The Night Lords are one of the most feared legions of Chaos Space Marines. Remorseless hunters and killers, they relentlessly battle the Imperium of Man to avenge the death of their Primarch Konrad Curze. Their dark crusade takes them to the valuable world of Crythe Primus, where they will fight Imperial forces to claim the planet. But will the allegiance with their cohorts in the Black Legion last long enough for them to be victorious?
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"Aaron Dembski-Bowden is heretically good" - Dan Abnett "I thoroughly enjoyed Cadian Blood. Not only did it live up to expectations, it surpassed them many times. The story was much more than I originally thought it would be and it expanded the Warhammer 40K universe a little more for me. This is the sort of book that once you pick up won't be put down easily, and for its length it delivers a great story with a lot packed in and much to admire. Highly recommended!" - Walker of Worlds on Cadian Blood. "At it's roaring best, 'Soul Hunter' pummels your senses with high octane warfare and leaves you gasping at the end." Graeme's Fantasy Book Review. "To be frank, I found this story so rich and compelling that I could wax lyrical for quite some time about its many themes and undercurrent... It has also cemented my opinion of the author as a rare talent who really understands the depths of the 40k universe." - Bookspot Central
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Aaron Dembski-Bowden is a author with his beginnings in the videogame and RPG industries. He was the Senior Writer on the million-selling MMO Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. He's been a deeply entrenched fan of Warhammer 40,000 ever since he first runied his copy of Space Crusade by painting the models with all the skill expected of an overexcited nine-year-old.
He lives and works in York, UK. His hobbies generally revolve around reading anything within reach, and helping people spell his surname.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the better Warhammer 40,000 novels,
By
This review is from: Soul Hunter (Warhammer 40,000 Novels) (Paperback)
It has been quite some time since Simon Spurrier's very enjoyable "Lord of the Night", and finally, the Night Lords Legion is deigned with another novel dedicated solely to them. Somewhat different in tone and atmosphere from much of the Warhammer 40,000 fiction, "Soul Hunter" is a well written, atmospheric romp centering on this enigmatic Legion that is a real page-turner.
Your enjoyment of this novel will likely be heavily based on three things. First, it requires you to be somewhat steeped in Warhammer 40,000 lore, and is not a very good introduction to the universe from someone not already familiar with it (I would point you to Dan Abnett's "Eisenhorn" omnibus as a good first introduction to Warhammer 40,000 universe instead). If you have never read a novel based in this universe, many references integral to the enjoyment of this book will be lost, or will break the flow of the book as you attempt to look them up. Therefore, it is a great Warhammer 40,000 novel, but perhaps not a great general science fiction novel, especially for those not familiar with the universe. I have rated "Soul Hunter" as a Warhammer 40,000 novel, since probably 90% of the readers looking at this entry have arrived here because it is one, but had I not been a universe affictionado, the rating would have probably been somewhere around 3 stars, as it holds far less appeal to the general public outside of the fans of the universe. Second, while "Soul Hunter" is not a direct sequel to "Lord of the Night", it does throw in more than a few Easter eggs to those who have read the previous Night Lords novel. It should be noted that reading "Lord of the Night" is not necessary for you to enjoy "Soul Hunter", but it does enhance the experience (not to mention that "Lord of the Night" is a very enjoyable novel on its own merits). Third, while there are numerous action scenes, the overall pace of the novel can be a bit slower at times, as the characters are often brooding and pensive, spending quite a bit of time in flashbacks, thoughts of the past, or pondering on their future. Personally, I find it to be a refreshing change from some of the faster paced Warhammer 40,000 fiction, but if you are looking for constant, non-stop action, there are many introspective parts within "Soul Hunter" that may not be to your liking. Now that the basic criteria is out of the way, I shall spend a little time discussing the plot. Talos, a former Apothecary turned de-facto sergeant of the 10th Company of the Night Lords Legion is afflicted with a prophetic ability, which makes him valuable to both the leader of his warband, and to Warmaster Abaddon, the leader of the fractuous forces of Chaos Space Marines. Throughout most of the book, Talos is subject to the manipulations of his immediate superior, as well as powerful Abaddon, which place him and his warriors in mortal danger time and again. The portrayal of the main character is rather sympathetic, and the many flashbacks give him depth, while parts written from the perspective of human serf Septimus provide for a good contrast with the Space Marine sections. The portrayal of the degenerate, disintegrating remains of the Night Lords 10th Company is handled very convincingly, and the novel succeeds in maintaining a gloomy, "grimdark" atmosphere that is a trademark of Warhammer 40,000 universe. Talos' struggles against the slow descend of the warband and the Legion into Chaos worship and corruption are portrayed well and with sympathy, The quotations at the beginning of each chapter are appropriate to the story, and add more to the ambience of "Soul Hunter" without being too predictable. My only issue with the book was the ending, which felt like it left a lot of loose ends, and had some rather uncharacteristic behavior from one character (who shall not be named for the fear of spoiling the surprise). I understand that it is supposed to be a first novel in the series, and it does make me wish to see the series continued soon, but some of the events feel almost a bit rushed, their potential not fully realized (for example, the impact of Malcharion appears to have been much smaller than the earlier parts of the novel led me believe). At the same time, I hope that the sequel will resolve those lingering issues, so that they are seen as lead-ins into the next book in the series. Overall, if you are a Warhammer 40,000 or Night Lords fan, I would highly recommend "Soul Hunter".
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soul Hunter - Bad Guys Can Be Fun!,
By
This review is from: Soul Hunter (Warhammer 40,000 Novels) (Paperback)
I've always been one of those people that played the `good' side of any game. When I played World of Warcraft, it was as an Alliance character. I make all the good and moral decisions in Dragon Age and Mass Effect. So it was no surprise that I was, as many are, drawn to the forces of the Imperium when I found myself diving into the Warhammer 40k universe. From the Inquisition to the Astartes and the Imperial Guardsman, there is a dearth of literature and information on the "forces of good." And that's really all I've ever read. I knew of the Word Bearers books, but much despised them due to the Blood Angels series, and never really had any interest in any of the other traitor tomes.
And then Graham McNeill's A Thousand Sons came out. In that book, I was first introduced to--what we now know as a traitor faction--a group of Astartes that, while in the current canon are heretical, intrigued me. Then I went to Adepticon and had the pleasure of chatting up Aaron Dembski-Bowden and his book, Soul Hunter, made its way into my luggage. Being really unfamiliar with any of the fluff surrounding not only the Night Lords, whom Soul Hunter is about, but also the Chaos Space Marines in general, I didn't know what to expect when I cracked open the pages and began to read. What I got was a 2-day adventure into the unknown, and hopefully the start of an intriguing series. Soul Hunter, again, focuses on a the Astartes of the Night Lords; more specifically, it focuses on Talos, a sergeant of the much diminished Night Lords 10th company and his compatriots, as they carve our their piece of the galaxy in the face of enemies, both Imperially aligned and otherwise. More so, Soul Hunter is an exploration of the character of a traitor Astartes chapter, with Talos as the focal point. Talos is unique for quite a few reasons. First, Talos suffers from prophetic visions, much like his martyred Primarch Konrad Curze. They are debilitating and occur randomly, but they are a great boon to the company Talos keeps and a sought after commodity to those seeking power. He is also quite unique is his viewpoints of the Chaos gods. Quite simply, Talos does not accept the Chaos gods as his own, nor does he think highly of those that accept their power. We see this exemplified in his interaction with his superior, a Chaos-mutated Astartes named the Chosen and his slavering, Khorne-worshipping comrade, and the disdain in which he approaches them. Finally, Talos' has an affection for his serfs that is quite unexpected for a traitor Marine; his relationship with his serf Septimus is interesting and really adds to the novel's plot. The crux of the plot focuses on Talos' efforts to keep his once proud, now depleted company of Astartes, from being completely annihilated and eventually return them to glory. Talos' prophetic abilities greatly help his cause, though they are not without problem. The first major plot event finds Talos' prophecies discovering an asteroid that is more than it seems, allowing him to acquire a slave that can benefit the chapter. Later, his abilities are sought after by the Warmaster Abbadon, to a less than harmonious result. The fractious nature and uneasy alliances of the Chaos Space Marines rears it's head in full force here, to great effect. The plot is well focused and driven, though I'd say the real strength of the plot is in the harmonious weaving together of the characters. Dembski-Bowden has done a marvelous job of creating Talos as a sympathetic and relatable character, despite the fact that he is not a `good' character. Creating likeable bad guys is one of the hardest things to do in literature; amoral characters are by nature unlikable, so creating one such as Talos is really something. I think the real genius of the character, and the reason I found myself liking him, is the fact that he is affectionate towards Septimus and that he is opposed to the Chaos powers--the thing I find most objectionable about the Chaos Marines. Dembski-Bowden crafted a real winner with Talos. The other facet of the novel that stood out so completely to me, and helped me to enjoy the book as thoroughly as I did, was Dembski-Bowden's prose. It is descriptive without being overly so, and is written with purpose and clear direction. Whereas some authors in the Black Library seem to occasionally wander with their narrative, Dembski-Bowden's is terse where it needs to be and more fully developed when appropriate. In addition, his pacing is spot on; he blends enough narrative and background information with more climactic sequences very well, and the novel reads quickly (I finished it in two days) as a result. Because of his masterful character creation and well-paced plot, Aaron Dembski-Bowden has crafted a real winner in Soul Hunter. Talos ranks up there with my favorite Black Library characters (I'm even modeling a miniature after him!) and Soul Hunter is a great entry level novel for any Imperial fanboy that is looking to dip his toe into the heretical, and a must read for those of you already invested in the dark powers. (8.5/10) Highly Recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Stellar Components But Weak Overall Story,
This review is from: Soul Hunter (Warhammer 40,000 Novels) (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
You don't see that many books written from the bad guy's point of view. If you try to keep them pure evil, you end up with a boring cast of cardboard cutout characters. I mean how many times can Mayor McEvil kick a kitten into a ceiling fan before it just gets old? Yeah you're unspeakably evil and you tortured that guy; we got it already. If you try to give them nobility and human decency, then it feels wrong. The author went that direction; characters were sometimes untrustworthy cut throats who'd just as soon kill each other as the enemy, but other times they seemed extremely noble and loyal to each other.
Talos is the central character. He's one of the cursed Astartes (Space Marines) of Chaos. His main claim to fame is his ability to see the future. He sees himself as more pure and untainted by Chaos than the leadership and most of his brothers. The saga centers around a crusade against the Imperium, but also a struggle between Talos and the Exhaulted for control of the chapter. The Exhaulted's jealousy over Talos' psychic gifts is obvious, but how much of Talos actions undermining his leadership are intentionally seeking power is open for debate. I won't spoil how things turn out, but I didn't see it coming. I enjoyed Talos' two slaves. In many ways they stole the show from the Astartes of the story. Both Septimus and Octavia (slave names) were interesting and had some decent character development. In Septimus, you saw how somebody adapts to long term service in a place they'd rather not be just to survive. In Octavia, you see a person just coming to grips with that. It's a pitty that while they play a big part early on, they sort of trail off as the story progresses and get less and less screen time. My two favorite battles were a squad of Astartes taking on a fully powered Titan and the battle versus the assassin that killed their Primarch. The first one was both exciting and plausible. Despite it being a squad of soldiers against a gigantic mech, I appreciated that it didn't seem beyond belief. The flashback to the assassin was equally good in its own way, a one on one fight with speed vs brawn. Very cool. I believe this is the second book by this author, the first being the remarkable Cadian Blood. He'd be a good author to look for in the future. I don't think I've ever done this, but I feel I have to dock the book a star for its price. Let me explain. I realize that prices rise, but $9 for this book is just to much. I could see that for one like Titanicus at 600+ pages or Rynn's World because it was one of those over-sized paperbacks that had a fancy cover and color maps, but this is just a plain Jane book of unremarkable length (413 pages). However, Amazon is doing a deal with four books for the price of three so if you have some other books you want to get at the same time, you could maybe spread it out to a more reasonable price per book. Maybe try first three Horus Heresy novels? There were some great tidbits in this book. I loved the description of what it feels like to be the person inside a Dreadnought; how they breath and how they sometimes feel their true bodies instead of their mechanical ones was fascinating. The disclosure of exactly how hurt for resources Chaos Marines are and the revelation that time doesn't affect the Chaos legions hiding in the Warp the same way as normal space; having ten thousand years to the Imperium being a mere hundred for Chaos was intriguing. Despite this, I never really felt compelled by the overall story. The only other Chaos book I've read and can compare with, Dark Creed, was superior. I wouldn't say don't buy it, but if you're on a tight budget you could skip it.
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