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Path of the Dark Eldar #3
Path of the Archon
Final novel in the Dark Eldar Path trilogy
The eternal city of Commorragh is no longer beset by the horrors of the Dysjunction, but the scars of its passage remain. Now the supreme overlord, Asdrubael Vect, strives to reassert his authority over the anarchic city before hidden challengers can make their bid for power. The noble Yllithian frantically seeks new allies to put between himself and the overlord’s wrath, the Mandrake kings muster and Vect prepares to unleash his most fearsome weapons against his own people as Commorragh erupts into open war.
The eternal city of Commorragh is no longer beset by the horrors of the Dysjunction, but the scars of its passage remain. Now the supreme overlord, Asdrubael Vect, strives to reassert his authority over the anarchic city before hidden challengers can make their bid for power. The noble Yllithian frantically seeks new allies to put between himself and the overlord’s wrath, the Mandrake kings muster and Vect prepares to unleash his most fearsome weapons against his own people as Commorragh erupts into open war.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 25, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 4, 2020
So, you're a writer for hire and a publishing company, let's say they're called the Black Library, get in contact saying they want you to write a trilogy of novels.
'I'll see if I can fit you in,' you say, when what you actually mean is, 'Thank God, now I'm not going to have to moonlight as an Amazon delivery man.'
And then you get your brief.
Turns out, you've got to write a trilogy of novels in which the heroes are a bunch of psychopathic interstellar elves who don't so much get off on causing pain and death but actually need to do so in order to stop themselves being dragged down the insatiable maw of the hermaphroditic, but mostly female, goddess of excess. These are interstellar elves who take seriously Aleister Crowley's dictum, 'Do what thou wilt shall be all of the law.'
So, how do you write about them? Do you take them seriously as creatures dedicated to pain and excess? Do you make them the monsters they truly are? Trying to think of an example in a human context, the obvious - Nazis, serial killers, etc - come to mind but a better example for the truly stomach churning nature of these elves of excess would be Ian Watkins, the child-molesting lead singer of the Lost Prophets, since he combined both the rock star glamour and the truly disgusting determination to plunge to the depths of what is possible in human depravity.
Andy Chambers, thankfully, decided not to go there. I don't think I could have born a trilogy in the company of creatures as depraved as that. So, yes, they are Dark Eldar, sadists and masochists, but the torture is largely off page and the machinations brought to the fore, so the trilogy can be enjoyed as a ruthless political thriller, House of Cards in the stars. As such, Chambers creates a cast of amusingly ruthless characters, illuminates - as far as is possible - the Dark City, Commorragh, where the Dark Elves dwell, and takes us on thrilling journeys along the webway, the skein of twisted reality that slides between our world and the Warp, where the Dark Eldar hide from that thirsty god who desires their souls.
So, a thoroughly enjoyable romp among the stars in the company of pschyo elves, rather than a face plant into depravity. Phew!
'I'll see if I can fit you in,' you say, when what you actually mean is, 'Thank God, now I'm not going to have to moonlight as an Amazon delivery man.'
And then you get your brief.
Turns out, you've got to write a trilogy of novels in which the heroes are a bunch of psychopathic interstellar elves who don't so much get off on causing pain and death but actually need to do so in order to stop themselves being dragged down the insatiable maw of the hermaphroditic, but mostly female, goddess of excess. These are interstellar elves who take seriously Aleister Crowley's dictum, 'Do what thou wilt shall be all of the law.'
So, how do you write about them? Do you take them seriously as creatures dedicated to pain and excess? Do you make them the monsters they truly are? Trying to think of an example in a human context, the obvious - Nazis, serial killers, etc - come to mind but a better example for the truly stomach churning nature of these elves of excess would be Ian Watkins, the child-molesting lead singer of the Lost Prophets, since he combined both the rock star glamour and the truly disgusting determination to plunge to the depths of what is possible in human depravity.
Andy Chambers, thankfully, decided not to go there. I don't think I could have born a trilogy in the company of creatures as depraved as that. So, yes, they are Dark Eldar, sadists and masochists, but the torture is largely off page and the machinations brought to the fore, so the trilogy can be enjoyed as a ruthless political thriller, House of Cards in the stars. As such, Chambers creates a cast of amusingly ruthless characters, illuminates - as far as is possible - the Dark City, Commorragh, where the Dark Elves dwell, and takes us on thrilling journeys along the webway, the skein of twisted reality that slides between our world and the Warp, where the Dark Eldar hide from that thirsty god who desires their souls.
So, a thoroughly enjoyable romp among the stars in the company of pschyo elves, rather than a face plant into depravity. Phew!
November 6, 2019
Good end to a good trilogy
September 10, 2021
Guess I'll be the odd reviewer out and say that I think this book is the worst in the trilogy. The first half was very promising, with mostly characters I liked returning, and all of them given much more specific and interesting goals than the "try not to die" plot of the previous book. The writing overall was just as always: chock full of lore, vicious where called for, and well paced. There were several "aha!" moments where characters came together in interesting ways that got me excited. A few new characters showed up that I didn't particularly care about, but at least they were more important than some of the additions in Incubus.
But the second half was a big letdown for me, and because of that, I think the whole trilogy suffered. As I got closer to the climax I started getting impatient with the amount of loredumps still going on. In the first two books, almost every major reveal was setup by something that came before it, but not so in Archon - huge developments sprang seemingly out of nowhere, just for the convenience it, which then needed to be overexplained. They might have had more impact if told more closely from the point of view of the characters we've grown attached to, but there were way too many times where the "camera" would pull back and we'd be treated to a montage of events, rather than the experience of them. Visually impressive, but it rang utterly hollow for me.
And the characters! I was not expecting happy endings for just about anyone, and on paper everyone's story ended pretty much exactly where they were always meant to. In execution, though, several sendoffs felt very dull and rushed, as if the characters being killed off were ones we were never meant to care about, not ones we'd spent the majority of the trilogy with. I wanted to inhabit their POV at the moment of their demise for some kind of catharsis. Instead it felt like I was being chided for caring too much.
To be clear - I'm talking about characters I knew from the start would die. Their deaths didn't bother me. I just wanted to enjoy them more.
This being the end of the trilogy, it also becomes a little too obvious which characters and threads were completely dropped. Some hugely important and some utterly forgettable characters fell off the map across the trilogy, and some threads turned out to be inconsequential. Like Renegade there was a space before the finale where everything suddenly felt rushed, where all sorts of super important things happened that the reader only got snapshots of. Really did feel like Chambers just ran up against a deadline because he was so busy cramming lore into earlier parts of the story. But that's just my feeling.
On a very picky, personal note, I also didn't care for the more experimental portions of narrative in this book - the introspective of the "narrator" and the hopping into present tense or italics. They came across as pretentious to me, and the epilogue downright condescending. I don't need to be told how to feel about what I just read, thank you, author!
So overall, I am glad I finished the trilogy. I still like these characters a lot, I enjoyed how (most) of the plot fit together with some great moments, clever schemes, charming coincidences, etc. I learned a whole lot of lore, and I would give some of Chambers' other stories a shot. But I don't think it came together as well as it thought it did, so overall I'd give the series a 3.5 stars, and this one a 2.5 for being what brought it down.
But the second half was a big letdown for me, and because of that, I think the whole trilogy suffered. As I got closer to the climax I started getting impatient with the amount of loredumps still going on. In the first two books, almost every major reveal was setup by something that came before it, but not so in Archon - huge developments sprang seemingly out of nowhere, just for the convenience it, which then needed to be overexplained. They might have had more impact if told more closely from the point of view of the characters we've grown attached to, but there were way too many times where the "camera" would pull back and we'd be treated to a montage of events, rather than the experience of them. Visually impressive, but it rang utterly hollow for me.
And the characters! I was not expecting happy endings for just about anyone, and on paper everyone's story ended pretty much exactly where they were always meant to. In execution, though, several sendoffs felt very dull and rushed, as if the characters being killed off were ones we were never meant to care about, not ones we'd spent the majority of the trilogy with. I wanted to inhabit their POV at the moment of their demise for some kind of catharsis. Instead it felt like I was being chided for caring too much.
To be clear - I'm talking about characters I knew from the start would die. Their deaths didn't bother me. I just wanted to enjoy them more.
This being the end of the trilogy, it also becomes a little too obvious which characters and threads were completely dropped. Some hugely important and some utterly forgettable characters fell off the map across the trilogy, and some threads turned out to be inconsequential. Like Renegade there was a space before the finale where everything suddenly felt rushed, where all sorts of super important things happened that the reader only got snapshots of. Really did feel like Chambers just ran up against a deadline because he was so busy cramming lore into earlier parts of the story. But that's just my feeling.
On a very picky, personal note, I also didn't care for the more experimental portions of narrative in this book - the introspective of the "narrator" and the hopping into present tense or italics. They came across as pretentious to me, and the epilogue downright condescending. I don't need to be told how to feel about what I just read, thank you, author!
So overall, I am glad I finished the trilogy. I still like these characters a lot, I enjoyed how (most) of the plot fit together with some great moments, clever schemes, charming coincidences, etc. I learned a whole lot of lore, and I would give some of Chambers' other stories a shot. But I don't think it came together as well as it thought it did, so overall I'd give the series a 3.5 stars, and this one a 2.5 for being what brought it down.
June 11, 2021
This series kicks ass! It gives you a really good look into how life in the Dark City works while also not making it to 'human' in the process. Never while reading this did I get the feeling I was just reading about some oddly dressed humans. While the characters are great and relatable and the city of Commorragh is wonderfully fleshed out it still remains very...alien, very strange.
Getting to see how the Exodites and Harlequins live and operate was also a very nice. The action was amazing as well and once again gives you a good look at how the Dark Eldar fight whether it be against each other or other races.
Morr, Motley and Bellathonis are characters I will never forget.
All I can say is read this. You will not regret it.
Getting to see how the Exodites and Harlequins live and operate was also a very nice. The action was amazing as well and once again gives you a good look at how the Dark Eldar fight whether it be against each other or other races.
Morr, Motley and Bellathonis are characters I will never forget.
All I can say is read this. You will not regret it.
March 10, 2023
Honeslty, this is such a brilliant end to a brilliant trilogy.
The ending is a little hard and fast, but it's the same in the other books.
It's a joy. All the characters come out to play, and then it ends with an amazing example of exactly what makes the dark eldar so twisted.
Amazing! Why couldent it be a 10 book serise!
The ending is a little hard and fast, but it's the same in the other books.
It's a joy. All the characters come out to play, and then it ends with an amazing example of exactly what makes the dark eldar so twisted.
Amazing! Why couldent it be a 10 book serise!
September 1, 2018
As in previous novels, the secondary characters remained the most interesting. Motley himself the best.
April 23, 2014
The Dark Eldar Trilogy comes to an end in a brutal climax. Ambitious Archons' plans come fully out in the open to wrest power from the Dark City's master and although the end is never fully in doubt, the events leading up to it are interesting to read through. The writing is light, the characters are likeable and the plot is fun to follow. The action even ramps up to an apocalyptic level.
April 17, 2014
Not a bad look at the Dark Eldar, but Chambers put a little too much "human" in their speech patterns and colloquialisms. Spending some time in the shadow realm was neat, and talos engines certainly seem a lot cooler now!
May 24, 2014
The thrilling conclusion of the Dark Eldar trilogy, in which the rebellion of Nyos Yilithian against the immortal Asdrubael Vect finally begins.
August 22, 2015
Was a great last title to the trilogy....ist a good book and a good Story. The reading was fun and i loved the characters....Erlekin the Harlequin was just pure fun...i love this Little jumpy guy
August 1, 2014
Not as good as the last two and a very rushed ending there should have been a 4th book...
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews