Courage and Honour (Warhammer 40,000) [Mass Market Paperback]

Graham McNeill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2010 | Series: Warhammer 40,000 (Book 5)

Book five in the Ultramarines series follows the tale of Uriel Ventris as he tries to regain the trust of the 4th company and the Ultramarines chapter after his time in the Eye of Terror and his continued fight against the powers of chaos

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill narrowly escaped a career in surveying to join Games Workshop where he labored for six years as a games designer.  Now he labors (a labor of love) for the Black Library where he has produced 14 best selling novels and a host of sf and fantasy short stories. He now struggles under the yoke of parenthood in sunny Nottingham, UK

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Games Workshop (May 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844167232
• ISBN-13: 978-1844167234
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #104,388 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

16 of 20 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
(VINE VOICE)   

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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?

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as I'd expected, but..., November 2, 2010

By 

Walden63 "Walden63" (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Courage and Honour (Warhammer 40,000) (Mass Market Paperback)

Not that bad either. The book starts off slowly; I wanted to see where it was going, but I wasn't nearly as interested as I had been in the previous four books. Once it actually gets to the meat of the invasion, however, it picks up considerably.

The best part about the book? Its depiction not only of the suddenness of a Tau attack (which I think has been lacking in virtually every other written account of Tau warfare to date), but also the transformation from lightning-fast spearhead attacks to drawn-out attrition-style warfare for two armies never designed to engage in that type of fighting; I think McNeill did an excellent job communicating this aspect of the battle.

The worst part of the book? It's a toss-up: Either the slow beginning (which almost made me stop reading), or the meat grinder-style warfare (which is an interesting idea, but not terribly gripping when you get down to the reality of it).

Overall, the weakest thus far in the series; although I haven't read Chapter's Due yet, so my opinion may change. I would have given it three stars, but I enjoy so much of McNeill's other works that I wanted to give him a break.