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Warhammer 40,000
The Book of Martyrs
An Adepta Sororitas anthology
Valorous Heart. Our Martyred Lady. Bloody Rose. These names of Adepta Sororitas orders are famed across the galaxy, as are the Battle Sisters who serve the Emperor's will.
READ IT BECAUSE
The three tales in this volume encompass the bold actions of the Sisterhood across the Imperium as they defend Humanity in the God-Emperor's name.
THE STORY
To die in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind is to live eternal, and none are more willing to bleed in His name than the Adepta Sororitas – the Sisters of Battle. The Book of Martyrs charts the deaths of these exemplars.
Sister Ishani of the Orders Hospitaller, serving alongside the death-obsessed Valorous Heart, tends to her Ecclesiarchy charges as something inhuman hunts the fields. Sister Anarchia of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, taken captive by the vile T’au Empire, seeks to teach her interrogators what it truly means to be one of the faithful. On a regressed Imperial world, Sister Superior Laurelyn of the Order of the Bloody Rose reinforces the beleaguered defenders against a familiar foe turned anew by the Great Rift.
And in the age of the Indomitus Crusade, with the galaxy split in two, only one thing is certain – there will be no shortage of martyrs to fill the pages of this ancient tome.
Valorous Heart. Our Martyred Lady. Bloody Rose. These names of Adepta Sororitas orders are famed across the galaxy, as are the Battle Sisters who serve the Emperor's will.
READ IT BECAUSE
The three tales in this volume encompass the bold actions of the Sisterhood across the Imperium as they defend Humanity in the God-Emperor's name.
THE STORY
To die in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind is to live eternal, and none are more willing to bleed in His name than the Adepta Sororitas – the Sisters of Battle. The Book of Martyrs charts the deaths of these exemplars.
Sister Ishani of the Orders Hospitaller, serving alongside the death-obsessed Valorous Heart, tends to her Ecclesiarchy charges as something inhuman hunts the fields. Sister Anarchia of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, taken captive by the vile T’au Empire, seeks to teach her interrogators what it truly means to be one of the faithful. On a regressed Imperial world, Sister Superior Laurelyn of the Order of the Bloody Rose reinforces the beleaguered defenders against a familiar foe turned anew by the Great Rift.
And in the age of the Indomitus Crusade, with the galaxy split in two, only one thing is certain – there will be no shortage of martyrs to fill the pages of this ancient tome.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2021
77 people are currently reading
373 people want to read
About the author
Danie Ware
59 books205 followersAuthor of the Ecko trilogy (CyberPunk/Fantasy mashup) and Children of Artifice (queer science fantasy). Writer of Sisters of Battle (and other things) for WarHammer 40k, Judge Anderson for Rebellion, Twilight Imperium for Aconyte Books, and numerous short stories.
Reader, writer, crusader geek, re-enactor (retired) and role-player. After seventeen years conjuring PR, events and social media for Forbidden Planet (London) Ltd, you can now find me in the Manga/GNs at Waterstones Piccadilly.
Follow me on most Social Media channels as @Danacea
Reader, writer, crusader geek, re-enactor (retired) and role-player. After seventeen years conjuring PR, events and social media for Forbidden Planet (London) Ltd, you can now find me in the Manga/GNs at Waterstones Piccadilly.
Follow me on most Social Media channels as @Danacea
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 12, 2022
To start, this is a collection of stories, one far better, one far worse. Yet even at the best of times, it is hard to imagine it as truly great. If I had to rate each individually, the first gets a 3.5, perhaps 4 out of 5. The second, the most interesting and the most sad, would rate higher, at a 4 or 4.5. But the third story wouldn't muster higher than a 3, and in it brings the entire collection down.
The Martyrdom of Sister Ishani:
This is a book of Martyrs. There is only one way it could end. Yet It is entirely entertaining as we follow a medic's journey against an unknown invasion. The miracles, when they happen were fun, serious but not overwhelmingly impossible. However, the story wasn't noteworthy, fun but forgettable, with a repeating plot element of getting stuck only to be saved by the cherub.
The Martyrdom of Sister Anarchia:
The most interesting of the three martyrs, told through multiple perspectives, human and alien. It is a tragedy, in the sense that there truly could have been cooperation, could have been a better way, but this is warhammer 40k, so it is not meant to be. And still we watch the Tau and the Sisters of Battle fight with words and plasma in equal measure.
The Martyrdom of Sister Laurelyn:
Less focused on a single character than the other two, and less focused as a story overall. There is still a fine, delightful note of satire and cosmic irony that makes a warhammer story great, but in the back of my mind, I was stuck knowing that if I wanted to hear a story of a Sister of Battle fighting against the forces of chaos, both Requiem Infernal or Ephrael Stern: The Heretic Saint are waiting, and far more entertaining.
The Martyrdom of Sister Ishani:
This is a book of Martyrs. There is only one way it could end. Yet It is entirely entertaining as we follow a medic's journey against an unknown invasion. The miracles, when they happen were fun, serious but not overwhelmingly impossible. However, the story wasn't noteworthy, fun but forgettable, with a repeating plot element of getting stuck only to be saved by the cherub.
The Martyrdom of Sister Anarchia:
The most interesting of the three martyrs, told through multiple perspectives, human and alien. It is a tragedy, in the sense that there truly could have been cooperation, could have been a better way, but this is warhammer 40k, so it is not meant to be. And still we watch the Tau and the Sisters of Battle fight with words and plasma in equal measure.
The Martyrdom of Sister Laurelyn:
Less focused on a single character than the other two, and less focused as a story overall. There is still a fine, delightful note of satire and cosmic irony that makes a warhammer story great, but in the back of my mind, I was stuck knowing that if I wanted to hear a story of a Sister of Battle fighting against the forces of chaos, both Requiem Infernal or Ephrael Stern: The Heretic Saint are waiting, and far more entertaining.
October 4, 2022
i wouldve definitely rated this 3.5 if i could. this is the first warhammer book ive read and i have to say, i was happy with it. i loved the first story, it captivated me right from the beginning. i loved the concept of the stories being read, the prologue and epilogue connecting. but the language was a bit difficult for me to understand, as im not a huge fantasy/sci fi reader. but otherwise and awesome book!
January 11, 2024
yummy scrummy sisters stories
August 20, 2024
My fav Sister of battle book so far
March 25, 2022
4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book, it contains three short stories written by two authors known for writing Sororitas and Phil Kelly, who I’ve not enjoyed much before but in this (what I think is) his first time with the Sororitas I was pleasantly surprised.
Alec Worley’s short story was great, paced well and kept the tension up and made the antagonists scary and the slow reveals to drive up tension were well executed. I thought some things ended up being repeated, such as whenever our character would get to a point of not knowing how to move forward her cherub assistant usually came to the rescue. Miracles are common among the Sisters, it just happened enough times that I noticed it. 4.5 stars
Phil Kelly’s was interesting seeing the differences between the Sororitas and the T’au as a Sister is held captive and interrogated by officials trying to understand her faith, since the T’au’s knowledge on faith and the powers of the warp is limited, and turn her from the Emperor. I’ve been critical of Phil Kelly’s work before in the stories I’ve read of his, I’ve found them not objectively bad but boring. Here though he proves me wrong. 4.5 stars
Funnily enough, the author I’m most familiar with when it comes to the Sisters of Battle, Danie Ware, has the final story and I felt like it was the weakest to me. The other two focus solely on the martyrs in question, but in hers the story’s headlined “martyr” feels much more a side character, focusing more on her squad member and a preacher during a siege. It wasn’t a bad story but I feel it suffered from the splitting between the two narratives. Outside of this collection, it would have been unnoticeable but coming off the other two short stories that were hyper focused on one character this ones’ cohesion suffered. Still a good story and told well, it just felt like the weakest of the three, which surprised me since I’ve greatly enjoyed Danie Ware’s Sister Augusta stories. 3.5 stars
Alec Worley’s short story was great, paced well and kept the tension up and made the antagonists scary and the slow reveals to drive up tension were well executed. I thought some things ended up being repeated, such as whenever our character would get to a point of not knowing how to move forward her cherub assistant usually came to the rescue. Miracles are common among the Sisters, it just happened enough times that I noticed it. 4.5 stars
Phil Kelly’s was interesting seeing the differences between the Sororitas and the T’au as a Sister is held captive and interrogated by officials trying to understand her faith, since the T’au’s knowledge on faith and the powers of the warp is limited, and turn her from the Emperor. I’ve been critical of Phil Kelly’s work before in the stories I’ve read of his, I’ve found them not objectively bad but boring. Here though he proves me wrong. 4.5 stars
Funnily enough, the author I’m most familiar with when it comes to the Sisters of Battle, Danie Ware, has the final story and I felt like it was the weakest to me. The other two focus solely on the martyrs in question, but in hers the story’s headlined “martyr” feels much more a side character, focusing more on her squad member and a preacher during a siege. It wasn’t a bad story but I feel it suffered from the splitting between the two narratives. Outside of this collection, it would have been unnoticeable but coming off the other two short stories that were hyper focused on one character this ones’ cohesion suffered. Still a good story and told well, it just felt like the weakest of the three, which surprised me since I’ve greatly enjoyed Danie Ware’s Sister Augusta stories. 3.5 stars
July 3, 2021
This book is fairly evenly divided into 3 novellas following a different Sister of Battle. I have enjoyed both Alec Worley and Danie Ware's previous works on sisters and these new stories do not disappoint.
I haven't read much from Phil Kelly with the exception of some 40k Horror compilations, but I think he did good for his first run with the Sisters.
I enjoyed a bit in his section how the power armor is a weapon.
If I was forced to choose a favorite I would go with Ware's story, because of the ending. But Worley's Whirlwind like story was close for me.
So yeah, its good, earns a place on the shelf.
I haven't read much from Phil Kelly with the exception of some 40k Horror compilations, but I think he did good for his first run with the Sisters.
I enjoyed a bit in his section how the power armor is a weapon.
If I was forced to choose a favorite I would go with Ware's story, because of the ending. But Worley's Whirlwind like story was close for me.
So yeah, its good, earns a place on the shelf.
February 14, 2023
"The Book of Martyrs" is a series of three short stories centering on three different members of the Sisters of Battle, surrounded by a thin frame story. The stories all share a similar basic flow (establish antagonist and send heroine on her way to an inevitable demise), but they don't intertwine and aren't significantly aided by the frame story, so the overall plot doesn't feel very epic if you were expecting something like "Halo: Reach as a Warhammer story." The stories' overall structures usually work well enough, though the variety of characters, species, and environments demands a strong understanding of the surrounding universe and would be ill-suited for a series newcomer.
The fight scenes are generally well done, especially in the first story of the three (Alec Worley's, which I think was the strongest and easiest to follow overall). But I'm going to single out Phil Kelly's story, the second of the three, for one specific but major issue I had with it. Violence against women is going to be an expected part of an Adepta Sororitas "novel," but Kelly's graphic descriptions are so shockingly brutal that I just about had to put the book down. They often feel so tactless that I'd almost call them misogynistic, and while I would have understood slightly more if they had accompanied the book's first or third stories (both of which are against much more monstrous species), the level of highly detailed gore feels like a bitter irony that's out of place in a story whose antagonists' idea of "torture" is largely more humane than the state of some hospitals, never mind prisons. I highly enjoyed his extremely insightful discussions and dissections of the nature and quantifiability of faith, but the surrounding content made that story in particular very difficult to read, especially since so much of it takes place in flashbacks (which are italicized for paragraphs at a time) and yet has a very anticlimactic conclusion.
The book did have one very good twist, and all three of the stories are intermittently enjoyable (the first one, the most so, and it would probably be the easiest to expand into a full book), but this is otherwise skippable even if you're a huge Adepta Sororitas fan like I am.
The fight scenes are generally well done, especially in the first story of the three (Alec Worley's, which I think was the strongest and easiest to follow overall). But I'm going to single out Phil Kelly's story, the second of the three, for one specific but major issue I had with it. Violence against women is going to be an expected part of an Adepta Sororitas "novel," but Kelly's graphic descriptions are so shockingly brutal that I just about had to put the book down. They often feel so tactless that I'd almost call them misogynistic, and while I would have understood slightly more if they had accompanied the book's first or third stories (both of which are against much more monstrous species), the level of highly detailed gore feels like a bitter irony that's out of place in a story whose antagonists' idea of "torture" is largely more humane than the state of some hospitals, never mind prisons. I highly enjoyed his extremely insightful discussions and dissections of the nature and quantifiability of faith, but the surrounding content made that story in particular very difficult to read, especially since so much of it takes place in flashbacks (which are italicized for paragraphs at a time) and yet has a very anticlimactic conclusion.
The book did have one very good twist, and all three of the stories are intermittently enjoyable (the first one, the most so, and it would probably be the easiest to expand into a full book), but this is otherwise skippable even if you're a huge Adepta Sororitas fan like I am.
January 30, 2022
"I hope you are glad of your paltry gains, I really do. For in claiming them, you have signed the death warrant of your entire race."
The Book of Martyrs lives up to its title: in this trilogy of short stories detailing the acts of three members of the various Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, it ends with each main character giving their lives to ensure the Imperium's victory and the downfall of its foes.
The Martyrdom of Sister Anarchia by Phil Kelly was definitely my favourite: given my loathing of the Tau, it was so satisfying to see Sister Anarchia getting under the skin of her xenos captors with the strength of her faith before taking well deserved revenge on the faithless alien. The Martyrdom of Sister Ishani was a good story too, with the titular Sister striving to carry warning of a greater threat even as an inhuman predator stalks her through the tunnels of an asteroid fortress: Alec Worley gets the visceral horror of the Tyranids so well and as the end approaches, I found myself urging Ishani to stay one step ahead of her monstrous pursuer.
For me, The Martyrdom of Sister Laurelyn was the weakest story: I found it a bit hard to follow and the story a bit chaotic, but the ending was a satisfying conclusion... Definitely a satisfying bit of reading regarding one of my favourite factions in the Warhammer 40,000 universe...
The Book of Martyrs lives up to its title: in this trilogy of short stories detailing the acts of three members of the various Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, it ends with each main character giving their lives to ensure the Imperium's victory and the downfall of its foes.
The Martyrdom of Sister Anarchia by Phil Kelly was definitely my favourite: given my loathing of the Tau, it was so satisfying to see Sister Anarchia getting under the skin of her xenos captors with the strength of her faith before taking well deserved revenge on the faithless alien. The Martyrdom of Sister Ishani was a good story too, with the titular Sister striving to carry warning of a greater threat even as an inhuman predator stalks her through the tunnels of an asteroid fortress: Alec Worley gets the visceral horror of the Tyranids so well and as the end approaches, I found myself urging Ishani to stay one step ahead of her monstrous pursuer.
For me, The Martyrdom of Sister Laurelyn was the weakest story: I found it a bit hard to follow and the story a bit chaotic, but the ending was a satisfying conclusion... Definitely a satisfying bit of reading regarding one of my favourite factions in the Warhammer 40,000 universe...
December 26, 2022
Overall the book was very fun and interesting to read. Each short story I feel has it’s strengths and weaknesses and the favourite for me was definitely the second one which was able to maintain tension while having more of a battle of ideals and wills rather than the conventional battle.
The discussion of faith also seems to be built in concretely to the second story and it feels appropriate given the adepta sororitas’ is so closely related to their spiritual beliefs and faith to the emperor. The dynamic of the Tau attempting to undermine/analyze the faith was a great battle of ideals I was hooked the whole time.
The main reason why this is not a 4/5 is unfortunately because the third story was not the best for me. I’m sure this has kinda been beaten down by everyone’s reviews but it bears repeating I feel like the third story kinda falls short to read. It seems slightly unfocused and the impact of her death is lost as a result in my opinion. But it’s not terrible just not my favourite.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Story 1: 3.5/5
Story 2: 4.5/5
Story 3: 2/5
Looking forward to reading more sisters of battle would definitely recommend to newcomers to 40k :) (you might have to look up some words though)
The discussion of faith also seems to be built in concretely to the second story and it feels appropriate given the adepta sororitas’ is so closely related to their spiritual beliefs and faith to the emperor. The dynamic of the Tau attempting to undermine/analyze the faith was a great battle of ideals I was hooked the whole time.
The main reason why this is not a 4/5 is unfortunately because the third story was not the best for me. I’m sure this has kinda been beaten down by everyone’s reviews but it bears repeating I feel like the third story kinda falls short to read. It seems slightly unfocused and the impact of her death is lost as a result in my opinion. But it’s not terrible just not my favourite.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Story 1: 3.5/5
Story 2: 4.5/5
Story 3: 2/5
Looking forward to reading more sisters of battle would definitely recommend to newcomers to 40k :) (you might have to look up some words though)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2025
I'd give it a 3.5 if I could.
Out of the 3 stories in this book, the first one was by far the weakest with what I thought was too much attention on very chaotic action scenes that were hard to follow.
The other 2 stories thankfully put more of an emphasis on the characters featured within, and I was much more invested in the characters and enjoyed them a lot more as a result.
The title of the book should give this away, but just in case you didn't make the connection, spoilers!
There are no happy endings here.
I bought this book because I collect Adepta Sororitas minis, and I wanted to learn more about their lore and what kind of people are in their ranks. While this book doesn't highlight any specific event or figure in their history that has their own mini, it was a nice look into their way of thinking and how everything they do is in service of Him. I'd recommend it to Sororitas fans, but I'm not so sure if I would to casual 40k fans.
Out of the 3 stories in this book, the first one was by far the weakest with what I thought was too much attention on very chaotic action scenes that were hard to follow.
The other 2 stories thankfully put more of an emphasis on the characters featured within, and I was much more invested in the characters and enjoyed them a lot more as a result.
The title of the book should give this away, but just in case you didn't make the connection, spoilers!
There are no happy endings here.
I bought this book because I collect Adepta Sororitas minis, and I wanted to learn more about their lore and what kind of people are in their ranks. While this book doesn't highlight any specific event or figure in their history that has their own mini, it was a nice look into their way of thinking and how everything they do is in service of Him. I'd recommend it to Sororitas fans, but I'm not so sure if I would to casual 40k fans.
May 16, 2023
The combat sequences were solid, not for lack of violence and brutality, which was a great way to hammer in the setting to any new readers. My gripe is that some of the authors have not cross referenced other dedicated guidelines of >muh fantasy topic, and make some things sound just a little off. I really enjoyed the servitor ambush, which would have been splendid, if the author didnt write in that there were something like five(+-1) arco flagellants, which are supposed to be super duper rare, as per the three book series where an entire expedition collectively lusts after one(1) that someone found in a glorified storage closet. The tau torture was good, and the other stories also deviated from the set lore, which is something that isnt optimal for a fantasy setting which wants to be taken as seriously as possible.
January 17, 2023
An interesting look into the psychology of not only the Adepta Sororitas but of the specific Orders. Opens very strong with a fantastic story of a competent, professional, and caring Hospitaller stationed with the Order of the Valorous Heart. Shows the fanatic tendencies of the order contrasted with the more common-sense protagonist and has very good action against Tyranids. Second and third stories fall a little flat with little in the way of good action or intriguing characters. The second story is actually more interesting as a look into the culture of the Tau then the Sisters. Worth the read if you like Sisters of Battle but not on the level of other BL books.
March 8, 2024
This book is roughly divided into thirds written by three different authors. The first third is far and away the best. I was very invested in the characters in only the 130 pages allotted to them. The middle third is boring as hell but relatively well written compared to the final third. The final bit repeats sentences over and over, the descriptions of things are nonsensical adjective soup and ridiculously plentiful where it doesn’t matter and then all too brief in others. There are points where a sentence describing and action will read like a text message and not a published book. Danie Ware is the MVP in this writing trio.
February 21, 2023
I overall enjoyed this book. The stories go from well written to less and less. I loved the first one the most, since it felt it really dragged me along with it. Story 2 was very interesting, and makes you wonder what would happen in the universe if we weren't so stubborn and short sighted. The last story didn't really focus that much on one character and it makes you feel less involved. I couldn't really care for any of it.
I still give it a 4 out of 5, but that's mostly based on the first two stories.
I still give it a 4 out of 5, but that's mostly based on the first two stories.
April 7, 2024
I was especially impressed with Alec Worley's piece. Worley not only provided wonderfully enthralling action scenes (cause let's be real thats what I'm here for with 40k books, action!) he also creates a compelling main character. I cared what happened to her and even found myself tearing up at the end of her story. I was least impressed with the final peice. It was well written, but I just wasn't feeling the plot line. The other stories have interesting character motivations. This one just seemed..... in vain..? ( though maybe it's because I'm not fully familiar with the 40k lore, and I might have missed something). Overall, it was a very fun read that ignited my old desire to just read for fun!
September 18, 2024
Audiobook: This book contains three mini stories, each seen through the eyes of an Adepta Sororita, bringing in both the lore of the Battle Sisters and their unbounding faith, as well as introducing their war against the Tyranids, the T'au, and Chaos. I found the first mini story to be the most interesting, showing the fear of a Tyranid invasion and how the xenos are smarter than one may would imagine.
May 15, 2025
Would have been a 5 if not for Danie Ware, whose writing I'm generally not a fan of. I feel like she just doesn't capture the grimdark feeling well enough and instead spends too much time making the sisters full of glory, which consequently makes them flat and boring. And writing a cherub like a disney pet, is, genuinely, pretty cringe.
March 11, 2024
Every story was solid and entertaining. I'd have to say it's the most consistent portmanteau novel I've encountered. But nothing blew my socks off either. Still, every sister and every story is compelling, in its own way.
August 7, 2024
Just too gory for me. I can't finish it. The concept is different. Warrior nuns. My grandson is into War Hammer and asked me to read it. I tried but the body count is too high. Excellent writing and story concept apart from the bloodshed
December 23, 2024
I liked the first story! I struggled to find the identity and intent in the other two. Some of the details were neat, but i grew more and more impatient as plot points occured with little to no character reflection or development.
January 13, 2025
Three Short Stories and an utterly minimal Narrative Wrapper. Sister Ishani the Hospitaller was the highlight for me with excellent world-building and genuine suspense; the other two had solid concepts but failed to deliver.
June 2, 2022
A good read, first story was amazing, second was good, third didnt seem to focus on the character at all.
May 25, 2023
Great read on 3 Adeptus Sororitas stories. Really shows just how strong they are.
July 24, 2023
The pacing seemed to go slower and slower. At the very least, it’s an interesting read into some lore of Warhammer.
November 5, 2023
Bog standard bolter grot.
December 16, 2023
After this book I'm hoping someone wipes out the Imperium. They are the reason the universe is broken.
January 11, 2024
A tight anthology that presents you with characters you grow to love, just in time for you remember what the word martyr means...
March 10, 2024
A collection of very flat, uninteresting stories -- 2/10
August 27, 2025
The second story would a 5/5
August 30, 2025
Loved two of the three books
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews