Bookworm Speaks!- I Am Slaughter

Bookworm Speaks!

Warhammer 40,000

The Beast Arises

I Am Slaughter

by Dan Abnett

****

Acquired: Barnes and Noble Booksellers

Series: The Beast Arises (Book 1)

Publisher: Games Workshop (January 12, 2016)

Hardcover: 248 Pages

Language: English 

****

The Story: As the greatest Ork Waaagh! ever seen threatens to engulf the galaxy, the Imperial Fists make their last stand

It is the thirty-second millennium and the Imperium is at peace. The Traitor Legions of Chaos are but a distant memory and the many alien races that have long plagued mankind are held in check by the Space Marines. When a mission to exterminate one such xenos breed on the world of Ardamantua draws in more of their forces, the Imperial Fists abandon the walls of Terra for the first time in more than a thousand years. And when another, greater, foe strikes, even the heroic sons of Rogal Dorn may be powerless against it. The Beast Arises… and it is mighty.

The Review: While he does play (and review) games, the truth is Bookworm does not play that many due to lack of time. What he really loves is the lore of such games. Bookworm can’t get enough of it. One game in particular stands out: Warhammer 40,000. Its rich, deep lore has filled more novels in Bookworm’s Library than any other science fiction franchise. 

This series starts off strongly enough by exploring unfamiliar territory. For a long time, there were two main settings for Warhammer 40K. The first is the older, current universe, where the Imperium is at eternal war in the 41st Millennium, the other is the Horus Heresy which takes place ten thousand years earlier at the dawn of the Imperium of Man. There is a rather large gap between the two that has remained empty. There have been a few hints at events in the intervening time with the official codexes, such as the Age of Apostasy (which needs its own series) but in this book we explore an age long overlooked: the period just after the Horus Heresy. Seeing the words “Imperium” and “at peace” are almost an oxymoron. 

The book as a whole is an interesting exploration into what could have been in spite of it taking place in the past. It was mentioned in several volumes of the Horus Heresy of what would become of the Astartes once the Emperor’s Great Crusade had ended. For a good portion of the  book it is often questioned what purpose the Adeptus Astartes have any more. All the enemies of man have been routed. 

The best part of this whole volume really is it’s whole setting. It takes place a thousand years after the end of the Horus Heresy An Imperium that still shows threads of Emperor’s dream as a peaceful realm for humanity and threads the stagnation and desperation of the Eternal War Imperium. After the fall but before the crash as another reviewer put it. 

If there really is a flaw with the whole book it would be that it is definitely the start to large series. The author’s job was to introduce the audience to the elements that would come into play as the series progressed. Some fans may notice some inconsistencies in the portrayal of such elements, the Imperial Fists as a whole, for example. However, it actually makes sense that the Imperial Fists would be different in this setting. The Chapter has been reduced to security guards for a thousand years and this is ages before the Imperial Fists of the year 40,000. A lot can change in that amount of time. 

There is a lot more than Space Marines to enjoy about this book though. The ever present humanity that makes Warhammer so appealing is present as well but not as strongly as in later volumes. The main focus of this volume are the High Lords of Terra, the group of leaders that now rule the Imperium of Man now that the Emperor is confined to the Golden Throne and the Primarchs have long since departed. They are the typical bunch of self-serving, conspiracy generators oh so common to politics, in fiction and non-fiction. 

Personally, Bookworm finds the political sections of the book a bit tedious. It is clear from the beginning that the High Lords of Terra are only interested in serving their own self interests and maintaining their power (sound familiar?) Some of the Lords do recognized the threat that the Orks pose to the Imperium but obviously one will have the gusto to get things moving and we will all be rooting for him…eager to see what he will do. However, after years of only hearing about them, it is great for readers to finally meet an incarnation of the High Lords. 

On the other power fist…passages such as this do add an element that up until now was rarely seen in the annals of the Black Library, that being the behind the scenes of war. In the real world, movies and books abound about the generals and politicians during the times of war. We rarely see that in the Black Library. It prefers to take us to the front lines where all the action is. After all…in a universe where there is only war, who really cares who started it all? Seeing war from this perspective in this universe is a very refreshing change. 

Final Verdict: I am Slaughter, is an action packed start to a brand new series that is sure to excite any fan of the Warhammer 40K. It has action, it has intrigue, and it also has humanity. The whole series is sure to be a fun ride!

Four Ork Symbols out of Five

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