The Wolftime
Dawn of Fire: Warhammer 40,000, Book 3
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The Wolftime
Narrated by:
John Banks
Buy Now for £23.99
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Narrated by:
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John Banks
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By:
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Gav Thorpe
About this listen
A Dawn of Fire audio.
Book three spins the saga of the Space Wolves as they stand against rampaging xenos hordes. Logan Grimnar faces a momentous decision that will impact the future of the chapter itself.
Listen to it because: discover how the Cicatrix Maledictum affects even the most stubborn and steadfast of the Imperium’s warriors, as traditions the Space Wolves hold dear may be stopping them from defending the Imperium to the best of their abilities.
The story: the Indomitus Crusade has brought the Emperor's vengeance to thousands of star systems. The fleets and armies under the leadership of Roboute Guilliman fight for the survival of humanity against the forces of the Chaos Gods. But the traitors and heretics are not the only foe looking to destroy the rule of Terra.
Xenos prey on human worlds in numbers not seen for millennia. Worst amongst them are the rampaging orks, whose migration conquests threaten to reverse the many gains of Fleet Primus. And their throaty bellows carry a name not heard in years, of destruction made flesh, a bestial warlord without peer: Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka.
In the midst of this brutal tide is Fenris, the world of the Space Wolves. Depleted by ever-greater demands on their warriors, called upon by the Legion-breaker Guilliman, the Wolves of Fenris face a momentous decision. Grimnar and his counsellors must choose whether their fate is to ally themselves with an ancient rival and risk all that makes them the Vlka Fenryka or to accept their demise and wait for the return of their own primarch and the coming of the Wolftime.
Written by Gav Thorpe.
©2021 Games Workshop Limited (P)2021 Games Workshop LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
So good, I'm immediately listening to it again.
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Shows a more human side to the Wolves
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So do we get one with 'The Wolftime'? Well, yes. And no. Sort of.
Gav Thorpe takes up the baton for the third installment of the Dawn of Fire series, which resumes the action in the aftermath of the seige of Gathalamor and the ongoing search for some heretical weapon related to the Apostate Cardinal Bucharis. The trail leads to Fenris, which pretty much appears to be the centre of the known universe in recent w40k lore. For a barren planet full of ice, primitive humans and enormous things that want to kill you, Fenris really is a very popular destination. Why? Well, because it's the home of those loveable rogues the Space W- Vlka Fenryka - of course!
As with the previous entries in the Dawn of Fire chronicle, the story switches between multiple characters and their intertwining plotlines. Sometimes this is very effective, at other times it feels like maddening filler. The story of Gaius, the primaris marine who carries Leman Russ's geneseed and dreams of going to Fenris is the strongest in terms of a character arc. He and his squad's attempts to become more Fenrisian via an ancient guidebook is rather endearing, a bit like watching a teenage fanboy trying to emulate their musical heroes in the bedroom mirror with a hairbrush mic and a tennis racquet for a guitar. The story of the navy menial who is captured and enslaved by Orks is a good counterpoint, and a rare look at the greenskins off the battle field that doesn't play it for laughs with the 'cockney hooligans in space' card. Other characters feel less worthy of inclusion, like the Night Lord who turns up and gets a whole section to remind us how 'oooooh scary' they are before getting annihilated two pages later by Gaius and Co. The point? No idea.
But most frustrating of all are those Space Wolves (oh live with it). There really is no point in the several tedious chapters of Logan Grimnar and his mates fighting orks, it seems to serve no end other than to pad things out. When we get to the crunch events of the story (and I promise, no spoilers) the Great Wolf and his entourage display a level of idiotic paranoia regarding Guilliman and the primaris marines that is hard to fathom. The independent spirit of the Wolves and their antipathy to control from the Imperium is well-established, but when the Avenging Son comes calling to Fenris, the sheer pig-headedness and unsubstantiated conspiracy theory-peddling by Logan Grimnar and his pals is hard to credit. Basically, their argument goes, Roboute Guilliman has arisen, what's his obvious priority? Why, to lord it over the handful of surviving Wolves of Fenris, what else? This bizarre, self-important behaviour feels so unlikely that when Gaius accuses the Wolves of exactly that, it feels like he's breaking the fourth wall to admit how stupid it all is. It's clear to the meanest intelligence that the Lord Regent of the Imperium has slightly more important things on his mind right now than ruling the roost on Fenris.
The Space Wolves are supposed to have more intelligence than this. The best W40k novels concerning their antics paint them as considered and subtle operators who hide their cunning behind the facade of savagery. Here, there's none of that, they're just idiots. Gav Thorpe fails to make any of it credible, with Grimnar bleating on about the return of Leman Russ as if such incredibly unlikely event is somehow justification for turning their backs on primaris reinforcements and the entire Indomitus Crusade. It feels completely out of character. The Wolves are always the chapter that does what needs to be done, without complaint, for the good of the Imperium. Here, the way the Wolves are portrayed demeans them. The scene where Grimnar confronts Guiliman in his chapter's great hall is particularly awful. I just felt embarassed for him, the same way I do watching David Brent's posturing in The Office.
Even when Bjorn the Fell-Handed is trotted out to let fly a few conspiracy-nut style accusations against Guilliman 'The Legion Breaker', it doesn't feel like validation of Grimnar's position, it just feels like a wasted opportunity given that he's the one individual in the Imperium who was alive with Guilliman during the Crusade and the Heresy eras. Any way, the only thing all of this bizarre behaviour achieves is to make the suspicions of Tribune Stratarchis Actuaris Maldovar Colquan regarding the Primarch's ambitions appear vaguely sane and rational by comparison.
Still The Wolftime is a decent enough yarn. Despite all the holes, Gav Thorpe is still a solid story teller and reader John Banks is reliably good as ever (he's the one narrator who doesn't give the Wolves hurdy gurdy accents like the Swedish chef on Sesame Street). However at the end of the plot, Leman Russ has completely failed to show up. So it's not really the Wolftime. Not yet anyway. Or wait, is it...!?
(Wait. No it's not. Sorry, false alarm).
The Wolftime is here! Oh wait, maybe not.
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Great insight into the Indomitus Wolves
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Excellent narration & brilliant pacing. A brilliant entry in the Dawn of Fire series and a worthwhile listen for any fan of the space wolves, even if you haven’t read the other books in the series!
Vlka Fenrika!
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