Fire Warrior
By: Simon Spurrier
Published by: Black Library£6.99
Reviewed by: Mark Greener
Those were the days. Men were real men. Women were real women. Small, furry creatures from Alpha... Well you know the rest. In Warhammer's 41st millennium universe, “mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma ... between distant stars”. Vast armies battle in the name of the not-quite-dead emperor. Humanity survives living in the “cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable.”
Humans come up against the Tau, who want to expand what they see as a benevolent empire. Raw recruit Kais, son of one of the Tau’s most legendary and respected fire warriors, takes part in his first mission. The Tau respect conformity, a willingness to be a cog in a larger machine. Kais doesn't quite fit. However, he soon proves himself an effective and efficient killing machine - and finds his path along the Way of the Fire Warrior.
Fire Warrior is pure pulp fiction. It’s firmly rooted, stylistically, narratively and ideologically, in the Warhammer world and in RPGs more generally. And you have to read it in those terms. It’s pointless, disingenuous and unfair to review this sort of book in the same way as a new novel by Carroll, Ballard or Fowler.
The plot throws Kais into battle after battle, who survives only through his innate skills and considerable fortune. Just like a RPG. However, there are some interesting elements. Just like an RPG. For example, Kais sees humans as the enemy - cruel, illogical and unruly. Spurrier contrasts the highly conformist Tau society with Kais’s minor individualism - I found neither the human nor the Tau side especially attractive. But then in war, who is?
The writing is pithy and the book is fast - even breathlessly - paced. I was impressed that Spurrier managed to sustain the frantic pace over some 400 pages. And I was impressed that he manages to describe the violence, mayhem and slaughter in so many innovative, compelling and engaging ways.
I read it during an especially tough week at work I found myself carried away by the speed of the narrative, the sheer excitement that Spurrier conveys so effectively. It succeeds brilliantly at what it sets out to achieve. Fire Warrior isn’t great literature, but it is great fun.
