Evil Sun Rising Book review spoiler free...ish

 Evil Sun Rising by Guy Haley. 

The Meks of the Red Waaagh! are locked in their usual contest over who can build the most ridiculously killy Gargant, and these towering effigies of the Ork gods certainly live up to the hype. When the Waaagh! crashes into Sanctus Reach, it’s all about the loot, the carnage, and the sheer joy of smashing things flat. At the head of it all is Grukk Face‑Rippa, a Warboss so unstable that even other Orks tread carefully around him. This is the same lad who levelled an entire settlement because a Grot spilled engine oil on his breakfast. Armed with his custom Big Mek–built Power Klaw, he’s a walking disaster zone, something the Space Wolves of Krom Dragongaze’s Drakeslayers have learned the hard way. Grukk also happens to be a massive Gargant fanatic, so he’s unleashed a whole herd of them to stomp their way across Sanctus Reach. Among his Meks is the notorious Mogrok the Mangler, an oddball even by Ork standards, covered in parasites and maggots despite Orks normally being immune to disease. Evil Sun Rising dives into the Red Waaagh’s assault and the wonderfully destructive rivalry that erupts around these monstrous engines of war.

Although the book is a short novella, it does a good job of bringing the humour of the Orks alive. What comes through really well is the sheer enjoyment the Orks have when they are unleashed to run wild. The competition between the Big Meks and their God-Machines is developed into a under running constant in the plot, highlighted by the various cunning tactics used by Mogrok (usually). I didn't really know what to make of Mogrok as a character in general. There have been a lot of discussions on whether he can be claimed to be in keeping with the 40k canon due to the unusual disease he is plagued by, so I would say it's something the reader needs to decide for themselves because it's something relatively minor overall. The other characters have good depth, given the length of the book, and it helps to bring the plot together. If you're after a short read, you can enjoy then its worth it, and it definitely has the Ork themed madness to enjoy.