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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Each story reviewed and rated individually. Very good anthology!, May 1, 2010
This review is from: Legends of the Space Marines (Warhammer 40,000) (Mass Market Paperback)
HELL NIGHT (Salamanders) by Nick Kyme
The Salamanders are on planet Vaporis. At Mercy Rock they join the 135th Phalanx and the Imperial forces. The Salamanders are about to engage the enemy when the rumors about specters becomes a deadly reality.
***** Five stars! Author Nick Kyme brings invisible horrors to light. A magnificent beginning for this anthology. *****
COVER OF DARKNESS (White Scars) by Mitchel Scanlon
Tephra VII had been claimed by Chaos one year ago. Now the White Scars have been sent to take the planet back. Sergeant Kergis and his small group of Astartes are tasked with destroying a power plant situated on the largest active volcano in the Volcan's Cradle region. But it is the face of the enemy commander that disturbs Kergis. It is the face of a fallen brother.
**** Four Stars! Mitchel Scanlon slowly builds the tension and then reveals an unexpected twist for readers. Well done. ****
THE RELIC (Black Templars) by Jonathan Green
Brother Jarold of the Black Templars well remembers the moment he witnessed a mech-enhanced greenskin warboss, Morkrull Grimskar, teleport away with the unconscious form of Emperor's Champion Ansgar as his prisoner. Within his Dreadnought body-shell, Brother Jarold has vowed to locate Brother Ansgar and either bring him back in triumph or that they may lay his body to rest. Then while battling the orks in the desolate ice fields on Armageddon, a long lost brother is found underneath the ice.
**** Four Stars! Author Jonathan Green writes his story from the grand view point of a Dreadnought. I found it to be enlightening to say the least. ****
TWELVE WOLVES (Space Wolves) by Ben Counter
This tale takes place in the Age of Apostasy. It is about a wicked man named Cardinal Bucharis who carved out an empire of his own, throwing off Imperial authority to rule as a king.
**** Four Stars! The author gives his readers the feeling of being in a bar as a storyteller begins telling his craft. The story formed is about the lessons the Sons of Fenris have learned from the Twelve Wolves. Ben Counter gives the tale a majestic feel in which few could equal. ****
THE RETURNED (Doom Eagles) by James Swallow
On the planet of Gathis, a great fortress-monastery nests atop the Ghostmountain: the Eyrie. Brother-Sergeant Tarikus of the esteemed 3rd Company of the Doom Eagles Chapter returns home. He was believed to be dead. The ceremony of loss had long ago been completed and sanctified. After years of being held and tortured among the tainted enemy, could Tarikus still be pure?
*****Five Stars! Though the story holds no enemy battles, I found it to be one of the best tales within this anthology. Brilliant! *****
CONSEQUENCES (Ultramarines) by Graham McNeill
Captain Uriel Ventris returns to the Fortress of Hera in triumph. Yet the Ultramarine now stands accused of flagrant disregard of the Codex Astartes, heresy.
**** Four Stars! Graham McNeill paints a harsh and solemn picture for readers to behold. A bold testament as to what it is to be Astartes. ****
THE LAST DETAIL (Dark Hunters) by Paul Kearney
The Dark Hunters battled and purged evil from the planet of Perreken. Once gone, a man and his son emerge to face the new ruins of their land. They find a buried Astartes, badly damaged. As they seek a way to contact his brother Astartes they learn that not all of the taint had been erased after all.
**** Four Stars! A bit predictable, but a wonderful story none-the-less. Well done. ****
THE TRIAL OF THE MANTIS WARRIORS (Mantis Warriors) by CS Goto
The title says it all. Khoisan Neotera, Chapter Master of the mantis Warriors, stands silently, as if he were a statue, before the Council of Judgement. It is up to the council to decide on not only the fate of Neotera, but of the entire Mantis Warriors Chapter.
**** Four Stars! CS Goto clearly shows the dignity and righteous judgement of the Imperium. And the last nine words of the story hit me like a punch in the gut! Well played! ****
ORPHANS OF THE KRAKEN (Scythes of the Emperor) by Richard Williams
Brother-Sergeant Tiresias of the Astartes Chapter Scythes of the Emperor commands the 21st Salvation Team. After two years with his team, it now consists of himself and four neophytes. (Battle-brothers in training.) They have been inserted into over a dozen dead hive ships. But within this one they find the armored remains of brothers. Amazingly, one Space Marine still lives in suspended animation, Commander Cassios.
***** Five Stars! The writing style of Richard Williams is superb. I was pulled into the story quickly and its xenos memory still haunts me. *****
AT GAIUS POINT (Flesh Tearers) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
When his ship is shot down, Zavien of the Flesh Tearers regains consciousness to find his brothers beyond help. The prisoner, Jarl, is loose. Jarl no longer resembles the Astartes he once was. Zavien must recapture Jarl before he slaughters the innocent. The entire Chapter's honor depends upon it.
***** Five Stars! Every time I read a story by Aaron Dembski-Bowden I become even more impressed. The author's writing style and imagery is exquisite. This is the perfect ending for the anthology. *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Average, June 20, 2010
This review is from: Legends of the Space Marines (Warhammer 40,000) (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a collection of short stories in the Warhammer 40K Universe. As a fan who has read many W40K books over the past 10 years, this book is underwhelming and very disappointing. Am not happy having spent money for this book.
The weakest and worst of the short stories is the opening, with Hell Night. The author needs to study science and/ or military technology to develop a sense of realism. The prime case is where the author has artillery moving closer in the attempt to bring down a void shield. If the author had any form of education or knowledge in artillery, high explosive artillery rounds do the same amount of damage regardless of distance fired. A high explosive round has the same impact and blast area when fired from 400-ft or 4000-ft. Having the artillery move in closer to do more damage is not true or realistic.
Another problem with Hell Night is the stereotypical side characters that do not enhance the storyline nor the W40K Universe. An overzealous Commissar executes the Imperial Guard Colonel, but then gets incapacitated and has no role in the story's conclusion. Yawn, we have read this before. Worse yet, there is nothing sympathetic to really even care about the Space Marines in being legendary. Wait, this is one wounded Space Marine who easily finds his way to the hidden sub-level and learns about the ghosts that haunt the region. Wow, how a convenient and easy way to solve the mystery.
Cover of Darkness is the second story and does present the heroic Space Marines in combat against a daemon that possessed a fallen Space Marine. This story is a quick read but nothing really eye-opening.
The Relic is better and faster paced story with the Space Marines fighting against the Ork hordes. Casualties pile up and there is a slight chance that they will fail and Orks will triumph.
Twelve Wolves is an excellent story about Fenris and the Space Wolves. The story revolves around one Long Fang and one young Space Marine defending their fortress from a massive Chaos cult invasion. The lore of the Space Wolves and strategy in defending their base is told.
The Returned was ok, a story of testing of a returned Space Marines' faith and purity after being lost in Chaos held space. Consequences story was a mere passing story on the trial of Captain Uriel of the UltraMarine series, very brief and disappointing.
The Last Detail was exciting and engaging. It tells of a father and son trying to survive a Chaos invasion of their farming planet. Space Marines come to their rescue, but leave, thinking that the Chaos forces have been eliminated, or have they? Really enjoyed reading this story.
Orphans of the Kraken is perhaps the best story of the collection. It places a handful of surviving Space Marines trying to rebuild their Chapter. Salvation Teams enter dying/ dead Tyranid hive ships in trying to find possible survivors from a Tyranid invasion. The action is interesting in describing how the hive ship exists. The combat decisions are the focus here. Is it better to retreat so that the few survivors can fight another day or to battle and die in trying to prevent the Tyranid spread?
The Trial of the Mantis Warriors was boring and dull. At Gaius Point is rather short, light on action as the story is more about the sins and decisions made in previously in combat. Space Marines are not depicted as being legendary or heroic in this short story, however.
Unfortunately, the strength of Twelve Wolves, The Last Detail, and Orphans of the Kraken was not enough to overcome the mediocre and underwhelming writing of Hell Night, Mantis Warrior, and Gaius Point. Can't recommend buying this book. It is better to just read specific short stories from the library or bookstore instead.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun, light read, June 14, 2010
This review is from: Legends of the Space Marines (Warhammer 40,000) (Mass Market Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I found Legends of the Space Marines to be a fun, light diversion into the 40k universe. I enjoyed most of the short stories, and they gave a glimpse into the character of some of the more famous and some of the less of the various space marine chapters. That said, to properly enjoy this book you need to have some background in the 40k universe. I've read a few of the books (not many though) and know a bit about it, but a few of the stories referenced events from recent books and the like. I was fine with that, though I much preferred the more self-contained stories.
I gave the book 4 stars because most of the stories were well-written and enjoyable, and you get a taste of the various different authors writing 40k fiction. Some of the stories were better than others, but that is to be expected. The big reason I knocked a star off was that so many of the stories (especially the ultramarines one) were clearly meant to be short stories sandwiched between larger novels, as opposed to stand-alone stories. I would have much preferred to see a collection of stand-alone stories highlighting various aspects of the different space marine chapters.
I recommend this book as a good way to get deeper into the 40k universe (space marines in particular, of course) if you're interested in it. However, I think it would serve as a poor introduction to the universe as it requires far too much prior knowledge.
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