Blood Ravens: The Dawn of War Omnibus

Dawn of War #1-3

by C.S. Goto

Omnibus edition of the three Dawn of War novels, which tie in to the best-selling THQ computer game.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Fiction, Anthologies, Fantasy

768 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2008

About the author

Cassern Sebastian Goto (born 1970) is an author primarily notable for his novels and short stories set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. He got his start with several short stories published in Inferno! magazine and his first novel, a novelation of Dawn of War, appeared in 2004. Born in Ireland, he now lives on the Pacific coast of California.

Reviews

[Pmk4609 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished the Warhammer 40000 novel, The Blood Raven’s Omnibus, many months ago and even now I find it intriguing and philosophically engaging. It not only introduces the reader to an interesting plot and realistic characters but also makes them think that even the infallible Space Marines have their faults. In the book the main character Gabriel Angelos, the captain of the Space Marines, finds himself following the foretold path set by the mysterious Eldar race and battling the fierce Orks and villainous Alpha Legionaries. As he travels from planet to planet he learns of new views on the life he is living and of his faults from slight psychic capabilities to emotional breakdowns from memories of his home world burning. The one-thousand page novel, made up of three books, is well worth the time investment and is a fantastic novel for any Warhammer Space Marine Player to base an army off of. The book makes you feel like you are really down with the Space Marines in the fight for the universe and with great action sequences it is a must read for all science fiction and action fans.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

Want to give lower than one star. Use only as turpentine, it sucks the paint right off the walls.

DO NOT READ CS GOTO!
He writes some nasty weak fan fic shit. I've read Half Life fan stuff that was better than this.

[Bernd Velling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it took a while to get this one done.
The three stars are a mixture of ratings for all three books in this omnibus.
4 stars for the first one 3 for the second and 2 for the last one.
The reason it took a while was that the author seems to take his time to get into the action that is why I stagnated in the first book.
People might say well that is his style but the book is an extension of the Game Dawn of war and the game gets straight into the action. So when you start reading and the story just drags on you loose interest.
The last one Dawn of War:Tempest was a real test of patience it seemed to be dragging on forever.
Especially with the way things came together at the end of the book.
The last two chapters were like the first book had been with good solid action but it took way too long to get to the point.
The semi philosophical statements in the first person sections of the book were not something you would think to find in a 40k novel.

Overall a good read but not recommended for someone that doesn’t know the 40k universe.

The Emperor still protects ;)

[Kristopher Godwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very split when reading this. Many changes from the game story, some I liked and many of those changes I didn't. It was a good read and I would recommend, I just feel it could have been better.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while, but this book was certainly worth reading. For me, it was very appealing to see librarians that kick ass, and this book certainly highlights the Space Marine librarian characters well, including the good and the darker sides. That the Blood Ravens Space Marines are scholars themselves is also appealing. The books feature a good amount of action and intrigue, but if you like reading more about the lore of the Space Marines, you get a good amount of description and exposition as well. For the librarian in me, the descriptions of the Blood Ravens' librarium, the legends of the Eldar Black Library, and the Blood Ravens' pursuit of truth and knowledge (yes, those two are different) were things that drew me to this omnibus. However, you do not have to be a librarian to appreciate these novels. If you like good military scifi, you will probably enjoy these. If you already like WH 40K novels, these will be good for you. Though the books are based on a computer game, I do not feel it is necessary to have played the game; I have not played the game, and I certainly enjoyed these books. Overall a very good and entertaining read.

Now, as for what character type I would want to be if I was in the WH 40K universe, I usually said an Imperial Inquisitor, but after this, it is a bit of a toss up between that and a Blood Ravens librarian member of the Order Psykana.

[Joshua Cope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Played the games alongside reading and found that the books and games split at the sequel however, it's interesting to read what is going on in the background with the Blood Ravens and why they don't feature in some of the sequel games. Both mediums do come back together in the end though.

Overall a good omnibus and would recommend to any warhammer 40k player starting out in the reading side

[Matthew Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book as a Blood Raven fan. It honestly just felt simultaneously rushed and bloated at the same time, which gave it an odd feel. Lots of better 40k stuff to read out there.

[Rubens De · Rating 1 out of 5]

DOOM: Repercussions of Evil is an infinitely better fan fic than the entire collection of books written by C. S. Goto.

Don't bother with this. Read Eisenhorn: Omnibus instead.

[Edsel Gomez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly was a great read.
Despite all the negative reviews I saw.
Not the best but a decent read.
Only disappointed in the ending but other than that I enjoyed more than I was expected.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this. There were a few books in here, and not all were good. The story was jumbled, and the whole plot line with Rhamah was painful until the end. I also had to ask a friend who knew more about the universe as a whole to fill in blanks, like why was the physic beacon important? Not answered in the book.

I did like the whole description of how Quirus Ckrius was transformed into an adeptus astartes. The story between the Eldar and Gabriel was also top notch. Overall I am glad I read the book, but anyone who is not a hardcore fan of 40k will probably want to take a pass and not read this compilation.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to read a story that fleshes out the events in the game. Yet like several other W40k trilogies, the later books are not as good as the first. And for a book, there is a lingering question of what happened to the demon? In conclusion, the third book ended rather abruptly and was an unsatisfying conclusion.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took this book to camp and was pleasntly suprised. Generally,40K books were rather mediocre, this featured an interesting, and creepy plot, with some truly amazing battles. (WARNING: very, very gory!)

[Vernon Jettlund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good trash fiction - int he future there is only war. It is a nice departure from the game, I was expecting a re-hash of that story, which the first book is, but the rest are nice continuations of it without reaching Dawn of War II.

Knowledge is power. Guard it well.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first two were good. I thought the third was a little weird.

[Elohim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool take on the game with the same name (par "omnibus").

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

No bad, captured the essence of the 40k worlds but the stories did not flow well together.

[Mariano Tello Nocetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compendio de 3 novelas, donde relata las aventuras de los Blood Ravens y su capitan Gabriel Angelos.

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. I am an active player of the series of games and i usually wince at when people make things like these...but it was worth the read. I recommend it even if you are not a fan of the series.

[Alastair Irvine · Rating 3 out of 5]

moderately enjoyable but slightly ridiculous

[Kamilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much better than I expected. Worth every minute