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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was a really intriguing and fun read. There's a lot of things I loved, but also a scarce few things that annoyed me, though not enough to really dampen my love for the book. Overall, it definitely kept my interest, and has made me curious about the rest of the author's work.
So, first of all, this book definitely has more of a lovecraftian feel than most other 40k novels, and indeed, avid readers will catch more than one reference to horror titles that came before. Whether this was indeed horror/terror or however you want to call it is harder to say. The author certainly strove to instill a palpable otherness to most of the tale, one I very much enjoyed.
However, I feel a lot of this is let-down by by the inconclusive ending some threads of the story receive. Which, to be fair, we are warned about from the very start. The book's introduction tells us this in no uncertain terms, and as a narrative device that certainly works, but I don't think that entirely excuses how ultimately pointless a few of the developments feel. Some people have mentioned the book contains a lot of references and connections to other works, and I can't help but wonder if this is why these instances feel so dislocated for a newcomer like me.
The above was my chief disappointment with the book, and the likely reason it does not bear a perfect score.
What the book does best is definitely keeping an interesting feel to the narrative. I feel like the prose was very much on point most of the time, even if some chapters felt a little overlong when taken along with their accompanying testimonies. Not that these are boring, for the most part. Asenath's character might well be one of my favourites in any 40k novel, and I hope we will learn more about her and Mercy some other time. Jonas was a shade less captivating, maybe, though his story was also interesting to follow. It just really didnt feel as inherent to the plot as Asenath's.
In some ways I can't help but wish they had been more at odds with each other, but thats more me daydreaming than any fair judgement to be leveled against a story.
So, first of all, this book definitely has more of a lovecraftian feel than most other 40k novels, and indeed, avid readers will catch more than one reference to horror titles that came before. Whether this was indeed horror/terror or however you want to call it is harder to say. The author certainly strove to instill a palpable otherness to most of the tale, one I very much enjoyed.
However, I feel a lot of this is let-down by by the inconclusive ending some threads of the story receive. Which, to be fair, we are warned about from the very start. The book's introduction tells us this in no uncertain terms, and as a narrative device that certainly works, but I don't think that entirely excuses how ultimately pointless a few of the developments feel. Some people have mentioned the book contains a lot of references and connections to other works, and I can't help but wonder if this is why these instances feel so dislocated for a newcomer like me.
The above was my chief disappointment with the book, and the likely reason it does not bear a perfect score.
What the book does best is definitely keeping an interesting feel to the narrative. I feel like the prose was very much on point most of the time, even if some chapters felt a little overlong when taken along with their accompanying testimonies. Not that these are boring, for the most part. Asenath's character might well be one of my favourites in any 40k novel, and I hope we will learn more about her and Mercy some other time. Jonas was a shade less captivating, maybe, though his story was also interesting to follow. It just really didnt feel as inherent to the plot as Asenath's.
In some ways I can't help but wish they had been more at odds with each other, but thats more me daydreaming than any fair judgement to be leveled against a story.
I get what the author is trying to achieve but it feels forced. Starts off good with nice character development and a very abstract, miasmic descriptions of how chaos shapes world events. Solid horror aspects too, the shrine chapter on the ship ticks this box. There's a lot of development and the story I feel like the story tied up too quickly. The revelations regarding wider mysteries of the coil and the coronatus ring feel a bit underwhelming
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Delightfully bizarre take on Warhammer 40,000 stuff. Could have happily gone in the Warhammer Horror line. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2019/04/25/the-name-of-the-rose-with-more-dakka/
Peter Fehervari’s third novel, Requiem Infernal, continues to develop his Dark Coil metaplot and the complex, intense, interconnected storytelling that defines his work. Many years after leaving her birthplace, the austere home of the Adepta Sororitas of the Last Candle, Sister Asenath Hyades returns seeking answers, and aid for the few survivors of a once-proud Imperial Guard regiment. She finds the holy Candleworld much changed, it’s deepening darkness profoundly challenging her faith as she attempts to unravel its secrets while reluctantly facing up to her chequered past. Her unlikely companions on this testing journey all have their own secrets, and their own parts to play in the ensuing drama.
Fehervari has a unique perspective on the dark heart of the 40k setting, a mind-bending balancing act which takes familiar 40k elements and explores them in wildly different ways. It’s deeply unconventional and won’t appeal to everyone; readers who want to see bombastic, adrenaline-fuelled action bringing the familiar aspects of the setting to life might well find this impenetrable and unfamiliar. For those looking for a story which goes way beyond the battlefield and explores Fehervari’s intriguing corner of the 40k universe, this is an incredibly rewarding read which starts to consolidate much of what’s been written before about the Dark Coil.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/04/12/requiem-infernal-peter-fehervari/
Fehervari has a unique perspective on the dark heart of the 40k setting, a mind-bending balancing act which takes familiar 40k elements and explores them in wildly different ways. It’s deeply unconventional and won’t appeal to everyone; readers who want to see bombastic, adrenaline-fuelled action bringing the familiar aspects of the setting to life might well find this impenetrable and unfamiliar. For those looking for a story which goes way beyond the battlefield and explores Fehervari’s intriguing corner of the 40k universe, this is an incredibly rewarding read which starts to consolidate much of what’s been written before about the Dark Coil.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/04/12/requiem-infernal-peter-fehervari/
I loved the book. Great read. The characters and world we're will developed. I loved the description of the blood and gore. I loved how you wondered whether the Mc was going insane or not. Whether the dark sister was real or not.
I received a copy of Requiem Infernal through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Requiem Infernal is part of the Dark Coil series, which will hopefully have more books added to it in the near future. Written by Peter Fehervari, the novel fits in with the world of 40K, with a delightful focus on the Adepta Sororitas.
If you've read any other 40K novels, let me just say that you need to lay down all of your expectations before picking up Requiem Infernal. This book reads nothing like all of the others – and that's not a bad thing.
This novel read as a blend between 40K lore and a disturbing and disquieting horror novel. It had the best of both worlds and told a tale unlike any other. The world and characters are captivating – even as their quest and the mysteries surrounding them give readers chills down their spines.
The Adepta Sororitas of the Last Candle live on an isolated island, on an isolated planet. And they like it that way. But that's all about to change, as a desperate group of survivors are seeking their medical aid.
Sister Hospitaller Asenath Hyades is one of the Adepta Sororitas. But there's so much more to her than meets the eye – though she would prefer that nobody else knows or recalls everything that she has seen or done.
Commissar Ichukwu Lemarch is one of the few surviving members of his company – The Exordio Void Breachers. They are his brothers. Even if they see him as an outsider, he'll always consider himself part of their group. They are the family he has always sought.
Jonah Tythe is an Imperial Preacher. But like many others in this world, he is nothing and everything that he appears to be. His mission is his world, though it is one that he keeps close to his chest.
“'Truth is our first and lasting light' Asenath recited. 'Speak only as you see and seek to be, for all else is darkness.'”
Requiem Infernal was a seriously intense novel – but in the best of ways. Peter Fehervari's writing style perfectly complemented the dark and disturbing tale, with events unfolding in the eeriest ways possible.
It's so easy and tempting to walk into a novel like this and expect it to follow a specific formula. But Fehervari quickly destroyed that preconception. It was fascinating seeing what elements of the larger world were included here, and he left more than one false trail for readers to follow. It was thrilling, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle before it was too late.
I'll confess that part of me wanted to be frustrated that only one of the perspectives given to us was an Adepta Sororitas. But honestly? Requiem Infernal was so brilliantly written that I couldn't even hold a grudge if I wanted to. Instead, I find myself hoping for more works like this.
There was something so florid about the way in which Requiem Infernal was written. The words seem to just flow off the paper – getting immediately trapped inside my head. The world – as creepy as it was – came to life with the descriptions given.
I was shocked by how intricate and disturbing parts of this novel was. It was perfect, and should be included in anybody's thrilling reads list. And best of all, this book comes out just in time for Halloween!
This was my first piece of work written by Fehervari, but I can assure you that it won't be my last. He has officially made my list of authors to watch, not to mention that I will absolutely be checking out his backlog of works.
For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Requiem Infernal is part of the Dark Coil series, which will hopefully have more books added to it in the near future. Written by Peter Fehervari, the novel fits in with the world of 40K, with a delightful focus on the Adepta Sororitas.
If you've read any other 40K novels, let me just say that you need to lay down all of your expectations before picking up Requiem Infernal. This book reads nothing like all of the others – and that's not a bad thing.
This novel read as a blend between 40K lore and a disturbing and disquieting horror novel. It had the best of both worlds and told a tale unlike any other. The world and characters are captivating – even as their quest and the mysteries surrounding them give readers chills down their spines.
The Adepta Sororitas of the Last Candle live on an isolated island, on an isolated planet. And they like it that way. But that's all about to change, as a desperate group of survivors are seeking their medical aid.
Sister Hospitaller Asenath Hyades is one of the Adepta Sororitas. But there's so much more to her than meets the eye – though she would prefer that nobody else knows or recalls everything that she has seen or done.
Commissar Ichukwu Lemarch is one of the few surviving members of his company – The Exordio Void Breachers. They are his brothers. Even if they see him as an outsider, he'll always consider himself part of their group. They are the family he has always sought.
Jonah Tythe is an Imperial Preacher. But like many others in this world, he is nothing and everything that he appears to be. His mission is his world, though it is one that he keeps close to his chest.
“'Truth is our first and lasting light' Asenath recited. 'Speak only as you see and seek to be, for all else is darkness.'”
Requiem Infernal was a seriously intense novel – but in the best of ways. Peter Fehervari's writing style perfectly complemented the dark and disturbing tale, with events unfolding in the eeriest ways possible.
It's so easy and tempting to walk into a novel like this and expect it to follow a specific formula. But Fehervari quickly destroyed that preconception. It was fascinating seeing what elements of the larger world were included here, and he left more than one false trail for readers to follow. It was thrilling, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle before it was too late.
I'll confess that part of me wanted to be frustrated that only one of the perspectives given to us was an Adepta Sororitas. But honestly? Requiem Infernal was so brilliantly written that I couldn't even hold a grudge if I wanted to. Instead, I find myself hoping for more works like this.
There was something so florid about the way in which Requiem Infernal was written. The words seem to just flow off the paper – getting immediately trapped inside my head. The world – as creepy as it was – came to life with the descriptions given.
I was shocked by how intricate and disturbing parts of this novel was. It was perfect, and should be included in anybody's thrilling reads list. And best of all, this book comes out just in time for Halloween!
This was my first piece of work written by Fehervari, but I can assure you that it won't be my last. He has officially made my list of authors to watch, not to mention that I will absolutely be checking out his backlog of works.
For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror