The Twice-Dead King: Reign
- Downloads：8319
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-10-11 00:17:48
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Nate Crowley
- ISBN：1800262108
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Peer into the into the bizarre culture and motivations of the Necrons in this great novel from Nate Crowley。
After centuries of exile， the necron lord Oltyx has at last been granted the thing he has always craved: the throne of the Ithakas Dynasty。 Kingship， however， is not quite what he had hoped for。 Oltyx’s reign begins aboard the dying battleship Akrops， as it lumbers away from the ruins of his crownworld。 Behind it is a hostile armada of unfathomable size， launched by the barbaric alien war-cult known as the Imperium of Man。 And within the Akrops’ sepulchral hold， an even greater threat festers: the creeping horror of the flayer curse。 Faced with such overwhelming odds， Oltyx begins a desperate voyage into a darkness so profound that salvation and doom look much the same。 If he and his dynasty are to make it through that long night， Oltyx will have to become a very different sort of king。
After centuries of exile， the necron lord Oltyx has at last been granted the thing he has always craved: the throne of the Ithakas Dynasty。 Kingship， however， is not quite what he had hoped for。 Oltyx’s reign begins aboard the dying battleship Akrops， as it lumbers away from the ruins of his crownworld。 Behind it is a hostile armada of unfathomable size， launched by the barbaric alien war-cult known as the Imperium of Man。 And within the Akrops’ sepulchral hold， an even greater threat festers: the creeping horror of the flayer curse。 Faced with such overwhelming odds， Oltyx begins a desperate voyage into a darkness so profound that salvation and doom look much the same。 If he and his dynasty are to make it through that long night， Oltyx will have to become a very different sort of king。
Reviews
Peter Bernhardt
，
Slower than the first but still decent。
Peter Lorensen
，
The story is fantastic with surprising twist and turns。 The ending is great; the story continues well after other authors would have finished and I love that you get real closure。 The description of necrons inner workings and their entire society is very well executed。 The struggle with their inner self and lack of a body is fascinating and well told。
John McDonnell
，
Dissapointing。 Not quite how I'd have liked the story to have developed however it was still a decent read even if it did not meet my expectations。 Dissapointing。 Not quite how I'd have liked the story to have developed however it was still a decent read even if it did not meet my expectations。 。。。more
Daniel
，
How do you make an undead race of terminators understandable as a culture and makes sense in the 40K universe？ This is what this book and its predecessor attempt to answer and it does it magnificently。 The undead are a standard trope and the undead armies controlled by lich-kings are standards of fantasy yet few attempt to make them anything more than just undead hordes。 This book manages to do the impossible and make an undead army not only makes sense but also explain its culture and why it ma How do you make an undead race of terminators understandable as a culture and makes sense in the 40K universe？ This is what this book and its predecessor attempt to answer and it does it magnificently。 The undead are a standard trope and the undead armies controlled by lich-kings are standards of fantasy yet few attempt to make them anything more than just undead hordes。 This book manages to do the impossible and make an undead army not only makes sense but also explain its culture and why it makes sense。This is some of the best WH40K has to offer well worth the read， with one caveat you have to read the first in this series as this one is not a standalone novel。 。。。more
Matthew Witman
，
Oltyx is hard to read in this follow up to ruin， yet it shouldn't be ignored for that reason alone。 His fall， as well as the journey and destination that lead to it pair as a fitting conclusion to this classical tragedy。 Oltyx is hard to read in this follow up to ruin， yet it shouldn't be ignored for that reason alone。 His fall， as well as the journey and destination that lead to it pair as a fitting conclusion to this classical tragedy。 。。。more
Dan
，
Not quite as good as the 1st book of the trilogy。 Dragged a bit in places。 The Praetor Neth arc was very touching though。 As always， Richard Reed is an AMAZING narrator。
Rashid Yasin
，
Nate Crowley is an excellent writer， and I really like his work overall。 He's taken the basic concept "killer robot space skeletons ruled by an immortal pharoah based on a franchise meant to sell figurines" through a serious journey with a lot more character/pathos than you would expect for the basic outline of the setting。The best bits: fundamentally， the story is a Shakespearean tragedy with a redemption arc at the end that averts total destruction for our protagonist Oltyx。 There are also spa Nate Crowley is an excellent writer， and I really like his work overall。 He's taken the basic concept "killer robot space skeletons ruled by an immortal pharoah based on a franchise meant to sell figurines" through a serious journey with a lot more character/pathos than you would expect for the basic outline of the setting。The best bits: fundamentally， the story is a Shakespearean tragedy with a redemption arc at the end that averts total destruction for our protagonist Oltyx。 There are also space battles， an exhausting chase sequence reminiscent of the first episode of Battlestar Galactica （in all the best ways）， and hand-to-hand combat。 Unfortunately， compared to themostly introspective first novel of this duology， I didn't find that the pieces meshed， and the over-the-top setting and some of the tone clashed with the story that was being told。Oltyx has taken his small fleet of surviving vessels out from the destruction of their crown world to flee a cleansing crusade by the Imperium of Man that doggedly pursues him at every turn。 He narrowly escapes thier clutches multiple times， but never in a way that was set up in a satisfying manner。 His drive is broken， but then he is saved by the presence of an ally from another kingdom that happens to have drive technology。 He doesn't know where to go， but then is informed by a mentor that there is somewhere to go。 Oltyx is floundering。In one sense， this is part of his tragic story: Oltyx doesn't know how to be a king and truly has no plan for his people who， in addition to suffering from a pursuing army， are going mad from a plague and are burdened with an outdated mode of fighting and a rigid command hierarchy that requires absolute devotion to a king。 And with the last king having gone insane， that doesn't put the kingdom in a very stable place。Oltyx makes blunders: he kills his closest advisors and is cruel when he doesn't need to be。 He， as mentioned， makes no plans and has no long-term goals。 But， as a reader （listener since I had the audiobook）， I didn't feel like this was wholly his fault。 The narration is so close to him and focused on the desparation to survive another day that his faults are not fully laid bare to the reader。 Instead of seeing the slow decay， until the very end of the book， I kept wondering "oh ho， how will Oltyx escape *this* scrape"。 But then the numbers in his control dwindle down to nothing and he is broken in both mind and body。 It was only at this point that I realized I had not been reading a space romp but instead the tragedy showcasing the slow destruction of a people due to the hubris of their leader。He rises from this death stronger， with clearer purpose， and with a new insight into the accursed members of his court that acts as a redemption arc for him and manages to save （what is left of） his people。 But， while I'm very impressed that Crowley pulled this off， I don't feel like it was as well set up as it could be。 Certainly Oltyx's wrath got the better of him on multiple occasions， but I think a clearer deterioration of his mental state and priorities could have been better displayed。 There is a scene near the end of the book where he chooses revenge over tactical efficacy， but he *knows* that he chose the wrong option and is immediately frustrated by his short-sightedness。 It cuts down on his tragic character to have Oltyx be completely aware that he is making bad choices - he needed a foil to push back on him externally so that the reader could separate Oltyx as the driver/narrator of the plot and Oltyx as the tragic thematic core to the story。 I will admit that， since I listened to the audiobook， that I was sometimes distracted and maybe I was missing some pieces and this was more clearly communicated， but I think it could have been more clearly set up to show his deterioration to make his kingdom's collapse a more clear consequence of his failures。Similarly， Oltyx achieves redemption by accepting his decay into the curse to desire flesh and to live as a "flayed one" - a robot that hungers for organic matter even though it has no means to digest it， so is cursed with an insatiable appetite。 He accepts this at the end， but the acceptance seems almost academic， and it simultaneously gives him new power and abilities。 We see this upsides of this choice， but not the downsides。 I think a more satisfying arc would have shown him leaving one tragedy （his failed kingship） for another （the horrors of accepting this unquenchable， unthinking， and unrestrained thirst for blood）。 But as it stands， we simply see him failing at being a necron king and succeeding at being a flayed king。Crowley， I reiterate， has a great flair and so the writing is tight， the fight scenes are dramatic， and the introspective scenes are properly thoughtful。 But I think there was some clashing between the plot and the themes that are a shame because he has such a great eye for what can make the Necrons interesting and raised so many fantastic questions along the way。 I'm satisfied by this resolution to many of Oltyx's travails， and I'm hoping that any additional stories delve deeper into the bargains Oltyx has made to "save" （or condemn） his people。 I enjoyed this book， but I missed some of the existential horror of its predecessor。 。。。more
Zoyd Wheeler
，
A good story but Black Library have turned the Necron narrative from dreaded to slapstick。
Matthew Wake
，
Absolutely excellent book， and a great sequel to the first book in the series。
Woodsy Taylor
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book suffers from just being needlessly complicated。 The king is just having personal issues which he is a necron。 Necron lords and overlords do have feels but it was all an internal battle between what he thought to do and what he should do after getting 3/4 the way through there wasn’t enough action。 Also they have these interesting things that go along with the necron lore but they don’t really touch on it that much or they touch on it way too much to the point that where you’re just get This book suffers from just being needlessly complicated。 The king is just having personal issues which he is a necron。 Necron lords and overlords do have feels but it was all an internal battle between what he thought to do and what he should do after getting 3/4 the way through there wasn’t enough action。 Also they have these interesting things that go along with the necron lore but they don’t really touch on it that much or they touch on it way too much to the point that where you’re just getting all this information just shoved through your ears。 The king gets a program that where he can travel to another dimension that is not the warp and they are getting trees by the space marines and so they think they’re safer but than the space marine shop inside of the different dimension when it’s not even the warp？？？ Also flayed ones are supposed to be able to really go into a pocket dimension and it just seems like the book just rounds them up in the ships then kill them even though they can just “phase out”。 The book is gets very boring and complicated。 I have read the other necron books and they are a blast！ This is is just very underwhelming， I work a manual labor job that allows me to listen to headphones and 3/4 of the way through I was just done and rather listen to machines turning on and off in my own thoughts and finish this book。 。。。more
Jacob
，
Really damn good sequel to “Ruin”， with lots of twists。
W。G。 Saraband
，
3。5/5 - Just found it weaker than its predecessor in almost every sense， but still worthwhile if you really enjoyed Ruin
Matthew House
，
Really good conclusion to the series， I always think of the necron as soldiers but this one was almost all ship battles which was cool。
Unseen Library
，
Rating of 4。5。The fate of Oltyx and his necron dynasty is revealed in Reign， the epic and impressive second entry in The Twice-Dead King series of Warhammer 40，000 novels by Nate Crowley。Reign takes place directly after the events of Ruin and sees Oltyx， now king of the Ithakas necrons， attempting to find a way to preserve his people after his capital planet was destroyed by the massed forces of the human Imperium。 With the remnants of his people crammed aboard his fleet， Oltyx searches for a sa Rating of 4。5。The fate of Oltyx and his necron dynasty is revealed in Reign， the epic and impressive second entry in The Twice-Dead King series of Warhammer 40，000 novels by Nate Crowley。Reign takes place directly after the events of Ruin and sees Oltyx， now king of the Ithakas necrons， attempting to find a way to preserve his people after his capital planet was destroyed by the massed forces of the human Imperium。 With the remnants of his people crammed aboard his fleet， Oltyx searches for a safe planet to claim as their new home。 However， the forces of the Imperium are relentless in their mission to destroy all Xenos， and Oltyx’s fleet soon finds itself under pursuit from their massive crusade fleet。 At the same time， Oltyx is forced to deal with the vicious politics of the necron court， with the bickering and scheming nobles hoping to gain power at his expense。However， the further the necrons run， the more apparent it becomes that the humans will never leave them alone。 Spurred on by his most loyal advisors， Oltyx embarks on a risky plan to find an ancient planet， said to be ruled over by a deadly king and his hordes。 Making use of long-lost technology， Oltyx and his people undertake a deadly trip towards their goal。 However， a far greater threat soon emerges in the very heart of his ship。 The flayer curse that has long infected his people and which drove Oltyx’s father mad has returned， and soon thousands are infected。 Forced to take drastic actions to save his people， Oltyx soon learns the full weight of responsibility and loneliness that all kings must bear。 But this king has a dark secret that will threaten the entire Ithakas Dynasty。 Can Oltyx control the dark urges that reside deep within his soul or will a new twice-dead king rise to reign over the Ithakas necrons？Reign is an epic and exciting sequel to the first The Twice-Dead King novel， and I had a brilliant time getting through this compelling and fantastic novel。 This book has an excellent story that dives deep into the Warhammer 40，000 lore to explore one of the more mysterious races in the canon while focusing on a conflicted and damaged protagonist。To see the full review， click on the link below:https://unseenlibrary。com/2022/02/09/。。。For other exciting reviews and content， check out my blog at:https://unseenlibrary。com/ 。。。more
AA_Logan
，
It’s impossible to view this book in isolation， not least because it is a direct sequel。 Three full novels and several shorter works into his BL career and Nate Crowley has established himself as one of the most important writers in their stable。 Reading The Twice Dead King: Reign， I couldn’t help but stop often and ponder what he could do if given the same remit to write about other factions; if Crowley can write a heart-warming story about family and friendship in a duology about functionally- It’s impossible to view this book in isolation， not least because it is a direct sequel。 Three full novels and several shorter works into his BL career and Nate Crowley has established himself as one of the most important writers in their stable。 Reading The Twice Dead King: Reign， I couldn’t help but stop often and ponder what he could do if given the same remit to write about other factions; if Crowley can write a heart-warming story about family and friendship in a duology about functionally-immortal-vaguely-ancient-Egyptian-alien-space-robots， what could he do if given the chance to write about， say， the T’au？An excellent book in its own right， I did try to read a physical copy of this but since I’d enjoyed the audiobook of the prior title in the series so much I had to go back to listening- Richard Reed， once again， is incredible here。 。。。more
Alberto
，
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5No sé qué pasó， pero aunque me gustó mucho el libro， no me atrapó la lectura tanto como el anterior。 Aún así， el final sobre todo es realmente impresionante。Opinión completa con resumen y comentarios de historia， narrativa， temas， entre otros:https://muchomas。live/2022/02/03/the-。。。Opinión sin spoiler:Si pensaba que el libro anterior era complejo， este lo es mucho más。 Pero por otro lado， más sencillo。 Es muy difícil de explicar， así como es difícil de explicar cualquier otro asunto re ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5No sé qué pasó， pero aunque me gustó mucho el libro， no me atrapó la lectura tanto como el anterior。 Aún así， el final sobre todo es realmente impresionante。Opinión completa con resumen y comentarios de historia， narrativa， temas， entre otros:https://muchomas。live/2022/02/03/the-。。。Opinión sin spoiler:Si pensaba que el libro anterior era complejo， este lo es mucho más。 Pero por otro lado， más sencillo。 Es muy difícil de explicar， así como es difícil de explicar cualquier otro asunto relativo a los necron。❤️Estoy realmente maravillado al ver cómo el autor logra una descripción tan clara y a la vez tan compleja de los necron， sus costumbres， su forma de pensar， y su tecnología。 La historia tiene una continuidad y ha sido bien planeada desde el inicio， y al final terminas entendiendo cosas que ocurrieron en el libro anterior。 📚En comparación con la anterior entrega， este se siente un poco repetitivo a veces y en ocasiones parece que se extiende mucho en ciertas situaciones。 Algunas cosas no las terminé de entender y no hay mucha información por ahora en línea。 Pero en general， esos detallitos no arruinan la experiencia。🍿Si vienes con dudas del libro anterior， acláralas lo antes posible porque se van a solapar con la complejidad de este。 。。。more
Victoria Hayward
，
Oltyx is a King， and so is Nate。This book is so good I've defected to the Necrons now and don't want to hear any more organic nonsense out of any of you。 Would that I had more than 5 stars to give。Dazzling conclusion to this beautiful duology。I love it， I love it， I love it。 💀💀👑 Oltyx is a King， and so is Nate。This book is so good I've defected to the Necrons now and don't want to hear any more organic nonsense out of any of you。 Would that I had more than 5 stars to give。Dazzling conclusion to this beautiful duology。I love it， I love it， I love it。 💀💀👑 。。。more
Jacob Bennike
，
Can this book be considered a masterpiece by Black Library standards and is it a truly worthy sequel， that contains my favorite all time Warhammer character？ Yes， I believe that it is。You won’t get the writing style I just did until you read the book， and if you’re reading these reviews there I no doubt that you should read the book。 It continues the excellent story from the first book， and it continues to grow the characters you know and love as well as add very nice editions。 It’s well written Can this book be considered a masterpiece by Black Library standards and is it a truly worthy sequel， that contains my favorite all time Warhammer character？ Yes， I believe that it is。You won’t get the writing style I just did until you read the book， and if you’re reading these reviews there I no doubt that you should read the book。 It continues the excellent story from the first book， and it continues to grow the characters you know and love as well as add very nice editions。 It’s well written， the story is interesting and while there is a neat little “we’re taking the eagles to Mordor” moment even that works out sort of ok。If you like Necrons， or just 40K in general then you should read this book。 。。。more
Andy
，
Everything I said about the first one applies here。 Tie-in genre fiction shouldn't be this good at body horror， the experience of not living up to your potential， and mental illness。Won't be convincing me to buy any toy soldiers though。 Everything I said about the first one applies here。 Tie-in genre fiction shouldn't be this good at body horror， the experience of not living up to your potential， and mental illness。Won't be convincing me to buy any toy soldiers though。 。。。more
Zeki Czen
，