Customer Reviews

Xenos (The Eisenhorn Trilogy, Book 1)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dan Abnett's books are based in the Warhammer 40K universe, and are a must read for those who play the game. However, the dark, gothic nature of the "universe" is a riveting change of pace from the bright idealistic future of the majority of sci-fi books.

The 200 some year young Inquisitor Eisenhorn is on a mission to foil the plans of the agents of Chaos. The character building is well done. You get a real feel for how Eisenhorn thinks about himself, those around him and the worlds he lives in. You'll find a great deal of intrique, especially from within the Inquisition itself. The action and story build momentum as the book goes on and ends with a climatic finish. While anxiously awaiting the second in this series, I can only think Abnett might have been better off making it a Quintet.

Xenos, the first book of the Eisenhorn trilogy, probably the best story to come out of WH40k so far. It's the story of the Inquisitor Eisenhorn and his staff. The book is rich, lavish and vivid in details, and it brings the book to a "reality feel" (and that's hard to do in a fiction). The book will please anyone from a new fan to a old WH40K expert. It should be noted that a minimum, or basic knowledge of the WH40K universe is required for a full appreciation of this book..

This is a marvelous book for any fan of Sci-Fi. I've never played the actual 40K game but didn't feel confused by any aspect of this book. In fact, this book did a lot to bring the situation in the 40K universe into sharper focus. By telling the story from the perspective of Eisenhorn, Abnett is able to portray the Inquisitor's true feelings and gives the whole story a very personal feel. It must have been harder to write the book in the first person, but I think it enhances the power of the story.

As in other Warhammer books, this one is non-stop, page-turning action. While sometimes predictable, this book is in no way boring. All of the characters are great and the plot is intense. The dark vision of the 40K universe is compelling and unique.

Can't wait to read the rest of the series.

First let me say that I've been dissapointed with the other GW 40K books I've read and don't particularly like Chaos related stuff. Now having said that I really enjoyed Xenos. It is very well written and could easily standalone as a good sci-fi book in its own right. Obviously 40K fans will get a bit more out of it. I've since bought the next book in the series and Abnett's latest. I'll echo some of the other reviews and agree the book could have been another 100 pages longer.

After all these years of Warhammer and WH40K stuff, growing up with it, learning English partly because of it - the Eisenhorn saga is still my favourite.

Many flaws:
- Somewhat silly fight scenes here and there.
- Somewhat implausible plot developments very occasionally.
- A bit of disconnection issues in between the three books, with new characters introduced that should logically have been at least mentioned in this and the next book.

But finally:

VERY VERY GOOD stuff. Can easily stand on its own as a work of serious military science fiction with plenty of atmosphere and character work. Truly a genre-busting breakout effort, even though Mr. Abnett is severely limited by heavy-handed limits on the length of his works for the Black Library, and the pressure on him to get stuff out the door asap, whether he is happy with the level of polish or not.

Months later I found myself still thinking about the stories, so bought the book again (had decided to rid myself of non-essential property prior to some difficult stuff in my life). Now several years later I'm doing it again, after having gotten rid of the book a second time.

Xenos is by far the best book in the Black Libery, and one of my personal favs of all ive read. First, Abnett has done, now and in the past, a great job translating the game into a book. THe charcters are interesting, the dialogue is natural, the storyline involved. THe only downside is an uniniated reader (of Warhammer 40k) might get a little confused. Still, the book is excellent for any sci fi fan.
I also recommend the Gaunts Ghost series, Abnett's short story in Deathwing (Pestialance i beleive), and all the short story compolation books.
Im looking forward to getting Malleus (today i hope)

When writers author novels for a gaming universe, sometimes the works are quite interesting, but maybe because the authors presume the audience will buy anything, most of the time the works are subpar or far worse. Xenos is far above par but is not quite made for non-gamers. Xenos had some extremely engaging ideas supported by unfortunately a not very surprising or eventful plot. The main character and subcharacters are interesting as is the lovecraft style alien species. I will buy the next book and will look at his other books. Not great, but rather good.

This book was simply amazing! Dan Abnett writes so well that he creates perfect empathy with the characters whilst at the same time keeping the story moving fast enough to keep interest till after you've finished the book.

Normally tie in books like this are junk. I was quite surprised to read this one (and the seaqual) and find it quite fun. A touch of Jack Vance, some HP Lovecraft, Judge Dredd, a sprinking of other bits from here and there, and I have to quiltily admit I quite enjoyed it. No really, a very good read. Makes me almost enjoy the 40K universe (bah!- almost...)