Inquisitor Roth and his henchman Silverstein are sent to the worlds of the Medina Corridor to uncover the location of a set of ancient artefacts. Meanwhile, the Ironclads, a force of Chaos traitors, invades the subsector in search of their artefacts for their own nefarious ends. With the Ironclads' indomitable army crushing all before it, will Roth be able to find the artefacts in time and prevent a terrible cataclysm engulfing the Medina worlds? BASTION WARS: A RETROSPECTIVE HISTORY For a week Lord General Militant Imada refused all food and drink. The High Commanders of the Bastion Ward Regiments waited outside his bed chambers in obedient quiet as their world deteriorated. The Bastion War had reached a literal crescendo. The artillery outside the city grounds had blurred into a constant drum roll. From the Bastion Stars to the Lupina Chain-Worlds and all half a dozen star systems in between, the war had raged for eight long years and in that time the guns had grown only louder. In the past weeks as the fighting intensified Lord Militant Imada had wilted. His skin had become translucent and his eyes had glazed to blankness. With each passing day, he aged a year or more. His beard, once squared like a slab of iron jutting from the high collars of his greatcoat now spilled down his front in a tangled mess. Those who were admitted into his chambers whispered that the Lord Militant now embodied the state of the entire Imperial war effort. Brittle and on the verge of collapse. 'I am powerless,' Imada announced when he finally emerged from solitude. 'This war is not ours to be won.' Those were the words that immortalised Imada in the volumes of Imperial history. The words by which the War of the Bastion Stars would be remembered. That tight cluster of stars which formed a bulwark in the far eastern Segmentum Ultima was now a region of continuous conflict. The Bastion Stars had commanded shipping lanes through the Dominion of Storms and lay down a defensive outpost on the Eastern Fringe. It had withstood xenos invasion for thousands of years, its resilience traced back to the Pre-Unification barbarians who repelled both eldar and orkoid. But the last eight years of war had far exceeded anything the region had experienced. The Imperial Guard suffered a series of catastrophic defeats against the Archenemy legions of Sabot Sigur. Overwhelmed by vastly superior numbers, both Guard and Naval elements fought a defensive campaign. At the battle of Ortega in M881.41, the Bastion Ward regiments lost some four million soldiers within the span of six months. While the Imperial forces recoiled from its devastation, the Archenemy forces of Sabot Sigur rejoiced. Sigur the Arch-Slaver was heralded as the White Terror of the Eastern Fringe. His billion strong phalanx had routed the Imperial resistance. His tale spread across the subsector. The prayers of Sigur had turned Imperium ammunition to clay. The power of his oration could set fire to tanks. His followers willingly died for him, throwing themselves onto bayonets and land mines, weeping for his favour. They found his visage in rocks, bread and almond seeds. His armies were of limitless number. Following the Lord Militant's Concession, the Conclave of Notables convened at Simpani Park, the Govenor's Estate on Bastion Ward Primary. Surrounded by the annual blooms of Simpani gardens, the chamber of military chieftains, inquisitors and political delegates met for three weeks. There, they decided the fate of the entire subsector. Overhead, the Imperial Naval was disintegrating beneath an Archenemy armada so vast that it flooded vox frequencies, and filled the skies with warp storm. These were the last months of the Bastion War Campaign. What follows are the chronicles of Inquisitor Obodiah Roth and his exploits in the Bastion Wars, from the first incursion of the Medina Corridor to the delaying actions at Lupina. As history will reveal, the influence of the Conclave of Notables played a significant role in the conclusion of the eight year war and most instrumental among them was the young Inquisitor Roth. As of M999.41, the Bastion Wars remains one of the most brutal wars of attrition in recent Imperial history. Of Lord Militant Imada's fate little is known. Official records show that he attempted to retire to the Imperial world of San Leor. Half-guest, half-exile, Imada spent his last days pining in the hospices of San Leor. Suffering from dementia and maddened by the horrors he witnessed at Bastion, he died as he lived, an embodiment of the Bastion Wars.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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"an imaginative, engaging, and highly entertaining military thriller." SF Signal "...an imaginative, engaging, and highly entertaining military thriller." - SF Signal "Henry Zou knows how to write a story of war. The battle scenes are immense and so well described I had clear visions of what was going on at the time, who was doing what and just how the battle was unfolding. " - Walker of Worlds blog "An great new voice on the publisherA s roster, Zou's writing will breathe some new life into the Warhammer 40,000 universe. A very promising debut, Zou is one an author to watch." - Civilian Reader
About the Author
Henry Zou lives in Sydney, Australia. He joined the Army to hone his skills in case of a zombie outbreak and has been there ever since. Despite this, he would much rather be working in a bookstore, or basking in the quiet comforts of some other book related occupation. One day he hopes to retire and live in a remote lighthouse with his lady and her many cats, completely zombie-free.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
For Warhammer Diehards Only,
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This review is from: Emperor's Mercy (Warhammer 40,000 Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
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I don't know where I found the endurance, but I managed to read this book cover to cover. It didn't deserve the attention.
Is this the worst book I've ever read? No, but it isn't worth it unless you are already emotionally invested in all things Warhammer (which I'm not). 1. The book has very little plot. Obadiah Roth has to track down some superweapon from the distant past. He's racing the forces of Chaos who want to turn it on the empire. Classic treasure-hunt scenario, and this book doesn't add anything to the genre. There's a pitiful attempt at intrigue, but none of the actions of the characters involved ring true. Even this very thin plot is full of huge holes. 2. The book is poorly written. It's full of typos (did anyone proofread it?). Mr. Zou needs to work on his style. He can't seem to find his narrative voice. Sometimes the narrator is limited third person, sometimes he's omniscient third person, sometimes the narrator is pretending to be some later chronicler, and (very jarringly) he'll sometimes quote from a character's personal papers. 3. The book's context is a massive war, and Mr. Zou spills a great deal of ink spilling a great deal of blood. Unfortunately, his descriptions of battle are groaners. He's obviously a military history buff; he throws everything he's ever read into this book. From Soldiers being gassed in trench warfare to a description of the cargo cult (totally random, by the way). And here's where the book utterly fails. He's read about all these great battles and military oddities, but he doesn't really understand them. Trench warfare, for example. Zou places his troops in trenches and throws in all the horrible details of historical trench warfare, but he doesn't understand the tactics and strategy. Trench warfare doesn't exist when either side has tanks. Both sides in Zou's imaginary battle have tanks, but they still engage in trenches. Incredible. The book isn't all bad. I think there were two brief scenes that gave me some pleasure. But really, it wasn't worth it, and I'm still wondering why I read the whole thing.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written military science fiction,
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This review is from: Emperor's Mercy (Warhammer 40,000 Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
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----> For those already familiar with Warhammer 40,000 books:
This is an extremely well-written W40K book. The action moves quickly and the characters are engaging. I don't think you can find a better author than Henry Zou in this genre. ----> For those who like science fiction but haven't tried Warhammer 40K: This is hard-core military sci-fi. You will enjoy this book if you like detailed military tactics and strategies and if you like to geek out on weapons systems and other war technologies. Zou is an excellent writer and incorporates compelling characters, but the heart of the book relates to the details of war.
3.0 out of 5 stars
There are far better 40k books,
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This review is from: Emperor's Mercy (Warhammer 40,000 Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This book isn't terrible for a hard sci-fi sprawl, but it isn't spectacular either. I love military books with detail but there's a tad too much, even for me, and I'm a huge Harry Harrison fan. It was a fun way to pass a few hours, but I'd definitely not suggest it over other 40k books - most notably anything by Dan Abnett who is simply amazing. His Eisenhorn series is a far better Inquisition set of novels.
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