Legion of the Damned (Space Marine Battles #8)
by
Rob Sanders (Goodreads Author)
Following the trajectory of a blood-red comet, the berserk World Eaters blaze a path of destruction across the galaxy in its wake. The small cemetery world of Certus Minor appeals to the Space Marines of the Excoriators Chapter for protection, but the force dispatched to deal with this grim threat is far too small and their losses against the renegades are high. Just as al...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
March 27th 2012
by Games Workshop
(first published January 1st 2012)
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Set in the dying days of the 41st millennium, the novel follows the severely under strength Excoriators fifth company. After attending the traditional Feast of Blades, the space marines are called to defend a minor cemetery world against an oncoming crusade of Khorne berserkers. The planet’s defenders face seemingly inevitable defeat but the spectres which haunt Zachariah Kersh may yet have a role to play in their war.
If there had to be a single Space Marines Battles novel to which all future i...more
If there had to be a single Space Marines Battles novel to which all future i...more
Prior to picking up Legion of the Damned I have only read Horus Rising by Dan Abnett. I have to admit that as an outsider looking in, Warhammer and Warhammer 40000 can appear to be massively intimidating. I was concerned that I was going to be totally out of my depth here, but quickly realised that I need not have worried. I think it’s probably fair however, to concede that I may have missed out on some of the more subtle nuances of the story. I am sure there are characters or events mentioned t...more
All the elements were there.
An awesome setting, a chapter that was new yet held to the Imperial Fist's gene flaw, a horrible disaster that threatens the galaxy, and ghostly warriors that have had very little fluff written about them.
All the elements of what could have, should have, been a wonderful novel.
First off, if you are reading this book to learn about the Legion of the Damned, don't.
They only really show up in force in the last sixty or so pages of this book. Since I am not a huge fan of...more
An awesome setting, a chapter that was new yet held to the Imperial Fist's gene flaw, a horrible disaster that threatens the galaxy, and ghostly warriors that have had very little fluff written about them.
All the elements of what could have, should have, been a wonderful novel.
First off, if you are reading this book to learn about the Legion of the Damned, don't.
They only really show up in force in the last sixty or so pages of this book. Since I am not a huge fan of...more
Original Post: http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/02/...
This is possibly one of my most anticipated Space Marine Battles novels yet. I mean, ever since the release of Fall of Damnos by Nick Kyme, the series has generally increased dramatically in quality from the novels that preceded it, with Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Helsreach being the exception. Novels such as Battle of the Fang and The Gildar Rift were enjoyable to read, and although not everyone shares my opinion, I believe – since Fall of Damn...more
This is possibly one of my most anticipated Space Marine Battles novels yet. I mean, ever since the release of Fall of Damnos by Nick Kyme, the series has generally increased dramatically in quality from the novels that preceded it, with Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Helsreach being the exception. Novels such as Battle of the Fang and The Gildar Rift were enjoyable to read, and although not everyone shares my opinion, I believe – since Fall of Damn...more
Calling a book Legion of the Damned, and having this "Legion" appear only in the last two chapters (and that is being kind) is crap. Why not just title the book like most of the other books in the series...call it "Certus Minor" or the "Cholercaust", anything other then "Legion of the Damned". This is false advertising and as such it lets you down. I have been reading these 40k novels for years and my experience with 40K goes back to the early 90's. I was really excited about the possiblities of...more
Good, solid Space Marine battle action. Despite the name, this book deals mostly with the fate of a company of Space Marines from the Excoriators chapter, with the Legion of the Damned only really coming in at the end of the book. I like the fact that we learn more about a previously pretty unknown chapter and Sanders really comes into his own bringing the chapter and characters to life. Zacharia Kersh is just plain cool. Replacing your lost eye with a fucking ball bearing? Epic! As a lifelong f...more
A good premise ruined by poor characters, appalling pacing and redundant phrases. Yes, this is fairly typical Black Library fare in every sense. Even as far as Black Library novels go though, Legion of the Damned is pretty poor.
Author Rob Sanders has taken a story that would have been best served as a short tale and spun it out into over 400 pages of dire storytelling. Rob, just because a word is listed in the thesaurus as having a similar meaning to one you've used a thousand times before, does...more
Author Rob Sanders has taken a story that would have been best served as a short tale and spun it out into over 400 pages of dire storytelling. Rob, just because a word is listed in the thesaurus as having a similar meaning to one you've used a thousand times before, does...more
This novel has more goods than bads.
Good: I reall liked the way the whole story was told. Didn't know a thing about Excoriators before this, and Legion of the Damned...well they are fascinating bunch. I recommend the novel for both seasoned and new to the 40K franchise.
Bad: This might be considered as spoilers, so.. (view spoiler)...more
Good: I reall liked the way the whole story was told. Didn't know a thing about Excoriators before this, and Legion of the Damned...well they are fascinating bunch. I recommend the novel for both seasoned and new to the 40K franchise.
Bad: This might be considered as spoilers, so.. (view spoiler)...more
Shadowhawk reviews the latest Space Marine Battles novel as Rob Sanders tackles the enigmatic, mysterious and ghostly Space Marines of the Legion of the Damned.
“An in-depth study into the character of the Excoriators and delving into some of the mysteries of the ethereal Legion of the Damned, Rob Sanders leaves you wanting more and more.” ~The Founding Fields
Note: The review contains minor spoilers.
Legion of the Damned, the latest novel to join the ranks of the Space Marine Battles range for War...more
“An in-depth study into the character of the Excoriators and delving into some of the mysteries of the ethereal Legion of the Damned, Rob Sanders leaves you wanting more and more.” ~The Founding Fields
Note: The review contains minor spoilers.
Legion of the Damned, the latest novel to join the ranks of the Space Marine Battles range for War...more
Some 'Space Marine Battles' novels are a little "Meh".
Some don't have anything interesting to say about the Space Marine Chapter they are depicting or the action is a bit boring. Well I didn't know a lot about the Excoriators Chapter when I first started reading this book, but you'd be hard pressed to find a total bad ass like Corpus-Captain Zacariah Kersh.
The action is amazing and incredibly gritty and the book captures perfectly the mindset of a Space Marine: Duty, Honour... Arrogant, Violent....more
Some don't have anything interesting to say about the Space Marine Chapter they are depicting or the action is a bit boring. Well I didn't know a lot about the Excoriators Chapter when I first started reading this book, but you'd be hard pressed to find a total bad ass like Corpus-Captain Zacariah Kersh.
The action is amazing and incredibly gritty and the book captures perfectly the mindset of a Space Marine: Duty, Honour... Arrogant, Violent....more
I had a good feeling about this book when I got it, after looking for it on the shelves of the local Games Workshop store I was informed that it had been removed from the shelves by the guy there. something to do with a policy the publisher has. Anyway the guy reaches into a draw pulls out a copy and tells me that I can have it for free as they cannot sell it anymore. Win... Right then, enough of that.
The previous two novels in the space marine battles series that I have read, Fall of Damnos an...more
The previous two novels in the space marine battles series that I have read, Fall of Damnos an...more
Good ol' WH40k. My not so guilty literary pleasure. This is my first foray into the Battles books, and I liked it alot. It started slow, but once the battle was in place, I was hooked. Nothing like a stoic Space Marine stand against the overwhelming forces of Chaos.
I always enjoy learning about new Space Marine chapters and heroes. I think the Scourge is one of my new favorite Space Marine characters and I would welcome seeing more of him.
I always enjoy learning about new Space Marine chapters and heroes. I think the Scourge is one of my new favorite Space Marine characters and I would welcome seeing more of him.
I had to really force myself to finish this book. The very uneven pacing made reading the first half of it something of a chore, and I was just about to push it from my reading shelf to the "abandoned" one.
What really put me off was the tired old one-city-on-the-whole-world trope, together with a comet that *has* to be warp-capable to jump through the complete eye of terror...
Fortunately, just about in the last third of it, the action started picking up, and with enough gory description of the b...more
What really put me off was the tired old one-city-on-the-whole-world trope, together with a comet that *has* to be warp-capable to jump through the complete eye of terror...
Fortunately, just about in the last third of it, the action started picking up, and with enough gory description of the b...more
As it has been said, this is a book labelled Legion of the Damned, but they rarely show up in the story except as spectres. I liked the book however as a story about the Excoriators and raw rage of Khorne-sworn forces.
If it had been labelled Excoriators and had the cameo by the Legion of the Damned, I think people would have rated it higher.
If it had been labelled Excoriators and had the cameo by the Legion of the Damned, I think people would have rated it higher.
I thought this book was good. It wasnt quite what I expected though. It hardly had anything to do with the Legion of the damned. An more to do with one of the Primarch Dorn's chapters. Some colourful characters in the story, and the story is quite vivid in detail. Not a bad book. Just not really what I expected overall.
"Legion of the Damned": This year one of the or possibly even the most enjoyed Warhammer 40,000 novel I read so far. Despite being part of what I dub the "Beginner's Space Marine Series" (officially: "Space Marine Battles" series) it entertained me more than other, regular novels of the range. I was not disappointed by Mr Rob Sanders, thank you very much! :)And I am still waiting for the continuation of "Redemption Corps"! :)
Far too many loose ends and the title is misleading considering the legion are hardly in it so if you want more info/canon on them then this isn't for you, the book should have been called the excoriators to be fair, but nonetheless a solid action packed read with one of the most likeable main characters for a Black library book so far.
While I was expecting the story to be centered around the Legion of the Damned, and was a bit disappointed it was not. I still quite enjoyed this book. The main chapter represented is the Excoriators who are led by a rather dour, and very pragmatic Kersh. He is given a hopeless situation, and must prepare as best he can given limited resources.
I always liked Rob Sanders stories, his writing is a bit harsh at times, but this one is his best so far in my opinion.
I always liked Rob Sanders stories, his writing is a bit harsh at times, but this one is his best so far in my opinion.
May 12, 2013
Saša Petalinkar
marked it as to-read
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Rob Sanders is a freelance writer, who spends his nights creating dark visions for regular visitors to the 41st millennium to relive in the privacy of their own nightmares. By contrast, as Head of English at a local secondary school, he spends his days beating (not literally) the same creativity out of the next generation in order to cripple any chance of future competition. He lives off the beate...more
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Oct 19, 2012 05:47am