Slaves to Darkness (The Horus Heresy)

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I Horus Rising • II False Gods • III Galaxy in Flames • IV The Flight of the Eisenstein • V Fulgrim • VI Descent of Angels • VII Legion • VIII Battle for the Abyss • IX Mechanicum • X Tales of Heresy • XI Fallen Angels • XII A Thousand Sons • XIII Nemesis • XIV The First Heretic • XV Prospero Burns • XVI Age of Darkness • XVII The Outcast Dead • XVIII Deliverance Lost • XIX Know No Fear • XX The Primarchs • XXI Fear to Tread • XXII Shadows of Treachery • XXIII Angel Exterminatus • XXIV Betrayer • XXV Mark of Calth • XXVI Vulkan Lives • XXVII The Unremembered Empire • XXVIII Scars • XXIX Vengeful Spirit • XXX The Damnation of Pythos • XXXI Legacies of Betrayal • XXXII Deathfire • XXXIII War Without End • XXXIV Pharos • XXXV Eye of Terra • XXXVI The Path of Heaven • XXXVII The Silent War • XXXVIII Angels of Caliban • XXXIX Praetorian of Dorn • XL Corax • XLI The Master of Mankind • XLII Garro • XLIII Shattered Legions • XLIV The Crimson King • XLV Tallarn • XLVI Ruinstorm • XLVII Old Earth • XLVIII The Burden of Loyalty • XLIX Wolfsbane • L Born of Flame • LI Slaves to Darkness • LII Heralds of the Siege • LIII Titandeath • LIV The Buried Dagger Finished Slaves to darkness this evening. What a wonderful addition to the HH series. Enjoyed it massively. 5 out of 5. Compliments to you for such an entertaining novel at this stage of our journey. Some thoughts. Mild spoilers ahead. To me this book feels like a clean up operation, 50 books in and still not all pieces were in place for the big finale, the siege of Terra and it feels as if they did not want to just make them show up at the first book of that series so they had to write their final gathering before the big push. But at the same time they also wanted to write a story of Lorgar who was tempted to grab power from Horus, they also wanted to talk about lingering doubts within Horus, they felt a need to give Leaman Russ's spear assault a bit more meaning, they wanted to write how the first Iron warrior obliterator came to be, they wanted to make a symbolic reconnection to Horus big triumph at Ullanor and present this twisted dark mirror and they wanted Angron and Perturabo to have a fight and they .... See what I am trying to say here? It was like they had this pot full of ideas that never had gotten their moment and decided to pour them all in one book. It is just to much. In the Voices of Heresy Humble Bundle there are audiobooks or higher quality shorter productions called "audio dramas" of this infinite drag of a series. There are novels one through six and then there is a long gap and we get novels #51-#54, the last ones in the HH series. At first I was confused, why such a selection? At first glance you "miss" a lot of novels, but when I read 4 and 5 and now also number 51, it became clear that Games Workshop really has no decency. The whole series is just dragging on a simple story. So I guess Humble Bundle got it right. You can easily skip the ~45 novels in the between.

Argonis strode forwards. The Iron Circle twitched towards him but stilled as Perturabo turned to look at him. Basically, the plot is constantly interrupted by flights of descriptive fancy re. the warp and the webway. It matters very little to this author that these things have been done to death throughout the series. Critical plot points are interrupted time and again for pointless asides which do not drive the story, and critical moments such as the re-marshalling on Ullanor are skipped over with only vague details about events that occurred. There's always been a lot of characters in these novels but good writers focus on two or three and their experiences - French tries and fails to cover multiple at once, with only one or two plot lines being actually meaningful. Some of them are just rambling nonsense that add nothing to the story and interrupt events.

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The reason I highlight these two, in particular, is that the book needed a solid basis for the others to work from and build the rest of the narrative around. Without that, the story would have been utterly overburdened in trying to divide its focus between so many different primarchs, their subordinates, and other characters besides. While the likes of Lorgar and Malgohurst also serve as a means to drive the narrative forward - and it's always nice to see the Twisted take a front row seat again - it needed a bolder and more brazenly examine the inherent problem the traitors suffer: Chaos is chaos. Jonathan Keeble reading of the book was excellent, is his work always is. I don't think that there has been an audio production featuring John Keeble that has not been excellent. the range of acted voices which he can provide is impressive. The final issue is perhaps the greatest problem which has plagued the Horus Heresy series since the day Fulgrim was published. While some books veered away from this and some actively tried to correct it, time and time again the stories of characters would push too far forward. The state of the galaxy, the state of the legions, the situation with the primarchs themselves, everything doesn't seem like it's from M31 anymore. It's all too close to M41, and in the space of fifteen years the galaxy has more or less reached the state it's supposed to reach in ten thousand. While the Horus Heresy is definitely an integral part of the setting - arguably the most important chapter of its history - it should have been the start of the decay which set into the Imperium. Instead, it's already reached a point where we're now supposed to believe it will remain at, without any change, for the next ten millennia. It is very difficult to make characters such as Angron or Perturabo interesting or likable, but French succeeds. What were highlights for me in this novel? Well, I loved the Orcus part a lot, the scenes in the webway, the meeting with Fulgrim and all the stuff there. But surely also the scenes at Deluge, the one with Kharn for example, the one with Angron and Perturabo off course too. Loved the scene with Horus in the warp, or dream or whatever or wherever it was, him fighting and fighting , on and on, not wishing to submit. The Ullanor scenes were also very nice, some real emotion there, sometimes gave me the chills. These scenes combined the past (both within the series but also as an reading experience for us readers) with the now and upcoming future (siege of terra and Horus ultimate fate). The conversations between Horus and Mal, about making choices, about lies, about being nobody's slave, good stuff, bringing a bit the old HH feeling with it (Horus rising, the first part of False gods .... seems like another era almost).

Perhaps I am a bit to harsh with my rating but at the halfway mark, I could not help and say to myself; what is the point of this book? The possible answer I have, did not help. So, we come to the obvious question: which of the three storylines was the best? Layak, Maloghurst or Argonis. Difficult to say, very difficult. The Layak one was a strong one for sure, but the others were great too. Surprisingly, one of the big highlights of the book proves to be Perturabo. John French's depiction of the character has not been a popular one in the past, often reducing the Lord of Iron to a screaming maniac. Along with the Forge World rulebooks, it seems to have approached him with the impression that he's more interested in finding excuses to kill his own troops than effectively leading his forces into battle. This was most obvious when compared with the (if somewhat problematic) more detailed look at the character Angel Exterminatus offered, which gave him some much-needed depth. More than a few people might have expected the return of the hammer-wielding madman, but the Perturabo we get here is far more tempered in his nature. Loved all the storylines and the 40K vibe and atmosphere in this 51th Horus Heresy book. And some vivid scenes like the III Legion preparing to start its deadly concert, something like out of a Clive Barker's nightmare, are just going to stay with me forever.

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The Iron Warriors primarch is blunt, expects total obedience and will bump off officers at a rate a Commissar would baulk at, but it's not without reason. The way he's written doesn't make it seem as if he's looking for an excuse to kill everyone around him, or simply has rage as his only emotion. It's far closer in nature to the original Index Astartes source material than with many past works, and what we have here more than makes up for a few past mistakes. An intense and entertaining tale about the traitor Primarchs and their legions assembling to Ullanor before starting their final approach to Terra, despite the huge divisions among them: Emperor's Children and World Eaters are totally degenerate and disbanded after Fulgrim and Angron demonic ascensions and Lorgar decides at last it's time for him to take the lead. If interested in some happenings in between, you could read the summary of Imperium Secundus wiki article to get the general gest of what has happened https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Impe...

A muttered wheeze spread out around the products bay at the recommendation of such fierce Multitudes. It's been a while, but I'm finally here. Up to date with the Horus Heresy, aside from a few minor things I skipped and plan to catch up on in the nearest future. This book started out nicely, intriguing and exceptionally atmospheric, yet I did not get everything I wanted from it. I feel like I will have to read it again to fully appreciate the experience. My initial excitement was based on the fact that I always preferred reading about the traitor legions, their stories being more deep and complicated, often having better character development. I did not get enough of it here. I can't see this novel being enjoyable as a stand alone, which is a major issue for me personally. I believe each book in the series has to be readable and understandable to a person who has't read every other thing published before it and I see this one relying heavily on the previous HH pieces. The HH series are at it's best (I think) when we come along scenes in which very human things happen to very inhuman / trans - human characters. Love, brotherhood, betrayal, jealousy, honor and so on. Then the HH series are at it's hight, but also very relatable: although happening in a pure fictional world, they adres situations which can happen to you or me in everyday life. Scenes like the Aximand - Torgaddon confrontation in galaxy in flames, or Fulgrim - Ferrus in book V. This book had such of scenes too, so good stuff. the challenge that John French faced with this book is to take a lot of characters which are not very likeable and make a story with them that makes a person want to actually follow it. When considering characters, I think Lorgar and Perturabo stole the show. They were very well handled, in my opinion. Big appearances, as primarchs should be, continuing the developments made by other books and authors and still adding to them. The last scene with Lorgar was too very good, and surprising also. Very curious to see what road he will be on after this book ...The reason

Lorgar ha estado plenenado esta guerra durante decadas.. La mera vision de las naves es una prueba de eso. Recordalo, todos vosotros cada vez que sintáis la tentacion de confiar en una de esas serpierntes en rojo" Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar • Leman Russ: The Great Wolf • Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero • Perturabo: The Hammer of Olympia • Lorgar: Bearer of the Word • Fulgrim: The Palatine Phoenix • Ferrus Manus: Gorgon of Medusa • Grandfather's Gift • Perturabo: Stone and Iron • Malcador: First Lord of the Imperium • Konrad Curze: A Lesson in Darkness • Jaghatai Khan: Warhawk of Chogoris • Vulkan: Lord of Drakes • Sons of the Emperor • Corax: Lord of Shadows • Angron: Slave of Nuceria • Scions of the Emperor • Konrad Curze: The Night Haunter • Ghost of Nuceria • The Passing of Angels • The Abyssal Edge • Mercy of the Dragon • Lion El'Jonson: Lord of the First • Illyrium • The Revelation of the Word • Morningstar • Will of the Legion • Embers of Extinction • Alpharius: Head of the Hydra • Blood of the Emperor • Loyal Sons • Mortarion: The Pale King • Rogal Dorn: The Emperor's Crusader • Sanguinius: The Great Angel • Heirs of The Emperor We meet some new characters as well, including the magnificent Zardu Layak, who's been previously mentioned in Forge World books and even has his own model. The introduction of this space marine was absolutely fascinating to me, but I would definitely prefer to learn even more about him and to see his story unravel in more detail. The fact that this book tells many stories of rather different personalities could not give enough space for Layak to fully blossom. Even when the book does delve into bolter porn, it's well-timed and extremely well planned. Much of this surrounds the Iron Warriors, but it's used to comment on the state they are in. It draws attention to how the world has changed and ultimately what has become of the well-supplied supplied forces which once made up the legions. This is most evident during the rearguard actions against the Ultramarines and their allied battlegroups, but it even shows up on a very ground level view. Away from the primarchs, the gods and the prophecies, you can see how this has reshaped the soldiers fighting in them even when they are just astartes fighting other astartes bereft of Chaos' direct influence. Plus it even tries to deal with one long-standing issue of casualties, but that does, unfortunately, open up one possible plot hole as it is. At over fifty books in the series the Horus Heresy at times has been required to allow itself to indulge in the occasional filler book and Slaves to Darkness certainly fits this particular bill.From its wonderfully penned opening to its dramatic conclusion French shows off his masterful use of the written word by showing not only the divisions between the Primarch's but also those Horus holds closest to him in his own legion. His adapt use of colourful descriptions as he shows the audience the true inner struggle that the Horus of old fights daily as well as his self delusions that he can somehow retain his own psyche and ultimately master the forces that move him, gave this reader something of a forlorn hope that the Warmaster may indeed see the error of his ways, even while knowing all the while he will not. French succeeds in making the most unagreeable Primark in do a hero that you pull for throughout the story. for veterans of Warhammer 40K, that is a massive achievement. Has yet to speak his own will,’ said Perturabo. His dark eyes flashed. ‘Those are Third Legion vessels in the void. The last time I saw them it was in the wake of treachery.’ He tapped the layered plates of his armour. ‘A lesson taught in blood is remembered in iron.’