Last month, I started reading Gate of Bones, and only realised after I finished that it was book 2 in the Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of Fire series. That says a lot for how modular Warhammer books are, and I really love that about them, and because I found Gate of Bones so satisfying, I didn't intend to go back and read the book that comes before it. Then again, Gate of Bones was so good (and Wolftime so underwhelming) that it felt worth my time to backtrack and read Guy Haley's Avenging Son, the first book of the series. And I am so glad I did. There are major spoilers for the book in this review.
There are some major events in Avenging Son, most notably the "birth" of the Primaris space marines. As miniatures go, I don't personally love Primaris marines. I think the original space marines are just fine, and I tend to think of the Primaris marines as the big guys in dainty Phobos armour. For me, Mark 6 is all the armour anybody every really needs. But in terms of the fiction, I don't mind Primaris marines. They're a story element, I guess, and they work well enough. And anyway they exist, so it's kind of cool to witness the moment Belisarius Cawl reveals them to Guilliman.
Aside from that significant moment, there's a heavy dose of the underhive in this book and every moment of it is captivating. In a subplot about an important message doomed to languish in the bureaucratic machinations of the Imperium, the book gives us a tour of the average civilian's dystopia. It feels like a Necromunda story, with an almost Gollum-like tour guide who makes his living from making mistakes in discarded paperwork, and turning them in for ransom. Unfortunately for him, discarded paperwork is the literal fuel for several street gangs, so his work is surprisingly dangerous.
This subplot is so entertaining that it makes me wish the entire book was about it, and I'm definitely going to go look for some Necromunda novels now.
The other aspect of Avenging Son are the space battles. Probably a full third of the book is naval and marine battles in space, and it does a lot to remind you that Warhammer 40,000 isn't only space fantasy, it's also science fiction.
Ships in Warhammer 40,000 are weird. They're flying mega-cathedrals, inside and out, with cannons and marines ready to board the enemy's vessel. The action is more Pirates of the Caribbean than Red October. Guy Haley makes space boats actually exciting and atmospheric. It brings back fond memories of Angels of Death: Origins, and I love every minute of it.
I didn't love Wolftime, the 3rd book in the Dawn of Fire series, but I loved the 2nd book, Gate of Bones. I wasn't sure what I'd find in Avenging Son, so I was really happy to find that I enjoyed this book. It's not as great as Gate of Bones, but that's a hard book to match. This one's good over all, and great in some sections. It's a really good read, and I've only talked about a few of the most significant story elements. There's a lot more here, like the quest of Inquisitor Rostov, the view into the politics of the Imperium's military, the development of Guilliman, an interesting xenos ally, some very exciting Khorne battles, and more. Read this book and, unlike me, read it before you read Gate of Bones.
All images in this post copyright Games Workshop.