Galaxy in Flames

Horus' treachery is now fully revealed in Galaxy in Flames by Ben Counter, as Horus' plan is put into action on Istvaan III. Horus has decided that the Space Marines who will not follow him will be killed in the front line in the invasion of Istvaan III, so that he will then be free to turn on the Emperor and attack Terra.

Again Loken is one of the main characters as we see him struggling to be true to the Emperor as seemingly all around him plot treason at every turn. Loken is sent to the surface of Istvaan III with the other loyal Space Marines and fights the bloody war against the Istvaanians in their capital city.

Other loyal Space Marines are also trying to foil the plans of the Warmaster in their own little way against the large forces turned against them. Also the Cult of the Emperor has grown with the addition of a Saint and an Apostle.

Counter has produced a fast paced read that has to bring together a lot of the threads from the previous two novels. Overall a great read.

The Road to Chaos ...

The Soul Drinker Space Marines are loyal to the Emperor who they have served for thousands of years helping to push back the darkness that threatens to engulf the Imperium. While trying to recover an artifact called the Soulspear which is sacred to them, the Soul Drinkers watch it get stolen from under their noses by the Mechanicum who want it so they can study and reverse engineer it. The Soul Drinkers obsession drives them to attack their allies in an effort to retrieve the Soulspear, but they cannot and are forced to flee into the warp.

The Soul Drinkers soon find themselves declared Excommunicate Traitors and all the forces of the Imperium are turned against them. Meanwhile inside the Chapter the Space Marines themselves are changing and showing signs of mutation, and have begun to worship the Architect who they see as the Emperor without the corruption of the Imperium. But things are not as they seem and it is revealed that the God they are worshiping is very different to the one they believe they are following.

Ben Counter's series about these Space Marines who aren't part of the Imperium but refuse to follow the Chaos Gods begins in Soul Drinker and continues with the Chapter trying to regain their lost honour and be welcomed back into the Imperium. I'm interested to see where Counter goes with this series in the future.

Warrior Monks

The Grey Knights are the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Malleus. Unknown to most members of the Imperium, the Grey Knights are the front line when it comes to fighting daemonic incursions. shielded in their armour and protected by wards and a hard core of faith in the Emperor, the Grey Knights use their storm-bolters and Nemesis weapons to send the forces of Chaos back into the warp.

Grey Knights by Ben Counter shows the effort these warriors will go to while trying to foil the plans of the demon Ghargatuloth. Following a trail that leads to the planets in the Trail of St Evisser they find a myriad of forces arrayed against them. The Grey Knights soon find themselves fighting for the very survival of the universe.

Counter's fast paced writing style pushes the story along, without pausing to catch its breath. This is a great read that provides a lot of information about these elite warriors of the Warhammer 40K universe.