Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work cover art

Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work

Warhammer 40,000

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Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work

By: Guy Haley
Narrated by: John Banks
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About this listen

An Adeptus Mechanicus novel.

In the wake of the Great Rift, Belisarius Cawl turns his attention to the abandoned world of Sotha. Once home to the Scythes of the Emperor, it also hides a long-buried secret...and an ancient evil.

Listen to it because:

Cawl is one of the most fascinating characters in the Dark Imperium, and Guy Haley gets right into his memory circuits as he seeks ancient secrets that will blow your mind.

The story:

Belisarius Cawl, Archmagos Dominus of the Adeptus Mechanicus, is the most brilliant mind alive. For 10,000 years he has furthered the cause of mankind, working under the aegis of the Emperor and Lord Commander Roboute Guilliman to prevent the inexorable march of the alien and the traitor. Many call him heretic, but all must recognise the magnitude of his achievements, for who else but he was entrusted to create a new generation of Space Marines?

Who else but the great Belisarius Cawl could even accomplish such a task? Now, in the wake of the Great Rift and the Indomitus Crusade, his ambitions bring him to the long-dead world of Sotha, once home to the Scythes of the Emperor, now a barren wasteland devoured by the vile Tyranids. Accompanied by Tetrarch Felix and his elite warriors, it is here that Cawl believes the lynchpin of his mysterious Great Work lies. But uncovering it is a near impossible task, one in which the Archmagos must overcome an ancient evil that threatens to extinguish the last hope of humanity.

Written by Guy Haley. Total running time 11 hours and 11 minutes. Performed by John Banks.

©2019 Games Workshop Limited (P)2019 Games Workshop Limited
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My favourite 40k novel so far. Sure, it is an action story set in a universe that knows little other than war, but the story and dialogue is well-written and there were some really cool passages. I was surprised how much I like the character of Belisarius Cawl and I think this book provides some useful background to current events in 40k, like the Indomitus Crusade.

The narration is also very good!

Great story relevant to current developments in the lore

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Really enjoyed the characters and the narration, worth a listen if you enjoy intriguing lore

Excellent lore!

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Cawl is a very entertaining character! Very well read. Looking forward to a follow up.

excellent fun

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Given that the Primaris marines were created entirely to allow Games Workshop to sell a new range of miniatures: the story of the man who created them is surprisingly good. Cawl is an entertaining character, despite being something of a Deus-Ex-Machina who can cut through all the inertia that pervades the 40k setting.

The book is a clever and entertaining way of exploring Cawl's life, moving between different times and settings to narrate the extraordinary life of the Imperium's (somewhat) more benevolent answer to Fabius Bile. He's a little more relatable than many of the Imperium's major characters but still feels like a servant of the Mechanicus.

I have to mark down the "story" category a *little* as personally I found the constant jumping between multiple time-settings (often several times in one chapter), started to get a little disjointing. Haley is a good writer however, and I wouldn't mind hearing a little more about Cawl's adventures: if nothing else it's refreshing to get away from the slightly uptight space-marines for a bit.

Banks is rapidly becoming my favourite 40k narrator, and does his usual excellent work here: moving fluidly between the different characters and making each of them distinct.

Good book with an interesting protagonist.

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Everything you wanted to know about the Archmagos. Great back story and a look into his chosen personality and mind.

History of Belisarius Cawl

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