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Warhammer 40,000
Relentless
After being thrown off his ship in a bloody coup, a spaceship captain must fight his way back to power and take back his command!
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 29, 2008
3 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
About the author
Richard Williams
36 books5 followersRichard Williams has written fiction for a range of publications on such diverse topics as gang initiation, medieval highwaymen, and arcane religions. In his spare time he is a theatre director and actor.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Richard^^Williams
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Richard^^Williams
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 7, 2022
Review to come... suffice to say I enjoy this book. A bit of fresh air of books that focus on war, battles or Space Marines. It's a shame that only one book was written because the ending leave us wanting for more.
March 17, 2022
I’m always excited when I see the Dark Eldar on the cover of a 40K novel. It’s my favorite Warhammer 40K army and doesn’t get much love in the 40K literature, but this novel isn’t about the Dark Eldar, it’s about the betrayal and attempted assassination of the new captain of an Imperial Navy ship by the current established and nefarious ship’s officers to maintain their unscrupulous activities (those are spoilers that are found on the book’s jacket).
This novel is different than the majority of 40K ship novels. Most are filled with massive fleet battles or extended cat and mouse games between opposing ships that end in the climatic confrontation. This novel is mostly about giving an insight into life aboard an Imperial ship. The first half is mostly filled with the upper deck relations and duties of the command staff (albeit with a twist because of the plot) and the latter half is about the struggle for survival and relations on the lower decks (a topic that I found especially interesting because not many books get into detail about this, limited mostly to dark descriptions of the masses of press-ganged humanity that toil under harsh conditions to ensure the ship maintains function).
The battles are few and not especially noteworthy, though at least the Dark Eldar are portrayed more appropriately themed and skilled in their tradecraft of terror and combat prowess than in other novels (yes, I’m thinking of their pathetic portrayal in Nightbringer). It is the ship life and politics that make this a good novel to read. I felt that the lead up to the end was a little rushed and could have used another 100-pages to flesh out some plot devices to make the end game more fluid and fulfilling, but overall I was happy with the result.
This novel is different than the majority of 40K ship novels. Most are filled with massive fleet battles or extended cat and mouse games between opposing ships that end in the climatic confrontation. This novel is mostly about giving an insight into life aboard an Imperial ship. The first half is mostly filled with the upper deck relations and duties of the command staff (albeit with a twist because of the plot) and the latter half is about the struggle for survival and relations on the lower decks (a topic that I found especially interesting because not many books get into detail about this, limited mostly to dark descriptions of the masses of press-ganged humanity that toil under harsh conditions to ensure the ship maintains function).
The battles are few and not especially noteworthy, though at least the Dark Eldar are portrayed more appropriately themed and skilled in their tradecraft of terror and combat prowess than in other novels (yes, I’m thinking of their pathetic portrayal in Nightbringer). It is the ship life and politics that make this a good novel to read. I felt that the lead up to the end was a little rushed and could have used another 100-pages to flesh out some plot devices to make the end game more fluid and fulfilling, but overall I was happy with the result.
August 30, 2014
It has been a long time since I have read a true science fiction book. It brought back good memories from my youth. Relentless is a reasonably good example of true science fiction story with spaceships and alien races. Some confusing terminology but completely understandable. I will consider another book by this author in the future.
January 31, 2019
Richard Williams is one of those writers who I don't think of as a "flashy" Warhammer author, and he's not written enough that I think of him as a "prolific" Warhammer writer, but I'm always pleasantly entertained when I read one of his works. Relentless was no exception.
It starts as one story - new captain takes over a ship with a borderline-mutinous first mate, and a crew used to doing things "the wrong way." In typical 40K manner, rather than being a kind of Bad News Bears story, it instead goes a much darker route.
Each section of the book essentially gives our protagonist a different "boss" to overcome for that level, and seeing him struggle with no real hope of ever attaining what he's lost is such good 40K setup, and the ways in which he achieves his goals are clever and fitting. There's one moment specifically near the end that's so twisted, yet understated, I remember thinking it would be difficult to get that moment past an editor in any other genre except 40K's unique grimdarkness.
Great book.
It starts as one story - new captain takes over a ship with a borderline-mutinous first mate, and a crew used to doing things "the wrong way." In typical 40K manner, rather than being a kind of Bad News Bears story, it instead goes a much darker route.
Each section of the book essentially gives our protagonist a different "boss" to overcome for that level, and seeing him struggle with no real hope of ever attaining what he's lost is such good 40K setup, and the ways in which he achieves his goals are clever and fitting. There's one moment specifically near the end that's so twisted, yet understated, I remember thinking it would be difficult to get that moment past an editor in any other genre except 40K's unique grimdarkness.
Great book.
December 24, 2018
A decently quick story that does a great job of fleshing out how the life of an imperial warship. The character of Beckett and Ward are very believable in their motivations and are well written characters. The side characters are a little throw away but thats common for a story of this type. Overall this was a fun short read but i would have given more stars if it was a little longer at the end, as it is the alien menace just sort of gives up. And some more naval combat parts would have been good as i know these can be good
October 18, 2019
Pretty decent, but ultimately it had a bunch of faults.
Never the less, it is fun to see the Imperial Navy take center stage.
Never the less, it is fun to see the Imperial Navy take center stage.
February 11, 2021
About Imperial Navy.
But it is more focus on internal working of the ship rather than space combat.
But it is more focus on internal working of the ship rather than space combat.
July 28, 2022
Solid tale of feuding and revenge aboard an Imperial starship. Second half loses focus somewhat. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/200...
March 21, 2015
This is Richard Williams' first novel in the 40K universe, and as such it's impressive how confidently the work is written. He knows how to tap into one of the rich veins of the 40K universe, that of the normal everyman suffering horribly under the weight of a quasi-fascist regime (The Imperium, of course.)
It's a world which Captain Becket is introduced to when he tightens the reins on a battleship crew who, until his delayed arrival, have been collecting regular 'tithes' from trading vessels and growing fat on the proceeds. His new initiatives upset First Officer Ward, who had all but proclaimed himself Captain, and finally an assassination is attempted to remove Becket from the picture.
Not knowing who was in on the conspiracy, Becket re-enters the Relentless as a Conscript, the human fuel of the vessel who are subjected to a lifetime of back-breaking labour, with only the strongest having any chance of advancement. The images Williams conjures of countless pale human bodies, working on machines of collosal size, are affecting and compelling; reminding me of the Morlocks from H.G Wells 'The Time Machine' - supplying essentials to an elite who were neither conscious nor caring of their efforts.
Unfortunatly, there is little surprising in the characters, most being familiar cliches - the sadistic overseer, the cocky young worker, the religious zealot, but none of these are badly written, and cliches are familiar for good reason. In the end you feel it's the tale itself which restricts Williams: a formulaic story of revenge and heroism, yet also a considerate slow-burner which may put those off who tune into this universe for the immediate thrill of bolters blazing.
There's obviously talent here and I hope Williams writes more in the 40K universe, the Imperial Navy feels ripe for exploration and he may be just the man to do it.
It's a world which Captain Becket is introduced to when he tightens the reins on a battleship crew who, until his delayed arrival, have been collecting regular 'tithes' from trading vessels and growing fat on the proceeds. His new initiatives upset First Officer Ward, who had all but proclaimed himself Captain, and finally an assassination is attempted to remove Becket from the picture.
Not knowing who was in on the conspiracy, Becket re-enters the Relentless as a Conscript, the human fuel of the vessel who are subjected to a lifetime of back-breaking labour, with only the strongest having any chance of advancement. The images Williams conjures of countless pale human bodies, working on machines of collosal size, are affecting and compelling; reminding me of the Morlocks from H.G Wells 'The Time Machine' - supplying essentials to an elite who were neither conscious nor caring of their efforts.
Unfortunatly, there is little surprising in the characters, most being familiar cliches - the sadistic overseer, the cocky young worker, the religious zealot, but none of these are badly written, and cliches are familiar for good reason. In the end you feel it's the tale itself which restricts Williams: a formulaic story of revenge and heroism, yet also a considerate slow-burner which may put those off who tune into this universe for the immediate thrill of bolters blazing.
There's obviously talent here and I hope Williams writes more in the 40K universe, the Imperial Navy feels ripe for exploration and he may be just the man to do it.
January 18, 2016
Followed up my last read with another WH40K entry. This one follows the trials of Captain Becket, newly appointed leader of the war vessel Relentless who begins to crack down on operations and discipline on the ship, much to the chagrin of Commander Ward, acting captain up till this point and involved in a covert siphoning of funds and goods off of ships currently in trading routes. Naturally, Ward considers Becket a threat to his operation and arranges for him to be involved in a shuttle "accident" after a contrived riot on a planet where Becket was needed to secure a treaty arrangement. What follows is Becket's own personal hell as he survives the "accident" and ends up as a lowest level slave on the very ship he used to command. No spoilers, but his goal is to find his way back to the top and confront Ward. Along the way the Dark Eldar show up and make things really interesting. I understand that this is Williams first venture into the 40K universe, and for the most part he pulls it off fairly well. I do wish he had fleshed out Becket's journey a little more and backed off the other 40K elements some (the Dark Eldar was more of a convenient plot point at the climax of the story), but I did enjoy how it all tied together at the somewhat rushed ending.
October 22, 2008
A good solid entry in the Warhammer 40,000 library of books. Focusing on the Imperial Navy, Relentless is a story of betrayal, revenge, and redemption. The book is well-plotted and exciting (assuming you're an Imperial Navy fan). The characters fit right into the Warhammer 40,000 universe. A little standard, maybe, but perfectly suitable for this book.
February 15, 2009
I found this at the library and picked it up to get a feel of the background for the Warhammer 40K universe. I found the book to be fairly enjoyable and it did give me a fair idea about the setting. If you are not at all familiar with 40K, the book will be pretty confusing, I'd think.
April 19, 2016
It is my first english book that I had read through during one day! I just couldn't overt my eyes till the very end. Here you will find majestic Imperial Navy, corruption and schemes. I loved this book and it's short story prequel 'Mortal Fuel'.
May 16, 2008
Was not what I was expecting, yet an interesting read anyway. Cool insight into the more social structure of the battlefleet.
October 18, 2012
Nice build-up, but a somewhat rushed ending.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews