| Title | : | Blood Reaver (Night Lords #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1849700397 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781849700399 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 416 |
| Publication | : | First published April 26, 2011 |
Blood Reaver (Night Lords #2) Reviews
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I enjoyed this continuation of the storyline of the Night Lords. It was a slightly slower build up than book 1 was, but the last third was a great sequence of action and battle and resolution that made it hard to put down. I continue to be drawn to the dark perspective these books take, almost like the glimpse behind the madness of a demon. Only, we find that there are good characters even in dark places. The tech, the battles and the might of the space marines keep me drawn in to reading more of these and for sure picking up book 3 immediately. This is dark Sci-fi at its best.
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Damn, these books are fun!
Blood Reaver was not as urgent or as fast paced as book one and it took a little more time to get things going but I appreciated the development of each of the characters and the time spent fleshing out the world and peripherals, meaning the secondary characters, the settings, and the histories. But man oh man once things did get going, it was non-stop. The last forty percent was more along the lines of how the entirety of book one was paced and the action was just as violent and bloody and imaginative. Dembski-Bowden continues to impress me with his writing and his ability to inject heart and humanity into characters who are almost devoid of both of those things, and I have to keep reminding myself that these are the bad guys because of how sympathetic and real he makes them. So if you're into big screen action adventure style stories written by someone who obviously cares about what he is doing and who takes the time to make his characters real enough for you to actually feel for them, check these books out. I don't think you'll be disappointed. -
Almost feels like an answer to a criticism (one not shared by me) that the Night Lords characters in the first book "weren't evil/brutal enough." There's a lot more stealing, murdering, skin-flaying, etc. in this entry, but honestly, the arc of the series is developing fantastically, and none of those things are there purely for shock value. They tell us - in an admittedly graphic way - more about these characters and the universe they inhabit.
I recently read an interview with Aaron Dembski-Bowden, and I just love the way that he thinks about and approaches this setting. I'm well and truly a fan. -
ADB and First Claw does it again! Blood Reaver is an action packed thrill ride with betrayal and bloodshed lurking around every corner.
Blood Reaver starts picks up shortly after the end of Soul Hunter, and the Night Lords warband lead by The Exalted continue their crusade of raiding and running from fights in typical Night Lords fashion,with Talos and First Claw continue to grow and evolve(albeit in their stunted Super-Human ways).
I really enjoyed that the novel played with the idea of the difference in ideals between the Original Traitor Legions and their newer cousins that rebelled later, as well as how they viewed each other. I thought Huron Blackheart was done exceptionally well, as was most of the Red Corsairs we met along the way. The way it played with misinformation/lack of information as well was great, and I really dig the mention of Sevatar still being alive and fighting the good fight(though I think we will get a confirmed answer to that at some point in the HH/Scouring).
The novel definitely shows what the middle story of a trilogy should be, with loads of game changing events and adding in a new cast of characters that brought in new and exciting changes to the overall tone of the novel. It was brutally fun, and very well written. If you’re like me and somehow haven’t read this series yet, definitely move it to the top of your list! -
This book was absolutely sublime. The guile and poise that the Night Lords have in such an intricate novel is outstanding. Variel has to be the best character to be introduced in a warhammer 40K series - well - arguably at that. I am a huge fan of how the final act played out, and how plans never really go according to plan once its time for action.
The way Mr. Dembski-Bowden was able to finally provide Vandred a way to come back into the darkness was incredible. I loved the entire sequence with him on the Covenant of Blood. It was ~ humanizing and satisfying to say the least. Also Deltrian disembarking onto the Echo of Damnation was one of the funnier scenes I have scene - including Ruven making sure he was alive and telling Talos that he was alive in all his disbelief. -
This is my second time reading this book, and I have to say, before I couldn't really remember anything about it, so I am glad I decided to reread this series again.
Blood Reaver is a fairly enjoyable book. It shows the Night Lords' interactions as a traitor legion with the traitor chapter, the Red Corsairs. This is something you don't see very often, and it was pleasant to read. Though a fan of Huron, I found the ego that the Night Lords had to be completely within character and it made the story very enjoyable.
As with most of his stories, Dembski-Bowden did a fantastic job bringing the 40K universe to life and captured so many elements of it without his usual over the top flair. (as seen in his later works) This helps to ground the story in 'reality' rather than making everything feel over extreme.
However, the story itself doesn't seem overly exciting. Sure, there are exciting moments and plenty of action within the story, but they seem lower key than readers would be used to in other novels.
Yet, in the end, this is a great book, and a good one in the trilogy. Worth reading if you are into the Night Lords or Chaos renegades in general. -
Somewhat slow in the beginning/middle but more than makes up for it in the last 100 pages or so. When I reached that part of the book I couldn't put it down.
Throughout the book we continue to empathize with the main characters, the Night Lords, which is still very interesting to me: the characters are clearly the bad guys in the universe, we see them do all kinds of evil stuff and see them slaughtering innocent humans left and right. Despite all this, we do not necessarily see them as the bad guys, but the spell gets broken at one point near the end of the book where we have the POV of a normal human who becomes the victim of a Night Lord. Immediately after this we see the same scene played out from the POV of the main character, Talos. When reading it from the POV of the human you think: what kind of evil butcher is doing this? A torturous and bloody death for no reason? And then you realize it is the main character of the book who is doing these acts and you wonder: we, the readers, have been rooting for the bad guys all along. We just no longer saw them as the bad guys. And in this scene, this realization comes to the surface, and makes you question: why are we doing this? What are we reading? -
This was actually decent improvement over the first book and I enjoyed it quite a lot. Not sure I will read the third book though - looks like there is going to be a focus on the Eldar, which isn't really my thing. I love the 40k universe when it is focussed on the eternal conflict between the Imperium and Chaos - it is dumb and over-the-top and absurd and very, very enjoyable and I would say it is what I identify most as 40k's USP (with the caveat that its 80s roots were very derivative of other IPs, but by this point it has developed such a weight of back-story and melange of influences that it is readily identifiable as its own thing). With the possible exception of the Tyranids (and only really because of how much I enjoyed Ian Watson's classic Space Marine), the Eldar and the Orcs and the Tau and the Necrons etc, all stick out a bit as not quite fitting with my personal conception of the 40k universe. The Imperium and the Long War etc seems like such rich setting in and of itself that the rest of it seems a bit tacked on and dopey. Maybe just me though!
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Great continuing of the adventures of a band of friendly 8 legion nightlords and their slaves. With the power of friendship they aquire a new ship and get away from the mean old Exalted(mean guy) to have the third book written about them.
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A well written and descriptive book, not for the feint hearted.
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Aaron Dembski-Bowden excells at his craft in my opinion. Sure, you might say his is not real because it is licensed fiction, but to that I reply, Go F Yourself! Reading his works strips away the shackles people place on him because it is a set universe and frees you up to see he is a really good "writer". Why do I say that? Well, last evening when I was finishing this book I kept thinking this guy really knows how to write the details. It is an older style of writing I think some modern authors are getting less and less good at or considering less and less important. Every read anything by Conrad or authors from the 19th century? They wrote details because there was no known universe that had imagery for everything, they had to describe everything. Some might call that tedious, I call it craftsmanship, and Mr. Dembski-Bowden has it.
The characters of this series, the Night Lords and its First Claw are a fascinating cadre of villains. I am amazed how drawn in I am by these marines and their desire to be bad guys. Don't ever think they are lovable bad guys like Firefly, they are kill you because you are there, where your skull on my belt to scare your baby kind of bad guys. Every time they show some betrayal of humanity to the reader it is quickly quashed with a blatant atrocity. Frankly, I cannot believe I am two books through this and love them. They are all Heretics and traitors, and I want them to live. They share brotherhood, mingled with self-loathing and hatred, but they do it.
The human characters, basically menials who happen to work in Hell, are also intriguing to me because they are in a hopeless situation, and they keep just trying to survive it.
For my money, the BL stable has Abnett, the master of characterization, and McNeill, a wonderful Marine writer, and Dembski-Bowden the guy who makes you not only route for, but absolutely LOVE the bad guys.
This series is a treat. I highly recommend it. -
The combination of military fantasy and cosmic horror is one of the many mash-ups in this universe that continue to attract me to it. What made this one a stand out for me was how the the characters subtly developed into fully formed people in my head with many little nuances and traits. When this happens with any series, regardless of genre, I'm pretty convinced it's doing its job.
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I blazed through this fucking book like a hot knife through a brick of butter. Like a bullet through brain matter. Like a nuclear missile through an orphanage. It's violent, horrible, and it will make hair grow on your chest.
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Yet another fantastic 40k book from ADB. #2 in the series. If you like 40k, read it. If not, why are you reading this?
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Don't eat those
I wasn't going to
Good -
A grueling, gory and great story. Quite the ride for a 40k novel!
The second book in the fantastic Night Lords trilogy continues the story right where we left off. Now the Night Lords must come into contact with the Red Corsairs, old and awful enemies from the past, in hopes of repairing their main ship.
The novel moves with a more slower pace compared to the first entry, yet the story is still as good as and becomes even more intense with each passing page. The odds are far greater and the actions that our characters take have a huge weight to it. Some new, already iconic characters are introduced, as well as a variety of loses. It is a moving ride that, unexpectedly, has you cheering for one of the most sadistic factions in the universe.
While the novel lacked a bit of major cohesion compared to the first one, where everything moved to a point aligned with the fight against the Empirium, this time the Night Lords just want to survive, and they find themselves in their worst state possible.
A dashingly entertaining read that pulls your strings and opens your eyes to sheer awe and horror, plus a great finale. Can't wait for the third and last novel! -
Los amos de la noche son geniales. Son demasiado guays para ser del caos. Son tan geniales que hasta pasan de los dioses del caos. Metafóricamente hablando. Como en la primera novela, tocan temas tan importantes que me embelesan totalmente. Simplemente leer el principio: la primera garra masacrado a la tercera es impagable. Es una saga magistral, la trama de Talos, octavia y septimius, los corsarios rojos, los recuerdos de Talos. Los malditos recuerdos de Talos, solo por eso merece la pena leerlo, solo para ver como era el maldito Curze. Y cumple con creces, Konrad Curze sigue siendo el primarca más jodidamente oscuro de todos,Angron me da miedo de verdad pero el terror que arrastra con cada palabra Curze, la atmósfera que se crea cuando se pronuncia su nombre, parece que el aire se congela cuando se le menciona. Me esta encantando esta legión y cuando vaya a pasar con la trilogía de los ángeles sangrientos, el listón estará muy pero que muy alto.
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This is a nearly perfect space marine novel. First Claw and the Night Lords are profoundly interesting compared to their thin-blooded loyalist brethren. The Blood Reaver himself is the Tyrant of Badab (which is such a love-lettter to old geeks like me who still have their 40k Compendiums). Much comes to a head but even more seeds are sown for the final book in the trilogy.
It sounds dumb, but stuff happens and characters develop! This is actually quite rare in much franchise fiction and especially when dealing with the bad guys. Dembski-Bowden has you ending up empathizing with monsters.
GW should have used this story for their animated project instead of Ultramarines. -
"The climax of Blood Reaver sets up a great cliff hanger that teases the last book in the trilogy and contains some twists that are partly expected, but keep with the logic of the story. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more done with the creepy dead little girl who haunts Octavia sporadically in the story. I suppose there is still the final book but it seemed kind of peppered in without much payoff, at least within the confines of Blood Reaver itself. I definitely look forward to finishing this series and seeing where Talos and First Claw’s story ends." -
https://thepastduebookreview.com/2016... -
This is the second book of a trilogy, so don't expect too awful much from this entry after the first was so good. In my opinion, it took a long time to wind up and get going for little payoff. Little information was given about Luft Huron and the Red Corsairs, which disappointed me. It's funny the only new likable character was a heretical mutant with no real name who dies. A lot of folks like this book, but I thought it was a slog to get to the 3rd book. Hopefully it'll be worth it! Keep reading friends!
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A pleasant slow burn of a read as Stockholm Syndrome continues to develop and the reader is given a glimpse into the treacherous of the Traitor Space Marines. The short action sequences are riveting but it seems that character development of the Night Lords has plateaued somewhat and I found myself more intrigued by the regular people. Looking forward to the last in the trilogy.
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Better than the introduction. Since i read these books in an odd order there were events i recognized, which i enjoyed. Glad to see the 40k universe actually moving forvard a bit.
The characters are a delight and Aaron's writing quite capable. -
Não tem tanto momento incrivelmente inesperado quanto o 1o ("BROTHERS, EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM IS GOING TO DIE!"), mas o clima de vai não vai entre o Septimus e a Octavia é tipo 😳😳🥵🥵🥵 e atinge níveis máximos de crepúsculo.
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This one was a good time. I think it's partly because I understand the 40k lore better now but I feel like I was able to enjoy the characters more instead of trying to figure out all the random weird quirks of the world. My fave character, btw, is Hound.
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Batallas, traiciones como solo lo pueden hacer los amos de la noche!
