Bloody Books Review - Kharn: Eater Of Worlds

Originally part of the 2014 Black Library Advent Calendar,  Anthony Reynolds Kharn: Eater of Worlds picks up the thread of where the World Eaters find themselves after Horus Heresy. A fractured and cannibalistic Legion with no chain of command, no Primarch and no way forward. The Legion tears itself apart with rival factions and in-fighting, whilst many of those who could lead are falling to the brutality of the Butcher's Nails.   One hope remains for the World Eaters, but that hope lies flickering in the form of an almost-dead Kharn.

Kharn himself is not the main focus of the book in a literal sense, as the majority of the narrative comes from Captain Dreagher of the Ninth and the Medicae Thrall Skoral, who is the closest thing to healthcare the Ninth have after one berserker killed the Apothecary in the fighting pits.  We flow through other World Eaters as we traverse the tale, gaining a grasp on how bad a state the Legion is in, and though we see a lot of the frothing madness we come to expect from Khorne's followers,  there are layers at play here, which is where this particular Legion always flourishes. They are damaged, they are monsters and they are very sympathetic, though as always, to a point. We see what Kharn means to each of these characters, and by casting the Emperor's Children as a polor opposite, we can see just how lost to their own nature they have become 

With all that being said however, at 200 pages, it is just far too short. It very much feels like the opening salvo in a series akin to ones enjoyed by Arhiman, or Fabius Bile.  It is plotted and paced perfectly for the time allotted to it however,  and delivers in droves the dark hate of the World Eaters.