The Warhammer 40000 universe has a very long and dark history. Literally hundreds of books have been published in this series, set in different periods of the timeline. For those of you not familiar with it, the Warhammer 40000 universe has it’s origins in a tabletop boardgame published by Games Workshop. It details a grim and dark universe where humanity is constantly at war with either themselves, a myriad of alien races and the horrible forces of Chaos. Pivotal in this universe are the Space Marine legions of the immortal Emperor. The Emperor once united humanity and created the supersoldiers called Space Marines. Divided into Legions and commanded by his sons, the Godlike beings called Primarchs, they set forth to conquer the universe in the name of humanity. Thousands of years ago the Emperor was betrayed by one of his sons, the Primarch known as Horus. Aligning himself with the Dark Powers of Chaos, Horus started a war against his father. Several Space Marine Legions joined forces with Horus and that event came to be known as the Horus Heresy.

In the end the Emperor prevailed against Horus, but he was mortally wounded and placed in The Golden Throne. The Traitor legions, as the Space Marines who allied themselves with Chaos were called, retreated. Most of the books that have been published in this universe concern themselves with the loyal Space Marines. Interestingly the Nightlords omnibus focusses on a Traitor legion: the so called VIII legion, also known as the Nightlords. And oh wow, is it good. It has become the best Warhammer 40000 novel I have read to date, and not only that, it has made it’s way into my personal top 5 of best books that I have ever read.

This omnibus collects the trilogy of Nighlords books that have been published, and also throws in 3 short stories. One thing that I really loved about this book, were it’s characters. The main character Talos, also known as the Prophet, is truly a horrifying and evil being, but still has his own code. The warband he commands also includes some very memorable and equally evil men. This tome is a true pageturner, and a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. The action and horror included is absolutely breathtaking, and writer Aaron Demski-Bowden, has truly written a tale that can be enjoyed by sci-fi and horror fanatics alike. If you are already familiar with the Warhammer 40000 universe, this is an absolute must buy. But even if you are not, but are a lover of dark science fiction than this book is truly a great introduction to this dark universe. Even though this book has nearly 950 pages in total, I was not bored by it for even one second. I highly recommend this novel and want to warn you in advance that you will probably have trouble putting this book down. Be prepared for some long nights staying awake, reading this fantastic novel.

I give this book a 10 out of 10 score.