Book does a great job keeping the tension high while also carefully revealing the character of several different space marine chapters/warbands. A great read for people who want to see the political interplay of various Imperial factions, or for those who love Imperial Fists/White Scars/Raven Guard/Word Bearers.

I read a lot of 40k books and this one is up there. A great addition to the space marine conquest line of novels. World building 4/5 Great scene building and world exploration. Nearly perfect. Characters 5/5 The dude [author] made imperial fists seem emotionally deep and word bearers mature and philosophically conflicted. I did not even hate the space church [Ecclesiarchy] as much as usual! Wow! I found characters to root for on every side. Plot 4/5 Touches on very interesting plot points for long term fans of the series. Not a good point to jump in on. To get the most out of it some Horus Heresy or basic 40k knowledge will be necessary. Still an intelligible and interesting story non the less. I found most plot directions and events very believable, nothing really broke my immersion. I’ll be sure to read more of this authors 40k novels , it did a great job of holding me over till the next dark imperium book comes out. Looking forward to the next in this series “fist of the imperium”. See you guys then!