Leman Russ the Great Wolf by Chris Wraight.
Another of the Primarch series, again only a short story in truth, but even so, it's not diminished in its quality. This book delves into the pacification of the world of Dulan, which results in the epic showdown between the Lion and the Wolf King. The technically advanced world of Dulan is resisting compliance fiercely and has personally insulted the honour of Leman Russ, and then to make the situation even more complicated, the unasked for back-up of the Dark Angels turns up. This story is a lot more action driven than some of the other Primarch series books. I found this a nice change after reading some of the more sedate paced stories. The earlier sections of the book can seem a bit out of place when compared to the later sections, which leaves it somewhat disjointed, but looking past that, it still gives you a good story all in all.
Because Chris Wraight has written several Space Wolf based books, he has a good feel for the nature of how the legion handles war and the general feel of their exuberance and berserk fighting style, which really does have a big benefit with this novel's action. There is a good mix of void battles, boarding actions, and straight-up brawls. The friction between the Primarchs is pulled off to a good extent, and you can feel the dislike between the two legions. The Lion is portrayed as the very polar opposite of Russ without it becoming too obvious what Wraight is trying to pull off. There is an underlying plot about the legendary 13th great company that could have done with a bit more development, but it is understandable that with the novel's length, it wasn't quite possible to bring it to life much more than it is. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would add it to the good pile when it comes to the Primarch series.
If you would like to read more Space Wolf books by Chris Wraight, then there is -
- Battle of the Fang
- Blood of Asaheim
- Wolf King
- Stormcaller
- The Helwinter Gate
Top image used under Creative Commons Warhammer wiki
bottom image book cover of the version used in the review
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