The first section is pretty good, taking you from Pre-Maledictum to the "current time". Overall, I'd have been pretty happy if the story line just stayed focused on the Ork invasion of a key Imperial planet, but the book seems to have been written by a committee that wanted to squeeze as many factions into the book as Xenos-ly possible. If anything, the book has been big on the overall stew pot and very light on character development, which I assume is available in some Black Library books to cover the conflict (plus the already released short stories)...
So yeah, there is the full checklist of possible conflicts hiding on one key planet, some are great thematic story lines, others just make it a train wreck. Apparently nobody can get space-superiority anymore...
The good (the great menage'):
- Genestealer cults vs Imperial loyalists
- Genestealer cults vs Orks
- Orks vs Imperial Loyalists.
Then we get into the rest - some openly stated and some implied (implied conflicts I predict will be openly expanded in Volume II):
- Orks vs Mechanicum
- Dark Eldari vs Imperial loyalists
- Regular Eldar vs Imperial Loyalists
- Eldar vs genestealer cults
- Knights vs Orks
- Mechanicum vs Imperial Loyalists
- Black Legion vs Everybody
- Death Guard vs Everybody
- Mechanicum vs (redacted)....
Imperial loyalists include a dozen or so Astra militarum factions, a dozen or so Astartes factions, Several Sororitas factions, Inquisition assets, Titan legions, Assassins, Administratum, Priests, even mining servitors and shopkeepers and Uber drivers.
Pretty much everyone but Tau.
Every climate type is included - from polar ice zones to underground volcanic realms and even housing blocks floating on lakes and towers so high that spacecraft dock to them.
With the whole stew of crap going on, there are only three real conflicts I'm watching - the rest was all thrown in just to give everyone a semi-plausible reason to be there - and Volume II, I predict, will advance the key story lines that the writers must have originally used to pull together this campaign volume:
1. The Mechanicum knows this is a planet the Necrons used to get their black metal Cadian pylons were constructed with, and have been mining and stockpiling it in massive underground quantities. This massive amount of material is probably what kept the Maledictum from overcoming this part of space, similar to Cadia's original purpose. The Black Legion is coming here - to deal with that issue. But I'd suspect the Necrons (implied as already here) will make an appearance in a huge plot twist, probably to claim their black metal back and / or work to start healing the Maledictum via their own dark technology.
2. The Orks more or less came here by waugh-accident. Their plot line is the weakest thread (having started with much fanfare), but it gives some marketing to the Speedfreaks / speedwaugh concept. That said, GW just released pictures showing the Genestealer Cultists have a cooler looking dunebuggy coming out, so the real interest here is future added conflict of orks vs Genestealers and Tyranids (if they seemingly arrive in a future volume).
3. Black Legion vs Everyone. I predict Volume II will coincide with the rumored Black legion expansion and additional models. However, if Papa Nurgle has his way, everything could just devolve into a snotty green conflict of zombie orks and zombie cultists vs Black Legion raptors...If anything, it could mean we will see more redone Black legion character models for Abaddon and his lieutenants, yada yada.
In the end, because the Universe needs balance - and knowing how GW always ends things badly (every last major campaign expansion ended with the core planet of the storyline destroyed)...I predict we will see Necrons allied with Eldar and the Ultramarines to blow the planet...everybody dies, except for those with space fleets, Abaddon and his unlimited black armored buddies, and some web-way travelers, who leave just in time to go to the next conflict...and the maledictum just shrinks a bit...while someplace, a psychic scream is released, causing a Tyranid hive fleet to change course...and a Tau hunter cadre goes fishing...
So, what are your thoughts on the next volume? What do you think will happen next?
