Tag Archives: The Beast Arises

The Beheading – Guy Haley (The Beast Arises Book Twelve)

This is the final book in the series, so beware – if you haven’t read all of the other eleven books, there may be spoilers ahead…

Black Library’s The Beast Arises series comes to an end with book twelve, Guy Haley’s The Beheading. After the heroics of Shadow of Ullanor the Imperium is still reeling and in need of leadership, but the High Lords of Terra have proved themselves unequal to the task. Elsewhere First Captain Zerberyn and Warsmith Kalkator are still battling against the orks, while back on Terra, Inquisitors Wienand and Veritus are laying plans against the ambitions of Grand Master Vangorich. All the while, Chapter Master Thane of the reformed Imperial Fists seems the obvious candidate to lead the Imperium forward…
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Shadow of Ullanor – Rob Sanders (The Beast Arises Book Eleven)

IMPORTANT: This is book eleven in a series – there will be spoilers unless you’ve read I Am Slaughter, Predator, Prey, The Emperor Expects, The Last Wall, Throneworld, Echoes of the Long War, The Hunt for Vulkan, The Beast Must Die, Watchers in Death or The Last Son of Dorn.

Shadow of Ullanor is the eleventh, and penultimate, book in The Beast Arises series, and Rob Sanders’ second contribution after the excellent Predator, Prey. After the disastrous end to The Last Son of Dorn, the Imperium stands on the edge of the abyss. Gathering together on Inwit for a solemn Festival of Blades, the Imperial Fists successor chapters form a plan which will honour their First Founding chapter and see one last, all-in attempt to end the greenskin menace once and for all. Meanwhile First Captain Zerberyn begins to see the implications of his alliance with the Iron Warriors.
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The Last Son of Dorn – David Guymer (The Beast Arises Book Ten)

IMPORTANT: This is book ten in a series – there will be spoilers unless you’ve read I Am Slaughter, Predator, Prey, The Emperor Expects, The Last Wall, Throneworld, Echoes of the Long War, The Hunt for Vulkan, The Beast Must Die or Watchers in Death.

The Beast Arises reaches book ten of twelve with David Guymer’s The Last Son of Dorn, his second in the series. After the disastrous events of The Beast Must Die and the subsequent regrouping in Watchers in Death, Lord Commander Koorland now has a plan to defeat the Beast, albeit a desperate and as yet untested one. Making good use of the newly formed Deathwatch and the once-mythical Sisters of Silence he sets out on what is essentially a dry run, as his forces return to some familiar locations with something specific in mind.
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Watchers In Death – David Annandale (The Beast Arises Book Nine)

IMPORTANT: This is book nine in a series – there will be spoilers unless you’ve read I Am Slaughter; Predator, Prey; The Emperor Expects; The Last Wall; Throneworld; Echoes of the Long War, The Hunt for Vulkan or The Beast Must Die.

The ninth book in Black Library’s The Beast Arises series, Watchers in Death is David Annandale’s third and final contribution, following on closely from Gav Thorpe’s The Beast Must Die. With the Primarch Vulkan lost on Ullanor and the remaining Space Marine forces having taken a pounding, Koorland finds inspiration in an unlikely source, leading to a decision that’s as unpopular amongst the High Lords as it is inevitable given the title of this book. With the fate of The Beast unknown but the attack moon over Terra broadcasting terror across the airwaves, Koorland’s new tactics provide a glimmer of hope for the Imperium.
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The Beast Must Die – Gav Thorpe (The Beast Arises Book Eight)

IMPORTANT: This is book eight in a series – there will be spoilers unless you’ve read I Am Slaughter; Predator, Prey; The Emperor Expects; The Last Wall; Throneworld; Echoes of the Long War or The Hunt for Vulkan.

We hit book 8 in Black Library’s The Beast Arises series with Gav Thorpe’s second in the series, The Beast Must Die. We’re two thirds of the way in now, and with the return of the primarch Vulkan the Imperium finally has a chance to strike a decisive blow against the invading orks. With a withdrawn and brooding Vulkan as figurehead and Koorland reluctantly calling the shots, a combined force the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the Heresy besieges legendary Ullanor in an attempt to bring The Beast to battle and kill the ork warlord. Simultaneously, unwilling to trust to brute force Vangorich secretly makes his own plans for dealing with The Beast.
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The Hunt for Vulkan – David Annandale (The Beast Arises Book Seven)

IMPORTANT: This is book seven in a series – there will be spoilers unless you’ve read I Am Slaughter; Predator, Prey; The Emperor Expects; The Last Wall; Throneworld or Echoes of the Long War.

Black Library’s ongoing The Beast Arises series moves one step closer to completion with book 7, David Annandale’s The Hunt for Vulkan. Annandale’s second contribution to the series, it focuses primarily on Chapter Master Koorland of the Imperial Fists who, after forcing the Adeptus Mechanicus to reveal the origin of the ork invasion – legendary Ullanor, calls for aid from other First Founding chapters. Recognising that the Imperium needs a powerful figurehead if they are to strike at the heart of The Beast’s forces, an unlikely source points him in the direction of a mythical figure who might just fit the bill.
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Echoes of the Long War – David Guymer (The Beast Arises Book Six)

Echoes of the Long War, book six in the Beast Arises series and the first from David Guymer, sees the halfway point in this twelve book series. Picking things up after the events of Throneworld it focuses mostly on the Fists Exemplar, specifically newly-promoted First Captain Zerberyn as he he drags the Exemplar fleet into battle with the orks in support of Black Templar Marshal Magneric and his unusual allies. Elsewhere we see Koorland and Vangorich attempting to take control of the situation back on Terra, and Magos Urquidex conspiring against his Martian masters, feeding information back to Vangorich.
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Throneworld – Guy Haley (The Beast Arises Book Five)

IMPORTANT: This is book five in a series – there will be spoilers unless you’ve read I Am Slaughter, Predator, Prey, The Emperor Expects or The Last Wall.

Black Library’s The Beast Arises series continues with book five, Throneworld by Guy Haley. Following on from the disastrous events of The Last Wall, it sees the ork attack moon still looming in orbit over Terra and the High Lords paralysed by fear, while a troupe of Harlequins emerges from the Webway into the Imperial Palace in search of an audience with The Emperor himself. Meanwhile in the Phall system the Imperial Fist successor chapters gather their strength to form the Last Wall, in preparation for striking back at the orks. As Koorland leads a largely unified force to the defence of a conflicted Terra, elsewhere Marshall Magneric of the Black Templars pursues the Iron Warriors of Warsmith Kalkatos right into the teeth of the oncoming orks.
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The Last Wall – David Annandale (The Beast Arises Book Four)

IMPORTANT: This is book four in a series – there will be spoilers unless you’ve read I Am Slaughter, Predator, Prey or The Emperor Expects.

For book four in Black Library’s The Beast Arises series – The Last Wall – the baton passes to David Annandale to carry on the story started by Dan Abnett and continued by Rob Sanders and Gav Thorpe. At this point in the series Terra’s reeling from the shock of an ork moon appearing in orbit – with the Navy much too far away to intervene and the Imperial Fists wiped out, the home world is left essentially defenceless. Much to the relief of the population, and the bafflement of the High Lords, the orks don’t immediately attack, which gives Juskina Tull – Speaker for the Chartist Captains – the opportunity to put into action an audacious plan to arm the population and take on the attack moon with sheer weight of numbers.
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The Emperor Expects – Gav Thorpe (The Beast Arises Book 3)

IMPORTANT: This is book three in a series, so if you haven’t read I Am Slaughter or Predator, Prey you may find spoilers below.

Book three in Black Library’s The Beast Arises series, The Emperor Expects sees the reins handed over to Gav Thorpe for the first proper look at the Imperial Navy during this time of intense upheaval for the Imperium. The spotlight falls on Captain Rafal Kulik of the Colossus as he navigates the treacherous waters of naval politics, caught between two antagonistic fleet admirals as the Navy launches a desperate assault on an ork attack moon. Meanwhile the politicking continues amongst the High Lords back on Terra, while Second Captain Koorland – sole surviving Imperial Fist – calls a gathering of power that hasn’t been seen for a thousand years.
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