Book Review // Tyrant of the Hollow Worlds by Mark Clapham
I picked up a few books of a series called Space Marine Battles. These titles are set around a war or battle mentioned in a codex and given the space to become a factual retelling of the battle. Tyrant of the Hollow Worlds is one such book, and with it is The Red Corsairs. Let us jump in:
Title: Tyrant of the Hollow Worlds
Book: Tyrant of the Hollow Worlds
Author: Mark Clapham
Publisher: Black Library
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Fluff:
"Chaos Warlord Huron Blackheart and his Red Corsairs launch a devastating conquest of the Hollow Worlds of Lastrati.
When Huron Blackheart leads his warband of Red Corsairs to attack the Hollow Worlds of Lastrati, the human defenders can do little to protect themselves against such powerful enemies. By the time the Space Wolves Chapter arrives, the Red Corsairs are already well entrenched. With neither side prepared to withdraw nor concede defeat, the battle spirals out of control – will the Hollow Worlds be destroyed by the forces of destruction that have been unleashed?"
Review
First, the book itself is pretty standard for the Space Marine Battle series. It has a white cover with a battle scene playing out along the bottom and showing the main Man himself, Huron Blackheart, the ruthless leader of the Corsairs. Then, about halfway through the book, we get treated to some maps of the Hollow Worlds and some pictures of Huron and his weaponry.
The story itself is a pretty straight forward battle from A to Z. We start with the Red corsairs preparing to invade, they then invade, the Space Wolves arrive, then the Corsairs leave vowing vengeance upon the Sons of Russ. If you are looking for a good train/bus read or a holiday book, this could be the right one. If you are more interested in an intensely themed story to sink your teeth in, maybe skip this one. For the most part, characters worth remembering are few and far between, with many playing just bit roles to allow battles to happen or take place.
What shines in this book, though, is Clapham's descriptions of locations and features. The Hollow Worlds sound amazing. They were built by someone other than the Imperium of Man, and the Hollow Worlds are precisely that. Accessible only via one world that has a port drilled through the planet. The battle for this location was a great read, along with how, once inside, you could see the entire World from the ground (just picture seeing the other side of Earth above you); then, as the story progresses, we get jungle settings, frozen plains, Clockwork Planets and a security train that never stops moving. These were the book's highlights for me, and I wish Clapham had picked just one world to battle over. Huron and his advisors seemed believable, if a bit too invulnerable, and we can all get behind the infighting of the Corsairs. At some points, I even felt sorry for the Wolves, whom the Corsairs sometimes beat with ease. The wolves lost an entire army in one battle without killing a single Corsair!
Due to the nature of the story and multiple planets and warzones, it did feel rushed in places, which is always a shame. Overall, it is a fun read, great for Red Corsair fans but not great for Space Wolves fans. I feel there are better tales in this series, but in no way is this a book to skip if you enjoy 40k.
As always, thanks for reading.
