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Alright, finals are done with and I’ve got to write as much as possible before the summer of Calculus I begins.  I figure a book review is as good a way as any to get the ball rolling.

Think about your typical D&D Monster Manual.  Now imagine if that manual were written completely in-character.  Creatures Anathema is exactly that, a bestiary compiled from the notes of Inquisitor Felroth Gelt (Radical, whereabouts unknown).  Every word after the introduction (excluding some sidebar text) is written as though this inquisitor were cataloguing with great detail his knowledge of the denizens of the Calixis sector.  He even bothered to put a thought for the day at the bottom of several pages; how thoughtful.

Gelt’s notes are divided into six chapters: Mutation, Forbidden Science, Death Worlds, Vermin & Predators, Xenos, and The Forces of Chaos (the seventh and final chapter, Adversaries, appropriately breaks the narrative).  Just about every entry (and there’s about fifty of them) in this book has an “Adventure Seed” sidebar — something to help you formulate a plot-hook/reason/excuse for your acolytes to be fighting things like Lictors and Nobz.  Almost every entry has one of these sidebars in addition to a very nice stat-block and ability summary.  It’s like getting several small campaign modules tossed into your bestiary at no extra cost.

A good portion of this book is fluff, but it does not detract from the crunch.  These villains and beasts are more than their stat-blocks, and there’s pages upon pages to help you bring them to life.  The artwork is, of course, great.  FFG has once again done a smashing-good job of illustrating these creatures and worlds.

The final chapter of the book, Adversaries, is devoid of bestiary info and fluff (they also break the narrative here) and is instead dedicated to helping the GM put an awesome game together.  Some (some, there’s more) of the things included in the chapter are tips for introducing 4e-style “minions,” how to create nice “oh shit” moments and meaningful PC deaths, adding a cinematic feel and keeping the “rule of cool” in mind, and two tables for randomly adding traits and gear to your creatures.  This chapter is a valuable resource for anyone interested in running a game of Dark Heresy.

In closing I’ll just say that if you’ve…

• Been hungering for a Dark Heresy bestiary?  This is the book for you.
• Been craving some fluff to aid you in fleshing-out your adventures in the Calixis sector? This is the book for you.
• Been looking for new ways to challenge and reward your acolytes?  Yeah, this is the book for you.

The discerning Dark Heresy GM can do no wrong in making this purchase.

In the name of the Emperor… let none survive.