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Path of the Eldar #3
Path of the Outcast
The third of the Eldar Path series, which shows Aradryan as he lives as a Ranger. Alaitoc is attacked by the Sons of Orar Space Marines and he must do what he can to help save the craftworld
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 10, 2012
18 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
About the author
Gav Thorpe
375 books563 followersGav spent 14 years as a developer for Games Workshop, and started writing novels and short stories in the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 when the Black Library imprint was launched in 1997.
He continues to write for Black Library, and his first 'homegrown' novel series The Crown of the Blood has been released via Angry Robot.
Currently living in Nottingham, Gav shares his home with his loving and very understanding partner - Kez, and their beautiful little boy - Sammy.
He continues to write for Black Library, and his first 'homegrown' novel series The Crown of the Blood has been released via Angry Robot.
Currently living in Nottingham, Gav shares his home with his loving and very understanding partner - Kez, and their beautiful little boy - Sammy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
May 1, 2019
This concluding volume of the Path of the Eldar series is an action filled, pulpy, fun read.
To the uninitiated the Eldar are essentially High Elves in space, and as such they share some of the racial characteristics of fantasy Elves common to the genre: haughty superiority, the occasional racist attitude towards humans (Warhammer basically sets the two races at odds with each other; where other fictional settings would even have it commonplace for humans and elves to love each other and form families with each other, Warhammer sees to it that they think only of killing each other), and insufferable pride.
Some of this is warranted, as the Eldar are an extremely advanced, interstellar civilization with a sophisticated society and very high culture. Some of it, however, is not.
The trilogy follows a trio of friends, Korlandril, Thirriana, and Aradryan as they struggle with their own wants, needs and desires as well as the fundamental essence of what it means to be Eldar. To all three, this means The Path. The Path is designed to help bring out the best in an individual Eldar's character, while disciplining them from the self destructive tendencies that birthed the Chaos god Slaanesh and doomed their galactic Empire to near total ruin. (40K Space Elves serve as a warning against debauchery and degeneracy: turns out too much free sex, drugs, and rock and roll means you just snorted, injected, and shagged a Chaos god into existence, good going).
Unfortunately, the Eldar seemed doomed to fall prey to their nature, despite the influence of The Path, as this trilogy shows. All three of the characters contribute, in their own ways, to the assault on their craftworld, Alaitoc (Sword of the Heavens), by the forces of the Imperium of Man lead by the Space Marines Chapter Sons of Orar.
This particular novel follows Aradryan as he seeks to leave the rigidity of The Path, and Alaitoc, and wander the stars as an Outcast. While he does so he explores facets of the extended Eldar race, linking up with Exodites, Commoraghns (Dark Eldar, or Dark Elves in Sapce), Harlequins (a faction that gets very little in the way of explanation or fiction of their own), and Corsairs.
In so doing Aradryan, now a Pirate Prince, runs afoul of the duplicitous human Commander De'Vaque. And it is Aradryan's selfish actions here that doom himself, and Alaitoc, to the wrath of a human invasion fleet.
While the other two novels spent a great deal on the epic battle for the Craftworld (by the way, a Craftworld is a starship the size of an entire continent, housing tens of millions or possibly hundreds of millions of Eldar), this one focuses instead on Aradryan and of tying up the loose ends of how all three novels intertwine into a single narrative.
I liked that the underlying theme of the series was that of the consequences of hubris.
Despite their somewhat pitiful plight, the Eldar, regardless too of The Path, are slaves to their natures. While this seems nihilistic, it goes a long way towards explaining how they fell as a race, and also why they are doomed to never again reach their old heights.
And you thought sci-fi offered no moral lessons?
Overall an enjoyable series. The Eldar are one of the more fascinating, if very overlooked, races of the Warhammer 40K setting, and so it is good to see anything featuring them rather than novel 3,432 of Space Marines.
A fitting conclusion to a very enjoyable series.
To the uninitiated the Eldar are essentially High Elves in space, and as such they share some of the racial characteristics of fantasy Elves common to the genre: haughty superiority, the occasional racist attitude towards humans (Warhammer basically sets the two races at odds with each other; where other fictional settings would even have it commonplace for humans and elves to love each other and form families with each other, Warhammer sees to it that they think only of killing each other), and insufferable pride.
Some of this is warranted, as the Eldar are an extremely advanced, interstellar civilization with a sophisticated society and very high culture. Some of it, however, is not.
The trilogy follows a trio of friends, Korlandril, Thirriana, and Aradryan as they struggle with their own wants, needs and desires as well as the fundamental essence of what it means to be Eldar. To all three, this means The Path. The Path is designed to help bring out the best in an individual Eldar's character, while disciplining them from the self destructive tendencies that birthed the Chaos god Slaanesh and doomed their galactic Empire to near total ruin. (40K Space Elves serve as a warning against debauchery and degeneracy: turns out too much free sex, drugs, and rock and roll means you just snorted, injected, and shagged a Chaos god into existence, good going).
Unfortunately, the Eldar seemed doomed to fall prey to their nature, despite the influence of The Path, as this trilogy shows. All three of the characters contribute, in their own ways, to the assault on their craftworld, Alaitoc (Sword of the Heavens), by the forces of the Imperium of Man lead by the Space Marines Chapter Sons of Orar.
This particular novel follows Aradryan as he seeks to leave the rigidity of The Path, and Alaitoc, and wander the stars as an Outcast. While he does so he explores facets of the extended Eldar race, linking up with Exodites, Commoraghns (Dark Eldar, or Dark Elves in Sapce), Harlequins (a faction that gets very little in the way of explanation or fiction of their own), and Corsairs.
In so doing Aradryan, now a Pirate Prince, runs afoul of the duplicitous human Commander De'Vaque. And it is Aradryan's selfish actions here that doom himself, and Alaitoc, to the wrath of a human invasion fleet.
While the other two novels spent a great deal on the epic battle for the Craftworld (by the way, a Craftworld is a starship the size of an entire continent, housing tens of millions or possibly hundreds of millions of Eldar), this one focuses instead on Aradryan and of tying up the loose ends of how all three novels intertwine into a single narrative.
I liked that the underlying theme of the series was that of the consequences of hubris.
Despite their somewhat pitiful plight, the Eldar, regardless too of The Path, are slaves to their natures. While this seems nihilistic, it goes a long way towards explaining how they fell as a race, and also why they are doomed to never again reach their old heights.
And you thought sci-fi offered no moral lessons?
Overall an enjoyable series. The Eldar are one of the more fascinating, if very overlooked, races of the Warhammer 40K setting, and so it is good to see anything featuring them rather than novel 3,432 of Space Marines.
A fitting conclusion to a very enjoyable series.
August 1, 2018
Bad tripping space elf goes out into the galaxy and finds adventure and adrenaline highs. F***s up and goes back to tripping. Soon cries endlessly. Of the 3 entwined fates of friends unraveling along their paths this was the least interesting to me.
Pacing throughout the series is weird but this one felt so fast I just couldn't enjoy this. I get skipping time to get to action bits but he goes from snotty to Lead of a Pirate Fleet so damn quickly. But its not the worst thing I've ever read.
However the bits of Eldar lore were interesting and the how waystones are gathered were fairly enthralling. Just the bits immediately after become so blah. And one thing that gets to me is if the crone snipper of fates was the first to be consumed why do they even still revere a dead god?
Pacing throughout the series is weird but this one felt so fast I just couldn't enjoy this. I get skipping time to get to action bits but he goes from snotty to Lead of a Pirate Fleet so damn quickly. But its not the worst thing I've ever read.
However the bits of Eldar lore were interesting and the how waystones are gathered were fairly enthralling. Just the bits immediately after become so blah. And one thing that gets to me is if the crone snipper of fates was the first to be consumed why do they even still revere a dead god?
March 29, 2019
**3.5**
This is probably my favorite of the Path of the Eldar novels, despite Aradryan by far being the most inconsistently written character of the series. I was about halfway through when I decided to read some reviews and was confused by the number if people who said they disliked the book because how much of an annoying edgelord Aradryan was. Then I got to the part where he takes command of the Azure Flame and makes a bunch of outlandishly arrogant decisions just for the hell of it. And THEN I got to the part where he finally got some comeuppance for his stupid decisions and subsequently decided to place himself in a drug addled fugue for upwards of a month rather than own up to his idiotic mistakes. I realize that his journey throughout the novel is more or less meant to display that, even outside of the Path, he is still following his own version of it, but there are just times where this seems too forced and the changes in his personality seem thrown in to fit the theme rather than actually occurring organically within the framework of the novel.
Aside from Aradryan's characterization, my only other critique would be that certain events seem kind of rushed and cobbled together. The raid on the human convey where Aradryan's portion of the corsairs run into (and are subsequently attacked by) the renegade Space Marines feels so shoehorned in. I understand the purpose of it symbolically, but it just doesn't seem to fit right with the plot as a whole for some reason. It also showcases the inconsistency of Aradryan's character. He is so eager to prove himself and not be humiliated by losing his wager with Taelisieth that he is willing to put the lives of his crew in danger even after learning of the presence of the Space Marines; he has taken prisoners in order to sell them off to Maensith's old cabal in order to keep them off their back; yet when the Fae Taeruth is destroyed he has them ferried back to their ships unharmed. Keep in mind, this is also the guy who killed and Imperial commander's steward (unnecessarily) and gloated about it and killed that same commander's son (also unnecessarily), thus setting in motion the chain of events that would lead to the near destruction of his home craftworld. This guy has been killing humans for profit and sport pretty much since he decided to stay on board the Fae Taeruth in the first place. And NOW he decides to just let them all go and proceeds to lose all emotional control over the loss of a ship? Don't get me wrong, I understand what the destruction of the Fae Taeruth means for Aradryan. It more or less marks the loss of everything Aradryan managed to achieve after leaving Alaitoc: his pride, his dignity, the trust of Maensith and the other corsairs. It also provides a turning point in the story in preparation of having Aradryan come full circle in order to end up back on Alaitoc and back on the Path. I get it. The problem is I get it with the reader/writer part of my brain that understands story structure and plot devices. I get it outside of my suspension of disbelief, with the part of my brain that analyzes stories rather than the part that experiences them. The larger purpose is clear, but the events occurring and the choices made by Aradryan feel inauthentic nonetheless.
That's a lot of criticism for a book I claim to have enjoyed, I know, but I find it far more enjoyable to discuss the positive once I've gotten the negative out of the way. This really is a fun book. The entire Path of the Eldar series is great (is a bit dry and wordy at times), especially for those of us who 40k fans interested in the Aeldari, or just looking for something that isn't just about Space Marines for once. And we even get a nice little after school special moral lesson at the end.
Honestly, the main reason I claim this book to be my favorite of the series is just because I personally found it more fun and interesting to read. The first two books focus a lot on Eldar culture and particularly the culture of Alaitoc. This is all well and good, and it does lay a firm foundation of understanding for this final installment, but it can be a lot for someone to wrap his or her head around. By the time I reached this book, it was easier to get pulled in as I didn't have to stop and puzzle out as much of what was being described to me. Also, I feel as though, much like Aradryan, I was eager to get away from Alaitoc and experience more than the craftworld had to offer.
By far, my favorite section of this book began with the Fae Taeruth's arrival at Khai-Dizarre (sp) and continued with the subsequent journey to the Crone Worlds and the brush with Chaos. I loved absolutely everything about this part of the book. We get introduced to an extremely powerful psyker who has literally created hundreds of himself each with their own memories and perspectives (not to mention a neutral zone or trade for all the different eldar), a troupe of Harlequins (whose introductory scene was outstandingly well written), and an intelligent and strong dark eldar captain and her crew of corsairs. The trek through the pleasure palace was eerie and delightful to read. The return trip to the ships and the chase/battle scene with the daemonettes was magnificent. Then, to top it all off, there's the reveal of Lechthennian's true identity and his epic battle with the greater demon. If the entire book consisted only of those few chapters, I would have given it 5 stars, easy.
I also really appreciated the epilogue of this novel. I thought it did a fantastic job of bringing everything full circle, not just for Aradryan's story, but for the series as a whole. The Path of Grieving feels like a good place to leave Aradryan after the events of his story, and the conversation with Thirianna brought a sense of closure while still leaving enough open for the reader to ponder future events. It provided a sense of hopeful melancholy, a realization of the way things were and also an acknowledgement of the fact that there is always potential for change. Most importantly, the epilogue leaves the reader with something to think about. We may try all we like to escape our fates, but we will never truly be able to escape ourselves.
This is probably my favorite of the Path of the Eldar novels, despite Aradryan by far being the most inconsistently written character of the series. I was about halfway through when I decided to read some reviews and was confused by the number if people who said they disliked the book because how much of an annoying edgelord Aradryan was. Then I got to the part where he takes command of the Azure Flame and makes a bunch of outlandishly arrogant decisions just for the hell of it. And THEN I got to the part where he finally got some comeuppance for his stupid decisions and subsequently decided to place himself in a drug addled fugue for upwards of a month rather than own up to his idiotic mistakes. I realize that his journey throughout the novel is more or less meant to display that, even outside of the Path, he is still following his own version of it, but there are just times where this seems too forced and the changes in his personality seem thrown in to fit the theme rather than actually occurring organically within the framework of the novel.
Aside from Aradryan's characterization, my only other critique would be that certain events seem kind of rushed and cobbled together. The raid on the human convey where Aradryan's portion of the corsairs run into (and are subsequently attacked by) the renegade Space Marines feels so shoehorned in. I understand the purpose of it symbolically, but it just doesn't seem to fit right with the plot as a whole for some reason. It also showcases the inconsistency of Aradryan's character. He is so eager to prove himself and not be humiliated by losing his wager with Taelisieth that he is willing to put the lives of his crew in danger even after learning of the presence of the Space Marines; he has taken prisoners in order to sell them off to Maensith's old cabal in order to keep them off their back; yet when the Fae Taeruth is destroyed he has them ferried back to their ships unharmed. Keep in mind, this is also the guy who killed and Imperial commander's steward (unnecessarily) and gloated about it and killed that same commander's son (also unnecessarily), thus setting in motion the chain of events that would lead to the near destruction of his home craftworld. This guy has been killing humans for profit and sport pretty much since he decided to stay on board the Fae Taeruth in the first place. And NOW he decides to just let them all go and proceeds to lose all emotional control over the loss of a ship? Don't get me wrong, I understand what the destruction of the Fae Taeruth means for Aradryan. It more or less marks the loss of everything Aradryan managed to achieve after leaving Alaitoc: his pride, his dignity, the trust of Maensith and the other corsairs. It also provides a turning point in the story in preparation of having Aradryan come full circle in order to end up back on Alaitoc and back on the Path. I get it. The problem is I get it with the reader/writer part of my brain that understands story structure and plot devices. I get it outside of my suspension of disbelief, with the part of my brain that analyzes stories rather than the part that experiences them. The larger purpose is clear, but the events occurring and the choices made by Aradryan feel inauthentic nonetheless.
That's a lot of criticism for a book I claim to have enjoyed, I know, but I find it far more enjoyable to discuss the positive once I've gotten the negative out of the way. This really is a fun book. The entire Path of the Eldar series is great (is a bit dry and wordy at times), especially for those of us who 40k fans interested in the Aeldari, or just looking for something that isn't just about Space Marines for once. And we even get a nice little after school special moral lesson at the end.
Honestly, the main reason I claim this book to be my favorite of the series is just because I personally found it more fun and interesting to read. The first two books focus a lot on Eldar culture and particularly the culture of Alaitoc. This is all well and good, and it does lay a firm foundation of understanding for this final installment, but it can be a lot for someone to wrap his or her head around. By the time I reached this book, it was easier to get pulled in as I didn't have to stop and puzzle out as much of what was being described to me. Also, I feel as though, much like Aradryan, I was eager to get away from Alaitoc and experience more than the craftworld had to offer.
By far, my favorite section of this book began with the Fae Taeruth's arrival at Khai-Dizarre (sp) and continued with the subsequent journey to the Crone Worlds and the brush with Chaos. I loved absolutely everything about this part of the book. We get introduced to an extremely powerful psyker who has literally created hundreds of himself each with their own memories and perspectives (not to mention a neutral zone or trade for all the different eldar), a troupe of Harlequins (whose introductory scene was outstandingly well written), and an intelligent and strong dark eldar captain and her crew of corsairs. The trek through the pleasure palace was eerie and delightful to read. The return trip to the ships and the chase/battle scene with the daemonettes was magnificent. Then, to top it all off, there's the reveal of Lechthennian's true identity and his epic battle with the greater demon. If the entire book consisted only of those few chapters, I would have given it 5 stars, easy.
I also really appreciated the epilogue of this novel. I thought it did a fantastic job of bringing everything full circle, not just for Aradryan's story, but for the series as a whole. The Path of Grieving feels like a good place to leave Aradryan after the events of his story, and the conversation with Thirianna brought a sense of closure while still leaving enough open for the reader to ponder future events. It provided a sense of hopeful melancholy, a realization of the way things were and also an acknowledgement of the fact that there is always potential for change. Most importantly, the epilogue leaves the reader with something to think about. We may try all we like to escape our fates, but we will never truly be able to escape ourselves.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2025
The book started off really well, the main character seemed to have fell from grace which worked well, albeit I would have preferred him to have been good, so disliked how he became, there was a good story line and it set up nicely to how events in the other book happened so that rounded everything off well, sadly the timeline seemed a little off with the ending, and the final fight for survival seemed far too short, being only a single chapter, I felt they could have fleshed that out a lot more and it would have improved the book loads
It was a good book, but sadly not to the same great standard as the first two in the trilogy
It was a good book, but sadly not to the same great standard as the first two in the trilogy
October 9, 2012
“A thrilling conclusion to the Eldar Trilogy that will satisfy and enthrall readers.” ~The Founding Fields
What is quite interesting to note about Path of the Outcast is that it concludes what has possibly been the first major Black Library produced Eldar-focused series, and that’s quite an achievement in itself. Not many authors can write a novel from the perspective of aliens, let alone an entire trilogy. Although they may not get as much attention as the Space Marines, the Eldar are still there, and have a whole realm of undiscovered lore that’s just waiting for an author to get their hands dirty with it. Thorpe has rounded off the Eldar Trilogy with a bang, and hopefully his work will inspire future authors to give one of the most enigmatic aliens of 40k another shot in the future. But they’re going to have to pull of something special though, as Thorpe’s Eldar Path Trilogy is, although not a perfect read – there are some flaws that I will be highlighting in the rest of the review. But first, the blurb.
"Aradryan has chosen to leave his sheltered life on Craftworld Alaitoc and walk the Path of the Outcast, seeking the myriad pleasures and threats the wider galaxy has to offer. Still unfulfilled as a ranger, he is lured into the life of a star pirate, bringing him into conflict with the Imperium of Man. A chain of events is set in motion that could have catastrophic consequences for Alaitoc, forcing Aradryan to take drastic action if his old home is to survive."
Path of the Outcast runs in tangent with the events of Path of the Warrior and Path of the Seer. Whilst it is not necessary to read the previous novels in order to understand what goes on in this novel, it helps to get a broader picture of the events. For example, in Path of the Warrior, we follow Korlandril as he embarks on the Path of the Warrior, Likewise, Path of the Seer follows Thirianna, the only female Eldar of the trio, who embarks on the Path of the, well… Seer. As you can guess, Aradryan walks the Path of the Outcast in Thorpe’s concluding tale of the Eldar Path, and we get to understand his viewpoint of the same events that we saw from both Thirianna and Korlandril’s perspective in Warrior and Seer. For all of you who wanted to understand Aradryan’s role in the events, then look no further than Outcast. It lives up to the quality of the first two, both of which I enjoyed, and fans will be pleased to know that this is a satisfying last hurrah for Thirianna, Korlandril and Aradryan. Not that I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them in the future though.
The pace of Path of the Outcast is action packed, although it is far from bolter porn, as Thorpe gives Aradryan time to change from the spoiled brat that he was at the start of the novel and develop over time. Whilst the breakneck pace doesn’t give us the time needed to explore into secondary characters (Thirianna and Korlandril already had their own books, but the rest of the characters I’m struggling to recall the names of and aren’t as memorable as the aforementioned ones), it allows for some breathtaking action scenes that are entirely different from the ones found in Imperial and Chaos novels. The Eldar have their own methods of making war, their own culture, their own… well, pretty much everything. Thorpe provides a great look into the Eldar species, making this whole trilogy a must for any fan of that particular type of xenos. Whilst it may not convince me to start an army of them for the tabletop, Path of the Outcast certainly does give a greater insight to what makes them tick. Aradryan is an interesting character to follow particularly as he develops throughout the whole novel, and is different than both Thirianna and Korlandril before him. We also get a chance to see his point of view of the interactions between the other two and at last the circle of narrative is complete, with no loose ends.
Read the Rest of the Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/10/...
What is quite interesting to note about Path of the Outcast is that it concludes what has possibly been the first major Black Library produced Eldar-focused series, and that’s quite an achievement in itself. Not many authors can write a novel from the perspective of aliens, let alone an entire trilogy. Although they may not get as much attention as the Space Marines, the Eldar are still there, and have a whole realm of undiscovered lore that’s just waiting for an author to get their hands dirty with it. Thorpe has rounded off the Eldar Trilogy with a bang, and hopefully his work will inspire future authors to give one of the most enigmatic aliens of 40k another shot in the future. But they’re going to have to pull of something special though, as Thorpe’s Eldar Path Trilogy is, although not a perfect read – there are some flaws that I will be highlighting in the rest of the review. But first, the blurb.
"Aradryan has chosen to leave his sheltered life on Craftworld Alaitoc and walk the Path of the Outcast, seeking the myriad pleasures and threats the wider galaxy has to offer. Still unfulfilled as a ranger, he is lured into the life of a star pirate, bringing him into conflict with the Imperium of Man. A chain of events is set in motion that could have catastrophic consequences for Alaitoc, forcing Aradryan to take drastic action if his old home is to survive."
Path of the Outcast runs in tangent with the events of Path of the Warrior and Path of the Seer. Whilst it is not necessary to read the previous novels in order to understand what goes on in this novel, it helps to get a broader picture of the events. For example, in Path of the Warrior, we follow Korlandril as he embarks on the Path of the Warrior, Likewise, Path of the Seer follows Thirianna, the only female Eldar of the trio, who embarks on the Path of the, well… Seer. As you can guess, Aradryan walks the Path of the Outcast in Thorpe’s concluding tale of the Eldar Path, and we get to understand his viewpoint of the same events that we saw from both Thirianna and Korlandril’s perspective in Warrior and Seer. For all of you who wanted to understand Aradryan’s role in the events, then look no further than Outcast. It lives up to the quality of the first two, both of which I enjoyed, and fans will be pleased to know that this is a satisfying last hurrah for Thirianna, Korlandril and Aradryan. Not that I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them in the future though.
The pace of Path of the Outcast is action packed, although it is far from bolter porn, as Thorpe gives Aradryan time to change from the spoiled brat that he was at the start of the novel and develop over time. Whilst the breakneck pace doesn’t give us the time needed to explore into secondary characters (Thirianna and Korlandril already had their own books, but the rest of the characters I’m struggling to recall the names of and aren’t as memorable as the aforementioned ones), it allows for some breathtaking action scenes that are entirely different from the ones found in Imperial and Chaos novels. The Eldar have their own methods of making war, their own culture, their own… well, pretty much everything. Thorpe provides a great look into the Eldar species, making this whole trilogy a must for any fan of that particular type of xenos. Whilst it may not convince me to start an army of them for the tabletop, Path of the Outcast certainly does give a greater insight to what makes them tick. Aradryan is an interesting character to follow particularly as he develops throughout the whole novel, and is different than both Thirianna and Korlandril before him. We also get a chance to see his point of view of the interactions between the other two and at last the circle of narrative is complete, with no loose ends.
Read the Rest of the Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/10/...
March 20, 2016
This is going to be a very short review, as my PC is dead and I hate typing on smartphones.
Path of the Outcast was, for me, the best novel in this trilogy. Aradryan only had brief scenes in the other 2 novels, and I was really interested to see his adventures as a ranger. I think thay Gav Thorpe did an amazing job portraying the freedom, duty, and recklessness that it was to be a ranger, and that wad easily my favourite part of the book. I also really liked Aradryan's fall into piracy. He wasn't ok with some things at first, but as his adventures continued, he saw how profitable those things(and worse) could be.
I only have 2 complaints about the book, and even then, they are very minor.
1. His use of "lovers" was ridiculous. He wasn't that amazing a character, and he had the entire female half of the Eldar race(excluding Thirianna) wanting to get in his pants the moment theg saw him, as well as they were upset when he moved on to different women. Like we didn't know that was going to happen.
2. For all of his dislike of Altoic(?), he had his change of heart because of his actions, but to me, they werent enough to really encompass how one would feel after destroying 1/3rd of your home and her people.
A great read, and I cannot wait for the omnibis version!
Path of the Outcast was, for me, the best novel in this trilogy. Aradryan only had brief scenes in the other 2 novels, and I was really interested to see his adventures as a ranger. I think thay Gav Thorpe did an amazing job portraying the freedom, duty, and recklessness that it was to be a ranger, and that wad easily my favourite part of the book. I also really liked Aradryan's fall into piracy. He wasn't ok with some things at first, but as his adventures continued, he saw how profitable those things(and worse) could be.
I only have 2 complaints about the book, and even then, they are very minor.
1. His use of "lovers" was ridiculous. He wasn't that amazing a character, and he had the entire female half of the Eldar race(excluding Thirianna) wanting to get in his pants the moment theg saw him, as well as they were upset when he moved on to different women. Like we didn't know that was going to happen.
2. For all of his dislike of Altoic(?), he had his change of heart because of his actions, but to me, they werent enough to really encompass how one would feel after destroying 1/3rd of your home and her people.
A great read, and I cannot wait for the omnibis version!
December 27, 2013
Brilliant conclusion to the Path of the Eldar trilogy. The character of Aradryan captures the nature of the Eldar, with all their charms and flaws, beautifully. The descriptions are excellent, the characters extremely memorable and the feeling of detail and majesty never leaves you while reading this books. I am awed by Gav Thorpe!
December 15, 2015
Can't say I enjoyed this novel.
The Author have no grip on the time scale. Our protagonist advances from dreamer to steersman to ranger and later captain of a starship in just a couple of months. To make it worse, there's not a single memorable character to speak of...
It wasn't a good book and it wasn't a good series either
The Author have no grip on the time scale. Our protagonist advances from dreamer to steersman to ranger and later captain of a starship in just a couple of months. To make it worse, there's not a single memorable character to speak of...
It wasn't a good book and it wasn't a good series either
November 25, 2012
I think that this was the best of the three books in the trilogy. It was great to get away from the Craftworld and see some of the different interactions and behavior of the other Eldar (Dark Eldar, Exodites, and Corsairs).
March 5, 2024
I hate Aradryan because he reminds me about myself. I too am taking a leave from my home. I too have grown bored with so much that was once close to me. I too am an asshole.
The Path of the Outcast leads us away from Alaitoc, a much needed change of scenery. We visit familiar places and brand new ones while exploring the undersides and missed angles of Eldar society. This path took us on a deeper dive of the Eldar race, and I for one liked it the most because of it.
Harlequins are like happy puppies. Places bloom in joy. Nothing like a harlequin to keep you sane on the tides of madness. Deldar weren't shown in full force, but their malevolence hinted at every chance given. Pirates, traders, neutral parties, and the lonely Outcasts, not too dissimilar from harlequins, help out all of the eldar regardless of allegiance/faction.
I enjoy, and relate, to this path. To roll the dice of fate, to chart your own course, to be free. It's weird that this novel ties back in as the final piece of the omnibus. It feels like if it breathed in its own space as a standalone we'd have ourselves a grander time.
Alas, Path of the Outcast stumbles a bit. Dramatic changes in character, a striving to include all things Eldar, an unbelievable crisis, and a swift end leaves me wanting a bit.
All in all I liked the third installment the most. The philosophical musings, the lenses of racial and social exchanges, the path that's not really a path, cities of all sorts in the webway, the list of things to enjoy is quite long even when the asshole Aradryan assends to Assadryan.
The source of the major conflict and its conclusion feels like it leaves something to be desired. I do love the BLAM aspect paired with appropriate humbling so maybe it's not so bad. Glad to have this one under my belt.
On to the next!
The Path of the Outcast leads us away from Alaitoc, a much needed change of scenery. We visit familiar places and brand new ones while exploring the undersides and missed angles of Eldar society. This path took us on a deeper dive of the Eldar race, and I for one liked it the most because of it.
Harlequins are like happy puppies. Places bloom in joy. Nothing like a harlequin to keep you sane on the tides of madness. Deldar weren't shown in full force, but their malevolence hinted at every chance given. Pirates, traders, neutral parties, and the lonely Outcasts, not too dissimilar from harlequins, help out all of the eldar regardless of allegiance/faction.
I enjoy, and relate, to this path. To roll the dice of fate, to chart your own course, to be free. It's weird that this novel ties back in as the final piece of the omnibus. It feels like if it breathed in its own space as a standalone we'd have ourselves a grander time.
Alas, Path of the Outcast stumbles a bit. Dramatic changes in character, a striving to include all things Eldar, an unbelievable crisis, and a swift end leaves me wanting a bit.
All in all I liked the third installment the most. The philosophical musings, the lenses of racial and social exchanges, the path that's not really a path, cities of all sorts in the webway, the list of things to enjoy is quite long even when the asshole Aradryan assends to Assadryan.
The source of the major conflict and its conclusion feels like it leaves something to be desired. I do love the BLAM aspect paired with appropriate humbling so maybe it's not so bad. Glad to have this one under my belt.
On to the next!
July 9, 2019
I'm going to be up-front and say I didn't care for the way the book started. Aradryan, the main character, is one annoying Eldar. In fact, he might be the single-most annoying Eldar I've ever run into. He whines, bitches, moans, insults and is rude. He can;t use magic and can't really fight. In a word- douchebag. So reading about this twit wandering around the craftworld of Alaitoc and insulting people, sometimes inadvertently, made me wish for him to be gobbled up by Slaneesh.
Thankfully that didn't happen, because the book begins to pick up steam when Aradryan becomes a ranger. But the "rescue" of the rating for this book is really the last 1/3 of the story. Aradryan makes somewhat of a recovery but is never a character I liked. However, the last third of the story was very interesting.
One of the joys of 40K books is that even the ones that aren't the best stories can be full of information that will lead you to a completely new subsection of the lore. In this case, it is the Eldar. I know enough about the Eldar to say I need to learn a lot more. The different sects like Exodites (Eldar hippies?), Craftworld (traditional) and Outcasts (Rangers, Pirates, etc) was interesting. I especially enjoyed his time with the Dark Eldar and am certainly interested in more books dealing with them.
So while this story about a douche of an Eldar named Aradryan, it is the locales and the different groupings of Eldar (and even some Imperials and Chaos Astartes make an appearance), not to mention the intrigue that arises, that make this a good 40K book. I've read much better. I do appreciate it's insights into the Eldar and it highlights certain groups or concepts that I shall look forward to learning about in the future.
Thankfully that didn't happen, because the book begins to pick up steam when Aradryan becomes a ranger. But the "rescue" of the rating for this book is really the last 1/3 of the story. Aradryan makes somewhat of a recovery but is never a character I liked. However, the last third of the story was very interesting.
One of the joys of 40K books is that even the ones that aren't the best stories can be full of information that will lead you to a completely new subsection of the lore. In this case, it is the Eldar. I know enough about the Eldar to say I need to learn a lot more. The different sects like Exodites (Eldar hippies?), Craftworld (traditional) and Outcasts (Rangers, Pirates, etc) was interesting. I especially enjoyed his time with the Dark Eldar and am certainly interested in more books dealing with them.
So while this story about a douche of an Eldar named Aradryan, it is the locales and the different groupings of Eldar (and even some Imperials and Chaos Astartes make an appearance), not to mention the intrigue that arises, that make this a good 40K book. I've read much better. I do appreciate it's insights into the Eldar and it highlights certain groups or concepts that I shall look forward to learning about in the future.
January 2, 2024
We got there in the end, a resolution to the cliffhanger from both of the first two books, I mean. That being said, let's go back to the start of the first book again and retread the same scenes for a bit.
That is definitely unfair. This book does build beyond that and explores elements of Eldar society that would maybe have been half a sentence in a codex from 30 years ago. This is the book for Aeldari fans for the most part. A swashbuckling adventure across parts of the universe, visiting just about every element of the disparate eldar societies. We get to see that deep down, they still get along after a fashion, or at least still view the galaxy as one they can work together in. I enjoyed so much of where the main character went, if in the end, I did not enjoy the character himself.
Back to that cliffhanger, I guess. Imagine something that was built up for three books, then comes out as a whimper. It definitely felt like a corner was written into. Was there a satisfying navigation out of it? In my opinion, no. Part of me would have chuckled if this book ended with the same cliffhanger as the first two with no hope of resolution.
Taken as a whole, I feel like this trilogy was structured ambitiously, but the end result doesn't justify the three books, three focal points. I think if it was trimmed down and rebuilt into one coherent solid single novel it would have flowed a lot better and been more satisfying overall.
I asked for the Aeldari, and I got the Aeldari. Now I wish I had asked for a solid narrative with space elves instead.
That is definitely unfair. This book does build beyond that and explores elements of Eldar society that would maybe have been half a sentence in a codex from 30 years ago. This is the book for Aeldari fans for the most part. A swashbuckling adventure across parts of the universe, visiting just about every element of the disparate eldar societies. We get to see that deep down, they still get along after a fashion, or at least still view the galaxy as one they can work together in. I enjoyed so much of where the main character went, if in the end, I did not enjoy the character himself.
Back to that cliffhanger, I guess. Imagine something that was built up for three books, then comes out as a whimper. It definitely felt like a corner was written into. Was there a satisfying navigation out of it? In my opinion, no. Part of me would have chuckled if this book ended with the same cliffhanger as the first two with no hope of resolution.
Taken as a whole, I feel like this trilogy was structured ambitiously, but the end result doesn't justify the three books, three focal points. I think if it was trimmed down and rebuilt into one coherent solid single novel it would have flowed a lot better and been more satisfying overall.
I asked for the Aeldari, and I got the Aeldari. Now I wish I had asked for a solid narrative with space elves instead.
December 15, 2020
Third book of the Path of the Eldar trilogy - not the strongest entry (I thought the best was Path of the Seer) but provides additional background on how Eldar society works from the corsair side of things. The first book follows one of three friends from the Alaitoc craftworld as he goes down the path of the warrior, the second is one of the friends becoming a Seer, this one is about the third friend leaving the craftworld and working alongside Dark Eldar and others in the path of the renegade.
All three books intertwine at the beginnings and ends, with different viewpoints from each main character as they go through a few key scenes together. I felt the ending of this was rushed for whatever reason. I read this in an omnibus edition featuring all three Path of the Eldar books plus 3 short stories. One of the short stories is from the viewpoint of a non-Eldar who interacts with the main character of this, this third book, in a key series of scenes in that character's life, so may be of some interest.
Overall, this novel was interesting because of the Eldar narrative and the fact it deals with the Corsairs and Eldar renegades. It will probably be a good lead-in to reading the Path of the Dark Eldar series, which is my next planned 40K set of reading.
All three books intertwine at the beginnings and ends, with different viewpoints from each main character as they go through a few key scenes together. I felt the ending of this was rushed for whatever reason. I read this in an omnibus edition featuring all three Path of the Eldar books plus 3 short stories. One of the short stories is from the viewpoint of a non-Eldar who interacts with the main character of this, this third book, in a key series of scenes in that character's life, so may be of some interest.
Overall, this novel was interesting because of the Eldar narrative and the fact it deals with the Corsairs and Eldar renegades. It will probably be a good lead-in to reading the Path of the Dark Eldar series, which is my next planned 40K set of reading.
October 10, 2023
Oh, man, the first third or so of this book was SO difficult. Aradryan basically exhibits all the annoying qualities of the main character of the first book of the trilogy ('but if you become an outcast, i might never see you again!' 'are you saying you want me to stay?' 'you must make up your own mind.' 'so you DON'T want me to stay?'), always putting the onus of ANY AND ALL DECISIONS on someone else, and lusting after the main character of the second book, who is JUST NOT INTERESTED IN ANY OF YOU. Are there NO other eldar female on that craftworld? Yeesh.
Anyway, 'Ryan becomes an outcast, and is not great at it at first, but eventually gets the hang of things, then hangs out w/the Dark Eldar for a while and ups his fashion game by like 5000 (my highlights are in the omnibus edition). Overall I feel like the trilogy was dampened by Thorpe's decision to have them all kind of share the same climax, and I felt like the ending here was a BIT unbelievable, BUT still, the last third was much stronger than the first third.
Path of the Seer was by far the standout of this trilogy.
Anyway, 'Ryan becomes an outcast, and is not great at it at first, but eventually gets the hang of things, then hangs out w/the Dark Eldar for a while and ups his fashion game by like 5000 (my highlights are in the omnibus edition). Overall I feel like the trilogy was dampened by Thorpe's decision to have them all kind of share the same climax, and I felt like the ending here was a BIT unbelievable, BUT still, the last third was much stronger than the first third.
Path of the Seer was by far the standout of this trilogy.
February 8, 2017
The 3rd book of the Path Trilogy started out really slow, but grew on me more that the previous two - the main hero of the book is possibly the most "human" of the three, and thus i could relate to him more. The action unfolded faster with every chapter enthralling you in a kaleidoscope of events and places that eventually lead back to Altioc craftworld, where it finally tied the plot of all three novels in a well crafted knot that answers to all questions about the motivations and sequence of events in previous books. All in all i'm satisfied with the whole trilogy and eagerly recommend it to anyone interested in the vast universe of Warhammer 40k and is tired of the Space Marine vs everything else type of novels, and wants to try some new perspective on the setting.
March 23, 2019
Not a bad finish to the trilogy. Less overlap in events then the first two books, but a broader perspective into the setting from the POV character.
July 27, 2019
Best of the Series.
November 6, 2019
A satisfying ending to the trilogy, the third story diverges enough that it doesn't feel it is covering the same ground as in Path of the Seer.
April 26, 2024
A little underwhelming for the end of the series but enjoyed the journey
January 22, 2025
Quite boring.
February 20, 2017
Finishes up the series pretty well, fills in a lot of the gaps that were clear from the first two books. Also has an ending that is somewhat predictable, but not completely, but also honest to the sides involved.
August 17, 2012
The final part of the Path-trilogy, the whole story gets told a third time... this time from the viewpoint of the last of the three friends. The first two books showed us that the craftworld Alaitoc would be under heavy attack, and it had something to do with the last member, Aradryan the Ranger...
The question "who was in the end to blame for all of this" is only conclusively answered in the final paragraph of the story... and it's a quite surprising answer. Also, until the last thirty pages the question isn't really touched. I wasn't expecting this, as the previous books showed to be quite insisting on that big question.
Instead, we get to see the life of an eldar that chooses not to follow any Path. Being able to do and experience whatever he pleases puts some strain on the Eldar morals, but he Aradryan at least tries to be 'good'.
Following the story of the eldar without the burden of any dogma's, we see a lot more of the full Eldar world, the connections between the sects/classes/kinds of eldar, and the relations possible in the 'grey zone' of eldar society.
And that brings with it massive revelations and hugely entertaining sub-stories.
One of those sub-stories is actually already told by Gav Thorpe by means of two short stories: Renegades (appeared in Heroes of the Space Marines) and The Rewards of Tolerance (appeared in Victories of the Space Marines). Again, this time round the story unfolds from Aradryan's point of view, and even though the reader knows what will happen, it's still a surprise.
The trilogy is an absolute MUST from anyone that is even remotely interested in Eldar, even if you only must fight the bastards on the tabletop. The storytelling by Gav Thorpe, interconnecting the same story again and again, every time with different angles and presumptions is really entertaining and interesting.
Very good read, recommended to absolutely everyone.
The question "who was in the end to blame for all of this" is only conclusively answered in the final paragraph of the story... and it's a quite surprising answer. Also, until the last thirty pages the question isn't really touched. I wasn't expecting this, as the previous books showed to be quite insisting on that big question.
Instead, we get to see the life of an eldar that chooses not to follow any Path. Being able to do and experience whatever he pleases puts some strain on the Eldar morals, but he Aradryan at least tries to be 'good'.
Following the story of the eldar without the burden of any dogma's, we see a lot more of the full Eldar world, the connections between the sects/classes/kinds of eldar, and the relations possible in the 'grey zone' of eldar society.
And that brings with it massive revelations and hugely entertaining sub-stories.
One of those sub-stories is actually already told by Gav Thorpe by means of two short stories: Renegades (appeared in Heroes of the Space Marines) and The Rewards of Tolerance (appeared in Victories of the Space Marines). Again, this time round the story unfolds from Aradryan's point of view, and even though the reader knows what will happen, it's still a surprise.
The trilogy is an absolute MUST from anyone that is even remotely interested in Eldar, even if you only must fight the bastards on the tabletop. The storytelling by Gav Thorpe, interconnecting the same story again and again, every time with different angles and presumptions is really entertaining and interesting.
Very good read, recommended to absolutely everyone.
February 5, 2018
Probably the best book of the Trilogy, but it still isn’t great. The main issue is that Thorpe seems to have no ability to write to a proper time scale and events that should have been given a span of many, many years (especially when we are talking of the very long-lived Eldar) are crammed into a space of months—the scale of the book is off—Thorpe clearly ran out space to fit in the ending to the Trilogy which is consequently truncated and perfunctory (in addition to just not ringing true in any way at all). Still, it was a good insight into the Eldar and their culture; and most of the story and characterisation was enjoyable in this book, and more believable than the first two. Recommended; but only for the true Eldar tragics.
May 10, 2013
Book Three of Gav Thorpe's Path of the Eldar trilogy left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, any chance to experience more of the Eldar culture is pretty cool. Full Disclosure; I've played eldar in 40K ever since Rogue Trader, so we go back a ways. However, the danger with such a long relationship is that, in the absence of novel-length cannon, one would likely have formed their own thoughts about how things worked on the path, and on a craft world.
OK, Eldar-nerdiness aside, what did I think of the books. Overall, I found it tough to empathize with the main characters in any of the books. Each protagonist was flawed, tragically so, with little in the way of redemption. Aradryan's flaws ultimately impact those around him, and while I was curious where his path would take him within the 40K universe, I never found myself cheating for him; merely waiting for the inevitable collapse. Maybe the hope of redemption or elevation to something more was missing - I'm not sure. What drove me through the end of the series was a desire to see how all three threads were interwoven in the climax, which itself was too short in Path of the Outcast.
OK, Eldar-nerdiness aside, what did I think of the books. Overall, I found it tough to empathize with the main characters in any of the books. Each protagonist was flawed, tragically so, with little in the way of redemption. Aradryan's flaws ultimately impact those around him, and while I was curious where his path would take him within the 40K universe, I never found myself cheating for him; merely waiting for the inevitable collapse. Maybe the hope of redemption or elevation to something more was missing - I'm not sure. What drove me through the end of the series was a desire to see how all three threads were interwoven in the climax, which itself was too short in Path of the Outcast.
August 28, 2015
this is the culmination of Gav Thorpe's Eldar-centric trilogy. If you like Eldar, this series will give you a lot of insight into the race, and Thorpe does an excellent job of world building.
Looked at objectively, this book is actually fairly good- the battle scenes are written well, it has many lush environments, and forms the culmination of the grand plot of the trilogy while maintaining a theme of fate mixed with will that is very, very Eldar.
But, I freaking hate Aradryan, the protagonist. He is a coward and a fool with no redeeming qualities that I really just wanted to die for most of the book.
So, for quality of work in an objective sense- 4.5/5 stars. half a star removed due to lack of detail on some areas.
But for me personally- 2/5 stars.
Thus, my aggregate of 3.......hopefully this was useful to someone. I would say definitely read the first two, but this one.......well, get the Omnibus version. it's cheaper and you can take or leave this installment.
Looked at objectively, this book is actually fairly good- the battle scenes are written well, it has many lush environments, and forms the culmination of the grand plot of the trilogy while maintaining a theme of fate mixed with will that is very, very Eldar.
But, I freaking hate Aradryan, the protagonist. He is a coward and a fool with no redeeming qualities that I really just wanted to die for most of the book.
So, for quality of work in an objective sense- 4.5/5 stars. half a star removed due to lack of detail on some areas.
But for me personally- 2/5 stars.
Thus, my aggregate of 3.......hopefully this was useful to someone. I would say definitely read the first two, but this one.......well, get the Omnibus version. it's cheaper and you can take or leave this installment.
September 10, 2012
I'm somewhat torn on this whole trilogy. I didn't like the first book, Path of the Warrior, at all, it seemed rather pointless in the end. Then I learned this was going to be a trilogy of books, each from a different character's perspective, so I decided to read the other two (Path of the Outcast and Path of the Seer).
Although I've rarely had this happen, I think the second book (Path of the Seer) is better than the first, and the final book (Path of the Outcast) is better than the two before them. Individually, they're ok books, but the trilogy taken as a whole presents an amazing perspective into the Eldar and the Paths they follow. We see how the Paths tie together, what they provide to the Eldar that follow them, and what they demand in return.
Although I've rarely had this happen, I think the second book (Path of the Seer) is better than the first, and the final book (Path of the Outcast) is better than the two before them. Individually, they're ok books, but the trilogy taken as a whole presents an amazing perspective into the Eldar and the Paths they follow. We see how the Paths tie together, what they provide to the Eldar that follow them, and what they demand in return.
April 7, 2014
One word. Awe-taking.
The fact that this novel carries off of the first two, Path of the Seer and Path of the Warrior, truly entices the idea of multi-personalities. How the author pulled off this omnicient viewpoint is beyond me, but I did enjoy his capture of the moment. Gav Thorpe is the second WH40K author I have read from, and I can't wait to delve into his works more. Path of the Outcast is a great book to close up the Path of the Eldar trilogy, pinning the climactic end of the tale on the main character, Aradryan. It was a pleasure reading this book, as well as the others, in the omnibus.
The fact that this novel carries off of the first two, Path of the Seer and Path of the Warrior, truly entices the idea of multi-personalities. How the author pulled off this omnicient viewpoint is beyond me, but I did enjoy his capture of the moment. Gav Thorpe is the second WH40K author I have read from, and I can't wait to delve into his works more. Path of the Outcast is a great book to close up the Path of the Eldar trilogy, pinning the climactic end of the tale on the main character, Aradryan. It was a pleasure reading this book, as well as the others, in the omnibus.
July 4, 2013
Again, very introspective for a 40K book and at times actually boring. The ending to the series is a bit of a clunker AND a downer. The battle scenes are passable and we see just how much the Eldar respect/ fear space marines. I actually liked the characters and their growth in this last book of the series. I hope if we read about them in the future it is in the form of short and sweet short stories.
February 1, 2015
Interesting enough if a little anticlimactic. Thoroughly enjoyed the story up to the point where Adrayan's story gave way to setting up the climax of the trilogy. Probably would have been better written as a stand alone.
March 4, 2013
A solid ending to the series. A bit of a let-down, however, since the ending I had expected never materialized, and the ending that did occur felt somewhat lackluster. All in all, though, still an interesting view into another part of Eldar life.
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