Warhawk by Chris Wraight

[Scammel]

I did enjoy Erebus, not least because... yeah, he's kinda right! By hook and by crook, Erebus is the guy who set the galaxy aflame and he's rolling with the endgame players now. I tend to dislike traitor characters given how many of them are both smug and delusional at the same time, but Erebus owns what he is.

[Marshal Rohr]

Can I get that quote Rohr?

I only have the audio :(. Basically he has a moment of clarity and sees Space Marines so indoctrinated that there is no life to them and what misery they will bring on the Galaxy, and that Sigismund beating the crap out of his own friend and not even deigning to get mad at Khârn is the encapsulation of that future. Kharns last words are “Not as damaged as you”

[Scribe]

Yes.

[Petitioner's City]

Can I get that quote Rohr?

It's a longer dénouement, but a good one

 

 

He never said a word. Never. Throughout it all, the Black Sword didn’t say a thing.

The monster. The ghost. The mere shell.

What could be worse than this? What death could be as profound as this? What disappointment, what despair, could ever be greater?

Khârn raged at it. He howled in fury, coming at him again and again, shrugging off the wounds. He wanted the old one back. The one with some fire in his veins. He wanted some spirit. Just a flicker of something – anything – other than this flint-edged, iron-deep hardness.

They had laughed together, the two of them. They had fought in the roaring pits, and had sliced slabs out of one another, and at the end they had always slumped down in the straw and the blood and laughed. Even the Nails had not taken that away, for in combat the Nails had still always shown the truth of things.

‘Be… angry!’ he bellowed, thundering in close. ‘Be… alive!’

Because you could only kill the things that lived. You couldn’t kill a ghost, only swipe your axe straight through it. There was nothing here, just frustration, just the madness of going up against a wall, again and again.

The Nails spiked at him. He fought harder. He fought faster. His muscles ripped apart, and were instantly reknitted. His blood vessels burst, and were restored. He felt heat surge through his body, hotter and whiter than any heat he had ever endured.

The Black Sword resisted it all, silently, implacably, infuriatingly. It was like fighting the end of the universe. Nothing could shake the faith before him. It was blind to everything but itself, as selfish as a jewel-thief in a hoard.

 

[...]

 

‘I… am… not…’ [Khârn] blurted, feeling the tidal wave of exhaustion drag on even his god-infused limbs.

He realised what had been done, then. In the midst of his madness, even as the Great God poured himself into his brutalised body, he knew what transformation had occurred.

They had always told themselves, after Nuceria, that the Imperium had made the World Eaters. It had been their fault. The injustice, the violence, it had forged that lust for conflict, for the endless rehearsal of old gladiatorial games, like some kind of religious observance to long- and justifiably dead deities. That had given the excuse for every atrocity, every act of wanton bloodletting, for they had done this to us.

‘I… am… not…’

But now Khârn saw the circle complete. He saw what seven years of total war had done to the Imperium. He saw what its warriors had been turned into. He had a vision, even then, in the midst of the most strenuous and lung-bursting fighting he had ever experienced, of thousands of warriors in this very mould, marching out from fortresses of unremitting bleakness, every one of them as unyielding and soul-dead and fanatical as this one, never giving up, not because of any positive cause in which they believed, but because they had literally forgotten how to cede ground. And he saw then how powerful that could be, and how long it could last, and what fresh miseries it would bring to a galaxy already reeling under the hammer of anguish without limits, and then he, even he, even Khârn the Faithful, shuddered to his core.

‘I… am… not…’

He fought on, now out of wild desperation, because this could not be allowed to go unopposed, this could not be countenanced. There was still pleasure, there was still heat and honour and the relish of a kill well made, but it would all be drowned by this cold flood if not staunched here, on Terra, where their kind had first been made, where the great spectacle of hubris had been kicked off.

He had to stand. He had to resist, for humanity, for a life lived with passion, for the glorious pulse of pain, of sensation, of something.

‘I… am… not…’ he panted, his vision going now, his hands losing their grip, ‘as… damaged…’

The Black Sword came at him, again, again. It was impossible, this way of fighting – too perfect, too uncompromising, without a thread of pity, without a kernel of remorse. He never even saw the killing strike, the sword-edge hurled at him with all the weight of emptiness, the speed of eternity, so magnificent in its nihilism that even the Great God within him could only watch it come.

Thus was Khârn cut down. He was despatched in silence, cast to the earth with a frigid disdain, hacked and stamped down into the ashes of a civilisation, his throat crushed, his skull broken and chest caved in. He was fighting even as his limbs were cut into bloody stumps, even as the reactor in his warp-thrumming armour died out, raging and thrashing to the very end, but by then that was not enough. The last thing he saw, on that world at least, was the great dark profile of his slayer, the black templar, turning his immaculate blade tip down and making ready to end the last bout the two of them would ever fight.

‘Not… as… damaged,’ gasped Khârn, in an agony greater than anything the Nails could ever have given him, but with more awareness of the ludic cruelty of the universe than he had ever possessed before, ‘as… you.’

And then the sword fell, and the god left him, dead amid the ruins of his ancient home.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by Petitioner's City

[Marshal Loss]

Yes.

 

Got ninja'd while typing up the excerpt, but just to add to that, here's a small part of Wraight's comments about that perspective from the afterword:

I had originally intended the big fight between him and Khârn to be almost entirely from Sigismund's point of view, and for the Emperor's Champion to have a moment of clarity when he sees how ruined the World Eater has become. In the end, I decided to reverse this, and give Khârn the last word. Rather than regretting his debasement, Khârn can't believe what a monster Sigismund is. So it is that we get to the purity of 40K's endless war, in which both sides are equally nihilistic, and we see the terrible bargain that humanity is forced to make - you can survive, in a fashion, but only if you pledge allegiance to one of two horrific powers: the gods of the warp, or the corpse on the Throne. No alternative, no escape, no happy ending.

[Scribe]

Perfect. :D

[b1soul]

Another really strong outing by Wraight.He tackles a lot of plot-threads in this novel.

 

 

Off the top of my head...

• Khan, Shiban, Ilya, Jangsai: planning and executing the lightning strike (covered by the Skye Plate) against the Lion's Gate Spaceport
• Mortarion, Morarg, Kalgaro, Crosius,Typhus: very solid DG POV before and during the aforementioned strike 
• Sigismund/IF: Sigismund receiving the Black Sword and finding his purpose again with a side of Dorn being Dorn 
• Loken/Keeler: Loke looks for Keeler, who now indoctrinates hordes of baseline humans to take up arms against the Traitors
• Basilio Fo/Valdor: Valdor looks for Fo in the ruins of Terra's capital
• Perpetuals: John, Oll, and Cyrene/Actae make a perilous dash to the palace all the way from "paradise" hive, Erebus meets Erda

 

Stand-out/Jaw-dropper: I think Wraight handled the Khan vs. Mortarion climax extremely well. This is, in my view, the best-written, hardest-hitting, most earth-shaking primarch fight in all of BL literature. Y'know when boxing commentators say "he left everything in the ring"? Yeah, no other primarch duel in BL...scratch that, no other duel in BL period...so powerfully conveys the sense of a character giving absolutely everything to defeat their nemesis. The Khan plays rope-a-dope to tire an incredibly powerful Mortarion, taking massive damage just to create a single opening for the double KO. Doesn't sound that cool in my words, but it's absolutely phenomenal as written by Wraight. Wraight's description of the aftermath is appropriately brutal as well. The Khan is a mangled mess (Xarl comes to mind). I'm almost tempted to say that if the Khan does manage to come back, it could be as the first primarch dreadnought. Hope his return, if it happens, comes with major character growth, which I think this sort of experience would warrant.

 

Runner-up: Excellent treatment of Sigismund vs. Khârn. This is written almost as a metaphor of the contest between ravening Chaos and the merciless Imperium-to-be. Khârn actually shudders at the thought of legions of space marines cast in Sigismund's mold. Unlike their earlier encounter in The First Wall, almost no description of the blow-by-blow action. Excellent choice by Wraight to describe it from Khârn's POV and focus on the symbolic implications.

[betrayer41]

Finished this in 3 days...I am utterly in love with this book

[lightinfa]

Finished this in 3 days...I am utterly in love with this book

 

Frankly this is where I'm at - I devoured this in two days and I was giddy the whole time and am still reveling in the post-completion high.  I don't think I have anything intelligent to say other than this was pure 30/40k goodness - managed to channel everything that makes me love this setting.  One of the first times in a long time I didn't want a book to end - and as much as I enjoyed Saturnine I can't say that about it.  Saturnine was a very intellectually satisfying book but Warhawk was emotionally satisfying on a level I didn't think possible.

[Sothalor]

And here I am still waiting on my (pre-ordered) copy to ship from GW.

 

You know, come to think of it, pre-ordering from GW these days seems to be a great way to get new releases slower. 

[lightinfa]

And here I am still waiting on my (pre-ordered) copy to ship from GW.

 

You know, come to think of it, pre-ordering from GW these days seems to be a great way to get new releases slower. 

 

I pre-ordered the hardback and when I belatedly realized the ebook came out 2 weeks earlier I couldn't wait and just double dipped.

[Scribe]

And here I am still waiting on my (pre-ordered) copy to ship from GW.

 

You know, come to think of it, pre-ordering from GW these days seems to be a great way to get new releases slower. 

 

As an aside, I have not once had a GW pre-order show up on time. Literally NEVER. I just go in and get it from the local shop.

[Fire Golem]

Finished this morning. What an exceptional book. Don’t have a lot to add that hasn’t already been said here, but my word Wraight can write. I ended it feeling pretty damn emotional to come to the end of the Scars Heresy arc too. I think it’s my favourite Siege book so far. 

[aa.logan]

It was really good, a worthy continuation of the series. Both the Astartes bits and the mortal bits are great- he totally nails the characters of the featured legions, and the deconstruction of the Leman Russ tank design is wonderful. Great the see the Imperium as we know it forming, and see all the pieces coming together for the final conflict, but I might just be finally getting Heresy fatigue…

[Subtleknife]

I've got my LE but listening to it on audio. Got about 5hrs left and really enjoying it. The tank commanders take on the Leman Russ is fantastic.

[mc warhammer]

It was really good, a worthy continuation of the series. Both the Astartes bits and the mortal bits are great- he totally nails the characters of the featured legions, and the deconstruction of the Leman Russ tank design is wonderful. Great the see the Imperium as we know it forming, and see all the pieces coming together for the final conflict, but I might just be finally getting Heresy fatigue…

i think most of us are looking forward to the wrap up

[Marshal Rohr]

I think we are six to eight months out from ADBs book too Edited October 14, 2021 by Marshal Rohr

[DukeLeto69]

My copy has arrived and been added to the reading pile behind Grim Repast.

[Sete]

What a book.

[Theurge33]

Quick question, finished it. Someone remind me what happened with Skar Hei? I remember him meeting up with Khârn and don’t recall him after that.

[DarkChaplain]

The usual: authors and editor forgot all about him existing, like they usually do with established secondary characters.

[Bobss]

I think Saturnine still just pips this to first place. While Warhawk does every single character and faction justice, and provides many interesting observations that feel completely natural and acceptable i.e. the division within the Sons of Horus, the 'monstrousness' of Sigismund, the Death Guard being physically, but not quite mentally Plague Marines - and so on, and to boot this was always Abnett's weakest area for me (his Khan, Valdor, Malcador and so on felt a little out-of-character), Saturnine varied its writing style whereas Warhawk stuck to that consistent 9/10 top-tier Wraight prose we're all used to. Compare Camba Diaz's last stand to the first charge of the White Scars to Sanguinius repelling Iron Warriors at Gorgon Bar to Abaddon's Justaerin assault underneath the Saturnine Wall - each one is written in a contrasting style, and this artistic variation not only keeps things fresh but helps push this book above its peers in my opinion

 

I still have The Solar War as my no.1 personal favourite. It was superbly structured, it was written cleverly, and on a subjective level, I can much more easily picture Pluto or Uranus or Mars under attack than I can the Colossi Gate or the Saturnine Wall or the Moe's Bar or the Corbenic This or the Anterior That

Edited October 22, 2021 by Bobss

[Noserenda]

Just got the Mortation and the Khans meeting and...

I genuinely love that the first thing Jagatai does is diss Mortarions daemon wing choice :D 

[Preliminary Bombardment]

Just got the Mortation and the Khans meeting and...

 

 

I genuinely love that the first thing Jagatai does is diss Mortarions daemon wing choice :D

 

The Khan really is a magnificent b******d

[Marshal Loss]

His trash-talking in that fight is 11/10. The Khan would be an absolute terror in internet comment sections