Soy Masacre

The Beast Arises #1

by Dan Abnett

En el trigésimo segundo milenio el imperio vive en paz y los Space Marines mantienen a raya a las numerosas razas alienígenas que durante tanto tiempo acosaron a la humanidad. Sin embargo, una de estas razas aparece en el mundo de Ardamantua y los Imperial Fists abandonan los muros de Terra por primera vez en más de mil años para acabar con ella. Pero incluso ellos se verán indefensos ante la amenaza de un enemigo aún más temible. ¡Los orcos atacan la galaxia!

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Fantasy, Novels, Space Opera

233 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 5, 2015

Reviews

[Andrey Nalyotov · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, got my hands on 'I'AM Slaughter' yesterday, finished it in 3 hours. So here goes my review.
Trying to be objective, I read so fast only the books, I'am interested in - like in case with this one.

Dan Abnett as an author (even if book was written in 2012) and IF, High Lords in M32 - GOOD reasons.
Guess what - that's actually exact novel that mostly disappoint. There are several reasons for that.

1) As a beginning of a new series it is exactly how it should go - get the feel of boogeyman and great menace. Setting stage for bigger and more horrible events. That - it got right (even if orcs are actually shown on the last 30 pages). But as a novel on itself it's inconsistent, choppy and rushed.

2) All the main flaws of Dan Abnett as a Warhammer 40k writer are here - errors in lore, grave mistakes in timetable and 'general' stuff of the 32nd mil., and his 'masterclass' - unimaginably rushed ending. It's like he was written a 400 page novel, that was chopped to 230 pages. New BL standards? More to follow.

3) About lore - Even narrative at BL site says that 'It is the thirty-second millennium and the Imperium is at peace. The Traitor Legions of Chaos are but a distant memory and the many alien races that have long plagued mankind are held in check by the Space Marines'. Guess what - mister Abnett get it all wrong again. By standard lore (everyone knows that - ca. M32 All Loyalist Primarchs feared Dead or Lost); and that Dan gets true. The problem is - he is writing that 'The Great Archenemy haven't been seen in millennias'. But ahem what about First Black Crusade??? ( In 781.M31)? The Beast happens in 544.M32 long past the First Black Crusade and returning of Chaos? And 'Death' of Rogal Dorn.

4) Characters of this novel - some of the are amazing, but generally they all blank and totally incompetent. The level of incompetence shown by the High Lords of Terra is so unbelievable - that reader should ask Dan Abnett - how the feth they were allowed to become the High Lords. Where the Inquisition was looking? All in all - inquisition in this novel are the most 'trivial' service in all the Imperium. Plus the ending (let's not tell the one person who can help what's going on, make him a rogue element - send assassin schooled by assassins to kill the assassin, who previously was schooled by the assassin who made the assassin assassin! OMG) But that's actually what happens in the end!

5) Yeah let's get back to the characters - one of the greatest achievement of Dan Abnett in every book.
Then mister Abnett is writing about the High Lords of Terra, and all their machinations - he is beyond reproach. The characters are alive and truly real. Real humans with each independent and amazing personality.

But then he is writing about SM - well, here it's not rainbows on the horizon. Dan's SM (this time it's a bad omen to be an Imperial Fist) - is a blank and wooden characters, who had (exactly had - due to the obvious reasons) no emotions. Actually I would be truthful - that is the most uninspired, craving depiction of Space Marines in all the Dan's writing history.

6) The story itself is like a direct staging point, that it actually is - but half of the decisions made by the main and additional characters in this novel are very, let's say - illogical.

7) The general writing style is less interesting than any novel written by Abnett to date. And that says something. The level of quality, Abnett's 'writing' usually provides is just absent here. If I haven't known - that it was 'actually' written by Abnett - I would have guessed that it was written by any other BL writer.
Plus the depiction of events has a level of being chopped just, as the author starts explaining them.

I give that novel 3 of 5 stars, and only because it's a start of something bigger.

But, sadly, from the point of Dan Abnett's Black Library novels - that's his worst novel to date.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Ya no hay Herejía, pero sí otras amenazas.-

Género. Ciencia ficción.

Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Soy Masacre (publicación original: I Am Slaughter, 2015), nos trasladamos hasta el siglo XXXII y hasta el planeta Ardamantua, donde Los Puños Imperiales están terminando con la raza xeno dominante, los chromos. Esos Marines Espaciales no habían dejado Terra en casi diez siglos, pero los actuales dirigentes decidieron que era momento de que actuasen en el exterior. Mientras, entre dichos dirigentes hay alguno que sabe más de lo que sucede en Ardamantua y de lo grave que es la situación aunque no lo parezca. Primer libro de la saga El despertar de la bestia.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The "Beast" was an Ork warboss of immense power. His Waagh! on the Imperium during the 30K timeline is infamous. here we get the story of that time. But, this story isn't just about the Ork threat since it also delves into the politics of the Imperial Senate.

The Imperial Fists are detached from their guardianship of Terra and the entire Chapter is sent out to the world of Ardamanta to fight the xenos Chrome. But, something is driving the Chrome towards the Imperium. The vast majority of the book is devoted to the Imperial Fists operations against the Chromes, as well as looking into the issues plaguing the Senate as seen through the eyes of the Inquisition and the Officio Assissinorium. It isn't till the end you realize that a huge Ork invasion is underway.

A great book from lore standpoints and I also enjoyed the look into the power politics of the Senate. This is a three book set, so I shall have to rush out and find the second book of this excellent story.

[Dylan Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Some spoilers below!***

I Am Slaughter. Oh man, now THAT is a title. What can I say? Abnett did a pretty good job here. The first half of the novel was awesome. The action with the Imperial Fists on Ardamantua was great, the political intrigue involving the Officio Assassinorum and the newish Inquisition was great. The biggest highlight, I think, was the world building. We haven’t seen an Imperium at peace before, and man is it awesome. To look at the Great Crusade/Horus Heresy and then 40k, we never really got to see it. I mean, just reading about the Adeptus Astartes being actually considered redundant and possibly going away is absolutely insane for the 40k universe, and damn was it interesting!
Unfortunately, the second half of the novel was a bit lackluster compared to the first. The action was very rushed, the political intrigues and events were very brief, really it was like they took as much out of it to get the point across and leave as little actual writing as possible, whereas the first half was full to the brim of the nitty gritty details that Abnett does so well in the 40k universe. And once we got to the final few chapters, shit hit the fan. And we didn’t really get to see shit hit the fan too much. We got to see a slice of the land battle, a slice of the void war, and then a fairly random political ending. I would have liked the book to be at least 100 or so pages longer so we actually got to see some more. I mean, we got to see snippets at best of 2 awesome fleets destroyed, and an entire Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes brought to ruin. There have been whole 400 page novels that don’t cover nearly that much, and yet here it was barely glossed over. The Imperial Fists deaths and sacrifice didn’t feel real, or important but for a few lines of dialogue. As well as there was a few inconsistences that didn’t really sit with me, such as the Imperial ideas about Orks(are they a joke, or a real threat that must be contained?), The “Heresy War?”, has it ever been called that?, What happened to the Black Crusade that happened around the same time as the Beast’s Waaagh!? I know Dan Abnett generally takes some pre-existing lore and throws some extra stuff in it, and sometimes it really works! The Imperial Fists “wall-names” was a bit weird however. It didn’t really add anything. They should have just had wall-names, and saved the word count spent with explaining most of it/giving two-step introductions and spent those words on a better 2nd half of the novel.

And The Magos Biologis Laruentis(? Need to correct for spelling) was a damn good character. If there is any one thing that I think Dan Abnett really knocked out of the park with this novel, it’s the dialogue and conversation between human characters. His Space Marine dialogue is decent, but Abnett does standard (or above standard) really, really damn well.

So, I’d say the novel was good, though had plenty of flaws. A solid 4/5 because I really enjoyed it despite those flaws. Really can’t wait to see where the other authors take this series.

[DarkChaplain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review also published here

I am really torn on I Am Slaughter .
I could barely decide whether to rate it at 3 or 4 stars, though in the end I decided to go with the better rating, as this is merely a "prologue" novel (if you can even call it that, at barely half the usual size for Black Library releases).

First off, the Imperial Fists (one of whom is brandishing his sword at the reader from the cover) are rather inconsequential to the plot. While the book opens up with them, and features them throughout, it is mostly for shock value and to present a credible threat to the Imperium, not for their merits. They are by far the weakest and least exciting part about the whole book.

Readers familiar with Imperial Fists offerings by Black Library will probably know what's coming for them. It is almost a tradition at this point. Yes, they die in droves. Some deaths are well executed and shocking, while the vast majority happen off-page, unspoken of and unremembered. Even during the final confrontation with the Beast's greenskin hordes, we barely get to see the action unfold, and in the cases we actually do, it is for last stands that are over within a few pages.

At first I was slightly annoyed by Dan Abnett's trademark habit of injecting novelty traits and cultures into Space Marine Chapters. He did it with fairly blank slates like the Alpha Legion in the Horus Heresy novel Legion , which made sense and was appreciated. I even enjoyed most of his Space Wolves additions and changes in Prospero Burns , despite them not flowing entirely well with previous Wolves works. By Know No Fear I was groaning a bit, since as good as the end result was, his rendition of the Ultramarines didn't go hand in hand with any previous Horus Heresy work they had appeared in.
By The Unremembered Empire , I was on one hand happy about his looks at Legion culture, but hated the final conflict between Primarchs, who did felt somehow detached from their many previous appearances.

Which brings me to my point. It has been on my mind for quite some time already, and I believe it to be very relevant here.

Dan Abnett is not a good team player when it comes to tie-in fiction and multi-author series.
He excels at crafting his own niches within the Warhammer 40,000 and Horus Heresy settings, creating his own sub-plots and mythologies, character arcs and cultures. But when it comes to tying his works into the mythologies and plotlines of others, I consider him relatively weak.
When Nick Kyme depicted the Lion of Caliban better than 40k Grand Master Abnett himself, in a sequel to the latter's last novel, I couldn't help but wonder.

What Abnett has going for himself, however, is his incredible talent for starting projects, kicking off new series and laying the foundation for other authors to build on. His Horus Rising set the tone for years to come, giving the following authors an anchor point to build around. His Eisenhorn trilogy, one of the very early works in the franchise, did an invaluable job at expanding the Imperium of Man beyond "its a thing" status, turning it into an actual civilization.

I believe that having him pen the first novel in the The Beast Arises series of twelve (half-length) novels was a very solid decision, especially due to it being set in the twilight millennium following the Horus Heresy, long before the Imperium turned into what we know from 40k.

His additions to the Imperial Fists, while not entirely consistent with my expectations for them from the other lore about them - I would never imagine them picking silly honour names such as "Slaughter", "Killshot", "Frenzy" and the likes, for example - were for the most part reasonable and indicative of cultural shifts within the Imperium post-Heresy. I didn't love it, but I can see the point and figure that it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be from the early chapters.

But then, as I said, the Imperial Fists parts of the book were the weakest to me. The big, exciting things happened either in orbit of the doomed planet of Ardarmantua (following the actions of the imperial relief fleet led by Lord Commander Militant Heth, High Lord of Terra, as well as Admiral Kiran and General Maskar), or right back home on Holy Terra.

This book did a fantastic job at showing just how complacent the High Lords of Terra, leaders of the Imperium, have become. They are shown to be petty politicians who would rather rob mankind of easy and abundant resources, than taking a hit to their family business's profits. They play each other on a multitude of occassions, and end up sending the whole of the Imperial Fists Chapter to their doom - while not even aware of the threat they are opposing.

Enter Drakan Vangorich, Master of Assassins. His role no longer part of the High Twelve, instead replaced by Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy and others to better suit the changing Imperium's needs, he is full of resentment and disappointment for the council. He plays his own schemes, often taunts his supposed allies through veiled threats and making light of their security measures.

Readers familiar with early 40k lore will of course know that this character has been part of the setting for a very long time, and his actions would go down in history.
So, knowing of it, I went in expecting Drakan to be a malicious villain - but to Abnett's credit, I actually rather like the fellow, and can relate to him easily. He sees problems arising, and how the High Lords deal with them. He despises their petty power plays, and at least appears to have good intentions to protect the Imperium.

Drakan Vangorich, by far, is the most interesting and satisfying character in this whole novel, and might remain so for the entirety of the series.

As for the "Beast", there really isn't a lot to say. The big bad foe's appearance is intimidating, but he hasn't yet joined the fray in earnest. In fact, the orks don't even appear for about 80% of the novel. When they eventually do, the results are devastating, but I felt that it was too little, too late. The book is more of a prologue to the threat the Beast poses, rather than a good look at him and his forces.
As impressive as the first look at the massive Waaaghboss was, chilling and intimidating, it was the human generals in orbit of Ardamantua who stole the show through their reactions to the threat.

One thing I really didn't find myself liking was the way the title phrase "I Am Slaughter" was used. There is two characters who use it - the Beast itself, and an Imperial Fist Captain, whose honour-name is Slaughter. Considering how little significance the character really had throughout the novel, I feel this was unnecessary and silly, even though it was used as part of a small joke later on.
And then there is also a second character called "Beast", who happens to be a former assassin. A little too much for my taste. I can see that Abnett tried connecting dots here and created parallels, but it felt overdone.

Be that as it may, though, this was a damn fine setup for the series. It opened up a lot of questions for the other authors to follow up on, and introduced the key players back at Terra, though everybody else might not even appear after the Beast is done with them.
Imperial Fists fans might feel betrayed once more, but readers who enjoyed Abnett's previous takes on Imperial policy and politics will be delighted.

I Am Slaughter is a novel that plays to Abnett's strengths, but still shows some of his usual weaknesses. Thankfully, the overall read was a solid one and prepares this series to be a big hitter.
The story will continue in Predator, Prey by Rob Sanders. I am looking forward to seeing the further developments on Terra.

[Estevam (Impish Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good, i don't know enough about warhammer to judge this lore wise, but it was extremely entertaining and very descriptive and action packed, it does deserve the 5 star rating for the way it was written it was very fluid and easy to understand and for the enjoyment it was pretty good, so if you want to enter warhammer, i guess you could start here, it is what i am doing.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up the other day and dug into it a few days ago. Abnett is my favorite author of military science fiction and of all things 40k. This book is much more than it appeared to be in the beginning. It takes place in a new Era wherein the Imperium has been at peace for two hundred years. In 40k literature, game terms and history, this is unheard of. I am not sure where the direction is going at Games Workshop,but this is very far from what readers are used to. Maybe it is just a new fictional series which the author has delved into? Whatever the case, this is a book involving g the Imperial Fists chapter, and their mission, drawing almost the entire chapter off Holy Terra, to fight a war against a new xenos threat on a world called Ardamantua, a mere six weeks warp travel from Holy Terra. There is also much political intrigue and information exchanged by the High Lords of Terra, the Imperium's ruling body.
The book is written as almost a mystery until the overall threat rises, and when it does it is amazing, and horrible. I cannot wait for the next book in this series to drop. The last few pages have you at the edge of your seat and then it ends. You must wait, it seems to say. Outstanding experience from my favorite author!

Danny

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, here's the problem. It's short. Very short. This is novella-length masquerading as a full length novel. (At more than full-length novel prices.)

And it just stops. It reads almost certainly like part 2 of I am Slaughter will be released at some point in the future, as another more than full price novel. And it will basically be the second part of this manuscript.

I feel ripped off.


The prose was okay I suppose, but the structure was terrible, due to the aforementioned, half a novel problem. It has a beginning and half of a middle.

And there's also the problem that really, the Orks are a bit shit. There's a weird bit towards the end where it's observed that the Orks are mankinds most terrible fearsome horrifying foe mankind has ever faced! And then the next paragraph it's talking about how they're sort of a joke.

Anyway, this novel, launching the series, probably quite sensibly has very little to do with the Orks. Which makes it a lot better.


But. Yes. Leaving your consumer feeling ripped off is... not a good place to be in.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not enough substance to stand its own. Space Marines were pretty generic, no personality of their own. Couldn't tell one from another.

[L J Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent opener for this twelve book saga.

[Profundus Librum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Birodalmi Öklök jelenleg sehol nincsenek még a legendás Gaunt Szellemei hadtesthez képest, valószínűleg nem is lesznek – ebben a sorozatban legalábbis – annyira kidolgozva, de a háborús részek nem szenvedték meg (nagyon) ezt. A harci jelenetek ugyanis újfent kiválóak, és nem lesz hiány sem bennük. A krómokat eleinte nem tudtam hová tenni – valami gyengébb tyranida alfajnak tűntek –, arctalanul, de megállíthatatlan tömegben hullottak a végül a 300 spártait is megszégyenítően hősies, patetikus űrgárdisták előtt. Hamar kiderült viszont, hogy nem a krómok jelentik az igazi fenyegetést a Birodalmi Öklök számára, de hogy akkor kik is, arra csak a kötet végén kapunk majd választ (vagy a borítót böngészve), de az igazán égető, „Hogyan lehetséges ez?” kérdésre majd csak az elkövetkező regények adnak magyarázatot. Mindenképpen érdemesnek tartom megemlíteni azt a nem elhanyagolható tényt, hogy a regény az előzmények (Hórusz Lázadás) és a klasszikus – későbbi érában játszódó – könyvek nélkül is teljesen érthető, élvezhető. Ezzel a kötettel is el lehet tehát kezdeni az újoncoknak nyugodtan a Warhammer 40.000 univerzum felfedezését!

Bővebben a blogon:
http://profunduslibrum.blogspot.hu/20...

[Abhinav · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can read the full review over at my blog:

https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...

The span of lore material that any novel, or a series for that matter, that is set in the vibrant chaos of the Warhammer 40,000 can cover is immense. There is a history of millenniums involved and Black Library has done a tireless and amazing job over the years of covering as much material as it can, whether we go back to the earliest days of the setting with the Horus Heresy mega-series or the more carefully planned and executed vignettes set in the 41st Millennium. The wonderful diversity, at its heart, is what makes all of this tick for me, and in that respect, the latest series from the publisher has not disappointed.

I Am Slaughter is the first novel in the Beast Arises series and is written by a veteran of the setting entire, Dan Abnett. Over the years, he has given some of the best work in 40K and I Am Slaughter is no slouch by any means. The story begins with the Imperial Fists Space Marines engaging in a massive planetary attack against a verminous xenos species, and it ends in rather surprising ways. As this is the start of the series, much is left to the reader’s imagination, but Abnett teases enough to keep you hooked and reading all the way through, though there are some rather typical missteps by the master.

Despite being one of the most prominent of the Space Marine Chapters, as they’ve been around since the founding of the Imperium, the Imperial Fists have rarely gotten a platform anywhere near the size of what some of the other major Chapters such as the Ultramarines and the Dark Angels and the Space Wolves have had. And usually they are the butt of a cruel joke as they seem to always die in droves. Coincidentally, Dan Abnett killed an entire company of Fists in the animated Warhammer 40,000 movie Ultramarines which came out in 2010. It was a rather sad affair for the Fists, and it does indeed sadden that they seem to get burdened with such a fate more often than any other Chapter. I Am Slaughter is no different.

The story starts some 2400 years after the Horus Heresy has ended, and relative peace has settled across the Imperium. The horrors of that disastrous conflict are a distant memory and the Imperium prospers even as vast wars are waged to keep it safe. But there is always some trouble that is more than it seems. This is where the Imperial Fists come in, as they deploy to a system six warp-weeks from Terra to eradicate a verminous xenos species called the Chromes. The celebrated defenders of Terra deploy en masse, almost at full chapter strength to prove to the Imperium at large that there are some wars that only they can prosecute. A political maneuver in many ways since the power of the Space Marines is waning in these troubled times. And this is when disaster strikes and the Beast Arises.

The one aspect of I Am Slaughter that I really liked was that we finally got to see the machinations of the High Lords of Terra. In the wake of the Horus Heresy, it was the High Lords who came to wield actual power in the Imperium, representing the most senior of all the institutions of united Mankind such as the Officio Assassinorum, the Imperial Guard, the Navy, the Navigators, the Inquisition and many others, twelve in all. And they’ve always been a rather distant presence in the 41st millennium. The closest we came to see them, IIRC, was in Bill King’s fourth Space Wolves novel, Wolfblade, and that proved to be one hell of a tease.

[Therese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Abnett delivers some fine 40k pulp and it is glorious.

[Javir11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si habéis leído alguna vez algo de Wh40k ya sabéis como va esto, mucha acción, batallas por doquier y personajes muy aguerridos.

Pues en este caso no iba a ser menos, pero además, incluye una trama principal bastante sólida que nos conduce a un último tercio de la historia más que interesante y que nos da pie a teorizar de cara a las siguientes entregas.

Obvia decir que esta historia ni se acerca a la perfección, la prosa es regulera sin más y el ritmo de narración sufre muchos altibajos a causa de estar dividida la trama en dos vías, una trepidante y la otra bastante sosa.

Pero si te gusta el universo WH40k yo creo que disfrutarás de esta nueva saga.

Como siempre os dejo el enlace a mi blog por si queréis darle un vistazo a la reseña que publiqué allí.

http://fantasiascifiymuchomas.blogspo...

[Kdawg91 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warhammer is like man brain candy to me, you know there will be explosions, and men like gods doing ungodly things to millions upon millions of aliens and other men who deserve it.

That being said, The Black Library has made a bit of a ballsy move by spreading out what is essentially one giant story over 12 books over a year. Because you never know what quality you will get from start to finish, however, Mr. Abnett starts the blood flowing in grand fashion.

Is it groundbreaking stuff? nope.. it is however lots of fun if you are a fan of the WH40k universe.

[Callum Shephard · Rating 2 out of 5]

In many regards, I Am Slaughter is an extremely unusual Black Library product. Besides the rather goofy name, it’s the rare example of not only an Imperial Fists novel, but a book set in the Sol System itself and during the era of humanity’s decline. The empire found here has only recently lost the last of the primarchs, and still resembles the society Robute Guilliman established with only the first signs of real rot starting the set in. However, this is what makes it so fascinating, and manages to become its greatest selling point. It’s a look into what the Imperium might have become, the empire which might have been left behind, were it not for the coming of the Beast.

Having yet to face the nightmares of the Black Crusades and left unmolested by major alien threats, the vast wars and bloody conflicts of the Horus Heresy are little more than a distant memory. It’s a time of relative peace, where the astartes are less the crusaders of old or guardians of old night than they are leftovers of a time long gone. Some question if they are even needed, but soon every warrior under the Emperor’s command will be forced to fight for their lives. The orks are coming, numberless and possessed by a terrifying, all consuming hunger for war. At their head stands a figure unlike any greenskin seen since the days of Ullanor…

In many respects this can be seen as the Horus Rising of a new era, and not just because it kicks of the new series. As that little intro established, a great deal of time is put into world-building and setting the scene for this unexplored time. Half the joy of reading this book is seeing the Imperium at a time where the gothic and neo-feudal elements have yet to truly set in, and the universe as a whole is still relatively sane. This is established fairly early on via Mechanicus forces and the Imperial Fists themselves, both of who only retain trace elements of their later selves. In fact, the very name of the book serves as a double meaning (much like most of the Horus Heresy books) and refers to the Imperials as much as the orks.

As you would expect from such a book, a great deal of time and effort is put into establishing a broad selection of figures, many of who serve as examples of this era. Along with Slaughter himself (that will make more sense if you actually read the novel) we see everyone from low ranking adepts to members of the High Lords of Terra themselves. Those familiar with Abnett’s past works know he is an expert when it comes to balancing a vast cast and making each of them memorable, and he does not disappoint here. Besides a few who die off very early on, there are few here who fail to leave some considerable impact, and it’s often the power plays and dynamics between characters which results in some of the most exciting scenes. Strange as it might sound with the impending threat of a few trillion orks, but it was the events among the High Lords of Terra which proved to be the highlights of the book.

Unfortunately, while these qualities do hold up even upon re-reading the book, it doesn’t take long before a few flaws start to really set in. To stick with the Heresy comparisons, this feels like what Horus Rising would have been if it were handed in as an early draft. You have the same qualities present, the same good ideas and solid concepts – not to mention some great depictions – but the structure is way off and many details seem to be oddly contradictory. For example, the book can’t seem to decide if the orks are humanity’s greatest foe or just a bad joke, and characters seem to jump back and forth on this point. It would be one thing to consider them the latter only to discover the horror which awaits them, but there’s little logic or real reasoning on who is saying what at each time.

On many occasions, descriptions and details seemed oddly brief. Much like Graham McNeill, Abnett is best known for being able to truly build up vivid imagery and details in his works. Here though, many parts seem to just cut off as if they had been rushed through. It’s not even a case of someone visibly trying to avoid purple prose, but instead they just seem to abruptly end in places. That could summarize the entire book really, as outside the first act there’s a sense of events being heavily truncated and squished down. The second act seems to be rushed through, and the action heavy third ends on an extremely abrupt open ending which makes it feel like I Am Slaughter: Part 1. It’s not so much the start of a saga as just part of a story, lacking that same chapter or individual feel books in a series should retain.

What makes matters worse is how certain events happen between pages, or retain events driven by plot rather than common sense. The Imperial Fists die unfortunately, and they really are the sacrificial lion being offered up here to make the Beast look powerful. That would be irksome in of itself, but so many die out of sight and are abruptly forgotten about, it’s almost insulting to read. Half of it seems to only happen because the book apparently forgets about their siege or defensive expertise, and by the time the dust settles the orks seem less like a credible threat than a foe handed their victory. A damn shame given the excellent, ominous build-up there was prior to their arrival, establishing some real dread.

Perhaps the biggest problem however, bigger than all else, is the treatment of the canon. Now, it’s easy to overlook a few contradictions, mild or small for the sake of drama. We’ve had plenty of contradictions in the big series, and even sticking to the massive events of the Imperium’s timeline, the odd slip-up is to be expected. Personally, I was willing to even overlook the fact the Black Crusades should have shaken the Imperium to its core at about this time, but then there are bigger problems. The book, more than once, refers to the Imperium being at peace for millennia at this point and any major battles at all seem to have been forgotten. Even the fate of Rogal Dorn himself seems to be repeatedly skimmed over, mostly to justify the apparently complacent feeling of the Fists, and by the end it just seems like so much has been ignored or pushed aside to help justify this storyline. That can be fine if the story is great, even good, but we’re only getting a flawed novel out of it.

If this seems like a review of two halves, that really is because the book seems to shift gears partway through. There’s a truly excellent start, and a great running sub-plot involving the Officio Assassinorum, but it really seems like only certain bits were truly thought out. The rest really seems to have either been rushed or has the feeling of being re-done at the last minute, and can leave you feeling as if you’ve been cheated out of a story. Yet, for all that, I can’t say the book is bad, not truly bad anyway. For all its problems there is some genuine fun to be had here and it offers some great flavour text to inspire hardcore fans, but it’s not the smash hit most were probably hoping for. Definitely pick it up on softcover release, but wait to hear more about its follow-up books before deciding if you want to go all in with a hardcover purchase.

[Steven Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book that seems to stop short of getting anywhere.

So as someone who's spent the past year reading about the hijinks of Gaunt, Cain and Eisenhorn, to jump back 10 thousand years is quite interesting from a lore point of view. Those stories focus on one character and their mission, whatever that may be. This book is different, it's less a story about someone but rather something, in this case the War of the Beast. Even Terra as a setting feels novel as the above characters don't tend to come even close.

The problem is, and this could simply be what I would call "the hitchhikers guide" problem, is that the whole thing is half baked. To paraphrase Priest, a story is like a good magic trick, it needs three parts;

The Pledge, where you set the scene introduce the characters.
The Turn, where you introduce the macguffin, what the story is really about
The Prestige, the climax. What the writer's built up for. The payoff for investing your time. What will hopefully lead you feeling all cozy for having put in the effort.

The first book in the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy series suffers from an issue of it being incomplete due to it being cut into parts. This book, I am Slaughter, feels the same. There's no Prestige. I'd argue there isn't even much of a Turn. The characters go do a thing, there's an event which blows it to hell and back... and then that's it... Thanks for reading, until next time.

Certainly a series I'd recommend reading if you have the whole series to hand because as a standalone book all it gives you is two threads, a group of people on Terra going "hey there might be an issue" and a group of space marines going "huh, everyone's dying" with next to nothing to explain why to either point. So in that regard it's poor, perhaps I'll feel better about it once I've read more but right now it's incredibly, frustrating, hollow.

[Gordon Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rightly realising that even the Horus Heresy couldn't go on forever, Games Workshop sought to replicate its success with a new threat to the Imperium in another multi-author mega-series set a thousand years post-Heresy.

In this perfectly serviceable if unexceptional series opener we meet a bunch of characters who either punch things or bicker about politics, and presumably will get more exciting things to do in future novels. A character with the codename 'Slaughter' feels a little on the nose even for 40k fiction and when most of the entertainment comes from bureaucratic inter-departamental oneupmanship then perhaps the core story is a little too by-the-numbers. When the true antagonists finally do make an impact it's a big one, but I do fear that we'll end up spending precious little time exploring Orky civilisation in favour of yet more generic spacemarinery.

[Xiaofu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to check a couple of times while going through this book to make sure this was written by Abnett. Unlike his Eisenhorn/Ravenor/Bequin/Horus Heresy books, this one did not leave me spellbound. Most of the book was kind of a Starship Troopers meets 40k kind of thing. It got boring pretty quickly. The gravitational anomaly plot device dragged on for too long. How many times/different ways can you describe the different colours and sounds on the planet?

The most interesting part of the book was the cloak-and-dagger intrigue that enveloped the High Lords of Terra, the Inquisition, and the Officio Assassinorum, but this was the least developed arc in the whole book.

Less insects, more intrigue!

[Keira F. Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entirely serviceable WH40k pulp.

The palace intrigue stuff was actually above average. The main arc of oh-no-another-existential-threat-to-the-imperium was pretty meh. Well written meh (Abnett is definitely the crown jewel of the black library authors), but meh.

Will continue.

Edit: The kvetching about about inconsistencies in lore are.... something. It's a gigantic universe/franchise with zillions of authors, games, and editions going back over 30 years. Its gonna happen. Hell it happens in single arc universes of standard sci-fi with one author. *shrug*

[Jason Waltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn, the last 25% of this was slam-bam-badass! Major battling on all levels, great twist of the title, sorrowful but glorious end-of-an-era, and a great political and assassin sub-game I wish to read more of.

[Anthony Keen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid start to what is a mammoth book series. Really nails the savagery of combat - especially when the Orks finally arrives. Dan Abnett does a great job of capturing the broken, grimdark setting of 40k.

[Caio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun reads like a classic Sci-Fi but with a Warhammer coat in the best way

[Mark Pidgeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good build up to the story but as with most multi part series this was more introducing the characters and arc still worth it for the WARGGHHHH

[Daniel O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Badassery incarnate. Stupidly fast-paced action with interesting if somewhat superficial characters and the world-building I've come to expect from Abnett (and, I suppose, the one redeeming point in the awful pestilence that is GW).

I devoured this book. Sat down to read a chapter and the next thing I know it's 2½ hours later and the book is done.

Guess I'm buying the rest of the series. Despite my hatred of giving GW money. Goddamnit.

I will complain that this was a very short novel and really did only feel like a prelude to a longer story. Basically just a prologue. I guess that's yet another instance of GW gouging us for their profits. I wish I was better at maintaining a boycott...

[Leander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geen slecht begin voor deze reeks, maar heeft meer daka daka nodig.

[Persefone · Rating 3 out of 5]

if you’ve become so complacent after decades of peace that you think nothing can ever harm us again. Beasts arise.
ალბათ სიმბოლურია, რომ ერესის შემდგომ ყველა მნიშვნელოვანი და მოცულობით წიგნების სერია კვლავ აბნეტმა გახსნა, მაგრამ სამწუხაროდ, ჰორუსის აღზევებათან შედარებით, ეს წიგნი გაცილებით უფრო მეტი ხარვეზის შემცველია. ის რომ სიუჟეტი ერთდროულად ორ პლანეტაზე : არდამანტუასა და დედამიწაზე ვითარდება პრობლემას არ უნდა წარმოადგენდეს, მაგრამ რეალურად აღმოჩნდა ისე, რომ არდამანტუას მოვლენები, რომელიც უმნიშვნელოვანესი იყო ზერელედ იქნა მიმოხილული არა მოცულობის, არამედ შინაარსის საშუალებით. არდამანტუას ომი, საომარი სცენების აღწერა, რაც ვარჰამერის სამყაროს ერთ-ერთი მთავარი ღირსებაა ზერელედ, მეტისმეტად ზერელედაც კი არის აღწერილი და ძირითადად ისეთი ფრაზებით შემოიფარგლება რომელიც მხოლოდ ამა თუ იმ ლეგიონერის მიერ ორკისათვის თავში უროს ჩარტყმას ასახავს. კიდევ უფრო დიდი პრობლემაა იმპერიული მუშტების მიმართ ზერელე დამოკიდებულება - არც ერთ მათგანი არ ჩანს როგორც პიროვნება და არ იკვეთება სახასიათო ნიშნები, რაც ცხადია მიუღებელია აბნეტისნაირი მწერლისგან. ლეგიონერების მიერ ერთნამეთისათვის მეტსახელების დარქმევაც საკმაოდ მოულოდნელია. განსხვავებით მგლებისაგან, არსად არ შემხვედრია, რომ დორნის შვილებს ეს ტრადიცია ქონოდათ. თეორიულად, ეს წიგნი და ზოგადად ეს სერია უნდა ყოფილიყო იმპერიული მუშტებისათვის პატივისცემის, ქედის მოხრის საშუალება, მაგრამ სამწუხაროდ მათი განადგურების ადგილად იქცა. მაგრამ ეს არ ნიშნავს რომ წიგნს არა აქვს რაიმე დადებითი, პირიქით, დედამიწის მოვლენების ასახვა, პოლიტიკური მოვლენების განვითარებას და ლორდების დაპირისპირება ძალიან კარგია. ვანგორიჩი, რომელსაც წიგნის მესამე თავში ვხედავთ გვახსენებს მალკადორს, ერთის მხრივ უბრალო ჩაცმულობით, მეორეს მხრივ კი - ხასიათის მსგავსებით. კარგადაა აღწერილი ლორდთა დაპირისპირება და იმპერიის რეგრესის დასაწყისი, როცა მმართველების ნაწილის მთავარი საზრუნავი პირადი გავლენის მოპოვებაა და არა იმპერიაზე ზრუნვა. კარგი მომენტია, როცა ლეგიონერი იმპერიასა და ასტარტებს ელდარებს ადარებს, ორ დიდ ძალას რომელსაც გარდაუვლად ელით გადანდგურება.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 3 out of 5]

Small Review...
With a little over 200 pages it look like more a novella than a novel but that's what I expect from the new Black Library format. Why make 400 pages book when you can make 200 and charge the same (or more). Look at all those novels being release 2016. Not counting with HH most books don't surpass 250 pages or are an amalgamation of short stories.

Well Dan Abnett is a King but in this novel I didn't enjoy that much. It felt like a really long prologue (and probably it was what they were aiming there).

They throws us into a clash between the Imperial Fists and some beings (that look like intergalactic giant flying ants) in a planet quite close to Terra ( six weeks warp travel) called Ardamantua.
We mostly get to see the effects of big space hulks (flying planetoids) that tore the world apart.

Some imperial fists died from that (and from the innitial xenos). After the appearance of that monster moon the remaining Imperial Fists that were stationed on Terra (for over 2000 years) go to help their battle brothers. Suffice to say that they weren't enough of them.

We also got see a bit of something I didn't think they had talk before - the High Lords of Terra. IT's a complacent bunch and basically petty politicians that rob mankind and take advantage of their positions. Abnett also introduce us the petty squabbles between themselves. In this book we follow a couple characters inclduding Second Company Master Koorland aka "Slaughter" (which unfortunately I hope more of him). "Beast" an Assassin & "Beast" the Ork - Why name two characters with the same codename was a bit odd... We also follow the Master of Assassins - Drakan Vangorich who is not part of the High Twelve being substitute by another office.

I hope for a bit more but unfortunall that's what you get with a 12 book saga. Enter Predator Prey.

[Mike Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A free trailer length bolter porn clip leavened with some High Lords of Terra politicking. The Imperial Fists' cheesy wall names felt out of character for the chapter and a bit goofy even for 40k. Otherwise Abnett is on point as always (except for that Legion book. He was not on point then).

[Andrew Ziegler · Rating 2 out of 5]

DA is maybe my favorite BL author. His characters, and mythology creation are usually THE best. I could gush about his Inquisitor novels, the Gaunt's series, or how he started and kind of owns the Horus Heresy. This novel however, is the exception that proves the rule. The characters, and space marine characteristics were just dull and forgetful. I guess writing compelling Imperial Fists is difficult. DA breathed life into so many chapters and legions with what seemed like a limitless imagination, but what he added to IF mythology, call signs and wall divisions just did not do it. Remember that other terrible IF novel, Sons of Dorn? Me either. Aside from that complaint, and I am sorry DA...I LOVE YOU, it seems like he is WAY TOO BUSY with everything else to care enough to write something as good as Horus Rising or even Brotherhood of the Snake (which I loved). DA is too good, too popular, and too damn busy, and this novel smacks of that. This is clearly an intro story, written by someone who can write 40k lore in their sleep,and the editors are just kind of ok with that. I am not sure if I will keep on with the event series. Sorry, Dan. Don't quit me.