As much fun as the other writers in the the HH series are - and some are real fun - Abnett is streets ahead. This is his third contribution to the series and it's another absolute corker.This is the follow up to 'A Thousand Sons' which was the story of the downfall of the Thousand Sons Legion along with their Primarch Magnus. This tells the tale of the Wolves of Fenris and their eventual role as the Emperors executioners to punish that downfall.
The story unfolds from the perspective of a 'skjald' (a storyteller / historian) from Earth called Kasper who arrives on Fenris to study the wolves but ends up as their remembrancer and storyteller.
The book is subtle and nuanced throughout - not a common occurrence in pulp and particularly not in Warhammer - and the story unfolds at it's own pace without ever feeling rushed or incomplete. The moment when the book absolutely burst into life though was with the arrival of Russ, the Wolf King. The interplay between him and Constantin Valdor is wonderful. This is the moment you truly realise that Abnett intends to do way more interesting things with the Wolves than you expected.
I liked the William King Space Wolf books. They are easy, mindless fun - I didn't absolutely hate the Lee Lightner ones either. They are in a far lower league than Abnett's new version though. King's Wolves are comedy vikings punctuating their scraps with beer and banter. Abnett's are the prime military fore in the galaxy. Bezerkers yes but focussed, disciplined and utterly consumed by their calling. Their world seems real and their lives seem truthful.
It's an absolute blast from start to finish. I'm generally loving the HH series and pretty much each new installment is a cracking read but here's hoping it's not too long before there's another Abnett episode.
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