Top 5 Characters in Black Library Fiction
Yeah, this one's pretty trite, but I'm desperate for something to break up the movie review posts... This is a collection of my favorite characters of all time from my readings of the copious amounts of Black Library fiction that I have digested over the years. Keep in mind that I haven't read a third of what has been published by the various BL authors, but of what I have read, these are my favorites:(1) Gregor Eisenhorn (Eisenhorn Trilogy): Eisenhorn is without a doubt one of the most dynamic characters ever penned by a Black Library author. Not surprisingly, that author was the indomitable Dan Abnett. Eisenhorn is one tough hombre, no doubt about it; he'll face down a horde of bad guys with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other, and he'll take a hundred hard knocks and keep on ticking. But it is his fierce determinism, his brilliant deductive mind and his unflinching humanity that make him the charismatic 40k icon that he is. He's brilliant, empathetic, tough as nails and apparently incorruptible, what more could you ask for in a hero? While he is ostensibly a force for the ultimate good (working as an inquisitor for the Ordo Xenos), it is his drive to pursue the bad guy, no matter where that path will take him, that ultimately makes him an outcast in a world that is much more gray than the black and white that he wants it to be. His story is both heroic, and tragic -- completely emblematic of the universe created by Games Workshop. And unlike any of the other works created by BL, this is one series of books that you could read, and enjoy, without ever having stepped foot in this universe before. The ultimate gateway drug to GW.
(2) Brother Priad (Brothers of the Snake): Again, created by the great Dan Abnett, Brother Priad (of Damocles Squad) is surprisingly complex for what he is. As a space marine, Priad is a genetically engineered warrior that has undergone countless months of indoctrination and hypno conditioning until he is merely a living weapon - a fearless instrument of the Imperium to fight the many, many enemies of man. His very purpose is to be, essentially, a lesser clone of his primarch - demi-god heroes of the dawn of the Imperium, themselves genetic offspring/clones of the immortal (yet dying) Emperor of mankind. By all rights, this do-gooder clone warrior should be a personality-free statue of virtue and fearlessness. And yet, Abnett gives this super-human some very human qualities that make him another easy to follow hero of the 41st millennium. For all his stoic bravery, Priad has a curious and infinitely empathetic human soul that is laid bare on multiple occasions throughout the story.
(3) Harlon Nayl (Eisenhorn and Ravenor Trilogies): Again, another character created by Dan Abnett. Harlon Nayl was the swiss army knife of Inquisitor Eisenhorn's retinue (and later Inquisitor Gideon Ravenor's retinue). A former bounty hunter, Nayl was proficient at hunting down human targets across multiple worlds, and then taking them out with a dizzying array of weapons and deadly martial arts. More than just muscle, Nayl was infinitely reliable and had the brains to run complex operations in the field. Essentially in charge of keeping both inquisitor's retinues stocked with able bodied warriors, Nayl was a capable and trustworthy agent. In short, just like Chuck Norris in The President's Man, you called Nayl in to do the job when it absolutely had to be blown up by 6am the next day. But for all of that, he was still just a mere human -- no psychic skills or aristocratic connections to fall back upon, he was just a man... a man's man if there ever was one, but just a regular guy.
(4) Jaq Draco (Inquisition War Trilogy): Long before the Black Library was more than a mythical location in GW lore, Ian Watson wrote a trilogy for GW about an inquisitor from the 'inner circle' (essentially both the black ops division of the inquisition as well as its office of internal affairs) who found a way to traverse the secret Eldar webway, broke into the actual Eldar black library, and stole the book telling about the prophecies concerning ultimate destruction of the material and immaterial realms (Rhana Dandra). In GW mythos, that makes him incredibly bad ass, having accomplished something in less than a hundred years (much of which he spent sleeping) that the great Thousand Sons sorcerer Ahriman couldn't accomplish in 10,000. And that's not to mention that he's a capable fighter, is sleeping with a callidus assassin, and pals around with Space Marine captains and (now extinct) squat heroes. While he often comes across more like a swashbuckling adventurer rather than a super-secret inquisitor of the highest order, Draco has a certain panache that is fun to watch in motion.
(5) Uriel Ventris (Ultramarine Series): Now in its sixth book (I've only read four), the Ultramarines series of novels follows the life and career of Space Marine Captain (4th Company) Uriel Ventris. Similar to another likeable Space Marine of more notable GW fame, Ragnar Blackmane, Uriel is cast out of his chapter after breaking the rules of the Codex Astartes. (Ragnar chucked an ancient chapter artifact into the void to earn his punishment; the Space Wolves couldn't care less about the Codex Astartes.) And also like Blackmane, Uriel ultimately earns his commission back after completing an impossible mission on a daemon world in the eye of terror. The Ultramarines are the iconic rule followers of the Space Marines which is really saying something -- even your average Space Marine has a board implanted up his backside to keep him on the straight and narrow, and Ultramarines make most of them look like pitiful slackers. Uriel understands that rules sometimes have to bent a little in order for the best possible outcome in a battle. (Egads!) That makes him a bit of a rebel among his super human peers, which is kind of fun. For a Space Marine fanboy like myself, Uriel has just enough personality to make him likeable, all the while accomplishing impossible tasks and being the ultimate warrior of the Imperium. Good fun... although he constantly pines for a chance to prove he can keep his nose clean for faaaar too much of the series.
