Warhawk by Chris Wraight

[mc warhammer]

Except Garro and Mortarion should not be considered a c or d plot, it's a reunion that has been in the making since book 4 of the series at the latest. Pre-Siege entries, including The Buried Dagger, even anticipated the two meeting during the Siege.

 

There's bad blood, and even if they don't get to actually meet in person - Garro should at the very least be acknowledged as existing and having a bone to pick. Instead, he, like many other key characters that have been along for the ride, is going forgotten once more. I mean, this isn't just THE Mortarion book, but also THE Sigismund/Keeler culmination - and Garro hasn't even been close to Keeler lately, despite her being the reason why he does his faith jazz, the cause that brought him to Terra and in a sense even to defy Malcador in multiple instances. And yet he's entirely absent from both of these pivotal moments? It's just extremely silly.

 

Garro isn't Bob. Erda is Bob...ette. Garro is one of the most important characters of the series, one from the earliest sources, the dude who brought news of the Heresy to Dorn. The guy who pretty much kicked off the retribution fleet being assembled and culminating in the Dropsite Massacre. The leak that Horus could not prevent, which led to a shift in strategy from the earliest hour - something he even laments in Warmaster. Garro is a hugely important figure, and one the audience is familiar with.

 

But why have him involved when you can push Loken instead, I suppose. Really wish the bloke had remained dead and buried on Isstvan III....

pretty much how i felt about iacton.

 

i think they really missed a great b plot with iacton and garro. i would have preferred garro and the eisenstein loyalists to have remained a force than having him go off on the errant side quest.  the death guard bloated with corruption and second guessing themselves, confronted by 100 loyalist former bros led by garro could have a greater impact than loken and give a sidelined legion some interesting mental turmoil to deal with.

 

as it is though, i pretty much skipped over everything garro since FotE so it's just one of those missed opportunities for me that i don't feel any need to rectify now. though if they were, then siege book 1 should have been where it started.

[DarkChaplain]

Personally, I quite liked the Garro stories - even though the "novel" was a huge wasted opportunity, feeling disjointed where really, it should just have been an anthology without that problem, with added content and interludes. Some of the audio dramas are still among my favorites BL have produced.

 

But it's hard to deny that the Death Guard exiles haven't been seriously underused and forgotten, or that Garro's purpose and plot has lost focus, to the point where in the Siege, his job has been largely taken over by Loken as it is. None of the foreshadowing from Weapon of Fate or indeed The Buried Dagger seems to have been taken into account in these 6 books, if it/he has even been remembered to begin with. Had Garro died doing something of value in the name of his ideals and faith back in The Buried Dagger, I wouldn't be this annoyed - neglect is worse than a premature send-off.

 

And to make matters worse? I haven't really felt that this is the same Loken we first got to know in the opening trilogy anyway. There's almost as little of what made him such a strong protagonist in him now as there was Torgaddon in Tormageddon. Loken keeps getting bent into shapes that he doesn't seem to fully own - or indeed, only suits because he goes literally insane for a few years, taking on a new personality - and it makes me wonder why the hell they even bothered to bring him back, when Iacton, as you say, was at least already alive and also an important part of the old Legion. The Half-Heard stood for the Luna Wolves even more than Garviel Loken did, in my mind.

 

It's not even that I disliked the execution (pun intended) of bringing Loken back - when I first listened to Legion of One, the reveal had me pretty giddy and the drama was exciting enough that I still recall moments and scenes, even a bunch of lines of dialogue, despite not having listened to it in years. So long, in fact, that my media player doesn't even have a last played date recorded anymore, which indicates it's been halfway to forever at least. It's a good story well delivered, but the idea it's being the vehicle to is just.... stupid. Very stupid. Having Abnett imply at some later point that this was apparently planned from early on just rubs me the wrong way, too. And now Loken is also a Giraffe.

[Marshal Rohr]

All I have to say is

 

 

Some big golden tart handing out swords is the perfect basis for a system of chapter government

[Havoc95]

Anyone know why the audiobook is not up on audible? Its out tomorrow and i would really like to listen to it...

So hyped!

And ready to fall in love with White Scars characters only for them to die again 

Those of you who has read the book, do any named WS die?

[Ubiquitous1984]

Anyone know why the audiobook is not up on audible? Its out tomorrow and i would really like to listen to it...

So hyped!

And ready to fall in love with White Scars characters only for them to die again 

Those of you who has read the book, do any named WS die?

Yes, plenty die!

[Morovir]

Reading through Warhawk now - loving what's happened so far. For any fellow Sons of Horus fans, here's an updated roster of Legion command (as of ~30% of the way through the book):

 

Sycar - Master of the Justaerin
Malabreux - Chieftain of the Catulan Reavers
Azelas Baraxa - Captain of the Second Company
Indras Archeta - Captain of the Third Company
Ikari - Captain of the Fourth Company (finally a named replacement for Sejanus after 15 years!)
Xhofar Beruddin - Captain of the Fifth Company

Edited October 2, 2021 by Morovir

[Marshal Rohr]

Got the audiobook. Gonna try to steam roll it today.

[Bobss]

In my hEaDcAn0n Shiban is the founding Chapter Master of the Dark Hunters with a confirmed 31st millennium founding. Not one step back indeed

[SkimaskMohawk]

I got to the part where a tank commander is giving his opinion of the Leman Russ main battle tank. It's fantastic.

[Matcap86]

Alright, Finished it. Holy crap what an amazing entry in the series. I am really debating if this is at least as good as Saturnine (my no1 book so far in the SoT series) or maybe even a bit better, and I'm not even a Scars fan! I love Abnett's prose, but Warhawk seemed a more coherent story. Wraight manages to convey the immensity of the siege very well and (moving into HEAVY spoilers) the fight between

 

Sigismund and Khârn was just amazing! Really loved the perspective of Khârn getting more and more enraged until it became desperation and a perspective of what the future might hold if the loyalists win, and him fighting against that future. It felt a bit like the Obi-Wan vs Maul rematch in Star Wars rebels for those that watched it. More about the mental aspect of the fight and how the fighters changed since the previous duel.

 

I also liked the start of the skull obsession with the Imperial Creed. Though some of the 'nudge nudge wink wink this will be integral to 40k' became a bit on the nose, all in all I enjoyed it. Even the perpetual arc, which I usually am not the biggest fan of , was decent this time around and used to give us a "regular" human's perspective on the scale of destruction and warfare. The tankers part was a bit slow/redundant at first for me, but became a lot of fun and I really enjoyed where it ended up and how it showed the fight between the Scars and the Death Guard.

 

On that fight: the approach to the Lions Gate Spaceport was in my opinion the best view we've had so far on the combat style of the Scars. Frantic, high speed, confusing and deadly.

 

I appreciate the fact that the fight between the Khan and Mortarion also became practically a draw. Yes the Khan "won" but only at the cost of everything. Taking him out of the equation and showing us the darker side of the Scars after they become aware of his demise.

 

There were a few minor loose treads that didn't need to be included in the book for me, but they felt mostly there to finish arcs started in other books. Erebus having the face-off with Erda and ending with her death was a bit weird and the whole arc there didn't feel necessary for me. (Her being introduced during the series as an integral part of the primarch project and then getting killed again 2 books later feels a bit hollow.)

The reveal that the tankers' new driver was also a spy for Dorn felt a bit out of place, but that part was resolved in less than a page so no real loss there.

 

All in all a great book and it really sets up the next part of the siege very well imho. I'm now looking forward to the next books more than I was before starting Warhawk.

Edited October 2, 2021 by matcap86

[Roomsky]

Warhawk - Chris Wraight

 

So, Wraight delivered one of the best works in the Siege? Shocker. It’s hard to know where to start, honestly. The book is just so packed with great moments, both epic and intimate.

 

 

Structurally, the book is exceptional. Wraight balances The White Scars leading the charge on the Lion’s Gate space port, a tank crew’s perspective of those events, Ilya Ravallion’s work within the palace, the Death Guard coming to terms with their new reality, Sigismund’s rampage through the traitors, perspectives from the World Eaters and Sons of Horus, Erda meeting Erebus, Keeler giving rise to the Imperial Cult, Valdor hunting Fo, and Oll’s crew. Yet despite this absurd amount of threads, not one of them feels undercooked (which isn’t to say I have no issues with them, but I’ll get to that later.) And, by the Emperor, could it be? A proper denouement in a Black Library book? Wraight has truly crafted a new standard for page economy in the studio.

 

This book has themes, too. THEMES, PEOPLE! In fact, the Siege has been pretty good for that so far, but Warhawk is up there with Saturnine as one of the most notable. The point here is that the past is gone, you can’t go home again. And while you’d expect the entire Heresy to be about this, none of it is given the same reverence as it is here. Brothers lament the times they enjoyed together as they kill each other, Keeler denounces the old dreams of unity because the Heresy has well and truly killed them, Morarg still craves the old legion way while wandering through a Nurgle-swamp of his master’s own devising. Even Khârn gets this, and it's what makes his showdown with Siggy so poignant. Bitter nostalgia is the lifeblood of this book, and it makes its big scenes all the heavier for it.

 

Speaking of big scenes, Jaghatai vs Mortarion is very well done. Remember that time I said Slaves to Darkness felt like a do-over of False Gods? Ditto here, but for Godblight. Morty is given so much more respect in this book, it’s wonderful. I guess I’ll just pretend he stayed in the warp after this, considering the 10,000 years of being pooped on that is to follow. I’m pleased that people are recognizing where the strengths and weaknesses of daemonhood lie – a mutual kill/banishment based on anything but Jaghatai throwing himself onto Mortarion’s blade would have been hard to swallow.

 

Speaking of Swallow, there is indeed no hint of Garro in this book. The Death Guard as a whole are hardly out of the picture by the end, however, and Typhus is still kicking. I’m no Swallow stan, but I hope he gets a novella covering the reckoning between the two of them. And if the time spent on that keeps him from writing Sanguinius’ Primarchs novel, that would be a happy coincidence.

 

People’s opinion on the Death Guard sections, especially regarding Mortarion, will probably depend on how loyal you are to The Buried Dagger. If you loved it, this might piss you off. If you found it lackluster, good news! Wraight basically obliquely retells the whole Terminus Est fiasco in a fresh context. I personally love it, as while it does make Morty mildly less sympathetic, it also makes him significantly less stupid. Morarg is also a really compelling character, and is struggling muchly with their new reality. With how quickly the legion got turned, it’s a very unique perspective, less your usual slow slide into damnation and more of a “this feels good, is it supposed to feel good?” sensation. Morarg also demonstrates how damn effective Wraight is at creating compelling characters this late in the game. With so many big players already dead by now, it's an important skill that really brings things together.

 

I’d write more positives, but that would take hours. Just assume everything I don’t cover in the next section is also amazing.

 

I only really have two issues, and the first is comparatively minor: What the hell is up with Sigismund’s first scene in this book? Hassan just shows up to give Siggy the Black Sword because… um. Some reason. Destiny bull:cuss, probably. And what’s more, Siggy’s narration here is not in line with his established character at all. It reads like a completely different person, who is oddly prideful about his fighting record. This wouldn’t be an issue if Siggy had essentially been a morose stick in the mud for the entire series up until now. I’m not really sure what to make of it, thankfully it’s only a sliver of a chapter, and his thoughts at the end of the book are much more in keeping with past appearances.

 

My other issue may get me flamed but uh, the White Scars and their tanks are the least interesting sections of the book. Don’t get me wrong, the sections are still good, but their adventures with tanks just aren’t much to take in compared to everything else. Every other sections of the book, action or otherwise (yes, even Erda) is positively gripping. And as much as I like Naranbaatar and Jangsai and Shiban, I’m pretty over grand scale action in the Siege at this point – Wraight’s character moments are just leaps and bounds ahead of this stuff, especially since we don’t have Yesugai, Arvida, or mopey Shiban around anymore to inject some personal conflict into their actions. It certainly ends well, as mentioned before Khan vs Morty was very well done. But purely as the final piece of the White Scars trilogy? A bit of a let down, to be honest.

 

 

Big as that seems, it doesn’t really take the shine off this book. It’s well told beginning to end, and only occasionally dips below brilliance. I can’t say it’s as exciting as Saturnine, but it’s much more even. Hell, there’s a reason Wraight is beloved even amongst the gremlins on /tg/

 

8.5/10

Must Read

 

THE SIEGE RANKING THUS FAR:

Saturnine > Warhawk > Mortis > Solar War > Fury of Magnus > Sons of the Selenar > First Wall > Lost and the Darned.

Edited October 2, 2021 by Roomsky

[Scribe]

Jealous.

 

I hope Khârn dies well.

[Roomsky]

Jealous.

 

I hope Khârn dies well.

 

He does. It's quite poignant and has some great irony.

[DukeLeto69]

Except Garro and Mortarion should not be considered a c or d plot, it's a reunion that has been in the making since book 4 of the series at the latest. Pre-Siege entries, including The Buried Dagger, even anticipated the two meeting during the Siege.

 

There's bad blood, and even if they don't get to actually meet in person - Garro should at the very least be acknowledged as existing and having a bone to pick. Instead, he, like many other key characters that have been along for the ride, is going forgotten once more. I mean, this isn't just THE Mortarion book, but also THE Sigismund/Keeler culmination - and Garro hasn't even been close to Keeler lately, despite her being the reason why he does his faith jazz, the cause that brought him to Terra and in a sense even to defy Malcador in multiple instances. And yet he's entirely absent from both of these pivotal moments? It's just extremely silly.

 

Garro isn't Bob. Erda is Bob...ette. Garro is one of the most important characters of the series, one from the earliest sources, the dude who brought news of the Heresy to Dorn. The guy who pretty much kicked off the retribution fleet being assembled and culminating in the Dropsite Massacre. The leak that Horus could not prevent, which led to a shift in strategy from the earliest hour - something he even laments in Warmaster. Garro is a hugely important figure, and one the audience is familiar with.

 

But why have him involved when you can push Loken instead, I suppose. Really wish the bloke had remained dead and buried on Isstvan III....

Totally agree about Loken. He served his purpose. Garro was where focus should have remained.

[lightinfa]

I got to the part where a tank commander is giving his opinion of the Leman Russ main battle tank. It's fantastic.

It was very hard to explain to my fiancee why I burst out laughing when I got to this part!

 

—

 

36% in and absolutely enthralled so far.

[Roomsky]

 

Totally agree about Loken. He served his purpose. Garro was where focus should have remained.

 

 

Replace "Garro" with "Qruze" and I am right there with ya.

 

Is it Mcneill, Abnett, or editiorial who's responsible for assassinating the more interesting Loken, I wonder.

[SkimaskMohawk]

I finished it up yesterday too, and, as roomsky says, it's not a shocker that it's good. Some general thoughts before spoilers. This book flows seamlessly from Mortis; Warhawk picks up almost right where Mortis ends and they could honestly be one giant tome in the style of the Malazan books. I love respected continuity, and this is (almost) the apex of it. Now, on to spoiler stuff.

 

so this is less of an overview/review and more thoughts on specific scenes and characters.

 

Shiban. You could easily skip mortis and saturnine and appreciate his character arc of being the Restorer. Wraight has enough commentary from both himself and more junior white scars that establishes his transition. But, you might not quite appreciate why he thinks so much about torghun, or why "no backwards step" is so important to him.

 

 

Sigismund. I kind of...don't quite get his transformation. Like, how he turns completely passionless; he seems to have had passion against Abaddon when he got the last word in. Pretty minor though, I still liked the build up to it and especially Kharns accusation at the end.

 

Doom of the deathguard. At first I was pretty...not convinced by wraights re-telling. The daemon that exposits is a bit vague and very much non-convincing; "oh so if you can now see typhus was off, mortarion must have as well and by letting him onboard it was him making a choice". That's a bit tenuous and sounds like an argument for a theory from one of us. But then, then mortarion explains it. He sacrificed everything to see his death guard able to survive everything to come.

 

The duel. I like how it's reversed with mortarion using daemon speed and jagahtai just face-tanking it. Even mortarion comments on it; he just takes the abuse and punishment instead of doing what was expected. But that was so his ultimate insult can hit home and mortarion acts recklessly. The best one was still "I should have fought the legion master, I should have fought Typhon" though.

 

The Khan dying. They're really trying to leave it as a cliffhanger. They went out of the way to say "there always has to be a great khan", implying that one of the marines is given his identity/role later. But they also went out of the way to say "ya the scars went berserk and there was the energy effect of a primarch death, but who knows what malcador is capable of; we can't even confirm the death".

 

 

My arbitrary siege ranking so far.

 

1. Warhawk

2. Solar war

3. mortis

4. Saturnine

5. Lost and the damned

6. First wall

[Fedor]

Finished it earlier and as i expected from the spoilers, i didn't like at all the implications for the fall of Mortarion. The rest of the book was a satisfying conclusion for the Scars and Death Guard rivalry.
 

Changing the old pre-series lore to have Mort be involved in the fleet sabotage and destroyer hive just adds nothing good thematically. It actively detracts from the creeping inevitability and bleak repitition of the original story. It's not that it is bad, without precedent or executed poorly, but going all in on Mortarion's hypocrisy in such a way instead of having it be something that sat alongside his hatred of psykers and utter convinction in the personal, pure endurance of his legion isn't for me. It gives him more agency, yet in a way that only makes him seem like an even bigger, more deluded fool. instead of the "hard man survivalist" surviver of the fittest type that succumbs to something cosmic all his knowledge and genetic advantages can never hope to stand against despite trying his best, here we are lead to believe he's really just the thick anti-vaxxer that willingly pumps bleach or horse dewormer into himself to grow strong, only to have it backfire. As i say, not without precedent given the DG's tradition of injesting poisons and the like to test their endurance, just not the ending road i would have gone down.

The Erda vs Erebus scenes were just entertaining oddness, with Erda having been introduced far too late and marginally to care about her demise. She just doesn't feel like a character that had gained any gravitas or settled place in the setting yet. Still, it's good to see Erebus back.

The Khan vs Mortarion duel was good and a nice callback to the ending of the first, though i suspect Mort leaving himself open to a killing blow after dominating will enrage those inclined to see bias towards the imperium in every book.

[DarkChaplain]

Honestly, it's pretty much impossible for the Khan to actually be permanently dead - especially after Dark Imperium. There were references to Jaghatai post-Siege, like during Guilliman's dying moments after getting chopped by Fulgrim:

 

 

They mourn me already, he realised. I am dead. I cannot die now, not now. There is too much to do. Too much, too much. What will Russ do without me, or the Khan? Too much…

 

This clearly implies that the Khan survives, and it survived the pre-Godblight editing intact. On top of that, we have the whole Godblight-resurrection-thing going on, and shorts teasing that the Emperor might have been able to "fix" Ferrus. I think it's safe to say that at worst, the Emperor/Malcador will be fetching Jaghatai's soul and binding it back into his body in a similar style - after all, the Emperor's still got his whole aegis thing going on. If he can keep Daemons out, to the point of banishing Magnus from his throneroom the moment he gives himself to Tzeentch completely, he should also be able to keep a soul inside - although the Lion's Gate is outside the shield, so this might not work as easily in this instance.

 

I'm still betting on this being effectively a fake-out that allows the team to take the Khan out of active duty, while allowing him to be there for Dorn's return from the Vengeful Spirit anyway. Primarchs don't tend to stay down for possibly months, unless they die or get banished. They had to do something to give the Loyalists a big loss, and weaken them enough to rush the schedule.

[Scribe]

Fedor or anyone that can confirm.

 

Did I read right, and Erda is dead??

[Roomsky]

Fedor or anyone that can confirm.

 

Did I read right, and Erda is dead??

 

Yes. Her scenes begin when Erebus shows up at her house, they chat, then fight. Erebus kills her afterwards.

[Scribe]

And this is unambiguous?! 

 

I'm a little.. bewildered, that a Character would be introduced and then summarily executed in such short order!

[Bobss]

 

Fedor or anyone that can confirm.

 

Did I read right, and Erda is dead??

 

Yes. Her scenes begin when Erebus shows up at her house, they chat, then fight. Erebus kills her afterwards.

 

 

Come on m8 turn that 4-star into a 5-star on Goodreads, you're letting down the team here

 

[Scribe]

I went to buy it, its not here local.

[Marshal Loss]

Just finished it. I think this is the best Siege of Terra novel to date by a significant margin, and it is a fitting send-off from an author who has made some spectacular contributions to the Horus Heresy. The great rehabilitator strikes again, with Wraight proving he can do more with very little space than the overwhelming majority of other authors can do with an entire novel dedicated to a given event. He's perhaps the author whose view of and approach to the setting most closely aligns with my own, and there's really nothing in the entire novel I had a substantial quibble with. I wish there'd been some of Wraight's EC in this book after their incredible showing in Path of Heaven, but I didn't expect their inclusion anyway. Warhawk is a great read, it's well-researched, it forges on ahead with interesting new takes but still pays homage to existing lore. Loved every bit of it.

 

Revved up in anticipation of ADB's novel now.

 

Won't go into any great detail on spoilers as there's already a lot floating around now, but my thoughts on a few key moments:

 

Wraight's alternative take on the fall of the Death Guard greatly appeals to me. The original interpretation never made much sense. It was clever to propose it in the way he did, though, as devotees of the (in my opinion atrocious) Buried Dagger can cleave to that should they desire. The facts remain the same, but just twisting what Mortarion may have known and when he knew it has the potential to entirely change one's perspective on the fall of the Death Guard. It also gives him a lot more agency, which I think he badly needed.

 

You cannot ignore him, you cannot pity him - he is the Primarch.

 

Sigismund's duel with Khârn was fantastic, and so damn effective. I loved Khârn's perspective of what was happening, and Wraight's take on Sigismund as the flagbearer for the faith we find in 40k is, for me, the highlight of the book. A little snippet from the afterword:

 

This specific kind of faith, though, isn't a positive thing. It's the drive the Emperor staked everything on suppressing. It's the action that dooms humanity to meddling in the warp, thus tying the species to the very powers that wish to consume it. It's not a faith of mercy and charity, it's a faith of fanaticism and blind devotion. It might very well work, in that it gives its believers formidable powers, but it's just another retreat from the ideals of Unity, another nail in the coffin of that fragile 'progress and understanding'.

 

I never expected anything less than excellence from Wraight's White Scars, but this was as perfect an end for their story in 30k as I could have hoped for. An "achievement so grievous it would end their involvement in the story". Love it. I'm sure they'll bring the Khan back even if I want him to remain dead just because of how powerful his sacrifice was, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

 

As the Sons of Horus megafan, I'll also add that the characters added in this novel are brilliantly done, and the philosophical discussion about the changing nature of the legion (and, by extension, all of the traitor legions) was one of my favourite parts of the novel.

 

And this is unambiguous?! 

 

I'm a little.. bewildered, that a Character would be introduced and then summarily executed in such short order!

Her death isn't explicitly shown, but yeah, her killer's internal monologue after the deed confirms that she's dead. Praise be to Erebus.