Warhammer 40,000 Legends Issue Eleven – Mechanicum by Graham McNeill

For issue eleven of Hachette’s Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection it’s back to the Horus Heresy with Mechanicum by Graham McNeill, the third Heresy book to be included so far. While it’s not the first in that series to be included in the collection, it is the first to tackle one of the most iconic, but least-represented factions in 40k – the Mechanicum, or in 40k terminology what became the Adeptus Mechanicus. Since its publication back in 2008 we’ve seen a raft of new stories featuring this faction, in both 40k and the Heresy, but at the time it was the first real opportunity we’d had to delve into the history and character of Mars and its denizens.

In the interests of full disclosure, I’ll say this now – I read Mechanicum a long time ago, and haven’t re-read it since, so please don’t consider this a review in any way. I’m confident in talking about how much I enjoyed the book way back when, but I wouldn’t want to go into too many details without going back and reading through it again. For the purposes of this article, though, that’s not a problem – we’re looking at the book’s inclusion in this collection, and what it offers in context of the collection as a whole. Suffice to say it tackles the rebellion on Mars, as rival factions loyal to either the Emperor or Horus clash on the red planet, and what will become the Dark Mechanicum starts to come to the fore.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – one of the key purposes of this collection is to highlight or introduce factions within the 40k background. You might argue that for a 40k-focused collection it would be best off introducing the Adeptus Mechanicus first, rather than the Mechanicum of the Heresy era, but I actually think that this is the perfect choice – for two main reasons. Firstly, it provides a close look at the roots of the organisation that will, by the 41st millennium, have become the Adeptus Mechanicus that we know. Rather than heading straight for the ‘now’, this takes us not quite back to the beginning but certainly back to a point where we can see what was, and also see the shape of what’s to come.

Secondly, it just feels appropriate to introduce a faction within this collection using the book that really introduced them to Black Library readers as a whole. It’s easy to forget that back before Mechanicum was released pretty much the only Adeptus Mechanicus characters we saw were either secondary characters (glorified engineers, really) or mysterious antagonists, while things like Knights only really existed in the long memories of Epic gamers. Without Mechanicum, it remains to be seen whether we’d have books like McNeill’s own …of Mars series or Andy Clark’s Kingsblade and Knightsblade – so yeah, I think this is a great choice for the collection!

Let’s not forget, as well, that this is also a damn good book in its own right. Memorable characters (not least Dalia Cythera, the first – I think – main female protagonist in the Heresy), great world-building, and a story that tackles some big themes which are crucial to the Mechanicum/Mechanicus in future. Oh and Titans. Lots of Titans. Which is always fun! I really can’t think of a better book to include at this point. A few things might be a touch superseded these days, as the technology and character/unit archetypes introduced recently just weren’t available for McNeill to work with, but that’s really the only (very minor) downside.

If you’re new to 40k and just working out what you like best, you might want to go on and read more of McNeill’s books once you’ve read this, both the …of Mars series and his Imperial Knights novella. Likewise you could check out the Knights novels I mentioned earlier by Andy Clark, while there’s a bunch of Adeptus Mechanicus short stories available…but this really is the place to start reading and learning about the faction. If you’re already a fan, it’s a good opportunity to revisit something of a classic – I know I’m tempted, especially after reading the series curator’s introduction at the front of this edition.

While it’s number 10 in the series, this has got number 53 on the spine – typically weird numbering, although the snippet of spine artwork seems appropriate as it’s a tangle of mechadendrites! Inside there’s lots of evocative Blanche and Blanche-inspired internal artwork, while it’s cool to see the original cover trimmed down and focused on the main figure, emphasising that this is one of Neil Roberts’ creepier covers.

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