Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! – Nate Crowley

Nate Crowley puts his wild imagination to darkly hilarious use with the fantastic Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh!, effortlessly elevating Warhammer 40,000 orks into compelling, thought-provoking characters. Relatively short but wide-ranging, it’s structured around the central conceit of a radical Ordo Xenos inquisitor interrogating a captured grot claiming to be Makari, the banner bearer of Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. As Inquisitor Falx and her unusual retinue question Makari – via a somewhat suspicious interpreter – they’re gradually presented with both an origin story for Ghazghkull and a jaw-dropping exploration of greenskin culture and the orkish mindset. Orks not being known for their trustworthiness though, the Imperials have to wonder how much they can trust and what the implications might be if Makari’s story is actually true.

It’s worth mentioning that while this is Ghazgkhull’s story, he’s not a point of view character in it. This might disappoint some readers, but it’s almost always best with this sort of practically godlike character to show them from a distance, and Makari’s unique viewpoint offers a perfect opportunity to bring Ghazgkhull to suitably terrifying life without trivialising him. To say too much about what happens risks spoiling the surprises, but suffice to say Crowley – through the unreliable narration of Makari and the sceptical viewpoint of Falx – clearly had fun writing this, and that sense of fun translates into a page-turning reading experience with equal doses of gleeful violence, laugh-out-loud madness and ‘wow, I hadn’t thought of that’ moments. As Makari says, “to know Ghazghkull…you must first know Makari. And to know Makari, you must know what it is to be grot”, and it’s immediately clear that Crowley truly does understand greenskins, how they work and what makes them interesting.

Not only that, but as he delves into the orkish psyche he also offers up a thoughtful reflection on the Imperium, as learning Ghazghkull’s story and gaining a deeper understanding of greenskins in general forces Falx and her retinue to reflect on their own beliefs in humanity and the Imperial Truth. It’s a tour de force of orkish culture and society, from the way they experience time to their puzzled viewpoint on human gender, and in particular their unique brand of faith and philosophy. Orks might not be pious in the way humans are, but Crowley delights in exploring their fierce sense of belief in themselves – “Ghazghkull believed you could go fast in armour, so he went fast in armour” – and the way their spirituality manifests in expressions of physicality and violence. Reading about the spiritual importance of the headbutt, for example – “to smash a problem with your head is to solve a problem with the gifts of Gork and the gifts of Mork: hitting something with the thing that you think with” – is both ludicrously funny and perfectly, mind-blowingly ork-appropriate.

At just over 220 pages this is a short but perfectly formed novel, and while the interrogation idea has been done before it’s perfectly suited to this story. Falx and her retinue – of which the belligerent old Rune Priest Hendriksen is the least weird – make for an entertaining supporting cast, and likewise Biter the interpreter (no spoilers but…he’s great), while Makari is every bit the vicious, slippery little monster, but at the same time strangely sympathetic. Of course, looming over everything is the menacing shadow of Ghazghkull himself, who’s utterly terrifying from an Imperial perspective, but depicted as such an interesting character that as a reader it’s hard not to root for him in the end! Crowley has delivered a phenomenal character study here, but with his unique style and sense of imagination he’s also brought 40k orks to life with a depth of culture that we as readers have never seen before, and of which the orks themselves are probably happily unaware. Quite simply, this is probably the most fun you can have while reading a Black Library novel.

The only downside is that this was originally only available as a Limited Edition hardback. There’s a lot to like about the LE with its clever use of fonts and colours, and a typically high level of attention to detail throughout, but it’s a shame that most Black Library fans had to wait to read this book, and that the readership as a whole couldn’t enjoy it all at the same time. Still, now that it finally has a general release this is one BL book that should be at the top of the list for any 40k fan! There’s so much to enjoy here, and it really isn’t just for ork fans; as Falx herself says, “In Ghazghkull’s defiance of his instinct, he learned what orks were always meant to be. And if we defy ours? Perhaps, old friend, we’ll learn to be human again.”

Massive thanks to Ant, Dan, Howard, Jay and Stu who bought me a copy of the Ghazgkhull LE for my birthday!

See also: all the other Nate Crowley-related reviews and interviews on Track of Words.

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