# Lupe reviews Void Stalker by Aaron Dembski-Bowden [Replies contain tagged Spoilers]



## Lupe (Jan 3, 2011)

_So… How are you?_

For those of you even remotely familiar with Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s work, Void Stalker should need no introduction. 

For the remaining few of you who have spent the last couple of years cut-off from the rest of the world, let’s just say that Void Stalker is the final installment in the Night Lords 10th Company saga. Let’s also add, for the benefit of the latter, uninformed minority that this might actually be the most anticipated book in Black Library’s history. Does it live up to the hype? Does it manage to live up to the absurdly steep expectations set by Aaron’s previous works?

*DESPITE MY BEST EFFORTS, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT INFORMATION CONTAINED BELOW MIGHT BE CONSIDERED SPOILERS. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK*

The term that could best define the plot is a homecoming – 10th Company’s return to the legendary Legion stronghold, Tsagualsa, following the events of Blood Reaver. Upon returning, First Claw are confronted by memories of the fall of Tsagualsa, under the combined might of the Ultramarine successors, in the years following the Night Haunter’s demise. As is befitting of the 41st millennium, a homecoming is not cause for celebration, but for conflict, strife and painful memories. To that end, Talos must face not only two powerful armies – the Craftworld Ulthwe and the Genesis chapter – but also the painful realizations that his body is failing him, and that his view of the 8th Legion is fundamentally flawed.

Under these premises, the stage is set for Aaron to once again demonstrate his penmanship skills, and live up to the build-up of momentum gathered over two books, two short stories and an audio book.

Now, the author has gone on record before, saying that his original intention for the trilogy was to have all the characters die by the end, but has since toned down his charactercidal tendencies slightly. Still, we were warned in advance to prepare for the prospect of some of our favorites not surviving the last book. I suppose I could tell you exactly who dies and how, and it still wouldn’t spoil the book a great deal, because the real power of the book lies in the way the death scenes are written, the last words delivered, and the context in the greater plotline of the series. I’m not going to do that, however, and just say that every character death is deep, meaningful and likely to draw tears even from the most hardened, soul numbed, cynical fans of chainsword evisceration techniques.

As the story progresses, we have a multitude of powerful, touching character scenes, as well as some breath-taking moments that just bring the whole Warhammer 40000 setting to life. Among the latter, I’d mention the 13th Legion successors fleet mustering in orbit above Tsagualsa, or the shocking description of the kind of wounds a thunder hammer inflicts upon the unfortunate soul at the receiving end, or just why Xarl’s reputation as a fighter is enough to intimidate even his most savage brothers. 

As for the character build up, let’s just say that everybody gets ample screen time. For instance, we see just how much Variel and Deltrian fit into the sadistic coterie of Night Lords, or (slightly) more of Uzas’ moments of clarity. All in all, the balance of inter-character dynamics progresses along the lines of mutual distrust and uneasy brotherhood already established in the previous books, but this time there are considerably more moments where characters are actually sympathetic towards each other, as if some perverse sixth sense they know they might never get another chance to say the words that really mean...

To be honest, I could just list every single awesome moment in the book in alphabetical order instead of reviewing the book, and it would still be enough to justify the score (no peeking yet!), without it diminishing your reading experience in the slightest. However, coming up with broad words that do the book justice somehow seems far less daunting than simply listing every moment that made me go 'Wow!'. Let’s just say that I’m surprised that any writer could pack a book with so many brilliant moments, while still managing to advance the plot to the satisfying conclusion of a superb series.

*Impressions:*

In my honest opinion, Void Stalker surpasses all my ridiculously high expectations, and may just be the best book I’ve read in my life. Not merely the best 40K book, or the best Black Library book, or the best science-fiction book, but THE absolute best work of fiction that has ever been laid before me. It’s innovative, it’s rich and characterful, and, fantastically enriches the Warhammer 40K setting with a plethora of events, both in the 41st millennium, and in the tumultuous years following the Heresy. In the purest ADB style, the text alternates seamlessly between fast paced action, deep character scenes, insightful dialogues and breathtakingly fluid descriptions, all of which makes reading it an absolute delight. The final chapters and the three epilogues manage to provide the series a bittersweet conclusion, both tragic and yet filled with hope, while still managing to tie up every single loose end throughout the series. If you’ve not read First Claw’s saga yet, I would strongly suggest doing so now. The first books are real treats by themselves, but the series deserves to be read, even if purely for this magnificent ending. If the words poetry and grimdark are ever used in the same sentence, THIS will forever be the reason why.

I hate you, Aaron… I hate you for making maybe two score other great books seem like utter rubbish in comparison… And I know you're going to be reading this...

*High Points:*

The entire book, in my opinion, is just one quick succession of great moments, averaging at one every couple of pages. It’s really hard for me to narrow it down to a few. However, all I can say is that a lot of things from the earlier books and stories are either becoming significant or put into context now. I’m only going to list a few of these below, because there’s just too much awesome to present it all. So... here are some of the random tie-ins from the rest of the series instead, since I'm a big fan of continuity and self-referencing 

•	The Titan Princeps captured by First Claw in Soul Hunter
•	The Shriek, used to great effect in Blood Reaver makes a return
•	The hololithic orb recovered from the Calidus temple in the Throne of Lies audio drama
•	The spoils from the space hulk incursion from The Core short story, in Fear the Alien
•	The prophecy that Talos tried to prevent all throughout Soul Hunter
•	The fate of the Void-Born's father

*Low Points:*

•	The Void Stalker doesn’t seem to be in the least affected by having the muscles and sinew in her leg slashed, especially considering that the main reason she was a threat, and why this gesture was necessary in the first place, was her speed and mobility.
•	Epilogue Secundus, while creative and very satisfying could have included a few more transmissions, just to further appreciate the scale of the events set in motion
•	It’s the end of the series

*Rating: 10/10.* 

I was actually tempted to do something ridiculous, like break the scale and give it a 40000/10, but, on reflection, a simple 10/10 seems more appropriate because it’s the perfect score for a perfect book.


----------



## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

Void Stalker was an amazing read, delving so deeply into the nature and history of the Night Lords that it was hard to accept the book had ended once concluding the epilogues. Aaron have cemented himself as the premier 40k writter, even eclipsing Dan Abbnet.

Regarding the Void Stalker


It seemed to me that she were a Phoenix Lord, which would account for her immense power. One of the lesser eldar mutters 'Jain Zar', which seems to be the underhanded clue to her identity. Fits with her weaponry as well.


----------



## NIKT208 (Mar 14, 2011)

Agreed. An awesome conclusion to one of the best Black Library series out there. I will truly miss the characters Aaron so brilliantly built up. Looking back I could go in depth and analyse every detail that made it good, but to be honest I'd be here forever. Instead I'll simply say this. Reading Aaron's work is utterly effortless, he is an incredibly balanced author. Black Library's other writers all have some flaws in their style whether it's character development or rushed endings etc. Aaron's work on the other hand seems perfectly balanced. His plots, settings, descriptions and subsequent developments are well thought out, and there are very rarely any scenes you feel could have been skipped, or were too rushed. He is notoriously bad with deadlines but to be honest with results like this you can see why. He appears utterly ruthless with his own work, and does not seek to simply churn our books at the same rate (and quality) as other authors. In my opinion he is a cut above the rest, including Dan Abnett, whose own writing flaws are becoming more and more apparent with each ADB novel released. I simply cannot wait for The Emperor's Gift, Prince of Crows and Betrayer. Congratulations on an astounding book that will surely be the benchmark for all other releases this year.


----------



## Lupe (Jan 3, 2011)

Brother Lucian said:


> Regarding the Void Stalker
> 
> 
> It seemed to me that she were a Phoenix Lord, which would account for her immense power. One of the lesser eldar mutters 'Jain Zar', which seems to be the underhanded clue to her identity. Fits with her weaponry as well.




Aye, the Void Stalker *is* Jain Zar, Phoenix Lord of the Howling Banshees. And I'm pretty sure that it was her who muttered her own name - a nice reference to Path of the Warrior - after crippling damage broke the last remains of the Eldar warrior trapped within the Phoenix Lord's suit of armor. 

However, the fact that she loses none of her speed and mobility after Mercutian goes through all that trouble to slash her joints and give his brothers an edge was kind of a downer for me. On the one hand, the futility of the gesture makes his sacrifice all the more heroic, and possibly avoids a cliche. On the other hand, it still diminishes the Phoenix Lord's image. I mean, a limping, pain-wrought Jain Zar still being a considerable threat would have been somewhat more menacing that a Jain Zar who shrugs the wound as if it were nothing...


----------



## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

Lupe said:


> Aye, the Void Stalker *is* Jain Zar, Phoenix Lord of the Howling Banshees. And I'm pretty sure that it was her who muttered her own name - a nice reference to Path of the Warrior - after crippling damage broke the last remains of the Eldar warrior trapped within the Phoenix Lord's suit of armor.
> 
> However, the fact that she loses none of her speed and mobility after Mercutian goes through all that trouble to slash her joints and give his brothers an edge was kind of a downer for me. On the one hand, the futility of the gesture makes his sacrifice all the more heroic, and possibly avoids a cliche. On the other hand, it still diminishes the Phoenix Lord's image. I mean, a limping, pain-wrought Jain Zar still being a considerable threat would have been somewhat more menacing that a Jain Zar who shrugs the wound as if it were nothing...




Phoenix Lords are not exactly mundane eldar, having had existed since before the Fall of the Eldar and founders of the Aspect shrines. They can be destroyed, but they will live again once they absorb the soul power of an exarch of their aspect.


----------



## Lupe (Jan 3, 2011)

Quite my point, mate. 



They are somewhat close to primarch levels (give or take). They _can_be destroyed, or at least damaged significantly. Jain Zar dies, but she will live again, eventually, and that's part of the beauty of the Eldar race. I just wish that the damage done was more visible in the momentary timeframe betfore her death, to mark her out as a target against whom you really, really, _really_ need to stack up every possible odd just to have a long shot


Still, considering everything else I've said so far, this is an insignificant nitpick, in no way meant to cheapen or diminish a simply breathtaking book.


----------



## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

Lupe said:


> Quite my point, mate.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Would have been interesting to have seen a glimpse of Night Haunter having had an altercation with Jain Zar in his lifetime and perhaps having taught her the meaning of fear.


----------



## Lupe (Jan 3, 2011)

Oh, without a doubt. 

Maybe in an upcoming Heresy book, though? *cough, cough*


----------



## Cold86 (Sep 24, 2010)

Since im a sucker for spoilers can anyone tell what happens to Octavia? what does happen to the void born's father?


----------



## Lupe (Jan 3, 2011)

Cold86 said:


> Since im a sucker for spoilers can anyone tell what happens to Octavia? what does happen to the void born's father?


Ok, fine. As I've mentioned before, these make a lot more sense in context, though.




Octavia hides among the few survivors of Tsagualsa, until the Imperium rescue force finally arrives. The last we're told of her, she plans to masquarade as a descendant of the original navigators that first brought settlers there.

The Void Born's father was killed by Cyrion, leaving Uzas to take the blame


----------



## brianizbrewtal (Jan 26, 2011)

I can't do anything special from my phone to hide spoilers so don't read ahead if you haven't read void stalker yet. 

So at the very end when "Talos" says he's not Talos and that his name is Decimus. Are we supposed to know who that is? Aaand what's the deal with everyone gathered around talking about the Thirteenth Black crusade? Is this an alternate universe like Lost *SPOILERS* moment where they were already dead? I loved the ending despite being a little bit confused


----------



## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

I thought it was fairly obvious. Decimus is the son of Octavia and Septimus, stolen away by Variel the Flayer and implanted with the geneseed of Talos and gaining his prophetic abilities.


----------



## Atyaman (Feb 18, 2011)

Brother Lucian said:


> I thought it was fairly obvious. Decimus is the son of Octavia and Septimus, stolen away by Variel the Flayer and implanted with the geneseed of Talos and gaining his prophetic abilities.




That's exactly what i'm assuming too. However I'm curious why Variel needs the child – we only know from Talos' prophecy, that the Flayer will take him from his parents –, why the sudden change of heart, when he haven't really seemed intrested about him in the first place. And why is the new prophet named Decimus. I mean where is the ninth (7th/Septimus, 8th/Octavus (Octavia), 9th/?Nonus?, 10th/Decimus).
Well... maybe in the next trilogy we'll get the answers, if ADB will get around to write it. Hopefully



Anyway, I've dashed through the book in two afternoons (despite that I'm a slow reader). So basically you wait almost a year for the release and then finish it in mere two days. That's the only negative thing I could find about it. Definitely a 5* book for me.


----------



## Xisor (Oct 1, 2011)

Nonus was in _Blood Reaver_.

We don't know for certain that 

Decimus is Octavia & Septimus' child, but it's _very strongly implied_ given the context of the story
.

Similarly, regarding the discussion at the end 

_Soul Hunter_ has Abaddon and folks discussing the possibility that there might be a new undertaking on the horizon. The 13th Black Crusade hasn't yet happened, so that's what the Night Lords who survive are talking about at the end.


----------



## brianizbrewtal (Jan 26, 2011)

OOOOOOOHHH MAH GAH there go my undies getting all wet. I think being so friggin tired while reading it at 2am probably helped me miss what was happening. Thank you brother Lucian and the rest for clearing that up. I wasn't disappointed at all with this book. Too damn great of an ending.


----------



## Atyaman (Feb 18, 2011)

Xisor said:


> Nonus was in _Blood Reaver_.


Thanks for clearing that up for me :wink:
You see, that's exactly what's happening when someone is reading the books with a year gap and a lousy memory. Well, I guess one more reason to reread the trilogy :read:


----------



## ckcrawford (Feb 4, 2009)

I guessed that stuff about Decimus as well. 

I agree with the rating. It was a pretty good novel. Action packed and everything fit in with the other two novels.


----------



## Lupe (Jan 3, 2011)

I'm going add my thoughts on Decimus




Variel WAS very much interested in Septimus and Octavia's son. The fact that he has inherited some of his mother's navigator genes should, in all likelihood, be a tremendous boost to the prophetic powers that Talos' geneseed grants.

The lack of interest Atyaman speaks of probably comes from the scene where Variel doesn't argue with Octavia when she says that the Legion can't have her child. The thing is, Variel is acting just like we expect him to. He's not going to argue over petty details when he knows he's eventually going to get things his way. He remains just as sickeningly calm as ever - in much the same way he does when he forcibly euthanizes one of his former Corsair brothers, or when he guns down said Corsair's friends when they come for revenge in Blood Reaver.


----------



## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

Plus the fact that a newborn is not really interesting to chaos marines. Better to let him grow up a bit to reach a stage conductive to implantation.


----------



## sadLor (Jan 18, 2012)

Good review. It was an excellent read and exceeded all my expectations. I'm actually worried about starting the Word Bearers trilogy as I know it's going to be a letdown after this kickbutt trilogy from ADB. I need more Chaos PoV books!! I was so desperate I actually read Sigvald (Warhammer fantasy chaos PoV)... man that was a waste of money.

I wouldn't go as far as to say it's the best SF book I've read. But it's in the top 3 of the BL books I've read.

Decimus - No spoilers. I'm just going to say I'm sad as I'm fearing we won't get to read about his exploits... He pretty much appears in the timeline up to the newest fluff... so I guess we won't see him fulfill his eldar prophecy? Unless I'm mistaken and it's been mentioned in some fluff.


----------



## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

sadLor said:


> Good review. It was an excellent read and exceeded all my expectations. I'm actually worried about starting the Word Bearers trilogy as I know it's going to be a letdown after this kickbutt trilogy from ADB. I need more Chaos PoV books!! I was so desperate I actually read Sigvald (Warhammer fantasy chaos PoV)... man that was a waste of money.
> 
> I wouldn't go as far as to say it's the best SF book I've read. But it's in the top 3 of the BL books I've read.
> 
> Decimus - No spoilers. I'm just going to say I'm sad as I'm fearing we won't get to read about his exploits... He pretty much appears in the timeline up to the newest fluff... so I guess we won't see him fulfill his eldar prophecy? Unless I'm mistaken and it's been mentioned in some fluff.


If you want a good fantasy chaos pov book, go for Wulfrik. I found it a terrific read compared to the demented Sigvald.

Imo the Word Bearers trillogy was a quite good read, definitely not bad. Having a lot of epic scenes.


----------



## Karthak (Jul 25, 2010)

sadLor said:


> Decimus - No spoilers. I'm just going to say I'm sad as I'm fearing we won't get to read about his exploits... He pretty much appears in the timeline up to the newest fluff... so I guess we won't see him fulfill his eldar prophecy? Unless I'm mistaken and it's been mentioned in some fluff.


I don't think he'll be able to fulfill that prophecy, since from what I can remember about the 13th black crusade Ulthwe did pretty well.


----------



## clever handle (Dec 14, 2009)

Brother Lucian said:


> If you want a good fantasy chaos pov book, go for Wulfrik. I found it a terrific read compared to the demented Sigvald.
> 
> Imo the Word Bearers trillogy was a quite good read, definitely not bad. Having a lot of epic scenes.


Just plain no. The WB trilogy is plain bad. This is partially a fault of the author and partially a fault of the editors. *Descent of Angels* is infamous for the terrible editing, the WB books are just as bad if not worse. In parts of the second and third books there are sentences that do not make sense; there are sentences that are repeated... (and not for effect, just plain repeated); In the third book the author / editors get the names of characters confused and as a result you have Word Bearers teleporting frantically around Consul space ships, changing their armor between PA & TA, and generally switching their roles in the warhost (must be very confusing for Kol Badar, the coryphaus & leader of the warhost to find himself fighting his way to the bridge in his TDA one second, and a page later find himself struggling against consuls near the engines while wearing PA and carrying the legion's standard...)

Also, the WB books showcase the "evil for evil's sake" bad guys that are too stereotypical. ADB's nightlords novels are fantastic because none of the "bad guys" are evil just for the sake of being evil, they truly believe that what they do is correct. In the WB books the legionares are cruel for the sake of being cruel, malicious for the sake of being malicious.... The greatest villians aren't villians because they make a conscious choice to do evil, they're bad because they firmly believe that what they are doing is right & correct. Hitler didn't kill 8 million because he wanted to be bad-ass.... he firmly believed that what he was doing was the BEST path forward for humanity... He probably didn't walk around Berlin spouting about how he was evil incarnate...


----------



## mal310 (May 28, 2010)

Void Stalker is excellent. One of the best books I've ever read and maybe ADB's best. The standard at which he writes is exceptional. I've read all his published work now and have loved all of it. As I read his work I can see that a huge amount of effort and care has gone in to it. Every page is full of entertainment, detail and wonderful characters. There are no off books from ADB, no going through the motions, no half baked ideas, no nonsensical parts, no one dimensional characters, no mindless fighting for no reason, etc. Afflictions which unfortunately seem to effect other authors from time to time. This book, as with all Aaron's work is first class and I highly recommend it to others. As long as Aaron writes books I will buy them. Period.


----------



## sadLor (Jan 18, 2012)

clever handle said:


> Just plain no. The WB trilogy is plain bad. This is partially a fault of the author and partially a fault of the editors. *Descent of Angels* is infamous for the terrible editing, the WB books are just as bad if not worse. In parts of the second and third books there are sentences that do not make sense; there are sentences that are repeated... (and not for effect, just plain repeated); In the third book the author / editors get the names of characters confused and as a result you have Word Bearers teleporting frantically around Consul space ships, changing their armor between PA & TA, and generally switching their roles in the warhost (must be very confusing for Kol Badar, the coryphaus & leader of the warhost to find himself fighting his way to the bridge in his TDA one second, and a page later find himself struggling against consuls near the engines while wearing PA and carrying the legion's standard...)
> 
> Also, the WB books showcase the "evil for evil's sake" bad guys that are too stereotypical. ADB's nightlords novels are fantastic because none of the "bad guys" are evil just for the sake of being evil, they truly believe that what they do is correct. In the WB books the legionares are cruel for the sake of being cruel, malicious for the sake of being malicious.... The greatest villians aren't villians because they make a conscious choice to do evil, they're bad because they firmly believe that what they are doing is right & correct. Hitler didn't kill 8 million because he wanted to be bad-ass.... he firmly believed that what he was doing was the BEST path forward for humanity... He probably didn't walk around Berlin spouting about how he was evil incarnate...


Dang, this is a brutal review of the WB trilogy. I'm probably going to pass on it then. Any other Chaos POV books? Besides the Night Lord series, the WB series... I don't know of any others. I know there's an upcoming space marine battles book based on the IW. Anything else besides these ones?


----------



## Fire Tempered (Dec 16, 2010)

Blood Gorgons is decent, nothing spectacular. And if you haven't read Storm of Iron, do, it has some great Chaos characters and it well worth a read.


----------



## clever handle (Dec 14, 2009)

storm of iron & the iron warriors books are ok. They do suffer a bit from the "evil for evil's sake" problem, but at least the editing isn't terrible.

If you want chaos books I would recommend (in no particular order):

ADB's night lords series
Storm of Iron *and subsequent stories
Lord of the Night
Blood Gorgons is pretty good

from the HH series:
Flight of the Eisenstien
Legion (kinda... not really chaos-y)
First Heretic


In general, when looking at Black Library you can bet that anything by ADB & Dan Abnett will be a godo read. Full of *CHARACTER*, exciting battles, and just solid story construction. Up until recently DA was my favourite author due to the Gaunt's Ghosts series, but I would put ADB up above him - I find DA stories seem to wrap up nice & clean & frequently with a bit of Deus ex Machina (which is ok sometimse... but not all the time...). that being said, both authors are top quality (though I have a friend who just full-stop hates anything by black library... same friend recommended hunger games to me so there's no accounting for taste I guess...)

Black library has many good authors, many poor authors and the two I mentioned above are fantastic. I typically don't read anything by any other BL author, I've been disapointed too many times. I describe my love affair with BL books as "battered wife syndrome" - with each new book release I promise myself that "it can't be as bad as it was last time! Surely they know how they hurt me & are going to be better now!" But it is so rarely the case. NOTE this is especially true with the WB novel series...

Again, I only have (2) complaints with the WB series, the first is fully at the hands of the author - that is the evil for evil's sake bit. The 2nd is shared between the author & editor... But so much of the printed works delivered by GW are flawed - spelling errors in rulebooks, IA books & novels.... They really need to examine their editing team...


----------



## Lord Mephiston (Sep 16, 2010)

The Word Bearers series by Anthony Reynolds is IMHO the best Chaos Marine series out there. Terrific battles, cool characters ( especially the rivalry between Marduk and Kol Badar, the internal politics of the legion etc. ), some really badass moments ( the Chapter called "She Who Thirsts" in Dark Disciple is one of the most badass moments ever. ). Don't miss it.

Marduk is one of the legit badass chaos marines out there. Believe me, it's fun. I found it to be more fun than the Soul Hunter series, which is also excellent IMHO. You don't read stuff like Anthony Reynolds or C.L.Werner for the literature. They're not out there to win the Man Booker Prize. Their books are all about the ASS KICKING, which is why they're so awesome.


----------



## clever handle (Dec 14, 2009)

Lord Mephiston,

I can appreciate the idea behind writing action books for the sake of action (black library is bolter porn for gods sakes!) but the significant problems with the editing are inexcusable.

Note(s): the short story in the WB omnibus which describes the fate of everybody's favourite turn-coat is really good. The chapter you specifically mention is also quite good - BUT goes to show a lack of consistency... if Marduk has these powers why doesn't he make use of them more often? He summons daemons twice in one book... with no apparent physical cost to himself, things get hairy later in the series (prior to blocking out the warp with the necron device...)


----------



## Bobbyfbrewster (Oct 14, 2011)

this was a great book love the little character moments. It them and the ones in soul and blood that really made me love this trilogy.


----------

