Shadows Of Treachery Review

Shadows of Treachery is the latest Horus Heresy short story antology that Black Library has released. Unlike Age of Darkness, Shadows of Treachery feels much more solid and consistent; this is not only to a very solid roster of authors, but especially because it mainly focuses on 2 Legions, their Primarchs and First Captains, a similar timeframe and related events. In this case, it is the Imperial Fists and the Night Lords. 

Up to now, the Imperial Fists main contribution to the story so far was picking up the survivors of the Einsenstein after their escape from the Isstvan system, bringing the news to Terra and start fortifying the defences. The Imperial Fists were also in charge of retrieving as many supplies as possible from Mars when the civil war broke out in the Red Planet. It is also known what it was Rogal Dorn who organized the disastrous counter-attack that ended up with the dropsite massacre.

As for the Night Lords, we have had brief references of their skirmishes with the Dark Angels in some remote region of space, and I believe play an important role in the recent Vulkan lives, which I haven't read yet.

So what about this compilation? I was a bit disappointed with Tales of Heresy and Age of Darkess but given the roster of authors is top notch - Abnett, McNeill and Dembski-Bowden amongst other- and that the Legacy Edition was available, I went for it. See below a short review of each story.

The Crimson Fist by John French

This is the largest story in the book, almost a mini novel on its own. The Crimson Fist explains what happened to the Imperial Fists force dispatched by Rogal Dorn to support the other loyalist Legions in the fight in Isstvan V. About 20% of the Legion, which was a huge fleet in that time, was sent to Isstvan and did not participate in the dropsite massacre; we finally get to know their fate. Not that I want to spoil anything but the cover we can already see Imperial Fists with assault gear fighting Astartes of the +++CENSORED+++ legion. It might also ring a bell if you saw this amazing diorama from Games Day ...

In the story we get to know a little bit more about the impenetrable Rogal Dorn and the Imperial Fists' First Captain Sigismund (who had previously appeared saving some bacon in Mechanicum). On the other side we find out the origin of the bodyguards of the Primarch of the +++CENSORED+++ legion and get to know more of their efficient way of fighting. All in all an enjoyable read, if yet its final is not very imaginative.

The Dark King by Graham McNeill

The Night Lords are arguably of one the Legions that have spent less time in the spotlight (pun intended) and finally get some much deserved love, although they are still to get a full novell of their own. In the meantime, The Dark King preludes the origins of their Primarch Konrad Kurze in a similar fashion as other Primarchs have had mentions of their first steps in their worlds of adoption in their novels; think of Fulgrim or Perturabo but with some more detail.

I don't know much about the Night Lords lore and fluff but suffice to say, this story has a quite different flavour to those of other more normal Primarchs; Kurze arrives to Nostromo after being dispersed from Terra to find a violent hive society, and after sometime surviving by eating different types of meat (hint: there are no cows in the hives) decides to put some order on his on way, which is terror. This is where we see hints that things were not allright in the Night Lords legion many years before the Heresy, same as we saw in Fulgrim, Angel Exterminatus or A Thousand Sons, and rather than the Heresy was made possible because most of the traitor Legions were already hiding something. It is these little tidbits of information that together add a much needed sense to the overall story.

The Lightning Tower by Dan Abnett

Can the mighty, imprenetable, hard as a rock Rogal Dorn feel fear? if it's not fear, let's just call it a very deep concern. This short story is bolter porn-free and revolves around a conversation of Rogal Dorn and the Sigillite in Terra, where they discuss the origins of that fear. What can it be so grave, so daunting, so horrible that can affect Rogal Dorn? The Night Haunter is part of this conversation and we learn that Dorn and Kurze had some issues in the past, but is it Kurze the reason of the fear?

The Kaban Project by Graham McNeill

The second short story of Mr. McNeill explains the origins of that sentient machine that attacked Dalia Cyphera and her friends in the novel Mechanicum. Although this was not a part that deserved much explanation, it is very nice to have a complementary story around Mechanicum, for this is one of the finest Horus Heresy novels to date, and one that - time will tell - could be recalled in the future as the origin of a new Mechanicum army. The story itself isn't that great but again, those that enjoyed Mechanicum will be interested. Hopefully we'll get some more stories on the Knights next time?

Raven’s Flight by Gav Thorpe

In the context of the Horus Heresy storyline, one of the big questions marks so far is how could there be any survivors from Isstvan V, and especially how Corax got away. Well this short story sheds some light about it. Personnally I feel it gives a too simplistic explanation and that it could have been more developed but to be fair, it is only a short story and it's best to get a (simple) answer that no answer at all, IMO.


Death of a Silversmith by Graham McNeill

This is really a filler that adds nothing to the general storyline. A very short story on the Luna Wolves and a character we had not heard about in a long time...

Prince of Crows by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
The second story of the Night Lords and one that I found very interesting; after a series of skirmishes with the Dark Angels, the Lion manages to ambush the Night Lords and in leaves Kurze badly wounded after fighting him. The remnants of the Night Lords ships flee and it is up to their First Captain Jago Sevatar to take the control. To do so will have to fight the inherent treachery of his Legion if he wants to strike back at the First Legion. 

Conclusion

Whilst the previous Horus Heresy compilations so far have been somewhat disappointing, this book feels much more solid and consistent. it sheds some light around details or secondary affairs far from the main action that some might find interesting, and definetely gives much more context to the Imperial Fists and Night Lords. If you are not interested in neither the details or those Legions and just want to see the story advance, I would probably recommend to skip this lecture. Otherwise it makes for a pleasant distraction (I read it one story at a time while going to work in the train) and the Legacy Edition at 10.5€ is definetely a great value. Verdict: 3/5

Have you read this book? what do you think?

Gaunt's Ghosts: The Founding Review

Time and time again I have been thrilled by Dan Abnett's work, especially in the Horus Heresy but also in other works such as Lone Wolf or Titan. And being Imperial Guard the very first army I had back in 2nd edition (metal Cadians from the warp!), I couldn't resist to have a look at one of Abnett's most celebrated stories, Gaunt's Ghosts. This review covers the 1st Omnibus featuring the first 3 novels: First And Only, Ghostmaker and Necropolis plus a short story that serves as epilogue for the third novel, In Remembrance.

So who is this Gaunt and who are the Ghosts?
Colonel-Comissaur Gaunt is hardened Imperial Comissaur who happens to be also Colonel of the Imperial Guard, so is both a military and political leader. After many years of service he is awarded command of a newly founded regiment, the Tanith 1st. On the same day in which Gaunt was making planetfall to the planet Tanith to be put in charge of his new regiment, a Chaos fleet striked out of nowhere and there was no one to stop them obliterating the planet. Gaunt was faced with a difficult choice: stay with his new regiment and die fighting for Tanith, or save as many men as possible so they could live to fight back another day. Gaunt chose the latter and so happened that Tanith only every raised one regiment for the Imperial Guard, never to be followed by another. On one hand he saved about 3.000 souls for the Emperor's service but that also won the enmity of most of them, who were negated the choice of fighting -and dying - for their home planet and families.

With no planet to go back to, with no family to defend anywhere, with a catastrophic event they couldn't prevent, the Tanith survivors are really ghost soldiers that tread from one war theater to the next with a grim resolve of vengeance and the bitterness all is lost for them. Ghosts is also a nickname from their very special scouting abilities, for the Ghosts use black fatigues and camo cloaks, and are extremely skilled at remaining unseen if they want to. Most of them feature tatoos in their faces and have black hair, making them look as a ragtag band to other rival regiments.

The Ghosts - grim, silent, tatooed badasses!

The novels

First And Only introduces the Tanith 1st, the first and only regiment the planet Tanith ever produced. It is an introductory novel to Gaunt and some of the most celebrated Ghosts as they fight against a Chaos invasion on the Sabbat system.

The second novel, Ghostmaker, is more of a collection of small stories are centered about remarkable members of the Ghosts: sniper "Mad" Larkin, hulking "Try again" Bragg, young Trooper Caffran, Colonel Corbec, Major Rawne (who happens to want to kill Gaunt for leaving Tanith to die), Chief Medic Dorden, Gaunt's adjutant Milo and a few more get his time in the spotlight. Personally I feel it is too early in the series for this type of introspective, that it would be better once we know more about the Ghosts, but I also can see it working the other way and in later novels it certainly helps knowing more background about the main characters.

The third novel, Necropolis, is where the action really kicks in. The Ghosts are called to defend a hive city in a nearby planet, in which turns out to be - guess what - the actions of Chaos. This is a pretty intense novel that raises the bar from the previous two, in terms of complexity, number and depth of the characters, and tension. The closing short story In Remembrance acts as epilogue of the fight in the hive, a few days after the war is decided


Veredict: 7.5/10
The novels are great fun and 15€ is a great price. I guess it just feels... a little too plain after the Horus Heresy. Take the 30k era,  most characters lie in a blur grey zone- is Magnus a traitor or just can't escape his destiny? would Horus have turned evil if the Emperor would have been closer at hand? In the Ghosts series there is usually a clear distinction between the good and the bad, right and wrong. That said, I'm growing fond of the Ghosts and can't wait to read more of their adventures. If you are looking for something different to read, give them a try.

Angel Exterminatus Review

The Horus Heresy plot continues to move forward with Angel Exterminatus by Graham McNeill. As Mr. McNeill puts it, this book was meant to be the continuation of Fulgrim but ultimately became an Iron Warriors novel of its own. And a very good one. The Iron Warriors are one of the most popular traitor Legions and yet, after 25+ books we had only had a small glimpse at Perturabo's warriors in the format of a short story.

Well the wait is over and this is a great book that I'm sure will please most Iron Warriors fans out there. Not only we get to learn the reasons that led  Perturabo to turn his back on the Emperor and join Horus' side, but we see for the first time popular characters that appear in the 40k era novels like the popular Storm of Iron. The Emperor's Children also get their day in the sun as we continue to see their evolution and are now completely depraved and, well, chaotic.

The plot

After the Iron Warriors finally overcome an almost an impenetrable fortress defended by, yes the Iron Fists (note: the novel will become far less topical after the start), the Emperor's Children fleet shows up and Fulgrim requests help from his brother Perturabo in order to capture certain Eldar artifacts that could prove crucial to tip the balance towards the traitor's side.

As the story progresses we get to learn of the ways of Perturabo and his Legion, and McNeill does a great job to give the Iron Warriors their own personality and flavour. The way the Warsmiths - which is the Iron Warriors way to say Chapter Master -  fight behind the scenes for power and Perturabo's favour is most interesting.

There's also some stellar participation from some Iron Hands and Raven Guard survivors from Isstvan V . They may play a secondary part in the plot but boy, it's a good one.

Perturabo at war. The book contains 3 more illustrations.

High & Lowlights

As most of Graham McNeill's work, this is a good novel that moves away from the "bolter-porn" (as McNeill himself calls it) and digs deeper onto the ways of the Legions, their own concerns and interests, and fills some important gaps in the story so far. And importantly, it starts to shape their own heresy-era personality. It's not an eye-opener such as Mechanicum or A Thousand Sons were, and it's not filled with as much action as say Storm of Iron, but it is an enjoyable novel and has inspired me to paint the Dark Vengeance Hellbrute and Chosen in the yellow and black livery.

The hardback edition also contains 4 beatifull piees of artwork by Karl Richardson. In case you don't know him this is the artist behind the Lone Wolves novel. Top notch stuff.

On the other hand, unfortunately Angel Exterminatus doesn't really progress the story overall and just covers part of the Iron Warriors / Emperor's Children own story. At the moment this collection is the Black Library's cash cow but they're risking losing interest unless they can make significant movement forward.

Also let me bring this - the Black Library originally released the hardback edition at 25€ as the only way to get the book. While there are no complaints at all about the book's quality, the finish or the illustrations, I don't think fans will want to continue reading the next 20 or 30 installments in the series at this price. You can of course await a month or two until cheaper versions are released but it doesn't feel fair with the fans. If you must, please release the paper and hardback editions at the same time.

The veredict 7/10

Angel Exterminatus is all about giving the Iron Warriors some deserved visibility. The plot is rather predictable and the story might not move much forward, but the intent of the book is to provide the decorations, the set so to speak, so we can finally have a novel dedicated to Perturabo and the Iron Warriors. It is certainly an enjoyable read and a good inspiration if you are building or playing 30k era armies.

Age of Darkness Review

Age of Darkness is a compilation of 9 short stories of the Horus Heresy, set in a time frame between Isstvan V and 2 years later. It is nice to see the story moving forwards, and hopefully the next few years until Horus reaches Terra won't require 20 books again.

The book has clear highs and lows. The first stories aren't really great, and some of them are plain boring.

This is a small recap of the stories:


Rules of engagement
Black Library's best-seller writer Graham McNeill brings this piece about Captain Ventanus, one of the main characters in Know No Fear. The story has advanced since the Word Bearers attack and we can start to see  some cracks in Ventanus' faith and loyalties. Since when does an Ultramarine, a captain nonetheless, questions the purpose of his actions? Interestingly I read this book after Know No Fear (which was launched before) and I think this order fits better, as the timeline is now in order and you have a deeper knowledge of Ventanus.


Liar's due
Set in a small farming settlement in a corner of the galaxy with no strategic nor military importance at all, tells the story of one of Horus' agents manipulating its inhabitants to their cause. It's one of those stories that help to provide richness to the HH background, covering small details far away from the main action. The story is far from exciting and seeing little action doesn't help much. I would say pass unless you're truly absorbed by the HH.


Forgotten sons
This is a rather strange story of an Ultramarine and a Salamander send to convince a world to stay loyal. They would not do this by bolter and chainsword as you would expect, but rather by debating against an iterator sent by Horus (?). The story is more interesting that the plot though and it has some memorable moments, such as the Salamander recollections of the battle at Isstvan V and the last moments in which he saw the Primarch Vulkan alive, fighting for his life and his honour. All in all a decent read.


The last remembrancer
A traitor vessel appears in the Sol system, carrying a lone remembrancer. Dorn and the Half-Heard will have to find out why he's here.



Rebirth
A Thousand Sons captain is held captive by a Space Wolf (is it?) and slowly remembers how he got there. He had gone down to the surface of Prospero to look for survivors.


The Face of Treachery
This is a short prelude to Deliverance Lost and depicts the evacuation of the few remaining Raven Guard from Isstvan V, and how the Alpha Legion are already pulling some strings. Interesting and helps to better understand Deliverance Lost, which is a fine novel on its own.

Little Horus
The story I was most looking forward too, both for the author (Dan Abnett) and the subject. Little Horus has some scars than Abaddon after the Isstvan events, but fights to carry on his duties. We see here the continuation of the Mournival as a 4-men group again, and some fight against the White Scars.

The Iron Within
Definetely the story I enjoyed the most in the book. Reminds me of Storm Of Iron from Graham McNeill, although in a much smaller scale. A few loyal Iron Warriors are holding a fortress and making their enemies pay for every meter they gain with the help of an Ultramarine captain.


Savage Weapons
The last story, and finally we get some bloody, direct action! after some time chasing each other in a lost region of space, Konrad Kurze and the Lion decide to confront each other in a lonely planet, just the two of them plus a couple of bodyguards.





A good number of stories and a fine selection of writers, unfortunately the end result is far from satisfactory.





The best
The Iron Within is the only truly good story of the bunch. Little Horus is passable but I was expecting more of Dan Abnett.


The worst
Some of the novels are plain boring, and most of them lack any action or interest. Save 2 or 3, the rest are not good enough to be published, in my opinion.

Rating
3/10 Accepting the format is different to a normal novel, the bar has been set too low for this compilation. The lack of action makes it boring to read at times, and the fact that the stories are short don't mean they can't have any depth, but sadly this is the case. Finally, it would have been nice to use the small stories to uncover some loose threads, some mysteries to be solved, or to shed light on Legions that are not getting much attention right now. Unfortunately, nothing of this happens and we get a  collection of dull, flat stories that will disappoint many BL readers. A good wasted opportunity.

Know No Fear Review

Know No Fear is the 19th installment in the Horus Heresy series, and a fine addition to the list. Author Dan Abnett explores one of the crucial battles of the Heresy when the Word Bearers attack Ultramar, the vast region of space controlled by the Ultramarines and in many ways an Empire on their own.

Surely the Ultramarines do not have a reputation like those of the World Eaters or the Space Wolves, but are nonetheless a perfect killing machine and the largest legion at the moment, so their destruction was a key step for Warmaster Horus. The novel provides a rich description on how the XVII Legion of the Word Bearers attack the XIII, Ultramarines, focusing in the first hours before and after the attack. As the Ultramarines casualties pile up and the Word Bearers draw close to victory, there is something inside each and every Ultramarine that makes them face the unexpected and fight to the end.

In the same fashion as we previously were introduced to the ways and customs of other chapters (like the Thousand Sons or the Space Wolves), Dan Abnett creates the Ultramarines personalities and ways, with their own ways to interact amongst themselves and their primarch, with their unique way of thinking, and pretty much erasing for ever the feeling that the only difference amongst Legions was the colour of their armours. Roboute Guilliman appears for the first time in the series (about time!) and his is a portrait of a perfectionist, a ruthless strategist that has everything under his control and expects only the best from their men. All in all it's very nice to finally see the origin on why the Ultramarines are like they are - they are just like Guilliman made them to be.

But don't get me wrong, this is not a book about how the Ultramarines repel the invasion and wipe out the traitors - this is a book about how Ultramar and its Legion is almost destroyed. The description about the attack is long and detailed, almost painful, and certainly most enjoyable by all the Chaos fans. The Ultramarines fleet is almost completely destroyed, the damage in Calth is unbearable and the loses of the XIII legion are above the 100K Space Marines, a most damaging blow to the heart of the Empire. Only their courage and honour will keep the Ultramarines fighting.

The best
Abnett's description of the Ultramarines through their customs and their prmarch is delightful; they will no longer be just Space Marines in blue. The book structure containing different sub-histories makes it very intriguing and addictive.

The worst
The 200-long pages of the Ultramar destruction are tiresome. One of the sub stories doesn't have a clear ending, perhaps that will come in another book.

Rating
8/10 Enjoyable, addictive and throughoutly well-written although the Word Bearers' attack description was too long for my taste.