The Book of Martyrs

Adepta Sororitas: Warhammer 40,000

By: Danie Ware, Alec Worley, Phil Kelly

Narrated by: Remmie Milner, Helen McAlpine, Grace Andrews, Tara Rawson

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

An Adepta Sororitas audiobook.

Valorous Heart. Our Martyred Lady. Bloody Rose. These names of Adepta Sororitas orders are famed across the galaxy, as are the Battle Sisters who serve the emperor's will.

Listen to it because: the three tales in this volume encompass the bold actions of the Sisterhood across the Imperium as they defend Humanity in the God-Emperor's name.

The story: to die in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind is to live eternal, and none are more willing to bleed in his name than the Adepta Sororitas - the Sisters of Battle. The Book of Martyrs charts the deaths of these exemplars. Sister Ishani of the Orders Hospitaller, serving alongside the death-obsessed Valorous Heart, tends to her Ecclesiarchy charges as something inhuman hunts the fields. Sister Anarchia of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, taken captive by the vile T’au Empire, seeks to teach her interrogators what it truly means to be one of the faithful. On a regressed Imperial world, Sister Superior Laurelyn of the Order of the Bloody Rose reinforces the beleaguered defenders against a familiar foe turned anew by the Great Rift. And in the age of the Indomitus Crusade, with the galaxy split in two, only one thing is certain - there will be no shortage of martyrs to fill the pages of this ancient tome.

Written by Danie Ware, Alec Worley and Phil Kelly. Narrated by Harry Myers. Runtime 11 hours one minute.

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

Worth it if you’re a fan

The first story was read so fast, I had to turn down the speed to enjoy it at all.

The second story was fantastic - worth a credit for 5 hours of Tau alone.

The last story was plagued by mediocre writing and mediocre narration. The story was credible, but the dialog and repetitive descriptions were tiresome. It wouldn’t have been as much of an issue the narrator could carry the poor dialog, but she couldn’t. At all.

Could have been a 5 overall but for one thing.

The first two stories were great; loved the plots, the readers voices, and their narrative abilities. However, the last story I couldn't get through due to the breathy inhalations of the reader. I started to focus on when I would hear the next inhale and could not pay attention to the story.

Home run for 2 out of 3

The first two books of matyrs get a perfect score. The portrayals of the villains in the first two books are easily the best of each of those factions. The martyrs are insanely charismatic and relatable.

The third narrator gets the benefit of the doubt that the writing was so bad she did the best she possibly could. That 3rd book was horrible! Struggled to finish. It was like hitting a brick wall.

Awesome Book

Awesome audio book love any book with the battle sisters in it! Truly enjoyed this audio book

Stop after the second story

The first two stories are good, the third was rough.

I liked the first one the best as the writing and narration were the best of the trio. The first story portrayed the stubbornness of the Sisters' faith well. I liked the interaction between orders and their different approaches to the situations. I enjoyed the build up of the story as well, the clues for what the sisters would be facing were laid out very nicely and built tension.

The second story has good narration and a good story if you're not a massive fan of Tau. Phil Kelly is infamous for his Tau (Farsight) novels and the writing feels the same with this story. So, if you liked those books then you will like this story as well. If you didn't like those books then this story is more of the same so be warned.

On to the third story. This story was easily the weakest link in the chain. The writing was not enjoyable as things were repeated too often and too plainly. If repetition was a stylistic choice then it was simply not executed well. These complaints could have been assuaged if the narration was good, but good God Emperor was it not. I understand that enjoying someone's voice or not is a rather subjective matter. However, I would bet that as soon as the first character yells in that story, you will be questioning whether you really want to finish. If the first high pitched shriek from the narrator is not enough to turn you off of the book, then don't worry you can bet there is another shriek coming along soon. The narration in combination with the writing makes for an audiobook that is extremely grating to listen to.


TL;DR:
I enjoyed the book overall. I firmly believe that you should listen to your knee jerk reaction to the third narrator's voice, it doesn't get better. The first story was awesome. The Second was good, but was also written by Phil Kelly. Don't bother with the third.

AMAZING

Oh man what a book!!! I loved every story and the suspense was great!! Can not recommend enough

Stories Good, Voicework Not So Much

I enjoyed the series of stories but struggled to get past the lackluster voice work compared to other 40k stories.

2/3

liked the First and Second history. The insight that It gave to tau society was apreciated.

Starts great ends poorly

Simply put the first two stories are amazing the last one is quite boring till like the last 50 to 45 minutes. Starts very strong but ends weak.

just okay

The last story was kind of hard to get through. It was kind of boring.