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The Beast Arises #10
The Last Son of Dorn
Book 10 of The Beast Arises
With their new Deathwatch kill-teams a resounding success, the forces of the Imperium return to the heart of the ork empire to finish what they started…
As the ork menace ravages the galaxy, the Imperium faces its darkest hour. Its fleets are in ruins, its armies devastated – amongst them the noble Imperial Fists – and even a primarch of myth has fallen against the Beast. As brute force fails, Koorland resorts to increasingly desperate tactics against the greenskins. A final hope lies in deploying the controversial Deathwatch and the Sisters of Silence in a deft strike at the heart of the ork empire. As the situation grows more dire, Koorland must live up to the symbol he has become as the last son of Dorn or all of humanity will be doomed.
It's the true turning point of The Beast Arises series, when everything changes. We won't say any more: just read it and see.
With their new Deathwatch kill-teams a resounding success, the forces of the Imperium return to the heart of the ork empire to finish what they started…
As the ork menace ravages the galaxy, the Imperium faces its darkest hour. Its fleets are in ruins, its armies devastated – amongst them the noble Imperial Fists – and even a primarch of myth has fallen against the Beast. As brute force fails, Koorland resorts to increasingly desperate tactics against the greenskins. A final hope lies in deploying the controversial Deathwatch and the Sisters of Silence in a deft strike at the heart of the ork empire. As the situation grows more dire, Koorland must live up to the symbol he has become as the last son of Dorn or all of humanity will be doomed.
It's the true turning point of The Beast Arises series, when everything changes. We won't say any more: just read it and see.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published October 4, 2016
11 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
About the author
David Guymer
173 books176 followersDavid Guymer is a freelance author, PhD in molecular microbiology (which still comes in more handy than you might think), and tabletop warlord based in the Yorkshire East Riding. He has written for Black Library, Marvel, Aconyte Books, Asmodee, Mantic Games, Cubicle 7, Creative Assembly, and Mongoose Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 23, 2016
Review also published here
The Last Son of Dorn is probably the best entry in the The Beast Arises series up to this point. It has politics, action, huge twists and gutwrenching scenes. It brings plotlines to their conclusion in a satisfying way and completely boggles the mind on how in hell the series is supposed to wrap up within the next two books.
The book continues on from where Watchers in Death left off, albeit on an increased scale. We are immediately plunged into multiple Deathwatch missions, all running parallel with similar goals, broken up by scenes set on Terra.
Those Kill Team scenes are to the point, introducing new characters and making up for the somewhat lackluster variety in Watchers; all manner of Space Marine Chapters are part of the Deathwatch now, from Flesh Tearers over Raven Guard to Doom Eagles and others. While most attention is paid to the Space Wolf Kjarvik Stormcrow as a new point of view character, I was happy to see the Deathwatch opening up from being just about Fists-successors, Dark and Blood Angels, Ultramarines and Space Wolves. That was a big criticism I leveled at Watchers in Death, and David Guymer doesn't repeat that mistake.
In general, The Last Son of Dorn offered a lot of variety. One of the Kill Team missions brings us back to Eidolica, giving us a much-needed look back for the Fists Exemplar, but the coolest thing was seeing Valhalla hands on. The Valhallans had harbored a deep hatred for the Orks ever since they first invaded their world, so seeing them in this series as one of the outposts resisting the Ork advance felt good, natural and brought a sense of galactic scale to the table that has been sidelined lately.
Looking back, a lot of the earlier novels in the series had split narratives that got us to different worlds and made us witness to their destruction. While I wasn't much of a fan of Predator, Prey overall, I appreciated the way it built up the Ork menace as an all-encompassing threat to the galaxy, especially with its fantastic first chapter. Somewhere along the way, the story got very focused on the more immediate threat of the attack moon above Terra, Ullanor and elements like the reunion with Vulkan. Fleshing out individual points of import like these, in a series with roughly 250 pages per book, meant that other side plots and the galaxy's general state of turmoil fell by the wayside, both for reasons of pacing and lack of room to tell more stories like those of Undine or Incus Maximal.
With this installment, we return to some of that at long last. Incus Maximal is revisited, giving us a direct view of what the orkupation did to the forgeworld. I liked the way Guymer incorporated stuff like that, as it makes previous events more relevant to the core narrative and shows the effects the War of the Beast had on mankind's dominion over the galaxy.
Likewise, this entry returns to the plotline of the errant Fists Exemplar and the Iron Warriors under Kalkator. This didn't have much room in the core narrative lately, and I wonder what it will lead to before the end. There wasn't terribly much about it here, but it gave a neat sense of foreboding and creeping corruption. Zerberyn is being set up here for something big, though I am not sure if the reveal will be able to contest the scale of his growing arrogance and delusion.
Back on Terra, we have another arrogant individual raving in madness: Ecclesiarch Mesring, with death finally upon him, after having endured longer than I had expected after his poisoning early in the series, shows himself clearly as the blaspheming, selfish individual that he is. His actions here speak of desperation and almost made me want to pity the man, if it wasn't for the fact that he was deserving of everything he received. His role in the story leads to the attempt of big reforms by Koorland. He tries to abolish the Imperial Creed and instead issue a return to the Imperial Truth, which had been ignored in favor of the cult of the Emperor-as-God. Vulkan lamented this in earlier books, and this was a good step in the series.
It also fueled the rivalry between Koorland and High Marshal Bohemond of the Black Templars. They had clashed before on various occassions, even on Ullanor, and seeing this theological disagreement between the two made me fear for a big fallout. What I got instead was a very rewarding tale of brotherhood and, dare I say love between the two that became clearer as the book progressed and ended with me appreciating Bohemond much more, despite his rashness and zealotry. Guymer managed to turn a character I disliked into one I could feel for.
On the subject of feeling for characters, there is more here, not least of all through Magos Laurentis, whose presence has always been interesting to me. He was there to witness the demise of the Imperial Fists and his blossoming friendship with Koorland was one of the best things of Abnett's I Am Slaughter . Here, there is a massive payoff to that. It had me stunned and in awe, and offered a very different view of the tragedies unfolding on Ullanor. The clinical, detached senses of the Adeptus Mechanicus lent themselves incredibly well to depict the numbness of the pivotal moments of the book, and the author handled it incredibly well. It jerks at one's heartstrings to see the personal struggle of the Magos, who has lost so much of his humanity already.
Wienand, too, receives some special attention in The Last Son of Dorn. Inevitably, she wrestles control of the Deathwatch from Koorland, as we all knew would happen, and part of the book shows her trying to earn the respect of the superhuman soldiers of the order. It felt right seeing her closer to the action again, rather than just scheming back on Terra. Of course, she continues her power plays, but in a more direct fashion than usual.
Beast Krule also gets to show off his skills - he impressed me, and showed for the first time just how dangerously powerful he really is. Before this entry, Krule has always felt more leashed and grounded by Vangorich, but on his second visit to Ullanor, he is finally loosened and reaps a heavy toll. I hope my predictions for the character's future will prove accurate, as this is a man who deserves some special attention in the series finale, The Beheading .
Overall I loved the novel. Seeing Koorland, Thane, Bohemond and co come into their own was amazing. Thane especially has some big shoes to fill, leading the main assault on Ullanor while Koorland takes a supposedly more direct route to the Beast. The Beast, too, is depicted as incredibly scary and makes you wonder just how the Imperium can prevail under the threat of such pure savagery and cunning. The final chapters were thick with action and emotions of all kinds. They drag you into the Beast's throne room and worry for the heroes, cheer for them, and despair with them. This installment is suspensful, raises the stakes even further, even if it shouldn't have been possible at this point, and marks a distinct turning point for the series.
The Last Son of Dorn is literally two minutes before midnight. It channels the glorious heroism and the Astartes' willingness to sacrifice their own lives in their entirety to serving the Emperor and mankind. There's action of every scale, intrigue, character development that draws upon the whole series to convince, and a climax that takes the breath away. This is a novel that David Guymer should be proud of, even if it wasn't his favorite to write in this series. It deserves its spot on the pedestal for everything it does oh so right.
The Last Son of Dorn is probably the best entry in the The Beast Arises series up to this point. It has politics, action, huge twists and gutwrenching scenes. It brings plotlines to their conclusion in a satisfying way and completely boggles the mind on how in hell the series is supposed to wrap up within the next two books.
The book continues on from where Watchers in Death left off, albeit on an increased scale. We are immediately plunged into multiple Deathwatch missions, all running parallel with similar goals, broken up by scenes set on Terra.
Those Kill Team scenes are to the point, introducing new characters and making up for the somewhat lackluster variety in Watchers; all manner of Space Marine Chapters are part of the Deathwatch now, from Flesh Tearers over Raven Guard to Doom Eagles and others. While most attention is paid to the Space Wolf Kjarvik Stormcrow as a new point of view character, I was happy to see the Deathwatch opening up from being just about Fists-successors, Dark and Blood Angels, Ultramarines and Space Wolves. That was a big criticism I leveled at Watchers in Death, and David Guymer doesn't repeat that mistake.
In general, The Last Son of Dorn offered a lot of variety. One of the Kill Team missions brings us back to Eidolica, giving us a much-needed look back for the Fists Exemplar, but the coolest thing was seeing Valhalla hands on. The Valhallans had harbored a deep hatred for the Orks ever since they first invaded their world, so seeing them in this series as one of the outposts resisting the Ork advance felt good, natural and brought a sense of galactic scale to the table that has been sidelined lately.
Looking back, a lot of the earlier novels in the series had split narratives that got us to different worlds and made us witness to their destruction. While I wasn't much of a fan of Predator, Prey overall, I appreciated the way it built up the Ork menace as an all-encompassing threat to the galaxy, especially with its fantastic first chapter. Somewhere along the way, the story got very focused on the more immediate threat of the attack moon above Terra, Ullanor and elements like the reunion with Vulkan. Fleshing out individual points of import like these, in a series with roughly 250 pages per book, meant that other side plots and the galaxy's general state of turmoil fell by the wayside, both for reasons of pacing and lack of room to tell more stories like those of Undine or Incus Maximal.
With this installment, we return to some of that at long last. Incus Maximal is revisited, giving us a direct view of what the orkupation did to the forgeworld. I liked the way Guymer incorporated stuff like that, as it makes previous events more relevant to the core narrative and shows the effects the War of the Beast had on mankind's dominion over the galaxy.
Likewise, this entry returns to the plotline of the errant Fists Exemplar and the Iron Warriors under Kalkator. This didn't have much room in the core narrative lately, and I wonder what it will lead to before the end. There wasn't terribly much about it here, but it gave a neat sense of foreboding and creeping corruption. Zerberyn is being set up here for something big, though I am not sure if the reveal will be able to contest the scale of his growing arrogance and delusion.
Back on Terra, we have another arrogant individual raving in madness: Ecclesiarch Mesring, with death finally upon him, after having endured longer than I had expected after his poisoning early in the series, shows himself clearly as the blaspheming, selfish individual that he is. His actions here speak of desperation and almost made me want to pity the man, if it wasn't for the fact that he was deserving of everything he received. His role in the story leads to the attempt of big reforms by Koorland. He tries to abolish the Imperial Creed and instead issue a return to the Imperial Truth, which had been ignored in favor of the cult of the Emperor-as-God. Vulkan lamented this in earlier books, and this was a good step in the series.
It also fueled the rivalry between Koorland and High Marshal Bohemond of the Black Templars. They had clashed before on various occassions, even on Ullanor, and seeing this theological disagreement between the two made me fear for a big fallout. What I got instead was a very rewarding tale of brotherhood and, dare I say love between the two that became clearer as the book progressed and ended with me appreciating Bohemond much more, despite his rashness and zealotry. Guymer managed to turn a character I disliked into one I could feel for.
On the subject of feeling for characters, there is more here, not least of all through Magos Laurentis, whose presence has always been interesting to me. He was there to witness the demise of the Imperial Fists and his blossoming friendship with Koorland was one of the best things of Abnett's I Am Slaughter . Here, there is a massive payoff to that. It had me stunned and in awe, and offered a very different view of the tragedies unfolding on Ullanor. The clinical, detached senses of the Adeptus Mechanicus lent themselves incredibly well to depict the numbness of the pivotal moments of the book, and the author handled it incredibly well. It jerks at one's heartstrings to see the personal struggle of the Magos, who has lost so much of his humanity already.
Wienand, too, receives some special attention in The Last Son of Dorn. Inevitably, she wrestles control of the Deathwatch from Koorland, as we all knew would happen, and part of the book shows her trying to earn the respect of the superhuman soldiers of the order. It felt right seeing her closer to the action again, rather than just scheming back on Terra. Of course, she continues her power plays, but in a more direct fashion than usual.
Beast Krule also gets to show off his skills - he impressed me, and showed for the first time just how dangerously powerful he really is. Before this entry, Krule has always felt more leashed and grounded by Vangorich, but on his second visit to Ullanor, he is finally loosened and reaps a heavy toll. I hope my predictions for the character's future will prove accurate, as this is a man who deserves some special attention in the series finale, The Beheading .
Overall I loved the novel. Seeing Koorland, Thane, Bohemond and co come into their own was amazing. Thane especially has some big shoes to fill, leading the main assault on Ullanor while Koorland takes a supposedly more direct route to the Beast. The Beast, too, is depicted as incredibly scary and makes you wonder just how the Imperium can prevail under the threat of such pure savagery and cunning. The final chapters were thick with action and emotions of all kinds. They drag you into the Beast's throne room and worry for the heroes, cheer for them, and despair with them. This installment is suspensful, raises the stakes even further, even if it shouldn't have been possible at this point, and marks a distinct turning point for the series.
‘The real work begins tomorrow and the day after. We will rebuild the Imperium, brother. [...] I would make our father proud.’
The Last Son of Dorn is literally two minutes before midnight. It channels the glorious heroism and the Astartes' willingness to sacrifice their own lives in their entirety to serving the Emperor and mankind. There's action of every scale, intrigue, character development that draws upon the whole series to convince, and a climax that takes the breath away. This is a novel that David Guymer should be proud of, even if it wasn't his favorite to write in this series. It deserves its spot on the pedestal for everything it does oh so right.
September 13, 2016
And here goes another episode of dramatic 'TBA' series. Almost a penultimate one... Except that it isn't and got itself into the same mistakes episode 6 and 7 got themselves into.
That's a second venture of a brilliant WFB writer - David Guymer into M32 and TBA. And through he has previous experience writing for W40k, adding it to a glories list of WFB (with truly epic duology Gotrek & Felix: Kinslayer and 'Slayer') this time he was given a second 32nd millennium story to write. And here has written it exactly like his previous one, minus the difference of a more coherent plotline and more centric on a major event. So don't be surprised that my review will be very similar to the Echoes of the Long War.
The novel is.... good, from a perspective of a continuation of the main story and the last 2 novels/episodes in TBA. But as an episode of a season, exactly like with his previous venture this book made absolutely the same mistakes.
Will quote myself - 'And through David Guymer has tried to weave an epic tale of cosmic proportions - sadly, he almost failed again. To be fair - 50 % of blame lies with the previous authors who created a canvas for him to step to'.
Writing style. - exactly like with the Echoes of the Long War of all the TBA novels to date, it was a hardest to get through. David does like to pinpoint and concentrate on description. He tries to describe everything - from location to a ship, from a planet to a character. And here is the problem. Other authors, after a long practice, find their own equilibrium between depiction of events and places/ dialogs and action scenes. So they are not drawn into unnecessary description for different stuff (servitors, walls, ships, worlds etc.), direct action moments, instead of characters personalities and dialogs. As a direct result we have a very 'hard to get through' and overloaded with details. Sometimes author tries a joke or to include some good quote, but except for the excerpt from 'Abaddon' - they are all prosaic. And to be fair - that's the second TBA book from which I wasn't able to like any particular quote or proverb. Because where are none.
From the good point of view (or bad - depend on how you actually like it) - void warfare (which I adorn from my youth) has been written better, than in previous novel. Because - it's almost non-existent in this book.
I did tried an audio format by the uber amazing Armstong voiceover - but due to a load of aforementioned above it was exactly the same experience, so I did switch to ebook again.
So it seems indeed that David is still trying to find his equilibrium, but hasn't reach it yet.
Plot Another casualty of being not a penultimate episode. It should have surprised us, but by the end of book 8 I have known how the stuff with Sisters of Silence and Ullanor will transpire.
With the exclusion of the stuff 'shown to us' in the last 2 chapters and epilogue - it was predictable and totally unnecessary. It could have been the beginning and the last 3 chapters. Because epilogue is pointless too. The only good moment in all the events rolling till the end was Mesring. Lovely good old chap Mesring...
And again we have half a chapter about adventures of Fists Exemplar captain Zerberyn and his cronies. Authors of TBA should make something grand with his reentry by the end of the serie, because right now, being included into 4 TBA novels adventures of that particular 'warband' of loyalist survivors reminds me of a traveling circus, instead of giving us something to think upon.
Characters - One of the good sides of that book. Author got almost all of them from the previous authors and make them alive again, which is really hard to do after 9 books about the same characters from different authors.
He did added new depths for them, but at the same time he hasn't butchered their previously depicted margins, which is good on itself. Even Drakan Vangorich only chapter, made me chuckle as a kid and continue to be the main enterntainment of the TBA cycle. Add to that the most 'likeable' Lord Commander Koorland from all the novels to date and you will have a very well done job.
So on that point, without spoilers, I will end my review. In total - The Last Son of Dorn is a good novel. Not extraordinary, not awesome - but good and fun to read, as a separate SMB/Deathwatch prowess book.
All in all - as a good novel in W40k (32k) universe, but not a great read - The Last Son of Dorn gets 3 stars. And I WILL buy and read the next David book - because I know for sure, that he could do better. And will write great stuff for sure!
That's a second venture of a brilliant WFB writer - David Guymer into M32 and TBA. And through he has previous experience writing for W40k, adding it to a glories list of WFB (with truly epic duology Gotrek & Felix: Kinslayer and 'Slayer') this time he was given a second 32nd millennium story to write. And here has written it exactly like his previous one, minus the difference of a more coherent plotline and more centric on a major event. So don't be surprised that my review will be very similar to the Echoes of the Long War.
The novel is.... good, from a perspective of a continuation of the main story and the last 2 novels/episodes in TBA. But as an episode of a season, exactly like with his previous venture this book made absolutely the same mistakes.
Will quote myself - 'And through David Guymer has tried to weave an epic tale of cosmic proportions - sadly, he almost failed again. To be fair - 50 % of blame lies with the previous authors who created a canvas for him to step to'.
Writing style. - exactly like with the Echoes of the Long War of all the TBA novels to date, it was a hardest to get through. David does like to pinpoint and concentrate on description. He tries to describe everything - from location to a ship, from a planet to a character. And here is the problem. Other authors, after a long practice, find their own equilibrium between depiction of events and places/ dialogs and action scenes. So they are not drawn into unnecessary description for different stuff (servitors, walls, ships, worlds etc.), direct action moments, instead of characters personalities and dialogs. As a direct result we have a very 'hard to get through' and overloaded with details. Sometimes author tries a joke or to include some good quote, but except for the excerpt from 'Abaddon' - they are all prosaic. And to be fair - that's the second TBA book from which I wasn't able to like any particular quote or proverb. Because where are none.
From the good point of view (or bad - depend on how you actually like it) - void warfare (which I adorn from my youth) has been written better, than in previous novel. Because - it's almost non-existent in this book.
I did tried an audio format by the uber amazing Armstong voiceover - but due to a load of aforementioned above it was exactly the same experience, so I did switch to ebook again.
So it seems indeed that David is still trying to find his equilibrium, but hasn't reach it yet.
Plot Another casualty of being not a penultimate episode. It should have surprised us, but by the end of book 8 I have known how the stuff with Sisters of Silence and Ullanor will transpire.
With the exclusion of the stuff 'shown to us' in the last 2 chapters and epilogue - it was predictable and totally unnecessary. It could have been the beginning and the last 3 chapters. Because epilogue is pointless too. The only good moment in all the events rolling till the end was Mesring. Lovely good old chap Mesring...
And again we have half a chapter about adventures of Fists Exemplar captain Zerberyn and his cronies. Authors of TBA should make something grand with his reentry by the end of the serie, because right now, being included into 4 TBA novels adventures of that particular 'warband' of loyalist survivors reminds me of a traveling circus, instead of giving us something to think upon.
Characters - One of the good sides of that book. Author got almost all of them from the previous authors and make them alive again, which is really hard to do after 9 books about the same characters from different authors.
He did added new depths for them, but at the same time he hasn't butchered their previously depicted margins, which is good on itself. Even Drakan Vangorich only chapter, made me chuckle as a kid and continue to be the main enterntainment of the TBA cycle. Add to that the most 'likeable' Lord Commander Koorland from all the novels to date and you will have a very well done job.
So on that point, without spoilers, I will end my review. In total - The Last Son of Dorn is a good novel. Not extraordinary, not awesome - but good and fun to read, as a separate SMB/Deathwatch prowess book.
All in all - as a good novel in W40k (32k) universe, but not a great read - The Last Son of Dorn gets 3 stars. And I WILL buy and read the next David book - because I know for sure, that he could do better. And will write great stuff for sure!
January 7, 2024
The 10th book of the series and only two missing. Oh My what a ride. First of all, desclaimer, In the beginning I was not enjoying. It was convoluted story and jumping around confusingly. It seems they were capturing some Ork Psychers but it felt very confusing...
There was interesting political maneuverers between the high lords and Koorland plus among the Space Marines. It was very interesting to see also the clash between space marines (although, in this novel everyone accepted Koorland as the Lord Commander of all forces).
The last part of the novel is the second invasion of Ullanor since the beginning of the war and this time they have a plan. Koorland, Deathwatch Killer Teams, Sisters of Silence, Ogryn, Commissar, Assassins and a Mechanicum force battle in the main throne room to kill the Beast and what a epic battle it was...
Spoilers Ahead;
The ending was depressing as it can be.. It was strange to see Laurentis a bit sad (he is part of the cult mechanicum and usually not that emotional ) Bohemond of the Black Templars weeping and all hope was lost - But now enters Thane. I bet he will be the most important character in the next books.
My thoughts... I think this was a nice addition to the 9 other, as previous sometimes I think this was rushed and so can be confusing. This second siege of Ullanor could have been a 416 pages altogether. I am going to give 8/10 and the vast majority of these points is for the drama within the last 50 pages
There was interesting political maneuverers between the high lords and Koorland plus among the Space Marines. It was very interesting to see also the clash between space marines (although, in this novel everyone accepted Koorland as the Lord Commander of all forces).
The last part of the novel is the second invasion of Ullanor since the beginning of the war and this time they have a plan. Koorland, Deathwatch Killer Teams, Sisters of Silence, Ogryn, Commissar, Assassins and a Mechanicum force battle in the main throne room to kill the Beast and what a epic battle it was...
Spoilers Ahead;
The ending was depressing as it can be.. It was strange to see Laurentis a bit sad (he is part of the cult mechanicum and usually not that emotional ) Bohemond of the Black Templars weeping and all hope was lost - But now enters Thane. I bet he will be the most important character in the next books.
My thoughts... I think this was a nice addition to the 9 other, as previous sometimes I think this was rushed and so can be confusing. This second siege of Ullanor could have been a 416 pages altogether. I am going to give 8/10 and the vast majority of these points is for the drama within the last 50 pages
October 22, 2016
By the Gods....
David Guymer tackles book 10 in the Beast Arises series 'The Last Son of Dorn', where our mighty lords and heroes take the war to Ullanor once more, with Deathwatch and Sisters of Silence in tow to attempt a massive attack and rid the planet of orks.
From the get go, the politics and action are in full swing, with intensely complicated attacks taking us to places we haven't seen in a while(worlds lost to the orks in the first few books), and an insane mission to capture ork psykers.
The whole story was a blast to read, from the costly experiments to the ultimately unsuccessful 2nd war of Ullanor. There was so much world building and emotion in this novel, I think Mr. Guymer deserves a round of applause. As the war is a sort of all or nothing gambit, the Imperium suffers massive losses, and be it the amazing gunship they have used for most of the past few novel, or our Last Son of Dorn, this novel drips grief and bloody desperation.
Don't fully know where the Imperium will go to now, but I can't wait to enjoy the the final 2 chapters of this massive ride!
David Guymer tackles book 10 in the Beast Arises series 'The Last Son of Dorn', where our mighty lords and heroes take the war to Ullanor once more, with Deathwatch and Sisters of Silence in tow to attempt a massive attack and rid the planet of orks.
From the get go, the politics and action are in full swing, with intensely complicated attacks taking us to places we haven't seen in a while(worlds lost to the orks in the first few books), and an insane mission to capture ork psykers.
The whole story was a blast to read, from the costly experiments to the ultimately unsuccessful 2nd war of Ullanor. There was so much world building and emotion in this novel, I think Mr. Guymer deserves a round of applause. As the war is a sort of all or nothing gambit, the Imperium suffers massive losses, and be it the amazing gunship they have used for most of the past few novel, or our Last Son of Dorn, this novel drips grief and bloody desperation.
Don't fully know where the Imperium will go to now, but I can't wait to enjoy the the final 2 chapters of this massive ride!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2016
The Beast Arises reaches book ten of twelve with David Guymer’s The Last Son of Dorn, his second in the series. After the disastrous events of The Beast Must Die and the subsequent regrouping in Watchers in Death, Lord Commander Koorland now has a plan to defeat the Beast, albeit a desperate and as yet untested one. Making good use of the newly formed Deathwatch and the once-mythical Sisters of Silence he sets out on what is essentially a dry run, as his forces return to some familiar locations with something specific in mind.
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https://trackofwords.wordpress.com/20...
February 5, 2020
The over detailed narrative made me dizzy. "Here's a battle. Here's the whole description of the fighting. Of every movement. Every bullet. Every. Single. Last. Detail."
"And now, I shall describe the walls. Please, bear with me. This one monument will only take 4 pages to describe while also adding nothing to the story line. You're welcome."
I honestly didn't know that something so exciting as a humam-xeno war in the 32nd Millennium could be turned so boring. I skipped entire chapters while never feeling like I missed the plot.
"And now, I shall describe the walls. Please, bear with me. This one monument will only take 4 pages to describe while also adding nothing to the story line. You're welcome."
I honestly didn't know that something so exciting as a humam-xeno war in the 32nd Millennium could be turned so boring. I skipped entire chapters while never feeling like I missed the plot.
February 9, 2020
I cant tell if this is written by some one hating 40k, sentences and words in general or loves them too much. I was fearing the worst after reading echoes of the long war, but this is even worse.
I have little to no idear what is happening, why it’s happening or where it’s happening. The language is so superfluous it’s staggering. The scene, mood and world building is practically non existent, where the best 40k writers can create beautiful worlds, and tell meta stories, here there is non of that.
And for some reasons, he keeps saying lymans ear...
I have little to no idear what is happening, why it’s happening or where it’s happening. The language is so superfluous it’s staggering. The scene, mood and world building is practically non existent, where the best 40k writers can create beautiful worlds, and tell meta stories, here there is non of that.
And for some reasons, he keeps saying lymans ear...
October 6, 2016
Absolutely loved this book. It has plenty of political intrigue and action. It moves along at a great pace and has an amazing finish. A fantastic price of work in an of itself but it's real accomplishment is while being a totally satisfying story it whets your appetite for the next in the series. Well done Mr Guymer. I look forward to reading more of your work and the end of the series.
February 26, 2019
Are they re-taking waterworld? Oh wow, yes they are! And other places too! Deathwatch (humanity's finest!) teams are showing up on Ork infested planets with orders to capture Ork witches. And it's possible to detain those Orks without exploding because the Deathwatch teams are backed by the Sisters of Silence! But why are they trying to capture Ork witches? It's part of a plan so silly it could only work in the grim darkness of the far future!
This is book 10 in the year-long event known as The Beast Arises. There's the obligatory politics, which are great as always, and then to my shock they *actually test the plan!!!* instead of jumping halfassed into battle. The plan works! And you know what that means: the 2nd invasion of Ullanor! (2nd in The War of The Beast, hur hur) Do you like space marines? Because the Deathwatch teams are comprised of space marines from multiple chapters, so we've got all the freaking space marines you'd ever want!
Meanwhile, Zerberyn's Fists Exemplar continue to work with the Iron Warriors. Such delicious H E R E S Y that the galaxy hasn't seen for 1500 years!
Before he died, Vulkan tried to explain the situation to Koorland, and regardless of whether the Lord Commander believed the primarch, he certainly understands the situation now. The ending of the book is shocking. ADB-level shocking. I shouldn't have been so surprised, not after David Guymer's earlier entry in this series, and certainly not after so many amazing character interactions, but hot DAMN. The threads cut here had been woven since the very beginning of the series, and it's an incredibly painful payoff. I love it.
This is book 10 in the year-long event known as The Beast Arises. There's the obligatory politics, which are great as always, and then to my shock they *actually test the plan!!!* instead of jumping halfassed into battle. The plan works! And you know what that means: the 2nd invasion of Ullanor! (2nd in The War of The Beast, hur hur) Do you like space marines? Because the Deathwatch teams are comprised of space marines from multiple chapters, so we've got all the freaking space marines you'd ever want!
Meanwhile, Zerberyn's Fists Exemplar continue to work with the Iron Warriors. Such delicious H E R E S Y that the galaxy hasn't seen for 1500 years!
Before he died, Vulkan tried to explain the situation to Koorland, and regardless of whether the Lord Commander believed the primarch, he certainly understands the situation now. The ending of the book is shocking. ADB-level shocking. I shouldn't have been so surprised, not after David Guymer's earlier entry in this series, and certainly not after so many amazing character interactions, but hot DAMN. The threads cut here had been woven since the very beginning of the series, and it's an incredibly painful payoff. I love it.
March 25, 2020
As a standalone novel or, at least read some time after the previous story, this is an enjoyable read. The characterisations are consistent with how the other authors have portrayed the characters, he even finds space to allow an Astartes to be amusing. Quite a rare thing in the vast Black Library corpus. The action is well described and it moves at a good pace. The Imperial intriguing at High Lord level continues to develop in a satisfactory way. For all these reasons Last Son of Dorn is an above average and highly readable novel.
The problem I have with it, and this accounts for both me dropping a star from it's rating and my opening remark, is that this is the fourth book out of the previous 5 where the Imperium launches a new attack on the Ork homeworld of Ullanor. I don't wish to spoil anything but book 11 is called "Shadow of Ullanor" and the Prime Ork is still alive and kicking so we can make an eductated guess about the central aspect of that book.
For a 12 book series there are a lot of things that happen so often that the reader gets bored by reptition and that shows a damaging lack of creativity from Black Library and a failing to manage it's authors to find new and exciting story elements. Continuous use of horrendously mismanaged attacks by elite military forces are not merely the dictionary of madness, they call into question just how elite these forces supposedly are. That hursts the work and perhaps more damagingly for Games Workshop hurts the IP and the very canon they are trying to create.
The problem I have with it, and this accounts for both me dropping a star from it's rating and my opening remark, is that this is the fourth book out of the previous 5 where the Imperium launches a new attack on the Ork homeworld of Ullanor. I don't wish to spoil anything but book 11 is called "Shadow of Ullanor" and the Prime Ork is still alive and kicking so we can make an eductated guess about the central aspect of that book.
For a 12 book series there are a lot of things that happen so often that the reader gets bored by reptition and that shows a damaging lack of creativity from Black Library and a failing to manage it's authors to find new and exciting story elements. Continuous use of horrendously mismanaged attacks by elite military forces are not merely the dictionary of madness, they call into question just how elite these forces supposedly are. That hursts the work and perhaps more damagingly for Games Workshop hurts the IP and the very canon they are trying to create.
June 19, 2017
You can read the full review over at my blog:
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
The Beast Arises has been steadfastly moving towards an epic conclusion for the last several books. Everything changed for the Imperials once the long-lost Primarch Vulkan was rediscovered, bringing true hope for the first time in the ongoing losing war against the Orks. The lord of the Salamanders led a massive army drawn from across the Segmentum Solar against the Ork world of Ullanor, once the site of the Imperium’s greatest triumph, now reborn as the hellish homeworld of the Beast and its new Ork armies. With The Last Son of Dorn, the end truly begins now.
This is the tenth novel in the series, and perhaps the most poignant so far. Armed with new weapons and arms, both physical and otherwise, Lord Commander Koorland leads a second massed attack against Ullanor and the Beast, hoping to end the threat once and for all. The novel, more than any of the others before, is a true homage to the character and culture of the Imperial Fists, even though only one of their number now remains, and David Guymer writes perhaps the best novel of his that I’ve read so far.
Note: Some major spoilers from the previous novels and this novel are mentioned here.
David Guymer’s previous entry in this series, Echoes of the Long War, was a somewhat disappointing read. For me, it focused on the wrong element of the conflict to highlight, and the story itself was nowhere near as exciting as some of the other narratives that have been prominent all through. He changes that completely with his stellar The Last Son of Dorn. Combined with an awesome cover by Victor Manuel Leza Moreno, this novel stands spine-to-spine with the other great novels of the series.
The novel begins by carrying over the elements of Watchers In Death, the previous novel in the series, as various Deathwatch Kill-Teams supported by the newly-rediscovered Sisters of Silence infiltrate Ork-held worlds to capture and contain an equal number of Ork psykers for the next phase of Koorland’s war against the xenos on Ullanor. I’ve read various Deathwatch stories before, but none except Steve Parker’s excellent works match the details or intricacies of the missions that David lays out in these opening chapters. Brief and to the point, these scenes show how potent a weapon both the Deathwatch Kill-Teams and the Sisters of Silence are, and it bodes well for the rest of the novel.
From these capture missions we move swiftly to more politicking at Terra as Koorland lays out his wider strategies. And here too David was exceptional. I mentioned above that Koorland is pretty much just done with the do-nothing politics that plague the High Twelve and that he has begun to take matters in his own hands. But now he has to contend with the larger realities of what the Deathwatch potentiates for the future of the Imperium. Koorland in command of both the Last Wall and the Deathwatch is a hard pill to swallow for most of the others but when a compromise is reached to involve the Inquisition, there is a feeling of… destiny. In the M41 era, the Deathwatch are the official chamber militant of the Ordo Xenos of the Inquisition, a standing army that answers directly to the Ordo. But here, we have only the beginnings of such a cooperation and it is awe-inspiring to see how it all started. Kudos to David Guymer for handling this so well. And it all ends in one of the most defining moments of the series, when Koorland addresses Ecclesiarch Mesring’s growing mental instability and his heretical worship of the Beast. I really wish that this narrative had been given more prominence because it felt as if Mesring fell too quickly, and there’s certainly a ton of possibilities in it, but the finality of it all was excellent nonetheless.
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
The Beast Arises has been steadfastly moving towards an epic conclusion for the last several books. Everything changed for the Imperials once the long-lost Primarch Vulkan was rediscovered, bringing true hope for the first time in the ongoing losing war against the Orks. The lord of the Salamanders led a massive army drawn from across the Segmentum Solar against the Ork world of Ullanor, once the site of the Imperium’s greatest triumph, now reborn as the hellish homeworld of the Beast and its new Ork armies. With The Last Son of Dorn, the end truly begins now.
This is the tenth novel in the series, and perhaps the most poignant so far. Armed with new weapons and arms, both physical and otherwise, Lord Commander Koorland leads a second massed attack against Ullanor and the Beast, hoping to end the threat once and for all. The novel, more than any of the others before, is a true homage to the character and culture of the Imperial Fists, even though only one of their number now remains, and David Guymer writes perhaps the best novel of his that I’ve read so far.
Note: Some major spoilers from the previous novels and this novel are mentioned here.
David Guymer’s previous entry in this series, Echoes of the Long War, was a somewhat disappointing read. For me, it focused on the wrong element of the conflict to highlight, and the story itself was nowhere near as exciting as some of the other narratives that have been prominent all through. He changes that completely with his stellar The Last Son of Dorn. Combined with an awesome cover by Victor Manuel Leza Moreno, this novel stands spine-to-spine with the other great novels of the series.
The novel begins by carrying over the elements of Watchers In Death, the previous novel in the series, as various Deathwatch Kill-Teams supported by the newly-rediscovered Sisters of Silence infiltrate Ork-held worlds to capture and contain an equal number of Ork psykers for the next phase of Koorland’s war against the xenos on Ullanor. I’ve read various Deathwatch stories before, but none except Steve Parker’s excellent works match the details or intricacies of the missions that David lays out in these opening chapters. Brief and to the point, these scenes show how potent a weapon both the Deathwatch Kill-Teams and the Sisters of Silence are, and it bodes well for the rest of the novel.
From these capture missions we move swiftly to more politicking at Terra as Koorland lays out his wider strategies. And here too David was exceptional. I mentioned above that Koorland is pretty much just done with the do-nothing politics that plague the High Twelve and that he has begun to take matters in his own hands. But now he has to contend with the larger realities of what the Deathwatch potentiates for the future of the Imperium. Koorland in command of both the Last Wall and the Deathwatch is a hard pill to swallow for most of the others but when a compromise is reached to involve the Inquisition, there is a feeling of… destiny. In the M41 era, the Deathwatch are the official chamber militant of the Ordo Xenos of the Inquisition, a standing army that answers directly to the Ordo. But here, we have only the beginnings of such a cooperation and it is awe-inspiring to see how it all started. Kudos to David Guymer for handling this so well. And it all ends in one of the most defining moments of the series, when Koorland addresses Ecclesiarch Mesring’s growing mental instability and his heretical worship of the Beast. I really wish that this narrative had been given more prominence because it felt as if Mesring fell too quickly, and there’s certainly a ton of possibilities in it, but the finality of it all was excellent nonetheless.
April 24, 2021
The Beast Arises series continues to run towards it's ending as Koorland (the last surviving Imperial Fist), has to rally the Imperium of Man after the defeat at Ullanor and the death of the last known Primarch.
There are still a lot of characters running through this story, which can make it difficult to follow but when it gets into the battles, the terminator armour, and the bolt shells it rushes along to its conclusion. Can the Imperium defeat the chief Ork (the Beast) or will it fail and fall in the 32nd Millenium?
If you've read the previous 9 books, you'll be wanting to pick this one up as well, but it has - unfortunately - too many moving parts and pre-required knowledge for me to recommend as a stand alone story.
There are still a lot of characters running through this story, which can make it difficult to follow but when it gets into the battles, the terminator armour, and the bolt shells it rushes along to its conclusion. Can the Imperium defeat the chief Ork (the Beast) or will it fail and fall in the 32nd Millenium?
If you've read the previous 9 books, you'll be wanting to pick this one up as well, but it has - unfortunately - too many moving parts and pre-required knowledge for me to recommend as a stand alone story.
December 17, 2017
Easily the best book in the series so far. Pacing issues, hard to follow logic and scenes, simple basic storytelling have all plagued this series from the beginning but not in this novel. Despite being a less experienced author than some of the others that have played their part David was able to remember his scope and not over step his available time. I only wish that there were more books left in the series to keep with his boost.
December 21, 2024
After eventually working out a few books ago that it might be a good idea to take out the big boss Ork responsible for all their problems, the Imperial Senior Leadership Team are not going to let that giant heap of dead Space Marines deter them from the one strategy they can all agree on.
The politics is increasingly amicable (and therefore much less frustrating) and the Big Fight At The End is more satisfying than most, but can we stop hearing so much about the Deathwatch already?
The politics is increasingly amicable (and therefore much less frustrating) and the Big Fight At The End is more satisfying than most, but can we stop hearing so much about the Deathwatch already?
June 9, 2018
They are really ramping up the stakes in book 10 of a 12 book series. So much so that I’m getting burnt out. Obviously the Imperium gets their shit together seeing as how this takes place only two thousand years after the Horus Heresy. It’s not fair though because I can see that this is a great book on its own. Bah! I have to trudge through the last two volumes just for the completist in me.
January 28, 2026
now we’re talking!
easily the best in the beast series (so far).
i really enjoyed how the narratives were done and though the deathwatch origins were done a little to quickly in my opinion (beginning in the book before), seeing them grow into this unit was splendid.
& that ending?!… well damn! way to keeper the readers on their toes.
easily the best in the beast series (so far).
i really enjoyed how the narratives were done and though the deathwatch origins were done a little to quickly in my opinion (beginning in the book before), seeing them grow into this unit was splendid.
& that ending?!… well damn! way to keeper the readers on their toes.
May 12, 2017
Finally finished The Beast Arises series. It's been a bit of a slog and the ending was suitably grim as you would expect for 40K.
I'm not sure I'd read a similar series again as it's seemed more of a task than a fun thing to do.
I'm not sure I'd read a similar series again as it's seemed more of a task than a fun thing to do.
October 12, 2019
Back to politics of the high lords but still lots of good battle segments. The stakes in this one seem so much higher and the ending left me thinking how it could progress from here. Especially liked how it brought back past planets and characters from the series.
November 30, 2017
Koorland travels to Ullanor to fight the Beast. Bad shit happens.
January 16, 2018
Cant go wrong with Deathwatch kill teams and Sisters of Silence action. Massive Imperium v Orks battle at the end a highlight.
Quick listen-Audiobook @ 6 hours.
Quick listen-Audiobook @ 6 hours.
March 22, 2018
Wow would this be a great tv series!!! or better yet a movie from each book
October 21, 2020
This good be a great series if most of it was compressed into a trilogy.
March 19, 2021
It is a good thing when a characters death makes you feel something. Throughly enjoyable entry in a good, tight series.
April 18, 2021
Another great installment in the beast arises.
May 3, 2022
I liked this one. Guymer is always good, and the use of time throughout the plot made it really tense throughout, and the payoff is great.
March 4, 2024
Linear plot, war, war, war.
December 29, 2025
Should have been great but it was barely mediocre to me ... still a few twists at the end to make me want to finish this serie
February 11, 2026
3 stars 🌟
May 17, 2021
Deathwatch have been handing pamphlets out or something so they have more recruits now, which means we can take on the orks (which would be easier if they weren’t all being bitches). Techy Magos is back and he’s fun, meanwhile the assassins are not fun at all and someone should really be watching what that lot are up to
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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