'The Emperor's Gift' - Aaron Dembski-Bowden (Black Library)

Ever since I reviewed 'Cadian Blood' (way back in July 2009, my how the time flies etc...) Aaron Dembski-Bowden has gone from being an author worth checking out to being an author where I will quite happily put down whatever I'm reading to read his latest book. He's that good (seriously) and, as such, is an author whom I will inevitably recommend to anyone who hasn't read a Black Library Warhammer 40K book.
'Cadian Blood' and 'Helsreach' to one side, Dembski-Bowden has pretty much made his name writing about the Space Marine Traitor Legions (the Night Lords in particular) who wage eternal war upon their Loyalist brothers and the Imperium of Mankind. It made for a little bit of a surprise then to see that Dembski-Bowden’s next book would not only be about a Loyalist Chapter but perhaps the most loyal and incorruptible Chapter of them all, the mysterious Grey Knights. That’s one hell of a leap then, from one end of the spectrum right to the other, and I was (of course) very interested to see what the end result would be. Dembski-Bowden is very good at putting a human face on the ‘trans-human’ and I wanted to see how it worked this time round. The outcome…? ‘The Emperor’s Gift’ stands up most of Dembski-Bowden’s work, in terms of quality, but didn’t quite do it for me his time round…

Of all the Space Marine Chapters, the Grey Knights are the Chapter at the very forefront of the fight against Chaos. Since their origin, in the depths of the Horus Heresy, these daemon hunters have taken the fight into the Warp itself to ensure that humanity stands strong in its darkest hour.
The Grey Knights are tasked with the missions that mere Space Marines cannot hope to achieve and their training reflects what they will be expected to deal with on the field of battle. Could any Grey Knight have guessed what would be waiting for them on the fields of Armageddon though? Brother Hyperion will not only face the toughest challenge of his career but will learn a harsh lesson in what it really means to keep the Imperium safe…

At the risk of becoming incredibly boring Aaron Dembski-Bowden has done it again. The man seems literally incapable of writing a book that doesn’t hook me right from the start and ‘The Emperor’s Gift’ is no exception. Like I said though, as good as it was ‘The Emperor’s Gift’ didn’t do it for me in the same way that previous books have…

Why was that? It’s really hard to pin down so bear with me if I end up waffling a bit…
The Grey Knights are held up as the purest of the pure, totally beyond all forms of temptation and corruption. It’s a bit of a shock then to find out they are just as liable, as the rest of us, to fall if they are not very careful. Hyperion is the typical lone wolf who has trouble fitting into a team, liable to strike out on his own (regardless of the rest of his squad) if he thinks he can get the job done). It’s a contrast that didn’t quite sit comfortably with me then. I completely get why Dembski-Bowden went down this path as you need a little humanity in your characters, it would all get horribly boring very quickly otherwise. I couldn’t help but wonder though if the balance went just a little too far the other way though. When it got to the point though where even the upper echelons, of the Grey Knight hierarchy, were jostling for power and indulging in a little politicking… That was the point where I was wondering if these guys had their minds on the job as much as we were meant to believe. Oh well…

That’s not to take anything away from Hyperion’s journey as a Grey Knight though. All the really interesting stuff is missed out (the training and so on) but what’s left over leaves you in no doubt what it means to be a Grey Knight when no-one will ever know the sacrifices you made. I’m talking about the battle for Armageddon in particular, long term fans will know just what I’m talking about but I don’t want to give anything away for those who haven’t read the book yet. Lets just say that Aaron ramps up the battle to a ferocious degree and, just when you think it can’t go any further, introduces a character who will throw all your expectations clean out of the water. When you see tough characters thrown aside like they weren’t even there, you’re left in no doubt that something huge is taking place. I liked the contrast here with what is going on for the ‘ordinary soldiers’ on the front line, war is hell for everyone but for some more literally than others.

Aaron more than makes up for the ‘Grey Knight niggle’ though with his exploration of the darker side of what must be done to maintain the Imperium in the face of constant threats from its foes. We’re not just talking about the constant warfare across thousands of planets. If there’s the risk of one Imperial citizen being corrupted by Chaos, what would you do? Kill that person? Destroy the space craft they’re travelling on? Sterilize the population of an entire planet? Desperate times call for desperate measures but can they truly be justified when there’s the risk of a further wedge being driven between Imperial factions that should be working together? Aaron answers these questions in such a way that actions are justified even if they are shown to be ultimately fruitless. The fight with the Space Wolves Chapter is awesome but is also a sobering reminder of the fate that may await the Imperium if it cannot settle differences within itself…

At the end of ‘The Emperor’s Gift’ the reader is left with a clear picture of just how beleaguered the Imperium is and the massive task that the Grey Knights face every day. I wasn’t a hundred percent convinced by how they were portrayed but I couldn’t help but feel a little respect for them afterwards (I had a lot more respect for the Space Wolves though, it has to be said).
The wait for Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s next book starts… now.

Eight and Three Quarters out of Ten