Battle Of The Fang (Chris Wraight)

I was prepared to hate this book and indeed there were plenty of reasons to do so. It's steeped in the lore of the Warhammer 40,000 universe and makes few concessions to readers unfamiliar with that lore. It describes an event in the history of that universe that ultimately changes nothing, just as an episode of an old TV show is never allowed to upset the status quo. It relishes the immense violence it describes, with little interest in the suffering that violence begets. Its perspective (indeed that of the whole 40K franchise) is ultra conservative, presenting an existence in which challenging hierarchy or independent thinking invites cosmic disaster. It does all this without any sign of irony or self reflection. About half way through, one character laughs at an enemy for being melodramatic, even as he leads his starfleet of ubermensch warriors from their vast mountain fortress to engage in the latest genocidal stage of a thousand year war! Yet, despite all this, there is something charming in the novel's whole hearted love of its material. If I was a teenage fan of Warhammer 40K, I think I would love this book.