Bookworm Speaks!- Wolfblade by William King

Bookworm Speaks!

Wolfblade 

by William King

Acquired: Half-Price Books

Series: Warhammer 40,000 Novels

Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages

Publisher: Black Library

Language: English

*****

The Story: A Space Wolf Novel by William King. 

The ancient Navigator House of Belisarius has long been bound to the mighty Space Wolves as allies. In return for the means to navigate the treacherous warp, the Space Wolves provide an honor guard of elite warriors - The Wolfblade - to protect the House.

When Ragnar takes up his duties on ancient Terra, he soon becomes embroiled in an assassination plot that reaches into the very depths of the Imperium! Unused to the delicate political machinations, Ragnar must resort to the howling fury of the Wolves if he is to save this noble dynasty and regain his honor. 

The Review: After losing the Spear of Russ in the last volume, Ragnar Blackmane is banished from the chapter to serve in the Wolfblade on Holy Terra itself. Ostensibly, an honor, the Wolfblade is also a way to get Space Wolves who don’t quite fit in (but not enough to execute them) out of the Fang and out of the sight of the leaders of the chapter. 

Ragnar is out of his element in this book and it really helps his character. Testing a character by putting them in unfamiliar situations is the best way to facilitate growth and hopefully prove there worth as a character. It works terrifically with Ragnar Blackmane. He knows that while it may have been for a good cause, he has cost the chapter greatly by losing the Spear of Russ and he must pay for it. Already, the character’s struggle has begun as the taste of his failure and disgrace lends to his motivation. In many parts of the story he is a like wide-eyed child who has been thrust into a much bigger world and in many respects Ragnar serves as an avatar for the audience of the book itself. The world building in this book is superb and for some the main attraction of the entire text. In the best kind of stories, the setting is as much a character as the people doing the talking. Holy Terra feels alive. That is a common thread in a lot of Warhammer 40k fiction, particularly on Hive Worlds, of which Holy Terra is said to be the ultimate. 

(For the uninformed Hive Worlds are planets with massive metropolises home to billions of people, a staple of Warhammer Fiction) 

Even the absurdly affluent Navigator quarters, seem to breathe and pulse with their own form of life, and Ragnar is swept away with it all along with the readers.  

In other parts he is still the savage native of Fenris and member of one of the most feral chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. 

The characters that Ragnar meets on his journey are just as interesting as his surroundings. The people who make their homes on the Hub of the Imperium are quite different from the savage natives of Fenris. 

The reader needn’t worry though, while the central theme of this book is the atmosphere, there is still plenty of action to satisfy the seasoned Warhammer 40k fans. The straight up bullet storms of other books are rare here, in exchange for subtler forms of combat which is a very interesting turn. 

Is it flawless…no. 

The pacing in this book is a little uneven. It would have helped if the book had been divided into certain sections like other Warhammer books. Some of the aft mentioned atmosphere is often all we really get in some chapters. All we are really doing is exploring Holy Terra along with Ragnar. Thankfully, what he is seeing is interesting enough to carry the chapter and there isn’t that many of that but it can get boring for some readers.

Another positive of this book is also one of its negatives: the characters. Characters such as Haegr and Torin, while memorable in how different they are from standard Space Wolves, are somewhat flat in their characterization. The reader does not really see a lot of their own stories or more facets of their personalities. Again, what we are presented with at hand is enough to keep readers interesting but there is still not much to the rest of the Wolfblade. Granted, this is the first of a series so we have the rest of the series to explore these characters more. 

This flaw is averted by the character of Gabriella Belisarius, a navigator of great skill and the object of Ragnar Blackmane protection. She is given a very thorough examination throughout the book, which is to be expected as Ragnar is her bodyguard. She is described as pretty but in a severe, alien manner. She is also kindhearted in a way but she is well-versed in the nastier aspects of her livelihood. Some of Bookworm’s favorite moments in Warhammer 40k are when the Space Marines interact with mere mortals, and while Gabriella is not exactly a mere mortal, their interactions are very amusing to read. What makes it even more interesting is the fact that Gabriella is technically Ragnar’s superior. That is a rare position for an Adeptus Astartes, even more so for a Space Wolf. 

Final Verdict: Wolfblade is a an exciting journey to the most oft mentioned world in all of Warhammer 40k. This book is saturated with life and atmosphere and boasts some very memorable characters. 

Four out of Five Stars

I hope William King will write more tales of Space Wolves. 

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