Listen free for 30 days
-
Mephiston: Blood of Sanguinius
- Mephiston: Warhammer 40,000, Book 1
- Narrated by: Richard Reed
- Series: Mephiston: Warhammer 40,000, Book 1
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £29.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Mephiston: The Revenant Crusade
- Mephiston, Book 2: Warhammer 40,000
- By: Darius Hinks
- Narrated by: Richard Reed
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the Great Rift tears the galaxy apart, portents and darkness beset Mephiston. At the time when he needs his psychic sight the most, the chief librarian's powers are rendered blind. Haunted by the ghosts of the damned, their purpose unclear, Mephiston takes his ship the Blood Oath and the Blood Angels in his charge to the world of Morsus, where he believes the source of his psychic blindness is to be found. But Morsus is embroiled in conflict too, a longstanding struggle between the Imperium and some of its most ancient foes called the Revenant Crusade.
-
-
2nd book, twice the story
- By Robert Brown on 09-08-20
-
Knights of Macragge
- Warhammer 40,000
- By: Nick Kyme
- Narrated by: Richard Reed
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The primarch Roboute Guilliman of the Ultramarines has returned in the galaxy’s hour of need, and all muster to his Indomitus Crusade to hold back the darkness. Amongst these heroes is Cato Sicarius, Master of the Watch and vaunted captain of Second Company. Disaster befalls Sicarius and his brave warriors as their ship, the Emperor’s Will, is lost to the hellish warp, its entire crew believed slain. But Sicarius endures, though he and his men are fighting for their very survival against the denizens of the Great Rift - the daemons and renegades of Chaos.
-
-
Pleasantly surprised
- By dave on 06-11-20
-
Darkness in the Blood
- Blood Angels: Warhammer 40,000
- By: Guy Haley
- Narrated by: Richard Reed
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The galaxy is in flames. Chaos is in the ascendant across the stars. The Great Rift has split the holdings of the Imperium in twain, isolating entire sectors from the light of Holy Terra. But all hope is not lost. The Primarch Roboute Guilliman has returned from deathless sleep and appointed Commander Dante, lord of the Blood Angels, as Regent and Warden of the newly dubbed Imperium Nihilus. In the Baal system, the shattered holding of the Chapter is being rebuilt, and Dante plans the greatest campaign of his long life, to retake half an empire.
-
-
Great but not on the same level as DoB or Dante
- By B. L. Pinches on 20-11-20
-
Soul Wars
- Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Book 1
- By: Josh Reynolds
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is said that all who live belong ultimately to the Undying King. In the shadowy lands of Shyish, Nagash, God of Death, calls forth his soulless legions to reassert his dominion. His dread advance begins with the free city of Glymmsforge, bastion of Azyr in the Realm of Death. Standing between Nagash and his prize are the brooding Anvils of the Heldenhammer, an ancient host of Stormcast Eternals, and Lord-Castellant Pharus Thaum, guardian of the Ten Thousand Tombs. As battles between the living and the dead rage throughout the Mortal Realms, the War of Heaven and Death begins anew.
-
-
Immerses you in the lore of Soul Wars
- By Tom Adams on 20-04-19
-
Traitor Rock
- Warhammer 40,000
- By: Justin D Hill
- Narrated by: Colleen Prandergast
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cadia, 10,000 years a stalwart bastion against Chaos, is broken. Its collapse at the hands of Abaddon and the Thirteenth Black Crusade has fractured the Imperium of Man, and in its wake spreads the seeds of heresy, lies and insurrection. It falls to Cadia’s survivors to fight on, bloodied but unyielding, in the name of the Emperor. On the world of Malouri, traitorous forces have retreated to the impregnable island fortress of Crannog Mons.
-
-
Excellent and compelling listen
- By Ed on 11-08-21
-
Dante
- Warhammer 40,000
- By: Guy Haley
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dante is Chapter Master of one of the noblest but most troubled Chapters of Space Marines in the Imperium: the Blood Angels. From the time of his birth in the rad-scarred wastes of Baal Secundus, he was destined for glory and strife. From his apotheosis to Scout, to the hive cities of Armageddon and the alien menace of the Cryptus system, Dante has waged war against all the enemies of the Imperium. He has witnessed the divine, and struggled against the darkness within all sons of Sanguinius.
-
-
Enjoyable drama.
- By Simon Foley on 16-10-17
-
Mephiston: The Revenant Crusade
- Mephiston, Book 2: Warhammer 40,000
- By: Darius Hinks
- Narrated by: Richard Reed
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the Great Rift tears the galaxy apart, portents and darkness beset Mephiston. At the time when he needs his psychic sight the most, the chief librarian's powers are rendered blind. Haunted by the ghosts of the damned, their purpose unclear, Mephiston takes his ship the Blood Oath and the Blood Angels in his charge to the world of Morsus, where he believes the source of his psychic blindness is to be found. But Morsus is embroiled in conflict too, a longstanding struggle between the Imperium and some of its most ancient foes called the Revenant Crusade.
-
-
2nd book, twice the story
- By Robert Brown on 09-08-20
-
Knights of Macragge
- Warhammer 40,000
- By: Nick Kyme
- Narrated by: Richard Reed
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The primarch Roboute Guilliman of the Ultramarines has returned in the galaxy’s hour of need, and all muster to his Indomitus Crusade to hold back the darkness. Amongst these heroes is Cato Sicarius, Master of the Watch and vaunted captain of Second Company. Disaster befalls Sicarius and his brave warriors as their ship, the Emperor’s Will, is lost to the hellish warp, its entire crew believed slain. But Sicarius endures, though he and his men are fighting for their very survival against the denizens of the Great Rift - the daemons and renegades of Chaos.
-
-
Pleasantly surprised
- By dave on 06-11-20
-
Darkness in the Blood
- Blood Angels: Warhammer 40,000
- By: Guy Haley
- Narrated by: Richard Reed
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The galaxy is in flames. Chaos is in the ascendant across the stars. The Great Rift has split the holdings of the Imperium in twain, isolating entire sectors from the light of Holy Terra. But all hope is not lost. The Primarch Roboute Guilliman has returned from deathless sleep and appointed Commander Dante, lord of the Blood Angels, as Regent and Warden of the newly dubbed Imperium Nihilus. In the Baal system, the shattered holding of the Chapter is being rebuilt, and Dante plans the greatest campaign of his long life, to retake half an empire.
-
-
Great but not on the same level as DoB or Dante
- By B. L. Pinches on 20-11-20
-
Soul Wars
- Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Book 1
- By: Josh Reynolds
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is said that all who live belong ultimately to the Undying King. In the shadowy lands of Shyish, Nagash, God of Death, calls forth his soulless legions to reassert his dominion. His dread advance begins with the free city of Glymmsforge, bastion of Azyr in the Realm of Death. Standing between Nagash and his prize are the brooding Anvils of the Heldenhammer, an ancient host of Stormcast Eternals, and Lord-Castellant Pharus Thaum, guardian of the Ten Thousand Tombs. As battles between the living and the dead rage throughout the Mortal Realms, the War of Heaven and Death begins anew.
-
-
Immerses you in the lore of Soul Wars
- By Tom Adams on 20-04-19
-
Traitor Rock
- Warhammer 40,000
- By: Justin D Hill
- Narrated by: Colleen Prandergast
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cadia, 10,000 years a stalwart bastion against Chaos, is broken. Its collapse at the hands of Abaddon and the Thirteenth Black Crusade has fractured the Imperium of Man, and in its wake spreads the seeds of heresy, lies and insurrection. It falls to Cadia’s survivors to fight on, bloodied but unyielding, in the name of the Emperor. On the world of Malouri, traitorous forces have retreated to the impregnable island fortress of Crannog Mons.
-
-
Excellent and compelling listen
- By Ed on 11-08-21
-
Dante
- Warhammer 40,000
- By: Guy Haley
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dante is Chapter Master of one of the noblest but most troubled Chapters of Space Marines in the Imperium: the Blood Angels. From the time of his birth in the rad-scarred wastes of Baal Secundus, he was destined for glory and strife. From his apotheosis to Scout, to the hive cities of Armageddon and the alien menace of the Cryptus system, Dante has waged war against all the enemies of the Imperium. He has witnessed the divine, and struggled against the darkness within all sons of Sanguinius.
-
-
Enjoyable drama.
- By Simon Foley on 16-10-17
-
The Devastation of Baal
- Space Marine Conquests: Warhammer 40,000, Book 1
- By: Guy Haley
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Blood Angels Chapter of Space Marines is under threat. Having obliterated all human life in the Red Scar region of space, the largest tendril of Hivefleet Leviathan ever seen in the Imperium has converged and is making relentlessly for Baal. To face this awesome foe, Commander Dante has called upon the Successor Chapters of the ancient Ninth Legion. The Sons of Sanguinius gather in numbers not seen since the dark days of the Horus Heresy.
-
-
Nobility and Humanity
- By Ryan Reynolds on 06-08-18
-
Crisis of Faith
- Farsight: Warhammer 40,000, Book 1
- By: Phil Kelly
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott, Helen McAlpine
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Phil Kelly continues his look at the life of Commander Farsight with his first campaign against the full might of the Imperium and shows how the T'au Empire's technological superiority fares against Imperial grit.
-
-
Get it read !
- By ben on 27-01-22
-
Avenging Son
- Dawn of Fire: Warhammer 40,000, Book 1
- By: Guy Haley
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A great darkness has befallen the galaxy, and the armies of Chaos are rampant. To survive, humanity must retaliate and take back what they have lost. By the will of the reborn primarch, Roboute Guilliman, is the Indomitus Crusade launched - a military undertaking that eclipses all others in known history. From the Throneworld of Terra does the Avenging Son hurl his fleets, their mission the very salvation of mankind.
-
-
A Barely Memorable Slog
- By James Cooper on 23-03-21
-
Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar
- Primarchs: The Horus Heresy, Book 1
- By: David Annandale
- Narrated by: Toby Longworth
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long before the coming of the Imperium, the realm of Ultramar was ruled by Roboute Guilliman, the last Battle King of Macragge. Even after learning of his true heritage as a primarch son of the Emperor of Mankind, he strove to expand his domain as efficiently and benevolently as possible, with the XIII Legion Ultramarines as his alone to command.
-
-
5 hours of relentless battle description
- By Mr X on 22-01-21
-
Fulgrim: The Palatine Phoenix
- The Horus Heresy Primarchs, Book 6
- By: Josh Reynolds
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lord of Chemos and bearer of the Palatine Aquila, Fulgrim, primarch of the Emperor’s Children, is determined to take his rightful place in the Great Crusade, whatever the cost. A swordsman without equal, the Phoenician has long studied the art of war and grows impatient to put his skills and those of his loyal followers to a true test. Now, accompanied by only seven of his finest warriors, he seeks to bring a rebellious world into compliance, by any means necessary.
-
-
Another strong entry to the Primarchs series
- By alistair armes on 03-07-21
-
Ghoulslayer
- Warhammer: Age of Sigmar
- By: Darius Hinks
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the bleak, haunted underworld of Shyish, a vengeful Slayer seeks the Lord of Undeath. Gotrek Gurnisson returns, his oaths now ashes alongside the world-that-was, his fury undiminished. Branded with the Master Rune of Grimnir, the God that betrayed him, and joined by Maleneth Witchblade, a former Daughter of Khaine turned agent of the Order of Azyr, the hunt has taken them far and wide through the Realm of Death. Will Gotrek find a path to the Undying King or will the underworlds claim him as their own?
-
-
Exceptional
- By B. Porter on 09-10-19
-
Warlord: Fury of the Godmachine
- Warhammer 40,000
- By: David Annandale
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Battle Titans of the Adeptus Titanicus are towering war engines, striding to war as holy effigies of the Omnissiah. Greatest of all are the mighty Warlord Titans, their weapons bringing righteous death to alien and heretic alike. Still reeling from a near disastrous battle against tyranids, the Pallidus Morr demi-legio is assigned to a new warzone, a nearby forge world which has fallen under the sway of Chaos.
-
-
Titan madness
- By Daniel on 22-12-17
-
Horusian Wars: Resurrection
- Warhammer 40,000, Book 1
- By: John French
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
War rages in the Caradryad Sector. Worlds are falling to madness and rebellion, and the great war machine of the Imperium is moving to counter the threat. Amongst its agents is Inquisitor Covenant. Puritan, psyker, expert swordsman, he reserves an especial hatred for those of his order who would seek to harness the power of Ruin as a weapon. Summoned to an inquisitorial conclave, Covenant believes he has uncovered such a misguided agent and prepares to denounce the heretic Talicto before his fellows.
-
-
Thoroughly entertaining.
- By MothLady on 17-11-17
-
Fabius Bile: Primogenitor
- Warhammer 40,000
- By: Josh Reynolds
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He is known by many names - Clonelord, Manflayer, Primogenitor. He is the epitome of deceit and perversion, and feared by man and monster alike. Once the Chief Apothecary of the Emperor's Children, the madman known as Fabius Bile possesses a knowledge of genetic manipulation second to none.
-
-
Black library
- By Pat on 27-09-17
-
Dark Imperium
- Dark Imperium: Warhammer 40,000, Book 1
- By: Guy Haley
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fell times have come to the galaxy. Cadia has fallen, destroyed by the onslaught of Chaos. A Great Rift in the warp has opened, and from its depths spew daemons and the horrors of Old Night. But all hope is not lost… A hero, long absent, has returned, and with him comes the wrath of the Ultramarines reborn. Roboute Guilliman has arisen to lead the Imperium out of darkness on a crusade the likes of which has not been seen since the fabled days of the Emperor. But never before have the forces of Ruin amassed in such numbers, and nowhere is safe from despoliation.
-
-
Second time around
- By paul sparks on 02-06-21
-
Nightbringer
- The Chronicles of Uriel Ventris: Warhammer 40,000, Book 1
- By: Graham McNeill
- Narrated by: Bruce Mackinnon
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Newly promoted to the captaincy of the Ultramarines Fourth Company, Uriel Ventris leads his warriors to the world of Pavonis, where vicious alien raiders are bringing death and destruction. As Pavonis descends into political turmoil, Uriel and his warriors must battle the xenos as they unravel a plot to unleash an ancient evil buried deep beneath the world - the mysterious and deadly Nightbringer.
-
-
Missing Chapter
- By Pricy on 18-11-20
-
First and Only
- Gaunt's Ghost, Book 1
- By: Dan Abnett
- Narrated by: Toby Longworth
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a thousand years, the Sabbat Worlds have been lost to the Imperium, claimed by the dread powers of Chaos. Now, a mighty crusade seeks to return the sector to Imperial rule. And at the forefront of that crusade are Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only - better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. Trapped in the grinding trench warfare of Fortis Binary, the Ghosts find themselves drawn into a conspiracy to assassinate the crusade’s leader, Warmaster Macaroth.
-
-
Please make the rest of the series into audio!
- By Liam Weight on 29-01-20
Summary
A Blood Angels audiobook.
A religious civil war brings the Blood Angels, commanded by Chief Librarian Mephiston, to a shrine world where they find a mystery that might help Mephiston understand how he survived the Black Rage - and perhaps cure the Blood Angels of their affliction.
Listen to it because:
Delve into the curse of the Blood Angels and how Mephiston survived it, while also exploring notions of faith and the influence of the Emperor on the Imperium of the 41st Millennium.
The story:
The shrine world of Divinatus Prime has become lost to the light of the Astronomican, and no ship can piece its veil. Only the Lord of Death himself, Blood Angels Chief Librarian Mephiston, has any hope of discerning the fate of this once pious world. After enacting a powerful blood ritual, Mephiston and an honour guard of his fellow Blood Angels reach the stricken shrine world to find it seized by religious civil war. Each faction fights for dominance of a potent artefact, the Blade Petrific, said to be wrought by the Emperor Himself. Yet there is more at work here than a mere ideological schism, for Mephiston believes Divinatus Prime could offer answers to how he became the Lord of Death, he who resisted the Black Rage, and possibly even a way to end the curse of ‘the Flaw’ in all Blood Angels.
Written by Darius Hinks.
Narrated by Richard Reed.
More from the same
What listeners say about Mephiston: Blood of Sanguinius
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lertimo
- 16-04-20
You will like this book if you don't like books
Flick through the reviews for 'Mephiston Blood of Sanguinus' on Audible and Amazon and ignore the one line, 5 stars 'great book i recomend it' reviews and anything of the 'you will love it if you like blood angels' variety (an aside, but seriously, who likes or dislikes a book based solely on it's subject matter? It's like someone saying you will enjoy Moby Dick 'if you like whales'). Anyway, flick through the reviews with proper sentences and punctuation and you'll find the following, entirely reasonable criticisms of this Blood Angels romp repeated over and over again:
1) The characters are all dull with no interesting facets to their personalities or internal conflict, etc.
2) Mephiston himself is largely absent (Another digression, but why does Black LIbrary always do this? They constantly title books after subjects who then barely appear in them, and then in the dust-jacket blurb they fail to mention anything about the characters or the plot that actually do feature in the story. I suspect the 'heroic' characters from the tabletop game offer very few creative avenues for authors who know they can't kill them off or have anything really life changing happen to them).
3) Plot - is mostly absent. Just like Mephiston.
4) Full of blatant lore contradictions. Not the gentle retconning that always goes on the W40k universe, but big, annoying mistakes and deviations from basic facts of the lore that make it hard to stay with the story because you constantly want to scream 'but the Blood Angels don't worship the Emperor!!!!'
5) If you don't know who Mephiston is there's really no point to listening. There's no attempt made to explain who he is, it's just assumed we already know. Or care.
6) Writing. Lurches betweens extremes: Fails to explain anything about Mephiston or his purpose and background, then we get journeyman prose, full of expositionary dialogue and words that creative writing teachers constantly strike out of homework in red pen, saying 'No! Show, don't tell'. The usual, absurd hyperbole to describe space marine battles is present too (In one short scene alone, Mephiston 'was like raptor, silent and deadly', 'grasped his sword...as though he were a figure carved into a sarcophagus.' and 'He was like a terrible deity fallen from the heavens to mete out the Emperor's wrath'. Really - all three at once? And what do any of those images actually mean?)
7) Narrator Richard Reed does his best, bless him.
8) Ending - It seems a lot of people got to the end none the wiser about what had actually happened. I was one of them.
The best W40k novels use the 'grimdark' universe to pose some interesting conundrums which in turn are a source of conflict, tragedy and heroism. Think of Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn deciding whether to use chaos to defeat it, the Grey Knights having to destroy a planet in order to save it, Garviel Loken coming to terms with the betrayal of Horus. 'Mephiston' has none of this. It's just a non-book, devoid of ideas. So, 100% recomended "if u dont like books about ideas."
38 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- William
- 26-02-20
still good but not the best
Narrator was incredible and I love Mephiston, the story was lacking to me compared to the other audiobooks - would still recommend and am looking forward to any more of this character
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 10-04-20
It gets so good as it progresses
The first part of the story starts a little confusing if not dull....but then it escalates and escalates to the point of becoming just glorious. Very satisfying as my first audiobook.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- dekboi
- 17-04-22
Mediocre
While not a bad subject matter, in that mephiston and the blood angels are interesting characters, both the writing and narration are lack lustre. The story progresses in fits and starts and mephiston himself is depicted, quite annoyingly at times, as a sort of blundering ditsy protagonist with godlike powers. Worth a look if you really are a blood angels fan or if you are just looking for more space marine stories. The Astorath novel would be a better recommendation.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- theghostoftom
- 04-09-21
A good story, well narrated but not 40K
To elaborate, the story itself is good and the narration great but the writer just does not know 40K lore.
He has Astartes crying out in pain and fear while bleeding out. He has them shocked at towers of bone, feeling sick at massacres and unnerved by crusifiction. He has the GUNSHOT from a plasma pistol put a hole in a humans skull.
I just gave up at the last part. I couldn't suspend my disbelief that this was in the 40K universe anymore.
The whole point of the Astartes is they are psycho conditioned to be numb to all that. They are made to face horror and not be stunned.
Also plasma pistols throw super heated plasma balls, not bullets.
If you don't mind that, it's a bit of a psyker mindbender of a story but well done.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Terry Bonner
- 29-07-21
Fantastic! Didn't want to stop listening!
I'm 1/4 through HH and decided to give this a try. It's the best 40k I've listened to so far. Story is great and easy to follow the different characters and scenes. The narrator is the best I've heard too - actually sounds like he is enjoying telling the story unlike others I've heard. Looking forward to hearing the rest of the series 👍
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Josh Wilson
- 15-01-21
great performance
the reader makes the most of the action, with a lot of vigour. really compelling
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- paul sparks
- 03-01-21
Lord of Death indeed
Darius Hinks has really changed my mind about the Blood Angels as I was never really a fan of the sons of sanguinius but this and the other Mephiston books have made me a fan and I have to say narrating these tales suits Richard Reed perfectly
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kevin O.
- 24-11-20
another awesome installment of the blood angels
another fantastic episode in the history of blood Angel's lore. reading beautifully and catching the characters, it tears you along at a fast paced war of imagination. cant wait for the next.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- alan
- 09-11-20
A Great Blood Angels Novel
Another Great Read from Black Library about a mysterious character that's rarely written about and a chapter who barely gets noticed
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Rooftop
- 06-02-20
Muddled and missleading.
I'ma regular black library reader, so take that into account as my perspective.
The Characters:
The characters here lack depth, regularly seem perplexed by their own setting, and are generally un-compelling. The POV character is unlikable. He is boring, unsympathetic, and lacks the impressive quality that is a staple of most space marines. He is comes across petulant and maybe stupid? In short: He's so bad, he doesn't even rank mentioning in the plot summary. Yikes.
Speaking of characters: Mephiston. OH boy.
Boy o, is this book miss-titled. For being the title character, Mephiston is a non-factor. He is written as overly aloof, in an attempt (I think?) to make him seem mysterious. Instead, his lack of speaking or reacting makes him seem shallow and unappealing. He juts in and out of the story, a bland deus ex machina propelling the story forward, because frankly the plot has no momentum of its own.
Plot: The plot is muddled, and poorly paced. The first half of this book is in need of dire editing -- it is largely flavoring. Creating flavor great idea--- spending half the book on it with no story? Bad. Its exposition over exposition with characters saying what things are like, instead of...y'know having things actually happen. The first real story hooks feel like they being in chapter ...12? Really? Jeez.
Writing: Bog standard Black library witting. Hinks got the warhammer writing manual. Violence is well written, with decent sentence structure. Nothing terrible in that vector, though a bit uninspired, I'd complain about the blood imagery becoming samey, but hey. its the blood angels so I can't complain. All in all workman, like writing. Maybe interesting if its your first 40k book, but comes across as mediocre to me at this point.
Performance: Richard Reed is great, like most BL performers. Good range of voices, Nice pacing.
16 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Skegg
- 11-04-20
Dud
Just a waste of time for me. by the end of the story you just dont care.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- J. Scott
- 24-02-20
Sub Par
Very misleading, Mephiston is not the main character of his own self titled novel. He is a background character, he and the main POV character are soul linked and still next to nothing about Mephiston is gained. Some cringe worthy back story but very rarely do we get to see his thoughts, intentions, or motivations from this link. In trying to make him Batman he was unlikable and unrelatable.
The Blood Angels are not written well in this novel, the rage is missing, the fangs are missing, not blood lust is gone. I'm not expecting flesh tearer levels, but at least something.
The psychers are very underwhelming, they aren't doing the things that even normal human psychers can do like read other people's auras and do mind probes. There are specifics, but I don't want to spoil anything.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Zero
- 29-02-20
Typical Black Library Bait and Switch
If you read the book title and description along with seeing the cover art, you might assume this book is told from Mephiston’s POV. Sadly we don’t get the quality of novel that “Dante” was, learning about Mephiston’s past and present in the first person, rather it’s told from the perspective of a librarian who isn’t even mentioned in the description. If you’ve read any of the Primarch centered books you’ll be used to this bait and switch by now.
Anyway this isn’t the real problem. The young librarian who is the POV is utterly unlikeable throughout the story (as is just about everyone else). He’s arrogant, emotional, and seems to be clueless much of the time about the goings on of the other librarians, despite having been a librarian “many years” and “more than half of his life”. Mephiston is generally the “crazy old wizard” type that mostly mutters to himself, never explains what he’s doing, and ignores everyone around him. Mephiston’s equerry is needlessly a jerk to everyone in general.
On top of this it’s clear Darius Hinks is unaware of some fundamental 40k and Blood Angels lore. First Founding chapters do NOT worship the Emperor, pray to him, or refer to him as a God. Other newer authors have this same problem, and it’s clear no quality control is happening at the BL to ensure consistency. Blood Angels don’t hire artisans to decorate their halls, they ARE artisans. People can not communicate via live broadcast with each other “across the galaxy” (kinda the whole point of astropaths). The list goes on. In some cases it’s just really sloppy writing. In one chapter the librarian is biting someone after it is stated he has his helmet on. Then he takes a massive face wound, and moments later someone seeing his face from afar comments on how perfect it is.
On the upside the general idea behind the story is good. It’s also nice to see “powerful” librarians actually using their psychic abilities. I wish Hinks wouldn’t refer to EVERY ability as “blood” something, blood lightening, blood ritual, blood shield etc. It’s just lazy. Speaking of blood, zero mention of the Red Thirst.
As far as narration goes, the narrator does a much better job than most other BL narrators at putting emotion into his voice. It can be aggravating though when he goes from whispering to yelling if you’re wearing headphones.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- LiGiThims
- 29-02-20
Disappointment
Its not about Mephiston and its not nearly as dynamic and grabbing as Dante's self titiled book or anything eles Blood Angels. You could just as easily remove Mephiston's name, drop in any other librarian, and would get the same result. Mephiston deserves better.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mike
- 28-02-20
Horrible
A story that is psychedelic and more about sorcerers. Less sci-fi and more ridiculous non sensical fantasy. Hard to follow and not a fan of the performance. I’m a huge fan of 40K and AOS, but hated this story more than any other. I thought latest Conquest stories weren’t very good, but this is way e we worse.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lewis Luna
- 06-02-20
Not my favorite on first reading
Didnt enjoy it as much. Will give it another shot...but...will see what happens. i guess
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jared Barry
- 25-09-20
Maybe my expectations were too high going into this one...
About myself, I’ve played Games Workshop games for 15 years or so and really enjoy the 40k setting and lore. After starting to collect Blood Angels I though it would stoke the fire in me to learn more about the chapter and it’s epic heroes.
This book just putters along with a mostly boring plot delivered from the perspective of cardboard grunts with very little depth
Mephiston has a couple fun scenes but mostly this novel is a snoozer.
I understand it’s a challenge to write space marines but GW did it much better in the early Horus Heresy novels.
Voice actor was mostly good but occasionally would do these over the top crazy person voices that were quite jarring and seemed to cause the audio to be much louder each time he switched voice.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jermain Martinez
- 24-03-20
Mephiston is unreal
loved every minute of the story, I can not wait for the next book, purchase it, you won't regret it.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- snozek
- 02-03-20
Hinks is pretty good
Darius Hinks is the author. I have never read any of his work, and having concluded this novel, I would certainly be willing to give him another shot.
Although the beginning of the novel was unnecessarily long, the set up was necessary one way or the other.
Blood Angels are a beloved chapter, and Mephiston is a very popular character. The book however could have been accomplished in 21 instead of 26 chapters.That is as long as they are the chapters at the end, and not the chapters at the beginning.
The overall plot and story are both adequately nuanced and enjoyable.It does not lack for action by any means, but because the nature of the main character is one which revolves largely on psychic power, it seems to lack some of the visceral punch of normal space marine literature.
Note however it is not because the author lacks the ability. The author expresses more than adequate ability to bring home the visceral realities of the grim darkness of the 41st millennium.
The reader is generally very good, yet there are some irritating mispronunciations that bothered me occasionly throughout the story.
It seems as though the book had some curious editing. Some minucia was left in quantity whereas some very helpful information could have been left in or it seems as though it were excised.
The central struggle of the main character is never really resolved in any clear way. This does not mean that we should always get a clear resolution to a problem, but it is more that the Central challenge was kind of forgotten until the last few pages, where it was hand waved away.
4 out of 5 seems a good rating. I bought the book because of the main character. It could have been shorter, But the quality of the writing towards the end of the book was such that the reader did not want to stop the book.
1 person found this helpful