At the time of its release, Fulgrim was the longest and most ambitious Heresy novel to date. It captures the tragedy of the opening acts of the Horus Heresy through the eyes of the Emperor's Children, a proud and vainglorious Legion whose pursuit of perfection degenerates into amoral decadence and horror by the novel's end. The acts of depravity carried out by some of the characters are graphic and brutal, and for this reason Fulgrim is one of the few Black Library novels that younger readers are warned against. However, Fulgrim remains a masterpiece of operatic resonance.
A long novel spread over five acts, Fulgrim begins amidst the Great Crusade with the Emperor's Children making war on the alien Laer civilisation. The Laer's floating coral cities are a suitably outlandish setting for a race enthralled by Slaanesh, and when Fulgrim leads his men to victory after months of brutal fighting and claims a sword from the Laer temple as a trophy the fate of both primarch and Legion is sealed. Unbeknownst to the Imperials a daemon of Slaanesh is housed in the pommel of the alien blade and it begins to assert its will over Fulgrim, whispering lies and temptations into his mind. Fulgrim's corruption differs from Horus's in that Fulgrim has fewer if any personal reasons to betray the Emperor and is turned by an external force, and that Fulgrim's mighty mind barely seems to question the voice inside it makes his fall to Chaos seem easy and cheap. Thankfully Graham McNeill explores a number of other ways that the minds of both Astartes and mortals can be corrupted by Slaanesh: first captain Julius Kaesoron is swayed by hedonistic philosophy, third captain Marius Vairosean simply follows the example of his superiors and artist Serena d'Angelus's mental illness makes her easy prey. Opposing these characters' gradual descent into perversion are token loyalists Ostian Delafour, a human sculptor whose ignorant detachment parables the Emperor, and Solomon Demeter, second captain of the Emperor's Children. Neither survive the events of the book; Ostian is murdered by Fulgrim whilst Solomon dies tragically during the events of Isstvan III.
Central to the events of Fulgrim is the eponymous primarch himself. Fulgrim's descent from honourable loyalty to depraved treachery drives the plotline of the book, Set against Fulgrim as foils are his brother Ferrus Manus, primarch of the Iron Hands who makes several appearances throughout the novel, and the Eldar under Eldrad Ulthran who attempt to warn Fulgrim of the coming heresy only to discover that he is already tainted. Eldrad's appearance is one of the highlights of the novel, as is Fulgrim putting his fist through an Avatar of Khaine's head in the resulting fight. Ferrus Manus proves to be a more durable foe and survives his first battle with Fulgrim when the latter attempts to recruit him into Horus's rebellion, but the tragedy of Fulgrim and the Emperor's Children reaches its climax when Fulgrim takes his brother's head during the Dropsite Massacre at Isstvan V. Appalled by his actions, Fulgrim gives in to the daemon is his sword and becomes possessed, his tortured mind trapped in the back of his skull to suffer impotently while the daemon masquerading as him leads the Emperor's Children into the fires of Horus's war.
Fulgrim is a powerful, tragic novel of corruption and betrayal. Though not for the faint of heart, it is one of the best and most essential installments in the early series and absolutely must be read.
For those who wish to follow the Emperor's Children down their path to depravity, jump to my review of Angel Exterminatus.
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