Space Wolf: The First Omnibus

Space Wolf #1-3

by William King

These three classic SF stories follow the adventures of Ragnar the Space Wolf, from his recruitment by the Space Marines on the savage world of Fenris to his aventures amongst the stars. Whether Ragnar and his friends are fighting orks, mutants, or the foul forces of Chaos, adventure is never far behind!

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Military Fiction, Novels

768 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's no Gotrek and Felix, but for all those times when you want to read about is tired men praying to Russ to bless their bolt pistols, this is the book. Also, in the second book a man's head fills with puss and explodes.

Trash fiction checklist:
Orcs: Yes
Zombies: Yes
Sex: No
Overly graphic death scenes that make you giggle: Yes

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The VI Legion. The Vlka Fenryka. The Rout. All monikers for the Space Wolves. A mighty Legion that is now a mighty Chapter. But, even among such heroes, there are some that stand out. The Wolf Lord Ragnar Blackmane is one such Space Marine. This is his tale.

A superb "biography" of the early years of the famous Ragnar. We meet him as a youth (around 12) fighting to defend his village against raiders. His death was inevitable, but still, he fought and slew many. His deeds earned him life and resurrection as a candidate for the Space Wolves. The three stories follow his process of going from a recruit to a neophyte to Astartes. It is a great look at how the process of becoming a Space marine works. Ragnar is a great character and a deep one.

"Space Wolf" is the first story and revolves around Ragnar's youth and his time as a neophyte leading up to him facing the trails to become a full Astartes. But there is also a great story about the Inquisition and a Chaos outbreak on Fenris itself.

"Ragnar's Claw" follows the events of Ragnar as a young Blood Claw squad leader. This story ties in with the first and the Inquisition team take the Wolves to fight an ork warboss to recover an ancient artifact.

"Grey Hunter" follows a more experienced Ragnar and is the culmination of the other two tales. The Artifact shows the path to a huge Chaos army and warlord that have stolen the Spear of Russ.

All the stories are excellent and give a great look into the Space Wolves. Must read for any 40K fan.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I’ve come to get to know and love the diverse, dystopian, science fantasy world of Games Workshop and Black Library’s “Warhammer 40,000” I’ve discovered one of the reasons why the genetically engineered fan favorite warriors of the various Space Marine legions are so popular is the original 18 legions and the thousand of others that formed in subsequent foundings is the eclectic cultures they hail from and the cool premises behind them. For instance, the members of the Space Wolf legion essentially are futuristic vikings with werewolf style powers. I repeat futuristic vikings with werewolf powers! That’s a fantastic premise with a lot of promise.

So I was excited to read “The Space Wolf Omnibus” by William King which collects his first three novels featuring the titular Space Marine Legion, “Space Wolf,” “Ragnar’s Claw,” and “Grey Hunter.” Now having finished the book I can whole heartedly say that King took the awesome and very Metal premise of the Space Wolves and fleshed it out into something fun and fascinating. He also expertly and slowly immerses readers into the big, exciting world of 40k. If you or a friend are looking for an introduction into the 40K universe and it’s larger lore “The Space Wolf Omnibus” is a good place for them to start.

The culture of the Space Wolves revolves around the one found on the “Death World” (a planet inhospitable to human life) of Fenris. It’s a snowy world of islands so its human population very much lives as the ancient Vikings did; as seafaring warriors and hunters who battle rival clans for territory. It’s from these clans that the Space Wolves, who are viewed as god like beings and sorcerers recruit new aspirants.

So in “Space Wolf” King kicks things off with a chapter that throws you headlong into an exciting battle, with the protagonist of the three novels, Ragnar Blackmane, and then in chapter two he winds the clock back and reintroduces us to a very young Ragnar who is still a pretty fierce warrior even at his young age. You get to spend some time with him and the members of his clan as they use one of their boats to ferry a Space Wolf back to one of their facilities. Then King plunges you headfirst into the tragic events that lead Ragnar to become a potential recruit for the Sixth Space Marine Legion. What makes the story even more interesting is that a mortal enemy of Ragnar’s clan named Strybjorn is recruited at the same time as Ragnar and the two are forced to cooperate.

From there we follow Ragnar and his fellow aspirants through the various trials of William Kingbecoming a Space Wolf. We get to learn a lot more about the fascinating and frozen environment of Fenris and the customs of the Space Wolves. You also learn a lot more about Ragnar and his unique perspective among the Space Wolves.

So “Space Wolf” is definitely more of a character driven novel and probably my favorite of the three in this omnibus. Ragnar’s journey from human to genetically enhanced warrior is a pretty epic one and watching him learn about the larger universe is fun if you’re new to the world of 40K or someone who’s pretty knowledgeable like myself. In the final part of the book King tests the mettle of Ragnar and his new Space Marine comrades by forcing them to confront one of their Legion’s ancient and most hated foes.

In “Ragnar’s Claw” King introduces readers and Ragnar to another important 40K institution as the surviving Blood Claws are recruited by the Inquisition for a mission. It’s an exciting one that takes them to a variety of classic 40K locales like a world under siege by an Ork Waagh and a Space Hulk. The novel is very much a classic and fun adventure story as King’s heroes travel to various locales looking for pieces of an ancient artifact that will help them combat the powers of Chaos. The climax where Ragnar and his comrades invade an ancient Eldar temple to confront the forces of a specific Chaos God is especially satisfying.

Then in “Grey Hunter” King immerses readers deeper into the universe of 40K by upping the scope and scale of the novel to epic proportions. In the story Ragnar and most the of the Legion are called to defend a world sacred to the Space Wolves that is under siege by a massive army of Chaos aligned heretics. The story is pretty much a war novel with some thrilling set pieces. I particularly loved the boarding action Ragnar and his brethren engage in as they storm a hostile Chaos warship and the final apocalyptic confrontation with the leaders of the heretic army.

So over the course of “The Space Wolf Omnibus readers are given some breathtaking action sequences and taken to many strange alien vistas, but what really makes those scenes work is the connection the readers feel to Ragnar and his fellow Space Wolves. King really makes these characters larger than life. They’re daring in battle, loyal to their friends and love to celebrate victories with ale capable of intoxicating them even with their enhanced physiques.

Ragnar is especially interesting because of his introspective nature and the time we spend with him as he processes all theses new things and learns and deals with his inner demons like his hatred of Strybjorn or what appears to be claustrophobia (At first I wasn’t sure what to make of that because my understanding was Space Marines are genetically programmed to not feel fear, but I just let it go. It helped humanize Ragnar a bit)

My other favorite characters included Ragnar’s Seargeant, Hakon, and Berek Thunderfist, the Wolf Lord of Ragnar’s division of the Space Wolves. Hakon is a classic gruff but fair instructor type, and Berek Thunderfist is as cool and as Heavy Metal as his name suggests.

So if you’re looking for a great entry point into the “Warhammer 40,000” universe, or if you’re looking for three novels that celebrate some of it’s awesome fundamental and unique traits definitely check out “The Spacewolf Anthology.” It’s packed with fun action, cool characters, and makes great use of one of “Warhammer 40,000’s” most Metal premises.

[Natasha Duncan-Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only way to describe this book is Viking werewolves(ish) in space. I bought it in a Cancer Research charity shop for £1.80 and it's the kind of book I tend to buy just to have a look at it. I wasn't sure I was going to like it. The fact is I enjoyed it so much I searched out Space Wolf: The Second Omnibus and bought that too (it's in the post as we speak).

The book is a set of three novels about Ragnar, a young Viking from the world of Fenris. When the first book opens as far as he knows his whole world is the islands on which the Viking tribes live, but when he dies he starts a completely new life, or rather, when he almost dies.

Ragnar is taken by the Choosers of the Slain and in the first book he trains to become a Space Wolf. Space Wolves aren't actually werewolves, but they have been implanted with the gene-seed that gives them wolf like characteristics, but I still think of them as werewolves in space :). We see through Ragnar's eyes and all his confusion at the new worlds and new possibilities opening up before him.

In the second book Ragnar is a Blood Claw, the lowest rank among the Space Wolves and we are allowed to live his first off world mission with him.

Then in the third book Ragnar is just seasoned enough to almost be a Grey Hunter and we see him go to war with the whole chapter of Space Wolves to retrieve one of their sacred relics from the forces of Chaos.

As far as I am concerned each book was better than the next. I enjoyed the first book, but I found Ragnar's ignorance of everything around him a little jarring. Then the second book is exciting and had me continually coming back for more, and finally the third book I didn't want to put down.

The only thing I could have lived without were some of the battles. They became a little repetitive in places (but that's probably just me - I'm not much of a battle person :)) and I have to admit to skimming through some of them for the important plot points and not really taking much notice of the rest. However, there is plenty of other, much more interesting stuff around the battles, so this isn't a big issue for me. After all it is called Warhammer, so I had to expect some epic battles :).

Ragnar is a great character. He has doubts and flaws, but he's still a fantastic warrior and he's especially good when teamed up with his friend Sven, because they play off each other really well. In the first book he's more alone and isolated, which is part of why I think I prefer the later books, because Sven is there as well.

These books exist in a very interesting universe that I find fascinating as well, which really helps keep me interested. They have good characters, good plot and good world building. The way Ragnar learns everything gives the reader a way to learn everything as well, which is a very useful device. I am looking forward to when the new omnibus arrives.

The one thing I had to wonder though ... with all these hot blooded males, what about sex? Ragnar is attracted to a female character at one point, but it never comes to anything. I had to wonder what happened to their sex drives. Also, a very male orientated book, simply because of the setup there are virtually no female characters.

[scafandr · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 года назад, будучи в командировке в Минске, страстно желал зайти перед отъездом в любимую книжную лавку и купить пару книг забористой Вахи. К моему разочарованию, на витрине лежала только одна книга, "Космические волки", которые не были в моем вишлисте из-за не самых высоких оценок, но выбора не было... Пришлось брать что есть и не выпендриваться.
В этой книге собраны 3 романа из 6 целого цикла. 3 истории становления главного героя - великого и могучего Волка Рагнара Черная Грива. В первой книге он предстает перед нами зеленым юнцом, который живет на планете Фенрис, и в целом его жизнь напоминает быт молодого викинга, жителя маленькой скандинавской деревушки. Покататься на лодке, поохотиться, напустить страху на воинов другого племени.
В один непрекрасный день, когда деревня Рагнара полыхала огнем из-за нападения врагов, жизнь парня изменилась раз и навсегда. Его выбрали в кандидаты на звание гордого и великого космического десантника, брата из Ордена Космических Волков.
Первая книга рассказывает о том, как Рагнар попал в состав Волков (становление героя). Во второй книге он делает первые шаги, как воин в настоящей броне. Тут будет много экшена, много орков, тиранидов и хаоситов. Типичный вархаммеровский боевичок.
В третьей книге Рагнар летит на Гарм, чтобы спасти великий артефакт - Копье Русса.
Тот же продавец, у которого я купил эту книгу, с улыбкой мне сказал, что пробовал начинать Ваху, но... "Средненький космический боевичок?", - подсказал ему я. "Именно!", - подтвердил продавец.
Первая часть цикла именно такая, типичная Ваха. Есть великий герой и могущественные артефакты, есть второстепенные персонажи, которые обязательно погибнут, есть много перестрелок и глупых врагов. Но зато все это описано бодро и задорно. Несмотря на не очень высокие оценки, мне книга понравилась. Отдохнул, порадовался за то, что у Рагнара все получается и он никак не может поймать шальную пулю в лоб, ибо он постоянно игнорирует шлем, который не дает ему возможность чуять запахи (гены Волка все-таки).
Если многого не ждать, годная книга. 7,5/10.

[Jerod Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this book. I didn't really ever like the characters, never really felt very Warhammery and the ending really pissed me off. What the hell happened?! Bleh.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three novels about, umm, space wolves. I'm going to review all three novels included here.

Space Wolf: This entire novel is a flashback showing how our hero, Ragnar (I kept thinking of the guy from Dragon Quest IV) became a Space Wolf, opening with him as a normal dude and ending as he's completed his initiation and is ready to head out into the galaxy to fight. I was going to complain about the fact that we know that he doesn't die because this is the first novel in the omnibus, but the novel itself spoils this by having him get whacked on the head and flash back, so you know he's gonna be okay. Plus, I guess, the novel is titled Space Wolf, not Guy Who Tried To Become a Space Wolf But Died. No, the real issue I have is that the writing is what could charitably be called workmanlike and perhaps more accurately be called pedestrian; this is a interesting book because of the novel-sized depth given to becoming a Space Marine, not necessarily because it's well-written. I'd probably only recommend this to people on the ends of the 40k fan spectrum: It's a good place to get started or an interesting read if you're really into the setting.

Ragnar's Claw: Goofily enough, this is another novel-length flashback, this time with a older Ragnar flashing back to his first deployment. The plot's a bare-bones GET THE MCGUFFIN, and honestly it's not as interesting as the fact that this novel is where things start getting weird. King seems to be working off some old, no longer in canon idea of what a Space Marine is, as Ragnar meets a Inquisitor who is "almost as tall as [Ragnar] is" - no small feat considering Space Marines are usually 8 - 10 feet tall without shoes. (This gets even sillier when they meet a guy who is taller than a Space Marine who is "tall even for a Space Marine", which by my math would make this guy a normal human who is over ten feet tall.) More than that, these guys don't really act a lot like Space Marines, as I found myself incredulously reading about them farting and then teasing each other for who produced the most impressive gas.
In a way, this is interesting in itself, but it runs against one of the more interesting themes in W40k, which is how the Space Marines' super-humanity sets them apart from the average human (for a more nuanced take on this subject, I recommend, of all things, A Thousand Sons). The heroes of this book are just guys who can smell well and don't get tired, and this combined with the nothing special plot results in a novel that isn't bad, but doesn't really have much to recommend.

Grey Hunter: Unbelievably, the omnibus goes three for three with flashbacks, as this novel too opens with a page of Ragnar in the present day and then the rest of the book is a huge flashback. I'm not really sure I have much to say about this novel; free of the first novel's unusual focus on the making of a space marine and the second novel's weird obsession with farting, this is just a straight up average old W40k novel. The basic plot is that some Chaos guys stole a MacGuffin that the Space Wolves want back, so they go and shoot and stab a bunch of people. It's perfectly serviceable and there's nothing wrong with it, but a few days after reading it I'm struggling to remember anything interesting about it at all.

In sum, I think this entire omnibus is like the first novel it contains - it can only really be recommended to someone looking to dip an exploratory toe in the W40K setting, or for superfans for whom $10 for 3 full-sized average-quality novels is irresistible. There's nothing really wrong with this collection, but even at such a cheap price for so much, there's some really excellent W40K material out there that this omnibus just can't stack up against.

[Huronimus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Russ be praised!

William King is a master of heroic story telling and Ragnar’s tale is one of his best in my opinion. I love the Warhammer 40K setting and its bleak techno dystopian and cruel authoritarian atmosphere. There’s no good guys, just the bad and the really bad. However, that didn’t stop King from writing an inspiring story of a hero rising up from all that death and darkness. Seething with rage and covered in the bloody viscera of a thousand enemies, but a hero nonetheless.

Space Marines are ultimate bad asses and Space Wolves are something like the savage shock trooper version. They may retain much of their primitive roots, but there can be no doubt they are close combat monsters. The lengthy and brutal initiation Ragnar survives highlights just how super human and ridiculously tough each Space Wolf must be. All this is before being transformed by the Cup of Wulfen, undergoing sacred gene-seed implantation, and being bestowed nuclear powered armor and high tech heavy weaponry. No doubt, these are killing machines that would give even Freddy Krueger nightmares. And Ragnar is not just any Space Wolf - he’s a true berserker marked for great and strange things.

However, I can see why some might not click with King’s representations. Like the Space Wolves themselves, King’s depiction of Ragnar and his brothers does not follow the codex. His Space Wolves are not passionless psychopaths who fanatically kill without hesitation or fear. In fact, Ragnar retains very strong emotions, a questioning attitude, and a deep sense of idealism. Any of these traits could be seen as clashing with the traditional view of Space Marines and the overall mythos of the 40K universe. And while it is mostly well done, there are times the author goes overboard with Ragnar’s insightful neuroticism and un-Astartes struggles with fear.

In addition, there are a few issues with the writing. Minor things that caught my attention but did not diminish the overall enjoyment of reading. An example is how it is often unclear whether or not Ragnar or any Space Wolf are even carrying helmets or if these are anything other than conventional head coverings (they are much more). King also seems to overlook the basic mechanics of a 1000+ lbs Space Wolf in hard armor as he has them traveling through forest terrain without leaving giant tracks, moving silently over rocky terrain, or interacting with conventional furniture. Finally, book three has a weaker writing style, almost as if an amateur editor was involved and the book was dumbed down a bit for a younger audience.

For me though, the truly disappointing thing about Ragnar’s story is that it isn’t finished by King beyond the fourth book in this series. Maybe there were creative issues with Games Workshop. Maybe King lost interest in writing about Ragnar. I don’t know what drove the decision to turn the series over to other authors, aka Lee Lightner, but I do know that’s where the story ended for me. No offense to the new authors, but also no thank you.

The bottom line is this is a great set of 40K books, which are made even better in Kindle format. Of course, the price point is terrible but that’s standard Games Workshop protocol.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in the space wolf omnibus is all about how young men from the land of Fenrus are trained to fight for there land against all the other tribes. One day the young boy named Ragnar finds out that he is chosen by the angels that watch during battle. But what the angels really are is all but unknown to them until they are revived on the ship in space of Feruses orbit. They are found out to be the savage but powerful Space Wolves. These space marines are arguably the most powerful space marines that ever existed in the Space marine legions. Ragnar is sent through rigorous training that finally leads to his last part of training. He must drink from a holy cup that allow one to begin becoming a space wolf, but there is one twist, one must be able to hold the inner wolf at bay to become a space wolf, if they can not do this they will become wild and uncontrollable and therefore unable to become a space wolf.

The story is a magnificent start to the series, and i rate it highly, defiantly recommend it to any of my friends that dig warhammer, or also anyone that is starting to get into warhammer

[Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally got around to reading the 1st book in this 3 book Omibus. The story is set on the war-savaged world known as Fenris. Everything is all fine and dandy for war hero Ragnar til his village gets pillaged by Orcs. Everyone is killed except for Ragnar. Ragnar kills off 3 orcs than takes a crushing blow to his chest. He knocked out but all of the orcs think he is dead. He awakens to see his family dead. While the rest of the village is also murdered. Soon after he realizes he is alone a Witch Hunter named Styjborn appears in front of a sad Ragnar and tells him that since he survived the pillage he is allowed to fight along side the Space wolves- an elite military force. So, Ragnar becomes a Space Wolf and the book just continues as Ragnar fights along side the Space Wolfs trying to end the Emperors reign of tyranny over the space colonies. Between the maelstrom of war and the excitement that comes with this book I would highly reccomend it to any person that likes anything Sci-Fi. This is by far the best omnibus in the Warhammer series.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

As far as space wolves go, they’ve got one of the more unique backstories and weirder structures compared to most chapters. They field literal superhuman werewolf men, drink something like petroleum to get drunk, and pray to ancient not-nordic dieties to achieve magicks and prowess in battle. The first SW novel has these things in them, but somehow fails to make any of this interesting or unique. The story is a basic coming of age origin story detailing the protagonist’s journey to become a hero. There’s a light sprinkling of Warhammer in it, but the author delved too deeply into general nordic mythology and light fantasy without making anything stand out by it’s own merit. If you removed the mention of space marines in the novel, and the bits about the nordic mythology, your left with then an otherwise bland story that never challenges you or twists in any direction - other than straight.

It’s a very safe and compliant novel, albeit extremely dull. Sure, it has wolves in it, and space marines, and some mention of space, but the protagonist never really struggles through anything, and wins all of his battles easily. Any difficulties he encounters are dealt with normally within a page or two, and he never loses. The protagonist’s biggest change occurs at the beginning but then he forgets about it by the next chapter and barely touches on it later on. The antagonist has all the momentum of a wet fart; impactful initially, but then just mills about and never challenges the protagonist again. One bout of fisticuffs and that was it. It’d be funny if Stribjorn actually died during the transformation and Ragnar’d be then left feeling bereft of the last connection he had to his old life, and his motivation of vengeance - then having to face a choice between seeking justice through wiping out the Grimskulls and embracing the beast or between letting go, and accepting his place in a new eternal brotherhood. See? I can write a better and deeper story in a few minutes. Im surprised that William King, who’d written Gotrek and Felix, managed to write such boring characters.

A book like this would have much better benefitted from multiple Points of view. Its boring hearing everything from Ragnar as he doesn’t know anything and only gives us a cursory glance at the wolves. Blood of Asaheim, for all it’s many many flaws, did a better job of walking us through the different facets of the space wolves chapter, its various members and their approach to the pack mentality. Ragnar never faces any real challenges to his budding leadership, becomes a fully fledged marine in what reads like a few months, suffers barely any setbacks to the geneseed transformation, and can kill literal werewolf demigods with just a wooden stick.
It’s the pacing of the story which ultimately makes the novel so unrewarding to read. Chapters are spent talking about Raggie trudging through snow and munchin’ good old deer meat, then in a few pages he’s magically advanced through his training or gene seed implantation without any difficulty. A process which should take at least a painful decade with high attrition rates is glossed over to fit everything into a neat little light read. From the codexes we’re told that the wolves get told their lore through legends and sagas, yet Raggie learns everything in a few seconds just by plugging into The Matrix. From the background we’re told that space wolves can turn into monstrous wolf-man beasts, or even ginormous actual wolves themselves, but Ragnar, a barely complete neophyte can wrestle one down and kill it by himself. He kills something like two dozen people by himself, and is fine.
It’s all too convenient and unrealistic. The best fantasy has realism mixed in with it in equal measure. The protagonist should struggle both morally and physically through their journey, not just breeze through everything because they have their own table top miniature. This novel would have benefitted from not focusing on an actual named character, or at least actually challenge him. Plot armour and uninspired writing strike again to provide the reader with another overrated light fantasy novel for kids. Bloodless and safe, perfect for the masses. Read and throw. Sell as many as you can.

[Ville · Rating 2 out of 5]

First book was fine. Ragnar's initiation process into Space Wolves was interesting. But somehow he, as a rookie (and with a help of a wounded ally) defeat a chaos sorcerer. 3/5 stars

Second book was kind of a mess. With the constant changes in location the book had a wierd flow where they spent almost a hundred pages looking for a piece of an amulet where as they found the last part of an amulet in about 30 pages. 2/5 stars

Third book is more or less the same. Something happens and almost the whole of Space Wolves fleet is summoned to get a thing back. There is also chaos and somehow everybody suddenly calls Ragnar "Blackmane" and have always called, because why not I suppose? 1/5 stars

Since all of the stories are told in flashbacks, none of the action have any real feeling of weight. I guess if you are a die hard Space Wolves fan, you'll enjoy this.

[Bogdan Balostin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed each novel individually (click to read):

Space Wolf ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ): From "Viking" boy to Space Marine and the trials Ragnar has to overcome.

Ragnar's Claw ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ): A quest to purify the planet of Aerius from Chaos influences. First time Ragnar's pack to off-world.

Grey Hunter ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ): Spear of Russ is stolen by heretics. The whole Space Wolf chapter goes to war. You'll also find out why Ragnar was never promoted to Grey Hunter.

[Matthew Schiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t get enough of 40k’s high octane sci-fi action from Bill King. Had these books as a teenager and purchased the omnibus edition to experience them again. Just pure, unadulterated fun particularly the ending of Grey Hunter. While older 40k might not be in line with the current timeline I almost consider these novels to reside in a sort of superposition continuity where it’s ok if things are slightly off. I also really enjoyed Ragnar’s vulnerably and insights into being a new Space Marine as I don’t remember that from my first read. All in all, great entertainment and will read again.

[Nonethousand Oberrhein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mutant Vikings Vs Demons
Follow the ascent of Ragnar, as he is enrolled and undergoes the Space Wolves chapter physical and condition training to fight demonic mutations. Tag along as he squares down against howling bands of Orcs on an ancient Eldar structure. Cheer as he engages in his first space battle and exo-planet campaign against a demon lord!
Space Wolf, Ragnar’s Claw and Gray Hunter are the three fast paced, enjoyable, albeit repetitive, novels that will introduce the reader to the Warhammer 40000 world as a new recruit. Hurrah!!

[Miroslav Dubsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

good recreational read

These three books are for you if you like to know a bit more about Space Wolves and the transformation of a simple man into an Adeptus Astartes. The lack of fleshed out personalities and characters though make it a bit of a dull read to be honest. It is easy to read, but the interest and motivation in reading may fall after a few chapters. I'm glad I read it but i don't think I'll ever give it a second read.

[Emil · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tree novels within this collection were my entry into the books of Warhammer 40K. I enjoyed reading through each of the novels. They are well written. The author masterfully depicts the sense of comradery between the space marines, and the visceral battles that they find themselves in. As others have stated, the story is told from the viewpoint of a new space marine recruit who joins the Space Wolf chapter- which makes it a great read if you're someone who's not too familiar with the lore.

[Bahman Naraghi · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, fun, high-action, low-brow read from the Black Library. I like the omnibus editions because you get the whole series all at once. The downside of the format is that, at least in the case of this series, the frame stories between each book are told from the POV of the main character, so you kind of already know he survives.

[Cian O'Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 2 books are quite good, tight stories and an enjoyable read. The third book the quality starts to waver and the ending really sours the entire thing. It felt rushed and honestly one of the most irritating endings I have ever read. I still give it 4 stars for the first two books but I don't think I would read this author ever again.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick impressions: Quality in Warhammer 40,000 novels can vary, but this series is pretty good. I'd say it's among the better series. Fans of Space Marines will likely enjoy it. Casual readers may find this book a good entry point into Warhammer 40,000.

(Detailed review available on my blog soon.)

[Chris Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I've apparently become addicted to the world of Warhammer 40k - which will provide approximately 500 books for me to read before I die.

This is the first of one of several recommended orders of reading - I loved it. Just good ole fashioned good guy, unbeatable odds, terrifying villains and a very bleak and grim universe.

Fun read for sure.

[Mr. Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Fantastic.

This is the best piece of 40k fiction I have read. Ragnar is a compelling character and the depth of the packs bonds are written beautifully. A real insight into what it is to be a Son of Russ.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not as fleshed out as Eisenhorn, but still fun to read. The relatively simple themes got a bit boring after book two so I let it rest for a while, but I really enjoyed it when I picked it back up.

[Christopher Aldrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended! Excellent read on the Space Wolves and in particular on the story of Ragnar Blackmane, and his exploits as he rises from Fenrisian tribal warrior to a Wolf Lord within the Space Wolves Chapter of Space Marines. And such great other characters like Sven! Memorable read!

[Bernard Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intro to the space wolves. If this was meant to make me want to start a SW army I think it hit the mark!
So much fun and silly Viking lore adds favour to the plastic crack we love to paint and collect.

I’m going to be building some SW troops in the very near future.

[Rhone Kell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great trilogy of books focused on Ragnar Blackmane and his action filled adventures. The book mostly focuses on his backstory and his assencion through the ranks. Including some epic battles and formidable foes.

[Travis Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have probably been a 4 star read for me because I really enjoyed the book, however there are so many mistakes in the editing of the book that it is borderline maddening.

[ドミネーター トライアンベイト · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is good i love the space wolves chapter... For Russ! For the Wolf time!

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flawed but important for understanding the bigger picture

[Mark Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first 40k novel. 9,000 points of Space Wolves later, I'm still hooked.