Dark Disciple

Anthony Reynolds does a fantastic job of portraying the post-heresy Word Bearers. I am not going to lie, after reading the first batch of Horus Heresy books (up to The Thousand Sons), I really hated the Word Bearers. But after reading this book, and its counterparts, I now bear a grudging respect for the Word Bearers. I am not a very good "reviewer", but I deigned it fit to say something about this book. That is how much I enjoyed it.

Marduk, aspiring Dark Apostle of the XVII Legion of the Word Bearers, has an ancient and deadly artefact in his possession. However, its secrets remain locked within itself. He and his Chaos Space Marines travel to the ice moon called Perdus Skylla. The moon is being evacuated of it Imperial people. Three days is estimated before the xenos fleet makes planetfall. The Imperials cannot evacuate all in time, but as many people as possible are to be rescued before the dreaded command, Exterminatus, is ordered. Somewhere on Perdus Skylla is an Adeptus Mechanicus with eight hundred years of knowledge hidden within her mind, knowledge that Marduk requires to unlock the artefact's dark powers. As Marduk and his brethren search the moon, the Dark Apostle must keep wary eyes upon Kol Badar, the Host's Coryphaus, who hates Marduk with every bit of his black soul. Marduk had killed Kol Badar's blood brother and he refuses to rest until Marduk is made to pay for it. All does not go well on Perdus Skylla for anyone. Their Imperial enemies not only deal with a timely evacuation, but also with the dark eldar who are already on the moon claiming bodies and souls. The traitor marines will not only have to find their target, but also get themselves and the gained knowledge through Eldar and Imperial forces before the xenos fleet arrives and the moon is destroyed. ***** FIVE STARS! Though this is a sequel, you do not have to read Dark Apostle in order to fully understand and enjoy this story. This book begins and ends with one mission involving Marduk and his traitor marines. I found myself totally enthralled with Burias-Drak'shal, the Icon Bearer who is daemon possessed. I would very much like to read more about that character. I can only hope the author, Anthony Reynolds, is sitting at his computer, within his darkened cave, and creating another Marduk novel. From beginning to end readers will overload on battles and dark mayhem. There are no pauses in the action and no time for you to catch your breath as you are swept from one bloody scene to the next. A terrific addition to the darker side of the W40K universe. ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This is the second in the Word Bearers series of books told from the villain's point of view as with Dark Apostle, Lord of the Night, and Storm of Iron. WH 40k books are one of the few series of books that tell stories from the "bad guys" perspective. This book does not disappoint with great action, characters, and plot. I stopped playing the tabletop game a long time ago, but the novels and comics are some of the absolute best the sci-fi world has to offer. I look forward to Anthony Reynolds' future forays into the WH40K universe.Dark Apostle (Warhammer 40,000 Novels)Storm of Iron (Warhammer 40,000 Novel) Lord of the Night (Warhammer 40,000)

Dark Disciple is the continuation of the stroyline that began with Dark Apostle. Marduk, now acting head of a Host of Word Bearers Chaos Space Marines, travels to a planet on the fringe of a tyranid invasion, to discover the secret to operating the xenos device discovered at the end of the first novel, that could well spell the doom of the Imperium. Dark Disciple still has the dark, sickly feel that Dark Apostle did, but the storyline focuses solely on the Marines. One of the things that made Dark Apostle a smash was the sideline involving a lone Adeptus Arbite that was enslaved by Chaos, and chronicled his descent into madness, there is no character you can really get behind in this. The same sort of progressive corruption is present in Darioq, a tech-magis captured by Marduk, but its hard to root for a character that speaks like a computer. The combat is once again well laid out, and helps impose the feel that Marines are gods among men. While the tabletop game would have you believe that Marines are equivalent to twice or thrice their number of Guard, the Word Bearers go through whole companies like they're sheep. Theres also a third party that is introduced very nicely, and sets the stage for some well handled three way combat engagements. Disciple is still a great storyline, but like any sequel, its hard to recapture that particular spark that made the first novel so memorable.