The Twice-Dead King: Ruin (Warhammer 40,000) [Paperback] Crowley, Nate

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If you enjoyed this interview and would like to support Track of Words, you can leave a tip on my Ko-Fi page. Warhammer 40k is fundamentally a pulpy setting, but Crowley does an exceptional job wringing pathos from what seem to be a fairly flat caricature in the form of the Necrons. The author has made sure to load up this book with a ton of detail, information and settings unique to this massive franchise, and fans will no doubt love immersing themselves in this cool lore.

Tonally different to Crowley’s previous Necron work, as well as Rath’s Necron novel, Ruin has a lightness running throughout it that belies the profound sadness it sometimes has; it’s easy reading but isn’t afraid to get heavy on the pseudo-science or actual emotional heft. Hekatic" usually refers to warp sorcery; but as Necrons never mastered the warp it's definitely something else.

This immortality involved ‘biotransference’ – giving the necrontyr (all of them) advanced self-repairing metal bodies and in the process incinerating their mortal organic forms . The outcome of the conflict actually surprised me and it also impressed me due to the sheer martial ability of the Necrons. Nate Crowley impresses in his debut Black Library novel with a book that is as much a Shakespeare-ian horror novel about the struggles of a dynasty of 65 million year old, presumably soulless robots as it is a nuanced metaphor for the ways we cope with trauma and mental illness. I'm excited to read the sequel; I'm sure it'll be just as strong, filled with both excitement and intellect.

If you’re already a fan, you’ll recognise all the units, wargear, and esoteric technologies found on the tabletop woven into with a deeper exploration of their inner lives and culture.He’s done something much harder and requiring considerably more skill, which is to open the mind of the reader to the reality of being Necron. For all that, the Necrons are on another level when it comes to technology, especially compared to the Imperials. But worse, much worse, is to come as those Orks have managed to irritate the Imperium of Man, which has sent a Crusade Fleet to massacre them. This is where I admit that this review is a little indulgent, because I have focused on the aspects of this book that I connected with most as an individuaI reader.

It’s not all cerebral storytelling, mind- there’s no way the author wrote, say, the combat scenes in chapter 17, without anything other than a big stupid grin on his face- they’re so deliciously OTT, taking full advantage of the ridiculous capabilities of high-ranking Necrons. Nate Crowley is also the author of Severed, a novella following our favorite Nemesor and his trusty Varguard, and he's working on a sequel to this book, so it's fairly safe to say that he'll be helming the lore ship of the Necrons for a while.Their range of feelings are the same, their interactions contain recognisable social cues, and they suffer versions of dementia and (extreme) dysphoria. This slowly turns him into a sympathetic and compelling figure, showing him as one of the few nobles to truly care about the future of his people, whole also exploring his concerns about the madness and apathy that could one day claim him.

The publisher, for all it’s recent diminished output, is continuing to accompany it’s traditional (good! Without wanting to spoil too much, I’d say that Ruin is the story of a kingdom’s end, and Reign is the story of a new one being founded.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Necron lore/books, or anyone wanting a perspective that isn’t from the imperium. A twisted horror now lies within the heart of Oltyx’s dynasty, bringing only madness and bloodshed with it. These five subminds each provide different insights to a range of subjects, including doctrine, aliens, combat, strategy, and analytical analysis. Turns out there’s something quite enjoyable about playing a race of slow-moving yet immortal warriors the bulk of which look like Skynet terminators, who when they are destroyed emotionlessly put themselves back together and continue the inexorable march to war; all the while I am gradually bringing systems back online, awakening the might of the necrons, ready to raise the monoliths . Oltyx must contend with the mad Phaeron Unnas, who disowned and disgraced him, as well as Djoseras, the heir who replaced Oltyx,” Nate tells us.