Book Review – Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha

After my recent interview with David Annandale, I was naturally curious about his writing. The first book from him, just released, is Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha.

It is one of the short, 120-odd page novellas that Black Library has started publishing recently (e.g. Dark Vengeance the Novel). It is also bloody brilliant.

Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha is 120 pages of Warhammer 40K perfection.

From the ashes of the Second War of Armageddon a hero of the Imperium emerged. War-torn and bloody, Commissar Yarrick swore vengeance on the beast that escaped his righteous wrath, the despoiler of Armageddon – Ghazghkull Thraka.

Tracking down the ork warlord to the desolate world of Golgotha, Yarrick leads an armoured company to destroy the beast but does not reckon on Thraka’s cunning. Ambushed, his army all but destroyed, Yarrick is captured and awakes to find himself aboard the beast’s space hulk facing a fate worse than death…

#1 – The Book

This is not a full novel. Chains of Golgotha is what Black Library labels a ‘Novella’.

For £ 12,- you get 120-odd pages in a hard-cover binding (including colour maps on the insides of the cover in the front and back). The pages are slightly larger than the Black Library paperbacks, but so is the font and spacing, giving it about the same length as 100 to 120 pages would in a trusty old Black Library mass-paperback.

#2 – The Story

Other  Black Library novellas, such as the recent ‘The Flesh of Cretacia’, often feel constraint by the limited space of 120 pages. Not so ‘Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha’.

Without giving away all the fun, this is a masterfully crafted little story. It starts with Sebastian Yarrick, the Legend of Armageddon, at the head of the Golgatha crusade in pursuit of his eternal nemesis Ghazghkull Thraka.

Yet the Prophet of the Waaagh! turns the tables on Yarrick. One by one, the commissar is stripped of his Titans, his army, his last tank, down to the lowest point he has ever been. And from there, for the second half of the book, he fights his way back in the second half of the book, proving himself worthy of the legend of Commissar Yarrick, feared by the Orks.

#3 – The Characters

Taking on famous characters such as Yarrick and Ghaz would be a challenge for any author, more so for a new Black Library author. David Annandale steps it up by writing the entire thing from the first-person perspective, mostly of Yarrick himself. And it works! In my humble opinion, he really knocked it out of the ballpark with his debut Black Library book.

This is a great Imperial Guard story. Annandale absolutely nails Yarrick, finding the right mix of obsession, self-reflection and cold-bloodedness for the Commissar. He also writes interesting side characters. They don’t have the depth of, say, Gaunt’s Ghosts (this being only 120 pages), but there are some memorable turns even among the secondary cast.

More importantly, Chains of Golgotha is an absolutely brilliant Ghazghkull Thaka story!

Annandale has a slightly unusual take on the Orks. They don’t get any direct speech (no “Ork-talk” anywhere) and are largely described through the first-person perspective of the Imperials. But his approach pays off in the end in the most brilliant way possible!

#4 – The Writing

With David Annandale being a new author (to Black Library at least), I thought I’d say a few things about his style of writing.

The first thing I noticed is, as said, the first-person PoV, mostly from Yarrick, but also on occasion from some of the other characters. This is not something I expected from Black Library, but I barely noticed it anymore towards the end. It works very well for the story.

The second thing I noticed is that Annandale has a very vivid, often metaphorical way or writing: Ships make planet fall with the resonance of a beat on a funeral drum. Explosions tear through walls like the blossoming of a steel flower.

A few times, I felt he overdid it just a bit. By and large however, this worked very well, creating vivid and memorable scenes without long-winded descriptions or exposition.

The story certainly clips along nicely and kept me turning page after page after page.

#5 – The Conclusion

There is little else I can add (without massively spoiling it all). You really should go out and read this one. ‘Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha’ is 120 pages of Warhammer 40K perfection. Hell, the last few pages alone are Warhammer 40K distilled to its absolute purest form.

Welcome to Black Library Mr. Annandale. I cannot wait to read more from you!