Ultramarines: The Second Omnibus

Ultramarines #4-6

by Graham McNeill

The Ultramarines have been the honourable cornerstone of the Adeptus Astartes throughout their ten thousand year history. Captain Uriel Ventris fights to prove that he is worthy to return to the hallowed ranks of the Chapter after his exile to the Eye of Terror, and that he is free of the insidious taint of Chaos. But as the Iron Warriors move against Ultramar, a grim premonition comes to light: Ventris will have a part to play in the coming war, for good or ill.

The ongoing story of the Ultramarines continues in this omnibus edition, featuring the novels The Killing Ground, Courage and Honour and The Chapter’s Due, as well as exciting short stories from New York Times best selling author Graham McNeill.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Fiction, Fantasy, Military Science Fiction

768 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 2012

About the author

Hailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill narrowly escaped a career in surveying to work for Games Workshop as a games designer. He has a strong following with his novels Nightbringer, Warriors of Ultramar, Dead Sky, Black Sun and Storm of Iron.

Reviews

[Sud666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Second omnibus of the Ultramarines could really be called Uriel Ventris The Return. Yeah that's right- Uriel Ventris from the first omnibus and his companion Passanius are returning from their oath to regain their honor. Their return to the Imperium is an Homer's Odyssey-like trip. The three books in this omnibus are:
The Killing Ground
Courage and Honor
The Chapter's Due

There is also a short story called "Eye of Vengeance" about Scout leader Tellion.

But the three novels all follow a certain timeline. In "The Killing Ground", Uriel and Passanius come back to Imperial Space from the Warp. On the Imperial world of Salinas, Uriel must work with the Imperial governor (and convince the Imperium he and Passanius are untainted by Chaos) to quell a chaos uprising.

In "Courage and Honor" (which I had read before as a stand alone) Uriel takes back command of the 4th Company and is sent to the Imperial world of Pavoinis to fight the Tau. He and Passanius are watched closely by the Ultramarines for any signs of corruption.

Finally in "The Chapter's Due" the entire story closes with the Warsmith Honsou and his Iron Warriors launch an assault on Ultramaar and the entire chapter fights against the Iron Warriors and the daemon M'Kar. The ending of this story ties together the ending from the first omnibus and finishes the story of the Uriel-Honsou conflict.

A good collection of Ultramarines stories. The best part is that it draws together the stories from the first omnibus and brings redemption to the saga of Uriel Ventris. If you are a fan of 40, especially the Ultramarines, then you will certainly enjoy this omnibus. If you've not read the first omnibus-start there since the events of this volume are tied into that first story arc.

[Bogdan Balostin]

The Second Ultramarines Omnibus collects 3 novels that deal with Uriel's return to Ultramar. Well, mostly Uriel. There are hundreds of characters and the most important characteristic of these characters is... their name, of course. Because you should already know about them. Because you're a Warhammer 40K fan and you should know everything. I am not, so I had no idea who they are and why they're so important.

The Killing Ground. One of the best novels, it starts out strong and it ends with a whimper. I noticed after reading a couple of Warhammer 40K novels that the less a novel deals with battle, the better it is. The Killing Ground deals with guilt and heresy and corruption, all very good themes. Oh, and there are monsters in this one, monsters that I'm not sure were the bad guys.

Courage and Honour. In this one, Ultramarines fight the tau, which apparently are the good guys in this Universe. They're the type that wants to help everyone live a good life and if you refuse their help, they will help you with or without your consent.

The Chapter's Due. The big battle between Ultramarines and Chaos Marines, led by Honsou (the protagonist of Iron Warriors omnibus). Everything is epic and for a book about full-blown war, there are plenty of moments to talk and discover characters. Unfortunately, the end is deus ex machina.

As I finished with the Ultramarines series (but I didn't read anything not collected in these 2 omnibuses), I have to list down the best parts in the series:
Warriors of Ultramar because it's about a zerg invasion with a pinch of gangsters trying to survive (extremely cheese, but I actually liked that part of the story);
Dead Sky Black Sun, because it was horribly gross, yet resembling comics trying too hard (I'm trying to avoid saying cheesy again);
The Killing Ground, because it explored some human themes;
The Beast of Calth, because it had the least amount of fighting, but the greatest amount of mystery. (It's part of the Iron Warriors omnibus, but I treat both series as part of one)

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ultramarines: The Second Omnibus kicks off straight after the previous Omnibus with Uriel Ventris and his Sergeant Pasanius finding themselves deposited on Salinas where the Imperial governor and his troops having been keeping control of the local population in a way that does put Uriel and Pasanius into a position where they are caught between what is ultimately right and what is wrong! The character conflicts between them and the locals are dramatic and the appearance of two Adeptus Astartes really puts the wind up them! As the story progresses we see how they go about putting this right! The arrival of the Grey Knights though puts a spin on things as well and also let Uriel and Pasanius prove that they are still Ultramarines at heart which gives them a free pass to get back to Ultramar!

Of course once back at Macragge, in spite of the Grey Knights assurances both Uriel and Pasanius are put through the wringer again in order to prove that they haven't come back from Eye of Terror with a case of Dark Side corruption! This is cleverly handled and neatly contrasts with the other examinations about their Light Side affiliations that they have already gone through! At the same time this also enables us to see the attitudes of the other Space Marines to the their arrival and you get to see clearly again how not everyone is not completely motivated in the same direction and have personal ambition popping up to influence their decisions! At the same time Uriel and Pasanius interview with Chief Librarian Tigurius which gives us insights into Chapter Librarians but also reminds us that the Marines are expected to use the Grey Matter as well out of combat! At the same time we also get to see the trust that Marneus Calgar has in Uriel which clearly flies in the face of Cato Sicarius who has his own ideas about Uriel! This creates an underlying feeling of tension throughout the book! Uriel is dispatched to Pavonis where the Tau are up to the habit of trying to get people into their Empire and this serves as Uriel's test as to whether he is fit for command again! At the same time we get to see the differences that have taken place on Pavonis and the cast of characters in charge of the Colonel Winterbourne in charge of the Lavrentian Guardsmen, Colonel Loic etc! We get a great look at the Tau with Shas'El Sa'cea Esaven, Aun'rai etc! At the same time we get a clear a look at their culture and how they themselves see themselves with their Greater Good Culture, absorption policy etc and you can clearly see what informs the actions on both sides but still result in pulse pounding grit and dust filled battles that come off brilliantly with a clear use of tactics and counter tactics on each side!

While the dust is settling Uriel Pasanius and the rest of the gang are confronted with the arrival of Honsou and his forces of Chaos who are looking for payback on the Ultramarines! This gives us a really hard look at how the Ultramarines respond to an attack on their territories! The stories POV's switch between Scipio, Ventris, Calgar, Sicarius, Honsou throughout really giving us a look at how the Ultramarines operate when they all deployed on an epic scale! At the same time this gives us an excellent look at what the ambitions of the characters are and what this means! For example Scipio and Sicarius neatly contrast with how Uriel and Parsanius which is also is displayed with Honsou and his gang! The battles are epic throughout with Ultramar being Ultramarine at stake! At the same time we get clever insight into Roboute Guilliman and the events that continue to craft the Ultramarines into the force they are!

Ultramarines: The Second Omnibus is a Bolter fed action fest battle soaked intelligent epic from the beginning! It is full of character and planetary conflict with the clashing of races and ideals, full of daring do with Uriel Pasanius etc leading the charge, world building as we get to see old worlds as well as see new ones, insights into the Ultramarines and forces of Chaos and what they are planning, moral question throughout as the Uriel and Pasanius encounter situations that are certainly not up to their codes and set about putting things right, insights into secrets of Ultramarines, events of the Horus Heresy and how they continue to effect the Ultramarines, alien races and why they are doing what they are doing and exploring their culture, adventure as the Ultramarines battle across the planets and action! Brilliant Crisp High Five! Highly Recommended! Get if You Can!

[Abhinav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadowhawk reviews the second omnibus of the popular Ultramarines series by Graham McNeill as the valiant, heroic Uriel Ventris and his friend Pasanius Lysane return from their journey into the Eye of Terror and are reunited with their chapter.

“This is a collection that made me feel really sad and really upbeat throughout. A great reading experience in the end that does make me want more Ultramarines action.” ~The Founding Fields

Note: Review contains some spoilers for the previous omnibus. This is also a long review, longer than normal.

The Killing Ground and Courage and Honour are two novels I regrettably missed out on in the months I took a break from reading any new fiction and buying any novels. When The Chapter’s Due came out, it looked like I was going to be missing out on that too because I’ve never bought hardcovers. So when Black Library announced the omnibus edition of the second trilogy novels, I was pretty excited. The last omnibus ended with a fairly big plot thread and I was really looking to get back into reading about the adventures of the Ultramarines 4th Company and their maverick Captain.

I needn’t have worried how good the second trilogy was going to be. Mostly.

.....

Truth be told, The Killing Ground didn’t really work for me. I was expecting to be wowed and that just didn’t happen. In that respect, it is a very similar novel in terms of its feel to Dead Sky, Black Sun. They are both extremely bleak novels, the former more so. What Graham got right here was that he portrayed the desperation of the people of Salinas and soldiers, both former and current, of the Achaman Falcatas regiment. You can really feel it as you turn each page. And in that respect, the core theme of the setting was plain as day throughout the novel because, in the grim darkness of the far future, the galaxy is a very bleak place.

.....

.....

Overall, The Killing Ground is borderline decent. It didn’t work for me particularly but I can appreciate its place in the series, and that’s an important one.

Next up is Courage and Honour, the fifth novel in the series. This was an absolutely mind-bending novel. This novel echoed everything that made Warriors of Ultramar so good and on top of that, it was heavy with symbolism. This novel sees a restored and reinstated Uriel Ventris return to the battlefields of the 41st Millennium alongside the proud warriors of the Ultramarines 4th Company, his old command. And its not just any battlefield but Pavonis itself, which was Uriel’s first theatre as a Captain. Quite fitting that he returns to the once-more troubled world and that this time he is fighting against the Tau of all aliens. In this novel Uriel has to prove that he has learned the lessons of deviance from the Codex Astartes and that he is fit to be an Ultramarine once again.

As such, the novel was a beauty. Whether it was the scenes with the Ultramarines and the 44th Lavrentian Hussars defending Pavonis, or Uriel’s scenes back on Macragge with his superiors, the novel is quite perfect from beginning to end. The action scenes in particular were extremely well done. The Tau rely on surgical strikes and a fast, adaptive form of warfare and they make natural enemies for the Ultramarines, not to mention that they are the perfect “test enemies” for Uriel to prove himself against. All the action was fast, brutal and very visceral. Not to mention that there was a great amount of variety in the scenes as well: we get Thunderhawk deployments, regiment-level mechanised assaults, drop-pod assaults, behind-enemy-lines missions, lightning raids and so on. We also get a good look at how an entire company of the Ultramarines makes war, right from Uriel coordinating planetary defences from a prefab command post in the capital Brandon Gate, to their armoured assaults, and everything else. Whether its the Ultramarines, the Lavrentian Hussards and the planetary defence forces or the Tau themselves, Graham makes good use of the varied units on both sides to deliver a single, unified sequence for each battle.

.....

Overall, this was a fantastic novel. Some people may be put off by the fact there is a lot of combat in it and the action is nearly non-stop, but let me assure you that there is ample character development here and that Graham has not skimped on any of it.


The last novel in the omnibus is The Chapter’s Due, which marks the return of Warsmith Honsou of the Iron Warriors since his last novel-length appearance in Dead Sky, Black Sun. If you have read Iron Warriors: The Omnibus, then you know how Honsou rose to prominence and how we was brought down by Uriel Ventris. You’ll also be aware of the depths of Honsou’s need for vengeance on the one man who has dared defy him and refuse his….benevolence in equal measure. A good portion of Iron Warriors: The Omnibus sets up events for The Chapter’s Due and also shows its aftermath in part, so finally getting to the novel itself was something I had been anticipating for a good while yet.

If anything, The Chapter’s Due is much better than Courage and Honour, although the latter didn’t really go wrong much. The characterisation was much stronger, the action scenes much more varied this time (trust me!) and we really get a sense for how the Ultramarines fight on a chapter-level in multiple simultaneous enagements in different battlefields. There are a few novels that have shown chapter-wide deployments, like Rynn’s World with the Crimson Fists, Grey Hunter with the Space Wolves and Nocturne with the Salamanders, to name a few. They each brought something different to the table, with the first two being focused on a few individuals, and the latter being focused on a lot of different characters from across the chapter heirarchy. Nocturne is also a novel that got chapter-wide warfare just right. In that respect, The Chapter’s Due was just as great and while overall it has a similar feel to it, it is different in that we see the Ultramarines in defending not just a single planet, but multiple different ones, since they actually command an entire sub-sector of space, the Ultramar Empire.

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Overall, The Chapter’s Due is a fantastic novel, on par with Nick Kyme’s Nocturne, and so much better than Warriors of Ultramar and Courage and Honour, which were both absolutely great themselves.

You can find the review in full over at The Founding Fields

http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/05/...

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of stories.

[Ulzeta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite fun.

[Jean-Luc · Rating 4 out of 5]

When last we saw our heroes, they had succeeded in guaranteeing the destruction of Honsou's fortress of the blighted planet Medrengard. If that's how it had ended, it would've been bittersweet, but it would've been OK. Happy endings are a rarity in the 41st millennium, where "happy" is defined as "at least one Imperial survives slightly longer than the bad guys".

This omnibus is made of 3 novels, 1 short story, and 1 illustrated short story.

* The Killing Ground - Uriel Ventris, his faithful friend Pasanius Lysane, and the Unfleshed (the blasphemous abortions resulting from Honsou's attempts to manufacture space marine) escape Medrengard and arrive on the planet Salinas! How did they escape w/out being tainted by Chaos? That is an excellent question, and the Grey Knights want an answer! Unfortunately, the Lord of the Unfleshed is possessed by a malevolent force, and he leads his people into a bloody rampage. As is disgustingly usual, no one wins.

* Courage and Honour - Uriel Ventris, newly restored to command of the 4th Company of Ultramarines, the Defenders of Ultramar, must return to Pavonis (the planet from the 1st book) to defend it from the Tau. The problems they face are entirely of the Imperium's own making, but no one learns anything. Ventris is under tremendous scrutiny throughout, and he's forced to go into battle w/out his best friend Pasanius, who has been forbidden from entering combat as punishment for concealing the arm he lost during his battle w/ the Nightbringer.

* The Chapter's Due - This is it, this is the payoff. Every Ultramarines novel and short story and every Iron Warriors novel and short story has led to this: the invasion of the realm of Ultramar. Every company of Ultramarine is called into the fight, along w/ the Raven Guard, the Inquisition, and the Adeptus Mechanicus. From planet to planet, from massive fortresses to hidden tombs, the fighting is relentless. Every plotline from every book is wrapped up in a satisfying manner, but the toll is tremendous and unforgettable.

* Eye of Vengeance - During the Bloodborn invasion of Ultramar in The Chapter's Due, on the planet Quintarn, Sargeant Torias Telion leads his scouts in a daring mission against the Dark Mechanicus.

* Black Bone Road - On a mission to Epsilon Regalis, Captain Idaeus teaches veteran sargeant Uriel Ventris a valuable lesson, one he will carry with him for the rest of his life.

In my review of the first omnibus, I mentioned that they'd left out a story called Consequences. While its absence between the 2nd and 3rd novel was lamentable, someone who didn't know about it wouldn't miss it. This one is different. There's a constant sense that we're not seeing the whole story.

We're missing The Heraclitus Effect, where the Warsmith Honsou destroys Tarsis Ultra, rendering moot the courage and honour displayed in book 2.

We're missing Defenders of Ultramar, where Learchus Abantes, acting captain in Ventris' absence, defends the planet Espandor against an ancient Ork waaagh.

We're missing some sense of Honsou's motivation. Yeah, yeah, I get it, all Chaos is evil, Blood for the Blood God or whatever it is Chaos gods ask for. But the best villains have goals. Motivation. Honsou hates Ventris, and that's it. Honsou hates Ventris, therefore he wants revenge, and he will obtain that revenge by ___? We don't know, it's never explained in a meaningful way. It's disturbing that the daemon prince M'Kar's campaign could've succeeded if only he'd put someone competent in charge. Even daemons have problems differentiating true engineers from techbros, it seems.

Does all that mean I don't recommend this omnibus? Hardly! It was an amazing ride and I'm glad I came along.

[Stefan Teleu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second omnibus of the Ultramarines stories picks up where the first left off, with captain Uriel Ventris and his close friend, Pasanius, on their road to redemption. As with the first omnibus, this one is also split into three parts.

The first part has more to do with atonement and the supernatural, as we see the two main characters face the horrors of their recent past and try to bring prove themselves worthy at he same time. This part of the story has more to do with closing up loose ends and defining the main characters more, than with a plot per se. It also introduces a really interesting space marine chapter whose name I won't spoil, so it's definitely worth a read.

In the second part of the omnibus, Uriel if faced with the trials of a captain of the Ultramarines. He must prove himself worthy of the position his previous captain left to him, and also prove himself worthy to be a Ultramarine captain by showing his respect for the Codex Astartes. This part also goes into Tau lore a bit, showing the main idea behind their society and also making you question the Emperor's ideology at one point.

In the final part of the story, Uriel goes face to face with Honsou of the Iron Warriros for the final conclusion of the Ultramarines story. This is an incredibly interesting read, as we literally see the chapter master going into action and kicking some daemon butt, as well as some pretty human portrayal of characters thought beyond redemption. I think I enjoyed this final part most of this omnibus, as it presented great heroes handling an impossible situation and I am a sucker for underdog stories.

As a conclusion, I like this second omnibus more than the first one because the characters seemed more "alive", they were actually reacting to their actions and it proved an interesting insight into the 40k universe as a whole as far as psykers, the Tau and the Iron Warriors go. A good read, one that I recommend for all the 40k universe fans that love an underdog boy-scout-becoming-a-man story :D

[Derek Weese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much to add that hasn't already been said concerning this excellent omnibus. McNeill is one of the best Black Library writers for a reason, it's a shame that these guys and gals don't get the credit they really deserve. (Then again Star Wars writers and other shared universe writers get zero literary respect as well).
I liked all three of the novels in the omnibus, but surprisingly my favorite was not 'The Chapters Due', despite its collective awesomeness. Rather I found 'Courage and Honour' to be my hands down favorite of all six of McNeill's novels featuring the sons of Ultramar. Possibly it has something to do with the tau who I find fascinating or else the writing just seemed to have more of an emotional impact upon me personally what with Pasanius being missing and the angst that fills Uriel with and the fact that the fighting takes place on Pavonis. Uriel had thought that worlds problems healed, now to see it fall so low and to be scorched by war, yet again, had to be heartbreaking.
The final story, 'Eye of Vengeance' was excellent and I am pining (officially) for more Telion stories!
All in all a truly excellent collection of works and the fact that it took me so long to read should have no bearing on my review: I merely read too many books at once. (I am working on that.)
Read the Ultramarines series, see what the philosophical ideal of a soldier stands up against the darkness both within and without the Imperium. You won't be dissapointed.

[catweaseloz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Courage and honour is my pick for the best in this omnibus. The chapters due just goes too long with too much waffle.

[Jay Merin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid second Omnibus in the Ultramarines series of books. If you like Warhammer 40k, or the idea of huge galactic wars between vast empires with a strong focus on a hyper-militaristic, uber-religious race as the protagonists, then this is a recommended read.
I very much enjoyed it. Good pacing, good description, vividly detailed action sequences, and very interesting characters.

[Patt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Killing Ground was a MAJOR let down it could have been a Daemon horde or Iron Warriors released onto the planet subsequently by the Omphalos Daemonium and the Unfleshed saving the Ultramarines/Grey Knights/Population from the enemy a glorious sacrifice/heroics story it could have been but the author F@#ked it up completely and made it like an Agatha Christie book.

[Abner San c · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graham, made a great correction by giving warning of changing scenarios and al the saga has total sense
so its goood!!!!!!