Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Warped Galaxies #2

Les Griffes du Génovore

Rate this book
nan

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2019

14 people are currently reading
69 people want to read

About the author

Cavan Scott

844 books436 followers
is a freelance comic writer and author. He is best known for his work on a variety of spin-offs from both Doctor Who and Star Wars, as well as comics and novels for Vikings, Pacific Rim, Sherlock Holmes, and Penguins of Madagascar.

Cavan Scott, along with Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, Daniel Jose Older, and Charles Soule are crafting a new era in the Star Wars publishing world called Star Wars: The High Republic. Cavan's contribution to the era is a comic book series released through Marvel Comics titled Star Wars: The High Republic.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
35 (24%)
4 stars
56 (39%)
3 stars
40 (28%)
2 stars
9 (6%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
Profile Image for Michael Dodd.
988 reviews80 followers
October 12, 2019
Picking up shortly after the conclusion to Attack of the Necron, this is all about the situation for the gang getting worse before it can get better. Despite the threat of the necron having been dealt with, the sense of danger only increases as Talen stumbles upon cave-dwelling monsters and the children are (temporarily) forced to figure things out without the comforting presence of Fleapit the Jokaero. The rapid pace of events keeps the plot moving nicely while allowing for a satisfying development of the tense relationships between the three children, Talen proving the main source of disruption – distrusting Fleapit and Mekki and reacting poorly to what he sees as Zelia’s bossiness. It’s an effective continuation of the story, upping the stakes with additional tension between characters and the introduction of new enemies, building up to a breathless escape and a teasing cliffhanger.

Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/10/...
36 reviews2 followers
July 10, 2019
No-one can accuse the Warped Galaxies series of Warhammer Adventures of being slow-paced as Cavan Scott continues to put his young heroes through their paces. After narrowly surviving a planet-wide genocide and barely outwitting a Necron hunter, “Claws of the Genestealer” pits them against the icy elements and the unrelenting danger of the Tyranid Genestealers. The Genestealers are an iconic part of Warhammer 40,000 lore, most recognisable from the standalone board game Space Hulk. Reminiscent of H.R Giger's design of the Xenomorph from Alien, these clawed beasts are unstoppable killing machines and I was curious to see how they would fit into the diluted view of Warhammer 40,000 represented in this series, and whether they would be sanitised or “dumbed-down” to give the children a chance at survival.

I needn't have worried as Cavan Scott treats the Genestealers with respect and reverence they deserve and for the majority of the book, our heroes have the narrowest of escapes from their bloodthirsty foe. Scott maintains the suspense throughout the book, creating a sense of terror that feels reminiscent of the Jurassic Park series mixed with an age-appropriate rendition of Alien. The Genestealer is portrayed as the deadly threat it is, ensuring that every confrontation feels “life and death” and no-one feels untouchable. There is one extremely effective cliff-hanger that made me think that one of the supporting cast was done for, and I didn't expect the last-minute save at all. It was a great moment, and one that made me realise how much I cared for this cast of characters.

Scott's development of the three main cast is brilliant, and I love the way he has created compelling relationships between them all. The rivalry between Talen and Mekki is given more spotlight in this particular novel, and it takes some unexpected turns throughout the story. Their interactions seem very believable, and they are all likeable in their own way. Ultmately, I think I prefer Talen – the awkward loner who finds it difficult to trust and open up – but Mekki is also quite enjoyable as the emotionless Martian, who may or may not be influenced by a certain Vulcan. Even Fleapit, who runs the risk of being the Jar Jar Binks comedy relief, is an intriguing character and while he has less presence in this adventure, I am very interested in finding out more about his backstory and having him interact more with the others.

Much like “Attack of the Necron”, this story is action-packed and sees our heroes reacting to life-threatening situations. While there is the hint of a wider plot, these first two novels have focused more on introducing the characters through the near-death experiences they've undergone. It's an effective way to develop the characters as we get to see them at their most stressful, and they've forged a solid friendship in the midst of adversity. Hopefully, the next novel fleshes out some of the mythology of the series, such as why the Necron were after the Diadem that Zelia and her mother discovered on Targian. With the story moving away from the remote ice planet, it seems like we are moving into the next chapter of the storyline and I am intrigued to find out where Scott intends to take our heroes next.

Pulse-poundingly good, “Claws of the Genestealer” is a fantastic example of writing tense survival horror for a younger audience. A thrill ride from the moment the book opens, Cavan Scott writes an action adventure that will have children begging for “just one more chapter” at bed-time, and as an adult, you'll be happy to oblige. The Genestealers are a brilliant enemy, and this novel captures the ferocity of these apex predators, evoking memories of those classic 80s unstoppable force movies, such as Terminator, Predator and Alien. Less so, the more modern installments. Those final chapters of the novel are breath-takingly good, pulsing along with a frenetic pace that will have readers glued to the page. These novels really are a great way to get new fans into the hobby, and I wouldn't be surprised if Games Workshop released figures or scenarios that allowed younger players to replicate these adventures on the table-top.
Profile Image for Christian.
721 reviews
May 16, 2019
The action ramps up and there is more defined characterization as the young adventurers contend with a genestealer Infestation at the same time as trying to survive a winter on an alien planet. I like the relationships forming and it is a good cliffhanger. I look forward to the next novel.
Profile Image for Chris Andrews.
201 reviews8 followers
February 14, 2021
Disapointing after how much I liked the first... however the damn ending has left me wanting to get the next in the series.
Profile Image for Amy Walker  - Trans-Scribe Reviews.
924 reviews16 followers
December 21, 2020
The last volume of the Warped Galaxies series saw our band of misfit heroes come together in the destruction of a Necron invasion, only to end up lost and alone on a distant, frozen world. It's here that the story continues, with the three children and their Jokaero companion trying desperately to survive in these frozen wastelands. With dwindling food reserves, power running out, and Flea-Pit slowly succumbing to the cold, things look more desperate than ever.

Talen has taken it upon himself to try and find more food for them, and has set out into the strange mushroom forest to hunt for anything he can. When his hunt goes wrong he ends up falling into a deep chasm, dislocating his shoulder in the process, and requiring rescuing. Whilst his friends are able to find him and get him out, they also come face to face with a deadly Ambull, a large, insect-like alien. However, when they notice that the Ambull is wounded, covered in vicious claw marks it raises the question of what could possibly hurt such a monstrous creature?

Unfortunately, the kids get an answer to their question when their camp falls under attack from a Genestealer, one of the deadliest xeno races in the galaxy. Running for their lives, the teens and Flea-Pit must find a way to escape the deadly alien before it catches them and rips them to pieces.

There was a palpable sense of danger from the Necrons in the first volume of Warped Galaxies, due in large part to the huge levels of destruction that readers got to see when they tore their way through a hive-world, their advanced technology reducing everything to burnt wreckage. But once on the frozen planet and left facing a lone Hunter I couldn't help but feel that things weren't as bad, even though this lone Necron was still a threat. Our heroes were able to use their ingenuity and tech to defeat the mechanised alien, but here things feel so much more desperate.

A single alien shouldn't be so scary, so much of a threat, but this single Genestealer, nicknamed Scarface, is genuinely frightening. It tears through the kids defences like they're nothing, ripping metal bulkheads apart like they're nothing, and is able to use tactics to get around traps and defences. It feels so much deadlier and unpredictable than the Necrons ever did, and that level of tension makes this book a lot more enjoyable than the first.

Our group is able to find an abandoned ship in order to hide in, trying to stay a few steps ahead of the alien monster, but this just makes things worse, as the book suddenly feels more like Alien, with the kids being stalked through darkened corridors and hallways by a vicious killer. These latter segments of the book were the best in the series yet, and were pretty scary for a book designed chiefly for kids.

The book isn't just about running and trying to stay alive, however, as we get some great moments of character development, and it really has started to feel like the three teens have started to come together to become a team. Zelia and Mekki have know each other for a while, but Talen has generally felt like an outside presence for much of the books, and butts heads with the others more than once, so it's nice to see him actually having some nice moments of interaction with the others. Yes, there's still disagreements and some sniping going on between them, but you can tell that the three of them have started to care for each other, and its the small moments of kindness that really stand out as some of the best characterisations, and are really worthwhile.

Despite being sidelined for much of the book thanks to suffering badly from the cold Flea-Pit still manages to come across as the most interesting character, and the moment he literally pulls Talen out of harms way, before getting to gun down dozens of aliens is definitely a big hero moment for him. I just hope that this isn't a pattern that is going to continue. Whilst I love him coming in and doing awesome stuff, I don't like him just not being around for the first half of the book, something that has happened twice now. Hopefully he will get to integrate into the main group more going forward, especially now that we've got to see some more of his backstory too.

Claws of the Genestealer shows that the first book in the series wasn't just a fluke, that this is a series that really, really works, and that Warhammer 40,000 for kids can be engaging and exciting for all ages. I'm eager to see what happens next in the series.
Profile Image for Stephen Rose.
321 reviews49 followers
December 20, 2024
Warhammer Adventures: Stories from the Far Future
By Cavan Scott

What?! A Warhammer series for kids?!

If you’re familiar with Warhammer you may be just as surprised as I am because of the fictional series’ “grim dark” setting in their hundreds of novels. If you aren’t familiar, be prepared, Amazon and Henry Cavil have teamed up to bring Warhammer 40,000 to the big screen, and it’s not long before the franchise becomes mainstream.

Full disclosure- I am a big Warhammer nerd. I was ecstatic to read these, and I have to say, the quality is just as high as the other novels in their catalogue.

This series follows a group of kids as they are thrown into a race for their lives, trying to get a mysterious alien device into the right hands. I was happy to see that this is a 6 part series, rather than 6 individual stories. The archetype themes are all there: a loner that learns to appreciate those around him, a tech genius that becomes appreciated, and kid holding onto hope against all odds while searching for her mother.

As far as the Warhammer lore goes, I was surprised how much they were able to fit in. And they don’t hold back. It’s all there as a fantastic introduction to this universe. Which is where Christian families may start to take issue. It is the grim dark far future, in 40,000th millennium, and things are not good. There is a worshipped emperor referred to as the “God-Emperor”, there are labotamized slaves, mass planetary executions, bloodthirsty aliens, psychic powers, and war. Lots of war. And these books do not shy away from it, it’s all there, even if toned down a bit. In general there is some violence, some scares, and use of psychic powers.

Each book also includes illustrations, a glossary, and the audiobooks are narrated by David Tenet of Dr. Who fame.

Still interested? I’ll bring up the themes and ⚠️ Parental Warning ⚠️ content of each book individually below.

1. Attack of the Necron-
-A thug “cursed”
-A young protagonist “Swore” beneath his breath.
-Explains that the Mechanicus worship a spirit they believe lives in all machines: “Communicate with the machine spirits that dwell inside vehicles and cogitators”
-Someone is “a pain in the nether regions”—To speak against the emperor is “heresy”, shows faith in emperor and explains that the “emperor protects”,“Prayers” answered and guided by the emperor.
-Surprisingly lots of Warhammer lore
-some violence as planets are destroyed and lives lost in alien attacks.
-Meditating at an alter.

2. Claws of the Genestealer
-Galactic Compendium in back talks about psykers, while giving great info on Wahammer lore and world building.

3. Secrets of the Tau
-Addresses mankind’s hatred for xenos races. And hypocrisy of another race’s “greater good” philosophy.
-Adult character says “get the damn thing back myself”
-Heard “Drunken” singing in a marketplace
-Good teamwork theme.

4. War of the Orks
-explores unfolding story of the characters’ histories
-More good pointing out irony of war
-Ork says, “They don’t give a fig for” nature.
-Ork slang like, “Zogging amazing”
-a little Violent as the Orks try and sometimes succeed in killing each other.

5. Plague of the Nurglings
-Psyker has ability to track people by touching an object that someone has touched.
-Violent
-learn about the demons that live in the warp as they come into reality and attack.

6. Tomb of the Necron
-kids have to deal with a witchy old Psyker that can take youth of another and control spiders,
-Kids actually put into dangerous situations.
84 reviews
November 18, 2024
I liked the book quite a bit. Storywise it might be a bit thin, especially as a continuation to the first book, but the presentation was lots of fun. Regarding its length it is fast paced and thrilling, which is also helped a lot by David Tennents performance on the audiobook.


SPOILERS

Talon is going on a mission to find some food before they starve on that ice planet. Too bad he has to run from a monster and hurts his shoulder. The others get him back but have to figure out how to get their camp going, while lights, heating and the sonic shield is failing. In the meantime a Genestealer appears which complicates things. They figure out with the help of Mekkis servo sprite that Fleapit had found a crashed ship, but he has to hibernate now due to the cold. On said ship they need to flee again, after figuring out, more genestealers were hibernating there as well. Which was also the reason for the ship to crash land in the first place.

Overall, nice introduction of genestealers in general and making it somewhat viable how they can survive, being kids and all. One hurt GS is probably manageable. I like how the author is able to make the story believable in a young adult context. The powerful character has a major flaw and can't help them to his full capacity. Additionally, the story portrays the strengths of each character well, without being too on the nose. Coupled with the engaging pacing it was a fun read and I can see kids dipping their toes into this setting enjoying this quite a lot.

I'm just a bit disappointed by the Inquisitor not appearing that had been teased initially. Was looking forward to reading about him.
28 reviews1 follower
December 8, 2019
Title: Claws of the Genestealer
Author: Cavan Scott

Reading Level: 3
Book Level: 4

Summary: It is the 41st Millenium and mankind has found itself teetering on the brink of destruction as a result of numerous threats from without and within. While millions of planets have been settled by humans, it has opened humanity to threats from beyond the stars and from even beyond the Universe. Zelia Lor and her friends Talen, Mekki, and an intelligent ape/alien Fleapit have found themselves marooned on an ice planet. But they aren’t alone.

Genre: Science Fiction

Mentor Writing Trait:
Word Choice: When reading a book that features a scary monster, it is important that the author choose words that help the audience come to understand just how creepy or crawly or hairy or big or slimy or any other number of things that adds up to a big bad monster. This book serves as a great example of such a fully formed and freaky monster put to text, all of which serves to make the audience that much more worried about the safety of the characters they have come to know and enjoy. In turn, this keeps them turning page after page in order to find out what happens next. As a fun activity, after completing the book, students can try their hands at making a monster through drawing or painting or other visual, which they can then turn into a written description that will frighten any reader.
171 reviews
December 15, 2019
Zelia Lor, Talen, Mekki and Fleapit have survived the attacks of the Necron hunter on the unnamed ice planet their escape pod crashed onto. But with supplies running low and the power for their heating and distress beacon is nearly out. If they are not rescued soon then the cold will get them. Or maybe what's on the planet with them will...

Another fun kid friendly slice of 40K action. It's toned down and simplified a little but not too much, it doesn't pander. Though how long 3 kids and a jokaro would survive against even one genestealer purestrain or a dreaded ambul i'm not sure. But this is hardly the first children's book where the protagonists wear heavy plot armour and it's not like no one get hurt or killed.
Profile Image for Veronica Anrathi.
455 reviews91 followers
May 27, 2019
A nice continuation of the first novel, I liked it a little less, but I can't really say it had any major issues. Guess the first one was just more impressive to me cause I did not know what to expect. Heroes go through character development in a proper pace. The author found a perfect balance of staying true to the lore, but not going overboard with the spooks. I love that each part has a little dictionary at the end, explaining the words and terms a young reader is most likely unfamiliar with. Another good one, looking forward to the third part.
Profile Image for Brit (Circus_of_Damed) .
499 reviews5 followers
March 2, 2021
This is the second book in the Warped Galaxies series. This was another fast paced, action packed, entertaining, easy to read book. However I didn't find this installment as engrossing and engaging as the first in the series. I didn't enjoy the ending especially given the cliff hanger which was my main issue with the ending. It felt a pit contrite and like it wasn't necessary, but forced to build desire to read the next book in the series. However I will be giving the next book in the series a read before I form an opinion on the series as a whole.
Profile Image for Camio.Dontchaknow.
321 reviews2 followers
January 1, 2022
Same as the previous book really. The author's working too hard to make it !!!EXCITING!!!... but it just comes across as people running and shouting at each other without much in the way of purpose. Even as a kid this would have annoyed me. If you've got a story to tell, tell it! Having your characters emote their heads off through end-to-end scenes of indistinct action isn't the same thing.
Profile Image for AA_Logan.
392 reviews21 followers
March 22, 2023
I don’t think I’m the target audience for this book, but I enjoyed listening to David Tennant read it on a day off work ill nonetheless. A great introduction to the setting, and a well-constructed story. Talen’s literal xenophobia is most fitting for the setting, but him and Zelia do Flegan-Pala dirty with that Fleapit stuff.
1,023 reviews6 followers
August 4, 2021
I like Science Fiction and listened to the Graphic Audio of this book. Is Book2 of Warhammer Adventures. Think the game but as a book so the war is built and you are following a certain scenario in that world.
Profile Image for nooker.
782 reviews1 follower
May 19, 2019
This one was really cool. These are definitely for kids, but the story is still fun. I could see using it as a basis for an RPG. I look forward to the next one.
Profile Image for Henrik.
271 reviews7 followers
May 29, 2019
A pretty entertaining book. It's the standard tale of young friends in a dire situation but set in the 40k universe. I can see this as a good introduction to the warhammer setting.
Profile Image for Sarah Evans.
672 reviews15 followers
July 14, 2019
Fun middle grade adventure in an intriguing sci-fi world.
Profile Image for Michael.
6 reviews1 follower
October 3, 2019
Read this with my son and he really enjoyed it ready for the next one!
Profile Image for Jeremy.
223 reviews16 followers
December 12, 2023
Attack of the Necron was a surprisingly decent start to the series, but Claws of the Genestealer just feels like filler.
298 reviews3 followers
February 13, 2024
These books aren’t great, but they’re doing wonders for my reading stats.
Profile Image for Guy Sandison.
251 reviews1 follower
October 9, 2024
My 8 year old enjoyed it. It reads as a child friendly horror story, if that’s not an oxymoron.
Profile Image for Gabby.
2,543 reviews26 followers
March 21, 2021
They made it off the planet but the darkness closes in. A good mix of childrens adventure and the darker world of the Warhammer 40K universe. The Genestealers are terrifying and the fact that even one is alive causing all that damage makes me wonder if they will ever survive. A much darker twist with a good mix of arguments and infighting. I am loving this series... cliffhangers and all.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.