The King of the Spoil

Warhammer Crime

By: Jonathan D Beer

Narrated by: Gabrielle Nellis-Pain

A Warhammer Crime Novel

The death of a powerful crime lord sends the city careening into a full-blown street war, and an info-broker seeks the truth in an attempt to hold fragile gang alliances together.

LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE

It’s a chaotic peek into the seedy underbelly of Varangantua, a sprawling world where life is cheap – and a display of how even a tyrant can be better than a power vacuum...

THE STORY

Within the vast sprawl of Varangantua lies the Spoil. It is a broken crossroads, forsaken by the Lex, abandoned by the city’s uncaring masters, where the only choice is a slow death in the manufactories, or a quick one on the street. And it is in turmoil.

Andreti Sorokin, the gangster king whose vicious rule brought order to the Spoil, is dead, slain in the most brutal fashion. Melita Voronova, skilled info-broker and reluctant agent of the imperious Valtteri cartel, is tasked with uncovering the mystery of who killed Sorokin, and preventing his fragile alliance of thugs and narco-pushers from collapsing into chaos. As street-blades clash and gang leaders turn against one another, Melita’s instincts tell her there is a larger conspiracy at work. Someone has created this crisis not merely to disrupt the Spoil, but to overturn the foundations of Varangantua itself.

©2023 Games Workshop Limited (P)2023 Games Workshop Limited

Dive into the Hive!

The cut and thrust of life for the Imperial citizens of a hive world always makes a fascinating story and this is no exception. Melita Voronova makes a flawed, but compelling, protagonist. Can’t wait for the next installment!

I liked it but it could've been better

Not the best Warhammer Crime novel, but worth a listen. Great voice acting performance.

I feel like the story has a good basis but it lacks somewhat in execution in tying it all together, especially towards the end.

Old-School 40K Storytelling

An interesting read, which offers some new perspectives on the WH40k setting. The characters are interesting, telling a story about a criminal power struggle in which nobody can really win, and a fascinating exploration of the shady politics and economics underpinning a particularly poor, under-privileged and over-exploited sector of Varangantua. It's old-school 40k, which none of the characters emerge unscathed, with not even a sliver of happy ending.

I rather liked it

Definitely worth a listen, bit different from previous warhammer crime novels, but I liked it.

Decent enough entry some big plot holes

This was a decent enough book, the author does a really good job painting a picture for the audience so that Alcto feels far more lived in and real.

My biggest issue with the novel was that many of the protagonists were just simply unlikable and the bad guys entire plan on a heavily populated world was predicated on no one from the Imperium noticing a district wide riot and going “maybe we should check that out”.

Good Narration Better Story

The narrator's voice is great for all the main characters including the male voices which I originally thought wouldn't be that good. Then the story gives a good view of the more grimey parts of a hive city with the desperation of workers and gangers compared to the wealth seen in the upper hive. It keeps a constant step of action, forwarding the plot, action, forwarding the plot which does lead to a bit of a problem where you have to wade through either action or plot summary to get ahead. Then there are hints for 40k vets who know what to look for (no spoilers) which constantly keep you on your toes. Finally the final part of the book include a ticking clock where you can really feel the tension in the scenes and the characters. Thank you for reading this and get this book.

Kind of generic

it wasn't a bad story just didn't really shout 40k to me. like there were obviously elements that made it such but I just feel like it was a regular story that has a 40k wash over it.

M'eh

I've enjoyed all of the Warhammer Crime books published so far, but this one is underwhelming.

The writing is fine from a technical level, but the story is, for me, just flat and the characters are uninspiring and un-engaging. I just didn't care about them, or the problem they're trying to solve.

The narrator does an excellent job, I'd happily listen to more books by her.

weakest warhammer crime novel

whole story feels like it is written by feminist in disguise..
flat and boring characters..fight scenes left me cold...
using they/them pronounce for some character was confusing (at least for me,not a native English speaker)..authors like this are the reason you should gatekeep your hobbies...asking for a refund...

A dull and predictable story with a veneer of feminist empowerment

A completely predictable story that you can more or less guess the conclusion of by the end of the first quarter of the book.

Several in your face feminist themes are presented overtly, however, through bad writing the book unwittingly plays into the worst stereotypes against women.

The author wants to portray protagonist A as an intellectual type, Mary Sue like character that can do no wrong. However, her conclusions are not made logically, and only succeed by plot contrivance. The author wants her seen as emotionally strong, but then writes in scenes where she cries because she hit her head when men all around her are dying to gunfire. She’s fundamentally selfish, cruel and bitter to everyone around her, and must be kept within the bounds of morality by her male guardian.

Protagonist B is likewise fundamentally, selfish with a child-like naïveté. The author wants her seen as a natural leader that rises to the occasion, but this attempt fails. Rather, you get the sense she is completely carried along the guiding rails of the plot.

It is her selfishness however, that is her most deplorable trait. She leaves her sick mother to die alone, and happily enjoys fruit after unleashing, an army of rapists, thieves, arsonists, and sadistic murderers on a city full of innocent civilians. All the while depicted positively by the author.

TLDR : predictable, plot, written with overt feminist themes, and language that inadvertently portrays women by their worst stereotypes.