William King, The Space Wolf Omnibus. Nottingham, UK: Black Library, 2007. ISBN: 9781844164578.
Ragnar is a native of Fenris, a harsh world where survival is hard due to various monsters and to raids from rival tribes. Fenris is also the home world of the Space Wolves Space Marines Chapter. The Space Wolves pick out new recruits from the planet's population, seeking out the strongest warriors. After a raid on Ragnar's village, he dies in combat, but he is resurrected to become a space marine. To keep things interesting, so to speak, the warrior who killed him, who also died, is also chosen and resurrected to join the space marines. So right away Ragnar is challenged. Not only does he have to undergo the trials and training to become a space marine, a training few survive, but he also has to leave his past behind and learn to at least get along with the former enemy who is now one of his battle brothers.
The novels start with a frame. Ragnar, by now is a veteran warrior, and he is remembering days of his youth. The first novel goes through his training and trials to become a space marine leading to his first encounter with Chaos Space Marines. The second novel involves his first off world mission, and the chapter get involved in a mission wit the Imperial Inquisition. The third novel is a quest to bring back a lost artifact.
If you like your Space Marines novels with a lot of action and combat, this is a good selection. Pacing is relatively fast, and the narrative just moves swiftly. It is a book of about 760 pages, yet before you know it you are easily halfway in your reading. The first novel covers details of how a space marine is made, so that may also be of interest to some fans. Though the basic process is common to all space marine chapters, each chapter adds their unique rituals, so we see how Space Wolves turn what are basically Nordic types into savage and battle ready Space Marines.
The novels also feature some humor, especially in the banter and occasional bickering between Ragnar and his squad mates, more so with Sven, who becomes a close friend. These moments of humor are amusing and do lighten the tension here or there. There were some of those moments I laughed while reading the book.
Quality in Warhammer 40,000 novels can vary, but this series is pretty good. I'd say it's among the better series. Fans of Space Marines will likely enjoy it. Casual readers may find this book a good entry point into Warhammer 40,000. The novels give just enough detail so you know how things work and plenty of action to you entertained and reading.
The novels are not without flaws. One or two details may seem a bit ridiculous, but that may be just part of the charm. For example, in that initial raid on Ragnar's village, it was a treacherous ambush during a feast, not very honorable. Suddenly, the warriors start noticing the "Choosers" (Space Marines who choose recruits) may be observing, so the warriors start to at least pretend to some honor in their fighting to make a good impression. That was one of the few moments in the book when I asked "seriously?" as I was reading. Another sort of ridiculous sort of dark humor moment was a death in training. As a recruit, you can did from exposure to the elements, the harsh training, big wild animals, and from being stupid and careless such as Vrotwulf being too stupid to fully unload his bolt pistol before cleaning it; he blows his head off. Yes, even in the 41st Millennium they still have responsible gun owners.
Along the way in the novels we see how Ragnar grows as a character and as a Space Marine. I really liked this collection and strongly recommend it. It is a fun ride.
5 out of 5 stars.
Book qualifies for the following 2023 Reading Challenge:
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