Teaser

Chaos takes many forms. For the followers of Slaanesh, that form is indulgence. The Traitor Astartes of the Emperor’s Children seek pleasure in all its forms, and for Xantine, nothing is more pleasurable than the pursuit of perfection . . .

Review

Mike Brooks’ Harrowmaster arrived back in 2022, and though it bore the banner Renegades, I assumed it was a standalone novel. After all, there was no sign of another book in the series for more than a year. Things in publishing move slowly, however, and two years on we have our second Renegades novel. Not a direct continuation of the Alpha Legion’s story, but a story along a similar vein. This time we’re looking at the Emperor’s Children – a Slanneshi group rather than a Tzeentchian one, which leads me to suspect that the followers of Khorne and Nurgle will someday have their day in the sun. It also marks the novel debut of Rich McCormick, one of many authors rising up through the short story ranks of recent Black Library anthologies.

This is a bit of a weird book, both to read and to review, because what happens in the text is quite different to what is suggested by the back cover. As such, it’s unfulfilling in terms of the promise of the blurb, but with surprising depth that isn’t hinted at there.

From the back copy, I was anticipating the story of Chaos worshippers taking over an Imperial world, restructuring it according to their whims. That does happen at around the one third mark, after quite a slow build-up, and immediately before a significant time jump. This means much of the restructuring takes place outside of the reader’s experience. There are some very interesting debates and political wranglings over the course of a few chapters, but aside from one (hilariously) grovelling politician, the concerns of the masses are broadly swept aside.

In favour of what? I hear you ask. Well, that’s where we get to the good news. What fills Lord of Excess‘s pages once Xantine and company are on the surface is a brutal sequence of betrayals as Chaos turns upon itself in a fashion to make Dragonlance readers proud. The Emperor’s Children are all fully-drawn and well-realised characters, each ludicrously evil and corrupted in their own hideous way. There’s a certain grim satisfaction in seeing them turn against each other one by one as agendas come into conflict and everyone is out for their own personal gain.

At the same time, the horror afflicting the everyday citizens of the Empire is hammered home chapter after chapter. Chaos Space Marines, Imperial authorities, even Genestealer cults, everyone seeks to shape the world to their own ambitions. The one thing they all have in common is an utter lack of concern for the little people they crush underfoot. It’s not placed front and centre, but this element of the book drives home the total hopelessness of the forty-first millennium.

It may not have been the book I was expecting to read, but Lord of Excess is well worth a look if you like your grimdark infused with Chaos.

Book Stats

• Renegades #2
• Focuses on the Chaos Space Marines
• First Published 2024 by Black Library
• 314 Pages