The Silent War (The Horus Heresy, #37) by L.J. Goulding

The Silent War (The Horus Heresy, #37) Reviews

• 
  Gianfranco Mancini

  
  
  An excellent anthology mostly about Malcador the Sigillite and his secretive minions and plans. At last the war is coming to Terra and the setting is becoming more and more like the W40K one.
  And
  The Purge,
  Lost Sons and
  Ghosts Speak Not & Patience were three real gems.
• 
  Jacob

  Enjoyable! This collection of short stories feature the clandestine events taking place in the background of the Heresy and being us back some characters we’ve not seen in ages.
• 
  Veronica Anrathi

  First book finished in 2019, another decent anthology. Stories revolve around, you guessed it, the Silent War. As always, most of these were fine and some were very good. I recommend The Sigillite , Lost Sons, Child of Night and Luna Mendax.
  
  The Purge by Anthony Reynolds - ****
  
  Wanted to squeeze one last novella into 2018... I was not expecting much, being quite fed up with all the Ultramarines versus Word Bearers shenanigans. This surprised me, an interesting story that entertained me quite a lot. Anthony knows how to do Lorgar's sons some justice. Very lovely.
  
  The Sigillite by Chris Wraight - ****
  
  Interesting… Been pretty sure I’ve read this one before, but I could not remember a thing. Maybe I was wrong and stories got all mixed up in my head. It’s an enjoyable tale, like every other piece written about Malcador. Makes me want to learn more about the order of the Sigillites.
  
  Wolf Hunt by Graham McNeill - ****
  
  The coolest and, I guess, the only samurai of the Heresy Era, Yasu Nagasena, goes for a hunt he presumes to be his last. Meanwhile an Astartes legionary is finds himself on the run, and he is no other but Severian, lone survivor of the Outcast Dead. I must admit, reading that novel a long time ago, this Luna Wolf was not the most memorable character of the bunch. Wolf Hunt has restored my interest in him. Even though I knew for sure where this was going, it still was a very entertaining piece to read
  
  Army of One by Rob Sanders - ****
  
  Nice. Very shorts, but atmospheric and even intense. Good timing as well, since I only recently read Nemesis and discovered an adoration for the Officio Assassinorum, especially Eversor.
  
  The Gates of Terra by Nick Kyme - ****
  
  Interesting. Loved it. A little obvious for anyone who’s more or less aware of how things are done in this universe, still a very cool read.
  
  Ghosts Speak Not by James Swallow - ***
  
  This was an interesting piece, but did not touch me for some reason. Absolutely subjective.
  
  Templar by John French - ****
  
  The interaction between Sigi and Kharn is a fascinating thing. But all I want now is a story that will describe the Templar’s duel with Sevatar in full detail. I need it. Now.
  
  Distant Echoes of Old Night by Rob Sanders - ***
  
  Glad to see Death Guard doing things. Good enough, not mind blown.
  
  Grey Angel by John French - ***
  
  Eh… Loken being alive still makes my eyes roll. I have a warm feeling for the guy, but damn. Story was okay. Sorta cryptic.
  
  Lost Sons by James Swallow - *****
  
  I think this was the first short in this anthology that really made me feel things. Interesting bit of lore I knew nothing about. Unexpected and emotional.
  
  Child of Night by John French - *****
  
  I remember the first time I read this story. Back then I gave it 4 stars, but now I give it 5. I remembered Fel Zharost. This character, having just one short story written about him, is one of the most memorable Night Lords out there. And trust me when I say it, I know every Night Lord. We get to learn some new lore on the 8th Legion sons recruited from Terra, we get to see the infamous terror methods unusually implemented through psychic visions and we get a Sevatar cameo. This stuff is great. And it also heavily hints at this bat Grey Knight, you know, being NOT SEVATAR, but likely FEL ZHAROST, which makes me happy cause I low key hate this fan theory… That is all. Good story, highly recommend.
  
  Luna Mendax by Graham McNeill - *****
  
  This still gives me feels. As I said many times before, Loken’s resurrection is not my favorite plot twist. But this story was amazing either way.
  
  Patience by James Swallow - ****
  
  Just another Garro short. Was nice, but nothing new.
  
  The Watcher by C Z Dunn - ****
  
  Oh! Was not expecting to meet Curze in this one. Lovely. Whoever thought it was a good idea to send a Space Wolves watch pack to the Nightfall needs to get fired though…
  
• 
  Brian

  The Purge **** Great opening story. The only drawback the back and forth was a bit distracting early on before you really know the characters. The visual of Korolos and Octavion's battle with the Word Bearers was awesome.
  The Sigillite *** Nice to finally get a bit of the Sigillite's story.
  Wolf Hunt **** Nagasena hunts. I really like this character. Really short.
  Army of One ** Super short. It was okay.
  The Gates of Terra ****Crazy story. Real Matrix-like.
  Ghosts Speak Not ***** Great story that really captures the depth of the Heresy.
  Templar **** Good story about Sigismund.
  Distant Echoes of Old Night *** Good but a bit drawn out. Great imagery.
  Grey Angel***** I loved this story. Two of my favorite characters.
  Lost Sons *** Good. It was a cool look at another legion who left some members on their planet and how those individuals deal with being left behind.
  Child of Night *** Wished it was longer.
  Luna Mendax ****Loken's inner struggles.
  Patience ** It needed more.
  The Watcher *** Interesting.
  
  All-in-all it was a good book with stories that are not at the forefront of the other Horus Heresy novels. Well worth the read.
  
• 
  Daniel

  This is book 37 of the Horus Heresy series and yet again they have outdone themselves. What you have here is the short stories and novellas explaining the Silent War fought by Malcador the Sigillite. Tales involving the Knights Errant, of which the Death Guard Captain Nathaniel Garro was the first. There are tales of the servants of Malcador recruiting the needed men for the Knights Errant. There are stories about the far reaching evil that is Horus, and the small wars fought against his machinations.
  Overall this is a splendid explanation and enlightening look into the behind the scenes of the main books and stories, and it is such an informative and imaginative telling of these tales. I really enjoyed this one, especially one story by James Swallow called Ghosts Speak Not. Holy crap was that one good. They all were good, of course but that one stuck with me.
  This book was fantastic and I finished it and immediately started reading Angels Of Caliban, book 38. Yeah, I'm an addict! LOL
  
  Danny
• 
  Matthew Hipsher

  This anthology (coming ever other book in the series it seems) focuses on Malcador the Sigilite and his plans to influence the Imperiums role in defeating Horus and the insurgency. Some of the short stories are VERY good like Ghost Speak Not and The Sigilitie, some are meh like The Watcher. I don't think it's a must read in the HEresy series to keep up with events, but it is a good insight into the mysterious inner working of Malcador's influence on the Imperium.
• 
  Alasdair

  As with most of these anthologies the start is weak and then ramps up into some good filler stories.
• 
  Heiki Eesmaa

  The interesting thing is that the stories form sort of a backdrop to the creation of the Grey Knights. Other than that, all the stories are about marines, thus difficult to identify with and generally lead to nothing. The Purge is by far the best.
• 
  Christian

  This is a short story collection about the espionage and information gathering aspects of the Horus Heresy. It has far less bolter porn action of a regular Black Library offering instead focusing a lot on character and I really enjoyed it for that. It is interesting to examine the emotional and psychological affects of something as traumatic and epic as the Horus Heresy on the soldiers and administrators, human and superhuman.
• 
  Daeron

  Expected so much more.
• 
  Heinz Reinhardt

  This was a mostly decent anthology of Horus Heresy shorts with the novella The Purge added in. In fact, The Purge, the novella is the best element within the anthology, and it was so well written that the rest of the stories simply lacked in comparison.
  There were, of course, some excellent short stories included in here: The Sigilite was very good, Ghost Speak Not was excellent, and Templar was outstanding.
  None of the rest were poor, they were all good, but when you start off with The Purge, and then follow with the Sigilite, it is really hard to keep up with that opening duo.
  Overall, a good anthology, one of the better ones.
• 
  Nathaniel Rawes

  It’s another anthology. Probably one of the better ones in the series, partially because there is a common theme tying each story together but towards the end the usual burn out from so many small stories sets in and in a way, because they’re tied by a common thread it makes them seem all too similar.
  
  Definitely worth reading if you’re feeling up to it but if like many at this point in the series you’re thinking ‘urgh not another anthology’ then you can probably skip it and not worry too much.
• 
  Bodicainking

  A very enjoyable anthology, with the stories much more tightly-bound than in previous Horus Heresy anthologies. What has become the usual mix of plot-deepening tales, nods to the background of the WH40K universe (the first exterminatus, for example) and a few moments of really humane writing - such as a Space Marine gardening to work through PTSD.
• 
  Xonrad

  One of the better anthologies, though from my perspective, this one has greater value in how it contributes to the complexity of the politics in this universe and the Emperor's grand scheme for humanity... and how that imperial machine is trying to adapt during the heresy era.
  
  Basically you won't get value out of this one unless you have invested an interest to get to book 37 in the series/lore.
• 
  catweaseloz

  a few more pieces of the story and a few dodgy fillers. not bad if you're into this stuff.
• 
  Steve

  Short stories, none bad and they do interlink, but I am near short storied out.
• 
  Davinia

  The most part of the stories I read it before and none of those are my favourites
• 
  Daniel McGill

  Another collection of previously published stories. Some quite good and some only previously available as audio I believe but nothing entirely new.
• 
  Pavle

  I thought this was a quality anthology. Worth the read.
• 
  Ophelia Gunn

  There were only one or two stories in this collection that I really enjoyed. The rest were just passing commute time.
• 
  Joanne

  P
• 
  Stefan Koepeknie

  My last read/listen to finish the 54 full length Horus Heresy novels.
  One of the better Horus Heresy compilations.
• 
  Matthew

  Some good stories in here, some a bit so-so
• 
  Arshdeep

  It's a collection of short stories.
  Some stories are good (like the purge, the sigillite and wolf hunt) others less so.
  Overall a good read.