‘Rynn’s World (Space Marines Battles)’ – Steve Parker (Black Library)

The universe of the forty first millennium is a universe constantly at war, whether it’s an isolated skirmish in a hab dome or a decades spanning war encompassing entire solar systems. Every race fighting for it’s place in the universe has a tale to tell of it’s military might, be it a heroic charge or a desperate last stand. It’s no surprise then that the Black Library is kicking off a series devoted to these military actions. A quick glance at the back pages (and the title) suggests that this is all about humanity’s Space Marines, at least for now. It would be cool if some of the xenos races got a look in over the course of the series (although I’m not sure how a book written entirely from the perspective of the alien Tyranids would look…) In the meantime, the series begins with ‘Rynn’s World’, a tale of heroism in the face of a rampaging green evil…

The planet Badlanding has fallen to the forces of the Ork Warlord Snagrod; so has the expeditionary force of Crimson Fists Space Marines sent to engage him. The next planet to fall under the avaricious gaze of Snagrod is Rynn’s World, home planet of the Crimson Fists… Chapter Master Kantor must mount a desperate defence in the face of overwhelming forces; a task that proves all the more difficult when an errant missile levels the Space Marine’s fortress-monastery, killing everyone inside.
Now Kantor must gather together any survivors and make his way across a continent to lend his meagre aid in breaking the siege of Rynn’s capitol city. The future of his chapter is at stake as is the future of Rynn’s world itself…

‘Rynn’s World’ is a solid recounting of the military deployments and armed confrontations that all combined to make up the overall engagement. The reader is given a detailed and well ordered picture of what happens although I found the ‘Battle Maps’ to be more of a hindrance rather than an aid. Not only does their position in the book (right in the middle) break up the flow of the story but also they don’t actually contain any details of troop movements at all. You end up getting all this information from the text itself and this left me wondering what the point of the maps actually was…

This issue to one side, the story itself is gripping but somehow a little too predictable for my tastes. While the Space Marine’s supposed invulnerability is neatly side-stepped at the beginning by the vagaries of fate, and a very intelligent enemy, I never got the feeling that the hurdles facing the remnants of the Chapter were truly as awesome as Parker would have us believe. This was especially the case when the Ceres Protocol was activated, a mandate placing the survival of the Chapter as a higher priority than anything else. With thousands of regular militia standing between the Marines and the enemy the true suspense was in how many of them would still be standing by the time the book was over. The Space Marines themselves, while weakened, were never in any real danger and that lent a real feeling of flatness to the book at times.

On the bright side, what the reader does get for their money is the kind of high octane, heart stopping future warfare that the Black Library is proving to be more than adept at publishing. ‘Rynn’s World’ is full of the thud of bolter fire and grenades with detailed troop deployments that will please fans of the game as well as fans of military sci-fi in general. Parker knows what Space Marines are all about and his writing is more than up to describing this on the page for his readers. A Space Marine is only truly in his element when at war and Parker captures the savage joy of a Marine doing what he was born to. This single minded obsession is also nicely depicted in the ‘showcase’ moments of the novel where Parker has his Crimson Fists go up against seemingly insurmountable odds to change the course of the war. While you know what the overall outcome will be, there are enough bone crunching moments (when Marines go up against cybernetically enhanced giant Orks) to keep you reading and wincing in sympathy. Parker also isn’t afraid to kill off his characters from time to time. Again, this won’t stop you knowing how the overall story has to end but you are left feeling that this is war as it should be shown. The good die as well as the bad…
Parker also gives his readers a good look at how the Crimson Fists conduct themselves on a daily basis, adding that distinctive ‘Warhammer atmosphere’ and marking ‘Rynn’s World’ out from the rest of the military sci-fi sub-genre.

War is as much about the individual tales of the combatants as it is about the sweeping movements of large armies across continents. Parker keeps things well balanced by zooming in to focus on individual characters as the story progresses. I enjoyed getting my head around the dominant theme of a Marine’s duty to humanity being weighed up against their duty to the continued existence of the chapter. Characters (including the Chapter Master himself) find this a difficult question to answer in terms of short term goals outweighing those of the long term; especially when normal humans are placed under the care of the Space Marines. The answer is left open-ended but it is plain to see what Parker thinks himself. I’d have to agree with him.

‘Rynn’s World’ eventually falls foul of the invulnerability of its heroes, leaving the ending a little too clear cut to be in any doubt. Sometimes you need that element of doubt to make things worth sticking around for…
What it does do very well though is give its reader a clear insight into the ebb and flow of war and the minds of the people fighting. Like I said earlier, fans of the Warhammer 40K setting (and fans of military sci-fi in general) should enjoy this one.

Seven and Three Quarters out of Ten