Roboute Guilliman, the Battle King of Macragge, leads his Legion, the mighty Ultramarines, in conquest of the galaxy as part of his father's Great Crusade. Faced with an alien empire, all his dreams of a shining galaxy of peace threaten to fall into ruin...

Long before the coming of the Imperium, the realm of Ultramar was ruled by Roboute Guilliman, the last Battle King of Macragge. Even after learning of his true heritage as a primarch son of the Emperor of Mankind, he strove to expand his domain as efficiently and benevolently as possible, with the XIII Legion Ultramarines as his alone to command. Now, facing a rival empire on the ork-held world of Thoas, Guilliman must choose his weapons carefully – otherwise his dream of a brighter future could be lost forever.

I was genuinely excited when Black Library announced Horus Heresy: Primarchs, a new spin-off series set to showcase the eighteen fathers of the Legiones Astartes. Despite its popularity, the Horus Heresy series has moved on from the point where authors could address the Great Crusade or Primarch origin stories, or tackle defining events. Primarchs is set to fill those gaps, like the honor duel between Leman Russ and Lion El'Johnson in Leman Russ: The Great Wolf. Fans have long wanted more of the kind, and now they're getting it.

Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar is the first book in this new series, and it ticks all my boxes.

The Story:

"Roboute Guilliman, the Battle King of Macragge, leads his Legion, the mighty Ultramarines, in conquest of the galaxy as part of his father's Great Crusade. Faced with an alien empire, all his dreams of a shining galaxy of peace threaten to fall into ruin...

Long before the coming of the Imperium, the realm of Ultramar was ruled by Roboute Guilliman, the last Battle King of Macragge. Even after learning of his true heritage as a primarch son of the Emperor of Mankind, he strove to expand his domain as efficiently and benevolently as possible, with the XIII Legion Ultramarines as his alone to command. Now, facing a rival empire on the ork-held world of Thoas, Guilliman must choose his weapons carefully – otherwise his dream of a brighter future could be lost forever."

The Review:

Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar is pretty much what I expected and wanted out of the Primarchs series. It offers a closer look on Guilliman, pre-Heresy, giving him time with his Legion before the events of Calth and Imperium Secundus - something that was sorely lacking up to this point.

First off, the book is structured in a very neat way. Each of the nine chapters is presented with an interlude, taken from Roboute Guilliman's treatises and reflections on war, cultural upheaval and morale. These interludes put an interesting spin on their chapters, as Annandale attempts to explore these disparate themes in the ongoing storyline. In my eyes, he succeeded in making the Primarch's actions consistent and sensible, and fully in line with his belief system.

Obviously, Roboute Guilliman is the star here. Unlike his pencil-pusher presence in the Horus Heresy series, with few actual personal engagements to speak of, here he kicks serious ork backside. He is a god of war, shown the way you'd expect a Primarch to act, slaughtering xenos and being a symbol to his Legion. If you've been bored of bean-counter Guilliman during the Imperium Secundus arc, this is for you.

This doesn't mean that the book isn't full of introspection on Roboute's end, however. He reflects on history-changing events such as the humbling of Lorgar and the Word Bearers at Monarchia, and the need to show his Legion that they are not just destroyers, but also creators during the Great Crusade. That is a theme that goes through the whole book, putting the Ultramarines in a tough spot.

The plot comes down to a simple premise: The Ultramarines are busy eradicating an ork empire around Ultramar, and on the brink of utter victory they come across an infested world which shows signs of human civilization. While no humans are still alive, Guilliman wants to preserve the remaining architecture and raise the world up as an example of human indurance and reincorporate their findings into the Imperium and resettle the planet.
This means that Guilliman compromises his Legion's heavy weapon usage and has no desire to utilize the Destroyer companies of the Legion, serving with the Nemesis Chapter. Unhappy with the divide between the heavily terran Destroyers and the rest of the Legion, and unsettled by the resentment they have for their idleness during the Great Crusade, the Primarch attempts to shake things up by appointing a captain from a different Chapter as their new Chapter Master, in spite of tradition and the Destroyers' prefered candidate.
Loyalty is questioned and disobedience considered, throwing a wrench or two in the campaign, on top of the greenskins' dominance.

The Destroyer forces within the Legion were relative latecomers to the Horus Heresy series; it is safe to say that ForgeWorld's work on the tabletop system were the driving force behind their inclusion. So to me, this novel did a good job rationalizing their relative absence from at least the Ultramarines and by extension other Legions, and shows very well just how contradictory the devastating tactics of the forces are when the Legions are supposed to bring worlds into compliance. It is difficult to bring worlds into compliance after you nuke them and poison the ecosystem for decades if not centuries to come. Guilliman's distaste is fully justified, and also echoes forward to Gav Thorpe's Angels of Caliban, where Lion El'Johnson lets his own Dreadwing loose on potential traitors and terrorists on Macragge.

In my opinion, the biggest draw of the novel is Guilliman's characterization and his interactions with his Legion commanders. It is a great book to give you a feel of his style of leadership, and how his famed pragmatism is contrasted by his idealistic streak. He rationalizes various decisions throughout the campaign, despite some doubts remaining, and is willing to make concessions for idealistic goals. He is utterly competent, but not infallible.
Additionally, he also reflects on a few of his brothers and their ideologies, especially Fulgrim's search for perfect warfare, or Angron's brutality. There are some good nuggets here that are as of yet untouched by the Heresy, and I appreciate them. It also shows his distaste of what the XIIIth Legion had to do on Monarchia, and the wounds that left for the Legion; we had plenty of examples of how it affected the Word Bearers, including Annandale's own The Unburdened, but the Ultramarines had little on that front, as the treachery of the sons of Lorgar almost immediately overshadowed it.

Readers shouldn't go in expecting big revelations, however. The war itself isn't vital in itself, and the stakes seem relatively low early on; they do shoot up sky high about halfway through, however, resulting in some big, bombastic scenes and massive risks to the Ultramarines. But the real worth is in Annandale's characterizations of established and new characters alike, and showcasing the spirit of the Legion. It feels like an Ultramarines book at the core, with interesting implications and well-handled characters that iconify the Legion's philosophy and way of war. That is all I wanted, and I am happy that Roboute Guilliman delivered.

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Brute force has failed – and drastically so. The assault on the ork home world has ended in disaster and new tactics are needed. But will Koorland's new force – his so-called ""Deathwatch"" be effective?

The attempt to hunt down and kill the orks’ leader has ended in catastrophe. The Imperium is reeling from the loss of so many beloved heroes, and the military forces of mankind have been reduced to tatters. Koorland now knows that brute force is not the answer – but how else can the orks be fought? In a radical move, he creates small, mixed Chapter units of Adeptus Astartes – compact teams that will hit the enemy hard and fast, and with deadly accuracy. With armour painted the black of mourning, the new strike teams become known as the Deathwatch. But will this be enough to tip the balance, or does the Imperium need to discover other new means to defeat the orks?

Nine done, three more books to go. The Beast Arises isn't going to let us go straight to the finish line, however, so here's another curveball flung at followers of the series, courtesy of David Annandale. This is his third and final book in the series, which means a full quarter of it sprung from his keyboard!

The Story:

"Brute force has failed – and drastically so. The assault on the ork home world has ended in disaster and new tactics are needed. But will Koorland's new force – his so-called ""Deathwatch"" be effective?

The attempt to hunt down and kill the orks’ leader has ended in catastrophe. The Imperium is reeling from the loss of so many beloved heroes, and the military forces of mankind have been reduced to tatters. Koorland now knows that brute force is not the answer – but how else can the orks be fought? In a radical move, he creates small, mixed Chapter units of Adeptus Astartes – compact teams that will hit the enemy hard and fast, and with deadly accuracy. With armour painted the black of mourning, the new strike teams become known as the Deathwatch. But will this be enough to tip the balance, or does the Imperium need to discover other new means to defeat the orks?"

The Review:

Watchers in Death was quite enjoyable to me. It suffers from some contrivances of the overall series, but the overall story was a satisfying origin piece for the Deathwatch and their particular style of engagement.

Firstly, though, the cover presents a discrepancy with the book's content. The Deathwatch marine shown is wearing an Inquisition-branded shoulder guard, whereas in the book, the Deathwatch are autonomous. They are allying with Inquisitors Veritus and Wienand, but over the course of the book the two merely discuss the possibilities inherent in the new Space Marine formation, foreshadowing future developments. But at the book's present, the Deathwatch is not a militant chamber of the Inquisition yet, and is under the sole direction of Chapter Master Koorland of the Imperial Fists, with Maximus Thane of the Fists Exemplar as his second.

The whole creation myth of the Watchers in Death was interesting to follow, especially seeing the animosity between Dark Angels and Space Wolves, and how that takes the backseat as the Kill Teams get more invested into their role as new elite strikeforce. In general, I felt that Annandale did a bang-on job depicting how the various Astartes grew into their new identities. It was moving in places, and neat to see how Deathwatch and Chapter origin could coexist.

Deathwatch. The word, the name, the truth was shouted by every warrior in the Monitus. It was the moment of creation. That which had been shattered on Ullanor had taken on a new shape, renewed of purpose.
Deathwatch. It was a blade aimed at the throat of the Beast.

A big woe of mine was that, once more, this was pretty much limited to the usual bunch of Chapters. Imperial Fists/Fists Exemplar in the leaders Koorland and Thane, Space Wolves, Dark Angels, Blood Angels and Ultramarines. We knew the Salamanders took part in the assault on Ullanor, but none of them seemed to join the DW. Neither did the infiltration specialists of the Raven Guard make an appearance, or any of the successor Chapters beyond the Fists Exemplar. It was a meek turnout, and seeing how the diversity of Chapters and their individual tactics are perhaps the biggest strength of the Deathwatch to come, this seemed too vanilla for my taste. It ticked the necessary boxes based on previously involved Chapters, but didn't go beyond, which it well could have.

Either way, the Kill Teams go on to finally deal with the attack moon above Terra, which is a plotline I would have liked to see tackled a few volumes ago. Thankfully, there is some finality here, as the Deathwatch come into their own. Where The Hunt for Vulkan and The Beast Must Die were stuffed with big action setpieces, Watchers in Death focused more on small groups of combatants, which was a needed change of pace and delivered something notably different from the rest of the series with its massive scale.

About half the book deals with another hunt for a legendary leftover force from the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy era: The Sisters of Silence. Like with Vulkan before, it is Veritus who divulges the secret of their continued existence. I thought that too typical. Using Veritus again might make sense considering his position, but it was also a bit of a cheap way to handle it. I keep wondering if much would have changed had Wienand found an old dusty tome instead, while Koorland dealt with the attack moon. If anything, that might have benefitted the book by exploring the Inquisition's customs a bit more, and had been more emergent from the events of TBMD, whereas Veritus just has a "oh, by the way, I know this and that" moment. Doing it the way I suggest here would also have made a stronger case for later events to turn out the way they did, involving the two Inquisitors.

But thankfully, we are back to Terra for half of the book. There are politics to be watched unfold again, from the proposal of the Deathwatch's establishment over power play predictions and the Inquisition's scheming. Mesring's role developed a little further, as did Juskina Tull, and even the uneasy relationship between Koorland and Fabricator General Kubik. Vangorich, too, has a chance to spread his influence directly again, which was welcome. His role has been moving to the back lately, whereas I still consider him the true star of the series, for (soon to be) obvious reasons.

However, the story soon moves on to Thane and his Kill Team searching for the long-lost and forgotten Sisters of Silence, guided by the Inquisitors. This was fascinating in a way, but also a little disjointed and could have benefitted from more pagetime and switching back to Terra once in a while.
I'd like to note though that I do not in theory object to the Sisters only entering the stage now. After all, their relevance was only clear to the reader, not the characters. Or rather, the characters who found out about the threat of the Ork psykers took quite a beating in past volumes and their messages only reached Terra now, after the disaster at Ullanor. So, in a way, while Vulkan hinted at the Sisters coming in handy, nobody knew why he'd say that, or that they still endured.
While yes, this drags the series out, it feels like more natural progression resulting from previous novels' plotlines finally developing further.

The individual Deathwatch missions were enjoyable to follow and had some pretty cool moments, especially involving ork-derived technology. If I have one criticism though, it is how comparatively easy their jobs were. Their success was always a given, seeing how their concept gives birth to a full force in the future, but even then, there was a surprising lack of losses and hard choices involved. That could have been handled better, even though the action scenes and infiltration sections were well executed.

A relatively small part of the novel also returns us to Captain Zerberyn of the Fists Exemplar and Iron Warriors Warsmith Kalkator. I won't spoil this part, because it was incredibly good, and showed the inner turmoil of the loyalist captain, and is foreshadowing some big reckoning. I loved this section.

In the end though, this was a solid entry in the series. I had a good time. Some memorable scenes came from the formation of the Watchers, which I remember fondly. A few tweaks could have made it better, but even without them it holds up and brings us one step close to the series' completion.

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Three champions of Chaos are roused from the ongoing war against Sigmar's servants and compelled to journey into the heart of darkness. Their goal? To serve at the side of the Everchosen himself, Archaon, as one of his Varanguard. But the trials before them are many, and not all will survive...

Of the many champions of Chaos, none are as great or as feared as mighty Archaon. He is the Everchosen, Exalted Grand Marshal of the Apocalypse and Ender of Worlds, and it is a worthy warrior indeed who can fight by his side. Such Knights of Ruin are known as the Varanguard. Only by answering the call of Archaon can a warrior of Chaos ascend to their ranks, and acceptance is never guaranteed, for their mettle must first be proven. In this dark tale, three fell champions of the Chaos Gods all heed the call of the Everchosen. Each desires the ultimate prize: to become part of the Varanguard. But where one is chosen, others will fail, for Archaon’s will is cruel and his trials exacting...

Call of Archaon is the fourth book in the Age of Sigmar: The Realmgate Wars series. It is yet another anthology, and a mixed bag. I wrote the individual reviews over the course of months as I could be bothered to squeeze the stories into my schedule. As a result, length and depth of the individual sections will vary.

The Story:

"Three champions of Chaos are roused from the ongoing war against Sigmar's servants and compelled to journey into the heart of darkness. Their goal? To serve at the side of the Everchosen himself, Archaon, as one of his Varanguard. But the trials before them are many, and not all will survive...

Of the many champions of Chaos, none are as great or as feared as mighty Archaon. He is the Everchosen, Exalted Grand Marshal of the Apocalypse and Ender of Worlds, and it is a worthy warrior indeed who can fight by his side. Such Knights of Ruin are known as the Varanguard. Only by answering the call of Archaon can a warrior of Chaos ascend to their ranks, and acceptance is never guaranteed, for their mettle must first be proven. In this dark tale, three fell champions of the Chaos Gods all heed the call of the Everchosen. Each desires the ultimate prize: to become part of the Varanguard. But where one is chosen, others will fail, for Archaon’s will is cruel and his trials exacting..."

The Review:

Call of Archaon was originally released over the course of many months via 8 short stories by various authors. It isn't a novel as the publisher advertises, and more of an anthology.

Since I reviewed the short stories individually as I read them, I will just paste them here, and then add a full verdict down below. That seems the best way to do it to me.

Beneath the Black Thumb by David Guymer

Beneath the Black Thumb is another Age of Sigmar story that is almost completely dedicated to one single battle, with a tiny bit of plague-gardening in the first and last parts. The "Black Thumb" Copsys Bule's gardening efforts, stringing corpses up and digging the soil to spread Nurgle's rot, was a nice theme that I appreciated.

However, the battle felt disjointed, more confusing than it should have been.
At some point it is said that Bule's hordes numbered at around 100,000, with over half of them elsewhere at the time of battle. Still, even at 10,000 I'd have to wonder how losing a dozen of Blightkings here and there to meteorite magic would put any kind of dent into them.

Bule commanded the souls of a hundred thousand, and although more than half were scattered wide over the Corpse Marshes and beyond, what remained was a mighty host indeed.

Seeing how the Rotbringers were decimated during the battle with the Lizardmen (now called "Seraphon"), even though their numbers didn't seem to come even close to those of Bule's (their scout detachment of chameleonskinks numbed in the hundred, for example), made me shake my head as a result.
Not that I'd disagree that Lizardmen are mighty indeed - they are my favorite faction in WHFB and Blood Bowl, and got me into the hobby in the first place - but that was a bit much.
Adding to that the concept that the "Seraphon" now house starlight inside them (it is said to be shimmering between their scales, and breaking free upon death), I barely recognized my favorite faction. But then, the focus wasn't on them anyway.

But indeed, I would call this story "disjointed". There were many things not elaborated on that would have made me care more about the characters, but it also seemed unfocused and confusing. There were many hints and hooks pointing to more things possibly explored elsewhere, but for me those fell flat for the time being. Maybe future releases will clear things up.

On the positive side, I still think David has a solid grip on Skavendom. The characters here lacked the depth of characters like Queek and his rivals in the novel Headtaker, but they were amusing and readily apparent as skaven. Bule also felt like an intriguing character with a lot of potential, though the battle for his Realmgate distracted from more significant character development, and the closing of the story left me wondering.

At least this story had a certain amount of humor and atmosphere, which The Gates of Azyr lacked.
I would like to see Copsys Bule and his lieutenant Fistula back in another story. Hopefully that one won't be focusing as much on messy battlescenes, although that seems to be the core of every Age of Sigmar story I have flipped through so far. Battle for battle's sake, with negligible stakes and characters who feel powerful but not exactly relatable.

As it stands, I feel that Age of Sigmar, and the direction Games Workshop and Black Library are taking with it, doesn't play to their authors' strengths well, and indeed makes me think that they get hamstrung by the battle requirements when their talents lie in character development, dialogue and world building.

Eye of the Storm by Rob Sanders

Eye of the Storm is the first Age of Sigmar story I have finished to date that I would describe as good and enjoyable.
This is mostly due to the comparatively few and short battles in the short story, but also because it used them as a means to an end, rather than coming up with contrived reasons to get to the fighting. Featuring the Stormcast Eternals as targets to be slain did help, too, I admit.

Eye of the Storm tells of a Champion of Tzeentch, Zuvias, Prince of Embers, and his quest to be judged worthy by Archaon, Everchosen of Chaos, and join his ranks.
No, the being depicted on the cover of the book is not him, but the Many-Eyed, a servant of Archaon. Despite its incredibly creative name and very brief appearance at the start, it was intriguing. It seems to be a connecting factor in the Call of Archaon stories so far, which I like.

Getting back to Zuvias, our protagonist: I like him. He is treacherous, clever, twisted and has an actual silver tongue, a gift of his patron god. He proves that he knows to use it, too - by lying and cheating a Champion of Khorne (with a horde large enough to wipe the floor with him and his own retinue) into believing it is he who Archaon calls for to join him, rather than the Tzeentchian himself.
This leads to a curious chain of manipulations and half-truths, just how I've come to expect it from the followers of the Changer of Ways. The whole plot culminates in a confrontation between the followers of Chaos and Sigmar's Stormcasts, which would have been impossible to beat without the Khornates - delivering a direct payoff for the Prince of Embers' schemes.

Zuvias himself comes with a good look at his origin, and the root of his corruption. It comes in the form of the bird-like creature called Mallofax, who whispers Tzeentch's promises to the young prince's ears. Their dynamic throughout the story was a bit simple, especially taking into account that Mallofax showed no ill towards the Prince - something unusual for Tzeentch. Still, their relationship allowed for Zuvius to open up a little more by having a confidant outside of his warband of mutated knights and blind sorcerers.

The Khornates were... well, berserkers. Not too bright, easily manipulated despite their suspicions - you just don't turn down the Everchosen. Following a lie is far less risky than refusing Archaon's offers. The big bad, Skargan Fell-of-Heart (who was obviously a direct stand-in for the Exalted Deathbringer miniature), was enjoyable enough to read, despite his credulity.

The few battles in the short story were mostly brief (thankfully), although the final confrontation stretched a little longer. Still, it was handled well, and I found the length appropriate for its purpose and the story's pace. It did not detract from the story Sanders wanted to tell. He even explored the mortal realms in the Age of Sigmar setting a bit further, even though the world still feels barren and lifeless like the Chaos wastes in the Old World of WHFB.

Like with Beneath the Black Thumb's Copsys Bule, I would definitely like to see Orphaeo Zuvias and Mallofax in another story. They made for an entertaining read and showed that Rob Sanders does well with Chaos even if the protagonist isn't Archaon himself.
Although at the end of the day, I'd say that this is a story that did not really need Age of Sigmar to work. It could have been easily told as a Warhammer Fantasy story set in the Chaos wastes, with some minor adjustments and the exclusion of Stormcasts.

Either way, I enjoyed this read and would recommend it as one of the current top stories in this new franchise.

The Solace of Rage by Guy Haley

The Solace of Rage was a welcome surprise to me. I outwardly groaned about the repetitive use of Khorne characters in Age of Sigmar so far, but in the end, this was an... unusual tale about the bloody berserkers of the blood god. And I enjoyed it as a result.

In true Age of Sigmar fashion, this story has a high percentage of battle scenes. Unusually, it also features Khorne champions debating who should take up leadership of their tribe, after their previous warlord was slain in battle. When I say debating, I mean exactly that: Discussing, arguing with words, not blades. Well, they certainly do that, too, and plenty of it, but it feels much less mindless for the two rival Deathbringers than it usually does with anything related to the blood god.

The story continues the theme of having the Many-Eyed, servant of Archaon, searching the realms for worthy champions for his master. His gaze falls upon the Realm of Beasts and the spat between the deathbringers Mathror and Ushkar Mir, the two candidates for leadership which haven't already taken up a different position in the upper echelon of the Bloodslaves warband. Pretty much all the special character classes from the Khorne Bloodbound faction are in this story, with all their silly names - that's just the way it has to be now, I suppose.

Mathror and Mir are very different from one another. Where the former seems to be fighting for glory in Khorne's name, is ambitious and wears heavy plate armor, Mir, our protagonist, is a defiant, mute and blinded berserker wielding twin daemon axes. He hates what he has become, though he joined the Khornates willingly - for revenge against Khorne himself. The Chaos God struck him with muteness for his insolence, yet enjoys his defiance. It makes for an interesting character, and reflects Archaon himself in a way - a point that the Many-Eyed observer finds amusing himself.

The writing style feels somewhat top-down, like it is being told to the reader by a third party, describing monumental events, rather than making the reader an integral part of the action. The narrative voice is strong as a result, but people who prefer the more hands-on approach might need some getting used to it first. I personally enjoyed this style very much - especially since it reinforced the point of the Many-Eyed being our eyes on the events, rather than us being directly involved in the action. It fits the theme of the collection so far quite well.

The Many-Eyed himself received more attention and page time than in the previous two Call of Archaon stories so far, which I appreciate. David Guymer's Beneath the Black Thumb did very little with him, introducing him as a shadowy messenger, while Rob Sanders' Eye of the Storm gave him an identity. The Solace of Rage gives him a stronger purpose and the inklings of a character arc I am interested in following further.

True to form, the Many-Eyed also provides this third champion of Chaos with a challenge, not unlike Bule's or the Prince of Embers. This time it isn't Lizardmen/"Seraphon" or Stormcast Eternals, however. Instead we get to see our first slice of "Ogor" (Ogre) action in Age of Sigmar. There are some curious implications about the nature of the Great Maw, too, which I liked.

One point I was a little underwhelmed by was the Realm of Beasts. This, of course, has a lot to do with the way Age of Sigmar was designed. Unlike Haley's descriptions of the Realm of Metal, this one doesn't have too much going on yet. It is described as a realm of wide steppes, and while I liked the idea of the Bloodbloom Fields the story takes place on, and the initial setting of the stage had me wondering what could be done with this environment, the wider story didn't much interact with the world. Had this taken place in the Realm of Fire, it would have been quite the same regardless.

Overall, though, I'd very much like to recommend this as one of the top stories in the Age of Sigmar setting to date. It gave the usually-bland Khorne characters a great amount of depth and much-needed structure, while creating a compelling anti-hero in Ushkar Mir. There is a lot of promise in this character and his spokesman Skull, even though, yes, this was still a Khorne story at the core.

This story supposedly introduced the third and final of the champions the Call of Archaon series focuses on, and all in all, I like this trio of villains. Seeing that David Annandale's Knight of Corruption returns to Copsys Bule, I am confident that we will be seeing Ushkar Mir and Skull again soon. I welcome the reunion.

Knight of Corruption by David Annandale

Knight of Corruption takes the Call of Archaon series back to its first champion of Chaos: Plaguelord Copsys Bule. It leads on from shortly after David Guymer's Beneath the Black Thumb, so I'd suggest reading that first.

After escaping the Lizardmen/"Seraphon" through a Realmgate in the previous story, Bule and his warband arrive in an unknown realm (which I suspect to be the Realm of Life, as it is heavily corrupted by Nurgle).
Their lieutenant, Fistula, is unhappy about their flight from battle, yet Bule is convinced of a higher power calling for him.

Of course, we as the reader know that it is the Many-Eyed beckoning him through a cloud of flies, and issuing the Call of Archaon, but the plaguelord is oblivious to the true nature of it all. In this, he stands out from the other two champions in the series, who got rather clear ideas of who or what is expecting them.
In theory I quite like the different approach, yet somehow it also makes Bule appear a little bit... dense. I don't think that either of the two authors tackling his plotline is to fault for that, though - it just comes down to the contrast to the other two.
Thankfully, the Many-Eyed comments on this too, and even communicates with Archaon himself about it.

However, the true strength of this story is down to the featured human characters, although I was hoping for more of them than I got in the end. Through them, David Annandale got to introduce a very cool theme into the story: Faith, or rather the contrasting faiths in a savior god banishing the plagues of Nurgle, and Bule's own devotion to the Grandfather.

Now, religious themes and spirituality are a common theme in many, if not most of David's stories, whether it be for Black Library or others. His story in Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, for example, features a giant monster inspired by the bible, for example. The Death of Antagonis meanwhile tackles of the subject of divine retribution in a different way, and his Yarrick: Imperial Creed again plays with themes of spirituality, organized religion and has Yarrick become the living symbol of the God-Emperor's will.
Seeing this theme continue in Knight of Corruption didn't feel like a surprise to me, then, but I welcomed it nonetheless.

The story itself is at its best and most enjoyable early on, up until about the halfway mark. Up until that point, it plays with these themes more strongly, and puts the Chaos warband in direct opposition of the normal humans. These free people have come together after the Stormcast Eternals had scoured parts of the region from the blight of Nurgle, and build a temple to them, believing them to be demigods.
Bule and co, meanwhile, think the men and women easy prey - which, in a direct confrontation, they clearly would be. Things aren't quite as simple, however, as they lock themselves into their temple and pour pure, unblighted water onto Bule and friends. This, again, makes for an interesting contrast between Nurgle's and Sigmar's blessings.

But, just in time, the Stormcasts themselves arrive to lend the humans a hand before they'd be overwhelmed by corruption. I say lending a hand, but actually, it felt more like they sidelined the other characters for more of the typical combat we already had in spades.
However, at least it was Bule's first encounter with the, up to that point, mythical beings he believed to be a mere fancy. Both sides call upon their patrons' blessings throughout the melee, too.

While Copsys Bule is prepared to fight to the death, the Call of Archaon resonates more strongly as the battle progresses, and beckons him towards his unknown destination: An innate Realmgate. Once again Bule quits the field, abandoning the better part of his warband in favor of a higher calling.

Overall, I enjoyed this entry to the series. It had some shortcomings, though mostly down to my own ever-growing boredom with Stormcast Eternals being everywhere, when a different faction would have been far more interesting to read about. Where the human faithful in this story offered creative, if ultimately futile ways of combating Nurgle's servants, the Stormcasts just feel generic at this point.

There is bound to be at least one more, possibly two stories that will be featuring Bule and Fistula, so I am curious where the character will be taken next, now that revelation finally appeared to him...

The Trial of the Chosen by Guy Haley

The Trial of the Chosen carries on the Call of Archaon plotline centered on Ushkar Mir and his quest to join Archaon's ranks. This storyline was started in The Solace of Rage, which I enjoyed for its unusual take on Khorne warbands. This story continues with a pretty neat roulette of trials for Mir, one for each of the gods of Chaos.

Haley has thought up clever trials for the champion, which reflect the specific gods' area of expertise and make sense for the Everchosen's lieutenants to go through. It forces them to step out of their patron god's shadow and embrace Chaos Undivided.

The battles here are relatively light, which is good in my opinion. They are best used when they serve a purpose beyond trying to hold the reader's attention in the absence of something substantial as far as plot and character developments go. Ironically, they tend to lose me that way. Here, every battle has a point and is part of the Bloodslaves' journey to Archaon.

I think this was the most enjoyable story so far, at least as far as the three champions' individual tests go. It did well all around without overdoing the things that make Age of Sigmar fiction a chore in a lot of cases.

In the Lands of the Blind by Rob Sanders

In the Lands of the Blind was a surprising letdown after Sanders' previous Zuvius story in Call of Archaon, Eye of the Storm. It consists almost entirely of battle scenes and carnage, with little of the devious, tzeentchian spirit that made the former tale great.

The combat is visceral and involves all manner of Chaos champions and warbands, as well as daemon-entities, but then it just drowns the story with its need for violence and death. There is little opportunity for Zuvius to shine, like he did with his deceptions in Eye.

The twist at the very end almost makes it worth putting up with, however. It is a grim end, utterly fitting of the Everchosen of Chaos and his servants. This short story needed more of that, and less of murder, kill, awesome.

Blood and Plague by David David Annandale

Blood and Plague is, once more, a battle-focused story. Almost the entire thing is set in an arena for the Everchosen's amusement, with two of the three champions from the rest of the series meeting in battle at last. Unlike the previous story, it actually has some decent character development for Copsys Bule and Ushkar Mir as well as their warbands.

For the first time, Archaon actually appears in front of one of the champions - and two at once.

‘Champions,’ Archaon said, ‘I welcome you to the Ossuar Arena. You have fought well. Now you are at the end of a journey. One will be found worthy to join my Varanguard. One.’ Archaon paused. His great horned helm tilted downward. He was gazing at the two warbands.
‘You will exact your own judgement,’ he said.

This raised the excitement quite high, as not only does it mean that either Mir or Bule would have to die, but also that their entire leftover warbands would need to be culled from potential rivals. Tensions from previous parts in their respective plotlines flare up, and both champions are forced to find suitable ways of disposing of their rivals, while also keeping up with the opposing force and wrenches thrown at them by the Everchosen and his servants.
The ways the champions achieved the purge were amusing and proved good thinking on their parts, and are some of the highlights of the story.

I didn't know who to expect winning this battle. I liked both characters, and they are markedly different types. Bule is more laid back and trusting in his patron god, whereas Mir hates Khorne with a passion and is using his position as a way of getting revenge at him. Their attitudes are both enjoyable, and I wanted to see both of them succeed in their ambitions. Mir would have seemed like a better fit for the Varanguard, however, as Copsys is a gardener at heart, while Mir's defiance of his god meshes well with Archaon's own refusal to bow to any one Chaos entity.

In the end, though, I was surprised and a little bit disappointed. The twist was good, but the outcome felt odd to me, especially after how In the Lands of the Blind turned out. In parts, I felt it a little too dismissive, too quick and stereotypical, while the final scene was very satisfying and unexpected.
Had it been up to me, I would have chosen all three champions for the Varanguard. They all contribute their own strengths to the mix, and seeing how many of them drop dead in the final story of Call of Archaon, the numbers might be needed.

See No Evil by Rob Sanders

See No Evil is the final story of the Call of Archaon series. I'd be lying if I was saying I wasn't glad about that - the constant battles pushing character development and interactions aside are wearisome to me. But hey, this is another big battle - who would have thought?

This story returns to Orphaeo Zuvius, the Prince of Embers. As per the end of Blood and Plague, both other champion-candidates are dead and SURPRISE! Archaon had picked Zuvius all along anyway. So Zuvius is now Varanguard, and joining his brothers in arms for his first big battle under the Everchosen.

The story starts out showing Archaon and the Many-Eyed Servantin conversation: Sigmar's Stormcast Eternals have taken Cape Desolation, and the big bad does not like that one bit. He musters his armies to take it back and send the golden boys home crying. Thankfully, this marks the first time in the series that Archaon himself is taking to the field, and it is about time that he does.

‘Send word to my warlords, my champions and the fell kings of the surrounding regions. Summon my unholy Varanguard. I shall lead the Knights of Ruin myself in a counter invasion. Those bastions shall be mine again. The God-King’s light shall be banished and his warriors shall flee for the skies. I want Sigmar to know that he will find no purchase in lands forever dedicated to the Chaos gods.’

Following on from that, the short story reintroduces the changed Zuvius and the company he is in. It is a diverse bunch from all aspects of Chaos, minus Skaven, and they are bound for the cape. Archaon is leading a fleet of dreadships, riding his steed Dhorgar (which looks hideous now, thanks to Age of Sigmar redesigns...), and spearheading the assault. This sparks a lot of excitement for his Varanguard, and Zuvius is eager to make a name for himself.

This early part is probably the coolest of the story. The crash-landing of the Varanguard's dreadship was awesome, and Zuvius really is showing off, with the rest of the group close behind. However, none of the characters beyond the Prince of Embers actually get much spotlight, and usually just to die. The death count of Archaon's elite seems to go through the roof here, which makes me even more disappointed that he didn't recruit all three candidates.

Which also brings me to my next complaint: With so many new, blank slate characters introduced to accompany Zuvius into battle, it would have been preferable to see the Mir and Bule with him instead. That way readers would have had more familiar characters and found a greater payoff, while allowing for more character interactions that Zuvius never had access to - his journey was entirely isolated from those of the other two.
As a result of the overarching plot, however, this story suffers from having a cast that, while reasonably large, is pretty unrelatable and irrelevant.

Another disappointment to me was that Archaon himself is only seen fighting in passing, and in the distance. There is no PoV section for him, and usually it comes down to Orphaeo admiring the Everchosen. It might be a good idea to keep Archaon more aloof and enigmatic, but it also made for a lackluster climax for a series/novel called Call of Archaon.

The Stormcast Eternals were business as usual, with some kickass scenes involving Zuvius and the leaders of the golden boys. However, at this point, that too is business as usual. To me, the Stormcasts need some serious updates to their lore and plot to excite again. Been there, done that, and the likes.

At the end of See No Evil, I saw a lot of flaws, some cool scenes, but a noticeable let-down. While the action was competent, I was hoping for more. I was hoping for a bigger audience with the Everchosen, to see him being tackled hands-on - he's on the cover of the print collection! Instead, it was yet another massive battle piece of epic proportions. It had variety, yes, but the overall finale felt like more of the same rather than something unique and impressive. A shame.

To Sum It All Up

The book suffers from many problems. One of them is that it wasn't written as a novel, or even a trilogy of novellas with a cherry on top.
The serialized format is a killer to pacing and balance I find, and CoA proves that. The incessant need to provide bombastic battles takes away from the quiet time you could set aside for a longer story, something that is needed to provide character growth and let the reader anticipate the next big development. Instead this quiet time is relegated to the first few pages of a story, if even that.

Battles drown out things that could have been, had it not been written piecemeal. While there are some parts that were pretty good and creative, as well as well delivered, the pacing seems nightmarish to me. I read the stories over the course of many months with breaks between most installments, but even then reading this 8 part story felt exhausting. Especially the final three parts seemed to be hitting me around the head with murder-kill-death scenes. Even the clever and interesting ideas the authors put into the mix seemed hamstrung by the format restrictions.

I have been observing similar with Black Library's other serializations, including Legends of the Dark Millennium: Space Wolves or the other Age of Sigmar series. As a proponent of the first stand-alone serialization BL did with Scars, I am honestly disappointed that it turned out this way. Scars wasn't afraid of giving the reader time to contemplate and to build up the plot and characters, but then again, that serialization was always intended to be read as one novel, not as individual "Quick Reads" you could dive into out of order. Issues also released on a weekly basis rather than once a month, if subscribers were lucky.

Another big problem I found with this book was the lack of Archaon for 95% of the whole thing. He appeared in passing to the Many-Eyed Servant, and in person in the final two parts, but it still felt like too little, too late. While we have been told about the Call of Archaon sounding to the champions, it was all the Many-Eyed Servant's doing, at Archaon's command. He himself didn't seem to lift the finger until the very end. He lacked presence, and I am afraid dominating the cover artwork won't make up for it.

On top of that, the Lord of the End Times felt diminished. Stereotypical Dark Lord material. He was so much more than that in Archaon: Everchosen, Archaon: Lord of Chaos and The Lord of the End Times. There was more to him than a dominating presence and flying a three-headed dragon-daemon thingy into battle and laughing about his subordinates slaughtering one another for his amusement. I was really disappointed that Rob Sanders of all people didn't give him more attention in the finale, seeing how much I loved his depiction of the character's origin story.

Call of Archaon isn't the worst Age of Sigmar book I have read. Not by a long shot. It is even great at times. But it is so bogged down by more or less generic battle scenes and format-specific problems, that I felt exhausted and bummed out after being done with it. It turns out that if you hear the Call of Archaon, you're better off picking up the WHFB novels about him than this collection.

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The Imperium is on the verge of destruction. It needs a miracle to reunite the feuding High Lords and lead the armies of mankind to victory. It needs a primarch.

Tearing itself apart from within, the Imperium is still virtually powerless to resist the ork advance. When the Adeptus Mechanicus reveal they have discovered the orks' point of origin, the Adeptus Astartes start to gather their forces for a massive assault on their enemy's home world. But what the Imperial forces need is a figurehead, a hero from legend to lead them - a primarch. Meanwhile, on the planet Caldera, a mighty armoured warrior fights tirelessly against the orks - is he the saviour the Imperium seeks?

Time for a review of part seven in the The Beast Arises series. This one is a bit of a shift in tone, more action than intrigue, but does a fine job entertaining nonetheless.

The Story:

"The Imperium is on the verge of destruction. It needs a miracle to reunite the feuding High Lords and lead the armies of mankind to victory. It needs a primarch.

Tearing itself apart from within, the Imperium is still virtually powerless to resist the ork advance. When the Adeptus Mechanicus reveal they have discovered the orks' point of origin, the Adeptus Astartes start to gather their forces for a massive assault on their enemy's home world. But what the Imperial forces need is a figurehead, a hero from legend to lead them - a primarch. Meanwhile, on the planet Caldera, a mighty armoured warrior fights tirelessly against the orks - is he the saviour the Imperium seeks?"

The Review

The Hunt for Vulkan has to be the most direct and contained book in the series so far. In fact, I was surprised to find that I was already half through the novel at some point, with not much complicated happening. It is focused on one thing: Finding Vulkan, and it did so well.

The downside to the Primarch focus is, obviously, that we get to see little of Terra or the wider Imperium once the hunt is on. While there are some very cool moments involving Koorland and the High Lords in the first few chapters, parallel to the Fists Exemplar's trip to the red planet, kicked off in the previous installment, the bulk of the story is set on Caldera, where Vulkan is rumored to reside nowadays.

Some people may notice that Caldera isn't new to Black Library fiction. While I haven't seen it brought up on fan forums before, this is the world Vulkan named himself in Nick Kyme's Promethean Sun for the Horus Heresy series. It wasn't an arbitrary choice to place Vulkan there, but one that makes a degree of sense in context of what came before. Though I am a little disappointed that David didn't take the opportunity to indulge in some dino-warfare, only mentioning shortly. Either way, bonus points for linking Vulkan back to the Great Crusade here.

This was Annandale's first Primarch outing. While he has written for the Horus Heresy already, he didn't get to tackle the super-superhumans there. After reading this book, I'm confident that he will do well once he gets the chance to do it again. Vulkan comes across as a force of nature, and in a way it felt like he was actively drawing strength from Caldera itself. We know that Vulkan is, physically, the strongest of the Primarchs, but held back a lot. Here, he is an unleashed Hulk, crushing Orks left and right, including their war machines. It is over the top action that set him clearly apart from any Space Marine, but is not without precedence if we look at the HH.
Direct ties to the HH series are kept to a minimum, though, and a lot about Vulkan himself is left open and mysterious. The small tidbits we get are neat, but nothing that will blow your mind with revelations for the Heresy.

The Hunt for Vulkan is the first book in the series that I'd really say the Imperium is striking back against the orks in. For the first time, they are not just reacting to a threat but forcing the orks on the defensive. A lot of that is down to Vulkan's battle prowess, but also to the newfound unity under Koorland's leadership. Unlike before, the everybody for themselves mentality got replaced by everyon for the Imperium. Where before we had some characters and groups act with the Imperium in mind, or even offering sacrifices, they were always somewhat contained to their respective situations. Now they are acting for a greater purpose, and the result is an important victory for the Last Wall and the wider Imperium.

Fans have long criticised that the other, non-Imperial Fists Chapters were missing from the stage. We have been told that various big Chapters were engaged in their own parts of the galaxy, but now we have a call to Terra that promises Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Dark Angels and Ultramarines for future installments. We only get a glimpse of their reactions here, but they are promising and in-character.

Yet still, at the end of the book I was surprised it was already over. It didn't have as much going on for it as previous novels with their various plotlines all over. There were various angles to it, of course, but mostly confined to the action on and around Caldera. The Hunt for Vulkan is the heaviest book on action so far, and rightfully so, but I was still disappointed by the lack of complexity in the wider sense.
It could have been more, but then, it didn't need to be. This was Vulkan's show to run, and as such, it succeeded.

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With an ork attack moon in orbit over Terra itself, desperate measures are required: a proletarian crusade that will overwhelm the orks with the Imperium's most abundant resource: its common people.

Despite the Imperium’s best attempts to forestall the ork plague that is wreaking havoc in human space, an ork attack moon now hangs over Terra. As its malevolent presence gazes down at the Imperial Palace, terrified citizens run riot in the streets. In a last-ditch attempt to destroy the attack moon, a proletarian crusade is launched. Thousands of ships large and small head to the moon carrying billions of citizens, all eager to take the fight to the enemy. It seems the attack has a chance of success as the invasion force lands safely, but the orks have yet to spring their trap...

The Last Wall is my favorite in the series yet. It thus continues the upwards tendency of the series in my eyes. It also ramps up the stakes even further, which leaves us with a truly horrifying situation at the end of the first third of the series.
Now I see these Orks as terrifying for real.

The Story:

"With an ork attack moon in orbit over Terra itself, desperate measures are required: a proletarian crusade that will overwhelm the orks with the Imperium's most abundant resource: its common people.

Despite the Imperium’s best attempts to forestall the ork plague that is wreaking havoc in human space, an ork attack moon now hangs over Terra. As its malevolent presence gazes down at the Imperial Palace, terrified citizens run riot in the streets. In a last-ditch attempt to destroy the attack moon, a proletarian crusade is launched. Thousands of ships large and small head to the moon carrying billions of citizens, all eager to take the fight to the enemy. It seems the attack has a chance of success as the invasion force lands safely, but the orks have yet to spring their trap..."

The Review

The end of the previous book left us with one of the Ork attack moons above Holy Terra - and that is what The Last Wall primarily deals with. While there are scenes with the sons of Dorn at Phall once more, and also some unexpected rivals, almost the entirety of the novel is set on Terra, or within the Sol System. That does not necessarily mean that there aren't plenty of plotlines to follow.

Right in chapter one, we get confronted with the Adeptus Arbites attempting to control the rioting masses of Terra's population. All hell broke loose when the attack moon arrived, and much revolves around this herd mentality here. This raging mass of humanity is the key to the plot on multiple levels.
The High Lords, in their sheer arrogance, incompetence and ignorance decide to send a "Proletarian Crusade" to the ork death star - shipping the countless masses of Terra's population to the enemy in the hopes of overwhelming them in their base and bringing down the moon. They feed the despair of the people they are supposed to govern and protect, and stoke the fires of fanaticism of crusaders.

David Annandale is, for all intents and purposes, Black Library's specialist when it comes to stories revolving around questions of faith and fanaticism. I have gone into detail about that before, so I shan't repeat my praise yet again. TLW presents its own angle on the theme, which I felt were very well executed. The sheer madness and overwhelming sense of purpose of the crusaders is palpable throughout - reading the book, I could see the heaving masses of humanity ebb and flow across the surface of the attack moon, assemble in loading bays and scream in the streets of their home planet.
Annandale managed to create a horrifying, mind-numbing picture of dread and despair, directed into weaponized barbarity and disregard for the individual person. This made the eventual twists towards the ending even more stunning, and I loved the way things played out.

The Last Wall, more than any other installment so far, subverts our expectations of the orks. It draws upon the familiar while adding new layers that make them feel far more alien and mortifying than we are used to. And it does so not just through showing us what acts of violence and brutality they are capable of, but also their restraint, tactical expertise and newfound search for diplomacy.

If anything, this entry turns the roles of mankind and the Beast's waaagh on their heads. In the end, we are left wondering which side is really uncivilized and barbaric, and which developed and able to operate in somewhat good faith. The depravities man is willing to commit to are laid bare, not only via the High Lords' and Inquisition's schemes and petty rivalries, but also through the way they channel the regular, powerless citizens through chains of faith and righteousness.
All the while, the orks don't have to lift a finger while Terra tears itself apart.

On the matter of the scions of Rogal Dorn, we don't have much progression in terms of volume. The Astartes are still gathering their forces at Phall and deliberating their course of action. Thankfully, this plotline picks up right where it left off in The Emperor Expects, so we don't miss out on anything I'd have liked to see come off it.
Captain Koorland is finally settling down in his role as the last Imperial Fist, and the underlying rivalries between the various successor Chapters were a highlight to me. Still, I would have wished for more on this side of the overall story. It is hardly the author's fault, though, as this is simply how the series was laid out. The Fists' time will come.

Back on Terra, the Inquisition's internal strife is entering its next stage, as events between Wienand and Veritus escalate further, and draw in more actors. I don't want to spoil this succession of chases, assassination attempts and the wider Inquisition's reactions to it all, so I'll just say that I am thrilled to find out where this is all going next. I expect some big moves from the =][= in the upcoming volumes.

At the end of the day, though, things are rapidly spinning out of control. As if the arrival of the attack moon in the last book wasn't enough already, I feel like the end of TLW has even greater repercussions. The stakes have never been higher, and neither has my excitement for the series, thanks to this highly impressive fourth installment.

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As the surface of Calth is consumed by fire, the caverns beneath the planet are host to vicious battles. Kurtha Sedd of the Word Bearers must set aside his doubts and embrace the darkness if they are to prevail.

Long considering themselves persecuted by the rest of the Imperium, the apostles of the XVIIth Legion have courted sedition, betrayal and even open heresy for decades. But for Kurtha Sedd of the Third Hand Chapter, the Word Bearers’ assault on Calth has proven… troubling. Drawn into the haunted shadows of the planet’s underworld, the Chaplain and his devout brethren must now put aside all other concerns and continue to wage war against the Ultramarines, no matter the ultimate cost.

In late 2015, Black Library released two new half-length novels (roughly 200 pages) to accompany the Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth boxed game by overlord Games Workshop.
One of these is "The Unburdened" by David Annandale. Here's my take on it.

The Story:

"As the surface of Calth is consumed by fire, the caverns beneath the planet are host to vicious battles. Kurtha Sedd of the Word Bearers must set aside his doubts and embrace the darkness if they are to prevail.

Long considering themselves persecuted by the rest of the Imperium, the apostles of the XVIIth Legion have courted sedition, betrayal and even open heresy for decades. But for Kurtha Sedd of the Third Hand Chapter, the Word Bearers’ assault on Calth has proven… troubling. Drawn into the haunted shadows of the planet’s underworld, the Chaplain and his devout brethren must now put aside all other concerns and continue to wage war against the Ultramarines, no matter the ultimate cost."

The Review

Alright, people. You know the drill by now. This is a David Annandale story, so expect a large spiritual component.

Indeed, The Unburdened is all about Kurtha Sedd (first seen in [author:Nick Kyme|398110]'s audio drama Censure before being introduced as the antagonist in the Betrayal at Calth box set) and his spiritual journey towards becoming "unburdened".
It is also the flipside of Rob Sanders's The Honoured, which I would urge you to read ahead of this short novel.

The reason for that is mostly the framing of the plot. The Honoured follows a more structured and anchored progress, and each chapter starts with a Know No Fear-style timestamp. This book does not, but follows along the events in the other book, though its first chapter goes all the way back to the humbling of Lorgar and the Word Bearers, delivering a very different perspective to the one found in The First Heretic.

You will see a lot of overlap with The Honoured, but Annandale's book does not concern itself so much with the exact events, or the action. Instead, the WB's morale and faith are the pillars, as well as Kurtha Sedd's internal struggle. He is desperately trying to find his place again, especially after hearing that his old friend Steloc Aethon is leading the Ultramarines arrayed against him.
He has to cut himself loose from the things and thoughts wearing him down: Loyalty to the Legion, which abandoned him and his men on a dying world. Friendship with Aethon, who took part in tearing down the monument city of Monarchia, all those decades ago. And also his belief in divine retribution and the Emperor watching him.

Taken as that, I very much enjoyed The Unburdened. Unlike its plot-armor dripping counterpiece, this installment was very atmospheric, dark and esoteric. It put me right into Kurtha Sedd's mind, and growing madness. As such, I much prefer it to Aethon and co from Sanders' work.

But you can't really read this without the context of The Honoured without getting lost in the more action-packed sections from said book. The scope felt far more limited, more centered around the warband rather than the war as a whole. Where Aethon's company is aware of other traitor groups and generals in the underground network of Calth, Sedd and co are isolated, and it wears on them.

Overall, though, I would recommend this as a fine addition to the Calth saga in the Heresy. I'd say it is one of the best pieces in that story arc, and would heartily recommend picking up the Betrayal at Calth combo - though I would recommend waiting for a combined print copy, which is bound to happen sooner or later.

The Unburdened on Goodreads

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This one, like the Skarsnik review, was posted on Goodreads earlier this year. It dates back to March 4, and does not care about previous structure on this blog.

The Story:

"The Black Dragons fall upon the world of Antagonis, summoned to combat the plague of undeath that has engulfed the planet. Allying themselves with Inquisitor Werner Lettinger and a force of Sisters of Battle, the Black Dragons endeavour to save the souls of the Imperial citizens who have succumbed to the contagion. But there is more than a mere infection at play – the dread forces of Chaos lie behind the outbreak, and the Black Dragons stand in the way of the Dark Gods’ victory…"

Review

Getting through this one was a breeze. It never bogged me down, no scene overstayed its welcome and before I knew it, I was getting mad at the Internet and my Computer for throwing games and videos at me again.
This was one of the few books that made me wish restarting the machine or booting up a game would take longer than it did, so I could read just another few pages...

But I digress.

The book provides a really fantastic view on the Black Dragons Chapter, from their non-Codex organization to the way they fight and the mutations they bear, but also shows the risks inherent in deviation from the Imperial norms. My knowledge about the Chapter was minimalistic at best, but the way the Dragons were presented really clicked with me.

The antagonists were fairly unique as well, not least due to their origin, and there was plenty of tension at all times. The main villain of the story is told to have a longer history with the Black Dragons, and the connection gets deepened throughout the book in various ways.
Once the Dragons realized who their enemy was, he became more than just a villain covered in mystery, but an everpresent threat.

But the titlegiving Death of Antagonis marks more than just the first of many genocides the reader gets to read about; it also opens the curtain for a schism within the Black Dragons themselves.
Especially in that regard did David Annandale score highly, in my opinion. He developed a very intriguing conflict between very contrasting characters, and made it the leading theme of the novel.

The book also gets you around a lot; from Antagonis itself to tiny moons and massive Hive Worlds. I might go as far as to call it the most diverse SMB novel yet, in terms of interesting locations. All locations were described tangible ways, no matter how exotic they were, without ever losing their charme.

The Death of Antagonis tells us a story about many Phyrric victories and how they wear a company of Space Marines down not only in strength of numbers but also erodes their confidence, convictions and unity of purpose.
It is not just a Space Marine Battles novel, but one about sacrifice, doubts and finding one's place and role in the service of the Emperor.

The book did have some rare lines that had me scratch my head, but nothing that broke it for me in any way, or took away from my enjoyment of the story.

If there's anything I can say about David Annandale, judging from The Carrion Anthem (printed in Treacheries of the Space Marines), Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha (and Evil Eye ) and now The Death of Antagonis, it is that he simply nails characters, settings, universe and the grimdark side of the franchise down.

This novel specifically presented the bleak side of the Imperium, the hopelessness inherent in a galaxy that has never been kind to humanity, in believable ways. There are no shining victories to be found here, and faith is a limited currency.
What it delivers, though, is a well-presented series of events that lead up to a satisfying, characterful climax, and a good balance between SMB-action and character interaction.

David clearly embraced the grandiose and the macabre once more, and I cannot wait for his next offering.

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