| Title | : | The Primarchs (The Horus Heresy, #20) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 184970208X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781849702089 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 416 |
| Publication | : | First published May 29, 2012 |
Gathered within this anthology are four novellas focusing on some of the mightiest warriors and leaders that mankind has ever known – Fulgrim, Lion El’Jonson, Ferrus Manus and the twin primarchs Alpharius and Omegon – and the roles that they may have yet to play in a war which threatens to change the face of the Imperium forever.
The Primarchs (The Horus Heresy, #20) Reviews
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This book contains four short stories that center around different Primarchs of each legion. Without giving anything away here are my thoughts about each story.
The Reflection Crack'd
This story focuses on Primarch Fulgrim of the Emperor's Children. Basically the story centers around questions concerning the Primarch's loyalty and devolves into about 15 pages of torture porn. At the end of it I was left asking myself, "What was the point of that story?" Honestly, I felt like I just wasted two hours of my life reading 100+ pages that amounted to nothing and did nothing to move the Horus Heresy story line forward.
Feat Of Iron
This story focuses on Primarch Manus and the Iron Hands Legion. It has a few good battle scenes but the whole story is about an Eldar Seer trying to give Manus important information about the future. Once again the story does little to move the Horus Heresy story line forward nor appears that it will have any lasting affects on future stories.
The Lion
This story focuses on Primarch Lion El Jonson and the Dark Angels. The story starts off great, has great pacing, we learn new things about Chaos, the return/use of Psychers by forces loyal to the Emporor come into question again, and the story is about the recovery of a xenos artifact that would grant the owner great powers and abilities concerning warp travel. Everything I want in a Horus Heresy story. But the story falls apart during the last 20 pages and I felt like nothing was accomplished by any of the characters. Once again, not moving the story forward.
The Serpent Beneath
This story focuses on Alpha Legion and the twin Primarchs Omegon and Alpharius. Usually I hate stories about the Alpha Legion but this story was probably the strongest of the four. A powerful artifact needs to be destroyed in order to prevent it from falling into the hands of forces loyal to the Emperor. This artifact could change the course of the war and swing it in favor of the Emperor. Good story but in the end there is the typical Alpha Legion, "Things aren't what they appear to be," and a giant plot contradiction.
At the end of the day I was pretty disappointed in this book. I felt like the Black Library put this book out there just to sell a few extra 100,000 units this year. I would not recommend reading this book. If you are one of those people who are "completists" (like me) and are reading everything in the Horus Heresy no matter what, get ready for 440 pages of frustration. -
I like the idea of adding short story collections into the Heresy. Helps tell multiple angles of the conflict quickly. That said this one didn't feel like it was advancing the overall story much. The main issue I have with this series is how much time is spent on background or sideways plots instead of advancing the whole. Normally I can see beyond this and still enjoy the series, but this one dragged and made it difficult for me to finish it.
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Fulgrim is a naughty boy and he knows it.
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The Reflection Crack'd by Graham McNeill
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
5/5
Feat of Iron by Nick Kyme
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3/5
The Lion by Gav Thorpe
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4/5
The Serpent Beneath by Rob Sanders
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
5/5 -
I quit this one. It's a compilation of short stories following the Heresy. But I want this series to advance toward a conclusion, not just pfaff about exploring the inner workings of corrupt Legions. And the poor quality of the writing, along with the stagnant plot progression, means I pulled the plug. Too many better books to read.
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You can read the full review over at my blog:
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
Shadowhawk reviews the third Horus Heresy anthology, a collection of four novellas focused exclusively on a Primarch: Fulgrim, Ferrus Manus, Lion El’Jonson and Alpharius.
“Some of the best Black Library authors writing some of its best fiction, The Primarchs is an absolute must-read because there has yet to be a collection like this in the grim darkness of the far future.” ~Shadowhawk, The Founding Fields
Note: some spoilers for previous Horus Heresy novels will be mentioned.
The Horus Heresy is hands down one of the best Science Fiction series ever, especially since its such a collaborative effort between so many authors, editors and all the fantastic artwork courtesy of the amazingly talented Neil Roberts. When last I dipped into the Thirtieth Millennium, it was with Dan Abnett’s Know No Fear, a novel that told the tale of the first engagement of the Heresy between the Ultramarines and the Word Bearers Legions as the latter ambushed the former at their own stronghold of Calth! Know No Fear was quite an excellent read and set the bar quite high for future novels in the series to follow so it was with some tense anticipation that I picked up The Primarchs novella anthology at Black Library Live! in early May. My expectations were quite high since each novella focuses on a single Primarch and his legion and thus the promise was quite high but really, I shouldn’t have been so tense.
The Primarchs is a cracking read that makes you wish the anthology had gone on and on and not stopped.
First up is Graham McNeill’s The Reflection Crack’d which focuses on the Third Legion and its Primarch: the Emperor’s Children and Fulgrim respectively. The novella has been described in many places as “Exorcist in 40k”. That really is not far off the mark and actually hits quite close to the truth of it. When Fulgrim ended, the Primarch had been completely possessed by a malicious daemon of Slaanesh and it was as if his fate was sealed, for none except Horus knew of this startling development and the Warmaster had vowed to free his brother. And then in Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Aurelian we saw Lorgar realizing that same truth and being quite physical with his opinions. The ending of it certainly created quite a buzz and it was with that ending that Graham begins the novella.
For the Emperor’s Children leadership is finally beginning to suspect that all is not well with Fulgrim and that their gene-sire may just not be who he is after all. What follows is a brutal and visceral story of the Legion’s officers attempting to find the truth. The Reflection Crack’d is, in my humble opinion, the story that Fulgrim should have been and what it came quite close to being. The novella is a no-holds barred narrative that sees the Emperor’s Children embracing their Slaaneshi heritage in full and becoming true champions of the Dark Prince in the mortal realms. From start to finish Graham sets a tough pace for the reader with the promise that the secrets of the Third Legion are just around the corner and that you should keep reading lest you be left behind.
Revisiting Lucius, that depraved bastard from Fulgrim who ended up betraying his closest brothers for power and more power is back and Graham puts him in the spotlight as the focal character of the novella through which we see the narrative unfold. It really is some kind of an irony that it is Lucius of all people who should be the level-headed one in the novella and that he is the one who convinces his brothers that something is amiss with Fulgrim. The future great champion of Slaanesh finally comes into his own in the novella and it is an absolute joy to read more of him. The conclusion of the novella is intrinsically tied to Lucius and the way it ends, some pretty big things are on the horizon for the novella sets up Graham’s next full-length Horus Heresy outing: Angel Exterminatus, a novel with the Emperor’s Children fighting alongside their brother traitor legion, the Iron Warriors, against the Iron Hands. This will be great fun!
All in all, for its brilliant writing, and the various twists and revelations that are carried forwards from Fulgrim and towards Angel Exterminatus, plus the incredible “Exorcist in 40k” scenes, I recommend that even if you don’t get the anthology, get the novella as an eBook.
Rating: 10/10
Next we have Nick Kyme tackling the Iron Hands and their Primarch, Ferrus Manus the Gorgon, in Feat of Iron. Ferrus is an interesting character because it so happens that he is the first Primarch to die in the 40k-verse, and that too at the Heresy’s most defining moment: the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre. In Fulgrim we see how the long-standing friendship and brotherhood between the Gorgon and the Phoenician (Fulgrim) is sundered and how that divide is taken to its inevitable conclusion. As such, it was always a question as to what Nick could do with him in light of this what kind of a narrative we would get from the perspective of a character who was, it seems, fated to one day lord over the Mechanicum,
Turns out that Nick took a really interesting approach with him. The events of Feat of Iron are set in parallel to the events of and take place on the same planet as in Promethean Sun, Nick’s previous Horus Heresy novella which was about Vulkan and his Salamanders. As far as I am concerned, the novella breathed Iron Hands for me, right from his characterisation of the Gorgon and to the characterisation of his Astartes. Additionally, seeing the Tenth Legion’s credo “Flesh is weak” turned on its head and biting them in their collective backsides was a big moment for me. What Nick did with the Astartes was a classic approach wherein you present your characters with a situation that is so inimical to them and where everything they know is challenged, right down to their very core. That, and seeing the Iron Hands attempting to fight against the Eldar of all races.
Overall, Nick has carried on with what Graham created back in Fulgrim with ease. The Iron Hands Terminators, known as the Morlocks, and their leader, Gabriel Santar had some of the best scenes in the novella and with Nick expanding the cast of the legion leadership beyond what we saw in Fulgrim, it was all very cool. It was a little weird reading about the Iron Hands though, given the disaster on Istvaan V a few decades later, and Nick definitely had that fatalistic atmosphere in the narrative. Especially with Ferrus, who is forced to confront a certain truth about his future and it was almost heartbreaking for me to see him standing so firm against his destiny. More so when we see how much faith and trust Ferrus Manus has in his brothers.
In closing, the novella has a good pacing, although it gets a little slow in a few places, especially when Ferrus Manus is undergoing that confrontation with his future and the Eldar are making their play to turn him towards a different course. But still, I really liked the novella, because for me it shows that Nick can successfully write about a legion/chapter other than the Salamanders!
Rating: 9/10 -
4 longer short stories that fill us in on certain Primarchs as well as happenings and going ons regarding certain novels within the series. Solid stories in my opinion.
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Given the option this would get 3.5 stars. My rating comes as a fan of Warhammer 40K with a keen interest in the Horus Heresy time period.
Most of my issues with this set of novellas centers on the first in the book "The Reflection Crack'D", surrounding Fulgrim and his legion of Slaanesh-worshipping Emperor's Children. Other books featuring these voluptuaries have shown that writing doesn't need to focus just on the gory aspects, nor does it need to try and proselytise on the philosophy behind their hedonistic habits. While the start of this book has some interesting potential, it quickly falls into a drawn out body horror scene that takes up the majority of the novella and pollutes it with some pretty boring philosophy.
The second novella about Ferrus Manus and his Iron Hands has more promise. Opposite of the Emperor's Children, the Iron Hands are single minded pragmatists who believe that strength comes replacing weak flesh with iron. The books explores encounters where rigid dogma and lack of humanity falls to their detriment in one plot, while in the other plot we see the same stubbornness and bloody-mindedness in the Primarch potentially doom humanity.
I usually prefer novels that follow "interesting" space marine chapters, those with some complexities in their doctrine and lore (Alpha Legion, Iron Hands, Iron Warriors, Emperor's Children) that aren't too vanilla (Ultramarines) or edgy (Night Lords). I feel the Dark Angel's still sit in the same category as the Ultramarines despite their spotty history, however this book presented interesting scenarios and moral quandaries for a primarch. While we can agree with some of his actions we are confronted by others, watching those "shades of grey" actions take a pretty dark turn under heavy pressure.
Lastly we have an Alpha Legion novella that wins hand down.
Rob Sanders writes an enigmatic tale of double-crosses, fratricide, and subterfuge. This is like Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Space Marines, with a touch of the usual twisted Alpha Legion mind games. -
Mixed feelings about this one, so I'll break it down to the individual stories:
- "The Reflection Crack'd" by Graham McNeill: 3/5. Nice but got a bit muddled in the end with the whole place swapping thing.
- "Feat of Iron" by Nick Kyme: 4/5. I really enjoyed this one. Other people seem not to, but hey, it's all subjective (and no, I am not a particular IH fanboy ;))
- "The Lion" by Gav Thorpe: Erm. Sorry. 1/5. Didn't like it at all. Jonson acts like spoilt kindergarden brat and the whole way the story is told is a bit unconvincing.
- "The Serpent beneath" by Rob Sanders: 3/5. Nice to read but in the end left me confused as to who was informed about what and why certain things had to be done. Maybe that is the intention to set up the Alpha legion in the background. Me personally I felt confused in the end.
So overall: liked it, but there's better. And I really, really, really pray that we will see a bit of improvement with the Dark Angels. -
Finished "The Lion" 7/9 ****. It seemed disjointed in its telling at times. Was Corswain the focus or Lion El'Jonson or Midoa and Typhon. Otherwise great action and a more comprehensive look at the Lion than in other novels."
Finished "The Reflection Crack'd" 7/14 *****. Fulgrim, Lucius and other EC's of note. Really good story focus is on the two above named characters. There is a bit of ickiness at the end, but not graphically. If you read Fulgrim you'll be okay."
Finished "The Serpent Beneath" 7/17 ***. I am not really sure about this one. I liked it but at times found it to be kind of just ok. Has some great stuff, but the end confused me a little and the flashbacks had an Oceans 11 movie type feel that seemed unnecessary."
Finished "Feat of Iron" 7/24*** I wasn't even going to read it. I am not a fan of the Iron Hands. But I do like Ferrus Manus and the eldar." -
Each story on its own-
Emperor’s Children: It would have been better if this story were not written. Terrible.
Dark Angels: The best short story in the collection. Excellent writing.
Iron Hands: they really haven’t done much for this chapter in the Horus Heresy Saga to make them interesting or likable. This story is no different, and is pretty middling.
Alpha Legion: Very, very close second to the Dark Angels short story. Excellent WW2 spy caper-type story. -
A pretty entertaining but kind of forgettable collection of short stories from the Horus Heresy series. I enjoyed the Fulgrim/Emperor's Children story 'The Reflection Crack'd' by Graham McNeil the most and 'The Serpent Beneath' by Rob Sanders was also quite good (love seeing the Alpha Legion in action).
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Only one story of real significance, the lion el'johnson one. Fulgrim was ok, ferrus was pointless and the alparius story, lets just say I had to look at the back of the book before writing this review in order to remember it.
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One great short story, one average, and one truly awful.
Hard to give this more than one star when it's a single short story padded out to novel length.
Come on Black Library, get on with the story already. -
*Sigh* Back to the usual drivel.
The Space Marines need to just shag their Primarchs and quit fawning over them and getting all weak the knees everytime they speak to them.
Plus, explaining basic physics to the authors would be a good step.
Legionaires or legionaries? -
The stories were a bit far fetched and added more questions then answers. I am slowly losing patience with the Horus Heresy series.
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Let me say that I am consciously making an effort to write reviews that are, well, actually useful. Normally I don't either because I'm tired when I do (usually the reason)or I'm in a hurry. This time, I'll try to make one that will actually help someone out.
I have to say that I am not as big of a fan of the short story collections as most other people are. It's not that they're not good (they are for the most part) it's just that I prefer the deeper connection of a full fledged novel. This particular book which is volume 20 of Black Library's immensely popular (and incredibly good) Horus Heresy series is a collection of four novella's that are of a length to provide enough meat to actually draw you in deep enough to really be a fulfilling story.
The first story; Graham McNeill's 'The Reflection Crack'd' brings us back to the ever decadently popular III Legion the Emperor's Children and their ever flamboyant Primarch Fulgrim. This novella is a gem plain and simple. The story follows Lucius over Fulgrim for the most part and shows how Fulgrim's transformation is affecting his loyal sons as Lucius and others began to figure out that Fulgrim is simply no longer himself. The writing and pacing, as always with Graham, is excellent. The III Legion in Graham's hands are simply a joy to read about and the odd/macabre decadence and outlandishness that is their devotion to the god Sla'anesh (Porn for the porn god! Rape for the rape throne! Oh wait, I guess he/she doesn't really say that...) is handled expertly by Graham who makes you almost really feel what the Emperor's Children are experiencing so good are his descriptive powers. My only complaint with the entire story is that the ending seemed a little rushed and came out of nowhere. But this is a prologue if you will for the novel 'Angel Exterminatus' by the same author.
Story number two is 'Feat of Iron' by Nik Kyme and is both a delight and a disappointment for me. There is literally nothing wrong with Kyme's writing at all. Stylistically I like him as a writer and he handles the Iron Hands Legion very well and I think he nailed Ferrus Manus as a personality perfectly. I loved this story as it showcases the Iron Hands who I developed a fondness for way back in book 5 'Fulgrim' and as since the Iron Hands were all but destroyed on Istvan V it makes perfect sense that we wouldn't see much of them either for the rest of the heresy story or until near the end of the tale. Needless to say I loved seeing the 'Hands' again in action and Ferrus Manus was a very cool Primarch. And that's where the complaint comes in. Again this is nothing against Nik at all but rather the timing of the story's placement. Manus died on Istvan V, the first of the Primarch's to fall. Featuring a story about Ferrus Manus, while a good, well written story, is simply out of place this late in the timeline. I heard that 'Feat of Iron' is the other side of the same authors 'Promethean Sun' featuring the Salamanders Legion so for that at least this story has merit and value. And in general it does anyway, the writing is good, the pacing is good, the characters are good and Kyme does the Iron Hands very well and I loved his take on Manus. It's just that the timing of the story's placement was off. Still an excellent read however.
Next in line is Gav Thorpe's 'The Lion' which is a story about Fabio. Yes, that's right, the Italian model...ok fine. It's about Lion El Jonson the Primarch of the I Legion the 'Dark Angels' and it also is a very good read. A lot of fans dislike Thorpe's writing. I, however, am not among them. Granted I've only read two of his books so far ('Deliverance Lost' which was very good and 'Path of the Warrior' which was excellent) and have yet to delve into his older works (I have the Last Chancers omnibus saved in my wishlist so I'll get around to it eventually) so I might be biased but I do like Mr. Thorpe. I also consider that the 'Dark Angels' would be Gav's child if you will. The Imperial Guard are Dan Abnett's baby, the Ultramarines are Graham's, the Blood Angels are James Swallows and the Soul Drinkers are Ben Counters. Following this logic and seeing as how that 'Angels of Darkness' (what all other Dark Angels novels/stories are judged by)was written by Mr. Thorpe I think it makes perfect sense to have Gav write about the Lion. As mentioned in earlier reviews Gav writes the Primarch of the 'Dark Angels' in a near paranoid way. IMHO Lion El Jonson is only months away from a nervous breakdown and his actions during the Heresy thus far, sketchy at best, are leading him and his legion down the path of destruction. The writing is very good and I thought that the scenes involving the daemon attack was well handled as were the strain amongst the Primarch and his top officers. The pacing, style, descriptiveness were all well and good and I really do hope that Gav Thorpe will write a full length Dark Angels novel set in the Horus Heresy.
The final story in the set is by far the best. The others were all good (personally, the timing being the only issue, 'Feat of Iron' is my second favorite) for sure but Rob Sanders' 'The Serpent Within' is a truly stellar piece of writing. Rarely do we get to see special ops missions in the 40K universe and Sanders' does an excellent job of showing the XX Legion 'Alpha Legion' doing what they do best. I won't reveal anything about the story except to say that this is a magnificent story and the ending is a true surprise and makes you guess as to what the hell is the Alpha Legion truly about. I would love to see Rob Sanders' be given the opportunity to write a trilogy of books or even a whole series based on the Alpha Legion. I really feel as though he nailed them as a group. The writing is excellent though I did spot a few minor spelling errors, other than that the only complaint about this story was that it wasn't a whole book.
Overall this is an excellent collection of novella's set in the Horus Heresy and is recommended to fans of the series. If you're not into the series yet, start at 'Horus Rising' by Dan Abnett and if you're not sure (like I was a year and a half ago) if 40K would be worth getting into as it's a shared media tie-in universe, let me assuage your doubts. Nearly all the books written are at least good and some few are simply excellent. This is military science fiction that is generally darker than the normal fare you run into and the authors, nearly all of them, have a good enough educational background to throw in plenty of literary, mythical, religious and historical references and the psychology of warfare and command in some of these books is astoundingly spot on. Overall, if you haven't tried the Black Library give them a shot. You'll be glad you did. -
This, apparently scheduled short story book, is a look at 4 of the Emperor of Mankind's 20 sons, the Primarchs. All 4 short stories focus on one of the Primarchs and their interaction with their legions and it's role in the Horus Heresy.
Each of the stories is good, but the important thing for each of these tales is how the characters of the 4 Primarchs focused on has their character developed in to whom each of them are as a person, rather than retelling of some superhuman feat or battle they were involved in.
Side note, I ended up hating all 4 of them by the end of their stories, both loyal and traitor Primarchs alike. -
This is another Anthology, so I'm going to write up the individual stories as they go by. I'm working from the audio edition, and the files landed in a different order than the stories in the print edition.
Feat of Iron 2/5 - Ferrus Manus proves he's unfit to lead due to crippling impatience and gross disregard for unit cohesion and fighting effectiveness. He marches his army units into the ground through a desert so that even if they make it to the fight, they'll be in no condition to participate. He whines about Mortarian and Vulkan reaching their objectives first and throws pointless temper tantrums. I still don't know why this was regarded as a three-primarch mission in the first place. I do know that whoever wrote it doesn't understand ground pressure. They have the tanks and army troopers sinking and foundering in the sand, but the Astartes unimpeded. If the sand is loose enough to sink tanks in, Astartes would sink right to their waists or deeper. The reason is quite simple, their ground pressure is higher than that of a tank, and far higher than that of a human. Tanks may weigh tons, but they spread that weight out over a wide surface, and only have a few pounds per square inch ground pressure. Astartes in Terminator armor have a lot of weight concentrated on relatively small feet (when compared to tank treads). Their weight/surface area ratio is greater than that for a baseline human. Yet, somehow, Iron Hands just float atop sand that sinks tanks.
I'd talk more about the Eldar subplot that takes up most of the space in this story, but it struck me more as built to try to sell other books in the series than tell an entertaining yarn. In the end, it was just 'meh'. Not enough to make me hate it, but not enough to make me like it.
The Lion 2/5 - I've listened to too many of these Audiobooks if I can start naming the voice actor before they finish the credits.
This story feels like Gav Thorpe sat down and started writing with no more plan than "I'm going to write a Dark Angels Story". It just kind of meanders through two or three different sub-stories that could be cut free from the others and stand perfectly well on their own. Worse, there was no overarching theme or plot linking them. While one of these happened in the warp on the way to the planet of the week, the fact that it was that planet had no impact on the events in the warp, and vice versa. I'd almost wager that the warp-based events were put in as filler while Gav tried to figure out what was so important about the planet of the week that the Lion rushed off to intercede. I've done that myself, just keep writing until inspiration strikes. The results look a lot like this story in overall flow - jagged and inconsistant.
Of course I can't forgive the Lion for . He seems to be fighting for the coveted position of most pathetic Legion, currently held by the Alpha Legion. I do not understand why people like the Dark Angels, and the more I run into them, the less I like them.
The Reflection Crack'd 0/5 - No one is paying enough attention to my "Give Heresey a Chance" reviews to notice I deliberately skipped "Fulgrim". This story has so far reinforced my opinion that I do not want to sit through that book. This dour soul is uninterested in the excesses of the Slaaneshi, and finds them rather pointless to sit through. To exacerbate matters, the psychoses of the Emperor's Children are detailed in prose just purple enough to wrap around to droll and incipid, but not so overwrought that it becomes entertaining again. The yarn lingers on the same one-note characters, repeating their exaggerated flaw ad nauseum, leaving me muttering "I don't care", "Get on with it" and "Get back to the plot already." In a bizarre parallel, the author has managed to induce the same ennui in the listener as is suffered by those who have basked in excess too long. The problem being that makes the story uninteresting and mind-numbing to sit through. I eventually gave up on it and skipped the last chapter along with a good chunk of the penultimate chapter.
The Serpent Beneath 3/5 - The Alpha Legion is off faffing about, deluding itself into thinking it's having an effect on the galaxy at large.
As entertainment, however, the Serpent Beneath at least works. -
Inconsistent, I suppose. Some was particularly well written, but most of it read like 'one thing after another', not nearly as enjoyable for me as some of the other Black Library / Primarch titles.
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"The Primarchs" is a collection of four novellas telling stories of the Emperor's sons, both the noble and the fallen. I expected great things from this book, but unfortunately in many ways it let me down.
First up is "The Reflection Crack'd" by Graham McNeill. This is a tale of Fulgrim and the Emperor's Children. When we last left off with Fulgrim, he had been possessed by the daemon of the Laer blade. Two years on, Lucius and some of the other Emperor's Children officers are getting suspicious about his behaviour, and after a couple of interesting scenes showing how far Fulgrim has fallen in a very Dorian-esque manner, the story starts down a path of "The exorcist, M31". I won't say anything more in order to avoid spoilers, but I will say that the prose was excellent and the story highly enjoyable - right up until the end, which for me personally, killed the whole story. Utterly disappointed with that ending.
Second is "Feat of Iron" by Nick Kyme, starring Ferrus Manus and the Iron Hands. I'm really not sure why Black Library thought it was a good idea to focus another story on Ferrus when he was killed sixteen books earlier in the series. This story takes place simultaneously to the rare limited-edition novella "Promethean Sun", on the same world, and pits the Iron Hands against the Eldar. These tricksy xenos unleash some new weapon against the Astartes which causes their augmentations to fail them, turning the Iron Hands greatest strength into a weakness. And Ferrus himself is taken on a journey to behold a possible future - a journey which for the reader is completely irrelevant. It's written to an okay standard but nothing special, and we already know what happens as it happened way the hell back in book 5 of the Horus Heresy. To me, the whole story reeked of an attempt at backpedaling and making Ferrus seem more important to the overall story than he was. I was extremely unimpressed with this novella on the whole and consider it the worst of the lot.
Edit: I probably would have been more interested in this novella if it had been released around the time of "Fulgrim", but it was just released far too late in the series to be relevant or interesting at all, and gave us no new information. I hear one or two characters from it will be reappearing in Nick Kyme's next novella, focused on the Salamanders, but I doubt that'll be enough to redeem it in my eyes.
Third is "The Lion" by Gav Thorpe. Gav is the third author to portray Lion El'Jonson and the Dark Angels, and each author has portrayed him somewhat differently. This is probably a good thing as it lends itself well toward making the Lion come across as paranoid and inconsistent, which is how many of us older Warhammer 40,000 fans expected him to be all along. "The Lion" follows on from Aaron Dembski-Bowden's "Savage Weapons" with the Dark Angels leaving the Thramas Sector to embark on an unusual mission involving forbidden technology. Along the way they are confronted by crazed Night Lords warriors, the horrors of the Warp, and Calas Typhon of the Death Guard. Overall I felt the novella was very well-written, although I was a bit disturbed by one particular detail of the story - but what specificially, I will avoid mentioning, again due to spoilers. In any case it was a very enjoyable story and I'm extremely curious to see where the Lion's tale will go next.
Finally, we have "The Serpent Beneath" by Rob Sanders. I have to admit I'm relatively unfamiliar with Mr Sanders' work, prior to this having only read his short story "Iron Within". The Serpent Beneath pits Omegon and the Alpha Legion against their most dangerous enemy possible: their own Legion. Rob keeps the story interesting and the twists are suitably surprising for a story focusing on such an unusual and unpredictable Legion. The implications of the final result are fascinating, and I think whatever authors write about the Alpha Legion in future will really have their work cut out for them to do it justice after this. The Serpent Beneath is by far the best of the four novellas.
Overall, all four stories are worth reading - but some definitely more so than others. Onward, sons of the Emperor! -
A collection of four novellas about the Primarchs. What more could one want in a book? Well, let me tell you...
'The Reflection Crack'd' is a story about Fulgrim and the Emperor's Children. At first I was unsure if I would like this story as it started out, but I quickly fell in love with it. It shows the workings of the Emperor's Children after their chapter falls to Slaanesh. McNeill does a good job with the chapter, and their suspicion that their primarch is not who he seems.
The story itself is well written, and it's easy to see within the horror of the flesh and pleasure that the chapter has become. Everything flows well, the story is enjoyable, and the ending is not only a surprise, but pleasing in the grand scheme of things as well. I really liked how this tale ended, and it answers a lot of questions left over from 'Fulgrim' that myself and others probably have. It shows the power of the primachs and reinstated my love of this legion.
'Feat Of Iron' by Nick Kyme is probably the weakest of the stories in this collection. The story drags and having just finished reading 'Wrath of Iron' not too long ago, this short story seems to conflict with a lot in that book in regards to the Iron Hand's Primach.
The story does a good job showing the Iron Hand's frustration with the frailties of the flesh. Unfortunately, this is pretty much all we ever see in regards to the Iron Hands. It's so much a theme with the chapter that it overpowers any and all plot within their stories. The characters are wooden, though again, this could be with the chapter's flaw itself.
All in all, this story was uninteresting. After all, how often are the Eldar going to show up trying to change the paths of the Primarchs. It was done nicely in 'Fulgrim', but here it just falls flat.
'The Lion' by Gav Thorpe is far longer than it needed to be. This has the unfortunate result of killing the story. The confrontation with the Night Lord's ship comes across as the climax to the story, which occurs in the first half of the story. There's fighting, there's an element of horror, and overall it's a really good read. But then once that's solved, the story continues.
Not that this is an issue, if the stories were separated. But the latter half of this story is boring compared to the action packed opening. We have the Lion talking to the Iron Hands and Typhon of the Death Guard. It's nice to see the corruption of Typhon, but other than that, the latter half of this story could easily have been left out, or made into another story.
Other than that, this story shows a really good depiction of the Lion and is very true to the character that Thorpe has seemed to place ownership on.
'The Serpent Beneath' by Rob Sanders was a fun story about the Alpha Legion. I have to say, this story surprised me the most. What seems like a standard mission of the Alpha Legion's preference, there is a whole lot more going on in this story. I can't even talk about it for fear or wrecking it for anyone who reads it. Even the ending left me impressed at Sanders' writing and ability to weave more than one surprise into this story. Highly enjoyable, and I can't wait to see what happens with the plot lines set forth from this story!
So in the end, 'The Primarchs' is a good collection of interesting stories. I always enjoy short stories presenting the primarchs in their rolls across the universe, pre or post Horus Heresy. This anthology presents that and despite the issues with two of the stories, it is a good read and I enjoyed it. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys knowing more about the Primarchs. -
An extremely unbalanced collection of four novellas from the Horus Heresy range, featuring four different primarchs: Fulgrim, Ferrus Mannus, Lion el'Jonson, and Omegon.
1. The Reflection Crack'd by Graham McNeill, 1/5
Three words really sum this story up: pear of anguish. I don't know what is more disturbing--the last third of the book devolving into a long and ridiculous torture scene or that Lucius is quite possibly the most humanized of all of the Emperor's Children. Either way, this story didn't work for me at all. I wasn't a huge Emperor's Children fan going in and I'm even less of one now. Surprisingly, one notable character dies a really ridiculous death, which may be the only saving grace for this story.
2. Feat of Iron by Nick Kyme 3/5
Somewhat tedious but rare glimpse at the first Primarch to fall in the Heresy -- Ferrus Mannus. There's some interesting bits with the Eldar, and we see Ferrus' lack of tactical prowess foreshadow things to come at Istvaan V. Obviously this takes place before the Heresy but it does shine some light on a legion that has had very little coverage thus far.
3. The Lion by Gav Thorpe 3/5
This is probably the best piece of Dark Angels fiction in the Heresy thus far, which isn't saying much because Descent of Angels and Fallen Angels were two of the worst three or four Heresy novels to this point. Dark Angels forces, led by their primarch, Lion El'Jonson, try and shake a Night Lords' vessel stalking them through the warp. Things happen and Chaos entities spill aboard the ship in a fashion reminiscent of Flight of the Eisenstein, and Jonson has to make some tough choices in how to fight them. Like The Reflection Crack'd, there's a surprising and completely unnecessary notable character death, although it serves as a warning: No one is safe in the 31st Millennium.
4. The Serpent Beneath by Rob Sanders 5/5
Sanders continues to show his prowess after a strong HH debut with the short story The Iron Within (in the Age of Darkness anthology). Several Alpha Legionnaires, led by Omegon, are forced to infiltrate one of their own installations in an asteroid to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Of course with the Alpha Legion nothing is as it seems. Secrets and lies. Secrets and lies. The ending also has a major effect on the Heresy going forward. Really awesome stuff. -
Well, this was an odd little collection. Fun to focus on different primarchs for a novella's length at a time. They include:
"The Reflection Crack'd" by Graham McNeill. A fun followup to Fulgrim. Essentially, Fulgrim's closest brothers-in-arms realize there's something up with him, so they capture & torture him to find out what's going on. Fulgrim is pretty chill about it, and convinces them he's still Fulgrim, just a more hedonistic version of himself. Is it true? Who knows. I really like the Fulgrim character and am curious to see more of him/what he's become.
"Feat of Iron" by Nick Kyme. Fun with Ferros Manos pre-Fulgrim (obviously). It's been awhile since I read this, but IIRC it's Ferros basically ignoring a warning from the Cabal (seen in Legion) about the betrayal & Fulgrim's death blow to him. Mostly a dull, plodding tale, but I like that a lot of the stories in this area of the timeline show the Cabal/Eldar warning everybody about exactly what's coming, but it's too late! Oh, the tragedy, etc, etc.
"The Lion" by Gav Thorpe. I swear, sometimes it feels like different authors have different ideas for what really went on with the Dark Angels during the Horus Heresy. Sometimes it feels like Gav himself (kind of the go-to guy for Dark Angels) might have differing opinions. In any case, this follows Lion El'Jonson during a ship invasion & some traitor legions get involved and ... basically it's all worth it for one scene where Lion does something that sure SEEMS pretty Chaos-laden. But is there more going on than we realize? Who knows!
"The Serpent Beneath" by Rob Sanders. Man, this one was just kind of a confusing mess. Alpharius puts together a team to take out ... an Alpha Legion outpost? What? Why? Does that make ANY sense? Nope! Is it even Alpharius? Who knows! Not bad, certainly, but just kind of ... meandering.
Overall enjoyable, if nothing new is done with it - except in small moments, which I think is what we're mostly going to get overall with the HH from here on out. -
I was looking forward to big things with this collection of novella's featuring Lion El'Jonson, Fulgrim, Ferrus Manus and the Alpha legion twins but not all of the stories had me gripped throughout and I was even slightly disappointed with a couple of them. I'm not sure if part of the reason for this is the great expectation one has when it comes to reading about the magnificence of a Primarch, but then this of course will always be somewhat of an inevitability.
The better of the four tales was The Serpant Beneath featuring the Alpha legion and a typically clandestine approach to a particular problem nestled within their own ranks that required their attention. There was plenty of action and more than enough going on to keep your attention. In fact, if I hadn't had paid enough attention then it could quite possibly have become slightly confusing!
The other three tales certainly had their enjoyable moments but I also found parts of them a bit of a slog. I wanted to hear more about Ferrus Manus and Lion El'Jonson, and although their stories plunged them both into dire danger with plenty of adrenaline fuelled fury, there didn't seem to be that same depth that I found in the other two novellas. The Reflection Crack'd offered a little more but I did find the build up a touch slow considering it is only a novella. The interaction between Fulgrim and his followers was very good though and McNeill painted a very nice back drop of concern that ran through Fulgrim's Captains prompting an excellent finale.
All in all, if you want to read about pure, unadulterated God-like Primarchs, you may be disappointed, however the saving grace of McNeill and Sanders writing should keep you reading until the end. -
The Primarchs is a collection of four novellas:
'The Reflection Crack'd' by McNeill is a direct continuation of events in his prior novel "Fulgrim". There's no doubt that McNeill "gets" the Emperor's Sons and what drives them. Fulgrim, Swordmaster Lucius et al are all incredibly well drawn and McNeill answers that most difficult of questions - why would the traitor legions follow their Primarchs once they had been consumed by Chaos. 4/5
'Feat of Iron' by Kyme is less successful. Manus and the X Legion come across as arrogant and self-absorbed, and the sub-plot concerning the Eldar has been recycled. A difficult, long read. 2/5
'The Lion' by Thorpe packs a lot in - the ongoing conflict with the Night Lords, the Dark Angels first encounter with Chaos creatures and a stand-off with the Iron Hands and Death Guard over a potential super weapon. However, despite all this it doesn't really work - the climax of the story is in the middle, it feels like 2 separate stories merged together and The Lion comes across as childish and distant. A case of the sum being less than the parts.2/5
'The Serpent Beneath' by Sanders centres on the XX Legion and is well told. As ever with Alpha Legion there is plenty of double dealing and a twist at the end. My only real concern with Alpha Legion is that they actually don't have any long term plan at all, they're just useful for authors to serve up twisty plots. Unlike "Lost", will all the Alpha Legion's twisting and turning actually make any sense at the end? Nonetheless, Sanders serves a strong tale. 4/5
So overall - 2 strong stories, and 2 less so. -
These 4 short stories serve as transitions between other books in the Horus Heresy series. Each focuses on one of The Emperor's sons and fills in the gaps between what we know and what we thought we knew.
* Feat of Iron by Nick Kyme is
Promethean Sun from the perspective of Ferrus Manus, primarch of the X Legion (Iron Hands). Read after Promethean Sun.
* The Reflection Crack'd by Graham McNeill is the immediate aftermath of
Fulgrim. Fulgrim, primarch of the III Legion (Emperor's Children), is captured by his captains, who suspect something is wrong. Read after Fulgrim.
* The Lion by Gav Thorpe - From the other Dark Angels books, we know the Lion may be on the spectrum. He is completely incapable of reading other people's intentions or feelings. Here we learn a little more about what motivates him, but goddamn if we don't lose a hero in the process. Read after Savage Weapons (short story in the Age of Darkness anthology) but before Prince of Crows (novella in the Shadows of Treachery anthology).
* The Serpent Beneath by the incomparable Rob Sanders - Omegon, one of the twin primarch of the XX Legion (Alpha Legion), must infiltrate the Alpha Legion! Wheels within wheels within wheels! The best part is their killing spree, and I can't feel any remorse because they're exterminating traitors! Easily the best story in the collection! WJW! Read after
Legion but before Scars.
