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Space Marine Battles #10
The Siege of Castellax
The Chaos Space Marines of the Iron Warriors Legion have long been renowned as the masters of siege warfare, able to inflict devastating firepower and unimaginable cruelty upon their foes. On the world of Castellax, twisted Warsmith Andraaz builds his own empire even as a system-crushing ork Waaagh! approaches, and drives his own slaves ever harder to meet their production quotas and supply materiel for the Legion’s many warbands. Their walls are strong and their weapons ready, but how long can the planet hold out against the deadly greenskin invasion when whisperings of rebellion begin to pass between the Iron Warriors’ downtrodden vassals?
416 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2012
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May 22, 2021
The Warsmith turned and slowly marched back to his throne. ‘Castellax belongs to the Third Grand Company of the Iron Warriors Legion. No one will forget that fact. Not the filthy xenos. Not the pawns of the False Emperor. And not the warlords of Medrengard.
‘Castellax is ours. Any who think otherwise live on borrowed time.’
By the Dark Gods, C. L. Werner's debut in writing Warhammer 40000 after lots of dark tales set in its fantasy counterpart was a real blast of a read.
Colonel Nehring removed his peaked cap and raised his face to the sky. A sneer twisted his features. ‘That spectacle you find so fascinating is our orbital defences and satellites being obliterated. A few of the big ones might be remnants of the system fleet falling to xenos guns.
Space Marines Battles late series from Black Library is a mixed bag for me, but this monster of book is really one of best ones together with Aaron Dembski-Bowen's Helsreach and Chris Wraight's Battle of the Fang, and one of most excellent novels ever published based on Games Workshop futuristic warfare tabletop miniatures game.
A revolting mantle of flayed human skin was draped across the giant’s shoulders. Taofang didn’t need to look at the skull-like helm with its maze of jewelled campaign-markers to recognise the monster. It was Algol, the fiend of Castellax, feared as the Skintaker, the merciless Slavemaster.
An action-packed bleak book filled with thrills, twists, and ultra-violence, with a rich cast of despicable characters busy killing enemies and allies alike, a dark tale filled with betrayals, brutal killings, and some of the best villains I ever read about, with the Third Great Company of the Iron Warriors, masters of siege warfare, trying to survive a full xenos Orks Waaagh! and the inside backstabbing among their own ranks, with a few enslaved human soldiers and mechanicus tech-priests caucht in the crossfire.
Morax was especially dour in his predictions of how the damage would affect Castellax’s industry after the orks were repulsed. It was a prediction grim enough for the Warsmith to dispatch ten of his Iron Warriors against the alien beachhead, ten of a complement that numbered only sixty-four.
Ten demigods of death to capture a city infested by thousands of murderous aliens.
It would be a battle worth remembering.
You know grimdark term was inspired by the Warhammer 40000 tagline "In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war.", but Siege of Castellax just goes full throttle on cruelty, violence and gore, giving a blood drenched new vibe to the genre for good, with Chaos Space Marines dressed in the skins of their victims, tecno-organic Obliterator abominations living to kill, Orks torturers vivisecting their victims and probing their exposed brains to extract informations, cunning xenos far more cunning and different from the usual comical relief or cannon fodder for heroic Ultramarines and other Astartes tropes.
‘Have you forgotten what it is to be an Iron Warrior, Oriax? Buried in your cobweb of machines, have you forgotten what it is to stalk among the stars, to spread the terror and the glory of the Legion wherever you tread? To know that billions live only because you have not brought death upon them? Do you remember the power and the glory, or has that memory rusted away, Fabricator?’
No heroes among these pages, with the author nailing for good mentality and disharmony among traitors of former IV Legion, with lots of bad things happening to some of baddest characters ever, but in the end you can root for Captain Rhodaan and his Kyrith Squad of Raptors, a dirty bunch of badass Chaos Space Marines battle-brothers with a twisted sense of honor and cameraderie.
A so good depiction of Iron Warriors that I'm tempted to re-read Werner's Cult of the Warmason, sequel to Squad Kyrith's dirty deeds that I've sadly read years ago before The Siege of Castellax.
It would be a ridiculously short massacre. There were barely five hundred slaves and overseers still waiting to board the train. Hardly worth Squad Kyrith’s attention, really. But orders were orders and obedience was what separated an Iron Warrior from the lesser orders of humanity.
Obedience, Rhodaan reflected with a grin, and ambition. Today had called for the one. Tomorrow might very well belong to the other.
And that dark and bleak gut-wrenching Soylent Green movie easter-egg totally made my day.
The blood seemed to drain out of Yuxiang’s body as he heard the two disposers talk, his mind refusing to accept the obscenity the ghouls were discussing. It couldn’t be possible! It was too vile to believe, even of the most monstrous tyrants!
Paste. Processing. No, it couldn’t happen, couldn’t be real! Even the Iron Warriors wouldn’t do such a thing!
A must-read to all fans of military sci-fi, science fantasy, and extremely horrific grimdark books.
November 29, 2013
The Siege of Castellax is undoubtedly a bad boy of a book.
Not because it is bad, but because it features the BEST depiction of Chaos Space Marines I have seen in years!
The Iron Warriors are bad, rotten to the core of their very being. Not a single chapter will make you doubt that these Space Marines are anything but traitorous bad guys, even if they are pitched against an alien species that revels in crude, brutal savagery, with the Orks.
Yet still, even though the book heaps "evil" characters upon the reader from very early on (the command structure of the Third Grand Company of the Iron Warriors on Castellax is quite extensive!), C.L. Werner really kicked it out of the park in terms of scale, action and intrigue.
You cannot help but root for Captain Rhodaan, the Iron Warrior the book focuses on the most. Even then, however, you will still find it in you to cheer for his bitter rival, Over-Captain Vallax, or the rebel uprising in the underground of the world. There are a lot of things going on in this book, and none of them failed to catch my interest.
This book is grim, very grim. If you have a faint heart, I may suggest being careful about picking this one up. Werner managed to one-up even the most cruel stories in Black Library's arsenal.
Some of those cruelties are fairly straightforward, like Skintaker Algol's habit of stitching nice cloaks out of the skin of human slaves. Others will serve as twists and turns throughout the book - and just when you think things may start to look up for the Flesh, the human slave population and military in the IW's service, the author will take the book and smack it around your head with the next big showcase of the sheer inhumanity of the Space Marines.
And even with the way the Iron Warriors cling to their honour and loyalty to the Legion, their internal rivalries will provide you with constant tension throughout the book. A knife in the back would be gentle, considering what happens in this novel!
It is an eventful ride, from start to finish. C.L. Werner, in my mind, almost perfected writing (40k) Iron Warriors here.
The way he spinned the Legion's mantra "Iron Within, Iron Without!" into the story felt very natural, providing character and conflict in equal measure. The story even deals with Obliterators in a more reasonable way than I have read anywhere else before, giving them motivation and character rather than showing them as mindless killing machines.
Even the human janissaries and slaves, as well as techpriests and Orks, felt so believable and relatable (well, maybe not the Orks..), it boggles my mind that this was the author's first full-length Warhammer 40,000 novel.
However, there are some things I did not quite like, or thought didn't get as much attention as they would have deserved. Nitpicks, more than anything.
One of them, a quite obvious thing, I feel, are the Chapters' timeframes.
Each chapter begins with a short note ala "I–Day Plus One Hundred and Four", to put the content into relation to the duration of the Siege of Castellax. It drags out, as things tend to do with Orks.
However, I often found myself wondering what happened in the weeks, or even months, between those chapter points. At times a chapter would flow neatly into the next, implying weeks have passed throughout the chapter's progress.
A few more notes could have offset this confusion, I feel. As well as the story flows, I did not really pay any attention to the exact dates given after a while, and just checked occassionally. So, the good thing is that they are not necessary to enjoy or understand the story. But resulting from that, they did not add as much as I hoped they would. A bit of wasted potential right there, though it did not let the book down.
Another thing I would like to see expanded upon is the fate of Admiral Nostraz, who was brushed over in the later parts of the book. Considering his and Skylord Morax's rivalry throughout the first half of the book, I felt a bit disappointed that it was handled like this. However, there are certain implications made in the book - it is just that we were never shown what actually happened.
In general, I feel C.L. Werner could get even MORE out of the Third Grand Company as it stands right now. There are certain hooks in the novel that would make a sequel story, maybe a novella, very appealing. Some things could be expanded upon via short stories (which has happened before, with his Steel Blood), thanks to the well-constructed character dynamics throughout the novel.
Overall, this is a incredibly grimdark novel that clearly shows what C.L. Werner is capable of.
He has mastered writing very dark stories years ago in the Warhammer Fantasy setting (Dead Winter: The Black Plague, The Red Duke, Matthias Thulmann: Witch Hunter (Warhammer)), and now proven that his genius also extends to the 41st Millenium and power armoured superhumans.
These are Chaos Marines as they should be. A very clear recommendation to fans of Warhammer 40,000 and macabre science fiction in general.
Not because it is bad, but because it features the BEST depiction of Chaos Space Marines I have seen in years!
The Iron Warriors are bad, rotten to the core of their very being. Not a single chapter will make you doubt that these Space Marines are anything but traitorous bad guys, even if they are pitched against an alien species that revels in crude, brutal savagery, with the Orks.
Yet still, even though the book heaps "evil" characters upon the reader from very early on (the command structure of the Third Grand Company of the Iron Warriors on Castellax is quite extensive!), C.L. Werner really kicked it out of the park in terms of scale, action and intrigue.
You cannot help but root for Captain Rhodaan, the Iron Warrior the book focuses on the most. Even then, however, you will still find it in you to cheer for his bitter rival, Over-Captain Vallax, or the rebel uprising in the underground of the world. There are a lot of things going on in this book, and none of them failed to catch my interest.
This book is grim, very grim. If you have a faint heart, I may suggest being careful about picking this one up. Werner managed to one-up even the most cruel stories in Black Library's arsenal.
Some of those cruelties are fairly straightforward, like Skintaker Algol's habit of stitching nice cloaks out of the skin of human slaves. Others will serve as twists and turns throughout the book - and just when you think things may start to look up for the Flesh, the human slave population and military in the IW's service, the author will take the book and smack it around your head with the next big showcase of the sheer inhumanity of the Space Marines.
And even with the way the Iron Warriors cling to their honour and loyalty to the Legion, their internal rivalries will provide you with constant tension throughout the book. A knife in the back would be gentle, considering what happens in this novel!
It is an eventful ride, from start to finish. C.L. Werner, in my mind, almost perfected writing (40k) Iron Warriors here.
The way he spinned the Legion's mantra "Iron Within, Iron Without!" into the story felt very natural, providing character and conflict in equal measure. The story even deals with Obliterators in a more reasonable way than I have read anywhere else before, giving them motivation and character rather than showing them as mindless killing machines.
Even the human janissaries and slaves, as well as techpriests and Orks, felt so believable and relatable (well, maybe not the Orks..), it boggles my mind that this was the author's first full-length Warhammer 40,000 novel.
However, there are some things I did not quite like, or thought didn't get as much attention as they would have deserved. Nitpicks, more than anything.
One of them, a quite obvious thing, I feel, are the Chapters' timeframes.
Each chapter begins with a short note ala "I–Day Plus One Hundred and Four", to put the content into relation to the duration of the Siege of Castellax. It drags out, as things tend to do with Orks.
However, I often found myself wondering what happened in the weeks, or even months, between those chapter points. At times a chapter would flow neatly into the next, implying weeks have passed throughout the chapter's progress.
A few more notes could have offset this confusion, I feel. As well as the story flows, I did not really pay any attention to the exact dates given after a while, and just checked occassionally. So, the good thing is that they are not necessary to enjoy or understand the story. But resulting from that, they did not add as much as I hoped they would. A bit of wasted potential right there, though it did not let the book down.
Another thing I would like to see expanded upon is the fate of Admiral Nostraz, who was brushed over in the later parts of the book. Considering his and Skylord Morax's rivalry throughout the first half of the book, I felt a bit disappointed that it was handled like this. However, there are certain implications made in the book - it is just that we were never shown what actually happened.
In general, I feel C.L. Werner could get even MORE out of the Third Grand Company as it stands right now. There are certain hooks in the novel that would make a sequel story, maybe a novella, very appealing. Some things could be expanded upon via short stories (which has happened before, with his Steel Blood), thanks to the well-constructed character dynamics throughout the novel.
Overall, this is a incredibly grimdark novel that clearly shows what C.L. Werner is capable of.
He has mastered writing very dark stories years ago in the Warhammer Fantasy setting (Dead Winter: The Black Plague, The Red Duke, Matthias Thulmann: Witch Hunter (Warhammer)), and now proven that his genius also extends to the 41st Millenium and power armoured superhumans.
These are Chaos Marines as they should be. A very clear recommendation to fans of Warhammer 40,000 and macabre science fiction in general.
June 28, 2014
"Come on through to the other side..." - The Doors
Imagine this. A planet (Castlellax) where the human populace are enslaved to harvest the precious minerals. Did I say human? No they are just flesh to their overseers, those dastardly Iron Warriors. Dastardly is such a bad word, try sadistic bastards and you're not far off. Things are going swimmingly well until a massive (tens of millions) incursion of Orks threaten the planet. Hence the title Siege of Castellax. I'm being a little flippant (as if you can't tell). This type of story is so tried and tested in the Space Marine Battle Novels series that it's just becoming a little over used.
The story is told from the Chaos Marines POV, a refreshing change. Bad guy against bad guy! The Iron Warriors are Traitors! They fought some ten thousand years ago for Horus and now find themselves fighting "The Long War" which is the war against the Imperium of Mankind. There not a friendly bunch. Take Aolol The Skintaker, he flays his human victims alive and wears that skin as a cloak - sometimes even taking their face and plastering it on to his helmet. A lovely chap, I'm sure your agree. The meat of the story focuses on Captain Roodaan and his Raptors (assault marines with demi-organic jump packs), Fabricator Oriax and Over-Captain Vallax. When the Orks land onto Castellax, Roodaan finds himself shot down by a stray missile - conspiracies start to take root, where the Captain discovers a plot from within. The author is apt where he keep the story from being a meatfeast, he uses clever little sub-stories to elaborate on the background of the Iron Warriors Third Company and a coven of Imperial Mechancium whom have survived serving under the Traitor Marines aegis.
Here is my real problem with the story. There's a lot of greenskins (aka Orks) and not a lot of those Chaos Marines, sixty four in fact. Of course there are millions of slave-soldiers and other human-stock the Iron Warriors puts to use. The planet is designed to withstand a siege, the Iron Warriors being masters of such warfare. If you've read Armageddon your know there were thousands of Space Marines, millions of Imperial soldiers there to defend the planet. Here there are sixty four as I've mentioned - they never seem to die. In comparison to the Orks slaughtered thousands of Astrates - consuming entire Chapters. Continuality is really important within 40K, for me anyway. I just found this to be a little lazy in regards to research.
What I enjoyed was how Captain Roodaan becomes a sort of anti-hero, he becomes 'almost' likeable. The Iron Warriors superior complex is well written, the rivalries within most enjoyable. Another good point was Brother Mereiam for me, a Oblierator. What is that? Think of the T-1000 from Terminator 2 and your almost there, just in the form of a superhuman.
There is a human element to the story, several slave-soldiers find themselves facing a choice between deserting or continuing to fight a war they cannot win. Once their chose is made, they make some nasty discoveries about their superhuman overlords - that they are feeding the humans (or as the Iron Warriors refer to them 'The Flesh') their dead. Tasty, do you do take out?
Siege Of Castellax is enjoyable though a little hamstrung by the overused story. I enjoyed the Iron Warriors being the POV and found some of the rivalries really kept me glued to the novel. I can't say it blew me away, let's think of it as a Russian space rocket... gonna make it... almost there... but not quite BOOM
Imagine this. A planet (Castlellax) where the human populace are enslaved to harvest the precious minerals. Did I say human? No they are just flesh to their overseers, those dastardly Iron Warriors. Dastardly is such a bad word, try sadistic bastards and you're not far off. Things are going swimmingly well until a massive (tens of millions) incursion of Orks threaten the planet. Hence the title Siege of Castellax. I'm being a little flippant (as if you can't tell). This type of story is so tried and tested in the Space Marine Battle Novels series that it's just becoming a little over used.
The story is told from the Chaos Marines POV, a refreshing change. Bad guy against bad guy! The Iron Warriors are Traitors! They fought some ten thousand years ago for Horus and now find themselves fighting "The Long War" which is the war against the Imperium of Mankind. There not a friendly bunch. Take Aolol The Skintaker, he flays his human victims alive and wears that skin as a cloak - sometimes even taking their face and plastering it on to his helmet. A lovely chap, I'm sure your agree. The meat of the story focuses on Captain Roodaan and his Raptors (assault marines with demi-organic jump packs), Fabricator Oriax and Over-Captain Vallax. When the Orks land onto Castellax, Roodaan finds himself shot down by a stray missile - conspiracies start to take root, where the Captain discovers a plot from within. The author is apt where he keep the story from being a meatfeast, he uses clever little sub-stories to elaborate on the background of the Iron Warriors Third Company and a coven of Imperial Mechancium whom have survived serving under the Traitor Marines aegis.
Here is my real problem with the story. There's a lot of greenskins (aka Orks) and not a lot of those Chaos Marines, sixty four in fact. Of course there are millions of slave-soldiers and other human-stock the Iron Warriors puts to use. The planet is designed to withstand a siege, the Iron Warriors being masters of such warfare. If you've read Armageddon your know there were thousands of Space Marines, millions of Imperial soldiers there to defend the planet. Here there are sixty four as I've mentioned - they never seem to die. In comparison to the Orks slaughtered thousands of Astrates - consuming entire Chapters. Continuality is really important within 40K, for me anyway. I just found this to be a little lazy in regards to research.
What I enjoyed was how Captain Roodaan becomes a sort of anti-hero, he becomes 'almost' likeable. The Iron Warriors superior complex is well written, the rivalries within most enjoyable. Another good point was Brother Mereiam for me, a Oblierator. What is that? Think of the T-1000 from Terminator 2 and your almost there, just in the form of a superhuman.
There is a human element to the story, several slave-soldiers find themselves facing a choice between deserting or continuing to fight a war they cannot win. Once their chose is made, they make some nasty discoveries about their superhuman overlords - that they are feeding the humans (or as the Iron Warriors refer to them 'The Flesh') their dead. Tasty, do you do take out?
Siege Of Castellax is enjoyable though a little hamstrung by the overused story. I enjoyed the Iron Warriors being the POV and found some of the rivalries really kept me glued to the novel. I can't say it blew me away, let's think of it as a Russian space rocket... gonna make it... almost there... but not quite BOOM
December 21, 2012
I usually like Werner. But when, early in the book, he had a Chaos Space Marine say "Ow," I nearly tossed the book in the trash. But, being a sucker, I plowed through the rest of it. His characterization of the Iron Warrior marines was similarly lame for the most part. And the idea of 64 marines holding off a billion orks (who are nearly as hardy as marines in the damage they can take) is ludicrous. The IW commander barely took part in the planning of the defense, instead leaving it up to his inept and bickering captains which cost them the war (they apparently didn't know the ork mentality despite having been around for a few thousand years). And the alpha-level psyker mentioned in the beginning was forgotten, violating Chekhov's gun principle.
The only reason I gave it 2 stars was for some of the siege scenes which were fun, and the idea of the constant back-stabbing among the marines (though this was at odds with their constant lip-service to "honor" mantras).
The only reason I gave it 2 stars was for some of the siege scenes which were fun, and the idea of the constant back-stabbing among the marines (though this was at odds with their constant lip-service to "honor" mantras).
April 10, 2014
Another book in the long running Space Marine Battles series, Siege of Castellax shifts focus to the traitor legions. Having long since liberated the planet from the Imperium of Man, the Iron Warriors Third Grand Company holds dominion over countless billions of slaves. With the mineral rich planet being continually strip mined for its wealth to supply their forces on Medrengard, they soon find themselves under threat by a massive Ork WAAAGH! With their pride preventing them summoning reinforcements, the Iron Warriors will soon learn if their legendary resolve is enough to withstand this foe...
Along with the Night Lords and Word Bearers, the Iron Warriors are the most popular Chaos faction used by writers. It's easy to see why as well. With a very different attitude to Chaos, a callous disregard for life and an iron discipline many legions have since lost, they're an interesting force to see written about. The success and popularity of Storm of Iron definitely helped in this regard. Siege of Castellax wears that inspiration on its sleeve, both to its benefit and determent. You can easily see the scope and many aspects of that book reflected here despite the Legio IV serving in a defensive role.
The siege itself is conducted in stages, initially encountering and engaging the orks in the void and then attempting to contain them at various landing points. At every turn the Iron Warriors and their regiments are seen attempting to combat them as best they can and draw up new defensive lines. Along with being an excellent sign of an escalating conflict, we see this through the eyes of many individuals. While the many astartes of the Iron Warriors themselves are at the forefront of this, a number of slaves and soldiers also serve as viewpoint characters.
The book gives some scale to events as you would expect with such a varied focus, but plays up the angle of the astartes' traitorous nature and the effects of their rule through fear and obedience. The various captains within the Third Grand Company are constantly fighting among themselves, constantly vying for power while at the same time adhering to an odd kind of code. The almost casual nature of their brutality and unwarranted acts of violence to simply remind the humans who commands them are quite often effective, and remind you why rebellion seemed like an impossibility.
Despite these qualities, easily the most interesting aspects of the book are when the try to explore the world itself and how Castallex has operated for years. Very early on the book goes into detail on how certain vessels have taken trophies from stricken ships, Castellex itself has become a polluted hellhole without any pure water and is less a fortress than a massive manifactorum. It gives some idea of the planet's inner workings and just how life itself developed there; showing a new aspect to Iron Warriors' operations away from true fortresses. Unfortunately once the book departs from these details very early on, major problems start to appear.
Much of the book feels as if it was written with Storm of Iron used as a reference without fully understanding many events behind it. While a similar story structure and even certain ideas being taken are acceptable replications, at many points ideas are lifted wholesale. A certain scene with a surface to orbit weapon and sub-plot with a Tech Priest are extremely similar, as is the constant overconfidence of the defenders.
The problem is that, while these ideas worked in the previous book, they are not nearly as effective here.
Take for example Warsmith Andraaz. Despite being the ruler of the world and a leader without equals, he barely involves himself with even basic planning of defending the planet. While the Warsmith of Storm of Iron had legitimate reasons for remaining outside the conflict, Andraaz has no such defense. It simply makes him look lazy and an ineffective leader unwilling to get his hands dirty. This is something only made worse when it's revealed there are barely sixty Iron Warriors on the whole planet, yet he an his elite terminators do little to nothing against the orks.
The same problem is evident with the politics within the Grand Company. All too often it seems to be overriding their efforts to actually defeat the orks. Even as their entire world is being demolished around them, the traitors' attention is less upon the orks and more about how they can one-up one another for favour. The book establishes the reason the Third Grand Company is so under strength is thanks to previous infighting, and it just ends up making the Iron Warriors look like halfwits who cannot focus upon a true threat.
In fact, far too many times it feels as if the servants of the Dark Gods are being played for laughs rather than as a force to be contended with. One millennia old superhuman warrior in service to Chaos is slapped across the head, declaring "Ow!" in response. A pilot of an advanced Iron Warriors' fighter dies effectively delivering a one liner worthy of a rimshot. Worse still, one Iron Warrior is crippled by what is effectively a light tap to the head through his helm. This is a level of obscenity even Vulkan Lives never achieved. If anything this book seems to be a counter point against other depictions of the Iron Warriors by showing them here as blithering incompetents.
Another problem is actually showing the real scale and focus of the war. While the book does give a sense of escalation with the orks overcoming every bastion and defense placed in their way, it lacks impact thanks to how it is established. Rather than introducing certain locations very early on only for them to gradually be overcome by the orks or besieged, they are demolished within paragraphs of being shown to the reader for the first time. You have no time to take them into account or really be surprised by their fall because you're barely aware they even existed on the planet.
Oh, and the editing reaches the point of ludicrous when a character suddenly turns into a Techmarine for the final chapters.
The only thing which really saves Siege of Castellax is its depiction of the orks. One of three factions traditionally wheeled out to serve as punching bags for bigger foes, they are very rarely used as a true threat. Here you're given a real impression of them being a true threat on par with the Tyranids and just why they are so often thought as the force who truly rules the stars. Unfortunately, it's not really enough to truly justify the price here.
This book really needed to be better thought out and its elements reworked until they truly felt as if they were truly fine tuned. Skip it unless you truly want a positive example of how an Ork WAAAGH! can operate against a foe like Chaos.
Along with the Night Lords and Word Bearers, the Iron Warriors are the most popular Chaos faction used by writers. It's easy to see why as well. With a very different attitude to Chaos, a callous disregard for life and an iron discipline many legions have since lost, they're an interesting force to see written about. The success and popularity of Storm of Iron definitely helped in this regard. Siege of Castellax wears that inspiration on its sleeve, both to its benefit and determent. You can easily see the scope and many aspects of that book reflected here despite the Legio IV serving in a defensive role.
The siege itself is conducted in stages, initially encountering and engaging the orks in the void and then attempting to contain them at various landing points. At every turn the Iron Warriors and their regiments are seen attempting to combat them as best they can and draw up new defensive lines. Along with being an excellent sign of an escalating conflict, we see this through the eyes of many individuals. While the many astartes of the Iron Warriors themselves are at the forefront of this, a number of slaves and soldiers also serve as viewpoint characters.
The book gives some scale to events as you would expect with such a varied focus, but plays up the angle of the astartes' traitorous nature and the effects of their rule through fear and obedience. The various captains within the Third Grand Company are constantly fighting among themselves, constantly vying for power while at the same time adhering to an odd kind of code. The almost casual nature of their brutality and unwarranted acts of violence to simply remind the humans who commands them are quite often effective, and remind you why rebellion seemed like an impossibility.
Despite these qualities, easily the most interesting aspects of the book are when the try to explore the world itself and how Castallex has operated for years. Very early on the book goes into detail on how certain vessels have taken trophies from stricken ships, Castellex itself has become a polluted hellhole without any pure water and is less a fortress than a massive manifactorum. It gives some idea of the planet's inner workings and just how life itself developed there; showing a new aspect to Iron Warriors' operations away from true fortresses. Unfortunately once the book departs from these details very early on, major problems start to appear.
Much of the book feels as if it was written with Storm of Iron used as a reference without fully understanding many events behind it. While a similar story structure and even certain ideas being taken are acceptable replications, at many points ideas are lifted wholesale. A certain scene with a surface to orbit weapon and sub-plot with a Tech Priest are extremely similar, as is the constant overconfidence of the defenders.
The problem is that, while these ideas worked in the previous book, they are not nearly as effective here.
Take for example Warsmith Andraaz. Despite being the ruler of the world and a leader without equals, he barely involves himself with even basic planning of defending the planet. While the Warsmith of Storm of Iron had legitimate reasons for remaining outside the conflict, Andraaz has no such defense. It simply makes him look lazy and an ineffective leader unwilling to get his hands dirty. This is something only made worse when it's revealed there are barely sixty Iron Warriors on the whole planet, yet he an his elite terminators do little to nothing against the orks.
The same problem is evident with the politics within the Grand Company. All too often it seems to be overriding their efforts to actually defeat the orks. Even as their entire world is being demolished around them, the traitors' attention is less upon the orks and more about how they can one-up one another for favour. The book establishes the reason the Third Grand Company is so under strength is thanks to previous infighting, and it just ends up making the Iron Warriors look like halfwits who cannot focus upon a true threat.
In fact, far too many times it feels as if the servants of the Dark Gods are being played for laughs rather than as a force to be contended with. One millennia old superhuman warrior in service to Chaos is slapped across the head, declaring "Ow!" in response. A pilot of an advanced Iron Warriors' fighter dies effectively delivering a one liner worthy of a rimshot. Worse still, one Iron Warrior is crippled by what is effectively a light tap to the head through his helm. This is a level of obscenity even Vulkan Lives never achieved. If anything this book seems to be a counter point against other depictions of the Iron Warriors by showing them here as blithering incompetents.
Another problem is actually showing the real scale and focus of the war. While the book does give a sense of escalation with the orks overcoming every bastion and defense placed in their way, it lacks impact thanks to how it is established. Rather than introducing certain locations very early on only for them to gradually be overcome by the orks or besieged, they are demolished within paragraphs of being shown to the reader for the first time. You have no time to take them into account or really be surprised by their fall because you're barely aware they even existed on the planet.
Oh, and the editing reaches the point of ludicrous when a character suddenly turns into a Techmarine for the final chapters.
The only thing which really saves Siege of Castellax is its depiction of the orks. One of three factions traditionally wheeled out to serve as punching bags for bigger foes, they are very rarely used as a true threat. Here you're given a real impression of them being a true threat on par with the Tyranids and just why they are so often thought as the force who truly rules the stars. Unfortunately, it's not really enough to truly justify the price here.
This book really needed to be better thought out and its elements reworked until they truly felt as if they were truly fine tuned. Skip it unless you truly want a positive example of how an Ork WAAAGH! can operate against a foe like Chaos.
December 12, 2012
“Black Library have picked the right choice to start off with for Chaos Space Marine Battles Novels, The Siege of Castellax is Werner on top form – why hasn’t he written any 40k novels before? This was an awesome read.” ~The Founding Fields
As I’ve already mentioned, The Siege of Castellax is the first Space Marine Battles novel to focus on Chaos Space Marines. Black Library pulled a big gamble with this and getting CL Werner to write his first full Warhammer 40k novel, as although he’s an experienced Warhammer Fantasy writer, The Siege of Castellax is his first venture into the grimdark backdrop of the far future. And he’s chosen to focus in on the Iron Warriors as a legion, who as it stands, Graham McNeill is basically the Iron Warriors author, even if only with his one full novel on them - Storm of Iron.
But after reading The Siege of Castellax, I can firmly say that they picked the right man for the job. Even though I had a couple of minor issues with The Siege of Castellax, that’s all they were – minor. I enjoyed the heck out of the latest Space Marine Battles novel and for me it’s one of the better installments in the series that has been largely hit or miss.
"The Chaos Space Marines of the Iron Warriors Legion have long been renowned as the masters of siege warfare, able to inflict devastating firepower and unimaginable cruelty upon their foes. On the world of Castellax, twisted Warsmith Andraaz builds his own empire even as a system-crushing ork Waaagh! approaches, and drives his own slaves ever harder to meet their production quotas and supply materiel for the Legion’s many warbands. Their walls are strong and their weapons ready, but how long can the planet hold out against the deadly greenskin invasion when whisperings of rebellion begin to pass between the Iron Warriors’ downtrodden vassals?"
The first thing that’s important to note about Siege of Castellax is that it’s a Chaos Space Marine novel. We aren’t focusing on loyalists here, which adds to the potential for some even more action and a refreshing break from what is usually loyalists defending from invading xenos armies, Rynn’s World by Steve Parker, Fall of Damnos by Nick Kyme, The Purging of Kadillius by Gav Thorpe and Helsreach by Aaron Dembski-Bowden all fall into this category. Even though there have been a few exceptions, that’s what the bulk of the Space Marine Battles novels have been about. And to an extent, this one is as well, it’s Orks invading a planet controlled by Space Marines. Only, this time it’s different. It’s Chaos Space Marines, and there are no heroes here.
Read the Rest of the Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/12/....
As I’ve already mentioned, The Siege of Castellax is the first Space Marine Battles novel to focus on Chaos Space Marines. Black Library pulled a big gamble with this and getting CL Werner to write his first full Warhammer 40k novel, as although he’s an experienced Warhammer Fantasy writer, The Siege of Castellax is his first venture into the grimdark backdrop of the far future. And he’s chosen to focus in on the Iron Warriors as a legion, who as it stands, Graham McNeill is basically the Iron Warriors author, even if only with his one full novel on them - Storm of Iron.
But after reading The Siege of Castellax, I can firmly say that they picked the right man for the job. Even though I had a couple of minor issues with The Siege of Castellax, that’s all they were – minor. I enjoyed the heck out of the latest Space Marine Battles novel and for me it’s one of the better installments in the series that has been largely hit or miss.
"The Chaos Space Marines of the Iron Warriors Legion have long been renowned as the masters of siege warfare, able to inflict devastating firepower and unimaginable cruelty upon their foes. On the world of Castellax, twisted Warsmith Andraaz builds his own empire even as a system-crushing ork Waaagh! approaches, and drives his own slaves ever harder to meet their production quotas and supply materiel for the Legion’s many warbands. Their walls are strong and their weapons ready, but how long can the planet hold out against the deadly greenskin invasion when whisperings of rebellion begin to pass between the Iron Warriors’ downtrodden vassals?"
The first thing that’s important to note about Siege of Castellax is that it’s a Chaos Space Marine novel. We aren’t focusing on loyalists here, which adds to the potential for some even more action and a refreshing break from what is usually loyalists defending from invading xenos armies, Rynn’s World by Steve Parker, Fall of Damnos by Nick Kyme, The Purging of Kadillius by Gav Thorpe and Helsreach by Aaron Dembski-Bowden all fall into this category. Even though there have been a few exceptions, that’s what the bulk of the Space Marine Battles novels have been about. And to an extent, this one is as well, it’s Orks invading a planet controlled by Space Marines. Only, this time it’s different. It’s Chaos Space Marines, and there are no heroes here.
Read the Rest of the Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/12/....
June 9, 2018
This is my second time reading this book, the first time seeing me unable to get more than half way after losing interest. Much to be said, the second time only took me a year, but I managed to do it.
I am a fan of Werner. He's one of my more favorite writers in Black Library's stable of writers. I wish he would do more. But for whatever reason, this book just didn't really do it for me. I mean, there were plenty of twists that were pretty outstanding, and worth reading the book for, but overall, it was just... boring.
Now, most Space Marine Battle books are long. Very long. They also detail huge battles, which a lot of fans love. But they are also difficult to write and keep the reader's interest. This is where Werner kind of fails with this novel. The massive battles are just... uninteresting. Yet, he makes up for this with pretty good character interactions involving the internal politics of the legion, their slaves, and even the orks for a wee bit.
He also does a fantastic job showing how later generations of inductees into the legions would suffer certain prejudices as they were not there for the opening war with the Imperium, and that was nice to see. Werner kept it simple and that helped drive a lot of the animosity against his protagonist. His take on the Obliterators was also fantastically done, where they are effective weapons but also disliked by those that use them.
In the end, this was an alright book in the Space Marine Battle series. I did enjoy it, but it didn't get me reading the pages at lightning speed, unable to put it down. If you are an Iron Warriors fan, this is worth reading for you as it will give you some good insights into them. But unfortunately, their own static nature does drag the tale down somewhat. Either way, it is worth reading if you want something involving the traitor legions.
I am a fan of Werner. He's one of my more favorite writers in Black Library's stable of writers. I wish he would do more. But for whatever reason, this book just didn't really do it for me. I mean, there were plenty of twists that were pretty outstanding, and worth reading the book for, but overall, it was just... boring.
Now, most Space Marine Battle books are long. Very long. They also detail huge battles, which a lot of fans love. But they are also difficult to write and keep the reader's interest. This is where Werner kind of fails with this novel. The massive battles are just... uninteresting. Yet, he makes up for this with pretty good character interactions involving the internal politics of the legion, their slaves, and even the orks for a wee bit.
He also does a fantastic job showing how later generations of inductees into the legions would suffer certain prejudices as they were not there for the opening war with the Imperium, and that was nice to see. Werner kept it simple and that helped drive a lot of the animosity against his protagonist. His take on the Obliterators was also fantastically done, where they are effective weapons but also disliked by those that use them.
In the end, this was an alright book in the Space Marine Battle series. I did enjoy it, but it didn't get me reading the pages at lightning speed, unable to put it down. If you are an Iron Warriors fan, this is worth reading for you as it will give you some good insights into them. But unfortunately, their own static nature does drag the tale down somewhat. Either way, it is worth reading if you want something involving the traitor legions.
December 18, 2012
You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:
http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/12/...
Shadowhawk reviews the latest Space Marine Battles novel by Black Library.
“Grim, brutal, and clinical, Siege of Castellax is an excellent representation of the Iron Warriors and of Warhammer 40,000.” ~The Founding Fields
Siege of Castellax marks C. L. Werner’s first foray into full-length Warhammer 40,000 fiction for Black Library, although he has been writing in the Warhammer Fantasy setting for a number of years already and is one of the most experienced, and one of the best, writers for said setting. Siege of Castellax is another first in that it is the first Space Marine Battles novel to feature Chaos Space Marines as the primary cast of characters, thought their enemies here, the Orks, are a common threat in the series (having already featured in Rynn’s World and Purging of Kadillus for example). In those terms, the novel has a lot to live up to, especially since Werner is a writer noted for bringing out the inner… darkness of his characters and for his excellent atmospheric writing, such as you can find in Blood for the Blood God and Dead Winter.
As far as I’m concerned, Werner has proved admirably that he has what it takes to write full-on 40k fiction (he has written at least one short story previously), and GOOD 40k fiction at that.
The meta-plot is fairly simple: an Ork Waaagh! has descended upon the Iron Warriors-controlled planet of Castellax, somewhere near the Eye of Terror, and is intent on destroying everything in its path. Led by Warsmith Andraaz, the Iron Warriors are prepared to defend against the invaders at almost any cost and to keep their manufactories and workshops intact so they can keep their supply lines to the legion’s daemon-world Medrengard open. There are of course several sub-plots that are woven into this larger narrative and they all serve to properly flesh out the nature of the Iron Warriors, their relationship to Chaos, and the manner in which Space Marines wage war against an enemy like an Ork Waaagh! composed of tens of millions of warriors.
Siege of Castellax is everything that I wanted from it and then some.
To start off with, Werner’s characterisation is top-notch here. Raptor Captain Rhodaan, and Obliterator Merihem are definitely his standout characters here, both of them shining a spotlight on aspects of Chaos soldiery that are rarely, if ever explored in any depth. The closest I can recall to either is Lucoryphus and his Raptors warband, called the Bleeding Eye, from Aaron Dembski-Bowden Night Lords novels, and even then, his warband is little more than a footnote there. With Rhodaan, I got a Chaos Space Marine I can readily get behind, someone as nuanced and interesting and devious as Graham McNeill’s Warsmith Honsou or William King’s Sorcerer-Lord Madox. Rhodaan is a focal character in the novel and he drives a lot of the narrative since Werner plays up quite a bit of the internal Iron Warriors intrigue around him. He is a rising star of Andraaz’s warband and his superior, Over-Captain Vallax, is determined to keep him in check, permanently if need be. Merihem is a former member of the Warband and one who has been incarcerated far away from the warband’s base of operations as becoming an Obliterator, a potent mix of man, machine and Chaos, has unhinged him, making him a dangerous berserker who would sooner kill his brothers than the enemy. And it so happens that Rhodaan is sent to “ask” for his aid against the Orks. Merihem’s deranged personality, his contempt for his brothers, and his very nature are quite fresh to read about. Characters like him are very, very few and far between in 40k fiction. He also gets some of the best lines in the novel, which serve to highlight the aforementioned contempt quite well.
By the way, that’s Captain Rhodaan on the cover. His “jump-pack” is actually a “demi-organic wings” that he divested a former Iron Warrior of at some time in the past. One thing that always came to mind whenever I was reading Rhodaan’s scenes was “You Are Not Prepared”. High-five if you get the reference!
http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/12/...
Shadowhawk reviews the latest Space Marine Battles novel by Black Library.
“Grim, brutal, and clinical, Siege of Castellax is an excellent representation of the Iron Warriors and of Warhammer 40,000.” ~The Founding Fields
Siege of Castellax marks C. L. Werner’s first foray into full-length Warhammer 40,000 fiction for Black Library, although he has been writing in the Warhammer Fantasy setting for a number of years already and is one of the most experienced, and one of the best, writers for said setting. Siege of Castellax is another first in that it is the first Space Marine Battles novel to feature Chaos Space Marines as the primary cast of characters, thought their enemies here, the Orks, are a common threat in the series (having already featured in Rynn’s World and Purging of Kadillus for example). In those terms, the novel has a lot to live up to, especially since Werner is a writer noted for bringing out the inner… darkness of his characters and for his excellent atmospheric writing, such as you can find in Blood for the Blood God and Dead Winter.
As far as I’m concerned, Werner has proved admirably that he has what it takes to write full-on 40k fiction (he has written at least one short story previously), and GOOD 40k fiction at that.
The meta-plot is fairly simple: an Ork Waaagh! has descended upon the Iron Warriors-controlled planet of Castellax, somewhere near the Eye of Terror, and is intent on destroying everything in its path. Led by Warsmith Andraaz, the Iron Warriors are prepared to defend against the invaders at almost any cost and to keep their manufactories and workshops intact so they can keep their supply lines to the legion’s daemon-world Medrengard open. There are of course several sub-plots that are woven into this larger narrative and they all serve to properly flesh out the nature of the Iron Warriors, their relationship to Chaos, and the manner in which Space Marines wage war against an enemy like an Ork Waaagh! composed of tens of millions of warriors.
Siege of Castellax is everything that I wanted from it and then some.
To start off with, Werner’s characterisation is top-notch here. Raptor Captain Rhodaan, and Obliterator Merihem are definitely his standout characters here, both of them shining a spotlight on aspects of Chaos soldiery that are rarely, if ever explored in any depth. The closest I can recall to either is Lucoryphus and his Raptors warband, called the Bleeding Eye, from Aaron Dembski-Bowden Night Lords novels, and even then, his warband is little more than a footnote there. With Rhodaan, I got a Chaos Space Marine I can readily get behind, someone as nuanced and interesting and devious as Graham McNeill’s Warsmith Honsou or William King’s Sorcerer-Lord Madox. Rhodaan is a focal character in the novel and he drives a lot of the narrative since Werner plays up quite a bit of the internal Iron Warriors intrigue around him. He is a rising star of Andraaz’s warband and his superior, Over-Captain Vallax, is determined to keep him in check, permanently if need be. Merihem is a former member of the Warband and one who has been incarcerated far away from the warband’s base of operations as becoming an Obliterator, a potent mix of man, machine and Chaos, has unhinged him, making him a dangerous berserker who would sooner kill his brothers than the enemy. And it so happens that Rhodaan is sent to “ask” for his aid against the Orks. Merihem’s deranged personality, his contempt for his brothers, and his very nature are quite fresh to read about. Characters like him are very, very few and far between in 40k fiction. He also gets some of the best lines in the novel, which serve to highlight the aforementioned contempt quite well.
By the way, that’s Captain Rhodaan on the cover. His “jump-pack” is actually a “demi-organic wings” that he divested a former Iron Warrior of at some time in the past. One thing that always came to mind whenever I was reading Rhodaan’s scenes was “You Are Not Prepared”. High-five if you get the reference!
October 30, 2020
Hmm, I do like CL Werner’s writing, this book was no exception. His descriptions were detailed and captured the chaos of the situation, nothing quite as chaotic as Orks vs Chaos marines. I would like to learn of the fate of the last rebel slave. Perhaps CL Werner will give us a follow up short story. While the outcome of the story was not my favourite I did like the way it ultimately went.
December 7, 2012
I have generally enjoyed the SMB series, and a Chaos SM story is a refreshing spin on the idea. However, one of my favourite things about the series has been the way it humanises and personalises these super soldiers a bit, and in this way Castellax just didn't cut it for me. For the majority of the book, the Iron Warriors are ridiculously immortal, even for space marines. Further, it's really difficult to really barrack for any of the characters.
Regardless, it's a well-written and interesting book.
Regardless, it's a well-written and interesting book.
January 16, 2014
Hyper-sadism coupled with a god complex (Iron Legion) vs. almost unthinking, elemental brutality (orks). What's not to like? I really enjoyed the way Werner developed the Iron Legion to the point that the reader can understand them and kind of root for them as a lesser evil. The betrayal in the book was absolutely heart wrenching; good job! Orks, in their multitude, are no joke! This is almost bolter porn (but I REALLY like bolter porn)with action on an epic scale (millions of combatants) and interesting characters.
August 2, 2023
A good 40k offering pitting the chaos space marines against the orks by an author who isn't afraid to show the huge scale of battles in the 40k universe (millions of troops locked in a do or die strugglea s opposed to several thousands in many other novels).
Also, as opposed to other authors, Werner shows really well the disproportionate impact a few space marines have on the battlefield against other troops like orks or humans...and we get the best description on the horror and might of the obliterators in the whole of 40k literature.
Another facet of the 40k universe which is described in horribly good way is the sheer brutality, callousness and terror of being ruled by chaos space marines.
The action flows well, characters are OK, plots are mostly resolved by the end which is satisfyingly unsatisfying ;) Worth for a reasonably quick read if you are a fan of 40k.
Also, as opposed to other authors, Werner shows really well the disproportionate impact a few space marines have on the battlefield against other troops like orks or humans...and we get the best description on the horror and might of the obliterators in the whole of 40k literature.
Another facet of the 40k universe which is described in horribly good way is the sheer brutality, callousness and terror of being ruled by chaos space marines.
The action flows well, characters are OK, plots are mostly resolved by the end which is satisfyingly unsatisfying ;) Worth for a reasonably quick read if you are a fan of 40k.
March 3, 2020
A re-read, my first since publication.
It still stands up really well, and is one of the all-too-rare novels from a non-Imperial PoV. Werner has a great grasp on the not-quite-Chaos Marines of the Iron Warriors, a bunch of glorious back-stabbing self-serving monsters who make good company. The ‘Flesh’ are also well presented, and life on Castellax under the IV Legion is suitably grim and suitably dark.
Sadly, the subplot around their rebellion is perhaps the only thing that lets the book down- the revelation of the processing plant might be an unpalatable shock in many settings, but to me seems bland and everyday for 40k- had it been revealed to be a facility predating the Iron Warriors, and we saw the true nature of the Imperium break the rebels a second time, and this would have been amongst the very best BL books, as it is, it is just(!) outstanding.
It still stands up really well, and is one of the all-too-rare novels from a non-Imperial PoV. Werner has a great grasp on the not-quite-Chaos Marines of the Iron Warriors, a bunch of glorious back-stabbing self-serving monsters who make good company. The ‘Flesh’ are also well presented, and life on Castellax under the IV Legion is suitably grim and suitably dark.
Sadly, the subplot around their rebellion is perhaps the only thing that lets the book down- the revelation of the processing plant might be an unpalatable shock in many settings, but to me seems bland and everyday for 40k- had it been revealed to be a facility predating the Iron Warriors, and we saw the true nature of the Imperium break the rebels a second time, and this would have been amongst the very best BL books, as it is, it is just(!) outstanding.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2022
I quite enjoyed the book.
It definitely was not as action focused as Storm of Iron, but it made up for this by getting into the heads of the Iron Warriors: why they fight, what motivates them, and what it means to be one. It also dials up the grimdark quite a bit.. so be warned.
You will either love it, or hate it. I loved it.
It definitely was not as action focused as Storm of Iron, but it made up for this by getting into the heads of the Iron Warriors: why they fight, what motivates them, and what it means to be one. It also dials up the grimdark quite a bit.. so be warned.
You will either love it, or hate it. I loved it.
January 19, 2023
Bit of a slow-burner this one, but once it gets going, it has a great mix of sub-plots, action, and interesting characters (Rhodaan actually had me rooting for a traitor marine!).
The jumps in the timeline were a nice touch, following the siege as it progresses, and only dropping in at key events. Not what I expected, but one of my favourites in the Space Marine Battles series thus far.
The jumps in the timeline were a nice touch, following the siege as it progresses, and only dropping in at key events. Not what I expected, but one of my favourites in the Space Marine Battles series thus far.
June 12, 2017
It was a fine action book set in the Warhammer 40k universe. Orks vs the uncaring Iron Warriors. I was hoping for some more Obliterator action, but it was a fun read regardless.
August 24, 2017
A great introduction to the Chaos Space Marines. They aren't the good guys, they aren't the bad guys, but they are some kick butt fighters!
January 9, 2022
Boring.
February 13, 2022
The Iron Warriors plot against each other while facing the invasion of Orks.
January 16, 2025
Fun and quick read but nothing mind blowing here story wise. Tons of action!
May 5, 2015
Bookworm Speaks!
The Siege of Castellax
by CL Werner
*****
The Story: The Chaos Space Marines of the Iron Warriors Legion have long been renowned as the masters of siege warfare able to inflict devastating firepower and unimaginable cruelty upon their foes. On the world of Castellax, twisted Warsmith Andraaz builds his own empire even as a system crushing ork Waaagh! approaches, and drives his own slaves ever harder to meet their production quotas and supply material for the Legion’s many Warbands. Their walls are strong and their weapons ready, but how long can the planet hold out against the deadly, greenskin invasion when whisperings of a rebellion begin to pass between the Iron Warriors’ downtrodden vassals.
The Good: Among the enemies that mankind faces in the grim, dark, future, Orks are probably Bookworm’s favorite. They are the perfect enemy for nearly anyone who indulges in dreams of war and conquest. There no innocent members of their society, no women or children, just an enemy that dreams of nothing but fighting. That is why zombie media still holds such a strong sway. There is no possibility of emphasizing with the enemy, just kill and kill and kill without anyone bringing up those pesky ethics. We get plenty of that in this text.
Nonstop, gunpowder and gasoline fueled combat fuels the action in this book and it does not disappoint. The orks are just so mindlessly focused on destruction that the Iron Warrior’s have their work cut out for them. In the real world, war is not that much fun. In the book though…it is made to be fun. Seeing the human slaves and the Iron Warriors clash against the orks is just as fun as it is in Orks vs Space Marines in Rynn’s World. As for the Iron Warrior’s themselves, they do not disappoint.
There are two main ways to make a good villain. The first is too make them sympathetic, the heroes of their own stories. The second way is to completely rob them of sympathy, make them full-blown diabolical and just a ton of fun. That is the way the author goes in the text and it really pays off. The Iron Warriors a just so deliciously evil, they all hate each other to the fullest extent and the way they regard their human slaves as ‘The Flesh” in a singular term is just so indicative of their mindset. While it can get a little dull if it is focused on too much, it is nice to see the Iron Warrior’s focused on things such as logistics and manpower during the course of the war. All too often, the warriors of Chaos are described as slathering beasts, little better than the orks themselves, this book helps break that mold and gives another layer to the Iron Warriors’ character.
During the action and adventure…we see the affairs of various slaves of the Iron Warriors who serve as the laborers and soldiers of Castellax. Bookworm really likes it when we see humans and Astartes in the same story, and to see slaves born and bred to be the servants of the Iron Warriors and to see them to whatever it take to see tomorrow. That is what makes Warhammer 40k so appealing. Even in the face of a nightmare future, the will to survive is as strong as it has always been in the hearts of humanity.
The Flaws: Bookworm throws his hat into the ring of the Imperium of Man, for all of its faults. While reading this book, any other loyal servant of the Emperor will be waiting for the deaths of one of the foul traitors of the Iron Warriors, and there are not that many who meet the end they so rightly deserve. That is also indicative of a problem with this text in that it tends to drag in some parts. The Orks shoot and blow stuff up and the Iron Warriors shoot back and blow stuff up. This back and forth barrage continues in several places and it gets a little wearing at times.
What also gets wearing is the continual references to the plight of the human slaves. We get in the first chapter that the Iron Warriors don’t give a damn about them and they are basically little more than cattle. We get that…it does not need to be referenced every other page.
Something that pops up fairly frequently in tomes of the Black Library is pervasive head hopping. The text juggles almost a dozen different perspectives from various members of the Iron Warriors, to various human slaves, and a hidden tech-priest. It doesn’t help that many of the human slaves have similar sounding names. As a result, it can get a little confusing about who exactly is talking at the moment and what story arc we are returning to at the moment. Further adding to the confusion, is how the Iron Warriors, while not uninteresting, have basically identical personalities. This is also common in the Black Library: there is not a great deal of variety when it comes to those who follow the eight-fold path. The only real way to tell them apart is by their names and various details about their appearances.
Final Verdict: The Siege of Castellax is a good change in perspective from the other side of the Warhammer 40K coin: The Ways of Chaos.
Four out of Five Stars
thecultureworm.blogspot.com
The Siege of Castellax
by CL Werner
*****
The Story: The Chaos Space Marines of the Iron Warriors Legion have long been renowned as the masters of siege warfare able to inflict devastating firepower and unimaginable cruelty upon their foes. On the world of Castellax, twisted Warsmith Andraaz builds his own empire even as a system crushing ork Waaagh! approaches, and drives his own slaves ever harder to meet their production quotas and supply material for the Legion’s many Warbands. Their walls are strong and their weapons ready, but how long can the planet hold out against the deadly, greenskin invasion when whisperings of a rebellion begin to pass between the Iron Warriors’ downtrodden vassals.
The Good: Among the enemies that mankind faces in the grim, dark, future, Orks are probably Bookworm’s favorite. They are the perfect enemy for nearly anyone who indulges in dreams of war and conquest. There no innocent members of their society, no women or children, just an enemy that dreams of nothing but fighting. That is why zombie media still holds such a strong sway. There is no possibility of emphasizing with the enemy, just kill and kill and kill without anyone bringing up those pesky ethics. We get plenty of that in this text.
Nonstop, gunpowder and gasoline fueled combat fuels the action in this book and it does not disappoint. The orks are just so mindlessly focused on destruction that the Iron Warrior’s have their work cut out for them. In the real world, war is not that much fun. In the book though…it is made to be fun. Seeing the human slaves and the Iron Warriors clash against the orks is just as fun as it is in Orks vs Space Marines in Rynn’s World. As for the Iron Warrior’s themselves, they do not disappoint.
There are two main ways to make a good villain. The first is too make them sympathetic, the heroes of their own stories. The second way is to completely rob them of sympathy, make them full-blown diabolical and just a ton of fun. That is the way the author goes in the text and it really pays off. The Iron Warriors a just so deliciously evil, they all hate each other to the fullest extent and the way they regard their human slaves as ‘The Flesh” in a singular term is just so indicative of their mindset. While it can get a little dull if it is focused on too much, it is nice to see the Iron Warrior’s focused on things such as logistics and manpower during the course of the war. All too often, the warriors of Chaos are described as slathering beasts, little better than the orks themselves, this book helps break that mold and gives another layer to the Iron Warriors’ character.
During the action and adventure…we see the affairs of various slaves of the Iron Warriors who serve as the laborers and soldiers of Castellax. Bookworm really likes it when we see humans and Astartes in the same story, and to see slaves born and bred to be the servants of the Iron Warriors and to see them to whatever it take to see tomorrow. That is what makes Warhammer 40k so appealing. Even in the face of a nightmare future, the will to survive is as strong as it has always been in the hearts of humanity.
The Flaws: Bookworm throws his hat into the ring of the Imperium of Man, for all of its faults. While reading this book, any other loyal servant of the Emperor will be waiting for the deaths of one of the foul traitors of the Iron Warriors, and there are not that many who meet the end they so rightly deserve. That is also indicative of a problem with this text in that it tends to drag in some parts. The Orks shoot and blow stuff up and the Iron Warriors shoot back and blow stuff up. This back and forth barrage continues in several places and it gets a little wearing at times.
What also gets wearing is the continual references to the plight of the human slaves. We get in the first chapter that the Iron Warriors don’t give a damn about them and they are basically little more than cattle. We get that…it does not need to be referenced every other page.
Something that pops up fairly frequently in tomes of the Black Library is pervasive head hopping. The text juggles almost a dozen different perspectives from various members of the Iron Warriors, to various human slaves, and a hidden tech-priest. It doesn’t help that many of the human slaves have similar sounding names. As a result, it can get a little confusing about who exactly is talking at the moment and what story arc we are returning to at the moment. Further adding to the confusion, is how the Iron Warriors, while not uninteresting, have basically identical personalities. This is also common in the Black Library: there is not a great deal of variety when it comes to those who follow the eight-fold path. The only real way to tell them apart is by their names and various details about their appearances.
Final Verdict: The Siege of Castellax is a good change in perspective from the other side of the Warhammer 40K coin: The Ways of Chaos.
Four out of Five Stars
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December 24, 2016
In the grim dark future, there is only war, everything sucks, and everyone is a jerk. The Siege of Castellax is a novel set in the universe of the popular Warhammer 40k miniautres game (also known as 40k). 40k started out as a space version of Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy game, where instead of knights battling orcs, space marines battled space orcs. Over the years 40k developed more of a backstory, adding alien races and choas gods into the mix. All of this fluff and backstory is just an excuse to have cool miniautres on a tabletop battling each other.
The Siege of Castellax takes place on a world controlled by Choas Space Marines, who are super-armored soldiers who have been corrupted by otherworldy forces. The Choas Marines oversee a dystopian planet whose environment has been destroyed as slave labor is forced to churn out resources for the never ending wars of the 40k universe. Crap happens when orks [sic] decide to invade. The book is full of cartoonish violence and action. The ork invasion provides a bit of comic relief against the stern and overly harsh rule of the Chaos Marines. The ork's main spaceship is essentially a hollowed-out asteroid with huge guns built on the surface.
The book follows the marines as well as human slaves as they try to repel the ork invasion. The story is slow to start, but about halfway through the reading discovers twists in the plot that reveal that everything isn't what it seems. If you want some popcorn reading where heads are blown off by the dozen, then read this. If you want to read about life in the 40k universe, try Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn series. Recommended for fans of 40k and death metal.
The Siege of Castellax takes place on a world controlled by Choas Space Marines, who are super-armored soldiers who have been corrupted by otherworldy forces. The Choas Marines oversee a dystopian planet whose environment has been destroyed as slave labor is forced to churn out resources for the never ending wars of the 40k universe. Crap happens when orks [sic] decide to invade. The book is full of cartoonish violence and action. The ork invasion provides a bit of comic relief against the stern and overly harsh rule of the Chaos Marines. The ork's main spaceship is essentially a hollowed-out asteroid with huge guns built on the surface.
The book follows the marines as well as human slaves as they try to repel the ork invasion. The story is slow to start, but about halfway through the reading discovers twists in the plot that reveal that everything isn't what it seems. If you want some popcorn reading where heads are blown off by the dozen, then read this. If you want to read about life in the 40k universe, try Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn series. Recommended for fans of 40k and death metal.
January 24, 2014
So, a 40k book where it pits two OTHER armies against each other, you say? Orks versus Chaos, you say? The Imperium gets a break for a few hundred pages?
Interesting. I have to say I am not a huge fan of Chaos. The concept doesn't sit well with me. You have an organized band of super-warriors, which embody the highest arts of both technology and bioengineering possible. And they worship entropy. In neat ranks with a strict hierarchy.
You see why I struggle with them philosophically.
The Orks are great. They truly ARE chaos. Just fling themselves at whatever bauble attracts them, be it a planet, resources, a bloody death. Its irrelevant and subject to CHANGE without notice. Very chaotic.
So the book. The Iron Warriors are a messed up band of people. But they are written very compellingly. You want to find out what happens. The Fleshsmith with his cloak, Our 'hero' and his rivals within the 3rd Company. You read and you want to read more. That's a good feeling.
You already know there won't be a winner. Its two villains beating each other's brains in. So sit back and be disgusted by the slavering beasts. And the orks too.
Interesting. I have to say I am not a huge fan of Chaos. The concept doesn't sit well with me. You have an organized band of super-warriors, which embody the highest arts of both technology and bioengineering possible. And they worship entropy. In neat ranks with a strict hierarchy.
You see why I struggle with them philosophically.
The Orks are great. They truly ARE chaos. Just fling themselves at whatever bauble attracts them, be it a planet, resources, a bloody death. Its irrelevant and subject to CHANGE without notice. Very chaotic.
So the book. The Iron Warriors are a messed up band of people. But they are written very compellingly. You want to find out what happens. The Fleshsmith with his cloak, Our 'hero' and his rivals within the 3rd Company. You read and you want to read more. That's a good feeling.
You already know there won't be a winner. Its two villains beating each other's brains in. So sit back and be disgusted by the slavering beasts. And the orks too.
May 11, 2016
A fun enough entry from the Black Library. The Iron Warriors (Chaos Space Marines) against Orks. There was a bit too much "IRON WARRIORS ARE AWESOME!" and not quite enough "Somehow the Orks actually outdid us". However, there was a lot of good easy to track action and a lot of clear illustrations that honor and loyalty don't survive in the long term when you are the bad guy. Fun enough, but not really worth recommending.
December 11, 2012
Great approach to a Space Marine Battle novel. You can check out my full blog review here.
January 12, 2013
Was a very dry uncompelling story the author failed to make the book interesting it was just a tactical skirmish with orks. Orks and tyranids are the most boring races all they do is swam and die in droves nothing more if the foe was another traitor legion or a daemonhorde then it would have been great but not a boring ork army and that's all.
March 4, 2013
Hundreds of meters into the air, hundreds of meters into the air, hundreds of meters into the air, hundreds of meters into the air. I swear if I have to read that line one more time im going to eat the book.
December 21, 2012
I didn't enjoy these Iron Warrior's as much as Graham McNiells. It was an ok read, flowing pretty well, but not one of my Black Library favorites.
January 24, 2013
Gore filled as expected, with a suitable twist at the end.
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