Uuugh, I dont like writting long form but here goes.... There are some real positives here and there are a few the characters were really well fleshed out and flawed. They had human problems that made them feel endearing and I was on board at times. There is a shifty Rouge Trader with altirior motives who's secrets kept me interested and I enjoyed the delving into how psykers can scan surface thoughts and the overall mystery of the plot was a nice change to your typical action-y warhammer novel,...

An interesting premise with a muddled execution. Mike Brooks Rites of passage puts forward some interesting concepts & characters but fails to nail the overall execution of the plot. The result gives the book a compelling start but a more frustrating ride as the story progresses. Never the less, there is potential here for future entries in the navigator houses

Mike Brooks' first full-length-novel for Black Library is one hell of a debut; a package full of joy for the weary 40k-veteran, full of engaging characters, politics, intrigue, quirks, twists, suspense and excitement. I've described it on Twitter as "Dan Abnett in Domestic-40k-mode with a healthy dose of Terry Pratchett", and on the chance of setting an impossibly high bar, I stand by that comparison. The main characters are Lady 'Chetta' Brobantis of Navigator House Brobantis - recently, and qu...

What's this? A 40k novel with an old, cantankerous woman as hero(ish)? With same-sex relationships (with relationships full stop, to be honest)? With brains over boltgun (for the most part)? With bad joints and back-stabbing? Warp eye plucking and mariticide? Believable plot and characters?RoP is a richly realised depiction of Navigator family life, Dune-esque (not an accusation - Navigators were clearly derived from the Guild Navigators of Dune, merged with the various Houses of the same... and...

Inconsistent story, with a weak plotline. The worst part is that you think it goes somewhere for about 2/3s of the book but doesn't give enough back to warrant reading. Hopefully there are no lore clashes, and this book can be put on the backburner. Hopefully the author's next work is better. We all have made something that didn't do right. I burnt an apple strudel last night.

This was a wonderful out of the ordinary read. Politics and intrigue drives most all of the book and it's wonderful to just live in 40k for a while. Even the last quarter, unfortunately the weakest part, is still a pretty out there variation of the usual Chaos plot. It's twists and turns all the way down, and despite some structural issues, is absolutely worth the read. Brooks' prose is alright, but the character driven nature of things hooks you when the writing itself does not. It also does we...

I really enjoyed this book on a number of fronts. It has a huge amount of mystery and intrigue, a wonderful plot with twists and turns, and also manages to explore areas of the WH40k that haven't been tapped relentlessly so far.Learning about the Navigator houses and their pseudo-nobility despite their presence as mutants in a very "deviation from the norm must be punished" society was excellent, and the politicking that follows as Chetta navigates (haw haw) the death of her husband and trying t...

Returning home to Vorlese after the death of her husband (which she herself arranged), Chettamandey Brobantis’ careful plans for the future of her house are interrupted by inter-house politics, mysterious disappearances and the looming threat of warp-based disaster. As danger builds, Chetta comes to realise that all of her meticulous planning and all her skill in diplomacy might not be enough to save her house, and Vorlese itself, from what’s coming.It has the usual Brooks hallmarks of well-obse...

This was the second Black Library book I’ve read recently that I rated 5 stars. The other was Belisarius Cawl By Guy Hayley. It is about time we got an interesting book about the navigator houses. I think this book deserves a higher rating, but there seem to be alot of one star reviews by Alt-right neckbeards who think it is “political” to have a protagonist who isn’t a white male and a supporting character who isn’t heterosexual. For others, this book likely presents a good mix of intrigue and

Since Black Library announced they would be expanding their shelves (Warhammer Horror and Warhammer Crime), I've been looking forward to reading something beyond the usual Space Marines/Guard/Inquisition vs Heresy/Xenos. While Rites of Passage isn't part of the new expansion (I don't think), it does focus on an oft-overlooked faction - the Navigators. Brooks does an excellent job expanding upon the Navigators' abilities and stories; he describes the Warp masterfully, making sure the reader is le...

It should be noted that this book is being review bombed on both Goodreads and Amazon by alt-right chuds angry that it featured a black female protagonist and LGBT characters. Please ignore the average rating. It is actually very good.

Summary: A highly-enjoyable book from start to finish. Definitely one of the better entries in the 40k universe, and one that shows there is a lot that one can write about within the setting and that can be made to fit seamlessly inside it without having to churn out the same things over and over. Prose: The book is excellently written. Neither dry, nor overwrought. There was no point at which I found myself blinking at some absurd choice of word, relentless barrage of typos, or endless wall of

This book tells the story of the navigator houses, oft mentioned but seldom explored in the 40k universe. Author Mike Brooks does a wonderful job competing and contrasting the murky, dirty underbelly of Ascension City against the ruling class of the navigator houses. A string of grisly murders have been committed, and what follows is Cheta and her compatriots hunting for the hunters in a rather enjoyable sci fi detective novel. It was refreshing to read a Warhammer story where the hero wasn’t ju...

One of the poorer Black library Showings. plodding and not very exciting, as well as barely being 40k in much of its subject matter. Alot of 5 star reviews appear to be by people who haven't read it and only like its political content, and some 1 stars are the opposite. In reality its trash, read eisenhorn or Gaunts ghosts.

By the power vested in me by the Holy Orders of the Emperor's Inquisition, I sentence this book to Exterminatus.

The story starts off good but as it goes on it look like author focused too hard on trying to be politicaly correct with non-traditional genders and neopronouns instead on writing a good story. As always shoving a political agenda only hurts the final product. If you can get past it it's still kinda uninspired story with lot of inconsistencies that sometimes feels like characters try to convey author ideology. This is sadly the common theme with Mike Brooks novels and short stories in Warhammer

“What citizen of Ascension City hadn’t seen the Navigator palaces and marvelled at the wealth and majesty of them? Who hadn’t fantasised about venturing within, of experiencing the unthinkable luxury that must surely lie behind those thick, heavily guarded walls? Which of them hadn’t dreamed of a day, just one day, when they didn’t have to work in the Emperor’s name? Not that anyone begrudged Him their labour, of course, but perhaps there were those in the Navigators’ palaces who didn’t have to

I received a copy of Rites of Passage through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Rites of Passage is the first novel in the Lady Chettamandey series by Mike Brooks. It also fits into the world of Warhammer 40,000, which should give you an idea of how much material its going to have to work with. Lady Chettamandey is recently widowed. She's also a Navigator, and an exceptionally talented one at that. Her talent doesn't stop there, as she's also a quick mind and mind – meaning t

It’s a shame that internet Neanderthals are review-bombing this book so hard. It’s actually quite good. Mike Brooks first full length BL offering shows a lot of promise and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.

This review originally appeared on my blog at https://thatguyreading.weebly.com/ which features other reviews, Q&As and more!It’s an interesting time for Black Library right now. Their flagship Horus Heresy series is nearing its conclusion, they’ve introduced a range of books for younger readers, and they’ve started branching out into other genre fiction with Warhammer Horror. The publishing arm of Games Workshop has really taken great strides in its attempts to diversify in recent years, and Ri...