| Date: 14 April 2011, 06:24
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Ben Counter's one of my favorite Black Library writers in addition to Dan Abnett and William King. Counter's already written one series of Warhammer 40,000 novels for the Black Library: the excellent Soul Drinkers Saga. Counter added to that by starting a second series that focuses on the daemonhunting, space marine chapter of the Grey Knights. The self-titled intro novel of Counter's second series started off with a bang and kep the foot on the gas.
Dark Adeptus is the second novel in this new series and continues the adventures of Grey Knight Justicar Alaric and the surviving members of his squad. Their mission this time around takes them far from the raging war near the Eye of Terror as Abbadon and his 13th Black Crusade continues its attempt to break through the Imperium's defenses for a bee-line to Terra (Earth). Alaric, his squad, a senior Ordo Malleus Inquisitor and a small Naval fleet are sent to a backwaters system to investigate the sudden appearance of an Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World which had disappeared a century earlier and from a different location.
As soon as they arrive Alaric and his squad senses something terribly wrong about the reappearance of Forge World Chaeronias. This wrong start to their mission becomes even more complicated with the arrival of a Mechanicus ship also sent to investigate the reappearance of one of their own forge worlds. As with all Warhammer 40k novels allies sometimes work as if they're the enemy as each organization work towards their own agenda.
Counter does a good job in continuing the growth of Alaric as a unique character in the 40K universe. He does give Alaric abit more time being a holy crusader as seen in some of Alaric's dialogue, but Counter doesn't go overboard to make the character regress as a character. Counter expertly details the organization of the Adeptus Mechanicus and its relationship with the other groups in the Imperium. The way all these groups vie for control and any little advantage one wonders how the Imperium of Man has survived for 10,000 years.
The action is less epic than Grey Knights despite the epic location in this sequel. The action slowly builds up until the final confrontation in the ash and dune wastes of Chaeronias as Alaric, his squad and his erstwhile Mechanicus allies finally confront the corruption and cause of Chaeronias disappearance and troubles. Dark Adeptus finally gives a good accounting of one of the mysterious details of the Warhammer 40K universe and it involves the Mechanicus and a certain template.
In the end, Ben Counter goes a good job with this sequel to Grey Knights. I would say that it's not right at the same level of quality as Grey Knights, but not to say it's a terrible book. It's actually a very good novel but it just took a different tone than the rip-roaring first novel. Dark Adeptus does help in bringing to light more of the shadowy unreleased details of the 40K universe. I can't wait for Counter to release another novel detailing the exploits of Justicar Alaric and his Grey Knights. I highly recommend this book to fans of Warhammer 40k novels. They won't be disappointed.
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