Old Earth

Old Earth by Nick Kyme is the forty-seventh installment in the Horus Heresy series. The conclusion of Kyme's Salamanders trilogy within the series, it follows Vulkan's journey to Terra and the culmination of Shadrak Meduson's war against the Sons of Horus.

When I first heard that Nick Kyme's Salamanders-focused Heresy narrative was going to comprise a trilogy, I had my doubts. After all, Vulkan Lives was a dark mess whose few good moments couldn't redeem it. Deathfire lifted my expectations by telling an engaging story with relatively few bumps, but final judgement had to wait until the trilogy was complete. Reading Old Earth has given me the chance not just to judge the book on its own merits, but to reflect on Kyme's trilogy as a whole and how it fits into the wider series.

Old Earth itself is a very good novel, the best of Kyme's three. Vulkan's journey to Terra provides a strong central narrative that forms the bones of the story, but by itself it would not be beefy enough to carry a novel. The flesh of Old Earth is provided by Shadrak Meduson's Shattered Legions and their war against Tybalt Marr's Sons of Horus. Meduson is given as much page space as Vulkan for the first three-quarters of the book, the war narrative separated into three battles which escalate in size and importance. Meduson himself is a welcome presence after so long lurking in the shadows, but the Shattered Legions' secret weapon is the Iron Hand Lumak and his Salamander buddy Nuros, whose strong friendship and banter over naming Lumak's sword is the emotional heart of the novel. Kyme was handed a lot of good material by the Shattered Legions anthology, but he does a good job of building it up into a plot with consequence and gravitas.

Old Earth would have been good anyway had it just told the stories of Vulkan and Meduson, but Kyme also wraps up the subplots involving Eldrad Ulthran, the Cabal, Barthusa Narek and several of the Perpetuals that he has folded into his trilogy. Eldrad killing his way through the Cabal was deeply satisfying to read, and Kyme either ends or sets up the final chapter in the stories of each character. By the end of the novel he has completed two major plot arcs and moved several characters into their positions for the endgame, making Old Earth a successful exercise in advancing the series as well as an excellent story.

For these reasons, Kyme's Salamanders Heresy trilogy can be labelled a success. There have been some long stretches where the writing quality was uneven and overall there is too much ambiguity and not enough description for my taste, but the story told was a worthy one and Old Earth brings the cycle of the Salamanders to a very satisfying conclusion. It is both the capstone of Kyme's Heresy endeavour and the installment that proves it was worth undertaking. My doubts were assuaged, and I have no regrets.       

Legacies of Betrayal

Legacies of Betrayal is the thirty-first installment in the Horus Heresy series. An anthology, it presents eighteen short stories previously published in other formats along with the novella Brotherhood of the Storm.

Serpent by John French involves a a group of Davinite priests massacring another group of Chaos worshipers.

Hunter's Moon by Guy Haley reveals the fate of the Space Wolves pack sent to watch Alpharius through a tale told by the lone survivor of the incident.

Veritas Ferrum by David Annandale describes the actions of the eponymous Iron Hands vessel during the space battle above Isstvan V.

Riven by John French tells the story of Crius, an Iron Hand from the Crusader Host who is released from his duties to gather loyalist reinforcements and unearths his legion's darkest secret.

Strike and Fade by Guy Haley follows a small group of Salamanders survivors on Isstvan V as they lay an ambush for some Night Lords.

Honour to the Dead by Gav Thorpe follows the loyalist Legio Presaegius as they fight traitor Titans during the Battle of Calth.

Butcher's Nails by Aaron Dembski-Bowden sees tensions arise between the Word Bearers and World Eaters at the outset of the Shadow Crusade that must be put aside when Eldar attack.

Warmaster by John French is a monologue by Horus as he discusses the nature of his allies with the skull of Ferrus Manus.

Kryptos by Graham McNeill follows Nykona Sharrowkyn of the Raven Guard and Sabik Wayland of the Iron Hands as they infiltrate a Dark Mechanicum forge to steal a vital piece of tech.

Wolf's Claw by Chris Wraight tells of how Bjorn One-Handed came by the power claws that earned him the name Fell-Handed.

Thief of Revelations by Graham McNeill follows Ahriman's efforts to understand the flesh-change and seek the intervention of Magnus, who takes him on a soul-flight to investigate the current state of the war.

The Divine Word by Gav Thorpe follows Therion Cohort praefector Marcus Valerius as he prosecutes a war alongside the Raven Guard and takes his first steps toward embracing the Lectitio Divinitatus as a result of his prophetic dreams.

Lucius: The Eternal Blademaster by Graham McNeill continues Lucius's story as he leaves his legion behind to seek out a duel with the famous Thousand Sons swordsman Sanakht on the Planet of the Sorcerers.

Kharn: The Eightfold Path by Anthony Reynolds shows Kharn fighting in his legion's gladiator pits and succumbing to the butcher's nails as a result of daemon-Angron's influence.

Cypher: Guardian of Order by Gav Thorpe follows Zahariel and Cypher of the Dark Angels on Caliban as the investigate the re-emerging supernatural disturbances beneath the Northwilds.

Heart of the Conqueror by Aaron Dembski-Bowden depicts the decision of the Conqueror's loyalist Navigator to take her own life to thwart her traitorous legion.

Censure by Nick Kyme follows Aeonid Thiel as he struggles to adapt to the Underworld War on Calth, rescuing his comrades with the help of a human auxiliary after an attack by Kurtha Sedd.

Bjorn: Lone Wolf by Chris Wraight depicts Bjorn battling daemons alongside his brothers and slaying an enemy champion.         

Ruinstorm

Ruinstorm by David Annandale is the forty-sixth installment in the Horus Heresy series. The conclusion of the Imperium Secundus arc, it follows the Ultramarines, Blood Angels and Dark Angels as they navigate the Ruinstorm on their way to Terra.

Ruinstorm has redeemed David Annandale in my eyes. There are a number of factors working in this book's favour and they combine to make it a thrilling, page-turning ride that shows us what Annandale can do when he gives himself good material.

From the start the plot of Ruinstorm benefits from a powerful motive force; the inner drive of the primarchs Sanguinius, Guilliman and Lion El'Jonson to reach Terra launches the story into action and their distinct perspectives allow Annandale to maintain the pace by switching back and forth between them, meaning we never have to stop for contemplation or the traditional mid-part dip of the three-act structure. Ruinstorm doesn't linger unnecessarily either; at a bit over 300 pages it is significantly shorter than most other Heresy novels but still has time to conclude everything before the end.

Annandale's unique take on the grimdark pervades Ruinstorm just as it did The Damnation of Pythos, but here it benefits the story rather than bogging it down. Set right at the end of the Heresy, Ruinstorm shows us just how thoroughly prolonged exposure to the Warp has altered the galaxy within the Ruinstorm, providing suitably massive obstacles for the three mighty protagonists to overcome. Given the poor reception Damnation received I hoped that Annandale would wash his hands of it, but to his credit he has stuck to at least some of his guns and brings Madail back as the novel's main antagonist, this time showing it at its full power as a terrifying, space-faring high priest of the Chaos Gods capably of mutating worlds with its mere presence. Madail is a superb villain, and his defeat is all the more satisfying for it.

Ruinstorm is an excellent addition to the Heresy. It shows how the three legions of the Imperium Secundus reached Terra and reveals why only one of them was present at the Siege, but it is worth reading just on its own merits. We have read David Annandale at his worst, but now finally we can read him at his best.
  

Tallarn

Tallarn by John French is the forty-fifth installment in the Horus Heresy series. An anthology, it gathers together all four of French's Tallarn stories to provide an overview of the Battle of Tallarn.

Tallarn is a somewhat unusual anthology. Written entirely by one author with specific subject matter, it is much more focused than a typical anthology, but unlike the similarly assembled Corax, Tallarn does not tell a linear story. Instead it provides a mosaic-like view of the Battle of Tallarn, each narrative filling in some of the missing information until the overall picture becomes clear. This approach must have sounded good in theory, but in practice it makes for a somewhat dull reading experience.

Tallarn opens with Tallarn: Witness, a short story from the perspective of Tallarn's new governor as he tours the battlefields in a Titan after the battle is over. Structurally this was a good choice as it sets up expectations for the stories to come. However, the redundancy of its never to be seen again characters telegraphs a problem that plagues the rest of the anthology: without a single ongoing storyline, characters and plot elements have no room to develop, and so the structure of the book becomes as suffocating as the toxic air of Tallarn itself.

Tallarn: Executioner is the high point of the anthology. Set at the very beginning of the Battle of Tallarn when the loyalist Imperial Army are just beginning to fight back, it has the strongest characterisation and most compelling sequences. As a reader, I felt like I was right there in a claustrophobic tank with the rag-tag loyalist crew as they crawled through the toxic wasteland that used to be their home. Things end badly for them, but the self-contained story is just one piece of the overall narrative. 

Tallarn: Siren is the transition point between the major phases of the Battle of Tallarn, revolving around the efforts of both sides to secure the planet's last functioning astropath. It is a necessary and tightly written piece of the overall story, but as a former audio drama it comes across as bland on paper and lacks the atmospheric quality that made Executioner enjoyable.

Tallarn: Ironclad is the longest story in the anthology and brings the recently escalated Battle of Tallarn to an unsatisfying conclusion. Ironclad features perspectives from both sides and some of the anthology's best characters, and here there is actually room to give them all proper stories. Unfortunately, while their individual stories are compelling all they lead to is a vaguely confusing tangle of plotlines and an abrupt ending that doesn't answer any of the readers' questions or provide any meaningful resolutions. I was left feeling like this anthology was a waste of time, and that impression hasn't changed.   

The Master of Mankind

The Master of Mankind by Aaron Dembski-Bowden is the forty-first installment in the Horus Heresy series. Set in the Imperial Palace and the Webway, it follows Imperial forces struggling to hold back an endless tide of daemons.

A book featuring the Emperor by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. That sentence is enough to make Warhammer fans drool. The Master of Mankind promised to give us two things: war in the Webway, and a POV from Big E. It gave us both, but in constrained, disappointing ways.

I'll start with the big one. The main draw of The Master of Mankind was that it would give us a glimpse inside the Emperor's head. It gave us several, and all were fascinating, but they also came with the usual catch: all perceptions of the Emperor are subjective. Whether he is sharing his 'memories' with a Custodian Guard or consulting Arkhan Land on Angron's condition, the Emperor is as those speaking to him wish him to be. It's a neat way of handling the Emperor without actually giving readers any hard facts about him. We probably shouldn't have expected anything different, but it's a disappointment nonetheless.

The War in the Webway aspect of TMoM offers a different kind of disappointment. The struggle of the Emperor's forces to hold back the tide of daemons trying to invade the Imperial Palace is the driving force of the plot, but the actual battle gets less page time than it should. In fact, most of the first three-quarters of the book are devoted to a slow accretion of loyalist dregs gathered for a battle that takes far too long to come. When it comes it is everything you could possibly want out of the Emperor wading through an army of daemons, but it doesn't quite justify the long slog to get there.

The Master of Mankind is excellently written and offers some great new characters (see the aforementioned Arkhan Land), but in terms of plot it has little more to offer than some scheming amongst the Mechanicum. It is a book given over to concept above content, that reaches for greatness but doesn't live up to its potential. It is a well-presented exercise in what could have been.         

Shattered Legions

Shattered Legions, edited by Laurie Goulding, is the forty-third installment in the Horus Heresy series. It contains ten short stories focused on the 'Shattered Legions', the remnants of the Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard that survived the Isstvan V Dropsite Massacre, as well as the novella The Seventh Serpent.

Meduson by Dan Abnett covers the events that led to the legendary Shadrak Meduson becoming warleader of the Iron Hands in the aftermath of Isstvan. Abnett characterises Meduson perfectly, giving us a rewarding insight into the Space Marine who made himself a myth as he struggles against Iron Hands politics and the self-destructiveness of his own hatred for the traitors.

Unforged by Guy Haley is a brief story about tragedy amongst the loyalist survivors on Isstvan V as his characters from Strike and Fade fall prey to an ambush by their own oblivious battle-brothers.

Immortal Duty by Nick Kyme follows the account of a censured Iron Hand legionary relating his actions boarding a World Eaters' ship during the space battle above Isstvan V.

Grey Talon by Chris Wraight follows Iron Hand Bion Henricos and White Scar Hibou Khan as they prosecute traitors from their eponymous ship, eventually linking up with Shadrak Meduson and his forces.

The Keys of Hel by John French is a sequel to his previous short story Riven, following a group of undead Iron Hands as they attack a space station held by the Death Guard.

Deeds Endure by Gav Thorpe raises the question of preserving life versus battlefield pragmatism as the commanders of a joint Salamanders/Iron Hands force differ over the way in which they should attack a World Eaters' bastion.

The Noose by David Annandale follows Captain Khalybus of the Iron Hands as he plays cat-and-mouse with Emperor's Children ships pursuing his own, ultimately luring them into an ambush.

Unspoken by Guy Haley is a longer follow-up to Unforged, following a mixed Iron Hands/Salamanders force from the perspective of the mute sole survivor of the friendly-fire ambush. They attack a traitor-held astropathic relay station only to find Alpha Legion infiltrators posing as Iron Hands battling loyalist Alpha Legionnaires.

The Hand Elect by Chris Wraight follows Clan-Father Jebez Aug of the Iron Hands as he travels to a loyalist forge world to be healed of grievous wounds and grapples with scheming within the Iron Hands to replace Shadrak Meduson as warleader.

The Either by Graham McNeill tells the story of Sons of Horus captain Tybalt Marr who was tasked with hunting down Shattered Legion survivors after the Dropsite Massacre. It shows the battle from Meduson from his perspective and takes his story forward to Dwell, where he is reunited with his Legion and makes hunting Shadrak Meduson his sole duty.   

The Crimson King

The Crimson King by Graham McNeill is the forty-fourth installment in the Horus Heresy series. The sequel to A Thousand Sons, it follows a band of the Thousand Sons Legion as they seek to reunite the scattered fragments of Magnus's soul.

To call The Crimson King 'long-awaited' is an understatement. Seven years, three months and thirty-one Horus Heresy books came between A Thousand Sons and this, its sequel. It was both less and more than I was hoping it would be.

The plot of The Crimson King revolves around Ahriman and a handful of followers on a quest to locate and restore scattered fragments of Magnus's soul, which was shattered along with his spine by Leman Russ's knee. Without his soul intact Magnus is dying, but Ahriman and his fellows have agendas other than saving their father that play out over the course of their mission as prophecy swirls around them and mutation threatens all. There's a daemon bound in an iron casket and plenty of other warp-weirdness to keep the plot afloat between chaotic and well-written action scenes, which are mostly triggered by clashes with a band of loyalists out to stop the Thousand Sons. Characters from McNeill's previous works play big roles in this one but their fates are unpredictable, keeping the reader guessing at every turn.

The Crimson King's plot structure is straightforward and symmetrical, and this works really well to tell the story of two rival warbands with opposing goals. The novel isn't the operatic saga A Thousand Sons was nor does it finish with a huge iconic battle, but it is an engaging and original tale that fills in long-standing gaps in the Heresy lore as well as revealing gob-smacking new secrets. It is a well-crafted and enthralling read essential for all fans of the Heresy.