Bad-tempered morons fight everyone

Let me state upfront: I have always had a soft spot for the Fleshtearers. In the Devastation of Baal and other Blood Angels-centred tales, Fleshtearers Chaptermaster Gabriel Seth is a violent, anarchic counterpoint to the cerebral and terribly decent angels, a bit like that weird uncle who shows up drunk at family gatherings and wrecks the place.

Importantly, Seth was always depicted as a man who is the master of his rage: he channels and focuses it before turning it to bear on the Emperor's enemies. The Fleshtearers are borderline insane, but there's a method to their madness. Or there always was, until Wrath Of The Lost.

The Fleshtearers in this story are so far beyond reason, they start to make the World Eaters look vaguely rational by comparison. The suggestion that they could credibly pose a military threat to anyone feels increasingly laughable as this tale goes on. This isn't about the bubble of silliness that surrounds all things w40k — I can live with that, it IS a darkly absurd universe, after all. But every fictional 'verse must have some kind of internal logic to it. And there is none here.

The FTs in this tale are depicted as demented psychopaths who are incapable of interacting with anyone without losing it. Every scene features a Fleshtearer getting irate and wishing to kill the other characters. If that's another space marine, they argue (following orders or respecting the chain of command clearly isn't a thing). If it's one of their mortal thralls, they kill them. Every time. Mortal interrupts you? Kill them. Mortal tells you bad news? Kill them. Mortal points out some important truths that you need to hear because you are in the wrong? Kill them! Mortal just happens to be standing close by when you've gone bonkers and think you're Sanguinius? Kill them!

This quickly goes beyond any notion of grimdark and plunges headlong into the realm of the ludicrous. After all, how could a supposedly elite military outfit function when the staff that all fighting forces rely on to supply them in the field, repair stuff, and get them from A to B are constantly being slaughtered like cattle by their own soldiers?

It's not only ridiculous, it also gets increasingly reprehensible. The slaughter of menials by the FTs seems to happen in a totally consequence-free environment. After each murder spree is over, nobody mentions it again, not even in passing. It doesn't feel convincing. Even the one mortal who seems to have a decent rapport with her master talks back once too often and gets offed. Afterwards, the space marine responsible doesn't even pause for a moment's reflection or regret. These are supposed to be the Emperor's angels. We know the Fleshtearers aren't the Ultramarines, but the way they are depicted here, they treat baseline humans as nothing more than cattle. Thralls be guaranteed better treatment on a Night Lords vessel. That's how bizarre the levels of abuse get.

So self-reflection and becoming a better person are clearly not the Fleshtearer way — redemption arcs are for cowards! But that's just the beginning: Wrath of The Lost is littered with details that makes no sense in terms of the story or the lore. Take their petulant inability to follow basic orders, and flat refusal of any tactic that isn't charging directly into melee combat. The fact that the main characters are Primaris marines who've spent decades as pseudo-Ultramarines in the Indomitus Crusade, yet they act like a bunch of savages with the impulse control of toddlers. None of it makes any sense, and stuff like that annoys me.

All the main characters in this are reprehensible and without any redeeming virtues, yet we are expected to care about their mission to reclaim their fortress monastery and their lost relics. I couldn't have cared less, by halfway, I was rooting for the thralls to rise up and murder them all.

Even monsters must have some redeeming virtues so we can find them likeable in small ways. There's none of that craft in the writing here. I geniunely struggle to understand what the point of Wrath of The Lost is. I feel even Fleshtearers fans who might otherwise consume this uncritically will be disappointed with the depiction of their chapter here. It feels like a waste of everyone's time — including me as the listener, author Chris Forrestor's and poor blameless narrator, Richard Reed. I don't know why this book exists.

11 people found this helpful

Angry marines are angry!

Performance is fantastic. The story however was not for me. All the marines are angry or super angry and it doesn’t work well as a story driver.

1 person found this helpful

A vile chapter

The flesh tearers come across as bad as any chaos company. They clearly care not for mankind. Sanguinius weeps.

1 person found this helpful

The serfs nightmare

This might have been an OK story if it wasn't for the endless killing. These guys are worse then the world eaters ,without the excuse. Ex comunicatos this annoying chapter of space marines.

1 person found this helpful

really poor and boring

really poor and boring
I'd leave this one,there are good Gabriel Seth books and his kin, this is not it trust me

why Black Library do this I've no idea.

Really, really, disappointing- don't waste your £

Such a missed opportunity. Does nothing to build insight into the Chapter and is littered with plot flaws that just make no sense whatsoever, even by the twisted logic of 40k. It feels like the author has no true understanding, or even basic knowledge of 40k and 30k fluff- which is ok- unless you're writing a book about one of the most notorious Chapters of 40K. Games Workshop, please exercise more quality control because you are destroying the Universe you've creating over past 40 years, and without that, what is the point in buying anything from you

Incredibly poor depiction of a chaplain.

Huge fan of the lore of war hammer 40K but this saga would be better off marked as heresy.

Great book

Great book really enjoyed the insight into the chapter
They lack their BA brothers class and nobility

RUBBISH

This is one of the "Space Marine" battles type books that comes across as if it was written by a twelve-year-old on meth.

It has no interesting lore, no character development, no build-up of story, no core characters, no clever twists and turns, no humour and is soooooooo grim dark it just comes across as lame - like when you're trying way waaaaaaaaaay too hard to be cool.

And trying to "cure the thirst" ... I mean come on... like really. Primaris or not, Dante and Mephiston and Cawl all know that the thirst is metaphysical. It isn't in the gene-seed. It can't be cured. It is part and parcel of the Blood legacy... but whatever.

Everyone is unlikeable, they are just moody man-children, that are bad-tempered and complete idiots. I was glad when this book ended and I have listened to hundreds of books from the franchise.

Black Library, hang your heads in shame. It's like you let someone write about the flesh tearers when they hadn't even read the previous blood angels books ... and I even mean the bad Deus series from a few years back, so they could swear to never allow such bad writing to happen again.

We get it, you’re mad.

I’ve read every Flesh Tearer novel and they (Even the bad ones) are all better than this.

This author clearly doesn’t understand the subject matter. I think he wrote a Flesh Tearer short story once, but this is just awful.

If you love Blood Angels and Flesh Tearers avoid this, it will spoil the narrative for you.