Customer Reviews

Crusade for Armageddon (Warhammer 40,000)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Battle-weary Marshall Brant of the Black Templars returns home after leading his Space Marines to victory through countless campaigns. But all hopes of respite soon fade when they find their planet, Solemnus, under savage attack from battle hungry orks. After a desperate struggle, Brant finds his forces are all but destroyed and the honour of the Chapter stained with blood. His vow for revenge takes him to the fiery shores of Armageddon - a sulphurous world synonymous with war and into the heat of battle!

While it wasn't a all-nighter type book I liked this one quit a bit . It is very descriptive, however I feel that this adds to the enjoyability of the story rather than takes away.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is a well-written action story that flows smoothly. It's not great fiction, but its an entertaining read. My only regret is that the author did not expand on the characters a little more, as I found myself intrigued in the Black Templars and Steel Legion characters he created by the books end. I look forward to more from this author in the 40k line.

This was a good story. When I was more than half way through the book, I was wishing this book had been a triology. There were so many interesting personalities it could have been expanded on without damaging the storyline. The end of the book was great, all the elements of the story were tied in very nicely. It was a very enjoyable book. Thanks!

I have to chime in and say that I agree with a former reviewer that said the book was over-written. Terribly overwritten is what I would say, with descriptions out of control in many cases. The story itself, as mentioned, isn't bad, but it's a slog to get through the prose.

Like the others here, I thought this book was wordy to the point of boredom. 40k books are, in my opinion, renowned for their lean writing and dynamic pacing. Green seems to do better with his short stories, but here I got the impression he was being verbose for the sake of filling pages. I do not plan on buying his next book, Iron Hands.

This is a great book. Read it it will not disappoint you.