Courage and Honour (Ultramarines 5) [Paperback]

Graham McNeill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 27, 2010 | Series: Ultramarines 5

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?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill narrowly escaped a career in Surveying to join Games Workshop, where he worked for six years as a games developer. As well as fourteen novels, Graham has written a host of sf and fantasy short stories. He lives in Nottingham, UK.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Black Library (May 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844167224
• ISBN-13: 978-1844167227
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,145,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill narrowly escaped a career in Surveyinh to join Games Workshop, where he worked for six years as a games developer. In addition to many novels, including False Gods, Fulgrim and Mechanicum for the prestigious Hoeus Hersey series, Graham has written a host of sf and fantasy short stories. He lives in Nottingham, UK.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Yeah! A new.... Imperial Guard novel?, June 19, 2009

By 

Brian Long "Brian" (Ogden, UT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Courage and Honour (Warhammer 40000) (Hardcover)

Courage and Honour heralds a return to Graham McNeill's rather succesful Ultramarines series. Uriel Ventris, returned from his Death Oath and reunited with his Chapter, is sent out to show the flag on a recently reconquered world, where he encounters the Tau, who've recognized a plum ripe for picking.

While the first third of the novel is what was to be expected, with richly detailed equipment, characters, and ritual, from the trials that Uriel undergoes to prove his purity to the new armour he is fitted with, it seemed like a long deserved rest period. But then, after arriving on the battlefield and running into a brief scouting skirmish, Uriel is dealt off the the side. While the characters that all but replace him are at least entertaining, its like asking Skywalker to sit out of a Star Wars novel.

The plot that follows feels like a rehashed plot of hit and run then retreat. This is not to say that its bad, but after rereading the invasion of Normandy for the fourth or fifth time, you know where things are going to head from a certain point on. Names and faces have changed, but the plot remains the same. The story finishes up with a good teaser for a future novel, but I'm definitely not looking forward to the next one like I did to this one.

As an aside, seeing as how almost every one of my reviews now reads 0 of 1 helpful votes, please comment why if you don't find this review worthwhile. Thanks.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What Happened?, July 30, 2009

By 

Paul W. Broadstone "Paul B. Jr." (Rockville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Courage and Honour (Warhammer 40000) (Hardcover)

If your looking forward to a great follow up to the Ultramarine series look elsewhere because you won't find it here. To say there is little to no effort in this novel would be an understatement. The phrase "courage and honour" is so repetitive that it almost becomes nauseating painful and makes reading this poor novel by McNeill a complete waste of time. As one of Black Library's top writers it makes one wonder if McNeil has ever heard of a Thesaurus and with apathy this thick in too many pages and clearly not enough fresh ideas: what happened?

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Great, But Worth Reading, August 5, 2009

By 

D. Zhou - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Courage and Honour (Ultramarines Novel) (Hardcover)

While "Courage and Honour" is not as fantastic as the four other titles written by McNeill, it's still a good read for hardcore fans of the Ultramarines Series. The return to Pavonis may seem a bit of a rerun of the first installment, but the story proves to be quite interesting when the Tau is added to the equation. After all, we've never had any solid battles between the Tau and the Space Marines in the Warhammer 40k novels universe as far as I know. If you haven't read about the Normandy landings of WWII, then you'll enjoy this book a whole lot more, since the suspense will still remain with you. I personally felt that McNeill is writing with the same finesse as he has always done, but there might be some who find it insufficiently unappetizing.

I advise those of you who aren't dying to know what happens to wait another year or two for the omnibus - which will probably cover Ventris' travels since he left the Eye of Terror and return to the Ultramarines. But I am one of those people who've loved this series from the beginning and will be buying it.