Crusade for Armageddon (Warhammer 40,000) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jonathan Green (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2003 | Series: Warhammer 40,000 Novels

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: 320 pages
• Publisher: Games Workshop (August 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743443683
• ISBN-13: 978-0743443685
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jonathan Green lives in West London. He is well known for his contributions to the Fighting Fantasy range of adventure gamebooks, as well as his novels set within Games Workshop's worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, which include the Black Templars duology Crusade for Armageddon and Conquest of Armageddon.

He has written for such diverse properties as Sonic the Hedgehog, Doctor Who, and Star Wars The Clone Wars and has just penned his fifth novel for the popular steampunk Pax Britannia line, published by Abaddon Books, with more to come.

To keep up with what he is doing, go to www.jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zealous Fury, May 15, 2011

By 

Nickolas X. P. Sharps "Fleet Strike 13" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crusade for Armageddon (Warhammer 40,000) (Mass Market Paperback)

Crusade for Armageddon was the very first Warhammer 40K book I ever read. As such it, and the Black Templars, have always held a special place in my heart for igniting my undying love of all things 40K. Having lost my original copy to one of my greedy friends however I had not gotten a chance to re-read this classic until the Black Library released it, and the sequel Conquest for Armageddon, as a print on demand special. Now that I have read Crusade for Armageddon for a second time I can say that while much of my positive feelings towards it were undeniably nostalgia, it is still a heavy firepower novel sure to please any 40K fan.

Crusade for Armageddon follows a crusade fleet of the Black Templars Chapter, the most zealous and dedicated of all The Emperor's space marines, as they hunt down the vile ork warlord that destroyed their home and slew many of their brethren. Eventually the Black Templars track the ork down to Armageddon, a forge world vital to the Imperium of man that is already besieged on all sides by the greenskin menace. Rather than heed the call for help by the beleaguered Imperial defenders however, the Templars go on their own quest through the desolate ash wastes to avenge their fallen.

The plot is pretty straight forward, the Black Templars have an objective and they pursue it regardless of the dangers. Despite the simplicity of the plot however there is a good bit of depth to the three unique perspectives that alternate throughout the story. One perspective follows the Black Templars, warrior-monks armed and armored with the best weapons in the Imperium, as they hunt for the ork warlord that blighted their honor. Another perspective follows the warlord titan Tyrannus Maximus, a land battleship, as it copes with the loss of its titan legion and takes severe damage fighting in the wastes. And the last perspective follows a platoon of Steel Legion Imperial Guardsmen as they try to survive long enough to relay highly important information back to HQ. Though the character of the Black Templars are pretty flat (duty bound and zealous) the way their Chapter is portrayed is quite vivid. Readers get a sense of just how strict and unmerciful they are, even compared to the Emperor's other devout space marine Chapters. The inclusion of the Tyrannus Maximus and crew as well as the Steel Legion platoon provide a more human outlook to the conflict at hand. On a final note, though the orks themselves don't have a perspective in the story they are described quite vividly. Reading this story I could easily depict the shoddy weapons and jerry-rigged vehicles of the vile greenskins.

The action is the real draw here. This is what hooked me as a kid and bound me to 40K forever more. Readers will experience first hand the zealous fury of the Black Templars, from tactical marines to assault squads and even the implacable might of a dreadnought. There is also some titan on titan action courtesy of the Tyrannus Maximus and readers get to see a battle between giants wielding weapons capable of leveling entire cities. The last fight is, of course, the best of all. A courageous assault on an ork factory that draws all the individual perspectives together into one glorious attack. If you are looking for some intense action you are unlikely to do better than Crusade for Armageddon.

Is my review tainted by nostalgic bias? Absolutely. But does that mean Crusade for Armageddon doesn't deserve five stars? Not at all. Crusade for Armageddon is an explosive good time that shows the Black Templars as they are meant to be shown. The only problem will be getting your hands on a copy, I suggest a visit to the Black Library website where you can order one as print on demand and the sequel, Conquest for Armageddon, will be included as well.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Crusade for Interest, January 6, 2004

By 

Sean B. Schoonmaker (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crusade for Armageddon (Warhammer 40,000) (Mass Market Paperback)

Let me preface this with two things:

1) I am a big fan of the W40K universe, and have picked up every piece of fiction for it since Ian Watson's first books.
2) I also really appreciate well crafted writing.

If you are only looking for a book set in the 40K universe or are using it as source material, and thus don't care much about the quality of your prose, then by all means, buy this book. There is a wealth of background information, including Legion/Chapter/Regiment names for much of the Armageddon conflict.

If, however, you are looking for writing at least adequate to the task of suspension of disbelief, look alsewhere. Many sentences look like a trip to the thesaurus, and the same grandiose descriptions show up time and time again with different words. The editing, sadly, is not transparent, with missing words, dangling prepositions, and sentences that don't start with a capital letter.
The charactes are hackneyed (while that's not necessarily the the kiss of death in a 40K novel, where certain stereotypes are expected, I like a little originality), single dimensional, given to bouts of extreme emotion without apparent provocation, and "think" things they could not possibly know for the sake of exposition.
The story-line is actually not bad (if you can get through the writing), and different perspectives give you an interesting look at the conflict from various angles.
This wasn't enough to save it for me, however, and a quarter of the way into it I was wondering how I was going to choke down the remainder.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good warhammer book., August 27, 2004

By 

Scott (AU,TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crusade for Armageddon (Warhammer 40,000) (Mass Market Paperback)

I got this book and then put it down because I thought it was boring. About 7 months later I picked it back up and loved it. It has the space marine side of the story and some sections with a team of imperial guardsmen who seem to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Anyhoo, If you have a Black Templar or Steel legion army then I would get this book and if you like warhammer then get this book. You'l love it.