Most true fans of 40K know the essence of the Rynn’s World tale: An entire chapter - the Crimson Fists - teeters on the brink of extinction. By the three minutes to midnight that is the unending ‘now’ of 40K - that is the final days of the 41st millennium - the chapter has only partially recovered. So in a sense this is the origin story not of the chapter per se, but of the chapter as we know it.
The story begins with a chapter that has time for ceremonies and is apparently secure in its numbers, prowess and fief. Kantor, Cortez and other characters are introduced, and we also see the chapter’s serfs and broader human government of Rynn’s World.
Things move slowly at this point. I could see what Parker was constructing in these early chapters but I did feel a sense of laboured foundation. Furthermore the view is top-down. Even the serfs – who are called “Chosen” in this story – were presented from the point of view of their leadership.
The action moves to the disaster at Badlanding, which is a foretaste of the bad fortunes to come. The Ork warlord Snagrod comes upon Rynn’s World and displays a reckless cunning that is typically Orky and yet still takes the space marines by surprise.
Parker’s prose is clear and his dialogue is strong. Too many character-driven moments from the supporting cast, however, go nowhere...
In time you realise that their moments were just there to indirectly develop situations and thoughts for the more major characters - in particular: the complex, strained yet close relationship, between Kantor and Cortez, the two most famous canonical characters. Nonetheless I felt some opportunities were lost.
The big thing that Parker pushes is the conundrum of the Ceres Protocol, which describes a general order that all is secondary to the survival of the chapter – the obvious consequence being that self-sacrifice is not an option. This is very well presented in a critical moment in the story when Pedro and Cortez’s friendship nearly snaps over how to deal with refugees.
Alessio Cortez is completely badass in this novel. He fulfils a lot of the hunger for righteous retribution, leaving Kantor as the more balanced personality. Put simply, it is very clear why Cortez is the chapter’s point man and why Pedro Kantor is master of the chapter. No other character comes close to the moral authority that Pedro Kantor exudes – his authority utterly bereft of arrogance. He is the perfect leader and he gets his hands very dirty in the story.
Speaking of dirty… these Orks are not the Orks of, say, Deff Skwadron.
It’s been said before that Orks are only funny in a universe that doesn’t have them…. And that is so true in this novel. These Orks are extremely nasty. Don’t look for hearty laddish guffaws, because they aren’t there.
The climax feels like a contemporary war story. It’s an epic commando raid of few against many and it’s just good pulp space action.
I won’t rank it with a number because I’m of the opinion that such rankings don’t do justice to stories, but I will say that Rynn’s World is solid 40K fare throughout and well worth a read, and I’d feel good about reading more by Mr Steve Parker.
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