Sisters of Battle: The Omnibus Paperback – September 19, 2017

I’ve always liked the Sisters of Battle more than the Space Marines, not because the Marines aren’t cool, but because the Sisters are at the end of things ‘mere’ mortal women. The power of their faith helps them hold their own and triumph well outside their weight class, and that has always been compelling to me.The stories here exemplify that, and are simply good stories in their own right as well, with good action and better characters.

I went into reading this with low expectations. That was because I've read games workshop books before and they're usually crap. That being said I was pleasantly surprised! These stories were fast and fun reads. The author seems to enjoy torturing his characters but what good action writer doesn't have wingless flies in their home? They're good at capturing the grim and violence of warhammer 40K. I picked it up because I thought the model line was cool but I knew nothing of the lore. Now I do and will eventually own a squad or two as an allied contingent in my wardolly army.

Libre nos! Is this book out of print already? I just got mine this past December! I thought this Warhammer 40k stuff was more popular, based on how much seems to be out there. I have noticed that some factions and some themes seem more popular than others, so maybe the Adepta Sororitas have a more exclusive and selective fanbase?The Sisters of Battle were my first introduction to the world of WH40k. As a long-time tabletop/RPG gamer, I had seen the miniatures and rulebooks in gameshops but never ventured closer than passing the racks. Not my cuppa'. However - there is something about a hardcore, full-metal warrior woman that has always caught my eye - from historical accounts of Amazons, the inspiring and tragic history of Joan of Arc, to C. L. Moore's Jiral of Joiry and C. J. Cherryh's Morgaine cycle (to name but a few). Strength, grace, faith, fury, nobility... So when Swallow's two SoB novels were re-released in paperback a few years ago, they DID stand out on the shelf to me and became my entry into the 41st grimdark Century.Some things fans already know - the universe of WH40k is one of extremes and the writing style of these works by Swallow reflects that with bombastic and baroque prose, along with some tongue-twister terminology and a fairly complex hierarchy and structure. Coming into it all brand new presents a bit of a learning curve. But there are sufficient historical and clerical (Roman and Medieval) touch-points and borrowings from other sci-fi works (I was particularly reminded of Michael Moorcock's Hawkmoon series and some Dr. Who worlds) that it all falls into place pretty quickly. Having read no other Black Library books beyond these, I still feel inclined to give Swallow credit for making the universe accessible, and within the scope of these stories, very engaging.Now we have (had) this omnibus collection of all Swallow's SoB works to date; comprised of the two novels and of two short stories. The four pieces are presented here in internal chronological order, but I recommend reading them in the original publication order: Faith & Fire, Hammer & Anvil, Red & Black, and Heart & Soul. I feel their flow and impact is stronger this way, and while Red & Black is meant as an introductory story, it's too short and limited (originally an audio drama, so this is like a "novelization") to really give any kind of insight into character. It's philosophical points have more interest and impact I feel if it's read after getting to know Sister Miriya from the two novels.Hammer & Anvil is the real centerpiece of the omnibus, and as Swallow relates in his excellent introduction, was really the first SoB novel he wanted to write (and the first I actually read). Editorial mandates lead to Faith & Fire appearing first, which is an entertaining conspiracy adventure (maybe runs just a tad too long), but lacks the total epic sweep and bolts-out mad-punch of H&A.So... now unavailable, huh? I guess recommending this book is recommending a quest, but for a non-WH40k fan who knew almost nothing about the universe and the Black Library, I enjoyed James Swallow's books very much. The close focus he maintains on the Sisters means you don't need to know everything about this universe going in, and what you did need, Swallow does a pretty good job of filling in and providing. These works stand on their own. Have they lead me deeper into the WH40k world? Nope. I'm still not all that interested in the universe at large. But I would be very interested in reading future Sisters of Battle fiction.Ave, Adepta Sororitas!

I have read the 40K universe a ton and this Omnibus stands out as one of my favorite. Great characters, great action and very entertaining. Highest marks for fun reading. Highly recommended.

10/10 the book is like new thank you

I absolutely love this book! If your a fan of the Sisters of Battle you must read this book! It’s very exciting and quite the page turner! I couldn’t put it down. I also find this author easy to read.

Of all the Warhammer 40000 factions, it's the Sisters that have most interested me. I'm glad I bought and read this. The main characters are good, and the slices of Imperium situations are interesting. I truly get a sense of many things going on, and I want to read more. But this is a very overpriced book. I bought it to access official stories and to burn a gift card, but my desire to get more Warhammer books cools right down. They're all just as overpriced, printed or digital. Again, glad I finally dipped my toe in the official fiction, but I have little desire to jump all the way in.

Loved it!

Great book so far. Haven't finished reading it yet but am about half way done. Nice to see a different perspective other than the Space Marines.

Really enjoyed.

Le Adeptas Sororita sono la versione femminile dei capitoli degli Space Marines..introdotte da un breve racconto su White Dwarf si sono evolute con un loro codex e le loro miniature..questo omnibus contiene i racconti a loro dedicati..buona lettura e ennesima dimostrazione della capacità della GW di buttare buone idee in nome del rinnovamento sfrenato del proprio parco ludico

I like both the Adepta Sororitas as well as James Swallow. So I was certainly interested in this work.Especially Faith & Fire did a good job of integrating the faction in the overall world and made the mindset of the faction clear. The protagonists, Celestian Eloheim (for "non-initiated" Celestian = essentially Veterans, Eloheim = leader of said Celestians) Myria from the Order Militant and here sidekick Sister Verity from the Order Hospitaller, are however, even with said mindset beeing normally rather unreasonable, still mostly competent and the bridge between "elite soldier" and "fanatic" is done rather well.Regarding the individual stories"Red and Black" itself I liked the least, although it was still far from unreadable. Its about the title character going to a world that was isolated for a long time after a rather unique emissary from said world was sent. The story is written well and has some interesting twists and turns, but used something I grew a bit tired of in other Warhammer 40 000 novels: An almost enforced grim darkness rather than said grim darkness beeing a logical consequence, the idea of any hope beeing ALWAYS squashed, even if it doesnt make sense. But it passed the time well."Faith and Fire" is about the protagonist chasing a rogue psyker she (very small spoiler) failed to hold (no spoiler). It turns out, that this seemingly straightforward task (find trace, follow trace, burn witch) is a lot more complicated to achieve and there is a lot of intrigue involved. What was really nice here, is, that the whole intrigue plays by relativly passive, but once there are the big reveals, its not to predictable or to "Deus-Ex-Machima". Also, the protagonists are in character regarding their deciphering of the intrigue (or lack there off) without looking like absolut fools. The characters, both main and side, act in character and once the story is done even after closer examination it still seems reasonable, something rare when intrigue is involved. Again, the characters are zealous, BUT not stupid."Hammer and Anvil" is probably my favourite one. It shows what happened after the relativly famous battle on Sanctuary 101, in which the necrons were first introduced to the imperium: The Sisterhood returns, but of course the Necrons are still there. Why did it happen and what will happen now that the Sisters return to resanctify the convent? Why do so many other factions and people act so strange? The characters are really fleshed out this time and it is a nice balance between "Faith & Fire", where the Sisters were often a bit brash due to their lack of familarity with their task, as now on the battlefield they really know what they are doing. Also, I really liked the portrayal of the necrons, a compromise between the older version of omnicidal robots (as seen by others) and fully fleshed out characters with agendas of their own (as shown from their perspective). As everything is slowly shown so do the characters and motivations and again: They do act like their character would, the characters fit their role well. And the reveals are also done slowly, not all teased to the very end and than all revealed at the same time. It of course had some cons: Firstly, when the Sisters do battle, there are little to no tanks or specialists of the faction like Exorcists or Seraphim. While somewhat logical in the story, it would still have been nice. But most importantly, there are some clischees here, that I am tired of: The Mechanicum (and to a much smaller extend the Inquisition) are egocentrical assholes that have no regard for anyone else, see others (= the Sisters) as braindead, expendable zealots that stand in the way of THEIR genius and are designed with an ego that should have a gravitational field of Saturn so that we really learn "hate those *****". And they NEVER learn their lesson (somewhat obvious Spolier) until they die.While to some extent there is reason behind this, as mentioned, its still not very creative for the "inside enemy".The final story, Heart and Soul, is a great shortstory: The protagonists are in the final stages of hunting some clever heretic warlord. Now, finally trapped, another order shows up and demands the right to make the final assault. One has understandable personal ire (the new one), the other (the protagonists) have done most work, so they both good reasons. Of course, the heretic is not so easily killed, but there is some surprising depth and deconstruction of the expected inside even though the finale, due to the short nature of the story, was somewhat quickly. Really liked it and loved the heretics portrayal, his limited screen time is great. He certainly isnt the clischee, but without shattering logic completly.Overall, as an Omnibus, you can certainly buy it. I would say, even if you are not a fan of the Adepta Sororitas, its at least worth the money, as the short stories alone (at least Heart and Soul) are already worth a lot for a quick read. And if you are a fan I would go so far as highly recommend it. Some clischees are still there, for example, Myria is sometimes portrayed as the always popular "Cowboy Cop" to justify herself beeing in the action at least by Adepta Sororitas standard, but mostly these instances doesnt make you think: "Why did they put that rowdy to the super-faithfull?" or the opposite "Could the superiors have a greater stick up their *****?".As a final note: I would have loved if Heart and Soul would have been a whole book, as, by giving the heretic more characterisation rather than just telling us, what he did in the past and showing Myria, her actions and emotions, towards this rather than just hearing about it, would made the finale much more interesting.

First rate writing , plots and characters!