When the world of Armageddon is attacked by orks, the Black Templars Space Marine Chapter are amongst those sent to liberate it. Chaplain Grimaldus and a band of Black Templars are charged with the defence of Hive Helsreach from the xenos invaders in one of the many battlezones. But as the orks numbers grow and the Space Marines dwindle, Grimaldus faces a desperate last stand in an Imperial temple. Determined to sell their lives dearly, will the Black Templars hold on long enough to be reinforced, or will their sacrifice ultimately be in vain.
- Black Library.com
While I am familiar on a basic level with the Black Templars I don’t know all the details of the major characters, so walking in to this novel I’m almost a BT newbie.
In a lot of ways, Black Templars are the epitome of what many folks consider Space Marines – borderline psychopathic, bio-engineered supermen who kill in the name of the crusade and the Emperor. Period, full stop. Have no doubts boys and girls, these guys are bastards. The comparison scenes with the Salamanders Chapter was telling: the Salamanders are one of the most humane of chapters – protecting the citizens is kept firmly in mind. For the Black Templars, its going off to kill stuff and why are these damn civilians in the way?!? Grimaldus is pretty much the worst and the best of these. His detachment is telling; you can see how a person has been altered in such a way that they are really no longer human anymore – ...
