Mark of Faith

[Knockagh]

After missing out on the limited ed I did the unthinkable and bought one on eBay from the filthy scalpers. I bought one at £68.99 which was advertised as ‘last one’. After waiting a day or two and not seeing the item marked as posted I took a little look at his other items. Suprise suprise he had another one up at £15 more. It sold and mine has now been cancelled. There are now only 3 left on eBay two at over a hundred and one is currently being bid on. The guy sells as downhere1990. What a prick. This is the people BL put us in the hands of when they sell multiple copies at weekenders.

[Osteoclast]

I rather enjoyed the novel (though I'm not sure if the ending felt rushed or if that was just cuz I was getting sleepy) and I have to say that the portrayal of the voyage through the Great Rift really sold it on just how much NOOOPE such a voyage is and why it is so perilous.

[caladancid]

After missing out on the limited ed I did the unthinkable and bought one on eBay from the filthy scalpers. I bought one at £68.99 which was advertised as ‘last one’. After waiting a day or two and not seeing the item marked as posted I took a little look at his other items. Suprise suprise he had another one up at £15 more. It sold and mine has now been cancelled. There are now only 3 left on eBay two at over a hundred and one is currently being bid on. The guy sells as downhere1990. What a prick. This is the people BL put us in the hands of when they sell multiple copies at weekenders.

That’s pretty unfortunate, sorry that happened. I just don’t think BL is a very well run part of GW. I’ve even started to wonder if running it is someone’s “additional duties.”

 

Hope you got a copy from somewhere else. I’m still waiting on the novel to be available for preorder on the amazon kindle store. Emailed BL about it, they claim they are ‘at the mercy’ of Amazon. Weird how it seems to be so difficult for them.

 

I hope the lack of pre orders doesn’t hurt the book’s overall sales.

[Knockagh]

It got worse. After leaving him a one star review he sent me a message to say it was all BLs fault as they hadn’t sold him the books he wanted so he had to cancel them. So he was basically saying he didn’t even have the books he was selling me! He said he put up several copies at different prices and then cancelled them all as BL didn’t sell him enough to supply everyone who bought a copy from him. Lesson well and truely learnt about eBay limited edition scalpers. What is wrong with people?

[caladancid]

What a book.

 

You know what the best thing about her is? Rachel Harrison 'gets' the setting.  Not only that, but she respects it. 

[Apothecary Vaddon]

Not bad. I'll be interested in seeing more of Evangeline, but not so much Ravara. She's not much of an Inquisitor. She is based on Terra, though, so maybe before Crowl leaves for Commorragh/thereabouts he can execute Ravara for gross heresies against the Imperium.

 

Plot was quite predictable. The novel is written well enough to the point where that's not a terrible hindrance by any means, but the twist was very, very obvious. 

 

I'll be fine if Harrison starts helming the Sororitas fiction from here on out though. I do also want to see some tie ins or setting ramifications of Our Martyred Lady trickle in through Sororitas fiction, but doubt that'll come through with anything relating to Evangeline's story, since Mark of Faith was really self contained and a pretty tightly wound novel.

Edited December 2, 2019 by Apothecary Vaddon

[Gongsun Zan]

I really liked it, and I would rank it up there with Solar War and Requiem Infernal as my top BL books of the year.

It reminds me a bit of Slaves to Darkness in how focused it is on the themes it wants to explore. I can see how Ravara is the less likeable of the two protagonists, but I think she works well as a reflection of Evangeline - both characters are recoiling from recent loss and are driven by faith, but they diverge on how that faith carries them through the plot.

On a technical level, there are some phrases and descriptions that repeat a bit much (does the author have an obssession with eye injuries?), but not to the extent where my enjoyment was impaired. That said, I still think her action scenes are better than average, and her ability to capture the relationships between characters is among the best in BL's stable.

I don't think this particular tale warrants a sequel, but I would be very curious to see how Harrison handles a multi-part series.

Edited December 11, 2019 by Gongsun Zan

[Red_Shift]

I'm most of the way through it. It's a good book, if a little heavy. Lots of exposition and very little action so far. I've not read honourbound but if it's in the same style I will probably leave it. I was lucky enough to be going on a trip to warhammer world and found that despite being sold out online they had tens of copies in the GW store there.

[DarkChaplain]

Lots of exposition and very little action

 

.....I think I'll have to add it to my list after all.

[aa.logan]

I'm most of the way through it. It's a good book, if a little heavy. Lots of exposition and very little action so far. I've not read honourbound but if it's in the same style I will probably leave it. I was lucky enough to be going on a trip to warhammer world and found that despite being sold out online they had tens of copies in the GW store there.

Honourbound has more to get your teeth into in terms of plot, and a fair bit more action too.

 

They are both different kinds of wonderful.

[Knockagh]

 

 

Lots of exposition and very little action

.....I think I'll have to add it to my list after all.

Haha, yes indeed. It has just jumped further up my reading list after that!

[Lord Marshal]

 

I'm most of the way through it. It's a good book, if a little heavy. Lots of exposition and very little action so far. I've not read honourbound but if it's in the same style I will probably leave it. I was lucky enough to be going on a trip to warhammer world and found that despite being sold out online they had tens of copies in the GW store there.

Honourbound has more to get your teeth into in terms of plot, and a fair bit more action too.

 

They are both different kinds of wonderful.

I couldn't stand the prose in Honourbound. I tried a few times, but it never 'clicked'. Dialogue was good though. If Mark of Faith is more of the same I'll steer clear.

[aa.logan]

 

 

I'm most of the way through it. It's a good book, if a little heavy. Lots of exposition and very little action so far. I've not read honourbound but if it's in the same style I will probably leave it. I was lucky enough to be going on a trip to warhammer world and found that despite being sold out online they had tens of copies in the GW store there.

Honourbound has more to get your teeth into in terms of plot, and a fair bit more action too.

They are both different kinds of wonderful.

I couldn't stand the prose in Honourbound. I tried a few times, but it never 'clicked'. Dialogue was good though. If Mark of Faith is more of the same I'll steer clear.

It’s written in the first person which is a significant difference from Honourbound; I can see why the prose of that one may grate, but this is more readable. Though of course, YMMV...

[Knockagh]

Honourbound is still on my to read list. This forum has been very positive about it from what I’ve seen. Mr Logan though usually has good taste, so I must read one of hers soon and see what’s what for myself.

[Red_Shift]

When I say heavy I don't just mean there is lots of exposition, but also that it is quite weighty stuff. Divine intervention, faith and pre-ordained paths. Which meant that the ending, and the success of the main characters, wasn't ever really in doubt. It also kind of ruined the action scenes for me because I never really felt that the characters were in any real danger. I've only ever read short stories by the author so far so I don't know how restricting the brief she was given was but for me Danie Ware' s sisters stories are far more compelling.

[Roomsky]

Resurrecting this thread because the book deserves your attention.

 

Mark of Faith – Rachel Harrison

 

Harrison returns to deliver another amazing book out of a fairly tired premise. As with Honourbound, it’s a bunch of tropes associated with the subject matter (The soldier’s friction with their new squad, the Gellar failure in the Great Rift, etc) presented with flawless execution that keeps the expected from becoming cliché.

 

The clipped, first-person writing keeps the focus on the characters and I adore the style. Evangeline’s whole existence has become one of suffering, despite all the accolades suddenly thrust upon her. While this is nothing new either, it’s a great device to show how a battle sister thinks and where her values lie. Ravara strikes the perfect chord of an uncertain human being who can’t afford to be, intentionally ignoring the implications of much going on around her to keep from floundering in her role as Inquisitor.

 

Harrison clearly understands the bizarre mindset Imperial citizens occupy. Pragmatism always takes a back seat for zealotry or desperate faith to light the way. Most characters view death as the only mercy they can ever be granted, and view suicide missions as the goal rather than a necessary sacrifice. Each main character’s viewpoint generates the Imperium’s oppressive atmosphere as well as any lengthy description of baroque architecture or vistas of cruelty. But despite all that, come the book's ending it's clear the dual protagonists, and even the story's antagonist, are driven by a kind of love. A very different kind for each, to be sure, but it's refreshing to see a 40k story explore not just the strength gained from love, but how it can undo you as well.

 

As with Honourbound, Harrison’s description of daemons is incredibly vague, but works to keep them unknowable and, in my opinion, quite a bit more threatening than most of the overly-florid grotesquery daemons usually get in these books. Shout out to a few scenes of violence that made me cringe in discomfort with their matter-of-fact descriptions. I’m fine with purple paragraphs of people exploding into blood, but I’m never ready for a sober statement about how someone has bitten something off of their neighbour.

 

The plot, as mentioned, is fairly straightforward and on paper is nothing to write home about. But Harrison's skill in presentation, in character, in atmosphere, and in theme elevate it into something special. If you consider this a tie-in to the codex, it's perhaps the best tie-in I've read. I regret not picking up the hardback, and almost wish I had bought the LE as well. It sounds like Harrison's writing doesn't do especially well in audio format, so if you're at all curious I implore you to read a physical copy. I've been floored by both her full-length works so far and am eager for more battle sisters, more Severina Raine, or anything else she's decided to pen.

 

Must Read

ANR: 9/10

[DukeLeto69]

Just read this and it was excellent. I won’t review as Roomsky summed things up really well. This isn’t original or subverting but it is certainly an engaging jolly good read. A cracking story.

 

I posted this in the “Rate what you read” thread but it belongs here too...

 

One thing this book did really highlight to me is that we really do “need” a series set during the Apostasy. There is so much history to explore and so much potential for some great stories using the religious turmoil as a backdrop. Based on this book, I would welcome Harrison being one of the lead writers.

Edited August 22, 2021 by DukeLeto69

[sitnam]

I absolutely agree, an Apostasy series would be great. “Historical” 40k set post-HH (no I don’t mean the Scouring) is something I’ve long wanted to see

[Knockagh]

I absolutely agree, an Apostasy series would be great. “Historical” 40k set post-HH (no I don’t mean the Scouring) is something I’ve long wanted to see

Me too. I’ve zero interest in a scouring series, particularly if it’s written in the same way as the heresy, with all the attention given to spaz marines. Been there done that, seriously tired of it. Apostasy Sounds ace

[Dark Shepherd]

Finished it last week and dang it was good, HH good

 

Seemed a bit longer than most BL novels and IMO that helps a lot