Book Review 102 // War of Secrets (Space Marine Conquests) by Phil Kelly

Welcome! I am back tipping my toe into the secretive world of the Dark Angels. I have read a few Dark Angel novels (LINK) and I am really enjoying the intrigue behind this Chapter/Legion, so a chance to see how they square off with the new Primaris Marines was not to be missed.

Here is the fluff:

Lieutenant Xedro Farren is a Primaris Marine, stronger and more adept than even the Space Marines his brotherhood is sent to fight alongside. As the Dark Angels and the Primaris Marines fight a trauma-scarred force of T’au hellbent on destroying their former allies, the true quarry becomes clear – the shadowy instigator of a psychic curse that could plunge a string of Imperial planets into madness. As worlds burn in the fires of battle, an unthinkable pact is struck, with the Primaris Marines peeling back layer after layer of deceit to find the appalling truth. Can Farren hope to emerge from this web of lies without losing his honour – or come to that, his life?

A decent length novel at 416 pages, War of Secrets by Phil Kelly finally puts Primaris Marines in the pathway of the secretive Dark Angels Chapter. Why is this interesting? I hear you cry. Well in a Chapter built on lies and forbidden lore the last thing you want is some new marines whos loyalty is to Gulliman and Cawl first then the chapter second. This simple difference is the building blocks of this novel. We follow a Primaris squad as they battle the T'au on the world of Saltire Vex. Here we start to see the friction between factions as the Primaris are already noticing that the brothers of the Dark Angels are less than friendly. Slowly as the battles unfold the Primaris Marines begin to realise there is a secondary mission underway, one they are privy to.

Alongside this, we have the T'au forces also up to some civil disobedience (greater good my arse) and of course a Fallen Character causing trouble on a world controlled by an Unforgiven Chapter the Angels of Redemption.

This was a great read and a great way for me to get introduced to the Primaris Marines in general. It is interesting to see how the lore is changing and reshaping into the current 40k lore. I also like to see the T'au becoming a more interesting faction and that the Dark Angels are still far from being the poster boys of 40k. Ultimately it is time to charge up the Hellbalster and burn ourselves some heretics.

Turns out this is apart of a series known as Space Marine Conquests, so I will attempt to seek out the other novels Devastation of Baal and Ashes of Prospero - watch this space.

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