Apostle by David Annadale

[sitnam]

I'm just finished this novel, and I'm kinda shocked or not see any discussion thread on here. I've been a pretty big fan of Annandale in 40k (NOT Heresy, his works there did not impress me) since reading Death of Antagonis back when I got back into the hobby (2018ish?). I quite enjoyed this novel, it's portrayal of the Word Bearers really pulled me towards them I haven't felt before. As a fan of Lost and the Damned, the portrayal of cultists and mortal followers also peaked my interest and had me wanting more from their perspective 

 

The antagonist Soroitas were also intriguing in their role as villains. I've read most of the Sister-centric literature, and this portrayal of them was a unique take. Mark of Faith and Pilgrims of Fire portrayed them as heroic saviors and crusaders (with their touches of grimdark, of course). None of that exists here. They are brutal, efficient, and merciless. They are also powerful. I often feel like Sisters are often portrayed as guardsmen in power armor; this book reminds you just how well trained and fanatical them are. Their portrayal reminds me both of Redemption Corp (Which is an insane and underappreciated novel, imo) and Twice-Dead King. The former is due to their shared antagonists being Sisters of Battle, the latter due to how terrifying it portrays the Imperium as antagonists.

 

I think my biggest disappointment was the lack of Annandales general wackiness I remember from Death of Antagonis and his horror novels. It was certainly there, especially towards the end, but it wasn't as prevalent.

 

Spoilers for DoA

Spoiler

That novel had a planetoid made of pure adamantine that would spin and grind against planets.

 

Overall, a quite pleasant read and I would definitely recommend. I'm baffled that they abandoned the Renegades imprint, because this alongside the recent NL novel felt like they should of been on that series.

[Nagashsnee]

I have bought it as i am a fan of the Word Bearers trilogy. But have been burned out on warhammer fiction and havent gotten around to reading it.

 

Glad to hear good things!

[Felix Antipodes]

Although I have found Annandale a bit hit or miss in the past, I picked this up and was glad I did.  The storyline pulled me in and flowed fairly smoothly (not always a thing with his novels).  I especially liked his take on the Adepta Sororitas.  These are the grimdark religious harpies I expected when I first came across them; not the ‘nuns with guns’ cliche we normally see from GW.  They were almost as scary as the chaos worshipers.

 

[darkhorse0607]

Dunno how I missed this thread earlier today, but Ill pile on the praise.

 

I am not a huge Word Bearer fan, but Apostle is really fantastic. It helped me appreciate the Legion in the same way that the Bile trilogy did for the Emperors Children. Easily a book Id recommend and I hope Annandale does more Chaos in the future

[Neil H]

Really enjoyed the book, I like the way the followers stories were built up alongside.

Quick break with a Skaven read and now a quarter trough Zardu LE.

Neil

Edited May 1 by Neil H

[sitnam]

2 hours ago, Neil H said:

Really enjoyed the book, I like the way the followers stories were built up alongside.

Quick break with a Skaven read and now a quarter trough Zardu LE.

Neil

 

I didn't touch on it much, but I really enjoyed the two acolytes. I'm a big LatD fan, so getting some perspective from the cultist side is always welcome. 

 

On 4/29/2026 at 2:52 AM, Felix Antipodes said:

Although I have found Annandale a bit hit or miss in the past, I picked this up and was glad I did

 

I defintiely understand being weary. I'm a big fan of Annandale, but some of his stories have been mediocre. His heresy stuff in particular just didn't work for me, what little I read. I think when he is given room to explore the setting on his own he does great.