Warriors of Ultramar

Ultramarines #2

by Graham McNeill

Science Fiction novel set in Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Space, War, Science Fiction Fantasy

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 13, 2003

About the author

Hailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill narrowly escaped a career in surveying to work for Games Workshop as a games designer. He has a strong following with his novels Nightbringer, Warriors of Ultramar, Dead Sky, Black Sun and Storm of Iron.

Reviews

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Warriors of Ultramar about equal to how I liked Nightbringer, the previous book in the Ultramarines series. They are similar and close in quality, but if I had to choose one, I may have to give Nightbringer the nod. There seemed to be a lot more battle scenes in this one and a lot less (for lack of a better term) intrigue. That made it a little less compelling for me. Although I do enjoy battle scenes to an extent, they are hard to continue chapter after chapter and still keep the story interesting. My mind kind of drifts off into a sort of haze when I read lots and lots of battle descriptions. Maybe I am kind of weird in that, but I remember feeling that way about movies too. Friends of mine would describe movies and say "man there are so many good fight scenes" or "this fight scene was awesome" or "that was awesome" or whatever, and I always just kind of nodded along.. but the truth was and is that I'm much bigger on the intrigue or the drama or the espionage or even the internal politics than the scenes of battle.

Perhaps that's what I missed in Warriors of Ultramar. The bulk of the text leans post heavily on the battle action and less on the behind the scenes espionage and politics than in the previous book. I started out really interested with the emergence of the other factions of Space Marines, such as the Mortifactors, and later the Deathguard, but their differences quickly evaporated into battle scenes, and that's far less interesting for me.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

I don't care much for Uriel Ventris, to be honest, but the book does a good job of presenting a Tyranid invasion in all its horror and the concept of the hive mind.
I note a certain discrepancy between McNeill's Krieg Corps and Steve Lyons's version, the latter being better in my opinion. But never mind such nitpicky details. What remains is a simple, adrenaline-fuelled story perfect for fans of combat against the Xenos.

[Vladislav Okishev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ставлю тверду четвірку за надзвичайно деталізований і масштабний опис баталій між людством, очолюваним горсткою космодесантників, і ксеносами — страхітливими тиранідами.

Автор майстерно передає як епічні космічні бої, так і криваві сутички на поверхні планети. Я був у захваті від кожної сторінки, несамовито поглинаючи одну подію за іншою. Ця, здавалось би, безнадійна, але героїчна боротьба просто вселяє якийсь ніби дикий трепет від усвідомлення всього масштабу, який ховається за скромною к-стю сторінок.
До цієї книги тираніди для мене були лише ще однією жахливою загрозою у темряві всесвіту Warhammer 40k, просто зловісним шурхотом на краю галактики. Але, занурившись у моторошну реальність контакту з цим поріддям, я дійсно відчув увесь жах і приреченість такої зустрічі. Тут точно аплодую.

Але сам сюжет загалом доволі простий: "доблесний епос в космосі та на землі" з декількома сюжетними лініями, зрадами, відчайдушними вчинками та героїчними смертями.
Однак автор майстерно вплів в цю історію філософські роздуми головного героя — капітана четвертої роти Ультрамаринів, Уріеля Вентріса. Основний конфлікт його історії полягає в тому, що він усе частіше відходить від суворих приписів Кодексу Астартес, обираючи шлях креативних рішень і героїчних вчинків — шлях, що фактично заборонений цим кодексом. І цей внутрішній дуалізм мучить Уріеля, роздирає його душу. Адже в цій кампанії він зустрічається з Мортифікаторами — далекими братами з власного ордену, які давно знехтували Кодексом, трансформувавшись на цьому шляху у щось похмуре й моторошне. Воїни Мортифікаторів перетворилися на культ смерті, ідеалізуючи загибель і поклоняючись їй. Хоча під кінець книги вони билися доблесно пліч-о-пліч, але Уріель так і не змирився з цим

Для гордого капітана Вентріса ця зустріч стає приголомшливим одкровенням. Його лякає та прірва, що розділяє його братів, котрі колись були такими ж, як і він, а тепер стали чимось іншим. Але найбільше його лякає інше — усвідомлення, що він сам вже ступив на подібний шлях. І чи зможе він повернутись, чи вже приречений стати таким, як вони?

В принципі продовжую читати далі про Ультрамаринів. Все также дарково, криваво та надзвичайно цікаво. Просто з кожною книгою ніби очікуєш ще якихось родзинок, і чим далі, тим рідше їх зустрічаєш =)

P.S. Кодекс Астартес — це збірка військових правил і принципів, якими керуються космодесантники (Астартес). Його створив Робаут Ґілліман, Примарх ультрамаринів, і він визначає тактику, організацію, дисципліну та поведінку для всіх легіонів Космічних піхотинців. Кодекс також містить правила для бойових одиниць, їхнього екіпірування та стратегії. Виконання Кодексу має ключове значення для забезпечення ефективності та єдності в рядах Астартес.

[Andwerdone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exactly a literary masterpiece, but it's the equivalent of a Action Thriller with blood, guts, explosions, and awesome aliens.

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is a quintessential Warhammer 40k story: the Tyranids try to devour a planet and are opposed by the Ultramarines. As archetypical as it is, it also introduces intriguing dynamics, notably the Ultramarines’ ambivalence towards their successor chapter, the death-obsessed Mortifactors. The narrative’s depiction of the battle for Tarsis Ultra is notably multifaceted, encompassing largescale space skirmishes, ground-level engagements involving the Imperial Guard, covert operations by the Death Guard, and even the internecine conflicts typical of Necromunda’s hive gangs. However, the protagonist, Brother-Captain Uriel Ventris, strikes me as somewhat uninteresting. Emblematic of a paladin archetype, his character--unwaveringly lawful good, yet tormented by guilt and the dread of chaos corruption--lacks the complexity that might make him more compelling. While the narrative may at times become ensnared in the repetitiveness of its combat sequences, the novel undeniably excels in its portrayal of the Tyranids as completely alien/Other adversaries and the Ultramarines as paragons of valor. Despite its imperfections, this work stands as a great Warhammer 40k story.

[Joe Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly terrifying description of the tyranids. Suffers from a common pitfall of many Warhammer novels: sacrificing precious pages that could be spent on space marines shooting and hacking down aliens and replacing them with mediocre attempts at actual plot

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this second book of the Ultramarines series, Captain Uriel Ventris is ordered to defend Tarsis Ultra from the imminent threat of the Tyranid Hive Fleet Leviathan. Along with two Imperial Guard regiments, the local Planetary Defence Forces, a company from the Morticators and the Deathwatch, the defensive force wage a bloody war against the invaders.

It's been a while since I read the first book, Nightbringer and I found Warriors of Ultramar a lot more accessible than the previous book. The plot here is straightforward. You have the good guys defending their world from the bad guys. The Tyranids make an awesome foe here because they don't think like we do and they don't have emotions so you don't have to analyse why they do the things they do. All you need to know is that they are the Great Devourer and will consume everything in their path.

The first part of the story took a while for me to sink my teeth into as I'm not a fan of Void battles but things started getting exciting when the battle moved to planetside. Once on the planet, the Tyranids began to transform the environment of Tarsis Ultra to make it suitable for their species. They then advanced against the defenders by throwing everything they had while the Guards have to use their wits to conserve the number of troops against this insurmountable foe. Despite heavy losses, the valiant Astartes and Guards manage to hold off the invasion in the end. A classic tale of triumph of good over evil.

In this story, we see Uriel Ventris grows as a character and finally coming to his own as he learns not to blindly follow the Codex Astartes to the letter. He chose to go with the Deathwatch on a suicide mission to inject a bio-toxin into the Hive Queen rather than sticking to his company as dicatated by Roboute Guilliman's teachings. As Uriel's devotion to the Codex Astartes wavers, we are treated to his comtemplations about what it means to be an Ultramarine and a warrior of the Emperor and his observations on how different the Morticators have become over the centuries despite sharing the same bloodline as the Ultramarines. Uriel Ventris is definitely growing on me and he is slowly becoming one of my favourite loyalist Astartes.

Another character that stood out in the book is the Fabricator Marshal Sebastien Montante. At first he seemed like the typical fool character that you would laugh at because he doesn't understand the severity of the Tyranid threat and you hope he will die in the most embarrassing way. However as the story unfolds, you realise that even though Montante is not be a warrior like the Astartes or the Guards, his heart is still set in the right place. He uses his logistical skills to ensure the defensive force has the provision it needs in the forthcoming battles. Even with no martial training Montante took up arms to help with the defence of Tarsis Ultra. He was a character that I didn't expect I would like but end up enjoying very much.

This book packs a ton of action and plenty of heroic moments to boot. McNeill strikes a fine balance between despair and hope as the remaining defenders fight back with everything they have. The moments of downtime in between battles offer readers time to reflect on the sacrifices and costs towards freedom. Warriors of Ultramar can be read on its own so you don't need to have read Nightbringer to enjoy this book. I would also say this is a good starting point if you have never read any Warhammer 40k books.

(Originally posted at http://www.paperlessreading.com/2012/...)

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a bit of a rough start with this book. Early on a crew of gangsters were introduced and their dialogue was cringey and full of out played clichés. It felt like someone else had written this chapter and sadly lowered my expectations for this book and the rest of the series. Fortunately, upon seeing this gang throughout the book, it never ended up being as hard to read as that first chapter with them and thankfully they weren’t the main focus of the book!

Everything else about this book was a joy to read. Ram jam packed with detailed action, a big tyranid siege, space battles and gross details of fleshy tyranid sphincters. My early worries of this book being a flop for me soon disappeared as the rest of the story played out. The trench warfare scenes were absolutely engrossing and I couldn’t take my eyes off the page. The action is fast paced and detailed and the author describes scenes in a manner that are easy to picture. I love how the author moves around different POVs that aren’t main characters so you can see things from their perspective just for a brief glimpse every now and then.

All in all, a satisfyingly bloodthirst-quenching read full of epic intense battles.

[La Criatura]

Another Ultramarines book. Homoerotic subtext has led me places I would not go with a loaded gun.

Some things I really liked in this one. Since most of my reading is either from the 31st millennium or Chaos-centric stuff, I haven't seen Tyranids much at all. They're kind of unique to me as an enemy faction because unlike basically every other race etc. that's featured in 40K, they do not come across as "would be reasonable if humanity wasn't insanely racist". Eldar, T'au, even something like Orks are not really existential threats, and they have their own culture and values and the ability to be reasoned with. Chaos is only an existential threat as far as "people who don't believe in the true god" go-- its endgame is not to wipe out all sentient life, because ultimately Chaos needs sentient life to exist. Tyranids are so single-minded and so salted-earth about their goals that I actually do find them somewhat frightening, and they are especially so when viewed from the perspective of human nobodies who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and find themselves in biting range of the swarm.

I like that a lot! It's kind of rare that 40K does actually scare and/or gross me out but some of the bio-horror with 'nids and what they represent for life in general is legitimately unsettling. Quite a few of the scenes with backwater farmers getting mowed down are on the more horrifying side for that reason, moreso than they are in my opinion with almost any other antagonistic faction.

Ironically with all that being said I didn't care much for the B-plot about the city gangers. I usually find myself at least a little fascinated with the lives of regular people in the Imperium-- the highlighting of just how miserable the existence is most of the time is a really consistently good and interesting thing about the setting. I just didn't really like these particular characters very much, I fear. It's not uncommon that even regular people are kind of scummy and I get what the subplot is trying to do vis-a-vis humankind being petty and screwing each other over where 'nids Don't Do That, but I don't know. Maybe it's too much of me to expect the characters to come out the other end having gone through meaningful change from their experiences? I think the human subplots in Nightbringer were generally more compelling and I had more investment in their political bullshittery etc.

Do like that Uriel was featured a little more heavily in this one. He's a fun guy. It's fun that he has scrupulosity OCD from being brainfucked by a C'tan. It feels like the more heavily featured Ultramarines characters in WH40K are by-and-large either rulebreakers or rule-benders, which makes sense because someone who was entirely by the book would probably not be as interesting to follow as someone who is occasionally like "sorry for being an EVIL, IRREDEEMABLE HERETIC but I think it is actually not cool of us to carpetbomb the loyal civilian population of this planet." Ventris is like this, Titus is like this, to some extent (and inasmuch as he gets central billing) Calgar is like this, even going back to M31 Ventanus FAMOUSLY like this... the pencil-pushing goody two-shoes nerds that Guilliman has spawned will never be as popular as their bad-boy brothers who sometimes decide to ask questions before shooting.

On that note, ohhh Ventris you want to get corrupted SOOOO bad you want to give into your violent urges and attack maim and kill and fall to the temptations of the lord of skulls soooooo much ooooh OOOH *waving my hands crazily* OOOOOOOH... OOOOOOOOHHHH!!!! (I'm doubting this will happen. But I can HOPE.)

This book features more uses of the word "sphincter" than any other Warhammer novel I've ever read, including the one with onscreen anal sex. Awesome.

EDIT: Completely failed to mention that the book does go into one of my favorite Space Marine things which is when one of them contemplates what he was made for. I always like it when one is like "Man it's kind of fucked up that I can't have a family or children or a normal life and that I'm considered disposable and will inevitably suffer a violent death and my legacy will be nothing but a name carved into a memorial somewhere". Warhammer touching on the systemic dehumanization of these people and of this soldier caste in general is always something I eat up like a hungry little pig. I especially love it in this book because Ventris thinks about it and goes "You know what. I actually LOVE being brainwashed :)" he's so funny. Most self-aware Ultramarine.

[Deivi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gran libro que sigue las aventuras de Uriel, me han dado ganas de empezar un ejército de tiránidos y comprarme la mini única de Uriel.
Muy recomendable si te gusta el mundillo.

[cola · Rating 3 out of 5]

My biggest concern going into this book was that it was going to be the first book, which is to say meandering, a billion side characters that go nowhere, and no true character progression, as well as a wholly uninteresting conflict (especially the local politics on Pavonis, which I did not care about). Warhammer novels have a huge problem of being incredibly poor examples of fiction, and are typically just military slop with heavy religious tones, which I enjoy in small doses, but they can quickly get tiring to read, especially when the majority are centered around a conflict that is minor in the grand scheme of 40k, and has no bearing or impact on the theme. There are a few 40k novels that are pretty good examples of literature, however, and I was really glad that this is one of them.

My biggest issue with the novel Nightbringer was twofold: Uriel exhibited no change, and Uriel was barely in the book at all. In Warriors of Ultramar, Uriel is in a considerable amount of the book, and he exhibits change. Whereas in the first novel his desire is to become a good leader, which he is never shown to be a poor leader so it's a pointless desire because he achieves it immediately... in this novel his desire is to prove to himself that he is a faithful follower of the Emperor. There is a really intriguing conflict within him after he meets the Mortifactors, wherein he is concerned if he himself is properly following the codex astartes, or if he is drifting too far away, and fears he could become savage as his cousin Chapter has become. I am slightly confused on where the battle rage he experiences, which give him his cause of doubts, exactly is coming from... Uriel credits it to something to do with the Nightbringer, but I don't recall the Nightbringer imparting any sort of psychological burden onto Uriel. I was assuming that it had something to do with the blood of the Chapter Master of the Mortifactors he drank at the start of this book, and in fact towards the end of Warriors of Ultramar I was expecting that to come back and the Mortifactors turn out to be in league with Chaos, and Uriel having drank that blood imbued him with some sort of Daemonic presence, but that isn't the case and his drinking that blood never came back up. Either way, it's fine, I'll just believe him that it's something to do with the Nightbringer. There is a really incredible scene where Uriel speaks to the hospitaller sister of battle (which I have never seen in a 40k novel, and it makes perfect sense that the Sisters of Battle would have hospitaller offshoots, so that was really cool), can't recall her name off hand, discussing the inner problem he is having with his faith. Not in the Emperor, but in himself. She affirms he is a good person, and she partially convinces him of it. At the end of the novel, he reaffirms to himself that he is a good example of a Space Marine, and decides that the codex need not be followed by the exact letter, but if he adheres to what he has been taught as an Ultramarine and through experience in battle, he will continue to be a good son of Guilliman and not descend into what he considers to be the baseness of the Mortifactors. This inner conflict is not only complicated, but its interesting, and the resolution was satisfying, something the first book was completely lacking.

I was also concerned there would be a cohort of worthless side characters, but they all turned out to be good or fine. The only one that actually had no real form of resolution was the Mortifactor chaplain, the Ultramarine he's fighting to the end with gets some resolution as they survive the melee together while Uriel kills the Tyranid queen, but the Mortifactor just kind of goes nowhere, which is fine because the point of their Chapter being in the book was the lend to Uriel's conflict. All the other characters resolve nicely. The Sister of Battle hospitaller had a great final scene, a pilot goes down with his ship and that's always fun, and, best of all, was Snowdog. When his character was introduced I was instantly skeptical that he and his gang would go nowhere and not be interesting, but would just be a waste of time, as most of the side characters in Nightbringer were. While his story didn't really have any bearing on the overall picture at large, it was still an interesting narrative giving a depiction to the lowest level of a hive city under siege by Tyranids, and his own conflict is good. While he doesn't really understand that he changes, he does, and its satisfying, and he turned out to be a worthy inclusion in the book.

The most satisfying side character of all was from the local PDF legion, Pavel. The scene where he finds his resolve, takes up a chainsword from a fallen Kriegsman, and fights literally side by side with Uriel is incredible, and is actually maybe now one of my favorite scenes from a Warhammer novel. I unironically became very emotional as it played out, and could not be happier that he survived the book, far too often when mortals are side characters they will just die, which makes sense for the setting, but it would have been a complete injustice to kill him off.

While I find it a bit strange that the Mortifactors are characterized to literally just be Night Lords but loyal, the idea of that is really honestly good. I will say all the names McNeill chooses for them are a bit strange, as in the first chapter or prologue or whatever, he named a lot of them, and then said they were an Ultramarines successor Chapter, but by the names I had been expecting them to be White Scars, but that's fine, they're pretty cool. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, the scene of Uriel drinking the Mortifactors' Chapter Master's blood was not only a good scene but was really funny, because it did not seem like they really needed Uriel to do that, the Chapter Master came off more as thinking it would be humorous to watch this goody two shoes Space Marine do something a little bit yucky.

Something compelling about the Ultramarines in this book as well was an idea that they do not like having servo skulls. In the description of them being disgusted by the characteristics of the Mortifactors, it is shared that they find servo skulls too morbid, something which has clearly not carried over into modern 40k, and I actually think that's a shame. Just this little detail gave the Ultramarines an instantly recognizable characteristic, whereas in modern day they are a very bland Chapter (even though I quite like even the modern depiction of Ultras, I feel like it can't really be argued that they lack a prominent standout trait).

The last thing to note that I enjoyed was the first space battle. It was really complex, had a very cool and fun resolution thanks to the Mortifactors, and was just overall really good. The primary space battle they had with the Eldar fellow in the first novel was not so good, in fact was sort of badly written, so that's yet another overall improvement for this second book.

The reason I do not give this a higher score is because this book continued to have some examples of writing I do not care for. There are quite a few instances of the reuse of a word one sentence later, which is an absolute pet peeve of mine, and there are SO many expositionary segments. What I mean by that are parts of the book that are not from the perspective of any character, but are just details on goings on of the Tyranid invasion, and the operations people are carrying out in the defense. Sections such as this really lose me, because all they are basically are battle reports, and, while pertinent to the overall story, it would just always be better through the eyes of a character. Especially as it gives you some room to expose a bit on how a character feels or what they think, thereby further guiding their motives as they go on to be carried out. Finally, while many side characters achieve resolution, there are still just so many of them. I quickly forgot exactly who is who, though was able to remember by contextual surroundings, but I would really just prefer if there were solely the main character, and a small handful of side characters.

To close, I would like to point out that the story of the video game Space Marine 2 is kind of just the story of this novel. Even Uriel's struggle with faith is pretty similar to Titus's. Not only that, but both were in the Deathwatch, albeit for different reasons, but still. Both have two side characters in their squad who have differing and sometimes clashing views, both use a chainsword, and both defeat a Tyranid threat. I am not saying Space Marine 2 is blatantly just the story of this novel, but I think there are undeniably a lot of parallels, which would be interesting to point out in a paper or something.

Overall, this book was really great. I couldn't be happier that I decided to keep going with this series instead of abandoning it, which I was very close to doing, Nightbringer is really not a good book in my opinion. There's a lot in Warriors of Ultramar I feel very nitpicky about as well, such as some of the things the space marines choose to say/wording (though this was written a long time ago, so I suppose characteristically space marines were a bit more normal back then?), or mortals wanting to shake Uriel's hand, which they only want to do when he is in full power armor, which would make his hand like four times the size of theirs so that's really weird? But all of that is fine, as the overall story of this book was fun, engaging, and memorable. Graham McNeill, thank you, I look forward to Dead Sky, Black Sun.

[Stefan Popovici · Rating 5 out of 5]

1.Leviathan

Short story serving as a intro for the book. After the events of the previous novel, Captain Ventris receives a new mission to cleanse a space hulk but he will get more than what he bargained for in those halls. Short and scary and bloody and a tasty introduction for what will follow.

2.Warriors of Ultramar

The novel proper. Hive fleet Leviathan is approaching the world of Tarsis Ultra and it is up to Captain Ventris's Ultramarines and their allies to stop it.

Besides the main point of view of Uriel Ventris several other minor characters have their own secondary stories and arcs. These are brief and scattered but offer a nice change of pace and altogether different perspectives than that of a Space Marine.

In terms of story and characters there isn't much to talk about. The plot is very simple but frankly it doesn't need to be more than it is. Throughout the book Uriel struggles with his decisions which often clash with the Ultramarines doctrines up until the end when he finally comes to terms with his purpose. It's a nice bit of growth even if a bit shallow.

The most biggest draw of this book is the action. From the start of the book it starts to build and keeps building until the very last pages. Everything is described in vivid details and the author manages to paint a very thorough picture of what it would be to find yourself in the middle of such a conflict. No punches are pulled here, a ton of characters die in very graphic ways and even if there are some more heartwarming bits scattered in places, overall the book is very grim and dark.

In conclusion, this is Warhammer 40k turned up to 11. Everything that was good about the first book has been brought back only bigger and nastier and bloodier. Sure, the Ultramarines are still often a bore but this book is about a Tyranid invasion, and it is a damn great one.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

A vast change from the first book, and written more like an action film. Its cut city, jumping from character to character, though most of them are known there are a few instances where its jumps between named characters that you have no relationship to and they just serve as exposition, they then crop up again later in another minor role...
The story itself is great, but it is certainly more of a hack 'n' Slash than Nightbringer

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not entirely sure about Graham Mcneils writing style specifically because of how he writes setup. This is my second warhammer novel and my second story from him (the first I’ve read being nightbringer) and he spends an extended amount of time detailing machinery and technology in the 40k universe and while that’s understandable because of how layered and dense it is he goes about it in the most boring way possible. I did find this book miles more entertaining than nightbringer and thought the characters bounced off each other extremely well . The third and fourth acts of this book with the Tyra is Defence and Uriel rejoining deathwatch were definitely the highlight for me but the droning of the first two acts made it somewhat difficult to get through. I did like tyranids as a threat way more than eldar in the first book they did feel much more intimidating and mysterious especially because some of their scenes read like horror books . The mortifactors were great especially Magyar and Astador and I appreciate how much they juxtaposed the ultramarines and how they learn to coexist at the end of the book even if it is with an air of hesitance , it’s a shame there’s not much lore and stories about those guys because they’re so wildly different for what is stated to be a successor to the ultramarines . Deathwatch also makes the universe feel incredibly well lived in and they all felt useful like how they had a ravenguard apothecary save Uriel’s life with transfusions at the end or a space wolf using his enhanced senses to help reach norn. With this first and second book I’m conflicted because you either prefer the better pacing of the first or the more dense action packed pace of the second with some excellent world building and tension on top . 3.5/5

[Gordon Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

I commented after the first Uriel Ventris book that our hero was a little too much of a clean-cut knight in shining armour for the parody-heavy no-such-thing-as-a-good-guy 41st millennium. In this, the first of half a dozen or so sequels, we meet some slightly more morally dubious space marines, and Captain Ventris is forced to question his dogmatic adherence to the Codex Astartes.

The Codex is the bane of any potentially interesting Ultramarines story and we are quickly bogged down in onerous rumination over whether or not it is acceptable to apply independent thought in the face of a 10,000 year old holy(ish) rulebook purported to have the perfect answer to every problem. In fairness this book was almost certainly one of the first in this setting to novelise such conundrums, but it has become such an Ultratrope that it's fairly tedious.

The main plot sees the Ridley-Scott-inspired Tyranids attempt to rend and claw their way through Ventris and co. The resulting action borrows heavily from sci-fi movies of the late 90s; part Independence Day, part Starship Troopers (without the biting social commentary). We do get a humorous if largely pointless reluctant hero subplot involving local humans, and there is some evidence of character growth for Ventris, but if you're looking for an action-heavy battle between Space Marines and toothy aliens then Guy Haley's Devastation of Baal is a better bet.

Ultimately this series so far feels like an important evolutionary point that sows the seeds for what 40k books were to become, but is slightly more difficult to recommend in its own right.

[Jan Merchant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second novel in the Uriel Ventris series of Ultramarine novels by Graham McNeill. After NIGHTBRINGER I didn’t quite know what to make of this series. The ‘sophomore effort’ really got me hooked, however.

Here’s the reasons this was fun:

First, this was my introduction to the Mortifactors, Successor Chapter to the famed Ultramarines. That added a fun dimension to the conflicts surrounding Uriel’s constant weighing of whether or not to strictly adhere to the Codex Astartes.

Second, the side characters Learchus and Pasanius become very intriguing as the novel progresses. I found myself wanting much more time with them.

Third, fun Tyranid battles! I’m (relatively) new to 40K and I thought these would be generic xenonorph knockoffs (they are), but they were interesting enough to provide some fun/gross action. The adaptive nature of this particular xenos was handled in a very interesting way by McNeill.

What I didn’t like so much:

Too much time with tertiary characters! Snowdog and Sister Joaniel didn’t add much to the story for me. I’d much rather have been spending time with Fourth Company, the Mortifactors, or even the Death Korps of Krieg (very underutilized here).

Definitely four stars; enjoyed it more than NIGHTBRINGER. I’m hoping the next installment DEAD SKY, BLACK SUN gives me more lore. I’m ready for a Chaos-based story, especially after the Pasanius cliffhanger!

[Jesse Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

⚔️ Warriors of Ultramar – Book 2 of the Ultramarines Omnibus ⚔️

Alright, battle-brothers… this one’s a bit of a mixed bag. Warriors of Ultramar wasn’t bad, but it also didn’t exactly have me chanting “For the Emperor!” either. The story felt a little too by-the-numbers — solid, but nothing that really stands out.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never found the Tyranids all that interesting. They’re just… there. The Mortifactors showing up was a cool twist, but it’s a shame the book didn’t dig into them more — that could’ve added some serious flavor.

All in all, it’s a decent read, but it never really hits that grimdark spark I look for in a 40k novel.
Verdict: A solid “meh.”
⭐ 6 out of 10 Clarks ⭐

#ClarksReviews #Warhammer40k #Ultramarines #GrimdarkReads #WarhammerLore #SciFiBooks #Bookstagram #WarhammerCommunity #BolterBookClub #ForTheEmperor

[Bogdan Balostin · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know what? 5 stars. This was fun.

Though I am biased because I've always liked zergs in Starcraft. (well, obviously not like like, but find it fascinating as biological weapons and alien civilization intend on mindlessly destroying anything. It's a metaphor to the extreme of the survival of the fittest, but let's not talk here about metaphors.)

So this novel is pure and simple the fight against a tyranid invasion. Plenty of action (more than enough), slim but sufficient characterization for its purpose, some new lore about the Warhammer 40k Universe.

If words like zerg or warhammer don't sound familiar to you, then better skip this one, or why not, pick it up just because you're curious (by the way, it's part of a series of loosely connected novels called The Ultramarines).

[Christian Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Ultramarines book starring Captain Uriel Ventris. In this adventure, Uriel and his team fight to stop the advancing horde of a deadly Tyranid invasion.

Written well, this book gruesomely and vividly describes the nature of the Tyranids in detail, both in how they fight and how they live. The cast of characters is strong, with some excellent character development among our main cast. It would be great to see a bit more of the Mortifactors, however, who did not get enough spotlight in this novel.

If anything, there were a few characters not up to far (mainly Snowdog and his group), but I understand the point here was to provide a “boots on the ground” perspective of the defense of the planet.

Overall, highly enjoyable and well-written.

[Jayme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, but falls into the category of the so-called "bolter porn" which doesn't really do it for me. I loved the opening, the clashing between the two chapters and cultural exchanges. But once the battle begun, I lost interest and didn't regain it until it paused to give time to the characters. For the latter, I give this 3 stars. The interplanetary politics exist here, but they're not at the forefront unlike the first book. I did love the evolutionary nature of the tyranids - everything they did to fend them off they adapted to and that created a very interesting narrative. I hadn't quite seen tyranids portrayed in that much of a threatening level. A fun entry, though sits in the shadow of the more focused and refined (and less "battle-focused") book 1.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story and worth reading. I didn't always love the writing. Descriptions of environments become very repetitive in places. For example, there is definite overuse of the word "fluid" in latter parts. And the physics (or lack there of) in the space combat... Well, I just had to grit my teeth. Minor niggles, though!

On the plus side, you get a very clear sense of the scale of this planet-wide conflict and the Space Marines are characterful, which isn't always the case. The finale clips along at a good pace. Actually, the more I think about it, there is a lot to recommend this. The introduction of the Mortifactors "fortress" is quite something.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

You have to just accept these books as they are a d take them at face value. As bolter porn they tick all the boxes, glorious battles and lots of stuff dying. Pretty pacey and sticks to the script it's good.

That being said, far too often the writing in this book is atrocious. The reparation is glaring at times, particularly the hammering of the same adjective over and over in places using the same two or three times in the same sentence. I'm not expecting Tolstoy but come on. Also, if the author told me one more time that Tyranids were slaves to the hive minds will I would have imploded.

It does what it says on the tin but it's pretty clunky at doing so.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perhaps one of the most underrated Science Fiction books to date it is certainly the single most underrated Warhammer 40k novel. McNeill's Knowledge of how a Military function during battle is sublime, the book takes you from the planning stages to the aftermath of an enemy invasion strapped to a Rollercoaster. Page Turner this type of book is why that phrase was invented...I found the book hard to put down, and when I was finished I wanted to read it again...considering how finicky I am about the type of Books I am into that is high praise. If you only read one science fiction book or one book set in the 40k universe read this one.

[Jordan Brantley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bookworm Speaks!

Warhammer 40k

Courage and Honor

by Graham McNeill

****
Acquired: Barnes and Noble Booksellers
Series: Ultramarines (Book 2)
Paperback: 480 Pages
Publisher: Games Workshop Reprint
Language: English
Subject: Fiction

****

****WARNING!!! THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!***

The Story: Book two in Black Library's iconic Ultramarines series returns

In the cold darkness of space, the voracious alien Tyranids travel from world to world, consuming all in a futile attempt to slake their hunger for bio-matter. Lying directly in their path is the industrial planet Tarsis Ultra, where Captain Uriel Ventris and the Ultramarines of Fourth Company stand shoulder to shoulder with their battle-brothers from the Mortifactors Chapter. As war rages and the situation looks bleak, Uriel must accept the barbaric traditions of his allies and act against the ancient tactics laid down in the holy Codex Astartes if there is to be any chance of destroying the alien menace.

This edition also features the prequel short story Leviathan in which Captain Uriel Ventris and his company are charged with destroying a space hulk.

The Review: There is a phenomenon in the entertainment industry that usually occurs in the second part of a larger series. In books, it is called the second book syndrome but the same thing can be applied to films and graphic novels as well. Bookworm will refer to said phenomenon as midquel syndrome.

Basically, midquel syndrome refers to the opinion that the second volume in a series such as the book Chamber of Secrets or the film Iron Man 2, are the weakest segments in the series, due to fact that they don’t have much direction. They aren’t bad stories by any means. Chamber of Secrets is one of Bookworm’s favorites. He will admit though, its very self-contained. While the first volume is busy introducing this new world to us, the second’s job is mostly to introduce new elements that will come into play later. Does the second volume in the Ultramarines Series: Warriors of Ultramar fall prey to midquel syndrome? Let’s find out!

Like many Warhammer books, there are several prologues made in order to setup the proper tone of death and mayhem. The first is a simple hidden enemy story but the next one is pretty interesting. It shows a band of street thugs in the slums of Erebus, where the novel takes place. They are robbing a bar and they are about as despicable as they come. Some readers may just dismiss these characters out of hand but they do have a role to play in the story and it is actually pretty important.

The story proper though, starts out promising enough with one of Bookworm’s favorite events in 40k literature, interaction between two different chapters of Space Marines.

The Ultramarines 4th Company has journeyed to the distant world of Posul in order to solicit aid from the Mortifactors, a successor chapter of the Ultramarines. Neither of them had heard from each other in thousands of years. To Ventris’ shock, the Mortifactors have changed quite a bit in the intervening years. The Morifactors’ customs are bizarre to say the least, some say they reek of impure sorceries. The most shocking of all, they no longer follow the Codex Astartes to the letter. The Codex Astartes is the bible of the Space Marines, written by the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman. As such, the Ultramarines view chapter who disregard its tenants as inferior to themselves. To see fellow sons of Guilliman, becoming grim faced, flesh eating, death worshipers is vexing to say the least.

That is part of what helps the book succeed. Not only are the Mortifactors interesting as characters the way they bounce off the Ultramarines adds drama to the story. Uriel and the other Space Marines are visibly distressed by the actions of their brothers. This makes them relatable to the reader as we have all been a situation that requires us to work with people who make us uncomfortable but we have no choice in the matter. The Space Marines have a very human reaction.

Speaking of human reactions, the book takes us to another favorite scenario: Interaction with mortals. While most Astartes look down on ordinary humans (with good reason) the Ultramarines, by and large, do not. Some of the most memorable passages in the book involve Ultramarine Learchus training the human defense forces. While it is clear that he thinks their skill is lacking compared to Macragge.

If there are some flaws, the main one is that the story tends to fall apart in the latter half. The first part of the book is extremely memorable but for some reason, when it gets to the action it becomes rather dull. Perhaps the reason for that is the action is fairly standard when it comes to Space Marine stories. A lot of running and shooting and shouting. Honestly, Bookworm has trouble remembering the last third apart from a few details.

Final Verdict: The answer to the question posed at the beginning of this review is no. This book does not succumb to midquel syndrome. While there are certainly factors which would lend to the ‘yes’ camp. Warriors of Ultramar does a sequel right. It is the second part of the story, Uriel Ventris’ story.


Four Mortifactors out of Five


thecultureworm.blogspot.com

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

An average story of tyranid invasion. The plot is how every tyranid invasion is foiled: using genetic samples to create an effective bio-weapon, then deploying that bio-weapon against a critical point in the tyranid fleet. I am not sure if this is the first instance of that strategy, but it certainly has been emulated later.

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another epic entry into the ultramarines series. I loved the detail in which the tyranid invasion is described in this. Graham McNeill is my favorite warhammer writer and knows his lore. The way the tyranids are described and there behavior is fantastic. So cool to see one of the smaller factions used.

[G · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sirve para introducirse a la implacabilidad de los tiránidos. Es entretenida, para seguir conociendo esas historias "reales" de los soldados "de a pie" (que en este universo, cualquier marine espacial es una mosca). Sé que hay historias mejores, aunque ignoro si mejor escritas, pero sin duda no me emocionó demasiado. No considero villanos a los tiránidos.

Demasiado simple.

[Paul Raised · Rating 2 out of 5]

4/10 Extremely boring and repetitive, this is very bad compared to the first book. Characters in this book are even more shallow than in the first. The space battles lack cohesion. Some of the subplots add no value and feel like bad filler. Some of the main plot lines are left dangling with no conclusion. This pales in comparison to the quality of Eisenhorn or Cain books.
However that being said, it still has the appeal of the Warhammer universe.

[Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is your standard space opera affair in the grimdark Warhammer 40'000 universe. A quick paced read that delivers the action. Unfortunately, I just didn't feel connected to the characters in this book.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another dramatic tale in the Warhammer 40k Captain Ventris saga. McNeill does a great job continuing to build the world of the 40k universe in all its bloody detail.

Also, he works in a reference to ALIENS. Love it.