The Purging of Kadillus by Gav Thorpe

++ This is Sergeant Aquila of the Ravenwing. We have encountered heavy resistance: Ork infantry in the hundreds and supporting light vehicles, including crude dreadnoughts. All enemy troops are approaching Koth Ridge at speed. If allowed to continue their advance they may be able to link up with Warlord Ghazghkull and his forces in Kadillus Harbour.

We still have no confirmed visual of the ork landing craft, or their drop zone and cannot confirm that this is the final wave of the reinforcements. The foe will pay a high price for our lives, but Koth Ridge cannot hold. ++

The purging of Kadillus starts as it means to go on: elbows deep in greenskin action. And in several places, elbows deep in a greenskin. Warlord Ghazghkull, still on the rampage after the Armageddon conquest, has turned his sights on Kadillus, his numbers bolstered by a large Bad Moon warband and a secret, unexpected technology.

What he hasn’t quite reckoned on is the Dark Angels garrison at Kadillus and their bloody minded tenacity. Grossly outnumbered and wrong-footed by Ghazghkull’s rapid advance and seemingly endless reinforcements, the Dark Angels are pushed to the limit to contain the Ork threat. Utilising every weapon in their arsenal, from daring scout raids, to last-man-standing defensive actions, armoured assaults, orbital bombardments and deep striking terminator assaults, all kinds of mayhem are unleashed and Gav has stuffed Purging with enough exploding vehicles, bodies and melee carnage to make Michael Bay feel grossly inadequate.

As ever though, it’s the interaction between the characters that provides skeleton for everything else to hang on. A small host of characters share the limelight, rather than a single main character, each pertaining to a different aspect of the unfolding conflict. I particularly enjoyed the viewpoint of the scouts and the apothecary – the scouts for their methodical and sensible approach and Sergeant Naaman’s perspective, and the apothecary simply because the unusual choice of character viewpoint, putting a fresh twist on the fighting. What was equally pleasing was that each is distinct and has their thread of the story concluded one way or the other, rather than being left in some kind of literary limbo. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, given Gav’s experience, but it’s always good to see.

It’s damn good fun and very more-ish - I rampaged through it in a single, scone fuelled sitting on a lazy Sunday morning. More please.

You can read an excerpt here.

Raven's Flight - Gav Thorpe

After the horrors of the Dropsite Massacre, Corax and his mighty Raven Guard face a desperate struggle to survive in the caves and mountains of Isstvan V. Escape from the roaming Chaos Legions seems impossible.

Meanwhile, Colonel Valerius of the Imperial army begins suffering horrific dreams, believing the Raven Guard to be in trouble – are such nightmares enough to initiate a daring rescue?

The decimated Legion must hold out against the forces of the World Eaters long enough to reach an improbable salvation and escape this hostile world.
--

Hostile world? More like a deathtrap. The Horus Heresy culminated in the assault on Terra, but for me the Dropsite Massacre stands out as the greater, more bitter betrayal- the first open conflict between the Space Marine chapters. With meticulous planning, the Warmaster Horus and the Legions he had swayed to his cause launched a lethal assault on those who remained loyal to the Emperor. It’s a devastating action, both in terms of the lives lost and that it marked the end of the Great Crusade and everything it stood for.

I was pleased to see that it was being read by Toby Longworth- I’d really enjoyed his reading of James Swallow’s Heart of Rage earlier this year, and I wasn’t disappointed this time either. The characters are distinct and his enunciation is bang on target throughout.

The background effects add to the atmosphere but are never allowed to become intrusive, which lends them more weight when they are employed.

The pace soon picks up as the action switches to the Raven Guard on Isstvan- the action comes thick and fast, with much of the carnage seen from Corax’s perspective and it’s quite a ride when battle is joined. The action, while gripping and bloody, is balanced out by the poignancy of the situation as the fallout of the massacre becomes apparent.

There’s a lot crammed into the 75 minute running time but this flies by, testament to both Toby’s delivery and Gav’s writing. It’s fun and entertaining in its own right, but works best as a supplement the Horus Heresy series.

Shadow King - Gav Thorpe

When his family is betrayed and slain, Alith Anar, ill-fated prince of the Nagarythe, is forced to walk a dark path. He finds refuge in vengeance, seeking out the murderers of his kin and declaring war against an entire nation. The island of Ulthuan is locked in a bitter struggle with their evil counterparts, the druchii. While noble high elf princes raise armies to defend their homeland from invasion, Alith Anar strikes from the shadows... for he is the Shadow King.

Favoured by Kurnous, he hunts his enemies from the darkness in a bloody quest for revenge without end.

Shadow King is the second instalment of the Black Library's Sundering saga and continues the story begun in Malekith. It's not a sequel in the usual sense of the word in that while it overlaps the story begun in Malekith, it stands alone in its own right, much like the books of the Horus Heresy series.

I enjoyed Malekith enormously, so got stuck straight into Shadow King- in truth, the first time I read the above blurb is when I sat down to do the review! 'King runs concurrently with the story of Malekith up to approximately halfway through before heading into uncharted waters; it's mechanism that works perfectly well whether you've read the first book or not.

Gav has put in a lot of work to establish Alith as a sympathetic and likeable character, which is essential- when it all starts hitting the fan and his metamorphosis into the Shadow King begins, it's this foundation of his character that holds it all together and gives his despair and burning thirst for vengeance the impact it should have. And it's a bumpy ride- going to war with the Dark Elves on their home territory isn't an option that leaves much room for woolliness and daydreaming about unicorns. No quarter is given or offered; it's a dirty, bloody business, as it should be.

Alith isn't a superhero of any sort; he's an orphaned prince, the last of his line, scarred by the reality of war and crippled by his hatred for the druchii. With his lands swallowed by the Dark Elf expansion and only the remnants of his army standing beside him, there isn't much he can do against the might of the armies and cultists of Morathi. His decision to lead his faithful company in a guerilla war against the druchii on their home turf, sowing discord and fear as they strike from the shadows and vanish, is a pivotal moment, and well executed.

That Gav is a veteran of many tabletop battles and has really given some thought to the strategies that both sides would employ is apparent when it comes to the larger battles and how Alith deploys his shadow warriors. It's very satisfying, almost as much as it is to see that the evil characters have been given free rein to, well, be evil.

Sure, there were a couple of minor bugs for me, but certainly nothing that made it any less enjoyable to read. The cover is one example- a gorgeously rendered picture, but the Alith's bow should be bent more, otherwise that bowstring's going to have some slack in it when it's released. And his left sleeve wouldn't be so voluminous- it's an invitation to snag the bowstring. And don't even get me started on the back-slung quiver. Minor bugs.

But it's the story that's important, and there's certainly no issue with that.

It's engaging, and very more-ish. Shadow King is a cracking, solid read and a shouldn't be confined to the reading lists of Warhammer fans (for whom it should be mandatory!) - it's a perfectly good heroic fantasy in it's own right and demands a wider audience.

Malekith - A Tale of the Sundering, Gav Thorpe

Far to the west of the Old World lies the fabled land of Ulthuan, island home of the elves. Thousands of years ago, when men were but fur-clad savages, elf civilization flourished; they were truly masters of the world. But even at the peak of its glory, a seed of corruption gnawed at the roots of elf society; Chaos had cast its shadow over Ulthuan. The elves would be plunged into a bitter and bloody civil war that would tear their nation apart, and ruin the very land they trod on; a time known as the Sundering.

Passed over to succeed as king, elf general Malekith is wracked by jealousy and bitterness. Under the pretence of rooting out the pernicious cult of pleasure that is corrupting elf society from within, Malekith plots his revenge. When he betrays Phoenix King Bel–Shanaar and attempts to seize power for himself, Malekith triggers a tragic sequence of events that plunges the realm of the elves into a civil war from which they will never recover.


And so begins Malekith, the third instalment of the Black Library’s Time of Legends series.

Malekith charts the rise of the titular character, the son of Aenerion, first of the Phoenix Kings of Ulthuan, the mythic battle-king who led the war and eventual triumph over the daemons of Chaos. It follows Malekith from his earliest days, charting his path from noble prince of Ulthuan to his fateful decision to strike out and wrest the crown from Bel-Shanaar's lifeless fingers.

Gav Thorpe has infused Malekith with a purpose and nobility that makes it nigh on impossible not to like him, despite knowing the dark destiny that awaits him and the tyrant he’ll become. It lends the base act that catapults the elven empire into civil war an air of tragedy, and the story is all the more richer for it.

Gav has over a dozen titles to his credit, including the Dark Elves army rulebook for Warhammer Fantasy, so there really couldn’t have been a better person step up and take on the challenge of bringing a tyrant like Malekith to life.

And that’s exactly what he does.

I immersed myself in the book and devoured it in four sessions; it reads extremely well, the story unfolding at a measured pace, gently (but repeatedly) coaxing you into reading ‘just to the end of this chapter’. Malekith’s character is given enough depth that when things begin to go awry, I could understand where he was coming from without the need for further exposition, and more importantly- I cared.

The supporting cast aren’t treated as lavishly but then, this is Malekith’s story and the focus is rightfully on him. All in, it’s a cracking read whether you’re a Warhammer fan or simply after a good fantasy novel; for fans of the Dark Elves though, it’s a must!

Roll on Part II !

You can read a sample extract here. Find Gav Thorpe's Weblog here .

**Malekith Competition News**

We are fortunate enough to have THREE copies of Malekith to give away, courtesy of Black Library. If you fancy a chance to win, all you have to do is email us at: myfavouritebooksatblogspot(@)googlemail.com with your name and snail (physical/postal) mail address.

The competition is open world-wide. One entry per household (we have sneaky software) and duplicate entries will be disqualified. The competition will run until the 5th of January 2009.

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