Spear of the Emperor (Warhammer 40,000)

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The ending was relatively good but I just had nearly no en AD-B: It’s set over a century after the Great Rift tears the Imperium in half, and it’s set in Elara’s Veil, a region of space where – like most of the Dark Imperium – everything has gone to Hell. Literally.

The book starts with Anuradha Daaz and her master Vádhan of the Emperor's Spears sitting within the Spear's fortress. The events of the book are far in the past. The Spears of the Emperor fight against the forces of the Exilarchy, but the situation is worse every day. They haven't yet threatened Nemeton, the Spears' homeworld, but it seems inevitable. The plot of the story starts with Anuradha accompanying Amadeus to the homeworld of the Emperors Spears, Nemeton along with two of her fellow slaves; which is where we’re treated to rich descriptions of the Space Marines homeworld and culture, it also sets the tone for the rest of the novel. Along the way, the plot develops into a much richer story-arc which leaves the reader guessing as to what the expert use of foreshadowing is all about. This novel doesn’t miss a beat and the once the pace it set it doesn’t let up, you’re in for a fast ride; without the book becoming all-out war, which was another stroke of brilliance for Aaron Dembski-Bowden; too many Warhammer books turn out to be ‘just another war story’ which fits the bill for the setting, but it’s wonderfully refreshing to read something a bit different to the usual 40k offerings. There’s no other way to describe the Spears except as having an embarrassment of riches. Their unique position gives them access to the highest number of Warlord traits, relics, and stratagems in the game, because they get to draw from the base Codex: Space Marines, the full suite of Ultramarines options (with reference to how Exemplar of the Chapter interacts with Warlord traits as described above), plus unique ones of their own. Normally the price of having a successor included in the supplement is that the parent Chapter loses out on some stuff (as in the Imperial Fists and Blood Angels books), but thanks to being included in White Dwarf instead of the book the Spears get the best of all worlds. Hailing from the primitive world of Nemeton, the Spears continue to embrace the tribal nature of their Homeworlds. Several tribes on Nemeton exist, such as the Novontei, Kavalei, and Arakanii. These tribes each have their own unique traditions and customs, and even upon entrance into the Chapter the Spears continue to cling to their tribal identity. Spears often call each other simply by their tribe. [4d] Desperation in recent solar decades has forced the Emperor's Spears into a more cooperative mindset, however. Necessity has forced their hand; with Elara's Veil in such danger from the Archenemy, pride can no longer come first. Now, survival must.ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them? Space Marines from the Emperor's Spears have also been known to wear trinkets, talismans, serpent scale-hides and fur pelts. These are usually gifts from the Twelve Tribes of Nemeton, not things the Astartes have hunted or made for themselves. These are all pretty good! Sentinel of the Veil has real legs and can be a great secondary warlord trait on a smash Chaplain or something similar. Bloodied but Unbroken is neat but not particularly exciting. And Tribal Heritage has some potential, given that it lets you use Combat Revival or Commanding Oratory for free on an Apothecary (if you didn’t make him a Chief Apothecary, for some reason) or Chaplain, or throw out Only in Death Does Duty End to punish an opponent in a pinch.

What makes me praise this book so highly is that the characters – all of them – are above what you would usually expect from a Warhammer novel. They have so much to them, from the outset, that it’s utterly fantastic that they get to develop throughout the novel and Anuradha’s narration is both beautiful and tragic – as it is through her that the story is being chronicled. Later, on Yarant, the 13th Company seemed amused by the fact that the current Space Wolves view the relic with such awe. [2b] During the Battle of Yarant, during the Heresy, Russ gave the weapon to Bjorn. [3] Contrary to the reverence for which most Marine world populations treat Astartes, the Spears are viewed by the population of Nemeton as cursed ghosts. Mothers shield their sons from passing Spears, and women will often spit or chant counter-hexes in their presence. The Spears in turn continue to maintain a degree of mysticism, interacting in rituals with witches and prophets of Nemeton. [4e] Heraldry Note that at some point Anuradha asks about the Star Scorpions to Incarius. He tells her an unclassified but not widely shared fact (as a Mentor, of course he clarifies the restrictions on that info) - that the official story about the Star Scorpions is a lie. Though they did have geneseed stability issues, that wasn’t why they failed. Instead, they were "Lost on Crusade" - lost in the warp with all hands, their deaths confirmed by increasingly dire Astropathic messages.

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At the end, we're told a little bit of the future. Kazar would eventually escape and cause horrible losses for the Vaelarii. The Armada would eventually be destroyed. They're interrupted by the appearance of a new ship bearing down on them - the Blade of the Seventh Son, a Celestial Lions ship! She fully expects to die in the oncoming ram, and all things considered is fine with this. She laughs as the end comes.

This novel starts out with devastating numbers of lives lost and damages taken. Then it throws the surprising twist of the main character, and from there it’s a series of surprises, battles, and dramatic elements. It all combined beautifully into one novel. And I’m not at all ashamed to say that I was sad to see it all end.

Wrapping Up

The Emperor's Spears are a Chapter on the edge of destruction, last watchmen over the Elara's Veil nebula. Now, the decisions of one man, Amadeus Kaias Incarius of the Mentor Legion, will determine the Chapter's fate…