Reading Lamp: James Swallow

Another long-delayed review. Life gets in the way more often than you'd like, doesn't it? Either way, this was coming one day or another. It is another advent story, of course.

The Story:

"Having long been hounded across the galaxy by the Dark Angels, First Captain Typhon of the Death Guard has limped his fleet to sanctuary in Segmentum Obscurus - as a guest of the separatist Luther of Caliban, no less. On the world of Zaramund, long a symbol of brotherhood amongst the Legions, Typhon begins to suspect that a new form of corruption has followed him out of the wider war. Will he embrace it, or escape into the darkness once more?

It's another step towards what we all know is coming for the Death Guard and Captain Typhon. Is it time that he embraced his destiny as a pawn of the Plague Lord?"

The Review:

Exocytosis is yet another neat, character-focused Horus Heresy short story. It is a sequel to Gav Thorpe's Angels of Caliban, continuing on from the novel's epilogue. If you haven't read it prior to this story, I'd recommend that you do. Not only was it pretty good, but the Caliban plotlines and foreshadowing lead right into the situation we've got here.

Calas Typhon, First Captain of the Death Guard, has come to Zaramund, and found Luther of the Dark Angels waiting for him. Typhon and crew have been hounded by loyalist Dark Angels for years now, so tensions with Luther are a given. Only a modicum of courtesy is extended towards the Grand Master, yet materiel and refugee are accepted nonetheless. But the Death Guard, and Typhon in particular, are keeping many secrets here, almost mirroring the Dark Angels themselves. And then Typhon gets confronted with a grim truth that sets him truly on course to become Typhus, the Herald of Nurgle we all know from the 41st Millennium.

To be frank, I was a bit worried about Swallow taking back the Death Guard after all these years. He set a certain tone for the Legion in Flight of the Eisenstein - but that was almost 10 years ago! Since then, he had very little to do with the Death Guard at large, despite his long-running Garro sub-series. In the meantime, many other authors have tackled Mortarion and the Death Guard, from Graham McNeill over Gav Thorpe to Chris Wraight, and I don't think it controversial to say that out of all of the depictions, I am particularly keen on Wraight's. Indeed, this story, along with Wraight's The Path of Heaven, will undoubtedly lead right into the upcoming fall of the Death Guard novel. Needless to say, I was hoping Chris would score the book, but after reading Exocytosis, I am more torn on the matter.

That is to say, I enjoyed this short story a good deal. Typhon takes the center of the stage, though I would have liked to see a little more of Luther, Zahariel and co. The few nuggets of info we get there are worthwhile in my opinion, and show the tensions within the Dark Angels pretty well. But it really is about Typhon, his eventual fate and the beginning of the true turn of the Death Guard from traitors to swollen, pustulent abominations in the service of the god of pestilence.
Swallow offers a few callbacks to ideas he put onto the table back in Eisenstein, which I appreciate greatly, and Typhon feels a bit more nuanced than I thought him in Thorpe's The Lion. The semi-religious themes tackled here also were a nice touch, though I was shaking my head over the one and only Dark Angel who could've had a chance of changing the inevitable.

Overall this isn't great on action or big Legion progression. A lot of it is setup for what is to come, to bring Typhon, an oft-neglected character, back into the spotlight. However, it is good setup with a good character focus that was sorely needed. It is competently written and fits neatly into the current state of the Heresy. If it heralds a return to the Death Guard for Swallow, he is welcome to go ahead with it.

Exocytosis on Goodreads

Ghosts Speak Not & Patience compiles two stories dealing with Nathaniel Garro and Amendara Kendel, following on from various plotlines of the Horus Heresy.

The Story:

"A former Sister of Silence and a Legionary once of the Death Guard embark on a vital mission for the Sigillite... one that will lead the former XIV Legion warrior back into battle alongside his old captain, Nathaniel Garro...

When Nathaniel Garro carried word of the Warmaster’s treachery to Terra, he also brought with him seventy loyal sons of the XIV Legion. Distrusted by their kinsmen, they languished in seclusion on Luna... until now. Amendera Kendel, once a Sister of Silence but more recently in service to the Sigillite, gives Helig Gallor of the Death Guard a new purpose, and a new duty – one that will ultimately see him reunited with his former battle captain on the field of war."

The Review

Ghosts Speak Not is the first Horus Heresy story in a long time to feature Amendera Kendel, former Sister of Silence, now agent of Malcador the Sigillite. When last we saw her in Tales of Heresy, volume 10 of the series, many years ago, Kendel's world views and loyalties were put to the test. Now we finally get to see what came of her.

And it turns out that Kendel is even better realized now than she was back in The Flight of the Eisenstein or The Voice (from Tales of Heresy). Her character appeared stronger and more intriguing to me, and her task to uproot suspected treachery close to Terra was all the more exciting as a result.

Kendel recruits a duo of former Death Guard for her mission, finally showing us what came of the survivors of the Eisenstein's escape. Locked away and isolated deep on Luna, the warriors are growing restless and resentful. However, their loyalties remain true to the Emperor, and as such, Kendel finds the support she needs.
Both Gallor and Kyda, the Death Guard in question, fill needed roles in the story, and provide muscle where necessary. However, the show is not their own. They do just the right amount without turning the story into yet another space marine piece in the series.

But the real gem here is astropath Pau Yei, whose uneasiness around the null-maiden is felt all too vividly by the reader. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her, but also a growing respect as events unfold.
There are other characters in Kendel's retinue, like two soldiers picked by the Sigillite, who I found to be enjoyable too.

What makes this story so exceptional to me is that it is almost an oldschool Inquisition piece. Hunting for traitors to the Imperium, going out on a limb following leads, suspecting foul play but needing firmer evidence... It is all here. The chase for the rogue elements is dynamic, well-considered and gives everyone a time to shine. It did help that the antagonists were believable in their treachery as well.
The eventual conclusion, however, made me excited like I wouldn't have expected. It adds a whole new layer of seriousness and authority to Malcador's agents. The Silent War is escalating further, it would seem.

Patience, meanwhile, felt a little tacked on (probably because it was). It made a point more than anything, and showed us Nathaniel Garro, Malcador's Agentia Primus, through the eyes of his brother Death Guard Gallor from the previous story. Unlike Ghosts, this story is written from a first person perspective, and illustrates just how apart Garro stands from his brethren at this point, both in status and in attitude, but still reaches out for them in brotherhood.
It was enjoyable, if short, and expands on Garro's mythos in a neat way.
Still, it pales in comparison with the excellent Ghosts Speak Not, so it disappointed my admittedly high expectations a little.

Overall, though, this is an excellent addition to the series. It is worth it for the action and for the character development, and brings the war a little closer to Holy Terra. I'd very much recommend it.

Ghosts Speak Not & Patience on Goodreads

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