At first glance, this novel has a lot going for it: a simple but exciting premise, and a long-awaited showdown between primarchs. The Wolves of Fenris versus the Wolves of Cthonia. If he had stuck to that dynamic, Guy Haley might have pulled off an excellent novel. And yet...
The biggest surprise of Wolfsbane is that it heavily features the Mechanicum, and none other than Belisarius Cawl. A new character from 8th edition of 40K responsible for the creation of the Primaris Space Marines, Cawl has existed since at least the Great Crusade, so his insertion into the Horus Heresy makes sense and gives readers an interesting insight into his early life. What role does he play in the battle between the Space Wolves and Sons of Horus, you ask? Er, none. His forge-world's system is the location of the battle, nothing more.
Cawl and the Mechanicum were interesting in Wolfsbane, but I really feel that the novel would have been better served with a Sons of Horus perspective instead. Perhaps with Slaves to Darkness around the corner that wasn't an option because it would have been too much of the same thing...but can we really have too much of Horus, literally the most important character in the series, and the core cast of villains that surround him?
The Space Wolves portions of this story were excellent, exploring everything from Russ's rivalry with Horus as the first and second primarchs found to the supernatural mysticism of Fenris's Underworld. Russ's metaphysical journey into Hel was my favourite part of the entire book, and made it clear that Haley has put a lot of thought and care into the way he portrays the Wolves and their culture. The final battle itself was serviceable, but with the outcome never really in doubt it is robbed of some of its narrative tension.
Wolfsbane shoots for the stars, but by ignoring one of the sides of its central conflict it throws off its own aim and lands on the moon. A good novel for sure, but not quite an excellent one.
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