Assassinorum Kingmaker (Warhammer 40,000)

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The Callidus Temple is the subtlest of the ancient temples of the Officio Assassinorum, specialising in the artful deception of the enemies of the Imperium. It’s a true artefact of the conflict – with this map unfurled on your desk, you’ll feel like Rogal Dorn himself as he strives against the odds to oversee an impossible defence. The assassin parts: it's well thought out and well written. A lot of variety, and not just because we have three Temples present. Clever solutions, creative plans, good utilization of everyone's abilities. The personalities seem to be within the boundaries of what a highly trained, brainwashd, and augmented professional could have, but still show enough individuality. For non- psykers this will usually be little more than a minute spark. For psykers, however, their soul blazes like a shining beacon that can be seen by other psykers and creatures that live within the Warp. The more powerful the psyker, the brighter their soul burns within the realm of the Empyrean.

Assassinorum: Kingmaker by Robert Rath, Paperback | Barnes Assassinorum: Kingmaker by Robert Rath, Paperback | Barnes

I personally really enjoy how they showed the assassinorum temples. It's also quite nice to see one of the minor temples, which makes sense, can't really work with Culexus, and even Khornates berserkers are more cooperative than Eversor.

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A subreddit for the lore and stories encompassing the dark future of the Warhammer 40,000 franchise However, Culexus Assassins have been transformed by the Necrons into their foul Pariah servants by transferring their consciousnesses into necrodermis bodies.

The Spy Novels That Inspired Assassinorum: Kingmaker – Robert The Spy Novels That Inspired Assassinorum: Kingmaker – Robert

Kingmaker more than does the job. Rath realizes the Assassinorum as unique and distinct from the Inquisition despite an oft overlapping remit, giving the Officio a Cold War spy vibe that really fits. There’s no religious mumbo-jumbo and everything seems much more centralized than you get in Abnett’s or Wraight’s work. However this book is decidedly more about the process of conducting an operation than the Assassinorum as a whole. Rath focuses on how the assassins involved, all of whom are wonderfully well depicted in their interactions with each other and their targets, plan out/perform their mission. There’s also a lot of time spent getting to know the world of Dominion, to the point that this might be the best work on Imperial Knights in the canon. I generally don’t care for the ‘medieval nobles piloting mechs’ vibe it seems every Knight House has to have (why can’t they be diverse like the Titan Legios?), but Rath clearly put a lot of time into giving Dominion an engaging political identity. In the broad view I think it’s a brilliant move to focus so much attention on whomever the Assassin(s) are targeting. Hopefully it will mean future books in the series, if they happen, vary considerably with each entry. Eversor Assassins are primarily used against rebels who have plans to move against the Imperium with a large armed force. When the long, grinding war of attrition that is the Astra Militarum's forte is ruled out -- perhaps because it is likely to leave a valuable planet ravaged -- the High Lords will sometimes sanction the use of an Eversor Assassin. It was fun and you wanted everyone to succeed. Would it have been more intense and gripping if the key players paid a higher cost? Or is that just outweighed by charm of the whole tale. If we look at the story beats on the imperial knight side of the story you'll soon see similarities with the older medieval stories, such as the various legends of Arthur and etc. Without going in to spoiler territory, the novel is a kind of spy story, full of intrigues and surprisesLooks like the Word Bearers have got more mischief planned. What could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot… The Knight World of Dominion is on the verge of seceding from the Imperium, its court riven by factionalism and ruled by an increasingly unhinged monarch. With the aid of the shapeshifting Callidus assassin Sycorax, Raithe must remove the king from his throne – and safely steer a pro-Imperial candidate to victory through the brutal succession crisis that will inevitably ensue. His team will need to infiltrate a world steeped in chivalric codes, where every move risks discovery, and every threat pilots an adamantine monster... for if the assassins fail, and Dominion falls, the entire sector will be plunged into darkness. While Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is his most famous work, Le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold is in some ways the thesis statement of the George Smiley series. With the return of the God of Earthquakes, the Realm of Beasts is in for some seismic upheaval in more ways than one. I know I’ve said this before, but 2022 is turning out to be a fantastic year for Warhammer fiction. Thanks to my recent obsession with this franchise, I have been deeply enjoying all the new tie-in novels associated with this table-top game, as a bevy of talented authors seek to expand on the already massive lore. I have already had a lot of fun with books like Steel Tread, The Bookkeeper’s Skull, Day of Ascension, Kreig, Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waagh!, Reign and The Vincula Insurgency, but I may have just finished one of the most purely entertaining and awesome new entries, Assassinorum: Kingmaker. Written by Robert Rath, who previously wrote the intriguing Necron focused book, The Infinite and The Divine, Assassinorum: Kingmaker had a very appealing story that instantly grabbed my attention and which ended up being an outstanding read.

Assassinorum: Kingmaker (Robert Rath) - + THE BLACK LIBRARY Assassinorum: Kingmaker (Robert Rath) - + THE BLACK LIBRARY

Next year, Sycorax and Raithe will join forces in the novel Assassinorum: Kingmaker, as they try to infiltrate an Imperial Knight world on the brink of seceding from the Imperium. The Reign of Blood (ca. 200.M36) - Goge Vandire, Ecclesiarch and High Lord of the Adeptus Administratum, falls from the Emperor's light. His tremendous influence, charisma and determination to overhaul the Imperium sparks a civil war that lasts for seven decades. His insurrection only ends when a counter-crusade mounted by Sebastian Thor tears power from the Traitor's cold and clutching claws. Death of a Recidivist (501.M37) - The influential Cardinal Jerome the Unsaintly of Oristia IV secedes from the Imperial Creed. He amasses an insane amount of wealth through illegal levies, hoping to gather an army of Frateris Militia to rival that of Goge Vandire. He is shot in the roof of the mouth by a Vindicare Assassin whilst singing subversive hymns.Kingmaker is the Assassinorum novel I’ve wanted for years. Rath realizes the Assassinorum as unique and distinct from the Inquisition despite an oft overlapping remit, giving the Officio a Cold War spy vibe that really fits. There’s no religious mumbo-jumbo and everything seems much more centralized than you get in Abnett’s or Wraight’s work. However this book is decidedly more about the process of conducting an operation than the functioning of the Assassinorum as a whole. Rath focuses on how the assassins involved, all of whom are wonderfully well depicted in their interactions with each other and their targets, plan out/perform their mission. There’s also a lot of time spent getting to know the world of Dominion, to the point that this might be the best work on Imperial Knights in the canon. I generally don’t care for the ‘medieval nobles piloting mechs’ vibe it seems every Knight House has to have (why can’t they be diverse like the Titan Legios?), but Rath clearly put a lot of time into giving Dominion an engaging political identity and sense of character. In the broad view I think it’s a brilliant move to focus so much attention on whomever the Assassin(s) are targeting. Hopefully it will mean future books in the series, if they happen, vary considerably with each entry. The Assassins of the four major temples of the Officio Assassinorum -- an Eversor Assassin, a Culexus Assassin, a Callidus Assassin and a Vindicare Assassin. This book is really excellent. I think I have fairly high standards for books and am usually (politely) negative about a fair few BL offerings. This one is really well written. I'd recommend it to non BL fans. Since 2018 he's served as Head Writer of the animated YouTube show Extra History, where his scripts have attracted over 150 million views

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The Knight World of Dominion is on the verge of seceding from the Imperium, its court riven by factionalism and ruled by an increasingly unhinged monarch. With the aid of the shapeshifting Callidus assassin Sycorax, Raithe must remove the king from his throne—and safely steer a pro-Imperial candidate to victory through the brutal succession crisis that will inevitably ensue. His team will need to infiltrate a world steeped in chivalric codes, where every move risks discovery and every threat pilots an adamantine monster...for if the assassins fail, and Dominion falls, the entire sector will be plunged into darkness. The Officio Assassinorum is also known to maintain patronage over numerous minor Assassin temples and death cults scattered across the galaxy. Though they have not the pedigree of the Vindicare, Callidus, Eversor or Culexus, these temples are just as ferocious in their pursuance of the Imperial cause. To Slay a WAAAGH! (718.924.M40) - The Ork Warlord Urgak the Unstoppable is on the verge of completing his Gargant and launching a WAAAGH! into the Vondiac Sector when a Vindicare Assassin sends a bullet into the reactor core of the giant effigy. The thing catches fire and then explodes spectacularly, killing not only Urgak himself but also the vast majority of the Meks in his employ. The WAAAGH! is halted before it even begins, putting the lie to Urgak's self-aggrandising title and plunging the surviving Orks into a bloody civil war. Medieval sci-fi intrigue with a scattering of warhorns and knight combat. Honour and betrayal and some damn sharp shooting. Really enjoyed this.There are four major Assassinorum "temples," originally known at the time of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy as "clades", each specialising in a different form or method of assassination. From storied successors including the Crimson Fists and Flesh Tearers to lesser-known Chapters like the Emperor’s Spears and Consecrators, you’ll be spoilt for no-holds-barred Adeptus Astartes action. I was expecting good as I've enjoyed the short stories to date and I am largely a fan of the specific stories that Rath cited as his inspiration for Kingmaker. I recently wanted some light reading since it's summer and so decided to read Assassinorum: Kingmaker and folks, it's really, really good.