"Hammer and Anvil"

Hammer and Anvil (James Swallow)

I promise this is the last 40k book for a while. Actually, I don't really have a lot to say about this book besides recommending it; I don't think I've read a bad James Swallow book yet, and I liked this one even more than the previous book in this series (Faith & Fire). You don't need to have read the previous book, but it does feature the same characters, this time headed to a dusty rock called Sanctuary 101 to re-consecrate a shrine that was overrun by Necrons, basically evil space robots. The Word Bearers omnibus used the Necrons as well, but I like them a little better here - Swallow is great at making villains who are both plausibly justified in what they're trying to do while also being hateable scumbags, no small feat when some of them are also ancient evil space robots. More than that I can't really say without ruining Swallow's excellent pacing and character work. Recommended.

Grade: B