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Yarrick #Novella
Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha
From the ashes of the Second War of Armageddon a hero of the Imperium emerged. War-torn and bloody, Commissar Yarrick swore vengeance on the beast that escaped his righteous wrath, the despoiler of Armageddon - Ghazghkull Thraka. Tracking down the ork warlord to the desolate world of Golgotha, Yarrick leads an armoured company to destroy the beast but does not reckon on Thraka's cunning. Ambushed, his army all-but destroyed, Yarrick is captured and awakes to find himself aboard the beast's space hulk facing a fate worse than death...
Read it because
Between the Armageddon Wars, the rivalry between Yarrick and Ghazghkull only grew. This is the story of a time they met during that period and the… unusual ending to that meeting.
98 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 11, 2013
"Mr. Boring meets Mr. Ugly"
"Oh hey there. Most people call me Yarrick, some call me THE CLAW. Although some may think my personality dower and dull, I'm hopeful that those who are deluded by Black Library will feel that a 122 page novella is worth £12. You shall see the light. I'm stoic, I will never surrender and will sacrifice all for the glory of the Black Library. What's not to like about me?"
As you may be able to tell, I'm a little annoyed with the price point. I've been reading BL's stuff for yonks now, and just feel they are taking liberties with the fans. I'd happily take over their marketing department and set things straight. Making money is an important aspect of business, but taking advantage of the clientèle is not.
Let's talk about the story Yarrick - Chains of Golgotha. Welcome to hell! Isn't it always a crappy environment, untold number of enemies and a man riddled with self-doubt that makes up a BL story these days. Having said that, the brief story isn't bad at all. Yarrick has about as much appeal to me as stabbing a fork in my eye, but then the other characters make up the story (I'll get to them). POV is mainly from Yarrick or Rogge, a commander of a reserve tank regiment. Yarrick, sometime after Armagaddon has been pursuing his nemesis Ghazghkull Thraka doggedly. The commissar catches up with him on Golgotha, or so he believes. Q-massive-cock-up and we're there.
Some aspects I enjoyed such as a particularly cowardly individual who believes himself to be the best thing since Michael Jordan! The wordplay between Yarrick and Thraka was fairly good. Fairly standard though. Yarrick is a terrible character, there is just nothing to him beyond his hunger to beat Thraka. There are far more interesting commissars, such as Cain or Gaunt. Not much else to add. So I'll say anything else.
"Oh hey there. Most people call me Yarrick, some call me THE CLAW. Although some may think my personality dower and dull, I'm hopeful that those who are deluded by Black Library will feel that a 122 page novella is worth £12. You shall see the light. I'm stoic, I will never surrender and will sacrifice all for the glory of the Black Library. What's not to like about me?"
As you may be able to tell, I'm a little annoyed with the price point. I've been reading BL's stuff for yonks now, and just feel they are taking liberties with the fans. I'd happily take over their marketing department and set things straight. Making money is an important aspect of business, but taking advantage of the clientèle is not.
Let's talk about the story Yarrick - Chains of Golgotha. Welcome to hell! Isn't it always a crappy environment, untold number of enemies and a man riddled with self-doubt that makes up a BL story these days. Having said that, the brief story isn't bad at all. Yarrick has about as much appeal to me as stabbing a fork in my eye, but then the other characters make up the story (I'll get to them). POV is mainly from Yarrick or Rogge, a commander of a reserve tank regiment. Yarrick, sometime after Armagaddon has been pursuing his nemesis Ghazghkull Thraka doggedly. The commissar catches up with him on Golgotha, or so he believes. Q-massive-cock-up and we're there.
Some aspects I enjoyed such as a particularly cowardly individual who believes himself to be the best thing since Michael Jordan! The wordplay between Yarrick and Thraka was fairly good. Fairly standard though. Yarrick is a terrible character, there is just nothing to him beyond his hunger to beat Thraka. There are far more interesting commissars, such as Cain or Gaunt. Not much else to add. So I'll say anything else.
February 11, 2013
Absolutely brilliant! Excellent, right up there with my favorites, surpassing quite a few of them. Worth every penny or cent, solid both in presentation and content.
This novella has absolutely done both Sebastian Yarrick and Ghazghkull Thraka full justice despite the limited amount of pages. Everything comes together perfectly in such a way that the legendary Commissar and the Ork prophet gained a vast amount of depth without any drawbacks I could think of.
Ever since Evil Eye I had hoped for David Annandale to write more about Yarrick - and he did. From now on I can safely say that he delivered; the story was everything I had wished for and more.
Now I need to distract myself until the arrival of Death of Antagonis in roughly ~11 days. Maybe I'll even re-read Chains of Golgotha...
This novella has absolutely done both Sebastian Yarrick and Ghazghkull Thraka full justice despite the limited amount of pages. Everything comes together perfectly in such a way that the legendary Commissar and the Ork prophet gained a vast amount of depth without any drawbacks I could think of.
Ever since Evil Eye I had hoped for David Annandale to write more about Yarrick - and he did. From now on I can safely say that he delivered; the story was everything I had wished for and more.
Now I need to distract myself until the arrival of Death of Antagonis in roughly ~11 days. Maybe I'll even re-read Chains of Golgotha...
January 7, 2019
Oh boy. Thraka is a good boy.
December 22, 2018
While having far less content and events than the Pyres of Armageddon book, it is leagues apart in quality. This is a book worthy of Yarrick and W40K.
Yarrick is captured put onboard an ork space hulk. And the orks quickly realize that he is not trapped in there with them, but that they are trapped in it with him! Mwahaha!
If you can get this book anywhere. Give it a read.
Yarrick is captured put onboard an ork space hulk. And the orks quickly realize that he is not trapped in there with them, but that they are trapped in it with him! Mwahaha!
If you can get this book anywhere. Give it a read.
January 20, 2013
An amazing read from start to finish.
November 11, 2021
Not much to say here. Pretty bite-sized, decently enjoyable. Yarrick vs wozname again (Thrakka von Gakka or whatever?). An interesting character or two in addition who we get POVs from. Since the other one I read was such a 'just wait for the climax' sort of tale, I was kind of curious if this would be the same. Definitely not as explosive or OTT, but the ending did certainly pay off in some fun, gruesome ways, and end on a decidedly unnerving note. Looking forward to more Yarrick, despite the character himself being pretty no-note.
June 27, 2020
Taking Commissar Yarrick as prisoner is generally not considered as good idea. Being thrown into Orc ship and getting out while causing prison uprising and impress orcs to the point of letting him go was something so typical for Yarrick.
January 1, 2024
Yarrick is captured and imprisoned by his nemesis.
March 7, 2024
Wow. Just wow.
February 21, 2025
The worst of a bad series.
May 24, 2016
I mentioned in a previous review that I’m a huge fan of the Warhammer I.P. fiction published by Black Library, particularly the Warhammer 40k line; I have over a hundred novels on my shelves, and continue to buy them when I get the chance. However the quality of the novels, novellas and short stories put out by Black Library, to put it politely, varies massively in quality. At its worst, it can be indifferently-written and turgid, easily reverting to what some fans refer to as ‘Bolter-Porn’ – endless pages of giant, heavily-armoured Space Marines mowing down enemies while shouting generic platitudes at each other, the characters a bunch of stereotypes that are barely fleshed-out, if at all.
However, there are a small number of authors writing for the Black Library that easily rise above the rest, producing brilliantly-written fiction that puts their own definite stamp on the Warhammer 40k canon. David Annandale is one of these authors: starting with the short story The Carrion Anthem, an intriguing take on how music could be used to spread a contagion, he has gone on to write a number of excellent short stories and novels, which I believe easily puts him into the front-rank of Black Library authors in terms of quality and readability. Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha, is in my opinion still his finest piece of writing.
Commissar Sebastian Yarrick is easily one of the most popular and well-known characters in the entire 40k canon. The very definition of ‘grizzled’, Yarrick really only has two defining attributes: a fanatical belief in the Emperor, and a fanatical hatred of the Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. Yarrick’s entire character really only revolves around those twinned concepts, and could therefore easily fall into a two-dimensional stereotype. Perhaps as a result, prior to this novella Yarrick rarely appeared in Warhammer fiction; when he did, it was always as a cameo, never as a point-of-view character. It is therefore to Annandale’s credit that he has managed to flesh Yarrick out as a character, retaining those key characteristics while managing to make the Commissar an interesting and engaging character.
Annandale’s Yarrick, portrayed here nearly (but not quite) at the apex of his character arc, is a man devoted to the cause of finding and killing Thraka; he will go to any length to achieve this goal, calling in every favour and using every iota of influence that he has to assemble a force to hunt down the Ork Warlord. At the same time, however, he is also aware of the legend that is already growing around him, which makes him deeply uncomfortable – he understands that it will happen regardless of his feelings about it, and uses the legend to pursue his goal, but believes that he is ultimately no different to any other soldier of the Emperor.
Yarrick is superbly realised and well-written, and the same high standard is present in the novella itself. Chains of Golgotha is tightly-paced, well-written and atmospheric as hell, with an innate understanding of its main character and what drives him. The first half of the novella never lets up the pace, from the creepy and atmospheric opening chapter, in which a monster slowly inches its way up a shaft towards freedom, and bloody vengeance on its captors, to the Blitzkrieg-paced tank battles that take place during the pursuit, and then rout, on Golgotha. The second half of the book, in which Yarrick is taken prisoner, along with the survivors of his force, does slow down somewhat, but only to allow a greater insight into Yarrick’s mind, and to see how even in the worst of situations, he is able to use his faith and hatred to rally the prisoners in a suicidal attack on their Ork captors. The final chapters, in which Yarrick discovers just how much he has underestimated Thraka, are a brilliant set-up to a story that, unfortunately, has yet to be told.
Ultimately, this is not just a brilliant Warhammer 40k novel, but a brilliant piece of science-fiction writing in general, and a book that deserves to be on the shelf of any discerning science-fiction fan, irregardless of whether they are a fan of the Warhammer setting itself.
However, there are a small number of authors writing for the Black Library that easily rise above the rest, producing brilliantly-written fiction that puts their own definite stamp on the Warhammer 40k canon. David Annandale is one of these authors: starting with the short story The Carrion Anthem, an intriguing take on how music could be used to spread a contagion, he has gone on to write a number of excellent short stories and novels, which I believe easily puts him into the front-rank of Black Library authors in terms of quality and readability. Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha, is in my opinion still his finest piece of writing.
Commissar Sebastian Yarrick is easily one of the most popular and well-known characters in the entire 40k canon. The very definition of ‘grizzled’, Yarrick really only has two defining attributes: a fanatical belief in the Emperor, and a fanatical hatred of the Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. Yarrick’s entire character really only revolves around those twinned concepts, and could therefore easily fall into a two-dimensional stereotype. Perhaps as a result, prior to this novella Yarrick rarely appeared in Warhammer fiction; when he did, it was always as a cameo, never as a point-of-view character. It is therefore to Annandale’s credit that he has managed to flesh Yarrick out as a character, retaining those key characteristics while managing to make the Commissar an interesting and engaging character.
Annandale’s Yarrick, portrayed here nearly (but not quite) at the apex of his character arc, is a man devoted to the cause of finding and killing Thraka; he will go to any length to achieve this goal, calling in every favour and using every iota of influence that he has to assemble a force to hunt down the Ork Warlord. At the same time, however, he is also aware of the legend that is already growing around him, which makes him deeply uncomfortable – he understands that it will happen regardless of his feelings about it, and uses the legend to pursue his goal, but believes that he is ultimately no different to any other soldier of the Emperor.
Yarrick is superbly realised and well-written, and the same high standard is present in the novella itself. Chains of Golgotha is tightly-paced, well-written and atmospheric as hell, with an innate understanding of its main character and what drives him. The first half of the novella never lets up the pace, from the creepy and atmospheric opening chapter, in which a monster slowly inches its way up a shaft towards freedom, and bloody vengeance on its captors, to the Blitzkrieg-paced tank battles that take place during the pursuit, and then rout, on Golgotha. The second half of the book, in which Yarrick is taken prisoner, along with the survivors of his force, does slow down somewhat, but only to allow a greater insight into Yarrick’s mind, and to see how even in the worst of situations, he is able to use his faith and hatred to rally the prisoners in a suicidal attack on their Ork captors. The final chapters, in which Yarrick discovers just how much he has underestimated Thraka, are a brilliant set-up to a story that, unfortunately, has yet to be told.
Ultimately, this is not just a brilliant Warhammer 40k novel, but a brilliant piece of science-fiction writing in general, and a book that deserves to be on the shelf of any discerning science-fiction fan, irregardless of whether they are a fan of the Warhammer setting itself.
June 5, 2014
I got into this book imagining tons of action, gutsy dialogue play and characters dying left and right. And that is what I got exactly, but with much more. In the short space of the novella the author really puts a lot into our prospective. He gets really into the minds of his characters and through the balls to the wall action he still manages to make us like even the minor side characters and keeps us guessing as to the next little twist or turn of the story.
The story starts in the middle of a campaign in Golgotha as Yarrick with his forces are chasing the ork armies while reaching for a rendezvous point. He thinks finally the momentum might be in his favor but suddenly Ghazghkull Thraka once again does a smart maneuver and ambushes the imperial army with a massive force. Eventually the battle is lost and Yarrick along with the survivors are taken as a prisoner into a Space Hulk. Then the struggle starts to get his revenge or die trying.
The narration is mostly through the voice of Yarrick but also has a few bits thorough Rogge, Helm and Behriman. The main narrative is done quite brilliantly as we get deep into the psyche of Yarrick, we gets to learn his motives and desires, at times we even wonder who is more ruthless, he or Thraka. The action sequences are quite vivid and imaginative and David Annandale really knows how to write a sense of desperation. As a new reader who doesn't know that much Warhammer 40k lore, I loved the way the author handled the plot and the characters including the impressive antagonist Thraka.
The visceral and brutal description of the battles as well the minimal yet brilliant forays into the minds of the characters really does make us wonder what the author could do within the scope of a full novel with these characters. The only real negative point for me about this novella is its short length and that it just might be a bit too pricy. The cover art and the interior maps were nice touches too.
Overall, this is very highly recommended for any fans of Warahammer 40k and I would recommend it as a jumping in point for new readers too who just doesn't wanna start from the very beginning of things. I, myself will be quickly getting my hands on other works from David Annandale now cause he really does know how to write this stuff well in my opinion.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
For more reviews and stuff check out my blog -
http://ihate00critics.blogspot.com/
The story starts in the middle of a campaign in Golgotha as Yarrick with his forces are chasing the ork armies while reaching for a rendezvous point. He thinks finally the momentum might be in his favor but suddenly Ghazghkull Thraka once again does a smart maneuver and ambushes the imperial army with a massive force. Eventually the battle is lost and Yarrick along with the survivors are taken as a prisoner into a Space Hulk. Then the struggle starts to get his revenge or die trying.
The narration is mostly through the voice of Yarrick but also has a few bits thorough Rogge, Helm and Behriman. The main narrative is done quite brilliantly as we get deep into the psyche of Yarrick, we gets to learn his motives and desires, at times we even wonder who is more ruthless, he or Thraka. The action sequences are quite vivid and imaginative and David Annandale really knows how to write a sense of desperation. As a new reader who doesn't know that much Warhammer 40k lore, I loved the way the author handled the plot and the characters including the impressive antagonist Thraka.
The visceral and brutal description of the battles as well the minimal yet brilliant forays into the minds of the characters really does make us wonder what the author could do within the scope of a full novel with these characters. The only real negative point for me about this novella is its short length and that it just might be a bit too pricy. The cover art and the interior maps were nice touches too.
Overall, this is very highly recommended for any fans of Warahammer 40k and I would recommend it as a jumping in point for new readers too who just doesn't wanna start from the very beginning of things. I, myself will be quickly getting my hands on other works from David Annandale now cause he really does know how to write this stuff well in my opinion.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
For more reviews and stuff check out my blog -
http://ihate00critics.blogspot.com/
February 2, 2013
What an interesting good read. One of those tales that we all know what is going to happenned but never knew details. As we all know Yarrick was chasing Ghazgkull Thraka, the despoiler of Second War of Armageddon. After leaving the world behind Yarrick goes on a hunt for his old nemesis. Pacts and deals being made so he could have the manpower to deal with the Ork. After months of fighting but never getting near of Thraka they track him down to Golgotha. There they chase the Ork but Yarrick being to arrogant (what a character) never thought that Orks are not merely beasts. They can be cunning and make tactics, well most of them cannot. They will fight anyone, anywhere, even among themselves but never making what you can call a tactic of attack. But, it seems Thraka is different. Being defeated Yarrick is taken prisioner and must fight the orks in their own ground and join the remaining prisioners under the same goal.
It's one of the those novels that really made you love the Warhammer 40K setting. Yarrick is an arrogant bastard, yet you root for him and a typical Commissar (no Gaunt or Ciaphas here).
I really enjoyed the novel because it gave a new light on the Orks, the savages of 40k. Not much of a spoiler because how the novel turns out it's avaiable out there in the fluff of Yarrick. David Annandale is a good writer in my opinion.
Interesting fact is that Gunheads by Steve Parker connects with this tale because in that tale they are trying to recover the Tank used by Yarrick in the last battle of Golgotha.
It's one of the those novels that really made you love the Warhammer 40K setting. Yarrick is an arrogant bastard, yet you root for him and a typical Commissar (no Gaunt or Ciaphas here).
I really enjoyed the novel because it gave a new light on the Orks, the savages of 40k. Not much of a spoiler because how the novel turns out it's avaiable out there in the fluff of Yarrick. David Annandale is a good writer in my opinion.
Interesting fact is that Gunheads by Steve Parker connects with this tale because in that tale they are trying to recover the Tank used by Yarrick in the last battle of Golgotha.
August 30, 2013
Not all the scenes are in Yarrick's point of view but he is the main character, no doubt about it. The author wrote the Yarrick scenes in 1st person so it’s really a good insight into what is at first perceived as a hero. However he is quite mad and is hungry for revenge and will do so at any cost. He easily throws fellow human lives away and thinks that his doing okay because his serving the Emperor. At times I felt that Yarrick was as much the monster as Thraka, which makes sense as they are the perfect rivals. We don’t see much from Thraka but it is clear that he isn’t just a mindless ork who shoots at whatever moves; he is cunning and has vision.
Personally I can’t say too much about the author as Chains of Golgotha is the first piece that I've read that he wrote. But am impressed, he really made me rethink my concept of what Yarrick is like and even Thraka, whom I knew already, was quite cunning. Although short, just being a novella, it was very captivating and I could imagine this being a fantastic movie if put in the right hands. The author has also written two more novels which I’m interested in trying.
Over all I enjoyed reading this novella, it offered up a different point of view on a very famous hero. I’d recommend this to people who like twists, action, darkness and above all else Imperial Guard. I give this novella 5 stars, I can’t find anything to fault it on.
Personally I can’t say too much about the author as Chains of Golgotha is the first piece that I've read that he wrote. But am impressed, he really made me rethink my concept of what Yarrick is like and even Thraka, whom I knew already, was quite cunning. Although short, just being a novella, it was very captivating and I could imagine this being a fantastic movie if put in the right hands. The author has also written two more novels which I’m interested in trying.
Over all I enjoyed reading this novella, it offered up a different point of view on a very famous hero. I’d recommend this to people who like twists, action, darkness and above all else Imperial Guard. I give this novella 5 stars, I can’t find anything to fault it on.
January 18, 2014
A short novella, fast paced and to the point. I read it in no time and it felt like it.
The story is, as you'd expect, around Yarrick which in itself is going to be hard to sell. Yarrick in 40K is a hero but is not a sympathetic character at all. He's a fanatic, a hate-filled, single minded dominator that gets people killed in his rage against the Ork. So selling him as anything but that would be wrong.
I think David Annandale was placed in a creative bind when writing this, he has to portray a piece of 40K canon but yet still write a good story. The thing is the protagonist can seem like a liability and the sort of man who if one was to follow then death truly is your only reward. I only wish we could see more of the interesting worlds Yarrick sees (and then burns) about him because Yarrick is actually the least interesting thing in the book. Maybe I have no time for fanatics and this might not have been aimed at me but it was a fun read.
So that is my issue with it, not the writing which is skilled and fast paced as one would expect. I'd like to read more by the author and I look forward to doing so. It's a shame that the subject matter did not allow that to flourish.
The story is, as you'd expect, around Yarrick which in itself is going to be hard to sell. Yarrick in 40K is a hero but is not a sympathetic character at all. He's a fanatic, a hate-filled, single minded dominator that gets people killed in his rage against the Ork. So selling him as anything but that would be wrong.
I think David Annandale was placed in a creative bind when writing this, he has to portray a piece of 40K canon but yet still write a good story. The thing is the protagonist can seem like a liability and the sort of man who if one was to follow then death truly is your only reward. I only wish we could see more of the interesting worlds Yarrick sees (and then burns) about him because Yarrick is actually the least interesting thing in the book. Maybe I have no time for fanatics and this might not have been aimed at me but it was a fun read.
So that is my issue with it, not the writing which is skilled and fast paced as one would expect. I'd like to read more by the author and I look forward to doing so. It's a shame that the subject matter did not allow that to flourish.
July 24, 2014
A very interesting tale- Yarrick, leading an army of vengeance against the Ork Warlord Thraka, gets ambushed, his army gets massacred and he in turn becomes a prisoner of the orks aboard a space-hulk being used as Thraka's main base of operations. Yarrick organizes a rebellion of the human prisoners in the hopes of killing Thraka himself, but Thraka has been playing Yarrick all along. Thraka allows Yarrick to live-just so Thraka can have the honor of facing Yarrick in yet another War for Armageddon.
An excellent novella, really hoping this will be a longish series by David Annandale as I like how he brings Yarrick to life. Admittedly I'm not the biggest fan of first person narrative structure, but it's spliced in with third person viewpoints from other characters.
Overall a quick, easy yet satisfying read. Looking forward to see what Annandale does with Yarrick.
Recommended.
An excellent novella, really hoping this will be a longish series by David Annandale as I like how he brings Yarrick to life. Admittedly I'm not the biggest fan of first person narrative structure, but it's spliced in with third person viewpoints from other characters.
Overall a quick, easy yet satisfying read. Looking forward to see what Annandale does with Yarrick.
Recommended.
February 27, 2014
I'll admit, I wasn't expecting too much from this little Novella - the characters of Yarrick and Thraka are well-established in 40K lore, but also archetypal of it, and David Annandale is a fresh-faced addition to the Black Library stable - that said, he acquits himself extremely well. In a scant 125 pages, he gives some real meat to both of the monolithic architects of the Armageddon War, making them simultaneously bigger-than-life archons of their respective races, and also relatable characters in their own right. This is a highly recommended addition to anyone's 40K bookshelf, and I hope that, someday, we might see a sequel (of sorts).
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews