Book Club Book

Book Club Book #12: The Devastation of Baal by Guy Haley

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.

This episode we’re reading The Devastation of Baal by Guy Haley. You can purchase on Amazon, or Black Library, or Audible.

From the back of the book:

The Blood Angels Chapter of Space Marines is under threat. Having obliterated all human life in the Red Scar region of space, the largest tendril of Hivefleet Leviathan ever seen in the Imperium has converged and is making relentlessly for Baal.

To face this awesome foe, Commander Dante has called upon the Successor Chapters of the ancient Ninth Legion. The Sons of Sanguinius gather in numbers not seen since the dark days of the Horus Heresy. Thirty thousand Space Marines stand ready to thwart the Great Devourer, save the homeworld of their primarch, and prevent the consumption of billions in the Ultima Segmentum beyond.

But the tyranid swarm numbers in the trillions, and they are not the only danger to the Chapter’s future. As the galaxy slides toward a terrifying new era, events far away threaten to unleash a greater evil. A further enemy must also be overcome, that of the Black Rage that lurks in the souls of all Sanguinius’s bloodline.

Questions to consider during and after reading The Devastation of Baal:

We both really struggled with this book. Why do you think that is?
Which parts really stood out to you?
There is a lot going on in this book. Successor chapters, Dante, Mephiston, Hive Fleet Leviathan, Ka’Bandha, Robby G, and a partridge in a pear tree. Is it too much for one book?
Ka’Bandha is still a thing. What purpose does he serve the narrative?
How do you feel about the tyranids as an enemy? Are they compelling with everything else going on?
With Dante named regent of the Imperium Nihilus, what’s next for him, and all these eurotrash vampire cursed chapters?
Gabriel Seth’s reaction to the Primaris is telling. Does this bode ill for the future of the Blood Angels?
Baal is devastated. Dante’s in charge. Dante may or may not be Sanguinius reborn. Mephiston … is weird. Does this book effectively set up the Post-Rift/42nd millennium for you?