Battle of the Fang: Space Marine Battles: Warhammer 40,000

Before reading Battle of the Fang I'd highly recommend Prospero Burns from the Heresy series first, while the storyline in the two books isn't really specifically linked in any way the Heresy book introduces the concept of the almost 'rebooted' Space Wolves which Battle of the Fang continues rather than linking in with any of the two existing Space Wolves omnibus. A quick couple of tips for reading Prospero Burns, despite the title don't expect many battle scenes and be patient with it as a lot of the book doesn't fit together until you reach the end. That aside Chris Wraight does a good job continuing the new more serious and less stereotypical version of the Space Wolves which are far more credible than the previous version, as I'd enjoyed Prospero Burns I've been looking forward to Battle of the Fang for a while and it's been worth the wait.The general structure of the book is quite similar to Storm of Iron giving a mix of viewpoints from the Space Wolves, their 'mortal' warriors and the attacking enemy which is certainly not at all bad as that book in my opinion is one of the better WH40K novels. As you'd expect from the title and the series it's in much of the book is devoted to battles and combat but the author manages to keep the book going at a good pace without it getting stale as I find happens in some of the other prolonged battles in other novels. Unfortunately a bit like the Heresy novels you can tell from the start which characters are going to survive and which probably aren't based on whether they're known characters or not but it doesn't spoil the book too much. As given away by the cover, Bjorn the Fell-handed is part of the book and given the awe and respect his character deserves and in fact I'd say the dreadnoughts were one of the highlights of the book. Too often I feel the dreadnoughts are a bit misunderstood as just walking tanks or given minor roles which don't fit in well with them being the finest warriors to have served in the chapter left in hibernation for many years only to be woken when the chapter is in great peril. The author combines the sheer power of the dreadnought chassis combined with the misery for the sole occupant trapped inside. Similarly the Terminator marines are suitably well depicted as the huge powerful warriors bigger even than the usual 'Sky Warriors', throughout the book there's a mix of 'mortal' warriors alongside the Marines to give a view of the Astartes from our point of view although the book never dwells too long on that aspect and is the better for it.In short, I'd highly recommend Battle of the Fang particularly having spent half the day finishing it off rather than the couple of chapters I intended.

After reading the exceptional thousand sons in the horus heresy and taking the side of the soon to be traitor legion the thousand sons I really wanted to know more about their fall and what happened many years after the wolves torched their home world. This is my one and only space wolves book and despite difficulty initially with the 'vikings in space' theme i got from it i have to say i enjoyed it. The sons are a shadow of their former selves and thirst for vengeance and who could blame them after being humiliated and virtually destroyed for trying to stop horus with their powers. The wolves deserve a taste of their own medicine and they get it. The sons are so dwindled in ranks that they have used their powers to produce the rubric marines which are like ghosts in space marine armour which are controlled by a sorcerer thousand son. They still suffer the change if they over use their powers so in many ways they are a doomed legion but interestingly you find out about the wolves own genetic impurities and how they are doomed as well in the grand scheme of things. The battles are grisly close up affairs as super humans batter other super humans to a pulp and the magic dances with great effect as the mighty fallen are woken to protect the fang from invaders. I think i wanted more thousand sons stuff so i was going to be a bit disappointed with this as this is first and foremost about the wolves of fenris. I did get into it about 200 pages in and enjoyed the carnage untill the end but i find the viking space wolves all bark and no bite (pardon the pun). I didnt find any of the main loyal marines particularly fun to follow...infact the best bits were centered around the wolves guard contingent and how they felt about their masters. Actually thats harsh the best bits were the run up to magnus doing anything in this book (the thousand sons primarch).To sum up a good standalone book but im just not a wolf fan....sorry.

I've read pretty much every W40K book out there and this is certainly one of my favourites. I've found some of the other SMB books a little childish if I'm honest, seeming aimed at younger teenage boys. This however, I thought had much more depth and a very interesting story that both supports the HH series and is entertaining in its own right. The characters are varied and brought to life thorough some good writing and the scenes and easily visualised for the same reason. I must confess to the two Legions / Chapters involved being my favourites (pre-Heresy 1000 Sons - what a fantastic position for story telling they find themselves in - the hypocrisy of the Imperium personified) so I may be a bit biased.The only real criticisms I would have is the end ---SPOILER---- All the main protagonists are eliminated in quick succession in a few pages. I accept the primarch turning up and going through the Wolves like a dose of salts is a good story turn and would likely turn the tide of battle, but it all just seems a little rushed. All this time taken up developing the characters and then suddenly - he's dead, so's he, and him, and him. all gone. The end. This is a minor point though as overall I loved the book, it just means 4 stars instead of 5.