***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with an electronic copy of this book.***

This is the first book I’ve read by Farrer and the first in a series. The story focuses on the world of Urdesh during a galactic war known as the sabbat worlds crusades. If you are a fan of warhammer 40k the members of the iron snakes appear in this campaign. Many of the same characters appear in Brothers of the snake, a separate book by Dan Abnett, which is worth picking up. (Great character development)

The first half of the book is slow but acts as a good set up for the last half. Farrer does a good job foreshadowing without giving much away, and events develop in such a way as to keep the reader guessing. It’s also unclear until the very end whether the protagonist will win or not, and the ending leaves this question answered but also leaves room for more story to come. The last half of the book is an all out slug fest between two sides warring for a single city on Urdesh, and the battle is depicted excellently. Farrer writes from the view of multiple characters, in multiple locations, drawing a good picture of how the battle is going and where this is taking place.

The only downside to this is that character building is left in the dust. We learn little of any of the characters backgrounds, and I believe this is because farrer expects the reader to be familiar with the war hammer universe already. The problem is many of the characters will not be recognized unless you are a huge lore geek.

Dedicated fans will definitely enjoy this book, but casual fans or unfamiliar readers will be left with lots of questions regarding characters and events in the book, and should be prepared to do some googling if they want answers.

I'm a little behind the times on reading this one, sorry! Urdesh: The Serpent and the Saint is the first novel in a series by Matthew Farrer, and I am incredibly excited for this latest (to me) Warhammer 40K novel.

Urdesh is burning. However, it is impossible to tell where the fires of war end and the planet's destruction begins. They are the same at this point, creating the same inevitable conclusion. The only way to save the planet, and the people that inhabit it, is to help them find freedom.
However, freedom will not come easily. The Anarch does not give up lightly. It will take a particular set of warriors to save the day. Or so we hope.

Urdesh is a perfect novel for Space Marines fans – and I really do mean that. It is a novel that pits the Space Marines against the horror of 40K, and it does so in a way that fans will truly appreciate. And that's coming from someone who doesn't cherish the Space Marines the way many players do.

I love how this book broke everything down into squads. I usually think that this sort of choice wouldn't work, but it did here. This is partially because it is needed – the scale of this battle is wild, so splitting things up helped make that clearer. It also added to the gravity and horror of the story, which is very fitting.

I should probably mention that while some 40K books strive not to choose a side when portraying war...this is not one of them. As I said above, it is perfect for Space Marines fans – meaning that the favorite side is pretty clear right from the onset.

However, if that doesn't bother you, and you're in the mood for a good book full of battle scenes, gore, and action, then Urdesh: The Serpent and the Saint will be entertaining. I promise.

The Serpent and the Saint... Warhammer and especially Warhammer 40k are rarely short of hyperbole. And that's good.

The pace is good, the action rarely lets up.

It might not approach the very top of the Black Library, but it's close enough and a very fun read.

The Iron Snakes are quickly becoming one of my favorite Chapters in WH40k, and Matthew Farrer has done a great job at adding to their legend. Doesn't hurt that he's playing in Abnett's sandbox, but he holds his own nicely. Definitely one any fan of 40k should read.

It took me a little while to get into the story, but The Serpent and the Saint turned out to be one of my favorite novels of the year – Excellent writing and relentless action!