I loved it, absolutely a 4.5 star read. It had a couple of pacing issues in the first third that caused it to feel a little longer than it needed to, but other than that, just a phenominal space opera. It would be crude to say that Nate has ‘humanised’ Necrons – he hasn’t. He’s done something much harder and requiring considerably more skill, which is to open the mind of the reader to the reality of being Necron. He deftly hooks us into the pride, the fear, the horror of existing throughout the cold expanse of aeons and what remains of who you are when your physical self has gone. The line to get your attention is ‘Ancient Egyptian-styled alien androids’. But if you want just a little more to go on, here’s a simplified primer. The Twice-Dead King' was originally conceived as a single novel, but grew in the telling and was eventually split into a duology of two books, 'Ruin' and the follow-up 'Reign'. Both books do feel distinct and have satisfying endings all by themselves, but are one story split in half, so don't worry if a number of interesting secondary characters are seemingly abandoned halfway through Ruin - they'll all get their due in the sequel. It so many of those good good space opera tropes I love: dynasty and honor causing family conflicts to span millennia and across planets, disgraced second sons in exile, decaying empires, the works.

The flayer curse, which can turn any Necron into a wretch consumed with an irrational obsession with flesh and blood, features very heavily in the story – and it led to some of the most harrowing scenes I’ve ever written,” he explains. The Necrons are the Warhammers Undead race like in traditional fantasy but because its Warhammer they mixed them with terminators and threw in Egyptian mythology and out came a wholly original alien species. The mythos is well crafted and a ton of fun and the protagonist in this book is well written and you care for him and want him to succeed. That's right you care for an undead terminator with multiple personalities if that is not enough to make you realize this was well written I'm not sure what is. The juxtaposition of absurd humour and tragic melancholy that Crowley finds here lends this a tone and feel that simply couldn’t have come from any other author. On the surface there’s plenty to enjoy in the depiction of necron dynastic life, the contrast between the necrons and the orks, and Oltyx’s general viewpoint on the ‘upstart species’, but dig deeper and this is really a sad story about the loss of memory and identity, about legacy and what’s worth fighting for, and about the dangers of relying too much on tradition and getting caught up in the past. These necrons may be virtually indestructible and in many ways very alien, but they’re incredibly relatable too. The human (and transhuman) denizens of the Imperium may be the main focus of the overall 40k setting, but this just goes to show that the non-human viewpoints in 40k have just as much to say too. The Necron lord Oltyx has finally ascended to the throne of the Ithakas Dynasty - on a battleship fleeing the ruins of his crownworld. With the Imperium behind him and a hideous curse festering in the bowels of his ship, will Oltyx be able to find salvation? [2] Sources But can we talk specifically about the ending, and how it low-key changes/enhances a pretty large part of Necron lore? We've had multiple references, since 5th edition, of Valgul the Bone King, and his kingdom of flayers on Drazak.First of all, he is really funny. The necrons are a weird bunch, and Crowley is really good at finding curious observations, strange contrasts to human characters and absurd situations in the ultimately tragic material he writes about. Barely a chapter went by without a quotable line or a laugh-out-loud paragraph.

It’s not all cerebral storytelling, mind- there’s no way the author wrote, say, the combat scenes in chapter 17, without anything other than a big stupid grin on his face- they’re so deliciously OTT, taking full advantage of the ridiculous capabilities of high-ranking Necrons. Everything is set up really nicely for the story to be continued, but it works well as a stand-alone novel, one where some knowledge of the setting would be desirable but not essential. Ruin is the first novel in The Twice-Dead King series, which looks set to explore the Necrons and their place in the current Warhammer 40K universe. This was the second Warhammer 40K novel from author Nate Crowley, who previously released the intriguing Ork-centric novel, Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh!, as well as several short stories/novellas set in the universe. Crowley makes full use of his talent for getting into the mind of fictional aliens to create an excellent and enjoyable read that I had a wonderful time listening to. Amazing fiction that got it all: A catching adventure of the most sophisticated undead, spiced up with occasional horror, sudden humor and unexpected moments of all too humane emotion. I had the time of my life creating the characters who populate this story, and they’re an eclectic bunch. Oltyx must contend with the mad Phaeron Unnas, who disowned and disgraced him, as well as Djoseras, the heir who replaced Oltyx,” Nate tells us.Thanks to Nate for speaking to us a second time – we really can’t wait to get under the Necrodermis.