Sin of Damnation – Gav Thorpe

Gav Thorpe’s classic Space Hulk novella was first published in 2009 under the (ever so slightly misleading) title Space Hulk: The Novel, before being re-released in 2014 as Sin of Damnation, bundled with the short story Sanguis Irae. It’s the story of the Space Hulk game played through to its conclusion, detailing the Blood Angels 1st Company’s perilous mission to board the titular Space Hulk and cleanse it of the genestealer menace. Sergeants Lorenzo and Gideon lead their Terminator squads into battle in the claustrophobic confines of the Hulk, desperate to atone in alien blood for the shame of a six hundred year-old tragedy.

It’s a neat concept, tying together the novelisation of all of the missions that come with the game into a single overarching narrative, and Gav leans into the idea by structuring the story in small chunks broken up by an ever-increasing mission timer. As you might expect it’s tension and action all the way, as the two squads – with assistance from Librarian Calistarius as the story continues – explore the winding corridors of the Hulk and battle wave after wave of genestealers, gradually suffering increasing casualties as the stakes rise. It’s remarkably tense stuff as the Terminators alternate between keeping a wary eye on the blips on their sensors, and fighting for their lives against endless, fearless enemies driven by the implacable will of the broodmind.

There’s not a great deal of in-depth character exploration here, although the Black Rage rears its head after a while, but that’s not really the point of the book. Beyond the basic determination to survive there’s enough motivation in Lorenzo’s drive to atone for his ancient shame for it all to feel bigger and more worthwhile than ‘just’ another mission, and in amongst the rapid pace and deeply satisfying action (who doesn’t love a Terminators vs genestealers matchup?) there’s no real time – or need – for too much that might slow things down. If you’ve ever played the Space Hulk game you’ll feel right at home here, but even if not there’s plenty to enjoy as long as you go into the experience knowing that this is a straight-up tale of man vs monster in the classic vein. It doesn’t try to be clever, it’s just fast and fun…and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Click here to buy Sin of Damnation.