Storm of Iron

Warhammer 40,000

by Graham McNeill

In a dark and gothic future, humanity fights a constant battle for survival in a hostile universe. Now hell has come to Hydra Cordatus, for a massive force of terrifying Iron Warriors, brutal assualt troops of Chaos, have invaded the planet and lain siege to its mighty Imperial citadel. But what prize could be worth so much savage bloodshed and destruction?

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

320 pages, 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

[Big Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big Graham McNeill fan. His second novel, Storm of Iron is one of his best works, even compared to the later triumphs of his career.
This was the novel which introduced Honsou of the IV Legion, one of the most endearing and evil villains to stride the 40k universe. I read Angel Exterminatus - the Horus Heresy prequel, and the sequels in the Ultramarines series before reading this one, so I had a good understanding of what happened. Right and wrong.
The advantages of having read Angel Exterminatus make themselves clear early on. Characters like Forrix, Kroeger and Barban Falk (the Warsmith)have changed. Forrix and Kroeger are still recognisable as the men they once were, but Barban Falk has changed enormously. No longer the level-headed voice of reason, he is a almighty warrior on the path to daemonhood. I found many parts involving these warriors of the Heresy quite tragic, such as Forrix's vicious, beleaguered battle with Imperial Fists in the tunnels, where he becomes aware of his own mortality more acutely then ever before, and the death of Kroeger, an inglorious and humiliating end to one of the (admittedly insane)greats of the IV Legion, being hacked to death by his personal slave whilst unarmed and unarmoured. He didn't deserve to die like that. Savage madman he may be, but he still possessed a scrap of honour within him..
The characters (both loyalist and heretic) are well-drawn, sympathetic, and don't feel like caricatures, which makes the losses and triumphs even more poignant. The action is EXTREMELY well written, brutal gorefests portrayed with a master's skill. It explains the mindset of the Iron Warriors very well. They are not religious zealots snubbed by the Emperor like the Word Bearers, nor tragic figures who left the Imperium because they saw it for what it was, as the Night Lords are. The Iron Warriors have their own motivations, and have a bitterness which many other legions lack. Not so for Honsou.He is not a veteran of the Heresy, and has little time for the ideals of his peers. He holds true to Horus's vision, and both Warsmith Falk and Forrix see those traits within him.

McNeill gives us a fascinating look at the process of siege-making and breaking a fortress, but he does it so well that it never feels like an info-dump. He shows the true horror of war unmasked, as savage, brutal, terrifying and exhilarating as it can be. I lost a little respect for Dan Abnett when it came to realism over some details revolving around gunshot wounds in the Ravenor and Eisenhorn trilogies (which I otherwise loved), but McNeill doesn't make those mistakes.

I highly recommend Storm of Iron, it's a well-appreciated Black Library classic.

[Chip Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most popular WH40K novels of all time, STORM OF IRON delivers something unique to the now-enormous genre. This is the only book (at least that I am aware of) where the point of view characters include Chaos Space Marines. While every bit as evil and corrupted as you'd expect, the Iron Warriors that star in this book command grudging respect from the reader, as we learn more about the individuals and their personal motivations. Telling this story from the perspective of both sides of the conflict worked very well here, creating an epic feel to this single-volume tale, and presenting the battle in an even-handed way that allows the reader to choose sides and that makes the outcome unpredictable.

This book details the brutal siege of an Imperial stronghold on Hydra Cordatus by an unstoppable-seeming force of Iron Warriors Chaos Marines hellbent on domination. Taking place during the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler, this novel helps fill out an important piece of WH40K lore. From Imperial Fists to Chaos Titans to the Adeptus Mechanicus, STORM OF IRON includes a wide variety of WH40K factions and units. McNeill's exact and descriptive writing takes the reader through an extremely bloody and wearying siege, as the tides of battle sway one way then another, and the forces of good and evil both are reduced little-by-little by relentless combat. Breath-taking, non-stop action, along with detailed contributions to WH40K fluff make this one sure to please.

STORM OF IRON loosely ties in with Graham McMeill's Ultramarines novels, coming between Warriors of Ultramar and Dead Sky, Black Sun, but is not included in the The Ultramarines Omnibus. That being said, you do NOT need to read those novels to fully enjoy this one. In fact, you could read this one at any point in the series (even first) as long as you read it before DEAD SKY, BLACK SUN, as that novel contains plot items that would prove spoilers for STORM OF IRON.

With this novel, Graham McNeill now challenges Dan Abnett as being my favorite Black Library author. Very highly recommended for fans of the genre.

[Kurt Criscione · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply badass... will admit it was heavy in the detail for seigeworks and trench warfare... so it will hit you with a ton of military terminology and lots of descriptive blocks on troop movement and tactics... but then it zooms back into the head of one of the chaos marines and he runs amok slaughtering everything in his path in an orgy of blood.

The book is one part academic, one part brutal gorefest, one part destroyed/desperate defenders, and all together badass!.

[L J Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the first Warhammer novels I read oh so long ago. I have wanted to return to it and give it another go for several years. It has held up remarkably well, though certain aspects of the story may, by now, be partially Heretic Tomes. This is the story of a siege and final battle of Chaos versus the Emperor’s finest. It is almost fully a book of war. And, boy, is it good. It would make a fine starting point for anyone who wants to enter into the 40th millennium. Five stars all the way.

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iron within, iron without!

I can't recall many, if any books really, that have made me sympathetic to the Ruinous Powers. The God-Emperor of Mankind is my copilot, and all that...but, this book did. I will stand alongside now-Warsmith Honsou as he carries out his next campaign against the cursed False Emperor. Chaos is our true salvation!

In all seriousness, this is a very well-written, and very well-told story set within the Warhammer 40,000 universe, detailing the fall of Hydra Cordatus to the merciless Iron Warriors. Not even the Imperial Fists and their Imperial Guard allies - with Titan support, no less - were able to hold off the siege in the end.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graham McNeill knows how to write a great siege book with so many unique perspectives and wild moments.

Having read Angel Exterminatus before this I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of returning Iron Warriors that I recognized.

Tremendously enjoyable!

[Mike Sheehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably one of the most violent 40k books I have read. Great story with lots of twists and turns.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alrighty... I'm having a really hard time mustering up any interest in this book, and so I'm calling it quits.

This was recommended to me by a friend who is really into the game, but it's just not really my thing. I've been told what happens in the second half of the book, and for me, it's not really worth sticking with it.

That pretty much sums it up.

[Daniel Data · Rating 2 out of 5]

The entire book was a long drawn out battle. Every scene was a fight. Just get to the point already. Not enough story. All fighting. To much detail. Ending was gudd though.

[Tinajeroftenma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this type of stories of the future without salvation

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would give it a 4.5. On the whole well written and has surprisingly well detailed descriptions trench warfare and siege strategy. Plenty of gore, with a pretty good plot and structure. However sometimes I found myself frowning at certain descriptions and plot points. A little far fetched in areas. To be expected from the author who wrote the Ultramarines omnibus which also suffers from the same issue.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always love a good siege

[Tom Pounds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book from start to finish.

[Jose Acevedo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not bad by any means. For a warhammer book you get exactly what you pay for, action and stoicism. The issue is action and stoicism make it hard to see any depth in the characters and setting. I loves the nechron books because, ironically enough, a 10ft robot with the conciusness of an alien felt more human. I will most likely give the warhammer books another shot but if this is the standard for the books it's not for me.

[Unseen Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating of 4.5.

For this latest Throwback Thursday, I dive into some old-school Warhammer 40,000 fiction with the exceptional Storm of Iron by one of the most prolific Warhammer authors, Graham McNeill.

The Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World of Hydra Cordatus is a barren and desolate place, garrisoned by Imperial Guard of the 383rd Jouran Dragoons and members of Adeptus Mechanicus, who rule from one of the mightiest and seemingly impregnable fortresses in the galaxy. No-one ever expected that the many wars that plague the universe would ever come to a planet as seemingly inhospitable as Hydra Cordatus, but hell has descended upon the planet in the form of Chaos Space Marines from the feared Iron Warriors legion.

Under the leadership of the dread Warsmith Barban Falk, the Iron Warriors have arrived on Hydra Cordatus in substantial numbers, determined to destroy all the Imperial defenders and take the planet’s main citadel. After a blistering landing upon the surface of the planet that cuts off all hope of relief, the Iron Warriors deploy their full force of warriors, slaves, labourers and even several corrupt Titans to assault the enemy. But they have not chosen an easy target, as the citadel of Hydra Cordatus is no ordinary fortress. It is an ancient and mysterious stronghold, whose walls are designed to stymy any attack, and few foes would have a chance of defeating its defences.

However, the Iron Warriors have long been considered the greatest siege warfare specialists in all the universe. Having honed their bloody craft for millennia since their betrayal of the Emperor, the corrupt Iron Warriors soon embark on an ambitious and fast campaign that soon threatens to completely destroy the Imperial forces. Only the arrival of members of the Iron Warrior’s greatest enemies, the Space Marines of the Imperial Fists, gives any hope to the defenders. But can even the legendary Imperial Fists stand against the ancient fury of the Iron Warriors? And what secrets truly lay hidden in the depths of Hydra Cordatus’s citadel?

Well, this was a pretty damn awesome Warhammer book. McNeill did a remarkable job with Storm of Iron, producing an intense and action-packed novel that might be one of the best siege novels I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Loaded with impressive battle-sequence after impressive battle-sequence, as well as a ton of intriguing and fun characters, Storm of Iron was an outstanding read, and I had so much fun getting through it.

To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2022/10/13/...

For other exciting reviews and content, check out my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/

[Ralph Link · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book offering a different perspective in the 40k universe.

[Conor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Into the BREACH!
Only halfway through, but had to mention Pp. 199-203(ish). Honsou, Chaos space marine, charges up a bastion slope, into the breach, and it’s just about the most hilarious action scene I’ve ever read, on account of McNeill’s seemingly oblivious overuse of the word ‘breach.’ He must use that one word at least 50 times in about 4 or 5 pages. It’s actually unreal how funny this is, and from McNeill too, who’s proven himself as a competent enough writer to my mind.
The rest of the book so far is good. Maybe not exceptional, but it’s not a bad read at all. I’ll write more once I finish it.

And, finished, Chaos wins, the Imperium lose, and it’s relatively hum-drum. No character stand out as very interesting, nor do they develop. In other words, it’s a lot like the first Sigmar book, and I’m fairly sure McNeill, while competent enough, isn’t a great writer. Abnett still reigns supreme, and by a long way, too.
Not much more to say, really, except I did like Larana’s subplot, from Imperial Lieutenant to Chaos prisoner shoe-shine slave to hate-fuelled avatar of Khorne. And Guardsman Hawke had some interesting moments, too. But none of the Chaos characters ever appealed much.

[Cloak88 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iron Warriors Vs. Imperial Guard.

On the miserable world of Hydra Cordatus the Imperial Guard defend an outpost fortress, when out of nowhere the Arch Enemy attacks. The Guard and their fortress is under siege by the feared Iron Warriors Chaos Space Marines. The story follows warriors from both sides as they struggle, resist, fight and conquer their way across the battlefield.

The world of 40K has always been gritty an full of horror, and this book hammers this home once again. War in the 40K universe is utterly unforgiving ans in the end honour, faith and bravery mean nothing. Even so this was a thrilling story. The fights were well described and the process of the siege made actual sense. What shone however were the characters and how they interacted with the world. Characters grew, changed or were destroyed as their actions unfolded.

Four stars for this excellent novel.

[Redfox5 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my second foray into the Warhammer universe. And this was much bleaker than the 'Gotrek and Felix' books.

I'm guessing this is set very far into the future, as flying machines were only just being invented in the 'Gotrek and Felix' books. This book is a battle from start to finish, which made it a slight struggle for me as I find battles really dull.

I felt characterization was really lacking here. We didn't really get to know any of them that well and sometimes it was bloody hard to keep track of whose side everyone was on. Out of all of them, I felt we got more of Honsou and he was a bad guy! I also kept picturing him as Randall from Monsters Inc. And I couldn't get this image out of my head, even though he clearly had some sort of human like body.

It wasn't all bad though, it was readable and I didn't get bored but I won't be returning to Warhammer 40,000 again.

[Anibal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a hugely popular book, and many people have fond memories of it.

As far as I know, Chaos enthusiasts first got a story from the perspective of a chaotic character in the short story “Ignorant Armies.” It features Johann, a nobleman seeking vengeance and hunting a Chaos warlord—while simultaneously falling under the sway of the same dark powers. It was a fantastic piece, and in the Warhammer Fantasy setting, it changed how villains and morally grey characters were portrayed. But for Warhammer 40K fans, there was no Johann. Chaos fans had to wait until 2002/2003 (!!!) to see the point of view of their own characters.

Daemon World by Ben Counter was one such book. The other—arguably more iconic—was Storm of Iron by Graham McNeill, the first novel to focus on the Iron Warriors Chaos Space Marines.

It was an immediate success. The community had been starving for a book like this, and I’m quite sure a large percentage of players bought and read it, turning it into an instant classic. Credit to the marketing team—they launched it with perfect timing.

Nowadays, Graham McNeill is a renowned writer—truly excellent. Some of his works are masterclasses in character development, world-building, plot, and meta-narrative. He authored the Legend of Sigmar trilogy, False Gods, Fulgrim, served as a senior narrative writer at Riot Games, and has received many accolades (too many to list without boring you). But when he wrote Storm of Iron, he wasn’t yet that Graham McNeill. At the time, he had written some Codexes and just one full-length novel. And, frankly, that inexperience shows.

To his credit, he already had a great talent for portraying conflict, carnage, and character arcs that draw the reader in. Both the Imperial character Hawke and the Chaos commander Honsou are fascinating, and it was genuinely enjoyable to follow their journeys. But the story has many, many problems.

MASSIVE Spoilers from this point onward:

I fully understand that Warhammer 40K is science-fantasy-horror and follows certain genre tropes—that’s not the issue here. My concerns lie with basic in-universe logic.

Hydra Cordatus is described as one of the most important locations in the galaxy, housing a repository of Astartes gene-seed. And yet, almost no one in the fortress seems to know what they’re guarding. I get that the Adeptus Mechanicus might want to keep it secret, but surely they could have established multiple hidden installations with Skitarii, robots, even Astartes, or had powerful ships nearby for quick reinforcement. But no.

Instead, the planet is guarded by a laughably small contingent of sickly troops. No Skitarii presence. No hidden Loyalist Astartes base. No nearby Imperial Navy. Just one Astropath. The Adeptus Mechanicus entrust this critical site to an incompetent Tech-Priest, don't check for infiltration, and the fortress is practically devoid of power sources or void shields (pun intended). Officers described as competent act catastrophically stupid.

Just a few examples:

No one activates the void shields on time—they wait until it’s too late.

A major in charge of self-destructing the fortress delays because he’s relaxing with a cigar.

Imperial Guard infantry are ordered to launch frontal assaults against entrenched Iron Warriors positions.

Titans ignore the Castellan’s orders and go off on their own to "hunt."

The supposedly brilliant Castellan doesn’t even realize his own men are digging a counter-mine. He's stunned when an Imperial Fists captain points it out. Despite knowing where the mine was located, the Iron Warriors succeed in breaching the wall and killing hundreds. Even in ancient times, engineers used water buckets to detect tunnels—it’s absurd that the Imperium can’t.

Apparently, one of the most important locations in the galaxy has no auspex scanners, no melta bombs. It’s beyond ludicrous.

The plot also has severe inconsistencies.

The Imperials are on the brink of defeat. Then, a last-ditch plan using a colossal ship-launched torpedo works: it destroys most of the artillery, kills masses of Iron Warriors and slaves, and turns the tide. There's a great moment where the nearly-daemon prince Warsmith praises Honsou and berates Forrix and Kroeger for the disaster. They’ve lost time, resources, and momentum. Imperial reinforcements are en route. The siege works are destroyed. They have only two weeks left.

And then... the very next chapter forgets all of that.

Suddenly, the Iron Warriors have masses of troops, siege weapons, slaves, everything back as if the torpedo never happened. It was described as something akin to a nuke, but the effects vanish.

And the final objective? Stealing Astartes gene-seed to create more Iron Warriors. But throughout the entire book, Honsou is mocked and hated for being a half-breed with Imperial Fists gene-seed. That’s his insult: Half-breed. And now they want to make all future Iron Warriors half-breeds? Seriously?

Also, when they realized the battle was lost, the Imperials try to destroy the gene-seed with shots and breaking stuff! No melta charges, no grenades, not even shutting off refrigeration to let temperature kill the samples. It would have taken 15 seconds, and the short range battles were very few throughout the siege, so they would certainly have ammo.

Aside from Hawke, every Imperial character is shockingly incompetent—and that actually does a disservice to the Iron Warriors. I wanted them to be siege geniuses, tactical masters, overcoming real resistance with real ingenuity. Instead, they win because the other side is unbelievably dumb.

This novel was successful because the market desperately needed a Chaos Space Marine story—and it delivered on that front. But as a story? It’s not a good book. In fact, it’s probably Graham McNeill’s weakest novel.

[Joseph Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book and superb writing. You find yourself rooting for both side in this story with a pace that keeps constant pressure forwards. The book does take short pauses to build characters but you never lose the tension or fall out of step during these parts. Also the story is cohesive from start to finish with your very first character being important from start to finish no matter how big or small. The plot is strong and the rising action is steady to a roaring climax. The book leaves you wanting to read more about its characters and to see we’re they go from here.

[Cam Cieslak · Rating 2 out of 5]

A supposed Black Library classic that really shows its age. Awkward, clunky writing, bland characters with little to no motivation or characterization, repetitive descriptions, the list goes on. I feel like fans of the Iron Warriors must have better books than now than relying on this one.

It gets two stars because there is one interesting character who has a good arc, but unfortunately after they finally do something the next thing they do is open up a portal and leave for the rest of the book.

[nicholas doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A diamond in the rough.

Grounded and gritty this novel takes you to the side of chaos. Bad guys being bad guys and loving it. Not a place many GW books had gone when this was published.

[T.j. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Iron Warrior traitor legion have come to destroy the imperial guard of the 54th juorgan dragoons, and claim the spoils of war.

[La Criatura]

RAHH I'M BACK and I LOVE looking at freaks!!!!!

Warhammer is such an interesting franchise because this book came out in 2002 and then two novels that I'd consider essential to understanding one of the major POV characters in it (Forrix) came out respectively in 2012 (Angel Exterminatus) and 2017 (Hammer of Olympia). I think in that time the philosophy surrounding how these books get written also changed quite a bit, with regards to what gets focused on versus what can be skimped out on a little bit. Of course this isn't a universal truism for everything written but it definitely feels like as time went on, there was a greater shift towards focus on the character drama instead of war scenes.

I certainly don't mind a good war scene, and I do feel like I came out of this one having learned a surprising amount about siege warfare, but the change feels, in general, like a good one. I bring up Forrix specifically because while I do like him in this novel and while he does have a meaningful arc, nothing really hits quite like the climax of Hammer of Olympia, a scene which stuck with me and has continued to stick with me since I first read it. I'm genuinely very curious if this novel would have gone in a different direction with what ultimately happens to him if any of the details of his involvement in the Heresy had been written before it. Also of interest to me is whether I would have felt differently about his involvement in this book or in the other mentioned ones if I had read SoI first. I suppose there's no way to know, but it's interesting to think about.

It's interesting to see this change in focus/style even in one particular author's work. Absolutely do not take any of this as a slight against Graham McNeill, whose writing I have praised in no uncertain terms in many, many of my other reviews, but given the content of the other 40K novels he's written I was genuinely surprised how much focus IS given to the mechanics of digging ditches etc. in this one. I mentioned in my Vengeful Spirit review that it's ostensibly about the battle for Molech but the novel as a whole feels more like the battle is something that happens when there isn't crazy family melodrama going on. The battle scenes are not bad in that one in the slightest, they're just not really what the book is about. As someone who latched onto Horus Heresy (and 40K as a whole) because of the crazy family melodrama, I do appreciate the change, and I think a lot of authorship benefitted from this change and being given more freedom or space to write more character-oriented stuff.

This novel also feels very... restrained, compared to later works. If you've read a slew of them you probably understand what I mean, here.

Funny enough, despite this not being an instant favorite of mine, I found myself thinking that this is kind of more in line with what I'd wanted while reading Dark Apostle. Chaos to me has a core appeal of "here is the most toxic, awful polycule you've ever seen in your life, now watch them fight over who has to do the dishes" and while both novels do focus way more on the conflict than anything, this one DOES compel me more on the basis of its character work and the way the IW generals spend a good three quarters of it being catty bitches to one another. It's quite fun. I'm very much looking forwards to future instances of Mr. Honsou's Wild Ride.

[Justin Partridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

“IRON WITHIN! IRON WITHOUT!”

Yet another rollicking ride through the Chaos end of the Imperium of Man. This time with another one of my personal favorite set of heretics, the Iron Warriors, which then sweetens this stew of unrelenting violence by making a scene-stealer from the Ultramarines books, Warsmith Honsou, basically the whole ass lead of this, just before he got the title and the responsibilities therein.

But yeah, big big BIG fun to be had here. The Iron Warriors have their sights set on the sparse fortress world of Hydra Cordatus (which I kept saying in my head like Troca de Cordoes from Bob’s Burgers but that’s a whole me thing) and only a few thousand Guardsman and a flight of Titans (which I didn’t expect so much of!) stand in their way.

And that’s…pretty much it. Just a constant slam of action and attack and repel actions with little bits of heroism and horror stocked in between these truly massive set pieces. And it’s even more interesting reading McNeill talk about how allowing the Chaos forces to WIN was like a big deal when this released in ‘02! I suppose the Horus Heresy stuff hadn’t really started in earnest (and I’m guessing a far amount of those are Imperial asskicks) but that was really interesting to me.

As was further the drilling down on just how the Iron Warriors fight and operate in siege combat. I’m usually not super into that sort of tactile, nuts-and-bolts of attacking stuff detail but this one really got me (which is another strength of the Uriel Ventris books; suffusing so much character and stakes into what could be pretty generic “military” fiction). It makes me love these burnished gun metal bastards all the more.

I only have a few Chaos focused things on my list but I’m really happy these have been as good as they have been. Not only have they’ve given me all sorts of neat new perspectives on the property but it’s also shown me a nice little swatch of how much differently these can operate. Both tonally and narratively. That’s always a delight, especially in something as monolithic as 40k.

[Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Iron Warriors Chaos space marines, known for their expertise in siegecraft, are laying siege to a fortress on a desolate world (named Hydra Cordatus). The book is an easy to read science fiction action page turner; two particular highlights of the book for me was the siege warfare and the titans.

Siege Warfare
If you’re interested in siege warfare this book has some excellent detail on the ‘science’ behind the siegecraft involved (Ravelins, parallels, saps; if you don’t know these terms you will by the time you’ve finished this book). This added a nice authentic element to the proceedings as the Iron Warriors background is meant to include expertise in siege warfare.

Titans
Titans are large war machines that can stand between 15 meters to 60 meters tall and carry firepower that can destroy cities. Storm of Iron has two large titan battles that are excellent (particularly if you know the background to Dies Irae and the Legio Mortis; see below) and the book is worth a read if you are interested in this sort of thing.

What I particularly liked in Storm of Iron is the appearance of the Imperator class titan Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) from the Legio Mortis (Death’s Head Legion). If you have read the first three books of the Horus Heresy series (Horus Rising, False Gods, and Galaxy in Flames) you will have seen the Dies IraeLegio Mortis betraying the Emperor of Man and siding with Chaos.

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

2002’s classic Iron Warriors novel Storm of Iron was Graham McNeill’s second Black Library novel, and introduced us to Honsou, a villain who would go on to feature heavily in future books. On the barren world of Hydra Cordatus, the 383rd Jouran Dragoons man the defences of an Adeptus Mechanicus fortress. Nobody seems quite sure exactly what they’re defending, but a massive invasion force of Iron Warriors suggests it’s something important. The Imperial defenders believe themselves safe behind formidable fortress walls, but the Iron Warriors bring 10,000 years of guile and brutality as well as their mastery of siegecraft.

There’s no denying that this is a Black Library classic, and deservedly so, but it’s definitely a child of its time. For example the overall Iron Warriors depiction doesn’t have the layered complexity that you might expect in the modern era – they’re recognisably Iron Warriors, but there’s not a huge amount that differentiates them from generic Chaos Marines. Likewise McNeill’s prose isn’t as developed as it is today, unsurprisingly for his second ever novel, but his storytelling, plotting and pacing are all genuinely successful. What makes this still really work though, over fifteen years later, is how pleasingly tricky McNeill makes it to decide which side to really root for. The Iron Warriors aren’t exactly likeable, but Honsou is somehow still relatable despite it all, and while it’s hard not to want the Imperials to scrape to victory there’s something essentially 40k about watching the bad guys on the up.

Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/03/...

[Evan Flack · Rating 5 out of 5]

So it appears that reviews of this novel are quite divided. After just finishing the Audible version narrated by Robert Clothworthy, I can say that this was my favorite book yet. I am not one for large scale combat novels as I often find the description of stratagems tedious and difficult to follow (I am very much a visual person which is why I love miniature wargaming). The writing in this book was top notch grammar warhammer and was thrilling paced in a way that propelled me to listen for the next wave of the seige. The Iron Warriors are as equally badass as they are disturbingly evil. The Imperial Fists captivated me as they continued to fight on in the demonic face of their ancient enemy. Never before have a rooted so much for both sides in a novel. The author provided an intimate look into the moral quandary and twisted motivations of each of the main characters resulting in a truly distinct cast. This aspect of the novel also worked well to break up the monotony of the seige in my opinion. I will certainly be checking out the next stories in the series and look forward to putting out a chaos space marine army of my own ☠

[Xenophon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for what it is: an awesome Warhammer book. It's a pure conceit to the fact most of us are into Warhammer for the over-the-top action. The battle scenes are unusually well-done and very satisfying. There is nothing deep going on here unless the reader goes hog wild with interpretation or mines the lore at depths I'll frankly always be ignorant of.

That said, this isn't totally brainless action or senseless violence. McNeill does a fantastic job in fleshing out his characters- even the bit players. He deftly intertwines their development with action on the battlefield and ongoing chess match between both forces. It's natural to favor some characters over others in books of this kind, but I found the moves of each side so well described, I felt no temptation to read ahead and rooted for both sides throughout the book.

I've read four Warhammer books. This one is tied with Space Wolf for first. I could not put it down.