Customer Reviews

Fallen Angels (Horus Heresy)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mostly set in the 200th year of the Emperor's Great Crusade. On Caliban civil war erupts. Many strive to break from Imperial rule. Brother-Librarian Zahariel and his men, under orders from El'Jonson's second-in-command (Luther), fight almost nonstop. An evil taint seems to suffuse parts of the planet itself. Roots and vines seethe with corruption of an awful, otherworldly sentience.

Meanwhile in the stars, Lion El'Jonson believes that Warmaster Horus will attempt to take the fully-operational forge within the Tanagra system. He sends a small, hand-picked force to the keep the wealth of Diamat out of Horus's hands. Brother-Redemptor Nemiel (cousin of Zahariel) and Brother-Sergeant Kohl lead this force. However, El'Jonson knows of another reason the Warmaster is interested in Diamat.

***** FOUR AND A HALF STARS! This is the sequel to book six, Descent of Angels. Unless you read it first, you may find yourself lost in this story. Events basically pick up where Descent of Angels left off. (Zahariel and Luther land on Caliban after El'Jonson sent them away.) The author had to show what was happening on Caliban, as well as in the Crusade, and he did an admirable job of it! Zahariel and Nemiel are cousins. Zahariel is on Caliban with Luther. Nemiel is with El'Jonson in space. I found it very interesting to see how the author juggled the two similar men and how the battles end up shaping each.

This well crafted story will keep your attention and perhaps give you a few surprises as well. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Great book by one of Black Library regular contributor - Mike Lee.

Revisiting the characters of the 6th volume Descent of Angels, their experiences changes them a bit, but that was expected: 150 years passed (the main events of this book are in the 200th year of the crusade), brother librarian Zahariel went with Luther to Caliban in disgrace (with the job of training new recruits) while the chaplain...sorry...the redemptor Nemiel continues the glorious crusade side by side with the powerful primarch Lion El'Johnson.

Some mysterious events of the previous books are revealed, including the hedious danger that lies in Caliban.

The Primarch El'Jonhson is a military genius and a great warrior, but he isn't perfect - all primarchs have flaws!

The Zahariel/Luther plot leads to a terrible choice between their loyalty to the emperor or the duty to their people...what will they choose?

In the the Nemiel plot, El'Johnson sends an advance force to foil the plans of the warmaster in a dangerous gambit where speed is of essence and that can determine the outcome of the war.

With great battles on space, land and the characters souls, this book is an extremely valuable addition to the series. It deserves the 5 stars for the plot, the characters and the great "chess" players that are the strategists of this war (what a finale! Bravo).

I am perhaps Mike Lee's harshest critic. If you do a Google search on "Longest and Harshest review of Wolf's Honor" you'll find what I thought of his last foray into Warhammer 40,000. Yet even I could not hate upon this book.

It is absolutely brilliant. The descriptions are amazing, the plot is intriguing (and filled with intrigue :P), the characters are far more lifelike than the stuff that Mitchel Scanlon tried to force-feed us. What's more, Mike Lee has paid attention to the fact that, despite what Black Library Editors think is their target audience, a great deal of the Black Library fanbase is filled with scientists who enjoy a bit of realism in their novels.

This book, in my not-so-humble opinion, is up there with William King's works and begins to approach the levels of greatness of the likes of Ian Watson and Barrington J. Bayley (RIP). If Mike Lee is allowed to write more novels, then I see a new era of greatness to the badly tarnished Horus Heresy series.

I eagerly devoured each book in the Horus Heresy series until I got to Descent of Angels, which left me with a hollow feeling. I criticized it in a review on this site because it abandoned the main Heresy story arc in favor of an exploration of a pre- and post-Imperial society. Granted, such an exploration was unique, but it's not what I expected after Horus declared he was marching on Terra at the end of Fulgrim. It also doesn't really end, since anyone moderately familiar with Space Marine lore knows what happens to the Dark Angels after the Heresy, and the story concludes before those critical events. It felt like the first part of a planned series, and the majority of its pages were devoted to setting up characters and environments.

I bring this up because Fallen Angels exhibits the exact same problems: there's no advancement of Horus's story, and it doesn't really end in a satisfactory manner, which means that a THIRD book will be required to tell the full story of the Dark Angels. Having dealt with the setup in DoA, this book is nearly all action. It's entertaining enough, but it feels like certain characters act like they do simply because the plot requires them to. Lion el'Jonson, who is supposed to be one of "the good guys" is made to look like a traitor and an idiot. The book is unnecessary because it merely serves to set up the conditions necessary for the Legion's schism, which I thought was done already in the last book.

I for one have had it with these side stories. They're similar to "problem of the week" episodes from the new Battlestar Galactica, giving us a glimpse of pre- and post-Heresy life among the legions while doing nothing to advance the plot we're interested in, that of Horus's rebellion against the Emperor. Sure those episodes were fun, but would you be happy with an entire season of them after the opening miniseries? That's what we've had for the last six books in the series, and it's because of this that I am not buying any more of them until they pick up the main arc again.

I gave this book as a gift. It was in great condition. Thanks to the Amazon.com dealer for such speedy delivery.

This one was a bit too heavy on the back story of the Dark Angles and Johnson and less about the chapter becoming part of the Emperor's army... so that was rather disappointing... but all-in-all the book had a lot of fun action.

If you're a Dark Angels fan it's a great read. If you're just a 40k buff it's still very good.

Let me first be blunt in saying that no, as of the writing of this review, I have -not- read "Descent of Angels" - It's getting packed and is soon to ship, along with everything else currently available for the Heresy series.

This book is exactly what it should be - The fall of the Dark Angels (indeed, of any of the Founding Legions) is not going to be a simple, cut-and-dried event. "Good Guys" are never as simple as so many think they should be. This book gives us insight on Jonson the man, not Jonson the Pinnacle Of All That Is Good.

In this book, we see the consequences of events in DoA - Notably, of Luther's last minute decision to not betray Jonson. The seeds of the rebellion and schism were planted in DoA (book 1, as it were) and in Fallen Angels (book 2) we see those seeds grow to fruition - Luther and the Exiled Dark Angels gradually break with Jonson and his Dark Angels, over what they see as Jonson's betrayal of Caliban - A very human decision, in light of what had been done to them.

If, as some say there "will be," we get a third book it will be exactly as it should be - A 3 part play, with a beginning, a middle and an end. The Fallen Angels - even in the 40K canon - have been intentionally left as 'grey matter' - Are they truly followers of Chaos by choice, or are they followers of Chaos by necessity?

Personally, I look forward to the grand finale - whenever it comes. We know how the story ends - All we need, now, is the great battle that so many fans can feel and see coming - The clash of the Titans, as it were, between Luther and Jonson.

Well written, and definitely a solid lead-in to a third and final book detailing the fall of the Dark Angels and Lion El'Jonson.

First, I would like to say that three stars is not a bad rating. I enjoyed it as a simple yet fun read. But let's be honest. Aside from maybe Abnett, the 40k authors are pretty mediocre.

That being said, it was a much needed improvement to Decent of Angels, which in my opinion is the worst in the Horus Heresy series. The Dark Angels are a popular chapter and they deserve better. Fallen Angels is much more in line with the other books in the series.

The book is full of almost non-stop action which for a bolt gun, chainsword, power fist loving fan like I am, it was enjoyable. The book didn't move the story along but like others it provided additional background information which is important for a reader to have. Although frustrating, I think everyone should keep in mind that there were 20 original chapters at the time of the heresy and it going to take a lot of books to explain what they were all doing before the assault on Terra.

I have come to really enjoy this series. It has great action and intrigue. Fantastic science fiction. The only problem that I have with this series is the struggle between good and evil. If you are a Warhammer 40000 fan, you already know how the future ends up. These books just fill in the details, but all the scheming and betrayal hits a real sore spot with me. I am in the military and I can understand the brotherhood that is built between squad mates and a fighting unit. I would highly recommend any Sci-fi nut to get into the series.