Justin Partridge’s Reviews > The Uriel Ventris Chronicles: Volume One > Status Update

PART FOUR - IN THE REALM OF THE UNFLESHED

“You get to leave unsurgeried.” Holy fuck do I love WARHAMMER.

PART TWO - BENEATH A BLACK SUN

(Truly love that the creatures in this are VERY AUDIBLY HAPPY TO DIE because it ends their tortured existence as reanimated flesh stretched across iron rivets. Rules rules rules. Getting all this bullshit about Chaos is so goddamn fun)

I ALSO really appreciate this last one of the volume (Dead Sky, Black Sun) just going whole-ass hog with Chaos characters and world-building. It’s such a canny move for a third novel, just really going for the gusto re: Ruinous Powers, after we’ve invested such time. Nightbringer was the Eldar book. Warriors of Ultramar was the Tyranids. Now this one is just FULL ON blood for the Blood God. I super dig it so far.

I truly madly deeply love that these (so far) have been novels about emotionally crippled soldiers who have been raised, augmented, and deeply conditioned/indoctrinated only for war having to come to grips with the fact that their war is largely un-winnable. Also, exploding clergy heads and trains made of, and fueled by, human meat that traverse through literal hell on tracks made of bone. Like…fucking incredible.

Book #2 and the final short story done and dusted! It’s really awesome seeing how McNeill is mining genuine pathos and character development out of the insane, labyrinthine rules of the Space Marines and how they are supposed to adhere to strict rules of engagement (even if those rules directly put them in mortal danger) I can continue to see why people like these so much (and how and why idiots misinterpret them).

PHASE V - CONSUMPTION

PHASE IV - SUBDUAL (I truly love that amid all the gore and viscera, there are still these moments of poetically hilarious justice and genuine heroism. It’s crazy how well these thread that needle without being mawkish)