Dawn of War

Rating:
Summary: An adequate novel version of the pc game
Review: This novel follows the actions of Brother Captain Gabriel Angelos
as he fights and puzzles his way through the mysterious
presence of Xenos breeds as well as that of his allies
on the battletorn fields of Tartarus.

The novel was filled with nonstop action and mayhem
with a healthy dose of guilt ridden angst and was a bit better
than expected, at least from an action standpoint.
Most novel adaptations are atrocious and
Dawn of War doesn't veer too much from that.

I did find some things that I had major problems with;
A bit of logic and intelligence in the characters.
The novel needed a much better depiction of the
motivation and spiral towards Chaos.
The corruption the reader has to accept is far too
simple in explaining how and why certain characters become
corrupt. It is difficult to accept Librarian Isador's
conversion to Chaos because of his reason for it, and
the logic of his subsequent actions. To accept that
he became corrupt because he wanted more personal power
is to accept that he is a paper cutter cutout with
no experience and background which is entirely out of character.
The same applies to Colonel Brom. To accept Chaos when
he knows what Chaos is about, simply because he resents
the presence of greater authorities is absurd.
The novel "Soul Drinkers" was much more effective and believable
in its slow drive towards Chaos.

The last story point that I had a problem with
ruined the novel for me.
It is explained to Gabriel by the Inquisitor why and how
the Daemon Prince was imprisoned in a gem by the Eldar.
In the end of the novel, he destroys the gem,
at the urging of that SAME inquisitor simply because the
inquisitor tells him that the gem is the cause of all the
trouble. He thus releases the daemon prince.
With his prior knowledge given him by the
inquisitor and the Eldar Farseer practically screaming
at him that he's making a mistake, why would he
smash the gem as he did??? There is no logic to his
actions and makes absolutely no sense since he knew
that the daemon prince was trapped in the gem. Did he
even question the inquisitor?? Especially since he was
practically at odds with the inquisitor during the entire novel!
Even after the conflict is resolved and the Daemon Prince
practically tells him to his face what he's done, he still
refuses to believe and accept that he was a pawn.

The writing style of the novel itself is fairly decent but
with the limited scope in the story that is allowed the author
in telling an intelligent story, the reader has to really
stretch the limits of believability to accept alot of
the character's actions. Pretty much what I expected from
a video game adaptation.