Brutal Kunnin: An Epic Waaagh! Novel (Warhammer 40,000)

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I found this passage particularly intriguing, as it gives a short blurb about each race's relation to Chaos from the perspective of Chaos (or at least a greater Daemon, which is as close as we're ever likely to get). While nothing seems exactly groundbreaking, I think it's an excellent little summary. The most surprising thing, to me, is the hatred that this Khornate daemon feels for the Orks. They are, well, abhorrent to it! In a way, it makes sense: Orks really seem like they should be super easy to turn to Khorne, but they're just... not. That frustration evidently builds resentment among the Blood God's servants. I also like how this excerpt dovetails with the idea that Gork and Mork (or is that Mork and Gork?) are what keep the greenskins from falling to chaos, which I've seen on here a number of times. In true Orkish fashion, however, it's not some kind of mystical purity protecting Da Boyz (a la Grey Knights or Battle Sisters)... they're just having so much fun with their current deities that, well, why would they want to try anyone else's? Like Te'Kannaroth says, there's nothing the Big Four can offer that Orks both want and don't already have. Now, again, I don't think any off that is truly brand new, but it's cool to see it from the Chaos PoV as well as the Greenskin one.

Brutal Kunnin’ is a science fiction and fantasy novel. It is written by Mike Brooks. He is an excellent writer of science fiction and space opera novels. If you are looking for more novels from the author then try out his Alpharius: Head of the Hydra novel. All of this snazzy loot is encased in a luxury presentation box, so everyone can see who’s the flashiest git in town!** One particular incident in the book is two orks, a gretchin, and a squig taking down a titan, with the squig getting the name Princess out of it.I think it's also worth noting that the passage doesn't rule out the possibility of Chaos Orkz entirely; it just explains why they're so very difficult to create! (Question for those who've read more on the subject: are Tuska's boys ever actually stated to worship Khorne, or are they simply bog standard Orks that he resurrects for his own amusement?) Thanks as ever to Mike for taking the time to answer these questions! I’m sure I’m not the only person very excited to read this novel – it sounds so much fun! Expect a review just as soon as I get hold of a copy… The two main AdMech characters are Zaefa Varaz, Hephaesto’s Lexico Arcanus, whose role it is to interpret the data of the orks’ offensive and who has to deal with the whims of her Tech Priest Dominus, and Secutor Haphax Mitran-da, who leads the forge world’s defenders on the battlefield. Also featuring is Kaptin ‘Flash Git’ Badrukk, who happens to have arrived at the same time as the TekWaaagh! and has his own designs for the planet and its booty.

MB: This was probably the easiest and most fun novel I’ve ever written, and I had an absolute blast! In part I think it’s because I already knew the characters: Ufthak and his ladz have been the subject of various pieces of flash fiction which I would write down and upload into the Facebook groups of whatever campaign they were appearing in at the time, so I already had a handle on how they act. Ufthak’s smart in a sort of counter-intuitive way; Mogrot Redtoof is a beast in combat but about as intelligent as a concussed squig; Nizkwik the grot is simultaneously eager to please and terrified; I even got to include Ufthak’s pet squig Princess, about which I am utterly delighted (yes, there is a reason the squig is called Princess, but you’ll have to read the novel to find out: also yes, this might just have been me finding a vaguely plausible reason for why Ufthak’s pet squig has always been called Princess). ToW: Can you talk a bit about how you go about writing orks, capturing the important balance between humour and horror in them? With a contender from each clan warring to succeed the dead warboss, this standalone novel is set in the same ork-verse as Mike’s previous teef-rattling tales.*** It’s filled with fantastic characters, dark humour, and orkish hijinks. Throw in a prophecy from a weirder-than-usual weirdboy – and a grot revolutionary with a shiv who isn’t afraid to use it – and you know you’re in for a great time.”

Table of Contents

MB: I think Guy Haley has said it before, but the key to orks is that they seem funny, unless you’re the one they’re happening to. It was interesting approaching it from the ork POV however, because of course to orks, what they’re doing isn’t horrific, it’s normal. So I was describing fights and scenes of slaughter for which, had it been from a human perspective, I would have been using words that really brought home the gruesomeness of what was occurring. When seeing the same events from an ork perspective, it’s much more matter-of-fact. Yet the abhorrence would see only another enemy to fight. Even those amongst them who could bend and shape reality to their will drew that power mainly from the massed latent psychic ability of their kin, not from the raging tempest of the warp. It was as though the glory of Chaos were simply irrelevant to them. With only 2,000 uniquely numbered and individually signed copies available, any self-respecting ork enthusiast needs to grab theirs before they are gone. Get into the heads of a band of orks in the first-ever novel from their point of view. Discover what it takes to be part of the Waaagh! and carve out your own little piece of glory amidst the mayhem in a novel that's brutal, kunnin' – and darkly hilarious.

In everyone of Mikes story he seems to use plural pronouns to generate a singular non-gendered pronoun. This would be well and good if this didn't come at the cost of collapsing the difference between singular and plural. This is especially frustrating when one person works in conjuncture with a group (Skitarii in this case) or for interactions between two people that use this "new" pronoun. The worst part is that it isn't even necessary to get the idea across, just use "it". It's not that Mechanicum personnel will mind, after all getting refereed to as "it" would bring the even closer to the holy machine. Plus the ease of using the proper genderless pronoun "it" is also demonstrated in this novel during the chapters about Te'Kannaroth. Which are a joy to read. In the end I hoped that I would get used to it but even at chapter 24 I still needed to pause every time to make sure I didn't misinterpreted anything. Another thing I loved was the total dumpster fire an Ork war is. Nothing ever works quite like it should for either side. The Mechanicus keeps getting blind sided by the shitshow that is the Orkz. Now, it isn't to say some of their plans worked, they certainly did, but because the Orkz are insane, things always seem to devolve into a total meat grinder which of course the Orkz love. The description of the battles is also great, especially the Titan legion going up against the Gargant. The ork stuff is superb on its own as well. Brooks sets a good balance between normal prose mixed with orky nouns, a decision that kept this section entertaining instead of unreadable. They have a good cast as well, all feeling distinct while remaining orky. ToW: Did you look outside of Warhammer for influences when writing this? Where do you look for inspiration when writing a story like this? I also really appreciate that Brooks’ antagonists always have a struggle of their own in his books. His antagonists are not unstoppable until the climax, rather, the protagonists and antagonists are constantly struggling to outplay each other and I really love that in a story.

Contents

Big new Tyranid beastie ? Brutalis Dreadnought ? Something even bigger ? Ghazghkull will tear them all to shreds with Gork’s Klaw – and as the Prophet of Da Great Waaagh!, his bodyguard of Meganobz gets even choppier. Er, klaw-ier? Weapon Spotlight When you hear “Orks”, what’s the one word you think of? Green? Well, yeah. Brutal? Kunnin’? Too right. Best? Obviously, but that isn’t the point. We’re talkin about the warcry heard across worlds, bellowed from an endless tide of tusked mouths. All together now – Waaagh! If you’re looking for something a little more low-tech, how about tossing a fungal ball of teeth and attitude at the enemy? The squig launchas on the Rukkatrukk Squigbuggy don’t have an explosive payload, but squigs are much worse.

The story could have been cut down a bit, but I think it needed padding to get it to the standard BL novel length. There was an entire chapter that was a pretty good action scene of Mitranda and their team taking out a warboss...but for all the effect it had on the story, it could have been cut completely and it wouldn't have changed anything. We never figure out who the ork warboss was, if his death actually mattered at all, and the whole thing doesn't get mentioned again other than a throwaway line about Mitranda having to replace their axe.Above all else, the book is fun, which an Ork book ought to be. There are the classic pop-culture references- Nizkwik the grot, a chapter entitled Mortal Krumpin’- that have been a part of the faction since their inception, and a humour that belies the horror that encountering them must engender. Mechanicus Secutor Mitranda (gets two characters from her own perspective, interacts with Zaefa and ) CONTEXT: During an Orkish invasion of a Forge World, Te'Kannaroth — a greater daemon of Khorne now bound into a daemon engine — looks over the battlefield. This prompts the daemon to think about each of the galaxy's major 1 races, particularly "the abhorrence" (AKA the Orks). More potential spoilers below: read at your own risk!