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Warhammer 40,000
The Macharian Crusade Omnibus
Omnibus edition containing all three novels in The Macharian Crusade Angel of Fire, Fist of Demetrius and Fall of Macharius .
At the dawn of the 41st millennium, Lord Solar Macharius and his vast Astra Militarum armies embark upon the reconquest of a thousand worlds. Only Macharius, his will idomitable, has the strength of purpose and leadership to bring about such an immense undertaking, a crusade the like of which has not been seen since the dark days of the Heresy. But the countless wars are all-consuming, devouring men and materiel, and soon even Macharius's trusted generals and advisors begin to question the feasibility of such a punishing and seemingly endless campaign. As the battlefront stretches across the length of the stars and over a thousand worlds, can Macharius hold his crusade together or will it end in ignominy and flame?
At the dawn of the 41st millennium, Lord Solar Macharius and his vast Astra Militarum armies embark upon the reconquest of a thousand worlds. Only Macharius, his will idomitable, has the strength of purpose and leadership to bring about such an immense undertaking, a crusade the like of which has not been seen since the dark days of the Heresy. But the countless wars are all-consuming, devouring men and materiel, and soon even Macharius's trusted generals and advisors begin to question the feasibility of such a punishing and seemingly endless campaign. As the battlefront stretches across the length of the stars and over a thousand worlds, can Macharius hold his crusade together or will it end in ignominy and flame?
880 pages, Paperback
Published February 7, 2017
About the author
William King
341 books747 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 17, 2017
I really enjoyed this series. You really learn to care about the characters, and there is great growth over time. Relationships are complicated and deep. There is also great WH40k fights.
Easy to recommend. 3 novels at a great price. King truly is a very good writer.
Easy to recommend. 3 novels at a great price. King truly is a very good writer.
October 21, 2020
At first, the reading positively impressed me. A veteran of the Macharian Crusade, who reflects on his past, in a grim and dark setting, tells the story. The protagonist and his friends are underdogs in a world entirely bent on bureaucratic oppression, where the rich and criminal thrive on the masses.
When confronted with a wrong, the characters stood up for the victim. Given the might of local criminal organizations, they had to find a way out, choosing to join the Imperial Army. So far, their actions were reasonable and I felt sympathy for their lot in life. I also enjoyed the setting on a bleak and gloomy factory world.
Then it all changed quite abruptly. The narrative skips a few years of Guardsmen training and fighting. Gone was the underdog and survivalist. Instead, I felt myself listening to a shell of iron and plasteel, driven by a ghost who had long ago resigned himself to circumstances and the chain of command. A ghost who relies entirely on the confidence and faith of others, but with none of his own.
I felt his resignation the most in his brief but frequent monologs on fatality. All is lost; all is insane; we have failed; and so on. He only keeps on fighting because he got nothing better to do on the one hand, and because he is told to do so by his superiors on the other. In my eyes, that makes him a drone and one hard to listen to.
The plot itself is interesting enough, and I may keep on reading over a very long time with many breaks. Nevertheless, for the reason of a fatalistic narrator, who is talking directly to me in his demotivated way, this book became a DNF for me.
When confronted with a wrong, the characters stood up for the victim. Given the might of local criminal organizations, they had to find a way out, choosing to join the Imperial Army. So far, their actions were reasonable and I felt sympathy for their lot in life. I also enjoyed the setting on a bleak and gloomy factory world.
Then it all changed quite abruptly. The narrative skips a few years of Guardsmen training and fighting. Gone was the underdog and survivalist. Instead, I felt myself listening to a shell of iron and plasteel, driven by a ghost who had long ago resigned himself to circumstances and the chain of command. A ghost who relies entirely on the confidence and faith of others, but with none of his own.
I felt his resignation the most in his brief but frequent monologs on fatality. All is lost; all is insane; we have failed; and so on. He only keeps on fighting because he got nothing better to do on the one hand, and because he is told to do so by his superiors on the other. In my eyes, that makes him a drone and one hard to listen to.
The plot itself is interesting enough, and I may keep on reading over a very long time with many breaks. Nevertheless, for the reason of a fatalistic narrator, who is talking directly to me in his demotivated way, this book became a DNF for me.
August 22, 2026
Although I did enjoy reading this trilogy, I am giving it a low rating because I consider it a missed opportunity.
For starters, we see the story of Macharius, one of the greatest epics of the 41st millennium, exclusively through the eyes of one of his bodyguards. While this perspective does indeed give a personal tone to the work, it also greatly limits the picture that a narrative through more characters would give. Where is the perspective of his famous generals? Of the Inquisition, of the Ecclessiarchy? Where is the perspective of Macharius himself and his personal battle with Chaos and the temptations of absolute power that are implied but never developed in depth? Where are the colossal galactic-scale battles that brought 1,000 worlds into the arms of the Imperium? It's not enough to just tell me about them, I want you to show me!
Secondly, the very structure of the trilogy is flawed. While the first book introduces us to the story and characters very well, in the second book the author drags on and on a pointless story that does not affect the overall plot and could easily be covered as a decent short story. As a result, the events of the third and final book are covered in a superficial and hurried manner, with the author obviously struggling to conclude many events and loose ends within 300 pages.
Obviously I do not discourage anyone from reading the trilogy, as it remains a satisfying sci-fi action story. However, those who expect more from a trilogy about Lord Solar Macharius will definitely be disappointed. I hope the Black Library returns to the Macharius saga with more grimdark style and larger-scale action!
For starters, we see the story of Macharius, one of the greatest epics of the 41st millennium, exclusively through the eyes of one of his bodyguards. While this perspective does indeed give a personal tone to the work, it also greatly limits the picture that a narrative through more characters would give. Where is the perspective of his famous generals? Of the Inquisition, of the Ecclessiarchy? Where is the perspective of Macharius himself and his personal battle with Chaos and the temptations of absolute power that are implied but never developed in depth? Where are the colossal galactic-scale battles that brought 1,000 worlds into the arms of the Imperium? It's not enough to just tell me about them, I want you to show me!
Secondly, the very structure of the trilogy is flawed. While the first book introduces us to the story and characters very well, in the second book the author drags on and on a pointless story that does not affect the overall plot and could easily be covered as a decent short story. As a result, the events of the third and final book are covered in a superficial and hurried manner, with the author obviously struggling to conclude many events and loose ends within 300 pages.
Obviously I do not discourage anyone from reading the trilogy, as it remains a satisfying sci-fi action story. However, those who expect more from a trilogy about Lord Solar Macharius will definitely be disappointed. I hope the Black Library returns to the Macharius saga with more grimdark style and larger-scale action!
February 12, 2019
Really loved the book(s)! It was a nice reference to Kings ”later” saga about Ragnar Blackmane too. As in reading about a young to be great wolf Logan Grimnar. Exciting stories and some good battles, nice to read about driving a baneblade too.
October 31, 2019
Long but good read all three books in one good value Omnibus is the best first 40k book read good for a first 40k read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews