Catachan Devil

[rookie40K]

Has anyone read or listened to the audiobook Catachan Devil? I have been interested, but have held off on purchasing the audiobook in the hope of getting a review or recommendation. I don’t normally get a guard book, but have enjoyed much of the recent ork stuff by other authors. I could not find anything on here, which is odd given it was released last Saturday. I would greatly appreciate anyones input.

[aa.logan]

About 2 hours of the audiobook left for me; fuller review to follow but the ork content is decent, but falls short of that in full novels devoted to them.

[theSpirea]

It's a decent guard novel. There are three main characters and chapters alternate. The Orks parts are okay but repetitive. Pretty much every chapter is about the main character Nogrok arguing with Warboss and trying to convince him to do "proper good taktiks" and "his kommandos is best at sneakin'". The plot is predictable so don't expect any surprises.

 

Quick and easy read. I'd give it 6/10.

[rookie40K]

I appreciate the responses. I wonder if Krieg would be a better choice between the 2?

[theSpirea]

I enjoyed Krieg more than Catachan Devil but it doesn't mean Catachan Devil is not worth reading. I enjoyed it for what it is, and it's fairly quick read. If there's going to be a sequel, I'm going to get it. I don't want you to think 6/10 is a bad rating.

[rookie40K]

I enjoyed Krieg more than Catachan Devil but it doesn't mean Catachan Devil is not worth reading. I enjoyed it for what it is, and it's fairly quick read. If there's going to be a sequel, I'm going to get it. I don't want you to think 6/10 is a bad rating.

Thanks! I will actually get both. I’ve strictly stuck to Space Marines all these years, but want to check out some guard stuff. I’m interested in Gaunt and Caine as well, but no idea where to begin and I’m not that interested in traitors as much as 0rks as the antagonist.

[sitnam]

Well Krieg does partly have Ork antagonists, but they don't really have personality and are more a force of nature.

 

If you are okay with ebooks, I'd honestly choose Dead Men Walking over Krieg if you want a good Krieg story.

 

Can't speak for Catachan Devil next, it's next for me

[aa.logan]

The book was mighty enjoyable, with lots to commend it.

 

What’s sticking with me the most right now though is how well it nails the *nastiness* of the Imperium; reading it it felt like las-porn for want of a better phrase, but I’ve just got a lingering vibe of the wanton cruelty of the Astra Militarum- from tithing to callous leadership it makes life in the guard look bleaker than any other book I’ve read

[duz_]

I guess I'm the only dissenting opinion here. I found the book fairly cringe worthy and cliche.

The production quality didn't seem the usual standard for black library.

I had a choice of barely hearing the narrator or being blasted by him when he decided to be an ork. Including an almost deafening waagh in my car <_<

 

Would not recommend.

 

Id rather recommend any of Ciaphas Cain ork novels

[cheywood]

I liked but didn’t love this book. It has some great moments but also some rather uninspired plotting in the middle section and some very cringey lines.

 

As a basic premise this is Fifteen Hours meets Rambo with a strong ork flavor throughout. There are three POVs: Torvin, a newly tithed guardsman on his first deployment, Nogrok, an ork with some interesting ideas about warfare, and Aldalon, a Catachan jungle fighter.

 

The book has a really strong opening with Torvin’s experience of the Guard being appropriately bleak and brutal, while Nogrok’s pov is enjoyably comedic with good insights into ork culture. I’d compare the former favorably to Fifteen Hours. As for the latter, while I wouldn’t say it equals Brutal Kunnin’, or the incredible Prophet of Waaagh! I was quite impressed. Definitely want more Ork stories from Woolley. The prose is unobtrusive and generally enjoyable in a ‘this communicates character really well’ sense.

 

Adalon’s pov is a real let down though. It feels like a generic 80s action hero arrived in 40k, with descriptions like ‘his honestly ridiculously large bicep’. I get that’s a big part of the Catachan vibe, but none of them come across as having much personality beyond that. Their culture is mostly just emphasized as having no tolerance for the weak.

 

The plot, as mentioned, starts out really strong and finishes pretty well, but it felt rather repetitive in the middle section.

 

Overall I’d give this a 7.5, primarily on the back of the opening chapters and Nogrok’s pov.

Edited April 25, 2022 by cheywood

[sitnam]

Was this book a schlocky action movie in Black library form? Yes

 

Did I love it? Also yes.

 

I think we could of done with a bit more Catachan POV, but the action overall was great, the human side felt appropriately bleak, and the Ork POV was quite fun. After Crowley's "Ghazkull" I wasn't super thrilled that the Orks just spoke low gothic, but I let that pass. Plot wise I don't think the story had to many obvious faults. The scaling (as usual) seemed a bit small, but it was clear that the Ork incursion was thought of A a minor thing. Compare this to Krieg, where a few thousand Oaks are a planet wide catastrophe.

 

Not the best of the recent guard novels, I think Traitor Rock was my favorite of the last year. But this book did an admirable job

[Red_Shift]

I thought it was great. I am a fan of pulpy, easy to read 40k books though. Give me this over the latest siege book any day.