Salamanders: The Omnibus Paperback – 26 Sept. 2013

Where on Terra do I start here, I am a rather experienced reader of 40k books and pretty much only read Omnibus's (possibly my favourite author being Ben Counter (sorry Nick!) ) , and I have read the ENTIRE Horus Heresy collection, this one took me place I have never been, Nick Kyme has a certain writing style that isn't like any other authors I have read, he touches on very emotional topics and more so than even Ben Counter ( Ben having written in a space marine suffering depression and wanting just peace) , his ability to describe the humanity of the Salamanders Chapter is unmatched, this is a huge read (taking me 20 hours and I read FAST), and it mainly follows the footsteps of Da'kir a troubled Salamander plagued by his past, but covers an entire company also (Glory to the Third!!!!), there are many main characters but it is effortless to follow every individual storyline in the way it is written, there are three full books and many intertwining novellas that connect each one and two at the end for clarification of certain events, this series had me Hooked from book 1 and by the end I dearly wished for another omnibus to carry on with! Excellent excellent writing, story, action, diplomacy heck even planetary destruction!!!! I will recommend this to every Sci-Fi bookworm I know.Truly. Epic.

Really enjoyed the book, felt well written and planned, great to have so many stories in one place!Really recommend to and Salamanders collector, especially if you're collect g the 3rd company and want to know who Agrax Agatone is

N/a

My first book of this author. As good as McNeill's or Abnett's. It will suck you in like a black hole. The omnibus contains all but one short stories included in the Tome of Fire by the same author so keep that in mind before purchase. Definitely worth reading.

Great immersive story.

The omnibus is truly a weighty read. Well written and a good read. If you enjoy the WH 40K future then you won't be disappointed.

ITS very very very F-----G good im only a1/4 in to it.THX BIG A YOU HAVE DONE IT AGAIN(YER ITS GOOD).

As I expected

Great read enjoying it so far

I'm a huge fan of the Salamanders chapter so maybe take this with a grain of salt.The book is 2-3 short stories and 3 full length novels, which all lead and tie together focused on the same characters. Which is a nice pace, you really feel like you know them and their struggles (Dead things, how to make things more dead than they make you) by the end of the story. It felt like Mr. Kyme was really trying to stress the difference in the ethos of the Salamanders over the more conventional Space Marine chapters which lead to some great interactions with guardsmen rank-n-file. An overarching story runs pretty solid throughout all three of the full lengths and was tied up nicely by the end.The meat of the first book involved more building action than Space Marines filling things with bolter rounds, a heavy dose of interpersonal drama between a few overly competitive brothers does a good job of setting up the next two full lengths and many supporting characters get flushed out well. Orks abound!The second full length was by and away the best, zealous Chaplains carrying the torch in horrible situations, Dark Eldar (Easily the most godawful villains, and , I love reading about them) are center stage. The minor characters in this book just felt right, like they all had a story to tell, and I'd like to have a few of them revisited in shorts at some point. It showed the empathy of a few of the Salamanders really well, a trait they hold in high regard. More of an action packed book than anything else, and the action was well written.In the third full length a whole lot happens, and all of it would be spoilers. Would recommend!

This book is anything but boring. Steady diet of action. Very slight throwback to previous events, it is an omnibus and author occasionally mentions events from other books/sections.

The Salamanders are one of my favorite Space Marine Chapters and when I get to reading this omnibus I know I will enjoy it. I read the first book if the series last year, but wasn't able to acquire the other novels but I knew that there would be an omnibus eventually and now I have it minus The Tomb Of Fire which I will get. So yeah I will most definitely get to reading it fairly soon and I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of this Space Marine Chapter.

As a relative newcomer to the world of the 41st Millennium, I have been trying to purchase books that will give me a good introduction or overview of the various Space Marine chapters and other organizations in the Imperium. After doing that for a period of several months I have found that my top 3 chapters would be the Space Wolves, Black Templars, and Black Dragons, in that order. But thanks to the efforts of Mr. Kyme the Sons of Vulkan have earned a spot in the top 5. First off let me say that this omnibus is a great deal. The 3 Salamanders novels plus a collection of short stories that tie them together and give more back story to several of the main characters in those novels. The action in the omnibus is well described and there is plenty of bolter porn for the die-hard 40k fan. The depiction of Nocturne and the society that the Salamanders are still very much of a part of was also well fleshed out. In many ways Nocturne reminds me of Fenris if Fenris was a hellish desert planet instead of a frozen one.The problem with the Salamanders Omnibus lies in two major areas and keeps it from being a 5 star rating. And those are the main characters, Dakir and Tsu'gan, as well as the rushed ending. First off our dual main characters. Dakir is flat out boring. The whole trope of the chosen one rising from humble origins to save his people has been done before and much better by other authors. Tsu'gan on the other hand, while more entertaining, is an unrealistic douche bag. Here is a man who knows full well the dangers that surround mankind on all sides, who knows of the existence of the Gods of Chaos, and still acts like a stuck up pig to Dakir because of some supposed caste based inferiority and a massive superiority complex on the part of Tsu'gan. Far better are the supporting characters of Elysius, Chaplain of 3rd Company, and Vulkan He'stan, Forge-Father of the Chapter. Elysius is ,simply put, a bad-ass. Deeply religious and insanely violent, he steals each scene he is in. I found myself wishing that the novels revolved around this Fireborn Chaplain and his personal crisis of faith. The Forge-Father Vulkan He'stan is a figure full of acquired wisdom and serves almost as a father figure to his fellow Marines. What is really interesting about his character though is the pain and loneliness he feels. Due to the lifelong quest that he is on, He'stan rarely returns to Nocturne and feels estranged from his Chapter, though he still yearns for the brotherhood that it offers. The second major failing of this novel is the ending. It is simply rushed. Right when the epic final battle is firing on all cylinders...it just stops. I don't know if the story is expanded upon in the Tome of Fire but the ending is too abrupt and lacks a proper final conclusion with the series main antagonist. In conclusion the Salamanders Omnibus is a wonderful read that is well worth the money. It is not without its problems though these problems do not ruin the overall experience. The main characters are a little weak but the colorful side characters more than make up for them. The only thing holding this collection back from a 5-star rating is the ending. But don't let this keep you from making a purchase.