Helsreach

by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Book Overview

Black Library presents the Masterworks - a curated collection of novels celebrating the very best science fiction and fantasy set in the worlds of Warhammer. When the world of Armageddon is attacked... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1844168638
• ISBN13: 9781844168637
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Games Workshop
• Length: 414 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Finished in three days!

I have to be honest, I love the new Space Marine Battles series, and I am a middle-aged man and a 40k veteran. To me it is obvious that the series was more geared to the young and uninitiated. Black Templars are the subject Chapter in this novel. Fast paced read that I finished in three days. Love the the larger size of the books also. I also look forward to the possibility of future books in the series being about different Chapters that have not been the subject of any 40K novels previously. Mortifactors?

Satisfying, entertaining, and well worth the time

A compelling, well-written novel that exceeds the expectations I've (unfortunately) had for the 40k line of books. All too often, characters in the Warhammer 40k novels are telegraphed. We know who the good guys are because they act nice; we know who the bad guys are because they act like jerks. Dembski-Bowden remembers that the basis for these books is covered in the introductory page of each of these books, which clarifies that the "good guys" are, in fact, the bloodiest, most oppressive regime imaginable. The heroes of this novel, such as they are, are representatives of said regime. Dembski-Bowden nails this by giving us protagonist-characters who display not just traits that make them sympathetic to the reader (courage, martial prowess, etc.), but also those "virtues" that make them plausible "champions" of the Imperium (the aforementioned regime) they serve--hate, xenophobia, intolerance. Dembski-Bowden does a good job of juggling a cast that includes Space Marines, the crew of a Titan, Imperial Guardsmen, and others. By transitioning throughout the various characters, he keeps the action from getting stale. The time device is also neatly managed--allowing for the reader to feel as if time has passed during the siege, without the feel of a grind. I initially planned to avoid this novel precisely because I felt the subject matter would make for a dull story. All too often, 40k novels are eventually bogged down by mind-numbing, repetitive battle scenes, heroic stands, and Space Marines shouting in all CAPS. I am pleased to say that I was surprised by this book. I was afraid that "Soul Hunter", also by the same author, was a lucky find soon to be followed by a disappointing follow-up (I didn't read any of his other previous novels), but "Helsreach", if anything, meets--and perhaps exceeds--the standard he set with the former. Helsreach gets four stars from me. It's a very well-written, entertaining book that does not require one to be a dedicated 40k reader.

Rise of a Hero

In this book, the Hero of Helsreach is truly given life. Games Workshop has told us that he was a great man, and hat he was the only one left alive in the defense of the Temple of the Emperor Ascendant, but this book fills in everything up to that point for this hero of the Black Templars. It brings life to a Chapter that could be far more than it has been permitted to be, and I would love to see works of 40K fluff on this level.

Awesome.

From time to time I read 40k novels. I have always enjoyed the universe, even as dark as it is. Primarily I read Abnett because to me his vision matches mine. Now I need to add Aaron Dembski-Bowden to my list of 40k authors and pick up his other stuff. Astartes should behave and speak according to the station they hold in the Imperium but too many 40k novels don't make them 'feel' as I think they should. The Astartes in Helsreach behave and talk and are treated like the great warriors the game fluff purports them to be. Well done!

Knights in the Far Future

Read this novel if you want to see a gigantic battle in the 40k universe, highlighted by amazing characterizations of the Black Templars. This novel is the second in the Space Marine Battles series. The series is non linear, you don't have to read Rynn's World (the first novel) to have any idea what is going on here. Aaron Dembski-Bowden has been writing some amazing books lately, Soul Hunter was a ridiculously interesting novel about the Night Lords, and here he does not disappoint. Just like the Chaos Marines in Soul Hunter became real people with different thoughts and motives, the Black Templars here are much less homogenized than you might think. The Black Templars are all heroes, but their various perspectives on the task in front of them are varied. Grimaldus is one of the better written characters in any novel I have read recently. He comes to life as a knight dedicated to a cause, and I don't think I will look at the Black Templars in the same way again.