Mephiston: City of Light

Mephiston #3

by Darius Hinks

Book 3 in the Mephiston series

Deep in Imperium Nihilus, Blood Angels Chief Librarian Mephiston and his comrades are drawn into battle with a cabal of Thousand Sons sorcerers – with worlds at stake and hidden truths threatening to overwhelm him, this is Mephiston's darkest hour…

READ IT BECAUSE
Experience a battle of psychic might in the Dark Imperium, and witness Mephiston taking on his greatest challenges ever, physically, mentally and emotionally.

THE STORY
Having fought during the devastation of Baal, Mephiston and a cohort of Blood Angels are drawn by cryptic visions to a war-torn world on the cusp of the Great Rift. Here, the sorcerers of the Thousand Sons seek to unite nine Silver Towers and bring about a ritual that will empower their master, the daemon-primarch Magnus. The ritual must be prevented, lest the entire sub-sector be cast into Chaos. Mephiston faces a challenge like no other, of his strength and his will, confronting a hidden truth that threatens to expose him to his darkest fears.

Genres: 40k, Audiobook, Science Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2019

About the author

Darius Hinks is an author, writing primarily in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He was born in Birmingham, England, in 1972. He works and lives in Nottinghamshire. Hinks' first novel, Warrior Priest, won the David Gemmel Morningstar award.

Reviews

[Debbie Rushby · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final tale sees Mephiston, Rhacelus and Antros finally catching up to the demon that has been irritating them for some time. Mephiston, having survived the Primaris embiggening – the rubric that makes him bigger and less likely to lose control of himself and blast anyone who gets too close, finds out that the demon is up to hi-jinks in the Prospero system and asks to go and sort it out.

Dante agreed in a heart-warming scene so long as he takes Rhacelus with him.

What follows is a whirl-wind of events that culminate in a heart-aching scene, which I won’t say about here.

The tale flows very well and contains more interesting characters. We are treated to some wonderful interactions between the three librarians but we are also introduced to some interesting characters from the Imperial Guard. The fellow who survives is far from a two dimensional man who is only there to support the main characters. He has his own goals and works towards them in what must be terrifying situations.

The pace of the tale is good too. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened and this led to at least one late night. The language is easy to read but not too simple either. It doesn’t distract the reader from what is happening and for me, is very balanced.

I shall miss reading about these Blood Angels, they are responsible for a new army appearing in the cabinet after all. I do hope there will be more adventures around them in the future. Go and read these tales, they are well worth it.

[Chris Vest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woah what a ride

[Reid Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Par for the course, Black Library and Darius Hinks have put together a great novel, full of grimdark angst (it is a blood angels story after all), action and worldbuilding. I can't think of a universe that allows for more expansion and growth than that of Warhammer 40k, and I appreciate that BL is always looking for great writers to add to their lore. I've never been a huge blood angels fan, but after this trilogy, I'm tempted to go buy some red paint.

[Paul Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say I struggle with blood angels books, I have read few books with them as the main protagonists where I engage fully in the story, I guess Sanguinius and his children just don’t interest me.... until I started reading the Mephiston books and now I like a blood angel addict! Dam you Darius Hinks!! 😉

[John McDonnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really disappointed with this book. While it was still an acceptable piece of entertainment it really failed to deliver much towards to greater story of Mephiston. Much like the 3rd book of Fabius this is a filler with not much real substance. Certainly some bits and pieces of 40K lore is in there but I think the author has little real knowledge of the greater universe that is 40K. Still it is average read or listen. Hopefully the next is better and back on task.

[Michael Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The finale of this trilogy was satisfying in many ways. The threads from the previous books get brought together. We see Harlequins battling the Blood Angels and that was terrific. Magnus and the Thousand Sons doing what they do but not being the main villain in the novel. The long pursued daemon serves that role and Mephiston and company have to deal with him.
I enjoyed the stranded world and its protecting military force. Their motivations and goals were clearly not aligned with those of the Blood Angels, nor should they be. They are trying to save their world from a rebellious force.
For the trilogy, I found books 2 and 3 to be more satisfying than the setup novel. Mephiston is a deep character who struggles with his power and his keeping a grip on his past but ultimately succeeds in protecting his Legion and the Imperium.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! Unsure if its the conclusion to this series but was a really good coming together of the arcs established in the last two books and as previously thought, it is always great to gain insight into and experience what these characters are actually like away from the table top. One slight criticism was that it was quite an abrupt ending and I'm not entirely sure how the great 'switcheroo' happened so perhaps would be nice if that was explained a little bit after the climatic event but the story was good and entertaining the whole way through! Hope there's another one!

[Paul Menn · Rating 3 out of 5]

That said, Darius Hinks is just...not a terribly gifted or compelling writer. I'm a big fan of the Blood Angels and Mephiston, but this book was just bland.

Here you have a character who has taken on the damnation of his entire lineage, is brimming with new and untested power, and it just ho-hum.

Disappointed. But come to think of it, most Blood Angels books have been pretty subpar, unfortunately

[Reading Cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really disappointing conclusion to Mephiston's arc. All the criticism you see about him online that he's an overpowered overeverythinged Mainest of Main Characters? Is true in this novel. He's basically Vision, but in Warhammer. All the stuff that made him cool...gone.

However that character I really hated dies so...

[Jonathan Shuerger · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story that was well-told up to the end. The end is unsatisfying, more of a gotcha than a conclusion. Mephiston himself is interesting, though vastly overpowered. I’m not sure exactly what becoming Primaris did to his connection to the warp, but it’s crazy.

[Sara Piesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a struggle to read as this is not my usual read . I did finish it and i give it 3 stars only because I was confused by the storyline. I thank Netgalley for allowing me to review it and Darius Hinks for writing it.

[Stefan Koepeknie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A simpleton who could not conjure a stiff breeze."

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

This boi is cracked

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mission pitting Mephiston against a Daemon servant of Magnus. I wish Mephiaton’s stats reflected the power in the novel!