Fall of Damnos review

Chewed through the Space Marine Battle novel, The Fall of Damnos. Why did I choose this book? Well, it contains the Ultramarines fighting one of my favorite armies, the Necrons.

This is written by another Black Library unknown, well an unknown to me. That always makes me a bit apprehensive, but I gave it a go. I just never know when another good author might just pop-up and you have to read stuff to find them. Plus, it would be Necrotyr heavy and they might actually win the fight against those Ultramarine ponces.

Well, as I dove into the book the Ultramarines low and behold…the Ultramarines are being lead by Sicarius and Tigurius. That means they are walking out of the novel. The worst case is one of them might be hurt. Black Library isn’t going to sully the likes of two Ultramarine main characters. No big deal though, there will still be plenty of Necron stuff to read about! Right?

There is a yes and no on that question. I knew going in this was a Space Marine Battle Novel, but it was a bit more than that. Not only does this focus on the Necron awakening on Damnos and the resulting battle, but there is also a bunch of other Ultramarine stuff. This stuff I consider filler and crap.

First is the battle on the planet and that is all well and good. It is the typical Marine fare of oaths, honor, bolters, chainswords and the like. Then there is the Necron stuff that was written before the new codex (and sadly people looked there for Necron rumors prior to release). It is fun to see them phasing out after a defeat and a general fear of the Monolith in battle.  This part of the book is descent and is more of what I was expecting.

Then, comes the first bunch of filler, or crap. I was treated to bad flashbacks that chronicle one Seargent Scipio’s experiences pre-Damnos. This was supposed to show his motivations and such. It was a bit of a waste of time to read this. It might have mattered more to me if he was the main protagonist and not the third or fourth one.

Speaking of protagonist and enter one Captain Cato Sicarius. He is the leader of this battle and it is his 2^nd Company that comes to the planet’s rescue. He is painted as a bit of a glory hound and an ass. He seems to care more for the glory of the 2^nd (and mostly just his honor guard) than anything else. He is part of a strict Codex Astartes chapter and yet he seems more like a one man band with some followers.

Hey there is also the big shot Librarian Tigrus making an appearance too! Actually his part is pretty small and could have been written for any nameless psyker. I thought his character and part was pretty lame. Why he was involved is a question I will not get answered.

Then there are the other Ultramarines that have names and do things, but they are all pretty forgettable too. Iulus, the sarge of the “Immortals” (just another tactical squad) is likable as he befriends the human rabble that is mounting a defense of the main city.  Still, he  just barely stands out from the usual bunch of crazy Roman-ishly named Marines.

Throughout the early parts of the book I was also treated to Ultramarine political infighting and squabbling flashbacks. Wow it was awesome! Sarcasm is lost on the interwebs. It was lame, tedious and forgettable as well. If anything it painted  the Ultramarines as kind of ass-hats. When they aren’t fighting and beating face they squabble like politicians. What do they squabble over? Well glory, names, status, placement and such. This was just more drek to read through.

Enough of the boys in blue, I bought this to read Necron stuff! Yes, I know it is a Space Marine book, but they are fighting my favorite souls killbots. Speaking of which, they are described as almost a endless legion, and yet like forty Marines kick them around. It is what it is I knew that when I bought the book. I was just pleased to see read some Necron stuff. I was good to see that they added the personalities to the leadership, or Necron royalty.  There is a nice bit of dissension between the various Lords and the lone named Cryptek. The Necrons with personalities are very bitter, crazy and/or power hungry. I liked that they were all trying to gain some upper hand and didn’t mind stepping over the fallen or their peers to attain it.

The way the nameless horde of Necron warriors gave me a happy. A legion of silent marching killbots is awesome! The self repair cycle, gauss weapons, Scarabs, Monolith, Flayed Ones and the elite Immortals were all well done. I didn’t have a real problem with the description or actions of the Necrons in this book. The only detail that was bothersome has to do with the game and not the novel. The Necrons are different in game now and this novel is more indicative of the previous codex. I’m fine with that as it was a nice mash of old and new Necron stuff.

Sadly, the Necron parts of the book didn’t really save it. The story as a whole is pretty lame. There is some badly timed and executed flashbacks, there is exposition that was basically filler, a sad attempt at Ultramarine political intrigue, detail misses hat a fanboy like me catches ( Dreadnought with an assault cannon, powerfist, stormbolter and heavy flamer?), poor pacing, introduction of characters that do nothing/go nowhere and a lame ending. I didn’t expect a great story, but was hoping for a good one. Unless you are a diehard Ultramarine worshiper I would say far away from the Fall of Damnos. It is really not a good book.