Guest Blog: Sarah Cawkwell, author of THE GILDAR RIFT

I am very excited to bring you this afternoon as my guest blogger Sarah Cawkwell, author of The Gildar Rift (published by Black Library in December 2011). I think I will always remember when I first met Sarah - and scared her silly by knowing who she was and what her book was about! I am therefore thrilled to bits to present you with her words about being a female Black Library author.

A guest blog article! My heavens! Let me just shift around until I’m comfortable and then we can begin. Is anybody looking? No? Excellent. I’ll just pop my feet up on the desk and play 80’s Hair Rock Band music whilst nobody’s here…

Hang on…

Right. Scratch that, reverse it. Let’s start again.

For those of you who don’t know who the hell this particular interloper might be, my name is Sarah Cawkwell. I am a part-time freelance genre fiction writer, a full-time NHS minion and an all-time mother. There are two parts of that paragraph that will give rise to the bulk of this article:-

‘Genre fiction writer’ and ‘mother’.

Not so strange, I hear you cry (or at least whisper amongst yourselves). After all, there are plenty of female authors in genre fiction. However, there are considerably less of us out there who are writing military science fiction. I’m one of them. I am waving my hand over here, do you see? Hello! I feel like I’m admitting something shameful. “My name is Sarah and I like to write visceral sci-fi military fiction.”

Amanda asked me if I could make the focus of my guest article about the challenges I face being a female writer for the Black Library and how I get around them. For some people this might come across as a ‘change the record’ kind of thing; because any of you who follow my own blog (http://pyroriffic.wordpress.com) will know that I periodically mention the subject. This time, though, I’m putting a different slant on it. This time, I’m going to consider the positives of the situation and talk about how I got into writing about Space Marines.

First of all (after checking I’m right about this with the Marketing guys at the Black Library), it is sort of staggering to say that I am the first female writer for them who has published a full length novel. That’s quite an achievement, particularly given that some of the other 40K gals are of the ilk of Nik Vincent and Juliet McKenna. Proud isn’t the word. I have moments when I feel a little bit like a trailblazer for those of the fairer sex who have a hankering to write about supersoldiers in power armour.

I shan’t pretend that it never worried me, because it did. Back in the early days, when I was first shyly dipping my toes in the grimdark waters of the 40K Ocean, I contacted some of the existing BL authors to ask for their guidance. ‘My worry,’ I bleated, ‘is that people will dismiss me out of hand for having the temerity to be born with the wrong pairing of chromosomes’.

In summary, the combined response was ‘yes… it will probably put you unfairly in the spotlight, but on the other hand, could be a very positive thing. Don’t let it stop you. And don’t necessarily believe that Graham McNeill isn’t actually a lingerie model called Susan.’

I may have paraphrased the last bit. It was from Graham’s email though, so I think that’s OK.

So I grit my teeth, rolled up my metaphorical sleeves and carried on working away at my Space Marines story. In time, the opportunity to submit this to the Black Library presented itself and I was contacted by THE NICEST EDITOR IN THE WORLD, Christian Dunn. (I take cash only).

‘It’s good,’ he said in best Roy Walker style, ‘but it’s not right.’ He gave me a few pointers and invited me to re-submit it. When I did, he was really pleased and thus, Primary Instinct, my first W40K short story was on its journey. Invitations to pitch for other short stories followed and then an innocuous conversation about a paragraph in the Space Marines codex lead to me writing a novel submission.

Then came the next girl-related crisis. Did I publish as myself, or did I adopt some sort of nom de plume? Use my initials? Use a generic Christian name? Once again I turned to other writers, my editor and friends for advice and what they said was… well, right, actually.

‘You wrote it, didn’t you? Be proud of it.’

And oh, I’m proud.

I wrote The Gildar Rift in the space of four and a half months. I will honestly state that it was the hardest – and yet one of the most rewarding – things I’ve ever done. Watching the word count going upwards was satisfying beyond belief, and handing it well ahead of its deadline was even more so

I’m back to square one in many ways now. The evidence is that I have what it takes to write in the Warhammer universe, regardless of my gender. What I have to deal with now is waiting to see how it’s received. I’ve had three short stories published so far and the feedback has mostly been positive. That’s encouraging.

But I am a minor commodity attempting to make my mark in a male-dominated environment. It’s only in the past year or so that the natives in my local GW store have been able to stop panicking when I walk in. But the message to any amongst you who may be a Doubting Thomas (or Thomasina, let’s be fair) is this. I love Space Marines. I love the way they’re written about. Why would I want to change that? Don’t worry. Enjoy the story for what it is.

Stay calm. Speak softly - and carry a chainsword.

Black Library: Path of the Renegade

Lookit! The artwork for Path of the Renegade has been released!

How *awesome* is that?!

The blurb: For millennia, Asdrubael Vect has ruled the dark city of Commorragh, crushing any who dare to cross him. His reach is long and his position unassailable... or so he thinks. Yllithian, an ambitious archon with the desire to unseat the tyrant, joins forces with a twisted haemonculus in an attempt to revive a long-dead warrior and challenge the might of the overlord, both racing to achieve their goal before Vect discovers their treachery. But a cataclysm is coming, and Yllithian’s actions may in fact be the cause...

It's out March 2012, and I already want that on my shelves!

Fulgrim by Graham McNeill

It is the 31st millenium, and humanity is at the peak of its powers. As the Great Crusade, led by Warmaster Horus, continues to conquer the galazy, Fulgrim, Primarch of the Emperor's Children, leads his warriors into battle against a vile alien foe. From the blood of this campaign are sown the seeds that will lead this proud Legion to treachery, taking them down the darkest paths of corruption. Leading up to the carnage of the Dropsite Massacre on Isstvan V, Graham McNeill tells the tale of Fulgrim's tragic fall from grace.

Well now... I enjoyed Graham McNeill's last outing in the Horus Heresy (False Gods), although found the pacing a little uneven at times. Fulgrim, for me, shows a writer with an enormous amount of confidence. McNeill has improved immeasurably on False Gods, and presents a novel that is truly epic in scope.

Fulgrim is structured brilliantly. We're shown the Emperor's Children before the fall - an exceptionally proud Legion searching for perfection in everything. There are strong characters showcased as they look for the approval of their Primarch during this period of conquest. Because we've seen the Emperor's Children before the bloody campaign on the Laer worlds, it is all the more heartbreaking to see the cracks appear. Of course, anyone who currently games in the 40K universe will know the future of the Emperor's Children, but McNeill manages to inject a real uncertainty so that new readers coming to the Horus Heresy who don't game will encounter a truly shocking revelation.

I also appreciated the pacing in this novel. McNeill keeps it at slowburn for much of the first half of the novel - there are some exciting set pieces, but truly we're learning about the characters and the nature of the Emperor's Children, set against the backdrop of uneasy rumours about the Warmaster and events already covered in the first three novels of the Horus Heresy. Gradually the action builds to a truly epic crescendo - this is a showpiece of the series so far, dark and powerful.

Still, the action would be nothing if there wasn't a strong heart to the novel; here we have the tale of Cain and Abel, in essence. Two brothers who have a seemingly unshakeable bond forced to face up to jealousy and betrayal. The relationship between Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus is tragic indeed, and leaves the reader really feeling the tearing up of the Astartes between loyalists and those who follow Horus.

I feel I say this way too often about the Horus Heresy novels, but I honestly think they are leading the way where military science fiction is concerned. Strong plotlines, a realism to the warfare presented (yes, even with the colossal virtually immortal killing machines that the Astartes represent!), and great characters make these irresistible. Ignore them because they are tie-in fiction at your peril! Fulgrim marks new heights in the Horus Heresy, and I can't wait to read more.

Tyranids

This is a pretty self-indulgent post, I'll confess *grins*

As well as reading Black Library novels, I'm a self-confessed geek in terms of playing Warhammer Fantasy and 40K. I haven't played for a while now and my poor Tyranid army is sat in a display cabinet at home feeling lonely. So I thought I would take a couple of (bad) pictures (with my iPhone) so that you lot could see what I've achieved.

On the tournament scene they were known as Hive Fleet Rutter - although I prefer Hive Fleet Britannia, thanks to the colour scheme! My winged Hive Tyrant was infamously called Mr Fluffy, and my opponents considered it a matter of pride to gun him down. Ah, I miss wargaming. So... Yes, I'm a geek. But I am bloody proud of this army - it's one of the finest things I've accomplished.

The aforementioned Mr Fluffy!

Gaunts and genestealers

You can just spy a Carnifex behind those Warriors

A close up! Isn't he fearsome?

Oh, and, while I'm at it, have another photo. In about a month's time I am heading to see Iron Maiden at the O2. While at the NEC for Eastercon I spied this promo poster for the tour - and all I could think is that the creature on the poster is most definitely a genestealer! *grins*

Do you wargame? What army do you collect? Do you enjoy painting, or is it something to be endured so that you can get to the fun part?

Forthcoming from Black Library!

I want to open this post by assuring you that I do not work for Black Library, or represent them in any way. I feel I have to do that because I've been going gaga on Amazon checking out the forthcoming titles from Black Library. They are looking SWEET!

I have to say - if you want pulp science fiction or fantasy, there are none better than Black Library right now. In my opinion, you can gain just as much pleasure reading these books if you have never tried the tabletop games. In fact, I'd guess there are now many readers of Black Library books who don't realise that the tabletop games came first, and that the novels they're reading are based on background material first presented in army books.

I think we need to remember that Black Library now have a number of NY Times bestselling titles, and have award winning authors. They are also diligent in showcasing titles, covers and information about their novels in advance. And their audio books are second to none. (Yes, I know I sound like part of their marketing team - that's why I felt I had to preface this post with that first sentence!)

The long running Horus Heresy series (which goes from strength to strength) has two entries on the following list, but there is much to look forward to over the coming months.

I'd urge you to try out some Black Library fiction - start with Horus Rising by Dan Abnett if you prefer science fiction, and I would suggest Heldenhammer by Graham McNeill if you're more of a fantasy afficionado.

(Release dates/cover images might be subject to change)

Deliverance Lost - Gav Thorpe

2nd January 2012

The Outcast Dead - Graham McNeill

When an Astropath has a vision about the end of the heresy, it falls to a group of renegade traitors to get him off Terra.

10th November 2011

Nocturne - Nick Kyme

The Salamanders fight to defend their home world against the traitorous Dragon Warriors in the blistering conclusion to the Tome of Fire trilogy.

(Previous novels in the trilogy are Salamander and Firedrake)

10th November 2011

The Gildar Rift - Sarah Cawkwell

In the depths of space, the Silver Skulls take on the might of Huron Blackheart and his Red Corsairs.

8th December 2011

Hammer and Anvil - James Swallow

The Sisters of Battle are the Emperor's most devout worshippers, fierce warriors preaching the purity of the Imperium and scourging their enemies with bolter and flamer. On a distant world, the Ecclesiarchy outpost of Sanctuary 101 was wiped out by an implacable foe - the fearless, soulless necrons. Now, a mission of the Sisterhood has returned to reconsecrate the site - but the metallic nightmares still lurk in the darkness, guarding a secret that has lain dormant for millennia. A vicious battle will be fought - one that can only end in the total destruction of the unrelenting xenos, or the annihilation of the proud Sororitas.

8th December 2011

Path of the Seer - Gav Thorpe

The ancient eldar are a mysterious race and each devotes their life to a chosen path that will guide their actions and decide their fate. Thirianna abandons her simple existence to embark upon the mysterious Path of the Seer. She will tread a dark and dangerous road that leads her to the otherrealm of the warp, where daemons are made flesh and nightmares are manifest, for only there can she realise her psychic abilities. After unleashing her powers in battle and communing with the spirits of her craft world, Thirianna turns her skills to discerning the future amidst the myriad strands of fate. Her visions reveal a great threat descending on Alaitoc, and both the living and the dead will march to war to defend it.

1st September 2011

Sons of Ellyrion - Graham McNeill

30th August 2011

Thanquol's Doom - Clint Werner

Grey Seer Thanquol uses his deadliest invention to battle the dwarfs in their mountain holds.

13th October 2011

The Red Duke - Clint Werner

Bloodthirsty vampire lord the Red Duke is resurrected from his ancient slumber to terrorise the lands of Bretonnia.

10th November 2011

Age of Legend - edited by Christian Dunn

2nd January 2012

Are there any here tickling your fancy?

Do you read Black Library novels? Which is your favourite?

Sigvald by Darius Hinks - Early Review!

Prince Sigvald the Magnificent has struck a pact with his Slaaneshi masters that bestows incredible power and beauty, but drives him to ever greater acts of hedonism. Despite his pre-eminence, the champion of Chaos is tricked into an impossible war with the promise of a powerful artefact to slake his dark desires. After centuries of debauchery, Sigvald rouses his army and leads them to battle against the legions of the Blood God Khorne. Obsessed with the Brass Skull, the object of his misguided yearnings, Sigvald is unaware his enemies are closing in around him. In a hellish quest that drives him across the twisted landscape of the Chaos Wastes and culminates in an epic confrontation, he realises that the lures of Slaanest can never be sated.

This is, unbelievably, the first Warhammer Fantasy novel I have read from the Black Library - so far all my BL reading has been confined to the Horus Heresy and some sterling work by Messrs McNeill and Abnett, and I was extremely interested to see how I would take to something set in the world of Warhammer Fantasy (which I've always found a little generic).

I'm pleased to report that my first experience with BL Fantasy novels is a decent one. Not a brilliant one, but more than good enough to have me reaching for more. Darius Hinks has been shortlisted this year for the Morningstar Award (handed out by the David Gemmell Legend Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer/debut) with Warrior Priest, and Sigvald showcases why the public have voted him onto that list.

Hinks' writing is some of the closest I have read to Gemmell himself - at times brisk and perfunctory, but at others willing to move into more poetic territory: "The densely packed pines knifed out of the snow like a threat."

He brings to life the chaotic, dreamy debauchery of the life of a Chaos Champion - perversions and pleasures walk hand in hand in Sigvald's world. Dark and twisted creatures revel in his shadows. I enjoyed seeing the descriptions of Chaos, having played against them for so long, and Hinks presents both the followers of Slaanesh and of Khorne with clear reverence of his subject matter.

So why is this novel merely good after the lavish praise above? Mostly for a reason that is not solely of Hinks' making: presenting a Slaaneshi Chaos Champion as a protagonist makes for rather hard reading.

Sigvald is neither a hero or an anti-hero; he is, pretty much, one of the bad guys, and as a consequence, a little difficult to root for. I like to have a little more humanity in my main characters.

The human interest is provided by the Norscan people, and this helps to mitigate the effect of Sigvald as the main character, but there were a couple of sections featuring the Prince of Chaos where I drifted badly and found my interest waning.

My other issue was that this novel felt very much like the opening novel in a trilogy or similar, which surprised me - I thought it would be a standalone book. Having said that, I would enjoying reading more about Sigvald's shenanigans and I *definitely* look forward to reading more of Darius Hinks' work.

Altogether, Sigvald is an entertaining piece of escapist fantasy fiction, and makes me perfectly happy to continue my foray into Black Library literature!

Sigvald by Darius Hinks will be published by the Black Library on 7th July.

The Flight of the Eisenstein by James Swallow

The Flight of the Eisenstein by James Swallow is the fourth book in the long-running Horus Heresy series by the Black Library. It follows the Death Guard Captain Nathaniel Garro as he witnesses the massacre of his brother legions on Isstvan III and his struggle to pass the message of Horus' treachery to the Emperor. It is a sister novel in some ways to Galaxy in Flames, as it shows the events on Isstvan III from a more distant perspective, and from the point of view of an Astartes warrior who has not been party to the changes in Horus and his turn to the forces of Chaos.

By the nature of the story, The Flight of the Eisenstein was never going to be a happy book, but much of the humour and moments of levity from the previous three novels in the Horus Heresy is absent here. Brother betrays brother; Chaos is on the rise; and Garro finds himself questioning everything in which he once believed. It is a dark, grim testimony of the darkness growing within the forces of the Astartes.

Swallow does an admirable job in taking the events covered by Ben Counter in 'Galaxy in Flames', and providing us with the alternative view - in fact, the scenes in which Garro watches in disbelief as Isstvan III is destroyed far beneath him are some of the most powerful and moving in the series to date.

There is also a nice turn in discussing the nature of new vs. old traditions within the Death Guard Legion, which echoes the over-riding theme of Lodges and following a new belief shown in the whole Horus Heresy series. Garro is one of the oldest-serving within the Death Guard, one who was born on Terra unlike many of his battle brothers. He adheres to many of the old traditions and finds himself somewhat outcast within his own Legion.

I also enjoyed (although I'm not sure "enjoyed" is quite the word!) the portrayal of warriors who are unable to fight any longer. Here we have Garro, defiant in the face of injury; Voyen, unable to face the idea of being part of war anymore; and Decius, who chooses a very different path. In each case, Swallow shows how a fighter might respond to the idea that he can play no part in the role that he was born to. All three storylines were written incredibly well.

In The Flight of the Eisenstein, the massive and far-reaching events covered in the first three novels are brought down to a much more micro level. Much of the novel takes place on the Eisenstein itself, and has an incredibly creepy and claustrophobic atmosphere because of it. Adding in a glimpse of the Warp and how Chaos affects the Astartes only increases this.

My main issue with the novel is a matter of characterisation. The Death Guard Legion is not the most charismatic, and they feel a little mundane on the pages. Compare this to the Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus, and the novel becomes somewhat dry. I don't think this is necessarily a fault of Swallow - in fact, I think he portrays these Marines well.

What is a fault of Swallow's is the fact that at times there was little to differentiate the individual characters within the Legion. Apart from Garro himself, Decius and Grulgor - all of whom have a large role to play in the novel - the rest of the Marines are interchangeable and difficult to identify.

All in all, though, this is a very solid entry into the series - dark, forbidding and challenging to read for all the right reasons. Good effort.

Path of the Warrior by Gav Thorpe

Path of the Warrior is the first in a new trilogy featuring the Eldar Warriors by Gav Thorpe. It features Korlandril, a rather self-centred Eldar following the Path of the Artist at the start of the novel, and follows his journey as he discovers death and rage and learns to put on his war mask.

I have very, very mixed opinions about this novel.

On the one hand, I absolutely loved seeing more of the mysterious Eldar culture. The different Paths, the exodites versus the true Eldar, the methods of waging war, the way in which the Eldar constantly fight against the temptation of She Who Thirsts - all of this is magnificent. And damn well should be considering Thorpe's heavy involvement with the Eldar.

The first part of the novel was very entertaining - introducing the triangle of characters who will affect the future of the Eldar: Korlandril, Thirianna and Aradryan. It is interesting to see the different Paths these three will take, and how it changes their relationships. I like seeing aspects of everyday life from the Eldar point of view.

When Korlandril takes his first steps onto the Path of the Warrior, the tale remains entertaining enough (although much of the training segments feel as though they should have the 'Montage' song from Team America: World Police running behind them - very cliched). It is when Korlandril becomes lost in the lust of battle that the story loses impact and becomes merely a series of battle scenes. These should be the most exciting part of the book, but they are dull and pedestrian. I found myself flicking through pages with no real inclination to read them in depth (which is a marked difference from Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill, who both write gripping and vivid battle scenes).

I also disliked many of the characters. Korlandril himself is at first shallow and self-centred, and thinks only of his own pleasures - and then his character shifts to something so different that it feels as though you don't even know him anymore. I accept that this fits the theme of the story that Thorpe has gone for, but it makes it very, very hard to root for Korlandril.

The secondary characters are, mostly, just a fancy name and no real substance. (Speaking of the names, I know that Eldar Warriors cannot be called Bill, or Colin, or anything simple - but it became tiresome trying to work out the floral pronunciations of these characters).

The best impression I have of Path of the Warrior is that gamers can use it to flesh out the character of the Eldar army they are using. Regular readers of science fiction are unlikely to find much to impress here, especially when considering the impressive heights that Black Library novels can reach. I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation of the Eldar race - it's just a shame that the story and characters did not live up to the world building. Flat and dull writing defeated me. Unless you have an express interest in the Eldar race, I would pass.

What Constitutes Art?

This is an interesting post for me to write - it almost becomes another of my Passions posts, being as it involves Warhammer.

Now, one of the key parts of Warhammer (it being a table-top, tactical game, involving two armies of miniatures) is the painting of the figures. For those who don't know much about it, the boxes of figures arrive like this:

And the most talented painters and modellers can create something like this:

Anyone who is unfamiliar with Warhammer - take my word for it that the model above is fantastically, shockingly well painted (done by one Matt Oakley, who has won numerous painting awards).

Now... I was browsing The Warhammer Forum, and found within their painting section a picture of the following diorama:

On the face of it, this is a spectacularly modelled and painted piece - truly stunning. Now look closer... Look at the Guardsman on the right as he undoes his belt; observe the guardsman on the left holding the Eldar warrior's chestplate. See the Eldar's hand inching towards the knife on the floor. Clearly this is a diorama depicting rape - or, at least, attempted rape.

Is this art? Is it necessary?

There has been plenty of commentary on the diorama above - the painter has provoked thought, reactions and discussion on the nature of war. This would indicate that the diorama has moved beyond mere painting and into artistry. Would you agree?

Some of those who viewed the tableau were horrified that someone would take of a tabletop hobby and create a "disgusting piece" (one of the descriptive terms used in a discussion thread that was locked when the discussion sparked into argument).

Can rape ever be used as art?

Where is the line drawn in the sand? What constitutes art?

p.s. I would be pleased with any comments - but this is my blog and I will moderate commentary as I see fit. If I receive verbal attacks about the above, I will remove them. I will also take away excessively inflammatory commentary.

On Matters of Tie-In Fiction and Audiobooks

Subtitled: Gav Thorpe beats Dan Brown!

As stated by Civilian Reader this isn't an actual fight between the Black Library author and the multi-million-book-selling author (although a smackdown between them could be entertaining - I think Gav would fight sneaky!)

Rather it pertains to this nice little chart:



The audiobook of Gav Thorpe's Raven's Flight (an release *only* in audiobook format) has beat off competition from many best-selling authors to become the biggest-selling audiobook of 2010 so far. And not by an insignificant amount either! Take that, Dan Brown!

I find this interesting on a few counts:

1) This is tie-in fiction! Something that many readers look down on and seem to despise. Clearly there is a great demand for this style of fiction, as demonstrated by the sales of the audiobook.

2) Black Library are being talked up as bringing out some excellent audiobook titles, with quality production values. Music, sound effects, decent narration - all contributes to a decent listening experience. This is reflected by the fact people have gone out to purchase the Black Library audiobook titles, and they have been receiving some sterling reviews.

3) In the case of Raven's Flight, it is a story that fits into the ongoing Horus Heresy series but is ONLY available in the audiobook format. It has not been brought out in a print run as well, which I think has helped to drive sales.

Interesting, non?

What are your opinions on audiobooks in general? Do you like them? And has anyone listened to Raven's Flight? Does it deserve the number 1 spot?

MASSIVE Horus Heresy giveaway - Black Library!

Okay, I am SO excited about this giveaway - in fact, I wish that I could win it myself! I am giving away a FULL SET of the Horus Heresy novels (as published to date) from the Black Library. That is 13 novels. 13. Count 'em!

1. Horus Rising - Dan Abnett
2. False Gods - Graham McNeill
3. Galaxy in Flames - Ben Counter
4. The Flight of the Eisenstein - James Swallow
5. Fulgrim - Graham McNeill
6. Descent of Angels - Mitchel Scanlon
7. Legion - Dan Abnett
8. Battle for the Abyss - Ben Counter
9. Mechanicum - Graham McNeill
10. Tales of Heresy
11. Fallen Angels - Mike Lee
12. A Thousand Sons - Graham McNeill
13. Nemesis - James Swallow

The giveaway will also include The Dark King and the Lightning Tower and Raven's Flight - two audio dramas.

Click through on any of the titles above to find a corresponding review - virtually all of these books are held up as being excellent science fiction novels in their own right, but absolutely canon when it comes to the WH40k background.

So... what do you have to do to win this prize? It is simplicity itself!

Send me an email to magemanda AT gmail DOT com (taking out the AT and DOT, of course), with HORUS GIVEAWAY as the subject line. Include your name and full snail mail address. And that's it - what could be easier? In addition to this, the competition is INTERNATIONAL! That's right - wherever you are in the world, you are eligible to enter. So get emailing and good luck!

I will run this competition until midnight on Friday 30th July (a week from now, give or take) and then announce the lucky winner.

For the benefit of anyone who is worried: be assured your personal details will not be passed onto any third parties. I might be an accountant, but I do have some integrity. Your address is being asked for so that I don't have to chase at the end of the giveaway and can get YOUR books that YOU have won out to YOU as soon as possible! I do hope this clears up any concerns.

Courage and Honour by Graham McNeill

The noble Ultramarines epitomise the Space Marines, the genetically enhanced warriors who protect the Imperium from its foes. Newly returned from the Eye of Terror, Captain Uriel Ventris must redeem himself in the eyes of his battle-brothers, who fear he may have been tainted by Chaos. When the planet Pavonis is invaded by tau, what better opportunity could Uriel have to join his Chapter in combat and prove that his honour is beyond reproach?

Courage and Honour is my second McNeill Warhammer 40K - the first being False Gods, in the Horus Heresy series - and I found the reading experience to be very similar. McNeill is quietly churning out good quality science fiction battle stories (albeit with some faults) and is quite clearly having a blast while doing it. The key essence to both of the books I have read by McNeill is the deep affection for the subject and an abiding desire to flesh out the 40K background with extra detail.

First of all, this is the fifth book in the Ultramarine series, and I did have my concerns that I wouldn't be able to pick everything up. Graham McNeill, however, does a good job in providing a gradual recap over the first few chapters which helps to being new readers on board. I presume he manages this without boring current readers, but obviously I don't know this for sure! He also makes it intriguing enough that I now want to read about the previous adventures of Uriel, especially his stint in the Eye of Terror.

There is plenty to like about this book. One factor I enjoyed was the enduring theme of courage and honour played out through the novel - what these concepts mean to different people and how hard they can be to stand by. Quotes such as the following litter the pages, and help to enforce the ideas of courage and honour:

" 'No, I don't,' agreed Lortuen, 'but I could not live with myself if fighting men died because I did nothing. How will you look yourself in the mirror every day with those deaths on your conscience? Think of your honour!'

'We are prisoners of war,' said Koudelkar. 'What honour do we have?'

'Only what we bring with us,' said Lortuen wearily, lapsing into silence.' "

McNeill has a heroic turn of phrase in the main which suitably conveys the baddassery of the Space Marines: "Emerging from the flaming wreckage of the tank assembly yards, the Space Marines came with fire and thunder... Behind them came the Space Marines, warriors in ultramarine whose weapons were hymnals to war and whose gold and blue flag was a beacon of righteousness among the slaughter." Every now and then, however, he lapses into rather cheesy lines which just fall a little flat or inadvertently cause amusement: "They were closer than friends, closer than brothers. They were Astartes." That particular line I can imagine being said in a booming voice over a film trailer.

Speaking of films, the whole novel is extremely cinematic, from quiet moments between two characters, to bitter declarations of betrayal, to the sweeping battle scenes that fill the second half of the book. Courage and Honour could honestly be a written representative of a film - a stonking summer blockbuster.

Once again with McNeill's work, I found myself struggling a little with the pacing. The start was quite slow burn, with a number of scenes between characters who had clearly been established in previous books (these were scenes that I might well have appreciated more had I read those books) but once battle was joined with the Tau, the book became less about the story and read more like a battle report. The relentless telling of various battles sat uneasily with the political machinations and quiet initial scenes between Uriel and various of his battle brothers.

Also, I believe there were a few flashbacks, but, if there were (I'm still unsure) then they weren't made particularly clear.

My last main issue was with some of the slightly clumsy exposition work. For instance, we have two pre-eminent Adeptus Astartes talking in a detailed fashion about the Codex Astartes, which both would know inside out and upside down, and would have no need to remind the other about. I do realise that the particular scene I have in mind was posed as a moment of epiphany for Uriel, but it still felt quite clunky and artificial.

Oh, and one minor point, which could well be a matter of taste: some of the bullets 'whickered' during the battle. Now, to me, whickering is a soft sound that a horse makes, so you can understand that I would find it an unusual choice of word to describe the sound of bullets!

Apart from those matters detailed above, one of the biggest strengths of this novel is the depiction of the Tau. They are a xenos race, anathema to the Space Marines and the forces of the Empire, and McNeill gives them an eerie and very alien personality. With descriptions such as: "They offer you slavery and call it freedom, a prison you do not know you are in until it is too late. They offer a choice, that is no choice at all" McNeill develops an image of a race that is clinical, dispassionate and fiercely intelligent - not the sort of enemy you wish to have. This is compounded when McNeill writes: "The tau made war with such precision that it left precious little room for notions of honour or courage. To the tau, war was a science like any other: precise, empirical and a matter of cause and effect."

The basic conclusion to this review is that you should know what you're getting with a Black Library book - it will never be the most well-written novel in the world (although McNeill is one of the best writing for Black Library in the 40K universe), but you should get a novel that is entertaining with pulse-pounding battle scenes. McNeill delivers this in spades. I guess the biggest compliment that can be paid to him is that I wanted to rush out and buy an Ultramarine army on completion of Courage and Honour.

Galaxy in Flames - Ben Counter

This is the final book in the opening trilogy of the Horus Heresy, following Horus Rising by Dan Abnett and False Gods by Graham McNeill. Galaxy in Flames picks up a year on from the events of False Gods. The Heresy moves on apace, as Horus plots to destroy all those who oppose his plans to usurp the Emperor. The rebel planet of Isstvan III will provide the arena as brother fights brother, and the full horror of Horus' intentions is realised.

I gave the previous two books very favourable reviews, and I wanted to like this one - I really did! At some points - where the events took on a momentum that managed to disguise the poor writing - it actually became readable, but I would say a good two-thirds of this book were fairly dull. This is disappointing when considering the wonderful job done by Dan Abnett in opening the series and then Graham McNeill in sowing the seeds of the betrayal.

I think part of the problem might have been because Counter was constrained by prior books. He had a start point (where McNeill left off) and a definite end point - and little choice in how he represented the events in between. This must be hard for an author, so I do sympathise; and yet McNeill managed with aplomb - taking Abnett's original template and adding in enough of his own voice to create a decent work of his own.

I found Counter's writing very pedestrian - a little too much of a 'this happened then this happened' approach.

I was also disappointed with the manner in which Counter treated the characters that have become beloved over two books. Loken was built up by Abnett and then McNeill to be a conflicted soul - tortured at the idea that his brothers are being taken over by the power of the warp; starting to hear 'the music of the spheres'; but here his character development was limited. A couple of the Primarchs suffered from bit parts - especially Angron. He is supposed to be an unbelievable killing machine, a juggernaut of devastation, and yet some of the Luna Wolves manage to drive him off - I would have liked to read about the way they achieved this against the most warlike of the Primarchs.

Conversely, some of the characters shone in this who had been overlooked in previous books. The Half-Heard steps up to the plate, and I look forward to reading more about him in future books, and Tarvitz ended up being my favourite and most memorable, because of his honour and ability to stand up to those who seek to betray him.

There are a few glaring inconsistencies that might have been picked up by editing, such as when the remaining citizens of Isstvan III were destroyed by the fire storm - despite the fact that virus bombs were supposed to completely decimate the planet.

I think the biggest issue with Counter's writing is also, bizarrely, one of his strengths - this is the fact that he flits from POV to POV without remaining more than a few pages with one character. It means that it is a struggle to immerse yourself with each of the characters, but that pages just flit past without you realising. I was over a hundred pages through before I knew it. It also makes it damnably hard to put the book down.

Despite all the issues with the writing and characterisation, the last third of the book really picks up its pace and the end of it - even though it is signposted - still comes as a shock. I was left feeling extremely sad, and I want to hurry on to the next book. I'm aware that the next books in the Horus Heresy series will now pick on small events and highlight specific Legions rather than covering the overall arc as these first three have done. I'm looking forward to being able to dwell with a limited cast list, rather than hurtling across planets and Legions in a breathless fashion!

My overall summary of this book is therefore: pedestrian writing explodes into life for the last third and leaves me still wanting to read the Horus Heresy. I wouldn't recommend for those who hadn't already read the first two; it's definitely not standalone.

False Gods - Graham McNeill

False Gods is the second in the Horus Heresy series from Black Library. The blurb from the back is as follows: The Great Crusade that has taken humanity into the stars continues. The Emperor of Mankind has handed the reins of command to his favoured son, the Warmaster Horus. Yet all is not well in the armies of the Imperium. Horus is still battling against the jealousy and resentment of his brother primarchs and, when he is injured in combat on the planet Davin, he must also battle his inner daemons. With all the temptations that Chaos has to offer, can the weakened Horus resist? The fate of the galaxy now rests in the simple choice of one man: loyalty or heresy?

The Horus Heresy sequence is extremely interesting in that each book is written by a different author - in the first book Dan Abnett laid out the foundation for the tale that Graham McNeill continues. Part of the fun in reading this book came from seeing how McNeill handled the characters introduced by Abnett, and how his writing style differed.

I would say that McNeill is definitely more utilitarian in his style - at times Abnett became almost poetic in his descriptions, whereas McNeill eschews that for a more militaristic and straightforward approach.

This book is also more introspective. There are less rampant battle scenes (although that is not to say there aren't moments of excitement and tension), and the action moves into a more political arena. Horus reaches the moment of his decision, and we see the actions of all the protagonists as they decide whether to stand with their Warmaster. Of course, anyone who has played the actual game of Warhammer 40K knows the way that this novel has to end, but McNeill does a very good job of keeping me interested on the journey.

There are faults though - and one of them is not of McNeill's making. The edition of this book that I read was riddled with errors and needed another scan by human eyes to pick up all those mistakes e.g. 'their' instead of 'there'; "...it was poor a vintage" rather than "it was a poor vintage". This might be considered nit-picking, but enough errors will jar you out of a novel. I didn't appreciate McNeill making up words either - 'spanging', I felt, was unnecessary. Bullets ricochet, they do not spang...

I also felt that the period in the latter half of the book when Horus is struggling from his wound caused the pacing to go all awry. Up until that point we had been proceeding forward at a brisk pace, but I became mired in the dream sequences and struggled to get through without skim reading. I suspect that Abnett might have handled these in a better fashion.

My favourite characters were Loken and Torgaddon, as in this first book. Their very human reactions - the doubt, the pain, the anger - lend gravity to events. It was an unremittingly dark book, very grim, and even Torgaddon (the joker of the bunch) couldn't come out with much comedy relief to lighten the tone.

It almost sounds as though I didn't enjoy it, but I did - very much so. I found it more thought-provoking than the first book, especially with the discussion on the nature of Gods and religion. I especially liked the quote from Karkasy: "No, my dear, ignorance and fear create the gods, enthusiasm and deceit adorn them, and human weakness worships them."

All in all, a strong addition to the Horus Heresy books, with a cliff hanger of an ending that guarantees I'll be heading out to get hold of the next!

Horus Rising - Dan Abnett

Horus Rising is a novel issued by Black Library, the first in a series chronicling the Horus Heresy. The blurb from the back states: "It is the 31st millennium. Under the benevolent leadership of the Immortal Emperor the Imperium of Man has stretched out across the galaxy. It is a golden age of discovery and conquest.

But now, on the eve of victory, the Emperor leaves the front lines, entrusting the great crusade to his favourite son, Horus. Promoted to Warmaster, can the idealistic Horus carry out the Emperor's grand plan, or will this promotion sow the seeds of heresy amongst his brothers?"

To give a little background, I am a casual Warhammer 40K gamer so I have some familiarity with the terms that Abnett employs (such as drop pods and bolters), but, up until now, I have not been interested enough to delve into the rich background to the game - so I knew little to nothing about the events this novel covers.

In my opinion, this is probably the worst possible placement for a reader of Horus Rising! If a reader tries this book with zero knowledge of the 40K universe, they can enjoy it as a commendable sci-fi novel in its own right. If they are already acquainted with the background, then this becomes a wonderful extension of what they already know. I found myself being just au fait enough to have moments where I was jarred out of the story: "Huh, Abaddon is a good guy?! Is Luna Wolves just another name for Space Wolves then?" Readers in my position need to bear in mind that this novel is set long before the events dealt with in the tabletop game.

I'll deal briefly with the parts of the novel I was not fond of (that way, we can finish the review on a high!) There are not many, in all honesty...

Personally I found the pacing of the novel to be a little 'off'. Every time I just got settled into the (usually explosive) events, the battle would end or the viewpoint switch, and it would then take a small amount of effort to immerse myself fully again. A particular example of this is when we follow Karkasy (the poet remembrancer) out onto the surface of Sixty-Three Nineteen for what seems a redundant chapter or so.

Speaking of Karkasy I became deeply confused by the fact that he seemed to die when set upon in the bar, but then we find him dealing with Loken later in the novel - this could have done with more clarity, especially since the sentence "...Ignace Karkasy was no longer pontificating. Or breathing" seems very final. Unless Abnett particularly wrote in Karkasy's character for a future novel, I'm unsure what he brings to the narrative and I think he could easily have been left out with no real loss to the overall story.

My last flaw concerns the presence of too many characters. At four hundred pages or so, it is a slimmer novel to those I am used to but it still required a Dramatis Personae so that I could keep track. Some of the characters suffered greatly from a lack of 'screen time' and were written in a very two dimensional fashion. Many minor characters were completely interchangeable because they had been so under-developed - I put forward Qruze and Marr and Kibre as examples. I like to think that, because this is the first in a long running series, these guys will feature more prominently later.

While addressing characters, let's move on to the positive elements of Horus Rising. The main characters - Loken, Abaddon, Sindermann and a number of others - were well-written, fully developed and felt real in their dialogue, motivations and actions. Which is a damn good job by Abnett considering most of his characters are super human soldiers developed so as not to suffer emotions or know fear! They were very human, for want of a better word, especially Loken who embodies the doubt and frustration of a weapon that has started to think about what he does. I confess to feeling a bit of a fangirl thrill when I saw names that are familiar from my gaming, such as Abaddon.

I enjoyed the way that Abnett described the clear differences and the burgeoning politics between the Space Marine Legions, sowing the first seeds of dissension - I thought he handled the characteristics in a concise manner that helped to develop the story (Imperial Fists being exceptional at defence; Emperor's Children being overly proud and haughty), rather than dumping in all the information in an artificial manner.

Speaking of info-dumping, I found this was kept to an admirable minimum. Despite the sci-fi terms scattered through the text, Abnett never stops to explain. Instead he uses his characters for this purpose - and not in a "Let me sit you down, son, and tell you all about lasguns and the battle formations of Space Marines" manner either. He utilises Mersadie (the remembrancer attached to Loken) very effectively, since she encourages Loken to talk about his experiences which puts across a lot of what the reader needs to know in a very natural manner.

I don't think Dan Abnett will be offended by the fact that I found his writing very much "David Gemmell-esque in space", especially his battle sequences which were simply awesome and very cleanly-written. They definitely brought to life some of the gaming events I am familiar with - like Terminators striding unscathed across the field of battle, and massed bolter fire taking down hordes of enemy xenos.

On a serious note I do feel as though Abnett records some fine thoughts on the nature of war and its never-ending cycle, with sentences such as: "We will spend our lives fighting to secure this Imperium, and then I fear we will spend the rest of our days fighting to keep it intact" describing the utter futility of war.

And more comical touches? He may not have intended it so, but I found Abnett's use of the 40K game tagline amusing: "In the far future, there will be only war". Was this just popped in as a nod to the fans?

Abnett also has a soldier's sense of humour - and it would not surprise me to learn he had served in the forces. This line in particular made me chortle: "He began to wade out towards the islet, hoping that his feet wouldn't suddenly encounter some unexpected depth of submerged crater and so lend comedy to this solemn moment". I guess the thought of a massive Space Marine in power armour tripping over his own feet just tickled me.

We are dropped right into the action from the first page and it takes a little while for the coherent, linear storyline to emerge. The first thirty pages or so are a breathless and, at times, bumpy ride while new characters and ranks are thrown in. I would urge everyone to muscle through this because the reward for your effort is massive. It deserves to be read by all gamers as a superb complement to the background already available - but it should also be picked up by those who haven't even heard of Warhammer 40K. It is a superior slice of pulpy sci-fi - never less than deeply enjoyable.