Review: The Emperor Expects - The Beast Arises, Book 3

In February we had the third installment of The Beast Arises series, The Emperor Expects by Gav Thorpe. As with previous reviews from the series, SPOILER ALERT for the remainder of the article.

This book continues to follow Vangorich and the maneuverings of the Imperial Senate. The other two story lines followed the Imperial Fleet through the eyes of Captain Kulik and the Space Marine story line lead by Captain Koorland (formerly known as Slaughter).

I'm a fan of Gav's writing, and found this novel a refreshing change of pace and direction. The Imperial Navy story line was entertaining and moved the story along - showing that there is some hope for humanity as the Navy manages to take on an Ork fleet and destroy one of the attack moons.

The Imperial Fists story line was the shortest, with the least coming out of it. The biggest for me was just seeing Captain Koorland eschewing his juvenile nickname after the destruction of his chapter.

The senate storyline continued to be one of the focal points, with Lansung and Weinand becoming more fleshed out as characters.

The novel ends with the Imperial Fists storyline hanging in the balance, and an Attack Moon appearing over Terra, as a pretty big cliffhanger. The novel helped push the storyline forward a bit and, for me anyway, helped me overlook the brevity of the novel (this still felt pretty short) and enjoy the unfolding story line. I'm looking forward to book four in the next couple weeks.