WH40k

Review: THE OUTCAST DEAD by Graham McNeill (Black Library)

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McNeillG-HH17-OutcastDeadA terrible truth revealed and the hunt to suppress it

The galaxy is burning. The Emperor’s loyal primarchs prepare to do battle with Warmaster Horus and his turncoat Legions on the black sand of Isstvan. Such dark times herald new and yet more terrible things still to come, and when Astropath Kai Zulane unwittingly learns a secret that threatens to tip the balance of the war, he is forced to flee for his life. Alongside a mysterious band of renegades, he plunges into the deadly underworld of Terra itself, hunted like a criminal by those he once trusted. In the face of betrayal, Kai must decide where his own loyalties lie and whether some truths should be buried forever.

The Outcast Dead is the latest novel in Black Library’s New York Times bestselling Horus Heresy series. It’s a slightly different kind of novel to previous Heresy novels (including McNeill’s own contributions to the series), and offers an alternative perspective of the brewing civil war, away from the front lines. It’s a refreshing take on the period, and one that adds greater depth to our understanding of how the Imperium reacted on its home turf to the rebellion. Continue reading →

Review: AGE OF DARKNESS, edited by Christian Dunn (Black Library)

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Various-HH16-AgeOfDarknessA new chapter in the epic Horus Heresy history

After the betrayal at Isstvan V, Horus begins his campaign against the Emperor, a galaxy-wide war that can lead only to Terra. But the road to the final confrontation between father and son is a long one – seven years filled with secrecy and silence, plans and foundations being formed across distant stars. An unknown history is about to be unveiled as light is shed on the darkest years of the Horus Heresy.

Age of Darkness collects nine short stories written by the creme-de-la-creme of Black Library’s Warhammer 40,000 and Horus Heresyauthors. Set in the dark time between the betrayal on Isstvan V and the siege of Terra, this volume sheds some light on previously-uncovered age in the history of the conflict, from a multitude of angles and perspectives. It’s a diverse collection of well-written stories, and definitely a must for fans of the series. Continue reading →

Review: PROSPERO BURNS by Dan Abnett (Black Library)

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AbnettD-HH27-ProsperoBurnsThe Wolves unleashed

The Emperor is enraged. Primarch Magnus the Red of the Thousand Sons Legion has made a terrible mistake that endangers the very safety of Terra. With no other choice, the Emperor charges Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves, with the apprehension of his brother from the Thousand Sons home world of Prospero.

This planet of sorcerers will not be easy to overcome, but Russ and his Space Wolves are not easily deterred. With wrath in his heart, Russ is determined to bring Magnus to justice and bring about the fall of Prospero.

Picking up the story of A Thousand Sons from a different perspective, Prospero Burns is the long-awaited Space Wolves novel from one of Black Library’s most established and defining authors. Needless to say, the wait has been more than worth it – this is a superb sci-fi war novel written with depth, intelligence, and considerable panache. Continue reading →

Review: THE FIRST HERETIC by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (Black Library)

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DembskiBowdenA-HH14-FirstHereticA Legion falls from grace, and the roots of Heresy are sown

Amidst the galaxy-wide war of the Great Crusade, the Emperor castigates the Word Bearers for their worship. Distraught at this judgement, Lorgar and his Legion seek another path while devastating world after world, venting their fury and fervour on the battlefield.

Their search for a new purpose leads them to the edge of the material universe, where they meet ancient forces far more powerful than they could have imagined. Having set out to illuminate the Imperium, the corruption of Chaos takes hold and their path to damnation begins.

Unbeknownst to the Word Bearers, their quest for truth contains the very roots of heresy…

The First Heretic is a novel of three parts – first, the Word Bearers are fully rendered through their actions and the legacy they leave behind on worlds they bring into “compliance” with the expanding Imperium. This first part also chronicles the legion’s reprimand from the Emperor (who ever more in these novels comes across as remote and aloof, not to mention slightly fickle). Thus begins Lorgar and his legion’s quest to discover the truth about divinity, gods, faith and worship in the universe – and, ultimately, the beginning of their fall to Chaos and the Horus Heresy. Continue reading →

Review: NEMESIS by James Swallow (Black Library)

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SwallowJ-HH13-NemesisThe Fight for the Galaxy enters the shadows…

After the horrors of Istvaan V, Horus declares outright war against the Imperium.

In the shadows of the Emperor’s Palace, powerful figures convene. Their plan is to send a team of assassins to execute the arch-traitor Horus and end the war for the galaxy of mankind before it’s even begun. But what they cannot know is that another assassin is abroad already, with his sights firmly set on killing the Emperor.

In Nemesis, Swallow takes a look at the Horus Heresy from a different perspective. Namely, the shadows. Removed from the front lines, where legions of Adeptus Astartes do battle against xenos threats and uncompliant human worlds, this novel takes a look at the Horus Heresy through a narrower lens.

Malcador the Sigillite (humanity’s number two, if you will), a character only hinted at or mentioned from a distance in past Horus Heresy literature, has issued a controversial order. The Imperium’s temples of assassins – each with their own styles, methodologies and internal politics – have been tasked to work together, for the first time ever, to bring down the ultimate target: the traitorous Warmaster Horus. Continue reading →

Review: A THOUSAND SONS by Graham McNeill (Black Library)

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McNeillG-HH12-AThousandSonsIntroducing the enigmatic, psychic, and misunderstood Sons of Magnus

Censured at the Council of Nikea for his flagrant use of sorcery, Magnus the Red and his Thousand Sons Legion retreat to their home-world of Prospero to continue their use of the arcane arts in secret. But when the ill-fated primarch foresees the treachery of Warmaster Horus and warns the Emperor with the very powers he was forbidden to use, the Master of Mankind dispatches fellow primarch Leman Russ to attack Prospero itself. But Magnus has seen more than the betrayal of Horus, and the witnessed revelations will change the fate of his fallen Legion, and its primarch, forever.

I’ve been waiting a long time for this novel. Ever since the Black Library announced the Horus Heresy series, I’ve been eagerly awaiting coverage of a number of key events: from the initial descent of Horus (in Horus Rising, False Gods and Galaxy in Flames), the war on Mars (Mechanicum), and also the Space Wolves-Thousand Sons conflict. In A Thousand Sons, Graham McNeill offers us the story from the perspective of the eponymous legion (Dan Abnett’s Prospero Burns will give us the perspective of the Space Wolves). Continue reading →

Review: DESCENT OF ANGELS by Mitchel Scanlon (Black Library)

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ScanlonM-HH6-DescentOfAngelsVolume six in the excellent Horus Heresy series does not disappoint, shedding light on the founding of the mysterious and aloof Dark Angels.

The planet of Caliban exists much as it has for thousands of years – the knightly orders protect the common people, fighting back the beasts that lurk in the depths of the seemingly endless forests. Young Zahariel and Nemiel aspire to join the greatest of the orders, led by the example of mighty Lion El’Jonson and his vision of a peaceful and unified world. But the coming of the Imperium brings new concerns and a new destiny for the Lion as part of the Great Crusade, and the sons of Caliban must decide if they will follow him to glory among the stars.

Covering the founding and subsequent fall of the Dark Angels, Descent of Angels offers an interesting insight into one of the most popular (and four primary) legions that make up the Space Marines. The Dark Angels are, of course, one of the most mysterious Legions/Chapters, too. It’s not surprising, therefore, that any fiction that promises to illuminate some of their history would be of interest to fans of the Horus Heresy/WH40k franchise. I had hoped that Descent of Angels would give readers some more meat to add to the secrets at the heart of the Legion, and it does this — not as much as I would like, but I suppose that’s not surprising. This is also not the best book in the series so far. Scanlon does offer plenty for fans of this series, and also the Legion, but it doesn’t land as well as previous novels in the series, and it didn’t hold my attention quite as much as I’d hoped. Continue reading →