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Nate Crowley
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The Twice-Dead King: Ruin (Warhammer 40,000) Paperback – August 2, 2022

by Nate Crowley (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 413 ratings
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Peer into the into the bizarre culture and motivations of the Necrons in this great novel from Nate Crowley.

Exiled to the miserable world of Sedh, the disgraced necron lord Oltyx is consumed with bitterness. Once heir to the throne of a dynasty, he now commands nothing but a dwindling garrison of warriors, in a never-ending struggle against ork invaders. Oltyx can think of nothing but the prospect of vengeance against his betrayers, and the reclamation of his birthright. But the orks are merely the harbingers of a truly unstoppable force. Unless Oltyx acts to save his dynasty, revenge will win him only ashes. And so he must return to the crownworld, and to the heart of the very court which cast him out. But what awaits there is a horror more profound than any invader, whose roots are tangled with the dark origins of the necrons themselves.
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Previous page
  1. Part of series
    Warhammer 40,000
  2. Print length
    368 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Games Workshop
  5. Publication date
    August 2, 2022
  6. Dimensions
    5 x 1 x 7.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1800261896
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1800261891
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nate Crowley is an SFF author and games journalist who lives in Walsall with his wife, daughter, and a cat he insists on calling Turkey Boy. He loves going to the zoo, playing needlessly complicated strategy games, and cooking incredible stews. Severed is his third story for Black Library, the others being ‘Empra’ and 'The Enemy of My Enemy'.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Games Workshop (August 2, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1800261896
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1800261891
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1 x 7.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 413 ratings

About the author

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Nate Crowley

Nate Crowley

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
413 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Havok
5.0 out of 5 stars Warhammer 40 K
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2023
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Models needed for army for 40 K. Fast shipping
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5.0 out of 5 stars Just a straight-up fun story
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2022
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It's Warhammer 40k about a criminally underwritten part of the lore: the xenos species. Must read for any fan of necrons and especially those who play necrons, and doubly so for those who want to roleplay a bit during their games. Such a wonderful and immersive view into how the necrons work
3 people found this helpful
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Rashao
4.0 out of 5 stars Slog leading up to great finish
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2022
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The book has bad pacing and the first 60% is horribly slow and fairly boring. But the end is fantastic. Still a bit slow but finally interesting, dramatic, and important.
3 people found this helpful
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FNhp4421
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Loved It
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2021
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Really good Necron story, with interesting characters and good background lore.

It's hard to write Necrons thanks to their almost deus ex machina abilities, but the author did a good job. Also shows that despite their god-tier abilities, Necrons can be defeated by lesser (to them) factions. Great to see Necrons being actual characters, and having reasoning for why the way they are.

I hope there is a sequel!
2 people found this helpful
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Howon Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars boom boom necrons go boom
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2021
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oooh space egyptians. like, to the point where this dude did serious research on actual egyptians and their worldview and just stuck it on some space mummies
3 people found this helpful
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JOHONDAR
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2023
Read this book in two long sessions. Tried going to bed and found my self staring a the ceiling unable to go to sleep because I was so caught up in the story. Stayed up until I finished it.

The book itself is a very well told Necron story and I almost feel bad for this book because it has to share the same timeline as Infinite and the Divine witch has become the defacto gold standard that all other Necron (possibly 40k in general) stories will be compared to which then leads to the obvious question. Is it as good? Not quite; but it does come very close!

This book did a couple of things that I have to give it credit for, making the Flayed Ones as creepy as they were in this book was highly appreciated because it's easy to forget the Flayed Ones are downright horrifying and they way they're presented in this book went a lot harder on that point than I expected.

The other was the process of stripping the main character (a member of Necron nobility) down to the abilities and perspective of a baseline Necron warrior. This was a very unique thing to do and it does a great deal of showing just how much of a raw deal the common Necrontyr got in the bio furnaces.

I'm not one for writing reviews so I'm going to stop here. If you have any interest in Necrons (only losers don't) than this book will very likely be a great time for you!
2 people found this helpful
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Nicole Swarbrick
5.0 out of 5 stars good read
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2021
good book. I liked the submind idea though they were a little hard to keep track of at the beginning. It is good to finally give the necrons a little publicity for once.
2 people found this helpful
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Tracy
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2022
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An interesting perspective on the life and structure of Necron society with good character growth and development as well as a gripping story.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Andre
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books out of the Black Library
Reviewed in Canada on October 29, 2021
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I've been excited for this book the moment it was announced, and after the excellent The Infinite and The Divine I was hungry for more Necron focused books, and it certainly lived up to my expectations.
Xeno focused books are rare enough, so to have one this good is truly a blessing. Despite being souless terminator-like god killing machines, the plight of the Necrons is illustrated like never before here, and a great depth of humanity, pity, character, and development is covered. I never thought that I'd find myself teary eyed over the Necrons, but this book has emotional swells and character intrigue that I have never found in any of the human focused Black Library books. I cannot recommend it enough,
2 people found this helpful
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Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing to get into W40K
Reviewed in Germany on July 28, 2023
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Very good book to introduce to the Necron Faction if you just started getting into W40K. Can’t wait to read Book 2, thanks for writing this M. Crowley
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cris26
5.0 out of 5 stars Quería una novela sobre necrones y está me dejó satisfecho
Reviewed in Spain on April 4, 2023
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Me gustó el prota, su historia, su esfuerzo y el final que es bueno también
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James Parkes
5.0 out of 5 stars Fleshed out those without flesh!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2021
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I've always had a soft spot for necrons. Stem's from my love of ancient Egypt combined with my love of Warhammer. This book follows one very complex exiled necron prince and his struggles with dynastic politics, his own position in the hierarchy and galaxy and something even a necron fears. It beautifully fleshes out the characters and opens up a world we knew very little about. Well worth it.
2 people found this helpful
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Michael Pearson
5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent novel about six million year old dead robots
Reviewed in Australia on October 24, 2021
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Bought it yesterday, unexpectedly binged it until done. Well worth it: Nate's take on the Necrons makes them almost sympathetic, but not so much that they're still not, y'know, *Necrons*.
One person found this helpful
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