What do you think?
Rate this book
Word Bearers #2
Dark Disciple
Book 2 in the Word Bearers seriesEver driven by his lust for power, Marduk, now Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers Chaos Space Marine Legion, strives to unlock the secrets of an ancient and deadly artefact.READ IT BECAUSEIt's a fascinating look at what the power of faith (even twisted and depraved faith) can do in seemingly impossible situations.THE STORYEver driven by his lust for power, Marduk, aspiring Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers Chaos Space Marine Legion, strives to unlock the secrets of an ancient and deadly artefact. This quest throws him and the Word Bearers into a deadly warzone and a desperate battle between their Imperial enemies, the alien tyranids and a third faction as sadistic as it is mysterious. Surrounded by foes, this could be Marduk's sternest test yet.
416 pages, Paperback
First published November 25, 2008
17 people are currently reading
312 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Reynolds
93 books168 followersAnthony Reynolds was a Games Developer and manager at Games Workshop in the UK. Since then he's written freelance for a number of companies, including Black Library Publishing, Mantic Games, THQ, Bandai-Namco, Behaviour Interactive, and River Horse Games. He currently lives in California.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Anthony^Reynolds
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Anthony^Reynolds
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 10, 2019
Wordbearers are the best legion and you can't change my mind
April 1, 2018
There are quite a few similarities between this book and the first one in the series. You have the main story of the Word Bearers, but also a story that is meant to tell the story of a mortal trying to survive in the 40k universe as events unfold which ultimately ends in hopelessness or something similar.
This is my second time reading this book, and honestly the only thing I had remembered was the Dark Eldar. In this second read through, I found a lot more to like in this novel. Marduk evolves as a character in his quest to become a leader of his space marines, and the tensions evolve in that conflict. His growing powers make themselves known, though I found that both times he summons daemons in this they tend to be a bit too much deus ex machina. (and really, I found the instance with the bloodletters to have been really unrealistic as it was a handful of them vs things that regularly take on terminators and win)
The writing is solid in this story, which is always good to see in a Black Library novel. The descriptions of the various pieces of terrain were handled really well, from the ice planet to the daemon world. There were just enough details to keep it interesting and prevent it from feeling bogged down in world building.
The only real places where this novel doesn't succeed as well is beyond the deus ex machina daemon summoning is that this novel reads like a space marine novel. I know, I know, it's about space marines, how can it be different? There are a number of novels out there that have taken chaos or imperial space marines and done some interesting things with them. And Reynolds should be commended for not falling into mary suing his characters with a mishmash of special abilities/weapons. Unfortunately though there are a lot of stories out there where it uses the formula of space marines going to a place, fighting a bunch, moving on, fighting a bunch. It gets a wee bit boring.
But still, I really did enjoy this book. Dark eldar are not my favorite antagonists, (though better than orks), and Reynolds managed to keep them interesting and in character, which was nice. I do recommend this series to anyone interested in chaos space marines.
This is my second time reading this book, and honestly the only thing I had remembered was the Dark Eldar. In this second read through, I found a lot more to like in this novel. Marduk evolves as a character in his quest to become a leader of his space marines, and the tensions evolve in that conflict. His growing powers make themselves known, though I found that both times he summons daemons in this they tend to be a bit too much deus ex machina. (and really, I found the instance with the bloodletters to have been really unrealistic as it was a handful of them vs things that regularly take on terminators and win)
The writing is solid in this story, which is always good to see in a Black Library novel. The descriptions of the various pieces of terrain were handled really well, from the ice planet to the daemon world. There were just enough details to keep it interesting and prevent it from feeling bogged down in world building.
The only real places where this novel doesn't succeed as well is beyond the deus ex machina daemon summoning is that this novel reads like a space marine novel. I know, I know, it's about space marines, how can it be different? There are a number of novels out there that have taken chaos or imperial space marines and done some interesting things with them. And Reynolds should be commended for not falling into mary suing his characters with a mishmash of special abilities/weapons. Unfortunately though there are a lot of stories out there where it uses the formula of space marines going to a place, fighting a bunch, moving on, fighting a bunch. It gets a wee bit boring.
But still, I really did enjoy this book. Dark eldar are not my favorite antagonists, (though better than orks), and Reynolds managed to keep them interesting and in character, which was nice. I do recommend this series to anyone interested in chaos space marines.
March 17, 2019
Ah my Word Bearers! I've really fallen for these guys over these past 2 novels. This novel is a direct continuation to Dark Apostle and picks up right where that left off.
Our motley crew continues their bloody misadventure and we get to see how the Word Bearers react to different foes and a world on the verge of annihilation. I really loved seeing our characters relationships grow and the plot further along towards its' nefarious conclusion. Again Burias really stood out for me as a really badass character and I can't wait to see where the whole saga takes him. This novel was much less straight-forward than the previous one, and I feel the pacing suffered some(mainly when focused on the non-Word Bearers), but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable ride. There were some key moments that really stood out for me, and the fight through the stranded cruiser was just a high octane thrill that kept me at the edge of my seat.
A really enjoyable sequel, and it doesn't suffer from the middle novel syndrome most trilogies suffer from. I can't wait to see where our cast ends up, and what kind of monstrous deeds, mayhem, and bloodshed awaits!
Our motley crew continues their bloody misadventure and we get to see how the Word Bearers react to different foes and a world on the verge of annihilation. I really loved seeing our characters relationships grow and the plot further along towards its' nefarious conclusion. Again Burias really stood out for me as a really badass character and I can't wait to see where the whole saga takes him. This novel was much less straight-forward than the previous one, and I feel the pacing suffered some(mainly when focused on the non-Word Bearers), but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable ride. There were some key moments that really stood out for me, and the fight through the stranded cruiser was just a high octane thrill that kept me at the edge of my seat.
A really enjoyable sequel, and it doesn't suffer from the middle novel syndrome most trilogies suffer from. I can't wait to see where our cast ends up, and what kind of monstrous deeds, mayhem, and bloodshed awaits!
Read
April 22, 2025Dull, dull, dull. DNF.
Book 1 was full of cultist, horror, demonic, cosmic imagery. It immediately pulled me in and I thought about it in between reading sessions.
Here we have the classic case of: you’ve read all there is to read about this cast of characters, now we don’t have to waste any time on them and can focus on new characters - only the new characters are bloody dark elves. If I wanted to read a drukhari book, I’d read a drukhari book.
I was such a fan of the first and this was such a flop - maybe the worst I’ve ever read when it comes to a sequel? The first half of the book is ALL one raid/mission/connecting battle sequences. L.A.M.E. I gave up exactly 50% through, skimmed the rest, and I may return for the third but not if it’s another filler episode like this.
👎👎👎
Book 1 was full of cultist, horror, demonic, cosmic imagery. It immediately pulled me in and I thought about it in between reading sessions.
Here we have the classic case of: you’ve read all there is to read about this cast of characters, now we don’t have to waste any time on them and can focus on new characters - only the new characters are bloody dark elves. If I wanted to read a drukhari book, I’d read a drukhari book.
I was such a fan of the first and this was such a flop - maybe the worst I’ve ever read when it comes to a sequel? The first half of the book is ALL one raid/mission/connecting battle sequences. L.A.M.E. I gave up exactly 50% through, skimmed the rest, and I may return for the third but not if it’s another filler episode like this.
👎👎👎
April 28, 2015
Review to come
June 19, 2014
Shifting gears from the last novel, Dark Disciple sees the trilogy approaching a different kind of warfare. Despite being a continuation which examines the impact of Dark Apostle’s finale, especially the internal politics created from the recent shift in power, the primary focus here is squarely placed upon Marduk’s ambitions. We see here just how far he will go to go in order to achieve power, and some elements which display how the Word Bearers still manage to remain relatively united even after their total corruption.
Still reeling from the casualties inflicted by their conflicts with the Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Guard, the 34th Grand Host now flies through the Warp towards a new world. With the first part of Marduk’s ambitions now achieved, he leads his forces into a warzone, where an Imperial fleet is desperately trying to buy a world time against a Tyranid Hive Fleet. Embarking on an insane mission to retrieve the next piece of their puzzle from this world, Marduk’s forces race against time, even as he faces dissent from within. Yet upon this world, a danger unseen by all awaits them.
As with the last book, we see warfare through the eyes of both loyalists and traitors alike to show the full scale of a complict. While this is a tactic which has proven successful in countless novels from a vast multitude of authors, what makes the Dark Apostle notable is that many barely meet one another, nor even directly fight against each other.
Rather than seeing two massive armies clashing and their power plays to try and overcome the opposing side’s forces, we see the network of efforts, ambitions and individuals who represent parts of the story. The Imperial Admiral’s hard choices fighting the tyranids, the desperate effort by one man to see a child survive the war and a smuggler’s greed all play their part in the stories, but they rarely meet one another save for fleeting moments. While normally this would be something to condemn the tale, here is works in its favour by showing the scope of events even as the heroes themselves rarely meet or even know of them. Marduk’s forces are forced to resort to subterfuge and stealth to achieve their goal rather than a full scale invasion, and unlike last time they care nothing for domination of the world.
The Word Bearers here are treated more as a small band on a pilgrimage or quest rather than a full blown crusade and it does allow them to be shown in a different light. It displays to some degree how the legion is capable of performing smaller, subtler operations and just how far they are willing to go in the name of their gods. They, or at least primarily their leader, are entirely focused upon a single objective above all, hunting it relentlessly and doing all they can to avoid contact or suspicion from greater forces. As such the combat is far smaller, but it does seem to be more individually focused, allowing for more concentrated information than the far broader details trying to convey an entire campaign.
Due to this smaller focus we also learn more of the characters involved and their changes. While only one undergoes any massive developments, what we do learn mostly comes from their reactions to the recent change in power among their number. Some are now visibly out of favour or display open contempt for the one who now leads them, and it’s interesting to see how their loyalties react to this. Especially those who are loyal to the legion as a whole than the man who leads the 34th Grand Host.
Sadly however, this is as big a problem as it is an interesting development. Much like Ben Counter, Reynolds’ characters seem to represent ideas and concepts more than being fully well rounded individuals. This makes them excellent for exploring the army as a whole, and works extremely well in stories of sweeping battles and huge campaigns. With its removal and far more focus placed upon the characters, it’s sadly obvious that they lack some of the depth of other protagonists. Kol Badar is interesting for what he stands for, but has little beyond his role, and a daemonically possessed Magos is humorously twisted, but mostly plays out for humour or twistedly robotic behaviour.
Another problem goes with many factions involved. Unlike last time we are only given fleeting glimpses of them, and beyond one particular encounter, the book displays little of the tyranids as a threat. Understandable perhaps given that they are a descending foe, but all too often they seem too distant to be a genuinely hostile force facing the heroes.
The same problem goes for another xenos faction which soon emerges. While their half seen atrocities and carnage helps with some brilliantly, but because they are a surprise reveal they lack the presence antagonists need to really drive the story forwards. It also doesn’t help that, despite an otherwise respectful treatment, this faction falls for an obvious trick and a battle involving them breaks a big taboo involving Chaos. Namely that, despite being effectively scavengers, they draw the full attention of one of the Chaos gods, more or less totally manifesting to fight them.
This also goes for the problem that the final segment of the story rapidly shifts gears, trying to return to the massive combat of the previous book. While this might have worked as a finale with a build-up, the way it is presented seems more forced than a natural development within the story.
Really, Dark Disciple suffers from being the middle part of a story and failing to truly realise a few new ideas than being outright bad. It’s still worthy of a read, and manages to contain some surprisingly effective horror elements for a story involving space marines, but it’s best read as a part of the omnibus. As such, you’ll enjoy this one, but unlike many series it’s best read as a part of an ongoing narrative than individually.
Still reeling from the casualties inflicted by their conflicts with the Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Guard, the 34th Grand Host now flies through the Warp towards a new world. With the first part of Marduk’s ambitions now achieved, he leads his forces into a warzone, where an Imperial fleet is desperately trying to buy a world time against a Tyranid Hive Fleet. Embarking on an insane mission to retrieve the next piece of their puzzle from this world, Marduk’s forces race against time, even as he faces dissent from within. Yet upon this world, a danger unseen by all awaits them.
As with the last book, we see warfare through the eyes of both loyalists and traitors alike to show the full scale of a complict. While this is a tactic which has proven successful in countless novels from a vast multitude of authors, what makes the Dark Apostle notable is that many barely meet one another, nor even directly fight against each other.
Rather than seeing two massive armies clashing and their power plays to try and overcome the opposing side’s forces, we see the network of efforts, ambitions and individuals who represent parts of the story. The Imperial Admiral’s hard choices fighting the tyranids, the desperate effort by one man to see a child survive the war and a smuggler’s greed all play their part in the stories, but they rarely meet one another save for fleeting moments. While normally this would be something to condemn the tale, here is works in its favour by showing the scope of events even as the heroes themselves rarely meet or even know of them. Marduk’s forces are forced to resort to subterfuge and stealth to achieve their goal rather than a full scale invasion, and unlike last time they care nothing for domination of the world.
The Word Bearers here are treated more as a small band on a pilgrimage or quest rather than a full blown crusade and it does allow them to be shown in a different light. It displays to some degree how the legion is capable of performing smaller, subtler operations and just how far they are willing to go in the name of their gods. They, or at least primarily their leader, are entirely focused upon a single objective above all, hunting it relentlessly and doing all they can to avoid contact or suspicion from greater forces. As such the combat is far smaller, but it does seem to be more individually focused, allowing for more concentrated information than the far broader details trying to convey an entire campaign.
Due to this smaller focus we also learn more of the characters involved and their changes. While only one undergoes any massive developments, what we do learn mostly comes from their reactions to the recent change in power among their number. Some are now visibly out of favour or display open contempt for the one who now leads them, and it’s interesting to see how their loyalties react to this. Especially those who are loyal to the legion as a whole than the man who leads the 34th Grand Host.
Sadly however, this is as big a problem as it is an interesting development. Much like Ben Counter, Reynolds’ characters seem to represent ideas and concepts more than being fully well rounded individuals. This makes them excellent for exploring the army as a whole, and works extremely well in stories of sweeping battles and huge campaigns. With its removal and far more focus placed upon the characters, it’s sadly obvious that they lack some of the depth of other protagonists. Kol Badar is interesting for what he stands for, but has little beyond his role, and a daemonically possessed Magos is humorously twisted, but mostly plays out for humour or twistedly robotic behaviour.
Another problem goes with many factions involved. Unlike last time we are only given fleeting glimpses of them, and beyond one particular encounter, the book displays little of the tyranids as a threat. Understandable perhaps given that they are a descending foe, but all too often they seem too distant to be a genuinely hostile force facing the heroes.
The same problem goes for another xenos faction which soon emerges. While their half seen atrocities and carnage helps with some brilliantly, but because they are a surprise reveal they lack the presence antagonists need to really drive the story forwards. It also doesn’t help that, despite an otherwise respectful treatment, this faction falls for an obvious trick and a battle involving them breaks a big taboo involving Chaos. Namely that, despite being effectively scavengers, they draw the full attention of one of the Chaos gods, more or less totally manifesting to fight them.
This also goes for the problem that the final segment of the story rapidly shifts gears, trying to return to the massive combat of the previous book. While this might have worked as a finale with a build-up, the way it is presented seems more forced than a natural development within the story.
Really, Dark Disciple suffers from being the middle part of a story and failing to truly realise a few new ideas than being outright bad. It’s still worthy of a read, and manages to contain some surprisingly effective horror elements for a story involving space marines, but it’s best read as a part of the omnibus. As such, you’ll enjoy this one, but unlike many series it’s best read as a part of an ongoing narrative than individually.
September 26, 2025
Awesome non-stop action! Better than the first one.
I read Dark Disciple, after I finished the first Siege of Terra book, and once again realized just how much these books have changed throughout the years. Modern Warhammer titles just aren’t fun anymore. They take themselves way too seriously. They try too hard and the end result is just not fun.
So it was great reading a classic 40k book, from back when 40k was still a setting and not an evolving plot.
Anthony Reynolds does not sprinkle every book with references to other stories that you probably haven’t read. He does not try to be fancy with his prose, by using a thesaurus or shoehorning poetic descriptions everywhere either. And there is no forced diversity!
His writing is just perfect for what it is.
At the end of the day, I just want to read a fun, action packed page-turner, with an over the top plot. And the Word Bearers trilogy delivers!
I read Dark Disciple, after I finished the first Siege of Terra book, and once again realized just how much these books have changed throughout the years. Modern Warhammer titles just aren’t fun anymore. They take themselves way too seriously. They try too hard and the end result is just not fun.
So it was great reading a classic 40k book, from back when 40k was still a setting and not an evolving plot.
Anthony Reynolds does not sprinkle every book with references to other stories that you probably haven’t read. He does not try to be fancy with his prose, by using a thesaurus or shoehorning poetic descriptions everywhere either. And there is no forced diversity!
His writing is just perfect for what it is.
At the end of the day, I just want to read a fun, action packed page-turner, with an over the top plot. And the Word Bearers trilogy delivers!
January 30, 2021
"Burias sat at the controls of the craft, looking ludicrously large hunched over
the dials and levers that controlled the pitch, speed, depth, direction and roll of
the submersible. It was a simple control system akin to that of a shuttle, and he
had little trouble becoming familiar with it. He grinned like a madman as he
discovered the controls of the exterior robotic arms, and in the view-screen
Marduk could see the massive power-claw snapping, and the huge drill spinning,
creating a small whirlpool of turbulence.
‘Burias, it is not a toy,’said Marduk.
The submersible struck one of the underside legs of the mining facility, and
Burias looked around at Marduk guiltily. ‘Sorry,’ he said, and stopped fooling around with the robotic arms to concentrate on piloting the craft"
I was pleasantly surprised by the humor. Overall, a pretty good read, as far as 40k goes.
the dials and levers that controlled the pitch, speed, depth, direction and roll of
the submersible. It was a simple control system akin to that of a shuttle, and he
had little trouble becoming familiar with it. He grinned like a madman as he
discovered the controls of the exterior robotic arms, and in the view-screen
Marduk could see the massive power-claw snapping, and the huge drill spinning,
creating a small whirlpool of turbulence.
‘Burias, it is not a toy,’said Marduk.
The submersible struck one of the underside legs of the mining facility, and
Burias looked around at Marduk guiltily. ‘Sorry,’ he said, and stopped fooling around with the robotic arms to concentrate on piloting the craft"
I was pleasantly surprised by the humor. Overall, a pretty good read, as far as 40k goes.
December 11, 2018
Marduk and the Chaos Space Marines of the Word Bearers chapter go looking for the key to unlock the device recovered in Dark Apostle.
Lots going on as they find that the planet they need to visit is under attack from tyranids and dark eldar.
The story moves at a good pace, but some of the battle scenes become a case of "move, shoot, move a bit more, shoot a bit more".
A couple of side stories look at other people caught up in events, and in keeping with the rest of the book they don't usually have a happy ending.
Overall, this is a good continuation of the story.
Lots going on as they find that the planet they need to visit is under attack from tyranids and dark eldar.
The story moves at a good pace, but some of the battle scenes become a case of "move, shoot, move a bit more, shoot a bit more".
A couple of side stories look at other people caught up in events, and in keeping with the rest of the book they don't usually have a happy ending.
Overall, this is a good continuation of the story.
November 7, 2025
A strong entry in the series and has a bit more of a punch than the first book. The way all of the plot lines dovetail in the end is fantastic. And it does a better job than the first book of showing off Marduk as a character. The Word Bearers continue to be hilariously evil and engaging.
May 28, 2020
Great follow up to the first book. I enjoy the pacing in this book, as it moves slowly towards a fantastic ending. The Word Bearers are well portrait in this book, especially in Marduk.
August 12, 2022
Fairly average effort, bar for the recurring low-key misogyny permeating it. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...
August 5, 2023
Better than the last one, you get more of a view of the internal politics of the legion and some cool action scenes.
January 15, 2025
Quite boring.
March 15, 2017
This was another excellent read about the Word Bearers and their adventures. This group' leader, Marduk, travels to an ice world being attacked by both Tyranid and Dark Eldar slavera to activate a Necron transportation artifact they got in the first book while fending off challenges to his leadership. The characters are very interesting, the plot is clear, the pace is quick and the action is exciting. It was a fun read.
October 18, 2011
An interesting book.
It's a fun read with lots of action.
Initially I was a bit sceptical about the number of xenos in the novel thinking it was going to become a situation where aliens were doing little appearances for the sake of it.
Ironicly the aliens being there are what they are doing almost make more sense than what the chaos marines are up to.
So it's a good read but the plot isn't very good.
Suffering a bit from middle book syndrome
It's a fun read with lots of action.
Initially I was a bit sceptical about the number of xenos in the novel thinking it was going to become a situation where aliens were doing little appearances for the sake of it.
Ironicly the aliens being there are what they are doing almost make more sense than what the chaos marines are up to.
So it's a good read but the plot isn't very good.
Suffering a bit from middle book syndrome
August 13, 2010
A damn good book, but one of the xenos factions that makes an appearance seem to be a bit overpowered compared to elite members of a Chaos Marine Legion. Excellent atmosphere evoked by the author throughout, and an ending that will make you chuckle.
December 9, 2011
An awesome horror story!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews