Ravenwing (Warhammer 40,000: The Legacy of Caliban Trilogy)

If you are a space marine this is the book for you. Dark Angels the first legion and thier secerts are laid bare. Over all a good ride following a fallen angel and linking in the Dark Angel book published years earlier. I am looking toward to rest of the series. This book has strong ties Horus Heresy series, so if you liked Fallen Angel you will like this book.

The book in itself is not really as amazing as I thought it would be, but that saying Gav Thorpe is always a hit-or-miss author for me, and this time he missed his mark a little in terms of character development as sometimes the characters are just very one dimensional. Nonetheless I find that the way in which the Ravenwing wage war is interesting, as they really will not leave their bikes and literally use it as part of their body at times to slay their opponents.

This is one of the books you have been waiting for!! There are secrets inside of secrets, some new data and some additional questions. Masterful writing, keeps you turning the pages and trying to figure the next curve. You will not be disappointed!!!!

Excellent beginning to the new Dark Angels trilogy. Full of characters, detail and some hints of other things to come.

I have come to expect great things for Gav Thorpe and this book is not the best. He makes the dark angels feel somewhat robotic and dull. This could very well have been his intent and if so then he does a fantastic job. But in terms of a space marine book I would much rather read a william king space wolf novel than this dark angel robo series.l

I have read numerous Black Library novels both in the 40k and Warhammer worlds and this is by far the worst that I have read. I do not set a high literary standard, especially with space marine novels, but the dialog in this novel is about as deadpan and stilted as it can get. Of all the Black Library authors, Gav Thorpe has disappointed me the most. I will not be buying another novel that he writes.

Ravenwing is the brand new book from Warhammer 40k writer Gav Thorpe and is the first of a new three book series called The Legacy of Caliban Trilogy. The book is also a sort-of sequel to the other Warhammer 40k book, The Purging of Kadillus that I reviewed a few weeks ago. In this novel we follow Brother Annael; a new recruit to the Ravenwing. The Ravenwing are a group of Dark Angels that are above the usual Space Marine. They ride around on giant motorcycles and land speeders and are usually used as reconnaissance for the Dark Angels when they are fighting battles or chasing down their foes. However, unknown to Annael until his acceptance into the Ravenwing, they are also used to hunt the Fallen, the evil Space Marines who turned on the Emperor during the Horus Heresy and killed their own Patriarch- Lion El'Johnson. When a distressing signal is received from the planet of Piscina IV, the Ravenwing are sent on the hunt for a powerful Fallen Librarian. The Librarian manages to `turn' the leader of the Dark Angels on Piscina IV, Grand Master Belial, (from The Purging of Kadillus!) and makes him doubt his faith in the Dark Angels, forcing him to kill himself and his brothers. However before his death, Belial leaves the leader of the Ravenwing, Grand Master Sammael, a message directing him to the infamous pirate Space-Port of Port Imperial. When the Ravenwing arrive at the Port, they find that the pirates have formed a cult around the Fallen Librarian and fight a fierce battle to protect him from the justice of the Dark Angel Inquisitors as he manages to flee. However, the trail is not lost and the hunt is still on as the Ravenwing follow the mysterious Librarian to his lair where more of his loyal and corrupt followers fight to the death to defend him. This was another good book from Gav Thorpe but I honestly didn't enjoy it as much as The Purging of Kadillus. I don't know why this was, I think it might be to do with the fact that The Purging is a Space Marines Battle Novel and was really fast paced, full of battles, action and all in all, for someone like me, a great book to get into the Warhammer 40K literary world. Ravenwing on the other hand, is the first book in a series so perhaps was not going to be as fast paced as the one-off Space Marine Battle Novel. I also didn't enjoy the characters as much as I thought I would. I think that this might be because I'm not that big off a fan of the Ravenwing as a unit anyway- which probably explains why Telemenus was my favourite character! Nevertheless, saying that the novel wasn't fast paced and then reading it in 3-4 days might seem a bit contradictory. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy the book but not as much as The Purging and I'd suggest that you read that book before you read Ravenwing. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to the next book in the series Master of Sanctity! For more book reviews google adam-p-reviews!

It's Space Marines bolter-candy. There's really not much to say beyond that: entertaining popcorn muncher, it is what it is.

This is the first volume of a trilogy on the secretive First Legion of the Dark Angels. A few things might seem a bit familiar for those that have already read the Purging of Kadillus (a Space Marine Battles novel), although reading this one is NOT a prerequisite at all. For once, I am a bit at a loss in writing a review. The book is not bad, but I was not "carried away" with the story as I sometimes have been in the past (with the Night Lords trilogy in particular). True to form, we essentially get the Ravenwing of the Dark Angels backed by elements of elements of another Dark Angels Company (the Fifth) who do not know the real history of their Chapter and its real priorities and whom we see carrying out their "offical" war on behalf of the Imperium, doubled by their own very secret war which takes priority whenever necessary. I have a few problems with the Dark Angels in general, and this book in particular, because some elements just did not "feel" plausible, although this may be largely subjective. I have never quite understood the need for - and the usefulness of - keeping secrets within the Chapter and essentially telling lies, or at best half-truths, to the vast majority of the Dark Angels. In this book specifically, this kind of behaviour where some would be treated as "second-class citizens" while the others would be "in the know" felt a bit odd. It is even a bit surprising that no one seeks to ask questions when the Dark Angels just leave a planet still infested with Orks to pursue other more important targets - a mixture of pirates and heretics. Then I also had a bit of a problem with the characterization: somehow, the characters did not come to life for me. They just did not "feel" and "sound" realistic or impressive, not even Grand Master Sammael, the commander of the Ravenwing. There were some good ideas and exciting features, however. One was the war bikes of the Ravenwing. Another was the largely derelict imperial space station and port which has become a pirates' nest, although its name - Port Imperial - is another illustration of some lack of originality. The last scenes, once the Dark Angels get involved on the planet of Thyestes and manage to capture their prey through deception and some hard fighting against unexpected enemies are probably the best of the book. To a large extent, they somewhat "saved" the book because they revived my interest. Three and a half stars, mostly because of the last fifty pages, which were great, and because of the assault on Port Imperial, which I found better than the rest. PS: Although not on Amazon's Vine Program, I received a copy of this book well in advance of its publication date. I read it over Christmas.

A good addition to the Black Library and a good overall book.Got to wait for the second one though which is a shame!