Twelve books in and the Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection turns to one of the longest-running 40k series – Space Marine Battles – for the first time, with Architect of Fate. Comprising four novellas from Sarah Cawkwell, Ben Counter, Darius Hinks and John French, it’s a four-part exploration of just how dark and creepy the 41st millennium can be, as a range of Space Marine chapters tackle enemies both seen and unseen as they struggle unknowingly in the strings of Tzeentch’s greatest manipulator, Kairos Fateweaver. It’s not what you’d call the template for Space Marine Battles books, but it’s certainly an interesting one.
I read and reviewed this back in 2017, having first read it when it was originally released even further back in 2012 – you can have a read of my review here. What struck me was how well the whole thing fits together, despite only two of the novellas actually being directly connected (and even then, only loosely) and the wide range of characters and chapters involved. If you haven’t read it, then don’t let the title or cover fool you – this isn’t a book about Kairos Fateweaver, it’s about the impact that Tzeentchian schemes and manipulations have on other characters. We’ve got Star Dragons, Blood Swords, Relictors, Imperial Fists (including Lysander himself) and White Consuls, so there’s a lot of characters in there…but it works.
Does it work in context of this collection, though – that’s the question, right? Well let’s take another look at the two objectives that I tend to think this series is aiming for, namely to provide introductions to key factions and to highlight the big, well-loved titles from Black Library’s 40k back catalogue. On the face of it, this sort of…doesn’t do either of those. Ok, it kind of introduces the idea of Tzeentch, but at a remove by way of lots of different loyalist characters, and while it’s got one big name in it, plus Fateweaver’s influence, it’s not really a book that you’d say really, fundamentally represents a faction or key character.
If the aim was to introduce Tzeentch as a Chaos god, and essentially a faction in its own right – like we’ve seen introductions to the Ultramarines, or the Inquisition so far – you might argue that a better place to start would have been something like Ahriman: Exile, although to be honest there’s not a huge amount of choice in that regard. What Architect of Fate does do, however, is represent Tzeentch in almost an abstract manner, approaching it in a less obvious way that sort of works in context of what Tzeentch really is. I’m not sure how well it’ll go down with newer readers who perhaps aren’t fully au fait with the background…but it’s kinda cool for the long-standing fans.
As for whether this represents one of the bigger, fan-favourite books…well, again probably not. Okay, in terms of the series it represents then sure, Space Marine Battles is (I think) second only to the Heresy in terms of longevity and number of titles in the series (honestly, I’ve lost count), so it’s entirely appropriate to be included in the collection. Looking ahead to already-published future titles I can already see a couple more inclusions, and I’m sure there will be more, but I find it hard to imagine many people would look at the series and suggest this one as being actually representative of what a Space Marine Battles book is. But…
There’s always a but, right? In this case, the but reflects the fact that – in my opinion – this is actually quite a cool way of introducing the series. Each of the four novellas in Architect of Fate does pretty much do what a SMB story should, in that they’re all action-packed stories showcasing Space Marines taking the fight to their enemies. We get to see LOADS of different chapters, in a range of settings, with four different authors each offering their take on the same core concept. Would I have picked this as the first Space Marine Battles book to be included in this collection? Honestly, probably not. I wonder if that’s a reflection of my overall perception of the series, however, and how easy I find to forget that for every slightly by-the-numbers book there’s a more nuanced, developed book to match it.
More than that, however, I wonder if I need to reconsider those objectives that I’ve suggested the collection has. Perhaps the inclusion of Architect of Fate suggests that there’s more to it than making sure fans can check out stories about the big name factions, or the most popular books/series. It can certainly continue to do that, but maybe it’s also trying to show just how wide-ranging 40k can be as a backdrop, and the different styles of story that can be told therein. After all, while the eleven previous books have covered a wide range of topics and authorial styles, they perhaps haven’t strayed this far into the truly dark, creepy side of 40k. We may yet see books included which tackle yet more types of story, beyond straight-up action, detective (sort of) and now almost-horror…in which case we might look back and consider this one to be a sign of things to come.
Certainly it’s not a book that I imagine many long-standing fans would have had near the top of their lists for inclusion – it’s probably not even near the top of many fans’ Space Marine Battles lists. When I started thinking about writing this article I was all set to talk about how this is the first in the collection to feel a bit out of place, but over the course of planning and writing it…I’ve pretty much changed my mind. It’s definitely a brave and interesting choice – one that might cause some puzzlement, but overall I think a good choice.
Jon Sullivan’s amazing cover art
This time around I’ve already talked a bit more than usual, and in terms of the internal artwork etc. there’s probably not much more to say other than that it’s once again a great opportunity to enjoy some cool, evocative 40k art. Personally I’m not always fully convinced by Jon Sullivan’s covers, but the image of Kairos Fateweaver for the cover of this is absolutely fantastic, and it’s great to see that in full colour inside as well as the moody black and white cover. As always, if you’re keeping track – the number on the spine is 61 this time.
Click here for the main Warhammer 40,000 Legends Collection page.