Horus Heresy Review by you the fans

[brother alinski]

I want to know what people think about the individual books of the Horus Heresy series. So employing a method used by Dan Brown I ask you the fans to give each book you have written a score out of 10. Feel free to add a sentence in or two about why you have given it that score but please keep things simple. After a month I will take an average of all the scores and update my post. If people keep reviewing I will keep updating it.

Don’t worry if you haven’t read all of them, just review the ones you have read and if you have read more update your review.

1 Horus Rising .../10
2 False Gods .../10
3 Galaxy in Flames .../10
4 Flight of the Eisenstein .../10
5 Fulgrim .../10
6 Descent of Angels .../10
7 Legion .../10
8 Battle for the Abyss .../10
9 Mechanicum .../10
10 Tales of Heresy .../10
10a Blood Games .../10
10b Wolf at the Door .../10
10c Scions of the Storm .../10
10d The Voice .../10
10e Call of the Lion .../10
10f The last Church .../10
10g After Desh’ea .../10
11 Fallen Angels .../10
12 A Thousand Sons .../10
13 Nemesis .../10
14 The First Heretic .../10
15 Prospero Burns .../10
16 Age of Darkness .../10
16a Rules of Engagement .../10
16b Liar’s Due .../10
16c Forgotten Son’s .../10
16d The Last Remembrancer .../10
16e Rebirth .../10
16f The Face of Treachery .../10
16g Little Horus .../10
16h The Iron Within .../10
16i Savage Weapons .../10
17 The Outcast Dead .../10
18 Deliverance Lost .../10
19 Know no Fear .../10
20 The Primarchs .../10
20a The Reflection Crack’d .../10
20b Feat of Iron .../10
20c The Lion .../10
20d The Serpent Beneath .../10

Novellas
Promethean Sun .../10
Aurelian .../10

Audio Dramas
The Dark King .../10
The Lightning Tower .../10
Ravens Flight .../10
Garro: Oath of Moment .../10
Garro: Legion of One .../10
Butchers Nails .../10

[brother alinski]

Hear are mine

1 Horus Rising 10/10 "Horus is Awsome"
2 False Gods 10/10 "Horus Nooo (although I can see why)"
3 Galaxy in Flames 7/10 "Horus I hate you"
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 9/10
5 Fulgrim 9/10
6 Descent of Angels 9/10
7 Legion 10/10 (or is it?)
8 Battle for the Abyss 8/10 I liked it
9 Mechanicum 7/10
10 Tales of Heresy 8/10
10a Blood Games 8/10
10b Wolf at the Door 10/10
10c Scions of the Storm 7/10
10d The Voice 9/10 It was ok, but the concept was really relatable
10e Call of the Lion 7/10
10f The last Church 6/10
10g After Desh’ea 10/10
11 Fallen Angels 7/10
12 A Thousand Sons 8/10
13 Nemesis 10/10 Really didn't expect this one to be as good as it was
14 The First Heretic 10/10 Argel Tal, Nuf said
15 Prospero Burns 9/10
16 Age of Darkness 8/10
16a Rules of Engagement 8/10
16b Liar’s Due 7/10
16c Forgotten Son’s 8/10
16d The Last Remembrancer 8/10
16e Rebirth 8/10
16f The Face of Treachery 9/10
16g Little Horus 8/10
16h The Iron Within 9/10 (sooo good except for one line that just bugged me.)
16i Savage Weapons 10/10
17 The Outcast Dead 4/10 Loved the World Eaters, the Thunder Warriors and the most of the Outcast dead but the escape was to simple. The fact Mangus's warning comes after the news of Isstavan 5 Really was a let down and spoiled so much of the heresy even if it was back ground events. Final the novel felt like it had been edited down to its bones with some bits crammed in there so it made scene. But I did still enjoy reading it.
18 Deliverance Lost 8/10
19 Know no Fear .../10
20 The Primarchs .../10
20a The Reflection Crack’d .../10
20b Feat of Iron .../10
20c The Lion .../10
20d The Serpent Beneath .../10

Novellas
Promethean Sun 9/10
Aurelian 7/10

Audio Dramas
The Dark King 7.5/10
The Lightning Tower 8/10
Ravens Flight 9/10
Garro: Oath of Moment 9/10
Garro: Legion of One 9/10
Butchers Nails 10/10

[Londinium]

Damn this thread has made me realise just how much time I've spent reading Heresy books. Never thought I'd have wasted this much time on them when I first picked up Horus Rising five years ago.

1 Horus Rising 9/10
2 False Gods 8/10
3 Galaxy in Flames 7/10
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 7/10
5 Fulgrim 9/10
6 Descent of Angels 4/10
7 Legion 9/10
8 Battle for the Abyss 3/10
9 Mechanicum 8/10
10 Tales of Heresy 7/10
11 Fallen Angels 6/10
12 A Thousand Sons 10/10
13 Nemesis 6/10
14 The First Heretic 10/10
15 Prospero Burns 7/10
16 Age of Darkness 8/10
17 The Outcast Dead 6/10
18 Deliverance Lost 8/10

Novellas
Promethean Sun 5/10
Aurelian 9/10

Audio Dramas
The Dark King 9/10
The Lightning Tower 6/10
Ravens Flight 8/10
Garro: Oath of Moment 6/10
Garro: Legion of One 6/10

[Son of Sanguinius]

My reply comes with tiny explanations.

1 Horus Rising 8/10
- Captured the mystery and majesty of the 30k setting.

2 False Gods 6/10
- Decent novel as a whole, but climax was poorly conceived and disappointing.

3 Galaxy in Flames 4/10
- Decently written, but added nothing to the series as we waited for obvious and inevitable climax.

4 Flight of the Eisenstein 8/10
- Found myself really cheering for a archetypical hero.

5 Fulgrim 6/10
- That so much of this novel is good makes the demon sword and absurd duels that much more disappointing.

6 Descent of Angels 6/10
- Not superb, but great to see life before the Imperium for quite a period of time.

7 Legion 7/10
- The Cabal is probably unnecessary, but infiltration and intrigue are captivating.

8 Battle for the Abyss 2/10
- By far the worst of the series. Nothing is good enough to make critical parts worth the label disappointing.

9 Mechanicum 7/10
- Look into Mars is great, but tries too hard to be mysterious.

10 Tales of Heresy 5/10
- Meh. Some parts decent, other parts not. Not exceptional or bad.

10a Blood Games 7/10
- Custodian war games were awesome, but Dorn's dialog kills the momentum.

10b Wolf at the Door 3/10
- How are there any Eldar left alive anywhere?

10c Scions of the Storm 7/10
- Not the best written piece, but the tragic irony of the story and Lorgar's mutated fanatacism were palpable.

10d The Voice 5/10
- So so. Good in concept, mediocre in execution. The series needs more horror.

10e Call of the Lion 5/10
- The young Captain needs more depth for this story to be compelling.

10f The last Church 4/10
- Ambitious concept that falls flat on its face through terrible debate of the pros and cons of religion.

10g After Desh’ea 6/10
- Not outstanding, but enjoyably shows World Eaters before their "descent".

11 Fallen Angels 5/10
- Well written, but it felt like filler.

12 A Thousand Sons 8/10
- Great turn around for Graham, as far as I'm concerned. Brings mysticism and tragedy in well proportioned amounts, as well as a very likable protagonist.

13 Nemesis 5/10
- Again, good concept, mediocre execution. Fantastic concept, to be honest, but its handling was all the more frustrating for its flatness.

14 The First Heretic 9/10
- Just...wow. I had never even heard of ADB before this novel, and, well, this novel will show you why his fanboy base is increasing exponentially. Best in the series.

15 Prospero Burns 8/10
- Controversial, but I loved it. It would be a 9, but I'm pissed at Mr. Abnett for how many times he used "wet leopard growl".

16 Age of Darkness 6/10
- Better group of shorts than the last.

16a Rules of Engagement 7/10
- The turn was nice and the Codex well handled.

16b Liar’s Due 7/10
- Compelling short. Captures the confusion and division on Imperial worlds in a way that Forgotten Sons can only dream of.

16c Forgotten Son’s 4/10
- Interesting potential, but the very presence of the loyalist Astartes deflates the story.

16d The Last Remembrancer 6/10
- Well written and cool imagery, but what's the point other than showing yet again that Dorn is afraid?

16e Rebirth 7/10
- Fascinating to see Kharn on the precipice and Thousand Sons who had not been affected by their liege lord's direct actions.

16f The Face of Treachery 4/10
- Disappointing and unnecessary, especially considering how good Raven's Flight and Deliverance Lost are.

16g Little Horus 7/10
- Interesting introspect, quality action. It's not meant to be a centerpiece, but it stands on its own quite well.

16h The Iron Within 8/10
- Awesome. An upside down fortress take took my breath away. Only downside is that the enemies are a little...run of the mill.

16i Savage Weapons 7/10
- Good short. Fun, if a little predictable. Enjoyable characters.

17 The Outcast Dead .../10
- Mixed bag. The final revelation is awesome in both substance and implications, but again the very presence and nature of the Astartes ruins much of it.

18 Deliverance Lost 8/10
- Deus ex machina handled well. Pacing is good. Novel could have used a little more of Corax letting off steam.

19 Know no Fear 8/10
- Parts of the this novel rival The First Heretic in their quality, but certain moments like the final duel hold them down.

20 The Primarchs .../10
- Haven't read it. Sad to several already well covered Primarchs here when so many remain at a distance. Jaghatai Khan, please? Someone?

20a The Reflection Crack’d .../10
- Haven't read it.

20b Feat of Iron .../10
- Haven't read it.

20c The Lion .../10
- Haven't read it.

20d The Serpent Beneath .../10
- Haven't read it.

Promethean Sun 5/10
- There's over the top awesome and there's over the top silly. Vulkan playing whack-a-mole with T. Rex heads falls under the latter for me.

Aurelian 8/10
- And this falls under the former. If you asked me before this novella whether I thought Lorgar taking down the Unbound could be done well, I would have said no. Ask me now.

The Dark King 8/10
- Please take note, ADB or any other writer who handles Curze. This short treats Konrad like the force of nature he is.

The Lightning Tower 6/10
- Nice to see Dorn's introspection, but could have been a lot more meaningful if we had seen Dorn actually remain stoic somewhere else.

Ravens Flight 6/10
- Enjoyable short, but Marcus' "escape" from Deliverance wasn't great.

Garro: Oath of Moment /10
- I need to study timeline before passing judgement. I'm confused about whether Roboute has ask for reinstatement of Librarians yet.

Garro: Legion of One 5/10
- So he is alive! Um....meh. Psycho Loken isn't all that cool.

Butchers Nails 8/10
- Really fun. My only gripe is how the Dark Eldar ships can easily avoid beams of light but can't avoid giant harpoons. My guess is too much plot ballast.

[Apfeljunge]

1 Horus Rising 9/10 Great start. Abnett rocks.
2 False Gods 8,5/10 some minor flaws but overall a great sequel.
3 Galaxy in Flames 8/10 Not a big fan of Counter but with this story pretty much sitting there and waiting for him, he couldn't do much harm.
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 8,5/10 like False Gods. minor flaws, otherwise great.
5 Fulgrim 9,5/10 AWESOME. The Fall to Slaanesh, the battle of Istvaan V, The Daemon, everything.
6 Descent of Angels 8/10 I actually like this book. It could have done with more time spend on the Dark Angels as Legion and a bit less on Caliban, though.
7 Legion 9/10 Abnett strikes again. The only flaw i see is that the Alphas seem to be a bit too good at what they are doing.
8 Battle for the Abyss 5/10 meh. Okay book. I liked Skraal and Mhotep.
9 Mechanicum 9/10 Really cool. The Dragon bit I liked the best i think.
10 Tales of Heresy 8,5/10 Enjoyed all stories.
10a Blood Games 8,5/10
10b Wolf at the Door 8/10
10c Scions of the Storm 8,5/10
10d The Voice 9/10
10e Call of the Lion 8/10
10f The last Church 10/10
10g After Desh’ea 9,5/10
11 Fallen Angels 7/10 A bit boring on some parts and I didn't enjoyed the writing style that much.
12 A Thousand Sons 9,5/10 almost perfect. The only thing keeping it from a 10 is the slow start.
13 Nemesis 8,5/10. Cool story and some cool chars but others not so much.
14 The First Heretic 10/10 sorry If I look like a fanboy now. I can't help it.
15 Prospero Burns 8/10 Not a wolves fan and the flashbacks and name changes for Hawser really confused me. Could rate it higher after a reread though.
16 Age of Darkness 9/10 The Iron Within and Savage Weapons alone are reason enough for this to be awesome.
16a Rules of Engagement 8/10
16b Liar’s Due 9,5/10
16c Forgotten Son’s 7,5/10
16d The Last Remembrancer 9/10
16e Rebirth 8,5/10
16f The Face of Treachery 9/10
16g Little Horus 8,5/10
16h The Iron Within 10/10
16i Savage Weapons 10/10
17 The Outcast Dead 8,5/10 great book but has some irritating aspects. Hopefully we will get an explanation for some issues.
18 Deliverance Lost 9/10 Raven Guard and all primarchs where awesome. The Alphas could have been a bit more like those in Legion.
19 Know no Fear 10/10 like a big blockbuster movie without the stupid Hollywood love story and that other nonsense.
20 The Primarchs .../10 haven't read it yet except for the Lion in Hammer and Bolter.
20a The Reflection Crack’d .../10
20b Feat of Iron .../10
20c The Lion 9/10
20d The Serpent Beneath .../10

Novellas
Promethean Sun 7,5/10 good but not great.
Aurelian 10/10 can't say awesome again. need better word.

Audio Dramas
The Dark King 8,5/10
The Lightning Tower 8/10
Ravens Flight 8,5/10
Garro: Oath of Moment 8/10
Garro: Legion of One 8,5/10
Butchers Nails .../10 want. now. hate. waiting.

[Antreus]

1 Horus Rising 9/10
2 False Gods 7/10
3 Galaxy in Flames 6/10
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 8/10
5 Fulgrim 8/10
6 Descent of Angels 7/10
7 Legion 9/10
8 Battle for the Abyss 4/10
9 Mechanicum 9/10
10 Tales of Heresy 7/10
11 Fallen Angels 5/10
12 A Thousand Sons 9/10
13 Nemesis 8/10
14 The First Heretic 9/10
15 Prospero Burns 7/10
16 Age of Darkness 8/10
17 The Outcast Dead 6/10
18 Deliverance Lost 8/10

[stormblade]

1 Horus Rising 8/10
2 False Gods 7/10
3 Galaxy in Flames 6/10
12 A Thousand Sons 8/10
14 The First Heretic 7/10
15 Prospero Burns 9/10
16 Age of Darkness 9/10
16a Rules of Engagement 7/10
16b Liar’s Due 6/10
16c Forgotten Son’s 5/10
16d The Last Remembrancer 5/10
16e Rebirth 10/10
16f The Face of Treachery 8/10
16g Little Horus 9/10
16h The Iron Within 9/10
16i Savage Weapons 7/10
17 The Outcast Dead 8/10
18 Deliverance Lost 5/10
19 Know no Fear 8/10
20 The Primarchs 6/10
20a The Reflection Crack’d 7/10
20b Feat of Iron 5/10
20c The Lion 7/10
20d The Serpent Beneath 6/10


Audio Dramas
The Dark King 6/10
The Lightning Tower 8/10
Ravens Flight 8/10
Butchers Nails 9/10

[Scorpius_78]

1 Horus Rising 9/10
2 False Gods 7/10
3 Galaxy in Flames 6/10
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 8/10
5 Fulgrim 8/10
6 Descent of Angels 9/10
7 Legion 9/10
8 Battle for the Abyss 4/10
9 Mechanicum 10/10
10 Tales of Heresy 7/10
10a Blood Games 7/10
10b Wolf at the Door 6/10
10c Scions of the Storm 9/10
10d The Voice 7/10
10e Call of the Lion 7/10
10f The last Church 7/10
10g After Desh’ea 10/10
11 Fallen Angels 5/10
12 A Thousand Sons 10/10
13 Nemesis 8/10
14 The First Heretic 10/10
15 Prospero Burns 8/10
16 Age of Darkness 7/10
16a Rules of Engagement 7/10
16b Liar’s Due 7/10
16c Forgotten Son’s 6/10
16d The Last Remembrancer 7/10
16e Rebirth 9/10
16f The Face of Treachery 5/10
16g Little Horus 6/10
16h The Iron Within 10/10
16i Savage Weapons 8/10
17 The Outcast Dead 5/10
18 Deliverance Lost 6/10
19 Know no Fear 8/10
20 The Primarchs .../10
20a The Reflection Crack’d .../10
20b Feat of Iron .../10
20c The Lion .../10
20d The Serpent Beneath .../10

Novellas
Promethean Sun 4/10
Aurelian 8/10

Audio Dramas
The Dark King 9/10
The Lightning Tower 7/10
Ravens Flight 7/10
Garro: Oath of Moment 8/10
Garro: Legion of One 7/10
Butchers Nails .../10

[magath]

1 Horus Rising 8/10
Enjoyable start, bit with the Interex dragged on a bit, but very cool.

2 False Gods 9/10
Loved the fall to chaos bits, really enjoyed the changes in Horus.

3 Galaxy in Flames 8/10
Cracking finish to the first trilogy, some vague ends which needed tightening up a bit, but very enjoyable.

4 Flight of the Eisenstein 6/10
Bit on the surface of the moon dragged on and on and on. Also, did we need to relive the exact same scenes with the exact dialogue for ages?

5 Fulgrim 9/10
One of my favourites, bit longer, seemed well paced and well written.

6 Descent of Angels 0.01/10
Absolute dross. Vehicle for showing how hard the main character is, terrible rushed ending, bad plot development.

7 Legion 7/10
OK, found it confusing in places (maybe thats the point), but an enjoyable read.

8 Battle for the Abyss .3/10
I struggled with this one. Seemed a bit bland.

9 Mechanicum 8/10
Love it! Just reread it, definitely one of the better ones. Suffers (as a lot of this series do) from having a crappy ending, but really enjoyed the book.

10 Tales of Heresy 5/10
Its an anthology, so wonky quality, but some gems.

10a Blood Games 9/10
Abnett excelled himself here, very fun read and interesting to read about an organisation we normally don't get insight to.

10b Wolf at the Door 4/10
Meh, it was ok.

10c Scions of the Storm 5/10
It says something about ADB's writing that he is able to recover the legion from this.

10e Call of the Lion 3/10
May be me being biased after crapfest of angels, but didn't like it in the slightest.

10f The last Church 1/10
As a trainee clurgyman, I was interested to see what McNeill came up with. What I got was pretencious 6th form arguments and recycled tropes which ignored the obvious points. Awesome concept, **** execution.

10g After Desh’ea 10/10
More of this please! Please!

11 Fallen Angels 6/10
Good novel, actually looks at the heresy instead of idolising its main characters. Still shackled with the baggage of the first book.

12 A Thousand Sons 9/10
2 words: Hell yeah!! McNeill really excells himself here. Great story, fantastic characters, well rounded plot.

13 Nemesis 0.2/10
Absolute ****. Hollyoaks in space.

14 The First Heretic 10/10
Best in the series. Other books should be compared to this.

15 Prospero Burns 6/10
Found it difficult to read, repetitive writing, felt a bit phoned in.

16 Age of Darkness 5/10
Again, wonky quality.

17 The Outcast Dead 3/10
Hated it. Hated all the different introductions, the appalling cover art, the broadstroke characters. All felt a bit "Meh"

18 Deliverance Lost 8/10
Really enjoyed it, retcon worked ok, not a massive fan of the ending.

19 Know no Fear 8/10
Jumps around like a house of pain song, but works well.

[Sqallum]

Horus Rising: 8/10
. Very solid first book! Very good on Horus, but I would like more on the character/fighting of the Luna Wolves through the eyes of the file troopers, not just the Captains.

False Gods: 8/10
Horus' corruption was very good, but again, would like more on the character of the Luna... Sons of Horus Really got across the feeling of fatigue, doom, and weariness in the Great Crusade.

Galaxy In Flames 8/10
Very solid here, great action, but had a couple some loose ends (notably Tarvitz and co )

The Flight Of The Eisenstein: 7/10
The information and character development of the Death Guard is good, and I look forward to more on Garro and the Death Guard.

Fulgrim 9/10
A VERY good book, but I felt the Iron Hands (Gabriel Santar, Ferrus Manus etc) deserved more then simply being cannon fodder for the EC. I also hated Fulgrim, but that is cos I have a Iron Hands pre-heresy army

Descent Of Angels : 9/10
EDIT: Changed my views on this one. Absolutely loved it. The thing is that people bang on about it not being relevant to the Heresy. Yes, it is. There are some little clues in the book - the library of the Knights of Lupus, the Knights of Lupus themselves, the Great Beasts and Zahariel that all have massive relevance in Fallen Angels. A great book.

Legion: 9/10
A really good thriller, but like the Luna Wolves, would have liked to see more character development on Pech, Herzog and other officers in the AL

Fallen Angels: A good, solid, steady book. 7/10

A Thousand Sons: 10/10 Simply terrific. Nothing more to say to McNeil other than he nailed it here.

The First Heretic : 10/10 Again, fantastic. I would have liked to see more on the WB legion as a whole but I guess Aurelien compensates for that

Age of Darkness : 7/10 Liked most of them. Savage Weapons and The Iron Within were great though.

Deliverace Lost : 10/10 Amazing! I was iniatally crushed when I realised that the Gene Data had been sabotaged, but then another thought occured to me... why didn't the Emperor give the gene data to Dorn? He could have made millions of superior Astartes. Odd.

Know No Fear : 10/10 Just stunning, and I liked the references to Ferrus Manus.

The Primarchs: 7/10 Fairly good. The EC one was a good, but Feat of Iron ... though the character development was simply awful, Santar is just a boss. Would like more on Shadrak Meduson. Fairly good, and not a surprise as Kick Kyme's work is normally very good . The Serpent Beneath was brilliant... and the Lion... SPOILER

he knows about the rebellion on Caliban. And he does not return to stop the rebellion yet!!! NOOOOOO!!!! I do not understand why he killed Nemiel. In Descent of Angels it hints Nemiel/Zahariel will meet again in worse times. It seems stupid to kill him after building up his character so much. I would have loved the presumed confrontation on Caliban between the cousins. Not only that, but his death was very clumsy. The Lion could have just demoted him. But no, a decapitation

Promethean Sun : 6/10 The combat was good, but the plot was alright, and here is a book on Vulkan! Finally! I can't wait for Scorched Earth Also, Feat of Iron looks impressive in an extract I read

Fear To Tread 8/10 I liked it tons on the first read but having read again... I dunno, I didn't really get the feel of the Blood Angels, or their character, or for example, how the Imperium thought about the Angel's wings. There was also massive potential for the history and style of the BA, and why Baal is as it is now (i.e nuclear wasteland), but it was waster potential, as Swallow didn't dip into it. The character development was poor as well - Swallow said things about the characters but he didn't really prove it in when using them. Though the ending was brilliant I think the Angel beating Kha'Bhanda so soon again made his victory at the Eternity Gate seem much smaller. Oh well.

Shadows of Treachery: 8/10 I really liked this. The Crimson Fist was excellent, with a really well written narrative style, and it really got across the feel and character of the Imperial Fists. I wonder what fate will await Sigismund now that he is at Terra. Hopefully one where he beheads powerful, high ranking traitor scum. Prince of Crows. Just....ah.. Sevatar was just a complete boss. Loved it. Raven's Flight was fairly good, I loved the scene where he throws the rock!



Sqallum

[Casper Hawser]

1 Horus Rising 9/10
2 False Gods 8/10
3 Galaxy in Flames 7/10
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 8/10
5 Fulgrim 10/10
6 Descent of Angels 6/10
7 Legion 8/10
8 Battle for the Abyss 5/10
9 Mechanicum 7/10
10 Tales of Heresy 5/10
10a Blood Games 7/10
10b Wolf at the Door 5/10
10c Scions of the Storm 5/10
10d The Voice 4/10
10e Call of the Lion 4/10
10f The last Church 7/10
10g After Desh’ea 8/10
11 Fallen Angels 6/10
12 A Thousand Sons 10/10
13 Nemesis 8/10
14 The First Heretic 10/10
15 Prospero Burns 7/10
16 Age of Darkness 7/10
16a Rules of Engagement 7/10
16b Liar’s Due 7/10
16c Forgotten Son’s 5/10
16d The Last Remembrancer 7/10
16e Rebirth 8/10
16f The Face of Treachery 4/10
16g Little Horus 6/10
16h The Iron Within 8/10
16i Savage Weapons 8/10
17 The Outcast Dead 8/10
18 Deliverance Lost 4/10
19 Know no Fear 9/10
20 The Primarchs ?/10
20a The Reflection Crack’d ?/10
20b Feat of Iron ?/10
20c The Lion ?/10
20d The Serpent Beneath ?/10

Novellas
Promethean Sun ?/10
Aurelian ?/10

Audio Dramas
The Dark King 8/10
The Lightning Tower 8/10
Ravens Flight 9/10
Garro: Oath of Moment 7/10
Garro: Legion of One 7/10
Butchers Nails ?/10

[Lupe]

1 Horus Rising 8/10 - Overall a solid start to the Heresy series. If I were to score it based on the initial reading alone, I'd give it 9.5/10, because of the shock of seeing a whole different Imperium compared to the one portrayed before. However, after reading it about 6 times and becoming more familiar with the 31st millennium, 8/10 seems like a more accurate score.

2 False Gods 8/10 - Good book, could have earned more points if Horus' conversion would have been given more page space, and more compelling arguments.

3 Galaxy in Flames 7.5/10 - Overall a decent piece of literature, but nothing particularly noteworthy sets it apart from the first two books

4 Flight of the Eisenstein 7.5/10 - Much the same as Galaxy in Flames. I was expecting Mortarion to be given more screen time, but other than that, nothing inherently wrong with it.

5 Fulgrim 8/10 - It was pretty good, but I felt that it suffered a bit of 'plot device' syndrome all throughout. Still, it seems like the said plot device will make a lot more sense in the context of a few upcoming books

6 Descent of Angels 6.5/10 - This is one of the poorer books in the series. The main problem is that it's not related to the Heresy at all. The second is that it's got an almost frustratingly slow pace at the start.

7 Legion 9.5/10 - Magnificently book, filled with magnificent bastards. It fails to achieve a perfect 10 points due to its very theme of mystery, which automatically means we don't get any truly impressive character scenes.

8 Battle for the Abyss 3/10 - An overall poor book. The concept, the plot and some of the ideas weren't all that bad, but it has too many flaws working against it. The pacing is slow, the reading is tedious and the characters are far too stereotypical at times. Still, worth reading for completion's sake, and worth buying if only to have a complete series.

9 Mechanicum 9/10 - This one was a pleasant surprise, and was, along with False Gods, responsible for restoring my faith in Graham McNeill. It's a far different beast to any of the Heresy books before or since, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the general consensus is that it's a damn good book.

10 Tales of Heresy 8.5/10 - All in all, an interesting compilation of short stories, and a welcome break from full length novels. It offers a broad set of perspectives that really flesh out the Imperium at the time of the Great Crusade. The main objective of this book is to set up the scene for later books, really.

10a Blood Games 8/10 - Focused on the Adeptus Custodes, and pretty interesting
10b Wolf at the Door 8/10 - Focused on the Space Wolves 13th Company, matching its might against Dark Eldar.
10c Scions of the Storm 8/10 - Focuses on the Word Bearers, and ties in nicely with the subsequent First Heretic
10d The Voice 6.5/10 - Focused, on the Sisters of Silence. Revisits one of the characters from Flight of the Eisenstein
10e Call of the Lion 8/10 - Focused on the Dark Angels. Serves to highlight the brewing conflict of loyalties between Luther and the Lion
10f The Last Church 10/10 - Brilliant short story, focused on character development and defining the ideals of the Great Crusade.
10g After Desh’ea 10/10 - World Eaters short story. Basically one of Kharn's crowning moments of awesome. Also paints a surprisingly complex and tragic Angron, a far more compelling character than what you'd expect.

11 Fallen Angels 7.5/10 - Sequel to Descent of Angels. Decent book, all in all. However, it should also be mentioned that the epilogue contains the textbook definition of what a plot twist should be: well written, completely unexpected and relevant in the greater scheme of things.

12 A Thousand Sons 10/10 - This one is a brilliant book that any 40K fan should strive to read sooner rather than later. It's seeping with character development and good story telling, and the action is in no way disappointing either.

13 Nemesis 7/10 - Decent story that shifts focus away from the Astartes, and towards the unseen battles being fought in the name of the Emperor and the Warmaster. Without spoiling it too much, all I can say is that it's an assassin war, and the two leaders have different opinions on the merits of such a course of action.

14 The First Heretic 10/10 - Another brilliant book - definitely my favorite in the series so far. It's a character book first and foremost, and it brings forth quite a great deal of valid moral points that the Word Bearers must tackle in their quest for a new purpose. Even if you somehow end up hating the book, at the very least you'll acknowledge that it manages to portray Erebus as a far more compelling character than the previous 5 or 6 books have...

15 Prospero Burns 10/10 - Yet another splendid book. It's been marketed as a mirror image to the events of A Thousand Sons, but in reality it's far more than that. Pretty much the only way it could disappoint you is if you're actually expecting it to be exactly that.

16 Age of Darkness 9/10 - The second short story compilation in the series, and a great book all in all. There are two recurring themes that come up throughout most of the stories, namely Guilliman has a plan, and the Alpha Legion has a plan )

16a Rules of Engagement 9/10 - Ultramarines story. Read it until the very end before complaining that the author has mixed his fluff facts...
16b Liar’s Due 9/10 - Focused on the average Imperial citizen, caught in a civil war. The point of the story is to show just how far the two factions go to sway one planet in a million to their cause
16c Forgotten Son’s 8/10 - Focused on two loyalist Astartes, trying to sway a planet to the Imperium's cause. Serves pretty much the same point as Liar's Due
16d The Last Remembrancer 9/10 - Character story, focused on the hard choices even a primarch has to make in the dark times of the Heresy.
16e Rebirth 8/10 - Follow-up on one of A Thousand Sons' loose ends. Also ties in with the World Eaters arc, although not all the details of this arc are known yet
16f The Face of Treachery 9/10 - This one will make less sense if you haven't had a chance to hear Raven's Flight yet. Even so, it serves to illustrate how different the agendas of the Taitor Legions are, even mere days after Istvaan V
16g Little Horus 8/10 - Character story, focused on... well Little Horus' doubts about the events in the first three books.
16h The Iron Within 10/10 - Utterly brilliant Iron Warriors story. Surprisingly enough, the narration is quite poetic, even while the actual fighting is cold, methodical, mathematical and utterly pragmatical.
16i Savage Weapons 10/10 - Another excellent short story, pitting the Dark Angels against the Night Lords. It not only justifies the Dark Angels' absence from Terra, but also ties in nicely with some of the background from Aaron's Night lords series.

17 The Outcast Dead .../10 - Still reading this one...

18 Deliverance Lost 8/10 - Follows on from Raven's Flight (told ya you should listen to it). It's a pretty good book, and it not only clears up some of the Raven Guard background, but also offers new insight on the Emperor's plans. Also, the Alpha Legion is still awesome...

19 Know No Fear 8/10 - Great book, although it suffers from a very, very bloated start. It picks up along the way, though. Guilliman and the Ultramarines are surprisingly well portrayed, retaining their typical discipline and clinical approach, while still managing to be sympathetic individuals. The Word Bearers get less screen time than expected, but even they are generally depicted as fairly credible characters, rather than cardboard villains.

20 The Primarchs .../10 - Not read this one yet...

20a The Reflection Crack’d .../10
20b Feat of Iron .../10
20c The Lion .../10
20d The Serpent Beneath .../10

Novellas

Promethean Sun 7/10 - Interesting look into Vulkan's background, but not much other than that. Would have been more sympathetic towards it, if it wasn't for Aurelian delivering far more for the cost of a limited edition novella.

Aurelian 10/10 - Stunning novella, focused on Lorgar. It ties in quite nicely in with Fulgrim, A Thousand Sons and The First Heretic, and the perspective shifts between the days post Istvaan V and Lorgar's pilgrimage into the Warp. Definitely adds loads of content, and the writing is excellent.

Audio Dramas

The Dark King 8/10

The Lightning Tower 9/10

Ravens Flight 9/10

Garro: Oath of Moment 7.5/10

Garro: Legion of One 7.5/10

Butchers Nails 10/10 - Well, technically, 9/10 for its own value, as a part of the Heresy cycle. Couldn't resist giving it an extra point, just because chain axes and audio dramas are a good pairing.

[Wazzahamma]

Couldn't help writing once I got started (this is what happens when you use the word "review" rather than "rate", ha). Ignore as you will. Scores are still there.


1 Horus Rising 7.5/10 - Horus Rising was beautiful and extremely moving at times. I felt the characters all had dimension and seemed like real people. Loken wasn't particularly compelling, but he was likeable enough. Torgaddon was impressive and actually made me laugh. Horus' character was engaging and charming while his flaws were subtle and believable and also charming in their own fashion. It had the best depiction of Lucius I've read and the only one that makes any sense to me. This was my first taste of Abnett's ability to create a believable world and culture, one deep enough to immerse myself in. The plot was alright, it seemed like standard fantasy in space fare (we travel around a lot, meet people a lot, fight a lot, etc), but the sense of tragedy was well conveyed. It wasn't a great book by any stretch, but it was enough to hook me into 30k and convince me to read more.

2 False Gods 5/10 - The prose was passable, quite elegant at points and then downright pedestrian in others. The characters I'd enjoyed in the previous book had been replaced by people with the same names, except these ones were far more dull and a lot more obvious. Horus' conflict made no real sense, despite the plot and dialogue doing its best to make a point of it. I felt like there were 3 or 4 different Horus' swapping places from chapter to chapter. Torgaddon went from a powerfully irreverent and hilarious hero to an unfunny cheeseball and Loken just became diet-Loken. Everything in the book seemed to be trying too hard to emulate HR.

3 Galaxy in Flames 3/10 - Wow. Drop the ball and drop it hard. Drop it so bad all the girls watching laugh and never want to kiss you. A wasted opportunity. This story should have been heartbreaking and mind-shattering. It wasn't.

4 Flight of the Eisenstein 5/10 - This book almost made me give up the HH. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't exactly good either. Plot was standard, prose was passable, nothing really stood out or caught my interest. Attempts to give the DG a distinct culture of their own felt flat and without context (unlike the SoH in HR). Predictable character and story arcs, stereotypical characters presented in 1 dimension. I could tell who would live, die and turn evil from the first chapter and by the second one, I just didn't care.

5 Fulgrim 5/10 - Even though it wasn't part of the opening trilogy, McNeill still seemed to be emulating Horus Rising in structure and plot. The entire fall of the Emperor's Children was overly simplistic, cartoonish and sudden. I've never read a more shallow descent into debauchery, as none of the characters really struggled with their corruption. Demeter is never tempted to join his brothers in their descent or conflicted over his role, and Julius never fights to hold on to his original principles or sense of self. On the other hand, Fulgrim doesn't struggle mainly because he starts off as a tool and simply graduates into mastery of the art, removing any sense of tragedy or loss that the ending could have had. A redeeming feature was that McNiell managed to flip expectations as to which character would "fall" (Demeter seems a prime candidate when we first meet him).

6 Descent of Angels - Skipped.

7 Legion 8.5/10 - This was engrossing. All the things I liked about HR, I loved here. The Alpha Legion felt real to me, like they had their own distinct identity, unlike the EC and the DG before them and even moreso than the SoH from Horus Rising. Their philosophy and approach was at once unique in 30k, understandable, believable and engaging. I don't think I loved any of the characters much, but I found them all intriguing, and I felt the same about the plot. This book was the first HH I had read that deviated substantially from the fantasy "walk...err...fly here, fly there, meet people, kill people" plot that ran through most of the other books and I often felt like I didn't know what was coming next. The ending was abrupt, but that worked in its own way. The twist was sudden and brutal and I have a hard time imagining how adding more detail or length would enhance it, except for perhaps creating a smoother "stop" to the ride.

8 Battle for the Abyss - Skipped.

9 Mechanicum - Skipped

10 Tales of Heresy 6/10 - Mixed bag. Wolf at the Door bored me, and After Desh'ea was the most compelling. The rest were all "ok".

11 Fallen Angels - skipped

12 A Thousand Sons 7/10 - I really enjoyed this one from McNiell. A lot of my complaints from his previous novels are still present, but toned down here. Magnus' flaws were definitely obvious, but the way they would affect him and the other characters was not. The mix of hubris with genuine heart made him a compelling Primarch. I also found McNeill's depiction of the Space Wolves genuinely intimidating and frightful and the ending tragic (but also a bit clumsy and silly at points). The prose was the most elegant from him so far, and the theme really struck home.

13 Nemesis - Skipped

14 The First Heretic 8.5/10 - It had heart, idealism, tragedy and possibly one the best "fall to chaos" I've seen and certainly the most interesting. None of which was obvious or what you might expect; the idea that it was almost Argel Tal's duty to become corrupt was...great. And bloody heartbreaking too. Both ABD and Abnett are the only authors so far that I've seen bring different tones and shades to the HH series, both of them being able to write tragedy and comedy into their tales. The deviation from linear story telling was greatly effective and not used for its own sake. This was also the first time I found chaos genuinely disturbing. It was a complex story without being convoluted. The weight of everything was felt, the sense of urgency was there throughout, pace, character...and the one liners! The most quotable HH book so far.

15 Prospero Burns 8.5/10 - I loved this. Probably for all the reasons people hated it. I felt completely and utterly immersed in the world of the Vlka Fenryka to the point where I felt strange coming back into the real world. Again, Abnett's world-building and ability to make me believe in the history, culture and existence of a particular legion is what drew me in, and this was the best so far. For a legion I was never interested in before, I was utterly fascinated the entire time and I was happy the Thousand Sons didn't take too much page time away from them. And it was nice to see Fulgrim written well, even if only for a page or two. Russ' character was hugely enjoyable- savage and playful at the same time. Not to mention his sense of melancholy, which was unexpected. There's a sense of beauty and elegance to this story, even though it deals with furious and violent themes. I loved the open-ended nature of the last chapter and the mystery overall.

16 Age of Darkness 6.5/10 -A mixed bag, but a more enjoyable one than the previous collection of shorts. Little Horus and Savage Weapons were my favs, Forgotten Sons and Rebirth were a bit stupid. The Last Remembrancer was quite moving.

The Dark King 3/10 Every problem I've had with Mcneill's writing amplified by...a lot.

The Lightning Tower 6/10 It was interesting enough, but nothing amazing.

[Ragnarfan_12]

1 Horus Rising 8/10
2 False Gods 8/10
3 Galaxy in Flames 9/10
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 6.5/10
5 Fulgrim 8.5/10
6 Descent of Angels 7/10
7 Legion 8/10
8 Battle for the Abyss 8/10
9 Mechanicum 7/10
10 Tales of Heresy 5/10
11 Fallen Angels 7.5/10
12 A Thousand Sons 9/10
13 Nemesis 6/10
14 The First Heretic 8/10
15 Prospero Burns 6/10
16 Age of Darkness 8/10
17 The Outcast Dead 4/10
18 Deliverance Lost 6.5/10
19 Know no Fear 7/10
20 The Primarchs 7.5/10

[Danteng7]

1 Horus Rising 9/10 The first book that starts it all. A fresh and first look into the 30k setting.
2 False Gods 7/10
3 Galaxy in Flames 8/10
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 9/10 One of my Fav... somehow it gives me the Alien/Event Horizon kinda feelings.
5 Fulgrim 8/10
6 Descent of Angels 6/10
7 Legion 7/10
8 Battle for the Abyss 5/10 Just like your average 40k book.
9 Mechanicum 7/10
10 Tales of Heresy 7/10 The Last Church is certainly the best in this book.
10a Blood Games 6/10
10b Wolf at the Door 6/10
10c Scions of the Storm 6/10
10d The Voice 6/10
10e Call of the Lion 6/10
10f The last Church 9/10
10g After Desh’ea 6/10
11 Fallen Angels 6/10
12 A Thousand Sons 9/10 After a series of medicore books since the brillant start, the 1K sons pick it up again.
13 Nemesis 7/10
14 The First Heretic 8/10
15 Prospero Burns 6/10
16 Age of Darkness 7/10
16a Rules of Engagement 6/10
16b Liar’s Due 6/10
16c Forgotten Son’s 6/10
16d The Last Remembrancer 6/10
16e Rebirth 6/10
16f The Face of Treachery 6/10
16g Little Horus 7/10
16h The Iron Within 7/10
16i Savage Weapons 6/10
17 The Outcast Dead 7/10
18 Deliverance Lost 8/10
19 Know no Fear 9/10 Maybe a 2 book will help development the characters better. There are so much more to be told.
20 The Primarchs .../10 Have not read it yet.
20a The Reflection Crack’d .../10
20b Feat of Iron .../10
20c The Lion .../10
20d The Serpent Beneath .../10

Novellas
Promethean Sun 7/10
Aurelian 8/10

Audio Dramas
The Dark King 9/10 I rate this based on the chapbook i read.
The Lightning Tower 8/10
Ravens Flight 7/10
Garro: Oath of Moment 7/10
Garro: Legion of One 7/10
Butchers Nails .../10

[FlashGordon]

1 Horus Rising 9/10
2 False Gods 9/10
3 Galaxy in Flames 8/10
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 6/10
5 Fulgrim 9/10
6 Descent of Angels 7/10
7 Legion 8/10
8 Battle for the Abyss 7/10
9 Mechanicum 9/10
10 Tales of Heresy 8/10
10a Blood Games 8/10
10b Wolf at the Door 8/10
10c Scions of the Storm 7/10
10d The Voice 7/10
10e Call of the Lion 7/10
10f The last Church 9/10
10g After Desh’ea 9/10
11 Fallen Angels 7/10
12 A Thousand Sons 9/10
13 Nemesis 3/10 (never even finished this piece of oopsie)
14 The First Heretic 8/10
15 Prospero Burns 9/10
16 Age of Darkness 7/10
16a Rules of Engagement 8/10
16b Liar’s Due 3/10
16c Forgotten Son’s 8/10
16d The Last Remembrancer 8/10
16e Rebirth 7/10
16f The Face of Treachery 7/10
16g Little Horus 9/10
16h The Iron Within 9/10
16i Savage Weapons 7/10
17 The Outcast Dead 7/10
18 Deliverance Lost 7/10
19 Know no Fear 9/10
20 The Primarchs 9/10
20a The Reflection Crack’d 9/10
20b Feat of Iron 7/10
20c The Lion 9/10
20d The Serpent Beneath 9/10

Novellas
Promethean Sun 6/10
Aurelian 7/10

Audio Dramas
The Dark King 10/10
The Lightning Tower 10/10
Ravens Flight 7/10
Garro: Oath of Moment 6/10
Garro: Legion of One 6/10
Butchers Nails -/10


Well thats my 2 cents.

[Animal310]

1 Horus Rising 9/10 - Great start to the series, loved Horus.
2 False Gods 7/10 - Enjoyed it, too much procrastinating from Loken however.
3 Galaxy in Flames 4/10 - Missed opportunity, was functional but that's it. Suffers from sub par author. If only ABD had been around at the time!
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 8/10 - Good but would have liked to have seen Grulgor's fate portrayed better (like him suffering really badly)
5 Fulgrim 9/10 - One of my favourites, thought Fulgrim's fate very powerful
6 Descent of Angels 2/10 -Boring and pointless, what on earth were they thinking?
7 Legion 10/10 - Absolutely fantastic from start to finish. Loved it, one of the best books I've read.
8 Battle for the Abyss 5/10 - Not very good at all but not as bad as people make out. Counter is just not up to standard unfortunately
9 Mechanicum 9/10 - Great book by Graham again. Could have done with more Imperial Fists though.
10 Tales of Heresy 5.5/10
10a Blood Games 5/10 - Was ok but didn't grab me.
10b Wolf at the Door 1/10 - What on earth has this got to do with the Horus Heresy exactly? Anybody? Mike?
10c Scions of the Storm 7/10 - Lorgar, what a bastard.
10d The Voice 3/10 - Didn't find it interesting.
10e Call of the Lion 8/10 - My favourite of the bunch. Mike Lee obviously studied this at length to get Astellan down to a tee in Fallen Angels: NOT.
10f The last Church 7/10 - Good effort.
10g After Desh’ea 8/10 Second favourite of the bunch.
11 Fallen Angels 1/10 - Total crap. Did Mike write this while he was drunk or did he get a five year old to do it for him? Astellan contradictions anybody?
12 A Thousand Sons 9/10 - Another very strong entry from Graham. Remebrencers story arc seemed unfinished tho?
13 Nemesis 8/10 - I really enjoyed this look at the Heresy from a different angle. Come on tho James, how hard is it to get the correct armour colours?
14 The First Heretic 10/10 - Magnificent, a pleasure to read.
15 Prospero Burns 3/10 No the fans won't want to see the Emperor's orders or Horus's intervention at all. Instead I'll do a boring book about some boring bloke. Really Dan?
16 Age of Darkness 6.4/10
16a Rules of Engagement 3/10 - Found it boring
16b Liar’s Due 6/10 - Different, only ok tho.
16c Forgotten Son’s 6/10 - A better effort from Nick
16d The Last Remembrancer 7/10 Reasonably entertaining.
16e Rebirth 9/10 The best of the lot. Loved the twist.
16f The Face of Treachery 8/10 Strong effort
16g Little Horus 7/10 Thought Aximand may have been heading in another direction.
16h The Iron Within 3/10 - Why do all the traitor Legions have to have a split. Pointless.
16i Savage Weapons 9/10 - Excellent ADB work again. Would have liked to know what they talked about on their walk tho.
17 The Outcast Dead 0/10 - Horrendous mess. Totally unforgivable continuity shambles. Did Graham even write this or has he just lost the plot?
18 Deliverance Lost 3/10 - Poor overall, Alpha legion handled badly. Reason for mutation handled badly. Just poor.
19 Know no Fear 8/10 - Thankfully Dan back to form but too many story threads went nowhere.
20 The Primarchs 3/10
20a The Reflection Crack’d 2/10 Rubbish overall. No explanation of anything and again contradicts other work in the series. I'm dreading Angel Exterminatus.
20b Feat of Iron 1/10 Probably the most boring thing I have every read in my life containing characters that took one dimensional to the max!
20c The Lion 7/10 - Had high and low points. Enjoyed overall.
20d The Serpent Beneath 2/10 - Another storyline shocker from Sanders. Boo.

Novellas
Promethean Sun 1/10 The second most boring thing I have ever read in my life. Pointless 'bolter porn' throughout. More one dimensional characters. Interchangeable in fact with those in Feat of Iron.
Aurelian 10/10 - Lorgar's reaction to 'Fulgrim'; priceless.

Audio Dramas
The Dark King 8/10 - Konrad being a psycho
The Lightning Tower 8/10 Liked the references to the second and eleventh Legions and their Primarchs.
Ravens Flight 6/10 - Ok
Garro: Oath of Moment 4/10 - Just boring, and what happened to the other Death Guard?
Garro: Legion of One 7/10 - Nice to see a return of a favourite. Did he have to have turned into a nutter though?
Butchers Nails 8/10 - I don't really like audio books but liked this.

[Kiro]

1 Horus Rising 8/10


2 False Gods 8/10


3 Galaxy in Flames 8/10

Unlike other books in the series I never had the opportunity to re-read the opening trilogy, and aside from the broadstrokes of plot outline, I'm struggling to remember the details.


4 Flight of the Eisenstein 7/10
Well written, fun book, but I was very disappointed by the lack of information on the Death Guard's conversion to Chaos.


5 Fulgrim 7/10
I really liked Saul Tarvitz.


6 Legion 7/10
First book that made me hiccup more about writing style than plot content. Very slow build up in the beginning. Could have done with stretching out the end a little more. Cabal was a neat idea.

7 Battle for the Abyss 3/10
Bad. Not as terrible as people make it out to be, it seems more rather subpar next to the greats that came before and after


8 Tales of Heresy 5/10
The only story that really stood out for me was the World Eater yarn.


9 A Thousand Sons 10/10
As a Thousand Sons gamer, I was more than satisfied with the way the Sons were handled.

10 Nemesis 2/10
I'm going to slate it as worse than BFtA, due to some glaring lore inconsistencies.

11 The First Heretic 9/10
I think this pretty much sums up the way I feel:

Just...wow. I had never even heard of ADB before this novel, and, well, this novel will show you why his fanboy base is increasing exponentially. Best in the series.

12 Age of Darkness 8/10
Much, much better than Tales of Heresy. Rebirth was equal parts tantalising, and satisfying. Savage Weapons - always a pleasure to read ADB's work, always a pleasure to see a Primarch v Primarch bust up. Slight annoyance with Face of Treachery, the 'reveal' at the end doesn't really make any sense until you read Deliverance Lost


13 The Outcast Dead 4/10
Point deducted for the egregious timeline boob introduced in this.


14 Deliverance Lost 7/10


15 Know no Fear 7/10
Mmmhhh, a little by-the-numbers, but that doesn't make this any less enjoyable.

16 The Primarchs 7/10
I've only managed to read The Relfection Crack'd and Feat of Iron. The former was quite satisfying, especially the 50-1 brawl at the end. The latter was a little formulaic. Point deducted for the lack of coverage on Primarchs we haven't seen much of yet.


17 Aurelian 8/10
Another brilliant piece by ADB, all points ticked. A little miffed at Lorgar being able to contend with Magnus as a psyker, but that's small fries.


18 The Dark King 7/10
Excellent. However, there was a minor plot inconsistency until at least Outcast Dead explained it away (the NL being at Istvaan).


19 The Lightning Tower 6/10
Some good exposition on Dorn's part, but nothing really....happens.

20 Ravens Flight 8/10
I don't really care much for Corax or the Raven Guard, but I really enjoyed this; hearing Corax ripping through squads of Iron Warriors, and his thoughts on the Primarchs' turning balanced out the whole story.

21 Garro: Oath of Moment 8/10
Pretty good. I actually thought Rubio was voiced by Sean Pertwee!

22 Garro: Legion of One 7/10
Hmmm, yes and no on this one. I found it jarring they didn't keep the same voice actor from Oath of Moment, the new guy makes Garro sound really, really old. Loken being alive is...great. I just think his 'mania' was a little OTT

23 Butchers Nails 9/10
Utterly fantastic. I loved the characterisation of Angron and Lorgar, you can really see how he's changed since TFH, and yet there are still elements of his old character

[Tymell]

1 Horus Rising - 8/10

• It's been a long time and I'm meaning to re-read these early ones, but from what I remember this is a fine introduction. Sets things up well.

2 False Gods - 6/10

• Again I need to go back to this one, but I remember that despite some cool scenes here and there, this one felt like it didn't delve into Horus and the motivations behind his betrayal enough.

3 Galaxy in Flames - 7/10

• Kind of suffers from the same problem as False Gods, but has a good deal more enjoyable and memorable action.

4 Flight of the Eisenstein - 7.5/10

• Good handling of this key story, no complaints here, does what it needs to.

5 Fulgrim - 9/10

• Some folks dislike the daemon sword aspect, but I don't think it was as straightforward as "the sword did it", rather it nudged Fulgrim's vanity along that path. Great descent into depravity.

6 Descent of Angels - 3/10

• One of two that I couldn't finish, the characters are just so painfully boring and lifeless.

7 Legion - 7.5/10

• This one can be difficult to follow at times, but that's kind of the point. Lots of good moments though, even if the flow could be a little better.

8 Battle for the Abyss - 2/10

• As many have testified already, this is firmly the worst of the series. The writing is terrible (do we really need several pages giving us the minute details of a ship pulling out of port? Really?) and the story is dull. The second that I couldn't finish, but I'd read enough.

9 Mechanicum - 7.5/10

• A nice look at the Red Planet, I particularly liked the depiction of how Chaos corrupts even the tech. The ending is a bit limp though.

10 Tales of Heresy - 7.5/10

• A pretty good compilation, some good, some bad:

10a Blood Games - 7/10

• Okay, does what it wants to, nothing more.

10b Wolf at the Door - 3/10

• A few Space Wolves merrily slaughter their way through half of Commorragh. Uber-marine trash.

10c Scions of the Storm - 8/10

• A good hint at the corruption of Lorgar's nature.

10d The Voice - 7.5/10

• Like Blood Games there's not a lot to say about this one, it works alright.

10e Call of the Lion - 4/10

• Achieves absolutely nothing, just feels like a half finished effort.

10f The Last Church - 9/10

• A concise look at part of the Emperor's mission, I liked it for having the willingness to address this.

10g After Desh’ea - 9/10

• Excellent, a surprisingly deep look at Angron that makes me want to see more of the World Eaters by the author.

11 Fallen Angels - ?/10

• Not read it (and probably not going to considering how bad the previous Dark Angels one was).

12 A Thousand Sons - 8.5/10

• Another good look at a 'traitor' legion, this one all the more poignant because they never truly betray the Emperor. The only thing holding it back is I feel the tragedy of Magnus' hubris could have been a bit better fleshed out.

13 Nemesis - 6/10

• The concept is cool and parts of it well executed (no pun intended), but other parts are just silly charicatures and let it down.

14 The First Heretic - 10/10

• Compelling characters, perfect pacing and a genuinely believable and tragic fall. The best the series has to offer so far, this is the benchmark by which all others should be measured.

15 Prospero Burns - 9/10

• By far the most interesting portrait of the Wolves I've read, you can really tell Abnett did a lot of preparation. Proper depth replaces "space marines with viking bits". A must have for any fan of the legion.

16 Age of Darkness - 6.5/10

• Weaker than the last compilation, it says something that I struggle to remember what happened in some of them even having read it much more recently. There's just too much filler and padding that doesn't achieve much.

16a Rules of Engagement - 7/10

• Reasonable, but doesn't cover any new ground.

16b Liar’s Due - 7.5/10

• I did enjoy the misinformation line this took, but it's more interesting like that than truly entertaining.

16c Forgotten Sons - 5/10

• Meh, this one didn't do much for me, and the idea of the traitor marines causing that much havoc so easily is just silly.

16d The Last Remembrancer - 9/10

• This is much more like it. A great illustration of the subtler way Horus has already ended the Imperium's golden age.

16e Rebirth - 5/10

• Meh. Again, this one's competant enough but doesn't do much of interest. The Thousand Sons are also too readily accepting of their new situation, and the characterisation of the World Eaters wasn't as good as in other stories.

16f The Face of Treachery - 7/10

• Just feels like a preview for Deliverance Lost.

16g Little Horus - 4/10

• Checks in on Horus Aximand and that's it. Another competantly written but ultimately pointless story.

16h The Iron Within - 8/10

• I love seeing the loyalist factions of tratior legions, it helps flesh things out. This one does the Iron Warriors proud, showing their staunch nobility in a rousing story of defiance against their traitor brethren.

16i Savage Weapons - 7/10

• Cool depiction of the on-going Dark Angels - Night Lords coflict, but I would've liked to have seen a good bit more interaction between the two primarchs. I did like how ADB had Curze say exactly what a lot of people in the real life community have been speculating about Lion, very nice

17 The Outcast Dead - 8/10

• Despite the infamous chronology problem, this one's actually enjoyable for the most part. The writing is good, I care about the characters, and it gives an exciting look at Terra. Though it does stumble in making one character stupidly over-powered for what he is.

18 Deliverance Lost - 8/10

• A solid, action-packed story, great pacing that held my interest throughout this look at one of the lesser-known legions.

19 Know No Fear - 9/10

• Another of the best. Manages to be action-driven without devoling into bolter porn. The tension of the countdown and then the sense of chaos and betrayal are all conveyed wonderfully, and Abnett succeeds in making the Ultramarines and Guilliman interesting to read about despite being one of the more 'vanilla' legions.

20 The Primarchs - 7.5/10

• Three good, one lousey.

20a The Reflection Crack’d - 9/10

• Serves as a superb epilogue to Fulgrim, showing what depths the he and his legion have sunk to (and dealing with a certain contentious point too).

20b Feat of Iron - 8/10

• Gives us a great study of Ferrus Manus, his character and motivations.

20c The Lion - 7.5/10

• Shows an enticing look at Lion and throws up interesting questions about him and his legion.

20d The Serpent Beneath - 5.5/10

• Just kind of boring, it just goes through the motions and has very little focus on the primarch(s) considering the anthology title.

21 Fear to Tread - 8/10

• A great telling of the Signus event. The horror of the daemonic infestation is well done, and Swallow has an excellent handle on Sanguinius and his relationship with Horus.

22 Shadows of Treachery - 6.5/10

• This compilation has a real spread of quality, ranging from masterful work like Prince of Crows down to character-ruining dross like The Lightning Tower.

22a The Crimson Fist - 6/10

• The writing feels good, and yet I found a lot of this novella boring, to the point where I was skipping whole paragraphs. In fairness, this might just be because I find naval/space combat incredibly boring, and there’s a lot of that. The Imperial Fists are shown well, the Iron Warriors not so much.

22b The Dark King - 8/10

• A concise little tale giving us an effective glimpse at Konrad Curze. Does it’s job well as a brief look at the Night Haunter, giving a good account of Curze’s personality and what drives him to the extreme actions he undertakes shortly before the Heresy.

22c The Lightning Tower - 2/10

• I love portrayals of the primarchs that infuse them with human flaws and natures, but this one takes it way too far with Rogal Dorn. Instead of a stony, fearless, uncompromising warrior we get a doubt-filled, fearful wreck wearing his emotions on his sleeve. The story's whole purpose is to look at his fears, which is ridiculous: examining the fears of the very embodiment of fearless determination is like having a Batman story that examines how incompetent he is.

22d The Kaban Project - 7/10

• Good set up for Mechanicum, but I would have liked to have seen more of the Kaban Project itself.

22e Raven's Flight - 8/10

• Does a great job in firmly establishing the character and style of the Raven Guard. Corax is superb, given proper depth and development, as well as some suitably badass moments. Leaves the reader hungry for more.

22f Death of a Silversmith - 5/10

• Good concept, mostly well-written...but there appear to be several glaring chronology inconsistencies, so bad it makes me wonder if I'm just missing something.

22g Prince of Crows - 9.5/10

• ADB’s work superb as ever, unrivalled as he is at making astartes (and primarchs) three-dimensional, giving them human characteristics while still keeping them firmly as transhumans. The writing of Curze is absolutely pitch perfect, showing why he thinks and acts the way he does, crafting a broken monster to admire and pity in equal amounts.

Promethean Sun - 6/10

• I don't think this one's as bad as some make out, but it's nothing special either. Nice to see Vulkan and the Salamanders, and I think they're handled okay, but parts of it are daft, especially the flashback where young Vulkan slaughters Dark Eldar Incubi and their Archon with his bare hands and comes out with barely a scratch. I wish I was joking.

Aurelian - 9/10

• Bridges and links together a whole host of novels, following up existing ones and setting up future pieces, while giving us insight into Lorgar's turn to Chaos. ADB's writing is masterful as ever, making us really empathise with Lorgar and his new holy crusade, it's a joy to see him handling so many primarchs.

Garro: Oath of Moment - 7.5/10

• A neat little tale continuing Garro’s story, which I was very happy to see. It fits in with existing plot threads but feels self-contained enough to still be satisfying in it’s own right, a fine short story that leaves plenty more potential for the future. The narrator does a good job putting passion into it all, enhanced wonderfully by the music and effects, but some of his voices are cringe-worthy and detract from things, in particular Malcador, who at times sounds like a bad Yoda impression. Garro’s instant acceptance by the Ultramarines was a bit of a plot hole too.

Garro: Legion of One - 7/10

• I won’t deny,
  seeing this story unfold and find out that Loken is still alive is exciting, if only for the harking back to when I read that first trilogy
  . Simple maybe, but effective. However, Tob Longworth still can’t do voices, he really needs others to join him while he narrates. His new Garro voice is just embarrassing, and Varren isn’t much better.

Butchers Nails - 8/10

• A nice interlude tying into Angron and Lorgar's threads, picking up from Aurelian and setting us up for Betrayer. ADB's usual superb writing, but the voices are a bit mixed: Angron's isn't deep enough for me, and Lorgar's is a bit nasally, while the voices of Kharn, Argel Tal and the Conqueror's captain are perfect.

Grey Angel - 6/10

• A good look at Luther and a glimpse of Caliban in the midst of the Heresy, but it's short length cripples any chance it might have of really achieving anything. As it is it just feels like an interlude or pro/epilogue more than a story of it's own.

Army of One - ?/10
Not read yet.

Kryptos - ?/10
Not read yet.

16h The Iron Within 3/10 - Why do all the traitor Legions have to have a split.

Because it makes sense that in legions of a hundred thousand plus marines, some spread out across numerous locations, there might be at least a few that don't agree with the betrayal of the Emperor? Honestly, it would be utterly ridiculous if there -weren't- such splits.

That, and they've hardly been a focus nor as common as "all the traitor legions". Isstvan III saw four of the legions purged of those elements, with a handful escaping for Flight of the Eisenstein. Iron Within showed us a group that has been isolated during the betrayal. Garro: Sword of Truth might show us a few more that escaped Isstvan. That's...about it. Hardly a big feature.

22 Garro: Legion of One 7/10
Hmmm, yes and no on this one. I found it jarring they didn't keep the same voice actor from Oath of Moment, the new guy makes Garro sound really, really old.

Actually, that -was- the same voice actor He just, for some reason, decided to change his Garro voice (to a much weaker one IMO)

[[SD]Daenyathos]

1 Horus Rising 9/10
2 False Gods 8.5/10
3 Galaxy in Flames 8.5/10
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 9.5/10
5 Fulgrim 8/10
6 Descent of Angels 8.5/10
7 Legion 7.5/10
8 Battle for the Abyss 6/10
9 Mechanicum 8.5/10
10 Tales of Heresy 8/10
11 Fallen Angels 8/10
12 A Thousand Sons 8.5/10
13 Nemesis 7.5/10
14 The First Heretic 8/10
15 Prospero Burns 7.5/10
16 Age of Darkness 8/10
17 The Outcast Dead 8/10
18 Deliverance Lost 8/10
19 Know no Fear 8.5/10
20 The Primarchs 8/10
21 Fear to Tread 5/10


Short Story
Kryptos 8/10

Novellas
Promethean Sun 8/10
Aurelian 8/10

Audio Dramas
The Dark King 8.5/10
The Lightning Tower 8.5/10
Ravens Flight 8.5/10
Garro: Oath of Moment 8/10
Garro: Legion of One 9/10
Butcher's Nails 8/10
Grey Angel 8/10