The fourth novel in the Space Marine Conquests series, Of Honour and Iron completes the set of the big four Chapters as Ian St. Martin tackles a story of the Ultramarines during the Indomitus Crusade. Pulled from an active warzone by order of their Primarch, Chaplain Helios and Sergeant Theron are sent on a secretive mission to retrieve something vital to the ongoing crusade, with only a handful of the new Primaris Marines for company. Meanwhile on a ravaged Imperial world, the Genesis Chapter lead a doomed defence against the forces of Warsmith Bolaraphon of the Iron Warriors.
The Ultramarines may be seen as generic Space Marine poster boys by some, but here St. Martin demonstrates that their stories can be as dark and gritty as any other 40k tales. These Ultramarines are a little edgier than we sometimes see, not least Helios who very much channels Chaplain Cassius in letting his anger and hatred of the enemy give him strength, and who teaches the unblooded Primaris Marines how to feel as well as fight. Much like in Dark Imperium, there’s an innocence to the Primaris Marines that nicely contrasts with Helios and Theron, and adds weight to a fascinating exploration of their role in the future of the Imperium, the repercussions they might have upon existing Space Marines, and those characters’ concerns.
There’s quite the cast list for this story, and St. Martin doesn’t take it easy on his characters. Nobody’s safe, and there’s plenty of brutal, exhilarating action scenes for them to battle it out over, but thankfully this isn’t a book where there’s action just for the sake of it. There’s variety aplenty, with a few different subplots going on at once, hence the big cast, and for the most part the secondary characters are pretty well used. Even when it feels as though a bit of detail might have been lost in the editing, like with an intriguing but somewhat underdeveloped arc regarding a Dark Mechanicus fighter pilot, there’s still lots to find interesting and engaging. The Ultramarines get the most development, unsurprisingly, but while Bolaraphon and his Iron Warriors feel a little less well-drawn, ultimately they make sense as protagonists and provide a solid backdrop to the story.
There’s a great pace throughout, helped not hindered by the multiple subplots, and while the Ultramarines on show here might be be a little different to how they’re depicted in some other stories, a little darker and more extreme in their beliefs, that’s only in keeping with the dark times they’re living in. St. Martin litters the book with dark little touches that bring the madness of 40k to life beautifully, like the gun crew chanting ‘SHIP KILL’ as they break their backs loading torpedoes, and the overall tone is brutally appropriate to 40k. All told it’s a smart, well thought-out standalone story that nicely fleshes out a little of the Indomitus Crusade, and takes one of the most interesting looks yet at the Primaris Marines. The conclusion you draw will depend a lot on your preconceptions, as it’s not laid out in black and white for you, but it certainly poses some questions. If you’re at all interested in the ‘current’ state of 40k, this is one to check out.
