Blood Reaver by Aaron Dembski-Bowden.
The Second book in the Night Lords trilogy, featuring the warband of the Exalted and First Claw. This book is again heavily focused on the dilapidation of the legion and the once-mighty strike cruiser The Covenant of Blood. All in all, a sorry state of affairs that a main part of the book is focused on their attempts to rectify the situation. Although there are some very good periods where the skills of the legion are shown doing what they do best. Dembski-Bowden really turns a relatively sedate sounding plot into an interesting read with some really entertaining characters introduced. I personally really enjoy these books and the Night Lords in general, especially Talos and the way he is so different compared to his brothers.
Although this novel doesn't have the impact of the first, initially you do get into a much more engaging read in the final third. A lot sets the scene for the third and does a good job of keeping a good pace along the way. There is more focus on the serfs and crew than in the previous, with their personalities and stories getting fleshed out a bit more. The internal politics of the Covenant are examined at different stages, but the look at these are kept fresh from being told from different angles, rather than the habit some books have of giving the same information slightly differently. As I previously mentioned, this trilogy was my first access point into the Chaos related legions, and it provides a good starting point. If you want a good renegade marines series, then you can't go wrong with this one, and this book adds to that fact.
if you would like to read more Night Lord books, then I would recommend.
- Lord of Night
- Prince of Crows
- Carcharodon - Red Tithe ( Loyalist book but with a large amount of NL POVs)
- The Painted Count
bottom image book cover of the version used in the review
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