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Damocles (Space Marine Battles) by [Phil Kelly, Guy Haley, Ben Counter, Josh Reynolds]

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Ben Counter

Guy Haley

Damocles (Space Marine Battles) Kindle Edition

by Phil Kelly (Author), Guy Haley (Author), Ben Counter (Author), Format: Kindle Edition

53 ratings

Part of: Space Marine Battles (32 books)

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Two centuries ago, the Imperium of Man and the upstart Tau Empire fought to a standstill in the Damocles Gulf. Now, as the 41st millennium draws to a close, the tau have returned. As the world of Agrellan falls under attack, the White Scars and Raven Guard rush to its defence, but with the skilled Commander Shadowsun leading the alien forces, the Space Marines and their allies are hard pressed. Kor'sarro Khan, Huntmaster of the White Scars, swears that he will win the day in the most direct way possible – by taking Shadowsun's head.

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Gathered within this anthology are four action-packed novellas focusing on the cataclysmic campaign in the Damocles Gulf. Each tale sheds light on a different aspect of the war and those involved. Towering war machines duke it out on the battlefield, Space Marine and tau philosophies come under question as they clash with ally and enemy alike and hunters become the hunted as both sides try to outwit one another. You even get an insider view of how the Tau Empire treats its human collaborators and uses them as weapons.

Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Black Library
Publication date

November 15, 2016
File size

3234 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Guy Haley began his career on SFX Magazine in 1997 before leaving to edit Games Workshop's White Dwarf, then SF magazine Death Ray. Since 2009 he has been a wandering writer, working in both magazines and novels. He lives in Somerset with his wife and son, a malamute and an enormous, evil-tempered Norwegian forest cat called, ironically, Buddy. Graham McNeill has written more than twenty novels for Black Library. His Horus Heresy novel, A Thousand Sons, was a New York Times bestseller and his Time of Legends novel, Empire, won the 2010 David Gemmell Legend Award. Originally hailing from Scotland, Graham now lives and works in Nottingham. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01N7IHTBS
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Black Library (November 15, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 15, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3234 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #497,155 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #27,538 in Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #43,460 in Science Fiction (Books)
- #87,884 in Literature & Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
53 ratings

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Customer reviews

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2 star		2%
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Top reviews from the United States

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StrengthNHonor

"The Greater Good" I was ready to give up on a good Tau-centered story

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2016

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Bring us more Tau!! This book touches on points in the most explosive conflict between the Imperium of Man and the Tau Empire, introducing tons of units and characters (and killing plenty) in the process.

The stories build a continuing rivalry between Korsarro Khan and Shadowsun, and show how the Tau actually had the Imperium on the back foot (I know, heresy) until some OP units and factions entered the fray.

Thank God for this book, because after, "The Greater Good" I was ready to give up on a good Tau-centered story. Although the perspectives alternate they are never boring and build tension for impending battles.

2 people found this helpful

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Synthetics

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2016

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Great book, and a welcome read into the 40K Universe.

One person found this helpful

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Richard Rowe

I did not enjoy the book as much as I thought I would

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2016

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I did not enjoy the book as much as I thought I would, being someone who plays Raven Guard on the tabletop. Didn't enjoy the part in the end about the Ultramarines either.

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Brandie Bellamy

... scars then this novella collection will suit you just fine. Four pretty awesome

Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2015

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If your a fan of the tua (like myself) as well as the white scars then this novella collection will suit you just fine. Four pretty awesome, action packed stories. Exactly what you want when you pick up a space marine battles novel.

One person found this helpful

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JPS

Good collection on the same theme and events

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2015

This is a good collection of four novellas, each of which is about a hundred pages long. The general theme is the Tau invasion of the Empire, beyond the Gulf of Damocles, and their attack of the strategic Agrellan system. An interesting feature of this collection is that while the four stories can be read separately and are written by four separate authors, they are also clearly linked and the authors seem to have coordinated and talked to each other.

Another good feature is that this title does add to the existing collections in several respects. The descriptions of the Tau and the multiple illustrations of their highly advanced technology and their consummate skills of deception, subversion and surprise are one of the most interesting aspects that are common to all four stories. A second element that I enjoyed was the variety of styles and perspectives from which various episodes of the same theme of events – the Tau invasion – are being told. One perspective which I found particularly interesting what that of the human “traitors” – whether an ex-captain of the Imperial Guard or an ex-Inquisitor turned rogue – serving the Tau against the Empire of Humankind and wanting to believe in the “Greater Good” because they hope it is better than the ghastly, decadent and cruel Empire.

Those liking battles will, of course, find plenty to their liking. Interestingly, and for a change, the Imperials do not end up by winning, quite the contrary in fact since their shock troops, among which are the White Scars of Korsarro Khan and the Raven Guard commanded by their Chapter Master. Also present are a regiment of Catachans and the (great!) heavily armoured and devastating Knights of Voldoris who turn out to be more than a match for their Tau counterparts.

I liked all four stories, although some are perhaps better than others. While not really “bad”, I found that “Black Leviathan” was perhaps the weakest of the four, essentially because the behaviour of the squad of Jade Dragons’ Space Marines, and of their sergeant in particular, is hard to believe. At a minimum, the author should have provided more elements and explanations, perhaps more context about this Successor Chapter (about which I knew nothing, not even who their Primogenitor Chapter was supposed to be!) to explain why they compromised the whole mission in the way they did. The end of this story is also somewhat implausible, with the sergeant commanding the Jade Dragons’ squad getting of rather lightly given his actions.

Then there are the characters, many of which are rather interesting. You will get to know quite a bit more about the White Scars, their captain, but also a couple of their seers and Cemakan, the old grumpy veteran, but also about the Tau with their gifted warlord (or rather “warlady”) Shadowsun, and some of the other caster, in particular the idealist Skilltalker, ready to sacrifice himself for the “Greater Good”, and the rather unscrupulous Supreme Ethereal. My personal favourite, however, was Patriarch Tybalt of House Terryn and his massive Imperial Knights.

There are nevertheless a few glitches here and there and this is why I will rate the collection four stars, but not five. I have already mentioned those in “Black Leviathan”. There is also one in “Blood Oath”, the first and one of the strongest stories. Several mentions are made about a certain Traitor Shoh to which the warlord Shadowsun seems to be somewhat related but you never get to understand who this person is, what he has done to become a “traitor” in the eyes of the Tau and what the relationship with Shadowsun happens to be.

5 people found this helpful

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Jordan T. Brantley

Bookworm Speaks!- Damocles (Space Marine Battles)

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2015

Bookworm Speaks!

Warhammer 40,000

Damocles

by Phil Kelly, Guy Haley, Ben Counter, and Josh Reynolds

****

The Story: Four Novellas that focus on the events of the second Damocles Gulf Crusade.

Two centuries ago, the Imperium of Man and the upstart Tau Empire fought to a standstill in the Damocles Gulf. Now, as the 41st Millennium draws to a close, the Tau have returned. As the world of Agrellan falls under attack, the White Scars and the Raven Guard rush to its defense, but with the skilled Commander Shadowsun leading the alien forces, the Space Marines and their allies are hard pressed. Kor’sarro Khan, Huntmaster of the White Scars, swears that he will win the day in the most direct way possible-by taking Shadowsun’s head.

The Good: First off…it is a story of the White Scars. A first founding Legion under the Primarch Jaghatai Khan, who have an emphasis of mobile conflict, are sorely lacking proper representation in the Black Library, which is a real shame as they are quite fascinating. This is only the third book that emphasizes the White Scars to any significant degree. The same can be said about the Raven Guard. Bookworm doesn’t think he owns any books with the sons of Corvus Corax as the focus, which is also a shame. To see both chapters further expanded over the course of the novellas is a real treat. Furthering the entertainment value is the contrast to how the different chapters operate. The White Scar’s ride proudly into battle and collect the heads of their foes and display as trophies. The Raven Guard operate from the shadows and strike silently, their names unknown, even among their brothers. Contrast is a gateway to conflict and it leads into the primary reason why the antagonists of this volume are so appealing.

Of all the enemies of the Imperium of Man that Games Workshop has introduced, the Tau Empire may not be a favorite but from a creative standpoint they are one of the best. A great way to really challenge a protagonist is to pit them against themselves. The Tau represents what the Imperium of Man should have been had the Emperor had not been imprisoned upon the Golden Throne, a peaceful, progressive society, which values technological innovation and a government that works for the benefit of all, (supposedly). The Tau are also zealots in the same way that the Space Marines are. The Astartes fight whole-heartedly for their faith in the Emperor and the Tau fight whole-heartedly for their faith in the Greater Good, the philosophy that governs their society. The other enemies of the Imperium are fairly one dimensional: The orks just want to pillage and plunder, the Tyranids just want to eat everything, the Chaos Space Marines want to do both, and don’t get Bookworm started on the Necrons. The Tau are not a force of nature like Orks or Tyranids, they are a rival society which has multiple dimensions, same as the Imperium.

The only exception to this might be the Eldar but Bookworm has not read any stories about them yet.

Also, like the Imperium of Man, there may be less than honorable forces at work. While the Tau preach something that sounds good, the authors are wise to include little tidbits here and there that show that there is something far more insidious to the Tau than meets the eye. This is just Bookworm’s own hypothesis but it is hinted in one of the novellas that the Tau surgically alter humans to look like Tau. Whose greater good is it?

Speaking of covert motives. We get a new Space Marine Chapter! The Jade Dragons are introduces in the third novella of the volume. They are very interesting and Bookworm hopes we see them again. They definitely follow a more mystical approach to war than the Ultramarines. Like the differences between the White Scars and Raven Guard, the contrast between the two very different chapters provides amusing conflicts and different approaches between the chapters of the novella.

The Flaws: While by itself, the story is not bad, the fact is that the third novella in the book, Black Leviathan, feels out of place compared to the other stories. It takes place on a different planet other than Agrellan, which is contrary to the plot summary, and it involves neither the White Scars or the Raven Guard. It is back to the Black Library favorites of the Ultramarines, and The Jade Dragons, which we know nothing about. The other three stories share a common denominator but the only thing the Black Leviathan has in common with the other three is the fact that the Tau are there. We have plenty of Ultramarines stories, lets keep exploring the world of the Khan and the Raven.

Another common flaw is the disparate head-hopping that takes place. The perspectives switch places between the character pretty often and it can get a little confusing. In a few of the chapters the pacing needs some reworking.

Final Verdict: Damocles is an excellent book that provides multiple perspectives on a great crusade of the Imperium of Man.

Four out Five Stars

thecultureworm.blogspot.com

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

JPS

Good collection on the same theme and events

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2015

Verified Purchase

A. Fraser

While a good read for a skirmish

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2016

Verified Purchase

While a good read for a skirmish, this book failed miserably to get across the feeling of a whole sector at war.

Josef

Too many cooks spoil the broth, and too many ...

Reviewed in Canada on February 27, 2016

Verified Purchase

Too many cooks spoil the broth, and too many writers spoil the story. There are several unresolved plot elements (in the beginning it's mentioned the White Scars need to finish this fight fast to defend their home world against chaos, which is then forgotten about), and the very fight we start with at the beginning isn't resolved at the end.
You need to buy a separate audio-book to find out how everything finishes, written by even more different authors.

A. Williot

You'll also ver much like this book if you are a fan of the ...

Reviewed in Canada on September 8, 2015

Verified Purchase

A well-written book, there are four stories related to the Tau's campaign on Mugulath Bay and Agrellan from multiple perspectives. It was extremely satisfying to finally get some human insight into the Tau culture via the Gue'vesa, the human helpers. You'll also ver much like this book if you are a fan of the White Scars chapter.

It would be really fantastic if the Black Library could get around to publish more background for the Tau that isn't strictly military.

Dan Bushell

... a fan of the 40k books and it's a good read.

Reviewed in Canada on January 30, 2018

Verified Purchase

Always a fan of the 40k books and it's a good read.

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