A review by fastasashark
The Outcast Dead by Graham McNeill

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I finished this but am still not sure how to rate it - either 3.75 or 4/5 stars. I enjoyed all the plot lines and characters and there were a lot of very interesting tie-ins and revelations. Getting all that info about Astropaths/the Telepathica and City of Sight was very cool. First time we really get an inside look. There were just some lore inconsistencies or timeline questions that bugged me. For example some of the combat outcomes and relative strengths didn't make sense. I'm used to Astartes being so powerful even human mutants shouldn't last more than mere seconds hand-to-hand or be able to match their speed. Thinking back to Nemesis, for example, where it was a novelty just for the rage killer to be able to say that he finally managed to kill an Astartes. There were moments where both Astartes and Custodes seemed weirdly underpowered and it bugged me. Good read otherwise though!