The Red Path

The Red Path #1-8

by Chris Dows

A Khârn the Betrayer novel

This tale of the Chaos Space Marines puts the spotlight on the infamous Khârn the Betrayer as he kills, maims and burns his way across the galaxy – but with Abaddon the Despoiler planning his thirteenth (and final) Black Crusade, Khârn's talents for mayhem need to be put to good use...

Khârn the Betrayer, Chosen of Khorne, is a force unchained and unbowed. Leading a band of ferocious berzerkers, Khârn follows the Red Path, bringing battle and bloodshed to all who stand in his way. As Abaddon the Despoiler's Thirteenth Black Crusade grips the galaxy, the Warmaster seeks to yoke Khârn's strength and barbarity for his own ends, but it soon becomes clear that the Champion of the Blood God will not kneel easily. In his defiance, Khârn takes a bloody path that will lead him into conflict not only with the Imperium but also the Black Legion - and none will escape the carnage that follows.

This story has been previously available in serialised form as the following short stories:

* Furnaces of Haeleon
* Will of the Blood God
* Abaddon Denied
* Blood Vision
* Wrath of the Emperor
* Disciples of Khârn
* Skulls of Salandraxis
* Court of Daemons

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction

Hardcover

First published September 17, 2016

About the author

Chris Dows is a professor of creative writing at the University of Lincoln.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Furnaces of Haeleon: 4 stars

Will of the Blood God: 4 stars

Abaddon Denied: 5 stars

Blood Vision: 5 stars

Wrath of the Emperor: 5 stars

Disciples of Khârn: 4 stars

Skulls of Salandraxis: 5 stars

Court of Daemons: 3,5 stars

The "Kill! Maim! Burn!" 40k Kharn is not at all a deep character like the Horus Heresy one, but 10000 years of Blood God worshipping and the Butcher's Nails stuck in the brain can really change people to something worse... at last there were no references to the death-counter installed in his helmet from William King's "Wrath of Khârn" old short story.



The carnage and mayhem were repetitive sometimes, but I really enjoyed the characters of Kharn's two brothers-in-arms Lukosz and Samzar, one fighting to keep united the warband and one losing himself more and more in the (self-) destructive nihilism inducted by the Butcher's Nails in his brain.

And the "Conan the Barbarian" (1982) movie reference/easter egg in Will of the Blood God was a real blast.
"This was the Red Path, rich with trophies and glory.
Kharn opened his eyes. Somewhere in the distant haze, he spotted movement under Haeleon's furnace suns. Squinting against the ferocious light, he could see an armoured rider streaking towards him on an attack bike. For the briefest of seconds he readied himself for combat, but as the vehicle came nearer, Kharn could see the rider wore dark red armour and a berzerker helmet, one of the horns shorter than the other. Samzar, the loyal fool. All feelings of fatigue left him Rising Gorechild high into the air, he roared his praise to the Blood God."



OK, I think I got that reference! :D

[Hawke Embers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another classic tale of a really angry man blowing off some steam in the only way he knows how, to literally paint the town red! This story largely focus on the action that surrounds Kharn and his war-band during the early times of the 13th Black Crusade; which is fine, however much of the action in this book is framed awkwardly
Allow me to explain..

The first battle in this story pits Kharn and his warriors against the White scars; where Kharn lures the Scars to a planet that is full of open fields thus luring the Scars into a false sense of security. However as they charge; Kharn jumps into a ravine where he and his war-band lie in wait to ambush them.... So far so good! However, this is obviously a trap to both the reader and the White Scars; who appear to ponder on this right before the point of view switches to Kharn as he and his men who restlessly lie in wait... The narrative has to perform this perspective shift, because it would insane to think of what logic train passed through the Scars heads in order for them to leap down into this VERY OBVIOUS TRAP....With their motorcycles I might add.

Another problem with this book as that Kharn is a super hero..... I'm serious! The transhuman levels of slaughter he performs in this novel are obscene to such a level where is beyond any sense of believability. He leaps through the air like gravity doesn't effect him and suffers injuries that seem to at least slow down other Space Marines, but not Kharn! I get that he is the chosen of Khorn, but other authors seems to capture this badassery without making him this level of absurd.

Lastly, while Chris Dows does and excellent job at writing some of the character interactions, with some of my favorites being between between of the Angels Eradicant Chapter master and the sisters of battle..... A lot of the actions scenes are just boring and seem to drag on for waaaaay to long.

..... OK, so what I am saying is that you have to switch off part of your brain to really enjoy this one as there most certainly is enjoyment to be had here. Some of the battles are brutal and we get to see some cool and unique things! I personally enjoyed reading about the Angels Eradicant Astarte's chapter and the previously unseen hubris of a living saint in the form of Lozepath, but... at the same time there are so many thing to pick holes in; and the narrative falters in a number of places.

I hope to see Chris take another feature length stab at a full length 40K novel as his short story First to Hunt found in the Deathwatch Ignition anthology to be one of the best. In fact that short story was much better than a number of the short stories written by some of the Black Library veterans. However; the Red Path is a bit of a mixed bag that didnt get to where I think the author can go given the right subject matter.

Overall, this is a mixed bag that id recommend to hardcore World Eater or Chaos fans only
a 2.5 out of 5

[John Vance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much what you’d expect a book about Kharn to be about. Hilarious, over the top violence that is, for the most part satisfying in every way. Any character introduced will probably end up dying at the hands of Kharn or as a result of some crazy, off the cuff idea he came up with. Abbaddon at the end was way cooler than I expected. This 40k book is very 40k.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a whole bunch of meh. Abbadon wants Kharn to participate in the Black Crisade. Kharn says he only follows Khorne. Hilarity ensues. Kharn ends up joining the Black Crusade. The end.

[Liam Skinner · Rating 1 out of 5]

(While I acknowledge each chapter was originally written as a short story, I’ll be reviewing the book as whole, as it is in reality one continuous story and should be considered as such)

There’s better out there.

Unfortunately not a recommendable read, despite my love for the World Eaters. While the XIIth legion can be hard to write for, this is no excuse to having every character be as 2D and shallow as possible, whether that be mindless followers of Khorne or vacuous Imperials. The author seizes every opportunity to ensure the most bland and generic option is taken every time, with no nuance to be seen. Any opportunity for substance is replaced with frequently interspersed “bolter p**n”, which even at the best of times flows oddly and is hard to follow. Character motivations range from ‘because’ to “I’m angry at the slightest provocation” or “someone had disagreed with me”. Ultimately, I’d give this one a skip.

[Pallav · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Kharn as a character and as a force of chaos in the books. He has got plenty of plot armor and he is basically an angry dude that won't be stopped by anything in his way. This book does not read like a book becuase it is a bunch of short stories linked together, so there is a bit of narrative dissonance, but if you are willing to look beyond that, it is a pretty entertaining tale.

The fights are excellent and there are lot of moment of Kharn being Kharn.

Blood for the blood god!

Let's go!

[Brett Ellis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kharn is a great character, unfortunately, this book did him no service. In an attempt to make Kharn look unstoppable, the author just made his foes incompetent morons. This does nothing to elevate Kharn. Daemonic interference as a deus ex machina had to be introduced because Kharn is portrayed as the one note stereotype one thinks of bezerkers. The audio drama Chosen of Khorne did a much better job portraying Kharn as retaining his intelligence and cunning as a complement to his bezerker rage.

[Isaac T · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason I can’t give this book a 5 star rating is the lack of character development. The Chosen of Khorne is what he is: a killing machine that never stops. If you’re looking for the 40k version of Kratos, this book will scratch that itch and then some. It was a page-turner for me that I would happily recommend to anyone looking for a fast-paced read full of dark action.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conan In Space

A very fun read. Kharn being Kharn, enough said really. It also has a surprisingly well done supporting cast as well. My only critique would be that some of the fight scenes tend to overstay their welcome, especially near the end of the story. Will definitely be looking at Dows other work in the future

[Jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kharn is the greatest and if you follow Khorne this one is a must.

[Shortsman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good action, 0 character development. But it was a quick enough read for anyone who wants some blood spilt for the Red God.

[Sam Dold · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came in, expecting a book about kharn kicking ass and that’s what I got no complaints

[Michael Dodd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Also available as eight individual eshorts, The Red Path is Chris Dows’ first full novel for Black Library after a raft of White Scars and Imperial Guard short stories. Its focus is on Khârn the Betrayer, tying in with the new miniature and the current 13th Black Crusade story arc, as Abaddon the Despoiler dispatches one of his lieutenants to find Khârn and bring him back to the Warmaster. Meanwhile a living saint of the Imperium is returning to the planet Salandraxis after campaigning near the Eye of Terror, while Khârn himself is merrily taking skulls with his warband.

Read the rest of the review at https://trackofwords.wordpress.com/20...

[Roybot · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine.
It's got all the obligatory kill, burn, maim, but most of the characters are pretty shallow. Kharn and Abaddon feel especially shallow after seeing more fleshed out versions of them in other stories set earlier in the timeline (e.g. Kharn is significantly more fleshed out in "Betrayal" or "Kharn: Eater of Worlds"), but a lot of the supporting characters are more interestingly fleshed out, so it's a bit of a mixed bag; a little less endless gore and a little more fleshed out Kharn would have easily made this a 4-star book.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

blood for the blood god, but seriously the amount of abuse these berzerkers take is almost comical but also the only reason there are any World eaters left in 41th millenium.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a letdown after reading Kharn Eater of Worlds, but not intolerable.