By Steve Parker Deathwatch [Paperback]

by Steve Parker

Unknown Binding

About the author

Originally hailing from the rainswept land of the Picts, Steve Parker now sleeps, eats, trains and writes in Tokyo, Japan.
His novels have been published in four languages and include Rebel Winter, Gunheads, Rynn's World, and Deathwatch, with a fifth novel to follow very soon.
Short works (most now available via Amazon Kindle) include:

Stray Dog Swordsman on Redemption Road
Starfish
The Falls of Marakross
Mercy Run
The Citadel
Headhunted
Exhumed
Survivor
Culling the Horde
Pedro Kantor: The Vengeful Fist

Reviews

[Tazin]

It took me longer to finish this book than anticipated, but since the time I got into WH40k, I have been a deathwatch simp. The idea of other chapters coming together with their differences and becoming indoctrinated (again) in a new lifestyle is an intriguing concept. This book does an excellent job of introducing this new brotherhood very well, I especially really enjoyed looking at the inner politics of a deathwatch command structure and squad. It was also great that the main POV character was not just a "main hero" type person from a massive first founding chapter but rather a more smaller less-known chapter in the fringes of the galaxy and friction that it caused to some other prideful chapters (cough cough ultramarines).

The book shines the most in these moments of giving detail about the world and the deathwatch the most in my view. However, as much as I enjoyed the world-building, I found the overly lengthy combat to become boring and some of the dialogue annoyingly predictable. For example, if Deathwatch marines are meant to be the "special forces" of space marines, there are many times where they don't and simply resort to "I am brave space marine and I must kill". It seems strange that they would have such an attitude given the training they have endured to be even deployed as a squad. Regardless, overall great book, looking forward to reading the next!