eisenhorn xenos book review

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Book Review: Eisenhorn – Xenos

So, you want to make a Warhammer 40K television show. What’s more, you want to make it about the factions that have been the protagonists of the setting since the intellectual property took off — the Space Marines, the Imperial Guard, the Inquisition; humanity.

This puts you in a bit of a pickle, both morally and financially. The servants of the Emperor of Terra were originally something of a caricature of Catholic fascism, the Franco bent and its continental offspring that made its way, eventually, after some twists and turns, into British politics in the 1980s. Much like a lot of British pop-counterculture at the time — 2000 AD, for instance, and Judge Dredd, and the work of Alan Moore and Grant Morrison and many, many others — they were a satire. So what do you do when the world comes back around the other way, and you’re sitting on a veritable IP gold mine, but fascism’s back and good god, but it loves irony?

Morally speaking, well, we can’t speak to that, especially not under capitalism. Would that we could. Financially speaking, the people who love the Imperium of Man and all of its trappings, genuinely, and love the idea of grinning, hateful murder at the backend of history, in a future where there is only war — well, they don’t really sustain a streaming audience, probably. You need a lot more people tuning in than have invested in miniatures to sustain an expansion into this market. And even for the faithful, that particular flavor is a fun spice to drop on your tabletop game, but playing a game isn’t the same as watching a television show. In this format, you’ll be watching a vision presented to you by a group of professionals, from the writers to the directors to the crew to the cast. And something you have to grapple with when it comes to the fictive universe of the Warhammer 40K setting is that to adapt most of its best narrative works is mainly to be adapting a series of video game cutscenes.

The exception, as cited from those inside and outside the fandom, is the Eisenhorn trilogy of novels by author Dan Abnett. An incredibly well-respected trilogy, graded on the curve required for licensed genre fiction, the books Xenos , Malleus , and Eisenhorn track story of the titular Inquisitor through and across much of the near-strangeness of the 40K setting. It has been tapped as the source material for the first resolved attempt at a Warhammer 40K show, and so I, a 40K novice at best, undertook reading the source material to see if this might be a show I’d like to give whichever streaming service picks it up money. The verdict is: yes, with some rather obvious and formative changes.

We’ll begin with Xenos , which would likely form the basis for any self-respecting season one of this show. The plot, of course, is fine. It’s normal 40K fare. There’s heresy and Chaos building in the hideous ranks of man. Our hero Inquisitor Eisenhorn needs to suss it out. There are two factions presented in the Inquisition, the orthodox conservatives which purge heresy the moment they see it (and accordingly are all assholes) and the radical heterodoxes who think the Inquisition should keep an open mind (and accordingly always support doing stupid and reckless things). Our hero falls in the middle of both traditions — quite a both-sides centrist fellow — and spends the novel outing a decadent aristocratic merchant clan that has fallen to Chaos and then chasing it halfway across the sector to deliver judgment.

There’s a lot to like in the novel from an adaptation standpoint — quite a few setpieces, quite a few big meetings and summits where you can just hire respected British character actors and tell them to work broad to play, oh, Schongard or Molitor or Endor or Voke. In the visit to the saruthi planet there’s great material for a go-getting young television director with a CGI budget to really fuck with some perspective and create an unsettling, discordant visual world. The plot is utterly uncomplicated, with the betrayals being fairly flat and predictable and the factions being incredibly well understood. Abnett, for his part, is quite skilled at the genre craft and does first-person writing very well for the material, spending much of his time on sensory input and things happening out in the world rather than retreating into Eisenhorn’s mind — this will make it even simpler to adapt. Even better, Abnett devotes significant portions of his word-count to psyker business and astral-plane visions — even better for adaptation purposes.

One thing the book does for someone not particularly versed in 40K lore or storytelling that the video games can’t really do is that it impresses upon the reader the size and the severity of a Space Marine. There is a Chaos Marine named Mandragore who figures fairly prominently in the middle act of Xenos , and he is basically presented as your standard Lord of the Rings troll crossed with a serial killer crossed with a tank. The games, of course, are required to take the broader focus; Abnett does an excellent job of conveying the terror that just one of these great monstrosities inspires in a force smaller than an armored cavalry division across multiple scenes, and that’s well done on his part.

But this novel cannot be adapted to television without more women.

There are two women who matter in the novel in the slightest. The first dies in the very first chapter: Lores Vibben, the perfect adjutant, the pinnacle of what every human woman should be in the Imperium — a good custodian, loyal retainer, and faithful secretary. She’s trivially murdered and becomes mope material for the men of the plot for the next two-hundred some pages. The second is Alizebeth Bequin, quite another consideration altogether: she’s an actual character, for one, if not a particularly compelling one in Xenos . (I have read ahead a little bit and I know that this changes, to some extent.) Bequin is a sex worker who our heroes stumble upon in the middle of a raid, right before she’s about to be raped and murdered. Her whole thing is that she is a dead zone in the Warp, which has the knock-on effect of psychically influencing people to hate and mistrust her. It’s very odd: the book devotes a significant portion of its page count to playing out lore-related conversations in dialogue, but the scene in which she’s confronted with this information by Eisenhorn is…summarized in a paragraph, mostly; it’s then followed by a longer one that rubbernecks how visibly sad it makes her. Bequin’s biggest contribution to the plot that isn’t “standing somewhere and projecting a dampening field” is pretending to be Eisenhorn’s ditzy squeeze when they’re both undercover trying to figure out who the Chaos traitors are among the merchant class of one of the dozens of interchangeable Imperial worlds, all of which seem to have the same culture.

The fix here is obvious and easy: don’t kill off Lores Vibben. It adds nothing to the plot — Eisenhorn has a lot to be sad about in the first place, and the whole cringey conversation about how Eisenhorn’s pilot Betancore loved Vibben but wants to fuck Bequin (again, she’s hot, not sure if you picked up on that) can play itself out as an actual love triangle if the writers so choose. Bequin is a quite independent nobody who has to become a competent somebody; Vibben is a competent and loyal servant who needs to figure out how to be more than her office. The character interactions basically write themselves, and again, these are basically the only two women in the entire book — and Bequin disappears for long stretches of time that she very much should not.

Moving from a first-person perspective novel to a television show necessitates more characters anyhow; you can’t just sit in Eisenhorn’s head for the entire season, obviously. Vibben being a real character in the story instead of a fridge-case would improve an adaptation of Xenos all around — and you can still kill her off in the second-to-last episode of the season, if you want! Why would you play that card in the pilot, especially when death very explicitly is not common or permanent for heroes across much of the rest of the novel; even guys like Fischig or Heldane get to survive encounters with extreme violence through tech prosthesis.

Other than that, in the hands of a modern writer’s room with good TV directors, I think Xenos can be a really good first entry in a streaming adaptation of the series. Next time I do one of these, I’ll be looking at Malleus . I’ve been told to watch out for a “Kara Swole” and try not to judge too harshly? We’ll see how it goes.

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Bits & Pieces

Video & board games, reviews, nerdy hobby stuff and books!

Eisenhorn Book 1: Xenos – A Warhammer 40,000 Novel – Review

A 40k classic

I’ve been putting off writing this review for a while. Xenos is one of those Warhammer novels that hold high esteem within the 40k canon and is held in high regard by people who wouldn’t normally touch this franchise. It’s had video games, TV shows and all sorts dedicated to it and it’s often one of the first books people point to for those looking to dip their toes into Warhammer 40,000. And the first time I read it, I didn’t like it.

Alright, so perhaps saying I didn’t like it is a bit harsh. Instead, let’s say that it wasn’t the earth-shattering novel that it’d had been teed up as being. Rather, it’s a decent bit of pulp detective fiction set in the grimdark setting of Warhammer 40,000. And while that is an impressive premise, I think no only are there better mystery stories out there now but also better Inquisitor ones, too. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that Xenos is a stellar story with some great action and enjoyable characters, but on my first pass I felt a lot this was pretty shallow and the book never gave you the time to appreciate and understand its cast.

So alright, I’ve read through Xenos twice for this review. After my first pass, I wasn’t happy with the feeling of disappointment and knew that if I’d reviewed it then it wouldn’t be a true representation of the quality Dan Abnett put into this work. So it let it sit for a while and eventually got around to picking it up and blitzed through it again. On my second go through, it was like reading a different story. My preconceived notions about where I thought the story would go or how the characters would react was gone. Instead, I could enjoy the easy to read prose and blistering action scenes without any of the hang-ups that came with the expectations put on this book. And while I will never be my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novel, it’s definitely worth anybody’s time and is an excellent read.

After my second pass, I knew the characters a lot more and could enjoy watching them try to survive the events being thrown against them. Alright, so what is Xenos about? This is the first book in the Eisenhorn trilogy and it follows Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn as he tries to uncover a conspiracy. Along the way, he finds allies, battles the forces of chaos and gets into his fair share of fights. Xenos runs at a fast pace throughout and that helps keep the reader on the edge of their seat at all times and while I enjoy a slower pace at times in my 40k novels, this works within the context of the story being told as it adds a sense of urgency to the tale.

While it remains that with both readings, I found the plot simple. It’s to the book’s credit. This is a straightforward mystery and the fun comes from watching Eisenhorn and his retinue figure out what is happening and try to stop it. Eisenhorn himself is a decent enough protagonist if a little generic by modern standards. He’s a grizzled veteran who will go to any length to get the job done. There are easy comparisons between him and noir detectives, and this noir theme is constant throughout Xenos.

I think some of the reasons I still can’t quite fall in love with Xenos and Eisenhorn is because I don’t particularly like the Imperium. I’m a chaos player through and through, and while I’m planning to dip my toes into some Grey Knights in 2021, that’s more for some fun kitbash ideas than because I wanted some space marines in my life. The Imperium framed as the ‘good’ guys has never been something I’ve managed to engage with. And because of the parallels, this story has to noir detectives, I’ve found that I couldn’t get over the fact behind all the grey morality Xenos was still saying Emperor Good, Chaos Bad. And my favourite Warhammer stories are when that line between good and evil is blurred beyond belief or dig deep into what it means to be a regular person trying to survive in horror that is the Imperium. Anything in between feels like it tries to justify all the awful stuff going on. And yes, I know that’s what to expect from the Inquisition but as I said, this is done better in other books (see The Carrion Throne). Having said all of that, Xenos is still a fun read but I can’t quite get behind it all the way.

I’m glad that I went through this book twice because it helped me get over the hype that comes with a Warhammer novel that is so revered by the community. If you’re looking to get into the 40k universe and aren’t sure where to start, then Xenos is a good starting place. You don’t need any preexisting knowledge to understand and enjoy this story.

Thanks for reading. For more Imperium books, check out Cadia Stands and Cadian Honour . Alternatively, for some chaos then Talon of Horus and  Black Legion  come highly recommended.

As always, if you would like to support the site then please use our  Amazon Affiliate Link . It doesn’t cost you anything extra and we get a small kickback with every purchase. On this occasion, I’ll link our  Audible link  where you get your first audiobook for free .

Alternatively, you could throw us a few pennies via our  Ko-Fi link . Even a little bit helps us keep the site running and producing articles each week.

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At Boundary's Edge

Alex Hormann

BOOK REVIEW: Xenos, by Dan Abnett

-Click here for a full index of my Black Library/Warhammer 40,000 reviews-

Publisher: Black Library

Genre: Grimdark SF

Publication Date: 2001

Verdict: 4/5

The Inquisition is all that stands between mankind and its many enemies. Heretics, Demons, Xenos. All pose an existential threat to the God-Emperor’s people. Gregor Eisenhorn is one Inquisitor among thousands, but something has marked him for greatness . . .

Eisenhorn is one of those names that will be familiar to most Black Library readers. Along with Ibram Gaunt, Gregor Eisenhorn is a creation of the legendary Dan Abnett . The Eisenhorn trilogy (four books if, like me, you include the Magos collection of short stories) is one of the most famous series Black Library have ever put out. A little surprising then, that I’ve never taken the time to read it. I’m a big fan of Abnett’s work, particularly the Sabbat Worlds material. That being said, I didn’t enjoy his  Ravenor trilogy all that much. Since Ravenor is the successor to Eisenhorn , perhaps it’s not so surprising  Xenos has taken me this long to read. But with the upcoming rerelease of  Pariah and the release of  Penitent , I can’t hold of any longer, and Dan Abnett has once again pulled me back into the grim dark world of the forty-first millennium.

It’s a good book, I won’t argue that. Abnett’s prose is tight, his grip on characters and plot are great. A lot of the names are familiar to me by reputation, but there are unfamiliar ones too. Though I went in knowing the broad strokes of Eisenhorn’s tale, the twists and turns of Xenos kept me guessing. An entertaining way to spend a few hours. Like a lot of the earlier Black Library releases, there’s a very pulp sensibility to things. Blood splatters acros the page, characters snarl and bark. Larger-than-life figures lurch and lumber through implausible actions.

And yet. When a book is as famous as this, you can’t help but build up an image of it in your mind. No matter how good a book is, it’s almost impossible to live up to that reputation.  Xenos , like many others, is a victim of its own success. At least it is for me. Short of goin into every book blind, I don’t really see a counter for a problem of this sort. But now that I have an accurate baseline to work on, I’m more excited than before for book two. It’s not that there was anything wrong with  Xenos , it’s that my expectations were too high. Yes, it’s a tad unfair, but these things still have an impact.

If you’ve heard of  Xenos , you’ve probably read it. If not, then dive right in. It’s a great little book, and one of the best jumping on points for the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

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7 responses to “BOOK REVIEW: Xenos, by Dan Abnett”

[…] trilogy forms a part of Abnett’s larger Inquisition set of novels, following on from the Eisenhorn novels and the Ravenor trilogy. If you haven’t read these prior works, then first of all you […]

[…] are Blood Angels. This is what Chaos is. This is the grim, dark future. Just like the original Eisenhorn, it’s entry level stuff, while I have been spoiled by a universe that has existed longer than […]

[…] you enjoy this book? If so, you might also like:Xenos, by Dan AbnettResurrection, by John FrenchInferno! Presents: The Inquisition, by Various […]

[…] Xenos, by Dan Abnett – One of the earliest Black Library novels is still a masterpiece. It’s positively bursting with grime, grotesque characters, and all the blood and guts you can handle. […]

[…] SF on the market, while Dan Abnett’s Inquisition Cycle is a multi-series arc (beginning with Xenos) that is almost complete after over twenty […]

[…] Eisenhorn, by Dan Abnett […]

[…] Xenosby Dan AbnettWhy it’s Essential: Xenos is arguably the most famous Warhammer novel out there. Written over twenty years ago, it set the tone for a lot of the next decade. It introduces readers to Inquisitors and heretics, placing paranoia and corruption at the forefront of the setting. every Inquisition novel since has lived in Abnett’s shadow, and Eisenhorn himself is the model against which all Inquisitors will inevitably be compared, for better and for worse. […]

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A Guide to Dan Abnett’s Inquisition Series

Dan Abnett’s trilogy of Inquisition trilogies – the Eisenhorn , Ravenor and Bequin novels – are among the best that Black Library has ever published, and certainly some of my personal favourites. With the upcoming release of Penitent , the second Bequin novel, there are now more than twenty individual stories across the overarching Inquisition series, with the nine novels (with at least one more still to come) accompanied by a dozen or so short stories. As with many Black Library series, the tricky part is knowing where to start if you’re keen to check out these stories, or where to go next if you’ve read some of them and are keen for more!

I’ve put together this guide to help with that – I’ve included a chronological reading order for the whole series (based on the information provided in The Magos ), along with a few thoughts about each story and links to my reviews and interviews where appropriate. I haven’t reviewed every single story, but I’m not far off, while I’ve spoken to author Dan Abnett for interviews about the two most recent instalments in the series (with the latest interview due to be published very soon). As and when I publish any further reviews or interviews, I’ll make sure to update this article with the new links!

Reading Order

Dan Abnett kindly provided a reading order for pretty much the whole series in the front of The Magos , which I’ve reproduced here. It’s not essential to read them all in order, but if you do want to start at the beginning and work your way through then this would be a good way of doing it – and the short stories really do add a lot of extra detail and texture to the overall series.

Even if you’re not planning on reading the short stories, I would personally recommend you at least read the novels in order – Eisenhorn , then Ravenor , then Bequin .

Titles in bold are the novels.

• Pestilence (short story)
• Master Imus’ Transgression (audio drama/short story)
• Regia Occulta (audio drama/short story)
• Xenos ( Eisenhorn #1) – START HERE
• Missing in Action (short story)
• Malleus (Eisenhorn #2)
• Backcloth for a Crown Additional (short story)
• The Strange Demise of Titus Endor (short story)
• Hereticus ( Eisenhorn #3)
• The Curiosity (short story)
• Playing Patience (short story)
• Ravenor ( Ravenor #1)
• Thorn Wishes Talon (audio drama/short story)
• Ravenor Returned ( Ravenor #2)
• Ravenor Rogue ( Ravenor #3)
• Gardens of Tycho (short story)
• The Keeler Image (short story)
• Perihelion (short story)
• The Magos ( Eisenhorn #4)
• Pariah ( Bequin #1)
• Lepidopterophobia (Medea Unbound) (short story)
• Penitent ( Bequin #2)
• Pandaemonium ( Bequin #3 – TBC)
• Born to Us (short story)

NOTE: you’ll notice that I’ve included the micro-short Born to Us (released as an e-short back in 2012) at the end of the list, off on its own. That’s because this one doesn’t really fit with the overall canon – it’s an Eisenhorn story, but not exactly part of the overall narrative (hence why it wasn’t included in The Magos). It clearly takes place after Xenos (there’s a reference to the Glaws, and Harlon Nayl appears in it), so if you want to fit it into the reading order then you could maybe read it somewhere around Malleus/Hereticus.

Next up, I’ll take a look through all of these stories with a few observations and links out to my reviews. I’m not going to list these following the reading order, but rather break them up as well as I can into each of the three series – Eisenhorn , Ravenor and Bequin . I’ll start off however, with the one story which doesn’t feature any of the main characters who appear elsewhere…

Pestilence One of the oldest stories in the series, published roughly the same time as Xenos , this is a great little investigative mystery following recollector Lemuel Sark as he searches for a cure to a terrible illness. You wouldn’t necessarily know it was linked to Eisenhorn and co. unless someone pointed it out, but there’s both a thematic connection and a small, direct link in there!

Check out my review of Pestilence .

While Ian Watson’s Inquisition War trilogy was the first ever series of 40k Inquisition stories, Abnett’s Eisenhorn trilogy (in four parts) is unquestionably the most popular, well-loved and most influential of them all. The novels are all told in honest first person and provide a gripping depiction of the lengths Eisenhorn is prepared to go to in order to do his duty, while the accompanying shorts explore a range of stories from Eisenhorn’s youth to the adventures of Magos Biologis Drusher (who plays an important part towards the end of the series).

Master Imus’ Transgression Originally released as part of a trio of short audio dramas, this is one of my favourites of the whole series. It’s a clever, characteristically Abnett tale of young interrogator Eisenhorn as he listens to the confession of the ageing Master Imus, a scared but honest book-keeper who believes he has stumbled across something he shouldn’t have.

Check out my review of Master Imus’ Transgression .

Regia Occulta Another story first released in audio, this one features a still-young Eisenhorn, not long after rising to the rank of inquisitor, investigating a relatively low-key mystery while trapped by electrical storms on a dreary planet. I can’t think of many – if any – other stories which essentially detail the life of a travelling inquisitor doing his rounds!

Check out my review of Regia Occulta .

Xenos (novel #1) This is where it all started, with a novel that’s still – twenty years later – widely held as the quintessential ‘domestic 40k’ story and one of the best entry points into Black Library fiction. It introduces Eisenhorn himself, many of the key characters from the rest of the stories, not to mention the first-person, hardboiled detective stylings of the whole Eisenhorn series. It’s a stone-cold classic, simple as that.

Check out my review of Xenos .

Missing in Action A direct sequel to the first novel, this fits in nicely between Xenos and Malleus and shows a little bit of what Eisenhorn and the gang got up to after their first major adventure. It’s perhaps not one of the most crucial short stories to read in context of the wider series, but it offers a nice look at the emotional cost of life in service of the Inquisition.

Check out my review of Missing in Action .

Malleus (novel #2) 2001 was a great year for Inquisition fans, with this second novel coming hot on the heels of Xenos . It skips ahead a fair few decades further into Eisenhorn’s career, taking the characters out of their comfort zones, ramping up the danger and the tension in that classic second-novel fashion. By this point you can start to see the changes that Eisenhorn goes through over the course of his career, while it also introduces the character of Gideon Ravenor who would go on to big things himself.

Check out my review of Malleus .

Backcloth for a Crown Additional Not only does this have one of my all-time favourite story titles, but it’s also one of my favourite Eisenhorn stories. It’s essentially a paranormal investigation story, as Eisenhorn and Alizebeth look into the suspicious death of an old friend, and its low-key location and style lend it a quiet, personal tone that’s really satisfying.

Check out my review of Backcloth for a Crown Additional .

The Strange Demise of Titus Endor One of the most interesting secondary characters in the series, Titus Endor’s story continues with this ominously-titled tale, which doesn’t feature Eisenhorn himself but is nevertheless an important part of the overall narrative. It’s a strange, melancholic story that’s very quiet and unlike most other 40k fiction, but is very much worth reading.

Check out my review of The Strange Demise of Titus Endor .

Hereticus (novel #3) If Malleus saw Eisenhorn’s path turning dark, this really ramps things up to 11 as the inquisitor – once such a hardline puritan – is forced to compromise yet further on his principles in order to track down an old enemy. It’s the natural extension of his arc, and forms a powerful, emotional conclusion to the story – if you stopped here, you’d have a brilliant trilogy in and of itself. Of course there’s also a fourth novel ( The Magos ) and the other series, if you still want more!

Check out my review of Hereticus .

The Curiosity (Drusher) One of two short stories featuring Magos Valentin Drusher – who plays an important role in The Magos – this was originally published back in 2003 and presumably wasn’t intended, at the time, to be part of the Inquisition series. It’s a natural fit though, and while Drusher’s reluctant hunt for a beast on the loose takes a different form to an Inquisitorial investigation, it’s no less gripping!

Check out my review of The Curiosity .

Gardens of Tycho (Drusher) Magos Drusher’s second appearance, originally published in the Fear the Alien anthology, this is another tale of amateur investigation as Drusher is called in to help once more when a series of bodies turn up with the apparent signs of animal attacks. It’s more of the same really, but that’s not a problem when it’s as much fun as this!

The Keeler Image Eisenhorn meets the Horus Heresy! Well, sort of. There’s certainly a lovely link here – the ‘Keeler’ part of the title will be familiar to most Heresy fans – but it’s very much its own story too, as a post- Hereticus Eisenhorn attends an unconventional auction and finds himself caught up in the action.

Check out my review of The Keeler Image .

The Magos (novel #4) The unexpected fourth part of the trilogy, The Magos is both an anthology collecting together all (well, almost all) of the short stories in one place, and a short-ish novel in its own right. It’s sort of a bridging novel between the other Eisenhorn books and the Bequin series, and heavily features Magos Drusher as well. It’s also the only one of the Eisenhorn novels to not be told from Gregor’s POV.

Check out my review of The Magos .

Check out my interview with Dan Abnett about The Magos .

Forming the second of the three trilogies, the Ravenor books take a secondary character from Malleus (ok, technically Hereticus too) – Gideon Ravenor, once Eisenhorn’s promising interrogator but now an inquisitor in his own right – and tells a different kind of Inquisition story. These are much more about the ensemble, with some familiar faces forming part of Ravenor’s warband, and with a different tone of voice to the first trilogy…but they’re fantastic too!

Playing Patience While some of Ravenor’s warband will be familiar to Eisenhorn readers, other characters are brand new, including the unusually-named Patience Kys. This story tells the tale of how she came to be working with Ravenor, and while it’s suitably action-packed it’s also long enough to be able to really dig into this character in a satisfying way.

Check out my review of Playing Patience .

Ravenor (novel #1) It’s worth reading the Eisenhorn novels first if you can, but if not then this would still be a decent place to start, and the Ravenor trilogy has its own unique voice that some readers prefer to Eisenhorn . It’s pacy, inventive and brilliantly characterful, and kicks off a story – centred around Ravenor’s investigation of an illicit narcotics trade – that goes to different places than the first series, maintaining the same sense of ‘domestic 40k’ but expanding things out to a slightly different scale.

Check out my review of Ravenor .

Thorn Wishes Talon The last of the three shorts to have originally been an audio drama, this is very much a Ravenor story but ties in very closely with the Eisenhorn stories too. Fans of the series will probably be able to figure out the gist of things from the title (depending on their grasp of Glossia), but suffice to say it involves a mysterious meeting on a dark and stormy night, with enemies all around.

Check out my review of Thorn Wishes Talon .

Ravenor Returned (novel #2) Where the second Eisenhorn novel is set a considerable amount of time after its predecessor, this picks up pretty much straight away after the conclusion to Ravenor , with the Inquisitor and his warband working undercover to continue their investigation away from prying eyes. The three volumes of this series feel more closely linked than the Eisenhorn novels, so this is very much setting things up before the finale.

Ravenor Rogue (novel #3) This does pretty much what it says on the tin – Ravenor goes rogue, acting against orders to continue his hunt, track down his prize and prevent a disaster from occurring. It’s hard to say more without giving spoilers – read it and enjoy! (I imagine it’s unlikely that we’ll get a fourth part of this particular trilogy.)

The third (and presumably final?) of the three trilogies, this one started with a bang back in 2012 only to be put on hold for years to follow. The second novel is now (at the time of writing) about to be published, so let’s hope the third one follows soon! Even from one short story and one novel it’s clear that this series is taking a very different approach to the other two, focusing on a deeply ambiguous character who interacts with the Inquisition in a very particular way, and who knows much less about the realities of the galaxy than either Eisenhorn or Ravenor. Mysteries abound, let’s just say that.

Perihelion The Bequin series was originally pitched as “Eisenhorn vs Ravenor” – it’s even on the cover to this short story – and that’s exactly what this particular story deals with. It’s an opportunity to catch up with both inquisitors before the main series kicks off, giving an idea of where each of them stands in terms of loyalty and attitude.

Pariah (novel #1) With a fresh voice and an unusual angle on the idea of an Inquisition story, this launched back in 2012 and blew minds with its mysteries and unexpected ideas. The name Alizebeth Bequin will be familiar to readers of the Eisenhorn series, but a bit of a puzzle too. The city of Queen Mab, the identities of various characters, the nature of allies and enemies…very little is what you expect, and while some readers aren’t so keen on all the twisted world building and ambiguity, I loved it! Just don’t expect answers…

Lepidopterophobia (Medea Unbound) This is a Medea Betancore short story that was included in the Special Edition of Penitent , and subsequently released in the anthology Inferno! Presents: The Inquisition . I asked Dan where it fits into the timeline and he suggested reading it between Pariah and Penitent , which I think makes sense – it’s hard to say too much about this one without giving spoilers, but it’s a fun little story and definitely worthwhile for completists.

Check out my review of Lepidopterophobia

Penitent (novel #2) It’s been a long, agonising wait to find out more about these characters and the mysteries surrounding them, but that wait is nearly over! Penitent is due to go up for pre-order on the 20th February as part of the 2021 ‘Black Library Celebration’, so it won’t be long until we can see what happens next!

Check out my interview with Dan Abnett about Penitent .

Pandaemonium (novel #3 – TBC) The title of the third novel has long been known, but it’s been too far off to really consider. Now though, it doesn’t look so far off. As soon as I hear more about it, I’ll make sure to update this page!

Born to Us As I mentioned earlier, this micro-short (it really is very short), which was released as a standalone e-short back in 2012, is sort of non-canonical. It features Eisenhorn thinking back to a time when he and Nayl were mid-investigation on a world named Koradrum, and is essentially just a few pages of musings on the importance of an inquisitor being able to sift myths and legends for the core of truth that they might contain. It doesn’t tie in to any other stories, and is far from an essential read, but if you’re planning to read it for the sake of completion it’s a fun little extra.

How to get hold of these stories

As usual with Black Library there are, theoretically at least, three formats that some or all of these books are available in – physical, ebook and audio. Most of the stories in the various Inquisition series are available in most formats, with the exception being that if you want hardback editions of the novels (as opposed to paperback) then you’ll have to look for most of them second hand (and I may be wrong, but I’m not sure the first three Eisenhorn novels were ever released in hardback).

Ebooks All the novels are available as individual ebooks, with Penitent coming soon, while there are also the Eisenhorn and Ravenor omnibuses. From a value perspective, getting a whole series as an omnibus seems like the obvious choice. Most of the short stories are available as individual ebooks, with the exceptions seeming to be Master Imus’ Transgression and The Curiosity , but your best bet is to find them in anthologies. The Magos includes all of them except Born to Us , so that would be my suggestion.

Physical copies At the time of writing you can either get hold of now – or will be able to soon – all of the novels in one physical format or another. All of the Eisenhorn books are available as individual paperbacks (including The Magos , which has all of the short stories too) – there used to be an Eisenhorn omnibus but it looks like that’s only in ebook now. The three Ravenor novels, meanwhile, are no longer available individually in paperback, but there is still a paperback Ravenor omnibus (even if it does have terrible cover art, in my opinion). Pariah was originally released in hardback and then paperback, but that edition (with the black and red cover) has been out of print for a long time – but there’s a new hardback edition coming to match the hardback of Penitent .

Audio None of the Eisenhorn or Ravenor novels received the audiobook treatment when they were first released (I don’t think BL did audios back then) but they’ve all been released in audio over the last few years, all of them narrated by the excellent Toby Longworth. The audiobook of The Magos covers the whole book, so not just the novel but the short stories too, which is great! It looks like Penitent is going to be released in audio at the same time as the ebook and hardback editions, so the only one I’m not sure about is Pariah – you would hope it would get an audiobook at the same time as Penitent , but I haven’t heard either way as yet.

There you go, then – I hope this has been useful, whether you’ve read most of this series already or you’re planning on making a start with it. If you haven’t already, do take a look at my reviews of these stories, and give them a go – you can always check out the samples on the BL website if you want to try before you buy.

Have you read some or all of these stories? Do you have a favourite, or are you looking forward to seeing what happens next with the Bequin series? Let me know in the comments below, or over on Twitter .

If you enjoyed this article and would like to support Track of Words, you can leave a tip on my Ko-Fi page .

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Thank you very much for an excellent and impressive survey of this rather wonderful series.

No problem at all, glad you liked it! 🙂

This is very helpful, thanks.

I actually skipped Magos because I thought it was just the short stories rebundled. I’ll have to pick it up.

Cheers Mark, glad it’s been useful! Yeah The Magos is definitely worth reading, hope you enjoy it 🙂

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Eisenhorn: Xenos Review - PC Version

While I have never actually played the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game I did read the majority of the books, and out of all the various authors that took a crack at the grim darkness of the 41st millennium I consider Dan Abnett my favorite. From the very moment I picked up his Eisenhorn trilogy I knew I was in for a treat as he has a real knack for portraying sympathetic, flawed characters stuck in situations far beyond their grasp.

With that in mind, you can only begin to imagine how excited I was when I heard that Eisenhorn: Xenos, the first book in the series, would be getting the video game treatment. Not only is it an RPG set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, something I've been waiting for decades now, but its also based on a story by one of my favorite authors! How could this possibly go wrong?

Unfortunately, the answer to that question is far lengthier than I could have ever anticipated. Pretty much every aspect of gameplay, from storytelling to combat, is suffering from a number of annoying issues, all of which combine together to create a thoroughly mediocre game. To make you understand what exactly is wrong with Eisenhorn: Xenos we need to go through all of its elements, one by one, starting with the most important factor - the story.

As you can probably guess given its origins, the writing and storytelling in Eisenhorn: Xenos is top notch as it slowly but surely reveals a compelling narrative full of interesting characters and unexpected twists. There are some areas where the story had to be shortened in order to fit the gameplay better, but overall I would say that this is a faithful adaptation of Abnett's story, at least as far as the big picture is concerned.

Best of all, the voice actor for Gregor Eisenhorn is equally as good and pretty damn close to what I imagined he would sound in real life. There is a certain air of cold authority in every line of dialogue, and even when he shows emotions they are mostly restrained, as they should be given his centuries-long carrier as an Imperial Inquisitor. With this strong of a start my hopes were riding sky-high for Eisenhorn: Xenos, but then I met the supporting cast and it all slowly started fading away.

While the voice actor behind Gregor Eisenhorn is fully capable of carrying himself as an Imperial Inquisitor, with all of the self-importance and limitless authority that position brings, nearly every single supporting character seems to have done their voice acting at gun point. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the developers recorded it themselves in-studio, and while that would usually be OK, the difference in quality between them and Gregor is completely immersion-shattering given that their voices simply do not fit the characters, at all.

Betancore (left guy) is one of the coolest characters in the book, here... not so much

Another factor working in Eisenhorn: Xenos' favor is the presentation as it manages to nearly perfectly capture the grimdark feeling of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Nearly every location you visit is impressive to look at due to its sheer scale and the amount of iconography celebrating the God Emperor, but also depressive due to the cold, metallic atmosphere that seems to permeate all of it. Its hard to explain these things to someone that might not be familiar with Warhammer 40,000 universe and its particular brand of architecture, but to put it simply, Eisenhorn: Xenos manages to make it work.

What doesn't work, however, are the character models. Outside of Gregor Eisenhorn and a couple of other key story figures, the majority of the characters seem to have a couple of defects or low resolution textures on their models, especially when they are in motion. These things might not sound important, but given how often Eisenhorn: Xenos likes to use cutscenes to deliver the story they become increasingly annoying with each repeat viewing.

The worst example of these graphical issues are the random shakes the characters experience when holding a conversation. Once again, this doesn't sound like a big deal, but when you have Eisenhorn's upper lip rhythmically twitching while his lower jaw hangs slightly open, things start to move quite quickly into the "uncanny valley" territory. This is a massive shame since some of the cinematics backed with Abnett's writing could have been truly emotional moments, but due to every single character being on their 15th cup of coffee its nearly impossible to take any of it seriously.

There's also moments where this happens

Continuing on with the architecture theme we have the level design, or shall I say the lack of there of. I personally enjoy RPGs that allow me a certain degree of freedom when it comes to solving quests, even though I'm fully aware this freedom is often completely artificial and that all paths eventually lead to the same outcome. However, the level design in Eisenhorn: Xenos doesn't even try to pretend you have a choice. It simply shoves you down a series of nearly identical corridors, constantly repeating the same two jumping and climbing animations, before moving on to the next cutscene or combat sequence.

I can understand how making complex levels can be a nearly impossible task for an indie studio, but the question is, why go through all of the effort in order to make something that's just completely bland. Why not instead take the adventure game approach and simply limit the amount of playable areas you can go to, but put all of the effort into making those locations as memorable as they can possibly be? As it stands, the only areas I can distinctly remember are the ones that contain some of the plot-relevant set-pieces as they have clearly had a lot love and care put into them, unlike the corridor #241 that leads on from there. 

Such a lovely use of contrast!

To be fair, Eisenhorn: Xenos is not all about going down linear corridors in order to get to the next story bit, there are also some Final Fantasy XIII styled diversions where you can go slightly off the beaten path in order to find a couple of collectibles. These collectibles usually come either in the form of lore books which help further flesh out the story and add a bit more depth to the location you're in, or varying amounts of credits which you can then use to purchase new weapons... from yourself! 

Silliness aside, this is a genuinely cool idea as RPG combat only remains interesting while you have new and exciting toys to look forward to, otherwise it all tends to become formulaic. To top it all off, the weapons are some of the most impressive pieces of Warhammer 40,000 technology. You've got bolters, chainswords, power swords, a variant of the always-awesome thunder hammer, plasma rifles, and so forth. It might not include all of the weapons you're familiar with from other Space Marine based games, but its still a solid assortment of weapons to play around with.

A thunder hammer? Yes please!

Unfortunately, there is almost no reason to purchase any of them as the combat is completely trivial. You can go through the entire game without even considering strategy for one moment, all you need to do is mash Mouse 1 like a crazy person and occasionally dodge ranged enemies when they finally decide its time to give the ol' gun a try. It also doesn't help that combat is by far the buggiest part of Eisenhorn: Xenos with enemies quite often getting stuck in the terrain, or worse yet, underneath the terrain which means you have to restart from the previous check point.

The list doesn't end there, however, as the combat animations and sound effects are far, far below the standard you might expect from any modern RPG these days. Hitting an enemy with a chainsword, a sword that constantly buzzes with ultra-sharp metal teeth, feels like tickling them given that there is almost no audio or visual feedback. For example, tearing your chainsword straight through someone (an attack that for some reason doesn't leave any impact on the enemy) produces a generic *THUNK* sound, as if you've just hit them with a baton and not the wrath of the God Emperor himself.

I was expecting a bit... more from a power sword

If mashing Mouse 1 against hordes of nearly identical enemies is not your thing, worry not as Eisenhorn: Xenos offers a stealth-based playstyle as well. Unfortunately, and I really do hate repeating this word, its equally as broken and devoid of challenge as the general combat. The AI is utterly brainless and will frequently miss you even if you're standing right in front of it, the guard patrol routes are too simplistic and easy to figure out, and worst of all, the guards don't seem to react to their friends suddenly being choke-slammed in the middle of the room.

What pains me the most isn't that the combat is bad, but rather that it could've been so damn amazing if the team had spent a few more months tweaking it to perfection. The fighting system could've used better animations and more responsive controls, while the stealth system would've been greatly improved through smarter AI and better level design. As it stands, the combat in Eisenhorn: Xenos is simply not fun.

Closing Thoughts

I am a massive fan of Warhammer 40,000, and an even bigger fan of RPG games in general, so believe me when I say that I really tried to make Eisenhorn: Xenos work, but it simply doesn't. Its not an unplayable mess I would only wish upon my enemies, far from that, but it is a different sort of extreme - a game so painfully generic there is almost nothing to be excited about unless you're the most die-hard of Warhammer fans. If you do decide to grab it, however, make sure you're doing so for the story as that is the one element of Eisenhorn: Xenos that I genuinely have no complaints about.

To end all of this on a positive note, I truly do believe that the Eisenhorn series has a real chance to become not just good, but downright amazing. All of the elements that make a great RPG are present here, but they are currently so underdeveloped they might as well not exist, but a sequel at some point in the future might just bring them to their rightful place. So while I can't in all honesty recommend you Eisenhorn: Xenos, I will suggest you keep an eye on the series as Eisenhorn: Malleus, should it ever come to fruition, might just be the RPG us Warhammer 40,000 fans have been waiting for.

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Sunday, january 6, 2008.

• REVIEW: Xenos (book 1 of the Eisenhorn trilogy)

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‘Eisenhorn: Xenos’ Review – For Warhammer Fans Only

Eisenhorn: Xenos ‘ combat plays a lot like something that would have released on consoles 10 to 15 years ago, and I don’t mean that in a good way. You can attack with your sword, but nothing fancy as far as combos go that button mashing that button won’t do for you. Your projectiles have limited ammo, but killed enemies drop additional bullets, so you can fire with impunity, pretty much. You have a psychic knockdown attack that you can deploy, which is kinda useful if you’re in trouble. A dodge roll can be used to get out of the way of attacks. Also, you can trigger “Pause for Breath" mode, which is basically like VATS in Fallout .

The problem with the combat is that it’s so limited and clunky. At best, you don’t have a lot of options, so it’s not very engaging to play with. Plus, the camera makes it tough to see in combat, so you’re fighting visibility as well as the enemies. I admit to expecting something more akin to a God of War type game on iOS, but instead I got a game where combat is limited and dull. And what’s hilarious is that the game itself seems to encourage you to avoid it as much as possible. See, you can play stealthily, and use psychic abilities like Provoke to draw enemies to different spots, and take them out with stealth kills. The game incentivizes these assassinations by giving you more coins than for engaging in normal combat.

Honestly, I think this would have been better as something of a Telltale game (with Telltale becoming to narrative adventure games with limited interactivity what Kleenex is to facial tissue) instead of an action game. The strengths are clearly in the performances, dialogue, and the world-building, why not make that the center of the game? As it is, the whole thing feels weirdly balanced between being an action game and being a narrative experience, and not doing well at either. The game doesn’t hold its action up in very high esteem, and gives you long narrative sections, along with lengthy portions where you’re wandering around, scanning items, or solving basic puzzles to advance the story.

The plot of Eisenhorn: Xenos is…well, incomprehensible if you don’t have a good grasp on Warhammer already, or with Inquisitor Eisenhorn. The game starts off by chasing some ne’er-do-well named Eyeclone through…some kind of people vault, basically? Eyeclone wakes a bunch of hibernating people up way too early, and they pretty much all die, and Eisenhorn executes Eyeclone. However, the fallout from this, and clues hinting at some bigger plot leads Eisenhorn and his crew down a trail that has him traveling across the galaxy, dealing with people up to no good, and just generally yelling sternly at other people who are also yelling sternly about their place in this wacky, too-serious universe.

Frankly, if you don’t have a familiarity with the source material, Eisenhorn: Xenos does not care. You’re along for the ride, just hope that everything makes sense. Trying to do some research on the game, what I saw were some people who appreciated the Easter eggs and lore that are present in the game that I otherwise glossed over. Eisenhorn: Xenos knows its audience, it’s specifically for the people who want an adaptation of a 15 year-old book in a universe with tons of licensed properties as it is. And that’s fine, but if you’re not familiar…it’s kind of like if you played Infinity Blade 2 ($6.99) without reading the novel that took place after the first game. You’re gonna be lost, there’s a lot going on and the game just kind of expects you to go with the flow, or to do a lot of supplemental reading. Thankfully, the game does provide a bunch of supplemental reading through logs that you can find that contain tons of data that talk about the universe of the game.

The game is fully voice-acted, and stern-voiced British man Mark Strong is perfect for the role, being tough but thoughtful when need be. The other actors do a good job with the material they’re given, and that’s not a knock on the quality of the material per se, just that it’s pretty much inaccessible without any outside knowledge. I could imagine that this would be like if the movie adaptation of The Hunger Games didn’t actually set up the world and just started with Katniss in the hunger games, and advanced from there, with the expectation being that you know what’s going on. No – a little more grounding and explanation for people who don’t know what’s going on is rather necessary. But I suppose if you already know the basics, seeing it all adapted is fine, and I know Warhammer fans can be quite…obsessive about the license. Maybe Pixel Hero just knows their audience.

I wonder if there was an identity crisis with this game in the development – the GDC demo was impressive because the game was a technical achievement, and it still is. Seriously, this game is gorgeous, and Pixel Hero throws in plenty of moments to admire some stunning views. That, and there’s some great visual effects in use here. Pixel Hero made one of the most gorgeous games on iOS, and it shows. Plus, it has MFi controls and iCloud support, this was made with care with mobile in mind. Maybe keeping this as a mobile-friendly game would have been tough if the combat was specifically expanded at some point. Or maybe I have high standards for an otherwise-ambitious project from an independent developer. But I see where the strengths of this game lie, and they’re not in the combat. Maybe this is just brilliantly subversive – a game in a violent universe that gets you to abhor the actual combat.

And so, with the strength being the delivery of a tough-to-understand narrative, this is another Warhammer game that. Much like Blood Bowl ($4.99) , you need more than a surface-level understanding of Warhammer to understand this game. If you’re a big fan of the Eisenhorn: Xenos novel already, then this is perfect for you. Otherwise, the redeeming value is practically nil. I get that Games Workshop will give the Warhammer license to pretty much anyone (though not me if I keep badmouthing their stuff), and I don’t know if it’s smart for these games to be so intentionally obtuse to newcomers, or stupid as they’re putting off audiences that could otherwise get suckered into this whole, expansive universe. This game, like many Warhammer games, gives plenty of signs that there’s a huge, interesting universe, it just needs to do more to be welcoming to someone who’s curious enough to find out more, but wants some guidance. And the rest of the experience isn’t good enough to really justify non-Warhammer fans checking this out. Oh well, maybe next week’s Warhammer game will do a better job at that.

Eisenhorn: XENOS

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Xenos (Eisenhorn Trilogy Book 1)

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To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

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