I always considered Inquisition as half-crazed religious organization in the oh-so-dystopian world of W40K. I enjoyed Abnett's Eisenhorn and Ravenor but still they remained bunch who is more at home backstabbing each other.

And then Vaults of Terra came out and with it the Erasmus Crowl - now this is Inquisitor who I can understand at least to the degree. He is aware of the situation in the Imperium of Man, slow degradation of the society, accumulation of wealth for few and never lasting toils and suffering for the majority. Use of religion to control the masses - W40K is dystopian but what I liked here the most was the fact that Crowl, his retinue and allies are all aware of it. They know decay is there and they know they need to fight it and they know that [unfortunately] existing administration - however twisted - is the only thing controlling untold billions.

When he talks with his fellow Inquisitors yes, there are schemes and hidden meanings but in general you can see that they are all aware of the state of the Imperium. Inquisitors themselves are shown as very interesting personas, living in fortresses with secret weapon systems, hidden chambers and collecting knowledge wherever they can find it - I mean they are like agent Pendergrast on steroids and very license-to-kill mentality, whats not to like, right?

This is a roller-coaster of a story from page one - following immediately after Carrion Throne we find Crowl and his retinue looking for conspirators who brought the horrors of the Old Night to the Palace itself. And this investigation will test them greatly so much that at the end their very future remains unclear.

I wont go into details because that would mean to spoil the story for others but will just say - mercenaries, memory wiped and indoctrinated assault troops, private armies with the strike ships, Space Marines seen acting as unstoppable military force (brings memories from Dorn's Praetorian with that civilian thrilled with joy as he asks Imperial Fists deploying from the gunship "this is great, is this why you like it?" :) )

Only downside is that you will need to read Vaults of Terra #1 to better understand the story. And then you will need to sit tight and wait for the next one in series (oh man :))

In one word - awesome book. Highly recommended to all fans of W40K universe. ( )