons captured how similar they are to the Necrons. Thanks in great deal to the actions of the Krieg soldiers, this ended up being a particularly bleak book, which really hammered home how there are no good guys in this universe.

In addition to the Krieg soldiers, Dead Men Walking also featured the Necrons as the antagonists, who served as worthy opponents to the Krieg. As with the Krieg soldiers, you don’t get a Necron perspective in Dead Men Walking, which honestly enhanced the unique story Lyons was going for. Unlike books like other more recent Necron focussed novels like Ruin, Reign or The Infinite and the Divine, you only see these characters through the eyes of normal humans, who have no idea who or what they are. This makes for some particularly terrifying scenes as the humans encounter overwhelming attacks from unkillable metal monsters, and Lyons really captures how the unknown is just as bad as the devastation around them. Even when the Krieg soldiers arrive, there is very little knowledge about the Necrons, due to the secrecy of their origins, and the only intelligence about them comes from rumours of prior encounters (which includes a cheeky reference to the Ciaphas Cain novel, Caves of Ice). I really appreciated this shrouded look at the Necrons, and it proved to be interesting to see the how a normal person would view them.

I really liked the characters in Dead Men Walking, especially as Lyons focuses the story on several normal humans who suddenly get thrust into hell and find everything they thought they knew completely upturned. Much of this upheaval is due to the interactions with the Krieg soldiers, whose unreasonable actions cause even the most stoic soldier or commander to falter in different ways. Watching each of these characters slowly change for the worse makes for some gripping reading, and you end up feeling great sympathy for all the point of view characters.

These great characters include Gunthar Soreson, a mine supervisor who loses everything in a single night and tries to find redemption as a soldier fighting for the Krieg. It was absolutely fascinating to see Gunthar, who starts the book as a relatively normal and nice character, slowly lose his humanity in a similar manner to the Krieg soldiers, and his story hits particularly hard at times. I also must highlight the character of Commissar Costellin, one of the commissars attached to the Krieg regiments, and one of the few non-Krieg soldiers featured in the book. Commissars are fantastic figures in the Warhammer 40,000 canon, mainly because they serve as implacable disciplinarians charged with maintaining order and morale through lethal means and ensuring that the soldiers due their duty. However, due to the unnatural discipline of the Death Korp soldiers, Costellin finds himself acting more in the role of a liaison between the Krieg and the citizens of Hieronymous. Lyons writes some intriguing storylines around Costellin, and it was fascinating to see a commissar character who fears the resolve of his own troops, as the Death Korp leaders go too far even for him. Finally, I really enjoyed the inclusion of the governor of Hieronymous, Hanrik, who finds both his planet under attack and his authority taken away from him when the Death Korp takes over. I felt the storyline around Hanrik was very clever, and you had to feel for him at times, especially when he finds his loyalties tested. All these character arcs and more are really well written and hit hard emotionally, especially with their resulting dark ends.

It should come as no surprise whatsoever that I grabbed Dead Men Walking on audiobook, as frankly no other format does Warhammer 40,000 fiction justice. The resulting audiobook was extremely awesome, as the intensity, action, and darker elements of Dead Men Walking’s story came through in this format. Coming in with a run time just short of 11 hours, Dead Men Walking was an easy Warhammer 40,000 audiobook to power through quickly, especially once you get stuck into its awesome narrative. It helped that they brought back talented narrator Timothy Watson for this audiobook adaptation. Watson, who did a great job narrating Krieg and The Lion: Son of the Forest, was in rare form again in Dead Men Walking, especially as he has the perfect voice for this darker and exciting story. His voice work really captures the chaos and desperation of the story, and I loved the unique tones he comes up with for the various characters. The featured Krieg soldiers all have the typical German-esque accent, which matches the regiment’s World War I aesthetic, and I liked how Watson worked to enhance these figures relentless and unwavering nature through his voice work. The other characters of the plot, who are allowed to have emotions, are also portrayed extremely well, and Watson provides them with excellent and fitting voices that captures their feelings on the situation, especially as their encounters with both the Krieg and the Necron, wear them down. This audiobook version of Dead Men Walking was so damn good, and it is easily the best way to enjoy this epic novel.

Steve Lyons continues to showcase why the Death Korp of Krieg are some of the most memorable figures in the Warhammer 40,000 canon with the brilliant and dark read Dead Men Walking. Presenting a grim scenario of war and sacrifice that only gets worse when the ‘good guys’ arrive, Dead Men Walking was a particularly harrowing piece of Warhammer fiction, that I still cannot stop thinking about. Clever, intense and a little traumatising, Dead Men Walking comes highly recommended, and I cannot wait to see what great tale Lyons comes up with next.

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Warhammer 40,000: The Fall of Cadia by Robert Rath

On January 2, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer7 Comments

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 5 August 2023)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 19 hours and 42 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Cadia Stands! I ended 2023 on a very high note with one of the best Warhammer 40,000 novels of the year that follows one of the biggest events in the franchise’s recent lore, The Fall of Cadia by Robert Rath.

There were several amazing Warhammer 40,000 novels released in 2023, with some of my favourites including The Lion: Son of the Forest and Warboss by Mike Brooks, The King of the Spoil by Jonathan D. Beer and Cypher: Lord of the Fallen by John French, just to name a few. However, in terms of sheer scale, epic battles, and larger-than-life characters, my favourite will have to be The Fall of Cadia. As the name suggests, The Fall of Cadia follows the final battle for the planet of Cadia at the end of the 13th Black Crusade, which was a major campaign in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. The original 13th Black Crusade campaign happened back in 2003, with the official result being something of a draw. However, in 2017, Games Workshop retconned the campaign to result in a much more substantial Chaos victory, which ended up having substantial impacts on the wider lore of the franchise, effectively reshaping the entire Warhammer 40,000 universe.

This change ended up being a pretty significant event, and Games Workshop provided some major write-ups about it that summarised the events and their explosive aftermath. Indeed, the lore events initiated in this event have already been featured in several novels, and most of the current Warhammer 40,000 fiction examines the consequences of this campaign. However, there has yet to be a novel solely dedicated to trying to capture the entirety of the action at the end, until now with The Fall of Cadia by Robert Rath. Rath was a great choice of author to write this book as he is a truly amazing author of Warhammer 40,000 fiction. His previous novels, Assassinorum: Kingmaker (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022) and The Infinite and the Divine, have both been exceptional five-star reads, telling elaborate, character-driven stories that cleverly capture complex aspects of Warhammer 40,000 lore and turn them into impressive and addictive reads. As such, he was the perfect choice to write The Fall of Cadia and he succeeded in creating a deeply moving and epic novel that perfectly brought the chaotic events that ended this infamous war to life.

In the far future of the 41^st Millenium, few battlefields are more significant or more soaked in blood than that of Cadia. A fortress world for the Imperium of Man, Cadia stands in the shadow of the Eye of Terror, a blazing rift that serves as a gateway into the Warp and the realm of the Chaos gods. For any substantial invasion by the forces of Chaos into the Imperium to be successful, Cadia needs to be taken and destroyed, and for that task the Chaos Gods have chosen the Warmaster of the Black Legion, Abaddon the Despoiler. Abaddon is a legendary warrior of hatred and spite who alone is capable of welding together the unruly and contentious forces of Chaos. Over the millennia, Abaddon has launched 12 Black Crusades against Cadia, leading an unholy alliance of monsters, daemons, cultists and traitor Space Marines to battle. However, each time Cadia has held, at great cost to the desperate Imperial defenders. But now, as the forces of Chaos appear stronger than ever before, a 13th Black Crusade has been declared, one that looks set to destroy Cadia forever.

The Fall of Cadia starts well into the 13th Black Crusade, as, after weeks of heavy fighting, the forces of Cadia and humanity once again appear victorious, with the armies of Chaos retreating on all fronts. However, despite the apparent victory over the heretics and the dark gods of Chaos, Lord Castellan Ursarkar Creed is uneasy, believing that the victory was too easy. As the celebrations continue, Creed is soon proved right, as the Eye of Terror disgorges a new enemy force unmatched in size and deadly potential since the legendary Horus Heresy.

At its head flies a dread Blackstone Fortress, an alien superweapon capable of intense destruction and now crewed personally by Abaddon. Faced with this threat, Creed attempts to bring together the various elements of humanities defenders, including legendary Space Marines, virtuous Sisters of Battle, the inhuman soldiers of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the outmatched by steely rank-and-file troops of Cadia, determined to save their home.

As the final invasion of Cadia begins, Creed organises the defence the best he can to hold back the oncoming horde on land, in the sky, in space, and even far behind Cadian lines in their seemingly safe cities. If Creed has any hope of succeeding, he will need to bring together the scattered armies of the Imperium on Cadia into a single cohesive force, but not all of the defenders are fighting for the same goals. Even if these armies come together, can the legendary Creed hold off the fury of Abaddon and his dark gods? Cadia’s last stand has begun, but who will be left alive at its end?

Robert Rath continues to showcase just how varied and impressive his talent for writing Warhammer 40,000 fiction is as he captures the incredible events of the last siege of Cadia. The Fall of Cadia is epic in every way possible, as it presents the reader with a great coverage of these key lore events and the characters involved. Elaborate, intense, and featuring so much damn carnage and war, The Fall of Cadia is an incredibly addictive read that got a very easy five-star rating from me.

I think it is important to point out that Robert Rath had a difficult task ahead of him when he was chosen to novelise the events surrounding the end of the 13th Black Crusade. A lot of detailed lore has been written around this event, not only in the various guides, rulebooks and other material associated with the tabletop game but also in several years worth of novels and extended fiction that focused on the aftermath of the war. Any novelisation about these events ran the risk of being a stale retelling of events that all Warhammer 40,000 fans already know about. However, Rath rose to the challenge and presented a powerful, intense and memorable depiction of the events that really drags the readers in while showing just how incredible and epic a piece of Warhammer fiction can be.

To tell the events of The Fall of Cadia, Rath elected to cover everything in a massive, multilayered, character-driven narrative, told from every perspective imaginable. Starting towards the final days of the battle, when Abaddon unleashes his true invasion of Cadia, the reader is soon engrossed a range of different storylines that cover many different angles of the battle. Not only do we get to see the overall strategy of both sides but the reader is also thrust into personal wars and fights across the theatre. So many amazing moments are covered, including a desperate last stand in the mountains, battles in the sky and space, Chaos infiltration in the cities, criminal enterprises, even internal dissension amongst the Chaos command. These scenes are usually shown through the eyes of a complex characters, whose desperate fight for Cadia helps to define them and presents the reader with some impressive and captivating character arcs. All these varied conflicts are expertly portrayed by Rath, who does a wonderful job capturing the intensity, brutality and lack of humanity involved in warfare, as his characters suffer on every battlefield imaginable. The sheer epic and destructive nature of these conflicts really come across in Rath’s writing style, and I honestly visualised many of the scenes being described in cinematic detail in my head.

The first half of the book primarily focuses on these various scattered storylines, and it was a lot of fun to see the different theatres of war, especially as you start to get attached to the major characters. All the battles featured are pretty awesome and intense in their own way, and I really have to emphasise just how skilled Rath is at bringing all the different elaborate bits of combat to life. The complex story pieces start to come together in the second half, especially as each of the characters find themselves drawn to the same battlefields. I really appreciated how the storylines tied together, and there are some brilliant moments featured here. I also felt that the multiple deus ex machina moments towards the conclusion of a big battle sequence that Rath needed to include because they were part of the lore was handled about as well as they could be. Rath did some good set-up for the most important of them earlier in the plot, and I liked how in many instances he tried to examine it from the perspective of the common soldier looking for miracles, so it often did not seem too ridiculous.

Everything leads up to the big final battle in the last third of the novel, and despite knowing how it was going to end, I still was extremely invested in the plot and eager to see how everything came about. A lot of this was because I deeply enjoyed the compelling character arcs of the newer protagonists, but I was also very interested in seeing how Rath envisioned some of the more essential events. The author really did not disappoint, as these epic and groundbreaking moments were expertly showcased to the reader in a powerful and captivating way. The big deaths were pretty shocking and hurtful, especially if you did not know they were coming, and the major conflicts were so damn epic in their scope and impact. The final devastating blows of the war really hit hard, especially as the climatic events featured some deeply personal moments alongside the mass devastation, which made everything that much more powerful. I really loved how everything came together, and the poetic conclusion that highlighted the final fights of the surviving protagonists is going to stay with me for some time. I am so damn impressed with how much passion and emotion that Rath was able to stick into this massive war story, and I honestly loved every single second spent reading The Fall of Cadia.

In addition to the amazing story, I really need to highlight the impressive array of characters featured throughout The Fall of Cadia. Rath did a wonderful job of presenting the massive events of this book through a range of intriguing character perspectives on every side of the conflict, and there is a fantastic combination of new characters and established Warhammer 40,000 figures. The author really tried to cover The Fall of Cadia’s narrative from every single angle he possibly could, and the resulting combination of generals, common soldiers, legendary warriors, ancient traitors and other interested onlookers, helped to make this Warhammer 40,000 story even more powerful and layered. This includes several Chaos characters, whose tainted perspectives allow for a compelling view of both sides of the conflict. The Fall of Cadia’s character arcs are mostly self-contained for the majority of the book, with their focus usually on that particular figure or theatre of the war. However, there are some clever and moving interactions between the characters as the novel continues, and it is testament to Rath’s writing style and ability to create a massive web of overlaying character storylines that these interactions fit together so well into a cohesive and powerful narrative. Rath really dove into the complex lives and personalities of every character he featured, even those that died quite quickly, and the resulting character arcs really added to the emotional impact of The Fall of Cadia. You become heavily invested in these characters as a result, and waiting to see who survives the war is an important part of experiencing this novel.

So many big personalities were expertly featured throughout The Fall of Cadia and every reader is going to come away with their own favourites. The better character arcs I personally loved included that of Major Marda Hellsker, who is forced to lead a desperate last stand for much of the book and grows into the leadership position thrust upon her. Captain Hanna Keztral’s exploits in the sky also make for great reading, especially as she desperately tries to gain respect whilst flying an unarmed aircraft. You also have to love the storylines surrounding Salvar Ghent, Cadia’s premier gangster, as he tries to exploit the war to his advantage before finding himself thrust into a much more prominent role. I particularly loved how well Ghent interacted with some of the major figures in the book, and his entire storyline was one of the most entertaining. The insatiable Necron collector Trazyn the Infinite was also a great inclusion in the plot, and Rath clearly had fun bringing back this hilarious character after featuring him so heavily in The Infinite and the Divine, and I got a good laugh at several of his pivotal scenes and petty moments.

However, the best characters in The Fall of Cadia had to be the opposing leaders of the war, Lord Castellan Ursarkar Creed and Abaddon the Despoiler. Both are major figures in Warhammer 40,000 lore and Rath ensured that they were done justice in this novel. Creed is shown to be a rough but brilliant commander, capable of inspiring an entire world while also suffering from the stresses of constantly being on the losing side. I particularly enjoyed the subsequent inclusion of Colour Sergeant Jarran Kell alongside Creed as his long-suffering aide and best friend, and the two make for a very powerful character combination for many of the scenes shown from the defenders’ perspective. Abaddon on the other hand is presented as the absolute beast that he is, and his obsessive desire to destroy Cadia is palpable. I deeply appreciated that Rath showcased Abaddon as the ultimate villain in this universe, and his appearances were always exceedingly impactful. Many of Abaddon’s appearances were cleverly shown through the eyes of his loyal servant, Dravura Morkath, whose rose-tinted opinions of her master barely covered the restrained evil within this figure. I quite enjoyed Dravura as a character, especially as she has the most intriguing insights into the Chaos ranks, and the resolution of her storyline with Abaddon might be one of the most heartbreaking in the entire book. These characters, and so much more, were such a brilliant part of The Fall of Cadia, and they helped turn what could have been a simple retelling of the lore into a particularly powerful and moving novel.

As with most Warhammer 40,000 novels, I feel that The Fall of Cadia is going to appeal to those fans of the franchise who already have a grip on the basics of the lore and main characters and can fully appreciate just how massive an event this book was. Due to the material the book is based on, there were a lot of crazy events and characters featured here, some of which would be obscure even to casual fans of the game. While Rath does an outstanding job of explaining and exploring the most important of these elements, some readers might occasionally be confused at what is going on or how certain characters came into being. Still, I feel that most new readers can still have an exceptional time with this book, especially as the epic battles, impressive characters, and heartfelt military focused story, is so damn good. The Fall of Cadia might even be a great gateway novel for those people trying to get into Warhammer 40,000 fiction, and it sure as hell encouraged me to read more Warhammer fiction.

One of the other things that I really appreciated about The Fall of Cadia was the way that Rath tried to paint a more nuanced picture of the planet of Cadia itself. Cadia is usually portrayed as a bastion of military prowess and resistance without some of the issues other planets in the Imperium had, so it was quite interesting to see Rath’s different take on the subject, showing Cadia to be a planet with hidden issues and dissent. In particular, Rath examines the problematic social structure of Cadia, where the active military are notably prioritized and those people who could not fight or be assigned other roles were considered a second-class citizen. I loved how well Rath examined and focused on the issues surrounding this unique military class system, and it became a surprising key part of the book. Indeed, the motivations of several characters are highly tied into these issues, with many seeking to prove themselves after being considered lesser for their contributions. It also serves as an intriguing motivation for several antagonistic figures, and I loved just how well Rath was able to weave the structure of a planet into these intriguing character traits. This, and more, really showcased Rath’s inventiveness and appreciation for the little details of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and it is one of the reasons why I really enjoy his novels.

As with most Warhammer 40,000 novels, I chose to enjoy The Fall of Cadia on audiobook, which proved to be a very smart decision on my behalf as it was one of my favourite audiobooks of the year. Coming in with a runtime of just under 20 hours, The Fall of Cadia is a bit longer than your typical Warhammer 40,000 audiobook, which reflects the massive story Rath came up with for this epic read. I really loved how well this audiobook format brought the epic nature of this narrative to life and the many battles, wars, and unique characters felt even more impressive when read out. I enjoyed the narration of Mark Elstob, who has previously lent his voice to other great Warhammer audiobooks, including Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty by Josh Reynolds. Elstob’s narration of The Fall of Cadia is extremely good, and I loved how passionately he presented every big event and piece of action. I really enjoyed some of the great voices he came up with for the cast of The Fall of Cadia, and every larger-than-life character was gifted a fitting tone that perfectly captured their personalities and intensity. His voices for the opposing leaders of the battle, Abaddon the Despoiler and Ursarkar Creed, are amazing examples of this, and you really get awesome impressions of both character’s opposing determination and charisma in some outstanding sequences. I really cannot emphasise just how incredible this audiobook version of The Fall of Cadia is and it is definitely the best way to enjoy this world-shattering story.

Overall, The Fall of Cadia is a pretty exceptional piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction that did such an impressive job of capturing this intriguing event from the game’s substantial lore. Robert Rath is such an impressive author, and I am really glad he had the opportunity to cut loose and present this massive inclusion to the Warhammer 40,000 franchise. The Fall of Cadia is easily one of my favourite books of 2023, and I loved how Rath told such an epic war tale in such a powerful and memorable way. I honestly hope they make a movie based around this book in the future, because it would be so damn spectacular. A highly recommended read that no Warhammer 40,000 fan should be without.

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Throwback Thursday – Warhammer 40,000: The Guns of Tanith by Dan Abnett

On April 27, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer14 Comments

The Guns of Tanith Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 25 April 2002)

Series: Gaunt’s Ghosts – Book Five

Length: 10 hours and 10 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. After having such a great time reviewing the previous Gaunt’s Ghosts novel, Honour Guard, in my last Throwback Thursday, I immediately read the fifth fantastic entry in the series, The Guns of Tanith, which proved to be just as awesome and exciting.

As I mentioned last week, I have been really getting into the works of Dan Abnett over the last year, and I now consider several of his books to be amongst the best Warhammer 40,000 novels I have had the pleasure of reading. Not only did I deeply enjoy his epic Eisenhorn trilogy (made up of Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus) but I have also been powering through his Gaunt’s Ghosts books. The Gaunt’s Ghosts books are some of the more iconic novels in the Warhammer 40,000 franchise and are often considered essential reading by fans of the franchise due to the captivating way they capture the gruelling experiences of ordinary human soldiers in this grim, futuristic setting. The first four novels in the series, First and Only, Ghostmaker, Necropolis and Honour Guard, as well as the prequel novel The Vincula Insurgency, are all excellent and exciting in their own way, and I have had a ton of fun seeing the impressive war narratives set around the men of the Tanith First-and-Only, informally known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. As I was still in the mood for some awesome action at the end of last week, I just had to keep going with these books and I quickly picked up the fifth entry, The Guns of Tanith.

As the massive Sabbat Worlds Crusade continues to pit the forces of the Imperium of Man against the foul forces of Chaos, the battlelines extend across multiple planets and systems, drawing in millions of soldiers. The latest phase of the crusade has severely stretched the supply lines of the Imperial assault and the Chaos foes are quick to take advantage, threatening to cut off and surround the main Imperial force. To stave off disaster, Warmaster Macaroth, needs the Tanith First-and-Only to recapture the vital promethium producing planet of Phantine so the crusade can be resupplied and continue.

Led by the heroic Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, the Tanith First-and-Only engage in a deadly airborne assault on several of the planet’s domed cities. Relying on their unique skills of navigation and infiltration, the Ghosts prove to be vital to the operation and soon take the key city of Cirenholm. However, holding the city proves to be harder than expected. While preparing for the next assault, the vile murder of a freed Cirenholm civilian places a Ghost on trial and opens up the festering cultural divides within the regiment.

As Gaunt attempts to get to the bottom of the crime and ensure that the innocent are left alive, the Ghosts are given a vital mission to undertake. A dangerous Chaos warlord has taken command of the final occupied city, Ouranberg, and his lethal command threatens to devastate an attack by the Imperials. To ensure a successful invasion of this Chaos stronghold, a specialised team of Ghosts is tasked with infiltrating the city and assassinating the enemy leader in advance of the main assault force. Featuring some of the best the Ghosts have to offer, the assassination squad will be forced to walk through hell to achieve their objective and not everyone will be coming back.

In this fifth entry in this amazing series, Abnett continues to impress with another powerful and captivating character-driven read that takes the Ghosts through a gruelling round of battles, tragedy and growth that proves near impossible to put down. The Guns of Tanith was a pretty strong entry in the series, expanding on some of the interesting storylines from the first novel while also introducing a new dark scenario for the characters to deal with.

The Guns of Tanith features a fantastic narrative from Abnett that contains his usual blend of high-intensity action, character growth, and intriguing examinations of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, that make all the Gaunt’s Ghosts novels such a treat to read. Following on from the events of the previous books in the series The Guns of Tanith is told in Abnett’s typical style, with a ton of unique character perspectives, mostly those of the Ghosts, which presents the reader with a rich and vibrant view of the events, as well as the unique, character-driven storylines that emerge. While this fifth Gaunt’s Ghosts novel can be read as a standalone book, The Guns of Tanith does see several ongoing, character focused storylines come to a head or get even more complicated. As such, readers should really consider checking out the previous novels first so they can get the full emotional weight of the revelations and twists that emerge.

The main narrative of The Guns of Tanith is bookended by major extended battle sequences that see the Ghosts and their allies engage in elaborate fights across two separate cities. The first of these battles, in Cirenhom, sees all the Ghosts forced to engage in a particularly bloody battle with limited ammunition against a dangerous and determined foe that has set up some elaborate traps. This extended sequence is both epic and useful as it provides the reader with a ton of intense action to draw them into the novel while Abnett introduces the characters and storylines that this latest novel is focused on. You also get a good overview to the new setting of Phantine, a polluted planet with a toxic atmosphere that requires multiple forms of airship to traverse. This unique location adds some great spice to the overall story, especially as it requires the characters to learn some unique aerial skills, while also allowing Abnett to have fun featuring several impressive dogfights. There are some great moments during this first extended battle sequence, and it sets the rest of the book up nicely.

The middle of the book is where the reader gets into the real meat of the story, especially as it lowers the intensity levels down from the action-packed introduction and allows the reader to breathe and absorb all the intriguing story elements to come. At first, I wasn’t too keen on a quieter middle section to this novel, especially as I thought it would make The Guns of Tanith more of a bridging novel in the series, rather than a book that could stand on its own. However, Abnett soon proved me wrong as this intriguing central storyline contained a lot of major character moments and intriguing plot lines, while also expertly setting up the final third of the book. The main storyline explored in the centre involves a murder investigation when one of the Ghosts is accused of killing an innocent civilian. Abnett does a great job with this murder storyline, especially as it brings in compelling mystery and legal thriller elements to it, while also driving the characters in some excellent directions. However, the real joy of this part of the book is the focus on the camaraderie and factions within the Ghosts, and the fracturing coherence in places leads to some memorable moments later on.

The final section of the book focuses on the assault of the Phantine city, Ouranberg, and the special Ghosts mission to assassinate the Chaos warlord. Following several supporting members of the cast, this final third of The Guns of Tanith takes these characters on a particularly dark mission through a Chaos stronghold, and Abnett throttles up the tension and brutality to the maximum, ensuring that the readers are strongly hooked on everything unfolding. Watching the separated teams attempt to navigate through enemy territory leads to some dark and bloody sequences, and everything comes together in a brutal confrontation where all the characters get a moment to shine. The invasion in the aftermath of this assault brings the entirety of The Guns of Tanith together in an outstanding way, as several major storylines are expertly and impressively resolved, often in ways that leave the characters even more damaged than when they started. This is also a particularly shocking death of a major character that is guaranteed to move long-term readers of the series. Abnett does a masterful job of setting this death up, including by showcasing several misleading near-misses, so you really don’t know who is going to live or die right up to the end. His eventual choice is one designed to wound his readers, and you will have to come back to see how it impacts the rest of this series. Overall, this was an extremely solid and impressive Gaunt’s Ghosts narrative, and I deeply enjoyed how Abnett continued and finalised some of the great character storylines from the previous books, while also providing the reader with more action and intrigue than they can handle.

As with most of the Gaunt’s Ghosts books, The Guns of Tanith is an open read to all those unfamiliar with the wider Warhammer 40,000 canon. Abnett goes out of his way to make his books accessible for new readers, and he always provides enough detail and background so that anyone can catch up and enjoy the subsequent story. However, for those fans more familiar with the Warhammer universe, there are always a ton of great elements or unique world building details that they will find particularly fascinating. The new locations in The Guns of Tanith are pretty damn spiffing, and I had a lot of fun with the polluted planet, especially as it requires multiple arial sequences. This is turn leads to the introduction of the Phantine XX Fighter Corps, who Abnett will go on to feature in his spin-off novel, Double Eagle, and it was fun to see how they get their start here. For me, though, the best part of the universe expansion was Abnett’s in-depth look at the day-to-day life of the common soldier in the Imperial Guard. While Abnett has always done a masterful job of capturing the footslogger experience in his novels, I felt that The Guns of Tanith was one of his best attempts to dive into the core of his beloved regiment. Not only is there are lot of story focus on the various members and factions of the regiment, but Abnett also spent some time trying to explore the downtime and personal lives of the characters, and it was pretty intriguing to see the accompanying civilian baggage train of the regiment, which includes their families and other vital services. I also personally loved the scenes that examined the problems associated with the Imperial bureaucracy as the Ghosts come up against their greatest enemy: bad paperwork. Certain mistakes ensure that the Ghosts are left with minimal ammunition as the Departmento Munitorum orders the wrong power packs for their lasguns. The following extended sequence which saw the regiment unable to fight effectively because their ammunition couldn’t fit their guns was an impressive part of the book and it definitely raised the stakes during the book’s introduction.

As usual, one of the major highlights of The Guns of Tanith is the amazing characters that the story focuses on, as Abnett once again fits a huge number of character-driven storylines into the book. At this point in the series, Abnett has introduced a pretty substantial cast of characters, many of whom have ongoing storylines, and it is intriguing to see them unfold even further in The Guns of Tanith, especially as Abnett does a great job featuring most of them equally and then combining them into the larger narrative. Many of the more intriguing character arcs in this book carry over from the previous novels and there are some great conclusions and expansions to them here that helps to improve the already great narrative of The Guns of Tanith. At the same time, several new characters are introduced here or finally given prominence, and it was interesting to see how they fit into the already established character dynamics that Abnett has been building up. The cohesiveness of the Ghosts as a regiment ends up becoming a huge fixture of this book as the Tanith-Verghastite divide is explored in greater detail by many of the characters. It was fascinating to see how Abnett handled these character storylines in The Guns of Tanith, and several of them ended up being some of the best parts of the book.

As with most of the novels in the series, quite a lot of character focus goes towards the main protagonist, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, whose experiences as the commander of this unique regiment continue to trouble him in various ways. In The Guns of Tanith, this takes the form of his apparent unconscious bias towards the Tanith elements of his regiment over the Verghastite recruits, which is showcased by his differing reactions during two court cases. This results in several intense interactions between Gaunt and members of his team, which helped to showcase the protagonist’s idealism and a certain degree of naiveté when it comes to Imperial politics, both of which will cause him trouble in the future. This is also an intriguing look at the issues caused by Gaunt holding the dual rank of Colonel and Commissar, which make him simultaneously a command officer and a political officer in charge of discipline. This is the first time the duality of his roles has caused some major problems for him, and it was interesting to see several characters question him about it. Watching Gaunt try to balance his various hats while also maintaining the respect of his men and his superiors makes this a rather compelling novel for Gaunt and I will be intrigued to see how this affects the character in the future.

While there is always a lot of focus on Gaunt, many of the other characters have big moments here, and it is always interesting to see which characters Abnett will focus on in each particular novel. Firstly, this is one of the Gaunt’s Ghosts books where the major characters of Colm Corbec and Elim Rawne do not get a lot of focus, as Abnett sets them aside to make room for others. Corbec is once again wounded early on in the plot to keeps him out of the action, while Rawne, after getting a good needling into Gaunt, is showcased as the senior commander, but that’s about it. Instead, a lot of the focus goes towards some of the newer members of the cast, such as Gol Kolea, whose attempts to balance his complex family concerns leads only to tragedy and despair for him and the reader. Cuu continues to be a menace, while surgeon Ana Curth acts as several character’s consciences throughout the book. The previously overlooked but surprisingly lucky Bonin finally got some prominence in this novel, and I loved finding out how he survived Necropolis. The newer characters of Commissar Hark and Captain Ban Daur also proved to be essential parts of the plot, and I am really glad that Abnett continued to utilise them, as they helped Gaunt see the errors of several decisions while simultaneously taking on some of Gaunt’s more unorthodox methods. Members of the original Ghosts, such as Brin Milo, Larkin, Bragg and Mkoll all had good roles in The Guns of Tanith as well, and their balanced scenes showcased different triumphs and tragedies. Finally, I was glad that Abnett decided to keep featuring the mysterious preacher, Ayatani Zweil, after his fun introduction in Honour Guard. Zweil is an always entertaining yet serious figure, and it was great to see him knock some sense into several characters when they needed it. I’m honestly only scratching the surface here, as a ton of other characters were well featured throughout The Guns of Tanith as Abnett continues to build and bring together his final cast of major characters. Each of these amazing protagonists had some superb impacts on narrative of this novel, and I cannot wait to see how Abnett continues to develop them in the later books of the series. I am assuming it is only a matter of time until more of the characters start to die, and I am sure that will break my heart just as much as the big death in The Guns of Tanith did.

Due to my love of the format, I of course listened to The Guns of Tanith on audiobook, which is easily the best way to enjoy any Warhammer book. I have gone on a lot about the fantastic Gaunt’s Ghosts audiobooks in recent reviews, and The Guns of Tanith has all the same advantages, as one of my favourite audiobook narrators, Toby Longworth, brings the reader right into the heart of the action with his great voice work. Every scene is masterfully showcased by his narration, and all the characters are brought to life thanks to the great voices he utilises for them. Longworth really stretched himself when it came to accents in this latest novel, and he features a ton of great new voices, as well as the existing tones from the previous audiobooks, to bring this entire audiobook together. With the standard runtime of just over 10 hours, The Guns of Tanith audiobook is a real snap to power through, and I honestly finished it off in only a few days.

Unsurprisingly, I absolutely loved the fifth entry in Dan Abnett’s exceptional Gaunt’s Ghosts books, The Guns of Tanith, which proved to be another powerful and enjoyable Warhammer 40,000 novel. Filled with Abnett’s usual impressive battles, The Guns of Tanith also had a brilliant focus on characters-driven storylines that dominated most of the plot and kept the readers hooked the entire time. An intense, addictive, and deeply personal Gaunt’s Ghosts books, The Guns of Tanith was pretty damn outstanding and I loved every second of it.

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Throwback Thursday – Warhammer 40,000: Honour Guard by Dan Abnett

On April 21, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer12 Comments

Warhammer 40,000 - Honour Guard Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – July 2001)

Series: Gaunt’s Ghosts – Book Four

Length: 10 hours and 12 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. For this week’s Throwback Thursday I’m still in a Warhammer 40,000 mood, so I decided to dive even further into Dan Abnett’s classic Gaunt’s Ghosts series with the fourth book, Honour Guard.

Readers of this blog will no doubt have noticed a fair increase in the number of Warhammer 40,000 novels I’ve highlighted this year, as this entire grim expanded universe has quite an addictive quality to it. Foremost amongst these books have been the compelling works of veteran author Dan Abnett, who has written so many impressive and key parts of the Warhammer canon over the years. I deeply enjoyed his Eisenhorn trilogy (Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus), all three of which were given pride of place in my recent post listing my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels. However, his best-known works are his Gaunt’s Ghosts series of books, which catalogue the adventures of the Tanith First and Only regiment of Imperial Guard, better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. I have had a wonderful time with the first three novels, First and Only, Ghostmaker and Necropolis, as well as the prequel novel The Vincula Insurgency, which showcased the bloody lives of the common soldier in this war-torn universe. I have really gotten attached to this series and when I wanted a quick read, there was nothing I would rather turn to then the next Gaunt’s Ghosts book, Honour Guard.

Throughout the extended, system-spanning Sabbat World crusades, the men of the Tanith First and Only have fought against the dark forces of Chaos in every way imaginable. Led by their heroic commander, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, the Tanith soldiers, known colloquially as Gaunt’s Ghosts, have had many victories, but few failures. So, when fighting on the holy Shrine World of Hagia, the Ghosts are devastated when they trigger a disastrous enemy trap that destroys a holy city and creates a psyker beacon that will draw a massive Chaos fleet down on their position.

Troubled by his failures to protect one of the most important planets in the Sabbat Worlds and made a scapegoat by his commander, Gaunt is left a broken man. His one chance to save his career and his regiment is to lead the Tanith and an armoured company as an honour guard to a sacred shrine to recover the holy relics of Saint Sabbat. If he can recover the relics and evacuate them from the planet before the Chaos fleet arrives, he may be able to keep the Ghosts under his command.

Beginning the arduous pilgrimage, Gaunt and his men soon discover that the road to the shrine isn’t as clear as their intelligence indicated. A vast enemy army lies in wait for them, and the Ghosts will have to fight every step of the way to secure their objective and make their escape. However, there are far more mysterious forces at work behind the scenes as Gaunt and some of his men soon find themselves being driven on by religious visions of Saint Sabbat herself. Is the holy saint talking to them, or is something more sinister manipulating them?

Honour Guard was another epic science fiction military adventure that I powered through in no time at all. Skilfully continuing the intriguing Gaunt’s Ghost story, Abnett has produced a thoughtful and intense read that throws the protagonists into a captivating action-packed scenario that really showcases the gritty nature of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Honour Guard has a somewhat typical Gaunt’s Ghosts story to it, and if you’ve read the series before then you know that means great characters, intense fights with big set-piece battles, and a compelling look at the common soldier in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. This fourth book follows on from the events of Necropolis, and Abnett quickly and ably shows the changes to the regiment that the previous adventures have wrought, especially with all the new Verghastite recruits. Abnett starts things off with an epic series of battles as the Ghosts attempt to take a Chaos controlled city. This opening sprawl of fights is not only intense but it expertly introduces the new setting, sets up several key story points, and lets the reader know who the main characters of Honour Guard are going to be. From there, the characters, especially the main protagonist, Gaunt, face a major setback as the city is destroyed, their allies are killed, and a massive Chaos fleet has been summoned to destroy the holy planet they are on. There are some great moments in this early bit of the book, especially as Abnett really dives into the impacts of the failure on Gaunt. It also sets up the intriguing story element that Gaunt is likely to lose his command and the Ghosts will be broken up as a result.

With that set up, Abnett then drives into the meat of the story, with Gaunt leading the Ghosts and an armoured regiment as an honour guard to retrieve the sacred relics of one of the Imperium’s most important saints before the enemy fleet arrives. Framed as an easy mission to give Gaunt an honourable send off, the mission naturally goes to hell when the Ghosts discover a vast enemy army between them and their goal. This results in several major battles on the road, and Abnett has a lot of fun combining infantry fighting with tank warfare to make the conflicts even more impressive. Each battle is extremely fun in its own regard, and fans of action and military combat really won’t be disappointed by Honour Guard as a result. At the same time, there is a real focus on the characters, as several of the protagonists are going through different personal struggles, especially Gaunt. Abnett also introduces an intriguing and moving side storyline that sees several long-running Gaunt’s Ghosts characters, who were wounded and left behind, attempt to make their own way to the conflict, guided by religious visions. Everything leads up to a final battle sequence at the objective as the honour guard are trapped with a massive enemy force coming towards them. Abnett naturally spends pages detailing all the bloody fighting, which serves as a great backdrop to the main story elements. While I did think that the big finale of the book was too sudden and coincidental, it did fit into the general theme of faith and miracles that were covered in a lot of the plot. Overall, this was another great, action-heavy narrative that I was able to sit back and enjoy.

As with all Abnett’s work, Honour Guard is extremely well written, and readers who have enjoyed any of the author’s previous books will be aware of what they are in for with this fantastic novel. The author features a great blend of action, universe building and character development throughout his novel, and readers are ensured of constant excitement or intense, character-driven moments. The entire story is told from multiple character perspectives, as the entire cast is well represented. Not only does this allow the reader to get interesting updates from all the intriguing characters, many of whom have been built up in previous books, but it also ensures that you get a wide view of events featured throughout the novel, including several different perspectives of each battle. I do think that the book was lacking a good antagonist perspective (or honestly a real antagonist character), and if Abnett would have included that, the entire story would have felt a bit more complete. Still, the sheer number of perspectives and supporting characters ensures that the reader sees every angle of the action. That is really great, as the battle scenes are some of the best parts of the book. Abnett never holds back when it comes to the carnage, and every massive fight, armoured vehicle engagement and or infantry push is covered in high detail. The author really tries to highlight the brutality and trauma of war, as well as the hell each of the soldier characters goes through, and you ended up riveted to the plot as a result, especially as no side character is safe. I am glad that Abnett keeps up his outstanding writing throughout the Gaunt’s Ghosts series and I ended up getting really caught up in Honour Guard as a result.

This proved to be another interesting addition to both the Gaunt’s Ghosts series and the wider Warhammer 40,000 universe, and fans of both are going to have a pretty great time with this new novel. As with most of the books in the series, Honour Guard can be read as a standalone novel, although starting with the earlier books does give the reader more insight into the characters. Abnett really tries to make each of his novels as accessible as possible, and readers new to the series or Warhammer fiction in general can easily dive in here and have a fun time with all the military action. However, Abnett also has a lot of fun expanding out the canon in Honour Guard, especially as you get to see more regiments of the Imperial Guard in action against the forces of Chaos. One of the most intriguing lore aspects of Honour Guard is the examination of key elements of the Sabbat Worlds, which have been the overarching focus of this series. In particular, there is a focus on the legendary figure of Saint Sabbat, who is a personal hero of many of the characters. This sends the story down an interesting spiral of faith and devotion in the Imperial Cult, as many have their religious beliefs tested due to the earlier events of the story. As such, there are some great examinations of the Imperial religion, and it is fascinating to see the potential spiritual ramifications of several events throughout the novel. I also quite enjoyed the main setting of the planet of Hagia, which is only really featured in this novel. Abnett sets the entire world up very quickly and you soon find yourself caught up in the fight for this religious planet which is completely dedicated to worship of the Emperor and his saints. Abnett works several religious elements of the planet into the story extremely well, and it proves to be quite fascinating backdrop for this awesome novel.

One of the best things about Abnett’s writing is his ability to construct multiple complex and intriguing characters who all go through some great development. This is particularly true in the Gaunt’s Ghosts books, as he has constructed a pretty massive cast of characters throughout the first three books in the series who all come into play in Honour Guard. I really enjoyed all the amazing characters in this fourth novel, especially as there is a very interesting change of dynamics due to the Verghastite recruits joining at the end of the previous novel, Necropolis. Not only does that mean that some of the best new characters from the previous book are once again featured here, but it builds some fantastic rivalries between the soldiers as the new Ghosts attempt to gain acceptance from the men of Tanith. Honour Guard ended up being a fantastic litmus test for Abnett’s expanded cast, especially as it introduces some compelling cultural and gender divides to the regiment, while also ensuring that all the fantastic characters the author utilised in Necropolis don’t go to waste.

Many of these great characters really stood out to me in Honour Guard, but of course most of the focus was once again on the central protagonist of Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt. This was a pretty significant novel for Gaunt, as readers get to see him at his very lowest point after he suffers a devastating defeat. This pushes him into a depressive spiral, which is very surprising after how controlled and confident he has been in the previous novels. Abnett really does a great job of showcasing Gaunt’s lost confidence and internal anger, and watching him overcome it becomes an intense part of the book. The author really dives down deep into Gaunt’s motivations throughout Honour Guard, and you come away feeling a lot closer to the character as a result. It isn’t always easy for an author to show their main protagonist dealing with defeat and loss, but Abnett did a wonderful job of it in Honour Guard, and I think it makes Gaunt a much stronger figure as a result.

Aside from Gaunt, a lot of the other characters are really well utilised throughout Honour Guard, with some great side storylines and adventures. Colonel Corbec’s adventure with long-running Gaunt’s Ghosts characters Dorden, Brin Milo and Bragg, had some excellent moments to it, especially as many of them are still dealing with the loss of loved ones or their planet. Abnett also makes great use of several notable characters introduced in Necropolis like Gol Kolea, Captain Ban Daur and Ana Curth in Honour Guard. It was great to see the author spending time developing storylines around them which will continue to build throughout the series, and I enjoyed seeing them attempting to integrate into the Tanith regiment. Even new characters like Viktor Hark, the regiments new Commissar, the slippery and entertaining killer Cuu, and troubled Trooper Vamberfeld, all added some awesome elements to the overall story. I liked how Hark proved to be a compelling reflection of Gaunt, while Vamberfeld showcased the traumas war can have on a soldier’s mind, while also placing him right in the middle of key events. However, some of the best character work in Honour Guard occurred around the always entertaining Major Rawne. Rawne, who has sworn multiple times to kill Gaunt, bears witness to his commander’s fall from grace after his defeat. However, rather than revelling in it, Rawne ends up having a big confrontation with Gaunt towards the end of the book to snap some sense in him. Watching this cynical character be the voice of reason to Gaunt was just brilliant, and the resulting exchange added some fantastic layers to Rawne that I deeply enjoyed. While I really would have loved some more named antagonists, the characters overall in Honour Guard were pretty exceptional, and I really loved how Abnett worked their unique personal narratives into the wider plot.

I doubt anyone is going to be too surprised that I checked out Honour Guard on audiobook, as that has been my preferred format for all Abnett’s books. This is mainly because the action, characters, and grim setting are always translated across so effortlessly on the audiobook, and you can really appreciate all the cool detail that Abnett includes as a result. Coming in a just over 10 hours, the Honour Guard audiobook has a pretty typical length for a Warhammer book, and I was able to quickly power through it. As usual, I need to highlight the amazing narration of Toby Longworth, who has lent his voice to all of Abnett’s previous books. Longworth has an outstanding voice that really captures the tone of the story and ensures that the reader can envision every single battle taking place. His real talent is his ability to dive into every single character Abnett comes up with and give them a fitting voice that captures their personality and emotions. There is some impressive continuation from the previous Gaunt’s Ghosts audiobooks as Longworth brings back all the voices he previously featured there, which I deeply appreciated. He also employs an intriguing range of accents, which help to emphasise the different planets of origin for the various characters and regiments featured in the book. This attention to detail and impressive voice work helps to make Honour Guard, and indeed all the Gaunt’s Ghosts audiobooks really stand out, and I had a wonderful time listening to the book in this format. Easily the best way to enjoy this fantastic novel.

Honestly, there was no question about me enjoying Honour Guard, considering how much fun I have been having with the previous Gaunt’s Ghosts books. This fourth entry has a great story and some brilliant writing by Abnett, and readers are in for an exceptional experience of bullets, blood and explosions in some the best military fiction in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. This was an outstanding read, and I can give no higher compliment than to say that the moment I finished off Honour Guard, I started listening to the next novel in the series, The Guns of Tanith. I honestly cannot get enough of this incredible Warhammer 40,000 series and it will be very interesting to see what unique storylines Abnett cooks up next.

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Warhammer 40,000: The Vincula Insurgency by Dan Abnett

On June 27, 2022March 1, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer20 Comments

The Vincula Insurgency Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 21 May 2022)

Series: Ghost Dossier – Book One

Length: 6 hours and seven minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of the leading authors of Warhammer fiction, Dan Abnett, returns to his iconic Gaunt’s Ghosts franchise in a big way with the compelling military thriller, The Vincula Insurgency.

Few people have excelled at tie-in fiction in the same way that acclaimed author Dan Abnett has over the years. Not only has he written multiple awesome comics and several original novels but he has contributed tie-in books to several different fandoms, including Doctor Who and Tomb Raider. However, his most significant work has easily been within the Warhammer extended universe. Abnett has produced a ton of impressive and compelling Warhammer novels over his career in both the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy sub-series. Some of his more notable works include some cool-sounding Warhammer comics, the Tales of Malus Darkblade novels (I’ve got a copy on my shelf waiting to be read), and some major Warhammer 40,000 novels, including multiple entries in the massive The Horus Heresy series, as well as his Eisenhorn, Ravenor and Bequin novels, which together paint one of the most complete pictures of the Imperial Inquisition). However, I would say that his most notable series is probably the Gaunt’s Ghosts series of novels.

Set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Gaunt’s Ghosts novels are part of the larger Sabbat Worlds crusades arc of fiction (which have come out of this series) following a unique regiment of soldiers, the Tanith First and Only. The Tanith First and Only, also known as Gaunt’s Ghosts in respect to their commander, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, are a highly skilled unit who specialise in stealth and scouting missions. Their planet, Tanith, was destroyed shortly after their formation, hence the designation First and Only. The Gaunt’s Ghosts series follows their battles through the Sabbat Worlds as a major part of the crusades. This series began back in 1999 with the awesome novel, First and Only, and the latest novel, Anarch, (book 15) came out in 2019. Generally considered one of the most iconic and compelling series in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, I have been meaning to properly read this series for ages, although so far I have only had the chance to check out First and Only. However, Abnett recently revisited this series with the intriguing The Vincula Insurgency. The first entry in Ghost Dossier series, which presents never-before-seen stories of the Ghosts, The Vincula Insurgency acts as a prequel to the main series and tells an impressive and fun new tale of the early regiment.

Before the battles that would make them famous throughout the Sabbat Worlds Crusades, the Tanith First and Only, under the command of Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, are still coming together as a unit. After fighting a gruelling campaign on the planet of Voltemand, politics has forced the Tanith to remain and take over security for a backwater agricultural province and its capital, Vincula City. Determined to get off-world and back to the frontlines, Gaunt and his regiment grudgingly prepare for the arrival of a new provincial governor and his administrators. However, life is about to get very interesting for the Tanith forces.

A highly skilled and deadly insurgency movement has emerged within Vincular City, determined to cripple the Imperial forces within and disrupt their ability to assist the rest of the crusade. After a series of brutal bombings, Gaunt and his troops attempt to keep the peace within the province. However, their actions are countered at an impressive rate by the local insurgency elements, who are receiving outside help and training from a dangerous opponent who knows all the Tanith’s tricks. Can Gaunt and his unit pull together to defeat this deadly foe? And what happens when they discover that their mysterious opponent is linked to the Ghost’s long-dead planet?

This was another extremely awesome Warhammer novel from Abnett who has produced an intense and clever prequel to his existing Gaunt’s Ghosts novels. The Vincula Insurgency is a relatively short novel, with a somewhat compressed story. However, despite this length, Abnett manages to achieve quite a lot. Not only does it set up plot points for the main series, but it also features a brilliant and very entertaining self-contained narrative that is guaranteed to keep the reader entertained. Shown from the perspective of several of your favourite Ghosts, the author tells an excellent story that sees the protagonists under attack from a well organised insurgency group. This results in a very fast-paced narrative that perfectly brings together the science fiction Warhammer 40,000 elements with a military thriller storyline as the Ghosts attempt to overcome the enemy attacking them from all sides. The action flies thick and fast here, and features some impressively written battle sequences that really drag you into the heart of the fighting. In addition, the author keeps the tension levels high throughout most of the story, and the feeling that some bad things are about to happen is never far from the reader’s mind. The multiple character driven storylines come together extremely well within The Vincula Insurgency to create a comprehensive and powerful narrative, and I really appreciated some of the unique story elements that Abnett came up with. This cool novel ends on an interesting note, and I will be quite intrigued to see what additional new Gaunt’s Ghosts’ stories Abnett has planned.

This was a very interesting addition to the Warhammer canon as Abnett dives back into the earlier days of his established series. The Vincula Insurgency serves as an excellent prequel to the Gaunt’s Ghosts series, and it was great to see more of the early history surrounding this awesome unit. Abnett makes sure to load up the book with a ton of references and hints of the events that are to come in the series, which established fans will really appreciate. However, even those readers who are unfamiliar with the Gaunt’s Ghosts series can have fun here, as Abnett tells a very inclusive narrative that anyone can enjoy, with plenty of exposition about who the Tanith are and what is happening in the Sabbat Worlds Crusades. Indeed, The Vincula Insurgency serves as a very good introduction to the series’ characters and storylines, and many readers could use this as a jumping point into the main Gaunt’s Ghosts novels. Abnett also takes this opportunity to do an interesting bit of lore expansion with the Tanith troops. Due to certain plot points, the characters dive into the Tanith culture and history, which proves to be very fascinating, especially when it may connect to a new enemy. This also serves as a very good introduction to the wider Warhammer 40,000 canon, especially as it showcases the common trooper’s role in this chaotic universe. I often say that stories about the common Imperial soldiers result in some of the best Warhammer 40,000 novels (Steel Tread and Krieg for example), and this was extremely true in The Vincula Insurgency. Abnett really nails the feel of an armed insurgency in the Warhammer 40,000 setting, and the parallels between the battles in this book and in some real-world conflicts are pretty uncanny (think Iraq or Afghanistan with laser rifles). An overall excellent addition to both the Warhammer and Gaunt’s Ghost canon that is really worth checking out.

I had a lot of fun with the characters in The Vincula Insurgency, especially as Abnett features slightly younger versions of all your favourite original Gaunt’s Ghosts protagonists. This is a slightly different version of the Ghosts that you have seen before, as they are still coming together as a regiment and aren’t yet a fully cohesive team. Abnett does a brilliant job featuring multiple key Gaunt’s Ghosts characters in this book, with many getting their own distinctive storylines. I liked his portrayal of unit leader Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, who is still relatively new in his command of the regiment. While he is still incredibly confident, skilled and an absolute badass, it was interesting to see a few differences here, such as his inability to remember the names of the members of his unit. Other key characters include Colonel Colm Corbec, the regiment’s second in command who is sent on an alternate mission for most of the book where he learns all the joys of interacting with the upper echelons of the Imperial Guard. Major Elim Rawne, the rebellious member of the unit has a great outing in this book, not only showcasing his established resentment for Gaunt, but also featuring him in an intriguing romance with an Administratum official that deeply impacts him. Brin Milo, the youngest member of the Tanith, also has a major arc in this book, with the novel focusing on both his uncanny insights, and his rise to become Gaunt’s official aid. Other characters who get some good showings in this book include Ceglan Varl, Bragg, Tolin Dorden, Oan Mkoll, and more, with all of them getting their moment to shine in this book. I had a brilliant time seeing earlier versions of these great characters, and Abnett clearly had fun revisiting them and showcasing their older attitudes.

I ended up grabbing The Vincula Insurgency audiobook, which proved to be an excellent adaptation of this book. With a runtime of just over six hours, listeners can really speed through The Vincula Insurgency audiobook, and the story just flows along, especially with the impressive narration from Toby Longworth. Longworth, who is one of the more prolific Warhammer narrators, having voiced all the previous Gaunt’s Ghosts novels, is a very talented voice actor who brilliantly brings this compelling story and its great characters to life. Not only does he address every bit of action and exposition for a powerful and impressive tone, but each of the characters are given their own distinctive and fitting voice throughout the book. I particularly liked how he gave all the Tanith characters similar accents to denote that they all come from the same planet, and it was a very nice touch, especially as it contrasts well with the various non-Tanith characters, some of whom have other, often strongly European, accents. This incredible voice work really helped to drag me into this captivating story, and I found myself getting a lot more invested in the characters and the plot as a result. Easily the best way to enjoy The Vincula Insurgency, this audiobook comes highly recommended.

The always impressive Dan Abnett returns with another awesome addition to his fantastic Gaunt’s Ghosts series with The Vincula Insurgency. Featuring an outstanding and exciting prequel narrative, The Vincula Insurgency takes an earlier version of the Tanith First and Only on an intense and action-packed adventure in captured enemy territory. Tense, fast-paced, and loaded with compelling characters, The Vincula Insurgency is an excellent and highly enjoyable Warhammer 40,000 novel that will appeal to wide range of readers.

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Planetside by Michael Mammay

On November 6, 2018August 16, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller42 Comments

Publishers: Harper Voyager

HarperAudio

Publication Date – 31 July 2018

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Well, that was an unexpectantly awesome book! I am usually pretty good at predicting how good a book is going to be by its plot synopsis or my prior knowledge of the author. When I first heard about Planetside I thought it sounded like an interesting concept from first-time author Michael Mammay. While I had high hopes for the book, I did somewhat assume that it would just be another solid but enjoyable science fiction mystery. What I was not expecting, however, was one of the best science fiction books of 2018 that easy achieves a five-star rating from me.

Set in the far future of Earth’s expansion, Planetside follows Colonel Carl Butler, a war hero living out a peaceful semi-retirement on a training base. However, when his old friend General Serata calls him late at night and drags him all the way to headquarters, he obliges for old times’ sake. Serata needs him to travel to the planet of Cappa, humanity’s current warzone, where members of a resilient and intelligent alien race known as the Cappans are fighting a gruelling insurgency against the humans attempting to exploit their planet. Once there, he will head up an investigation into the disappearance of a young lieutenant who went missing after being wounded on the planet. By all accounts, the wounded lieutenant was successfully evacuated from the surface, but the military hospital claims that he never arrived at their facility. To makes matters worse, the lieutenant is the son of a high councillor, and the disappearance has become a highly publicised affair. Despite knowing that there is more to the case than Serata is letting on, Butler agrees to find the missing officer.

Arriving at Cappa Base, the space station hovering over the planet, Butler soon finds that his investigation is going to be a lot harder than he anticipated. All the soldiers he speaks to have the same rehearsed story, the head of the base’s military hospital flat out refuses to cooperate with him, the head of Special Ops is continuously unable to come off-planet to speak to him, and any witnesses or evidence that could point him in the right direction mysteriously disappears. It is also damn suspicious that any time he takes a step in the right direction, somebody tries to have him killed. Under pressure to wrap this investigation up, Butler decides to drop down onto the surface of Cappa, but what he finds down there will change everything. Forced into an increasingly desperate situation, Butler must find the answers he needs before it is too late.

This is the first book from Michael Mammay, but it was more than enough to make me a dedicated fan of this author. With a sequel already set to be released in 2019, Planetside is an extraordinary introduction to an amazing new series. I chose to listen to this book in its audiobook format, read by R. C. Bray, and at 8 hours 38 minutes, this is a fairly quick way to enjoy this fantastic book.

Planetside’s story is based around the protagonist’s investigation into a missing human soldier on an alien planet that has been occupied by the human military. As Butler arrives at the military base the solider was stationed out of, he begins to realise that there is something much more to the case than what was advertised. Every single person he speaks to is hiding something, he seems only to uncover more lies, and some shadowy figures are actively trying to sabotage his investigation in any way they can. Despite all these setbacks, the protagonist persists with his investigation throughout the course of the book and slowly begins to uncover the underlying conspiracy that the soldier’s disappearance is just one small part of. There is so much about this mystery investigation to enjoy, as the author seamlessly combines the mystery and conspiracy part of this story with the science fiction element, creating a unique and captivating overall narrative. The full scope of this conspiracy is very impressive, and Mammay’s slow burn reveal of the extent and implications of what Butler uncovers is well done to keep the reader in suspense. I was intensely intrigued by this multilayered conspiracy, and was left constantly guessing at what the potential solution was.

The book is told from the point of view of its protagonist, Colonel Butler, and Mammay has created an excellent central character for this story that the reader is instantly drawn to and cannot help but like. The author has done a fantastic job conveying the fact that Butler is a straight-shooting, no-bullshit, wily veteran soldier who has had enough of war and is just looking forward to retirement. He is an amusing and intriguing choice to investigate the book’s intricate and potentially wide-reaching conspiracy, as he powers through the expected political niceties other investigators may have worried about without any concerns for his future or career. His years of service also ensure that he has impeccable instincts when it comes to the people he is dealing with and is fully aware of when the other characters are bullshitting him, which occurs frequently throughout this book. I had fun observing this rough and seemingly uncomplicated old-school soldier get to grips with this elaborate conspiracy and blow through all the careful plans of the book’s antagonists. The colonel also has a sense of humour, something that the other characters encounter to various degrees of frustration, especially the people he is intentionally pissing off. I also appreciated the self-deprecating and extremely honest reflections about the situation that Butler presents to the reader, as it made me like him even more.

The military aspects of this book are another amazing part of Planetside, as Mammay has perfectly captured elements of the modern day military and transplanted them into this science fiction storyline. The majority of the story is set within Cappa Base, and the reader is made to feel like they are in a real military base. The author also seeks to capture the full minutiae of military life throughout the book, and the reader is given insight into what tasks are undertaken on the base, the main characters experience and the respect he commands of the other soldiers in the story. While most of the focus is on the investigation, there are a couple of action scenes throughout the book, including an extended battle sequence that see’s the protagonist and his allies engage in a protracted firefight with enemy forces on the planet’s surface. The author’s use of the first-person perspective is perfect for these battle sequences and the reader is dragged right into the middle of these firefights, really experiencing the action through Mammay’s skilled and descriptive writing. This battle sequences felt very realistic and had some noticeable similarities to real-life skirmishes in modern day battlefields. The tactics the humans use during these conflicts on Cappa are highly reminiscent of American forces in the Middle East, although the inclusion of more science fiction appropriate weapons and technology allow for some interesting differences.

While the impressive investigation storyline does a fantastic job holding onto the reader’s interest, and the solution to the entire mystery arc is creative and clever, nothing compares to the book’s epic conclusion. Without going into too much detail, I thought that the way that Mammay ended this book was just incredible, and is one of the main reasons why I am giving this book a five-star rating. I also loved how, towards the end of the book, the protagonist becomes fully aware of how everything has to end, and at the same time he starts to understand that his oldest friend had sent him on this mission because he knew exactly how Butler would act upon uncovering the full extent of the conspiracy. The final scene of the book was just perfect as the protagonist reflects on everything that has happened with one of the book’s side characters. During this scene there is an excellent use of the end of a subtle countdown that has been occurring throughout the entire book, represented by a depleting number of whisky bottles, as well as an appropriate moment of happiness for Butler as he finally gets to have a whisky in a proper glass, which was just perfect. As mentioned above, Mammay already has a sequel planned, and I am extremely curious to see where the story goes next.

The audiobook version of Planetside is a great way to enjoy this fantastic book, and I had a lot of fun listening to this format. The audiobook’s narrator, R. C. Bray, manages to capture the gruff and grizzled personality of Butler perfectly, and for most of the book it really sounded like the old colonel was telling you his story. Bray also does a good job producing distinctive voices for the rest of the characters in book, including several female characters, and the listener is able to distinguish between the various people without too much difficulty. I also felt that listening to this story really helped bring me into the book’s awesome battle sequences as well as ensuring that I was fully invested in the success of the enjoyable main character. Overall, I would recommend the audiobook format as an excellent way to enjoy this book, although readers will of course get a lot out of this book if they choose the paperback format.

Michael Mammay’s debut novel, Planetside, is an incredible piece of science fiction and is one of my favourite books of 2018. Featuring a captivating mystery storyline that places the book’s likeable protagonist in the middle of a massive conspiracy, this book completely grabs the reader’s attention and refuses to let go until its powerful and memorable conclusion. I cannot recommend this book enough and it is essential reading for all fans of the science fiction genre. I am very much looking forward to Mammay’s sequel to Planetside, which is already at the top of my must-read list for 2019.