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Warhammer 40,000
Yarrick: The Omnibus
Before he was a legend, Commissar Yarrick was already a hero, as you'll discover in this omnibus of two novels, a novella and six short stories set across his life and career.
once just a name, but now a hero, forged from the blood of the Imperium’s enemies. Time after time, Commissar Sebastian Yarrick has fearlessly led Imperial forces to victory beneath black banners of vengeance, even when defeat seemed inevitable. From his early campaigns as a newly blooded officer from the Schola Progenium ranks, to the brutal battles of the Second and Third Wars for Armageddon, one thing has never Yarrick will not fail.
This gripping omnibus contains all of author David Annandale’s stories about the famed commissar, and includes two novels – Imperial Creed and The Pyres of Armageddon – along with the novella Chains of Golgotha and six short stories, each revealing the bloody battles that helped shape a legend.
once just a name, but now a hero, forged from the blood of the Imperium’s enemies. Time after time, Commissar Sebastian Yarrick has fearlessly led Imperial forces to victory beneath black banners of vengeance, even when defeat seemed inevitable. From his early campaigns as a newly blooded officer from the Schola Progenium ranks, to the brutal battles of the Second and Third Wars for Armageddon, one thing has never Yarrick will not fail.
This gripping omnibus contains all of author David Annandale’s stories about the famed commissar, and includes two novels – Imperial Creed and The Pyres of Armageddon – along with the novella Chains of Golgotha and six short stories, each revealing the bloody battles that helped shape a legend.
608 pages, Paperback
Published February 13, 2024
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249 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 19, 2021
Having just read, and adored, Ghazghkull it made sense to move onto Sebastian Yarrick, his famous grimgrod, or favourite enemy.
This Omnibus collects two novels, one novella and a handful of short stories that provide Yarrick’s bale-eye view of various events from his life.
The majority of the collection, perhaps inevitably, focuses on the Second War for Armageddon, and while this is an iconic and really interesting conflict that I’ll happily read about for days on end, it’s when it focuses on ‘lesser’ engagements that it really shines.
The opening novel, The Imperial Creed, sees one of Yarrick’s formative experiences as a novice Commissar, and Annandale delivers a story that is more than just a series of battle sequences- as is his later works suggest, Annandale is disconcertingly comfortable in writing about the disturbing and insidious nature of Chaos. In placing a green Commissar in unfamiliar environments where he cannot just execute his way out of problems we get a nicely nuanced look at the role they must play in the Imperial Guard. This more subtle approach is also evident in the short story, The Gallows Saint.
The novella, Chains of Golgotha also takes Yarrick out of his usual milieux and is the other standout in this volume. It ramps up the horror and brutality of the Orks as well as illustrating the bizarre and unique relationship between Yarrick and his nemesis.
The Armageddon-heavy stories are good too, adding depth and nuance to a well-told story, showing how and why Yarrick became such a potent figurehead for the Imperial resistance, while acknowledging the cost this inevitably had to his psyche.
The omission of the (fantastic) short detailing Yarrick’s orphaning is a strange one, and anyone who reads this Omnibus really ought to seek that out too.
This Omnibus collects two novels, one novella and a handful of short stories that provide Yarrick’s bale-eye view of various events from his life.
The majority of the collection, perhaps inevitably, focuses on the Second War for Armageddon, and while this is an iconic and really interesting conflict that I’ll happily read about for days on end, it’s when it focuses on ‘lesser’ engagements that it really shines.
The opening novel, The Imperial Creed, sees one of Yarrick’s formative experiences as a novice Commissar, and Annandale delivers a story that is more than just a series of battle sequences- as is his later works suggest, Annandale is disconcertingly comfortable in writing about the disturbing and insidious nature of Chaos. In placing a green Commissar in unfamiliar environments where he cannot just execute his way out of problems we get a nicely nuanced look at the role they must play in the Imperial Guard. This more subtle approach is also evident in the short story, The Gallows Saint.
The novella, Chains of Golgotha also takes Yarrick out of his usual milieux and is the other standout in this volume. It ramps up the horror and brutality of the Orks as well as illustrating the bizarre and unique relationship between Yarrick and his nemesis.
The Armageddon-heavy stories are good too, adding depth and nuance to a well-told story, showing how and why Yarrick became such a potent figurehead for the Imperial resistance, while acknowledging the cost this inevitably had to his psyche.
The omission of the (fantastic) short detailing Yarrick’s orphaning is a strange one, and anyone who reads this Omnibus really ought to seek that out too.
August 27, 2020
I’ll keep this short and sweet. It’s not a badly written omnibus, but it’s poorly structured. While I found the first novel highly enjoyable the rest of it wasn’t even middling. Part of this was the poor ordering of the short stories, but the larger portion was the lack of resolution. Yarrick stumbles from one impossible situation to the next surviving with plot armor thick enough to make a Baneblade blush; unfortunately that armor never culminates into something meaningful. It doesn’t let us experience character development, and it doesn’t open the door to better insights into the 40K universe.
Interesting things happen and are well described, but there isn’t much of a point or even plot progress. I’d probably bump the review to three stars if the story order had been better. As it stands though it was merely ok. My time and dollars would have been better spent elsewhere.
Interesting things happen and are well described, but there isn’t much of a point or even plot progress. I’d probably bump the review to three stars if the story order had been better. As it stands though it was merely ok. My time and dollars would have been better spent elsewhere.
December 24, 2024
Imperial creed 4*
The Pyres of Armageddon 2*
Chains of Golgotha 4*
A Plague of Saints 3*
The Wreckage 4*
Evil Eye 3*
The Gallows Saint 4*
Sacrificial 3*
Sarcophagus 3*
I can imagine there is a world where I enjoyed these slightly more having not read them in an omnibus format. David Annandale's style for Yarrick is relatively repetitive and if I had read these spaced out over months or years I'm sure it would have benefited the character more for me. I didn't though, I read the omnibus, but I still like Yarrick! And his relationship with Ghazghkull is at a real peak at the end of 'Chains of Golgotha'.
The Pyres of Armageddon 2*
Chains of Golgotha 4*
A Plague of Saints 3*
The Wreckage 4*
Evil Eye 3*
The Gallows Saint 4*
Sacrificial 3*
Sarcophagus 3*
I can imagine there is a world where I enjoyed these slightly more having not read them in an omnibus format. David Annandale's style for Yarrick is relatively repetitive and if I had read these spaced out over months or years I'm sure it would have benefited the character more for me. I didn't though, I read the omnibus, but I still like Yarrick! And his relationship with Ghazghkull is at a real peak at the end of 'Chains of Golgotha'.
March 2, 2019
A good collection of stories with some very high high points and a few stories dragging it down from 5 stars. The fact the stories aren't in chronological order is a bit of a take away as well, but what are you going to do. Over all a really good read about another badass commissar.
March 15, 2024
great tale of an Imperial hero. needs to be a sequel with more stories about his adventures
July 24, 2020
Glad it wasn't what I had expected
I thought this was gonna be a book series a bot Carrick and the second war for Armageddon and while their is some of this what it truly is a biography of sorts narrated by Yarrick and from his point of view and others it's an amazing journey into the things that shaped him into who he is, the sacrifices he made and the allies and enemies he's acquired. Watching his mind work is astounding and the rhythm of the book is smooth and readable. Good if your looking for both a read into Yarrick and a day in the life of guardsmen
I thought this was gonna be a book series a bot Carrick and the second war for Armageddon and while their is some of this what it truly is a biography of sorts narrated by Yarrick and from his point of view and others it's an amazing journey into the things that shaped him into who he is, the sacrifices he made and the allies and enemies he's acquired. Watching his mind work is astounding and the rhythm of the book is smooth and readable. Good if your looking for both a read into Yarrick and a day in the life of guardsmen
July 1, 2018
This is my first read of Yarrick as a main character and these stories really deliver. Annandale really shows you Yarrick's development as a legend (and I love his comment about keeping a sergeant to keep him in line). I also really love the development of the orks, as well as Thraka and how he keeps outthinking the humans.
I'd say the two novels are the strongest part of this.
Love how Annandale will show parts from other characters to move the story along.
I'd say the two novels are the strongest part of this.
Love how Annandale will show parts from other characters to move the story along.
December 25, 2018
I almost gave this omnibus a 2 star rating, almost.
For the short stories were mostly bad and they were scattered as a mere after thought at the back of the book. Usually W40K omnibuses puts them in an order between stories that makes sense.
The constant hype building for the big fight of Thraka VS Yarrick never happens. At most they have intense staredowns.
Ciaphas Cain is better. That is a series i can actually recommend.
For the short stories were mostly bad and they were scattered as a mere after thought at the back of the book. Usually W40K omnibuses puts them in an order between stories that makes sense.
The constant hype building for the big fight of Thraka VS Yarrick never happens. At most they have intense staredowns.
Ciaphas Cain is better. That is a series i can actually recommend.
June 23, 2024
A great book. David Annandale knows how to set up terrifying threats to pit his very straight laced commissar against. While Yarrick might seem so straight and by the book at first glance that his character depth verges on the edge of dullness, this is not a bad thing. It means he is always forced to either fully embrace or abandon everything he stands for and believes in and be damned either way. It makes for a very interesting and compelling read on clinging to one’s believes to save your sanity and try and deal with the consequences after. I truly love this omnibus and highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan off either the Guard or reading about what is like to be a baseline human in the grimdark madness of the 40k universe.
November 30, 2024
Yarrick, much like a lot of other 40k fiction, is so good at what it does that it almost flips itself back around. The universe is so vast, so disparate, the myths so bombastic, that linear storytelling sometimes feels like a ship moving through the warp and arriving sometime in the distant past or far future. What I'm trying to say is none of the books in the omnibus really feel like they build off each other, and have much more in common with 20's pulp than 21st century massive catalogue story telling. This isn't a bad thing, and each story is interesting, but the book fails to be more than the sum of its parts, it just so happens the sum of its parts is pretty good to begin with.
May 15, 2024
Short stories should be ordered between book 1 and 2. Imperial Creed is a good reqd with enough unique features to help it stand our from the slew of AM fiction. Pyres of Armageddon is functional but feels like part 1 of 2, which doesn't exist. The shorts do little to benefit the overall story, a shame since the plague of unbelief and the necrons are both interesting.
April 8, 2025
Yarrick, I love you, but Ghazghkull forever.
I love these books and stories, and I did genuinely like Yarrick a lot overall, even if he is a little bastard. Every time I thought he was cruel, I had to remember that this was Warhammer 40k, and that everyone sucks. The real star of the show was his hashtag bestie, Brenken. Loved her.
I love these books and stories, and I did genuinely like Yarrick a lot overall, even if he is a little bastard. Every time I thought he was cruel, I had to remember that this was Warhammer 40k, and that everyone sucks. The real star of the show was his hashtag bestie, Brenken. Loved her.
December 30, 2020
Picking Yarrick Omnibus was the best choice ever. The action packed pages filled with bravery and pathos of the Warhammer 40k lore were pulling me into the plot and loving the characters despite their flaws and a bit of fanaticism, but that is how things go with the commissars. Yarrick is one of the most notable commissar and beating orcs so soundly is always nice to read.
June 23, 2024
This is a great book, telling many stories about a legendary Commisar of the Imperium of Men.
I love how the stories are told, they show the human side of Yarrick but also the Legend and what he must be. Facing impossible odds with Faith and will.
I love how the stories are told, they show the human side of Yarrick but also the Legend and what he must be. Facing impossible odds with Faith and will.
October 24, 2019
Overall a good read, great if you havent read any of the Yarrick short stories.
November 15, 2020
The first two stories, alone, give this book 5 stars. The remaining stories are good just not as glorious as “Imperial Creed” and “The Pyres of Armageddon”
May 9, 2024
DAT YARRICK IS A PROPAH GIT
February 21, 2025
meh
If you’re hard up for some warhammer 40k this will do ok. Not an especially compelling character, plot, or action.
If you’re hard up for some warhammer 40k this will do ok. Not an especially compelling character, plot, or action.
May 27, 2025
Easily the coolest character in all of 40k, this book delivers and has a very good range of stories to showcase Yarrick and his legend.
March 2, 2025
Book Review of Yarrick: The Omnibus
A Man, A Monster, and the Endless Cycle of War
In the grimdark future of Warhammer 40,000, there is no peace. No respite. No forgiveness. Only war. And no figure better embodies this reality than Commissar Sebastian Yarrick. In Yarrick, we follow the life of a man who rises from duty into legend, forged in the fires of conflict against one of humanity's most relentless threats: the Orks.
But this isn’t just a tale of battlefield heroics. The deeper I read, the more I saw Yarrick as a meditation on something larger:
What happens to a man when he becomes the symbol of eternal resistance against an unstoppable force?
⚔️ The Scourge of the Orks
The Imperium of Man is no stranger to enemies. From the daemonic to the xenos, humanity fights on all fronts. But among these countless threats, the Orks remain unique—a plague of green-skinned brutality and chaos that spreads like wildfire across the stars. The Orks are more than just an invading force; they are a cosmic inevitability. A living, breathing manifestation of war itself.
And it is in the face of this endless scourge that Yarrick rises. His greatest challenge—and his greatest curse—comes in the form of Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, the warlord who leads the Orks of Armageddon in waves of destruction that threaten to tear the Imperium apart.
The Orks don’t just fight. They infest. They overwhelm. They corrupt entire systems into arenas of eternal conflict. Against such an enemy, there is no diplomacy. No understanding. Only survival or extinction.
And so, the Imperium turns to Yarrick—not just as a commander, but as a symbol. The man who cannot fall. The man who stands, even when hope itself has burned away.
🔎 The Endless Cycle
What struck me most about Yarrick was how the story captures this repeating cycle of violence. Every time Ghazghkull rises, Yarrick answers. Every time the Orks return, Yarrick is there to face them. It becomes clear that these two are not merely enemies; they are bound together, like two sides of the same coin.
One exists because of the other.
Without Ghazghkull, Yarrick has no purpose.
Without Yarrick, Ghazghkull has no worthy opponent.
It made me ask:
• Is Yarrick fighting the Orks, or is he fighting the destiny they've imposed upon him?
• Can there be an end when both sides are trapped in this mythic struggle?
• And if the Imperium must always have a hero like Yarrick, does that mean it must also always have a monster like Ghazghkull?
💭 The Man and the Symbol
Like you, I found myself more drawn to Yarrick not as a man, but as what he represents. In the end, the man is almost secondary. The man feels fear. He bleeds. He wearies. But the symbol? The symbol cannot die.
The Imperium doesn't need Yarrick the person.
The Imperium needs Yarrick the idea.
The man who lost his arm to the Orks and replaced it with an Ork's own weapon as a sign of his defiance. The man who faces impossible odds and never breaks. The man who becomes the living embodiment of humanity's refusal to bow.
But there's a deep tragedy in that. Because once you become a symbol, you lose the freedom to walk away. Yarrick can never stop fighting. Even if peace were somehow possible, he could never live in it. His identity is bound to the war, to Ghazghkull, and to the unending defence of a crumbling Imperium that demands sacrifice after sacrifice to keep the darkness at bay.
🔄 Reflections on the Cycle of War
This is the part of Yarrick that lingers with me. It's not just a story of glory on the battlefield. It's a story of how we get trapped in cycles—of violence, of vengeance, of mythmaking.
The Orks embody endless war. They don't fight for ideology or survival. They fight because it's what they are. And in fighting them for so long, Yarrick, in a way, becomes the same. War is no longer what he does; it's what he is.
And I can't help but wonder if that's the real darkness at the heart of this story. That in becoming the Imperium's greatest defender against the Orks, Yarrick has become part of the same engine of eternal war. Ghazghkull and Yarrick. Ork and Man. Monster and Hero. Round and round forever.
🏆 Final Thoughts
I gave Yarrick five stars because it succeeds not just as a military science fiction epic, but as a thoughtful exploration of what happens when a man becomes a myth.
It asks us to consider:
• What is the cost of becoming a symbol?
• Can anyone carry the burden of being humanity's last hope forever?
• And is there any way to break free from a cycle where war is not just a necessity, but an identity?
In the end, Yarrick left me with a sense of awe—but also of melancholy. Because the greatest heroes of the Imperium, like Yarrick, may win their battles. But they can never truly win peace.
Five stars. For the man. For the symbol. For the eternal war that neither he—nor we—can escape.
A Man, A Monster, and the Endless Cycle of War
In the grimdark future of Warhammer 40,000, there is no peace. No respite. No forgiveness. Only war. And no figure better embodies this reality than Commissar Sebastian Yarrick. In Yarrick, we follow the life of a man who rises from duty into legend, forged in the fires of conflict against one of humanity's most relentless threats: the Orks.
But this isn’t just a tale of battlefield heroics. The deeper I read, the more I saw Yarrick as a meditation on something larger:
What happens to a man when he becomes the symbol of eternal resistance against an unstoppable force?
⚔️ The Scourge of the Orks
The Imperium of Man is no stranger to enemies. From the daemonic to the xenos, humanity fights on all fronts. But among these countless threats, the Orks remain unique—a plague of green-skinned brutality and chaos that spreads like wildfire across the stars. The Orks are more than just an invading force; they are a cosmic inevitability. A living, breathing manifestation of war itself.
And it is in the face of this endless scourge that Yarrick rises. His greatest challenge—and his greatest curse—comes in the form of Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, the warlord who leads the Orks of Armageddon in waves of destruction that threaten to tear the Imperium apart.
The Orks don’t just fight. They infest. They overwhelm. They corrupt entire systems into arenas of eternal conflict. Against such an enemy, there is no diplomacy. No understanding. Only survival or extinction.
And so, the Imperium turns to Yarrick—not just as a commander, but as a symbol. The man who cannot fall. The man who stands, even when hope itself has burned away.
🔎 The Endless Cycle
What struck me most about Yarrick was how the story captures this repeating cycle of violence. Every time Ghazghkull rises, Yarrick answers. Every time the Orks return, Yarrick is there to face them. It becomes clear that these two are not merely enemies; they are bound together, like two sides of the same coin.
One exists because of the other.
Without Ghazghkull, Yarrick has no purpose.
Without Yarrick, Ghazghkull has no worthy opponent.
It made me ask:
• Is Yarrick fighting the Orks, or is he fighting the destiny they've imposed upon him?
• Can there be an end when both sides are trapped in this mythic struggle?
• And if the Imperium must always have a hero like Yarrick, does that mean it must also always have a monster like Ghazghkull?
💭 The Man and the Symbol
Like you, I found myself more drawn to Yarrick not as a man, but as what he represents. In the end, the man is almost secondary. The man feels fear. He bleeds. He wearies. But the symbol? The symbol cannot die.
The Imperium doesn't need Yarrick the person.
The Imperium needs Yarrick the idea.
The man who lost his arm to the Orks and replaced it with an Ork's own weapon as a sign of his defiance. The man who faces impossible odds and never breaks. The man who becomes the living embodiment of humanity's refusal to bow.
But there's a deep tragedy in that. Because once you become a symbol, you lose the freedom to walk away. Yarrick can never stop fighting. Even if peace were somehow possible, he could never live in it. His identity is bound to the war, to Ghazghkull, and to the unending defence of a crumbling Imperium that demands sacrifice after sacrifice to keep the darkness at bay.
🔄 Reflections on the Cycle of War
This is the part of Yarrick that lingers with me. It's not just a story of glory on the battlefield. It's a story of how we get trapped in cycles—of violence, of vengeance, of mythmaking.
The Orks embody endless war. They don't fight for ideology or survival. They fight because it's what they are. And in fighting them for so long, Yarrick, in a way, becomes the same. War is no longer what he does; it's what he is.
And I can't help but wonder if that's the real darkness at the heart of this story. That in becoming the Imperium's greatest defender against the Orks, Yarrick has become part of the same engine of eternal war. Ghazghkull and Yarrick. Ork and Man. Monster and Hero. Round and round forever.
🏆 Final Thoughts
I gave Yarrick five stars because it succeeds not just as a military science fiction epic, but as a thoughtful exploration of what happens when a man becomes a myth.
It asks us to consider:
• What is the cost of becoming a symbol?
• Can anyone carry the burden of being humanity's last hope forever?
• And is there any way to break free from a cycle where war is not just a necessity, but an identity?
In the end, Yarrick left me with a sense of awe—but also of melancholy. Because the greatest heroes of the Imperium, like Yarrick, may win their battles. But they can never truly win peace.
Five stars. For the man. For the symbol. For the eternal war that neither he—nor we—can escape.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews