Attack of the Necron

Attack of the Necron is a planet-hopping tale of action, danger and bravery in the face of an ancient alien menace. Zelia Lor and her mother, along with Lexmechanic Erasmus and young Martian tech-savant Mekki, travel the galaxy excavating ancient technology and unearthing pre-Imperial history. When their latest expedition is curtailed by a devastating alien invasion, Zelia finds herself torn from her familiar life and thrown into a perilous journey through the void of space with the relentless Necron threat looming ever-present.

Yes, it’s a children’s book set in the 40k universe, which is about as grim and unpleasant a setting as you can imagine, but it’s handled well, maintaining a sense of 40k’s overall tone and aesthetic whilst focusing on elements which will appeal to younger readers.

It’s brilliantly pacy and full of excitement as events quickly move from location to location, and while it works well as a standalone tale, it’s clearly setting the scene and kicking off a wider story (to say more risks spoilers). As an introduction to 40k it’s cleverly constructed and well thought out, as well as being tremendous fun – and yes, 40k CAN be fun.

A fantastic introductory title for kids looking to get into the universe of Warhammer 40,000. It’s great to see the universe from a couple of kids points of view. Highly recommend it.

When Black Library first announced that they were going to release a range of novels for young readers, set in their WH40k and Age of Sigmar universes, I was intrigued. After all, how do you address the grimdarkiest of settings for young readers? With Attack of the Necron, Cavan Scott has absolutely knocked it out of the park. This is an excellent, entertaining primer on the WH40k universe.

I never doubted that there was a market for this series: after all, I started reading Warhammer fiction when I was in my early teens. At the time, the fiction was ‘lighter’, maybe more whimsical in general (see, for example, William King’s superb Gotrek & Felix fiction). A fair amount of Black Library’s fiction takes a darker look at the setting and forces operating within it — because in this grim, dark future “there is only war”, the books have often been quite violent and sometimes graphic. Obviously, this isn’t appropriate for all young readers. How does one appeal to these new enthusiasts, then, without covering up the fact that Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar are, well, war games? Turns out, this series holds the answer in the science fictional setting.

Long-time readers of Black Library fiction may well find the story a bit sanitized, but for new and younger readers, Attack of the Necron will provide a fantastic primer on the setting: some of the forces involved, some of the key concepts (the Warp is well-explained), and also some of the history of the universe (Dark Age of Technology, for example). Through the eyes of the young protagonists, we are given a quick look at hive city culture and society (one is an explorator/archaeologist, another is a mech, the third a former ganger).

The novel doesn’t hide from the fact that the 41st millennium is a violent and dangerous place: the Necron attack on the planet is devastating, and it’s very clear that not everybody survives. However, the story focuses on Zelior et al’s attempts to survive, solve the problems with which they’re faced, and learn to trust each other. They are each given hard lessons on new aspects of the universe, to which they hadn’t previously been exposed — interstellar travel, betrayal, death, and belligerent aliens, to name but three.

It’s a quick read, featuring some interesting and plucky characters. It was nice to see them learning to work together and trust each other. Fleapit was easily my favourite: think Terry Pratchett’s Librarian, but with a fascination and preternatural capacity for technology and invention, rather than library science. (Although, I would not discount the possibility that Jokaero are also very serious about their book cataloguing.)

Cavan Scott’s writing is clear, very well-paced, and sometimes amusing. I enjoyed this quite a bit, and I think any young reader thinking of learning about WH40k would get a lot out of Attack of the Necron. Long-time, older readers may also appreciate the refresher on the basics of the setting, as well as a reminder that those who inhabit this future are not as well informed as we are.

An excellent intro, this is definitely recommended.

A new series of books aimed at the younger generation as an introduction into the world of Warhammer 40k. I had a blast reading this. I also look forward reading how our young adventurers get along in the next installment.

I first got hooked on Warhammer 40K when I was in my early teens when a friend of mine showed me some of their Ork figurines, and before long I was collecting my own. This was an era of 16-bit consoles and dial-up internet, so the allure of Citadel paint and gluing a cast-metal figure together had little competition. Fast-forward to now, and it is easy to see why Games Workshop are making such a concerted effort to lure pre-teens away from the likes of Fortnite and Minecraft and get them hooked onto a world of tangible fantasy adventures. I’ve recently reignited my love affair with Warhammer 40K through the excellent weekly partwork collection, Warhammer Conquest, and the announcement of Warhammer 40K novels accessible to a younger audience piqued my interest as I have little awareness of the mythology surrounding the game and am somewhat intimidated by the huge tomes published by the Black Library imprint.

Cavan Scott is an author I’m familiar with, having written comics and novels for Doctor Who, Judge Dredd and Star Wars, so he knows his way around an established sci-fi franchise. He also has a knack for writing for that crucial 8-13 age range, creating stories that challenge and appeal to that demographic without “dumbing down”. The Warhammer Adventures imprint is split into two series: Realm Quest uses the Warhammer: Age of Sigmar setting, whilst Warped Galaxies is set in the war-torn far-future of Warhammer 40K. Of the two games, Warhammer 40K is naturally more brutal and aimed at an older age range, so I was curious whether Scott could create a youth-friendly adventure that doesn’t totally sanitise the franchise. With death and destruction literally pervading every page, Scott manages to capture the sheer carnage of the Warhammer 40K universe, whilst presenting it through the perspective of a plucky group of teenagers…and their hyper-intelligent ape.

Attack of the Necron is an extremely accurate reflection of the book’s contents as our heroes are constantly fighting off the seemingly invincible Necron army from the outset. Scott really captures the frenzy and fear of a Necron attack, and isn’t afraid to up the body count when he needs to, although the book shies away from gore – with the Necron preferring to vaporise their foes. Our heroes are always outnumbered and outgunned, which really heightens the tension in the book. We’re not reading about some tough and heavily armed space marines fighting genestealers in an abandoned Space Hulk, these are a group of scared children attempting to outsmart a ruthless killer. That vulnerability gives the book an edge, and makes it all the more compelling to read. The focus on children gives the novel an 80’s sci-fi feel, evoking memories of classic childhood adventure movies such as Flight of the Navigator, ET and The Goonies.

I found myself really enjoying the mix of characters, with a strong and intelligent female lead in Zelia; an emotionally distant genius in Mekki; and a brash, yet surprisingly sensitive gang member in Talen. They were all well developed, and worked well together as an ensemble. My one nit-pick would be the inclusion of Fleapit – while I enjoyed the character and the way he interacts with the children, he felt like a forced animal sidekick and didn’t seem to fit into the surroundings. That said, I’m sure that he will appeal to children and I do appreciate the attempt to include a non-human protagonist into the series. Whilst City of Lifestone focused more on setting up a series-long mystery, Attack of the Necron is relatively self-contained and deals with the immediate threat of the Necron, although there are hints of a wider conspiracy at play in the final chapter. Both books succeed in converting the grim and gritty feel of the Warhammer table top games into a children’s adventure book, creating a surprisingly enjoyable fusion of the two genres.

Attack of the Necron is a strong, self-assured debut for the Warped Galaxies series which manages to capture the frenzy and chaos of the Warhammer 40K universe for a younger audience without compromising on the fun. Cavan Scott deftly balances the brutalities of future war against the light-heartedness of a children’s adventure, creating an odd fusion that should appeal to all ages. While Fortnite and Minecraft may be tough competition, I can honestly say that reading Warhammer Adventures made me want to pick up my D6 and tape measure, and march straight into battle, so here’s hoping that it encourages its target audience do the same.

I was intrigued by the idea of a Warhammer book for young adults, so when I saw this on offer on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it for review in order to see if it was something I could possibly interest my son in. I found this book to be a sound introduction to the Warhammer 40,000 universe!

By using young adults as the focus for the characterization in the story, it gave readers a sense of a kindred spirit that they could more easily connect with, showing them the universe without all of its more adult appropriate detail. The story was a good adventure, showcasing a female lead that could be used as someone for girls to look up to and aspire to emulate. However, the book used a lot of jargon and concepts that were unique to Warhammer 40K that may intimidate readers not familiar with the universe, even with the included Glossary of Terms at the end of the story. Another issue I had was that I thought that the book might be mislabeled. Parents of sensitive readers should be cautious, as this does showcase a lot of wanton destruction on the part of the Necrons, and I felt it might be a more appropriate read for older young adult readers.

With developed characters that still have room to grow and an engaging story that left the reader with a sense that they had completed one adventure but still had many more to come, I found this to be an enjoyable read that I would recommend to my reluctant reader son!

I will admit I was at first skeptical about a YA Warhammer 40k book, but it works. I even read it with my kids, and it was a great starting point to get them into one of my favorite lore universes. It was a good introduction to the Warhammer 40k universe that is not quite so grimdark as the rest of it. A good jumping on point for younger readers. Of course, now they are impatient for more. All in all, it was a hit with the intended audience and even an old-hand like myself.