The sixth instalment in Black Library’s Space Marine Conquests series, Andy Clark’s Fist of the Imperium gives the boys in yellow their moment in the post-Dark Imperium spotlight. The mining world of Ghyre is protected by an Imperial Fists honour guard, but when rising unrest prompts a call for reinforcements from the Chapter, a cult worshipping the mysterious ‘Father’ rises up in planet-wide rebellion. Forced by circumstance into taking command of the Imperial forces, Primaris Librarian Aster Lydorran has to contend with not just a coordinated and well-equipped insurgency driven by a prodigious psychic presence, but also Ghyre’s pampered, dithering, divided ruling elite. Moving quickly to take control of the situation, he rapidly realises that there’s more to this uprising than just initial appearances suggested.
Known for their indomitability and skill at defending sieges, the Fists are not ideally suited to a war which takes place without a fixed battlefield. Described by Lydorran himself as being “traditionalists, stiff-necked and slow to change”, their methodical nature is as much a hindrance as a strength in this context, and the plethora of pacy action sequences demonstrate both the Fists’ undeniable martial prowess and the damage that their direct, heavy-handed attempts to cut to the core of the uprising does to local morale and goodwill. Many of the set-pieces are tremendously enjoyable (an early scene in which Lydorran borrows some wheels is breathlessly fantastic) at face value, but they also show how the Fists are unwittingly playing into the hands of the cult. To the reader, the enemy that Lydorran and his brothers face is quite evident, especially when seen through the eyes of the cult’s Magus, Phoenecia Jai, but for the Fists it only gradually becomes clear exactly what they’re facing and what the implications are.
As a powerful but relatively inexperienced Primaris Marine, Lydorran makes for an entertaining protagonist in contrast to his more rigid first-generation brothers (several of whom get viewpoint scenes), with a perspective that avoids a little of the over-formal speech patterns which Marines sometimes suffer from. While his psychic powers focus on the geokinetic, he prides himself on his insight and empathy, on understanding those around him, but even he finds it hard to truly recognise what the Fists’ presence means to Ghyre’s citizens. The cult relies on empowering the oppressed, tapping into the anger of a people whose supposed protectors seem to be causing indiscriminate damage, so that even while Lydorran has to contend with resistance from Ghyre’s ruling classes to his tactics, and intense self-recrimination for his inability to bring the campaign to a swift end, he’s gradually forced to adjust his thinking to properly understand his foe and recognise how to combat them.
It’s a book which puts the Imperial Fists front and centre, but at the same time takes them out of their element, ably demonstrating that they’re about more than just defending fortresses. For long-term 40k fans it’s an opportunity to see the Fists on the front foot (albeit in an awkward situation) and genuinely challenged by a determined and capable enemy, with a little bit of the usual (for this series) exploration of how Primaris Marines affect the dynamics within the Chapter. Key protagonists not knowing that they face a genestealer cult does require a slight additional suspension of disbelief, but it also emphasises the overarching (very 40k) theme of characters coming to understand the cost incurred by the Imperium’s determination to do whatever it takes to find victory. If it’s a little predictable in some respects, it gleefully confounds expectations in others, and while it and doesn’t quite capture the fun factor of some of Clark’s other stories, it’s nevertheless an enjoyable and satisfying story which should make a good entry point for newer fans to the more action-oriented 40k novels.
Click here to buy Fist of the Imperium (or here for the audiobook version).