Courage and Honour

The Chronicles of Uriel Ventris: Warhammer 40,000, Book 5

By: Graham McNeill

Narrated by: Bruce Mackinnon

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Book 5 in the Chronicles of Uriel Ventris

Newly returned from the Eye of Terror, Captain Uriel Ventris must redeem himself in the eyes of his battle-brothers, who fear he may have been tainted by Chaos.

Listen to it because....

After two books in the wilderness—both metaphorically and literally—Uriel and Pasanius finally return to battle alongside their brother Ultramarines. But they're being watched, and must be above reproach if they are to remain....

The story:

The Ultramarines are the epitome of a Space Marine Chapter. Warriors without peer, their name is a byword for discipline and honour, and their heroic deeds are legendary. Newly reinstated as Captain of the Ultramarines Fourth Company, Uriel Ventris leads his warriors in battle once again on the world of Pavonis, now a target of invasion by the upstart T'au Empire.

With the eyes of the Chapter upon him, Uriel must win this war by following completely the wisdom of the Codex Astartes, lest he be exiled once more. But no plan survives contact with the enemy, and the t'au are a dangerous and unpredictable foe....

Written by Graham McNeill. Read by Bruce Mackinnon. Running time is approximately 10 hours 18 minutes.

©2022 Games Workshop Limited (P)2022 Games Workshop Limited

Great build up at the end

The beginning could have more action less politics but that’s just me.

Overall great time with ups and downs.

Return to form

I was worried about this series after The Killing Ground, but this book is a return to the quality of the first omnibus. My only criticism is that it's pretty light on lore and character development of the enemies when compared to the first four books. But the bolter porn is on point, and the Tau aren't featured enough in 40k books in general so it's nice to see them as a genuine threat here.
Lastly, Bruce MacKinnon is a great narrator. It's a true performance imbued with emotion, not a dry reading. Through this series, he has become my favorite Black Library narrator.

An awesome book

It is very much a symbolic novel that brings Uriel and the 4th Company back to the world of Pavonis to deal with recidivism and the threat of the expansionist Tau who want the world. The action is simply awesome here, as are Uriel's relationships with everyone around him, from the commander of the Lavrentian Hussars Imperial Guard to his own warriors, especially his First Sergeant Learchus and Chaplain Clausel. This is everything that The Killing Ground should have been but wasn't. Its not an entirely fair comparison but I do feel compelled to point that out. The Tau are also well-done and have some great scenes themselves.

Not bad

Honestly this could've been a short story. They tried to break it up with flashbacks, that feels you they had little confidence in the main story. Not a must read(listen) not horrible though.

Awesome

Listen if you love space marines and that’s good enough this novel awesome. If you are looking for the next dune than this isn’t for you. I was in the army and all things bolter is good enough. I have yet to read a space marine heavy novel I didn’t like. Pacing is a bit different not bad but different. There is 3 points in the story that could of been trimmed down they are a little fat. Who cares, it’s bolters, armor, swords and chain weaponry, and the emperors wrath

Another great performance. Story is underwhelming

The narrator is fantastic as always.

However, this story arc felt like it was just here to fill a void between the previous book and the next. It's Uriel's redemption from the previous book but doesn't really feel very important outside of that.

The same impact to the overall story could be done by just listening to the last hour of this book.

Tau acting more like guardsmen

The Tau, in my opinion, were not given due credit. So much technology and intelligence, but so many tactical mistakes. Other than that it was a fantastic book with phenomenal action.
Learchus gains some redemption and is humbled as well which is a plus.

Seemed like a filler book

Story just did not ring for me on this one. Always good on the combat descriptors but the story just seemed weak and predictable to me

Dull

There isn't enough focus on Uriel. Every other chapter follows some other boring characters. The performance is mediocre. If the performance was excellent or the story better, then it might have saved it. I can't even fall asleep to it, it's distractingly boring.