Book Review // Grey Knights by Ben Counter

This title has been sitting in my to-be-read pile for far too long. With a week at the cottage, I finally had the chance to dive in and finish it.

Title: Grey Knights
Author: Ben Counter
Format: 416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Affiliate link: Pretty sweet Kindle price for the omnibus here

Commercial Write-up

There are times when a daemonic infestation grows so vast that even the most formidable Inquisitors must call for aid. Enter the Grey Knights, elite daemon hunters sworn to protect humanity at any cost.

In Grey Knights, Ben Counter delivers a fast-paced, action-heavy story as the superhuman warriors face the terrifying threat of the daemon Ghargatuloth. From brutal battles to sinister Chaos cults, Counter blends high-octane combat with the grim atmosphere of the 41st millennium.

Review

For readers new to Warhammer 40K, the Grey Knights are the pinnacle of humanity’s defenders: Space Marines who serve the Inquisition and exist for one purpose: destroying daemons.

In this novel, the Imperium’s seers have foreseen disaster: a powerful daemon, banished thousands of years ago, is close to being summoned in the Trail of St. Evisser. The Grey Knights must stop this ritual before it’s too late. The catch? They’re vastly outnumbered, with limited resources, and must root out a secretive cult that has been plotting for millennia. The opening chapters are a brutal, gory spectacle, a reminder of just how intense 40K can be. From there, the book shifts gears into something closer to a detective story, as a small team of Grey Knights works against impossible odds to uncover the cult hidden among millions across multiple worlds. It’s a clever narrative move, and Counter handles it well.

The story is full of twists. Even if you piece together the broad strokes, the way events unfold will still surprise you. Admittedly, the book runs about 50 pages longer than necessary, with Counter’s fondness for deep description slowing the pace. But for fans of 40K lore (like me), that extra detail is a bonus rather than a drawback.

Overall, Grey Knights is a solid entry into the 40K universe: brutal, atmospheric, and more layered than it first appears. If you’re a fan of the setting or want to see the Grey Knights in action, give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Cheers for reading!