The Blood Angels Omnibus: James Swallow (Part One: Deus Encarmine)

Blood Angels Omnibus: James Swallow

Part One: Deus Encarmine

In this two-book sequence, author James Swallow brings the Blood Angels chapter to life. In an epic story of heroisim, corruption and betrayal, battle-brothers Rafen and Arkio find themselves pitted against each other in a battle for the very soul of the Chapter.

When Brother Arkio claims to be a reincarnation of Sanguinius, the Blood Angel's spiritual father, the message is clear: Follow me or die. Rafen kneels before Arkio and swears an oath of devotion - but the words are ashes in his mouth, and in his heart, he knows that he and his brother will have a reckoning that only one of them will surrive...

Okay, here's my first review of an Omnibus and I'm going to do it in two parts. Having spent the last day reading Deus Encarmine, the first part in the Blood Angels omnibus, I decided to review it. Now, back to the story. Being the first Blood Angels novel, and I being such a fan of the Blood Angels, I had to read it.

It's a tale of two brothers, Rafen and Arkio, Rafen being the older brother, and the more experienced, but after a battle on Cybele and the invasion by the Word Bearers, Arkio leads a stirring counter attack to drive the Chaos Marines from their homeworld.

Shortly after there are whispers. Whispers that Arkio may be a incarnation of the Primarch, Sanguinius. But I'm not going to give you away everything, you'll going to have to read and find out yourself. When I read This omnibus, It was easy to spot the differences that the Blood Angels had from another chapter, rather than in some other books, as they've got a lust for battle and it shows a great example of the Black Rage.

This book also introduces the bad-ass Inquisitor Stele, ally of the Blood Angels, and a whole host of memorable charachters. Unlike when I reviewed Battle for the Aybss, I couldn't remember the charachters names after the novel. However, in this, I can. I can even name a Sergeant who's a secondary charachter: Sergeant Koris, who plays the role of Rafen's mentor.

High Point: Seeing Blood Angels in fiction, the charachters being memorable and Rafen's choice: Loyalty to the Blood Angels or his brother. If you were in that position, what would you choose?

Low Point: Too action packed, If I might say. Even though it was a fantastic book, there seemed to be lots of fighting in the first half of Deus Encarmine, but I'm only nitpicking, as I like action.

Rating: 9/10 Great book, and enjoyed it a lot.

Should you buy this book: Yes, If you want to see some Blood Angel action!