Path of the Warrior review spoiler free....ish

 

Path Of The Warrior by Gav Thorpe.

The strict discipline of the craftworld can relate sometimes in a book that revolves around them but this trap is successfully dodged by Gav Thorpe. We begin with an Eldar feeling the urge to change their path and it goes from there into the endlessly entrapping world of the Warrior Aspect path to the shrine of the Striking Scorpions. 

This book really shows off the potential of the Eldar world with the way it describes life and death on the Craftworld of Alaitoc. This novel shows the point of view from various roles including the pathway of the Autarch. There are well described battles and higher drama type moments. In novels before this I have found the Eldar to be very stagnant and vanilla with nothing that stands them apart really, unlike the Dark Eldar they don't make you feel that their world is full of various dangers, such as conniving politics of the Archons or the dangerous beings that inhabit the Eternal City. But this book stops that feeling completely with showing a different type of danger than is apparent with the other factions, different but by no means lesser. Gav Thorpe has really brought the interest to the Craftworld Eldars and has showed what can be possible with them. One slightly negative view from my opinion is it does contain a slow build up to the real content of the story. The beginnings of the main character does strike me as a bit whiny and narcissistic, but if you persevere with the story it makes up for the set up with the rest of the content. In the category of the Eldar centric novels I would say that this is a must read if you really want to understand the Craftworld life and well worth the cost and time to enjoy it.

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The Devastation of Baal review spoiler free....ish.

 

The Devastation of Baal by Guy Haley.

This is a Novel that shows the life of Dante the Chapter Master of the Blood Angels when he is called upon to defend Baal and the Imperium. We are also shown a brief glimpse in to the Hive Mind of the Tyranid splinter fleet that is heading their way.

Guy Haley does a wonderful job at showing the real consequences an attack of this magnitude would have on a system, not just on the Chapter but also on those mortals looking to them for protection. Dante has been a marine for 1500 standard years, he is the oldest space marine alive who's not in a Dreadnought body or a Chaos marine (with their time shenanigans that goes on with them) and we see the weight that service has put on his shoulders and how it changes during the story. There are moments that delve into other aspects of the chapter and their unique existence thanks to their primogenitor the Great Angel Sanguinius. I felt that the story gave me a better understanding of how they deal with the flaws of their Gene-seed. It also showed me just how many off shoots from the Blood Angels there are and during the course of this novel you see the differences within them and how they choose to live with the flaws. There is a good flow of the important plot points that doesn't allow the story to go flat for too long - it is paced at a well moving tempo which I liked. I do have a habit of wandering when the storyline goes a bit slow. This kept my attention all the way through and because of that it made me what to read the various Omnibus books available for the Angels which are again well done. For someone who wishes to see more of the Tyranid actions and plans during a invasion, this is definitely worth it and in general you won't be disappointed. It shows why Dante is still going strong now with an upgrade thanks to the Rubicon Primaris surgery.

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The Infinite and the Divine review spoiler free....ish

The Infinite And The Divine by Robert Rath.

Robert Rath has managed with this four act entertaining book to truly bring the Necron and Necrontyr to life, to show not just how incredibly advanced technology wise they are but how inhuman they are in how they view the universe.  

We focus on two main Necrons for this book - the first is Trazyn the infinite and secondly Orikan the Diviner. Both are very different within the Necron society and both hold positions of importance within their separate. Firstly, Trazyn is a collector of history on his museum like planet Solemnace, he is an Overlord of the Nihilakh dynasty. He has the unusual Necron trait of a sense of humour and he doesn't view humanity as much of a stain on the universe but he doesn't particularly like humans that much. Solemnace is an artificial tomb world made from a Dyson Sphere and mirrors to build power. The tomb world holds billions of in-stasis Necrons and thousands of galleries of exhibits ranging from a clone of the pre-ascension Primarch Fulgrim, Deathwatch kill team, Krok warrior and a full splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Kraken. Trazyn has on many ocassions admitted to not knowing the full contents of the galleries. It is all kept in working order by statis fields and Canoptek Constructs.

Orikan the diviner is one of the most powerful Necron Crypteks while also being a incredibly potent Chronomancer. He is a part of the Silent King Szarekh's inner circle and has the dubious honour of being the only dissenting voice against biotransference. Although losing his fallible flesh has allowed him to have the ability to literally walk back through time to a different point after seeing an events outcome. He has a personal mission to find a way back to the flesh times and regain his soul.

Robert Rath has managed to build out both characters fully and their antagonism against each other is well worth a read. It ranges from the petty to the other end of the scale of trying to kill each other in spectacular feats. The story is built up in such a way that it shows the Necron history and fractures within the Necron empire. It is one of my favorite Necron books and is an amazing way to learn more about them through the actions of two very interesting characters who are after two very different outcomes.

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Ghazgkul Thraka - Prophet of the WAAAGH review spoiler free...ish

  

Ghazgkull Thraka - Prophet of the WAAAGH by Nate Crowley.

When I first read this book I couldn't put it down, what I liked about it was the fact it doesn't take itself to seriously. I know the other books based on orks like Warboss or Evil Sun Rising are in a similar kind of vein but this one is presented in a different style that I found really engaging. Its not very often when a book has had me laughing so frequently. Yes this book is about the most famous ork warlord but it is mainly delivered by a Blood Axe ork with the very friendly name of Bites-Face-Of-The-Face-Biter-Before-It-Can-Bite (thankfully shortened to Biter) on the behalf of the boss's luckiest grot Makari with alternating chapters with a Ordo Xenos inquisitor and her team. The Story of Ghazgkulls rise and the occasional falls is broken up with a really well thought out clear path that is interspersed with comedic misunderstandings and parts which pace the book nicely.

What I enjoyed - even though it had me laughing in a lot of it - is it doesn't detract from the main objective of the story about Ghazgkulls exploits. If you have been reading some of the more serious books that focus on the more serious storylines, it can be a nice change of pace. Or even if you're trying to hook someone new into the 40k universe and you want to break them in gently before you drop a darker tone book like the Vaults of Terra series or the primarch series book for Konrad Curse. 

The pacing of the book works well all the way though but there are sudden twists in it as well. When I have spoken to people about this book the only bad comment about the book is you would maybe expect a bit more detail to the fights described with it being orks but I think that it works because although there are a few periods of no big battles and explosive heavy parts, you are getting a lot of insight into Ghazgkull himself and what makes him so dangerous to the imperium.

My final word on this is that if you are an ork fan or just looking for something a little different then this is a must read.

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The Masque of Vyle review spoilers free ....ish

 

The Masque of Vyle by Andy Chambers.

This book begins on the remains of one of the many craftworlds left drifting thanks to the fall of the Eldar. It has been totally destroyed and we begin with finding out what the Harlequins self policing role is within the surviving civilisation of the Eldar species. I enjoyed this short novella quite a lot, I read it in one day and I couldn't put it down. It is written from a different angle than the Path of the Eldar and Path of the Dark Eldar series but that doesn't detract from the story at all.

Within this novella we're introduced to another of the subrealms of Commorragh and how the dark kin flex there control of the newly acquired realms. The majority of this book focuses at a nighttime feast and through the description and actions of one of the Harlequins famous masques. The Harlequins self policing role is highlighted quite clearly as the story progresses and their feeling towards one of their own by the name of Motley who they feel is darkly corrupted.

The Dark Eldar within this tale do show their callous nature and their unstoppable greed for pain and misery, and again and again it showed how they treat any other living creature related by nature or not. Andy Chambers does a really good job in getting you to dislike the main two Dark Eldar leaders in such a small time period and manages to do a good job in pacing their fall.

This novella is short but by no means does it lessen its enjoyability. I would recommend this short book if you want to find out a bit more about the mysterious Harlequins. You will enjoy it if you give it a chance. 

 

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