Chapter War (Warhammer 40,000) (ISBN 1844164586)

Good if you like the series; stale and confused otherwise.:
This book typifies a trend in the Black Library fiction ... cram as many plot elements into the story as you can, tune up the gunfire, and let the reader slog through it to get to the good stuff. The result, as the other two reviewers point out, is a confused story arc that has a good 75 pages of distractions in it -- this is a book about Space Marines and loyalty ... so why throw page after page of ork psychology at me? Just write a book on the orcs instead ... The really strong book in this series was the second one, where the Inquistor's pursuit made sense. But in many ways Counter is himself a victim of his own plot: Why do the Soul Drinkers keep hopping from needless battle to needless battle? To sell more books, of course.

A Fair Continuation of the Storyline, which is starting to seem stale:
Well, it was fun while it lasted. In the SOUL DRINKERS OMNIBUS, which collected the first three books in this series, I was thoroughly entertained by Ben Counter's three novels about the rogue Space Marine Chapter that throws off the yoke of the Imperium in order to do what they feel is the Emperor's will. The first book thanks to the fresh idea of an Emperor-loyal but outcast Chapter, and Sarpedon and his marines were well fleshed out. There are no doubt some people that believe that Space Marines should be wooden heroes. I believe there's a happy medium between the characters being human and wooden. Thus, the adventures chronicled in the second book continued to be interesting. The Bleeding Chalice, the third volume, had its quirks, but was nonetheless an entertaining brawl with some excellent scenes. Now we have Chapter War, the fourth book of the series, and if you're like me you'll probably buy this book anyway despite the mediocre reviews. You'll want to know how Sarpedon and Eumenes and Luko and Graevus press on in the harsh WH40k universe out to get them. I won't discourage that. Just know that this book isn't really much more but "pressing forward." The storyline is sketchy at best, as it's really hard to figure out the motivation of the Soul Drinkers for heading to the planet of Vanqualis. The theme of being honor-bound to defend the emperor's ideals yet not now to the Imperium was fresh once, and now it seems blind and dogmatic. Furthermore, the title is deceptive as the actual "Chapter War" is not the main conflict for much the time. Couple this all with the fact that Counter introduces some interesting human characters and then proceeds to pointlessly kill them off, and you're left wondering why spent so much time away from the Soul Drinkers themselves. As mentioned in another review, I could care less about reading about Orks. And one last thing. One of my favorite characters in this series dies, and it does absolutely no justice to the depth and resourcefulness of his character up until then. I just don't get it: it's almost as if Counter got tired of having him around. This book is fine, really, but absolutely nothing special. It's very hard to see this series continuing, unless we can move on to another theme very soon.

Fell way short of its potential...:
I've read all of the Soul Drinkers novels and have been a big fan. However, after reading the first two, this series has gone nowhere but down-hill. This newest edition, "Chapter War," has a VERY weak plot, and filled with too many gaps. Mr. Counter must have been in a real hurry when writing this, or really didn't put ANY thought into the plot/story structure do to indifference or lack of care. Too many twists, turns, ups and downs, that did not add-up, or make any sense. I found Sarpedon, the Chapter Master, though very caring, determined, and protective of his men to be quite dim-witted. At one point in the book, I was actually rooting for the poor-dumb-b&*#@ & d to die. What aggravates me so much was that there was so much potential for this book/series. I was really excited at the prospect that the Soul Drinkers might incorporate a Penal Legion into their family, and do something meaningful. But, again, it was a let-down, and I regret the three hours of my life, lost, and wasted to reading this book....

best:
Book was awesome great suspense. twists and turns are very sneaky an overall a terrific book.

Ben Counter again delivers more scum for the BL.:
A number of reviews mention how happy people were with the original Soul Drinkers novels. Personally after reading the clunky battle scenes, incosistent fluff and the outrageous behaviour of nearly every character ( the =\c\o= in book two was fairly well developed however). The only reason I picked up this novel is I cant leave a series half finished and the emotive front cover and recent editions to the Horus HEresy Saga made me feel that Counter may rate a little higher. If you were a fan of the previous novels I believe that this has not fallen far under the pace of the last novels nor those who do not enjoy more.... water tight fluff for the 41st millenium. If new to the W40K world i suggest the Eisenhorn trilogy followed by Gaunts Ghosts and Brothers of the Snake for a more realistic portrayl of Marines. I was wrong, the plot lines, yes lines, are difficult to follow as characters are removed and added with joyous abandon that leaves you reeling as to why an Ork Warlord is somewhat human, whythe traitors easily gained control and what conflict between The old and new chapter.