Dark Creed is the thrilling conclusion to the Word Bearers trilogy, and sees epic conflicts fought and old scores settled in the world of Warhammer 40,000.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
After finishing university Anthony Reynolds set sail from his homeland and ventured forth to foreign climes. He ended up settling in the UK, and managed to blag his way into Games Workshop's hallowed Design Studio. There he worked for four years as a Games Developer and two years as part of the Management team. He now resides back in his hometown of Sydney, overlooking the beach and enjoying the sun and the surf, though he finds that to capture the true darkness and horror of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 he has taken to writing in what could be described as a darkened cave.
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Epic plotting; Naval engagements to gritty melee.,
By
This review is from: Dark Creed (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Word Bearers) (Mass Market Paperback)
Dark Apostle is the third in the Word Bearers series and the culmination of a massive plot. Of course when you consider that the Word Bearers and other Traitor Legions are over 10,000 years old and their schemes stretch over millennia it's hard to grasp the scope of such a "plot". Wheels within wheels and the Word Bearers are plotters in the extreme.
The story of Dark Apostle Marduk continues and his goal of using the ancient Necron technology to essentially propel himself higher up the food chain and bring as much chaos to the Imperium as possible is fought with peril from within and without. As any reader vaguely familiar with the material can surmise, Chaos Space Marines, while disciplined are still suffering from some serious testosterone poisoning. They're all plotting and scheming to be the Alpha Male. That mush is established. Unlike say the World Eaters, the Word Bearer Legion has their own way of pursuing personal goals (vendettas?) and Anthony Reynolds does a great job of breaking it all down so we as readers can follow these spider-web plots (without dumbing it down too much). Seriously...I have to commend Mr. Reynolds for his deft handling of the story. He gives good insight to the inner workings of the Word Bearers as well as the White Consuls Space Marines (and many others) who are working in opposition to Marduk's plans. Without spoiling anything let it suffice to say that the scale of the novel is pretty ginormous. Epic. Sector fleets, multiple hosts of the Word Bearers, several chapters of Astartes as well as innumerable Imperial Guardsmen and the various Titan Legions. (Most of this is inferred or happens "off-camera") This is a novel with a lot of moving parts. Tons going on. Anthony Reynolds does a really good job of keeping it manageable for the reader. The battles range from naval engagements to gritty melee. I've always found it difficult to get in to reading the Chaos-side of Warhammer novels. They seem so unbelievably over the top that I have a hard time suspending disbelief. Often with Space Marines as well...they seem too perfect. Chaos Space Marines in contrast become the most heinous thing ever. It's too...black and white. Anthony Reynolds does an admirable job in keeping things believable. Granted, there are still moments where the Astartes are perfectly heroic and the Chaos Marines are perfectly heinous. Still...my spidey-sense wasn't going off and telling me to glaze over pages due to *yawn* more nail a baby to your forehead moments. I think Mr. Reynolds does however have an excellent grasp on the dark, hopelessness of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It's a messed up place where a human is one among untold bajillions and nobody will miss your passing. The author definitely has this DOWN. One think I do appreciate in this novel is that there appears to be very real peril around all the characters, including Marduk. Nobody is safe. Any of them can be crushed by falling beams, have their head blown off or simply die an ignoble death (which is SUCH an appropriate 40k thing). My only complaint would be that due to the massive scope of the plot, there's a lot of interesting things going on, and it's easy to get lost. Granted Mr. Reynolds does a great job in showing us one scene, then shifting the camera elsewhere to see a scene...sometimes it's easy to start wondering "Hey, what happened to Brother Bob?" Largely the author does a great job in keeping the suspense going. Still, there are some parts that I personally would have loved to see more of...but that's really just a personal quibble. I think in reading we gravitate towards some characters more than others...and sometimes those characters aren't really the focus of the story. Meh, it happens. Still a damn good book! Rating: Overall it's a fitting ending (?) to the Word Bearer series. A very good read whether a part of the series or as a stand-alone novel. 4/5
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but nothing really new,
By
This review is from: Dark Creed (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Word Bearers) (Mass Market Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
While this is a fine novel, which also does a good job as a stand-alone work, there is nothing really groundbreaking in it. After a while, all the 40K novels start to seem the same. Aside from the epic combat with the necrons in the closing part of the book, there was nothing that had not already been done in other novels at some point.
Taking up soon after the conclusion of the second book in the series, Anthony Reynolds did a better job than in that second book of introducing the characters to readers who might have missed the first two books in the series. This was aided in part by the introduction of new characters, though their parts were generally behind the scenes. Making use of the device, the acquisition of which was the focus of the first book and obtaining the means to use in the second book, the Word Bearers send a huge number of their own to assault a seemingly-impregnable Imperial system. The Nexus Arrangement changes that status, as it cuts off the Warp and prevents reinforcements from arriving to relieve the Imperials, who suffer unimaginable casualties as a result. However, the device's activation catches the attention of those who made it: The necrons. While they don't appear until the end phase of the book, disrupting the conquest in progress, they are pretty much the only new feature in the book for the 40k series, as their implacable alien nature sees them succeed against the Astartes better than any other foe. However, while the resolution might seem novel to some, it was hardly a surprise, using a device that was introduced in the book's opening and served no purpose at all throughout, leading any reader to realize at the onset how the book would be resolved. This has the result of a very abbreviated ending after the long and drawn-out pages of brutal combat that make up so many of the books from the Black Library. I liked the book, but I would only recommend it to someone who has not read a great deal of the 40K universe, as it will seem repetitive and staid.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally Something Other Than Just An Empire Novel,
This review is from: Dark Creed (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Word Bearers) (Mass Market Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
There was always something missing from the Warhammer 40k books I've read. Everything seemed to be about the Empire and Chaos and I kept waiting for a story to include some xenos; I also wanted to see things from a perspective other than "the good guys". Finally, my desires have been answered on both fronts.
I believe this is book three in the series and not having read them I can't say if they are as good, but I was pulled into this one immediately. The first thing that impressed me was how easy the author made it to get into the story. He seamlessly reference past events, but always clearly enough you get a general idea, even if you don't know particulars. It was so easy to jump in that I finished the book a week earlier than planned and in far fewer sessions than usual. I'd pick it up planning to read for a half hour and still be at it two hours later. At various points you see through the eyes of three main factions in the story. You have the Chaos warriors, the Space Marines, and the Imperial Guard to a lesser extent. It was refreshing to see things from each point of view. It gives a better sense of the motivations behind the actions. My only gripe, I would have liked to see more from the Necrons perspective; however, it was enough just to see them as such an awe inspiring power. The battles were spectacular, some of the best I've seen in a Warhammer book. In other books the odds are just so huge in one side's favor that it strains belief that a small group could slaughter so many enemies. You begin to wonder how the enemy can ever beat anybody if they are so inept. Not here, these battles nearly all felt plausible and I think that's what makes them so compelling. Whats more, you've got nearly everything thrown in at least once; from soldiers to tanks, demons to aliens, you even have Titans and a moon sized star fortress thrown into the mix. Very cool. From start to finish I enjoyed this book. If you haven't read the others in the series or even a single Warhammer 40k book before, you should still give this one a try. It won't disappoint.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
