Assassinorum Kingmaker (Warhammer 40,000)

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Aside from these four main characters, Kingmaker is loaded with an excellent group of supporting characters, most of whom are members of the Dominion nobility. As I mentioned above, I had an amazing time seeing the diverse and contentious Knights of Dominion, especially as most of them are engaged in a brutal blood feud between the two ruling families. Several of these noble characters have some intriguing storylines throughout Kingmaker, with an interesting focus on the members of the Court, the king’s inner circle who are hiding some major and disturbing secrets. Of the rest of the noble characters, the best is probably Rakkan’s mother, the leader of the Stryder family, Baroness Hawthorn Astair-Rakkan, a domineering and ambitious woman who spends most of the novel trying to manipulate Rakkan for her own gain. Baroness Hawthorn had some excellent moments throughout the novel, and I especially loved her collection of hounds, each of whom are humorously named after famous Imperial commanders, just to show off her arrogance and disrespect to the Imperial Guards. Hawthorn’s story arc really changes towards the end of the book, and it will be interesting to see if we get some extra appearances from her in the future. The other major supporting character of Kingmaker is Gwynne, Rakkan’s loyal Sacristan ( Jester’s mechanic, a low-level Tech Priest with some additional cultural restrictions). Gwynne serves as another ally to the main characters, and her knowledge of the Knights and their inner workings proves invaluable, as does her inquiring mind. The author weaves some subtle, but important, storylines around Gwynne in Kingmaker, and she ends up serving a key and impressive role. Overall, this was an excellent collection of characters, and I deeply enjoyed how well Rath used them throughout Kingmaker’s narrative. Eversor Assassins are primarily used against rebels who have plans to move against the Imperium with a large armed force. When the long, grinding war of attrition that is the Astra Militarum's forte is ruled out -- perhaps because it is likely to leave a valuable planet ravaged -- the High Lords will sometimes sanction the use of an Eversor Assassin. What a wild ride! It’s a great mix of characters, action, suspense, 40k shenanigans, espionage, high court intrigue, Assassinorium drama, Knight action. Just bravo Robert Rath! Bravo!

Assassinorum Kingmaker is Awesome (Light Spoilers) Assassinorum Kingmaker is Awesome (Light Spoilers)

I recently wanted some light reading since it's summer and so decided to read Assassinorum: Kingmaker and folks, it's really, really good. Next year, Sycorax and Raithe will join forces in the novel Assassinorum: Kingmaker, as they try to infiltrate an Imperial Knight world on the brink of seceding from the Imperium. It’s a true artefact of the conflict – with this map unfurled on your desk, you’ll feel like Rogal Dorn himself as he strives against the odds to oversee an impossible defence.

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Kingmaker more than does the job. Rath realizes the Assassinorum as unique and distinct from the Inquisition despite an oft overlapping remit, giving the Officio a Cold War spy vibe that really fits. There’s no religious mumbo-jumbo and everything seems much more centralized than you get in Abnett’s or Wraight’s work. However this book is decidedly more about the process of conducting an operation than the Assassinorum as a whole. Rath focuses on how the assassins involved, all of whom are wonderfully well depicted in their interactions with each other and their targets, plan out/perform their mission. There’s also a lot of time spent getting to know the world of Dominion, to the point that this might be the best work on Imperial Knights in the canon. I generally don’t care for the ‘medieval nobles piloting mechs’ vibe it seems every Knight House has to have (why can’t they be diverse like the Titan Legios?), but Rath clearly put a lot of time into giving Dominion an engaging political identity. In the broad view I think it’s a brilliant move to focus so much attention on whomever the Assassin(s) are targeting. Hopefully it will mean future books in the series, if they happen, vary considerably with each entry. So all-in-all, great read: fast-paced espionage thriller with fun characters that evokes certain genre tones/atmosphere whilst integrating it into a 40k tapestry.

Assassinorum: Kingmaker – Robert Rath [IN BRIEF] Assassinorum: Kingmaker – Robert Rath

It works well as a stand-alone story, but has enough ties to something bigger going on that I could see Rath build this out into his own little series. Either way, I hope this does well for him. I really, really loved the cool story in this book, which essentially boiled down to ultra-elite assassins attempting to kill the king of a planet of mecha, which is such an awesome idea. Despite this being a heavy concept to achieve, Rath managed to achieve it in spades, providing readers a fantastic and clever narrative that instantly grabs your attention. This book starts off extremely well, introducing the world of Dominion, the unique mission, and the four central characters of the three assassins, and their Knight patsy, and generally setting up all the key elements of Kingmaker to ensure some outstanding moments later. From there, the story turns into a bit of an espionage thriller, as the three assassins begin their infiltration of the court, impersonating the knight Rakkan, and coming to grips with the unique world they have arrived at. Rath provides an excellent balance of story elements in this first half of the novel, and the reader gets a fantastic mixture of character development, massive universe building, political intrigue, spy elements and some early mecha-action, all of which is a ton of fun and ensures that the reader is firmly addicted with this novel. And wow what a whirl of awesome actions scenes, although there are a few that are quite graphic in the minds eye. But the fights? Especially with the mechs.. or knight suits…. Oh boyyy. Made we joyfully giddy. To Slay a WAAAGH! (718.924.M40) - The Ork Warlord Urgak the Unstoppable is on the verge of completing his Gargant and launching a WAAAGH! into the Vondiac Sector when a Vindicare Assassin sends a bullet into the reactor core of the giant effigy. The thing catches fire and then explodes spectacularly, killing not only Urgak himself but also the vast majority of the Meks in his employ. The WAAAGH! is halted before it even begins, putting the lie to Urgak's self-aggrandising title and plunging the surviving Orks into a bloody civil war.

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It is quite possible for a Callidus operative to complete their task without the enemy force in question knowing they have been there at all. However, as the tumultuous times of the 41st Millennium draw to a close, the Callidus Temple is making its presence felt upon the fields of battle more so than ever. In third place is a tale of secrecy and sedition from the author of The Infinite and The Divine . Assassinorum: Kingmaker by Robert Rath

Assassinorum Kingmaker Black Library - eBook: Assassinorum Kingmaker

Each temple is led by an official known as a "director primus" while the Officio Assassinorum as a whole is led by the Imperium's grand master of assassins. Political intrigue, three Assassin Temples and Knightly Houses, combine to make an interesting story. I was warned that this book is more Knight than Assassinorum, but I don't agree. I would say it's about 70-30 if favour of our killy boys and girls. But the big problem is the quite frankly insane amount of exposition. I don't know where Robert Rath learned creative writing, but they must've taught him that you need a lot of it and told it in a way that's pretty dry. I'm one of those weirdos who can enjoy exposition, but even for me, it's too far. He lives in Hong Kong with his family, amid and a growing pile of models he *swears* are for research. Robert Rath is an author and screenwriter from Honolulu, Hawai'i.From storied successors including the Crimson Fists and Flesh Tearers to lesser-known Chapters like the Emperor’s Spears and Consecrators, you’ll be spoilt for no-holds-barred Adeptus Astartes action. However, after the Wars of Vindication which took place shortly after the death of High Lord Goge Vandire during the Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium, a renegade Callidus Assassin by the name of Tziz Jarek attempted to assassinate the Grand Master of Assassins. After a series of terrible atrocities that were precipitated within the Imperial Palace itself, the Assassin temples were split up and distributed across the width and breadth of the galaxy.