I kept this one for the Alpha Legion story 'The Long Games at Carcarias, which is a great story, but upon a reread I find that maybe the bookshelf space could be better used! Runes is boring, The Rewards of Tolerance is OK but nothing special, same with Black Dawn. Heart of Rage was boring and badly written, whereas But Dust In The Wind was just boring. Exhumed was well written but uninspiring, Primary Instinct felt like it was aiming for profundity but missed, and finally Sacrifice was a rare Ben Counter story that was a good read. One for the fanboys only. ( )

I liked the collection for the most part, but like many anthologies, there are always one or two stories that are either uneven or just not as good compared to the others. In addition, this may be a bit of a peeve, but "victory" as a concept is a bit liberal of a term for a story or two in this anthology. Fans of Warhammer 40K will certainly enjoy this volume. Like other volumes in this series, this is a collection of novellas or longer stories. The stories each feature a chapter of the Space Marines. Let me say a bit about some of the stories without spoiling things.

I liked a bit the ending of the Renegades story (yes, there is a story of renegage Space Marines. If you wanted to see a bit from the view of these marines, this is it). For me, one of the best stories was the one featuring the Grey Knights. The sacrifice idea is woven well into the story as readers get to see what it takes to bless and make holy the implements of war that the Grey Knights use. If you want more of the Inquisition, there is also a Deathwatch story. Between these two, I enjoyed the Grey Knights a bit more, but they are both good. If you just took for granted that their bullets were made holy somehow and the runes on their armors were just put there, this story may open your eyes. I definitely found it fascinating in a creepy sort of way. But there are also stories of marines making their last stand that readers of this collection will enjoy. In terms of stories I did not really like the Crimson Consuls story just did not work for me. It seemed too long, and I certainly found the ending disappointing. But that is me. Readers who like intrigue and machinations may like it better.

Overall, there is a bit of everything for readers, so for some adventure with the Space Marines and a nice sampling, you can pick this volume up. ( )

Another collection of outstanding Space Marines short stories by various excellent Warhammer 40K authors. Not really much more to say about it than that. Sorry so short. ( )