Know No Fear by Dan Abnett

Unaware of the wider Heresy and following the Warmaster’s increasingly cryptic orders, Roboute Guilliman returns to Ultramar to muster his Legion for war against the orks massing in the Veridian system. Without warning, their supposed allies in the Word Bearers Legion launch a devastating invasion of Calth, scattering the Ultramarines fleet and slaughtering all who stand in their way.

And so begins the 19th book of the Horus Heresy series.

The first thing you notice is that KNF is presented in the style of a chronicle of the battle of Calth rather than an out-and-out novel like its predecessors, the heading of each chapter showing the countdown to when Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines, gives the order to return fire. It’s a very clever device, adding to the tension as the Word Bearers make their final preparations amidst the unsuspecting Ultramarines who are denied the reader’s knowledge. It’s a bold move, perhaps borne of the fact that the subheading on the cover is ‘The Battle of Calth’, or that ultimately the entire Horus Heresy is a retrospective study of what shaped the 41st millennium into the no-hugs-just-war hellhole that the rest of 40K is set in. Whatever the root of the idea, it works. This is a huge confrontation, one that ranks right up there with the Dropsite Massacre in terms of impact, and it deserves the epic tone that this approach gives it. It’s tricky to put exactly why and how it works into words, but it does (hence Dan being the NYT bestselling author and not me).

It’s a hybrid approach, made up of varying percentages of found footage, military report and typical third person narrative, and what that does is enable Dan to convey the sheer scope of the battle while seamlessly blending in the facets of the battle from the perspective of a range of Space Marines and troopers scattered across the battlefields. Through their eyes we are afforded a glimpse of uncounted moments of otherwise unseen heroism and bear witness to their deaths. The scope and intensity of the unadulterated violence that is unleashed is no less than awesome. There’s a very real sense of how utterly lethal and unforgiving a battle between Space Marines would be. You can tell Dan was having some real fun with this, and has really pulled the stops out in the action stakes; it’s crisp, dark and relentless, and reaffirms why he’s the crown prince of military sci-fi.

The stars of the show are the Ultramarines and how they react to the invasion as they’re steadily pushed to the brink of destruction. It’s a good insight into their psyche at that time, and an interesting take on how they assess and deal with such threats. Guilliman too gets a similar treatment, and while he doesn’t get as much attention lavished on him as, say, Corax did in Deliverance Lost, he’s nonetheless fleshed out and given more character. And he swears. I hooted with childish glee when Lorgar resorts to calling him a “giant pompous arsehole”. Thank you, Dan. They’re Primarchs. Soldiers, albeit on a scale we can’t really appreciate, but they’re not saints.

KNF clocks in at a respectable 412 pages and is a novel of epic, brutal proportions. I finished it over two days of commuting, including two jealously guarded lunch hours where I sat transfixed by blood, betrayal and heroism next to my cold and forgotten coffee. To say that I enjoyed it is an understatement, and my only complaint is that I want more.

You can watch the trailer here, read an extract of KNF here and visit Dan's blog here.

Remember that Dan will be at Games Workshop Plaza, Oxford Street on the 18th Feb (starting at 12 noon) where he'll be signing of Know No Fear!

Deliverance Lost by Gav Thorpe

As the Horus Heresy divides the Imperium, Corax and his few remaining Raven Guard escape the massacre at Isstvan V. Tending to their wounds, the bloodied Space Marines endeavour to replenish their numbers and return to the fray, taking the fight to the traitor Warmaster. Distraught at the crippling blow dealt to his Legion, Corax returns to Terra to seek the aid of his father – the Emperor of Mankind. Granted access to ancient secrets, Corax begins to rebuild the Raven Guard, planning his revenge against his treacherous brother primarchs. But not all his remaining warriors are who they appear to be… the mysterious Alpha Legion have infiltrated the survivors and plan to destroy the Raven Guard before they can rebuild and threaten Horus’s plans.

The Raven Guard and the Alpha Legion in one book. Yes please.

Deliverance Lost picks up from the groundwork laid by the Raven’s Flight audio drama, and while they compliment each other, both work equally well on their own. It begins in the aftermath of the infamous Dropsite Massacre, when those Legions who had sided with Horus turned their guns on their erstwhile brothers in open combat for the first time. The Raven Guard were there, and suffered enormous, traumatic losses in the opening battle. The few thousand who survived fled across the mountains of Isstvan, harried by the traitor legions at every turn until a daring rescue is enacted, their remaining ships braving the stellar blockade to snatch the survivors and their primarch Corax away.

This is the story of what happened after Corax and his surviving legionaries escaped- and the escape itself is a well crafted bit of interstellar cat- and- mouse. The effect of that shocking betrayal isn't glossed over, and Space Marine or not, those who survive can't escape a measure of survivors guilt and it's clear enough that had they not been Space Marines, chances are that they would have have spent the years ahead getting over varying degrees of post traumatic stress rather than plotting their revenge. While their armoursmiths work around the clock to bring them back to battle readiness, Corax turns their remaining fleet towards Terra to report to the Emperor in person, and seek his counsel. It’s not an easy meeting, for this is in the wake of Magnus the Red’s sorcerous intervention and the Emperor is fighting his own war against the denizens of the warp. If you’ve read The Outcast Dead, you’ll benefit from having an understanding of the mood on Terra when the Raven Guard arrive. Having been granted access to a carefully guarded secret, Corax and his survivors return to Deliverance to prepare the Raven Guard for a new generation of Space Marines. Corax’ origins and the history of Deliverance is drip fed throughout, which works quite well as it doesn’t clutter up the main plot. I would have liked to have seen more of the Raven Guard in action myself- I like their hit and run philosophy and general attitude, but it's not a deal breaker.

When we attended Black Library Live last year, one of the question posed to the authors was what was your favourite Horus Heresy novel so far; the answer was Legion, the story of Alpharius, Omegon and the Alpha Legion. Masters of deception and misdirection, the Alpha Legion follow their own agenda, and this mission is no exception. Having adopted the faces and memories of fallen Raven Guard, they’re simply waiting for the right moment to act. Most of their ‘screen time’ is from the perspective of one the infiltrators (called Alpharius, oddly enough), and while his loyalty to his own Legion is unquestioned, he can’t help but feel a camaraderie with the squad he’s part of. He’s a likeable character, even though you know that at the end of the day he’s going to have be a real bastard.

Knowing that Alpharius and his fellow Alphas are closing in creates a nice undercurrent of tension as Corax forges ahead with the technology that the Emperor has granted him. When the Alphas play their hand, it’s a cleverly orchestrated setup that really exemplifies their ‘outside the box’ approach to warfare.

Despite the relative paucity of blazing bolters, DL reads very quickly and doesn’t suffer for the lack thereof. There’s more than enough anger, revenge betrayal and honour going on in there to hook you and keep you turning the pages, and it ends on the same kind of note as the “Let’s hunt some orc” scene from the Fellowship of the Ring. I really enjoyed it- it’s a solid, all round addition to the Horus Heresy series, which only seems to be getting better with each instalment.



You can read an extract here and visit Gav's website there.

Guest Review: The Outcast Dead

I'm very leased to be able to introduce Sarah Cawkwell's guest review of the latest instalment of the best-selling Horus Heresy series. We've been chatting to Sarah (a.k.a @pyroriffic) for some time now and have vicariously shared the giddy excitement of her induction into the ranks of the Black Library's team of authors (more on that below).

With that thought in mind, I thought it would be interesting to have her perspective on The Outcast Dead. So, without further ado...

The Outcast Dead

A spoiler-free review by Sarah Cawkwell

It may come as no surprise to those of you who know me to realise that one of my favourite traits in any character is a tendency to a delicious brand of grumpy, self-inverted sulkiness. Oh, angst. How I love you. (Not the brooding, sparkly Twilight kind of angst, but the proper ‘I’ve really suffered’ kind). Don’t ask me why; it’s a trait I find incredibly irritating in real life. But I like my heroes to be less than likeable and to be packed to the gunwhales with personality flaws and nuances. It’s some kind of inverse physics thing, perhaps. The less inherently likeable a character, the more I seem to like them. It's similar to my theory on the fact that the smaller the handbag, the more rubbish you can fit in it.

Whatever the reason, I am filled to the brim with undying love for Kai Zulane, one of the central protagonists as featured in Graham McNeill’s latest addition to the million-selling Horus Heresy series. The Outcast Dead is set almost entirely on Terra and is a 'Meanwhile...' piece. It opens the eyes of the reader quite widely to life elsewhere in the Imperium whilst the Adeptus Astartes are going through the wringer millions of miles away. It primarily follows the (mis)adventures of an unlikely hero in the shape of an astropath who is the unwilling carrier of a vital message. This message must be delivered at all costs and he falls into the care of an even more unlikely and largely reluctant band of protectors.

There are other plots woven neatly into the story as well, with some excellent cross-over and more than one or two surprises.

Because this is a spoiler-free review, I’m going to come straight to the point here. I liked this book. It reads well, has a great story that reaches a satisfactory resolution and a brilliant cast of great characters (including the aforementioned astropath). But I may be biaised. I have a particular love for character-driven stories and also for astropaths and psykers of any kind, so for them to form the core of a story is my idea of a good time. It’s like a party that just won’t quit. There is a delicious mix of psykers you like and psykers you don’t. And then the eponymous Outcast Dead of the title are thrown into the mix and it all goes a bit wild and crazy.

Which is no bad thing in my opinion.

I’ve always found the illustrious Mr. McNeill presents characters with whom it is easy to engage, although not always necessarily easy to identify with. I’m unlikely to ever be an astropath, for example. This both pleases me and in my nerdier moments, invokes a certain air of resentment. Because apart from the down side of, you know, losing your eyes, your identity and all the other stuff… you’d be an astropath. Which would be kind of cool. Sucky, but cool.

I digress. I do that.

Anyway.

When you find out what it was that happened to Kai to make him into the Grumpiest Man Alive, you do feel a certain pity for him. I wanted to know what happened to him and then later, I wanted to know what happened to the Outcast Dead. That wanting to know turned into needing to know. And it was this Need To Know that kept me eagerly turning pages until I tragically ran out of book.

With The Outcast Dead, readers are treated to an entirely different side of the Heresy. Away from the militarian, organised lives of the Legiones Astartes, ordinary citizens are going about their business… but this is a world in which things are constantly changing, where the bad guys are evolving all the time (sometimes quite literally)… and the ordinary soon morph into the extraordinary with disastrous consequences for our protagonists.

This isn’t your average Horus Heresy book. Whilst there are Space Marines present and at least one primarch puts in an appearance, there is a distinct absence of full-on battle scenes. For many, this may cause them to dismiss the book out of hand. But for all those people – and there are many of them – who often bemoan the fact that the Black Library don’t publish books that are more character driven… well, they should grab this one.

It’s quite heartfelt in places and as a reader, I appreciate it when I genuinely care enough about a character to care what happens to them. By the end of the book, my initial fondness for Mr. Grumpy had gone all the way through deep pity and out the other side into enormous respect.

It’s a tale about courage and determination, about understanding one’s duty, about loyalty and even about friendships in the face of the worst kind of adversity. It adds gently to the Horus Heresy mythos without scrambling anything and also clears up one or two other grey areas with well-placed exposition.

I have enjoyed all of Graham McNeill’s contributions to the Horus Heresy series so far and The Outcast Dead is no exception. Will it please everyone? No. I don’t believe it will. After all, everyone has different expectations and for some, the absence of full scale warfare may lead to a less-than-satisfactory read. For me, though, it was a good, solid story with interesting characters who I cared about. And as far as I’m concerned, if I come out of a book thinking ‘I enjoyed that’, then it’s done its job admirably.

And The Outcast Dead definitely did that. With bells on. I award it nine screaming psykers out of ten.

Thanks, Graham – look forward to the next one.

**



**

A great review, thank you!

Sarah's first novel, The Gildar Rift, is out in December, and you can follow her on Twitter, or visit her website.

Garro: Legion of One by James Swallow

Nathaniel Garro, loyalist Death Guard, and hero of the Eisenstein, has found a new calling in his service to the Emperor. Surrounded by a cloak of secrecy, Garro travels the galaxy in pursuit of his new goal. His quest will lead him to heart of the most destructive warzones, and reveal a secret that will change the course of the Horus Heresy itself...

Legion of One follows on from Oath of Moment, which I reviewed in December, and is released in April. Oath of Moment was brilliant, so when I transferred Legion onto my ipod my excitement was tempered with a note of trepidation. Fortunately, this was one of those too rare occasions where the sequel doesn’t suck.

Legion is set a year after Garro recruited Brother Rubio, and introduces another member of his team, Varen the World Eater, who like Garro had remained loyal in defiance of his erstwhile brethren. But now Malcador’s orders have brought them to a virus bombed shell of a planet, its surface home to nothing but ruined cities and the ghosts of those who called Istvaan III home.

Or so it would seem..

The backdrop of the ruined world evokes some great imagery, and when the revenant known as Cerberus made his appearance it made me grin like a madman.

It’s another strong performance by both James Swallow and Toby Longworth, and one that sets the bar very high indeed for those to follow. James is onto a winner here and I know I’m not alone when I say that the wait for the next instalment is going to feel very long indeed.

You can listen to an extract here.

Garro: Oath of Moment by James Swallow (Audio Book)

In surviving the horrors on board the Eisenstein, Nathaniel Garro proved his courage and absolute loyalty to the Emperor. On his return to Terra, Garro is despatched on a mission of even greater importance – a mission given to him by Malcador the Sigillite himself. He soon finds himself back amongst the stars and on the fields of battle, thrust into a warzone where the Ultramarines are believed to be battling a greenskin invasion. Once again Garro must fight for survival, but now he also fights to achieve a higher purpose...

Garro: Oath of Moment picks up the story of Nathaniel Garro, the man of the hour of James Swallow’s first Horus Heresy novel “The Flight of the Eisenstein”, and jumps in at the battle for Calth as Imperial forces and the Ultramarines battle the turncoat Word Bearers. It’s here, amongst the death and fire of battle that the grey armoured figure of Garro emerges, implacable and deadly.

How he comes to be there and the crux of his new mission is revealed in a series of smoothly integrated flashback sequences that compliment rather than detract from the pace of the story. Garro reveals his purpose to the warrior he has come to recruit, but finds that the loyalty he holds so dear now threatens his mission as the Word Bearers close in. The action is vividly described, with the sound effects enhancing the experience without competing against Toby Longworth’s narration.

Garro was an engaging, heroic character in Flight of the Eisenstein, and it’s good to have him back again. Grim, deadly and bearing a righteous hatred for the traitor Legions who have followed Horus, he represents everything that’s cool about loyalist Space Marines, and his new mission from Malcador is positively bursting with potential for some great storytelling.

For me, this is by far Toby’s best performance to date, and he brings James’ story to life. I cued it up on my iPod while I was writing this, and I’ve been sitting here doodling Space Marines on my notepad for the last half an hour, listening to it for the 3^rd time, unable to stop myself even if I wanted to. If you’re looking to give 40K audio a go, this is what you’re looking for – you don’t need to have read Flight of the Eisenstein, although you’ll have a much better feel for Garro’s character if you have.

The second instalment, Garro: Legion of One, is out next April, which feels like a painfully long time to wait when you all you want to do is find out what happens next!

You can listen to an extract of Oath of Moment here.

Prospero Burns by Dan Abnett

The Emperor is enraged. Primarch Magnus the Red, of the Thousand Sons Legion, has made a catastrophic mistake and endangered the safety of Terra. With no other choice, the Emperor charges Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves, with the apprehension of his brother from the Thousand Sons’ home world of Prospero. This planet of sorcerers will not be easy to overcome, but Russ and his Space Wolves are not easily deterred. With wrath in his heart, Russ is determined to bring Magnus to justice and the events that decide the fate of Prospero are set in motion.

In this, the companion piece to Graham McNeill’s A Thousand Sons, Dan Abnett looks to the story of the Space Wolves and their path to the destruction of Prospero.

PB opens with an intriguing chapter told from the perspective of Fith, a tribal warrior, as a neighbouring tribe invades their land with murder in their hearts, seeking to kill the bad omen that Fith’s people are sheltering. It’s written in an unusual but very engaging style that hearkens to the old oral storytelling styles, and as such cleverly presages the story to come.

The bad omen, as it turns out, is Hawser/ Ahmad Ibn Rustah, a remembrancer whose stricken ship was interpreted as the foul omen. His fortunes change though, and he wakes in the Fang, the mountain-fortress of the Vlka Fenryka- the Space Wolves- surrounded by the grim, brooding killers that comprise Russ’s Legion. There he discovers exactly how much the path of his life has changed, and begins to learn the ways of the Wolves in his new role as skjald to the Third Company. It’s a role that affords him unprecedented access to the Wolves as an outsider, including the rare and terrifying privilege of accompanying them into battle.

It’s a story of several parts, held together by the thread of Hawser’s past, facets of which are slowly pieced together to reveal a deeply embedded secret, the truth of which will resonate all the way to the ruin of Prospero.

It’s an unexpected approach, but it’s also a clever one- with Hawser seeing things from the point of view of an outsider, Dan’s able to put across facets of life amongst the Wolves that perhaps would not have been considered significant or as telling if the main character had been a Wolf. It’s these, the smaller things, and the philosophy behind them that builds the atmosphere and lets Dan paint a bold picture of the Wolves at the time of the Heresy, without watering down their mystique or their trademark ferocity. It’s subtly done, fast and well executed, particularly given that the main character isn’t a Space Marine as you may have expected.

Most importantly, it was definitely worth the wait!

You can read an extract of Chapter 1 here...

The First Heretic by Aaron Dembski- Bowden

Amidst the galaxy-wide war of the Great Crusade, the Emperor castigates the Word Bearers for their worship. Distraught at this judgement, Lorgar and his Legion seek another path while devastating world after world, venting their fury and fervour on the battlefield. Their search for a new purpose leads them to the edge of the material universe, where they meet ancient forces far more powerful than they could have imagined. Having set out to illuminate the Imperium, the corruption of Chaos takes hold and their path to damnation begins. Unbeknownst to the Word Bearers, their quest for truth contains the very roots of heresy…

Reeling in the wake of the reprimand levied by the Emperor, the foundations of his belief undermined , Lorgar, Primarch of the Word Bearers, returns to his homeworld to contemplate the future of his Legion and the nature of his service to the Emperor. He finds comfort in the ancient rituals of Colchis, the same religion that he had quashed in a bloody civil war. With this an obsession is born, one that echoes the voice that calls to him in his dreams, beckoning him towards the edge of the galaxy.

The story begins 43 years before the infamous betrayal at Isstvan V and follows Argel Tal, a captain of the Legion, as his loyalty to Lorgar sets him on the route that will culminate in the ultimate heresy taking root in his flesh.

Aaron has dug deep here, giving us a solid character who you can’t help but empathise with, even while you know that what he is doing is wrong on so many levels; because you can get under his skin, and understand who he is, and what drives him and his battle-brothers, the tragedy of what is unfolding around him carries that much more weight. Right to the bitter end, when he and the remnants of his company stand bloodied and tattered in body and soul on the ravaged battlefields of Isstvan, their erstwhile brethren lying broken at his feet, Argel remains an engaging and sympathetic character.

This isn’t an action heavy story, although Aaron is certainly no slouch in this department- his visceral depiction of the carnage of Isstvan flies off the page. The First Heretic doesn’t suffer for that though in the slightest; it’s an intelligent and gripping portrayal of a once loyal Legion’s slow fall into the grip of Chaos. The road to Hell is indeed paved with good intentions.

If there was ever any doubt or worry about Aaron’s ability to do justice to the Horus Heresy series, it hasn’t so much as been dismissed as shot into the heart of the sun. This is brilliant stuff.

You can read an extract here.

Nemesis - James Swallow

After the horrors of Isstvan V, Horus declares outright war against the Imperium. In the shadows of the Emperor’s Palace, powerful figures convene. Their plan is to send a team of assassins to execute the Archtraitor Horus and end the war for the galaxy of mankind before it’s even begun.

But what they cannot know is that Horus and his dark allies have already embarked on an equally sinister plan of their own.

This is the 13^th book in the Horus Heresy series, which I’m happy to say shows absolutely no sign of slowing down. Like its predecessors, Nemesis is an insight into one aspect of the Heresy, in this case the reaction of the shadowy part of the Emperor’s court – the Officio Assassinorum (essentially the Ministry of Assassination). Comprised of six schools, it is the long, sneaky arm of Emperor’s will, silently eliminating enemies of the Imperium. The long shadow cast by Horus’ rebellion forces them to set aside their secretive protocols and work together to accomplish a seemingly impossible task: to kill Horus.

Horus’ fleet has embarked on its voyage to bring the uprising to the gates of the Imperial Palace, sending a bow wave of fear and insurrection ahead of it. Iesta Veracrux and its closest neighbour, Dagonet, are two planets that are starting to experience the fear and uncertainty that heralds the approach of the Sons of Horus. On Iesta Veracrux we meet Yosef Sabrat, a local investigator for the planetary law enforcers, as he heads out towards a crime scene. It’s a vicious, ritualised murder, and he sets about doggedly tracking the perpetrator down. As he does so, it gives James the opportunity to paint a great picture of the life and thoughts of the average Imperial citizen on the ground as the Heresy looms on the horizon.

However, it soon becomes evident that things aren’t what Yosef expects them to be, and the truth comes to light in a blood drenched epiphany that shoots the story in a completely different direction as the nature of the mysterious figure known only as Spear is revealed.

From then on, the game is well and truly on as the strike team of assassins manoeuvre into positions and set the bait for Horus, drawing him to the surface of Dagonet to crush the dying embers of a civil war which they had stoked into a blaze. Given that the outcome of the Heresy is already well documented, it was always going to be interesting to see how James would tackle the money shot. The six assassins are interesting and above all deadly in their own right, so there could never be an outcome as trite as having one of them fumble at the last minute.

When the moment comes, it’s tense and exhilarating, and the outcome ricochets the story into a different direction again, particularly as Spear has been advancing his own mission simultaneously. It’s a convoluted but brilliant idea for a unique and formidable opponent that you can actually believe would threaten the god-like power of the Emperor.

When their paths cross, it sets the stage for a silent, lethal war in the shadows of the carnage and devastation that the Sons of Horus’ thirst for vengeance wreaks upon the planet.

The inherent coolness of assassins notwithstanding, Nemesis is an absorbing and worthy addition to the ranks of the Horus Heresy, a definite must read.

You can read an extract here.

A Thousand Sons - Graham McNeill

The Great Crusade is at its height, and the Thousand Sons are its most dedicated warriors. Though utterly loyal, the Legion of Magnus the Red is viewed with suspicion for its arcane methods. Feared by the Imperium he has sworn to serve, Magnus is called to the planet Nikaea to answer charges of sorcery.

When the ill fated primarch foresees the treachery of Warmaster Horus and warns the Emperor with forbidden powers, the Master of Mankind dispatches Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves, to attack Prospero. But Magnus has seen far more than the betrayal of Horus and his revelations will seal the fate of his Legion forever.

When I opened A Thousand Sons for the first time, it was with unusually high expectations, contrary to my normal approach- the story of Magnus the Red and his condemned Legion has surely got to be one of the most eagerly awaited instalments of the Horus Heresy series, and combined with the knowledge of how addictive Graham's writing is and teasers like this it was nigh on impossible to avoid it.

The problem with high expectations is, of course, that it creates a greater scope for disappointment. I was expecting a lot from A Thousand Sons- I wanted to know what the Legion was about, who these Marines were who had so blatantly thrown their lot in with the forces of Chaos. I wanted to understand how their fall came about, and why. I wanted sympathetic characters, drama, and thundering action.

And Graham has delivered the goods, and more. The book comes in at 558 pages, and not one of those is wasted, the writing lean and tight. The seamless way that the various subplots and concepts come together, while still delivering a clear picture of the Legion and it's history without it ever feeling too 'heavy' is testament to Graham's ability to tell a damn fine story.

The story primarily follows Ahriman, Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons and his relationship with Magnus the Red, but also touches on the human 'remembrancers' who follow the Great Crusade, and the picture that emerges is a far cry from from what you might expect from a Legion that history records as being condemned for their treachery and sorcerous ways.

It's an interesting mix and keeps things fresh, even while you're trying to decide whether to weep or rage as events are set in motion that will lead to the savagery of the Space Wolves being unleashed on the erstwhile brothers. As Dan notes in the clip linked above, it's a tragedy that unfolds, one that leaves you with bittersweet musings on what might have been if things have worked out differently.

But that's part and parcel of what makes A Thousand Sons, and the series, so unmissable.

..... now all I have to do is survive the wait for Dan Abnett's follow up, Prospero Burns. Aaargh.

**Edited to add Competition News!**

Just got the go-ahead to give away two copies of A Thousand Sons by the awesome Graham McNeill. This is a superfast competition - email us at: myfavouritebooksatblogspot (at) googlemail (dot) com with your name - entries no later than this Sunday, 28th February 2010. We'll announce who the two winners are on Monday and the boys from Black Library will be sending it out to you. Please note this is UK only!

Raven's Flight - Gav Thorpe

After the horrors of the Dropsite Massacre, Corax and his mighty Raven Guard face a desperate struggle to survive in the caves and mountains of Isstvan V. Escape from the roaming Chaos Legions seems impossible.

Meanwhile, Colonel Valerius of the Imperial army begins suffering horrific dreams, believing the Raven Guard to be in trouble – are such nightmares enough to initiate a daring rescue?

The decimated Legion must hold out against the forces of the World Eaters long enough to reach an improbable salvation and escape this hostile world.
--

Hostile world? More like a deathtrap. The Horus Heresy culminated in the assault on Terra, but for me the Dropsite Massacre stands out as the greater, more bitter betrayal- the first open conflict between the Space Marine chapters. With meticulous planning, the Warmaster Horus and the Legions he had swayed to his cause launched a lethal assault on those who remained loyal to the Emperor. It’s a devastating action, both in terms of the lives lost and that it marked the end of the Great Crusade and everything it stood for.

I was pleased to see that it was being read by Toby Longworth- I’d really enjoyed his reading of James Swallow’s Heart of Rage earlier this year, and I wasn’t disappointed this time either. The characters are distinct and his enunciation is bang on target throughout.

The background effects add to the atmosphere but are never allowed to become intrusive, which lends them more weight when they are employed.

The pace soon picks up as the action switches to the Raven Guard on Isstvan- the action comes thick and fast, with much of the carnage seen from Corax’s perspective and it’s quite a ride when battle is joined. The action, while gripping and bloody, is balanced out by the poignancy of the situation as the fallout of the massacre becomes apparent.

There’s a lot crammed into the 75 minute running time but this flies by, testament to both Toby’s delivery and Gav’s writing. It’s fun and entertaining in its own right, but works best as a supplement the Horus Heresy series.