62 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant., June 15, 2005
This review is from: Eisenhorn (A Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus) (Paperback)
Eisenhorn, as the collected works are now known is the quite possibly best of Dan Abnett's work. Originally published as three separate paper-back novels named Xenos, Malleus, and Hereticus this new edition includes the unabridged contents of those three books as well as two "arching" short stories of about twenty pages that connect books one to two and two to three. This is an amazingly opportunity.
Covering a period of nearly three hundred years, Eisenhorn is an epic tale of the far distant future of humanity. The galaxy has been colonized by mankind and is united together in one glorious and dark Imperium that spans nearly forty-percent of the galaxy, untold trillions of human beings spread across thousands and thousands of worlds struggle for survival as the Imperium's tenuous hold on its territory and its way of life is threatened from without and within by forces both malevolent and ancient. Principle among these foes are the insidious taint of warp-spawned daemons and their corrosive chaos that corrupts the very soul of and body humanity, aliens who range from disdainfully arrogant to primordially evil, and the threat of insurrection from within the ranks of humanity itself.
Set in the Helican Sub-sector, Scarus Sector, Segmentum Obscurus, but a small part of the massive Imperium, Eisenhorn will sweep you away across a region of the galaxy which spans nearly two dozen worlds. Named for the central protagonist of the novels, Gregor Eisenhorn, this tale follows his life of as Imperial Inquisitor, a man who has the power to devastate worlds and commandeer virtually any of the forces of humanity in his pursuit of the purification of the human race and the eradication of the mutant, the alien and the heretic. It is a tale with more in common with the epic poems of the Norse and Greeks than with modern science fiction for not only does it cover matters military but it has more than its share of, intrigue, desperation, a vast cast of characters, poignant moments of drama, betrayal, hopeless odds, sacrifice and mad hope.
Abnett's setting and visuals almost leap out of the page and his characterization and storytelling is not only the best in the Black Library but one of the best in genre. Part Tom Clancy and part Robert Jordon, Abnett's tale of Gregor Eisenhorn from age 30 to nearly three hundred is a magnificent experience both sinister and sublime. You will not be disappointed.
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Abnett's Best, April 5, 2005
This review is from: Eisenhorn (A Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus) (Paperback)
Much as we love its products, Games Workshop and its related entities (Forge World, Fanatic Press, et al) are not best known for 'value pricing.' One such, however, the Black Library, has done its readers a tremendous service--and
done it for a terrific price, as well.
Dan Abnett is almost universally lauded as the best of GW's stable of writers exploring the grim, dark future of its Warhammer 40,000 universe. While his 'Gaunt's Ghosts' series is probably his most popular, and its gritty,
in-the-trenches, on-the-front-lines view of the 40Kverse appeals to readers of both SF and military fiction, his three volume series about Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn and the goings-on within the vast Imperium of Man behind those front lines is arguably his best...so much so that the three paperbacks which made up the series--'Xenos,' 'Malleus' and 'Hereticus' (named for three major branches, or
Ordos, of the investigatorial Imperial Inquisition which Eisenhorn serves)--quickly sold out and became secondary market collectibles.
Readers have clamoured for an omnibus edition of the three under one cover--and the Black Library has now delivered that, with 'Eisenhorn.' They've added to the collection, however, by including an introduction from Abnett outlining the origins of the project, as well as two interstitial short stories otherwise available only in old issues of the much-missed GW fiction magazine 'Inferno!' They've topped it with a terrific cover painting of Eisenhorn by Clint
Langley (after Adrian Smith's original); and then they've priced the whole package for little more than a third of what the original novels alone cost, new.
This is a tremendous series: if you are a fan of action/adventure, space opera, borderline superheroics, or military fiction (particularly of the 'small band of specialists on a mission' subgenre), you are going to find as much to
enjoy as the dark science fiction reader the book is ostensibly aimed at...and if you've an interest in any corner of GW's richly-detailed 40K universe, you will not get a better 'feel' for it than you will here. Abnett draws his
characters richly and emotionally, conjures a plot around them over the course of the three novels filled with wonderful small moments and an occasional
jaw-dropping sequence (the beginning of 'Hereticus' is so good, you will wonder how its climax can ever begin to equal it), but--probably best of all--never loses sight of the series' real star: the unique universe of GW's 41st millennium,
which he never fails to find an opportunity to detail and explore, always convincingly.
The three books of the 'Eisenhorn' trilogy are my favorite 40K novels thus far. Having them under one cover is a real 'fanboy' delight, a pleasure increased by the bonuses the Black Library has thoughtfully included. And the price
point means I will be able to introduce the Warhammer 40K universe to more than a few friends who do not play the games, but whom I know will enjoy these stories.
Well-done, GW. Of course, a limited edition of the collection in hardcover would still be even nicer....
Christopher Allen
+++
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of GW's Authors, January 27, 2005
This review is from: Eisenhorn (A Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus) (Paperback)
This compilation includes the novels: Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus. The trilogy chronicles the progression of Gregor Eisenhorn from "puritain" to "radical," along with his trusted staff, one of whom - Ravenor - has spawned his own series.
The characters are well developed and engrossing, the "sets" immersive to the reader, and the plot keeps you turning the pages (and wishing for more). Abnett brings out the best in the Warhammer 40K canonical background, capturing the dark essence of the Inquisition in this case, as he similarly captured the core of the Imperial Guard in the Gaunt's Ghosts series.
In short, this is one of the "essential library" for any 40K fan, and makes for a good read even if you don't fit into that category.
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