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Warhammer 40,000
Arjac Rockfist: Anvil of Fenris
One of the great sagas of Space Wolf legend, Arjac Rockfist, Champion of Fenris, faces a swarm of monstrous tyranids at the gates of the Fang itself!
Take up your ale, warrior of the Space Wolves, and heed the words of the skjald as he tells the tale of one of our mightiest brothers. Hear of the humble beginnings of the one we know as the Anvil of Fenris, and how he answered the call of destiny when the Kraken invaded Asaheim itself. Hear of his heroic actions in fighting the spawn of the tyranids and saving the Fang from their depredations. Hear the story of Arjac Rockfist, and glory that such a warrior walks among us!
It's good, old-fashioned Space Wolves action, told in unique fashion: as a skjald of the Chapter would in the feasting hall, complete with deliberately archaic language and over the top drama.
Take up your ale, warrior of the Space Wolves, and heed the words of the skjald as he tells the tale of one of our mightiest brothers. Hear of the humble beginnings of the one we know as the Anvil of Fenris, and how he answered the call of destiny when the Kraken invaded Asaheim itself. Hear of his heroic actions in fighting the spawn of the tyranids and saving the Fang from their depredations. Hear the story of Arjac Rockfist, and glory that such a warrior walks among us!
It's good, old-fashioned Space Wolves action, told in unique fashion: as a skjald of the Chapter would in the feasting hall, complete with deliberately archaic language and over the top drama.
- GenresScience Fiction40k
124 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2014
About the author
Ben Counter
170 books221 followersBen Counter, as well as making several contributions to Inferno magazine, has written the Soul Drinkers and Grey Knights series and two Horus Heresy novels for the Black Library. He is an ancient history graduate and avid miniature painter with a bronze demon under his belt.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 3, 2021
A great tale!
July 24, 2016
Arjac Rockfist: Anvil of Fenris,written by Ben Counter, is a second edition to the Warhammer 40,000 "Lords of the Space Marines" editions, a collection of limited books that are concentrating on the legendary members of the Adeptus Astartes. The second book is focused on the champion of the Space Wolves, Arjac, the mighty Warrior Smith, and his beginnings within the chapter both as a crafter and a fighter.
The story is based on the brief siege of Fenris by dormant Tyranids that finally found a reason to attack the Space Wolves headquarters. Through the storytelling of one of the bards within the fortress, it is an interesting exploration of Arjac's service to the Imperium by defending his own home. The book also characterizes him and adds a brief peek into his humble beginnings and other exploits that might be visited later in other, cheaper novels.
This was a fantastic tale indeed, with interesting additional characters, beautiful visage of the planet and the fortress, while exploring the intellectual process of the Space Wolves. It also focuses on the certain aspects of this chapter, mainly it's storage of knowledge, artefacts and burials of fallen brothers.
The greatest strength of the novelette is Arjac's own character that meets perils of all kinds through the pages. Mr. Counter excellently visualizes this champion, making us sympathize with him till the very end. While the rest of the plot sides are without bad qualities as well, Arjac's own personality virtually carries the book to very high ratings.
Unfortunately, the very way of how was the story written by Mr. Counter stops me from the best rating. Although the bard is a typical storyteller that you can think of when applying Viking similarities to the Space Wolves, it really eliminates the ability to fully explore and describe certain areas to full fruition, much like the Twelve Wolves short story I have reviewed earlier. Also, in some places, the text is filled with clichéd phrases, salutations, and other sentences of that example, slowing the tempo of the story. This kind of style doesn't really suit everyone, and I'm on that side. If it would be written like a typical Black Library novella, the story would get a much higher quality and faster sales!
Slow style or not, this is a worthy addition to your library if you're a Space Wolves fan; a highly recommendable novelette with an excellent character and literally without boring plot parts. Very solid 4 stars, grab the book if you still can!
The story is based on the brief siege of Fenris by dormant Tyranids that finally found a reason to attack the Space Wolves headquarters. Through the storytelling of one of the bards within the fortress, it is an interesting exploration of Arjac's service to the Imperium by defending his own home. The book also characterizes him and adds a brief peek into his humble beginnings and other exploits that might be visited later in other, cheaper novels.
This was a fantastic tale indeed, with interesting additional characters, beautiful visage of the planet and the fortress, while exploring the intellectual process of the Space Wolves. It also focuses on the certain aspects of this chapter, mainly it's storage of knowledge, artefacts and burials of fallen brothers.
The greatest strength of the novelette is Arjac's own character that meets perils of all kinds through the pages. Mr. Counter excellently visualizes this champion, making us sympathize with him till the very end. While the rest of the plot sides are without bad qualities as well, Arjac's own personality virtually carries the book to very high ratings.
Unfortunately, the very way of how was the story written by Mr. Counter stops me from the best rating. Although the bard is a typical storyteller that you can think of when applying Viking similarities to the Space Wolves, it really eliminates the ability to fully explore and describe certain areas to full fruition, much like the Twelve Wolves short story I have reviewed earlier. Also, in some places, the text is filled with clichéd phrases, salutations, and other sentences of that example, slowing the tempo of the story. This kind of style doesn't really suit everyone, and I'm on that side. If it would be written like a typical Black Library novella, the story would get a much higher quality and faster sales!
Slow style or not, this is a worthy addition to your library if you're a Space Wolves fan; a highly recommendable novelette with an excellent character and literally without boring plot parts. Very solid 4 stars, grab the book if you still can!
May 10, 2014
Written by Ben Counter as part of the ‘Lords of the Space Marines’ series, this is a novella-length book available in two formats – the ‘deluxe limited’ edition complete with additional audio drama and ornate case, and the standard ‘limited’ edition as reviewed. Bound underneath the dust cover in grey leather-effect and embossed with Fenrisian runes, as limited editions go this is an absolute beauty. Unlike ebooks, physical books offer a wonderfully tactile experience, and this one takes things one step further in its sheer luxuriousness.
For the full review visit http://trackofwords.wordpress.com/201...
For the full review visit http://trackofwords.wordpress.com/201...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews