Indomitus (Warhammer 40K: Necrons) 3Stars

 

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Title: Indomitus
Series: Warhammer 40K: Necrons
Author: Gave Thorpe
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 277
Words: 91K
Publish: 2020

This story was really an Astartes/Space Marines story and not a Necron story. But the Necrons are the protagonists and I enjoy reading about these millions of years old Terminator civilization instead of the genetic freaks of the Empire of Man.

This followed the same pattern for the Space Marines. One Captain who has decisions to make and two underlings who are as jealous of each other as they are xenophobic about the Necrons. Unlike in Blades of Damocles, the Space Marines in this story weren’t total jackasses, just mostly jackasses. It made reading their parts of the story less painful and rage inducing. Not necessarily enjoyable, but I wasn’t raging against them out loud like I was for Blades of Damocles.

As I have read deeper into the Warhammer 40K universe, I always wondered WHY the Necrons weren’t top dog. They killed gods when those gods proved false in their deal for goodness sake. I still don’t even know why the Necrons ended up “sleeping” for millions of years. I understand they have code errors and go insane easily, but I always wondered why they didn’t rule. Well, this book helped explain it. The Necrons are as riven with factions as medieval Europe and this story shows how nepotism and revenge keeps the entire race from moving forward. The leader of the Necrons in this story is related to Szarekh, the Silent King and last ruler of the Necrons. This “cousin” is a complete incompetent but loyal. He can’t carry out the simple plan given him and is also hindered by another Necron royal who is secretly working against Szarekh and his goal of uniting the Necrons under him. This other royal is willing to give up her existence if it means the death of the cousin and the stopping of Szarekh’s plans. Aye yi yi. But now I know why the Necrons haven’t taken over. To put it simply, they are as selfish and idiotic and short sighted as any of the flesh species that currently inhabit the universe :-D

I’m ending this review with a picture of Szarekh the Silent King from when he was a Magic the Gathering card:

★★★☆☆

From the Publisher

For nearly ten years, the Indomitus Crusade has waged a war of defiance and reconquest in the war-torn Imperium. Attached to Crusade Fleet Quintus – dubbed the Cursed Fleet by many – the Ultramarines of the Ithraca's Vengeance are drawn to a stricken world. With millions enslaved, a malign necron technology siphons the souls of the innocent and heralds the Silent Kingdom's expansion. The Ultramarines face an impossible decision: mount a desperate last stand to destroy the Pariah Nexus, or break away and damn the entire sector to bring word of this ancient foe's resurgence to the only being capable of halting it – the Lord Primarch Roboute Guilliman.