Warhammer 40,000: Creed: Ashes of Cadia by Jude Reid

On January 16, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer10 Comments

Creed - Ashes of Cadia Cover 2

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 9 September 2023)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 14 hours and 36 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Exciting new Warhammer 40,000 author Jude Reid presents an action-packed and captivating novel that takes the reader to one of the most desolate places in the franchise’s universe, the ruins of Cadia, with the exciting novel Creed: Ashes of Cadia.

Last year proved to be an outstanding year for new authors producing their first Warhammer 40,000 novel, with several highly talented authors, such as Rob Young (Longshot) and Jonathan D. Beer (The King of the Spoil), producing amazing and intense reads in this fantastic universe. One of the most interesting of these 2023 Warhammer 40,000 debuts was the impressive and captivating Creed: Ashes of Cadia by new author Jude Reid. Reid’s first full novel after writing multiple Warhammer 40,000 short stories, Ashes of Cadia takes the reader on an epic journey with a new major protagonist.

Years after the fall of Cadia to the dread forces of Chaos, the Imperium of Man is still reeling from the carnage wrought in its aftermath which saw a massive warp rift cleave their besieged intergalactic realm in two. Led by the returned Primarch Roboute Guilliman, humanity fights back as best it can in a great crusade, but its victories are never enough. When word reaches Guilliman of a potential weapon on the most unlikely of locations, desperation requires him to investigate, and there is only one person he can call on for this dangerous mission.

After continually proving herself on the field of battle, Ursula Creed has succeeded her father, Ursarkar E. Creed, in becoming the new lord castellan of Cadia. Leading the remaining Cadian forces in the Imperium, Ursula hopes to erase the stain of her legendary father’s great defeat, however, she can never seem to leave behind his complicated legacy. When summoned by Guilliman for a secret mission, Creed is shocked to discover that she is being sent back to one place she never thought to return to, the shattered remains of Cadia.

Accompanied by a select team of Cadians with an unusual mixture of skills and experience, Ursula is sent to the surface to recover her father’s final battle plans and the secret weapons they supposedly lead to. However, the surface of Cadia is a blasted wasteland, filled with foul energies and unnatural magic that causes even the dead to attack the invaders. Left without support and hopelessly outnumbered, Ursula must lead her unprepared followers onwards in the hope of securing the prize. But terrible evils lay claim to the remnants of Cadia, and Ursula will be forced to confront both the forces of Chaos and her own inescapable legacy as the daughter of Creed if she wants to survive. Can Ursula succeed where her father failed and redeem Cadia, or is she already lost?

Reid had a very ambitious story idea for Ashes of Cadia, in that she needed to provide a human solider focused, character-driven adventure narrative that simultaneously examined the complex legacy of the Cadians in a new way, while also providing the reader with an intense and action-packed read. Reid more than succeeded, as Ashes of Cadia takes the reader back to Cadia, one of the most significant landscapes in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and puts several intriguing and damaged protagonists through absolute hell.

Starting off a little slow to establish the main cast, remind people about the Cadian legacy, and set up the mission, Ashes of Cadia doesn’t really speed up until the protagonists land on shattered Cadia, and naturally all hell breaks loose. The protagonists essentially find themselves thrust into a zombie apocalypse scenario, as a sorcerer attacks with a horde of living dead and decimates the protagonist’s team, leaving them trapped on the planet. The disparate band of damaged and disillusioned survivors are forced to journey across the ravished planet to find either an escape or the rumoured secret weapon, encountering all manner of horrors, tragedy and continuous losses of supporting characters, all the while being hunted. At the same time, the cast become more and more disheartened and internal conflicts seek to fracture them in a range of emotionally charged scenes. This harsh adventure takes them to several key places on the ruins of the planet, as they get closer to their various personal goals. There are some interesting false starts and twists, as well as some heartbreaking scenes, and you are constantly on edge, especially as a new danger of betrayal might emerge just around the corner. I liked the reveal of Creed’s treasure in the novel, especially as it has some interesting potential consequences for the future of the Cadians, and the use of Creed’s daughter as a protagonist was a smart choice. While I did see the big twist of the book regarding a certain traitor coming, it was still really well written, and I loved how Reid tried to misdirect with multiple bloody red herrings. Everything leads up to a big, brutal, and over-the-top final confrontation, the sees the survivors redeemed in various ways, and it ended up being a fantastic and powerful piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction.

Reid wrote a very intense and personal novel here with Ashes of Cadia, and I really enjoyed her captivating writing style. Expertly splitting the focus of the book between several complex and unconventional soldiers with their own individual baggage, Ashes of Cadia becomes a much more emotionally charged novel than I was expecting, but the result was an impressive read, especially as you quickly get invested in the various character arcs. However, Reid is no slouch when it comes to the action, as the many combat sequences are sharp and brutal, keeping you on your toes as any of your favourite figures can quickly fall. While the pace of Ashes of Cadia does slow a bit at the beginning and in the middle, for the most part Reid keeps her novel moving along, and I had a hard time putting it down as a result. I especially loved how well Reid portrayed the fallen planet of Cadia throughout this novel, especially as she really laid out the horrors and dangers associated with this planet. Fans of Warhammer 40,000 fiction who know this planet well will be shocked by how disturbing and different it turns out, and I loved that we finally got an adventure in the ruins. A brilliant and exceptionally written novel, you will have a lot of fun with this book.

As I have mentioned a few times in this review, Ashes of Cadia is a significant piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction, mainly because it provides a continuation to a lot of the major story elements that have been a big part of the franchises fiction since the lore changes surrounding the fall of Cadia. Quite a bit of in-universe time has taken place since that event, and most of the recently released Warhammer fiction focuses on how the loss of the planet effected the Imperium and the many Cadian soldiers fighting throughout it. If followed through, the events of Ashes of Cadia are going to give these Cadian characters and stories new purpose, and I loved that we also have new Creed character to follow in Ursula. Reid does an excellent job of building up to these reveals, and there was another interesting look at how traumatised and demoralised the Cadians are, which really fit into the plot of this book. There are also a lot of references to other novels and events from the lore that fans of the franchise will appreciate, and I personally liked how it had some connections to another Warhammer 40,000 novel from last year, The Fall of Cadia by Robert Rath (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023). As such, Ashes of Cadia is probably best enjoyed by those established fans of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, especially those who have enjoyed the recent influx in Cadian fiction. However, there is still a lot for newer readers to the franchise to enjoy, especially as Reid does a wonderful job of explaining the key lore elements that lead up to this story. General fans of adventure, science fiction and even horror, can have a lot of fun with Ashes of Cadia, and this turned into quite an intense and bloody war narrative.

Easily the most distinctive part of Ashes of Cadia is the complex and damaged cast of characters that make up the main cast. Reid produced some unique figures for this impressive narrative, and their individual stories, as well as the general despair of the Cadian trooper following the loss of their planet, proves to be a major driving point in the plot, and I really enjoyed seeing the various character arcs unfold.

Ashes of Cadia’s story had three primary point of characters, and Reid did a pretty good job of jumping the story around them, showcasing each of their unique and well-written storylines. The most prominent of these is the titular Ursula creed, the current lord castellan of the lost planet of Cadia. The daughter of the beloved Cadian leader who lost the planet before disappearing, Ursula has big boots to fill, especially as she is resentful for her father’s legacy and the fact she barely knew him. The resulting insecurities, responsibilities and bitterness play a huge part in her character arc, and watching her walk in the steps of her father and attempt to become the leader he was proved to be a great part of the plot.

The next major character, Shael Laskari, adds a more general viewpoint to the story as a recently graduated cadet who is chosen to accompany Creed to the surface for propaganda reasons. Inexperienced and fearful, Laskari is the everywoman of Ashes of Cadia, and it proved interesting to see her deal with the unknown horrors of the planet while also trying to find her courage in her squad. Reid also does an exceptional job with the unique character of Mac Ossian. A former medic and member of a Cadian regiment, Ossian was assigned to a penal legion after killing his former commander, and now finds himself back on Cadia as part an expendable distraction. Managing to meet up with Creed’s unit, Ossian spends much of the book trying to prove his loyalty and worth, while also wondering if Creed and Cadia still deserves his surface.

These central characters are accompanied by several fantastic supporting cast members, several of which have their own exceptional character arcs. I personally really enjoyed Colonel Hadrian Aurelius Van Haast, who serves as a guide with local knowledge of the area. Van Haast is a stupendously arrogant figure, who you can’t help but dislike, and he added a fantastic dynamic to the cast. However, this arrogance is a cover for a much darker secret, which Reid slowly and expertly reveals as the book continues. I also must highlight Ossian’s fellow penal legionnaire Liga Yager, another prisoner who tries to survive after being dropped on Cadia to die. Due to her much more cynical perception of Creed and the Cadians, as well as her compelling backstory, Yager goes on a very different path than Ossian, and proved to be a devil on his shoulder that speaks some much-needed truth. Finally, I loved the villain of the story, the Death Guard sorcerer, Livor Opilionis, who is mostly called The Huntsman throughout the book. The Huntsman is a gloriously sinister and dangerous foe, who relentlessly hunts them throughout the ruins of Cadia, heralded by his hunting horn and packs of plague zombies, and the confrontations the protagonists have with him always leads to carnage. This outstanding cast of characters, and more, really turned Ashes of Cadia into an amazing novel, and I loved the brilliant character arcs that Reid developed around them.

As with most Warhammer 40,000 books I check out, I made sure to grab Ashes of Cadia on audiobook. The Warhammer 40,000 audiobooks are always pretty damn awesome, and I love how much the action, horror and unique setting came through in this format. Coming in with a decent runtime of just over 14 and a half hours, Ashes of Cadia was a very easy book to listen to, and I managed to knock it off quickly. It helped that Ashes of Cadia was narrated by the superbly talented Colleen Prendergast, who is swiftly becoming the go-to narrator of Warhammer 40,000 audiobooks with female Cadian protagonists. Prendergast has a great and intense voice for Warhammer 40,000 fiction, and I love how well she was able to move the plot along. She also provides a series of great and fitting voices for the cast of this book, especially the female characters. I loved how dignified and complex she made some of these characters, as well as how monstrous and threatening the main antagonist sounded in his terrifying scenes. As such, Ashes of Cadia was an absolute joy to listen to and I would strongly recommend this audiobook version to anyone interested in this fantastic piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction.

Creed: Ashes of Cadia was a fantastic, dark and captivating novel from Jude Reid, who produce an impressive debut with some intriguing potential for the wider Warhammer 40,000 universe. Loaded with action, intrigue and several complex characters, Creed: Ashes of Cadia was an excellent read that cleverly ties into the history and existing lore of this complex and highly fun franchise. Intense, moving, and oh so brutal, Ashes of Cadia comes highly recommended, especially for fans of Warhammer 40,000 fiction.

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Waiting on Wednesday – The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey

On January 10, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Science Fiction, Waiting on Wednesday8 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight probably the most anticipated science fiction release of 2024 with The Mercy of Gods, written by the brains behind The Expanse series, James S. A. Corey.

The Mercy of Gods Cover

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There are many great science fiction series out there, but few have gained the love, fandom and recognition that The Expanse books by James S. A. Corey have. The joint pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, both of whom are impressive authors in their own right, James S. A. Corey have been writing together since 2011 and while they have authored other works, specifically a Star Wars novel (Honor Among Thieves), they team is best known for their highly regarded The Expanse series. Set in the future, The Expanse deals with war, intrigue, politics and murder in space, with events becomes even more intense and destructive once ancient alien technology and life forms are discovered. While this series was always highly regarded by fans of science fiction novels, The Expanse gained even more recognition when its excellent television adaptation came out.

I personally came into The Expanse books a bit later than other readers, having only read the last three novels in the series, Persepolis Rising, Tiamat’s Wrath and Leviathan Falls. While I might not have explored the whole series, I still really enjoyed these last three novels, with Tiamat’s Wrath being one of my top books and audiobooks of 2019. I do wish I had come into this series at the beginning, but I never had the time to fit it into my schedule. However, it looks like I’ll be able to start one of their series from the beginning thanks to the upcoming book The Mercy of Gods.

The Mercy of Gods is another piece of epic science fiction and will be the first entry in The Captive’s War series, the first original series from the pair since they started The Expanse. The Mercy of Gods has an impressive plot behind it that will see the inhabitants of a human world get enslaved by a powerful alien race and forced to face off against other captured alien species in an elaborate competition.

Plot Synopsis:

How humanity came to the planet called Anjiin is lost in the fog of history, but that history is about to end.

The Carryx—part empire, part hive—have waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy. Now, they are facing a great and deathless enemy. The key to their survival may rest with the humans of Anjiin.

Caught up in academic intrigue and affairs of the heart, Dafyd Alkhor is pleased just to be an assistant to a brilliant scientist and his celebrated research team. Then the Carryx ships descend, decimating the human population and taking the best and brightest of Anjiin society away to serve on the Carryx homeworld, and Dafyd is swept along with them.

They are dropped in the middle of a struggle they barely understand, set in a competition against the other captive species with extinction as the price of failure. Only Dafyd and a handful of his companions see past the Darwinian contest to the deeper game that they must play to survive: learning to understand—and manipulate—the Carryx themselves.

With a noble but suicidal human rebellion on one hand and strange and murderous enemies on the other, the team pays a terrible price to become the trusted servants of their new rulers.

Dafyd Alkhor is a simple man swept up in events that are beyond his control and more vast than his imagination. He will become the champion of humanity and its betrayer, the most hated man in history and the guardian of his people.

This is where his story begins.

Ok, now this sounds like a book with some real potential. Putting aside the notable and highly proven writing skills of Corey, the plot alone of The Mercy of Gods has me pretty damn excited. I love the idea of humans being taken by an advanced alien race, who themselves are on the brink of extinction, which is a bold story idea to start with. However, combine that with an apparent dark competition arc, where the human protagonists need to compete against, betray and overcome other captive species to become their new master’s favoured servants, and you have something extremely special. An elaborate and deadly competition between species is such a great concept, and the fact that the authors are going to go even deeper than that with additional elements that look at the Carryx, a human rebellion, and murderous enemies attacking the protagonist, and you have one hell of an adventure that is sure to be particularly epic.

Based on the author’s writing style in the past, you must imagine that they are going to use this first book to set up a particularly intricate space setting, and no doubt all the competing alien races will have an intriguing history, unique features, and a proven desire to win and destroy the humans. The authors thrive when they get to deal in elaborate detail, and I cannot wait to see how they construct this new universe and the elaborate worlds and species featured within, especially as all these details are likely to have impacts on the larger story. The combination of unique science fiction elements and a dark story of desperate survivors and competitors is bound to result in something particularly impressive and I am really looking forward to it.

Honestly, the fact that this is the first book in a new series by James S. A. Corey instantly guaranteed that I would read The Mercy of Gods in 2024, and I am sure many other science fiction fans think the same way. However, I am also so in love with the extraordinary plot synopsis above and the incredible story it describes is something I cannot wait to see. As such, I have very little doubt that The Mercy of Gods is going to be a particularly epic and awesome novel, and it will probably end up being one of the top science fiction books of the year. I am so, very, very excited for The Mercy of Gods, and this new series from James S. A. Corey is going to be a firm fixture on my reading schedule for years to come.

Top Ten Tuesday –Most Anticipated Fantasy/Science Fiction Books Releasing in the First Half of 2024:

On January 9, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, List, Science Fiction16 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For the first Top Ten Tuesday, I will be listing my most anticipated upcoming books for the first half of the year. This is a regular post I do each year and I always look forward to highlighting the most awesome looking books for the start of the year. Because there are so many incredible reads coming out across the genres, I am doing two versions of this list, this first one that will exclusively look at upcoming fantasy and science fiction books, and another that will focus on upcoming books from other genres, including thrillers, crime fiction, historical fiction and more.

2024 is shaping up to be an outstanding year for fantasy and science fiction with a ton of epic and amazing sounding novels set for release throughout the year. I am particularly excited about the next six months as there are some deeply impressive books coming out that I am extremely keen for. This includes some fantastic sounding sequels, continuations to brilliant series, and several cool new novels from some very talented authors. I have already highlighted several of these books in some previous lists and Waiting on Wednesday articles which has made me really appreciate just how awesome the upcoming year is going to be in the fantasy and science fiction space, hence this list.

Just like with my other list of the night, I am only featuring books that are set for release in Australia or on Netgalley between 1 January 2024 and 30 June 2024 which I have some descent details about. Despite only being fantasy and science fiction books, I ended up with a huge collection of exceptional novels that I wanted to feature, which made completing this list surprisingly difficult. I was eventually able to break it down to the best 10 books (with honourable mentions), and I feel that I have capture the books that are going to be the best fantasy and science fiction reads of 2024. So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

The Burning Land by David Hair – 1 February 2024

An intriguing and awesome sound fantasy adventure that will see a group of knights go rogue to try and find the truth about the supposedly holy order that they serve.

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The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan – 13 February 2024

While I am sure that The Trials of Empire is going to be high up on many people’s to-read list for 2024, I’m going to keep it as an honourable mention mainly because I haven’t had the chance to read the second novel, The Tyranny of Faith, yet. I am hoping to read The Tyranny of Faith before The Trials of Empire comes out, so I can enjoy this awesome sounding novel later this year.

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Exit Black by Joe Pitkin – 20 February 2024

An intriguing science fiction thriller about a futuristic space hotel for the wealthy taken over by terrorists. Should be very, very fun.

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Top Ten List:

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett – 13 February 2024

One of the most anticipated fantasy releases of 2024, The Tainted Cup is an awesome and intricate novel that will force two unusual detectives to investigate a death apparently committed by impossible magic. Robert Jackson Bennett is an outstanding author, and I look forward to immersing myself in his new elaborate world.

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Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky – 28 March 2024

An intriguing science fiction thriller set in a massive prison on an alien world, Alien Clay will follow a scientist’s attempts to uncover the secrets of the planet while also dodging the prison’s dangerous warden. I have really grown to enjoy Tchaikovsky’s writing, especially after his amazing 2023 novels, City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds, and I have no doubt that Alien Clay will be a fun and impressive read.

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The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence – 9 April 2024

After deeply impressing me with the incredible and inventive The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (one of my favourite books of 2023), Mark Lawrence continues The Library trilogy in a big way with The Book That Broke the World. Continuing to follow his intriguing protagonists as they attempt to uncover the crazy secrets of the impossible library at the centre of their lives, The Book That Broke the World looks set to provide more peak Lawrence creativity and imagination and I cannot wait to see what happens next in this amazing series.

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Star Wars: The Living Force by John Jackson Miller – 9 April 2024

I’ve been a bit remiss with my Star Wars reading lately, and I’m hoping to make that up this year by checking out the cool new novel by John Jackson Miller, Star Wars: The Living Force. Set before the events of The Phantom Menace, The Living Force will follow Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi and all twelve members of the Jedi Council as they investigate how Jedi are perceived in the universe. Authored by one of the top authors of tie-in fiction, The Living Force should be a pretty awesome read and I am deeply intrigued about a story focusing on the Jedi Council and their politics.

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Extinction by Douglas Preston – 23 April 2024

One of the more entertaining and awesome upcoming books of 2024 is Extinction by veteran thriller and science fiction author Douglas Preston. Set in a resort where ancient animals have been brought back to life with genetic manipulation (when does that ever go wrong), the book will see guests murdered and kidnapped by a gang of eco-terrorists. Sounding like a fantastic mix of Die Hard and Jurassic Park, I love everything about Extinction, and I am hoping to read it soon.

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Warhammer 40,000: Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward – 23 April 2024

It wouldn’t be one of my lists without at least one Warhammer 40,000 novel, which has been such an epic franchise for me lately. While there are several great Warhammer 40,000 books coming out in 2024, the one from the first half of the year that appeals to me the most is Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward. Hayward’s debut novel, Deathworlder will pit two of this universe’s best jungle fighters against each other, as the human Catachan troopers attempt to navigate a world actively being consumed by the insidious alien Tyranids. This will probably end up being a disturbing and grim survivalist adventure, and I know I will love every second of it.

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The Silverblood Promise by James Logan – 7 May 2024

One of the books I’m particularly excited for this year is the excellent fantasy debut, The Silverblood Promise by James Logan. This awesome novel will follow a disappointing and caddish heir to a noble house who is thrust into a leadership position and must find out who is responsible for his father’s death in a deadly city of rogues and liars. I love the sound of this book and it has the potential to be one of the best debuts of 2024.

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The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton – 21 May 2024

An awesome science fiction murder mystery that I am really looking forward to in 2024 is the intriguing and complex The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton. Set in the last human settlement after a mysterious apocalypse, the book will see a deadly murder occurs that threatens the entire colony. To stay alive the protagonists will need to solve the murder before their sanctuary is destroyed, however, the settlement’s security protocols have been activated and erased everyone’s memory of the night in question, even the killers. Bound to be one of the most compelling and unique murder mysteries of 2024, I am very hyped for The Last Murder at the End of the World, and this should be an exceptional read from Turton.

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Necrotek by Jonathan Maberry – 28 May 2024

One of my favourite authors, Jonathan Maberry, returns with an awesome and intense new book in 2024, with Necrotek. Maberry, who deeply impressed me with his 2023 releases, Son of the Poison Rose and Cave 13 (both of which were amongst my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023), has a great writing style and I look forward to seeing how it translates across to the science fiction genre with Necrotek. Featuring a dark and horror themed narrative, Necrotek will be Maberry’s first pure science fiction novel, and I cannot wait to dive into his elaborate tale of eldritch space horrors, ancient alien technology, and immortal souls being lodged in deadly machinery. I have no doubt this will be one of my favourite books of 2024 and I am so damn excited for it.

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Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky – 4 June 2024

Another outstanding Adrian Tchaikovsky novel coming out in the first half of 2024 is the epic sounding Service Model. Following a service robot who gains sentience and decides to rebel against its human masters, Service Model has a particularly entertaining plot behind it that looks to be quite amusing while also serving as a critique humanity’s growing reliance on technology. This honestly sounds like one of the funniest books of the year, and I look forward to seeing even more outrageous adventures, witty comedy and intense social commentary from one of science fiction’s top authors.

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Well, that’s the end of this first list. As you can see, there are some mighty impressive fantasy and science fiction books coming out the first half of this year. All the above entries on this list have an incredible amount of potential and I have a feeling I am going to deeply enjoy every single of one of these great reads. 2024 is going to be an outstanding year for these two genres, not only with these amazing books, but because of some of the other ones potentially coming out later this year. I look forward to seeing how all these cool novels turn out and I think I am going to have an incredible time reading fantasy and science fiction in 2024. Make sure to also check out my other Top Ten List that looks at the top upcoming books of 2024 from the other genres.

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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Waiting on Wednesday – 2024 Adrian Tchaikovsky Science Fiction Novels

On December 27, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Science Fiction, Waiting on Wednesday15 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight three planned 2024 novels from one of my new favourite authors, Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Over the last couple of years, I have found myself really getting into the works of the impressive and inventive science fiction and fantasy author, Adrian Tchaikovsky, who has been wowing me with his fun and complex reads. Known for his elaborate novels that combine great characters with unique settings, complicated ideas and intriguing social commentary, Tchaikovsky’s books are always extremely fun and deeply compelling. Some of his best-known works including his Shadows of the Apt, Children of Time, Echoes of the Fall and The Final Architecture series, just to name a few, as well as a range of awesome standalone reads.

I personally have become familiar with Tchaikovsky through some of his more recent books. This started last year when I had the pleasure of reading Tchaikovsky’s first foray into Warhammer 40,000 fiction with the dark and intriguing Day of Ascension, that focused on a nefarious Genestealer Cult on an oppressed planet. Day of Ascension ended up being one of the best Warhammer 40,000 novels I have had the pleasure of reading, and it encouraged me to check out more books from Tchaikovsky. This led me to the fantastic novella, Ogres, which told a fantastic story of a young man forced to grow up in a world ruled over by terrifying, technologically advanced ogres, and which ended up being quite the unique and memorable read.

However, the book that made me a particularly massive fan of Tchaikovsky is his awesome fantasy release, City of Last Chances. Following a complex cohort of characters around an occupied city on the verge of revolution, City of Last Chances was an outstanding and highly addictive novel that had me hooked the entire way through. City of Last Chances got an easy five-star rating from me, and I just featured it on my Top Ten Audiobooks of 2023 list. Tchaikovsky followed City of Last Chances up in late 2023 with the awesome sequel, House of Open Wounds, which took one of the main characters from City of Last Chances and conscripted him to an unusual military hospital. This resulted in an epic read that got another five-star rating and left me with an unstoppable need to read more books from Tchaikovsky. Luckily for me, Tchaikovsky has three amazing sounding science fiction novels coming out in 2024 that I am going to make a big effort to read next year.

Alien Clay Cover

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The first of these books is the exciting and intense sounding science fiction thriller, Alien Clay. Set for release in March 2024, Alien Clay will see an imprisoned scientist attempt to make a unique scientific discovery on an alien planet that has been turned into a notorious prison colony.

Plot Synopsis:

Alien Clay is a thrilling far-future adventure by acclaimed Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky.

The planet of Kiln is where the tyrannical Mandate keeps its prison colony, and for inmates the journey there is always a one-way trip. One such prisoner is Professor Arton Daghdev, xeno-ecologist and political dissident. Soon after arrival he discovers that Kiln has a secret. Humanity is not the first intelligent life to set foot there.

In the midst a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem are the ruins of a civilization, but who were the vanished builders and where did they go? If he can survive both the harsh rule of the camp commandant and the alien horrors of the world around him, then Arton has a chance at making a discovery that might just transform not only Kiln but distant Earth as well.

Alien Clay sounds like an awesome read and I love the idea of a character forced to survive threats both human and alien to make a significant discovery with far-reaching implications. A harrowing prison thriller combined with complex science fiction elements has a lot of potential, and I imagine that Tchaikovsky is going to come up with some vicious and entertaining villains for the protagonist to come into conflict with. Everything about Alien Clay sounds really awesome and I look forward to seeing just how messed up things get on Kiln.

Service Model Cover

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The next book that Tchaikovsky has coming out in 2024 is the fun and deadly science fiction novel, Service Model, which will see the author put his own spin to a well-known story idea. Set for release in June 2024, Service Model has a fantastic plot about a domesticated robot who gains murderous sentience and then discovers the dark truth about the society it was built to support.

Plot Synopsis:

Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time.

To fix the world they must first break it, further.

Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service.

When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: they can run away.

Fleeing the household they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose.

Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming.

This is a Tchaikovsky book that I am particularly looking forward to, especially as it sounds like it’s going to be the author’s funniest and most insightful novel. Any story that focuses on an intelligent robot who begins to realise that they don’t have to continue to take orders from humans is always going to be good, and I have no doubt Tchaikovsky will ensure that the funniest aspects of this human/robot relationship come to the fore. I also look forward to seeing another Tchaikovsky dystopia, especially as one where humans have become too reliant on robots sounds perfectly feasible. This will no doubt make the story hit even closer to home and Tchaikovsky will undoubtedly fill Service Model with cutting observations about the current state of humanity and the paths we find ourselves on. Honestly, Service Model sounds like the book I am most going to enjoy from Tchaikovsky next year and I cannot wait to check it out.

Saturation Point Cover

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The final novel from Adrian Tchaikovsky coming out in 2024 that I want to highlight is the awesome science fiction adventure novel, Saturation Point. A darker sounding read, in Saturation Point Tchaikovsky envisions a deadly new eco-system emerging on Earth where no human can survive, and naturally sends some human protagonists in.

Plot Synopsis:

A group of scientists and soldiers are hunted by mysterious enemies in a terrifying new climate thriller from the “Master of British SF”

Doctor Jasmine Marks is going back into hell.

The Hygrometric Dehabitation Region, or the “Zone,” is a growing band of rainforest on the equator, where the heat and humidity make it impossible for warm-blooded animals to survive. A human being without protection in the Zone is dead in minutes.

Twenty years ago, Marks went into the rainforest with a group of researchers led by Doctor Elaine Fell, to study the extraordinary climate and see if it could be used in agriculture. The only thing she learned was that the Zone was no place for people. There were deaths, and the programme was cut short.

Now, they’re sending her back in. A plane crash, a rescue mission, a race against time and the environment to bring out the survivors. But there are things Marks’s corporate masters aren’t telling her. The Zone keeps its secrets, and so does Doctor Fell…

Saturation Point sounds like it is going to be a great piece of science fiction, with some possible horror elements thrown in as well. I love the idea of an extremely hostile climate system appearing on Earth, and I am sure there is going to be some interesting climate change discussions there, especially with corporations trying to exploit it. Sending a group of soldiers and scientists into such a zone is a great premise for a classic horror tale and I am sure that Tchaikovsky will rise to the occasion and produce something gritty, exciting and with some clever commentary. Saturation Point should prove to be a very awesome read and I am very much looking forward to it.

As you can see, Adrian Tchaikovsky is going to have a particularly busy year in 2024, with at least three books coming out. All three of these intriguing science fiction novels, Alien Clay, Service Model and Saturation Point sound pretty damn impressive in their own unique way and I love the impressive and different plots that Tchaikovsky has come up for them. Combine this with the author’s proven and often humour-laden writing ability, and these novels are going to be extremely epic. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if most of them end up being some of the best novels I read in 2024, and I cannot wait to see what crazy rabbit holes Tchaikovsky takes me down next.

Throwback Thursday – Lord of the Night by Simon Spurrier

On December 9, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Warhammer4 Comments

Lord of the Night Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Paperback – 25 January 2005)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 413 pages

My Rating: 4.75 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. This week I check out an impressive and dark older entry from the excellent Warhammer 40,000 extended universe, Lord of the Night by Simon Spurrier.

Readers of this blog will know that I have a lot of love for the always intense and fun Warhammer 40,000 fiction, having read quite a bit of it this year. One of the better older pieces of this fiction I managed to check out this year was the awesome novel Lord of the Night by acclaimed author Simon Spurrier. Spurrier is an excellent author who is best known for his work on various graphic novels and comics series across the major companies. I have read a couple of his comics over the years, although my favourite is probably his run on the original Doctor Aphra series (check out my reviews for the awesome volumes Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End). Spurrier also wrote several Warhammer 40,000 novels back in the mid-2000s, including the highly regarded Lord of the Night. I was lucky enough to get a copy of Lord of the Night second-hand, and I ended up reading it while away on holiday. Unsurprisingly I loved it, as Spurrier came up with a powerful story about two complex characters caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Interrogator Mita Ashyn of the Ordo Xenos is newly arrived in the service of veteran Inquisitor Kaustus after the death of her previous master. Desperately trying to earn her place amongst the Inquisitor’s haughty acolytes and her mysterious new master, Mita is isolated due to the taint associated with her advanced psychic powers. Seeking alien cultists on the hive-world of Equixus, Mita is tasked with rooting out minor corruption and heresy. However, when an ancient ship crash lands on the planet, Mita receives psychic warnings of a dark and terrible foe.

Ten thousand years ago at the end of the Horus Heresy, Commander Sahaal was chosen by his crazed Primarch, Konrad Cruz, as the heir to the Night Lords legion of Space Marines. However, before Sahaal could take command of the Legion, his Primarch’s most sacred artefact was stolen, and Sahaal’s pursuit of the thief saw him trapped out in the depths of space for millennia. Awaking on his crashed ship on Equixus, Sahaal finds the artefact gone, stolen by thieves from the planet. Determined to claim lordship of his legion, Sahaal will stop at nothing to reclaim what is rightfully his, no matter how many people he has to kill.

As Sahaal begins a deadly campaign of fear in the underbelly of Equixus, Mita appears to be the only person in the Inquisitor’s retinue concerned about the danger. Working against the wishes of her master, Mita attempts to destroy the traitor Astartes that has invaded the city before it is too late. However, Sahaal is a master of urban warfare and soon his solo campaign of destruction has the entire hive on its knees. As the two lost souls move to confront each other, they soon discover that there are even greater secrets at work than either of them realises, and soon the fate of Equixus hangs in the balance.

This was a powerful and compelling Warhammer 40,000 story from Spurrier that had me hooked from the very beginning. Focussed on the two unique perspective characters of Mita and Sahaal, Spurrier sets up an intriguing and vicious story with great thriller elements in a fantastic and gloomy hive-city setting. Starting off with some effective set-up that introduces both protagonists and their complex lives, Lord of the Night soon evolves into an impressive cat and mouse scenario between the two as Mita fights to stop Sahaal before he recovers his prize and destroys the city from within.

This leads to all manner of chaos and destruction, as Sahaal initiates a brutal urban warfare campaign by enlisting the help of a curious raft of unconventional allies, while Mita manipulates the city’s official resources to her use. While this battle rages, Spurrier also introduces some compelling and highly important side storylines which see Mita trying to gain the respect and aid of her secretive Inquisitor master, while Sahaal comes to terms with his missing years, his complex past, and what it is to be a Night Lord. This leads up to several great confrontations before all the characters finally come together a brutal final sequence. There are some great reveals here, especially about who is pulling all the strings surrounding the characters, and I loved some the brilliant twists that emerged. The book ends on a pretty dark note, with both protagonists getting what they wanted, even though it nearly destroys them, and this ended up being quite an epic and captivating read.

I love how dark and intense Spurrier made this novel, and it has such an elaborate and complex narrative surrounding it. The split between the two main characters works extremely well to tell an elaborate and multilayered story, and I enjoyed how the two separate arcs bounced off each other, with both dealing with betrayals, personal lows and the realisation that nothing is as it seems. The grim setting of the hive city is also very impressive, and there is a reason that Warhammer 40,000 authors use it as a prime location for their stories. The multiple layers of tunnels, caverns, and cityscapes makes for an outstanding background to this story of urban warfare and bloody revenge, and you can easily feel the confinement, corruption and fear that Spurrier envisions in this epic location.

Lord of the Night also turns out to be quite an impressive and elaborate piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction. Spurrier clearly has a great appreciation and love for the lore, and it really shows in his portrayal of both a secretive Inquisitor squad and the Night Lords Space Marines. While Inquisitors are well covered in Warhammer 40,000 fiction, such as the Eisenhorn books by Dan Abnett (Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus), I personally loved seeing a book focussing on a Night Lord, especially as they are a little unrepresented in the extended universe fiction. Spurrier really dives into what it is to be a Night Lord, especially during the Horus Heresy and before their full corruption, and his primary Night Lord character gives the reader a full course on how to terrorise and manipulate a city to get what you want. It was so cool to see a Night Lord in all his fear-bringing glory, and it made for quite a dark and bloody read as a result. Spurrier also does a great job of exploring some of the wider lore of the Warhammer 40,000 universe and working it into the plot of Lord of the Night. This ensures that readers a little less familiar with the canon can enjoy this book fairly easily and not have to worry about external lore details. That being said, fans of the franchise are always going to get a little more out this book and Lord of the Night proved to be a particularly good earlier novel in the canon, especially with its great insights into both the protagonist and antagonist.

One of the things that I most liked about Lord of the Night was the complex and impressive protagonists that the story was set around. Despite being on different sides, Mita Ashyn and Sahaal have a lot in common with each other, having been lost and reviled in various different ways. Mita proves to be a great example of how dark and unfair the Warhammer 40,000 universe is, as the thing that makes her a useful servant to the Imperium, her psychic abilities, also ensures that everyone sees her as unclean and tainted. Watching her desperately trying to prove herself to the Inquisitor, his cronies, and the people of Equixus, only to be rejected and reviled, is very heartbreaking, and you can’t help but feel for Mita as she is routinely betrayed, spurned, or ignored. Spurrier does some wonderful work with Mita as Lord of the Night continues, and it was great to see her find her confidence, fight back against those who oppress her, and start to question her superior and the teachings that bound her and her powers. Watching her come to terms with her place in the Imperium, and still try to do the right thing was extremely powerful, and it leads to some impressive and emotionally charged scenes.

Sahaal also prove to be a surprisingly deep and complex character to follow. Before reading Lord of the Night, I thought Sahaal would be a deranged Chaos Space Marine, and indeed the first few scenes with Sahaal show him to be a deadly and remorseless killer who uses terror as an effective weapon. However, as the book continues, you start to realise that there is more to Sahaal than meets the eyes. While he kills to achieve his goals, often in brutal ways, some of the interactions he has with his surprising allies, as well as a series of compelling flashbacks, paint him in a somewhat noble light defined by his loyalty to his Primarch and his ideals for control and order. This paints a bit more as a victim of circumstance rather than a full Chaos infected traitor, and it was fascinating to see him act very differently from other antagonistic Space Marines characters. There are some intriguing hidden depths to Sahaal that are revealed towards the end of the book, especially when certain manipulations are uncovered, and there are some good revelations regarding his actual mindset and mental status. I also loved the scene where he is finally reunited with his beloved Legion, only to realise just how far they have fallen in his absence. Sahaal ends up having some intriguing interactions with Mita throughout the course of the book, and the two play off each other perfectly, representing different angles of betrayal, loyalty and misunderstood misuse. I deeply appreciated how well Spurrier utilised both of these point of view characters in Lord of the Night and the helped to turn this into quite an amazing read.

Overall, Lord of the Night was an exceptional read and a wonderful piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction. Simon Spurrier does an excellent job of bringing together two amazing, misunderstood characters together in a brutal battle across a terrified city and I was hooked the entire way through this plot. Clever, intense, and loaded with some intriguing pieces of Warhammer lore, Lord of the Night is an outstanding read and it was one of the better pre-2023 Warhammer 40,000 novels I enjoyed in 2023.

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Waiting on Wednesday – The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

On December 6, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery, Science Fiction, Waiting on Wednesday4 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this latest post I highlight an outstanding upcoming murder mystery novel with a fun science fiction twist that I am extremely keen to check out in 2024 with The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton.

The Last Murder at the End of the World Cover

Amazon

2024 is already shaping up to be an excellent year for books and I am even more excited because there is a new Stuart Turton novel coming out in the next few months. Turton is an outstanding author whose debut novel, The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (also released as The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle) deeply impressed me back in 2018. Featuring an elaborate murder mystery plot enhanced by clever science fiction elements, this great novel forced a protagonist to jump across the bodies of several different suspects to figure out who was behind a mysterious death. This was honestly such a brilliant and highly unique read that ended up being one of my favourite books of 2018.

While I unfortunately haven’t had the chance to read his second novel, The Devil and the Dark Water (maybe a good book to check out this Christmas), I am still very keen for any additional content from Turton and I was excited when I saw he had a new book coming out in May 2024. This new novel is The Last Murder at the End of the World and it looks like Turton is going to present another compelling murder mystery/science fiction hybrid.

Plot Synopsis:

Solve the murder to save what’s left of the world.

Outside the island there is the world destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island it is idyllic. 122 villagers and 3 scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And they learn the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay.

If the murder isn’t solved within 92 hours, the fog will smother the island – and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone’s memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer – and they don’t even know it…

The outstanding new high concept murder mystery from the Sunday Times bestselling and Costa Book Award winning author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle . An ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, an audacious solution.

I love the sound of the epic plot above and I reminds me a lot of The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle in terms of it having a complicated scenario serving as the compelling background to a murder investigation. The idea of a murder taking place in a post-apocalyptic society is pretty solid on its own, but throw in a mysterious fog, elaborate security systems and the fact that everyone, including the killer has forgotten the events of the night in question, and you have all the components for a highly compelling read. I cannot wait to see how Turton works all these elements into his new mystery and I’m sure it will make for quite a compelling and intense novel.

I am also quite intrigued by the cool setting the book is taking place in. A remote island that survived a world-ending event is pretty interesting and it will be fun if we get some history about how that came about. I’m getting some major The Island or The Village vibes from the sounds of this scenario (it’s totally going to be some form of experiment or social study), and I am quite intrigued to see if I’m right about that.

Overall, I am very excited for The Last Murder at the End of the World and I have some very high hopes for it when it comes out in May next year. Turton already has a proven skill of combining elaborate science fiction scenarios with murder mysteries and The Last Murder at the End of the World should turn out to be pretty epic as a result. I am fully expecting this upcoming book to be pretty damn exceptional and I cannot wait to see how Turton messes with my mind this time.

Waiting on Wednesday – NecroTek and The Dragon in Winter by Jonathan Maberry

On November 30, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Waiting on Wednesday13 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight two awesome upcoming books coming out in 2024 from one of my favourite authors, Jonathan Maberry.

Reader’s familiar with The Unseen Library will be well aware that I am a massive fan of horror and thriller author Jonathan Maberry, whose work I first fell in love with during the early days of my blog. There have been so many great books from Maberry over the years, such as his cool standalone novel Ink (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020) and all the awesome books from his exceptional and fun Joe Ledger science fiction thriller series. I have a lot of love for all the impressive Joe Ledger novels, including the books from the original series like Patient Zero, Assassin’s Code, Code Zero, Dogs of War and Deep Silence, and the books from the sequel Rogue Team International series, Rage (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), and the recently released Cave 13.

Due to how much I have enjoyed Maberry’s books over the years, I am always keeping an eye out for any future releases coming our way from him. Well, it looks like Maberry fans are in for a real treat in 2024 as the author has another two books planned for next year. Both of these novels are highly appealing to me in their own unique way, and I look forward to checking them both out soon.

Necrotek Cover

Amazon

The first upcoming book that I need to highlight is the fantastic and awesome sounding read, NecroTek, which is coming out in May 2024. Released in collaboration with the horror icon Weird Tales magazine (which Maberry is currently the editor of), NecroTek see’s Maberry take on the science fiction genre with several human protagonists launched into a dark dimension where ancient horrors live and the only means of surviving and saving Earth might reside in some deadly, necromantic alien technology.

Plot Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, NecroTek is a gripping sci fi thriller full of ghosts, Gods, and a battle for the soul of humanity.

Neither cosmic philosopher Lars Soren, hotshot pilot Bianca Petrescu, nor the high priestess Jessica McHugh—Lady Death herself—can say quite where in the galaxy they are. But after an experiment gone horribly wrong, one thing is Asphodel Station isn’t in orbit around Jupiter any longer. Worse, the monsters that live out here—ancient eldritch beings thought only to exist in stories and nightmares—have now been alerted to Earth’s existence.

Their army of Shoggoths is coming for us next.

Humanity’s only hope for survival lies on the surface of the alien world of Shadderal, where a ghost named Lost, the last of an ancient race, still haunts the vast plains of the Field of Dead Birds. But hope has a cost. Lost tells Soren about ancient derelict spacecraft awaiting on Shadderal, shapeshifting machines that blend ultra-advanced technology with the dark powers of necromancy. These ships might just be nimble enough to defend mankind against the coming invasion.

But there’s a they can only be piloted by the dead.

As human starfighters fall in battle, their spirits can be called back from death to pilot these ghost ships of a fallen race. But will this new necromantic technology—NecroTek—allow humanity to stand against the vast armies of the Shoggoths? And even if it can, is the war to save the human race worth the cost of its pilots’ immortal souls?

Why am I not surprised that a Jonathan Maberry book set in outer space would force its protagonists to face off against an army of Lovecraftian monsters? Maberry is a huge Lovecraft fan, and many of his books contain some of monsters and creatures. As such, featuring them in a book partially brought to us by Weird Tales, which has its own connections with H. P. Lovecraft, is a pretty nice homage. I love the idea of Earth being threatened by these monsters after several humans are sent to a hell dimension, and I am expecting some major horror elements in NecroTek as a result. The concept of the titular NecroTek, which grabs the souls of fallen humans and use them to power dead alien ships is really cool, and I cannot wait to see what sort of crazy, negative side effects that has. I am honestly very excited for NecroTek, especially as it will allow me to see Maberry’s first dive into full-on science fiction, and it will be great to have a whole new series from this author to focus on.

The Dragon in Winter Cover

Amazon

In addition to NecroTek, Maberry also has a second book coming out in 2024 with the third and final Kagen the Damned novel, The Dragon in Winter. The Kagen the Damned series is a brilliant, recent body of work from Maberry that represents the author’s first foray into fantasy fiction. A dark and brutal series, the Kagen the Damned books follow an emotionally wrecked protagonist who loses everything, including the love of his gods, after the royal family he was sworn to protect is brutally murdered by the armies of the nefarious Witch-king. Brutal, bloody, and loaded with compelling worldbuilding and complex characters, the Kagen the Damned series is so damn awesome and I have had an excellent time getting through it. The series has so far featured two exceptional novels, including Kagen the Damned (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022) and Son of the Poison Rose (one of my favourite books and audiobooks from the first half of 2023), and I loved every second I spent reading them.

Luckily, it looks like I don’t have too much longer to wait to see how this compelling series ends as the final Kagen the Damned book is set for release in August 2024. This book, The Dragon in Winter, will see Kagen finally face off against the Witch-king, with magic, dark forces, an ancient dragon, and a mysterious being of unimaginable power, all getting thrust into the mix.

Plot Synopsis:

The Dragon in Winter brings New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry’s epic Kagen the Damned Trilogy to a wild conclusion!

War is coming! War is here! The Witch-king of Hakkia, aided by terrifying dark forces, sits uneasy on his stolen throne. His enemies, led by Kagen the Damned and the Bloody Bastards have found the secrets of ancient magic they hope will defeat him. Strange forces gather on both sides – vast armies of both the living and the dead, devious trickster spirits, strange gods, warrior ghosts, undying vampires, blood plagues that drive people to murderous rage, immortal faeries, and Earth’s last dragon.

Kagen knows that he faces the impossible task of toppling a usurper whose dark magic conquered an empire in a single night. But the Damned fear nothing and there are no limits to what Kagen will do to destroy the Witch-king. With his allies he will tear apart the veils that separate our world from the infinite realms of supernatural magic. The Witch-king will not go down with a fight, and he is willing to drown the western lands in innocent blood to retain his stolen crown. Even if he rules over an empire of dust and blood. His power is growing and soon he will be unstoppable.

But they are not the only forces at work in the world. Magic of all kinds is awakening and who can tell which side they will pick…or if they will pose a new and terrible threat to all! In the frozen North, the last dragon –tortured, captive, dying― cries out in despair. In the inky vastness of the outer dark that cry is heard! And something of incalculable power is coming in answer.

I am very, very excited to get my hands on The Dragon in Winter next year and I already know it’s going to be one of the best books of 2024. Maberry has done a remarkable job with his first fantasy series, and I have loved seeing his typical fun writing style transferred to a dark fantasy storyline. The elaborate plots, damaged protagonists, and huge array of horror-inspired antagonists makes for quite a gripping read and the Kagen the Damned books is one of the most distinctive fantasy series at the moment. The above plot synopsis sounds extremely impressive, and it is going to be fun to see the long-anticipated continent spanning war to destroy the antagonist and his dark hordes. I am particularly keen to see the final showdown between Kagen and the Witch-king, especially as they have quite the complicated history, and knowing Maberry there is a very good chance his protagonist isn’t going to survive. Throw in some memorable new supporting villains, as well as the mysterious ancient power that is coming at the beckoning of the tortured dragon, and this should prove to be a very intense and destructive read.

Due to how much I have enjoyed Maberry’s work in the past there is absolutely no way that I won’t have an outstanding time with both upcoming books in 2024. Both NecroTek and The Dragon in Winter are going to be dark, complex, and powerful books and I will make sure to read them as soon as possible. I will probably try to get them both on audiobook, especially if Ray Porter returns as narrator, and they should make for quite the epic listen.

Cave 13 by Jonathan Maberry

On November 20, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Thriller15 Comments

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 29 August 2023)

Series: Rogue Team International/Joe Ledger – Book 3/13

Length: 19 hours and 5 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

One of my favourite twisted authors returns with an outstanding new entry in one of his best series with Cave 13 by Jonathan Maberry.

It has already been a massive year for fans of thriller/horror author Jonathan Maberry, who previously released the exhilarating and intense dark fantasy novel Son of the Poison Rose. The awesome sequel to Kagen the Damned (one of my favourite novels and audiobooks of 2022), Son of the Poison Rose was one of my favourite books and audiobooks from the first half of the year, and if that had been the only Maberry novel I’d received in 2023 I would have been content. However, Maberry chose to spoil us by providing us with another epic Joe Ledger novel, which is so damn amazing.

The Joe Ledger novels are an amazing science fiction thriller series that follows titular protagonist Joe Ledger as he attempts to stop a series of insane world-ending threats initiated by compelling group of villains. The initial Joe Ledger series featured 10 epic books with some outrageous and addictive stories around them, including Patient Zero, The Dragon Factory, Code Zero, Predator One and Deep Silence, just to name a few. Maberry followed up these novels with a new Joe Ledger focused series, the Rogue Team International books. This series has so far featured Rage (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019) and Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), both of which were pretty exceptional in their own ways. As such, I have been quite excited to see a new Rogue Team International book and Cave 13 was one of my most anticipated books for 2023 as a result.

To many, Jason Aydelotte, better known to the world as Mr. Miracle, is a smiling and beatific public figure celebrated for his archaeological endeavours and his vast antiquities business. However, beneath the smiles, Mr. Miracle is a far more ruthless and sinister operator. Smart, determined and ambitious, Aydelotte has entered the world of international arms dealing and is willing to sell his advanced weapons to anyone who will buy them, including ISIS, and his latest product might be the scariest thing ever created.

Thanks to discoveries made in a hidden ancient Egyptian tomb, Aydelotte’s team has developed a powerful new bioweapon that drives its victims insane with a mere breath. Its effect is terrifying and its potential for destruction in the wrong hands is immeasurable. With the world going insane and chaos rising in the Middle East, the only people who might be able to stop such a potent weapon are Joe Ledger and the highly specialised agents of the independent intelligence agency, Rogue Team International.

However, the release of a deadly bioweapon soon proves to be the least of Ledger’s problems in the Middle East. Far more dangerous materials were recovered from the tomb, including bizarre books of magic dating back to the time of Moses. At the same time, greater secrets have been pillaged from a hidden cave containing even more Dead Sea Scrolls, some of which could alter the very fabric of the universe. With threats piling up all around them, and enemies on all sides engaging in their own dangerous plots, can Ledger survive both the carnage and his own fractured mind to save the day, or will a new ruthless opponent destroy everything?

Cave 13 was another outstanding and captivating Joe Ledger adventure from Maberry that sets his troubled protagonist against another brilliantly elaborate world-ending plot. Slick, intense and loaded with complex characters, Cave 13 was an amazing read that gets an easy five-star rating from me, especially in its audiobook format.

Maberry produced another unique and compelling story for Cave 13 that is once again perfectly told in his unique writing style. Utilising a vast number of shorter chapters, Maberry quickly starts the story off, reintroducing the protagonist and his team, while also setting up the compelling antagonists and their complex evil plan. A series of well-placed and absolutely fascinating interludes throughout the book provide greater context to the events that are about to unfold, and you get to see the entire genesis of the antagonist and their plans, which adds a lot to the overall story. Maberry artfully blends this together with the main storyline that sees Ledger and his team investigate several unique occurrences, including conflicts in the Middle East, increases in unique weapon trafficking, the recovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as mysterious events that could only have been done by certain biblical magic (“you’re playing with the big boys now”). The intriguing blend of science, mysticism, faith and mystery gives Cave 13 a particularly fun edge, and I really liked the intriguing set-up surrounding the antagonist’s plot and its full potential for destruction. At the same time, the author also dives back into the complexity surrounding his protagonist’s damaged psyche, and how this new case might affect it.

While I loved all the set-up in the first third or so of the novel, it does ensure that the initial plot is a tad slower. This changes once Ledger and his team arrive in Israel and find themselves under attack in a particularly brutal action sequence right off the bat. Maberry’s action scenes are always extremely awesome, and you have to love the attention and detail he puts into making them as intense as possible. This cool action sequence is well balanced at this point by some further background, as well as a compelling sequence of events surrounding recurring side-character Toys, who finds themselves at a different side of the conflict following an undercover operation gone wrong. This part of the story, especially the twist about the antagonist’s true plan, really increases the stakes and intensity of the story, and Maberry has a lot of fun creating some intense visual horrors for the readers, especially when it comes to a series of twisted and brutal hallucinations.

The final third of Cave 13 is probably the strongest part of the book, and I honestly was hooked the entire way through, desperately trying to get to the end. All the great set-up, intriguing interludes, and multitudes of well-established characters comes together for the big confrontation at the end as the antagonist’s plan goes full circle and Ledger and his team once again find themselves in hell. Things get so damn dark, desperate and freaky at this point in the book, and you are left completely worried about all your favourite characters as Maberry doesn’t have the best track record of keeping likeable cast members alive. There are some brutal scenes here, as well as a ton of tragedy, and the reader is left on the edge of their seat right until the very end. While I came away from parts of this book a bit shellshocked, I was overall very happy with the conclusion, which was dark, had a good twist around the villain, raised a lot of questions about the protagonists, and left you with a little ray of hope that will no doubt get snuffed out in the future. An overall pretty epic story that really came to life in Maberry’s hands, especially thanks to his unique set out and brilliant ability to write an action sequence.

Cave 13 ended up being quite an interesting Joe Ledger novel, especially as it presents a great story and the first original villain of the Rogue Team International era, while also cleverly diving into the prior events of the series and utilising them to enhance the characters and narrative. I really enjoyed the step away from the villains of Rage and Relentless for this one book, although I also appreciated how well the author examined the aftermath of these novels and the dark things they’ve done to the protagonist. Like most of the Joe Ledger books, Cave 13 can be read as a standalone novel, and Maberry does a good job of recapping all the relevant prior events and characters to ensure that new readers can fully understand and appreciate everything going on. However, established fans of Maberry are going to get the most out of Cave 13, and there are a ton of unique hints or suggestions about what is to come. I found it particularly interesting that Maberry chose to include multiple scenes in Cave 13 that were clearly intended to set up certain events for future entries. While these scenes are a tad disjointed from the main story, I won’t lie and say it didn’t make me excited for the next book in the series, especially when it comes to those hints about certain villains returning. I was a little less impressed that several storylines or mysterious events from Cave 13 were deliberately left unanswered by Maberry, but I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what happens with them in the next exciting Joe Ledger novel.

As with all Maberry’s work, one of the main highlights of Cave 13 was the excellent and complex characters. Maberry features a pretty massive cast in this novel, including a range of recurring figures from the previous novels, as well as several intriguing new figures who I really enjoyed. As usual, Maberry does a remarkable job of showcasing all his characters, diving into the compelling histories and minds, and showcasing just how crazy or morally dubious they are (you have to be in order to survive in this universe).

Naturally, the most prominent character is protagonist Joe Ledger, who has been the leading figure and main point-of-view character in this series since the beginning. An unstoppable action man and natural leader, Ledger is always a fun character to follow, especially as Maberry installs an overwhelming level of snark and disrespect in his personality, ensuring that every scene he’s in is full of quips, jokes and very funny observations about the crazy things he encounters. While this alone makes him a great character, and the source of much of Cave 13’s humour, Maberry ensures that Ledger is one of his most complex protagonists ever due to the sheer amount of trauma the character experiences. Ledger has gone through so much damage, darkness, loss and despair during the course of the series, and Maberry spends a substantial part of the protagonist’s chapters diving into this, showcasing just how emotionally and mentally battered Ledger is. While I always love how effectively Maberry showcases the building trauma surrounding his character, it is even more poignant and important in Cave 13, as this is Ledger’s first adventure since the events of Relentless, where Ledger was taken over by a murderous personification of his own inner darkness and went on a deadly revenge trip. Some of the most emotionally powerful parts of the book revolve around Ledger and his friends coming to terms with his terrible actions in the last book, and it is clear that Ledger has been extremely changed by the events of the prior book. Naturally, Maberry decides to twist the knife even further in Cave 13 by subjecting Ledger to a series of traumatising visions and hallucinations thanks to the book’s big bioweapon. This drives Ledger even further over the edge, and there are some fascinating and highly revealing scenes that give you further insights into just how cracked this protagonist is and the dangers lurking just beneath his mental surface. Honestly one of the best and most compelling action protagonists out there, I really love how Maberry showcases Ledger in this gripping novel.

In addition to Ledger, Cave 13 features a range of other compelling characters who get their moment to shine. My favourite would have to be the always mysterious Mr Church, the head of the secretive Rogue Team International. A highly elusive and deadly figure whose origins and full capabilities are only hinted at; Church is easily one of the best characters featured in the entire series. Maberry makes exceptional use of Church in Cave 13, and there are so many more tantalising hints about who or what this character might be. This actually proves to be one of the most substantial Church novels in the entire series, and Maberry goes out of his way to not only show that this seemingly unstoppable figure is actually vulnerable, and is in some ways just as much of a bastard as the book’s villains. There are several amazing and highly powerful monologues from Church in Cave 13 that give you some fascinating insights into his mind, especially when it comes to Ledger and the constant war that he and Church are fighting, and I loved getting an idea of just how ruthless this figure can be. Several of these monologues are delivered to another awesome figure in Cave 13, the team’s psychiatrist, Rudy Sanchez, a notoriously calm figure who finally loses his cool in this novel after Ledger goes back into the field, straining their relationship. I loved seeing Rudy particularly passionate and angry in Cave 13, especially when he stands up to Church, and Maberry’s portrayal of his concern really helps to highlight just how much damage was done to Ledger in the previous book.

Another major figure from Cave 13 that I need to highlight is the intriguing figure of Alexander “Toys” Chismer. A former villain turned repentant ally, Maberry set Toys on a redemptive arc several novels ago, and it has been really paying off as Toys has turned into a fascinating figure trying to atone for his past. His impressive long-running storyline is extremely well featured in Cave 13, and indeed he is one of the major protagonists, leading his own team and experiencing some substantial additional trauma. Toys honestly has one of the darkest and most impressive character arcs in the entire novel, and the scenes he shared with Ledger are particularly moving and play into their complex antagonist history perfectly. The various recurring members of Rogue Team International are well featured again in Cave 13, and it was fascinating to see how some of their character arcs have developed over the course of 13 novels. My favourite fuzzy assassin, Ledger’s dog, Ghost, was of course awesome in this book, and I always loved just how in touch with his human’s emotions Ghost is. There was even an intriguing extended cameo from F. Paul Wilson’s iconic protagonist, Repairman Jack, who Maberry utilises extremely well in Cave 13’s story, simultaneously working them into the plot while also diving into the Repairman’s unique life in his own series.

Finally, I must highlight some of the villains in this book. Maberry always excels in creating complex and insane antagonists for each of his novels, and Cave 13 is no exception, as you are introduced to several intriguing villains who are set to unleash chaos upon the world. I won’t give away too much about them and their plans here, but I will say that Maberry did an exceptional job of introducing them and diving into their various quirks, plans and desires, in some cases humanising them. This actually helps to make them even more sinister as you start to understand and appreciate some of their actions, even if they are reprehensible. I deeply enjoyed the complex examinations of each of Cave 13’s main villains, especially as the various interludes showcase their intriguing histories as well as the genesis of their current plans and schemes, allowing you to fully appreciate everything about them. These villains, as well as a couple of seemingly returning antagonists hidden in the shadows, ensure that Cave 13’s stakes are always extremely high, and I loved how well the various complex character arcs mixed together to create an outstanding and powerful read.

As with every Jonathan Maberry novel I have so far had the pleasure of enjoy, I chose to check out Cave 13 on audiobook, which is the only way to enjoy one of Maberry’s epic tales. Not only does the author’s awesome writing style and action sequences really come across well in the audiobook format, but the exceptional narration of acclaimed voice actor Ray Porter, who narrates all of Maberry’s projects, is so damn awesome. Porter has such a brilliant handle on Maberry’s great characters, and it is always fun to hear the familiar voices of the main cast come out of Porter’s mouth again. I particular love Porter’s take on main character Joe Ledger, as Porter always manages to capture the key parts of his personality, including the humour, mental instability and the pure rage contained within. This, and other excellent performances, really helps to turn Cave 13 into an amazing listen, and I had such a brilliant time getting through it, and its 19-hour runtime just flew by. Indeed, it really helped to ensure an extended road trip in an uncomfortable van was actually pretty tolerable, so kudos for that. Easily one of the better audiobooks of 2023 so far, I cannot recommend this format enough to anyone wanting to check this epic novel out.

Unsurprisingly, I had fun with the latest Rogue Team International novel by Jonathan Maberry and it is always so damn epic to get another Joe Ledger adventure. Cave 13 was a particularly awesome and intense entry in the series that expertly brings together an elaborate narrative, evil villains, exceptional action and complex character in an impressive overall read. Fun, exciting and oh so darkly addictive, Cave 13 was a powerful and gripping novel that I cannot recommend enough, especially for established fans of Ledger’s amazing books.

Amazon

Warhammer 40,000: Cypher: Lord of the Fallen by John French

On September 20, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer4 Comments

Cypher - Lord of the Fallen Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 18 July 2023)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 5 hours and 8 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Amazon

One of Warhammer 40,000’s most mysterious and elusive characters finally gets the spotlight in the awesome new book from John French with Cypher: Lord of the Fallen.

Gosh, 2023 is turning out to be a brilliant year for Warhammer 40,000 fiction. I have already had a ton of fun with such great books as The Lion: Son of the Forest, Warboss, Shadowsun: The Patient Hunter, Leviathan, The King of the Spoil and Longshot, but the best is honestly yet to come. There are still several great Warhammer 40,000 novels coming out before the end of the year, and one of the most intriguing was Cypher: Lord of the Fallen. Written by well-established Warhammer fiction author John French, Cypher: Lord of the Fallen follows one of the most iconic and mysterious figures in the Warhammer 40,000 canon and places them in a sinister new adventure.

Thousands of years ago, at the end of the Horus Heresy, the Space Marines of the Dark Angels Legion suffered a devastating schism, as betrayal and deceit tore them apart from within. The resulting civil war destroyed their home planet, killed their Primarch, and scattered the Dark Angels who rebelled across space and time. Since then, the remaining loyal Dark Angels and their successor Chapters have hunted these traitors, known as the Fallen, throughout the galaxy, determined to bring them all to justice and hide the truth about their Legion’s fall.

Out of all the Fallen still at large in the galaxy, none is more hated or more dangerous the mysterious warrior known only as Cypher. A Space Marine with strange motivations and deadly martial ability, Cypher has haunted the Dark Angels for centuries, manipulating them for unknown reasons and threatening everything they hold dear. His latest mysterious scheme saw him and a small band of Fallen save the reborn Ultramarines Primarch, Roboute Guilliman, from the forces of Chaos and then accompany him to the Imperial Palace on Terra for his own purposes. But rather than being welcomed as honoured guests, the suspicions around Cypher have seen him and his Fallen comrades locked up in the Dark Cells of the Adeptus Custodes, the most secure prison in all the Imperium, designed to never be breached or release their occupants.

But Cypher is no ordinary prisoner, and as the Great Rift unfolds across the skies of Terra, strange and seemingly unpredictable events will allow him to escape from the Dark Cells into the Imperial Palace proper. Now loose in the most sacred and heavily guarded location in the entire Imperium of Man, Cypher leads his Fallen brothers from captivity and deeper into the palace complex.

However, their presence has not gone unnoticed, and Cypher and his comrades find themselves contending with the relentless defenders of Terra, including the Emperor’s personal bodyguards, the Adeptus Custodes, lethal Imperial Assassins and powerful predictive seers. Worse, the Dark Angels are aware of Cypher’s presence on Terra, and a desperate strike force soon arrives, determined to capture or kill Cypher no matter the cost. But as all these forces start to close around the members of the Fallen, it becomes clear that Cypher has a far greater agenda than anyone realised: to stand before the Emperor on the Golden Throne. But are Cypher’s intentions noble, or does he intend to destroy the Emperor and sacrifice all of humanity to Chaos gods?

Cypher: Lord of the Fallen was a very fun and tricky Warhammer 40,000 entry that fans of the franchise are going to absolutely love. French does a wonderful job of bringing the enigmatic and chaotic Cypher to life in all the best ways, pressing him and several other unique figures into a fast-paced and intense series of manipulations and conflicts. The book is slick, addictive and loaded with clever references and allusions to the wider Warhammer 40,000 canon. I managed to power through the audiobook version of this book in no time at all and had a wonderful time doing so.

Cypher: Lord of the Fallen has a short but exceedingly sweet story to it that wastes no time dragging the reader in. This is primarily because of the unique narration that French features in this book, with the entire story told through Cypher’s enigmatic perspective. Cypher describes all the events that are occurring, even when the chapter’s focus is on other characters far away from him, and his depiction of events is quite unique, as you are never certain how he is seeing events, or whether he is making everything up. French, through the mechanism of Cypher, quickly dives into the events of Lord of the Fallen, efficiently setting the scene of the Imperial Palace in chaos and the defenders stretched thin. Thanks to the arrival of the Dark Angels and other machinations, Cypher and his cohort are soon unleashed into the larger palace.

The narrative splits off into several threads, some following Cypher, some following the Dark Angels infiltrators, and some following the Palace defenders trying to restore order. However, all of these scenes are still shown through Cypher’s mind’s eye, and his confident and possibly unreliable narration gives each sequence a compelling and ethereal edge that I quite enjoyed. There are some great sequences spread throughout this part of the story as everyone dances to Cypher’s tune one way or another and you quickly grow attached to the great cast and their unique motivations. Each character meets an intriguing end or conclusion to their tale, which is quite fitting in its own way, as French layers in the action, the compelling world building, and the constant allusions and stories from Cypher. The overall conclusion of the main story is interesting, if a tad anticlimactic and overly mysterious, but the reader can make some substantial inferences from what happened. I honestly was hooked the entire way through, and French did such a great job of creating as unique a read as possible that was perfectly fitting for the titular character.

While I usually find most Warhammer 40,000 novels are quite accessible to readers somewhat unfamiliar to the franchise, this is one piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction that is best enjoyed by those people exceedingly familiar with the franchise’s lore. French does do a good job of explaining certain aspects of what is going on, however this story quickly dives into some of the more complex pieces of lore surrounding the game, such as the hidden history of the Dark Angels and the mysteries surrounding the character of Cypher. As someone highly familiar with the background lore, I personally found this to be extremely fascinating, although I could see new readers getting fairly frustrated. However, even those fans of the game might get a little frustrated here, mainly because they are not going to find as many solid lore revelations here as they might hope for. The narrator flat out states at the beginning of the book that this tale is not about him, and Cypher’s history remains mostly hidden as a result. There are certain hints and anecdotes that could lead knowledgeable fans to make guesses, but the narrator fully admits that these could be lies or falsehoods designed to hide the truth even from the reader. Those Warhammer 40,000 fans familiar with who or what Cypher might potentially be and how he operates will absolutely love this, and I personally enjoyed how French kept us guessing.

For those readers who are hoping for more, French does paint a fantastic and elaborate picture of the Emperor’s Palace on Terra, which is one of the more fascinating settings in Warhammer 40,000 fiction. The dark and elaborate depiction of the palace, with its excessive bureaucracy, forgotten corners, vast religious underpinnings, and millions of workers, is endlessly fascinating, and I loved all the cool details French provided. I particularly enjoyed seeing the Custodes in action, and the elaborate depictions of the Dark Cells, a truly unique location, was very damn fun. This compelling dive into one of this universe’s best locations more than makes up for any disappointments a reader may have regarding the lack of revelations around Cypher, and French does such a great job bringing this entire setting to life. A fantastic read for those already in love with all things Warhammer!

As I mentioned above, I ended up listening to the audiobook version of Cypher: Lord of the Fallen, which is honestly the best way to enjoy a Warhammer 40,000 novel. This was once again the case in this tricky and fun book as Cypher: Lord of the Fallen’s impressive story really comes to life when it is read out to you. All the secrets, twists and fantastic depictions of Terra are so much more epic in this format, and I really had a blast listening to it. It helped that the audiobook was narrated by the very talented Jon Rand, who has previously impressed me in Ghazhkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! and Dredge Runners. Rand has a great voice for dark Warhammer 40,000 fiction, and he puts that to full use in Cypher: Lord of the Fallen, especially when he brings the very cryptic narrator to life. The near whispering and often gloating tones Rand ascribes to Cypher are pretty perfect, and I felt he captured this mythical and notorious trickster perfectly. His portrayal adds a lot of depth to Cypher’s appearance in this audiobook, especially as he also covers the evident regret and occasional sad despondency that Cypher experiences as he manipulates events, which makes you grow attached to the figure, even though he could be faking it. At the same time, the rest of the cool cast, including the proud Custodes, the vengeful Dark Angels and the lost members of the Fallen, are also portrayed extremely well. Rand gives each of them very fitting voices and you cannot help but feel their relative emotions of duty, resolve and occasional despair that follow. This was a masterful bit of voice work by Rand, and he really helps to turn this format into the ultimate way to enjoy the exceptional Cypher: Lord of the Fallen.

Overall, Cypher: Lord of the Fallen is an outstanding and epic piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction that I cannot recommend enough. John French did a remarkable job bringing together a novel that perfectly portrays and encapsulates one of the most mysterious and beloved figures in the canon, and shows him at his manipulating best. Featuring a unique and enjoyable writing style, as well as a ton of hints for established Warhammer 40,000 fans, Cypher: Lord of the Fallen was one of my favourite Warhammer books of the year and is really worth checking out, especially in its audiobook format.

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