Tag Archives: WH40K

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“Outgunned” and “Above and Beyond” by Denny Flowers- Warhammer 40K novels about propaganda

I’ll be the first to admit it: I am not reading Warhammer 40K novels for the thought-provoking content. I enjoy the ludicrously over-the-top setting in which a planet full of billions of people is burned by the Inquisition for the possibility of a heresy spreading… and that’s just a Tuesday. I enjoy the in-your-face “ra ra ra” anti-fascist themes. And yes, it is anti-fascist, on purpose. The creators have said so. We as readers are not supposed to think the Imperium of Man are the good guys. There really aren’t any good guys here. Just people–and xenos–trying to make their way in a grim dark future.

Once in a while, though, there are books in the WH40K universe that do provoke further thinking. Denny Flowers has written a pair of them, Outgunned and Above and Beyond. These two novels follow the Imperial Propagandaist Kile Simlex, whose assignment to record and transmit uplifting propaganda pieces about Lucille von Shard, fighter ace. Initially, Simlex seems to buy into his own–and others’–prop pieces about the way things are on the fringes of the Imperium, but as the stories go on, he becomes aware that the shiny, good guys always win veneer is a carefully constructed facade. One that he is unable to escape due to the churning wheels of Imperial power.

Outgunned follows Simlex as he first meets and documents von Shard’s career. Despite the supposed gloriousness of it all, Simlex discovers that on the outskirts, not everything is going well. Lives are cheap and they are traded, sometimes for nothing. Threats abound, yes, but the internal decay on some parts of the Imperial hierarchy is its own problem. Ultimately, Simlex must watch as, embroiled in conflict, he loses valuable tools and control of his legacy.

Above and Beyond, a direct sequel to Outgunned, opens with Simlex getting summoned to help the von Shard family. He’s disturbed by the use of his propaganda pieces and the distortion of reality he experiences seeing them. Flowers writes this book a bit on-the-nose, but does so in a way that both amuses and draws in the reader. Simlex must travel to a world in rebellion against the Imperium, where the reality of life on the ground meets with the almost ludicrously scrubbed beauty of the propaganda pieces.

Both of these novels serve, somewhat circumspectly, as a critique of propaganda and a caution for how easy it can be to believe what we’d like to believe. Portraying von Shard as a completely different heroine than she is is comfortable and allows viewers in the Imperium a kind of cathartic comfort. But seeing her as she really is brings to light uncomfortable realities about the conflicts the Imperium is embroiled within.

These two novels are well worth your time, and as Warhammer fiction, they remain top notch. They’re full of action scenes, fighting, and well-written conversations. Highly recommended.

SDG.

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Mini Reading Round-Up 9/13/24- WW2 tanks, Medieval Weird, WH40K, and more!

I read literally hundreds of books every year and wish I had time to review them all, so I’m making more of an effort to at least highlight a bunch. Here are some recent thoughts-

Task Force Hogan by William R. Hogan- This was an incredible read. I am a sucker for tanks, and William Hogan is the youngest son of Samuel Hogan, a lieutenant colonel and tank commander in WW2. He tells the story of his father’s tank along with the general movement of the battalion across Europe. It’s fascinating on every page. There’s plenty of combat, yes, but Hogan also highlights the conditions within the tanks, the incredible stories of heroism and horror, and even the boredom and mundanity of moving a tank battalion in combat zones across Europe. This book is a feast for fans of WW2 history, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Warboss by Mike Brooks- Warhammer 40K novels are their own beasts. There is an insane amount of lore in the WH40K universe, and it can get overwhelming. I have been reading novels in this universe for about 20 years, and still find them enjoyable. Warboss is a very, very fun read that focuses on the Orks and surrounding creatures and lore. It’s filled with plenty of humor and winks at in-universe lore (such as the fact that the book’s chapters are numbered 1-5 and then “Lotz” because the Ork chronicler cannot count higher). Truly, this is a ride. I enjoyed it on every page.

The West Passage by Jared Pechaček- What a strange, immersive, and wonder-filled novel. The setting and feel is Medieval-inspired, but the Medieval stuff that is less in history books and more in rifling through obscure texts and reading the scholars that have delved deeply into the strangeness of that time period. Eldritch enchanted giant women rule a massive palace, and the main character is more the world building than the ostensible mains- Kew and Pell. The book is very much about vibes more than it is about a directed plot. It invites readers to dive into the world and absorb it rather than quickly go from point A to B therein. And… that cover! There is also wonderful art in several places throughout the book.

Liars by Sarah Manguso– Wow! This book reads like a punch in the gut, over and over and over again. It is told through the first person narration of Jane’s marriage to John Bridges. Even describing it like that plays into the theme, because as I describe it, I am relegating Jane in relationship to John rather than on her own. Yeah, this book had me constantly thinking about things like this. It is a fistful of feminist rage, rightly directed at the lies, deceptions, and subtle jabs a male-dominated society has aimed at women. And it does so in ways that, for me as a man, were often uncomfortable and got me thinking of my own life and relations. It makes you reflect on the way we lie to ourselves, the way we forgive things that can be unforgivable, or ignore things that we should not ignore, often for the sake of comfort or just because we don’t know any better. It’s visceral, powerful, and, honestly, really depressing. Definitely worth a read, but make sure you’re in the right headspace before you do so.

Out of Focus: My Story of Sexuality, Shame, and Toxic Evangelicalism by Amber Cantorna-Wylde– Cantorna-Wylde is the daughter of a man who is high up in Focus on the Family, a conservative evangelical group that essentially works to teach people how to live in every aspect of their lives, from child-rearing into adulthood. Here, we get her memoire of growing up in that environment, along with all the consequences of a high control religion and the difficulties of realizing she’s gay. It’s an emotional, sometimes hopeful, and sometimes painful read. I resonated with a lot of the themes in it. A great read.

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Reading Round-Up– Check out my other mini reading round-ups (scroll down for more).

SDG.

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Warhammer 40K Review: “Krieg” by Steve Lyons

Krieg by Steve Lyons

Colonel Jurten is a legend of Krieg, a world that he essentially helped self-immolate in ancient nuclear destruction when he fought against the growing spread of heresy on the world. The story follows the decisions Jurten took leading to and beyond that fateful moment, but also jumps into the “present” in which the world of Krieg is churning out astonishing numbers of robust, zeal-filled soldiers and sending them to do war in the farthest reaches of the Imperium.

The two threads of plot interweave in some meaningful, though slightly predictable ways. I liked the mystery of the Death Korps being at the center, and, while I guessed the main events of the denouement before they happened, I still found it satisfying.

Lyons delivers on a good amount of action, though this doesn’t really go into the category of straight up “bolter porn” as some Warhammer books do. Instead, much of the novel is about the zeal of Jurten and the decisions he had to make in circumstances that seemed unwinnable. In the “present,” meanwhile, following a Cadian and an Inquisitor spice perspectives up a bit.

One thing about Warhammer is that it is so lore-heavy that it can be intimidating to know where to start. However, more and more, apart from some of the big series, I think that it’s tailored to letting people just dive in and figure out the feel of the universe for themselves. Krieg by Steve Lyons is a novel that introduces readers to the Death Korps. For people who haven’t read Warhammer 40K lore or know anything about the universe, I imagine that the fast and hard hits of how the novel plays out might get confusing (talking about the Mechanicum, Ordo Hereticus, and more without much context). But I also imagine that the way Lyons guides the story is enough to keep most readers afloat. I’d be curious to know someone’s thoughts if this was their first-ever WH40K novel.

Krieg is a satisfying chunk of Warhammer 40K meat. It’s pretty lore heavy, and when I finished it I dove deeply into more lore about Krieg and the Death Korps. I appreciated that Lyons appeared to be quite accurate in the lore for the Korps, while revealing a few mysteries along the way. I would recommend the novel to fans of Warhammer 40K, though I don’t know about those who haven’t dived in yet.

(All Amazon Links are Affiliates)

Links

Horus Heresy and Warhammer/40K Hub– Links to all of my Warhammer-related reviews and writings, including those on the Horus Heresy, 40K, and Warhammer Fantasy (pending) can be found here.

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

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Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 24: “Betrayer” by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

I know I’m late to the party, but I finally decided to start reading the “Horus Heresy,” a huge series of novels set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000 (though it is set much earlier than the year 40,000). I thought it would be awesome to blog the series as I go. With more than 50 novels and many, many short stories, there will be a lot of posts in this series (I doubt I’ll get to all the short stories). I’m reading the series in publication order unless otherwise noted. There will be SPOILERS from the books discussed as well as previous books in the series. Please DO NOT SPOIL later books in the series.

Horus Heresy #24- Betrayer by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

I’ll admit it–this one kinda lost me at multiple points. I actually started it over twice to attempt to pick up the strings of the plot that I struggled to grasp. There are… so many characters here, and the juggling of different Legions and trying to keep track of who fights against whom was just… a lot. I felt at times like I needed to flip back and forth to the Dramatis Personae so many times that it became a bit annoying.

Anyway, Betrayer reveals a lot of the battle between the Ultramarines, Word Bearers, and World Eaters going on off screen in previous books. What this boils down to, though, is a series of a bunch of big clunky space marines shooting, stabbing, and chainswording at each other. It’s fine, but I didn’t really get a sense of any of the characters capturing my curiosity much. Once again, it’s a book in the Horus Heresy that reads like it could have been a short story or novella instead of a full length, 300+ page novel. There just isn’t enough there, so it starts to read like just an extended series of fight scenes.

Betrayer ultimately feels like a heavy helping of names trotted out to perhaps expand the conflict in the eyes of readers. I see I’m largely in the minority for not thinking it’s one of the better entries in the series, but I thought it was merely okay and largely skippable. I hope to find myself mistaken and see it as important to later books.

(All Amazon Links are Affiliates)

Links

Horus Heresy and Warhammer/40K Hub– Links to all of my Warhammer-related reviews and writings, including those on the Horus Heresy, 40K, and Warhammer Fantasy (pending) can be found here.

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

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Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 21: “Fear to Tread” by James Swallow

I know I’m late to the party, but I finally decided to start reading the “Horus Heresy,” a huge series of novels set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000 (though it is set much earlier than the year 40,000). I thought it would be awesome to blog the series as I go. With more than 50 novels and many, many short stories, there will be a lot of posts in this series (I doubt I’ll get to all the short stories). I’m reading the series in publication order unless otherwise noted. There will be SPOILERS from the books discussed as well as previous books in the series. Please DO NOT SPOIL later books in the series.

Fear to Tread by James Swallow

I’ll admit it, I thought the previous books in this series about the any “Angels” were boring slogs. Descent of Angels is about the Dark Angels and was too long to carry its miniscule plot thread. Fallen Angels didn’t have enough action to sustain its political machinations. Fear to Tread, about the Blood Angels, is, instead, totally compelling front-to-back.

The story reveals quite a bit of background about the Blood Angels, including their apparent nature where they fall into a kind of raging bloodlust that cannot be quenched and leads to atrocities. Sanguinius has been keeping the nature of his Legion secret, ultimately (and fatefully) revealing it to Horus. This, of course, sets up a major movement in the Heresy as Horus sends the Blood Angels on a quest to allegedly find the cure. Instead, they find forces of Chaos and Xenos in zounds.

The action here is pretty awesome. I’ve said multiple times in my reviews of this series that I’m not only about action. However, the point of having space marines is, presumably, to have them fight stuff. So the political machinations behind the scenes should set up some big battles, and Swallow certainly delivers here. The xenos are interesting, too, which doesn’t always happen. The book also reads like it has bigger events going on beneath the surface, and that the events that take place herein are important in the grander scheme of things. It genuinely feels like its advancing the story in a meaningful way.

Fear to Tread is another great entry in a series that continues to be compelling despite its epic length. I recommend it.

(All Amazon Links are Affiliates)

Links

Horus Heresy and Warhammer/40K Hub– Links to all of my Warhammer-related reviews and writings, including those on the Horus Heresy, 40K, and Warhammer Fantasy (pending) can be found here.

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

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Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 16: “Age of Darkness”

I know I’m late to the party, but I finally decided to start reading the “Horus Heresy,” a huge series of novels set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000 (though it is set much earlier than the year 40,000). I thought it would be awesome to blog the series as I go. With more than 50 novels and many, many short stories, there will be a lot of posts in this series (I doubt I’ll get to all the short stories). I’m reading the series in publication order unless otherwise noted. There will be SPOILERS from the books discussed as well as previous books in the series. Please DO NOT SPOIL later books in the series.

Age of Darkness by various authors

Age of Darkness is another collection of short stories in the Horus Heresy line. Like the others, it delivers a collection of stories that provide background to the various conflicts breaking out along with the occasional character piece. For this review, I’ll write briefly about each individual story before posting an overall impression at the end.

Rules of Engagement by Graham McNeill

I loved this story that pitted the Ultramarines’ commitment to their Primarch with his own, in person teaching on how to fight a battle. The Ultramarines are not nearly as boring as I thought they might be.

Liars Due by James Swallow

Lots of buildup that mostly just shows how planets outside big realms of influence might react to the heresy. A decent read with some good intrigue.

Forgotten Sons by Nick Kyme

A seriously action packed novelette about trying to sway a planet’s loyalty towards Horus or the Emperor. I liked how this shows the challenges faced by planets that could be torn apart by conflict.

The Last Remembrancer by John French

Layers of trust are wiped away in this intriguing short story about a remembrancer telling the Iron Fists about Horus. The payoff isn’t as strong as I hoped, but it’s okay.

Rebirth by Chris Wraight

The Thousand Sons are turning into my favorite of the traitor legions, and this short story just solidified that even more. It’s got enough layers in it to make it interesting throughout, and the ending, which apparently reverberates in larger WH40K lore, was great.

The Face of Treachery by Gav Thorpe

A huge battle has its tide turned by betrayal. I loved this one for both its action and the tight plotting Thorpe gave it.

Little Horus by Dan Abnett

Little Horus leads the Sons of Horus in battle and effectively springs a trap intended for Horus himself. It’s got tons of action and great plotting, as is typical of Abnett. A very good read.

The Iron Within by Rob Sanders

Big action with Titans is one of my favorite things about the Warhammer universe, and this short story delivers on that. It’s not as thoughtful as some of the others in the collection, but makes up for it in cool vistas and solid action scenes.

Savage Weapons by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

A surprisingly tight-knit scene is the core of this story, but that scene is set for a clash between Primarchs. It’s got tons of great action and certainly seems to loom larger than the short story itself.

Overall Thoughts

I greatly enjoyed Age of Darkness. Every single story included was well done, with some standouts mixed in to an overall great collection. To me, these short stories help prove a point I’ve made several times in my reviews of the series: a lot of the novels would make better short stories. Too often, there is excess fluff that keeps readers away from the action or plot. In these short stories, we don’t encounter that issue. One problem that did arise is that I was listening to this as an audiobook on Audible. I have listened to a few of the Primarchs novels as well, and they all have the same issue this collection did: the sound balancing is terrible. The readers shout, whisper, etc. and do it all to the point where I find myself constantly having to adjust the volume as I listen to it on the go. It’s quite annoying, to be honest. The readers do a good job, but all of these audiobooks could do with much, much better sound balancing, so that as a listener I’m not straining to hear one moment and then having my eardrums pummeled the next.

Age of Darkness is a great collection that should not be skipped. There’s a lot here that fills in details of previous and future conflicts, along with great character building throughout. I definitely recommend the collection.

(All Links to Amazon are Affilliates.)

Links

Horus Heresy and Warhammer/40K Hub– All my posts on the Horus Heresy, as well as books throughout the Warhammer and 40K universe can be found here.

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

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Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 12: “A Thousand Sons” by Graham McNeill

I know I’m late to the party, but I finally decided to start reading the “Horus Heresy,” a huge series of novels set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000 (though it is set much earlier than the year 40,000). I thought it would be awesome to blog the series as I go. With more than 50 novels and many, many short stories, there will be a lot of posts in this series (I doubt I’ll get to all the short stories). I’m reading the series in publication order unless otherwise noted. There will be SPOILERS from the books discussed as well as previous books in the series. Please DO NOT SPOIL later books in the series.

A Thousand Sons by Graham McNeill

Psykers and Heresy go hand-in-hand in the Warhammer 40K universe, and picking up this book about the Thousand Sons Legion had me expecting to find astartes that were already broken and mired in Chaotic evil. I say this as someone who has really only experienced the WH40K universe piecemeal, having started years ago with the Eisenhorn Trilogy and then picking away at different reads that looked interesting, largely through omnibus editions. So it’s likely someone who is steeped in the lore of the universe will laugh at my comments. That’s okay. I’m writing this about my own journey, and I hope you’ll take it with me! All of this is to say I had no idea I’d run into Magnus the Red and Ahriman (who, so far as I know, are both pretty evil dudes in the 40K part of the universe) as such sympathetic characters. 

A Thousand Sons starts off almost as an invitation–come read, and see that the Thousand Sons tried to do what was right. It’s a great hook, and I was enthralled right away. There are multiple perspectives here, something that I have enjoyed and also that I’ve been annoyed by in turns in the Horus Heresy. Here, it works quite well, as the perspective of the Remembrancers gives not just extra insight from “normal” people (HUGE scare quotes around “normal”) but also allows more investment in the overall plot. So McNeill here creates a story with numerous interesting characters–something several of the books have lacked thus far. 

Perhaps the most interesting of all, though, are Ahriman and Magnus. The latter doesn’t have as many pages dedicated to him, but they both shine as deep characters with motives that make sense even as they descend into evil. Making evil characters that are both believable and even sympathetic is an accomplishment, and McNeill does it so well here. You understand why Magnus thinks he needs the power of Chaos/Psychic powers. You see why he chose to heal his Sons even though he ultimately misunderstood the cost. You can question the apparent overreach and reactive way that the Emperor and Space Wolves move in the book. (I know, I’m hiding from the Inquisition right now!) It gives the book a feel of discovery and foreboding that makes the Warhammer universe work so well.

A Thousand Sons is a fantastic, though not flawless, read. It certainly reinvigorated my interest in the series, and made the eponymous Legion fascinating to me.  Definitely one of the best reads in the Horus Heresy so far. 

Links

Horus Heresy and Warhammer/40K Hub– All my posts on the Horus Heresy, as well as books throughout the Warhammer and 40K universe can be found here.

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

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Horus Heresy and Warhammer/40K Hub

I’ve enjoyed reading books from the Black Library for quite a while, and I’ve been reviewing them on here almost since the site first started. I decided to gather all my Warhammer reviews into once place with this hub. I’ll be chronicling my read-through of the Horus Heresy (first time through). I will also be reviewing other works, both from Warhammer fantasy and the 40K universe.

Horus Heresy Reviews

Reading the Horus Heresy, Books 1 and 2 “Horus Rising” by Dan Abnett and “False Gods” by Graham McNeill–  The Horus Heresy starts off on strong footing with a surprisingly thoughtful pair of novels that establishes quite a bit of lore while getting main characters and threads going.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 3: “Galaxy in Flames” by Ben Counter– The Horusian faction takes action for the first time, putting rebellion into action as they work against the Emperor. Some really awesome scenes in here from an author I’ve enjoyed elsewhere.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 4: “The Flight of the Eisenstein” by James Swallow– A cool premise that gets dragged out a couple hundred pages too long. Check out why I think so in this review.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 4.5: “The Kaban Project” and Others– A few amazing short stories in this collection, especially “The Kaban Project,” which is awesome.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 5: “Fulgrim” by Graham McNeill– A dark, metal science fiction epic. It’s also surprisingly thoughtful at points. May be my favorite of the first 5+ books. See my review for why.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 6: “Descent of Angels” by Michael Scanlon– More of a science fantasy than I expected, this book reads like a Star Wars book.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 7: “Legion” by Dan Abnett– Was I confused by one of the most opaque legions? Probably. Read the review and tell me what you thought of this one.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 8: “Battle for the Abyss” by Ben Counter– Are the Ultramarines or Word Bearers more interesting in this novel in which we have an extended chase scene and a David-and-Goliath scenario?

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 9: “Mechanicum” by Graham McNeill– The mysterious tech priests enter the fray at last in this book about one of the more interesting parts of the Warhammer universe, in my opinion.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 11: “Fallen Angels” by Mike Lee– A somewhat disappointing foray into the Heresy that tries to establish some political intrigue. Ultimately, this comes at the cost of pacing.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 12: “A Thousand Sons” by Graham McNeill– A hugely entertaining read about a fallen legion and why they may have fallen from the light. Heresy! I know.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 13: “Nemesis” by James Swallow– A surprisingly excellent side story in the Horus Heresy universe with great characters and action. 

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 14: “The First Heretic” by Aaron Dembski-Bowden– A legitimately amazing read that brings to life the legion of the Word Bearers as well as a few fascinating minor characters.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 15: “Prospero Burns” by Dan Abnett– This one feels out of place and honestly quite underwhelming after the books that came before it. It’s another example of a good payoff after an overly long read.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 17: “The Outcast Dead” by Graham McNeill– A huge reveal about the Emperor of Mankind is found in this installment of the Horus Heresy. 

Primarchs

Reading the Horus Heresy, Primarchs Book 1: “Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar” by David Annandale– An enjoyable read that I don’t think does its job of telling us about the Primarch.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Primarchs Book 2: “Leman Russ- The Great Wolf” by Chris Wraight– A fast read that doesn’t reveal much about the titular primarch so much as it does about his legion.

Reading the Horus Heresy, Primarchs Book 3: “Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero” by Graham McNeill–  McNeill delivers again on a fantastic read that packs a lot of punch despite its short length. 

Warhammer 40K Reviews

Microview: The “Eisenhorn” Trilogy– the books that got me into reading Warhammer fiction. I write a small review of why I enjoy them to this day.

Book Review: “Double Eagle” by Dan Abnett– Abnett is one of my favorite authors of Warhammer fiction, but I wasn’t thrilled by this one. Nevertheless, it remains a fan favorite for many. Read what problems I found with the book here.

Warhammer (Fantasy) Reviews

==Pending==

Posts About Warhammer Novels

This category includes links to my other site, where I have a few posts discussing issues like worldview in Warhammer novels and what they might have to teach us and make us think.

A World of Darkness and War- “Eisenhorn” by Dan Abnett– I reflect on the grimdark world of Warhammer and what themes there we might see in our own world.

Horus Heresy: “Horus Rising” and “False Gods” – the False Gods of statism and totalitarianism– total allegiance to the state and totalitarianism are two major dangers discussed in the early parts of the Horus Heresy. I talk about how we can turn the state into a false god.

Other Links

Sci-Fi Hub– Check out this page for links to all my science fiction related posts, along with hubs for other things like Star Wars and Babylon 5.

SDG.

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Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 7: “Legion” by Dan Abnett

I know I’m late to the party, but I finally decided to start reading the “Horus Heresy,” a huge series of novels set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000 (though it is set much earlier than the year 40,000). I thought it would be awesome to blog the series as I go. With more than 50 novels and many, many short stories, there will be a lot of posts in this series (I doubt I’ll get to all the short stories). I’m reading the series in publication order unless otherwise noted. There will be SPOILERS from the books discussed as well as previous books in the series. Please DO NOT SPOIL later books in the series.

Legion by Dan Abnett

Okay, this book was weird. For the first third or so I had basically no idea what was happening. The next third was me convincing myself I thought I knew what was happening. The final third revealed some pretty awesome stuff. Altogether, I’m not sure how I feel about it.

As I read through the first part of the book, I found myself constantly checking to make sure this actually was a Horus Heresy novel. It did not read like one. And maybe that’s the main difficulty I had with Legion. It doesn’t feel like Warhammer. It reads more like a future detective thriller of some kind, but one that is mired in huge amounts of world building, most of which don’t make much sense. Abnett, it seems, is trying to trick readers into thinking they know what’s happening when they don’t. It’s a unique way to approach the novel, but it left me feeling confused and a bit chagrined–do I maybe not know enough of the lore going in to understand this series? (Other readers have assured me that’s not the case and that it will all make sense, mostly.)

When the big reveal finally happens (and yes, this is a pretty major spoiler), it is awesome. To have two primarchs for the legion, as well as the way they had to face the stark choice of rebellion against the Emperor or stagnant death over a huge amount of time, was thrilling. I wonder, though, how the Xenos managed to convince them. We see them showing the Primarchs, but I’m not sure I as a reader got enough to convince me that the Xenos could be trusted with this either/or reveal. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe we’re meant to wonder whether the choice was made was made too hastily or on too little information. I don’t know, because whether intentionally or not, the book leaves this, like many other aspects of the plot, in a cloud of fog.

I also start to worry here whether this is going to be how too many of the Horus Heresy novels play out. So far, this is the third book that read kind of slowly and without huge interest until a major twist made everything seem cooler than it was slogging through at the beginning. I hope the rest of the novels engage front-to-back. That said, Legion was a good read, I don’t deny that. Something about its tone just didn’t sit with me. The epic reveal at the end was awesome, though.

Links

Horus Heresy and Warhammer/40K Hub– All my posts on the Horus Heresy, as well as books throughout the Warhammer and 40K universe can be found here.

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

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Reading the Horus Heresy, Book 6: “Descent of Angels” by Michael Scanlon

I know I’m late to the party, but I finally decided to start reading the “Horus Heresy,” a huge series of novels set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000 (though it is set much earlier than the year 40,000). I thought it would be awesome to blog the series as I go. With more than 50 novels and many, many short stories, there will be a lot of posts in this series (I doubt I’ll get to all the short stories). I’m reading the series in publication order unless otherwise noted. There will be SPOILERS from the books discussed as well as previous books in the series. Please DO NOT SPOIL later books in the series.

Descent of Angels by Michael Scanlon

I went into reading Descent of Angels not quite knowing what to expect. In one group I’m in, opinions ranged from saying it was among the worst books in the whole WH40K universe to having it as the favorite book in the Horus Heresy series. Reviews on Goodreads put it just over 3/5, reflecting a generally mixed opinion as well. My own opinion is that the book could have easily been a short story instead of a novel.

In Descent of Angels, we meet Zahariel, a man from Caliban, a planet that is kind of Middle Ages in technology and thought. The book is set decades before the Horus Heresy begins and also introduces the Primarch of the Dark Angels legion. The first half has some background story for Caliban, developing the world somewhat as well as the traditions in which Zahariel is raised. The second half integrates Caliban into the Imperium and sees Zahariel going off to join the Dark Angels and fight for the Emperor.

The problems with the novel mostly fall around the way it is written. It just doesn’t have the same feel as other Warhammer 40K or Horus Heresy novels, in my opinion. There’s action, yes, but it all feels kind of strange and almost alien to the main plot, which is basically a coming-of-age story that unites sci-fi/fantasy worlds together. The whole thing reads more like a Star Wars novel than a Warhammer one, and that threw me off for basically the entirety of the novel. Moreover, there are numerous sections of info-dumps where the reader sifts through tens of pages of information before getting to any additional action or character development. Truly, this could have been presented as a short story telling us about Caliban’s integration into the Imperium, and it would have been much improved.

Descent of Angels is a disappointing work in the series. I’ll be interested to see if it truly becomes important later in the series. For now, I would have to say I’m not planning to re-read it. What did you think of the novel?

Links

Horus Heresy and Warhammer/40K Hub– All my posts on the Horus Heresy, as well as books throughout the Warhammer and 40K universe can be found here.

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.