What do you think?
Rate this book
Iron Hands #1
The Eye of Medusa
The coldly methodical and unrelenting Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter clash with the cybernetic soldiers of the Adeptus Mechanicus over control of the world of Thennos.
Ever since the dark days of the Great Heresy, the Iron Hands have a long and tortured history. Their years of suffering and war has left them hardened and believing in a brutal the flesh is weak. Heavily cybernetic, their flesh extensively altered, these warriors of the Imperium are more machine than man, cold in aspect as well as demeanour. Their methods of recruitment are harsh, their rituals arcane, their pride unshakable. So when a world under the protection of the Chapter falls foul of insurrection, the Iron Hands answer with fire and cold retribution. It matters not that Thennos is considered sovereign territory by the Adeptus Mechanicus - the Iron Hands' campaign is one of extermination. But there is something dark lurking within Thennos, a horror that defies the purity of cold logic and the machine, and threatens something more, something ruinous...
The coldly methodical and unrelenting Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter clash with the cybernetic soldiers of the Adeptus Mechanicus over control of the world of Thennos.
Ever since the dark days of the Great Heresy, the Iron Hands have a long and tortured history. Their years of suffering and war has left them hardened and believing in a brutal the flesh is weak. Heavily cybernetic, their flesh extensively altered, these warriors of the Imperium are more machine than man, cold in aspect as well as demeanour. Their methods of recruitment are harsh, their rituals arcane, their pride unshakable. So when a world under the protection of the Chapter falls foul of insurrection, the Iron Hands answer with fire and cold retribution. It matters not that Thennos is considered sovereign territory by the Adeptus Mechanicus - the Iron Hands' campaign is one of extermination. But there is something dark lurking within Thennos, a horror that defies the purity of cold logic and the machine, and threatens something more, something ruinous...
Ever since the dark days of the Great Heresy, the Iron Hands have a long and tortured history. Their years of suffering and war has left them hardened and believing in a brutal the flesh is weak. Heavily cybernetic, their flesh extensively altered, these warriors of the Imperium are more machine than man, cold in aspect as well as demeanour. Their methods of recruitment are harsh, their rituals arcane, their pride unshakable. So when a world under the protection of the Chapter falls foul of insurrection, the Iron Hands answer with fire and cold retribution. It matters not that Thennos is considered sovereign territory by the Adeptus Mechanicus - the Iron Hands' campaign is one of extermination. But there is something dark lurking within Thennos, a horror that defies the purity of cold logic and the machine, and threatens something more, something ruinous...
The coldly methodical and unrelenting Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter clash with the cybernetic soldiers of the Adeptus Mechanicus over control of the world of Thennos.
Ever since the dark days of the Great Heresy, the Iron Hands have a long and tortured history. Their years of suffering and war has left them hardened and believing in a brutal the flesh is weak. Heavily cybernetic, their flesh extensively altered, these warriors of the Imperium are more machine than man, cold in aspect as well as demeanour. Their methods of recruitment are harsh, their rituals arcane, their pride unshakable. So when a world under the protection of the Chapter falls foul of insurrection, the Iron Hands answer with fire and cold retribution. It matters not that Thennos is considered sovereign territory by the Adeptus Mechanicus - the Iron Hands' campaign is one of extermination. But there is something dark lurking within Thennos, a horror that defies the purity of cold logic and the machine, and threatens something more, something ruinous...
- Genres40kScience FictionNovels
316 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 5, 2017
34 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
David Guymer
173 books176 followersDavid Guymer is a freelance author, PhD in molecular microbiology (which still comes in more handy than you might think), and tabletop warlord based in the Yorkshire East Riding. He has written for Black Library, Marvel, Aconyte Books, Asmodee, Mantic Games, Cubicle 7, Creative Assembly, and Mongoose Publishing.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 6, 2018
The Eye of Medusa was a fairly good read. Though, it could be said, I enjoyed the information and the background of the Iron Hands more than I did the story itself.
The gist of the story is that the world of Thennos an essentially Mechanicus Adeptus world, under the aegis of the Iron hands Chapter, falls to insurrection-the Iron hands are called in to exterminate the opposition. The story in and of itself is a decent to good one. The Iron hands working in conjunction with the Mechanicus is an interesting enough story.
But it is the in depth look at the brutal training regimen for Neopjytes being turned into actual Battle Brothers is an eye openeer. Cleaving to their mantra "The flesh is weak", the Iron Hands brutal regimen often leads to recruits and neophytes sporting mechanical replacements for the various body parts that were destroyed, literally, in training. Thus they meet their "optimum" where they replace the weak flesh with metallic enhancements.
Yet it is also a look into how this chapter differs from many others in their composition ( no Chapter Master-just a group of Clan elders known as the Iron Fathers) and their battle doctrine. The Iron Hands are analytical in the extreme and their battle plans hinge on precise, pre-planned assaults.
All in all this a book that shines when it highlights the Iron Hands chapter. The story itself isn't anything special. Still an enjoyable and interesting read.
The gist of the story is that the world of Thennos an essentially Mechanicus Adeptus world, under the aegis of the Iron hands Chapter, falls to insurrection-the Iron hands are called in to exterminate the opposition. The story in and of itself is a decent to good one. The Iron hands working in conjunction with the Mechanicus is an interesting enough story.
But it is the in depth look at the brutal training regimen for Neopjytes being turned into actual Battle Brothers is an eye openeer. Cleaving to their mantra "The flesh is weak", the Iron Hands brutal regimen often leads to recruits and neophytes sporting mechanical replacements for the various body parts that were destroyed, literally, in training. Thus they meet their "optimum" where they replace the weak flesh with metallic enhancements.
Yet it is also a look into how this chapter differs from many others in their composition ( no Chapter Master-just a group of Clan elders known as the Iron Fathers) and their battle doctrine. The Iron Hands are analytical in the extreme and their battle plans hinge on precise, pre-planned assaults.
All in all this a book that shines when it highlights the Iron Hands chapter. The story itself isn't anything special. Still an enjoyable and interesting read.
May 29, 2017
The skitarii adjusted their targeting parameters with an equivalent dispassion. It was as though two cogitators waged war.
This is about as boring as it sounds.
Observing the ebb and flow of battle through the tactical manifold, such as it was, was like watching two finely matched tactical cogitators engaged in simulated warfare.
Once again it is just as boring.
So the tragedy of the Iron Hands is that they're like a child who gets hurt and resolves never to go outside again.
This book should have built on all the Iron Hands momentum from the recent stories about the shattered legions set during the Horus Heresy. It should have shown us what the Iron Hands have become ten years after their brush with mortality. It should also have got us excited about the Iron Hands in the 41st millennium with a sweet conspiracy.
So the point of all this is that there's a . That's a great story right there, with lots of potential.
Yea, the Iron Hands are cold, lifeless machines but a good book shouldn't leave me feeling cold and lifeless inside as well. Even the attempt to contrast the Iron Hands with their thralls feels wrong. They don't do happy-go-lucky very well, these are members of the mechanicum.
May 30, 2017
By far the best Iron Hands novel around.
Shows the conflicting ideologies not only in the chapter but also within their 'special relationship' with Mars.
Protagonists that aren't simply body dysmorphic nerds with angers issues but well rounded characters at varying stages of indoctrination.
Can't wait for the next one, David Guymer is really setting himself up as a pillar of the BL. I don't doubt that his Iron Hands will be mentioned in the same breath as the Night Lords Trilogy.
Shows the conflicting ideologies not only in the chapter but also within their 'special relationship' with Mars.
Protagonists that aren't simply body dysmorphic nerds with angers issues but well rounded characters at varying stages of indoctrination.
Can't wait for the next one, David Guymer is really setting himself up as a pillar of the BL. I don't doubt that his Iron Hands will be mentioned in the same breath as the Night Lords Trilogy.
June 19, 2017
You can read the full review over at my blog:
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
The Iron Hands are one of the most enigmatic of all the Space Marine Chapters. Jonathan Green gave us Iron Hands back in the depths of time when the Warhammer 40,000 setting was still pretty new but ever since we have seen very little of them outside of the Horus Heresy. That has now changed with David Guymer’s new series which takes a very comprehensive look at the modern Iron Hands and explores the rise to fame of one of their defining characters in M41. It suffers, ironically, from the cold and unfeelingly-brutal nature of the Chapter itself, but still provides some interesting insights into one of the First Founding Chapters.
The star of the novel is Sergeant Kardan Stronos who is newly-promoted from one Clan-Company of the Iron Hands to another. We start with this induction as an introduction to the modern Iron Hands, as Stronos leaves behind the trappings of Clan Vurgaan behind and accepts his new role as the Tenth Sergeant of Clan Garrsak. There’s a rather fetishistic element of these proceedings that I felt set the mood very well for the rest of the narrative. Illuminated though the sons of Medusa might be, but they still cling to some ancient rites of their clannish natures and that is certainly presented very well here.
However, once you move past these enlightened beginnings, you see just how the Iron Hands have changed over the years. The death of Ferrus Manus at the onset of the Horus Heresy ten thousand years ago irrevocably changed the Iron Hands down to their psychological selves and that is what is at display in this novel. They have given over their physical selves to the so-called purity of the machine, learning all the wrong lessons from the Heresy and ignoring the actions and teachings of their own Primarch. None of this is new per se, but in The Eye of Medusa, David Guymer takes the Iron Hands towards an uncomfortable extreme that I found unsustainable and unrealistic.
The creed of the Chapter, and the Legion before it, was always that the machine was superior to the flesh. With Ferrus Manus having metallic hands that could shape metal into any form and create the most wondrous of armour and weapons, this was exemplified by the Legion wherein they would be far more amenable to willingly give up parts of their biology to bionic replacements. This was exacerbated after the Primarch’s death and the creed transformed into the bitter “flesh is weak” refrain. That’s what the Modern Iron Hands exemplify to the detriment of all else. Bionic enhancement is a goal in itself, an identity and a necessity to the extent that neophytes are forcibly mutilated as part of their indoctrination and as part of their punishment and so on.
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
The Iron Hands are one of the most enigmatic of all the Space Marine Chapters. Jonathan Green gave us Iron Hands back in the depths of time when the Warhammer 40,000 setting was still pretty new but ever since we have seen very little of them outside of the Horus Heresy. That has now changed with David Guymer’s new series which takes a very comprehensive look at the modern Iron Hands and explores the rise to fame of one of their defining characters in M41. It suffers, ironically, from the cold and unfeelingly-brutal nature of the Chapter itself, but still provides some interesting insights into one of the First Founding Chapters.
The star of the novel is Sergeant Kardan Stronos who is newly-promoted from one Clan-Company of the Iron Hands to another. We start with this induction as an introduction to the modern Iron Hands, as Stronos leaves behind the trappings of Clan Vurgaan behind and accepts his new role as the Tenth Sergeant of Clan Garrsak. There’s a rather fetishistic element of these proceedings that I felt set the mood very well for the rest of the narrative. Illuminated though the sons of Medusa might be, but they still cling to some ancient rites of their clannish natures and that is certainly presented very well here.
However, once you move past these enlightened beginnings, you see just how the Iron Hands have changed over the years. The death of Ferrus Manus at the onset of the Horus Heresy ten thousand years ago irrevocably changed the Iron Hands down to their psychological selves and that is what is at display in this novel. They have given over their physical selves to the so-called purity of the machine, learning all the wrong lessons from the Heresy and ignoring the actions and teachings of their own Primarch. None of this is new per se, but in The Eye of Medusa, David Guymer takes the Iron Hands towards an uncomfortable extreme that I found unsustainable and unrealistic.
The creed of the Chapter, and the Legion before it, was always that the machine was superior to the flesh. With Ferrus Manus having metallic hands that could shape metal into any form and create the most wondrous of armour and weapons, this was exemplified by the Legion wherein they would be far more amenable to willingly give up parts of their biology to bionic replacements. This was exacerbated after the Primarch’s death and the creed transformed into the bitter “flesh is weak” refrain. That’s what the Modern Iron Hands exemplify to the detriment of all else. Bionic enhancement is a goal in itself, an identity and a necessity to the extent that neophytes are forcibly mutilated as part of their indoctrination and as part of their punishment and so on.
January 21, 2018
I'm not going to lie, this was a tough one. It took me far longer to read this than it should have and the simple reason for it, is that the Iron Hands are not likeable and they're not relatable. To add to this their foes are not likeable, or relatable either.
The basic premise is that the Iron Hands are crushing a traitorous Adeptus Mechanicus research world that falls within their territory and from the very start the Iron Hands boots on the ground are being hampered by obstructive directives from on high.
It's largely focused on Kardan Stronos an Iron Hands marine who later becomes the top man of the Iron Hands Clan Raukaan. He's railing against the robotic, logical way of thinking that has come to plague the chapter and generally gets himself into a lot of trouble for thinking for himself.
There are a couple of secondary characters that provide extra viewpoints, as far as the goings on in the pacification of the traitor research world goes.
I realise that I've been a bit down on the book thus far but it would be unfair of me to say it was a bad book and just leave it there. The truth is, as unrelatable as the Iron Hands are, they're actually quite interesting and the lore that David Guymer builds around them is actually very well thought out and rather detailed.
Also, the action, what there is of it is pretty decent, there's just not enough of it. The Iron Hands spend a lot of time chatting and although it's written in a style that's in character for them, the Iron Hands are like mean Vulcans but without the sass and that makes them a bit of a grind at times.
I'm always reluctant to leave negative reviews, especially in this case, as David Guymer isn't a bad writer, he's just got some very tough material to work with and I feel most authors would've struggled with it.
The basic premise is that the Iron Hands are crushing a traitorous Adeptus Mechanicus research world that falls within their territory and from the very start the Iron Hands boots on the ground are being hampered by obstructive directives from on high.
It's largely focused on Kardan Stronos an Iron Hands marine who later becomes the top man of the Iron Hands Clan Raukaan. He's railing against the robotic, logical way of thinking that has come to plague the chapter and generally gets himself into a lot of trouble for thinking for himself.
There are a couple of secondary characters that provide extra viewpoints, as far as the goings on in the pacification of the traitor research world goes.
I realise that I've been a bit down on the book thus far but it would be unfair of me to say it was a bad book and just leave it there. The truth is, as unrelatable as the Iron Hands are, they're actually quite interesting and the lore that David Guymer builds around them is actually very well thought out and rather detailed.
Also, the action, what there is of it is pretty decent, there's just not enough of it. The Iron Hands spend a lot of time chatting and although it's written in a style that's in character for them, the Iron Hands are like mean Vulcans but without the sass and that makes them a bit of a grind at times.
I'm always reluctant to leave negative reviews, especially in this case, as David Guymer isn't a bad writer, he's just got some very tough material to work with and I feel most authors would've struggled with it.
November 26, 2017
The Adeptus Mechancius world of Thennos lies under the aegis of Medusa, so when its population turns traitor the Iron Hands fall upon it with crushing, calculating brutality. Kardan Stronos, newly inducted into Clan Garrsak, leads his squad into battle but soon finds himself frustrated by the secrets Thennos holds, and the unthinking obedience expected of him by his new clan.
It’s a book full of great ideas and with an awful lot of interesting world building...It’s a bit disjointed, and could do with a little more context, but it’s a brave and interesting book nonetheless.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/11/...
It’s a book full of great ideas and with an awful lot of interesting world building...It’s a bit disjointed, and could do with a little more context, but it’s a brave and interesting book nonetheless.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/11/...
June 27, 2022
Ferrus Manus, primarch of the X Legion (Iron Hands), famously said "The Flesh is Weak!", and his sons took his words to heart. In Angel Exterminatus, I loved the Iron Hands. Even though they wanted to imitate their father by replacing body parts here and there, the survivors of the Shattered Legions maintained their individuality and their identities and they were great. In The Grim Darkness Of The Far Future™, the Iron Hands are considered "loyalists" because the traitors murdered their primarch. That's it. These are not Ultramarines or Salamanders who will go to great lengths to protect the innocent. As far as they're concerned, there are no innocents. And they don't just make use of cybernetics or prosthetics, they straight up mutilate themselves and each other. What the hell happened to the Iron Hands to make them like this?
Thennos, a planet ruled by the Adeptus Mechanicus, has rebelled, and the Iron Hands are dispatched to take it back. Sergeant Kardan Stronos, the newest member of Clan Garrsak, leads his squad into battle... Stronos has an emotion or two, making him more human than the rest of the chapter combined, and it bothers him.
Arven Rauth is a neophyte undergoing the final rituals to become a space marine scout. These trials are so catastrophically wasteful that it's a wonder that the chapter hadn't wiped itself out in its zeal to purge weakness! Rauth hates his fellow Iron Hands with a burning passion. It's only a matter of time before he starts trying to kill them in earnest. Would that make him an actual traitor or a secret loyalist?
Enginseer Melitan Yolanis isn't exactly armed with anything, but someone ranked as low as her has no choice but to go where she's told. This being Warhammer, it's only a matter of time before she dies horribly.
The Adeptus Mechanicus and the Iron Hands chapter are closely tied together, but did the priests of Mars even ask the space marines to come and liberate Thennos? What are the AdMech's goals? For that matter, what are the Iron Hands'? What is the connection between Stronos, Rauth, and Yolanis? More than once I had to ask "What the fuck is happening?" and "Where the fuck is this going?" I'm not an enormous baby who has to be spoon fed everything, but I fully understand complaints from those who had trouble following the narrative. Nevertheless, I've learned one thing from the author's previous books: it doesn't actually matter where we're going. If David Guymer is driving, it's gonna be one hell of a ride!
Thennos, a planet ruled by the Adeptus Mechanicus, has rebelled, and the Iron Hands are dispatched to take it back. Sergeant Kardan Stronos, the newest member of Clan Garrsak, leads his squad into battle... Stronos has an emotion or two, making him more human than the rest of the chapter combined, and it bothers him.
Arven Rauth is a neophyte undergoing the final rituals to become a space marine scout. These trials are so catastrophically wasteful that it's a wonder that the chapter hadn't wiped itself out in its zeal to purge weakness! Rauth hates his fellow Iron Hands with a burning passion. It's only a matter of time before he starts trying to kill them in earnest. Would that make him an actual traitor or a secret loyalist?
Enginseer Melitan Yolanis isn't exactly armed with anything, but someone ranked as low as her has no choice but to go where she's told. This being Warhammer, it's only a matter of time before she dies horribly.
The Adeptus Mechanicus and the Iron Hands chapter are closely tied together, but did the priests of Mars even ask the space marines to come and liberate Thennos? What are the AdMech's goals? For that matter, what are the Iron Hands'? What is the connection between Stronos, Rauth, and Yolanis? More than once I had to ask "What the fuck is happening?" and "Where the fuck is this going?" I'm not an enormous baby who has to be spoon fed everything, but I fully understand complaints from those who had trouble following the narrative. Nevertheless, I've learned one thing from the author's previous books: it doesn't actually matter where we're going. If David Guymer is driving, it's gonna be one hell of a ride!
September 18, 2019
Well written book with an interesting plot; however, I find it hard to feel any empathy for this chapter of Iron Hands. Not only do they seem to show no concern for the humans they are meant to defend. They have taken the anger over the betrayal of their Primarch by Horus's forces and transformed it into an all-consuming paranoia and distrust of not only one another, but the universe at large.
August 17, 2021
“I am equilibrium. Even the Cog Mechanicus is half human - did you never wonder at that? You have been shown the first steps on a road that will lead you nowhere. Your chance at perfection everlasting is still ahead of you.”
December 4, 2018
Lifeless and joyless that should be a description of an iron hands veteran, not the description of this book but it is.
November 22, 2025
You can feel the crippling body dysmorphia present within the Iron Hands. This book is constantly dripping with character.
June 20, 2022
A tad difficult to wade through, as this being the Iron Hands it made for some pretty dry reading throughout, like reading a Maths text for leisure when you hate Maths. Still, it being the only novel that focuses on these bizarre Astartes, often removing special organs considered redundant, yet important to their very make-up by the Imperium, it's an important entry into one's collection. Can't say I was too upset when the novel was completed, though.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews