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Book six in the Salamanders series.
Five Years have passed since war came to Nocturne.Third Company, still feeling its losses, recovers its strength. And though a small party have ventured out in search of a certain errant fire-born, it is the Salamanders of Fifth Company who must wage war. On Heletine, the Black Legion has come in the name of Chaos and only Brother-Captain Drakgaard's warriors stand in the way of their dark glory. Victory for the Imperium hinges on the alliance between the Salamanders and The Sisters of the Ebon Chalice, warrior zealots and devout servants of the Ecclesiarchy. But there is more to this Promethean War than conquest, and only as the conflict grinds on are the true motives of the enemy revealed...
Five Years have passed since war came to Nocturne.Third Company, still feeling its losses, recovers its strength. And though a small party have ventured out in search of a certain errant fire-born, it is the Salamanders of Fifth Company who must wage war. On Heletine, the Black Legion has come in the name of Chaos and only Brother-Captain Drakgaard's warriors stand in the way of their dark glory. Victory for the Imperium hinges on the alliance between the Salamanders and The Sisters of the Ebon Chalice, warrior zealots and devout servants of the Ecclesiarchy. But there is more to this Promethean War than conquest, and only as the conflict grinds on are the true motives of the enemy revealed...
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 3, 2014
10 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Nick Kyme
279 books161 followersNick Kyme (b. 1977) writes mostly for Black Library. His credits include the popular Salamanders series and several audio dramas.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 2, 2017
Head to wordaholicanonymous at wordpress for the review.
December 19, 2014
Excellent binding and paper, and a good selection of short stories bundled in. Rebirth itself is setting up a new Salamanders trilogy and I want to read more.
August 28, 2021
A classic case of both too much and too little going on. So many different plot threads woven into this story but so little resolution.
April 21, 2023
As much as I enjoy the overall lore aspects of the Salamanders and 40K in general this book was a big miss for me. I don't expect a level of writing prose that reaches the upper echelons of publishing, but I do expect the story/plot for this genre to at least be functional. Mr. Kyme has fallen into the bad habit of stretching his plot arcs over far too many character viewpoints and what I can only term as throw-away action scenes that are completely negligible to the continued storyline. The Black Dragons/ Tsu'gan search party arc was just bad writing with little to no reason to happen. It comes across at the end as filler for what is an unsatisfying battle story of the campaign on Heletine. Perhaps Kyme feels he has devoted too much "character development" to Tsu'gan and Dak'ir to just let those characters go... but sometimes characters just need to die to advance the plot. I would hate to think GW doesn't let him write about more interesting characters such as He'stan in more detail. He was probably the most interesting part (albeit too small) of the third book.
October 3, 2014
Bookworm Speaks!
Warhammer 40k
Salamanders: Rebirth by Nick Kyme
The Story: Five years have passed since war came to Nocturne. Third Company, still feeling its losses, recovers its strength. And though a small party have ventured out in search of a certain errant fire-born, it is the Salamanders of Fifth Company who must wage war. On Helentine, the Black Legion has come in the name of Chaos an only Brother-Captain Drakgaard's warriors stand in the way of their dark glory. Victory for the Imperium hings on the alliance between the Salamanders and the Sisters of the Ebon Chalice, warrior zealots and devout servants of the Ecclesiarchy. But there is more to this Promethean War than conquest, and only as the conflict grinds on are the true motives of the enemy revealed…
The Good: Once again we return the Salamanders Chapter, a personal favorite. This story picks up where the first Salamanders novel series left off and addresses many lingering plot threads and introduces new ones.
One of the great things about the Salamanders Chapter is their humanity. It is an irony, that the space marines who seem among the most fearsome: red eyes, black skin, are among the ones who care the most about the people of the Imperium. One incident in particular is when one of the Dreadnoughts actually speaks and praises an Imperial Guard Commander. Space Marines largely ignore and look down upon the mortals of the Imperial Gaurds and Dreadnoughts in particular, being entombed in a cybernetic sarcophagus and spend most of their time sleeping, are especially aloof. One of the things that makes Warhammer 40k so appealing is in its humanity. In the grim darkness of the far future where there is only war and hellish abominations want to consume humanity in horrifying and terrible ways and yet there is still courage, compassion and honor to be found in humanity. Even amongst those whom normal human weaknesses and emotions have supposedly been purged from their bodies and minds.
These emotions come into play in different way with the character of Ur’zan Draakgaurd, captain of the sixth company. In several stories including this one, it is stated that while a chapter of the Adeptus Astartes are always brothers on the battlefield, but like any group of men, they are still prone to petty competition, squabbles, and power struggles. This reflected in the personal struggles of Draakgaurd, he has served the Salamanders for many years and has no doubt earned many honors to the chapter and saved many lives but at the same time he has never really been the big hero. His stories are not the ones told to the new recruits in order to inspire them and put fire in their hearts. He is little more than a grunt. A good grunt, but not that special of a Space Marine. His drive to win the world of Heletine is motivated by more than duty in a way that feels very real.
For many of the citizens of the Imperium, the Space Marines are little more than a myth, unstoppable Angels of Death. To more informed individuals, the Apeptus Astartes are mistrusted and feared due to their independent ways and traditions separate from Imperial Dogma. This is reflected in the Sororitas as many of the sisters outright fear and are disgusted by their traditions that are decidedly different from the Imperial Creed. The way the Sororitas react and sometimes work against the Salamanders works in very good way that keeps with the character of the Sororitas.
The book also includes illustrations about the main characters in the book, which is very good to have every once in a while to help the reader get a feel of how the characters are supposed to look. It really helped clarify Bookworm’s mind’s eye.
The Flaws: There is a debate floating around the Warhammer club as well as gaming in general in that, in Warhammer 40k, women are not fairly represented and more focused on the all male Space Marines or the male dominated Imperial Guard and the truth is Rebirth further proves this point. As read in the summary, all female army of the Adeptas Sororitas are said to be an important part of the story, but they are rather neglected in the text. Only a handful of chapters are dedicated to their actions and even less when they and the Salamanders fight together. It is quite disappointing and further reinforces the notion that geekdom still remains a boys club, even though it has been proven that women are a major portion of science fiction fandom, if not a larger portion, than men.
While Bookworm can’t say he is huge fan of the Sororitas from what he has read, they do have a fascinating lore and it would be nice to hear more tales of their adventures. The concept of female Space Marines, is one that Bookworm is open to. There are dozens of books about the Adeptus Astartes but there are only three or four about the Adeptas Sororitas, the all female army of the Imperium of Man. Games Workshop really needs to step up and diversify or else it will become increasingly irrelevant.
This also lends to an extension of another flaw of the book and one that is also common in many Warhammer Books, in that is tries to juggle to many story lines at once. The text head hops something fierce, there are times when four perspectives are being seen, sometimes during the same chapter. It can get extremely confusing at some points and raises the question as to why the author did not simply write a separate novel altogether. This may be due to the fact that the author is trying to set up plot lines for future books but the truth is the execution can be sloppy at some points.
Final Verdict: Maybe a little jumbled in a few places, but Rebirth is a fantastic tale that is sure to bring about a new age of the forty first millennium. Action, intrigue, and ancient myth tie together that makes readers itch for the next one.
Four out Five Stars.
thecultureworm.blogspot.com
jordan.danbrantley.com
Warhammer 40k
Salamanders: Rebirth by Nick Kyme
The Story: Five years have passed since war came to Nocturne. Third Company, still feeling its losses, recovers its strength. And though a small party have ventured out in search of a certain errant fire-born, it is the Salamanders of Fifth Company who must wage war. On Helentine, the Black Legion has come in the name of Chaos an only Brother-Captain Drakgaard's warriors stand in the way of their dark glory. Victory for the Imperium hings on the alliance between the Salamanders and the Sisters of the Ebon Chalice, warrior zealots and devout servants of the Ecclesiarchy. But there is more to this Promethean War than conquest, and only as the conflict grinds on are the true motives of the enemy revealed…
The Good: Once again we return the Salamanders Chapter, a personal favorite. This story picks up where the first Salamanders novel series left off and addresses many lingering plot threads and introduces new ones.
One of the great things about the Salamanders Chapter is their humanity. It is an irony, that the space marines who seem among the most fearsome: red eyes, black skin, are among the ones who care the most about the people of the Imperium. One incident in particular is when one of the Dreadnoughts actually speaks and praises an Imperial Guard Commander. Space Marines largely ignore and look down upon the mortals of the Imperial Gaurds and Dreadnoughts in particular, being entombed in a cybernetic sarcophagus and spend most of their time sleeping, are especially aloof. One of the things that makes Warhammer 40k so appealing is in its humanity. In the grim darkness of the far future where there is only war and hellish abominations want to consume humanity in horrifying and terrible ways and yet there is still courage, compassion and honor to be found in humanity. Even amongst those whom normal human weaknesses and emotions have supposedly been purged from their bodies and minds.
These emotions come into play in different way with the character of Ur’zan Draakgaurd, captain of the sixth company. In several stories including this one, it is stated that while a chapter of the Adeptus Astartes are always brothers on the battlefield, but like any group of men, they are still prone to petty competition, squabbles, and power struggles. This reflected in the personal struggles of Draakgaurd, he has served the Salamanders for many years and has no doubt earned many honors to the chapter and saved many lives but at the same time he has never really been the big hero. His stories are not the ones told to the new recruits in order to inspire them and put fire in their hearts. He is little more than a grunt. A good grunt, but not that special of a Space Marine. His drive to win the world of Heletine is motivated by more than duty in a way that feels very real.
For many of the citizens of the Imperium, the Space Marines are little more than a myth, unstoppable Angels of Death. To more informed individuals, the Apeptus Astartes are mistrusted and feared due to their independent ways and traditions separate from Imperial Dogma. This is reflected in the Sororitas as many of the sisters outright fear and are disgusted by their traditions that are decidedly different from the Imperial Creed. The way the Sororitas react and sometimes work against the Salamanders works in very good way that keeps with the character of the Sororitas.
The book also includes illustrations about the main characters in the book, which is very good to have every once in a while to help the reader get a feel of how the characters are supposed to look. It really helped clarify Bookworm’s mind’s eye.
The Flaws: There is a debate floating around the Warhammer club as well as gaming in general in that, in Warhammer 40k, women are not fairly represented and more focused on the all male Space Marines or the male dominated Imperial Guard and the truth is Rebirth further proves this point. As read in the summary, all female army of the Adeptas Sororitas are said to be an important part of the story, but they are rather neglected in the text. Only a handful of chapters are dedicated to their actions and even less when they and the Salamanders fight together. It is quite disappointing and further reinforces the notion that geekdom still remains a boys club, even though it has been proven that women are a major portion of science fiction fandom, if not a larger portion, than men.
While Bookworm can’t say he is huge fan of the Sororitas from what he has read, they do have a fascinating lore and it would be nice to hear more tales of their adventures. The concept of female Space Marines, is one that Bookworm is open to. There are dozens of books about the Adeptus Astartes but there are only three or four about the Adeptas Sororitas, the all female army of the Imperium of Man. Games Workshop really needs to step up and diversify or else it will become increasingly irrelevant.
This also lends to an extension of another flaw of the book and one that is also common in many Warhammer Books, in that is tries to juggle to many story lines at once. The text head hops something fierce, there are times when four perspectives are being seen, sometimes during the same chapter. It can get extremely confusing at some points and raises the question as to why the author did not simply write a separate novel altogether. This may be due to the fact that the author is trying to set up plot lines for future books but the truth is the execution can be sloppy at some points.
Final Verdict: Maybe a little jumbled in a few places, but Rebirth is a fantastic tale that is sure to bring about a new age of the forty first millennium. Action, intrigue, and ancient myth tie together that makes readers itch for the next one.
Four out Five Stars.
thecultureworm.blogspot.com
jordan.danbrantley.com
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2021
A series of events where the "good guys" constantly make bad decisions and it's a bit like watching a cheesy horror movie
August 28, 2023
Quite boring.
October 17, 2025
Where sequel?
January 21, 2018
You can read the full review over at my blog:
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
Nick Kyme’s Tome of Fire trilogy featuring warriors of the Salamanders is among my top favourite reads in Warhammer 40,000 and a major reason for that is how good Nick’s characters were, especially in the second novel, Firedrake. The trilogy definitely ended on a high with the explosive reveals and payoffs of Nocturne and I was definitely left wanting more of one of my favourite Space Marine Chapters out there. There’s something innately likeable about the Salamanders, particularly the conflict between their physical appearance and their ideals, and Nick did a good job with exploring many of their core themes over the course of the trilogy.
As such, I definitely had some high expectations from Rebirth, which is the first novel of the new Circle of Fire sequel trilogy, and I was sadly left unsatisfied with the experience. While the characters are fun and interesting, the larger plot didn’t work out for me, and I felt that there were too many threads that Nick was navigating. Not to mention that the prologue felt really disconnected from the rest of the novel, and I’m still not sure I understand what really happened at the end, which is never a good sign as a reader.
The prologue takes back to the beginning of the Horus Heresy as we are introduced a scout squad of Luna Wolves as they infiltrate an enemy palace on the planet designated 63-19 and indirectly meet Captain Garviel Loken, the star of the first Horus Heresy novel by Dan Abnett, Horus Rising. Presumably these new characters will be important later on, and there are certainly enough breadcrumbs to lead to that conclusion, but this felt like a significant thematic shift from the previous novels and was wrong-footing at best.
Once we get to the Salamanders however with Captain Drakgaard of the Fifth Company and Chaplain Elysius, matters improved immeasurably and I got a lot more excited. Previously we’d only really seen warriors of the Third Company and their many pyrrhic triumphs, and so it felt good to see some more of the Salamanders Chapter at large. And Chaplain Elysius is someone we are already familiar so that continuity also helped. We learn that the Fifth has arrived on the world of Heletine to prosecute a campaign against the invading forces of the Black Legion (formerly the Luna Wolves during the Heresy) and that the war is going badly for the Imperial forces. Which just puts the Fifth in the perfect position to showcase its strengths and weaknesses. And there’s complications as well once the Adepta Sororitas of the Order of the Ebon Chalice also show up, albeit seemingly for their own goals and we have a right mix of intrigue and mystery here alongside some good action sequences.
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
Nick Kyme’s Tome of Fire trilogy featuring warriors of the Salamanders is among my top favourite reads in Warhammer 40,000 and a major reason for that is how good Nick’s characters were, especially in the second novel, Firedrake. The trilogy definitely ended on a high with the explosive reveals and payoffs of Nocturne and I was definitely left wanting more of one of my favourite Space Marine Chapters out there. There’s something innately likeable about the Salamanders, particularly the conflict between their physical appearance and their ideals, and Nick did a good job with exploring many of their core themes over the course of the trilogy.
As such, I definitely had some high expectations from Rebirth, which is the first novel of the new Circle of Fire sequel trilogy, and I was sadly left unsatisfied with the experience. While the characters are fun and interesting, the larger plot didn’t work out for me, and I felt that there were too many threads that Nick was navigating. Not to mention that the prologue felt really disconnected from the rest of the novel, and I’m still not sure I understand what really happened at the end, which is never a good sign as a reader.
The prologue takes back to the beginning of the Horus Heresy as we are introduced a scout squad of Luna Wolves as they infiltrate an enemy palace on the planet designated 63-19 and indirectly meet Captain Garviel Loken, the star of the first Horus Heresy novel by Dan Abnett, Horus Rising. Presumably these new characters will be important later on, and there are certainly enough breadcrumbs to lead to that conclusion, but this felt like a significant thematic shift from the previous novels and was wrong-footing at best.
Once we get to the Salamanders however with Captain Drakgaard of the Fifth Company and Chaplain Elysius, matters improved immeasurably and I got a lot more excited. Previously we’d only really seen warriors of the Third Company and their many pyrrhic triumphs, and so it felt good to see some more of the Salamanders Chapter at large. And Chaplain Elysius is someone we are already familiar so that continuity also helped. We learn that the Fifth has arrived on the world of Heletine to prosecute a campaign against the invading forces of the Black Legion (formerly the Luna Wolves during the Heresy) and that the war is going badly for the Imperial forces. Which just puts the Fifth in the perfect position to showcase its strengths and weaknesses. And there’s complications as well once the Adepta Sororitas of the Order of the Ebon Chalice also show up, albeit seemingly for their own goals and we have a right mix of intrigue and mystery here alongside some good action sequences.
September 18, 2014
Hot on the heels of The Talon of Horus comes the second of Black Library's exclusive First Editions, in the form of Rebirth by Nick Kyme. Following on from his Tome of Fire trilogy (plus accompanying anthology), this shifts the action over to Captain Ur'zan Drakgaard and his 6th Company of Salamanders as they face the Black Legion on the Imperial world of Heletine. While a few familiar faces return from the events of the original series, for the most part this is a distinct story which doesn't require the reader to be familiar with the previous novels. That being said, it certainly makes sense to read these in order, so readers who pick this up first would be advised to go back and start with Salamander.
Read the rest of the review at http://trackofwords.wordpress.com/201...
Read the rest of the review at http://trackofwords.wordpress.com/201...
December 16, 2014
Well this was an exceptionally good book! I enjoyed the flow of the story and also the characters involved-ending set up the series perfectly.
Only fault I could possibly find is the story jumped between a lot of branches of the story and it was sometimes hard to recall where each had left off
Only fault I could possibly find is the story jumped between a lot of branches of the story and it was sometimes hard to recall where each had left off
February 4, 2015
I love the Salamanders and the previous Nick Kyme novels, but this book seemed to suffer from too many viewpoints. Had to stop and start it several times to get through it. The ending sets up a lot of excitement for the sequel, which I hope is a bit more straight forward.
August 20, 2015
That was a fun book ! Salamanders and sisters of battles, interesting characters , enjoyed it very much
April 10, 2017
I enjoyed this book, mostly from the action perspective, although there are some interesting parts told from the perspective of the Black Legion antagonists. Its the only Salamanders book Ive read so I cant compare against the others, though I know some people have complained about how the Salamanders were portrayed in this particular novel.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews