Crossfire (Warhammer 40,000) [Mass Market Paperback]

Matthew Farrer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Warhammer 40,000 Novels | Publication Date: October 21, 2003

Science fiction novel set in Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Games Workshop (October 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743443667
• ISBN-13: 978-0743443661
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,869,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Matthew Farrer's Crossfire is a good read, August 23, 2004

By 

A. Sandoc "sussarakhen" (San Pablo, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Crossfire (Warhammer 40,000) (Mass Market Paperback)

The stable of Black Library writers has a good addition in Matthew Farrer. His first novel for the Black Library collection of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 novels is titled Crossfire and it lives up to the novels written by Abnett, King and Coulter.

Crossfire uses a character type that is usually seen in the background and, most of the time, as cannon fodder: the Adeptus Arbites. The Arbites is Warhammer 40K's version of law enforcement. They have alot in common with the Judges of Megacity-One. The character of Shira Calpurnia is well-rounded and shows personality. Crossfire's plot owes alot more to mystery solving than to all-out warfare like most of the books in the Warhammer 40K line. The character Calpurnia really turns out to be worth another novel by story's end and Farrer and his editors must've agreed since a sequel has been released.

For fans of Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts novels and William King's Space Wolf books, I highly recommend Farrer's first 40K novel.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well Balanced Work, January 9, 2007

By 

Sean B. Schoonmaker (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Crossfire (Warhammer 40,000) (Mass Market Paperback)

Crossfire by Matthew Farrer

The first book of what has already become a trilogy, this novel has parallel plots. The more obvious is the action/detective adventure centered on the protagonist, Adeptus Arbites officer Shira Calpurnia, and the more subtle is her personal development at her new posting, the Battlefleet Pacificus home world of Hydraphur. Joining her is a cast of well-done secondary characters: fellow officers Ryo Nakayama and Nestor Leandro, Inquisitor Zhow, Sister Romille, and a host of others.

Like fellow Black Library luminary Dan Abnett, M. Farrer has a talent for immersing the reader in the setting and making the fantastic believable. At the same time, he crafts three-dimensional characters with realistic motivations. Calpurnia, his excellent protagonist, wins through the challenges set before her through her own skills, and those of her allies, without the clumsy plot devices or comic-book heroics sometimes employed by other authors. Even his villains, though unbalanced in many regards, act in an intelligent manner consistent with their personalities.

All this is set against the rich background of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 (W40K) universe, which M. Farrer utilizes to excellent effect. In addition to a far closer look at the Adeptus Arbites (the police of W40K) than ever before, the reader is also rewarded with insight into the Adeptus Ministorum (Ecclesiarchy), the Imperial Navy (specifically Battlefleet Pacificus), and several orders, both militant and otherwise, of the Adepta Sororitas. Those who appreciate good "fluff" in addition to the writer's craft will not be left wanting.

In short: with a well turned plot, engaging characters, and good writing, there's very little not to like about this work.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great story about an oftern overlooked aspect of the 40k universe., January 25, 2008

By 

T. Ryan Arnold "Teknohed" (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Crossfire (Warhammer 40,000) (Mass Market Paperback)

I got this book on the cheap at a goodwill, which was exciting given that you hardly ever see 40k novels used anywhere.

I was pleasantly suprised by this book. It deals with a main character who is a member of what is essentially the planetary police force the "Adeptus Arbites." In most other 40k novels, these individuals are either written as bumbling bureaucrats or pants wetting weaklings in need of constant rescue.

Additionally, Farrer's use of a female protagonist is something of a departure from the usual lantern jawed two-fisted action that the black library usually serves up.

I'd highly recommend this book to any 40k readers who are fans of the Faith and Fire Novel by james swallow or Fifteen Hours by Mitchel Scanlon as all of these novels explore the "mere mortals" of the 40k universe and help flesh out an area of the mythology that is often overlooked in favor of the glory of the Space Marines.