Leontus: Lord Solar (Warhammer 40,000 Characters Series)

by Rob Young

Ein Warhammer 40,000 Roman

Eine Rettungskapsel stürzt kreischend aus dem Himmel von Fortuna Minor und geht beinahe in den Trümmern unter, die auf die ausgedörrten Ebenen regnen. Die imperiale Flotte wird im Orbit durch eine Kriegslist der Orks zum Rückzug gezwungen.

WARUM DU DIESES BUCH LESEN SOLLTEST
Erlebe, wie der bedeutendste Militärstratege des Imperiums beinahe eigenhändig versucht, einen Ork-Waaagh! zurückzuschlagen, und finde heraus, wie das Astra Militarum kämpft, wenn es waffentechnisch und zahlenmäßig unterlegen ist.

DIE GESCHICHTE
Die Welt Fortuna Minoris wurde von Orks überrannt und ihre Bewohner versklavt, um Waffen für die Grünhäute zu bauen. Für die imperialen Streitkräfte beginnt ein scheinbar hoffnungsloser Kampf ums Überleben.

Doch der Mann in der Rettungskapsel ist Arcadian Leontus, der Lord Solar, ein brillanter Taktiker und das Genie hinter zahllosen Siegen. Auch ohne seine Armeen will Leontus diesen Krieg nicht nur überleben. Er will ihn gewinnen.

Geschrieben von Rob Young
Übersetzt von Birgit Hausmayer

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Novels

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 9, 2024

Reviews

[Matthew Wake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leontus is another in the Warhammer 40K Character Series. Focusing on the most important leader of the Astra Militarum, this short novel offers a different look at military conflict.
Very early in the book, Leontus is badly beaten, losing all support, and having to fight the enemy on the ground with remnants of his Army. Through leadership, tactical acumen and determination he seeks to wage guerrilla warfare to win the day.

This is a fast pace read, with very interesting and likeable characters, offering a different perspective on warfare in 40K. Leontus could easily be compared to many real world historical figures.

[Aiden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our first look at the Lord Solar of the Indomitus Crusade, and the finest in millennia. A joyous book that follows Leontus' failed invasion of an Ork controlled planet and his subsequent guerrilla campaign to take control of a crucial spaceport for the return of the fleet with nothing but a handful of broken survivors.
The strain of hopelessness and pain against the hope of service and honour is contrasted perfectly for half a dozen characters, the storyline is strong and the speed of the book is done perfectly. A notably creative Ork enemy keeps the antagonists interesting

[Matthew Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down! A tale of the men and women of the Astra Militarum that is also our first taste of the Lord Solar. Visceral descriptions and interesting characters made for a very enjoyable, if brief, tale of seeing the bigger picture.

[Jeff Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good warhammer book

This book was unusual from the black library in that the main protagonist, Lord Solar, is not a space marine, not adeptus mechanicus, but a barely augmented baseline human. None the less, through fire and maneuver, took on a superior demos force while greatly outnumbered. It remained plausible (for the universe) and did not have the deus ex machina problems that plague so many war hammer books.

I you are a fan of the imperial guard, dkok, etc, you will probably enjoy this one.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great short novel about Leontus waging a guerrilla war against orks. The greatest strength of the novel is that the various Guardsman from different regiments are unique, but not overly characatured.

[Eric Fritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

solid 8/10, easy read with a pretty sweet finale

[Troddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5-Really fun and thrilling read. I really enjoyed the character of lord solar a lot so the book did its job of introducing him well for me there. It just felt like it needed to be a little longer to flesh a bit more out.

[Sunil S · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

A really cute little novel from Rob Young. Lord Solar was a cool character, having the stern authority of your commissar-esque character, while also evidently also having a heart. Bless him.

Also; the ending made me tear up, so thanks for that, Rob.

Also: it has Orks and Grots (even if barely) in it, so of course I'm happy.

[Jack Neighbour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very average.

[Ryan Ditrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

80% of this book is about horses

[Atz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoilers.

Another solid addition to the Warhammer 40K series. This one leans less on world building and focuses more on character development. It’s a relatively short read but, as usual, packed with intense action and plenty of bloodshed. The story moves at a good pace and is well delivered by the narrator

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be 3.5 stars if goodreads did half stars. It’s fine for what it is, but nothing exceptional, and you can guess basically everything that’s going to happen from reading the back cover. I wish Games Workshop would let people get weirder in these character novels

[Paul Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

To keep this brief, I absolutely loved this book. Screw "For the Emperor". For Leontus instead.

[Ridel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rough cold-open that does a really bad job of setting up the rest of the book. The ending needed another chapter, being far too abrupt and doing a poor job of settling the reader's nerves.

The middle is beautiful, Imperial Guard heroism, nestled around a pearl of competence that is the Lord Solar. He was little more than a codex entry before, and now I wish Leontus shows up in a few more books. Maybe he can give the Dawn of Fire series an infusion of skill.

[Unseen Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating of 4.5.

Warhammer 40,000 fiction in 2025 starts off strong with the compelling, character-focused novel, Leontus: Lord Solar by Rob Young.

On the world of Fortuna Minor, an Astra Militarum taskforce of soldiers from various Imperial Guard regiments encounters grave disaster. Sent to eliminate an invading ork horde, the Astra Militarum soldiers find themselves overwhelmed on the landing fields of Fortuna Minor and are slaughtered, while their reinforcements are forced to retreat into space thanks to the orks’ fighters and spacecraft. Surrounded, outnumbered and lacking resources, only a few humans manage to escape the massacre, including legendary hero of the Imperium of Man, Arcadian Leontus, Lord Commander of the Segmentum Solar.

One of humanity’s most dedicated defenders and a master tactician, Leontus has no intention of giving up in the face of the ork invasion, even with his armies lost and devastated. Determined to not only survive but complete the objective of reclaiming Fortuna Minor, Leontus rallies a small group of survivors and prisoners liberated from the ork camps to his cause and begins a desperate campaign to fight ensure that the armies of the Imperium can triumph on this latest battlefield.

Effectively welding his scattered force of mismatched and poorly armed soldiers into a coherent army, Leontus soon finds success against the orks, bringing hope to his demoralised troops. But in the face of overwhelming odds, a determined and dangerously intelligent opponent, and his own lack of resources, can even the brilliant Leontus succeed, especially when his own men begin to question his tactics and motivations?

Leontus: Lord Solar was an excellent and fun Warhammer 40,000 novel that allowed Young to bring an iconic figure from the game to life. A compelling and exciting read, Leontus: Lord Solar was a real blast to check out, especially as Young presents an impressive and direct narrative that you quickly sink your teeth into.

To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2025/02/13/...

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

[Michael Botterill · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I know very little about the character of Leontus, but I feel like I still don't

but I know a lot more about his character in terms of what motivates him and what drives him, not so much his history

The book is great, very good story, but I feel like there was an absence of some of the less recognisable parts of the Guard, but I get that one of the aims of this novel is to sell models, so we are less likely to have the Valhallens or Salvar Chem-Dogs

The story was very well put together, it was narrated brilliantly and very much fits the current theme of the Astra Militarium on the tabletop

The individual characters had all got a great voice and despite not being the headliners, were very well fleshed out

Also, Catachans are now space Scoucers in the same was Cadians are space Geordies!

[Sebastiaan Vanbesien · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, this was a bit disappointing. The premise and opening were very promising. But is was all a bit lackluster? There was never any doubt about how this book was going to end, and for Leontus being a “peerless tactician and the mastermind of countless victories” it all felt fairly boring and easy? The pacing is off, there is a lot of slow simmering build up and then suddenly it’s the finale out of nowhere, the book definitely could’ve done with a few more chapters. There are some interesting characters and combinations in the book (catachan and krieg!) but they are not used to their strengths? And the way Leontus clearly cares for his troops, yet refuses to communicate with them was very frustrating. All that said, Arnetz was a great character and the opening of the book was very strong. Too bad it didn’t live up to it’s potential

[Christopher Nottage · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an enjoyable read about a Lord Commander of the Imperial guard in the Segmentum Solar. Set on Fortuna Minor the story revolves around the fulfilment of a mission. I enjoyed the protagonists, particularly Arnetz and Belgutei although Leontus himself had character traits that were interesting to read.

The book began as it meant to go on and I feel I was given what was promised in the set up of the story in terms of tone and outcome. It promised action packed adventure with a bit of heroism in a violent world with seemingly insurmountable odds and that's pretty much what was delivered.

[William Allingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. The chapter length was just right, the action kept me invested in the story and the characters were relatable and interesting. I finished it in 2 days which is really fast for me. I would love to see another story picking up where this left off with Keori Arnetz.

[Stone Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the Astra Militarum being my favorite faction in Warhammer I knew I was gonna like this going into it. I loved the interactions between the different guard regiments, and it featured a fair few people I love! The combat was also thrilling and kept me coming back for more If you're a fan of Warhammer it's a must read! For the imperium! down with the heretic!

[Sam Pittman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real solid book, not too long of a read either if you are looking for a shorter novel. Provides a great glimpse into the mind of one of the greatest commanders of the Militarum in its history. Only gripe with the book was that the last 40 pages or so accelerated events really fast, other than that I loved every second reading this book.

[Matthew Duka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some good moments and is an interesting premise but it felt a little formulaic, predictable and became repetitive in the last third of the book.
However if you want an easy to digest 40k story It's a good choice due to being a quick easy read with recognisable characters types from all the guard regiments you can buy models for.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid tale of survival and guerilla warfare surrounding a flawed but very interesting central figure.

The ending to this one gave a lot of weight to the prior proceedings in a way that leaves you deeply unsettled in the way a good Warhammer story should!

[Robert Bridgewater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit of a generic story. Funny to see humans hold up against a tide of greenskins, especially in close combat. Overall I enjoyed it.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly straight forward yarn. TBH I'm not too keen on the way that the character series 'humanises' named characters, it diminishes them I think.

[Ryan Nation · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

solid

Good, self contained story. Not a lot of plot or lore, but solid view of the astra militarum and orks. Good quick read but not essential in any way.

[Donavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic.

Rarely do novels of the Astra Militarum blend character development and action perfectly, but by the God Emperor Rob Young does it.

[AA_Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another solid entry in the Characters series, this one is unique in that the titular character barely exists beyond this book- Leontus only popped up in the last couple of years so this book has an awful lot of heavy lifting to do.

The author’s afterword deals with a lot of his rationale in writing this book, and the decision to strip the Lord Solar of his status and power for the duration of the novel is a wise one.

The guerrilla campaign against the orks is well described and the ragtag band of survivors banding together under his banner are nicely varied. If I was to make one (minor) complaint it’d be that a veteran of the Astra Militarum, like the Atillan leader, would most likely be unphased by the idea of soldiers being sent on suicidal missions- this is the grim darkness of the 41st millennium after all, and while it made for some interesting character development it did jar slightly., especially since the Guard members of the author’s previous books have been suitably jaded and inured to the harsh realities of their role.

Despite that minor issue, I very much enjoyed the book, and have come away with a renewed hankering to get back to building Imperial Guardsmen, which is always fun.

[Fresh Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 and a half stars is more appropriate here. What’s here is very good. Short and sweet. With that said, the spectre that looms over many contemporary 40k books these days is very large here. That being the painfully obvious decision to make the main protagonist overly relatable. Unfortunately most if not all the character books have this issue.

Leontus, several times, has a bizarre friction with a particular captain in his would-be squad of survivors, who consistently undermines him. Keep in mind Leontus is the Lord General of the Imperial f***** Guard. This isn’t some small time commissar or captain. There is absolutely no way that the guy wouldn’t have been told to face the wall at the slightest provocation.