Synopsis
Under the benevolent leadership of the Immortal Emperor the Imperium of Man has stretched out across the galaxy. On the eve of victory, the Emperor leaves the front lines, entrusting the great crusade to his favorite son, Horus. Promoted to Warmaster, the idealistic Horus tries to carry out the Emperor’s grand design, all the while the seeds of heresy and rebellion have been sowed amongst his brothers.
Review
Mighty Emperor, I kneel before you and offer my ignorance as a tithe for forgiveness. Accept my apology for my illeducated previous opinions.
Possibly like many I have long laboured under the opinion that The Horus Heresy series of books were throw away action romps through a franchise both magnificent in scope but bordering on shallow in terms of literary satisfaction. How wrong could I have been!
This book is nothing short of technical and source respectful mastery. To weild so much canon, lore and fan devotion with such eloquent skill is miraculous. Further more, Abnett succeeds in creating a story that, although voiced by battle hardened and scientifically enhanced warriors has surprising depth and emotive strands that weave a tale of great scale and majesty.
It’s all here, the cost of war on veterans conditioned to think, feel and kill in the name of their superiors, the subtle whispers of revolt and the plight of the those not built for battle that must form hardened cogs in the machine of war. The scope of character diversity and motivation is simply astounding, making this introduction to the famed series a plasteel foundation that will grip you in its powerfist and force you towards the next in the series.
Action is more sparse than you might think as Abnett gathers the near infinite strands of lore and braids them with such deft hands that you will truly feel honoured to witness the birth of this universe spanning Grimdark spectacle.
Written beautifully and with keen respectful scrutiny towards the franchise, this book will hook you, surprise you and inevitably drag you, kicking and screaming, into the lavish world of Warhammer 40,000, never to return.
Special mention must be made of Toby Longworth’s narration. His voicing and diverse but not forced cast of voices is incredible, leaving you further and personally entwined in the vast cast of charaters and their plights. I hope there are plans to immortalise Mr Longworth in statue at Nottingham’s Warhammer World.
Dan Abnett and Toby Longworth have brought this dark universe to life with dedication and artistry and all mortal humans should venerate them accordingly.
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