Master of Prospero is an interesting novel in several respects. Graham McNeill uses it as an opportunity to revisit Atharva, his protagonist from The Outcast Dead, at an earlier point in his life. He also uses it to explore the relationship between the Thousand Sons and the Iron Warriors, pairing Ahriman with Forrix for most of the novel. Most interestingly of all, Master of Prospero has Space Marines fighting not aliens or each other but apocalyptic forces of nature. Morningstar is being torn apart by its own magnetic field, and the Thousand Sons and Iron Warriors must evacuate the population.
Those points of interest aside, Master of Prospero makes it clear that Graham McNeill has run out of ideas for Magnus and the Thousand Sons. The story is vaguely interesting, but it doesn't add anything substantial to the lore or deepen readers' understanding of Magnus or his legion. McNeill's writing remains crisp and engaging, but this book gives the impression he's suffering from Thousand Sons fatigue. A different author might not have been able to capture these characters with the same assuredness but they would have brought a fresh take, something this primarch and legion need. As it is, McNeill's entry in this series is the first lash falling on a dead horse.
The Hammer of Olympia is an extremely good example of the kind of novel The Primarchs books should be. The choice to explore the Iron Warriors' nihilistic struggle against the Hrud is perfect, because it is both an excellent example of the kind of thankless campaigning that drove the Iron Warriors towards betrayal, and a pivotal period in the life of Barabas Dantioch, the novel's secondary protagonist. We've already met Dantioch in the Heresy series and it's a real treat to experience the events that left him crippled and cast out, knowing that sweet vengeance will be his in the future.
Of course, Hammer of Olympia's main protagonist is Perturabo himself, and Haley has done an exemplary job of deconstructing him as a character. The novel delves deep into Perturabo's psyche as it follows his growth from foundling child to tyrannical warlord on Olympia, and if some of the earlier chapters are a little slow then that is forgotten in the drama of the denouement as the Iron Warriors return to put down their homeworld's rebellion. The time spent with young Perturabo and his adoptive family is paid off as the primarch's last surviving sibling eviscerates his character, laying his flaws bare and explaining that it is not his circumstances but his own misguided reactions to them that have made him a monster. Hammer of Olympia makes it clear that Perturabo's is a self-made tragedy, without even the malign influence of the Warp to blame. It is a powerful ending to an enthralling tale of war and disgrace that deserves the label of masterpiece.
The Ladder
1. Perturabo: The Hammer of Olympia by Guy Haley
2. Leman Russ: The Great Wolf by Chris Wraight
3. Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero by Graham McNeill
4. Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar by David Annandale
