Tomb World

by Jonathan D. Beer

A Warhammer 40,000 Novel
Khemet, a disgraced praetorian charged with protecting her tomb world as it slumbers, is roused to action once more. This is her chance to prove she is meant for greater things. She will stop at nothing to see it done.

READ IT BECAUSE
It's a chance to see the necron empire in a new way. Join a lowly cryptek with lofty ambitions and a praetorian suffering from the worst punishment imaginable – can they work together to reclaim a necron planet now infested with humans?

THE STORY
As the necron empire sleeps, the Triarch praetorians watch and wait.

Khemet has guarded the tombs of her people for millions of years, patiently waiting for the day when the numberless legions of the dead will rise again. As they finally begin to stir, old ambitions and treacheries are roused with them.

Betrayed and imprisoned, dogged by the shame of a terrible failure, Khemet has endured the gravest punishment necron ingenuity can conjure. Now she is free, offered a single chance to restore her honour and reclaim her standing. For Khemet to rise, a world must die.

Genres: 40k

325 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2025

About the author

Jonathan D. Beer is a science fiction and alternative history writer, whose stories for Black Library include the novels THE KING OF THE SPOIL and DOMINION GENESIS, and several short stories.

Equally obsessed by the nineteenth century and the 41st millennium, he lives with his wife and assorted cats in the untamed wilderness of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Reviews

[Vincent Knotley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A glimpse through lenses rarely held into the world of Warhammer 40,000, in particular the societies of the Necrons and the methods they use to take planets from the Imperium. More than that, Tomb World establishes greater depths surrounding the Triarch Praetorians through a medium of identity, ambition and duty while telling a ripper of a story to boot. It's not predictable fare by any stretch, and while the first Act goes deeper to study the character of Tomb Worlds utterly inhuman core characters and the third goes nuclear in its stakes, it is really Act 2 which stands out as the exemplar of Tomb World. Why? Well you'll have to read it and find out.

I'd highly recommend it as a read for 40k fans and especially those who have a long-standing love of Necrons. Even though they all occupy different characters and storylines, Tomb World would make a great 3rd stop in a 4 part Necron tetralogy read after both Twice-Dead King novels and before The Infinite and The Divine.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to reread more Necron books and see if I have any spare Necron miniatures lying around to paint.

[Remembrancer S Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

a disappointment

as necron books are typically a fairly high quality I had high hopes for this one... unfortunately it is subpar.

most all of its characters are fairly unlikable and not in a fun way.

The only thing that was getting me to the end was the hope that the main character would get her revenge for the mistreatment she faced... her just reward for putting up with their nonsense...

It is the equivalent of a custodian being shanghaied by a bunch of space Marines and forced to do their bidding...

needless to say the ending was completely wasted.. do not waste your time on this pointless story.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly fun and quite bleak book from the perspective of the Necrons. Could have used an entire novel set in the midpoint of the book with a Necron basically becoming a horror movie slasher.

High recommend.

[Isaiah Z.-McGuire · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not a bad book, but I am disappointed. Characters just seem to act without any reason, and despite fascinating motivations, their actions never feel like they reflect those motivations. Khemet is a cool character as a Praetorian, but she never seems to react to new information. She just seems to accept Hekasun's reveal that he's actively plotting revenge against her for wiping out his dynasty and despite her clear control over the tomb world she does nothing to deal with him at all throughout the story. The reveal of Hekasun's dynasty having survived has no weight, and seems to mean absolutely nothing in changing what any of the Necrons are doing in conquering Qeretesh.

While I think the human perspectives are some of the best written portions of this book, it takes away from any chance of explaining the impact of any of the reveals about the Necrons; rather than building out this internal conflict we just get an outline that Khemet is doing everything, and at no point is really at risk of losing the war. Kamoteph "forcing her hand" into an all-out war of attrition never has consequences.

Faction infighting is a major part of a lot of WH stories, but none of the Necrons seem to know what they want. The Deathmark's (whose name I don't know how to spell having listened to this as an audiobook) belief in the Destroyer Cult doesn't mean anything and we're never given a sense of why Khemet cares, Kamoteph's betrayal isn't meaningful or seem to matter at all, and him trying to kill Hekasun at the end of the book makes no sense, why wouldn't he expect Khemet to intervene?

The conclusion of this book with Khemet awarding Hekasun the planet and the control of the dynasty *could* be incredibly interesting, and a really cool way of reinforcing some of the harshness of Warhammer, commenting that Kamoteph would be the better choice, but that mataining the deeply unmeritocratic Necron hierarchy is ultimately what Khemet values most as a praetorian. But we have no reason to relate that value at all to Khemet's motivation throughout any other part of the book.

I know I'm repeating myself, but I just had so many questions about why characters did anything throughout this book. Why does Kamoteph decide to spring his "big betrayal" at just a random moment in the story? Why does Hekasun reveal his dynastic lineage and why does it mean absolutely nothing for the plot to the point that Khemet does not change anything at all in her dealings with the other Necrons? What point does Anrakyr the Traveler serve after the first chapter?

Lastly, I know Kamoteph's model was a limited-time exclusive, but I'm surprised to see him die after the first amount of backstory that we get for him! His character is definitely the most fleshed out after Khemet's, and up until his pointless betrayal, he seems like he has the most going on worth exploring.

[Anibal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan D. Beer’s Tomb World is a sharp, characterdriven dive into Necron society, balancing political intrigue, military escalation, and the eerie philosophical rigidity of an ancient empire. At its heart is Khemet, a disgraced Praetorian released from a nightmarish stasis punishment and tasked with aiding the reclamation of the tomb world Orymous. Her handler, the pompous and insecure Lord Hekasun, and his ambitious Cryptek Kamoteph, provide a perfect contrast to Khemet’s stoic efficiency and sense of duty.

Orymous is not the empty world they expected, and the tension between Necron secrecy, Imperial presence, and internal dynastic politics drives the novel forward. Beer excels at portraying how fragile a Necron awakening truly is: malfunctioning systems, court rivalries, hidden agendas, and the ever-looming pressure of maintaining absolute control. Khemet’s covert operations, including a chilling partnership with a chaotic Hexmark Destroyer, offer some of the most atmospheric Necron action in recent Black Library fiction.

The human perspective, especially through Adepyus Arbites Marshal Sinos investigating strange incidents on the planet, adds welcome grounding and builds suspense as the two sides inch closer to inevitable open conflict.

What truly elevates Tomb World is its focus on identity, loyalty, grudges and philosophical decay within a supposedly immortal race. Beer gives the Necrons a depth and internal complexity rarely explored, blending suspense, political maneuvering, and moments of genuine tragedy.

For fans of Necron lore, covert operations, and character-driven Warhammer stories, Tomb World is an excellent and refreshing addition to the Black Library catalogue engrossing, atmospheric, and far smarter than its premise initially suggests.

[Ridel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute trash. Some of the worst writing I've ever experienced in WH40K fluff.

Act 1 introduces the Necrons and Khemet. We're forced to endure our MC explicitly telling us how she feels, and flashbacks to actually interesting scenes instead of experiencing any of it. We're given no reason to care for any of these individuals. They're just terrible Xenos doing terrible things. Eventually Khemet's betrayed and you feel some emotions, but then she keeps doing the opposite of her stated intent, and you wonder why anything is happening. Hate your jailor? Do something about it. Stop assisting them.

Act 2 follows through by giving us dozens of cold open scenes. Page after page of disposable one-shot POV characters dying. Over and over. As if we care. As if they could win.

I refuse to continue. I'm done. This is some of the worst writing I've ever endured.

Not Recommended. The author goes right onto my shitlist.

[Jesper Karlsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite the change of atmosphere from the infinite and the divine and the twice dead king omnibus.

While in those books the necrons were still inhuman, they displayed a lot of endearing traits, and often there was a touch of comedy introduced to their actions.

In this book, there is absolutely none of that, this is a book from the necrons perspective, how they usually appear as enemies in imperial focused novels.
They are ruthless, calculating and cruel, and the humans caught in their crosshairs are made to suffer.

The praetorian is an interesting concept and the character itself is likeable, and the first act of the book where we focus on Khemet is my favorite part.

While the 2nd and 3rd act, we get introduced to the "other side's" perspective and its just page after page of despair.

Is that interesting from a lore perspective? sure. Is it that fun of a read, that's subjective but its not on my fun list.

[Claire Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been looking to pick up a warhammer book for a few years now and kept putting it off. I finally decided why not start with a newer release. It wasn’t a bad read and with my basic understanding of warhammer was able to follow along for the most part. There were a few things I had to ask a friend on. But it was a fun read in the end.

[Maxim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Khemet is a metal skeleton down on her luck surrounded by political intrigue. But as judge, jury, and executioner. She is determined to follow the letter of the law when handling an estate in probate.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

So enjoyable!