Victories of the Space Marines (Warhammer 40,000) by Christian Z. Dunn

Victories of the Space Marines (Warhammer 40,000) Reviews

• 
  Eileen

  Not sure why this was on my TBR list, since it's the type of "bolter porn" 40k book I generally don't care for. Also, there is only one female character in the entire 400 pages, and she's just a minor side role in the last story (which incidentally was also my favorite). Even groups of humans were referred to collectively as "men." Come on, guys.
• 
  Weekend Critic

  9/10 Runes
  10/10 The Rewards of Tolerance
  7/10 Black Dawn
  7/10 The Long Games at Carcharias
  8/10 Heart of Rage
  7/10 But Dust in the Wind
  10/10 Exhumed
  9/10 Primary Instincts
  12/10 Sacrifice
  Where 5 is by no means a bad score, just average.
  
  8.7/10 Average. Best of the 3 books, no real "weak" bolter porn stories. Do recommend.
• 
  75338

  Good not great overall.
  
  Some exceptionally great descriptions of the sacrifices made to support Grey Knights and some stilted combat writing but overall ok if this is your thing or if you got this in a bundle like I did.
• 
  Mark Ford

  An enjoyable romp through the realms of chaos and carnage, as only Warhammer can produce, in the eternal war against creatures from the warp.
• 
  Steve Hardy

  Some stories better than others due to different authors. A fun romp through the lore either way
• 
  Brian Mcclain

  Just 400some pages of setting up bad situations and space marines fighting their ways out. If that's what you're looking for this is a home run.
• 
  Yasser Maniram

  A decent sci-fi short story collection.
• 
  Angel

  I liked the collection for the most part, but like many anthologies, there are always one or two stories that are either uneven or just not as good compared to the others. In addition, this may be a bit of a peeve, but "victory" as a concept is a bit liberal of a term for a story or two in this anthology. Fans of Warhammer 40K will certainly enjoy this volume. Like other volumes in this series, this is a collection of novellas or longer stories. The stories each feature a chapter of the Space Marines. Let me say a bit about some of the stories without spoiling things.
  
  I liked a bit the ending of the Renegades story (yes, there is a story of renegage Space Marines. If you wanted to see a bit from the view of these marines, this is it). For me, one of the best stories was the one featuring the Grey Knights. The sacrifice idea is woven well into the story as readers get to see what it takes to bless and make holy the implements of war that the Grey Knights use. If you want more of the Inquisition, there is also a Deathwatch story. Between these two, I enjoyed the Grey Knights a bit more, but they are both good. If you just took for granted that their bullets were made holy somehow and the runes on their armors were just put there, this story may open your eyes. I definitely found it fascinating in a creepy sort of way. But there are also stories of marines making their last stand that readers of this collection will enjoy. In terms of stories I did not really like the Crimson Consuls story just did not work for me. It seemed too long, and I certainly found the ending disappointing. But that is me. Readers who like intrigue and machinations may like it better.
  
  Overall, there is a bit of everything for readers, so for some adventure with the Space Marines and a nice sampling, you can pick this volume up.
• 
  Tim

  (had to spend a day in StPancrass Station, a lot of stories were read that day :)
  
  This book is a collection of short stories:
  - Runes, by Chris Wraight: Space Wolves, story is a bit weak, but entertaining
  - The Rewards of Tolerance, by Gav Thorpe: Renegade Marines, a very cool story about the renegades' slow embrace of ... not immediatly Chaos (or not all), but Chaos Influences nonetheless
  - Black Dawn, by C.L. Werner: Also not one of my favorite stories, but again entertaining
  - The Long Games at Carcharias, by Rob Sanders: A great example of how a 'mere short story' can still encompass a lot of threadlines that all cumulate in one big plot-twist
  - Heart of Rage, by James Swallow: Heard the audio book first, nice story, not too awesome (unless you're a Blood Angels fan, naturally)
  - But Dust in the Wind, by Jonathan Green: The typical plot of Space Marines against impossible odds, nicely done, but certainly not new
  - Exhumed, by Steve Parker: Deathwatch Space Marines, a great story-example of the less heroic things in the imperium can get solved by this organization
  - Primary Instinct, by Sarah Cawkwell: Entertaining plot twist, nice characters, but I was generally left unimpressed
  - Sacrifice, by Ben Counter: This short was worth five stars in its own. It's a fairly simple sidestory of the Grey Knights trilogy, but the 'sidestories of the little sidestory' are AWE-SOME !
  
• 
  Brody

  Generally B work. However, the first short by Wraight involves a very interesting construction and actual character development in miniature. Both of these are appreciable feats. Meanwhile, the last story brings more shape and texture to this "grim darkness of the far future" where "there is only war." We are better for the details.
  
  But I could have gone without those two and the rest of the stories for the entry by Sanders which, involves some very bad news for the Crimson Consuls. No spoilers!
• 
  Robert H

  Like any compilation from The Black Library, the quality of the stories varies. Generally though these seemed better than average, and I enjoyed several more than others.
  
  The biggest issue I had was that at least two of the stories, Primary Instinct and Exhumed, had previously appeared in issues of Hammer and Bolter, the monthly publication put out by The Black Library. So not only had I paid for them in that magazine, but I then paid for them again in the book. I wasn't very impressed with that.
• 
  Andrew Lynch

  most of these storys are good but some of them get tiering .
  but i like the ones with the battle most because i dont find them boring and you cant find very good battle books right now but warhammer hasnever let me down before and i would defenetly recomend this book to any one who is interested.
• 
  Rolf

  A very good collection of stories that occasionally surprised me with the direction they went.
• 
  Andy

  Another collection of outstanding Space Marines short stories by various excellent Warhammer 40K authors. Not really much more to say about it than that. Sorry so short.