Pariah: Bequin: Warhammer 40,000, Book 1

(minor) SPOILERS AHEAD:I only got into 40k in the last 18 months but I've dived into the lore as quickly as my bank account coiuld afford to keep enriching GW and this was probably the most satisfying book I've read in all that time.The beginning was honestly a bit of a chore. I actually wondered if my kindle had downloaded the wrong book- more than once. I didn't see the connections to the former trilogies until a looong way into the story, and I was worried that I'd downloaded some 40k/Hogwarts collab/abomination. But eventually, things do start to fall into place and we get a better idea of who's who in our girls life, as well as clues to tell us who's really who!The main plot is heartbreaking. This being 40k, that isn't exactly uncovered ground, but I usually don't feel as sad to see my characters at odds like I did in this novel. When a squad gets massacred by 'nids or one of a group becomes corrupted by chaos and kills all his friends, it's sad but that's just the nature of bolter porn. I was NOT expecting the very different type of betrayal that we saw in Pariah. It works, and I don't think I've been this excited for a sequel in over a decade. And the ending... god damn was the ending satisfying!This ones tough to start but once you've cleared the first hurdle, it's nonstop excitement that was absolutely amazing. This is one I HIGHLY RECOMMEND for any fan.**And given that Eisenhorn's getting a live action show soon and we'll likely have a lot of 40k newbies hearing about the universe, I want to make sure that I mention that this should be read AFTER the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies.

Just finished it, and I'm still rather confused and intrigued. Started out slow, but beautifully discriptive, as Dan Abnett typically is. Started to progress very rapidly about 3/4 of the way through, and ended with some very satisfactory revelations, which promise further intrigue and excitement. I liked it a lot more once you get past the rather slow beginning (slow for anything with Eisenhorn involved, at least).

I first read and reviewed the hardcover copy of this book when it first came out. I reviewed it less favorably then for 2 reasons. 1)Despite the title, this is a Bequin book with little Eisenhorn or Raveneor. 2) My Warhammer lore was mostly just the previous Abnett Inquisitor stories. Having read several more books and not expecting more Eisenhorn I bump the review up a star.

Without giving anything away - this is a story that has several twists and turns that brings me right back into the Abnett universe. So many that I had to re read it to properly place events and characters.

Good storyline which tied together the retinues of the two inquisitors, left me looking forward to the next book!

Good gracious Dan Abnett can write. His stories are works of art. He pulls you in with the environment he creates.

Good enough! But not as advertised.There are 309 confirmed/numbered pages and less then 20 accompanying pages after the last numbered page some of which may not count as pages NO MORE.

Excellent storytelling by Dan Abnett as usual. Eisenhorn/Ravenor fans will not be disappointed.

Another excellent Abnett entry to his Inquisitor series. Warning though - this is not a whole story! It takes its time to introduce (and re-introduce) a good cast of new and familiar characters, and leads them a merry path until they finally start to move towards each other - and then stops! AND HE HASN'T WRITTEN THE FOLLOW UP YET! Still, I very much enjoyed it and there are some spine tingling moments in here for those who are followers of Abnetts other 30/40k works.Read the Eisenhorn trilogy first, then the Ravenor series, then read this, then pop back in time for a bit more Eisenhorn with 'Magos'.. Then wait. Dan is pretty prolific so shouldn't be too long.

Brilliant. I enjoyed this opening book more then even the Eisenhorn or Ravenor stories. It's a slow burn but Dan Abnett once again weaves a believable world for the setting or in this case a city.

I love the two series and found this a very satisfying combination. The storytelling perspective was not what I expected, by worked really well

Having just finished off the book in one sitting, it perhaps goes without saying that, especially for those who enjoyed Eisenhorn and Ravenor, this is certainly a page turner. However, to some extent, I cannot help but feel that it's a page turner for perhaps the wrong reasons.One of the major things I felt was perhaps lacking was the presence of a strong narrative figure, and for whatever reason, the character of Bequin feels just that little bit bland, and I didn't really feel that enough of her character and personality perhaps came across, especially compared to the excellent way that Abnett uses the first person narration in both Ravenor and Eisenhorn to get across a good sense of their characters and feelings while still explaining the world to us; as Bequin has perhaps a less strong personality, I was left somewhat cold and disinterested.The other major problem is that the narrative only encounters the eponymous inquisitors as characters in the last two chapters, and for the most part, the book feels like 85% teasing the reader with relatively little and then gives itself very little time to explore the characters that the reader will presumably have been looking to reconnect with. And while the last three chapters or so are comparatively exciting in terms of the plot twists and new developments, it feels somewhat rushed and under-developed, which is a pity, because the raw material is very good.That being said, there are some excellent elements within the narrative; the emergence of some new characters, especially the Curst Renner, are certainly welcome, and I especially like the sequence that takes place concerning the Grand Pontifex in a large Cathedral-like structure. Furthermore, the development of some of the elements left open at the conclusion of Ravenor and Eisenhorn are gratifying, and the world building is very impressive.Overall, this is a perfectly good Abnett novel which leaves a lot of potential for a good sequel. That being said, I found the balance of the story and pacing a little off, and I fear that like me, people may be frustrated by the teasing nature of Abnett's reveals. While I don't like to think that Abnett's peaked and beginning to decline, I prefer his work pre-Only in Death.

This book is great and doesn't really require anyone to have read the eisenhorn or ravenor trilogies but if you have it's full of little teases and twists which become a little predictable as it runs along but pay off hugely in terms of nostalgia value towards the end of the book. Abnett also applies a lot of new lore taken from his work on the horus heresy series and creates a twisting tale with a huge scope. Unfortunately much like the original ravenor book this does feel a little like an excercise in setting up the next two parts of the trilogy and has a few minor plot holes which hopefully will be better explained later.