What is Warhammer 40,000 ? For the uninitiated, it is an incredibly dark gaming universe set 38,000 years in our future. When I left it, the Immortal Emperor had been encased for 10,000 years in his Golden Throne on Earth/Terra ever since his body was broken as part of the Horus Heresy which split humanity between the Imperium of Man and the corruption of Chaos.
As a gaming setting, it has everything going for it. Faster than light travel through the warp, which is also where the demons live. Humanity encompasses large areas of the galaxy, although areas are off limits due to the incursions of Chaos, predations of the Orks or the mystery of the Eldar. I gather that there are a few more races joining in now like the Tau, Necrons and they've always had the Tyranids (who ended up owning the Genestealers too for some reason) who are your classic Devouring Swarm.
Oh ! The setting. The Warhammer 40k universe has many worlds, from agricultural, to backwater, to trade to .... industrial hive world. Worlds like Orestes, the setting for Titanicus, have been overtaken by industry. The atmosphere is polluted and everyone clusters together in huge city hives holding millions. The hive spires are above the clouds.
Orestes has several hives, however there are also the slum areas outside the hives. Areas left behind. Areas where the dispossessed and evicted live. The book does a wonderful job of painting all of this, as well as the interaction between the unaltered Imperium society and the mechanically enhanced Mechanicus who work the machines, build the machines, repair the machines.
And this book is all about the machines. And they're big ones ....
Titanicus unleashes the Titans. They are the masters of the WH40k battlefield, standing between 10 metres tall for the scouts, to 23 metres tall for the mainstay Warlords, to even bigger for the Emperor Titans. (I think that scale is wrong but there's wikis for you !)
Picture ? Actual Titans this time ?
The book does a fantastic job of dramatising an incursion by Chaos Titans onto the world of Orestes. The defenders are vastly outmanned and outgunned, having had their strength drawn away by the eternal wars. To their aid rides the Legio Invictus with their Titans.
The best parts of this book bring out the contrast between the ordinary infantry soldier or tank drivers, going up to the scale of the massive Titans. It's a vastly uneven fight and, be warned, the book does not hold back on the descriptions of what Titan scale weaponry can do to ordinary humans, while the Titan shields barely notice the impact of human scale rifles, with the Titans casually sweeping aside even formations of vehicles.
You feel the terror of the characters involved in the fights and are riding along with them as the explosions and impact of the battles. Dan Abnett is very good at drawing that out in his book. And alongside that, there is the battle going on at home inside the main hive city.
Will Cally and her crew survive ? What will become of the remnants of the tank formation ? How about the engines (Titans) and their crews ? Will the Imperium hold off the forces of Chaos this time ? What will become of the Mechanicus ?
It's an excellent book, although I have to say at least 100 of its 600 pages are lost to a sub plot which distracts away from the main action a little too much. Apart from that and to borrow a phrase from Cyberkitten about the film Battle: Los Angeles, this book is start to finish : Pure unrelenting combat.
Would recommend if you're interested in the Wh40k universe, although probably not for the faint hearted. I read it before a few years ago and enjoyed it as much this time, getting caught up in the ride not knowing whether the characters would survive or if they would face sudden annihilation at the hands on the God Machines.
Next up is The Martian, which I'm enjoying just as much this time as the other times I've read it.
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