Brutal Kunnin: An Epic Waaagh! Novel (Warhammer 40,000)

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Mechanicus Secutor Mitranda (gets two characters from her own perspective, interacts with Zaefa and ) Ere we go! It’s the moment every ork fan has been waiting for, the collector’s mega limited edition of Warboss by Mike Brooks! Above all else, the book is fun, which an Ork book ought to be. There are the classic pop-culture references- Nizkwik the grot, a chapter entitled Mortal Krumpin’- that have been a part of the faction since their inception, and a humour that belies the horror that encountering them must engender.

honestly I think I just like Warhammer books but I really didn't expect to like it as much as I did. The 40k Orks are just forces of complete randomness and violence and yet its that vibe that makes this book a compelling, brain-off kind of story. This book is also legitimately hilarious with the Orks facing off against the cyborg Adeptus Mechanicus and the constant strain of the two factions trying to figure counter each other with opposing logic is very compelling. The prophecy in question foretells of a mysterious gate that lies beneath the human city on the fortress world of Aranua. The one true warboss will be the first to find it, and use it to turn the galaxy green. These trophy-hungry ladz are great for claiming anclaiming an objective or hurting your foes, and dead good at bringing down big targets – MONSTERS and VEHICLES better beware, even with how tough they’ve got lately . ToW: Can you talk a bit about how you go about writing orks, capturing the important balance between humour and horror in them?CONTEXT: During an Orkish invasion of a Forge World, Te'Kannaroth — a greater daemon of Khorne now bound into a daemon engine — looks over the battlefield. This prompts the daemon to think about each of the galaxy's major 1 races, particularly "the abhorrence" (AKA the Orks). More potential spoilers below: read at your own risk! Orks are loaded with great units, but if you’re looking for something big, brutal, and belligerent – and BATTLELINE , to boot – look no further than the Beast Snagga Boyz . Thanks as ever to Mike for taking the time to answer these questions! I’m sure I’m not the only person very excited to read this novel – it sounds so much fun! Expect a review just as soon as I get hold of a copy… With that in mind, it should be noted that this is as much a Mechanicus book as an Ork one, despite what the cover implies (according to Brooks, this was mandated.) But he uses that split extremely effectively – I’m always looking for a good AdMech book and this one was all the sweeter for being unexpected. A full length followup to the short Where Dere’s da Warp Dere’s a Way, this one follows the story of a WAAAGH! way to loot the shiniest, most technological gear they can find.

MB: I LOVE ORKS. Always have done. I’ve drifted in and out of 40k, but any time I’ve played it, it’s been with orks. They’re tremendous fun, whether that’s playing as them, or in the lore. Part of the reason I wanted to do this was to prove that it can be done, and partly (I must admit) because I wanted to be the first person to write a 40k ork novel, but mainly it was because it felt like one of the most fun things I could be paid to do. The ork stuff is superb on its own as well. Brooks sets a good balance between normal prose mixed with orky nouns, a decision that kept this section entertaining instead of unreadable. They have a good cast as well, all feeling distinct while remaining orky. With a contender from each clan warring to succeed the dead warboss, this standalone novel is set in the same ork-verse as Mike’s previous teef-rattling tales.*** It’s filled with fantastic characters, dark humour, and orkish hijinks. Throw in a prophecy from a weirder-than-usual weirdboy – and a grot revolutionary with a shiv who isn’t afraid to use it – and you know you’re in for a great time.” Another thing I loved was the total dumpster fire an Ork war is. Nothing ever works quite like it should for either side. The Mechanicus keeps getting blind sided by the shitshow that is the Orkz. Now, it isn't to say some of their plans worked, they certainly did, but because the Orkz are insane, things always seem to devolve into a total meat grinder which of course the Orkz love. The description of the battles is also great, especially the Titan legion going up against the Gargant.

Table of Contents

The story could have been cut down a bit, but I think it needed padding to get it to the standard BL novel length. There was an entire chapter that was a pretty good action scene of Mitranda and their team taking out a warboss...but for all the effect it had on the story, it could have been cut completely and it wouldn't have changed anything. We never figure out who the ork warboss was, if his death actually mattered at all, and the whole thing doesn't get mentioned again other than a throwaway line about Mitranda having to replace their axe. If there’s a fight brewing, the Orks are going to be there – and they’re still one of the most flexible armies around. Want to run a big old horde of Boyz and Gretchin ? That’s a Waaagh! Want to zoom into a fight with a road fleet of Boomdakka Snazzwagons , Shokkjump Dragstas , and Megatrakk Scrapjets ? That’s a Waaagh!! Want to stomp across the battlefield in massive war machines like Gorkanauts and Morkanauts ? That’s a Waaagh!!! Faction Rules Iron Warrior Warpsmith Gavrak Daelin (interacts with Zaefa, get's killed by a combination of her and Mitranda, wants revenge against Vast's Titan for destroying a corrupted warlord titan that was his charge) Brooks handles writing from an Ork perspective fantastically; we see through Ufthak’s eyes, encounter his thoughts and manage to relate to his desires. When he is the focus, Imperial Knights are humie walkers, armed with Kannons and Scorchas, though all of the boyz keep their Mork-given names- the text, however, is clearly written *about* an Ork rather than *by* one, so we get actual description and story rather than a jumbled blur of emotion and explosion. It’s a nice inversion of the death-by-Codex entry that can sometimes detract from a BL story. In his first appearance, Ufthak occupies a relatively lowly role in his Waagh, I’m hoping it’s not giving to much away to say that this book is an account of his ascent through what pass for ranks in Ork society; Brooks is clearly enthused by Ork Kultur, and while we don’t see much about the various Klans, he certainly nails the dynamics of mobs and the mindset of the faction. With only 2,000 uniquely numbered and individually signed copies available, any self-respecting ork enthusiast needs to grab theirs before they are gone.

In everyone of Mikes story he seems to use plural pronouns to generate a singular non-gendered pronoun. This would be well and good if this didn't come at the cost of collapsing the difference between singular and plural. This is especially frustrating when one person works in conjuncture with a group (Skitarii in this case) or for interactions between two people that use this "new" pronoun. The worst part is that it isn't even necessary to get the idea across, just use "it". It's not that Mechanicum personnel will mind, after all getting refereed to as "it" would bring the even closer to the holy machine. Plus the ease of using the proper genderless pronoun "it" is also demonstrated in this novel during the chapters about Te'Kannaroth. Which are a joy to read. In the end I hoped that I would get used to it but even at chapter 24 I still needed to pause every time to make sure I didn't misinterpreted anything.Mike Brooks: It’s a novel about the orks of the TekWaaagh! invading the forge world of Hephaesto. It’s primarily told from the point of view of the orks, although there are also Adeptus Mechanicus POV characters.

Secondly, there's a subplot that starts very slowly and once it feels like it's getting going, is resolved near instantly. Even the aftermath of that resolution is undone when it would be more interesting to see it left. But it is in the nature of 40k to kill on an unprecedented level so I cam forgive a little. Like all Orks, this giant walker is even better at killing stuff up close and personal, with its advanced mega-choppa technology.** Those Imperial Knights will soon be nothing but chivalrous scrap. Honestly, I don't quite know how to feel about this novel. On the one hand the Orky parts are great and fun to read. On the other you've got the Mechanicum sections, that are at times just unreadable.in meeting the initial invasion as an academic exercise, and then allowing their responses the orks being somewhat more than the animals their data led them to expect being guided as much by wanting to preserve or improve on their status I’d say that the Ad Mexh portrayal was politically nuanced. Personality is injected into these characters, even the super-archetypal Titan crew. They’re more than cannon fodder, (literal) diabolical plots exist for reasons beyond ‘ha! We’re evil’. We have characters second-guessing the motivations of others, and even themselves. The Ad Mech are shown as separate in terms of psychology and approaches to the rest of mankind, but still very much part of the Imperium, with all that that entails. Like a lot of the 40k I’m enjoying at the moment, this highlighting of the Imperium’s self-sabotaging nature shines here. I think it's also worth noting that the passage doesn't rule out the possibility of Chaos Orkz entirely; it just explains why they're so very difficult to create! (Question for those who've read more on the subject: are Tuska's boys ever actually stated to worship Khorne, or are they simply bog standard Orks that he resurrects for his own amusement?) Princeps Arlost Vast (gets a single chapter before being killed by Ufthak, which robs Daelin of the revenge he wanted) One particular incident in the book is two orks, a gretchin, and a squig taking down a titan, with the squig getting the name Princess out of it.