Word Bearers: The Omnibus

Violent. Poetic. Exciting. A worthy read. Fourteen more words. Um... Blood red armor. Demon talons. Doom. Towers, bells. Doom. Bolters. Blood. Doom.

Long time Warhammer fantasy and 40K fan...This is one of the best Warhammer books I have ever read.There is everything in this omnibus...Titans, huge land battles, Tech Magos, Spaceship battles, Loyalist vs. Traitor marines, Eldar, Deamons, Tyranids, Necron, Imperial soldiers....you get the idea.If you want an all encompassing look into the Warhammer 40k world, this is a great book!Not to mention it was VERY interesting reading from the Chaos Marine viewpoint (my favorite Chaos book before this was Storm of Iron).I am partial to the Empire of mankind so even though I enjoyed the stories, I could not root for the traitors and was torn reading the book as literally millions of loyal citizens and dozens of venerable heroes are wiped out in the face of Chaos cruelty.I read some reviews where there was some detailed criticsm.There are very few fantasy or modern SciFi novels that are literary masterpieces and this is not one of them. But I am pretty critical and I thought all the stories were extremely well written. The battles and events took me in my mind to those places so I consider that to be a key success when reading.For the Warhammer enthusiast, I can't imagine that this omnibus would not be loved for the content of the stories alone.This book will stay on my shelves as a loved collector's piece and loved read. I highly recommend it.

Finally, a Word Bearers novel! Oh, and there are three(four) stories in it! It's very good in that it's prospective is very WBearer-esque, but the lack of Marine on Marine violence is disturbing. I never liked Lorgar's legion, as I felt they never really had a specialty besides their faith and fervor, but in a galaxy filled with Marines that have the same attributes.. eh..? Overall, pretty average, plenty of guardsmen fatalities, if you're into that sort of thing.

A great book for those interested in the word bearers and what they have been doing since the horus heresy.

The Word Bearers are a legion of the infamous Chaos Space Marines, genetically enhanced super-soldiers who betrayed their Emperor in favor of the gods of Chaos for reasons I'm not going to get into. The ranks of the traitors are many and varied, from the foaming-at-the-mouth World Eaters to the stoic and eerie Thousand Sons. The Word Bearers are a middle-of-the-road bunch of incredibly powerful killers, favoring a unified approach to the Chaos god foursome over following a single deity. While twisted and warped, theirs is a doctrine based on faith, and the potential is there to examine and explore what motivates and perpetuates the hearts and minds of those bound to such a doctrine.I spent most of Dark Apostle, the first book in the omnibus, waiting for these ideas to arise, then I waited for the story to get going. For a long time, Anthony Reynolds introduces us to characters and begins fleshing them out just before killing them, often in a rather grotesque fashion befitting the grim darkness of Warhammer 40,000's dark future. If a character doesn't die and isn't a Chaos Space Marine, than something even more horrible is going to happen to them the next time we see them. It does something that is the death knell of just about any work: it makes things dull. The repetition not only defangs the entire enterprise right from the start, it kills the story's momentum and throws the pace way off. On top of this inherent flaw, the main characters, the Word Bearers of the title, are also dull and uninteresting. Their rivalries are flat and boring, and their battles are unexciting. A lot of bolters get fired into a lot of chests and a lot of faceless humans are killed instantly by this. Reynolds just really likes to talk about it.Dark Disciple began, and to be honest, I was waiting for a twist. If the first novel was just so much 'bolter porn' to draw in some of the target audience of the miniatures game, perhaps the author was setting things up to become more interesting later on. Perhaps this is part of my disappointment, expecting this sort of development, as it never showed up. More bolter fire, more pointless characters, more dull and uninteresting ranting on how weak the false Emperor is and how his followers need to suffer as gloriously as possible. The story has no momentum, the characters have little motivation, and stakes never escalate, meaning the ultimate end of this tedious tale is a tedious ending. Considering all the things that could be done with warrior-priests of Warhammer's interesting pantheon of Chaos gods, the disappointment merely deepens.I must confess I only read the first few pages of Dark Creed. I was not invested in any of the characters. I was not interested in how the plot was developing. Reynolds had had two whole novels to engage me, and had failed utterly in doing so. I actually started to feel anger at the book in my hands, which somehow had stumbled into publication likely due to its licensed tie-in nature, and its author, who really should have known better than to waste so much time with this absolutely interminable dreck. For a cadre of warriors chosen by both the Emperor and the Chaos gods for their faith and their skill in battle, there's no real conflict to be had in any of this story, not in any of the three novels. There's no scheming by or on behalf of the Chaos gods, no interesting rivalry or betrayal within the ranks as they vie for position, nothing. Everything plays out in the most flat and boring ways possible, any potentially engaging plotting or characterization is smacked down almost the moment it's raised, and even possessed chainswords and face-violating tentacle masks can't save this entire omnibus from being a complete waste of time.With all of the potential tension and rivalries between the Chaos gods, the inherent dichotomy of the nature of faith with the nature of perpetual warfare, and the colorful history of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Word Bearers Omnibus could have been an interesting work of licensed fiction. It could have cast the villains of many a tale in this setting as complex, diverse characters instead of just heretics to be gunned down. Instead, we get over 700 pages of pointless gore and meandering plot that goes nowhere and adds nothing to either the overall fabric of the universe nor our lives. Save yourself the time and money this omnibus would waste, and skip it. I hear there are better novels on the Word Bearers in the Horus Heresy series, and I may check those out. This, however, shames the followers of Chaos, and the devotees of the dark gods should likely destroy it on sight. I could see followers of Khorne, especially, getting so pissed at its go-nowhere story and flat, dull characters that they start eating it.

I am a huge fan of the Space Marines and after reading all the others it was time to read one from the enemy perspective. Yes, I've probably read all the space marines books I can find. However, I don't like the books without space marines. So, chances are if it has space marines I have read it. If its about the eldar or imperial navy, I have probably not read it.This book is excellent. It conveys chaos space marines brilliantly. Well organized, well written, with enough suspense to keep you interested and intrigue to keep you guessing. This is a must read for a warhammer 40k fan.

This is an amazing omnibus. I have always loved Dark Apostle because it was the only book to get into the true nitty gritty of what Hellish nightmares the powers of Chaos can unleash. You discover all the pain and suffering along with one character and you find yourself truly rooting for the main characters, as dark and horrid as they are, due to their perspective and personalities. A must read for any fan of the "traitor" Astartes, all the more so for a fan of the awesome Word Bearers legion.

As someone who has like Chaos but had no previous experience with the Word Bearers I did not know what to expect when I first ordered this book. In the end I was surprised to find one of my favorite Chaos books so far along with later First Heretic and the Night Lords. This Omnibus does an excellent job portraying the incredible faith that followers of the Chaos Gods can posses as well as making the Word Bearers clear and distinct from any of the other Chaos legions. This Omnibus was a great read and I would highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in Chaos!

I am a self confessed imperial guard man. I feel you can understand the regular ground pounders much more than advanced bio genetic soilders or some such advanced and heavily armoured beast. I like to dabble in other areas of the 40k universe now and again and recently i went back to the quite frankly at times awful horus heresy. There i read a monster of a book called the first heretic by aaron dembski-bowden. This was what i wanted and answers some really prudent questions like why a legion would turn their back on their brothers. If you have read first heretic you will be in for a treat here as this compilation of books inside this omnibus shows how far the word bearers have come (or fallen depending on your views) since the heresy. Ok i loved this book and even if you havent read heretic you will love it too. Book one entitled dark apostle lays the ground work for the new main character marduk. He believes he is destined for great things and maneuvers himself accordingly. As this is book one it was hard to warm to the new perspective and i was infact hoping the imperial guard characters would prevail as chaos takes a planet for some evil purpose in mind. The action is relentless and bloodthirsty as the book kind of asks you to take sides with your favorite character. All are conniving and conspiring against one another as is the chaos way of going up the ranks as well as being able to torch entire planets and blow heads off with bolter fire. At the end of the book i was warming to marduk and wanted more. The second book dark discipline is the gem of the book as it is a far tighter read. After the mass planet action of book 1 here we have a word bearer hit squad comprised of marduk and the main characters who after learning about an artifact which could potentially turn the tide for all forces of chaos drop planet side to get more info. Again the action is pure bolter porn and it is so glorious as it truly never stops.At the end of book two you start to think that maybe chaos can win....forever.Book 3 ends the mayhem (briefly i hope) as using the tech and info at hand the word bearers lay siege in force to a heavily protected and warp vital system.A fitting end for now. The short story at the end gives some indepth views on how one of the main chaos characters has fallen from grace and although i guessed the ending very quickly its wonderfully done.Buy this book...its got more action per page than most of my 40 k collection. Spread the word.

Whilst the series of books starts off slightly below par, it only gets better. Like the TV series Dexter about a 'likeable' serial killer, the reader is constantly wondering where they stand with the main character here. There is plenty of grit, blood and bolters. Just the right amount, not too much, not too little. A great addition to the 40K panoply.

Death to the False Emperor.Awesome book. Gives more of an insight into the Word Bearers Legion.

Great service, book arrived in time and looks like it’s brand new out from the printshop, can’t fault these guys , I’m definitely goi g to use again , well recommended, and if I could give more stars I would!

Excellent series of novels in one book. Going to enjoy reading this. Secure packing.