Book Review: 'Warhammer 40K: Voidscarred'
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Author Mike Brooks has a considerable range. His most recent novel in the Warhammer 40K universe is a significant departure from his previous work involving a returned Primarch and Arthurian mythology. Here, in Voidscarred, we are instead drawn into a raucous, savage adventure of space pirates! Focused on Aeldari Corsairs and Ork Freebooterz, with a splash of Craftworlder and Drukhari perspectives, Voidscarred is a fascinating exploration of a fringe group to the setting of 40K with some interesting details and other appearances that make it truly feel part of the wider Warhammer world.
WARNING: This novel contains LIGHT spoilers for Voidscarred.
While the exact time setting of when Voidscarred takes place is currently unknown to this writer, it is clearly set some time after the formation of the Great Rift in the Milky Way Galaxy, which has cut the Imperium of Man in two and seen renewed conflict spread across the 40K universe. However, this event and its ramifications are distant from the focus of Voidscarred.
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Instead, we follow the exploits of Myrin Stormdawn, an Aeldari Corsair Baron of the Starsplinters. Corsair fleets are made up of exiles or voyagers from the various factions of Eldar across the 40K galaxy, from the Drukhari of the Webway, to the Craftworlder Aeldari in their massive cityships, to the Exodite Aeldari living on the Maiden Worlds. Some are also born into this life, though this is rare given the incredibly low birthrate across all of the Eldar groups. The Corsairs emerged in opposition to the lifestyles of their respective societies, and while in time, some Corsairs do return to the fold of the places they have left, others stay and make a life for themselves in the void of space, traveling between distant points of light.
Myrin is no different, an exiled admiral of Craftworld Ilmaren who left his home in objection to the passive, slow action of the ruling Farseers, who often work on vast timescales unknown to even fellow Aeldari. However, this can mean they have a lack of care with regard to events closer to the present, particularly threats that might easily be eliminated, and it was this inaction that drove Myrin to depart. After joining with the Corsair Starsplinters, he gained a loyal following and rose to the rank of Baron. At the time Voidscarred takes place, his number two is a Drukhari named Xela Flickerstep, a Shader Runner capable of short-range teleportation who offers a contrasting voice to his own on several issues, though there is friendship between them. Even so, there is also a ferocity inherent to the Corsair lifestyle that also permeates their relationship, and they do not soften their critiques of each other as a result.
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The story kicks off as Myrin and his people have become embroiled in an ongoing feud with other pirates of the stars, in this case, Ork Freebooterz, called the Badskab Bukkaneers led by Uzgal da Magnificient. A powerful leader with considerable ambitions that involve the Aeldari, he has recently been joined by the Badmek (an Orkish term for an engineer), Gazruk Hackspanna, who is soon made aware of just how big those ambitions are. It is interesting to note that for all their differences, there are similarities between figures like Myrin and Uzgal, both being pirates seeking wealth and aggrandizement, with a few sections of the text loosely paralleling the pair. Of course, they are also at each other’s throats, and Myrin is in a bad spot when a third group arrives to even the playing field: fellow exiles from Ilmaren.
Led by another former admiral, Taenar Leotharan, who constantly has the aid of Ra’thar Kyldran, a Warlock of considerable power, the group professes to have found the same flaws with Craftworlder life as Myrin did and asks to join his forces. From here, the story begins an exploration of adaptation, negotiation, and relationships, at various levels, within Corsair society as the Ilmaren exiles get used to their new lives. But some unseen threats and twists take the story in some surprising directions.
The novel stands out for its strong LGBTQIA+ representation, as the freedoms of Corsair society result in a more relaxed view of partnerships, as well as through the use of they/them pronouns for Ilmaren’s leading Farseer. While this author is certain other examples of this representation exist in recent Warhammer literature, its presence in Voidscarred was still a welcome surprise. Voidscarred is also notable for the presence of the Leagues of Votann in a tertiary narrative role through a location and one named character. Their inclusion is welcome, given their recent return to the 40K setting, and because it helps to create a connected picture of the wider galaxy.
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What flaws exist in the book, though, come down to a matter of length and limited development for secondary characters. The novel is dominated by four perspectives, but brief asides do exist to help give background to other characters or provide additional information. This reviewer can’t help but wish there were more, given that some notable combat-heavy characters got very little development in terms of understanding their own perspectives on events. Instead, their drives and focuses came from the assessment of other figures around them, which might be wrong or skewed in ways a brief aside could explore.
Even so, this just leaves a reader wanting more, and we are given a conclusion that leaves that option open in the future. Voidscarred is an excellent book for newcomers to the setting or the deeper lore of 40K, as the exploration of Corsair life through the eyes of Ilmaren’s exiles helps to ease a reader into the world, while the Orks provide a nice comedic counterpoint to certain events happening among the Aeldari. If the final storyline for 10th Edition 40K is to be a pirate-corsair-raider-focused narrative, as some recent rumblings suggest within the tabletop game’s community, we can only hope that the Aeldari Corsairs make an appearance, with perhaps a second novel focused on Myrrin’s Starsplinters part of that releasing wave of content.
Rating: 8.5/10
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Source(s): Voidscarred
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