Grey Knights: The Omnibus (Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus) [Paperback]

Ben Counter (Author)

Book Description

Series: Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus | Publication Date: May 5, 2009

Omnibus edition collecting the novels, Grey Knights, Dark Adeptus and Hammer of Daemons from the popular Warhammer 40,000 Grey Knights series.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ben Counter is fast becoming one of the Black Library’s most popular authors. An Ancient History graduate and avid miniature painter, he lives near Portsmouth, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Games Workshop; First Thus edition (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844166961
• ISBN-13: 978-1844166961
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If Buying All 3 Separately Was Worth It..., May 18, 2009

By 

Raider - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grey Knights: The Omnibus (Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus) (Paperback)

The title basically says it all. I bought all three books separately, and honestly buying all three separately was worth it. Getting all three books in one collection for half the price is easily worth it (sorry for the sales pitch like tone).

The Grey Knights Omnibus collects the three Grey Knights novels Grey Knights, Dark Adeptus and Hammer of Daemons. The stories follow Justicar Alaric, a member of the special Grey Knights space marine chapter set in the futuristic and gothic Warhammer 40K series. A special branch of the space marines, the Grey Knights have psychic powers, more advanced armor and weapons and are some of the most powerful warriors available to humans in the grim futuristic setting. They specialize in hunting demons who threaten mankind, often the last line of defense against these powerful beings.

Grey Knights introduces the reader to Alaric and the Grey Knights chapter, delving some into their past and what their chapter is about. Alaric is sent on a mission to investigate the return of a demon that had plagued man a thousand years before. Alaric and his contingent are forced into a race against time to find the demon and battle its fodder, both other demons and humans alike, and keep him from returning from the warp to the real world. This is the strongest of the three books, filled with action and intrigue and never a dull moment.

Dark Adeptus revolves around Alaric being sent to a world that mysteriously reappears after centuries from the warp. Landing on the planet Alaric finds it to be infested with the forces of Chaos; the sworn enemy of mankind. This book has a totally different feel to it, with a more exotic environment and the sense that anything can happen at any time, and everyone must be watched. It is not as intriguing or battle heavy as the first novel, but still puts up a good showing.

The final book is Hammer of Daemons. In this Alaric and his men lose a battle and are captured, taken to the Chaos world in the Eye of Terror. Once there he is forced into gladiatorial combat and must devise a way to escape the hellish world. This novel is nothing like Dark Adeptus, so even though the setting on a Chaos planet is a main plot device that is one of the few things they have in common. Much like Grey Knights this novel is filled with action, the most of the three, and has some twists that you won't expect. I should also note there are not many Warhammer 40K novels that follow a path like this one.

Counter's writing is clear and concise, and he wastes no time in getting to his point. He manages to paint a vivid picture of the settings quickly and rarely do any point in these novels does the story drag. If he brings up something you don't know about don't worry; he'll get you all you need to know and you won't feel lost at all.

All in all the Grey Knights series was very good. Of the Warhammer 40K novels I have read Grey Knights is my favorite, and Hammer of Daemons is also near the top. Having all three books collected in one and at a lower price is well worth the buy. You won't regret picking this up, Warhammer 40K fan or not.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grey Knights: Good amongst the Black Library books, but not spectacular, January 19, 2010

By 

N. Skinner "Ranthil" (California, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grey Knights: The Omnibus (Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus) (Paperback)

One thing I appreciate about the Black Library is their omnibus editions. It really helps keep books more affordable... if you can wait for them to come out. This being said, once I saw the Grey Knight books were out, I quickly moved to purchase the omnibus.

Positives:
For those experienced in the Wh40k world, Grey Knights gives a glimpse into a world rarely covered, even within much of Games Workshop's canon - the inner planets of humanity's realms: Terra, Saturn, Mars. Grey Knights shows some of what occurs within the solar system.

The book is fairly well written, contains a decent amount of surprises, twists, and turns, and pits the Space Marines against foes usually only brushed against in other books.

Negatives:
While Ben Counter does a good job, there were many things that simply were not memorable enough to make the series truly noteworthy. Eisenhorn (A Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus) has etched itself into my memory, Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium worms his way in through absurdity, and Gaunt's Ghosts: The Founding (Gaunts Ghost) & Gaunt's Ghosts: The Saint keeps you wanting more.

Conclusion:
That being said, while I would not have bought the books individually, together they are a bargain and well worth the purchase.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to hell, December 8, 2011

By 

Thomas Lau - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Grey Knights: The Omnibus (Warhammer 40,000 Omnibus) (Paperback)

Ok, this is a warning about the books: the scenarios are insanely outrageous and insanely convoluted. That said: what did you expect from books containing Grey Knights.
That is what I told my friend when he asked me about the Omnibus.

In all sincerity the series is a great read for all the fans of 40K. The scenarios in each book are what nightmares are made from.
Grey Knights is about the hunt for a traitor Astartes who is in league with a very powerful daemon. To stop the resurrection of the daemon the Grey Knights must hunt down an enemy that has been guided by the very same daemon for countless decades. Nothing is left to chance, for the resurrection requires a specific set of events and conditions. Which isn't much of a problem for an immortal daemon who has nothing better to do than create those conditions for his own rebirth into the material world.
Especially interesting and tragic was the psyker whose ordeal is in same ways worse and yet a blazing flame of human dedication and sacrifice in the 40K darkness.

Dark Adeptus was by far the most interesting. Simply put, a forgeworld returns from warp isolation after (I believe it was) one thousand years. Obviously having been this long removed from the material realm makes the Imperium at large suspicious. And rightfully so. what the Grey Knights discover is nothing short of Horus Heresy Mechanicum horror. The enemies they face are both physical and not. That is as far as I am willing to explain, since the final surprise is worth the series.

Hammer of Daemons quite literally is the title I gave this review 'Welcome to hell'. For our hero finds himself having been caught and sent into the Eye of Terror as a play thing to Khorne and his insatiable lust for slaughter. The hardship of this realm pushes him into a test of endurance both physical and spiritual. For in his darkest thoughts he fears somehow turning to chaos and being the first Grey Knight to have ever turned from the Emperor's light. The wars he must endure and the sanity he must retain are a harrowing ordeal.
Read it if you dare. ;-)