Book Club Book #117: Yarrick: Imperial Creed by David Annandale

Every two weeks we read a new book in the WH40k universe and discuss it on our podcast. We invite you to read along with us and join in on our conversation via comments, Twitter, email, or vox cast.

For this episode, we’re diving into the Wayback Machine once more to read Yarrick: Imperial Creed by David Annandale. You can purchase it at Amazon or Black Library, but not Audible. Sorry our beloved audiobook fans! This is the first entry in the Yarrick Omnibus, which the Black Library has reprinted.

From the back of the book:

Yarrick: the very name carries the weight of legend, of great deeds and of wars won for the Imperium. But Sebastian Yarrick, who fought on Armageddon, who Space Marine Chapter Masters show their fealty to on bended knee, was not always Lord Commissar. He was once just a man, a newly minted officer from the ranks of the schola progenium. His first mission under the tutelage of Lord Commissar Rasp was on Mistral. Here, an uprising of barons had upset the delicate balance of power. But, as Yarrick was soon forced to learn, Mistral and Imperial politics are often murky, the truth seldom clear cut. As war engulfs the world, a plot unravels that pits old friends against one another and fashions unusual alliances. Chaos cults, the fanatical Adepta Sororitas and clandestine inquisitors all stand between Yarrick and his mission. Here is where the legend began. In this crucible was Lord Commissar Sebastian Yarrick forged in blood.

Questions to ponder after reading Yarrick: Imperial Creed:

• Did you like the book?
• Which parts stood out to you?
• This is Old Bale Eye in his youth, was it important to learn about him as a green commissar?
• What did you make of the other commissars? Of the commissariat in general?
• This book could almost be described as a political drama. Was it compelling? What does this say about the Imperium at large?
• Sisters! Did you like these sisters? Were they too much?
• Was the ending satisfying?
• This is one of the rare books told in first-person. Does it “work” for WH40k? Did it make it more compelling?