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The Primarchs. Christian Dunn (2012)

by Christian Dunn(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1849702071 (ISBN13: 9781849702072)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Black Library

series

The Horus Heresy

review 1: 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 McN... moreeill'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.
review 2: Three of the four novellas are inconsequential and a chore to get through. This collection is mostly filler and a waste of time. The first story (Graham McNeill) is relevant and interesting, but there's a long torture scene that's so explicit and perverse, I felt like I was reading some sort of fetishistic pornography. I guess that's completely appropriate given the themes present, but what a disturbing tone. less

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