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Warhammer 40,000
Knights of Macragge
An Ultramarines novel
READ IT BECAUSE
Captain Sicarius returns in a new novel from the author of Fall of Damnos! For the first time, discover what befell Sicarius when he was lost in the warp, and how he survived…
THE STORY
The primarch Roboute Guilliman of the Ultramarines has returned in the galaxy’s hour of need, and all muster to his Indomitus Crusade to hold back the darkness. Amongst these heroes is Cato Sicarius, Master of the Watch and vaunted captain of Second Company. Disaster befalls Sicarius and his brave warriors as their ship, the Emperor’s Will, is lost to the hellish warp, its entire crew believed slain. But Sicarius endures, though he and his men are fighting for their very survival against the denizens of the Great Rift – the daemons and renegades of Chaos. Cast adrift and war-weary, hope appears too distant to grasp until the storm breaks at last and a strange world beckons. As the captain and a band of his chosen warriors descend to the surface seeking aid, they find an isolated land seemingly from an ancient era, one plagued by a terrible enemy. Sicarius will not see this world suffer, and pledges his warriors to the world’s cause, determined to save it, whatever the cost… But what is the dark secret harboured here, and what will it mean for the Ultramarines if they uncover it?
Written by Nick Kyme
361 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 17, 2019
42 people are currently reading
284 people want to read
About the author
Nick Kyme
277 books160 followersNick Kyme (b. 1977) writes mostly for Black Library. His credits include the popular Salamanders series and several audio dramas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
January 29, 2020
I received a copy of Knights of Macragge through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Knights of Macragge is one of several new novels to hit the streets from the world of Warhammer 40,000. This is a dramatic and action-filled novel, one who will show you the Ultramarines and everything they’re capable of.
There was a time when Captain Sicarius, Master of the Watch, was lost in the Warp. This is the story of what happened to him – and his men – during that time. It’s an epic saga depicting battles against the warp and other eternal enemies of the crusade.
Knights of Macragge is perfect for anybody looking for an Ultramarine battlefest. It’s also perfect for fans of Sicarius in particular, as his story is a leading focal point (obviously).
“Hold on, Praxor. We are almost to you. Sicarius has driven them back. The Master of the Watch has rallied the field.”
Knights of Macragge is a novel full to the brim of satisfying action and drama. It’s the Ultramarines in the purest form, at least to my perspective. It’s dramatic, full of heroes giving it their all and doing what they do best.
If you’re looking for a novel full of Ultramarines being super badass and fighting against all odds – this is a good book for you to pick up. I feel like this novel was the personification of all the morals – and battles – fans have likely come to expect from Gulliman’s men.
Looking back on it, Knights of Macragge really did end up reading like two different books. There are the events (and battles) on the ship. And then there’s the series of battles that occur planetside. Both were fairly interesting, though I’ll confess I found the ship battles to be much more disturbing and enthralling.
I’ll confess that before Knights of Macragge I hadn’t read anything with a focus towards Captain Sicarius. So I don’t think I had quite the same emotional attachment that other readers will surely experience. I did still find the novel to be a fun book full of action and battles – a lot of them.
Knights of Macragge is a novel utterly unafraid to be itself. Its entire focus is on the glory and devastation the Ultramarines can bear, and that makes for a relatively gory and graphic depiction. But to be fair – that’s exactly what I was expecting (and almost hoping for).
For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Knights of Macragge is one of several new novels to hit the streets from the world of Warhammer 40,000. This is a dramatic and action-filled novel, one who will show you the Ultramarines and everything they’re capable of.
There was a time when Captain Sicarius, Master of the Watch, was lost in the Warp. This is the story of what happened to him – and his men – during that time. It’s an epic saga depicting battles against the warp and other eternal enemies of the crusade.
Knights of Macragge is perfect for anybody looking for an Ultramarine battlefest. It’s also perfect for fans of Sicarius in particular, as his story is a leading focal point (obviously).
“Hold on, Praxor. We are almost to you. Sicarius has driven them back. The Master of the Watch has rallied the field.”
Knights of Macragge is a novel full to the brim of satisfying action and drama. It’s the Ultramarines in the purest form, at least to my perspective. It’s dramatic, full of heroes giving it their all and doing what they do best.
If you’re looking for a novel full of Ultramarines being super badass and fighting against all odds – this is a good book for you to pick up. I feel like this novel was the personification of all the morals – and battles – fans have likely come to expect from Gulliman’s men.
Looking back on it, Knights of Macragge really did end up reading like two different books. There are the events (and battles) on the ship. And then there’s the series of battles that occur planetside. Both were fairly interesting, though I’ll confess I found the ship battles to be much more disturbing and enthralling.
I’ll confess that before Knights of Macragge I hadn’t read anything with a focus towards Captain Sicarius. So I don’t think I had quite the same emotional attachment that other readers will surely experience. I did still find the novel to be a fun book full of action and battles – a lot of them.
Knights of Macragge is a novel utterly unafraid to be itself. Its entire focus is on the glory and devastation the Ultramarines can bear, and that makes for a relatively gory and graphic depiction. But to be fair – that’s exactly what I was expecting (and almost hoping for).
For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
January 19, 2023
Never read the word "gullet" so many times. Besides the small vocabulary, the story was ok but felt like two separate books clumsily stitched together.
June 22, 2021
To be honest, I quite like Nick Kyme, but I don't think he writes Space Marines well and that's a problem in a book all about the Ultramarines Chapter.
The first half of the book has the titular characters figuratively treading water as they find themselves becalmed in the Warp for five years. Not trapped just becalmed because at around the 50% mark they decide that the Warp 'tis a silly place and leave. Why they didn't do this any time during the five years instead of enduring attack after attack as their spaceship slowly fell apart around them is never adequately explained. At any rate, they exit the warp find a planet with a convenient power source and restore their ship and that's the end of the story. They also fight some primitive Orks, make friends with the locals and kick the rusted ass of one lonely Necron, but I've wasted enough time on this opinion.
The book was supposedly about the adventures of Cato Sicarius and what happened when he left to go somewhere and that can be summed up thus- he got stuck in the warp and then he wasn't. That is the entirety of the book in 10 words, no need to thank me.
The first half of the book has the titular characters figuratively treading water as they find themselves becalmed in the Warp for five years. Not trapped just becalmed because at around the 50% mark they decide that the Warp 'tis a silly place and leave. Why they didn't do this any time during the five years instead of enduring attack after attack as their spaceship slowly fell apart around them is never adequately explained. At any rate, they exit the warp find a planet with a convenient power source and restore their ship and that's the end of the story. They also fight some primitive Orks, make friends with the locals and kick the rusted ass of one lonely Necron, but I've wasted enough time on this opinion.
The book was supposedly about the adventures of Cato Sicarius and what happened when he left to go somewhere and that can be summed up thus- he got stuck in the warp and then he wasn't. That is the entirety of the book in 10 words, no need to thank me.
December 19, 2019
This book was, interesting. It was kind of all over the place, and is definitely a tale of 2 books. The first half is slow and convoluted, then the 2nd half turns into a Jerry Bruckheimer action extravaganza. It's fluffy Ultramarine stories (so I'm good with that), but it's not very substantive except to add context to all of the Cato Sicarious memes.
IT's fine if you're an Ultramarine fan, but wouldn't be much to anyone else.
IT's fine if you're an Ultramarine fan, but wouldn't be much to anyone else.
July 11, 2021
A confusing mess of a story with multiple enemies, POV switches, cuts, tonal shifts, and the most un-Space Marine-like Space Marines I have read so far. They are overly emotional and petty, their armor is pierced by bone and stone.
That said it was still fun for some of the ideas it tried. The horror vibe could have been amazing if fleshed out, seeing the slow decline and influence of the warp over years would have fascinated me rather than turning into just another action filled book.
That said it was still fun for some of the ideas it tried. The horror vibe could have been amazing if fleshed out, seeing the slow decline and influence of the warp over years would have fascinated me rather than turning into just another action filled book.
May 8, 2021
Extremely plot driven with an ok plot and far too much action focussed for my liking. The main characters are relatively distinguishable, but where is their development?
March 5, 2025
Two very separate novellas put together. The second was much better than the first.
January 19, 2021
Heard a lot of things about Captain Cato Sicarius from many sources on the net, mainly was his many titles (and he isn't shy to let everybody know about it), which includes Master of the Watch, Grand Duke of Talassar, Knight Champion of Macragge, High Suzerain of Ultramar among others. I don't think I have heard that many titles other than from the Primarch, Roboute Guilliman himself, and even he resented at his subjects announcing it every time he was about to make his entrance. Having said this, I was prepared for a lot of self bragging from THE Captain Cato Sicarius in this book.
I was greeted by only 1 mention of I, Cato Sicarius, and even more so on just the first page of the book, and none of Sicarius self proclamations. I was a bit dumbfounded, ain't this the Sicarius that memes were created for?
Having read Dark Imperium and Plague Wars, Sicarius was not projected as pompous as he was in his earlier stories. Instead he was brooding and have shades of a man broken and constantly looking into the void silently, so I guess this might be the story that will explain that gap, since he was stranded in the warp for some time during the Great Rift and before the start of the Indomitus Crusade.
The story start with his ship The Emperor's Will being stranded in the warp and with the flickering of the Gellar Field bring about more daemons into the ship. The humans and Astartes are trying their best to fend off the intruders. But with limited power and rations, it would be hard to keep the mortals on fighting spirit and the ship from operational for long. Their only way of escaping the warp was greatly diminished when their Librarian died while heroically defending the warp drive from being overdriven by daemons, which had them relying on a maddened and murderous navigator to aid them in getting back to realspace before being overrunned.
The 2nd part of the story depicts them landing on a planet to find energy source to power The Emperor's Will to rejoin Guilliman's crusade and stumbling across natives which reminiscent of medieval folks. To help them drive off a primal ork infestations, the majority of the Ultramarines were dispatched to rid of its chieftain while the suspicious Baron who rule the human populous there investigate the origins of these 'Knights of Macragge'. By the end of it, they realize that Orks might not be their biggest problem on the planet.
Sicarius really lost a lot of his brothers in this, especially from his Lions of Macragge regiment and he's constantly plagued that he has the responsibility to protect everybody, whether are the inhabitant of the ship or the humans on the planet, which really is a farcry from his glory seeking days. There are a lot of character development on his part as well, especially from the thought of To perish, unremarked, to die an ordinary death. To be forgotten. when one of his men died, but after going through everything, at the end he acknowledges this which is not as fear, but something normal.
Another significant arc was the rift between the more advance Primaris variant and the First-born variant, where one feels that they are not experienced therefore worthy of being an Ultramarine and the other thinks that they were obsolete and would be replaced by the newer Primaris Marines. It was during the end the Pillium understood that it was not experience that make an Ultramarine, but true Courage and Honour.
It was a nice addition to Cato Sicarius's lore but I don't think this it the reason for his PTSD as he was not much shaken by the end of the story. There must be another story after this before the events of the Dark Imperium, which is from the "Dawn of Fire" series.
I don't have much gripe with the story other than who was the henchmen serving the Baron, was he one of the Astartes that was sent to safeguard the colonist? He mentioned that he could not remember part of his memories. The other was regarding the the small construct that was discovered on the brain of the human from the planet, how did it get there and does this mean that the populace could be infected? There was not much mention afterwards. I'm sure the deliberation of xenos masquerading as humans could be a major plot point moving forward since even the Astartes could not identify something was awry.
Hopefully there'll be more story for Captain Cato Sicarius, because I'm a fan now.
There were no dragons here, but there were monsters. Not the monsters who had come up from the ground and attacked the city, but the ones who had turned their weapons on an injured man and who had watched and done nothing as he was wounded near to death. The monsters fear created.
I was greeted by only 1 mention of I, Cato Sicarius, and even more so on just the first page of the book, and none of Sicarius self proclamations. I was a bit dumbfounded, ain't this the Sicarius that memes were created for?
Having read Dark Imperium and Plague Wars, Sicarius was not projected as pompous as he was in his earlier stories. Instead he was brooding and have shades of a man broken and constantly looking into the void silently, so I guess this might be the story that will explain that gap, since he was stranded in the warp for some time during the Great Rift and before the start of the Indomitus Crusade.
The story start with his ship The Emperor's Will being stranded in the warp and with the flickering of the Gellar Field bring about more daemons into the ship. The humans and Astartes are trying their best to fend off the intruders. But with limited power and rations, it would be hard to keep the mortals on fighting spirit and the ship from operational for long. Their only way of escaping the warp was greatly diminished when their Librarian died while heroically defending the warp drive from being overdriven by daemons, which had them relying on a maddened and murderous navigator to aid them in getting back to realspace before being overrunned.
The 2nd part of the story depicts them landing on a planet to find energy source to power The Emperor's Will to rejoin Guilliman's crusade and stumbling across natives which reminiscent of medieval folks. To help them drive off a primal ork infestations, the majority of the Ultramarines were dispatched to rid of its chieftain while the suspicious Baron who rule the human populous there investigate the origins of these 'Knights of Macragge'. By the end of it, they realize that Orks might not be their biggest problem on the planet.
Sicarius really lost a lot of his brothers in this, especially from his Lions of Macragge regiment and he's constantly plagued that he has the responsibility to protect everybody, whether are the inhabitant of the ship or the humans on the planet, which really is a farcry from his glory seeking days. There are a lot of character development on his part as well, especially from the thought of To perish, unremarked, to die an ordinary death. To be forgotten. when one of his men died, but after going through everything, at the end he acknowledges this which is not as fear, but something normal.
Another significant arc was the rift between the more advance Primaris variant and the First-born variant, where one feels that they are not experienced therefore worthy of being an Ultramarine and the other thinks that they were obsolete and would be replaced by the newer Primaris Marines. It was during the end the Pillium understood that it was not experience that make an Ultramarine, but true Courage and Honour.
It was a nice addition to Cato Sicarius's lore but I don't think this it the reason for his PTSD as he was not much shaken by the end of the story. There must be another story after this before the events of the Dark Imperium, which is from the "Dawn of Fire" series.
I don't have much gripe with the story other than who was the henchmen serving the Baron, was he one of the Astartes that was sent to safeguard the colonist? He mentioned that he could not remember part of his memories. The other was regarding the the small construct that was discovered on the brain of the human from the planet, how did it get there and does this mean that the populace could be infected? There was not much mention afterwards. I'm sure the deliberation of xenos masquerading as humans could be a major plot point moving forward since even the Astartes could not identify something was awry.
Hopefully there'll be more story for Captain Cato Sicarius, because I'm a fan now.
There were no dragons here, but there were monsters. Not the monsters who had come up from the ground and attacked the city, but the ones who had turned their weapons on an injured man and who had watched and done nothing as he was wounded near to death. The monsters fear created.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2023
I've struggled quite a bit with this review. I'm a huge fan of the Warhammer universe, I collect a ton of the models. I watch the lore videos like a loser, I enjoy when things are subtle and not subtle in the world. I love it all. So as a Warhammer fan, and as an Ultramarine fan, I'd love to give this book a 5 star and ramble for many paragraphs about how great everything in this book is. As a fan of writing though and stories, I'm going to give it a very firm 4 stars. With this review I'm going to check in on the three Vs of a Warhammer story, Vibes Violence and Vstory/Vcharacters. As I go through I'll do my best to keep my shill rambling to a minimum as well.
Starting with Vibes, now this is very important. Warhammer is very proud of its' grimdark setting. It's in the promo material, it's on all the boxes, their tag line is "in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war." So does this story live up to it? I'd say yes. Now I'm a newbie when it comes to the books. I've read Devastation of Baal and a little bit of a few other books, but as I said I love lore videos and I've read through many of the codex books. Space marines stuck floating through the warp? Constant chaos corruption and breaches from chaos bandits? The ship running out of recourses and the crew starving to death and skittish? I'd say it passes. At least in my opinion I had a great time getting immersed in the dire circumstances of Cato Sicarius' men and found it to be proper grimdark. Even a bit unnerving at times. That's not to say that there were no other vibes of course, for me at least it has lots of highs and lows.
The second important V of Warhammer is Violence. Good old fashioned blood and guts, the clang of swords, the woosh of a flamer, the explosion of a bolter. I'm happy to say this story certainly delivers! Interesting action, impactful hits, emotionally impactful fights, fights that have interwoven personal meaning to the characters and their thought process. I love it. I'll admit I'm easily wowed by Warhammer action, it's just cool to me, but this book does take the time to give our main characters both interesting enemies and interesting settings for them. Imperial guard moving through cramped hallways, an all out battle in ships that are larger than life, techmarines Fighting around a noxious reactor core. I had a great time with it!
Characters and story, the Final V to look at. I liked them quite a bit! I am a die hard Blood Angels player so it was mildly less interesting then the plights of Dante, but still great! The main cast that you get narrowed down to in the final act were all very fun, I liked the Company champion a lot as well. Overall, as I said, all very good! If I had to choose stand outs, obviously Cato was fun I also really liked the imperial guard and the historian that follows along. It was cool to see how a normal human reacts to situations and to the space marines. I don't have a ton to say about the situations of the characters without the aforementioned rambles of the inner workings of the thought process of space marines and their feelings towards each other so I'll leave it at it was all very good.
So what are my overall thoughts on everything and would I recommend it to people. I'd so it was very solid, I've seen other reviews say its great and some say it's ass, but I think it's very solid. Sometimes that's what you need in a story like this, hence the 4. Did it blow my mind? No. Would I recommend it? Yeah I would, I think it's got enough normal writing and enough Warhammer stuff to be a good read for someone who isn't into the universe or for someone that is into it already.
TL;DR It's very solid, if it looks interesting at all pick it up! If you're not sure about Warhammer books, but you like kinda grotesque action sci-fi with a bit of character stuff, give it a try!
Starting with Vibes, now this is very important. Warhammer is very proud of its' grimdark setting. It's in the promo material, it's on all the boxes, their tag line is "in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war." So does this story live up to it? I'd say yes. Now I'm a newbie when it comes to the books. I've read Devastation of Baal and a little bit of a few other books, but as I said I love lore videos and I've read through many of the codex books. Space marines stuck floating through the warp? Constant chaos corruption and breaches from chaos bandits? The ship running out of recourses and the crew starving to death and skittish? I'd say it passes. At least in my opinion I had a great time getting immersed in the dire circumstances of Cato Sicarius' men and found it to be proper grimdark. Even a bit unnerving at times. That's not to say that there were no other vibes of course, for me at least it has lots of highs and lows.
The second important V of Warhammer is Violence. Good old fashioned blood and guts, the clang of swords, the woosh of a flamer, the explosion of a bolter. I'm happy to say this story certainly delivers! Interesting action, impactful hits, emotionally impactful fights, fights that have interwoven personal meaning to the characters and their thought process. I love it. I'll admit I'm easily wowed by Warhammer action, it's just cool to me, but this book does take the time to give our main characters both interesting enemies and interesting settings for them. Imperial guard moving through cramped hallways, an all out battle in ships that are larger than life, techmarines Fighting around a noxious reactor core. I had a great time with it!
Characters and story, the Final V to look at. I liked them quite a bit! I am a die hard Blood Angels player so it was mildly less interesting then the plights of Dante, but still great! The main cast that you get narrowed down to in the final act were all very fun, I liked the Company champion a lot as well. Overall, as I said, all very good! If I had to choose stand outs, obviously Cato was fun I also really liked the imperial guard and the historian that follows along. It was cool to see how a normal human reacts to situations and to the space marines. I don't have a ton to say about the situations of the characters without the aforementioned rambles of the inner workings of the thought process of space marines and their feelings towards each other so I'll leave it at it was all very good.
So what are my overall thoughts on everything and would I recommend it to people. I'd so it was very solid, I've seen other reviews say its great and some say it's ass, but I think it's very solid. Sometimes that's what you need in a story like this, hence the 4. Did it blow my mind? No. Would I recommend it? Yeah I would, I think it's got enough normal writing and enough Warhammer stuff to be a good read for someone who isn't into the universe or for someone that is into it already.
TL;DR It's very solid, if it looks interesting at all pick it up! If you're not sure about Warhammer books, but you like kinda grotesque action sci-fi with a bit of character stuff, give it a try!
June 15, 2021
I have to say I was surprised to find this was one of the more enjoyable 40k novels I've read so far.
Knights of Macragge plays out in two distinct, and seemingly incongruous parts. The first is a tense, ultra-violent, claustrophobic survival saga on a dying space ship as they are powerless, adrift, and constantly being besieged by the demonic forces of Chaos. The second part, which arrives right at the halfway point of the novel is... well, if you ever wondered what would happen if you dropped Space Marines into medieval times, here you go!
Not knowing anything about the book when I set out, (not even reading the synopsis) just picking something to read on vacation, I got to the halfway point as the space portion seemed to come to a satisfactory end and I was honestly wondering, "where could it possibly go from here?" Well, I honestly did not expect that change in setting, time, tone and pace. It was a whiplash in ever narrative sense, but that surprise made it much more enjoyable. It's ludicrous, but it leans into the premise so hard, and has enough fun with it that it's very amusing.
On the positive side, Kyme does something that I feel a lot of Warhammer novels struggle in; he gives us human characters of consequence and characters with personality. There are two human characters who felt very well-developed (if a little stereotypical) and who I felt myself constantly rooting for, and genuinely felt tension for whenever they were imperiled. Their acts of bravery, human drama, and psychological turmoil are the parts I remember most vividly.
Conversely, the Ultramarines, who should be the focus, are the least distinct and most interchangeable. There's Sicarius, the ostensible protagonist who has no character arc. There's...the guy who's always with him, I forget his name. There's Pilium, the arrogant one who spends most of the book recovering from injuries and then getting further injured. There's Iulus with the malfunctioning robot arm...and I think three more? I just read this book, may I remind you.
On the negative side, and possibly fatally for some Warhammer fans, of I feel that Kyme is a little limited when it comes to writing the battle scenes (here's a fun drinking game; take a shot every time he uses the word "throat"). And he relies way too much on deus ex machina, to the point that it becomes a trope within the novel that deflates the tension of every single battle.
Overall a really fun 40k installment that is a fun deviation from a lot of the books out there.
Knights of Macragge plays out in two distinct, and seemingly incongruous parts. The first is a tense, ultra-violent, claustrophobic survival saga on a dying space ship as they are powerless, adrift, and constantly being besieged by the demonic forces of Chaos. The second part, which arrives right at the halfway point of the novel is... well, if you ever wondered what would happen if you dropped Space Marines into medieval times, here you go!
Not knowing anything about the book when I set out, (not even reading the synopsis) just picking something to read on vacation, I got to the halfway point as the space portion seemed to come to a satisfactory end and I was honestly wondering, "where could it possibly go from here?" Well, I honestly did not expect that change in setting, time, tone and pace. It was a whiplash in ever narrative sense, but that surprise made it much more enjoyable. It's ludicrous, but it leans into the premise so hard, and has enough fun with it that it's very amusing.
On the positive side, Kyme does something that I feel a lot of Warhammer novels struggle in; he gives us human characters of consequence and characters with personality. There are two human characters who felt very well-developed (if a little stereotypical) and who I felt myself constantly rooting for, and genuinely felt tension for whenever they were imperiled. Their acts of bravery, human drama, and psychological turmoil are the parts I remember most vividly.
Conversely, the Ultramarines, who should be the focus, are the least distinct and most interchangeable. There's Sicarius, the ostensible protagonist who has no character arc. There's...the guy who's always with him, I forget his name. There's Pilium, the arrogant one who spends most of the book recovering from injuries and then getting further injured. There's Iulus with the malfunctioning robot arm...and I think three more? I just read this book, may I remind you.
On the negative side, and possibly fatally for some Warhammer fans, of I feel that Kyme is a little limited when it comes to writing the battle scenes (here's a fun drinking game; take a shot every time he uses the word "throat"). And he relies way too much on deus ex machina, to the point that it becomes a trope within the novel that deflates the tension of every single battle.
Overall a really fun 40k installment that is a fun deviation from a lot of the books out there.
June 15, 2020
Nick Kyme returns to the ongoing story of Captain Cato Sicarius of the Ultramarines 2nd Company in Knights of Macragge, which sees Sicarius and his brothers, and the crew of the Emperor’s Will, lost in the Warp. The events of Damnos are in the past, the Great Rift has opened and Guilliman returned, and the Ultramarines of 2nd Company are both reinforced and wracked by rivalry like never before. After years spent battling daemonic incursions and the debilitating effects of the Warp, everyone on board the Emperor’s Will is stretched to breaking point, but Sicarius is determined to find a way to survive, and eventually return to the Imperium…or what’s left of it.
While it follows on chronologically from previous Sicarius stories this takes a noticeably different tone, as befits a story set for much of its length in the hell-scape of the Warp. As you’d expect Sicarius gets plenty of time to shine, having been noticeably changed by what took place on Damnos and becoming a much more sympathetic character than in earlier depictions in the process. This isn’t solely about Sicarius though , and a key theme is the divide between ‘firstborn’ and Primaris Marines, offering an in-universe exploration of what exactly the different generations think of each other.
This is very much a tale of two halves, however and at risk of offering spoilers (on which note, try to avoid the synopsis on the back of the book!), almost exactly halfway through the story shifts into a new direction with a slightly less grim tone and an interesting, if somewhat unexpected, narrative. All told, provided you can stomach the constant, grinding darkness there’s a lot to enjoy here, with masses of bone-crunching action but plenty of characterful dialogue and quieter moments as well.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2020/06/...
While it follows on chronologically from previous Sicarius stories this takes a noticeably different tone, as befits a story set for much of its length in the hell-scape of the Warp. As you’d expect Sicarius gets plenty of time to shine, having been noticeably changed by what took place on Damnos and becoming a much more sympathetic character than in earlier depictions in the process. This isn’t solely about Sicarius though , and a key theme is the divide between ‘firstborn’ and Primaris Marines, offering an in-universe exploration of what exactly the different generations think of each other.
This is very much a tale of two halves, however and at risk of offering spoilers (on which note, try to avoid the synopsis on the back of the book!), almost exactly halfway through the story shifts into a new direction with a slightly less grim tone and an interesting, if somewhat unexpected, narrative. All told, provided you can stomach the constant, grinding darkness there’s a lot to enjoy here, with masses of bone-crunching action but plenty of characterful dialogue and quieter moments as well.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2020/06/...
June 16, 2022
Fun book! Nothing consequential to overall lore but an interesting side story that takes an interesting turn involving Cato Sicarius and his band of Ultramarines defending for their lives aboard their ship, then becoming errant knights to a medieval human settlement.
The first half is brutal and dark, while the second half is lighter and funner by comparison, but still grim. In all honesty, the first half involving the ship should've been cut shorter, with the knights errant section prolonged would've been nicer. There's been a bit too many books lately going into detail about the troubles of warp travel since the Great Rift, but in this case, the ship being lost in the warp was unfounded. There was seemingly no real explanation why the Ultramarines ship was lost in the warp to begin with, and why they didn't just translate back to real space. The longer they stayed, the less resources they had which was the main dilemma the heroes were facing. Also in this section, an important character is introduced seemingly demonstrating an aura of incredible martial prowess, then dies off screen. I thought this was beyond unnecessary. Why even include this? For drama? He could've been a great addition to the Knights in the second half.
Those were my biggest grievances with the book.
Story gets fun and takes a turn when the Space Marines make planetfall. When encountering a medieval human scout party, Sicarius and his band introduce themselves as knights and they proceed to help the human's dwindling medieval settlement defend against an unknown enemy. Due to power complications and lack of ammunition, the Space Marines arrive with powered down armor with only swords and spears.
This section should've been longer and had potential to include more interesting fantasy cliches like slaying a dragon or wizards, brought about unintentionally by some 40k reason.
A fun book and side story, and great to see how the Ultramarines interact with one another, the vulnerabilities of Cato Sicarius, and addressing the idea that Primaris marines are replacing the original Space Marines.
The first half is brutal and dark, while the second half is lighter and funner by comparison, but still grim. In all honesty, the first half involving the ship should've been cut shorter, with the knights errant section prolonged would've been nicer. There's been a bit too many books lately going into detail about the troubles of warp travel since the Great Rift, but in this case, the ship being lost in the warp was unfounded. There was seemingly no real explanation why the Ultramarines ship was lost in the warp to begin with, and why they didn't just translate back to real space. The longer they stayed, the less resources they had which was the main dilemma the heroes were facing. Also in this section, an important character is introduced seemingly demonstrating an aura of incredible martial prowess, then dies off screen. I thought this was beyond unnecessary. Why even include this? For drama? He could've been a great addition to the Knights in the second half.
Those were my biggest grievances with the book.
Story gets fun and takes a turn when the Space Marines make planetfall. When encountering a medieval human scout party, Sicarius and his band introduce themselves as knights and they proceed to help the human's dwindling medieval settlement defend against an unknown enemy. Due to power complications and lack of ammunition, the Space Marines arrive with powered down armor with only swords and spears.
This section should've been longer and had potential to include more interesting fantasy cliches like slaying a dragon or wizards, brought about unintentionally by some 40k reason.
A fun book and side story, and great to see how the Ultramarines interact with one another, the vulnerabilities of Cato Sicarius, and addressing the idea that Primaris marines are replacing the original Space Marines.
July 23, 2025
this is one of those stories that doesn't really get going until the second half.
the first little bit is your bog standard space Marine story.
but once they actually land on the planet that's some things get actually interesting.
no spoilers but there is a twist I legitimately didn't see coming.
a bit too many space Marine characters to keep up with.
I really only remembered the captain and his right hand.
the primaris Marine because of his unique weapon.
and the tech Marine Hephaestus ((mainly because his name just kind of makes sense with his craft))
the human characters much more unique from each other. and felt more like the bedrock of the story.
overall if you're a fan of the chapter it's definitely worth a listen to
the first little bit is your bog standard space Marine story.
but once they actually land on the planet that's some things get actually interesting.
no spoilers but there is a twist I legitimately didn't see coming.
a bit too many space Marine characters to keep up with.
I really only remembered the captain and his right hand.
the primaris Marine because of his unique weapon.
and the tech Marine Hephaestus ((mainly because his name just kind of makes sense with his craft))
the human characters much more unique from each other. and felt more like the bedrock of the story.
overall if you're a fan of the chapter it's definitely worth a listen to
May 7, 2020
Knights of Macragge is a great window into the Ultramarine mythos, exploring the background of one of their most fascinating characters, Cato Sicarius. Like most WH40k novels, it drops you right into the action with little preamble, so new readers will likely struggle to keep up at first. However, the story soon unfolds, blending viewpoints of space marines and their human compatriots into a fascinating tale of the struggle against Chaos and the Warp. The Ultramarines aren't my favorite chapter (more Alpha Legion and Dark Angels novels requested) but I always am ready for more Black Library novels.
January 30, 2021
This was the first 40K novel I read, and a great introduction to the universe of Warhammer novels. I’d previously watched copious amounts of lore videos and collected models, but it was great to finally enter the realm of books. I found this book gripping and was unable to put it down. I know fluffy ultramarines stories aren’t for everyone, but this book really revealed the scope of depth of detail that the Warhammer universe has that one would otherwise miss out on by just watching lore videos. It has spurred me on to read several novels more already. I’m now onto the Horus Heresy and truly hooked.
February 28, 2025
Rating is more like 3½ stars. This was my first Warhammer novel, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was a quick, enjoyable read. I'm also not sure of the origin of the I'm-Cato-Sicarious-and-I'm-the-best-at-everything scornful caricature of him I was familiar with from memes and the like. So to read about him as a competent, empathetic leader was kind of a pleasant surprise.
August 11, 2021
I wasn't sure about this at the start, but honestly, after the first 25%, this book takes off and totally hauls you through a crazy series of events. The dialogue, interactions, grandeur and characters all come together to create a fantastically entertaining novel.
December 21, 2024
Incredibly meh book. Warhammer's not exactly known for its deep storylines (though there are outliers), but this reads like fan fiction.
I'd skip it entirely if I were you you. Even if you're a UM fan, the characters are so extremely unremarkable.
I'd skip it entirely if I were you you. Even if you're a UM fan, the characters are so extremely unremarkable.
November 9, 2020
My first war hammer 40k book can’t wait to buy another.
April 26, 2021
was a really fun read and a nice look at cato sicarius being a good leader and not just memes
Read
May 10, 2021Agemman and the other ultramarine's survived their trials of the battlefield.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2022
Was actually a great addition to the ultramarines canon. Action packed but also a great premise and novel antagonist too.
February 15, 2023
a really good read although the ending felt a little rushed. it did a good job showing the regular humans point of view.
March 27, 2023
Things pickup in part 2 and is a genuine and fun new angle for 40k! I'd rate it higher but part 1 felt like it dragged on to me.
December 13, 2023
Solid plot.But also solid plot armour.All in all,worth a read.
June 5, 2025
‘I have never met an Ultramarine harder to kill than him. Thank Gulliman. Sicarius has returned.’
October 30, 2025
idk what this book was supposed to be, but it didn't execute well at all. Couple cool parts but not a great end to Cato's omnibus.
November 29, 2025
somehow tbis was so terrible
September 15, 2020
Really a good book, 1st part was good Horror and 2nd part was like adventure
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2025
Would be great if we could've focused more on the Ultramarines who are literally the face of the book.
Tell me more about them and not some random humans who are not even that well characterized.
The remembrancer character was quite annoying too!
Liked the horror aspects of the first part and I wish the entire book was about the warp and the second part was quite meh.
Tell me more about them and not some random humans who are not even that well characterized.
The remembrancer character was quite annoying too!
Liked the horror aspects of the first part and I wish the entire book was about the warp and the second part was quite meh.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews