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Inquisitor Ascendant

One of the great things about the Warhammer 40K universe is that it can be grim and evil without going all politically correct on you at the last second. Take this volume, the second in the Inquisitor series.

In the last book, Defay, an Inquisitor himself, was corrupted by a daemon in the last chapter and fled from the Empire that he worked so hard to defend. His student, Gravier, now a more solid and powerful soldier in his own right, an interrogator, continues the work of the Inquisition but hasn’t forgotten his old teacher and friend, Defay.

Into this situation steps Inquisitor Reiker, a being of mystery and psionic power that now seeks to hunt down Defay and will use Gravier in the process as who else would know the former Inquisitor better than his pupil?

Due to the format of the graphic novel, a collection of shorter strips, the action comes fast and furious with characterization reinforced through action rather than long dialog. The Hunt for Defay makes the reader question on whose side will the former Inquisitor actual stand and is Reiker actually a madman? By the time the novel wraps up, it’s obvious that no, Reiker was on the money all along and that Gravier, still trapped in the past, is too blind to see that dangers that have crept upon him.

One of the curious things though, is the ending. It seems pretty closed but this being the Warhammer 40K universe, there are many innovations and abilities that they possess that are beyond the mere science that I could easily think of.

The art in the book is solid and the writing has more to build up the character of Gravier. It’s almost hard to believe how much detail gets into these black and white pictures some times. The skin on the mutants and freaks is detailed down to the last line. The guns and armor showcase intricate details that look like they would take hours upon hours to finish. The character designs, especially on Reiker, are innovative and stand out. Defay himself though, has lost much of his presence, almost appearing as a ‘normal’ individual.

Unfortunately, Reiker is characterized to be such a self-serving fiend, that even in the end when he’s proven right, we still cheer when things don’t go his way. Throughout the book he basically tortures Graiver with his psionic power, dragging his loyalty out through force of arms and mind.

In the end, this is a well illustrated hunt and destroy story with some twists and turns along the way to keep it interesting enough to see the reunion of teacher and student on a world poised on the brink of destruction.

SPOILER ALERT

Now for those who may be wondering, what Defay has been up to, well, it involves fallen mutants and the use of his old Inquisitor identity to gain access to powerful weapons so that he may sacrifice not a town or city to the daemon gods of Chaos, but rather, a whole world. He does it in such a way however, that the reader is never sure, when he speaks to Gravier about using these beings and weapons to fight Chaos, if he’s lying or telling the truth. It makes the ending, when Gravier is shot down by Defay whose just stood up to Reiker, all the more grim.

For the next book, I can’t help but think that Gravier isn’t dead. Sure, Defay leaves him for dead, but doesn’t insure that he’s finished the job and the examination at the end only mentions the final fate of Reiker and leaves Graiver’s final fate a mystery. Perhaps we’ll see something approaching a grim cyber warrior in the future?

Inquisitor Ascendant
Inquisitor Ascendant Capsule Review by Joe G Kushner on 10/12/02 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Inquisitor Defay may have fled the Empire but the Empire doesnt' let go easily and dispatches his old student to hunt him down. Product: Inquisitor Ascendant Author: Dan Abnett Category: Novel Company/Publisher: Black Library Line: Warhammer Monthly Cost: 10.95 Page count: n/a Year published: 2002 ISBN: 1841542385 SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Joe G Kushner on 10/12/02 Genre tags: Science Fiction Far Future Space Post-apocalyse	Inquisitor Ascendant One of the great things about the Warhammer 40K universe is that it can be grim and evil without going all politically correct on you at the last second. Take this volume, the second in the Inquisitor series. In the last book, Defay, an Inquisitor himself, was corrupted by a daemon in the last chapter and fled from the Empire that he worked so hard to defend. His student, Gravier, now a more solid and powerful soldier in his own right, an interrogator, continues the work of the Inquisition but hasn’t forgotten his old teacher and friend, Defay. Into this situation steps Inquisitor Reiker, a being of mystery and psionic power that now seeks to hunt down Defay and will use Gravier in the process as who else would know the former Inquisitor better than his pupil? Due to the format of the graphic novel, a collection of shorter strips, the action comes fast and furious with characterization reinforced through action rather than long dialog. The Hunt for Defay makes the reader question on whose side will the former Inquisitor actual stand and is Reiker actually a madman? By the time the novel wraps up, it’s obvious that no, Reiker was on the money all along and that Gravier, still trapped in the past, is too blind to see that dangers that have crept upon him. One of the curious things though, is the ending. It seems pretty closed but this being the Warhammer 40K universe, there are many innovations and abilities that they possess that are beyond the mere science that I could easily think of. The art in the book is solid and the writing has more to build up the character of Gravier. It’s almost hard to believe how much detail gets into these black and white pictures some times. The skin on the mutants and freaks is detailed down to the last line. The guns and armor showcase intricate details that look like they would take hours upon hours to finish. The character designs, especially on Reiker, are innovative and stand out. Defay himself though, has lost much of his presence, almost appearing as a ‘normal’ individual. Unfortunately, Reiker is characterized to be such a self-serving fiend, that even in the end when he’s proven right, we still cheer when things don’t go his way. Throughout the book he basically tortures Graiver with his psionic power, dragging his loyalty out through force of arms and mind. In the end, this is a well illustrated hunt and destroy story with some twists and turns along the way to keep it interesting enough to see the reunion of teacher and student on a world poised on the brink of destruction. SPOILER ALERT Now for those who may be wondering, what Defay has been up to, well, it involves fallen mutants and the use of his old Inquisitor identity to gain access to powerful weapons so that he may sacrifice not a town or city to the daemon gods of Chaos, but rather, a whole world. He does it in such a way however, that the reader is never sure, when he speaks to Gravier about using these beings and weapons to fight Chaos, if he’s lying or telling the truth. It makes the ending, when Gravier is shot down by Defay whose just stood up to Reiker, all the more grim. For the next book, I can’t help but think that Gravier isn’t dead. Sure, Defay leaves him for dead, but doesn’t insure that he’s finished the job and the examination at the end only mentions the final fate of Reiker and leaves Graiver’s final fate a mystery. Perhaps we’ll see something approaching a grim cyber warrior in the future?