Xenos

Eisenhorn #1

by Dan Abnett

L'inquisition est une organisation drapée de mystère, qui surgit de l'ombre pour pourfendre les ennemis de l'humanité. L'inquisiteur Grégor Eisenhorn doit faire face à une vaste cabale interstellaire, et aux sombres machinations de démons du Chaos. Et si sa mission n'était pas suffisamment ardue, il doit aussi se mettre en chasse d'un ancien artefact d'une puissance inouïe, connu sous le nom de Necrotech.

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

380 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2001

Reviews

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

“What the hell are you doing, trooper?” he managed to bark, his pronounced Adam's apple bobbing furiously.
“Performing the ministry of the sacred Inquisition,” I told him, and shot him through the head.

There comes a time every now and then when quite mindless action and the utter glorification of violence are exactly what you need to enjoy a story. Then along comes moments like this, when you can't help but cheer out loud.

Gregor Eisenhorn is an Inquisitor; an agent of the God-Emperor seeking to purge heresy from the Imperium of Man. Following a dangerous adversary to the distant world of Hubris, he touches onto a conspiracy more sinister than he could have imagined…

Xenos is my first book in the Warhammer 40K universe, and I cannot help but admit that I’m surprised. This is almost too good for tie-in fiction. Abnett is a great writer, Eisenhorn is an interesting protagonist, and while simplicity of the plot and the other characters drag it down a bit, the book is amazingly enjoyable.

I am definitely looking forward to continuing the series, and exploring what else this universe has to offer.

[Chris Berko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upon finishing this and turning the last page (or closing the cover on my Kindle) the skies above me parted, a golden beam of light shone down from above, bells rang amidst banging drum beats and a rising chorus of voices, and I said unto myself, "this is awesomeness in book form!"

Totally exceeded my wildest expectations which in truth were along the lines of something that would resemble a 80s sci-fi B-movie. This was a well plotted mystery that grew in size and scope with each chapter and had some really killer action and warfare pieces. Xenos came highly recommended and while Warhammer novels have been on my radar for a while, this was the first one I actually picked up and gave a shot. I had no knowledge of the game or anything about it going in but I never felt lost or a that I was missing out on anything or even that any details were beyond my ken due to some sort of inside joke, you-gotta-play-the-game-to-understand-that, Easter-egg crap. This was just flat-out entertaining, gritty as hell, science fiction I almost instantly fell in love with. I'm also super stoked there are roughly seventeen thousand books (an exaggeration, but not really) in this world and written by different authors some of whom I've read their non-Warhammer stuff already. The whole first person thing was done well also. A lot of time first person narration is ruined for me because the narrator is so unbelievably witty and super clever and has the exactly on-point thing to say at all the right times and it all just makes me want to puke! This guy has flaws, he gets his ass kicked, and doesn't always say the perfect thing at the right time and for me that was much appreciated.

I don't usually write about plots or what books are about. I like to keep my reviews to how the book made me feel and what my reactions to it are so I'll say this, I was excited and impressed and did not once feel bored or uninterested while reading this. I went all in an bought the omnibus edition of this right off the bat and I'll be getting into book two of this as soon as I'm done writing this up.

On a side note, I was listening to a lot of Tool while reading this, so do with that what you will. But it definitely fit and was a part of how I felt throughout. Also, I don't know how to tag friends on here but I want to thank Gianfranco Mancini for the recommendation on where to start in this gigantic universe, it was a stellar recommendation.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm bummed I wrote the 40k books off as licensed garbage for so many years...but I mean, who would really blame me? They look fucking horrible! Look at the cover to this book. Despite my prejudices, Abnett is a genuinely good writer of action-heavy science fiction, with arguably a good dose of horror as well. This particular series is a bit of a change from the usual focus on military action, though. Its main character is Gregor Eisenhorn, an Inquisitor in the Ordo Xenos (aliens) branch of the Imperial Inquisition. This entry covers his attempt to uncover a deep-rooted conspiracy through varied methods of investigation and killing shit. This is 40k, after all.

The 40k universe as rendered by Abnett is consistently inventive and exciting. There's lots of cool planets, species, institutions, etc. It's consistently dark and completely over-the-top and solemn. Even though the universe the stories take place in can occasionally be so sensationally malevolent that it becomes silly the author treats it completely seriously and recognizably makes an effort to write actual stories and not just what fans of the universe apparently call "bolter porn". For those who had a similar reaction of "what the fuck is a bolter" to myself, a bolter is a sacred gun employed by the Imperium's military that shoots giant exploding bullets. See what I mean about how ridiculous this shit is? It's awesome! Abnett completely walks the line between smart and dumb fun.

The detective/mystery aspect...not spectacular. A lot of the time the strings held by the author are visible and it doesn't feel like Eisenhorn is actually digging himself to the bottom of things. Also, the characters aren't really great. Eisenhorn himself is interesting, but the rest I can completely take or leave. A lot of time, the only thing that allowed me to tell them apart was shit like "This guy had a half-metal face" or "This guy wore a red jacket." It was really bad. These people are complete redshirts, which hurts the book but ultimately can be overlooked. This story is really about a dude going around to a bunch of different places, solving mysteries and then blasting stuff. If that sounds fun to you, this book will do you just fine. If it sounds dumb, it will be dumb.

[David Sven · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 41st Millenium, The God Emperor of Mankind rules from Terra, charging his Inquisitors with hunting down the Alien, the Daemon and the Heretic wherever they threaten Human Kind across the universe. From the series that coined the term "grim dark" comes a tale that spans multiple planets and will take us across the void and through the immaterium to battle the restless forces of evil in its various guises...as defined by the God Emperor of course...and subject to the specific interpretation of the Inquisitor at hand.

Our story begins with Gregor Eisenhorn, an Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos hunting down the Heretic and Recidivist known as Eyclone, finally tracking him to the planet of Hubris where Eyclone plans the genocide of countless thousands of the ruling elite as they hibernate through the long winter of the planet. In the process, Eisenhorn uncovers a conspiracy so diabolical that it threatens to unleash the corruption of Chaos upon the Imperium.

I have very limited experience with the Warhammer Universe so this is really my debut into the lore that surrounds the Warhammer games. Dan Abnett delivers an action packed tale complete with space battles and psychic battles, Space Marines and Inquisitors wielding exotic weaponry. Plenty of carnage and yet done in such a way that I still felt I was part of a Universe rich in history. Very cool.

This is the first book in the Eisenhorn Trilogy/Omnibus. I’m off now to continue following Eisenhorn’s career in Malleus.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Warmhammer 40k book - I knew nothing about the game or the universe, but I didn't really feel lost starting here. I did look a few things up on the WH40k Wikki page, but the book manages to explain things pretty well. This was a fun action packed book. I liked Eisenhorn and his crew and will finish the series.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I have not read all that many of the books in the enormous Warhammer universe, I am convinced Dan Abnett comprises their best author. Eisenhorn works as an Imperial Inquisitor, travelling around the worlds of humanity and stamping out heresy. It seems much of the heresy comes from the Chaos associated with the Warp. I read the Ravenor omnibus a bit ago, which basically follows the same path as Eisenhorn a few decades later; indeed, Ravenor himself studied under Eisenhorn.

Xenos starts with Eisenhorn and his team landing on Hubris, an icy planet currently in its deep freeze zone (Hubris has a highly elliptical orbit). Eisenhorn and company are hot on the heels of a 'facilitator' who works for heretics that they have been tracking for several years now. Well, after some major excitement, they find and kill him, but obviously, he was working for someone else. The rest of the book we follow Eisenhorn backtracking the heretic to find out his employers to deal with them.

Abnett writes well and Xenos reads like a mystery thriller set in the 40K universe. Abnett takes us on a tour of the seedy underbelly of the Empire here, starting with Hubris but Eisenhorn's path takes him to several other planets. The more Eisenhorn and team dig, the bigger the conspiracy seems to be, with many highly placed members of society and even the Imperial Fleet. Eisenhorn's team consists of his pilot/tough guy Midas, Aemos, an old, learned scholar, and two new additions-- Bequin, a 'null' he picked up on Hubris and another enforcer also from that planet, Fischig. A 'null' exerts a psychic shield of sorts, disrupting other's psychic powers (Eisenhorn has some psychic powers of his own). It was fun to read about the team gelling and fitting into their various roles.

I loved the atmosphere here, seeing how the 'real people' live and work. Abnett also has a gift with pacing, keeping the story moving right along. Finally, the aliens he encounters were really spooky, especially as they seemed to exist in 4 dimensions. Whew. 4.5 Inquisitor stars, rounding up!!

[Az Vera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read interpretations of the Warhammer 40K Inquisition from a few different authors, I found this book quite flat and uninteresting. The writing and dialogue is solid enough and the set pieces are what you'd come to expect from the Warhammer 40k universe but the drab main character is about as exciting as paint drying.

In short, the entire book surrounds a stiff, unsmiling guy with no apparent vices or emotional range who is a hardline conservative within his organisation but not puritanical enough for it to be absurd and engaging. The few double-crosses and plot twists are easy to spot early on and while there are a few characters that pique interest they barely merit a few pages each.

There's some intriguing plot elements towards the latter half of the book, from the Saruthi alien race and their "tetrascapes" to the character who plagues Eisenhorn's dreams and a very charismatic and human Deathwatch Librarian; it would be awesome to see more of that creativity pushed into creating deeper and more vibrant main characters.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book three, Hereticus, contains a simple exchange that is probably my favorite set of lines and also captures what I consider the core of the whole trilogy. Here it is:

“You’re a very wise man,” she said. “Very clever. Learned. You give people the most profound advice.”

“I try,” replied Eisenhorn.

“But you don’t feel.”

“Feel, Medea?”

“You know things but you don’t feel them.”

“I feel--”

“No. You don’t feel the content of your advice, most of the time. They’re just wisdoms, without heart.”

“I’m sorry you think that way.”

Boom. Done. Simple as that, and it’s the simplicity that I like. It’s less about what’s there and more about what’s NOT there.

Basically, this character Medea - a daughter figure for Eisenhorn - is accusing him of possessing an abnormal pathology, possibly psychopathy or sociopathy. Even if we don’t go that far, she’s basically calling him a heartless robot, suggesting he’s inhuman. Harsh.

In response, Eisenhorn doesn’t get angry or upset. He doesn’t make a grand display of emotion. He doesn’t provide readers with a tortured internal monologue or some self-aware editorializing aside. None of the excessive self reflection that seems to have become the predominant mode of certain contemporary Literature. He simply says, “I’m sorry you think that way.”

He’s not being sarcastic here. By this point in the trilogy, Eisenhorn’s too old and too ragged to waste energy on wit. No, Eisenhorn is genuinely sorry that his daughter/friend thinks the way she does about this topic. He’s sorry such a close friend has failed to pierce his ashen mask to see the depth of feeling still smoldering inside. He’s sorry she associates DISPLAY of feeling with POSSESSION of feeling. And most of all, he’s sorry she associates FEELING itself with BEING HUMAN. Einsenhorn makes no such associations. For Eisenhorn, as it was for Aristotle, humanity’s crown is not feeling but REASON.

Which I think gets to the heart of this series: Eisenhorn makes use of his powers of reason - and, ahem, the occasional assistance of a power-sword or bolt-pistol - to defeat the demons of doubt within himself, the demons of zeal within the Inquisition, and the literal demons of Chaos seeking to destroy the Empire of Man. And when I say powers of reason, I mean that both figuratively and literally, since Eisenhorn is a “psyker” who possesses psychic powers.

But I don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea here, mentioning Aristotle and citing reason and abnormal pathologies. These books are not philosophical or psychological. I picked them up specifically because I wanted a straight-forward tale, one that would take me to exotic, fantastical places to interact with exotic, fantastical technologies and exotic, fantastical characters, without becoming bogged down in hard physics, psychology, or sociology. My expectations were not disappointed.

I was intrigued, too, by the WH40K milieu, which offers a fairly unique political spin, in that the authoritarian tyrants are actually the GOOD GUYS.

Which… just to be clear, lest a certain class of political moron consider this an endorsement: in our current world, authoritarianism is bad. But in the WH40K world, which is besieged by extremely hostile aliens and the LITERAL forces of chaos, it is rather more justified.

As a member of the Inquisition, Eisenhorn must combat these hostile forces with extreme prejudice. And boy oh boy do he and his fellow Inquisitors do that. The name Inquisition is not an accident. The WH40K Inquisition takes its cues from the infamous Catholic organization of the same name. For the most part, the WH40K Inquisitors are dogmatic zealots protecting the status quo. Even the good ones use torture and intimidation without the slightest twinge of conscience.

Again, though, the difference is in the setting. The historical Catholic Inquisition was formed to protect against boogiemen, minorities, and religious dissidents. There were no witches, there was no demonic army attempting to destroy humanity, there were just people who had different beliefs.

In contrast, the boogiemen of WH40K are real and bent on the full-scale destruction of humanity. Like this charming fellow:

In WH40K, there exists a sort of parallel dimension, called the Warp, that is ruled over by Chaos gods, who would love nothing more than to destroy the Order of the outside universe.

That said - and this is what the trilogy is all about - where do you draw the line? Faced with the threat of extreme evil and destruction, what responses are justified? Can you make use of the weapons of the enemy in order to defeat the enemy? Will that corrupt you? Is that worth it?

This first book, Xenos, introduces Eisenhorn and gang as they attempt to root out and stop a cult and its Daemonic machinations, beginning a three book-long journey of several centuries in which Eisenhorn faces increasingly dire threats and resorts to increasingly radical measures to deal with them.

Which brings me back to my original discussion. Eisenhorn is described as an anti-hero, but I wouldn’t agree with that assessment at all. Even if he sometimes flirts with using the weapons of Chaos, he’s a genuine person, extremely loyal to his friends and country. If he sometimes comes across coldly, that’s because cold reason is the first and last weapon against Chaos. And, just personally, I’d prefer people behave more like that, not less.

Anyhow, I had a lot of fun with these books. They’re not deep, but I wouldn’t call them shallow either. The depth is there if you want to find it, though I’m quite certain that’s true of everything. Mostly it’s a space action-adventure, as narrated by a space detective-warrior, and if you like the sound of that, you may like the Eisenhorn trilogy.

---

As a logistical note, it took me quite some time and research to figure out which books to read for a WH40K reading journey. I ended up with these because Dan Abnett is widely considered amongst the top three WH40K writers and, further, that these books don’t rely overmuch on WH40K jargon. I think this was a good choice, but I also suspect the jargon complaints are overblown. Sure WH40K offers its own militarized argot, with phrases like “power-swords” and “bolters” and “gun-cutters.” But it’s like, yeah, it’s a sword, it’s a gun, it’s a space-ship. If you’re not pushing miniatures around the game table, the details don’t matter that much.

[Myke Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of Warhammer 40,000 can get quickly sick of the "THERE IS ONLY WAR" mantra that exposes us relentlessly to serried ranks of Space Marines, never getting at the world they're so hellbent on destroying while they claim to protect it.

And that's boring, honestly. War is contextual, and in order for fighting to be interesting, you have to know what people are fighting FOR.

Xenos is the first book in the long litany of Black Library books I've read that actually makes an effort to address this, showing the WORLD of Warhammer, and the cultural, societal, political and economic place of the people in it. Xenos is still dark and gothic in a way that will resonate and satisfy Warhammer fans, but it goes to a depth that I haven't seen before in the universe, and one that's super satisfying.

Eisenhorn is every bit as officious, rigid and superpowered as we've come to expect from heroes of the Imperium, traits that would be tiresome in other strains of fiction, but that are right at home in the WH40K universe. Abnett has definitely leveled up the sub-genre, bringing a subtlety and range that I haven't seen before in other fiction from BL.

I'm not sure how this will play with non-WH40K fans, but for those who both get and love the universe, it's a step in a really cool direction, fleshing out the hive worlds and magisterial courts that only ever existed as ruined backdrops to running gun-battles previously.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Producto bajo franquicia pero con momentos brillantes.-

Género. Ciencia ficción.

Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Xenos (publicación original: Xenos, 2001), y tras presenciar el contenido de las inquietantes imágenes guardadas en un módulo de memoria, conocemos al inquisidor imperial Gregor Eisenhorn que, junto a su equipo, acaba de llegar al planeta Hubris en persecución de Murdin Eyclone, un sectario terrorista al servicio de los señores del caos. Y es que Eisenhorn está al servicio del Emperador para eliminar a cualquier clase de criminal, mutante, malvado, alienígena, demonio o todo aquello que pudiera amenazar la pureza de la humanidad y la Ley Imperial. Eisenhorn descubrirá que detrás de Eyclone hay un plan que implica una amenaza mucho mayor. Primer libro de la trilogía Eisenhorn.

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

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[James Tullos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full thoughts to come later.

As someone who's not very into Warhammer, this book is pretty great. It has a mystery and action storyline that's damn near perfect with some characters who are a surprising amount of fun to follow. Eisenhorn in particular is a grizzled badass who still has a sardonic sense of humor and I liked following him. Following a few bits was hard because I'm unfamiliar with the lore of the setting, and frankly this book doesn't do a good job of explaining things. This was definitely written for Warhammer fans rather than laymen. Still, it wasn't that hard to figure out what was happening.

The only reason this isn't 5 stars is because it's not a genre I particularly like. If you're looking for a mystery like this, you'll probably love this.

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 3.65 ***

[marckaba · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★ Una primera presa de contacte molt positiva a l’univers literari de Warhammer 40k.

És cert, que ja comptava amb un cert coneixement del lore general, les faccions o alguns personatges gràcies al wargame de miniatures, però la part literària la desconeixia completament. L’univers de Warhammer 40.000 pot aclaparar, ja que es tracta d’un univers massiu, amb un lore tremendament extens i desenes i desenes de novel·les, relats i històries que s’han anat escrivint al llarg dels anys. Però crec que precisament el fet de ser tan massiu fa que es pugui llegir sense un ordre cronològic ni de lectura massa estricte. Es pot començar per allò que t’atregui més o que et cridi més l’atenció. La trilogia d’Eisenhorn és un molt bon punt d’entrada.

GÈNERE I TO

Aquest primer llibre m’ha sorprès molt gratament. Un molt bon ritme, una prosa bastant fàcil i molt addictiu. A Xenos, no ens trobem una novel·la de guerra i acció trepidant constant, coneixem a Gregor Eisenhorn, un inquisidor de l’Imperi de la Humanitat que s’encarrega de perseguir els heretges que cauen sota la influència de les forces del Caos, és a dir, es tracta d’una història més pròpia de la literatura d’investigació, gairebé és una història de cinema negre amb el context de WH40k. Això fa que sempre hi hagi una certa intriga, que vulguis saber a què conduirà la següent pista i a voler continuar avançant. 

Pel que fa al to… GRIMDARK TOTAL. De fet, el terme grimdark prové d’aquest mateix univers: ”In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.” Personatges grisos, el bé i el mal és quelcom relatiu, mons i entorns hostils i despietats, una certa cruesa en la narració i en tot allò que succeeix als protagonistes… en definitiva, TRALLA DURA. 

LORE WH40K

Tot i que es parla o es fa referència a molts elements del lore de WH40k, tot allò que és necessari i bàsic per entendre la història s’explica en el llibre. Això no vol dir que per entendre-ho tot al complet, no calgui, de vegades, consultar alguna wiki per saber amb més profunditat sobre, per exemple, alguna institució, una tecnologia, un personatge, un planeta o una facció. El que és segur és que no cal ser un gran coneixedor del lore per gaudir-lo. 

GREGOR EISENHORN

Probablement, el millor de la novel·la és el seu protagonista. A més, està narrat en primera persona, cosa que em va sorprendre per les perspectives que tenia del llibre i de l’univers en general, m’ho imaginava tot en una tercera persona del passat, i hagi de dir, que en aquest cas és un absolut encert. Com hi ha molts moments que la voluntat i la integritat moral del protagonista es veuen temptades, el fet de conèixer la història des del seu punt de vista ens ajuda molt a entendre les seves reflexions, els seus processos mentals i a empatitzar més amb ell. 

Eisenhorn és dur, però també sap ser empàtic, és just, però implacable, té un geni important, però en moments determinats se sap contenir. A més, la seva duresa i rudesa fan que molts moments, en llegir els seus pensaments o reaccions sobre allò que es va trobant, es generi una certa comicitat molt divertida. 

Molt content per haver entrat tant a peu dret en l’univers i amb moltes ganes de seguir, no només amb l’Omnibus d’Eisenhorn sinó també amb altres sagues d’altres personatges i històries de WH40k.

🪐🩸

[Ale · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. Oh boy. See, the thing is, I don't actually actively hate the Warhammer universe. One of my good reddit friends ran a tabletop RPG campaign set in the universe and I got to fulfill my fantasy of playing as a giant half woman/half cyborg techpriest with a massive gun (seriously, if this isn't in line with your science fantasy don't @ me thanks). I had a lot of fun and once you ignored the Super Serious attitude of some of the material (and the fact that the system is almost the antithesis of D&D in all the wrong ways), it provided a lot of entertainment for a group of nerds who just wanted to hang out on a weekend and drink beers together. But then the GM moved overseas and the group disbanded, much to my dismay. Until I started my new job, met a whole bunch of other nerds (I always seem to get along better with them) and one of them mentioned that Eisenhorn was his favourite trilogy ever. So, armed with that knowledge, Louis and I embarked on a buddy read that led to many back and forths over WhatsApp, jokes about (space) robes and wizard hats and a lot of banter. Unfortunately, it didn't lead to a very deep book.

See, I have no real problem with reading "popcorn" books. I will unashamedly read YA fiction and even though it's tropey and repetitive and includes more triangles than your average geometry book, it's also nice and comforting to get into something where the destination is telegraphed a mile away and you stick around for a journey peppered with drama, angst and kissing. Xenos, the first book in what a lot of fans consider to be a solid trilogy, follows a similar tropey plot, though here we have ships, the Grim Darkness of the far future, weird aliens and not a lot of kissing (though there is drama and angst). The story follows the adventures of Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn, tasked with defeating rogue psyckers, aliens (xenos) and other weird creatures of Chaos. What initially starts as a hunt for an old enemy turns into uncovering a conspiracy with far-reaching consequences, that could risk threatening the safety of the Imperium. It is up to Eisenhorn and his plucky band of fellow travellers to find the source of this corruption and stamp it out, all the while engaging in laspistol fights in tight ship corridors and pulling out his power-sword at every opportunity (not a euphemism).

One of my main issues with Xenos is that the plot became, after a while, quite predictable. Some dialogue/exposition thing would happen, then a fight, then some more exposition/travel to next location, boom next fight. It became almost comically predictable and I actually became a little bit annoyed that Abnett didn't seem capable of diverging from that formula. Eisenhorn himself is the gruffest Inquisitor to ever gruff and seems to spend most of his time scowling, intimidating people with his Inquisitor's seal (also not a euphemism) and generally throw his weight around to get his way. It's a bit disappointing, because I wanted to see other sides of him: is the Inquisition seriously just about scaring people constantly and basically strongarming them into compliance, or can Eisenhorn use his experience to draw people to him through charm (the answer to this is not really, his ports of call seem to be intimidation and violence). He goes through a lot of shit in this book (some physical, some mental) but I didn't get the sense that he really improved as a character, that he grew in any way. The Eisenhorn at the beginning is the same as the Eisenhorn at the end, except now he's seen some shit man.

Along with the plot being formulaic and predictable, the writing is, at times, just good enough. Now again, setting expectations in a reasonable way, I didn't think this would turn out to be some miracle of writing that would blow my mind, but sometimes it's downright confusing. In one battle, it's really unclear what everyone is doing, how they're basically not dying and how the layout of the environment pans out, to the point where I basically just told myself to ride it out, making sense of things was a secondary matter. The other characters are cardboard cutouts at best, with barely enough personality between them to fill a teaspoon and enough plot armour to ensure they stick around (this latter point annoyed me more, particularly considering the massive difference in skill amongst his crew), but again I didn't really feel that I connected well with any of them and I couldn't bring myself to care too much about their fates. So... why the two star rating?

Because the xenos are actually the most interesting part. I wanted to learn more about them, I wanted to see what the whole deal is and the very little that we're shown (compared to the amount of pages dedicated to Eisenhorn drawing his laspistol/pulling out his power-sword/reminding us how gruff and inquisitorial he is) makes them the standout thing about the book. I actually found myself really interested in how their society worked, how they came into contact with the humans and what their actual end goal is. I feel that Abnett leaves enough open that the saruthi will return in subsequent novels, but what little he does give us ends up being the best part of the novel by a country mile (I'd also add that, in contrast, the whole Children of the Emperor/Mandragore stuff was incredibly disappointing, with a lot of hype for something that gets dealt with really quickly). For once, you actually feel like you're experiencing the same existential horror that Eisenhorn deals with and Abnett's utilitarian prose does just enough to make it that much more engrossing.

So, will I continue with readalongs? Yes, because I've missed having a buddy to flail over WhatsApp with (and our next buddy read will be The Will to Battle, which we're both quite excited about). And as for Eisenhorn, I haven't written him off entirely, but I definitely think I need a break before I can reasonably see myself returning to the grim darkness of the 42nd millennium.

[Unai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curioso e interesante como primera toma de contacto con el universo 40K. También molesto y desesperante que este narrado en primera persona. Seguramente siga con los otros 2. Tiene "un queseyo" de lo mas atractivo dentro de la absoluta locura que es el universo 40k en si mismo.

[Amie · Rating 5 out of 5]

God is good. After a January filled with mid to disappointing reads, we have arrived at a 5 star and life might be worth living.

RTC

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first foray into the Warhammer books.

I only have a passing familiarity with Warhammer: I've played some of the video games, but never with the miniatures nor the RPG. It's a setting that's ripe for parody - after all, it's reportedly what spawned the term 'grimdark': "In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war." I suspect that it's largely aware of itself, though. Because while this book does take itself seriously (not a critique), I simply refuse to believe that the god-emperor figurehead of the fascist government that rules over all mankind existing as a literal corpse in stasis isn't 100% completely intentional. And while wannabe fascist bootlickers did, in recent years, try to attach themselves to the Warhammer 40k mythos (see: God-Emperor Trump, etc.), there is evidence that in recent years the creators are working to excise that from their community.

Anyway - that's more Warhammer 40k in general and less this book. This book is mercifully lacking in the tremendous amount of expositional world-building that easily could've found its way into the prose, because there is a lot going on in the Warhammer 40k mythos. I'm grateful to report that with my very minimal knowledge of it I had no struggles with understanding the story or characters, and I enjoyed both.

Gregor Eisenhorn is an Inquisitor - a member of the Empire's secret police tasked with rooting out heresy and clandestine threats to the empire - whose work has brought him into contact with a conspiracy that threatens the Empire and all of mankind, etc. etc. It's pretty by-the-numbers if I'm being honest, but I enjoyed it more than I was expecting to. For as grimdark as the subject matter is, we aren't subjected to watching Eisenhorn (or any other inquisitors) root out harmless "heretics" that don't perfectly fall in line with the tenants of the Empire - only definite Bad Guys are the recipients of his wrath (at least in this book). The pace is quick and the setting benefits from the existing world-building that lends a lot of texture to things.

I'll read the next ones, certainly.

[Jersy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun adventure and an ideal start into the Warhammer 40k universe. I was never confused or felt like more than some random phrases were lost on me due to having no prior experience with the franchise. There certainly were some interesting glimpses into the world, too.
Eisenhorn is a character that mostly manages to be your likable protagonist while still being an inquisitor through and through. His believe set and character is very much influenced by his job requirements but it is easy to root for him anyway. The other characters were interesting as well, but Eisenhorn, as the narrator, is mostly focused on himself and the case, so we don’t get as much about them as I would have liked.
In general, the focus of the entire book is more on the action than on exploring the characters and the world. It´s fast paced and jumps from one scenario to the next quite quickly, and that’s just not my preference. I would have enjoyed to get more insights into everything surrounding the actual story. Also, I was quite confused when the plot felt like its wrapping up and my audio book still had an hour left. The way the ending was paced and designed didn’t really work for me.
It was still a really fun read, but I don’t think I well get to more books in the series or franchise.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short take:

Now this is space opera! The WH40K setting provides an intriguing backdrop, while Abnett exercises what must be an impressive sense of imagination to go nuts in this sandbox. I had a lot of fun reading this book and experienced a fair amount of "woah" moments. Frakking fantastic!


More thoughts:

Once in awhile I'm down for some wicked space adventure; who knew that a WH40K title could provide that fix and leave new cravings in its wake? Abnett gets galaxy-spanning props for the awesome situations he cooks up. The opening scene alone floored me and will stick with me for years to come.

[Amir Sheikhzadeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

معلومه که نمی‌کنم. درست مثل خودتون که پای هیچ قول و قراری با من نمی‌ایستید. حقیقت تلخ اینه که بین من و شماها هیچ تعهد و توافق شرافتمندانه‌ای صورت نمی‌گیره، نمی‌تونه که بگیره.

4*،
کتاب اول از مجموعه آیزنهورن طبق خیلی از منتقدان و علاقمندان بهترین شروع با دنیای قدیمی وارهمر 40کا هست (1987 این دنیا با کتاب قانون بازی رومیزی شروع شد)
دنیای وسیع و پر از گونه‌ها و اتفاقات دیگه وجود داره ولی این کتاب شمارو گیج نمیکنه. علمی تخیلی این کتاب با درون‌مایه نظامی آغشته شده، پس یکم متفاوت‌تر از موارد با این ژانر هست.


Story
داستان درباره مفتش امپراتور، گرگور آیزنهورن، هست. قریب به
شش ساله به دنبال مظنونی میگرده و در نهایت بهش نزدیک میشه، کما اینکه فکرش رو نمی‌کرد که موضوع بسیار پیچیده‌تر و وحشتناک‌تر از یک موش و گربه بازی بوده باشه.
سفرهای فضایی، ملاقات، مکالمه‌ها و نبردها فقط و فقط بخشی از این کتاب هستند.
قیام دشمن (دشمنان) دیرینه بشریت برای برتری.
هرچی بگم اسپویله :) تا همین حد بگم که فکرش رو نمی‌کنید که چقدر قضیه عمق داره. تمرکز اصلی کتاب روی حالت کارآگاهی و جناییه. مثل شرلوک هلمز نیست و تفاوت جالب و گیرایی داره.

Characters
آیزنهورن، میداس، ایموس، بکوین، فیشیگ و...
Environment-Locations
سیارات متفاوت همچون هوبریس، سامِتِر و...
POV
اول شخص (آیزنهورن)
Translation
روان و خوانا، موارد ویراستاری کم و بیش دیده میشه که موارد از جانب بنده ارسال شدن. ویراست مشکل داری نیست که نفهمید.
Future Plan
میخوام یکم مانگا و کمیک بخونم

[Willow Heath]

Xenos is the first novel in an epic trilogy of novels (as well as several short stories) which centre around the character of Eisenhorn, an inquisitor of the Imperium of Man. These books are all part of the Warhammer 40,000 universe—a colossal world which began with a tabletop game and spun out into video games, books, and TV shows. And whether you care about the game or not (I don't), the books are still very much worth your time!

Nothing proves this better than Xenos; a perfect jumping-on point for readers who are curious about this universe. Xenos gently drip-feeds readers information about the political and geographic structures of the 40K universe—as well as its systems of magic, mechanics, social dynamics, and more—while also telling an intriguing story that blends the genres of space opera and noir mystery in fun and engaging ways.

Eisenhorn is an inquisitor who has been chasing down an old enemy. He arrives as a desolate planet on which ten thousand of its elite are currently in hibernation. Eisenhorn fails to stop this enemy from killing every hibernating human, but his eventual capture and death quickly leads Eisenhorn on a path of conspiracy which reveals an enormous cult of heretics set on disrupting the Imperium of Man forever.

My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/best-sci-fi-b...

[Eric Gustafson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into Xenos with cautious optimism, knowing it’s a cornerstone of the Warhammer 40,000 universe and the first entry in the Eisenhorn trilogy. Unfortunately, it didn’t land for me and not just because I’m not a fan of Warhammer 40k.
The setting, filled with grimdark lore and gothic sci-fi content, felt more like a barrier than a backdrop. For someone not already immersed in the 40k mythos, the jargon-heavy worldbuilding and relentless bleakness made it hard to connect. I found myself constantly trying to decode the universe rather than getting swept up in the story.
In short, Xenos wasn’t for me. If you’re already a Warhammer 40k devotee, you might find it rich and rewarding. But as a newcomer and someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy the franchise. It felt like being dropped into a party where everyone’s speaking a language I don’t understand.

[Rob Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of the 40k setting will no doubt love this one. There's so much 'flavour' in the book and it certainly feels thoroughly entrenched in the lore.

A noir-esque thriller entry into the world of 40k, it's interesting and grim and fast-paced with tons of action. But I did find it a little formulaic and predictable.

3.5 stars

[Pavlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Насправді добротний космобойовик, сповна відчув настільки скучив за цим олдскульним піджанром. Читаючи ловив флешбеки з юності, коли упоровся в марсіянський цикл Берроуза і марив пригодами Джона Картера.
Суб'єктивно мені не вистачило десь жорсткості і легендарної ґрімдарковості Вахи. Якщо порівнювати наприклад з Заколотом Кузнєцова, то все доволі лайтово і передбачувано. Сподіваюся далі трилогія додасть в брутальності та хтонічності і дасть змогу відчути читачеві весь жах Хаосу.

[Natalia Farnham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man what an awesome book to jump into the world of warhammer. Gosh I love me some Eisenhorn:) this was super action packed and just kept going without a dull moment. I really hope as the books go we get more backstory of the other characters because he has such a cool group of people on his team.

[David Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, Hovedkarakteren er kul men det er strengt talt ikke nødvendig med en actionscene HVERT ENESTE kapittel... alt i alt nokså meh

[Jacob Steckbeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please sir, could I have some Warhammer with my basic sci-fi?

[Reiji · Rating 1 out of 5]

In one word: Dry.

Things are frequently conveyed in a dry, passionless way. Something bad/horrible will happen and the character will go "it was horrible, I was upset about it. anyways where was I". I may as well have been reading a wiki artical. A different reader might have helped with this to a degree but they could not have done anything about the overall story.

On an occasion this book commits what I consider one of them major sins of storytelling, "at the time I did not yet know how much I would come to rely on X", "He seemed at deaths door at the time but after our conversation he would go on to live for 200 more years" and similar statements that allude to future stories/relationships and guarantee safe resolution.

I have not read anything with Eisenhorn before and was under the impression this was his fist story. Origin story this is not, we are thrown into events from the get go and one of his long time employees gets killed. We never really got to know them beyond their function. We learn something about eventual new members of the crew but the contents could fit in a tweet. The story covers 30+ weeks of time but we never get the base form of these characters, let alone truly see a change in them.


The whole story is about a mystery and Eisenhorn's attempts to uncover it.
Eisenhorn is not a cunning man despite that being at the core of his brand of inquisition, he is the type of man who when asked how to best quickly prepare men for upcoming combat would suggest training them for every eventuality.
He either makes leaps of logic with no evidence or things just fall into his lap. There is not even one token wrong conclusion/branch in his investigation. Multiple times he only survives thanks to luck or contrivance. Some of his key moves are managed off screen with words like "it took weeks but they got it done" another character runs off during battle(is never reprimanded for it, nor is it addressed in anyway beyond it being seen as understandable) then they train off screen and come back as a badass, we learn of this training 2 seconds before seeing it in action. Found a confused, routed, batch of newbie troopers who are in an unknown place and don't know who to trust? Eisenhorn says less than 10 words, another guy sings a song and now they are ready to die for cause(no, it is not a testament to his charisma).

Action. some bursts of action were nice and I would likely enjoy seeing them on the screen but surrounding context is frequently lacking.

"Puzzling" climax where they seem to solve the issue only for there to turn out there is another way for the antagonist to win. You sometimes see that with protagonists who seem to lose only to find another solution(which is often poorly executed) but this time it's for the antagonists side . It threw off the pace of the story, the peak of the story is reached but the book goes on for 3 more hours. Imagine if in star wars:the new hope, luke blows up the death star 75% into the movie and we get told there is another one so he goes on to blow up another one in the remaining runtime.

For most of the second resolution, Eisenhorn is just an observer, telling us how he would walk into a room and find the secondary anthologists defeated by imperial forces, not even witnessing the battle just telling us the aftermath. He easily bests the final antagonists only to be betrayed by bonus antagonist but as all seems lost he is saved by a stroke of luck. also in the final 5 minutes there is a bonus bonus antagonist who threatens things if Eisenhorn does not give them what they want, Eisenhorn destroys what they want and is saved by another fortuitous arrival. he gets saved by fortuitous arrivals at least 3 times in the last 20 minutes, saying nothing about the times he gets saved by it throughout this book

[Pinkerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

English (but not so good) / Italiano
The inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn is really badass (he executed a Chaos SM!), like the members of his squad, each with his peculiar ability. The book may be lacking in the too summary physical description of the characters and in the long sequences of archaic terms during unclear ‘naval battles’, but for the rest... An exceptional launch starts from a setting that immediately succeeds in catapulting us into the incredible atmosphere of wh40k universe. You already perceive the cold and martial climate that will characterize the adventure between bureaucracy, betrayal, confrontation and heresy, to bring about the resolution of an intriguing mystery that will accompany us from start to finish. I preferred the 'narrative' parts more than the field fights that have never really proved to be up to the intrigues behind them. Similar speech about the opponents in turn, no enemy character had the same caliber of the protagonists. An exciting story, whose features make the Black Library mark perfect for this volume... and someone would also have liked to consider the Necroteuch ^^

Italiano
L’inquisitore Gregor Eisenhorn è davvero caxxuto (ha fatto secco un SM del Caos!), come i membri della sua squadra, ognuno con la propria peculiare abilità. Il libro potrebbe difettare nella descrizione fisica troppo sommaria dei personaggi e nelle lunghe sequenze di termini arcaici durante ‘battaglie navali’ poco chiare, ma per il resto… Un avvio eccezionale ci fa partire da un’ambientazione che riesce subito a catapultarci nell’incredibile atmosfera dell’universo di wh40k. Già si percepisce il clima freddo e marziale che caratterizzerà l’avventura fra burocrazia, tradimenti, scontri ed eresie, per portare alla risoluzione di un intrigante mistero che ci accompagnerà dall’inizio alla fine. Ho preferito di gran lunga le parti ‘narrative’ ai meri combattimenti sul campo che non si sono mai dimostrati veramente all’altezza degli intrighi che gli stavano dietro. Discorso simile riguarda gli avversari di turno, nessun personaggio nemico era dotato della stessa caratura dei protagonisti. Una storia esaltante, le cui caratteristiche rendono l’etichettatura Black Library perfetta per questo volume… e qualcuno avrebbe voluto prendere in considerazione anche il Necroteuch ^^

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful science fiction adventure novel. It's really unique, like a heist novel in reverse. I would guess that you don't even need to be a Warhammer 40k fan to enjoy this. A little background: the eclectic crew of specialists, led by the Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn, are working to foil a chaos conspiracy. The Warhammer 40k world is rendered so vividly in a gritty, visceral way. It's hard to explain except through comparison. For example, the *Space Wolf* series (William King) is almost like sword and sorcery with sci-fi trappings. The *Horus Heresy* novels are epic in scope and philosophical, meditations on moral entropy and the labyrinth of the human soul. The *Ciaphas Cain* novels are lighthearted picaresques. This novel, however, is brutal, and somewhat like a noir novel is brutal. The world is horrible, evil is ubiquitous and encroaching, and those who fight chaos need to be on their guard against being contaminated by it. I love the character of Gregor Eisenhorn. In fact, I loved his whole crew and how they are each so unique and dynamic.