Grey Knights (Warhammer 40,000 Novels) (ISBN 1844160874)

A great story with a couple annoying problems (3.5 stars):
As an avid reader of Black Library fiction, Ben Counter is a bit of a confusing author to me. He writes with the vicious streak that you need to write with to accurately represent the type of sci-fi/fantasy war found in these books, and you'll never be able to accuse Counter of assembling a story without a plot. And this book is extremely well-paced. On the other hand, there are some elements of his work in this book that seem very derivative; the main character is extraordinarily dull, and Counter sometimes seems a little bit too focused on the superhuman abilities of Space Marines. And, heck yes, they're supposed to be superhuman. I understand that, believe me. The Grey Knights are awesome, as well, with their shields of faith projected around them and their massive halberds as hand-to-hand weapons. It's hard not to think the Chapter is cool, as not one member of it has ever fallen to Chaos (one of the primary antagonists in the world of WH40k). They are demon slayers. Nothing in these descriptions says that they have to be wooden with no distinct personality characteristics. Literally the only way to tell Alaric, the main character, from the other Marines is that the book focuses on him. I'm told that in the Soul Drinker stories, Counter does a better job with his Space Marine protagonists' personalities, and that's good. It doesn't show up here, though. The main plot of the story is Alaric and his fellow Knights must stop the reappearing of an ancient, immensely powerful demon and the man who would summon it, an ex-Inquisitor named Valinov. I have no problem at all with this plot, as it's generally very well paced and executed. That doesn't mean it doesn't have some annoyingly derivative parts. Is anyone else here a big fan of Inquisitors? I am, and what I don't understand about Black Library stories about them in general is why authors find the need to have so many of them cross the line into Chaos worship. Don't get me wrong, Inquisitors work in higher-risk situations than probably anybody in the Imperium in this universe, but jeez, if they're going to be given all this authority...shouldn't they be trained to reject Chaos? What I'm saying is that this has been done before. Valinov is an ex-Inquisitor, and in this book there's another character closely related to the Inquisition who--surprise!--falls down the path of Chaos despite there never really being anything that would suggest he/she would be weak enough to let it happen. I can only assume that Dan Abnett and Ben Counter have differing views on how corruptable people are. In Abnett's books, one can avoid corruption by the "Armour of Contempt" and apparently that ain't true here. You can fall to Chaos despite working feverently against it and hating what it stands for. I'm rambing, and probably being too negative. Alaric is kind of a wooden character but a passable hero nonetheless, and the human (not Space Marine) characters that Counter crafts are all very good. It's kind of like watching a movie with a bad lead and a great supporting cast. They don't quite compensate for Alaric's Wooden Marine impression, but it helps the book move along better and helps you immerse yourself in the twisting plot. The final battle scenes are very well done and, as I've said before, Counter writes with the mean streak that you want to see from an author of a 40K book. Overall, I give this book 3.5 stars, as the positives really outweigh the negatives to make this an altogether fun read. Nothing special, but fun. Dark Adeptus, the second book in the GK series, isn't nearly as good, but I heartily recommend this one.

Newbie to the Warhammer 40k Universe:
This was the first Warhammer 40k book that I had ever read. I knew of the game, having played it, but I never read any of the books. I'm glad that I choose this one to read. I tend to be more interested in fantasy books rather then sci-fi, but this book has a nice neutrality about it. The story was strong and character development was nice. If for nothing else, the first chapter alone is wicked awesome. Highly recommend it to anyone looking to read some books in the Warhammer 40k universe.

Grey Knights:
This book is well written. This is a great read if you enjoy military science fiction. You do not have to be a Warhammer player to enjoy this book. The author does a great job of blending a military science fiction with a more ancient crusading order in a battle against demonic powers. The main characters a Grey Knight leader and a Imperium Inquisitor are well written and make this book hard to put down. The book also gives Grey Knight players a great understanding of the units they are playing and what campaigns they might fight in and likely tactics and other special abilities they might employ.

An Exciting Read with Llittle Filler:
This novel by Ben Counter takes a look at a somewhat different Space Marines chapter: The Grey Knights chapter, Daemon Hunters of the Imperium's Inquisition known as the Ordo Malleus. The main character of the book is Justicar Alaric, a Grey Knight who is opinionated on matters and can see things for what they are. The story revolves around Alaric and his Grey Knights squads investigating the returning of a demon named Ghargatuloth from banishment. Don't worry, that isn't a spoiler because Counter uses the first chapter to get the entire back story laid with the original battle against the demon. This allows Counter to eliminate the need to add back story in each chapter and get down to the action. Speaking of action, there is plenty of that. Nearly every chapter has action at some point, and what chapters do not contain useful and interesting plot devices and story. Expect a few twists in the story, but that's all I'm going to say about that. There is rarely a dull moment in this book, and outside the normal driving forces of the space marines, the characters, both main, supporting and even the one time appearances are different and concise. One of the things about the Grey Knights that separates them from the other Space Marine's is that they are much more personable; they are not the two dimensional personas that more than a few Space Marine's characters are. This allows you to connect much more with the characters. Granted, because they are Space Marine's there isnt a whole lot to them, but they all can think for themselves and have their own thoughts they are not afraid to speak about. If you don't know much about the Warhammer 40k universe, I myself am new to it, don't worry. Counter explains enough about it to get you along without boring you with chapters of background and history. As an example, another Space Marine's chapter that I knew nothing about makes an appearance. Within a few pages I knew everything I needed to to understand them and their driving force. Counter's writing itself is clear and concise. He is good at describing objects and situations so you can get a good grasp of what he has pictured rather quickly. He is also capable of getting a description across in a few sentences rather than a few paragraphs, that leaves more room for what readers are really looking for in intrigue and action. Grey Knights is a fun read, with little filler and lot's of action. Each chapter is almost it's own little side story at times. You don't need to read into the background of the Warhammer 40k universe to understand it, often a problem with such books that follow such a concise and expansive universe. I would recommend this book, even if you're not into Warhammer 40k, as despite being over 400 pages it moves rather fast.

A very good book.:
Grey Knights by Ben Counter is a very good book. The Grey Knights are daemon hunters and are a new space marine chapter. Ben Counter has again written a very exciting story that has lots of action and intrigue. He has also done a great job at developing the main characters into believable and personable people yet he does so in a clear and concise way. I recommend this book.