Necrons Part 1 - The Lore (Warhammer 40,000 Codex Review, 8th Edition)

Let's get the obvious issue out of the way first: Yes, the T'au Empire review will continue at a later date. The week that my internet provider spent failing to do the job we pay them for was a proverbial spanner in the works. As such, with a few major releases on the way, I am setting that aside until the latest series of codices have been dealt with. At this moment in time this means that Codex: Necrons up for examination, likely followed by Codex: Dark Eldar. Hopefully on the day of release in that case.

The Necrons are a particularly difficult one to deal with in this case, as most of their releases of the past two editions were skipped in reviews. I have hardly been quiet in terms of how I personally think that the Fifth Edition revamp of the race ditched many of their essential strengths, and that any successes since then have stemmed only from Black Library authors. No matter how I looked at the lore, or their tabletop mechanics, it seemed like a bad idea that a few talented writers had managed to turn into something worth reading. Sometimes, anyway.

The Good

The obvious advantage this codex has over many others is its structure. Yes, that might sound like an odd starting point, but it's quite a sincere one. All too often many books are unable to balance out the various aspects of its lore and the multitude of characters involved. Things are dropped, skimmed over or even outright forgotten. In this case though, for what it focuses on, little is left out. Each character involved is given a full page - sometimes two - to help make sure a character's role, history and place in the universe is clear to the reader. The timeline is also detailed and lacks the single-sentence answers that previous codicies were verbally flayed over, while the units and major historical events retain a fully fleshed out portion of information. Much of this would normally only be accomplished thanks to padding via artwork, but instead, there is an infinitely better balance here.

The actual staging of the codex flows far better than most cases, with events flowing from one segment to the next. There is a very brief and concise introduction which gets every essential part across to the reader hooking them in. From there it moves directly into their ancient history, defining enough of the C'Tan, their war with the Old Ones and even how their dominion over the galaxy was controlled at that time. The fine details and essential figures involved are left to other segments to cover, primarily the character bios, while still retaining the essential information. This means that a fan isn't re-reading any information at any point, and they have far more of an incentive to read the entire book. Doing so gives them a full impression of the race one step at a time.

Furthermore, the necrons are powerful here. They're extremely powerful and tend to have the edge in many battles. With that being said, they are far from unstoppable and the book makes sure to add in a few major defeats. It's just enough to make it clear that they are not something which can never be slowed down or beaten, but they are tougher than almost any other faction there. This is befitting the necrons as a whole as their dented iron appeal stems from how they do have infinitely more advanced technology than almost any other race, but much of it is damaged. When they are beaten, it is often down to either better tactics, zeal or simple sheer weight of numbers opposing them. That and when they have not been killed off in their sleep, of course.

Small moments here and there also offer some more substance than would normally be expected of a codex. One major point in its favour was how the book utilised iconography. Specifically, it featured multiple pages outlining which faction favour what symbol and what they meant to the old empire. In place of a page outlining different types of wargear, the codex instead offers a two-page outline of how individual styles, designs and certain bodies have greater meaning. Some reflect an older part of their mortal hierarchy while others are qualities which have developed since then. This sort of thing offers the race far more of a dimension and a sense of legacy than shoving them onto the tabletop.

The book also does a good job of making it very clear that no faction is united. Typically they will avoid fighting against one another if it can be managed, but it is less a singlarly united race than a series of petty empires. This works in regards to setting up a multitude of new story and scenario opportunities, and for political clashes. Trazyn is the obvious example in how this benefits the book's lore, but it's also present in a multitude of other areas. In almost every regard, you see how alliances of convenience emerge or even how awakening Tomb Worlds see to their own needs first. Some have lost strength over thousands of years, while others find themselves in debt to other figures. It's an interesting source of conflict and storytelling, and best yet is that it's not spelled out to the reader. It's hardly hidden, but it doesn't feel the need to explicitly mention this every few pages.

Finally, the C'Tan are still made to be a terrifying force in their own right. As you might have guessed from that introduction, I was one of many irked at how they were turned from star vampires into Pokemon with the change. That being said, the history presents them as a background force which is only slightly explained, while the later sections emphasise far more in relation to certain individuals (both individual C'Tan and necrons). As a result, this leaves a fair degree of mystery behind them at work, and it does try to at least enforce the fact that they have been weakened, but can still pimp-slap entire worlds if they get loose. As such, it lessens the loss far better than most past works surrounding their depictions. In fact, the book does actively try to close a few of the major plot holes left by the retcons, such as this rather nice paragraph:

"Whilst it is true that many C'tan Shards are indentured to Necron service, this by no means accounts for the entire pantheon. Discrepant information from varied and varyingly reliable sources causes great confusion concerning the exact number and nature of surviving C'tan, even among the Aeldari. Records held within the Black Library contradict those held within Ulthwe, which are again at odds with the archives held on Alaitoc. Some claim there exists a slumbering star god deep beneath the canyons of the red planet Mars, others that the ravenous C'tan known as the Outsider was tricked by Cegorach into eating its own brothers, and now dwells in exile within a hollow planet far to the galactic south. However, all Aeldari agree that the splinters of knowledge held by the Imperium are flawed and confused. The Adeptus Mechanicus scholars who covet the ancient lore of the C'tan are as likely to pass over possible revelation as they are to move further from the truth with each fresh discovery made. Any soul of sufficient learning or determination who goes looking for proof of a C'tan's existence can eventually uncover it, but this speaks more to the mindset of the seeker than it does any value of the 'evidence'."

So, there's some definite good here. What about the bad?

The Bad

An immediate problem with Codex: Necrons' lore is that it isn't up to date. While it offers a comprehensive outline of their history, and even delves into how they operated during the great slumber, we see little of the future. The events of M42 and onward are all but ignored, and this is most evident with the timeline. The creation of Abaddon the Despoiler's crack of doom across the galaxy is effectively a footnote here. The few moments where the codex does start to address future events feels like concessions, and it's more interested in sticking to what was previously written.

Another definite problem which stems from the book's unwillingness to update its information is how a few depictions seem out of date. For example, how they approach certain worlds for conequest, how they target new domains to reclaim or treat locals has been left unchanged. Even were this simply reflected in the motivations of the primary characters that would be something, but it's skipped almost entirely. Imotekh's entire nature revolves around him reawakening and reclaiming what has been lost, yet in the two pages he was given it doesn't comment on the changes to the larger galaxy. Equally, Anrakyr the Traveller's section completely ignores any and all developments made in the last hundred years.

This isn't some demand for deep characterisation or even detailed, complex storytelling. It's a case of simply paying attention to recent changes to the universe as a whole, and having the book remark on them accordingly. What makes this so infuriating is that the previous xenos books did this without any issue. Ignoring for a moment whether or not you liked them, you have to admit that the Eldar Craftworlds and T'au Empire codices at least gave a good amount of space to addressing alterations to the ongoing universe. Both were done on a wider scale, and both had the factions involved react to having the galaxy being split in half. Given the expansionist objectives of the Necron Dynasties, given how many new Tomb Worlds are awakening, this is a staggering misstep on the codex's part.

There is also the issue of culture as well. On the one hand, the various Dynasties cited have a bit more to them than usual armies. On the other, as per usual, it feels as if the codex is taking the approach of presenting factions as an army with a civilization attached, not the other way around. This means that many smaller dynasties and factions lack the nuance truly needed to make them feel like a bigger force in their own right. Instead, they follow the Craftworld Eldar example of having a general disposition or unit type defining their role in the setting - or two which are covered by how much money they have, and another by the war machines they field. This could even be forgiven, if the book didn't waste time repeating them in one of its few structural missteps, and wasted space confirming information the reader already knew.

Another problem is the fact that, tonally at least, the codex never quite manages to achieve the balance it was seeking. As mentioned in the introduction, the redefined necrons were not to my liking. However, that isn't to say that there have not been good stories with them in it. Their Imperial Armour volume, most things by Josh Reynolds with them in it, and even a few elements of Joe Parrino's flawed novellas featured good concepts. There were human qualities and less Lovecraftian qualities to them, but they could still utilise how truly alien they were to the galaxy. The codex tries to step back from some of the more openly humanized depictions in regaining this aspect, but it doesn't quite manage it. Rather than enhancing this quality, it dials back on certain elements which helped give this redefined version more character.

For example, Trazyn's presence has been notably dialed back, and lacks genuinely entertaining moments such as his message to a certain Inquisitor. Equally, the longer campaigns and more than a few of the individual statements have been removed from this edition. The few moments that the book does benefit from stem from the likes of Zahndrekh and Obyron, and that was only thanks to the two pages they were granted. While complaining about this loss might seem odd given that it was something I would have criticised, the issue here is that there's nothing in its place. There's no element to help them stand out more or give an edge to certain historical comments or qualities. It makes them seem as if they are stuck between two very different depictions, but in a place which means they lack the strengths of either.

More infuriatingly still, the fact that the codex is stuck in such an extreme means that the similarities the army has to the eldar are all the more obvious. Again, this is a minority view, but the baseline concepts and designs behind the necrons are extremely similar to those of the eldar race. Even accepting that the codex had the chance to expand upon previous strengths and squandered it, you can easily end up making you think "Wait, haven't I read this before?" In a universe so bold, diverse and engaging as Warhammer, that's something no army should ever suffer from. It weakens their best qualities and thematic strengths in the mind of a reader, and offers less inspiration as a result.

With the codex's structure, this is one of the best designed and planned books we have seen in a while. The past several were certainly good if not great, but this one stuck a near perfect balance that even Codex: T'au Empire did not accomplish. With that being said, there is one major failing of the work in how it tries to present and depict certain forces at work: Events and battles. This can easily be overdone to the point of cliche, but more than a few books can do this justice. Codex: Khorne Daemonkin comes to mind in that regard. While there doesn't need to be an event for every single one, even just a few distributed among them would have helped add a sense of life to the work. It would have been enough to give them a sense of strength more potent than descriptions of their abilities. Sadly, the codex never pushes to do this with either its units or leaders, meaning that they lack some of the bite they truly need. Without it you have a lot of examples citing their power, but little in the way of real displays.

Finally, however, there is also the problem of focus. Specifically a single direction, end goal or even just a direct threat that the necrons need to deal with in factions or as a race. The book does a good job of citing why they are acting as they are, and cites their long term objective of awakening all Tomb Worlds to engage the inbound Tyranid Hive Fleets. With that said, it lacks the more concentrated efforts or engagements to truly depict this. With the Eldar Craftworlds, their long term goal of survival in the face of Chaos was backed by a multitude of events and you were given the impression of an endless war. With the likes of Iyanden, prior to the disastrous codex, you had the impact the tyranids left behind following their efforts to rebuild and survive. The actions of the Necron Dynasties are not so solidly defined, and it lacks the focus or fine details to really bring its concepts to life. 

The Artwork

There is very little in the way of new artwork here in terms of units or character pieces. Many are replications we have seen from the likes of Fall of Damnos or even the original Codex: Necrons. The book does make a point of trying to utilise the best looking, or at least some of the less known, pieces among them but it is still disappointing to see.

What offsets this somewhat is how the new artistic director of the book uses old and new pieces. The new artworks have been used more to outline some of the strengths mentioned above, such as the cultural meaning behind some bodies. Equally, many older works have been blown up or focused in on some areas, such as with the characters. What were previously full-body works are either used for portraits or slimmed down variations. Combined with the stylistic look of the entire book, it works out better than could be imagined. It's still disappointing that there's little in the way of new artworks to comment on, but it's a better use of the old than what we usually get.

The Verdict

Codex: Necrons is a very flawed work. Many of its greatest sins stem from how outdated it is in terms of galactic affairs, and how little there is in the way of true updates. As the universe now has a moving timeline, it does need every codex to cover at least a few events or suggest some changes. Perhaps a campaign book will try to cover this, but that doesn't change the fact that it will likely be several years before we see a proper update.

You might be more forgiving if you have a more positive disposition towards this version of the race, but it still is extremely flawed.