The character of Inquisitor Covenant was introduced in 2001’s Inquisitor rulebook; fast forward to 2017 and he’s the focus of The Horusian Wars: Resurrection by John French. The first novel in a new series that has already seen a few introductory short stories, it joins Covenant and his acolytes partway through their hunt for a fellow inquisitor, a radical named Talicto. A rare gathering of his peers provides Covenant with an opportunity to confront Talicto, but with so many inquisitors gathered in one place, events inevitably don’t go quite to plan. And so begins a story of conflicting ideologies and murky loyalties, of hidden conflicts taking place while the galaxy burns.
It’s a book that cuts to the root of the Inquisition – powerful, essential, divided – and the people who become inquisitors – driven, supremely confident, secretive, distrustful. Covenant represents the mystery of the Inquisition; we see him at a remove, always through the eyes of others, his motivations and thought processes illuminated by his actions but never fully revealed. He’s a fascinating character, portrayed as almost inhumanly focused, with hard layers of willpower that only occasionally pull back to reveal a fierce, fanatical core beneath. But it’s his acolytes – Josef, Severita, the von Castellans (some familiar names for Inquisitor fans) – who provide the humanity to the story, their more open natures emphasising the distance between them and their master. Josef in particular carries the most warmth, and also the most suggestions of depth, though French only hints at events in his past.
In amongst the (quite extensive) cast of inquisitors, acolytes and wrong-place-wrong-time unfortunates, you might wonder who the antagonists are. That would be an excellent question, and one that in true John French style remains only partially answered throughout, although their shadowy presence retains a worryingly long reach that only adds to the ominous tone of the book. Yes, this is as dark as you might expect, shrouded as it is in mystery and told against the backdrop of warp storms, cult uprisings and troubled dreams. Tonally it’s pretty heavy stuff, but it’s also full of vivid, evocative imagery that brings the characters, locations and events to life in characteristic French fashion. He has a way of imbuing his writing with a sort of essential 40k-ness that really channels and explores the intense, gothic creepiness of the setting.
Narratively speaking it’s as unpredictable as you would expect given French’s previous work, not to mention its subject matter – where the Inquisition is concerned, nothing should be taken for granted. With Covenant’s plans and intentions concealed even from his acolytes, and various factions within the Inquisition working at apparent cross-purposes, the true direction of the plot is only gradually revealed, and even then it’s clear that this is only the beginning of a much bigger story. Don’t expect a clear explanation of Covenant’s ideological leanings or detailed analysis of the various Inquisitorial factions and their conflicts – French keeps his cards close to his chest, letting a picture build up organically as his characters interact rather than laying it all out for the reader.
Complex and uncompromising, this isn’t your usual easy Black Library read, although it nails the fundamental tone and vibe of 40k in a way that few others do. It’s a book that requires thought and attention, that hoards its secrets and reveals them only begrudgingly – its characters’ histories, beliefs and motivations are slowly, carefully unravelled, while the true scale of the story is perhaps yet to be fully revealed. It might not be for everyone, especially if you’re hoping for a straightforward depiction of the Inquisition and what ‘the Horusian Wars’ really are…but if you’re willing to put the effort in then you’ll be rewarded with something quite special. Just be prepared to be patient while you wait for the next instalment.
