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Warhammer 40,000
Space Marine
Believe us when we tell you that Space Marine is quite unlike any other Warhammer 40,000 novel you’ve ever read.
First published in 1993 – though completed some years earlier – at a time when the background to the Warhammer 40,000 universe was still in a state of flux and not yet fully coalesced, the book follows three young Imperial Fist recruits from their formative years in the underhive gangs of Necromunda through to fighting as part of the First Company within the bowels (literally!) of a Tyranid bioship.
Not only will you find squats in this novel –Tzeentch-worshiping squats at that – but also Space Marines controlling Titans, Space Marines with lasguns, the Pain Glove and more than a small amount of toilet humour. Oh, and a Zoat. How could we forget the Zoat?
Although the temptation was great to rewrite significant portions of this book to make it conform to current background, as a curiosity piece, an historical snapshot of the Warhammer 40,000 universe circa the early 1990s, this book is invaluable. It also serves as a shining example of what can happen when a respected genre author at the height of his powers is let loose on an established shared universe.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 29, 1993
51 people are currently reading
874 people want to read
About the author
Ian Watson
300 books119 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
July 2, 2013
My favourite science-fiction book of all time.
Some of the later WH40k novels (I'm looking at you, Horus Heresy...) may be grander in scope and scale, with more characters, more fleshed out and more up-to-date as regards the current background fluff of the Warhammer universe. But Space Marine has a simple brutal honesty, as well as one key difference that separates it from the books which followed.
In the Horus Heresy series, our heroes are already Space Marines, the Adeptus Astartes; superhuman warriors, almost unkillable and as far above normal man as we are above the ants. We never see them as mortals, for they are not; from the moment we meet them, they are planet-striding colossi, demi-gods that crush all before them and live only for war.
Yet, when we meet our heroes in Space Marine, they are yet mortal, simply youths, with real flaws and weaknesses. Take Lexandro D'Arbequs, a wealthy, upper-hab dweller who used to go out hunting peasants with his well-to-do comrades.
All this changes when he is drafted into the Imperial Fists chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. From being used to having everything his own way, he is now thrown into a harsh and brutal regime of obediance and training, where he must prove his faith and courage at every step or die trying. Only should he prove his spirit willing, will he be granted the genetic and surgical modifications needed to elevate him from man to superman.
This process, this journey, is what makes this book, for me, such an enteraining read. Unlike any of the later WH40k books, this one delves right, right into the nitty-gritty of what it means to become a Space Marine. The inhumanity entailed in transcending humanity. One particular scene springs to mind; the second stomach is implanated, allowing a Marine to gain sustenance from absolutely anything that they eat.
They celebrate the implantation by having a feast of offal and excrement. I'm gagging just thinking about it, but that's the reality of the Astartes. They are not human, not any more.
But another thing I like about this book is love/hate relationship between the three youths drafted from the hive-world of Necromunda. Lex, Yeremi and Biff hate each other to begin with, but through their training - and the fact that they are the only links to each other's past - they form a grudging, yet steadfast, bond.
This book diverges from current WH40k canon at several points, as it was written back in the early days of the gaming system, when the universe and its inhabitants had yet to be finalised. In its pages you'll find Squats (now retconned from the WH40k Universe), Zoats (ditto). The Marines themselves make use of implanted organs and special abilities never mentioned in the current books.
But these differences should be celebrated, rather than put you off. This book is a real snapshot into the foundations of Warhammer 40,000. It is less righteous, less wholesome, than the books which followed.
A superb science-fiction novel, that can be read as an interesting account into the early days of WH40k, or simply enjoyed as a stand-alone book on its own merit.
Some of the later WH40k novels (I'm looking at you, Horus Heresy...) may be grander in scope and scale, with more characters, more fleshed out and more up-to-date as regards the current background fluff of the Warhammer universe. But Space Marine has a simple brutal honesty, as well as one key difference that separates it from the books which followed.
In the Horus Heresy series, our heroes are already Space Marines, the Adeptus Astartes; superhuman warriors, almost unkillable and as far above normal man as we are above the ants. We never see them as mortals, for they are not; from the moment we meet them, they are planet-striding colossi, demi-gods that crush all before them and live only for war.
Yet, when we meet our heroes in Space Marine, they are yet mortal, simply youths, with real flaws and weaknesses. Take Lexandro D'Arbequs, a wealthy, upper-hab dweller who used to go out hunting peasants with his well-to-do comrades.
All this changes when he is drafted into the Imperial Fists chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. From being used to having everything his own way, he is now thrown into a harsh and brutal regime of obediance and training, where he must prove his faith and courage at every step or die trying. Only should he prove his spirit willing, will he be granted the genetic and surgical modifications needed to elevate him from man to superman.
This process, this journey, is what makes this book, for me, such an enteraining read. Unlike any of the later WH40k books, this one delves right, right into the nitty-gritty of what it means to become a Space Marine. The inhumanity entailed in transcending humanity. One particular scene springs to mind; the second stomach is implanated, allowing a Marine to gain sustenance from absolutely anything that they eat.
They celebrate the implantation by having a feast of offal and excrement. I'm gagging just thinking about it, but that's the reality of the Astartes. They are not human, not any more.
But another thing I like about this book is love/hate relationship between the three youths drafted from the hive-world of Necromunda. Lex, Yeremi and Biff hate each other to begin with, but through their training - and the fact that they are the only links to each other's past - they form a grudging, yet steadfast, bond.
This book diverges from current WH40k canon at several points, as it was written back in the early days of the gaming system, when the universe and its inhabitants had yet to be finalised. In its pages you'll find Squats (now retconned from the WH40k Universe), Zoats (ditto). The Marines themselves make use of implanted organs and special abilities never mentioned in the current books.
But these differences should be celebrated, rather than put you off. This book is a real snapshot into the foundations of Warhammer 40,000. It is less righteous, less wholesome, than the books which followed.
A superb science-fiction novel, that can be read as an interesting account into the early days of WH40k, or simply enjoyed as a stand-alone book on its own merit.
September 13, 2012
Has a 40k novel ever made you think? Likely not. This one will.
This will ruin all other 40k novels for you. This doesn't just have fun with the over-the-top setting, it dives full-on into the crazy, wallows in it, and then smiles at you with entrails sticking out between its teeth.
If you think about it, the 40k space marines are messed up. Basically, they abduct children, pump them full of drugs and turn them into masochistic, religious child soldiers. They charge into battle yelling "TO KILL IS TO PRAY". While they all come from males, they have their sexuality removed (due to the gene treatments). However, all the battle scenes are described in oddly sexual tones, with las-beams "piercing" hulls and exploding in glorious excitement.
It's a hard book to get through because at every turn you want to say "that's messed up!", while the novel goes about its business as if nothing strange happened. This is 40K before it was literally written for 14-year-olds. This is a war novel that doesn't dress up the fact that in the future, war is even less fun then it has ever been before.
This will ruin all other 40k novels for you. This doesn't just have fun with the over-the-top setting, it dives full-on into the crazy, wallows in it, and then smiles at you with entrails sticking out between its teeth.
If you think about it, the 40k space marines are messed up. Basically, they abduct children, pump them full of drugs and turn them into masochistic, religious child soldiers. They charge into battle yelling "TO KILL IS TO PRAY". While they all come from males, they have their sexuality removed (due to the gene treatments). However, all the battle scenes are described in oddly sexual tones, with las-beams "piercing" hulls and exploding in glorious excitement.
It's a hard book to get through because at every turn you want to say "that's messed up!", while the novel goes about its business as if nothing strange happened. This is 40K before it was literally written for 14-year-olds. This is a war novel that doesn't dress up the fact that in the future, war is even less fun then it has ever been before.
October 30, 2015
Mracna knjiga smestena u daleku buducnost gde je covecanstvo stalno u ratu sa svima. Gde nije problem da se zrtvuje par hljada ili par miliona radi boljeg napretka. Di geneski inzenjering od dece stavara gromade koje skoro nemaju veze ljudima ali su zato savrsene ubilacke masine.
Sama prica prati tri klinca koji postanu regruti za taj vecni rat i njihova transformacija kako fizicka tako i mentalna.
Brutalno, sirovo a opet puno neke morbidne logike... i ako gledamo kakav je danasnji svet nesto ka cemo hrlimo.
Preporuka.
Sama prica prati tri klinca koji postanu regruti za taj vecni rat i njihova transformacija kako fizicka tako i mentalna.
Brutalno, sirovo a opet puno neke morbidne logike... i ako gledamo kakav je danasnji svet nesto ka cemo hrlimo.
Preporuka.
June 27, 2017
Gloriously bonkers. I'm pretty sure that Watson is taking the piss with this, but he does it gleefully and in a never less than an entertaining manner. He delights in dirty schoolboy humour, borders on the homoerotic, pushes boundaries of horror (especially where the fourteen year old target audience is concerned). Still, thinking about it, perhaps Watson's approach is really the only honest way to depict the grimdark galaxy of the 40th millennium: how could anybody maintain their sanity in such a universe? Even the Adeptus Astartes must succumb in one way or another - there are only degrees of insanity. Not canon any more (squats abound!), but still this should be read by any 40k fan willing to look toward the true dark side of this most stygian of settings, and because nobody else would dare write about Space Marines like Watson did.
August 21, 2022
Lexandro D'Arquebus...the man...the myth...the legend.
This is one of those books I stopped every paragraph or so because it kept hitting me with outrageous Lore. And gross weird stuff (which I loved).
Things that actually happened in this book:
There's fun and crudeness sorely lacking in modern 40K novels.
We need more books where Imperial Fists slaughter civilians for funsies tbh. Space Marines are in fact gangsters LARPing as knights.
This is one of those books I stopped every paragraph or so because it kept hitting me with outrageous Lore. And gross weird stuff (which I loved).
Things that actually happened in this book:
There's fun and crudeness sorely lacking in modern 40K novels.
We need more books where Imperial Fists slaughter civilians for funsies tbh. Space Marines are in fact gangsters LARPing as knights.
April 15, 2012
So awhile ago they did a Warhammer 40k roleplaying game and as much as I love Warhammer fantasy I thought it'd be fun to see the space version. I'm not one for minuture wargaming but I do love dark bleak scifi. My friend offered to loan me some of his books and suggested I read this first. While the book definitely had some flaws, there were no women, the prose was kinda klunky and the author had a rather Marquise de Sade unfortunate fondness for poo, it was still a fun read. The book made starship troopers look like a holiday camp. It was all about how horrible the good guys were, how terrible society is, and how many more even worse things there are out there. It did a brilliant job of setting out what a very bad place the warhammer 40k universe is. Building up each layer from the human society, to the demons, to the alien invaders. Unsurprisingly there wasn't much characterisation. The plot followed three different boys going through their space marine training and fighting, one from each class in society. The smart scumnik was my favourite. I liked that the lowest class was the smartest. The upper society boy got a bit too masachistic and the middle class got a big gay crush on the upper society guy. As I said not much in the way of characterisation but it was interesting to see how they developed. I have borrowed more novels and have already started the inquisition one, which actually has a female main character, yay! I'm hoping reading these will make me want to run the RPG.
January 14, 2011
Imperial Fists are one of the mightiest Space Marines Chapters of the First Founding era.
In this very interesting book we follow three young boys (from three very different social classes from hive city of Necromunda) as they advance through the ranks of the Imperial Fists from Scout units to full Battle Brothers. They will each find and follow their own way (religious zealotry and combat pragmatism) and soon animosity caused both by their origins and by the interactions before joining Imperial Fists will be replaced by bond that will keep them together in the direst of circumstances.
Watson portrays the world of Warhammer 40000 in the grimmest possible light - there is truly no hope here, man is only one among untold billions and future of the race is at stake and dangerous he encounters are truly overwhelming.
Great novel (according to long-time W40000 fans description and story differs from current game rules so bear that in mind you purists :)).
Highly recommended.
In this very interesting book we follow three young boys (from three very different social classes from hive city of Necromunda) as they advance through the ranks of the Imperial Fists from Scout units to full Battle Brothers. They will each find and follow their own way (religious zealotry and combat pragmatism) and soon animosity caused both by their origins and by the interactions before joining Imperial Fists will be replaced by bond that will keep them together in the direst of circumstances.
Watson portrays the world of Warhammer 40000 in the grimmest possible light - there is truly no hope here, man is only one among untold billions and future of the race is at stake and dangerous he encounters are truly overwhelming.
Great novel (according to long-time W40000 fans description and story differs from current game rules so bear that in mind you purists :)).
Highly recommended.
July 4, 2013
So this how everything began. Interesting read, oudated and somewhat interesting. But by today standards it fails to achieve the epic porportions or in terms of vast scale of other current novels.
Here we find how one turns a space marine -Imperial Fists. The IF takes his men from the Necromunda world. And in this particular case they took three hivers each from a different part of the hive city. It was interesting to read about the differences between them and how they try to bond beneath the IF.
Being an outdated book, from the first or second codex time, we have Squats and Zoats; both written out from the annal histories of Games Workshop.
You've got Space Marines eating enemies to know more about several situations and even to control a Titan!!
But don't get me wrong. This is a book where you will find a grim dark reality of the warhammer 40k world. People abducted, through painful treatments (with druges involved) turn into fanatic space marines.
Good story and I advice anyone into Warhammer40k to read it, or if you like Starship Troopers from Heinlein.
Here we find how one turns a space marine -Imperial Fists. The IF takes his men from the Necromunda world. And in this particular case they took three hivers each from a different part of the hive city. It was interesting to read about the differences between them and how they try to bond beneath the IF.
Being an outdated book, from the first or second codex time, we have Squats and Zoats; both written out from the annal histories of Games Workshop.
You've got Space Marines eating enemies to know more about several situations and even to control a Titan!!
But don't get me wrong. This is a book where you will find a grim dark reality of the warhammer 40k world. People abducted, through painful treatments (with druges involved) turn into fanatic space marines.
Good story and I advice anyone into Warhammer40k to read it, or if you like Starship Troopers from Heinlein.
January 26, 2012
Interesting to see how far Warhammer 40k has come since those early days back in the 90s and how different things were back then. I also enjoyed finding out more on how Space Marines are recruited and trained.
This book gives a lot of background to the 40k lore and I'm happy for that but I wish there were emphasises on the characters. Even after reading the book I couldn't identify the brotherly bond between the 3 brothers of Trazior Hive.
I also found the author has some huge fascination with fecal matter. He really likes to put in scenes where the characters would eat and lick shit.
This is a book for 40k fans who would like to dig deeper into the lore.
This book gives a lot of background to the 40k lore and I'm happy for that but I wish there were emphasises on the characters. Even after reading the book I couldn't identify the brotherly bond between the 3 brothers of Trazior Hive.
I also found the author has some huge fascination with fecal matter. He really likes to put in scenes where the characters would eat and lick shit.
This is a book for 40k fans who would like to dig deeper into the lore.
December 21, 2013
I first read this when I was 10 or 11 and I'm pleased to say it remains a strange, delirious, hallucinatory SF novel, as weirdly haunting and evocative as Ian Watson's non-licensed work. If you enjoyed this, I would also recommend the Inquisitor trilogy, which in fact crosses over with this short novel at certain points.
August 4, 2025
I knew going into this I was going to be in for a ride.
The scatological references were bananas. The secret second ritual? Come on. Needless butts everywhere. It's BIFFING time!
It's also...fisting time.
This book was ridiculous.
I thought for the first 40 or so pages that people were overreacting and it was just generic schlock space opera, as was the custom at the time (the 1990s had some g to the arbage in space opera). But swiftly the...butt stuff became unignorable. I started marking all of them. I started laughing out loud IN PUBLIC while reading it. It's unintentionally hilarious, and or Watson played the biggest joke on BL ever and wrote literally the worst thing he could imagine, a la Michael Bay making each Transformers movie more and more obscene just because he wanted to point out that he could put out absolute schlock and it would make money.
Or both?
But I could DNF and I was thinking about it, and then I looked down at my Kindle and I was 69% done.
I had no choice. I had to follow this anal polyp will they ever find the clitoris in the tyranid ship weird buttsex not-even-innuendo intestinal ride to the inevitable anus.
The scatological references were bananas. The secret second ritual? Come on. Needless butts everywhere. It's BIFFING time!
It's also...fisting time.
This book was ridiculous.
I thought for the first 40 or so pages that people were overreacting and it was just generic schlock space opera, as was the custom at the time (the 1990s had some g to the arbage in space opera). But swiftly the...butt stuff became unignorable. I started marking all of them. I started laughing out loud IN PUBLIC while reading it. It's unintentionally hilarious, and or Watson played the biggest joke on BL ever and wrote literally the worst thing he could imagine, a la Michael Bay making each Transformers movie more and more obscene just because he wanted to point out that he could put out absolute schlock and it would make money.
Or both?
But I could DNF and I was thinking about it, and then I looked down at my Kindle and I was 69% done.
I had no choice. I had to follow this anal polyp will they ever find the clitoris in the tyranid ship weird buttsex not-even-innuendo intestinal ride to the inevitable anus.
September 26, 2024
DNF @ 15%
When they say that books are a weaving of a web of words... This author took it literally. The vocabulary used in this book are very complex and beautiful. The adjectives and descriptions of everything that he gives are extremely complex and you can almost feel what he is describing... But the adjectives are so complex And descriptive that it sometimes takes away from the story because of how distracting the complex words are....
Well written and palatable are different things. This book is well written, but not palatable. Not for me at least. This is very much of the Dune, era of writing. Its sentence structure and descriptions are needlessly complex, but the conversations in the book are easy and simple to follow... its just the other 75% that is hard to palate.
I'll always go back to the book name of the wind, Because of how artfully written it is. It is complex in some of its descriptions but, in a tasteful way... This book is written to such a complex degree of weaving of words that I believe that the descriptions that the author makes takes away from the story and distracts you from what is going on. At some points throughout the book It's hard to follow the story because of how descriptive everything is... Sounds weird but that's my thoughts all on how the book is written.
Not exactly my cup of tea.
When they say that books are a weaving of a web of words... This author took it literally. The vocabulary used in this book are very complex and beautiful. The adjectives and descriptions of everything that he gives are extremely complex and you can almost feel what he is describing... But the adjectives are so complex And descriptive that it sometimes takes away from the story because of how distracting the complex words are....
Well written and palatable are different things. This book is well written, but not palatable. Not for me at least. This is very much of the Dune, era of writing. Its sentence structure and descriptions are needlessly complex, but the conversations in the book are easy and simple to follow... its just the other 75% that is hard to palate.
I'll always go back to the book name of the wind, Because of how artfully written it is. It is complex in some of its descriptions but, in a tasteful way... This book is written to such a complex degree of weaving of words that I believe that the descriptions that the author makes takes away from the story and distracts you from what is going on. At some points throughout the book It's hard to follow the story because of how descriptive everything is... Sounds weird but that's my thoughts all on how the book is written.
Not exactly my cup of tea.
July 22, 2024
Great book about becoming a space marine. Not a fan of the ending but it was still good
October 12, 2024
Dont particularly like the style of writing. It was passable
March 27, 2014
When the publisher, Black Library, says: "Believe us when we tell you that Space Marine is quite unlike any other Warhammer 40,000 novel you’ve ever read." They really aren't kidding. This was written at the time when GW was still in it's infancy in space. They really had just taken their fantasy line and dropped it in space and it shows.
The book itself is kinda split into 3 books within it. It starts on Necromunda at the time that the Confrontation rules were being developed (and man were those complicated!!). This is what drew me to the book as I am a huge Necromunda fan. You get a glimpse of how Necromunda was envisioned at the time and that's awesome. It quickly goes to the recruitment of 3 gangers which shows how the Imperial Fists increased their ranks. This was probably the most interesting part of the book, being given an initiate look at the recruitment and training process of a Chapter.
The second and third books see our heros (anti-heros?) chasing down an arch-heretic across multiple theaters of battle. There is an epic Titan battle that the characters take a direct part in. Tunnel fighting with Ambull riding squats. Even a run in with Chaos (and I'm very glad that GW went the sexual path for Slaneesh instead of how it depicted in these books!).
Well worth the read, even it is really odd.
The book itself is kinda split into 3 books within it. It starts on Necromunda at the time that the Confrontation rules were being developed (and man were those complicated!!). This is what drew me to the book as I am a huge Necromunda fan. You get a glimpse of how Necromunda was envisioned at the time and that's awesome. It quickly goes to the recruitment of 3 gangers which shows how the Imperial Fists increased their ranks. This was probably the most interesting part of the book, being given an initiate look at the recruitment and training process of a Chapter.
The second and third books see our heros (anti-heros?) chasing down an arch-heretic across multiple theaters of battle. There is an epic Titan battle that the characters take a direct part in. Tunnel fighting with Ambull riding squats. Even a run in with Chaos (and I'm very glad that GW went the sexual path for Slaneesh instead of how it depicted in these books!).
Well worth the read, even it is really odd.
May 10, 2016
So I was extremely conflicted on the rating for this book and had I known more about Warhammer 40K universe maybe it would have been beneficial, but alas, I figured a good book should be able to tell ya own story.
And it did.
Problem was me looking up about 4-5 words in the dictionary every other page. It was so bad I had to check my own "stupid" level and send screenshots to some friends to see if it's just me.
Nope. Not just me.
Oddly enough, Ian Watson writing style reminds me of Ann Rice, although obviously a completely different genre. But what I remember most vividly about reading "Interview with the Vampire" is how frustrated I was to need a dictionary constantly near me, so I couldn't fully immerse myself into the story for long.
Same with Ian Watson.
Once you get past not being able to really fully immerse, story is decent, but very choppy. It reads almost like a video game. Space marines go on random missions and kill things, missions don't seem to be related at all and the only thing coherent and persistent through the entire book is three main characters oddly twisted friendship and authors love of rectums and poop.
I did like the grimness of the world, the terrorizing dark world where there doesn't seem to be a single ray of Hope, but people somehow survive. The world was great.
The rest of it, mediocre and boring at best, for me.
Roman
And it did.
Problem was me looking up about 4-5 words in the dictionary every other page. It was so bad I had to check my own "stupid" level and send screenshots to some friends to see if it's just me.
Nope. Not just me.
Oddly enough, Ian Watson writing style reminds me of Ann Rice, although obviously a completely different genre. But what I remember most vividly about reading "Interview with the Vampire" is how frustrated I was to need a dictionary constantly near me, so I couldn't fully immerse myself into the story for long.
Same with Ian Watson.
Once you get past not being able to really fully immerse, story is decent, but very choppy. It reads almost like a video game. Space marines go on random missions and kill things, missions don't seem to be related at all and the only thing coherent and persistent through the entire book is three main characters oddly twisted friendship and authors love of rectums and poop.
I did like the grimness of the world, the terrorizing dark world where there doesn't seem to be a single ray of Hope, but people somehow survive. The world was great.
The rest of it, mediocre and boring at best, for me.
Roman
August 17, 2021
Space Marine must be one of the most unique books I've ever read. I mean, on one hand, there's little plot, some character development, and the standard story of battles and war against a myriad of aliens and heretics. There are some reminders of what Warhammer 40K is today.
On the other hand, its poetic quality blends with the bizarre in the weirdest way imaginable. It's not just gross or extreme, but weird. Modern Warhammer books have even more disgusting scenes and even more death, but this Space Marine is simply weird, in that absolute way weird can be. There's not another adjective to replace it with. It's like what would happen if Shakespeare wrote a novel (play) in Warhammer Universe.
So, I'm undecided where does this book stand. For casual readers, it's a brief but shallow introduction to the old Warhammer Universe, and yet, many words will get over your head; it still requires a basic familiarity with the board game. For fans, there will be probably weird lore and scenes that don't have their place in today's established universe.
In the end, if you want to read something weird, so if you want to read a weird and somewhat poetic military SF, you're free to read this one.
On the other hand, its poetic quality blends with the bizarre in the weirdest way imaginable. It's not just gross or extreme, but weird. Modern Warhammer books have even more disgusting scenes and even more death, but this Space Marine is simply weird, in that absolute way weird can be. There's not another adjective to replace it with. It's like what would happen if Shakespeare wrote a novel (play) in Warhammer Universe.
So, I'm undecided where does this book stand. For casual readers, it's a brief but shallow introduction to the old Warhammer Universe, and yet, many words will get over your head; it still requires a basic familiarity with the board game. For fans, there will be probably weird lore and scenes that don't have their place in today's established universe.
In the end, if you want to read something weird, so if you want to read a weird and somewhat poetic military SF, you're free to read this one.
August 8, 2021
Reading this 1993 novel now, in 2021, as a Warhammer 40,000 fan, makes this an excellent piece of fluff/canon archaeology. It has certain oddments that are likely the result of the author's own idiosyncracies, but overall it paints an interesting and - now - very different view of Space Marines, the Imperial Fists in particular, and an early perspective on the Tyranid race. It is particularly interesting to note the elements of Space Marines that are very focused upon here, that still technically exist in the background but are not so prominent - summed up for me by two remarkable worlds "Combat cannibalism".
May 10, 2014
This was the first of the many novels of the Adeptes Astartes...and it is on some serious crack. The book is a fun enough read, an episodic story of three boys from the same hive world who are recruited to the Imperial Fists. There is scatology galore along with lots of sadomasochistic rituals and plenty of rites where Fists undergo naked. This is far, far less sexy than it sounds. There are also tyranids, daemons, and Chaos-worshiping Squats. I enjoyed the book, but feel the need to retreat to "Horus Rising" again as a tonic.
January 15, 2019
What a magnificently delirious piece of fiction! The exaggerated worldbuilding of WH40K is inked in with both horrifying and ridiculous detail to create one of the finest exemplars of universe canon. Although space marine particulars are probably well-known to the adepts of WH40K, here they are presented in their full bizarreness, with an unusual emphasis on erotic affection, and in high calibre heroic prose. Just a great demonstration of what "licenced" fiction can aspire to.
February 28, 2014
I loved it. If you're not familiar with Games Workshop's tabletop war-game Warhammer 40'000, then the best way to describe this book is a very dark and gritty version of the Star Wars universe.
The story follows the journey of new initiates from raw recruits to veteran soldiers. The battles they fought, the friendships they forged, and just a little bit of toilet humour.
The story follows the journey of new initiates from raw recruits to veteran soldiers. The battles they fought, the friendships they forged, and just a little bit of toilet humour.
April 25, 2013
This is the first space marine book I ever picked up and I go back to it time and again. It gives some idea of what it takes to become a space marine and charts the training of three recruits from very different walks of life and turns them into superhuman warrior's.
A great story well written.
A great story well written.
January 16, 2022
The book that started my love of Warhammer 40k. I had played a couple of games, and collected a few of the models, but after reading this I was hooked, and since my army has become Imperial Fist. Quite simply the best 40k book written.
July 29, 2012
I have read this book about 4 times and will read it again
November 7, 2013
Fantastic story and writing, before GW employed 12 year olds to write their books.
March 18, 2018
This book is full of weird shit. Literally.
November 28, 2017
Fucking gonzo semi erotic licensed sci fi with a lot of butt stuff
May 4, 2025
When other Warhammer fans told me that Ian Watson’s Draco was a bizarre, uncomfortable mess, I didn’t believe them. They were right. So when they also told me that Space Marine had everything wrong with Draco and then some, I should have listened this time around.
Because they were right.
Space Marine follows three adolescent boys growing up in a miles-high city on the distant world of Necromunda – Lexandro D’arquebus, the spoiled, hedonistic son of an official; Yeremi Valence, as close to middle-class as you get on Necromunda; and Biff Tundrish, a low-city gang member with a distinctive spider tattoo on his face. For their own reasons, all three apply to join the military and are selected as recruits to the Imperial Fists, a chapter of the transhuman warrior-monks known as Space Marines, where they will be molded into weapons to fight in the name of the God Emperor and a strange, complex bond will form between the three that will be the cause of both successes and failures as they fight their way across the galaxy.
Oh man. . . where to start. The story itself had a decent setup. A coming-of-age tale following the training and missions of some young Space Marines will likely come to be a classic plot in Warhammer 40k literature, but it is one for a reason. The plot mixes the fantastic and sometimes horrifying realities of life in the 41st millennium with more down-to-earth and relatable relationships between the boys in a way that could have been very satisfying.
Unfortunately, however, it was not.
The character development, while intriguing and surprisingly complex in theory, is delivered in a “tell, don’t show” fashion where, for the most part, the narration simply informs us how the boys feel about each other rather than allowing them to express their feelings in dialogue or actions. On the other hand, the action scenes have the opposite problem – they’re so overwritten that it becomes difficult to tell what’s going on in a sea of obscure vocabulary and flowery metaphor.
All this, however, pales in comparison to the content. As a gothic space opera setting, Warhammer 40k is no stranger to horrific and sometimes gross elements. But Watson plays these up to the point of repulsing the reader not just from the events of the story, but from the book itself, seeming to glory in comparing architecture to genitalia, describing various forms of self-harm, and, most importantly, talking about poop. I lost track of how many times this book finds increasingly convoluted reasons for the characters to touch poop, eat poop, poop their pants, etc., to the point that it’s not clear if this was supposed to be some kind of obscure social commentary, a terribly failed attempt at gross-out humor, or simply the author’s fetish.
All that being said, despite the low rating, I can’t quite bring myself to hate this book. It’s not a good 40k book, it’s not a good story, and even at its short page count, it overstayed its welcome, but the absurdity pushes it firmly into ‘so bad its good’ territory and I enjoyed reading it and quoting some of the more absurd parts to my friends.
Warnings: In addition to the previously-mentioned frequent references to excrement, the book is full of other assorted grossout descriptions, as well as graphic violence, torture, religious self-harm, and some light body horror.
In addition, the relationship between the three boys is often played for homoeroticism, but the way it’s written makes it clear that Watson thinks this is disturbing
Because they were right.
Space Marine follows three adolescent boys growing up in a miles-high city on the distant world of Necromunda – Lexandro D’arquebus, the spoiled, hedonistic son of an official; Yeremi Valence, as close to middle-class as you get on Necromunda; and Biff Tundrish, a low-city gang member with a distinctive spider tattoo on his face. For their own reasons, all three apply to join the military and are selected as recruits to the Imperial Fists, a chapter of the transhuman warrior-monks known as Space Marines, where they will be molded into weapons to fight in the name of the God Emperor and a strange, complex bond will form between the three that will be the cause of both successes and failures as they fight their way across the galaxy.
Oh man. . . where to start. The story itself had a decent setup. A coming-of-age tale following the training and missions of some young Space Marines will likely come to be a classic plot in Warhammer 40k literature, but it is one for a reason. The plot mixes the fantastic and sometimes horrifying realities of life in the 41st millennium with more down-to-earth and relatable relationships between the boys in a way that could have been very satisfying.
Unfortunately, however, it was not.
The character development, while intriguing and surprisingly complex in theory, is delivered in a “tell, don’t show” fashion where, for the most part, the narration simply informs us how the boys feel about each other rather than allowing them to express their feelings in dialogue or actions. On the other hand, the action scenes have the opposite problem – they’re so overwritten that it becomes difficult to tell what’s going on in a sea of obscure vocabulary and flowery metaphor.
All this, however, pales in comparison to the content. As a gothic space opera setting, Warhammer 40k is no stranger to horrific and sometimes gross elements. But Watson plays these up to the point of repulsing the reader not just from the events of the story, but from the book itself, seeming to glory in comparing architecture to genitalia, describing various forms of self-harm, and, most importantly, talking about poop. I lost track of how many times this book finds increasingly convoluted reasons for the characters to touch poop, eat poop, poop their pants, etc., to the point that it’s not clear if this was supposed to be some kind of obscure social commentary, a terribly failed attempt at gross-out humor, or simply the author’s fetish.
All that being said, despite the low rating, I can’t quite bring myself to hate this book. It’s not a good 40k book, it’s not a good story, and even at its short page count, it overstayed its welcome, but the absurdity pushes it firmly into ‘so bad its good’ territory and I enjoyed reading it and quoting some of the more absurd parts to my friends.
Warnings: In addition to the previously-mentioned frequent references to excrement, the book is full of other assorted grossout descriptions, as well as graphic violence, torture, religious self-harm, and some light body horror.
In addition, the relationship between the three boys is often played for homoeroticism, but the way it’s written makes it clear that Watson thinks this is disturbing
April 28, 2025
This book is great. It's a view back to when the 40k universe was fun and didn't take itself quite so seriously, and there wasn't a team of loremasters to make sure everything fit into the universe just so. I think some of the soul was taken out by trying to enforce such consistency as 40k moved away from Dune, but with soccer hooligans baddies, to the serious, ridiculous grimdark it is now.
It covers three Space Marines, and gives a bit of a view to civilian life in 40k as the characters are established. You've got Biff, the smart and brutal, but entirely unpolished, boy from the lower levels of the hive, the mid-level Yeri who comes from a clan that makes widgets, and the upper-level Lex whose family has fallen on hard times. Sadly, characterization is the worst part of the book by far, and the only thing keeping this from a 5 star rating in my book. The dynamics between the three are confusing and poorly explained - somehow Yeri looks at Lex as a proxy for the Emperor and target of his faith, but also a receptacle for everything that is wrong with that faith. He's being a bodyguard to Lex for reasons that don't make sense, simultaneously keeping Lex alive and preventing him from claiming glory.
However, the rest of the book shines. It takes the form of three big adventures. The first is when the boys are young Scouts, sent to slaughter and cause chaos on a rebellious planet. They get wind of an ambush, manage to steal a Titan and eat the brains of the crew to gain their knowledge (marines used to be able to do this), and save the day.
The second is a battle with Squats who are literally just Warhammer dwarfs with no changes, who are protecting the corrupt governor of the planet from the first adventure because he's promised to bring their ancestors back. There is a lot of classic 40k stuff here - Ambulls, stopping demonic possession, lasguns and bolters galore. This section has a bit of a Saturday morning cartoon vibe as our heroes are captured by trap and stripped of their armor while helpless instead of simply being killed.
The third covers an invasion of a Tyranid bio-ship, which does a lot to sell the utter weirdness of Tyranids. Symbiotic relationships between the beasties are covered in great and gruesome detail, including corrupted orks, humans, and creatures from another galaxy (I believe it's stated as Andromeda). It's even got a Zoat acting as a diplomat/distraction for the Marines, which is something Games Workshop should have kept in as a way for Tyranids to have a voice.
Interspersed throughout is a ridiculous amount of farts and shit-eating. The boys are in chain climbing up a tunnel and continually fart in each others faces, they eat shit and other excreta to test one of their implants, the half-manifested Tzeentch demon eats shit after bisecting their sergeant, and they literally enter the hiveship through the anus. At the end, the Chaplain hears Lex's confession while sitting on a "pain stool" to symbolically take the sin into himself and then shit it out. Really. I think Watson might have a bit of a thing here . . .
It covers three Space Marines, and gives a bit of a view to civilian life in 40k as the characters are established. You've got Biff, the smart and brutal, but entirely unpolished, boy from the lower levels of the hive, the mid-level Yeri who comes from a clan that makes widgets, and the upper-level Lex whose family has fallen on hard times. Sadly, characterization is the worst part of the book by far, and the only thing keeping this from a 5 star rating in my book. The dynamics between the three are confusing and poorly explained - somehow Yeri looks at Lex as a proxy for the Emperor and target of his faith, but also a receptacle for everything that is wrong with that faith. He's being a bodyguard to Lex for reasons that don't make sense, simultaneously keeping Lex alive and preventing him from claiming glory.
However, the rest of the book shines. It takes the form of three big adventures. The first is when the boys are young Scouts, sent to slaughter and cause chaos on a rebellious planet. They get wind of an ambush, manage to steal a Titan and eat the brains of the crew to gain their knowledge (marines used to be able to do this), and save the day.
The second is a battle with Squats who are literally just Warhammer dwarfs with no changes, who are protecting the corrupt governor of the planet from the first adventure because he's promised to bring their ancestors back. There is a lot of classic 40k stuff here - Ambulls, stopping demonic possession, lasguns and bolters galore. This section has a bit of a Saturday morning cartoon vibe as our heroes are captured by trap and stripped of their armor while helpless instead of simply being killed.
The third covers an invasion of a Tyranid bio-ship, which does a lot to sell the utter weirdness of Tyranids. Symbiotic relationships between the beasties are covered in great and gruesome detail, including corrupted orks, humans, and creatures from another galaxy (I believe it's stated as Andromeda). It's even got a Zoat acting as a diplomat/distraction for the Marines, which is something Games Workshop should have kept in as a way for Tyranids to have a voice.
Interspersed throughout is a ridiculous amount of farts and shit-eating. The boys are in chain climbing up a tunnel and continually fart in each others faces, they eat shit and other excreta to test one of their implants, the half-manifested Tzeentch demon eats shit after bisecting their sergeant, and they literally enter the hiveship through the anus. At the end, the Chaplain hears Lex's confession while sitting on a "pain stool" to symbolically take the sin into himself and then shit it out. Really. I think Watson might have a bit of a thing here . . .
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2018
Originally published in 1993, before Black Library even existed as a publishing house, Ian Watson’s Space Marine was his second 40k novel and went on to be something of a seminal work, influencing countless stories to follow. These days it’s really not ‘canon’ but there’s no doubt about its story credentials. The tale of three Necromundan youths raised to become Imperial Fists from wildly differing backgrounds, it follows Biff, Lexandro and Yeremi as they progress through the trials required to become a Space Marine, and then various missions as first Scouts and then full battle brothers.
There’s no doubt about it, this is a weird read for fans of modern-day 40k, even those who have been there throughout the setting’s 30-year growth. Put aside all the weird not-quite-40k elements, though, and you’re left with a startlingly original – if very strange – book that’s both an impressive standalone story and something of a time machine allowing us to look back on the early stages of something decades in the making. The best way to read this is to try and forget that it’s even 40k at all, and just enjoy it for the weird characters and bonkers action.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/07/...
There’s no doubt about it, this is a weird read for fans of modern-day 40k, even those who have been there throughout the setting’s 30-year growth. Put aside all the weird not-quite-40k elements, though, and you’re left with a startlingly original – if very strange – book that’s both an impressive standalone story and something of a time machine allowing us to look back on the early stages of something decades in the making. The best way to read this is to try and forget that it’s even 40k at all, and just enjoy it for the weird characters and bonkers action.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/07/...
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