Ravenor: The Omnibus

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The complete story of Gideon Ravenor’s greatest triumphs – and greatest failures – brings together a cast of compelling characters thrust into a mission that tests them all to their limits. None of them are quite what they seem, and all of them have a story to be told. And some of those stories are brutal and end very, very messily… Ravenor Returned - The team has figured out where the narcotics are coming from, and the consequences are dire indeed, yet the danger is minimal compared to the real threat. What's the real threat? Computers. Yes, in the grim dark future of the 41st millenium, computers that haven't been lovingly annointed with sacred oils and prayed over are evil. Thorn Wishes Talon (Short Story) (2004, also collected in What Price Victory (Anthology) and The Hammer and the Eagle: Icons of Warhammer (Anthology))

In the war-torn future of the 41st Millennium, the Inquisition fights a secret war against the darkest enemies of Mankind -- the alien, the Heretic, and the Daemon. The three stories in this omnibus tell the tale of Inquisitor Gideon Ravenor and his lethal band of operatives, whose investigations take them from the heart of the Scarus Sector to the wildest regions of space beyond, and even through time itself. Wherever they go, and whatever dangers they face, they will never give up until their mission succeeds. That said, Abnett’s plotting and writing become tighter with every book: the Ravenor novels outshine the Eisenhorn ones, and each Ravenor novel improves over the last one. His weakness remains characterisation: there’s just too many expendables (and on the baddies’ side, expended) with little more than a name, vest, and weapon attached, no real conflict or character development among hired guns and a superhuman hard boiled detective. The last two novels in this collection are by far the best in Abnett’s Inquisitor trilogy or trilogies so far. Two characters (Carl Thonius and Patience Kys) have actual arcs and conflicts. Everyone has secrets. There are strong interesting locations. Sholto Unwerth is a comic relief that works AND one you end up actually caring about. And the novel directly works with the series’ main concept, Ravenor’s physical vulnerability, but stops short of making something significant of it, i.e. a palpable change in Ravenor’s character after going through the Hero’s Journey underworld of facing the world as a literal naked lump of flesh. (Ravenor’s main arc is the same as Eisenhorn’s and by now familiar and expectable, and with far less surrounding introspection and doubts by Ravenor to give it the same significance: a faithful Inquisitor’s slow descent into “radicalism” = the ends justify the means, using the enemy’s tools (or even the enemy) to fend off a greater evil.) I also like the way he creates little details that bring us into his story - fictional types of clothing, varieties of alcohol, drugs of choice, etc. They blend together to give his settings a real verisimilitude and his characters some life. The complete story of Gideon Ravenor's greatest triumphs – and greatest failures – brings together a cast of compelling characters thrust into a mission that tests them all to their limits. None of them are quite what they seem, and all of them have a story to be told. And some of those stories are brutal and end very, very messily... Patrik Belknap, a retired Imperial Guard medic will who will assist anyone, anywhere, regardless of their ability to pay.Fans will recognize a couple of characters from Eisenhorn's retinue, Kara Swole (the acrobat) and Harlon Nayl (the bounty hunter) and Cynia Preest (captain of the Hinterlight). The rest of the team is new: Ravenor Rogue: 4 stars. A really exciting book. It ties all the events of the first two books and new events together while rushing to a very satisfying conclusion. Some crazy stuff happens in this one and I really enjoy all of it.

The pace of the story comes fast and at full throttle right from the beginning and the way the team goes about their business is brillianlty handled and the comparisons to other teams is brilliantly done! This really shows how radical but brilliant the team really is! The collection cleverly leaves things nealty set up situations and plots for future events! The dive into the elements of society they find and the other other planets they go to really brings in the world builing brilliantly! At the same time Abnett doesn't hesistate to put his characters through the wringer making for an epic book that never lets up from the beginning!

But Abnett did do Ravenor second and crafted it better, with multiple perspectives, tighter timeframes and much much better dialogue. This isn't a swipe at the first series, it had (and has!) alot going for it. But put the somewhat forced Bequin against Kara Swole or Patience Kys, the hurried end to Fischig vs tragedy of Thonius, or even anyone against the perpetual straight man Harlon. And hey, the lead character is permanently disabled. Score one for consistent and positive representation throughout. I don’t know what to say. I just finished the whole omnibus and… it made me sad. I won’t spoiler it. But, it sort of drove home what people have said of Warhammer lore : there are seldom good guys or happy endings.

Eisenhorn himself narrated the first 3 books. You knew what he knew, you suspected what he suspected. As he walked the road to damnation, you nodded along with his self-serving lies because nothing else made sense. This time it's all 3rd person, but it works because now we can see how the villains must adapt to handle the Inquisition in real time. I can't say too much about the many different opposition groups because their identities and roles reveal major spoilers. They are deliciously good at what they do, and seeing the main two in action against each other before they team up is a real treat.Setting A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a futuristic society Ravenor - After successfully executing the heretic Zygmunt Molotch, Ravenor and his team head for Eustis Majoris to investigate narcotics. Kids, don't do drugs! Thank Xenu I read this in omnibus form, because the ending is no ending at all. If I didn't have easy access to the sequels, the sudden stop would make me throw the book out the window. Wystan Frauka, one of Alizabeth Bequin's untouchables who survived the purge on that horrible night. If you have any interest in the Warhammer 40k universe, you owe it to yourself to read this book. It is a very fun read. Of course, literature it is not, but someone looking for a good story can't go wrong. Thorn Wishes Talon is a bridge story. The title is a reference to Eisenhorn's code language, Glossia. The story sets up the major tension for the next 2 books: what Ravenor does (or does not do) could trigger the summoning of a daemon that will kill billions. It also sets a fight, Eisenhorn vs Ravenor, that we have yet to see.