40k Review: Blood Gorgons by Henry Zou
Blood Gorgons is an excellent look into the life of a Chaos Space Marine chapter, where danger just as often comes from inside the ranks of the chapter as from filthy loyalists or icky xenos.
As the book opens we join the Blood Gorgons’ chapter master Gammadin on a mission to the chapter held world world Belasia. It turns out that Gammadin is actually walking right into a trap set by his own head sorcerer Anko Muhr and as the trap is sprung the Blood Gorgons suddenly find themselves leaderless.
Due to past history of the Blood Gorgons, which has seen much infighting in the chapter, it’s not long before tensions are so thick that you could cut them with a chainsword. Hovering above it all is Muhr as he weaves his web of lies and deception, conspiring with powerful allies to secure his new position of power.
The story of Blood Gorgons is very well put together and has an excellent pacing that had me always wanting to read just one more chapter to find out what happened next in the devious power struggle.
It’s refreshing to read a Warhammer 40k book that manages to keep itself exciting and engaging without cramming in a lot of well known 40k characters to try to make itself interesting and epic.
Henry Zou manages to create some excellent Chaos Space Marine characters that feel very believably corrupted and callous, without taking it over the top and making them seem like monsters that butcher kittens for breakfast just for giggles. It’s very interesting to dive into the thought processes that drive a traitor Space Marine.
Blood Gorgons is also a good book for newcomers to enjoy, as the story is pretty self contained and generally does not reference much Warhammer 40k lore that is not explained or is self evident in the book itself. Particularly because it does such a good job of profiling Chaos Space Marines and how they operate (with the caveat that there is of course a very big difference from one Chaos Space Marine chapter to the other) it’s a great read for someone new to the Warhammer 40k universe.
If you’re interested in Chaos Space Marines in particularly then you can easily add an extra point to my verdict, but even if you don’t consider these traitorous fallen champions to be your cup of amsec I would still recommend that you give Blood Gorgons a chance.
Final score 4/5
What’s your favorite Chaos Space Marine focused Warhammer 40k novel?
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