Final Deployment

Astra Militarum #6

by R S Wilt

An Astra Militarum Novel

Physically and psychologically conditioned from childhood under the most horrific conditions imaginable, the Tempestus Scions are the Imperium’s deadliest human soldiers – fearsome killers expected to follow their orders ruthlessly and without question.

READ IT BECAUSE

Tempestor Traxel, star of the short story, Eradicant, returns to face off against an army of traitors and his own damaged consciousness. Can he overcome the toll that a lifetime of war has taken on his mind and fulfil his duty to the God-Emperor?

THE STORY

Led by the merciless Tempestor Traxel, the Scions of First Eradicant squad drop directly into the fires of a global civil war. Joined by a commissar who personifies the suffering of his past and facing a foe from the darkest days of the Imperium, Traxel’s fracturing psyche places the entire world at risk.

On Rilis, Traxel will face the foe that broke him. This time, there is no price he will not pay.

Written by R S Wilt.

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Military Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2025

Reviews

[Paul Sparks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this book on Audible and Andrew Wincotts narration certainly enhanced the story, I felt it overlong and at times lost focus

[Conor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, felt like a video game story. However felt a bit dense in parts and some vocab made the pace slow down from my subpar lexicon.

[Andrew Peel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lacks character development and depth. At best an average Astra Militarum novel lost count of the number of times the words; blood, viscera and intestines in various ways were used unnecessarily. Spending a whole chapter to describe a fight involving two Scions that could have effectively been done in three pages is a good example.

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent characterization, but the novel runs from battle to battle with very little downtime. I suppose that is accurate to the idea of Tempestus Scions and their hypno conditioning, but it takes away from my enjoyment without any downtime scenes.

[Unseen Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating of 4.5.

Prepare for battle as R. S. Wilt presents his debut novel, Final Deployment, a captivating read that perfectly highlights bloody war in the grimdark future of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

In the far future, the Imperium of Man battles for survival on thousands of planet-spanning battlefields, with untold numbers of human soldiers fighting and dying every day against monsters, xenos and heretics. Of these soldiers, none are more deadly or skilled than the Tempestus Scions. Moulded into unquestionable killing machines from a young age with relentless training and mental manipulation, the Tempestus Scions serve as an elite force with the soldiers of mankind, taking on the missions that no other soldier could complete.

Amongst these Tempestus Scions are the fighters of First Eradicant squad of the Xian Tigers. Led by Tempestor Traxel and "inspired" by Commissar Fennech, First Eradicant are an unusual regiment made up of several misfit Scions damaged by the battles they have seen. Deployed to the planet of Rilis, a formerly loyal world now fighting a brutal civil war, First Eradicant is tasked with destroying the rebelling regiments and bringing order to the planet. Utilising their superior training and equipment, First Eradicant quickly turn the tide against the enemy and being to lead the loyalist forces on Rilis to victory. However, their success leads them discover the full strength of the traitors, as well as their dark allegiances.

After a disastrous battle that sees their loyalist allies massacred, First Eradicant find themselves facing monstrous opponents even more lethal than they are; three Chaos Space Marines from the Iron Warriors legion. Determined to slay the ancient, genetically enhanced traitors, First Eradicant take the fight to the Iron Warriors across the planet. However, with their leader traumatised by past battles and Commissar Fennech playing his own sinister games, can even the best human soldiers in the galaxy defeat the evolved might of the Chaos Space Marines?

R. S. Wilt starts his professional writing career off in explosive fashion with this amazing and compelling debut. Final Deployment was a deeply exciting character-driven Warhammer 40,000 story that followed several highly damaged characters as they attempted to survive the horrors of war. Intense, action-packed and deeply addictive, Final Deployment was an outstanding read that I had an incredible time getting through.

To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2025/11/01/...

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

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn on this book. I felt the descriptions of both environments, characters, and fight scenes (which are many, easily the majority of the book) were highly evocative.

However it suffers from everything about the protagonist squad being played straight to the point of cliche. The loyalist and traitor militia officers and Iron Warrior antagonists are all far more compelling characters and this story would have been much more interesting told from their perspectives instead.

I find myself hoping for prequels of the Iron Warriors more than a sequel of the Xian Tigers' exploits.

[Atila Vedatov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cool cover, pretty much 0 characterisation with the sole exception of 3 or 4 members of the eradicant. It has some pretty corny writing nearing the end but it was bearable, the sentance "end of the barrel of the bolt pistol" was used at least 20 times. 2 of the characters have like 150+ pages of pagetime while the others have 2 words and then die for no reason. Still it was pretty entertaining the battles were cool.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite possibly one of the top novel in the 40K universe

Uncommon depictions of the Tempestus Scions, Imperial Guard, rebel Guardsmen, Traitor Guardsmen, Traitor Legionnaires etc.

Well-written, action-packed, with compelling characters and excellent action sequences.

Give this one a read!

[Joffrey Gielen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read where the odds are stated clearly, the action is described vividly, but the psychology of the main characters is only worked out in an incomplete fashion. Some are very well fleshed out, but many remain faceless cogs in the grinding military machine of the Imperium.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Suicide Squad in the grim darkness of the far future.

[Michael Botterill · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent story featuring my favourite faction

Very much in keeping with the way the army is, and I would love to read more stories of First Erradicant!

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so fun to read! It has excellent characters, straightforward plot, and super exciting action. The level of sentiment is perfect for the grimdark. More of the eradicant, please!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic Warhammer novel that humanizes Chaos MORE than our main imperium characters and has some truly outstanding action set pieces.

[Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really cool and interesting look into the Scions! I feel like it would be easy to make them slightly smaller Space Marines, but I felt that this book really gave them their own niche. Something truly separate from guardsmen and Space Marines which I really enjoyed!

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated the author's tight, tactically-informed prose. It made this a thoroughly enjoyable read when it was liable to become bolter slop. I hope he gets more Guard novels where he can flex his military muscles.