SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW: Warhammer 40K: Imperial Guard: Imperial Glory - Richard Williams

Release Date: 04/08/11

SYNOPSIS:

Tired and broken by war, the men of the Brimlock Eleventh Imperial Guard are a force on the verge of collapse. Having been stretched across the galaxy by their loyalty to the Emperor, they are presented with one final battle that will allow them reward they all seek: to colonise the distant world of Vorr and live out the rest of their days in peace. All that stands in their way is a force of savages - a plague of feral orks that has spread across the planet. But can the Brimlock's battered bodies and minds hold up to this greenskin invasion?


REVIEW:

Whilst I do enjoy the Space Marines, in a bleak future where mankind is in a never ending war I have to side with the average Joe and as such you really have to follow the Imperial Guard as they fight their way across the stars in the name of the Emperor of Terra, in suspended animation in his Throne Room after being gravely wounded during the Horus Heresy.

Here, in this outing, Richard’s Brimlock Eleventh Imperial Guard who are already heavily depleted, find themselves battling for not just their lives but for a home against the mighty Greenskin army on the distant world of Vorr. As you’ve come to expect from the Black Library, its heavy duty combat, the fighting bloody and for every inch of ground gained a heavy price is paid by these soldiers of the Imperium. As with Richard’s other books (Reiksguard and Relentless) the tale is one that concentrates on the struggles of both the mind and the physical and as such does a great job of bringing both the fore as the reader feels the troops exhaustion throughout the title.

All in this is a great addition to the Warhammer 40K Imperial Guard portfolio and whilst many want more of the superhuman chosen few, I vote and stand by the little guy whose achievements shouldn’t just be lauded but legendary as for me, their fight is the hardest.

FANTASY REVIEW: Reiksguard - Richard Williams

BOOK BLURB:

The Reiksguard knights are entrusted with the sacred duty of the Emperor's protection from foes within and without. Under the command of Marshal Kurt Helborg, the Reiksguard live and breathe their code of loyalty, courage, strength and honour.

But in the midst of a ruinous war, the young knight Delmar von Reinhardt discovers that this most venerated order hides deadly secrets.

Battling an unholy alliance of a goblin warlord and an ogre tyrant, Delmar must unearth the truth no matter which noble knight he should find at its heart.


REVIEW:

With recent offerings from the Black Library theres always been something to tickle the readers taste buds by offering the reader something a little different from the norm. Here we follow the exploits of one of the Empires most famous knightly orders through the eyes of an initiate who after a rigorous training and initiation explored his own failings along with learning the truth of his fathers death. Its well written, it’s thought provoking but above all its about the unification of a bond of outcasts into one order who will listen to each other or at least have a mutual respect for one another. Good fun, cracking offering which encourages the more uplifting and highly regarded nobleness of mankind.