[JoeGuardsman]

I was first drawn to this book by the amazing cover art. You may look at it and say "It's just a Space Marine walking towards you with a smoking bolter." but I say "It's a Space Marine walking towards you with a smoking bolter!" The picture captures the essence of a Codex Chapter, no non-sense straight bolter and going to dominate. Even though the primary color isn't striking it works very well with the accent colors. OK on to the book.
The book isn't a novel per se, it is a collection of short stories involving the same characters. This is a great story telling device for Space Marines because in a novel we can usually only see one mission or battle front. With the short story format you can see many missions and feel the team dynamic.
This is a great book for those of you who miss the happy times during the Horus Heresy where brothers patted brothers on the back and you saw the insides of what it is like to be a Marine. The primary focus of this book is the inside and rituals of the Iron Snake chapter and the characters in the squad, not the enemies they fight. There is enough action to keep you interested but they don't have to fight unspeakable evils from the birth of the galaxy.
A great book about Space Marines who actually serve mankind and don't look down on them.