Brothers of the Snake (Warhammer 40,000)

List Price: $7.99 Discount Price: $3.85

Customer Reviews:

This is the Imperium! Tonight you dine in Hell! [Posted on 2008-02-11]
Eh, I wasn't crazy about this book, even though I am a big fan of Dan Abnett. It felt like he wrote this right after watching "300", there was just way too much of a classical Greek/Spartan vibe going on. I think the other problem is that Space Marines are kind of dull as people.

Sure, they are genetically engineered super men, but they tend to be either stoic and methodical or arrogant and bloodthirsty. Since they are effectively immune to romantic love and fear it makes it kind of tough to portray them as anything but robotic ubermenschen.

Anyway, if you liked "300" (I didn't) and you like 40k, maybe you'll dig this book,otherwise I would give it a miss and read his Gaunt books or the Eisenhorn series, they are much better examples of Abnett's undeniable talent.

Perhaps Too Heroic [Posted on 2008-05-11]
This book is the second time that veteran Black Library author Dan Abnett has applied his skills to the mighty Space Marines, having already cut his teeth on the Imperial Guard (the Gaunt's Ghost series), the Inquisition (both the Eisenhorn and Ravenor novels), and the first of the Horus Heresy series. This novel is set in Games Workshop's rich Warhammer 40,000 (40K) setting, a dark gothic universe that now has 20 years of accumulated canon. The work follows Brother Priad of the Iron Snakes chapter of the Adeptus Astartes and his fellows in Damocles squad as they safeguard the Reef Stars of the Imperium.

The connected series of stories cover Priad's career from one of his first missions as a full battle brother to his defining mission as a veteran Sergeant - with suggestions of an eventual captaincy. The Iron Snakes chapter, Priad's character (as well as the rest of his battle brothers), and even the plots of the stories pay homage to the historical Spartans, other Greek heroic tales, and the battle of Thermopylae. This isn't so obvious as to distract from the work, but Abnett's love of history - and tendency to borrow from it - shows through to any fellow devotee. When fighting en masse, the Iron Snakes literally us shields and spears (called lances) in the same manner as ancient Greek or Spartan infantry.

Much like Greek heroic legends, however, the stories stretch the limits of credibility. The Marines rack up body counts that occasionally reach levels of hundreds or even thousands to one. Heroes are submerged in a sea of foes, and yet still manage to fight their way clear. Though Space Marines are supposed to be superhuman, and in some ways like the demigods of myth, some of the situations still strain belief.

That is not to say that the novel is without merit. As usual, Abnett excels at immersing the reader in the superb 40K universe, and his feel for its technology and terms is without peer... With one exception: his use of the terms "swine" and "swinekin" in reference to the Orks destroyed suspension of disbelief each time it was used.

In short: though well written and immersive in the excellent 40K background, the shaky plot and the overly-heroic situations make it difficult to remain there for the entire book.

Damocles and Ithaka! [Posted on 2008-06-18]
I picked up this book because it appeared to be a fresh glimpse into the far reaches of the warhammer world and it was. Action - action - action. Non-stop action. The whole book flow and this would be a great first read for someone who has never read the warhammer books. This is going to be my new favorite, right next to the Grey Knights. If you like your hero's over two meters tall, muscle, armor and balls then this is the book for you.
IRON SNAKES of Ithaka!!!

Not Abnetts best, but still Abnetts [Posted on 2008-07-04]
Dan Abnett, Black Librarys best resource, returns to writing AStartes fiction after a long stint with Gaunts Ghosts, to give us Brothers of the Snake. Rahter than a single storyline, this is more a collection of short stories that orbit around a central character, Brother, and later Brother-Sergeant Priad, as he encounters Orks, Dark Eldar, and daemons of Chaos.

The character development in this is rather bland. Unless you're good at remembering names, you can almost shuffle them aronud without losing any of the plot or message. A few characters stand out, especially when squad Damocles takes some new initiates into its ranks. There are some good points and some nice turns of phrase, but this really pales when compared to his work on the Horus Heresy and the Ghosts. This is not to say that the work is not good, which it most certainly is, but when an author consistently sets the bar so high for the readers, anything less than perfection seems like a let down.

All told, the novel is well written and technically appealing, as it gives insight into some of the labrinthyan rituals that make of a Chapter of the Astartes, and also help to illustrate how a brotherhood of about 100 soldiers does still manage to police and protect a large region of space.

Mixed bag of Space Marine short stories [Posted on 2008-11-16]
Dan Abnett has, until now, been a fairly reliable producer of entertaining novels set in the Warhammer 40,000AD universe.

Unfortunately this collection of short stories about the 'Iron Snake' Space Marine chapter is sub-par.

Space Marines are notoriously hard to write about. They are fanatically loyal, invincible warriors without much in the way of personality. They're usually differentiated by their choice of weapons and their choice of warrior archetypes (Vikings, Romans etc).

These stories center around a group of Greco-Roman warriors called the Iron Snakes as they fight innumerable foes. Most of the stories read like a 13-year old's account of a video game. The Iron Snakes land, take one hoards of shadowy enemies and soon lose count of how many they have killed. In the very first story a single Marine, assisted by a clerk and a dog, slays an entire army. Sadly the clerk and the dog are much more interesting than the Marine. Later a Marine single-handedly kills a Godzilla-sized sea serpent with his trusty harpoon. Another story is filled with unintentional homoerotic humor as the 'Snakes' grapple with the 'Dark Thorns' in oil.

It is only in the last story that the Iron Snakes start to get personalities and depth. But it takes 300+ pages to get there.

Warhammer fans are better off seeking out Abnett's Eisenhorn, Ravenor or Gaunt's Ghosts books than spending time with the Brothers of the Snake.

Click here for more details and discount information...