Bookworm Speaks!- Death of Integrity by Guy Haley

Bookworm Speaks! 

The Death of Integrity by Guy Haley

****

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. As it is written in the tomes of the 41st millennium.

The Story: In the Imperium of Man there are hundreds or a thousand Space Marine Chapters but the focus seem be more on the first founding chapters such as the Dark Angels or the Space Wolves. Here, Guy Haley treats us to two successor chapters and their stories are allowed to be fleshed out. This is a favorite of Bookworm, when the short passages of the index are expanded. 

Having tracked a genestealer brood across the sector, Chapter Master Caedis of the Blood Drinkers calls upon his old allies in the Novamarines to assist in the destruction of the space hulk designated Death of Integrity. But before they can unleash their plasma torpedoes, the Adeptus Mechanicus intervene and task both Chapters with a secretive mission into the heart of the hulk. With deadly xenos creatures seemingly lurking around every corner, Caedis treads a fine line between glorious victory and the damnation of eternal bloodlust carried by all sons of Sanguinius.

The Good: Space Hulks are key component of 40k lore. They are an amalgamation of starships, asteroids and ancient technology that have fused together over their journey through space and are usually infested with violent alien enemies like tyranid gene stealers, which are the main opponents in this story. This already sets up a very intriguing and dynamic setting for the books actions. The claustrophobic and poisonous setting and the sheer amount of material that composes a Space Hulk lends itself to a surprising amount of variety in the settings. The constant shifting of the hulk makes the setting itself become an enemy and more than just a background. 

This is how films like Alien succeeded. A fight on a planet and one can just flee into the distance, it is not like that on a space born setting. There is no where to go and the walls are closing in. It creates a tangible feeling of tension and isolation. 

Where this book really comes into its own is how the author differentiates between the Novamarines and the Blood Drinkers. The contrast between them is so intense that it can’t help but imbed itself in the reader’s memory. The Novamarines are successors of the Ultramarines and the Blood Drinkers are of the Blood Angels. While all are sons of the Emperor, both Chapters differentiate in ways that it creates tension between the groups and how the react to threats that really illustrates the author’s flexibility. He does a good job of shifting perspectives between the various protagonists of the story and keeping each one unique. 

This is illustrated in how the different chapters prepare for war. The Novamarines are the sons of Roboute Guilliman who hailed from the civilized world of Macragge, their ceremonies are solemn, reflective and dignified. Whereas the Blood Angels are passionate, savage, and hot-blooded (no pun intended).

The Flaws: Because there are so many characters in this book we are not given time to sufficiently explore all of there personalities in depth, except perhaps Mantillo Galt. That is very much a missed opportunity. Also, while not necessarily the villain of the story, the head of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Magos Plosk is also very one dimensional. They do a good job of making his motivations understandable but he does not change very much through the text. Even Plosk’s big revelation near the end, towards the reader, is not particularly interesting. When reading it, the reader is more likely to go “huh?” rather that “woah!” It doesn't need to be said which one is preferable, at least to Bookworm. 

The book is primarily told from the perspective of the Novamarines and since they are a successor of the Ultramarines, once again this may be evidence of Black Library’s favoritism towards the Ultramarines. The Blood Drinkers are interesting but again, their personalities come off as a little flat more towards the end. A major plot point is that the Blood Drinkers, like all the successor chapters of the Blood Angels, constantly struggle with the curse of Sanquinius, i.e. the Red Thirst and Black Rage, extreme bouts of blood lust and rage. This is contrasted by their beautiful appearance and sophisticated ways. This shown several times through the text to great effect but the problem is that, again they are largely blank slates and the fact that there is barely any middle ground. Its one side or the other. 

Final Verdict: Death of Integrity may not be the strongest Space Marine Battles book, but the iconic setting and action-packed storyline with surprising amount of heart, easily overcomes its flaws. 

Four out Five Stars.