Long before he brought Chaos and war to the Imperium, the primarch Lorgar was raised on the world of Colchis, used as a weapon by the zealot Kor Phaeron in his bid to control the whole world. But Lorgar's destiny was far greater…

On the world of Colchis, mighty religions rule a decaying society in the name of absent gods – until the arrival of Lorgar. Primarch, prophet, leader of destiny, the Golden One is raised by Kor Phaeron, priest of the Covenant, to be his weapon in a quest for power. As religious war spreads across the planet, spearheaded by the Brotherhood of Lorgar, the primarch is plagued by visions of the future and the coming of the Emperor. To find his place in this new order, he must reach balance between the teachings of his adopted father Kor Phaeron, and the fate that he knows awaits him among the stars.

After a bit of a hiatus, I'm hopefully back in action for the foreseeable future. There are a bunch of reviews half-written on my desk, truth be told, but I figured you may be interested in the next Primarchs novel. It was recently released to the wider public who don't want to shell out a premium for limited editions, and as per usual, that means I got to read it now as well. It really is quite something!

The Story:

"Long before he brought Chaos and war to the Imperium, the primarch Lorgar was raised on the world of Colchis, used as a weapon by the zealot Kor Phaeron in his bid to control the whole world. But Lorgar's destiny was far greater…

On the world of Colchis, mighty religions rule a decaying society in the name of absent gods – until the arrival of Lorgar. Primarch, prophet, leader of destiny, the Golden One is raised by Kor Phaeron, priest of the Covenant, to be his weapon in a quest for power. As religious war spreads across the planet, spearheaded by the Brotherhood of Lorgar, the primarch is plagued by visions of the future and the coming of the Emperor. To find his place in this new order, he must reach balance between the teachings of his adopted father Kor Phaeron, and the fate that he knows awaits him among the stars."

The Review:

Lorgar: Bearer of the Word is a highly unconventional Horus Heresy/Primarchs novel. It features few boltshells fired at all and is relatively light on "present-day" Great Crusade/Horus Heresy content. Instead of showcasing the Word Bearers Legion's conquests, it showcases them only brielfy in interlude sections.
The bulk of the book? Lorgar's childhood and upbringing on Colchis. Almost the entirety of the novel is told not through the Primarch's eyes, but his "father" Kor Phaeron, probably the main architect of the entire Heresy. Besides Lorgar, the second viewpoint comes in the form of Nairo, one of Kor Phaeron's slaves at the time of Lorgar's arrival, whose views are juxtaposed against those of the ever-ambitious and corrupt archpriest of "the Powers" of Chaos.

Indeed, Lorgar: Bearer of the Word is taking the reader back to a time when the Primarchs were figures of myth and incredible awe, rather than the glorified action heroes of the later Horus Heresy series (looking at you, The Unremembered Empire...). While the big focus of the novel, as he well should be, Lorgar is kept reasonably ambiguous in certain respects, while the interpretations of his character through Kor Phaeron and Nairo tell us a lot more about themselves.

Kor Phaeron, true to form, is a bastard of the highest order. This novel does little to really humanize him. He's corrupted by the Powers-that-be from the moment we first meet him here, preaching while raising himself up above others - despite being exiled from the Holy City of Vharadesh. He is abusive, quick to anger, arrogant, an egomaniac for all his worship and sermonizing on the glories of the Pantheon. If you think you've felt disgusted by this man before, you might find that you have underestimated his spite greatly.

Growing up as the acolyte of Kor Phaeron, Lorgar actually did pretty well for himself. Despite brutal punishments even just for daring to raise questions, it seems strange that the Urizen would stay with his father-figure for so long, to the point of defending him and saving his life, obedient to a fault and despite the urgings of Nairo. The final section of the book manage to leave the reader with a new perspective on this, however - and I felt a little chilled thinking about the nature of the Aurelian's own ambition and calculations. If you've ever wondered why Lorgar may be inclined to throw his First Captain into the meat grinder of Calth and expecting him to lay down his life there, this story may give you plenty of reasons for it.

On the other hand, Nairo is a more tragic figure. Being an older slave, he is lucky to still be alive in his lord's service (or not, depending on how you look at it). He has dreams of his own, a different moral compass to all other highlighted characters and could be described as the angel in Lorgar's ear, opposed to Kor Phaeron's status as the devil. He wishes for equality and the abolishment of slavery, urges caution against his master's ambition and develops a deep friendship with the new messiah. His relationship with Lorgar highlights the best of the Primarch and gives us a look at what he might have become, had he not been stuck with the Dark Heart as his adoptive father...
The polarity between the two point of view characters does a solid job showcasing the various aspects that the young Primarch might represent for the preacher, the slave, and Colchis as a whole. Threat? Opportunity? Freedom? Conquest? Religious Truths? Maybe even a son?

Despite this being a Black Library novel, action is for the most part glossed over unless necessary to further Lorgar's (or Nairo & Kor Phaeron's) development. Late in the book, cities fall one after the other with no more than a name drop, for example, whereas the first and final compliances are showcased with a little more detail to characterize Lorgar's twin approaches: The Word, or the Mace. I applaud Gav for not making this a Primarch action flick - it is with in-depth characterizations that this Primarchs series scores, not "Bolterporn". The strongest parts of all previous books were when the Primarchs were left to talk and interact with their environments, or butt heads in the case of Russ, and the weakest when the Emperor's sons were reduced to the gods of war that they are. We've seen plenty of the latter throughout the galactic civil war already, and Primarchs should instead focus on giving the reader a greater understanding of its protagonists instead.

Lorgar: Bearer of the Word does that swimmingly. While hardly a bad word can be said about Aaron Dembski-Bowden's foundation for the Urizen via The First Heretic, Betrayer and connective tissue stories throughout, it only briefly looked at where the Aurelian came from, his very humble beginnings in the deserts of Colchis, beaten by his master and all too impressionable. Where Dembski-Bowden's Heresy work gives us a Lorgar that falls from the Emperor's Grace, and vice versa, turning from naive worship and making him a force to be reckoned with and the architect behind the Heresy itself, this prequel hands us the idealistic Lorgar, the ecclesiarch, the one to turn Colchis from the Powers to the Emperor's light, making the eventual reversal all the more tragic.

Stylistically, Gav Thorpe is also playing to his strengths. His origins in writing lore material are evident in a lot of his work, down to his narrative approach. With Lorgar being delivered in a more historically-inspired fashion and married to mythological, spiritual metaphor and accounts by what may be described as the messiah-Primarch's apostles, with a strong focus on dialogue over frantic action, the novel benefits greatly from his fairly unique style.
Thorpe even goes so far as to reinvent Colchis's whole calendar system, turning the world's days into trials in their own right, further reinforcing the hold religious tradition may have on a civilization that experiences as much as seven whole days during one full rotation of their world. While the impacts of the "Translator's Note on Time" included at the start of the novel are rarely make a massive impact on the unfolding story, they do explain much and give everything an interesting vibe. Colchisian culture is just as much a factor in Lorgar's relative childhood as his master and confidant are.

One thing that did disappoint me about the novel was the relatively abrupt end to it. Don't get me wrong, I liked the end, and it ended on an important event for Lorgar. However, I would have really liked to see a little epilogue about the Emperor and Magnus coming to meet Lorgar on Colchis, as it felt like the natural end point to Lorgar's ongoing visions about "The One". That this didn't happen confused me, as it'd have held great opportunity for Thorpe to pitch Lorgar's faith against the insidious nature of Kor Phaeron one final time and giving the reader an understanding of the Emperor's opinions on the zealotry rampant on his son's homeworld.

Another small nitpick would be that Erebus got only token mentions throughout the interlude chapters, but I guess including him in greater capacity would have diluted the exploration of Lorgar's relationship with Kor Phaeron, which I'd consider the highlight of the book.

One final note on the Dark Heart before I wrap this up, though. I saw some comments about Kor Phaeron still being depicted as a meanspirited, vile being with little redeeming qualities and that making it hard to empathize with the character. While I can see the hiccup for some people, I feel that this is exactly as it should be. Kor Phaeron was ruined by the Powers long before Lorgar appeared on Colchis. His exile made him even more bitter and wrathful, the effects of which we see here. We don't need to turn villains into victims of circumstance every time. Kor Phaeron is an utterly ambitious, zealous, calculating madman whose ambition, zealotry and madness needed a little more depth, as did his relation to Lorgar. He needed to be a fleshed-out villain, not a misunderstood tragic anti-hero. He'll never be that, and for that I am thankful. In my eyes, Lorgar: Bearer of the Word did a great job turning Kor Phaeron from an oftentimes shallow, mustache-twirling Bond-villain into a believable antagonist full of spite but also with his own insecurities and doubts, his own burdens and faults. He has become relatable, if not exactly somebody to empathize or even sympathize with.

Be that as it may, I quite enjoyed this book. I'd say it ties with Perturabo: The Hammer of Olympia for my favorite in the series so far. It lends credence to Kor Phaeron, makes subtle comments on Lorgar Aurelian, shows the immediate effects of Monarchia in its brief interludes and connects a lot of dots in a creative and engaging way. The new perspective on well-established characters has also made me enthusiastic about the Word Bearers again and I am sorely tempted to re-read The First Heretic sometime soon.
Lorgar: Bearer of the Word manages to uphold the high standard of the Primarchs series with little trouble and is essential reading for any fan of the Word Bearers or devoted acolyte of the Pantheon, if you ask me.

Lorgar: Bearer of the Word on Goodreads

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Balsar Kurthuri of the Raven Guard has always followed his primarch's orders. When the Edict of Nikaea forbade psykers within the Legions, he returned to the line squads without a second thought. When the Warmaster's treachery became known, he gave freely of his powers. Now, as the war appears to be entering its final, grim stages, at Lord Corax's command he must return to Terra to face judgement for the apparent crime of unswerving loyalty…

Skipping ahead in Black Library's Advent Calendar series, day 7 has a sequel to Corax for us. It wraps up one of the storylines left dangling by Weregeld and gives a little status update on the state of the Sol system.

The Story:

" Balsar Kurthuri of the Raven Guard has always followed his primarch's orders. When the Edict of Nikaea forbade psykers within the Legions, he returned to the line squads without a second thought. When the Warmaster's treachery became known, he gave freely of his powers. Now, as the war appears to be entering its final, grim stages, at Lord Corax's command he must return to Terra to face judgement for the apparent crime of unswerving loyalty…"

The Review:

Arriving at Terra alongside Captain Noriz and his Imperial Fists, and Arcatus Vindix Centurio of the Custodian Guard, ex-Librarian Balsar Kurthuri is confronted with a big problem: The Custodes turn on him and attempt to take him out. With emergency protocols in place, there is nothing left for Kurthuri other than to attempt escape, eluding his pursuers while restraining himself. He gave an oath to ban himself from using his psychic powers again, which proves tricky.

I quite liked the story. It is an action-heavy chase, and while as a reader of the series the results and twists were utterly obvious (which they should be after the many Malcador-related stories we've had by now), which isn't helped by the title either, I enjoyed the ride. Points can be made for potential losses not being worth risking, but the way it was executed worked for me. The stress of the situation bubbled to the surface neatly and there was some much appreciated time with Noriz, who I liked quite a bit in Deliverance Lost and Corax.

The story also hammered home the gulf between Astartes and Custodes, with Arcatus being a badass. Sure, we just got that with The Master of Mankind anyway, but here the Custodes are on the attack, not the back foot. There was also some neat little bonding between the lone Raven Guard and Noriz and co, due to their years together under Corax.

The big negative for me here was that it was damn predictable. The moment Arcatus turned on Balsar, I knew where it was headed. I knew where Balsar Kurthuri would end up, and what the intentions were. There were still some surprises, of course, but if you've read The Silent War, book 37 in the series, you might consider the short story as transparent as me.

The Grey Raven on Goodreads

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The Lord of Ravens, Master of Deliverance, Primarch Corus Corvax of the Raven Guard takes centre stage in a collection of works by Gav Thorpe that explore his campaign of vengeance against Horus' allies and his desperate attempts to hold his Legion together.

After Isstvan, after Deliverance, the Raven Guard still endure. Their primarch Corvus Corax has rallied countless warriors to his banner, striking back at the forces of the Warmaster on every front – from the degenerate hereteks of the Mechanicum to the cruel legionaries of the Sons of Horus, none shall escape his wrath. But although Corax has managed to stall the physical corruption of his own Space Marines, what of their spirit? And what sinister end must await those who dwell forever in the darkness?

Well, we've reached #40 in the Horus Heresy series now. Despite the naysayers in comment sections across the net, the series is definitely on its final approach to Terra - and Corax takes us close to it. In fact, it even goes beyond the Siege of Terra and shows us a glimpse of the Scouring-era Raven Guard, and their Primarch. This anthology wraps up the Raven Guard story arc started with Raven's Flight and Deliverance Lost, which I recently re-read and reviewed in preparation of this one.

The Story:

"The Lord of Ravens, Master of Deliverance, Primarch Corus Corvax of the Raven Guard takes centre stage in a collection of works by Gav Thorpe that explore his campaign of vengeance against Horus' allies and his desperate attempts to hold his Legion together.

After Isstvan, after Deliverance, the Raven Guard still endure. Their primarch Corvus Corax has rallied countless warriors to his banner, striking back at the forces of the Warmaster on every front – from the degenerate hereteks of the Mechanicum to the cruel legionaries of the Sons of Horus, none shall escape his wrath. But although Corax has managed to stall the physical corruption of his own Space Marines, what of their spirit? And what sinister end must await those who dwell forever in the darkness?"

The Review:

Corax is an anthology of three novellas and three short stories. With the exception of Weregeld, the exclusive final part to the Raven Guard story arc, I have read them all before, with somewhat lukewarm feelings on most. Re-reading them all so soon after re-reading Deliverance Lost, all in conjunction and without months if not years of wait between the installments, made me appreciate the whole thing a lot more than I did piecemeal. Every bit adds another piece to Corax as a character and the Raven Guard's struggles after the Dropsite Massacre. While not a sweeping, continuous narrative, the somewhat episodic nature of the novellas and shorts allowed Gav Thorpe to explore various defining elements of the Legion and their Primarch and keep piling up drama, before making it crash down on Corax in the finale.

I was contemplating just how to approach this review. With it being an anthology, reviewing the individual parts might be appropriate, but then I also think that a kind of strict separation would do the book a disservice. While yes, all pieces have been released individually over the years, they still form a compelling hole and carry character arcs throughout, and the satisfaction I got from it was in large parts down to seeing things flow from one to the next, whereas individually I wasn't sure about the novellas. So I am going to be all over the place with this write-up, trying to do both.

The book opens up with a prelude cut out of Weregeld, the new novella. It takes the reader right into the action of the finale, showing us a gravely-wounded Leman Russ, his Wolves and the Raven Guard surrounded by Alpha Legion, World Eaters and Thousand Sons. Now you may ask how that comes to be (and so does Corax, at the end of this prelude), the Thousand Sons haven't officially joined Horus yet, after all, and Russ has barely left Terra at the end of The Path of Heaven. The answer is simple: Weregeld is placed later in the timeline than anything else before it, with Horus about to take the key system to attack the Sol System in force.
What exactly Russ was up to isn't elaborated on, but various hints were and are given which make me look forward to whatever Chris Wraight may be up to with him (since it is a safe bet he'll be in charge of the next, and potentially final piece of the Wolves' plotline before the Siege, given his track record).

After this damn exciting prelude, the book goes back to the start: Corax: Soulforge, here without the prefix. It is set maybe a year after the conclusion of Deliverance Lost, and Corax and his Legion are still raiding supply lines, ships and freeing planets that had fallen to the traitors. One such boarding action gets Corax, Branne and Agapito onto a Word Bearers ship, and shows the mad hunger for vengeance Agapito has been harboring since Isstvan V. Due to his actions, the whole thing almost goes bust, and he becomes a central figure to the plot afterwards. His need for vengeance is a focal point in Soulforge, and stands in for the Raven Guard's collective need to get back at the Traitor Legions.
While this Agapito character arc was fairly predictable in its outcome (him getting over it and getting his priorities straight again), it was nice to see the collective trauma of the Legion being addressed in a personal manner. It also reinforced the whole "attack, retreat, attack again" mantra of the Raven Guard - Agapito was all too willing to commit to a fight unto death, rather than using the guerrilla tactics the ravens and liberators of Lycaeus have been known for.

The novella itself leads Corax and Agapito to a Mechanicum world. A delegation of Word Bearers has seemingly come to turn the highest-ranking Mechanicum adept and instigated a row of despicable experiments attempting to merge daemon and machine. Yep, this is where we see the first Defilers making their way into the universe. I liked that it wasn't just the more recent Chaos machine breeds, but the iconic spider-legged monstrosities. They have been relatively overlooked in recent years, whereas they've always been something monstrous and cool in my eyes, and set the Chaos Space Marines of 40k apart from the loyalist Chapters' tanks.
Either way, Corax is hell-bent on stopping the Word Bearers and Archmagos Delvere, and allies with the loyal/undecided adepts to achieve victory. First contact is made through Corax running in on a secret discussion between the adepts, trying to figure out a course of action for their barge-city, and whether or not to recognize Delvere's leadership and the Dark Mechanicum as a whole. Corax joins in and convinces them that they can take back the planet, and subsequently assumes command of the barge-city of Atlas.

This part of the book mostly shows off just how much of a tactical genius Corax is, commanding disparate forces from multiple sources and maximizing the effect every piece in the game has on the outcome. He stokes a civilian uprising, distracts the opposing forces with his own legionaries under Agapito, and then swoops into the action himself for the deciding decapitation. While I can see complaints of Corax not being shown as kick-ass like other Primarchs who engage more in open combat, I felt that the rebel leader role of Corvus and his Legion's guerrilla spirit are well-presented here. Corax, despite his close combat gear, is more interesting to me as a tactician, overseeing the greater whole of a war rather than stumbling into the thick of it.

When he finally makes his move, it is to great effect, even though he does get a bit of a beating before the end. On top of that, he gets confronted with the nature of the Warp once more, and sees its corrupting influence first hand and at a larger scale than before. This causes new doubts and fears in the Primarch, returning the plot back to the mutated Raptors and his experiments in Deliverance Lost. While the Raptors themselves only featured in the first chapters of the novella, their increasing degredation is undeniable, and Corax draws obvious parallels with the Word Bearers since Isstvan.


After this novella follows the short story The Shadowmasters, featuring and, in fact, introducing the Mor Deythan, an elite part of the Raven Guard, based on legionaries that seemingly inherited Corax's ability to make themselves near undetectable. It is an infiltration-type story that supports Soulforge from the shadows. It isn't necessary to the overall plot but still a nice bit that connects the additions from ForgeWorld's Horus Heresy line to the ongoing Raven Guard plot. Originally this story was part of the Limited Edition of Soulforge, so I'm glad to see it in print for everyone now.


Next up is Ravenlord (which always bugged me for not having the Corax:-prefix of its predecessor), the second novella. Where Soulforge tackled the vengeance topic and the abhorrent experiments of the Dark Mechanicum and Word Bearers, this one deals with the Legion's paranoia post-Deliverance Lost, and has Corax issuing a call to arms to re-unite the scattered loyalist forces under his banner. It also makes dealing with the Raptor-problem unavoidable for Corax, as it throws the experiments Fabius has been working on in the meantime right in his face.
It also shows the measures of psychic screening that the Raven Guard adapted after Deliverance, with Balsar Kuthuri, who featured before, taking on the task of mind-reading and, surprisingly, encountering barriers around secrets in a Raven Guard force that seemingly managed to escape Isstvan V long after the Primarch.

Ravenlord kept me guessing. Like Deliverance Lost, it threw the possibility of a traitor among the ranks into the air, and tried to mislead the reader. It works to reflect the Primarch's own paranoia and distrust, even when reunited with one of his closest sons. Secrets and shame, arrogance and betrayal all factor in here. Corax, with his "I don't need a bodyguard" bravado from Raven's Flight, is walking on a knife's edge here, and even when support arrives his paranoia starts to make him run in circles, second guessing the intentions of his lieutenants.
In many ways this novella threw me back to the pre-Imperium time of Lycaeus, with Corax reminiscing about it and reconsidering his actions, decisions and the way he granted some of his early supporters absolution for unworthy deeds, in recognition of their services to him and the rebellion. To me that just showed that Corax is willing to compromise justice and integrity in a bid for a greater good, and that this may lead to further troubles down the road.

Where Soulforge had Corax firmly on the path of vengeance, Ravenlord sees his doubt about everything he has done, every fibre of his nature, grow and almost consume him. He is haunted by his past, both of his life on Lycaeus and the Raptors experiment. Some people claim that Corax is just "emo", but I think differently. If Fulgrim, Ferrus, Angron, and even Horus have their vices, doubts and grudges, then Corax is in good company with his own struggles. He is as broken as all the rest, yet still getting back up for a greater good.

The vile experiments of Fabius and the Sons of Horus were nicely done here, and exemplified just how much of a risk this line of research poses to the Imperium. The "New Men" or "Astartes Superior" are brutal, and brutally efficient, and catch Corax off-guard. His own experiments might have led him to similar results, had he chosen to continue them. To the reader it also makes clear just how much of a cost the Primarch's arrogance had; without him losing the gene-tech to the Alpha Legion, these things would have never succeeded in the first place. While he himself is seemingly unaware of his own role in the matter, it shows him how close he came to his own corruption and loss of integrity.
On the flipside, the Raptors under Branne are confronted with the failed experiments in a very grim and regretful way, making them doubt their own origins and use to the Legion as well. While at the start of Soulforge, Navar Hef was doing relatively fine, his condition has worsened significantly here. They start to see the lie in Corax's attempts to integrate them as fully respected Raven Guard.

Other elements I enjoyed with Ravenlord were the overall structure, with each chapter being timestamped in relation to the "Day of Vengeance", Corax's attempt to free the war prisoners of Carandiru. It gave the whole plot a sense of scale, and made the planning stages more believable. It also gave room for the assimilated loyalist forces to join up and receive some training by the Raven Guard. To my delight, both Captain Noriz of the Imperial Fists and Arcatus of the Custodian Guard are back, though not the focus. Surprisingly, Arcatus has come to agree with the Primarch's decision of taking the war back to Horus, and plays a key role in convincing the loyalists to stick around. Seeing Soukhounou interacting with a youth on Carandiru, talking about the value and bravery of rebellion against oppressors also made me happy; the commander certainly received a lot of attention here, and as a Terran-born Raven Guard, these scenes made him feel more part of the Legion than I expected.

The relationship between Corax and his former bodyguard Gherith Arendi is explored nicely as well, giving us a lens through which to see the Primarch's mental struggles, arrogance and paranoia. I am not entirely certain, but this might also present the first occassion on which a Primarch has been called out for being an idiot in no uncertain terms. Arendi even highlights Corax's own hypocrisy, teaching his Legion to think and act independently, while forcing his own opinions and mistakes on them and rejecting their advice when he is clearly in the wrong. Had Arendi been around during Deliverance Lost, things might have turned out far better for the Legion - after all, every Primarch needs a naysayer, unafraid to object to their lord when needed.

My initial reading of this novella, on its own back in spring, left me a bit underwhelmed. But in context of everything else and with more awareness as to Corax's development from story to story, I felt it was rewarding and I kept wondering why exactly I didn't enjoy it that much back then. Corax takes a more active role in the fighting, gets whooped for his arrogant behavior and more problems and doubts are piling up, almost to breaking point. It is a good story that drives the tragedy of the ravens further home.


Before the final novella Weregeld, we have two more short stories to go through. The first is called The Value of Fear and presents a decent excursion following a Raven Guard supposedly "training" one of the loyalists Corax attracted in Ravenlord. It wasn't a world-changing story, but neatly played on the parallels between Night Lords and Raven Guard - something Corax has been contemplating since Isstvan V, where he faced the Night Haunter and fled. It is presented through an argument between both characters, on how to best flush out the traitors they're chasing. Their philosophies clash slightly, but the mesh of both turns out quite beneficial.

The second story is Raptor, originally released as an audio drama. It stars Navar Hef and his contingent of "Rough" and "Smooth" Raptors, investigating a Space Wolves ship in distress. The Wolves turn out to have made planetfall and are being bothered by the Sons of Horus, and prepared for a glorious last stand and suicide-bombing of their stronghold.
Here we get to see the Raptors' own abilities as Raven Guard in action, but also their problems with their suits, Hef's mounting speech problems and the fear they hold for being discarded or causing Corax ill by their mere existence.
Raptor is regretfully grim, showing Navar Hef making bad decisions out of good intentions, and causing a big problem for the future. It's a sad story about self-loathing and fear, and intolerance, and the hypocrisy of the Wolves regarding their own Wulfen.

With Hef being moved into place through this story, we can talk about Weregeld at last, the only new (but significant) story in this collection.

Weregeld is set many years into the Heresy, close to the Warmaster's strike on Terra, and starts out with the Raptors boarding a Night Lords ship, showing them as truly devolved. They are distorted creatures, and often losing themselves to their own bestiality. This is something that becomes more and more apparent through Hef, who is a truly tragic figure here in my opinion. Before long, he reveals his shameful acts to Corax, and as a result drags his entire brotherhood further into doubt and leads them to sacrifice. Hef, more and more, feels like an outsider, an inferior legionary, and in a way despises Corax's comforting lies. He longs for release, more than anything.

This tragedy and need for an end is prevalent with Corax as well, who descends further into nihilism as things come tumbling down. He seeks to continue his war of vengeance against Horus, yet is unwilling to commit his Legion to any large engagements. Cornered by a Night Lords fleet, he scatters his gathered forces instead of facing the threat, losing a commander's host in the process, and abandoning much-needed supplies. His commanders are appalled at Corax's indecision and avoidance of conflict, especially as he keeps turning down invitations from loyalist Iron Hands to join battle at Beta-Garmon, a vital system for Horus to take as it offers passage to the Sol System.

The Primarch's previous bravado is gone. He doesn't believe that Horus has been bled enough to stop him from reaching Terra. Everything is poised for the Warmaster's final assault, and Corax wants to stay behind the lines, pick off supply lines and the likes, rather than throwing his Legion away for lost causes like Beta-Garmon. He does, however, attempt to summon reinforcements, which reach him from as far as Deliverance.
A thousand new Raven Guard stand ready, as do Marcus Valerius and the Therion Cohort. We haven't seen Valerius since The Divine Word, set after Deliverance Lost. In said story, he found his way to the Lectitio Divinitatus, attributing his prophetic dreams to the Emperor. This is an important plot point here, though I feel more could have done with it. Valerius doesn't get as much attention as he would have deserved, and his involvement in the story basically adds the final nail in the Legion's coffin. At least Valerius's fate is going to be addressed in a short story later this year, as confirmed by Gav.

On top of it all, a delegation of Space Wolves arrive to meet with the Primarch, and ask about the Watch-Pack sent by Malcador and Russ to guard/observe Corax. This, of course, has never reached the Primarch, thanks to Navar Hef and co, and the latter feels obligated to confess his sins to his lord. While Corax plays it cool in front of the Wolves, he is clearly shaken by this new knowledge, confines the Raptors to their cells and decides to throw everything away, sending the non-Raven Guard loyalist elements home to Terra and travels to a system close to Beta-Garmon in a gamble to save his brother Russ from death at the hands of multiple Legions.

Weregeld really brings the whole Raven Guard arc to a close. It shows the end game of the Heresy, the loss of hope and morale, the spiralling fears and the result of all mistakes coming crashing down. It is Corax's darkest hour, his time of relinquishing all control and will to live. He wishes for a "good death", Wolves-style, and to purge his sins. He has come to very troubling conclusions about the Primarchs and his own connection to the Warp, and it takes some very touching, important scenes harking back to what we have seen in Deliverance Lost, to decide the Legion's fate.

In many ways, this novella is a crossroads for other plotlines too. Balsar Kuthuri's departure for Terra will likely see him join the Knights Errant, while the return of Noriz and Arcatus as well as the other "Long Shadows" will add some welcome diversity to the Siege of Terra when it arrives. Russ and co are obviously missing a piece to bridge their departure from Sol to where they are here, and The Crimson King might catch up the Thousand Sons for this one.
One odd thing stood out to me, though: The commanding officer of the World Eaters is named Delerax, who, as far as I remember, was executed by the Alpha Legion in the short story The Face of Treachery, which is set parallel to the opening chapters of Deliverance Lost. I wasn't too keen on his inclusion here, since it didn't really add anything and it was just a simple name-drop without facetime. [Edit: Gav just let me know via Twitter that it is a nod towards the Alpha Legion's presence, which makes sense. Guess poor Delerax was simply replaced ;)]

The worst thing I can say about Weregeld is that the ending was a bit abrupt, albeit reminiscent of Raven's Flight's escape from Isstvan V, which was also featured shortly in DL. The abruptness fit the story, however, and the prologue/epilogue combination wraps up a big plotline entirely while implying a lot for the rest of the Heresy.
Besides that, I was thoroughly engaged and satisfied with the novella. Corax finally loses control, Ephrenia gets a key role, the Raptors realize their inevitable fate, and all the secrets and lies from the story arc are revealed at last, resulting in massive character drama. There are more bits of information about the pre-Legion days, and the Wolves are shown as defiant even in doom. Heck, Gav even included the Spear of Russ and its meaning to the Wolf King!

One thing I am uncertain about though is the way an infested Night Lords ship is described, however. I took it as daemonic infestation, which makes sense in the scenes it appears (which is to say, it is wrapped up quickly), but Gav certainly dropped some hints and links to the Tyranids' coming. It doesn't feel like a Tyranid threat in any tangible way, though, so I consider these links more of easter eggs than anything else, until proven otherwise. [Edit: Confirmed as Not Tyranids by Gav. Put the pitchforks away!]

If The Path of Heaven showed the White Scars' weariness and grief, then Weregeld does the same for the Raven Guard. The way they express it is different, but very down to character of their Primarchs. It is the culmination of everything that has gone before, forming a logical conclusion to the story arc. Overwhelmed by his own failings and connection to the warp, Corax becomes a tragic figure full of misconceptions and pain, looking for a way out.
To me, Weregeld also presents yet another telling difference between Konrad Curze and Corvus Corax: Whereas the Night Haunter longs for his actions to be vindicated, for himself to be proven right by history and his enemies, Corax seeks to hide the results of his arrogance, and when everything goes belly-up, he seeks absolution. He realizes his failings and wants to atone, or at least escape them, whereas Curze owns them while also shedding responsibility by claiming that the Primarchs are puppets of the gods.

I have been talking a damn lot about Corax, the Primarch, haven't I? The reason for that is that in my eyes, Corax, like Deliverance Lost, appears as more of a character study spanning the whole Heresy. Where a lot of novels in the series make certain events, certain battles the narrative focus, with these stories I always felt that the Legion and their Primarchs themselves were the important point being explored, and the battles and warzones vehicles for further exploration. That is an approach that I wish other authors had taken with previous novels, rather than focusing overly much on the action. In Corax, the focus is clear and well-developed, and even if you've read the previous novellas individually, I would strongly suggest reading all three plus short stories in sequence with this book.

With the Raven Guard story of the Heresy firmly under wraps, I cannot wait to find out what Gav's next contribution to the Heresy series might be. After Angels of Caliban, I am honestly hoping for more Dark Angels...

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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.

I took some time to revisit Deliverance Lost before going for Corax, the latest Horus Heresy installment. I'd recommend you do the same.

The Story:

"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 Review:

Deliverance lost was, admittedly, one of my least-favorite Horus Heresy novels when I read it upon release, many years ago. With Corax finally released, collecting the novellas and finishing the story arc begun with this novel, I figured it would be best to re-read the old novel in preparation for the new anthology.
And what do you know, it is far better than I remembered, and much better than the internet's denizens would have you believe.

In essence, this is a book about the Raven Guard dealing with their trauma after the disastrous Dropsite Massacre of Isstvan V. The Legion is in tatters, with a mere few thousand remaining of their number. Corax is willing to throw even those remaining sons of his away to hurt Horus in simple vengeance missions, but after arriving on Terra for an audience with the Emperor of Mankind, he is offered a new opportunity:
Rebuilding the Legion using the Primarch Project's genetech, and striking back as a Legion again.

On the other hand, we have the Alpha Legion plotting against the Raven Guard and Horus. They have infiltrated the ravens by replacing Astartes at the Dropsite Massacre with their own, psychically implanting memories from the real legionaries into their own dudes, changing faces surgically and the likes. They know of the Raven Guard's gift from the Emperor, ahead of time, and wish to steal it for themselves.

Sprinkled throughout, we find flashbacks to the time up to the arrival of the Emperor on Deliverance, showing Corax and his group of rebels acting to free the prison moon of Lycaeus from the Tech Guilds. Corax is presented as super intelligent, but morally unstable until he gets taught philosophy, history and more by old wise men in the prison complex. Where he seems, at first, eager to just end the guards on his own without fuss, he is taught not to be too rash and consider carefully.
This, to me, seems like a cool counterpoint to Konrad Curze, the Night Haunter, who grew up in darkness as well, but had nobody to rely on or to trust, nobody to teach him right from wrong. Corax himself fears and hates the Night Haunter and recognizes that he could have ended up similar under slightly different circumstances: A terrorist rather than a revolutionary rebel leader.

The flashbacks, though I didn't like them occuring in the middle of regular chapters, relatively suddenly to lead in other scenes and give them expanded contrast (such as Captain Branne being willing to sacrifice innocents for the greater good, like Corax reluctantly did before the coming of the Emperor), were well-done and reinforce Corax' relationship with various key figures and his early philosophy of being a freedom fighter, not a conqueror.
This stands in heavy contrast to the obsessed, blind figure Corax becomes throughout the book, caring less and less about his fellow Raven Guard and more about his own need for vengeance and the fastest ways to achieve it.

Despite all the bits of pre-Legion history or the Alpha Legion shenanigans orchestrated by Alpharius and Omegon, the book really is about Corax. It is about the gene-experiments and the creation of the Raptors, too, of course, but primarily it seemed to me as a study of Corax' growing distance between himself and his remaining Legion, his obsession with a supposedly simple solution, his impatience and disregard for what he has left in favor of reaching for the stars and risking to lose everything he had left.

Throughout the book, Corax goes from contemplating self-sacrifice in a suicidal charge against Angron of the World Eaters to numb to angry and spiteful, before throwing himself at his father's feet to ask for his blessing in throwing his remaining sons away to hurt Horus anyway possible. While recovering the gene-tech, he risks throwing away his trusted sons to pave the way for the future. When the experiments start back home on Deliverance, he pushes aside obvious problems within the Raven Guard, especially between Isstvanites and the remainers under Branne, and the odd behavior of some Legionaries, to focus on the creation of new super-soldiers.

Corax becomes increasingly ruthless in his pursuits. He ends up disconnected from the actual proceedings and appears to put a lot of pressure on his captains over it. Instead of solving squabbles between two of his most favored and longest-serving sons, he figures he could just replace them if they carry on, but their strife isn't a priority. He keeps making demands of the apothecary and magos working on the gene-tech that are unreasonable and too much, too quickly, and when Branne confronts him about the rash, overzealous nature of the first batches of Raptors, Corax gets significantly angry and shrugs it all off - instead of listening to the sound advice of his senior staff, he wants to expand the recruitment instead of doing a thorough job, to hit some arbitrary goals he set for his Legion.

Deliverance Lost is a story about Corax's obsession and hubris, first and foremost. While the Alpha Legion scenes were great and well-done, throwing the reader off on multiple occassions and seeing their perspective of their host-Legion (and the effect the memory-implantations have on them), it is the Primarch of the Raven Guard that was best characterized. His shame is more than losing his Legion, disappointing the Emperor and screwing up his recruits in the later batches. His biggest shame is neglecting his Legion, forgetting his principles and turning on his friends. Re-reading the book has made that pretty obvious to me, and for that I love the book.

I also want to praise it for the way Gav Thorpe managed to plant the seeds of suspicion within the reader. Piling up erratic behavior through the Alpha Legionaries and certain characters and ramping up the tension of the infiltration, he provided a magnificent red herring for readers to follow. He plays on us to put the hints together in a suitable way, and the resulting reveals end up more surprising than they otherwise would have been. It was well executed throughout the whole book, which shows that Gav does pretty well with intrigue stories; no surprise considering he has been writing Dark Angels for so long.

What I didn't quite enjoy were things like the absence of Marcus Valerius and the Therion Cohort for most of the book. They play a part early on and have a pretty great scene midway, but due to logistical reasons they only take part again at the very end. The Custodes, too, felt a bit too nitpicky and their presence on Deliverance was hardly felt. More could have been done with them, I am sure.

Another gripe is the very end of the book. Corax finally gets his will when the Raven Guard assault the Perfect Fortress of the Emperor's Children in the final chapter, following on from scenes within the same chapter that would have made for a pretty good ending to the book already. But instead of closing it, the story carries on with Corax and his Legion going back to the action.
I can see why this was a necessary part of the book, and that it had to go there after the apparent realizations of Corax. Still, I cannot help but feel that this final part was an afterthought, thrown in to show Corax and co in action, as the majority of the novel didn't have much bolter activity to show. The climax at Ravendelve certainly did, and I thought that appropriate and good enough to not require another batch of combat scenes afterwards - but Corax didn't take an active part in it. As a result, there had to be more to present the restored Primarch.

That said, it felt like the book overstayed its welcome with the Perfect Fortress. It threw the pacing off, adding action to a book whose strengths lay in the subterfuge and internal strife of its characters.
Some people still go on and on about Corax being "emo" and like an edgy teenager, but that's not at all how he is. Rather, he is as driven and prone to obsession as any of his brothers. For him the direction just ended up different. Instead of looking for higher powers like Lorgar, longing for perfection and ever greater stimuli like Fulgrim, or even just for order and structure like Guilliman, Corax turned to vengeance, and it consumed him until the big wake-up call. That doesn't mean that his trauma of Isstvan V is over and he should forget it, or that his mistakes from this novel should not cast their shadow over the novellas that carry on from here.

Gav Thorpe managed to detail a Primarch that is in many ways familiar and like his brothers, but also notably different in tone. I appreciate that and think that Deliverance Lost, as a book, is far more worthy of respect than many fans seem to think. It sets the stage for many things to come, and even answered some questions as to the Emperor's whereabouts and what happened to the Remembrancers within the Loyalist Legions.
It gave some valuable insights into the Primarch Project and the Emperor's plans and showed his genius via the mechanical labyrinth guarding the gene-tech. While I found the chapters dealing with the recovery a little tedious, I cannot dispute their necessity to the story, as the intricately designed lock it presented made the defenses seem plausible and functional.

Deliverance Lost has a lot to offer to fans of the Horus Heresy, the Raven Guard and the Alpha Legion and enriches the setting as a whole. I wish we could all just dispense with the cries of "emo" and condemnation of Corax and Gav Thorpe's vision for him. It is fitting for the Lord of Ravens in my eyes, and never done to the extent that it would reach into the comical. Nothing here is as melodramatic as the simple farewell Corax left to his sons, as per the old background material.
As for myself, I am happy I gave it another shot instead of declaring "Nevermore" and turning my back on the Raven Guard plotline. It was well-worth the time investment.

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The time has come – if the Imperium is to survive the ork invasion, it must strike at the heart of the greenskin empire. Their home world has been identified, and Koorland, aided by a primarch, leads the assault…

The Imperium has been brought to the edge of extinction by an ork invasion of unprecedented scale and depth. Piecemeal strikes against the invaders prove ineffective - for every ork fleet destroyed, five more appear. The only solution is to find and kill the orks' warlord - the Great Beast. Surely if its leader is killed, the greenskins' empire will fall apart in agony of infighting and confusion. Lord Commander Koorland assembles a mighty army, but when they arrives on the orks home world, the forces of the Imperium discover they have disastrously underestimated the might and ingenuity of their enemy.

Back from vacation, so let's go back to Ullanor and pay the Great Beast a visit!

The Story:

"The time has come – if the Imperium is to survive the ork invasion, it must strike at the heart of the greenskin empire. Their home world has been identified, and Koorland, aided by a primarch, leads the assault…

The Imperium has been brought to the edge of extinction by an ork invasion of unprecedented scale and depth. Piecemeal strikes against the invaders prove ineffective - for every ork fleet destroyed, five more appear. The only solution is to find and kill the orks' warlord - the Great Beast. Surely if its leader is killed, the greenskins' empire will fall apart in agony of infighting and confusion. Lord Commander Koorland assembles a mighty army, but when they arrives on the orks home world, the forces of the Imperium discover they have disastrously underestimated the might and ingenuity of their enemy."

The Review

The Beast Must Die takes the fight back to the orks for good. It is full of action and, oddly enough, development for the orks and the Great Beast. The latter makes it one of the coolest ork focused books in Black Library's stable (at least as far as 40k is concerned), which is at least in part due to Gav Thorpe's attempts to feature old and forgotten pieces from the background.

Political intrigue is at an all-time low. I expected to be bummed out by that and end up lukewarm on the book, but while the High Lords aren't on the stage for almost the entire book, their appearances in the first chapter, and their confrontation with Primarch Vulkan therein, left me excited and satisfied regardless. It is down to Thorpe's excellent pacing and raising of the stakes throughout the rest that I never really felt like a change of pace via Terra-based politics was necessary.

The rest of the book, meaning chapters two to twenty-two, are set on and around Ullanor. I highly anticipated the Imperium's strike at the Beast's home world, especially for how much of a symbolic value that planet had during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy series. Seeing the orks build a new empire of their own springing from the place of their greatest defeat at the hands of Horus and the Emperor was such a promising idea, it would have been easy to deliver an underwhelming novel that didn't meet my expectations.

Thankfully, The Beast Must Die met them. Indeed, it is one of the top novels in the series so far, despite its heavy action focus.

Most of the chapters are prefaced with the introspections of Primarch Vulkan. I've seen people call them "emo", and indeed, they are depressing in many ways, but oh were they telling and fitting for a character like Vulkan. For all his legendary status, he is weary of life and seeing the Imperium's decay. He has a heavy cross to bear (see: Vulkan Lives and onwards in the HH series) and it makes perfect sense for him to take these mental turns over the course of one and a half millennia. Considering he was always presented as the most human of the Emperor's demi-god sons, I fully approve of how Thorpe depicted his inner turmoil.

Even on the active side, Vulkan's depiction is spot on. He is aloof where he should be, reminiscing about the glories of a lost age in places, and feels very disconnected from the rest of the Imperium. He rarely utilizes the authority inherent in his nature, but when he does, he moves the plot and characters forward in clever ways. In one chapter, he defends Chapter Master Koorland's authority as Lord Commander in a way that made me smile and cemented both Vulkan's subtle genius and Koorland's suitability in his role for me.

In other situations, Vulkan is a mighty warrior who goes head to head with mighty war machines - something we have seen in The Hunt for Vulkan already, but here he feels both less and more like a one-man-army. More, because he isn't fighting on his own anymore and leaves the Space Marines with him watch on in awe, and less so because he actually coordinates with them. Where The Hunt for Vulkan aimed to excite and awe the reader with how mighty Vulkan is, here it becomes clear that despite all that, he cannot fight this war alone.

The ork civilization meanwhile is sketched with great detail and should appeal to longtime fans who have seen old editions of 40k come and go. Many ideas and concepts long scrapped are alluded to, and the greenskins of Gorkagrod are far from the usual brutes. Unlike most Black Library novels, we see orks living in "peace", as a functioning society. It is a chilling prospect that bodes ill for the Imperium, but manages to elevate the ork threat of the series to even higher levels.

This is also the first time since the first book that we get a direct confrontation with the Great Beast. If you have been waiting for that, this is your book. Whatever you expected: Go bigger.
That final confrontation of the novel was excellently handled, and leaves the reader with a bit of a blown mind. Personally, I am not sure where the series can go from this. David Annandale's Watchers in Death has a big task ahead of it to continue on from that cataclysm.

The Beast Must Die is an excellent book. The series needed it, both in regards to plot, reveals, resolutions of subplots and moment to moment action. Seeing the Imperium act as a truly united force against the biggest threat since the Heresy was glorious, especially after all the backstabbing previously. Of course, there are still intrigues going on behind the scenes, but they are secondary here. The Beast Must Die, or all shall fall.

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The First Legion go to war, and their primarch's brutal actions threaten to tear apart the fragile alliance of Imperium Secundus.

With the Dark Angels spread across a hundred systems, primarch Lion El’Jonson stands as Lord Protector of Ultramar – though his true motives are known to few indeed, and old rivalries on the home world threaten to tear the Legion in half. But when word comes of the Night Lords’ attack on Sotha, the Lion’s brutal actions bring Imperium Secundus once again to the brink of civil war. Not even the most fearsome warriors of the Dreadwing, nor any arcane secret of the Order, can guarantee victory if he sets himself against his loyal brothers.

Angels of Caliban continues the trend of reinvigorating the Horus Heresy by wrapping up story arcs and progressing characters and Legions in a satisfying way. It juggles two quite different plotlines, Imperium Secundus and the growing revolt on Caliban, and does so well.

The Story:

"The First Legion go to war, and their primarch's brutal actions threaten to tear apart the fragile alliance of Imperium Secundus.

With the Dark Angels spread across a hundred systems, primarch Lion El’Jonson stands as Lord Protector of Ultramar – though his true motives are known to few indeed, and old rivalries on the home world threaten to tear the Legion in half. But when word comes of the Night Lords’ attack on Sotha, the Lion’s brutal actions bring Imperium Secundus once again to the brink of civil war. Not even the most fearsome warriors of the Dreadwing, nor any arcane secret of the Order, can guarantee victory if he sets himself against his loyal brothers."

The Review

I've always defended Descent of Angels. A lot of people online seem to dislike it, with the biggest complaints being that it doesn't have much to do with the Heresy itself, and instead plays out more like a fantasy novel than science fiction. To me, that always seemed more appealing, and learning more about the Dark Angels on Caliban, their culture and the seeds of doubt that would lead Luther to turn on the Lion, was great. In Angels of Caliban, those aspects are picked back up at long last, and there are a lot of additions and expansions to the Dark Angels' background and characterization.

Some of this is down to ForgeWorld's plans for the Legion in the Horus Heresy tabletop game, which added more info about the different Wings (we knew about some, the Ravenwing and Deathwing most prominently, but now there are six total), and new armaments for the First in general. But there is also plenty about Caliban, and Luther's life specifically, that comes to light here. Before, Luther has always been a bit of an enigma. We saw him through the eyes of Zahariel and Nemiel, for example, but this time he has scenes of his own, contemplating and weighing options.

There is a lot more depth to Sar Luther, Grand Master of the Order, thanks to this book. It sets the mood for him as a character in the wider Legion history, giving a sense of tragedy and good intentions, an idealist whose hand is ultimately forced by an ever-increasing web of schemes all around Caliban. As the book ended, I still found myself feeling sympathy for the Lion's adoptive father-brother, rather than see him as the arch traitor he is considered in the 41st Millennium. He is as layered as the Legion/Chapter itself, and for that I salute Gav.

The bigger surprise was Zahariel's role in it all. He shifted in tone and motivation quite drastically since we last saw him. Once more we see the good intentions of the Calibanites, while also seeing the tragedy their actions summon to their world. Considering that Zahariel was the protagonist of the previous two Legion novels, his change to antagonist left me somewhat gutted, but I loved the execution and am eagerly waiting for the resolution of that can of worms (see what I did there? No? Read the book!).

Gav also weaved in events from his scattered short stories, like The Lion, which introduced us to Tuchulcha (who obviously appears again, and is creepy as ever, with some dialogue parallels to The Unforgiven), but also saw the execution of Nemiel, Zahariel's friend and cousin. This stokes a lot of fires on Caliban, once Zahariel learns of it from Chapter Master Belath, who we've seen initially in contest with Astelan in Call of the Lion, and later alongside Corswain (who, sadly, only gets mentioned here).

Everything is tied together in Angels of Caliban, so you'd better read those stories first. Thankfully, they are all part of the numbered series by now, and not exclusive to audio formats or event exclusive anthologies anymore. On top of that, the Legacy of Caliban trilogy, and Gav's debut Dark Angels novel Angels of Darkness, which set the tone for the Legion ever since, are all connecting to this installment in one way or another.

While this book does reveal a few things that fans were wondering and theorizing about for years, it also opens up more questions. My big disappointment in that regard was the lack of Lord Cypher reveal - but at least that might yet come to pass in a follow up, retroactively. Many things are implied, few are outright stated, and a lot of them are pulled directly into question again.

A big reason for that is Merir Astelan. Everything he says or does has to be taken with caution. He is unreliable as a narrator, as has been shown many times since Angels of Darkness, but also blatantly lying to his supposed brethren, always gambling for his own advancement and willing to drop all loyalties for personal gain and glory. If anything, he might be the biggest architect of the fall from grace the Unforgiven experienced, by playing all sides at once. If you haven't come to hate him so far, chances are you will with this book. But then, he is also superbly intriguing and has a lot of knowledge to reveal - if you dare trust any of his words.

It is that sort of ambiguity and lies wrapped in truths that make the Dark Angels so appealing to read about. They are honorable, but also untrustworthy. They are proud, but also insanely fickle and paranoid. They might invite you to a glorious feast in one moment but already be planning your execution behind your back. Angels of Caliban has the potential to be very divisive for the Legion's fans - which is as well, looking back at the legacy of Gav's original story, and the eternal discussions about the Fallen themselves.

On the other hand of the galaxy, we have the Lion still hunting for Konrad Curze in Ultramar. The plotline kicks off parallel to Guy Haley's Pharos, and shows the Lion's purge of leftover World Eaters/Word Bearers fragments across the 500 Worlds, and how he and his commanders deal with the regular folk.

These early chapters also provide a stage for the Dreadwing, who are the bad boys of the Legion. Chemical warfare and utter annihilation of the enemy are their bread and butter. "We have come. We are death" isn't just some idle mantra to them.
Originally, Dreadwing was announced as a novel by Dan Abnett, but for various reasons, that was scrapped and rolled into Gav Thorpe's Angels of Caliban. As a matter of fact, I am glad this happened, as Gav's take on the Dreadwing was interesting and noticeably different from the Ravenwing or Deathwing action from his 40k novels, or even the Raven Guard.
It provided him with ways to explore the Legion's nature, and the Lion's unrelenting hunt, which stood in stark contrast to Guilliman's diplomacy, which obviously led to the two brethren butting heads.

In general, the tension in Imperium Secundus is rising. The Triumvirate is barely holding together, but the Primarch dynamics are out of balance. The Lion goes out of his way to subvert direct orders and rulings, feeling slighted where no insult was intended, and it all spirals out of control from there.

The Lion himself seemed both less and more likeable in this installment than in previous stories. I have a big antipathy for him. He is twisted by nature, arrogant and disconnected from his own Legion and his brothers. His social skills are that of an iron mace, and his pride and paranoia are constantly getting the better of him. But then, he is also using those aspects to achieve his goals in the hunt for Curze, which ended with a very cool showdown that feels like a natural conclusion to their rivalry that has been going on for far too long now.

But then the Lion also surprises with some very genuine moments of introspection and regret for his own being and decisions. He is aware of his failings, but also alone in bearing them, with no one to trust or turn to in earnest. He has no real equal. His brothers are rivals in some ways, and his gene-sons are wary of upsetting him, especially after learning of Nemiel's fate. In one moment he will encourage one of his officers to disagree and speak plainly, the next he will grow furious about it.
The Lion is broken in many ways, and the end of the book symbolizes that marvelously.

Guilliman, Sanguinius and Curze are all competently written - as was Horus during the prologue. In fact, that prologue was an excellent way to set the scene which filled in blanks and made new connections for the future, and set the Lion's and Luther's relationship front and center. It is full of foreboding, but also gave a glimpse of the Horus-that-was, beloved by all (but the Lion).
All things considered, I think Gav's grip on the Primarchs involved was very solid and satisfying, taking all the right cues from previous depictions.

That is what it comes down to: Angels of Caliban managed to pull together many disparate strings of story and weave them into an exciting and layered book that offered a lot of insight into the big players involved, while introducing new characters with potential. It solved some problems while creating numerous others for the Legion, and hammers home the sense of tragedy and misunderstandings that is so central to the Dark Angels. It shows that the road to hell is paved with good intentions - I loved it.

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The Imperial Navy cuts through the chaos on Terra and strikes back against the ork invaders, in a daring plan that could turn the tide of war against the greenskins.

As ork ships lay waste to world after world, heading inexorably towards Terra, Imperial citizens despair. The High Lords become desperate to prove that victory is possible, no matter the cost. A massive Navy fleet is assembled – their mission to make a definitive strike against the orks at Port Sanctus, an area of enemy-held space. But when the Imperial armada arrives, they find themselves outclassed and outmanoeuvred – can human courage and faith possibly prevail against such terrible odds?

The Emperor Expects is the first book in the The Beast Arises series that I honestly enjoyed without that nagging feeling of something being off and somewhat unfulfilling about it. It did not blow me away, truth be told, but it made some solid steps towards progressing the series.

The Story:

"The Imperial Navy cuts through the chaos on Terra and strikes back against the ork invaders, in a daring plan that could turn the tide of war against the greenskins.

As ork ships lay waste to world after world, heading inexorably towards Terra, Imperial citizens despair. The High Lords become desperate to prove that victory is possible, no matter the cost. A massive Navy fleet is assembled – their mission to make a definitive strike against the orks at Port Sanctus, an area of enemy-held space. But when the Imperial armada arrives, they find themselves outclassed and outmanoeuvred – can human courage and faith possibly prevail against such terrible odds?"

The Review

The Emperor Expects had a sense of momentum that its two predecessors lacked. Things are moving more quickly and characters finally make their plays, rather than being stuck preparing. The Imperium is finally starting to move towards countering the Ork threat. Captain Koorland, last survivor of the Imperial Fists, takes an opportunity to convene with the other sons of Dorn. The Inquisition finally moves into focus and provides a different look on Terra's current state and politics.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Navy is gathering to strike back against an ork attack moon, featuring some very likeable characters next to some that deserve some solid shin-kicks.
It is the first real navy-focused book in a very long time, and I am quite alright with that, even though I was never particularly fond of the drawn-out stellar engagements on paper.
Still, Gav Thorpe executed the sense of void warfare as well as I could have hoped, and both his and the Imperium's gambits payed off for me as the reader.

Seeing captain Kulik's relationship with both his second in command Shaffenbeck and his mentor, admiral Price, develop throughout the novel was interesting and at times genuinely funny. The inter-navy rivalries and power plays that clog the system similar to how things have been going on Terra, really contributed to making this short novel enjoyable and relatable beyond what the previous books managed.

Back on Terra, the focus shifts from Drakan Vangorich to Inquisitor Wienand, who represents her order among the High Lords. She has featured in both previous books, albeit more lightly in the second. Following her entanglements with the High Lords' political plays and those of the Inquisition itself was entertaining and captivating. It is the first good look at the inner workings of the Inquisition post-Heresy, before the reformations that will shape them the way we are used to them from Abnett's Eisenhorn novels, for example. I honestly liked this plotline and the things that evolved from it. They add to the tension and provide another layer of intrigue.

On the other side, we have Captain Koorland of the Imperial Fists, who was rescued by the Adeptus Mechanicus in the prequel, Predator, Prey. Unlike that novel, he actually plays a role here. I found his interactions with the now-restored Magos Biologis Laurentis to be massively enjoyable, no less because it reflects a unique bit of.. friendship between Astartes and Tech Adept. Or probably the closest you can get to being friends with a hyperlogical machine brain at any rate.

Not just that, Koorland (also known as 'Slaughter') begins preparations for a conclave of Chapter Masters. He invites the successors of the Imperial Fists Legion to convene to discuss the Ork threat and stand in defense of the Segmentum Solar.
The previously introduced Black Templars and Fists Exemplar are in attendance, and joined by the Crimson Fists and Excoriators, both of which had previously been given the spotlight in the Space Marine Battles series. I am afraid to say that I have neglected both Rynn's World and Legion of the Damned in my reading, so I might not catch all the nuances between M32 and M41 versions of the Chapters in future novels. For now, though, that did not pose any problems whatsoever.
Introducing these Chapters was a logical step in my opinion, and just provides another angle to make The Beast Arises both familiar and alien in tone and theme.

As for the orks, I am happy to say that I finally felt they were a genuine threat here. There were some melee boarding engagements, but most of the waaagh for Port Sanctus was down to naval actions. The orks finally got the opportunity to show off their cunning against proper admirals and fleet commanders, resulting in more than just "they are so big and green" moments. The staggered realizations of the orks' strategical behavior were well executed and believable.

At the end of the book, though, I felt like there should have been a bit more on various points. I was surprised to see Koorland's plotline end so early in the book, and Vangorich, while having pretty good scenes, was a little underused. Not that this could really be helped, considering we know his destination and he will not reach it before the final two novels. Strong focus on him cannot be maintained on the same level without his arc being dragged out and repetitive, I think.
I would have liked to see some more AdMech scenes, as they only appeared early on in Koorland's plotline by necessity.

But then, those are nitpicks that did not drag the novel down much. I still enjoyed it a heck more than the previous two, and think that the series is finally rolling on, after the previous setup installments. The Emperor Expects is a genuinely good showing by Gav Thorpe, and continues the upwards tendency of the series so far.

The Emperor Expects on Goodreads

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