Honourbound

Rachel Harrison’s debut Black Library novel, Honourbound follows on from several excellent short stories and features Commissar Severina Raine serving with the 11th Antari Rifles as part of the decades-long Bale Stars Crusade. As Raine and the Antari grind their way to hard-fought victories over the chaos cult known as the Sighted, the stress of constant attritional warfare starts to show – even on the resolute Commissar. With the Sighted changing tactics and darkness forming within the Crusade, Raine knows that her faith and determination will be tested like never before as she wrestles with the implications of her past and the dangers of the present.

Similarities with other Commissar-featuring Imperial Guard series are only superficial, as Raine is very different to famous names like Gaunt, Cain or Yarrick and it’s clear that an awful lot of work has gone into developing a rich history and identity for the Antari and the key characters in this story. It’s a big old book (380+ pages in hardback) and the dialogue does occasionally dip into a slightly over-formal style, but any minor niggles are quickly forgotten amidst the compelling drama unfolding as Harrison explores this fascinating little corner of the 40k universe. For anyone with even a passing interest in the conflicted, bruised and battered, human realities of life for the Imperial Guard (as well as in a rollicking war story), this should be right at the top of the list. It’s that good.

I’ll start off by saying that you need to pay attention as there is a lot going on in this book. On the face of it you’d think ‘dark science-fiction because it’s Warhammer 40,000’. What you get is dark science-fiction with and undercurrent of military mystery/thriller style plot.

Just based on the writing, it was one I expected to hate. It is written in present tense and that really grated on me to start with. So much so that I nearly broke my own ‘thou shalt not DNF’ rule. What I didn’t expect was for the writing style to become so familiar that I barely noticed it at all and it did not inhibit my enjoyment of the book.

And enjoy it I did. As I said, there is so much going on in this novel and so many interesting characters that each has plotlines of their own going on in the background. My main gripe regarding characters would be that, considering it is a series named after Severina Raine, the commissar herself doesn’t feel like she takes up much of the spotlight. In fact, if I had gone into this reading it without any idea of series title, I’d have assumed the main character focuses would be Wyck, Lydia Zane or Arden Fel. Those three had the more interesting plot arcs and depth of character and seemed to eat up more of the words than Raine; who’s only real page time was normally spent remembering her fallen family members. Just feel as though more could be done with her character.

My main non-character gripe would be that it just didn’t feel like a Warhammer 40,000 novel. None of the main tropes/jargon are ever mentioned in more than a passing word, if at all. So you barely ever hear the word ‘Chaos’ or ‘Warp and, I’m venturing a guess into my memory here, but I don’t think the words Imperial Guard or Astra Militarum are used. If they are, it’s so infrequent that it doesn’t commit to memory. To be quite honest; if you were to remove every mention of the God Emperor of Mankind and give the book to someone that hates Warhammer, they would enjoy it. As it just feels like a general science fiction novel that has ever so gently dipped its toe into the Warhammer 40,000 pond.

My main complaints aside, I really enjoyed this when I got stuck into it, which is why I scored it so highly. I even found myself spending more time reading than I normally do just to get through it. The run up to the ending was pretty intense and handled well. I’ll certainly look towards future books in the series with interest, but would hope that they have a more 40,000 feel to them than this offering.

A stellar book filled to the brim with action, bloody mayhem, and tension. Honourbound is one of those books that just refused to be put down. I was enthralled page after page, and I can't wait to read more from Harrison.

There will be link to a full review added here later. For a debut novel this was an absolute amazing read! Settings, lore, the people involved, Harrison did an amazing job. Thank you Black Library and NetGalley for accepting my request to read. This novel deserves to be praised!

Cracking read from a very promising author. Earmarked for further review in our Brave New Words podcast.

Amazing, especially in a debut novel.
Very good and recommended if you are tired of the same old Black Library titles.

Good world builidng and adds further depth to the people of the Imperium. Dark and gritty and relatable