Events are coming to a climax in the Banished Lands, as the war reaches new heights. King Nathair has taken control of the fortress at Drassil and three of the Seven Treasures are in his possession. And together with Calidus and his ally Queen Rhin, Nathair will do anything to obtain the remaining Treasures. With all seven under his command, he can open a portal to the Otherworld. Then Asroth and his demon-horde will finally break into the Banished Lands and become flesh.

Meanwhile Corban has been taken prisoner by the Jotun, warrior giants who ride their enormous bears into battle. His warband scattered, Corban must make new allies if he hopes to survive. But can he bond with competing factions of warlike giants? Somehow he must, if he's to counter the threat Nathair represents.

His life hangs in the balance - and with it, the fate of the Banished Lands

Finishing a series of books you enjoyed is always a bittersweet experience. Sometimes more so than other times. Wrath is definitely that. I was deeply invested in this series once I realized how moving it was, and this is the perfect book to end 2016 on, both on my list on Goodreads and as far as reviews go. There's a few left that didn't quite make it in time for December 31st, but I'm happy to say that this did. Let me preface my swooning with a simple statement: Buy this series, it is amazing.

The Story:

"Events are coming to a climax in the Banished Lands, as the war reaches new heights. King Nathair has taken control of the fortress at Drassil and three of the Seven Treasures are in his possession. And together with Calidus and his ally Queen Rhin, Nathair will do anything to obtain the remaining Treasures. With all seven under his command, he can open a portal to the Otherworld. Then Asroth and his demon-horde will finally break into the Banished Lands and become flesh.

Meanwhile Corban has been taken prisoner by the Jotun, warrior giants who ride their enormous bears into battle. His warband scattered, Corban must make new allies if he hopes to survive. But can he bond with competing factions of warlike giants? Somehow he must, if he's to counter the threat Nathair represents.

His life hangs in the balance - and with it, the fate of the Banished Lands"

The Review:

Wrath is, with no real doubt, my favorite novel of 2016. It is the perfect book to end the year on for me. I was worried that the final book in the series would end with an unsatisfying conclusion or wouldn't wrap things up neatly enough, but oh boy were those fears unfounded. Wrath is an incredibly strong close to what has become one of my favorite Fantasy series in recent years.

The story picks right back up from where Ruin left off - Drassil has fallen to Nathair and Calidus, Corban's diverse warband of men and giants scattered in Forn Forest. Immediately things kick off again, giving the reader opportunities to refamiliarize themselves with the characters and their griefs. I was worried that I might have lost track somewhere, since I read books one to three over the course of a month at the start of 2016, but it pulled me right back in within a few chapters and I was on top of events once more.

Every single plotline in the book felt valuable to me. I cannot claim that I didn't enjoy any one of them. John Gwynne did an amazing job splitting the plotlines while having them all contribute somehow. More than in the previous novels, paths cross here and many strings turn into one. Of course, the story centers in and around Drassil, but we still get glimpses from outside Forn, including the journey of Edana and Camlin, and their resistance against Queen Rhin. The tension all across the Banished Lands is palpable, even though everything runs right back to Drassil for the grand finale. And what a finale it was!

I'll be honest. I cried many times throughout the book. I cheered just as often if not more, and I ended up shouting "No! No! No!" in disbelief in instances. The book made me happy, it made me incredibly sad, and it had me excited all the way through. John Gwynne's a bastard for writing this book, but damn me if I don't love him for it. Wrath is the epitome of an emotional rollercoaster, just that instead of a boring, abrupt end to the ride, everything felt settled and satisfying here. Everything is in its place by the end, whether directly stated or implied, and the story of Corban and the rest ends on the best possible note - looking back to what was, yet also towards the future. It is a bittersweet end, for sure, but one that had me emotionally invested and happy.

But getting there wasn't easy. There is a lot of action here. The God War is presented as brutal, visceral, full of grief and wrath, but Gwynne manages to still focus on the men behind the shield walls, or wielding the axes and swords, and give us genuine looks on their beliefs, their fears and their valour. A bunch of you reading this will probably be aware that, while I read a lot of action-heavy books (40k says Hi), it is the characters, the drama between them, and the dialogue which keep me invested - and Wrath, like the entire series, nails those aspects. Personal drama is at an all time high here, especially as some heroes catch up to their nemeses and things get bloody. Seeing the Old Wolf in action once more was glorious, for example, yet also struck me with a lot of grief for what humanity he has lost since the early books. Seeing other characters fight with their own demons and making their final choices was incredible. Honestly, there are more characters in here that I cared about and came to love since the first book than I can count here.

In places, the book broke my heart. It made me utterly sad and stunned me with its little twists. And yet I never really wanted to stop reading. It never turned me off from going on with just another chapter, just another, and stay up deep into the nights. It stayed consistently engaging, which is no small feat for a book that hits you with over 700 pages! Not once did I feel it wasn't worth getting here, through three other books about as long as this one, to see the massive conclusion of the God War. When the novel was painful to read, it was not because it was a bad book in any way, shape or form (this ain't Star Wars: Aftermath!), but because I cared so deeply for everything that was happening and wanted the cast to settle down with a happy ending. Instead Gwynne kept heaping loss and sadness onto his characters, and the reader, and made this mythical war between good and evil feel so much more alive and relevant, so much more scary and earth shattering. A lot of authors can learn a thing or three from this epic finale, in my opinion. The betrayals cut deep, the bonds of loyalty hold firm. It is an emotional and dramatic highlight all around.

I'm dancing around plot details, though. I don't want to spoil things needlessly, because I fully believe that this entire series is worth reading, worth being surprised by as you go through it. I don't want to blunt the victories or tragedies before you stumble over them. Heck, I didn't really know anything about the series going into it back in late January. All I knew was that my girlfriend had recently started reading Malice and really seemed to enjoy it. So I picked it up myself, and before I knew it I sat with Ruin finished and facing a 10 month wait for the final book. Thankfully, now they are all released and you won't have to wait like I did.
As for myself I can say that Wrath is one of the few series finales that actually made me want to go back and start the series all over immediately after getting through it. For now I am restraining myself and not giving in, due to how much fresh material I have still left to read, but I don't doubt that I'll be coming back to The Faithful and the Fallen in the future. I am looking forward to it already.

You got me, John Gwynne. You got me excited, you got me to weep, you got me looking forward to the next book with your name on it. Wrath, standing head and shoulders above most fantasy series' finales over the past many years, guarantees that I'll read whatever its author is working on. Of Blood and Bone, was it? Starting with Dread? Well, I'm in. Thank you, John, for ending my 2016 with a big and glorious bang.
Now if only somebody could tell me how I can get these massive tomes signed, that'd be swell...

Wrath on Goodreads

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He is known by many names - Clonelord, Manflayer, Primogenitor. He is the epitome of deceit and perversion, and feared by man and monster alike. Once the Chief Apothecary of the Emperor's Children, the madman known as Fabius Bile possesses a knowledge of genetic manipulation second to none. Now a renegade among renegades, he is loathed by those he once called brother, and even the most degraded of Chaos Space Marines fear his name. Exiled for his dark experiments, Bile has retreated deep into the Eye of Terror, leaving a trail of twisted abominations in his wake. But when a former student brings word of the ultimate prize for the taking, Bile is unable to resist being drawn once more into the cauldron of war. For in seizing this prize, Fabius Bile might yet discover the one secret his has been unable to unlock... the secret which will prevent his inevitable doom.

For Black Library, 2016 appears to be the year that kept on giving. Not only did it provide a truckload of new Horus Heresy titles, but it also gave us some of the best books they published in years, including Peter Fehervari's Genestealer Cults and, in my opinion, Fabius Bile: Primogenitor.

The Story:

"He is known by many names - Clonelord, Manflayer, Primogenitor. He is the epitome of deceit and perversion, and feared by man and monster alike. Once the Chief Apothecary of the Emperor's Children, the madman known as Fabius Bile possesses a knowledge of genetic manipulation second to none. Now a renegade among renegades, he is loathed by those he once called brother, and even the most degraded of Chaos Space Marines fear his name. Exiled for his dark experiments, Bile has retreated deep into the Eye of Terror, leaving a trail of twisted abominations in his wake. But when a former student brings word of the ultimate prize for the taking, Bile is unable to resist being drawn once more into the cauldron of war. For in seizing this prize, Fabius Bile might yet discover the one secret his has been unable to unlock... the secret which will prevent his inevitable doom."

The Review:

Fabius Bile: Primogenitor is one of the most enjoyable books I've read this year. Granted, that is in large parts down to my interest in Fabius himself, as per his various depictions in Warhammer 40,000 and the Horus Heresy, but also because Josh Reynolds is one hell of a writer. Reading this on the heels of The Master of Mankind was also a good decision I've found, prodividing a nice contrast to Dembski-Bowden's more depressing work.

Throughout the Horus Heresy series, Fabius has been depicted as more and more unhinged, especially as far as his experiments are concerned. Father of mutants and "New Men", and creator of the proto-Noise Marines, Fabius stands for corruption, insanity and a lack of restraint, making him a perfect scion of Fulgrim.
There's a lot of baggage attached to the character, a lot of preconceived notions on him and his exploits, so what did Josh do? He took it all, skipped a few millennia ahead in the timeline to M34, and reassessed Fabius's circumstances and mindset to make him a pillar of sanity in an insane galaxy - and it works brilliantly.

Of course, the Primogenitor remains an unhinged individual, with his own beliefs and misconceptions, but also impressive insights and maybe the only true atheist in the franchise, after the Emperor's passing. In many ways, Reynolds manages to present Fabius as somewhat of an inheritor of the Emperor's grand dream of advancing humanity, and his rejection of the daemonic. To Fabius, daemons are no more than figments of imagination given form by some convoluted natural phenomenon - and he defies them without fear or particular respect. This serves as platform for a couple of amusing scenes in the novel, which shaped the experience quite deliciously.

‘And what does it mean to you? You are not even real,’ Bile said. ‘A bit of grit in the empyrean is what you are. Whatever message you have is worth less to me than the hiss of a lanced boil.’

As you can see from this short quote, Fabius is written with plenty of... bile and cynical comments on his surroundings. His tongue is sharp from start to finish, yet there is also a surprising degree of warmth in him when it comes to his creations. Whether they be the Gland-hounds, vat-grown, improved-upon near-humans who form a step between regular folk and the Astartes, or even the Kakophoni survivors of his Legion days, Fabius is a generous benefactor. He also has an odd fondness for his apothecary allies/disciples, including the other major PoV character, Oleander Koh.

Oleander returns to Fabius's fold at the outset of the book to propose a grand scheme: Helping the Radiant King, a high-ranking Emperor's Children general, take the Eldar Craftworld of Lugganath, and reaping precious samples for Bile's experiments in the process. Of course, Oleander has his own schemes as well, and clashes with his fellow apothecaries and his comrades under the Radiant King's command throughout. But he is also an idealist and his admiration for Fabius is clear. To the reader, he is an entertaining set of eyes to look through as well. He flirts with daemonettes, even reminiscing about a fling he had with one, and smoking warp essence through a wicked pipe. On top of that, he also hums songs here and there, which readers of Chambers' The King in Yellow might recognize...

Speaking of weird fiction references, Reynolds managed to throw a couple more in. None of them felt shoehorned to me - if anything, Josh's extensive knowledge of Weird Fiction helped build a dramatic atmosphere and underline the inherent weirdness of Fabius and his experiments, and the extravagant nature of the acolytes and daemons of Slaanesh. Oleander's songs, Fabius's penchant for classical music and art, the Radiant King's joyful parties, they all play into the theme of decadence that the Emperor's Children are known for, while maintaining Fabius's own indulgences on a more reasonable level than the rest's.

The daemons, too, feel wicked yet playful, threatening but with a sense of irony. They play with their food, and invite the characters to dance with them. I've found Slaaneshi daemons to be hit and miss in most stories, with some authors pulling them off damn well, like Chris Wraight in The Path of Heaven, while others, like James Swallow in Fear to Tread, completely disappointed me. To my delight, Josh Reynolds nailed them, making them the fickle, whimsical creatures they need to be, hiding their terror and hostility under a veneer of humor and fondness for the subjects of their attention.
In contrast, the Emperor's Children in the book are mostly made up of opportunistic, backstabbing ingrates, ever chasing for greater pleasures and stimuli. Oleander straddles the line for the most part, and Fabius's desires are of a very different nature, but especially the underlings of the Radiant King are in constant rivalry and showcase the degeneracy of the Legion after Fulgrim's apotheosis just right.

Next to the obvious followers of Slaanesh, the novel also gives some attention to a mute Iron Warrior apothecary with a strong belief in brotherhood, a World Eater who speaks to the skulls of his rivals and a Word Bearer forced into service after a failed attempt on Fabius's life - and the Chief Apothecary rewarded him with implanted bombs. The Word Bearer felt as preachy and arrogant as I've envisioned them to be, post-Heresy, attempting to spread their faith across the galaxy once more. But a real surprise to me was the aforementioned Iron Warrior, Tzimiskes, who has some oddly uplifting "conversations" with Oleander and co, and even a PoV scene towards the end. I liked him a lot!

Fabius Bile himself is explored in far greater depth than ever before. I loved Nick Kyme's story Chirurgeon, which gave a lot of background on him during the Heresy and before, but Primogenitor goes far and beyond with how it redefines the Clonelord. Self-reflective yet driven. Critical but appreciative of others' advances. Reclusive yet surrounding himself with like-minded individuals. Harsh to outsiders yet surprisingly caring for his own. Rejecting authority yet constantly defiant. Broken yet unyielding.

The whole novel celebrates Fabius's achievements yet puts him into a position where he is both highly disagreeable but also incredibly likeable as a protagonist. It dials back a lot of the crazier elements while making them an intrinsic part of the character's development. Even Aaron Dembski-Bowden's The Talon of Horus factors into the book, due to Bile's involvement, his experiments and the effects the defeat at Canticle City had on the Legion at large.
Josh's Fabius is the culmination of everything that has come before, while making him into a fresh, innovative character all of his own. It puts him into the spot he needed to be in my opinion, while setting up many paths for him to tread in the future of the trilogy and the franchise as a whole. That on its own is a marvelous achievement in my eyes.

The main antagonists come in the form of the Eldar, both raiders and the dwellers of the Craftworld Lugganath, and, most enjoyably, Harlequins. The latter give Josh yet another opportunity to write excellent dialogue, playing to his strengths and showing the Laughing God's children as twisted, wicked jesters.
Everything about the Harlequins is a performance, a dance, an act, and it is expertly staged and complements all the themes throughout the book.

Prick his flesh, crack his bones, that’s the way the story goes. Urge him up, strike him down, call him out and pass him round. Out

Despite all its grim themes, Fabius Bile: Primogenitor manages to remain upbeat, moving at a steady pace, with its characters circling one another and orbiting Fabius, highlighting the Primogenitor in ways that made the entire book a joy to read. It had me "joybound", theorizing about the twists and turns Reynolds might yet take the story, and wishing for a revamped miniature of Fabius himself to put on my shelf next to the trilogy in the coming years. My only regrets about the book are that I didn't get the Limited Edition of it, which comes in an amazing dress-up and includes an additional short story. Everything else I absolutely adored, and I cannot wait for more.

Fabius Bile: Primogenitor on Goodreads

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When the traitorous allies of Horus and Kelbor-Hal seized Mars, they sent elite hunters to apprehend key targets and ensure that any loyal resistance would fail. One such target was the legendary technoarchaeologist Arkhan Land, the discoverer of many lost treasures and curiosities from mankind's Golden Age - and the Imperial Fists cannot allow such a valuable mind to fall into the hands of the enemy. Does Land have good reason to fear his apparent saviours?

Another Horus Heresy story from the Black Library Advent Calendar. This one's a prequel to The Master of Mankind and features Arkhan Land, who was one of my favorite characters from the numbered novel.

The Story:

" When the traitorous allies of Horus and Kelbor-Hal seized Mars, they sent elite hunters to apprehend key targets and ensure that any loyal resistance would fail. One such target was the legendary technoarchaeologist Arkhan Land, the discoverer of many lost treasures and curiosities from mankind's Golden Age - and the Imperial Fists cannot allow such a valuable mind to fall into the hands of the enemy. Does Land have good reason to fear his apparent saviours?"

The Review:

Into Exile is a story told in reverse, featuring Arkhan Land's escape from sacred Mars. Hunted by a Mechanicum construct and protected by a single Imperial Fists legionary, Arkhan has to swallow his pride and get to safety. This is also set during the initial evacuation from Mars, which we've seen tackled by Mechanicum in the single-digit novels of the series.

Sadly, it didn't work for me. The concept seems novel at first, intriguing, but I didn't feel like it added much, if anything, to start with the conclusion and work back towards the beginning.
There were no unexpected twists that might have turned the plot on its head in ways that complimented the unique style, and knowing exactly how a character would meet his end made the whole evacuation chase here feel rather dull. Knowing that the hero escapes (which was obvious from him being a part of The Master of Mankind) and the protector sacrifices himself in the very first scene, made the tension evaporate for me.

I liked the character of Arkhan once again, but Nicanor felt flat to me. Stoic, stubborn and dutiful, but that's an Imperial Fist in a nutshell anyway. The plot itself is simple and filling a gap that I don't think really needed plugging. I'm glad to see AD-B experimenting with the short story format once again, which I loved in previous advent calendar series, but I'm not sure the subject matter lent itself to the test.

Into Exile on Goodreads

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Balsar Kurthuri of the Raven Guard has always followed his primarch's orders. When the Edict of Nikaea forbade psykers within the Legions, he returned to the line squads without a second thought. When the Warmaster's treachery became known, he gave freely of his powers. Now, as the war appears to be entering its final, grim stages, at Lord Corax's command he must return to Terra to face judgement for the apparent crime of unswerving loyalty…

Skipping ahead in Black Library's Advent Calendar series, day 7 has a sequel to Corax for us. It wraps up one of the storylines left dangling by Weregeld and gives a little status update on the state of the Sol system.

The Story:

" Balsar Kurthuri of the Raven Guard has always followed his primarch's orders. When the Edict of Nikaea forbade psykers within the Legions, he returned to the line squads without a second thought. When the Warmaster's treachery became known, he gave freely of his powers. Now, as the war appears to be entering its final, grim stages, at Lord Corax's command he must return to Terra to face judgement for the apparent crime of unswerving loyalty…"

The Review:

Arriving at Terra alongside Captain Noriz and his Imperial Fists, and Arcatus Vindix Centurio of the Custodian Guard, ex-Librarian Balsar Kurthuri is confronted with a big problem: The Custodes turn on him and attempt to take him out. With emergency protocols in place, there is nothing left for Kurthuri other than to attempt escape, eluding his pursuers while restraining himself. He gave an oath to ban himself from using his psychic powers again, which proves tricky.

I quite liked the story. It is an action-heavy chase, and while as a reader of the series the results and twists were utterly obvious (which they should be after the many Malcador-related stories we've had by now), which isn't helped by the title either, I enjoyed the ride. Points can be made for potential losses not being worth risking, but the way it was executed worked for me. The stress of the situation bubbled to the surface neatly and there was some much appreciated time with Noriz, who I liked quite a bit in Deliverance Lost and Corax.

The story also hammered home the gulf between Astartes and Custodes, with Arcatus being a badass. Sure, we just got that with The Master of Mankind anyway, but here the Custodes are on the attack, not the back foot. There was also some neat little bonding between the lone Raven Guard and Noriz and co, due to their years together under Corax.

The big negative for me here was that it was damn predictable. The moment Arcatus turned on Balsar, I knew where it was headed. I knew where Balsar Kurthuri would end up, and what the intentions were. There were still some surprises, of course, but if you've read The Silent War, book 37 in the series, you might consider the short story as transparent as me.

The Grey Raven on Goodreads

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Escaping from ruined Calth, Oll Persson and his band of refugees are trapped on a dark, forgotten world. But the enemy draws near, and immortality may not be enough to survive...

Oll Persson stands apart from the rest of mankind. He is one of the old ones, one of the undying. One of the Perpetuals. Now, fleeing from the ruins of Calth with his band of fellow refugees, the vagaries of the warp have brought him through the backways of time and space to a city that rests on the edge of oblivion... and no further. The path has ended abruptly, and Oll's enemies are finally closing in. Will his immortality be enough to save him this time?

It is that time of the year again. Black Library has launched its Advent Calendar 2016, and I'll be picking and this year I'll be choosing notable entries from the list to review quickly. That means I'll probably skip over all the Age of Sigmar stuff by default, truth be told.
Day One had a Horus Heresy audio drama in store for us, and by Dan Abnett no less! Notable enough, I'd wager, so let's have a look.

The Story:

"Escaping from ruined Calth, Oll Persson and his band of refugees are trapped on a dark, forgotten world. But the enemy draws near, and immortality may not be enough to survive...
Oll Persson stands apart from the rest of mankind. He is one of the old ones, one of the undying. One of the Perpetuals. Now, fleeing from the ruins of Calth with his band of fellow refugees, the vagaries of the warp have brought him through the backways of time and space to a city that rests on the edge of oblivion... and no further. The path has ended abruptly, and Oll's enemies are finally closing in. Will his immortality be enough to save him this time?"

The Review:

I enjoyed Perpetual, especially for the actors' performances, but in the end it is a mere stepping stone for the Ollanius the Pious plotline.

It doesn't really feel significant on its own, and is more of an extension to the end of Know No Fear and Mark of Calth's Unmarked. There is some decent deception going on, and it is an appreciated status update on Oll and co, and gives some neat little nuggets of lore on the millennia leading up to the Great Crusade and Heresy era, but a lot of it felt a bit rehashed. The audio drama has to reiterate information on Oll's nature, his views on the Emperor, his habits and what not, which seems necessary seeing how long ago Unmarked was published, let alone Know No Fear, but takes up valuable time in the audio format, which I'd rather seen used to progress the plot more dynamically.

That being said, I enjoyed the actors, and felt they added a lot of character to the group of survivors. Penelope Rawlins did a neat job as Katt, and her role in what's to come is probably the most exciting part to me. Hearing John Grammaticus in a drama for the first time also felt neat, and if that's how he talks, I can dig that.

In the end though I am left wondering if this wasn't written years ago as a short story, like most of Abnett's more recent works for Black Library, and simply adapted for the BL's Advent 2016 in audio, now that the Horus Heresy series is closing in on the finale. As a written short story snippet it would probably hold up better, but I didn't feel like it used the audio format's strengths well enough.

Perpetual on Goodreads

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As war splits the galaxy, the Emperor toils in the vaults beneath His Palace. But his great work is in peril, with the forces of Chaos closing in…

While Horus’ rebellion burns across the galaxy, a very different kind of war rages beneath the Imperial Palace. The ‘Ten Thousand’ Custodian Guard, along with the Sisters of Silence and the Mechanicum forces of Fabricator General Kane, fight to control the nexus points of the ancient eldar webway that lie closest to Terra, infested by daemonic entities after Magnus the Red’s intrusion. But with traitor legionaries and corrupted Battle Titans now counted among the forces of Chaos, the noose around the Throneworld is tightening, and none but the Emperor Himself can hope to prevail.

Tough review to write, though that is only fair considering how tough writing the book was on Aaron. Still, I'm conflicted on the result. This might also easily be the most depressing book in the series to date. Hear me out, I'll explain.

The Story:

"As war splits the galaxy, the Emperor toils in the vaults beneath His Palace. But his great work is in peril, with the forces of Chaos closing in…

While Horus’ rebellion burns across the galaxy, a very different kind of war rages beneath the Imperial Palace. The ‘Ten Thousand’ Custodian Guard, along with the Sisters of Silence and the Mechanicum forces of Fabricator General Kane, fight to control the nexus points of the ancient eldar webway that lie closest to Terra, infested by daemonic entities after Magnus the Red’s intrusion. But with traitor legionaries and corrupted Battle Titans now counted among the forces of Chaos, the noose around the Throneworld is tightening, and none but the Emperor Himself can hope to prevail."

The Review:

The Master of Mankind is up there with some of the best books in the Horus Heresy series. I have no doubt about that at the very least. It is a product of mountains of passionate work and hits all the right spots for presenting the Emperor to the reader, even if not a single scene is shown through his eyes. It manages to keep the Master of Mankind mysterious, enigmatic, while also revealing some things about him that will divide the fanbase. It is a book loaded with gravitas and feeling of the approaching end - not just for the Heresy, but also mankind as a whole. It manages to get the Custodes into the center of the Heresy for a change, and also the Sisters of Silence. It deals with a little bit of the Mechanicum's exile from Mars, and features Titan and Knight fights.

And despite all, I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. Somewhere towards the end, I started to feel apathetic, with the outcome so crystal clear even before the book even started, and the ramping up action in the webway. I got hesitant to feel invested in the characters it introduced, due to how many appeared seemingly just to die in battle against the horrors of the warp. While yes, this indeed as grimdark as it gets and iconic for the franchise, it felt a bit disappointing. Unrelenting battles, despite how well they are written (and here they are exceptional!) can become quite overbearing to me, especially when they are this one-sided. I often ended up wishing for the book to return to dialogue between characters and show me more of the drama, rather than the weaponsfire.

The big revelations mostly made up for it, of course, and I appreciate the book for what it did in regards to the Emperor, showing him as a vile being while also presenting his grandeur, his singular vision and melancholy. Throughout the novel I went from adoring the man to despising him for his actions and cold-blooded pragmatism. If anything, it both humanized and dehumanized the Emperor to the point of confirming biases on both sides of the fanbase - and I love that. He is the kind of superhuman monster that would reach those heights of Imperium where every other man would fall.
There is no denying his monumental power and vision - but the book makes sure that no sane reader would come out as a big fan of the man.

The protagonists come in the form of the Custodians Ra Endymion and Diocletian Coros, as well as Arkhan Land, Technoarchaeologist and Zephon of the Blood Angels. There are a whole bunch of other characters who receive attention throughout the story, but these I found to be the most significant and well-developed. However, people expecting Constantin Valdor, Rogal Dorn and Malcador as well as Jenetia Krole, commander of the Silent Sisterhood to make a big impact on the plot will be sorely disappointed - they all appear, but take a backseat for almost the entire book. I was especially surprised about Malcador being so negligible to the story.

Ra, it turns out, is chosen by the Emperor to experience scenes from the boss's life; moments that shaped his ambition and dreams, as well as the extent of his vision. It is almost entirely through him that we see the Emperor's actions and thought processes - and Aaron outdid himself with these sections throughout the book. I'd call it an almost perfect way to show the Emperor without making the reader too familiar with him.
The book is also chock-full of background on the Custodian Guard, the individual characters' close relationship with their duty to the Emperor, and their differences from the Legiones Astartes. If nothing else, the wealth of lore on the "Ten Thousand" given here is marvelous!

Additionally to Ra, Arkhan Land too offers a look at the Master of Mankind, which ties back into Dembski-Bowden's Betrayer in an impressive and impactful way.
Arkhan Land, who rediscovered the "Land Raider", has a mechanical pet pseudo-monkey. That alone makes him a very interesting character to me. But beyond that, he is a cynical bastard who gives the new Fabricator General (in exile), who we first saw in Graham McNeill's Mechanicum, a run for his money. Funnily enough, he is one of the most human characters in the book - despite his role within the Mechanicum.

The big antagonist comes in the form of the "Echo of the First Murder", a daemonic entity of Chaos Undivided that spells the End of Empires. It is a magnificently powerful entity that ravages the webway's defenders, to the point of forcing them onto their last legs, taking on Titans and Sisters of Silence alike. It was a fantastic antagonist to pick, especially considering the implications of its fate, and the sheer symbolism behind the daemon's existence. If you're on the fence about picking the book up, I'd urge you to at least check out the extract for it, as the echo's inception is described in it, and that alone had me excited as all hell for the full novel.

On top of that, there is a bunch of interesting lore-related stuff in the novel, whether it be about the Webway itself, or the Eldar who used it previously, or the exiles of Mars. There are throwbacks to other Heresy stories aplenty, and some age-old questions about the Emperor are answered. It most assuredly enriches the setting to an incredible degree, and might even settle some disputes within the fanbase. But all of it also contributes another level of melancholy, of lost grandeur and harsh reality.

Below every grand setpiece and character development here is a very depressing core story. It is the tale of the Emperor losing his dream. It is about the ultimate descent of the Imperium of Man, of how the spiral into decay truly starts. That made the book a little exhausting for me, because there really isn't much hope here at all. Whether it be Zephon of Baal's exile to the Crusader Host on Terra due to combat injuries and augmentation rejection, or the revelations of how the Emperor viewed his Primarch sons, or the way everything necessary is being sacrificed left and right to maintain one man's dying dream - this book is depressing. It is terrifying and puts the grim darkness into the Warhammer 40,000 universe. I love it for that, but I also hate it for being such an exceptional dream-crusher.

Without the war between the Legions, this book still manages to be one of the most definitive, defining stories in the series and franchise as a whole. It does so many things right, and the scope of it all is breathtaking. It is a must-read for sure, and it is easy to be impressed and even overwhelmed by the result of Dembski-Bowden's hard labor. But it isn't perfect. It is not a book I am likely to revisit anytime soon, unless I am really feeling like indulging in a magnificent tragedy. The Master of Mankind is a massive achievement for the series, a milestone to be proud of for Aaron Dembski-Bowden, but it is also a book that I find hard to love.

The Master of Mankind on Goodreads

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For years, the Clone Wars have raged across the galaxy. Countless worlds have been ensnared in the conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Separatist army led by the devious Sith Lord Count Dooku. While rumors spread that the Separatists are nearing completion of a superweapon, fear grips the Republic. In response, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has tasked a secret team of researchers with perfecting a battle station for the Republic: The Death Star.

While I am not yet sure if I'll run into cinema for Star Wars: Rogue One, I certainly wanted the prequel novel (to the prequel movie, heh?) under my belt. I wasn't sure what to expect from the book, but am quite pleased with it.

The Story:

"For years, the Clone Wars have raged across the galaxy. Countless worlds have been ensnared in the conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Separatist army led by the devious Sith Lord Count Dooku. While rumors spread that the Separatists are nearing completion of a superweapon, fear grips the Republic. In response, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has tasked a secret team of researchers with perfecting a battle station for the Republic: The Death Star."

The Review:

Star Wars: Catalyst is a relatively slow novel. It kicks off during the Clone Wars and spans about 4-5 years from then until after where Revenge of the Sith leaves off. There aren't many action/battle scenes in the book, which I loved. Instead this book focuses on the Erso family's personal relationship drama, orbiting Galen Erso's scientific pursuits in researching crystals to provide a powerful new energy resource to the galaxy. The antagonist of the story comes in the form of Orson Krennic, a driven, highly ambitious official in the Republic/Empire's weapons research group - and an old friend of Galen Erso.

Galen and Lyra Erso are, for all intents, pacifists. They want nothing to do with the war against the Separatists, and have no desire to see Galen's research abused to create terrifying weapons. So it is up to Krennic to manipulate, lie and scheme, and create the perfect circumstances for Galen to act to his tune and provide the results and theory for him to apply to creating the iconic Death Star laser. Galen seems pretty oblivious to what is going on, whereas his wife, Lyra, is suspicious of Krennic all throughout, and attempts to steer her husband in the right direction. A lot of the book thus focuses on both Krennic and Lyra working against one another behind Galen's back - which isn't too difficult as he gets utterly absorbed by his research in many instances.

Entwined with the drama unfolding are the Erso's young daughter Jyn, who we know to be the protagonist in Rogue One, and a dressellian smuggler named Has, who is exploited by Krennic to create opportunities for planetary exploitation to aid the Death Star's construction. I liked his role in the book a lot, especially as he grows closer to the Ersos and turns from puppet to rebelling against Krennic. I am actually sad that he doesn't seem to be in Rogue One, as he worked very well for the story and would fit well into the rag-tag group of rebels, one of which is actually featured in Has' storyline.

Since James Luceno also wrote the great novel Tarkin, you can expect the Moff to make an appearance or five here. We know he is going to oversee the Death Star project, and has been involved in it all along, but that puts him into direct rivalry with Orson Krennic. I originally feared Krennic to be a Tarkin stand-in for the movie, a new face filling the older character's shoes. Instead, the two are significantly different, one being all-in on the Emperor's plans of order for the galaxy, the other selfish and in for only his own advancement, not caring one iota about the galaxy at large or the skeletons in his closet. Seeing these two pitched against one another and their schemes to weaken the other's position pan out, often through the involvement of Mas Amedda, Galen and Has, was cool and satisfying to me.

In general though, this book is high on subterfuge and character drama, with almost no weapons fired besides a few scenes. The Erso family is front and center, offering a plot full of love and understanding but also a sense of sadness as Krennic tears into the relationship with his lies. Jyn, being just a small child, still turned out to be a great character for what scenes she has, and felt like a believable child to me. But in the end, she feels more like a connecting piece between Galen and Lyra, and their friends, than a character of her own. She is used to full effect, but it isn't her story, but her parents'. It will still add a lot to her appearance in Rogue One, though, and I wouldn't want to miss out on that.
To elevate the book a little further, there is a lot of added context to the Republic's transition to the Empire, various characters' roles and the way the general population views the changes and rumors, while trying to continue on with their lives as more restrictions are implemented.

However. If you want lightsaber fights, Star Destroyer action and bounty hunters, you'll be disappointed. It isn't that kind of book. Its strength are the way it expands on the setting, the genuine relationship of the Ersos, the under-the-table schemes and rivalries, not how many stormtroopers fail to kill the protagonists. It does the job it set out to do well.
Still, there was a little something that I felt missing from the book. I still cannot pinpoint what it is, but it made the difference between an consistently enjoyable and engaging book and one that absolutely wowed me. Maybe it is the lack of big twists for the reader, since we follow Krennic's duplicity and his ideas straight away. Maybe it is simply that the novel plays it a little tame with its methods. Or maybe it is simply that the fate of the Ersos was already telegraphed by Rogue One trailers.

Whatever it is, it simply made the difference between a damn good novel that I enjoyed coming back to and one that blew me away. Either way, Catalyst is a recommended read for anybody invested in Star Wars, especially the new canon under Disney's reign. If you're planning to watch Rogue One, I'd advise you to read this book as well, preferably first, so you can get the full perspective on the characters. You won't regret it.

Star Wars: Catalyst on Goodreads

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