The Burden of Loyalty (The Horus Heresy, #48) by L.J. Goulding

The Burden of Loyalty (The Horus Heresy, #48) Reviews

• 
  Gianfranco Mancini

  
  
  The Thirteenth Wolf by Gav Thorpe: ☆☆☆
  
  
  Into Exile by Aaron Dembski-Bowden: ☆☆☆☆
  
  
  Cybernetica by Rob Sanders: ☆☆☆☆
  
  
  Ordo Sinister by John French: ☆☆☆
  
  
  The Heart of the Pharos by L.J. Goulding: ☆☆☆☆
  
  
  Wolf King by Chris Wraight: ☆☆☆☆
  
  
  The Binary Succession by David Annandale: ☆☆☆☆☆
  
  
  Perpetual by Dan Abnett: ☆☆☆
  
  A more then good anthology, but with the Horus Heresy closing in to its ending at last, lots of the stories here included seemed to me just something like lost chapters of previous novels, but the two novella were excellent reads and David Annandale's tale about the birth of the Adeptus Mechanicus/Titanicus was just a masterpiece.
• 
  Jacob

  Alas! Another collection of short stories that should have arrived earlier in the series. These collections continue to be like hitting the brakes on a downhill slope, even when you encounter s few gems in the mix.
• 
  Michael Blank

  Not often a fan of compilations, but this one is pretty solid! ‘Cybernetica,’ along with Rob Sanders’ other works, makes me wonder why he wasn’t tapped to write a full Heresy novel.
  
  I am curious about the timing between ‘Wolf King’ and ‘Wolfsbane,’ because the Rout decides to go to Terra here but suddenly they’re leaving again in the next book. Perhaps the story here takes place further back in the series than the publishing order would have it seem.
• 
  Matthew Hipsher

  This is one of those anthologies that would have better been skipped. It's loosely held together, but overall the story jumps all over the universe. You get a longer look at Lehman Russ post Propsero, and a quick catch up with All Person, but other than that, this book is mostly forgettable.
• 
  RatGrrrl

  May 2024 Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order (
  https://www.heresyomnibus.com) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy series and extras.
  
  With Perpetual, that's another one of these anthologies finished!
  
  I've reviewed everything in here separately, but as I say with almost all of the anthologies, tbe quality of what's inside vacillates across the collection, but they all have an amount of awesome in them.
  
  While I do think Cybernetica is one of the weakest novellas in the series, this does have Ordo Sinister, which absolutely knocked my tits off, The Binary Succession, which is dry, but fascinating and extols the virtues of bringing a Titan to a council meeting if you want to get shit done, and a pair of Space Wolves tales that show the duality of ridiculouness and heartbreak, so it still gets full marks, even if Cybernetica absolutely does not.
  
  Through the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project and my own additions, I have currently read 43 Horus Heresy novels (inc. 1 repeat and 5 anthologies), 23 novellas (inc. 2 repeats), 127 short stories/ audio dramas (inc. 10+ repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels, 4 Primarchs short stories/ audio dramas, 3 Characters novels, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.
  
  I couldn't be more appreciative of the phenomenal work of the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project, which has made this ridiculous endeavour all the better and has inspired me to create and collate a collection of Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 documents and checklists (
  http://tiny.cc/im00yz). There are now too many items to list here, but there is a contents and explainer document here (
  http://tiny.cc/nj00yz).
• 
  Veronica Anrathi

  Another anthology finished. Some of these stories I’ve read a while ago, others I consumed recently. Some of them were really good, others – not so much. I give it 3 stars as a middle score, it’s not bad in any way and I really enjoyed some of the stories, but overall it’s not my favorite, plus I’m just not a fan of anthologies. As always, small commentary on each novella or short can be found below.
  
  1. The Thirteenth Wolf by Gav Thorpe - ***
  
  Probably would’ve enjoyed this one more if I was a Space Wolves fan.
  
  2. Into Exile by Aaron Dembski-Bowden - ****
  
  An interesting little story about the legendary Arkham Land, told in reverse. I appreciate the original approach, but it did make things a bit less intriguing. Still enjoyable.
  
  3. Cybernetica by Rob Sanders - ***
  
  Nah... Another 50/50, and quite literally. Started strongly, first half of the novella was intriguing, like a good beginning of an even better story. But that's not how things turned out. I had a hard time enjoying the second half, even the plot twists were unable to do it for me. On to the next one...
  
  4. Ordo Sinister by John French - ***
  
  Interesting, but I feel like this story is harder to consume for those who are not too deep into the Titanicus lore, including myself.
  
  
  5. The Heart of the Pharos by L.J. Goulding - ****
  
  Listened to this in an mp3 format a while ago. Another beautiful audio drama. Great voice acting and effects. Adds a bit to already amazing novel Pharos. Actually enjoyed every bit of it, can't give it 5 start though because I was impressed even more by other shorts that are also that small. Still a wonderful piece.
  
  6. Wolf King by Chris Wraight - ****
  
  I've had a bit of a Heresy burnout in the process of reading this so it took me way longer than it normally would, yet I enjoyed it quite a lot after I finally finished it. Interesting to see Russ reflecting, questioning and even reevaluating his thoughts and actions, of course only to a certain point. Might read it again in the future just to make sure I did not miss out on anything due to the pause I had to take.
  
  7. The Binary Succession by David Annandale - *****
  
  A wonderful story, my favorite part of this anthology. An important piece of lore. We learn how the Adeptus Mechanicus came to be a powerful force within the Adeptus Terra. Very well written, extremely engaging.
  
  8. Perpetual by Dan Abnett - ***
  
  This one I did not hate. Which is weird. I decided to listen to the audio drama instead of reading it as a part of Burden of Loyalty anthology, this was a smart choice to make. Dan Abnett's ability to write and voice actors' ability to perform had saved it for me since perpetuals, Cabal and specifically John Grammaticus represent the elements of the Horus Heresy that I would prefer to never exist. This was surprisingly interesting to listen to.
  
• 
  Mhoram

  My problem with The Burden of Loyalty isn't so much the content (although The 13th Wolf was pretty mediocre), as it is the point of release. This book needed to be released 20 novels ago in the series. Since it wasn't, almost every story is narratively and chronologically wildly out of place, and it shows. Black Library has regretfully always had a bit of a problem with releasing stories for this series in a coherent order, and this book is case-in-point. It's an assembly of stories that were previously e-shorts, audio dramas, and limited-release novellas. Great to release those things in a more general and widely-available format! Utterly ridiculous to do so 20 books later than you should have.
  
  Ahh well. I suppose people who haven't been following the series as it gets released can certainly just read this anthology 20 books early, and that'll work just fine. That'd certainly be my recommendation.
• 
  Christian

  This was a very necessary update to some threads especially concerning Mars and Oll. I had been looking forward to reading Cybernetica for a very long time and it did not disappoint. There is something to be said for reading a tragedy from the very start. The Binary Succession was a piece of momentous Imperium history and Perpetual updates what Oll has been up to. I would like to see more psi-titans though...
• 
  Harry

  Perpetual by Dan Abnett - 4/5
  The Binary Succession by David Annandale - 5/5
  Into Exile by Aaron Dembski-Bowden - 5/5
  Ordo Sinister by John French - 3/5
  The Heart of the Pharos by L J Goulding - 4/5
  Cybernetica by Rob Sanders - 4/5
  The Thirteenth Wolf by Gav Thorpe -2/5
  The Wolf King by Chris Wraight - 4/5
  
• 
  Roberto Golović

  An excellent selection of stories, featuring mainly Imperial Fists legion and the Mechanicum. Most of the stories focus on the period immediately after the fall of Mars. There is also an Ultramarine story that feels out of place but is one of the best horror stories in the Warhammer universe I have read.
• 
  Christian Freed

  One thing I don't normally read is an anthology. I find it difficult to transition so rapidly from characters to settings, to, well you get the picture. These particular stories span the galaxy and are slightly more defined than the larger books. The Horus Heresy is my weak spot though so I guess I'll keep reading. Good fillers for the war that aren't being told.
• 
  Nathan Balyeat

  Nice collection of short stories and novellas that helps to advance some of the subplots that had languished for lack of attention elsewhere. If you're this deep into the Heresy, it's a must read. If you're a casual reader of the series, you can probably pass.
• 
  Lemuel CyroN Salubo

  An average anthology with some that stand out very prominently. Was a bit of a hard read because of my dislike of the space wolves in general, for the story Wolf King specifically. It looks like it was worth the time reading it though.
• 
  Daniel McGill

  Another collection of previously published stories and prose versions of some of the audio plays. Some good stuff in there but if you've been keeping up there may not be anything new making this one skippable.
• 
  Steve

  Excellent collection of short stories and novellas.
• 
  Matthew Taylor

  Both novellas that make up the majority of this anthology are of very high quality.
• 
  Mike

  Good collection, some interesting stories, but not crucial to The series
• 
  Daeron

  Not even Wolf King moves this anthology past average. Disappointing.
• 
  Lee Tempest

  Out of all the stories, Cybernetica is a true standout.
• 
  Mryare

  Some fine stories in the tale end of the pre Solar War period of the HH.
• 
  Vladislav Gomzyakov

  Lots of really enticing stories in this one!
• 
  Heinz Reinhardt

  Worth it for both Cybernetica, and Wolf King.
• 
  Pedro Alfonso

  good reading
  
  Good stories. The best (For far) is the space wolves story. I don’t want to say anything else but there is a minimum words requirement
• 
  Matthew

  Skippable
• 
  Patrick

  Great returning Characters, great pre-ludes to major novels, and great filler points.
  Just all round good example of why anthology books are great appetite cleansers between the heavy stuff.