The Twice-Dead King: Ruin (Warhammer 40,000) [Paperback] Crowley, Nate

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I should probably mention that Oltyx has five partitioned minds of his own, which are all partial copies of his own consciousness. He has a very strained relationship with them.” For all that, the Necrons are on another level when it comes to technology, especially compared to the Imperials. The outcome of the conflict actually surprised me and it also impressed me due to the sheer martial ability of the Necrons. I also enjoyed the political maneuvering of the various courtiers- it puts the Necrons in a different light than just your average soulless killer cyborgs. I find it funny how the race of immortal robots at times seem to be the most "human" of all the races in 40k. Each beam was a malediction written in neutrinos: a simple hekatic proclamation, decreeing the non-existence of the target's mind. In the case of the orks, the proclamations were very simple indeed, amounting to little more than ' my brain has ended'.

Phaeron, Overlord, Lord, it gets wayyyyy more complicated than that now. Some dynasties even appear to use their own ranks as equivalents to these known ones. Ithakas' phaeron holds the title of Dynast, which was used in a more general sense in Devourer to describe most nobles. What's very different in Ithakas is rather than succession for Phaeron/Dynast to Nemesor/Overlord to Lord is that familial succession is still a thing here. The Ithakan Dynast had two sons before biotransference, and they remain his heirs after as well. Theirs is a previously unheard of rank--Kynazh--conferring status second only to the Dynast. There are also a myriad of other ranks--Nomarch, essentially it's Egyptian meaning i.e. a provincial governor or in this case a planetary governor; Praetor, commander of a planetary garrison; Duke of Deathmarks, Agoranomos, Polemarch, Dikast, Master of Monoliths (not much is elaborated on these) Ruin is the first novel in The Twice-Dead King series, which looks set to explore the Necrons and their place in the current Warhammer 40K universe. This was the second Warhammer 40K novel from author Nate Crowley, who previously released the intriguing Ork-centric novel, Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh!, as well as several short stories/novellas set in the universe. Crowley makes full use of his talent for getting into the mind of fictional aliens to create an excellent and enjoyable read that I had a wonderful time listening to.So how do you demonstrate in a single story that you can have heart without having a heart, and write a 40K epic on the themes of love, solitude and hope with nuance, humour and action? Simply, reader, you do it like this. Peer into the into the bizarre culture and motivations of the Necrons in this great novel from Nate Crowley. However, the further the necrons run, the more apparent it becomes that the humans will never leave them alone. Spurred on by his most loyal advisors, Oltyx embarks on a risky plan to find an ancient planet, said to be ruled over by a deadly king and his hordes. Making use of long-lost technology, Oltyx and his people undertake a deadly trip towards their goal. However, a far greater threat soon emerges in the very heart of his ship. The flayer curse that has long infected his people and which drove Oltyx’s father mad has returned, and soon thousands are infected. Forced to take drastic actions to save his people, Oltyx soon learns the full weight of responsibility and loneliness that all kings must bear. But this king has a dark secret that will threaten the entire Ithakas Dynasty. Can Oltyx control the dark urges that reside deep within his soul or will a new twice-dead king rise to reign over the Ithakas necrons? Oltyx, the protagonist, is an exiled Necron princeling unable to understand the truths of his relationships because he is so wrapped up in his own despair and envy and bitterness that he’s warped his own memories to support his misery, unable to appreciate even the facets of his own subconscious that don’t support his narrative, until he is forced, again and again, to confront his own past. The lore exploration of the Flayer virus is another highlight. It hobbles the Necrons in interesting ways and the story creates a rational explanation for the affliction, rather than bad batches of gene seed certain Space Marine chapters suffer from. The horror element to the flayer virus also gets some play.

I got this as an audiobook, which, to me, is a significantly different experience to reading a physical book, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. The narrator delivered an outstanding performance and really brought life to the characters, of which there were many. Almost too many. There are so many named characters given such vivid and interesting details just to be there for one chapter and then never mentioned again. It was pretty disappointing.

This book is so good I've defected to the Necrons now and don't want to hear any more organic nonsense out of any of you. The other major side character I want to talk about is Djoseras, Oltyx’s brother, who the protagonist blames for his exile. Djoseras is an excellent mentor character who was just as deeply impacted by the transition to a metal body as his brother. Despite Oltyx’s bitter memories about him, nothing about Djoseras is as cut-and-dry and you initially believe. Once you encounter him in person and see some additional memories for Oltyx, you really grow to appreciate Djoseras more, especially once you see him lead an army in battle. Oltyx’s multiple encounters with Djoseras add some outstanding emotional elements to the story, and each of his appearances were complex and compelling. Other side characters are introduced in this book, although most of them were only featured for a short time. However, they will probably have a bigger role in the future novels in this series, and Ruin serves as a good introduction to them. The best bits: fundamentally, the story is a Shakespearean tragedy with a redemption arc at the end that averts total destruction for our protagonist Oltyx. There are also space battles, an exhausting chase sequence reminiscent of the first episode of Battlestar Galactica (in all the best ways), and hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately, compared to themostly introspective first novel of this duology, I didn't find that the pieces meshed, and the over-the-top setting and some of the tone clashed with the story that was being told. A pesar de sentirme perdido en algunas partes, principalmente por no saber tanto de los necron, el libro me pareció una obra maestra. No solo es emocionante sino que tiene un trasfondo bastante profundo del que se puede sacar bastante contenido e incluso reflexión.