[.ca] Warrior Brood (ISBN 1844162346)

4.5 Stars! I want more!:
When one is seconded into the Deathwatch it is a high honor. The members remain true to their individual Charters, but temporarily leave when called upon for a Deathwatch mission to assemble with the other chosen for the kill-team. If they survive the mission, they return to their original Charters, but can be called upon for another Deathwatch kill-team at any time during their life span. Captain Quirion Octavious, a veteran captain of the Imperial Fists, and his current kill-team members are diverted from their rendezvous point and sent to the world of Herodian IV in response to a call for aide from the Mantis Warriors. The Mantis Marines is a Charter that fell from grace, but has been given a chance to redeem itself. They currently fight a tyranid swarm that is somehow much more intelligent than any before. These are riddled with psyker zoanthropes. Leading Octavious's kill-team is Inquisitor Kalypsia. Kalypsia may be young, but she has the same healthy paranoia of her brethren. Octavious may have to answer to Kalypsia, but he does not have to fully trust her. It is obvious that she is not revealing all she knows about this mission. ***** There is a certain lithe assassin named Slyrian that only shows up two or three times in this novel, yet I quickly became enthralled by her. I was disappointed when she abruptly disappeared from the story after killing her last few marks. When the one she works for is taken out of the story, she is simply never mentioned again. Slyrian, and one other character, are major loose threads. They are not mentioned in the second book either, as I hoped they would be. I feel cheated. The Mantis Warriors have a sub-plot running in this tale that has to do with their Charter's history. W40K fans learn what happens when a Marine Charter is involved in treachery, even if unintentional. As usual, the book starts in battle and readers will have little room to breathe until the entire novel has been read. Excellent fantasy reading! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.