Helbrecht: Knight of the Throne (Warhammer 40,000) [Hardcover] Collins, Marc [Hardcover] Collins, Marc

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Deep under the keep, Helbrecht encounters an auramite safe which samples his blood before opening for him to retrieve the Shard (a piece of Pauldron). Warsmith Vakra in Cataphractii armor shows up with his bodyguards, and Helbrecht keeps him monologuing long enough for a bomb he placed above them to trigger, burrying all the bodyguards in rubble. Helbrecht defeats Vakra before being burried in rubble....and crawls out a little while later Grimaldus style. Far from the T’au Empire, Commander Farsight continues his crusade against the greenskins. However on the daemon-haunted world of Arthas Moloch, he learns some truths that shake him to his core. Farsight: Empire of Lies will be now available as an audiobook. Heading to an ancient fortress that Bolheim saw in a vision, they rescue two more tech marines from a gunship that managed to escape the Frigate. APCs catch up to them and an Iron Warrior reveals himself at last. During the skirmish the Iron Warrior engages the Pimaris Helbrecht with a power axe and nearly klls him before Helbrecht's long time friend blitzes the traitor and buys time for squad Helbrecht to withdraw into the gunship and escape. O, Emperor, how you test me. How you offer me an easier path and tempt me with what seems to be the very voice of righteousness.

The prose reads extremely well. It’s not ADB or Abnett level, but definitely a cut above what I expected (Grim Repast was also very good but I don’t remember the prose too well). The writing feels consistent with the baroque madness of 40k without being bogged down in action sequences or endless description It’s skaven week on Warhammer+ , yes-yes! Battle Report sees the verminkin take on the Lady of Vines, as the stars of the Echoes of Doom boxed set clash in a 2,000-point Matched Play game. The new Battletome: Sylvaneth and Battletome: Skaven are in action for this tussle, as are new units such as the Gossamid Archers and Spiterider Lancers – who’ll come out on top?

You speak of the battles that have been fought. Helsreach, the Void and Ash Wastes crusades. I have studied the history of many Chapters and many wars as I seek to heal my father’s beleaguered empire. I would give you new objectives in place of the old. Service in lieu of vengeance. Aurilla, Ophelia VII, Dachsus, Orteg III. They, along with dozens of other shrine worlds, are within reach of your gathering forces. A hammer blow against those who would strike against the Imperium’s morale.’ Helbrecht stood. ‘Forgive my appearance. The days since the opening of the Rift have been unkind. We have fought and we have bled. Against the greenskins whom we pursued and against those worlds which have proven unworthy of His light. They turned, and for those sins they were burned clean. Now we are again upon the path. The fleets of the crusades gather and they will hunt the Beast of Armageddon until death finally claims it.’ Helbrecht looked up at his face, the stern patrician features, and beneath that gaze he stood taller, as surely as any initiate upon the battlefield spurred to zealous action by the attention of a marshal. The traitor chief clerk manages to escape through the desert, surprise heretic!! (Helbrecht proceeds to behead him). And I do not doubt that you are well suited to delivering it, but I would urge caution. I have absorbed the tactical circumstances of every warzone, across every segmentum, known to us before the Rift opened. The Beast is not alone amidst the pantheon of horrors set against us. Each tears wounds in our galaxy, gouting the Imperium’s blood into the void. I would ask for your aid.’

Overall, lots of good ideas. It's an easy read that is sufficiently 40k for me, Roomsky, the arbiter of 40k-ness. It's just kind of messy. To Taste. Grimaldus asks Helbrecht if he still wants to pursue Ghazghkull. Helbrecht shrugs and says being the Emperor's knight is reward enough. The dialogue and some of the action could use a little more polish at times. Nothing egregious. Presumably that sort of thing will come with time. This is the author’s second book after all.The Beast of Armageddon…’ Guilliman tilted his head as he considered the words. For a being such as him even a minor gesture was loaded with potency and meaning. ‘You mean to pursue this course?’ A huntsman escorts squad Helbrecht through the ruined world, while Bolheim tries to match the topography with his visions. The native population spends all their time breaking down the ruins manually (outside of subsistence farming). Helbrecht wonders if the natives could better be used to help the Imperium now that they have entered a new age. They head to a grimderp valley, skulls of criminals lining the walls with their crime carved on their skulls. The deeper they head down the more ridiculous the crimes become, from traitor at the start to daydreaming instead of working. The the bottom of the valley they find a primitive statue honoring the Iron Warriors and squad Helbrecht is ambushed by an army of cultists while their Frigate in orbit is blown up. Now it's 6 astartes having to kite a whole planet. So far, we're 3 for 3 with the Character Series being "Good books that should have been longer." Prophet of the Waaaagh! Has yet to be beaten, in my esteem (and Shadowsun certainly won't, lol.)