Nightbringer

Ultramarines #1

by Graham McNeill

Newly promoted Ultramarines Captain Uriel Ventris is assigned to investigate Pavonis, an imperial planet plagued by civil disorder and renegade elder raiders. Nothing is as straightforward as it seems, and wheels are turning within wheels. Uriel and his allies are forced into a deadly race against time to destroy their shadowy enemy - or the whole planet must be sacrificed for the good of humanity.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Fiction, Fantasy, Audiobook, Military Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Hailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill narrowly escaped a career in surveying to work for Games Workshop as a games designer. He has a strong following with his novels Nightbringer, Warriors of Ultramar, Dead Sky, Black Sun and Storm of Iron.

Reviews

[Oᐯᙓᖇᕼᗩᙀᒪ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uriel Ventris, recién ascendido a capitán de los Ultramarines, recibe la orden de intervenir en la investigación de un cercano planeta, Pavonis, un mundo imperial azotado por los disturbios internos y piratas eldars renegados.

Sin embargo, nada es lo que parece, y hay planes que ocultan otros planes.

Uriel, su compañía y aliados se verán obligados a comenzar una mortífera carrera contrarreloj para destruir a su siniestro y muy escurridizo enemigo.

.. O deberán destruir por completo el planeta por el bien de la humanidad..

En el universo ficticio de Warhammer 40,000, los Marines Espaciales, también conocidos como Adeptus Astartes, y son monjes guerreros sobrehumanos que luchan por el Imperio de la Humanidad. Visten armaduras mecanizadas enormes y tienen genomas modificados que les otorgan una fuerza y ​​resistencia sobrehumanas.

Algunos Marines Espaciales han traicionado al Imperio y sirven a los Dioses del Caos, por lo que son conocidos como Marines Espaciales del Caos.

Que maravilla mi segunda entrada a mundo de Warhammer, como no quería empezar por la titánica saga de Horus, decidí empezar o bien por esta saga de los implacables ultramarines o por Eisenhorn, el inquisidor.

Una gozada de libro, acción, historia, mucha CF interesante. Warhammer es una pasada. Lleno de acción y lleno de intriga. Se ha llevado mis 5⭐️. Lo he disfrutado.

Cualquiera que disfrute de los libros de ciencia ficción o fantasía debería al menos probar este libro y no querrá dejarlo hasta que llegue a su glorioso final a través de un camino épico.

Ningún siervo del Imperio es comparable a los monolíticos Marines Espaciales del Adeptus Astartes: la voluntad del Emperador hecha manifiesta y los avatares de su glorioso castigo. Estos dioses de la guerra suelen ser lo único que impide la caída de la Humanidad ante el envite de la conquista alienígena y de las herejías internas.

Los Ángeles Sangrientos, los Templarios Negros, los Lobos Espaciales y los Ultramarines son un ejemplo de los ilustres Capítulos que sirven al Imperio.

Se extraen grandes fragmentos de la historia de todos los lados, y en solo unas pocas páginas McNeil tiene personajes de los Ultramarines, Necrons y el imperio luchando

Las escenas de acción son geniales y, a medida que avanzaba, me sorprendió el desarrollo de los personajes. McNeil no busca simplemente llenar el espacio entre las secuencias de acción, intenta crear personajes realistas y para mi lo consigue. Te sumerges con ellos a través de sus perspectivas.

Tenemos múltiples puntos de vista a lo largo del libro. Podemos ver ángulos de la misma historia desde diferentes personajes simplemente hace que la historia y la imagen cobren vida en tu cabeza.

Los personajes son interesantes, realistas y tienen profundidad. Un gran trabajo al hacer que cada personaje se sienta único y como una personalidad diferente.

Hay batallas épicas y muchas escenas sombrías y sangrientas que son geniales y lo que esperas de este universo. Seguir a los Ultramarines ha sido un acierto enorme. Que pasada..✍️

[Xabi1990 · Rating 2 out of 5]

4/10. 42% - 175 págs y abandonado.

Me encantan las pelis de Statham o The rock o Cruise o Vin Diésel. O sea, que las macarradas me gustan si a cambio me dan entretenimiento y enganche. Aunque historia y personajes no se los crea ni el tato.

Los ultramarines de esta novela no me dan ni entretenimiento ni enganche. Los personajes no llegan ni a clichés. La historia y su Emperador son lastimosos. El lenguaje utilizado me hacía llorar los ojos en alguna de las ultramacarras frases…

Y no sigo que Over me pega, pero pilláis la idea, ¿eh?

Mi muy estimado Over, seguiré cargando en mi saca tus 5 estrellas a pesar de esta flagrante divergencia de opiniones.

Y conste que las novelas bélicas me gustan y puedo citar un montón de ejemplos, desde Tropas del espacio a la hiperbólica Bill héroe galáctico. Pero a esta no la he pillado el truco en ningún momento.

Me voy a tiro hecho a gozar del siguiente: pillo uno de Baldacci.

[Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐

Qué lástima recios Ultramarines haberos leído hace 25 años. Os habría endosado 5 estrellas como 5 cruceros imperiales. Pero hoy no es ayer, sino mañana... (jajaja qué ganas tenía de meter al maestro Sabina en mi review!!!)

Ahora en serio.
✔ He disfrutado bastante de la lectura, por momentos trepidante
✔ Hay batallitas de naves espaciales
✔ Hay piratas alienígenas malos malosos
✔ Hay episodios gore
✔ Hay sangrientas batallas de tierra donde los Ultramarines marcan su ley
✔ Hay toda una parafernalia imperial rollo Star Wars, pero en esta ocasión son los adalides de la humanidad. Como si fueran Harkonen pero en plan protectores de la galaxia

Con estos mimbres diréis que joer Pedrin, qué poco te estiras en la nota. Ya. Es verdad. La novela es bien palomitera y me ha hecho evocar por momentos, como decía al principio, mis primeras lecturas. Reinos olvidados, Dragonlance...Ah buenos tiempos aquellos! Subo media estrella más para dejar la puntuación bien redonda, 4⭐.

Lectura amena, sin muchas pretensiones, adecuada para intercalar con otras más sesudas. Continuaré con la saga. Larga vida, Warhammer 40k!!

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is...interesting. It's supposed to be the first Uriel Ventriss novel, but he's barely a factor in this narrative -- if anything, this is an ensemble piece, focusing more on the Eldar, the Inquisitor, the politicians, etc. than any of the Ultramarines, let alone Uriel. He's barely a character at all. Also, the resolution of the main plot is too abrupt and wastes what could have been something glorious...

But the action is good, everything is well-written, the setting is suitably small, the non-Uriel characters are all engaging, etc. so I'll move on to the next one eventually.

[Ramjet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was an avid Abnett fan until I read this book. McNeil really kicks the proverbial ass on this one! Action packed and full of intrique! I find it unfortunate that the 40k novels are mostly read by gamers and people in the know about warhammer because this book is truly awesome. In fact the ultramarines trilogy is just epic! Anyone who is a fan of sci-fi or fantasy books should at least give this book a try and I guarantee that you will not want to set it down until it comes to it's glorious end!

[cattolyst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up immediately after finishing the campaign of Space Marines 2, which was, by the way, more or less than 6 hours long. So, I felt empty after finishing it. It lead me to this book. Additionally, it led me to buying the Black Templar pack and decided I'll be a Bulwark main forever.

[Michael T Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enter Graham McNeill into the Warhammer 40K universe with a story about the Ultramarines, the kind of ultimate "stick up their arses" Space Marine Chapter. Graham proves himself a skilled writer by making their initial outing both fun and full of dry humor, both of which should not be applied to the Ultramarines (cf. Abnett's sadly empty-feeling "Ultramarines" movie).

Uriel Ventris is newly appointed the head of his squad (or whatever; I suck at keeping track of all the military terms), and is grappling with that (the short story included in the omnibus where he gains that leadership role is awesome; the imagery used in it had me sold on this series as a whole). Uriel and his flamer-wielding best friend Pasanius fight Chaos cultists in this first outing, whilst dealing with political monkeyshines and a serial killer on the loose. There is, of course, a Nightbringer (evil Necron big bad) that appears in the story.

Fun notes:

-One of the most entertaining parts of the 40K universe, to me, is the idea of "machine spirits." One's gun does not misfire because you took bad care of it - it happened because you did not appease the machine spirit (...usually by taking care of it). There's one point in this story where Uriel is trying to get the heavy machinery rolling (I believe Lehman Russes) to fight off a wave of baddies, and he's told it can't be done b/c the priests are still blessing the tanks. He tells them to start them rolling & keep the priests behind them while they move, blessing on the go. Brilliant way to strategize with the rules of the world without looking stupid.

-McNeill begins his odd habit here of setting up a mystery with either a really obvious answer, or else just revealing it at any given moment, not necessarily dramatically. The serial killer on the loose in this book is a kind of big buildup, then randomly there's just a chapter in the middle of the book where we see the POV of the killer taking someone's life. I was so confused at this placement, I thought that character had killed another for some OTHER reason, but no ... just ... thrown in there. Relatedly, the titular Nightbringer is in fact a MASSIVE surprise at the end of the book, whose terrifying appearance and shocking existence is a LIIIITTLE ruined by the fact the book is called Nightbringer, and you've got 30 pages to go, and there's been no Nightbringer yet. That was very possibly not McNeill's fault, however.

-I think what I enjoyed most about this book was seeing the snippets of Imperial life on the world the Ultramarines are trying to assist. McNeill does a good job of bringing the setting to life, and filling in each character in broad strokes.

[Bryan Thomas Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent entry. I actually think Ario Barzano, the second lead character, is far more interesting than Uriel Ventris here. Barzano would be great to explore in other books. I'll have to see how Uriel is in the follow up novels. But O'Neill is really in top form here, with strong characterization mixed with the action. I thought this was even stronger than First and Only. Very good use of settings and elements from WH40k

[Oleksandr Yakubchyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Моя перша книга із всесвіту Warhammer.
Перші 50 сторінок далися дуже важко. Незрозуміла зброя, незрозумілий період (минуле/майбутнє/альтернативний всесвіт), незрозумілі технології (політ через галактику на космічному кораблі із освітленням свічками в каютах)… але з часом приходить розуміння, що не треба шукати пояснень, а просто зануритись у всесвіт.

Цікава історія. Пішов читати наступну книгу з цього всесвіту.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read many many 40k books, im definitely part of the snobby group that views Abnett and Demski-Bowden as a clear mark above the rest, and so have been reluctant to read works by other authors. But the Uriel Ventris books have always been quite highy regarded, so i decided to give them a whirl. In the modern, rebooted days of 40k, its certainly nice to read something seated in the lore of yesteryear. No aeldari or astra militarum here! You definitely get the feeling that McNeil had more free rein to have some creative fun with the plot and characters.
This book is definitely more 'comic booky' than the works of Abnett or ADB. Not that their books dont have crazy plots and violence, but Nightbringer is less than 300 pages and the action starts early and never gives up. The writing feels quicker and slicker than some other works such as those in the Horus Heresy series that have to deal with a lot of exposition. If you dont know much about 40k, these perhaps arent the best books to start on. If you do though, you re in for a treat!
Great bits of lore are pulled in from all sides, and in only a few pages McNeil has characters from the Ultramarines, Necrons and the imperium all fighting it out, which is certainly great fun. The action scenes are great, and as the book went on, i was pleasantly surprised by the subtlety (such as it was) and character development: McNeil is not simply looking to fill space between action sequences, he tries and succeeds to create 3D characters who you believe in and have real reactions to.
I will say the prose is somewhat stilted at times, and sometimes doesnt flow terribly well. The book ironically sometimes feels almost like a piece of propaganda you would find in the 40k universe itself. But the great characters and sections where McNeil DOES get it right more than make up for the weaker moments. Looking forwards to the next one!

[Jayme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please dear god let Prime x Henry Cavil adapt this

One part political thriller, one part action movie. The twists were impactful, and McNeill really knows how and when to cut back and forth to keep the action moving and not grow stale (like some other books that can't seem to figure out that describing an action sequence for pages on end is kind of not really an interesting read...)

Loved it. Up the Ultramarines!

[Antón García Jouve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenía una cuenta pendiente con la primera entrega de la saga de Uriel Ventris, el ultramarine por excelencia, y el estilo de McNeill me flipa. Tengo que decir que me gustaron más Tormenta de hierro y Cielo muerto, sol negro (especialmente la primera, que es pura dinamita), pero esta tampoco está nada mal. Ventris y sus guerreros son enviados a poner orden a Pavonis, un planeta sumido en la inestabilidad política y hostigado por piratas eldars, pero la cosa se va de madre y resulta que el universo entero está en juego. 

Si bien esperaba encontrar violencia a mansalva, durante buena parte de la historia dominan el suspense y la intriga política. No me quejo, el autor demuestra que es capaz de adoptar otros registros y esto nos permite también descubrir aspectos del Imperio de la Humanidad más allá del campo de batalla: las ciudades, la economía, los gobiernos planetarios, la Inquisición, el Adeptus Administratum, el Adeptus Arbites… Respecto a estos últimos, por cierto, si uno busca imágenes, verá que son igualitos al Juez Dredd, lo que al parecer se debe a que Games Workshop fabricaba en su día miniaturas para esta franquicia y aprovechaba las sobras para su propio universo (últimamente no paro de ver similitudes entre Warhammer 40.000 y las historietas de 2000 AD). 

¿Significa esto que no hay acción? Para nada. Bólters haciendo explotar cuerpos, granadas de plasma derritiendo rococemento, lanzallamas calcinando carne, tanques Leman Russ arrasando edificios… Todo lo que cabría esperar está presente. Una cosa que me llama la atención de McNeill es que le encanta describir con todo detalle obras arquitectónicas faraónicas (la fortaleza de Hydra Cordatus, Khalan-Ghol y, en este caso, los palacios de Puerta Brandon), pero lo que realmente le encanta es narrar después cómo son reducidas a escombros bajo el implacable poder de la artillería pesada. Tampoco faltan el gore, el horror corporal y las abominaciones genéticas de laboratorio. Lo cierto es que los eldars, una raza alienígena cuya cultura entera parece girar en torno a la tortura, dan mucho juego en este sentido. Me vienen a la mente las «esculturas de carne» del Cirujano o los excrentes, seres vivientes compuestos por partes cosidas de diferentes cuerpos que sirven de mascotas del infame Kesharq.

Las sangrientas batallas que tienen lugar tanto en el espacio como en tierra nos dejan ver el método de combate poco ortodoxo de Ventris, que, si no me equivoco, es lo que más adelante en la saga le acarreará la expulsión del capítulo: «Puede que no lo fueran a hacer con el libro en la mano, pero por el Emperador que lo iban a hacer con los cañones más grandes» (p. 163). Vulnerar el sagrado Codex Astartes es aceptable con tal de destruir al enemigo, pero también para salvar a sus amigos y a las víctimas inocentes. Esta aventura nos muestra un lado compasivo y humano del capitán ultramarine que no recuerdo en Cielo muerto, sol negro, pero es que la forma de narrar de McNeill, que va alternando el punto de vista saltando de un personaje a otro, nos hace empatizar incluso con los malos más malos una vez que comprendemos sus motivaciones y su historia personal. 

[Cole Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall: 4.0 / 5.0


Reading about the Ultramarines chapter of Space Marines was a vastly different experience than the Iron Warriors. Definitely a more hopeful and courageous atmosphere to these characters and stories. Seeing the difference between the two chapters makes me want to explore other chapters even more than I did previously.
I really want to learn more about Primarch Guilliman who we saw in a 10 thousand year stasis at the start of the book. I’m sure once I start Horus Heresy I’ll get into that, but for now it’s fun to get these little teasers. The Eldar race was interesting to learn a little about, and I’m extremely interested in this other alien figure that was awakened from a 40 million year slumber. I’m sure it spells trouble for the Imperium having aliens with the ability to consume a stars energy roaming about….
As for Ventris, I liked him his internal struggle with sticking to the rules, yet having the intelligence to learn stepping outside of the rules is sometimes necessary.
We saw some space battles in this book and that’s something I’d really like to see more of in this universe. The ground battles are great, but I’m very curious to see all the battle technology and tactics the space marines employ. Especially a large scale battle.
Overall I enjoyed this book greatly, and the ultramarines were a fun Chapter to read about!

[Toke Adolfosson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The world of Warhammer is surprisingly alive and deep, and very pleasurable to explore. I will definitely be reading (a lot?) more!

[Joe Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually way better than I expected, but not a lot of Ultramarines for book 1 of “The Ultramarines”

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good solid well rounded story with plenty of action. It surprised me to have so much political intrigue in an Ultramarines book and I definitely enjoyed that about it. It makes the whole 40k universe feel more real as you see in depth how one planet in the Imperium runs.

The author uses multiple points of view of different characters throughout the book which I love. Seeing different angles of the same thing from different characters just brings the story and picture to life in your head. I love it when authors do this as it can get stale following the same pair of eyes for a whole book.

The characters themselves are interesting, realistic and have depth. McNeill does a great job at making each character feel unique and like a different person. Even the side side side characters which you don’t see much of are more than just extra names on the page.

There’s some epic battles in this book and lots of grim and gory scenes which is awesome and what you expect with this universe. The story equally follows regular human characters as much as the Ultramarines. I didn’t expect this either but I really enjoyed the diversity and the different POVs this created.

A solid read but for me it was just missing something to make it a 5 star book. However, I would recommend it and would happily reread it in the future.

[Brayden Raymond · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll start by saying I'll likely end up reading more Warhammer Novels or at least more Ultramarines novels. I realize that as far as Warhammer goes the Ultramarines and Ventris are "basic" and the simple poster boys of a much wider universe but that's ok.

There's not a lot of nuance to be found here though, this is as you'd expect of 40K, it is a gorey and brutal killing fest with some calm moments in between. 3 stars even feels like a stretch, many of the named characters get little to no character development and even the main protagonists are not that deep.

All told, this novel is just average, it didn't wow me, it didn't disappoint me either and sure the combat was well written, I'd just like to see some deeper character work, for example, I don't care if named characters get killed if they've had no development.

[Andrew Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was really good. I'm still new to the Warhammer 40K universe but man oh man there is alot to take in. McNeill is a damn good writer. This was a page turner.

[Bones Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Захоплення битвами, безумовна жертовність заради спільної безпеки і блага, огидні й жаскі небезпеки та зради, сум за полеглими героями - суголосно і натхенно сучасною епохою.

[Jamato · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Хороша книжка
- Бойовик
- Читається добре, але й чогось особливого немає
- Мабуть гарна "сходинка" для входження у всесвіт Воргамеру 40к
- Є кліфгенгер

[Andrii Korpalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Звичайний космічний бойовик, книга не вирізняється чимось особливим, але я отримав від те, що і очікував, легке і стрімке чтиво для відпочинку.

[Gordon Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meet Uriel Ventris, newly-promoted Space Marine captain at the centre of Graham McNeill's Ultramarines series. The Ultramarines are, of course, the poster boys of the Imperium of Mankind; best known for stomping handsomely around a galaxy littered with the corpses of their fallen enemies, and then retiring home to reflect on their tactical brilliance over (presumably) tea and biscuits. These guys are the Space Romans of the setting. All very nice, all very efficient, but not nearly as interesting as the Space Vikings, Space Vampires, or Space Dark-Secret-Hoarders found in more colourful sub-factions.

Ventris himself, then, has an uphill struggle in order to be considered a compelling lead character. On this evidence, he balances the strong-jawed naivite of Buzz Lightyear with the super-competent wandering-hero vibes of Jack Reacher. The plot sees him up against enemies seen and unseen, and embroiled in the sort of complex planetary politics that might usually be considered unworthy of the attention of the Emperor's Finest.

It's certainly noticeable that Ventris cares about the little people and sees himself as the unquestionable good-guy, whereas his enemies are uniformly evil. This feels like quite the departure from more recent novels where the Marines typically prioritise vengeance and territorialism over the greater good. Perhaps that's a symptom of this book being released back in 2002 - four years earlier than the first Horus Heresy book and at the height of the popularity of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, both of which drew very clear lines between good and evil.

Overall a solid if unspectacular introduction to the Ventris-led series. It will be interesting to see how the character develops as the series progresses.

[La Criatura]

Read a M41 loyalist Space Marine novel AND it's the Ultramarines? What is the world coming to...

It does feel like a little bit of an exaggeration to call this an Ultramarines novel because while they are there, the book is hardly about them, until like the last 50 or so pages. I kind of liked that, quite honestly. I really did think it was fun to read about the insane local politics on this planet while Ventris was just. There. It's kind of interesting to think that the audience surrogate character in this book that's mostly about human bullshit IS the Space Marine but it really does feel like it.

Ventris himself is a fun guy. I don't really go in for Ultramarines as a breed but he's kind of Ultramarine to the point where it verges on self-parody, which I really enjoyed. It's cute. He's cute. He's JUST a little guy. Getting all the local political players explained to him and having him go "Hmm. Well I really like the guy who didn't die of elf torture" cracked me up. Full disclosure I did start his books specifically because I have seen him CRAZY pregnant and wanted to know why exactly this random blueberry was getting the business like that but even without that context I do quite like him and do want to read more about him. I will make an exception because he looks very polite.

As an aside, if I had a nickel for every time I've read about a man getting graphically sexually assaulted in 40K I would have two nickels, which isn't necessarily weird except for the fact that it was written by the same person both times. The author's barely disguised fetish (said with UTMOST affection, do NOT get it twisted).

[Edu Harkonnen · Rating 5 out of 5]

El inicio de una saga de libros épica donde descubrir todos los secretos y costumbres del capítulo de los Ultramarines.

El protagonista, Uriel Ventris, recuerda muchísimo a Demetrian Titus del videojuego “Space Marine” y no es para menos pues para el primer juego de inspiraron en estos personajes.

Una puerta de entrada perfecta si quieres imbuirte del LORE de Warhammer 40K tras haber jugado al videojuego.

Muy recomendable.

[Книґо Маняк · Rating 4 out of 5]

Як і очікувалось, епічність і брутальність зашкалює!
Стилістика ультрамаринів сподобалась - браві воїни, які керуються виключно справедливістю несуть волю імператора людства. З того самого світу серія книг про Ейзенгорна більш сюжетна і захоплива, але ця книга теж варта уваги, хоча б задля загальної обізнаності всесвіту.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good introduction into the 40k universe, though slightly jumpy in how it read the overall story is very good.

[Conner Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Fun and well paced, gritty and violent.

[Sedetormenta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi primer acercamiento a warhammer 40k con este libro, los marines de ultramar son una locura, ahora a leer más cosas sobre este inmenso universo

[Michail Almyros · Rating 5 out of 5]

He shouted: Courage and Honour, You are the Ultramarines! Stand Firm!

[Alejandro Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy lento al principio describiendo perfectamente las distintas luchas de poder entre corporaciones imperiales, pero a medida que se acerca el final se desata. Narración maravillosa de los combates.