Everything about the novel was just… well, awesome. This is truly a must buy novel. They picked the most vicious, bloodthirsty and violent of the criminal underworld to fulfil their ranks.
Murderers, Rapists, Serial Killers, the lot, possessing no unifying belief, honour or martial creed. Aarom Dembski-Bowden has achieved this spectacularly well, and has done more things besides. Character development is frequent not just in this epic conclusion but also the whole trilogy, and I think that no member of First Claw that we saw in Soul Hunter has emerged the same by the end of Void Stalker.
On top of all that, Dembski-Bowden has managed to include romance. Come on, this is Warhammer 40k, a Universe where there is only war. It takes a nothing short of a genius to get believable romance on the paper in such a grim-dark future, and the author has hit top marks here, again. If you thought that some characters were going to remain safe throughout the whole Trilogy, think again.
Nobody is safe in Void Stalker, and when I say nobody, I mean nobody. In this book, even Talos himself is just as likely to be slain as a minor character. The action is of course, well-written consistently throughout Void Stalker. The novel is action-packed, and is not all bolter-porn, oh no. This is how Chaos Space Marines should wage war, intense, brutal action that will have you hooked right the way through.
Trust me when I say this, you will not want to put Void Stalker down. Aaron Dembski-Bowden has made the Night Lords trilogy as a whole not just a must read novel for Black Library fans, but all readers of science fiction.
Void Stalker is a novel that you will want to cherish every moment of it, as it is the final novel in the trilogy after all. In fact, the only bad point that I can find about this novel is that it, well — ended the trilogy. I would have loved the author to continue writing more Night Lords, as Void Stalker only left me wanting more and more.
I may have to re-read this trilogy at some point now. Apr 20, Adam O'Grady rated it did not like it. This book is full of over-the-top torture and body horror, punctuated by brief attempts at levity that feel out of place in the rest of the grossness. Some of this may be due to writing about a murderous sect in an established universe but other writers of chaos space marines see: Fulgrim manage to encapsulate the abhorrent nature of the legions without resorting to chapters describing their deeds in lurid detail.
Particularly if you've never read Warhammer 40k fiction or are looking to enter t This book is full of over-the-top torture and body horror, punctuated by brief attempts at levity that feel out of place in the rest of the grossness. Particularly if you've never read Warhammer 40k fiction or are looking to enter the genre, I'd not recommend this book as a starting point.
None seem to have set personalities, changing regularly whenever the plot needs to move in a new direction. On the positive side there is a cute subplot towards the end featuring one of the most ruthless Dreadnoughts taking an injured human as a ward and caring for them. An honourable mention also goes to the incredibly sad story thread featuring the slow-of-mind Uzas.
Sep 25, Phil Davies added it. Consider this a review of all three of the Night Lords books. First I think it's impressive to make 9 foot tall merciless demigods empathetic but I found myself quite enjoying reading about there exploits. Couple of words of warning. First these aren't cheery books, they're incredibly grim obvs it's 40k but the action is well done and the moments of characte Consider this a review of all three of the Night Lords books.
First these aren't cheery books, they're incredibly grim obvs it's 40k but the action is well done and the moments of character is some of the best in 40K. Second I wouldn't make these your first insight into the 40K world for that look to the first 3 books of the horus heresy. There's a lot of bits of lore that require at least some idea of the universe. Definitely the best 40K chaos PoV books I've read. Jul 09, Andrew Ziegler rated it really liked it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here. Let's be clear on something from the get go. And all of them were kicked there by one Mr. Aaron Dembski-Bowden. This author is growing in my esteem with every book he puts out. And you care about each and every one. Void Stalker is no different in that regard, your Let's be clear on something from the get go. Void Stalker is no different in that regard, your heart is broken at their losses, suffering, anger, betrayal and finally deaths.
Abnett has created a cadre of characters in the Gaunt's series that I have grown to be very fond of. Dembski-Bowden achieved that same level of amazing character pathos in a shorter amount of time with First Claw and the slaves. I am still shuddering with rage and sadness a little finished the book less than 12 hours ago , the echo of the emotional connection I felt to Uzaz and Cyrion in their final confrontation was truly a literary delicacy.
Read the Night Lords Trilogy, read all of it, start today. I read about Space Marines and the Imperium of Man, probably because I played them for so many years before these novels replaced playing the game for me, and to read about heretics and those who would put their boot heels on the throats of my heroes is anathema to my nature, but I absolutely LOVED this series.
Dembski-Bowden is a rare talent in the Black Library stable, I hope he stays, I hope he keeps writing, and I hope I get to keep reading it. I almost wish this tale was not couched inside the 40K universe, because it is so hard to convince those outside of it that it is approachable and excellent Sci-Fi. Please, read this series, that is all.
View 2 comments. Oct 25, Hamid Saatchi rated it it was amazing. The night lords series is a master peace. It delves into the dark heart of the 8th legion and its primarch in 3 novels we are shown the beginning of the legion, its terrorizing glory at its height and its fall into total darkness meany not willing to bend knee to chaos even as they fight amongst each other and the loyalists as there numbers and strength dwindle.
Finally we know the Night haunters secret why "Death is nothing compared to vindication" An epic conclusion for an epic trilogy! The Night Lords -series that began with cold hearted awesomeness in Soul Hunter and went more bloody in Blood Reaver , gives off a deadly mysterious finale in Void Stalker. I think each individual novel in the series is worth 4 stars and the series as a whole is worth 5 stars; so I guess that means I'd give 5 stars to an omnibus released format.
Keep up the good work! Jan 08, MegaSolipsist rated it it was amazing. An absolutely stunning conclusion to the Night Lords trilogy. There is no word that can describe this book other than epic. Filled with characters that are as brutal and cruel as they are complex and deep.
Contrasting the violence and sadism of the Night Lords, who are short on everything but hate, and the idealism and vengeance An absolutely stunning conclusion to the Night Lords trilogy. Contrasting the violence and sadism of the Night Lords, who are short on everything but hate, and the idealism and vengeance sought by their leader Talos.
Next to them are their slaves Septimus and Octavia, desiring freedom from the violence on board the Astartes vessel, but being unable to entirely hate the Night Lords. I lack the literary skill of ADB and so cannot sum up just how amazing this book is. Aug 23, Alistair rated it it was amazing Shelves: 40k-warhammer. This was just a great conclusion to a fantastic Sci-Fi trilogy. You don't need to be a fan of 40K to enjoy these books they are so good that they should have wide appeal for any Sci-Fi fan.
Dembski-Bowden is leading the way forward and showing how high the bar can be raised in writing for the 40K Universe. I hope that this is a sign of things to come from him, and is seen as a challenge to the other authors in the Black Library. Feb 07, Jamie rated it it was amazing. Absolutely superb. I've learned a very valuable lesson from Mr Dembski-Bowden about not dismissing tie-in novels as sub-literary crap for idiots.
Would recommend without hesitation to any fans of sci-fi, dystopia or speculative fiction, and not just warhammer people. Mar 12, Frank rated it it was amazing.
Unreserved, unrelenting excellence. Nov 21, Patt rated it it was amazing. Can we finish this Uzas is eating the marines gene seed hahaha again awesome book very tragic ending though. Apr 27, Mary Gilson rated it it was amazing Shelves: warhammerk. I admit it. I actually cried during a couple parts of this book. I won;t say who or what happened. I won't spoil it for those who may have not read it yet.
Jan 18, Kassar Krennic rated it it was ok. Spoilers for the Night Lord series. I just finished this book and I had a lot of problems with how this last book was done.
However the third one, Void Stalker, was pretty bad imo. It was con Spoilers for the Night Lord series. A strike-force consisting of numerous Astartes Chapters lead by the Iron Spears were sent to the planet to investigate the situation. Upon arriving the Astartes discovered works dedicated to different Chaos Gods.
As the Loyalists began to besiege the planet, not only did they discover that corruption ran rampant throughout the entire society, but they were assaulted by a frothing unit Death Company Marines dedicated to Khorne. This lead the Loyalists to the realization that the Angels Vigilant were responsible for the corruption, a realization was cemented when the Angels Vigilant now painted purple and called the Void Stalkers exited the Fortress to engage the Loyalists.
While the Imperium believed that the Void Stalkers were destroyed along with Mavros, Marines with the help of Azazel managed to escape to the Eye of Terror on a damaged Battle Barge. Orbiting Malleum was an artificial moon known as Donn, home to a Dark Mechanicum enclave.
In return for a small share of the slaves and resources acquired by the Void Stalkers, the Dark Mechanicus agreed to faithfully serve the renegade Chapter. Next, the Void Stalkers began to commit small and covert raids on either small isolated Imperial worlds, worlds containing Chaos Cults, or Daemon Worlds in order to make an Army and a workforce as well as create new Heretic Astartes. For the next years the Void Stalkers rebuilt themselves, constructed great fortresses upon Malleum including Basilica Noctis , pieced together a massive army of cultists and traitors, and with the help of the Dark Mechanicus of Donn, build numerous weapons, Daemon Engines, and a mighty Warfleet.
Once they had completely rebuilt themselves the Void Stalkers sought to make their presence known to the Galaxy. The Void Stalkers first target was Ailinne, homeworld of the Iron Spears, the Chapter that lead the assault on Mavros and ultimately destroyed their original homeworld. Initially, the battle was not in the favor of the Traitors, as the Iron Spears Fortress-Monastery, Dunbairrche, was armed with large defensive canons, almost completely surrounded by impassible mountains with only one narrow protected pass , and protected above by void shields.
Gofraid betrayed his brothers, shutting down automatic defenses and opening the Blackstair Pass. Although the Iron Spears were able to initially hold the gate, they were eventually overran by Khornate Berserkers. As Heretics pushed deeper into Dunbairrche, they found themselves unable to breach the inner sections of the Monastery.
The Warband itself is divided into thirteen semi-autonomous groups known as "Congregations". The number of Chaos Marines in each Congregation varies wildly from group-to-group and time-to-time; but usually it is never bellow Marines and never above Marines. This makes the lowest number of "Void Marines" 1, and the highest number 3, Cultists that serve the Void Stalkers in any capacity are considered to be a part of an organization known as the "Disciples of Malleum".
All the Marines of the Void Stalkers display the same set of chaos mutations but to varying degrees. Mentally, the entire Warband has been driven mad by the taint of the warm and its members can shift moods within an instant.
Void Marines are as quick to anger as they are to jest. They can be impatient but can either show remarkable initiative in the face of the enemy or make utterly horrible suggestions that make sense only to their broken minds. Prior to a raid, the Void Stalkers will jam transmissions to and from the planet and hijack their vox network in order to announce who they are, why they are attacking the planet, and that the will arrive shortly.
Together with Word Bearers , World Eaters , Thousand Sons , and a horde of Chaos cultist soldiers and Daemonic hordes "beyond number", the Void Stalkers lead a mighty assault on the frozen planet of Ailinne.
The surprise assault caught the Marines off guard as the entire Chapter mobilized to defend their homeworld. Initially, the battle was not in the favor of the Traitors, as the Iron Spears Fortress-Monastery, Dunbairrche, was armed with large defensive canons, almost completely surrounded by impassible mountains with only one narrow protected pass , and protected above by void shields.
Gofraid betrayed his brothers, shutting down automatic defenses and opening the Blackstair Pass, and aiding the Traitors in bypassing Dunbairrche defenses. In orbit, the massive Chaos fleet prevented communication between Ailinne and the rest of the Imperium. However, it would seem that the grace of the Emperor was with the Iron Spears as a small Escort ship, under the command of Sept-Leader Murchadh, managed to escape the Chaos Blockade.
When the Escort ship was en route to Baal, it encountered a fleet of the Broken Wings. Imperial relief forces were finally able to finally drive away the traitors including Gofraid, now known as Talexus Battlereaver. Those traitor forces that managed to survive the Battle of Ailinne all joined under the ever-growing banner of the Void Stalkers.
With this, the Void Stalkers were barely affected by the losses the incurred during the battle. Unlike other Chaos Warbands, the Void Stalkers did not fracture after their fall. The Warband itself is divided into thirteen semi-autonomous groups known as "Congregations".
Each Congregation is lead by an Exalted Champion and divided into a number of Squads sometimes known as "Conclaves" that are lead by Champions of Chaos. The size of each Conclave and the number of Conclaves per Congregation varies wildly from group-to-group and time-to-time. Generally, a single Conclave is comprised of 4 to 19 Marines and their Champion.
Congregations in general can have anywhere between and 1, Heretic Astartes. Therefore, the total number of Void Stalkers would be anywhere between 1, and 13, Heretic Astartes. The Void Stalkers maintain their ranks through a number of methods. Other Conclaves are not based on shared tactics but rather similar religious beliefs, whether the are wholly devoted to Chaos Undivided or they prefer one Chaos God over the other.
Others still contain a mix of Heretic Astartes of various classes, a mix of religious beliefs, or a mix of both classes and religious ideologies the latter most type of Conclaves are of course the most dysfunctional and more prone to infighting.
Conclaves comprised of Chaos Marines dedicated to Chaos Undivided make up at least half if not the majority of the Void Stalkers. These Marines operate somewhat independently and move between various Hosts within their assigned Congregation.
The Void Stalkers also maintain a number of Helbrutes and Chaos Dreadnoughts as well as a motor pool of battle tanks, support vehicles, and Daemon Engines. Cultists that serve the Void Stalkers in any capacity are considered to be a part of a semi-autonomous organization known as "the Disciples of Valafar" and its militant branch "the Knights of Baphomet".
However, neither of these gene-flaw had rarely appeared before the Fall of the Angels Vigilant and it nearly doomed the Chapter. The Daemon delivered his promise and freed the Chapter from their curse. Despite being free of one curse, the malignant powers of the Warp would curse the Angels Vigilant now known as the Void Stalkers in other ways.
All the Marines of the Void Stalkers display the same set of chaos mutations but to varying degrees. Mentally, the entire Warband has been driven mad by the taint of the Warp and its members can shift moods within an instant. Void Marines are as quick to anger as they are to jest. They can be impatient but can either show remarkable initiative in the face of the enemy or make utterly horrible suggestions that make sense only to their broken minds.
Prior to a raid, the Void Stalkers will jam transmissions to and from the planet and hijack their vox network in order to announce who they are, why they are attacking the planet, and that the will arrive shortly. Afterwords they begin to broadcast their dark litanies, heretical propaganda, and most of all horrifying noises and imagery. All while striking fear into the hearts of those who dare to potentially depose them.
The Void Stalkers are not subtle about deployment, attempting to be as loud as possible. Their battle tactics are volatile and are prone to change on a moment-by-moment basis.
0コメント