Customer Reviews

The Flight of the Eisenstein (Horus Heresy)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Flight of the Eisenstein marks the continuation of the Horus Heresy Saga which began with Dan Abnett's Horus Rising and followed up by both Graham McNeill's False Gods and Ben Counter's Galaxy In Flames. James Swallow takes on the 4th book in the saga and he continues to show definite improvement with his grasp of the rich, detailed history and backstory that is Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 Universe. The Flight of the Eisenstein is a very well-written and Swallow does a great job in bringing the epic story of the Heresy to a smaller, but still interesting stage.

The Flight of the Eisenstein is shown through the eyes of Battle-Captain Nathaniel Garro of the Death Guard Legion's 7th Company. Garro's seen as well-liked and respected by his men and some of his peers outside his Company. His character shares the same nobility and introspective nature as the previous three books main characters in the Luna Wolves' Garviel Loken and the Emperor's Children's Saul Tarvitz. This helps tie Garro to the path he'll soon take as one of the few loyalist survivors of Horus' betrayal of the Emperor and the Legiones Astartes at Istvaan III. But before Garro will lead his company to flight in order to take Horus' betrayal to the Emperor in far-off Terra, he and the rest of the Death Guard are shown just how effective a war machine they are with their assault and determined annihilation of an alien race called the jorgalli. It is also in the novel's opening battle with this alien race where Garro first hears the psychic warnings that will soon tear the Astartes brotherhood asunder.

Soon Garro must follow his Primarch Mortation and the rest of the Death Guard to the Istvaan system where they meet up with the rest of Horus' task force. Garro and his men are too late to stop the actions his Primarch makes in support of Horus' plan but they make a desperate escape of the traitor legions' fleet blockade. It is during the escape and their subsequent attempts to survive in the Warp with a damaged ship which takes up the bulk of the novel. It is during this middle-half of the book which shows the internal dilemmas each Death Guard must face on their own after seeing what they've believed in and fought for just thrown away by their Legion and battle-brothers. Some make it through the crisis of faith whole and stronger for it while others succumb to the easy way out which Horus and his followers took to retain power and influence.

Swallow really does a great job in introducing not just the Death Guard, but also some of the more unique forces protecting the Imperium. The exotic and mysterious Sisters of Silence make their appearance and becomes a major factor in determining the fate of Garro and his men in the final third of the book. Even the Emperor's own personal guard, the Legiones Custodes, make a brief appearance in the end. James Swallow really sets up well the next stage of the Horus Heresy saga and he follows the guidelines set before him by others writers instead of going off on a wild tangent which doesn't even resemble the 40k universe as he did with the two books about the Blood Angels.

The Flight of the Eisenstein marks the 4th and continuing excellent storytelling of the biggest event in Warhammer 40k's history: The Horus Heresy. James Swallow does a great job in keeping the story from becoming just another big war story and actually infuses the novel with characters that were well-rounded. The next book in the series will be the one titled Fulgrim and will deal with that Primarch's rise and fall as one of the Emperor's sons. It will have quite a standard to reach for after The Flight of the Eisentein and the three prececing books.

James Swallow takes up the fourth novel of the Horus Heresy series, which follows one of the pivotal historical events of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe. This novel tells the tale of Battle-Captain Nathaniel Garro of the Death Guard, a minor character in the previous books, and at its core this is a tale of his personal growth and discovery, though action features heavily as well. He is cut of the same cloth as Captain Garviel of the Sons of Horus Legion and main protagonist from the first novels: able, principled, and introspective. Several Primarchs and historical characters make appearances, including: Horus, Rogal Dorn, Mortarion, Captain Typhon (Death Guard), Captain Tarvitz (Emperor's Children), Captain Sigismund (Imperial Fists), and others.

I have been a vocal critic of M. Swallow's past works for the Black Library, which have been long on purple prose and dues ex machina, and short on background knowledge and plot, so I picked up this book with no small amount of trepidation. However, I must say that this is easily his best work and is a worthy successor to the other Horus Heresy books.

The characters have depth, realistic motivations and reactions, and grow in ways that make sense. Particularly telling is Garro's development as he attempts to come to terms with the betrayal of his own Primarch and that of Horus. Without going into anything that would spoil the plot for others, let's just say that it's well done

The action scenes flow well, and convey an excellent sense of urgency. The opponents don't make stupid mistakes for the sake of the plot - a weakness in M. Swallow's prior works. His descriptions of the Primarchs, particularly Mortarion, feel slightly mundane once or twice, but typically have the proper sense of awe. The ending of the book gives a tantalizing hint of things to come without being a tease.

In short: a solid addition to the Horus Heresy series and a good read that you'll have trouble putting down.

WOW...did I love this book. Yes I did. Now I have been a historical wargamer for decades, but with my young son have begun building armies for Warhammer 40K. Up until recently I had been reading Abnett's wonderful stories about Ibrahm Gaunt and the Tanith. I was on the verge of reading another of Abnett's books when I spotted Swallow's Eisenstein. After juggling which to get, I settled on this one. I have always been intrigued by the Horus Heresy stuff and this looked like a great entry into learning something about it. And I would recommend to any newbie to the hobby that this book is a great way to see how the heresy unfolds and how one Death Guard Captain finds the measure of his life's purpose as he flees with a message of betrayal back to the Emperor.

The story builds nicely and the characters really grow before your eyes. A good book often reads itself and this one definitely did. I couldn't wait to pick it up each lunch hour and in the late hours of the night. I wanted to know how Nathaniel Garro would get the warning back to Terra and would he indeed discover his purpose.

Of course the answer is YES, but the how is so worth the time in discovering. So throw on the ceramite and clean your bolter, it's time my brother Astartes to follow the trials and redemption of Honour Brother Nathaniel Garro.

The Emperor Protects.

I did enjoy this book and was impressed in some ways with Mr. Swallow's writing but overall, I was not locked into the story. I felt it lacked some of the enormous impact and feeling that was set up in the previous books, such as in Horus Rising by Abnett. The first half sort of retells "Galaxy in Flames" from a different point of view, which was cool and disappointing at the same time. Not a bad effort at all, but don't expect the magic from the previous books.

I just got the book a few days ago and I have to say that it is very good. I remember Swallow's Blood Angel novels and the oddities found within them. I can honestly say that he has finally done some research and this is a good novel that takes place before and after the events in the third novel Galaxy in Flames. I give it four stars because I still remember his previous novels but I feel that this series is really going to get bigger and better. I can't wait for the next novel Fulgrim so that I can find out why he chose as he did. All Warhammer 40k fans should read this and hope that Swallow's upcoming work continues to improve.

If you're a fan of 40K, especially the backstory to pivotal events in the history of the Imperium, then you're probably already immersed in this series. Fans of Chaos can find quite a bit to latch onto as well, as this series delves into the 'turning' of some of humanity towards Chaos, as well as the role(s)and faces Chaos plays and takes.
This book continues the standards set by the previous titles of being well-written with plenty of action and intersecting plot lines and intertwining charachters. I was surprised at how well the books were written- there is some imaginative and well-worded prose to be found, and this book and author are no exception.
If you're not familiar with Games Workshops 'Warhammer 40K' universe, this series will appeal to readers who enjoy a very expanisve and richly developed universe of charachters, history and mythologies. Think of a cross between the 'Dune' universe and Tolkien.

I particularly enjoyed this installment of the Horus Heresy novels as it tied together some of the loose ends left by the previous novel and did a fantastic job of setting the stage for the next act. Black Library is pulling out all the stops on these novels and they are some fantastic examples of pulpy 40K goodness. It's especially telling that I'm riveted by the stories in this series when I know how it's going to end already.

So far the Horus Heresy books in my opinion have been a forum for Black Library authors to bring their A game and this book was no exception. If you were hoping this book would continue the saga where the last one left off and follow Horus, you will be disappointed as he only plays a very small role. This particular volume follows the exploits of members of the Death Guard who flee from Istvann 4 to warn the Emperor of Horus's treason. The characters again are compeling and their thoughts and backgrounds are well written. The introduction of 2 new primarchs was also exciting. One of the best things in the series and this book is the bringing together of parts of the 40k universe but not doing so in such a manner that it is completely predictable.

My favorite book in the Horus Heresy series is Ben Counter's "Galaxy in Flames." The reason being that it gripped me and moved me. More often than not I have had a hard time identifying with the space marines. They seemed too god-like, too cold; just heart-less killing machines. Counter made me care about the marines.

James Swallow's book "Flight of the Eisenstein" follows Counter's book and moves the plot forward. In many respects I found Swallow's book equal too and sometimes superior (a hard call)to "Galaxy in Flames."

Some of the characters from the previous book re-appear and we see events from the earlier books played out from the point-of-view of members of the Death Guard.

The protagonist of "Flight of Eisenstein is Battle-Captain of the 7th Company of the Death Guard--Nathaniel Garro. For the most part, we see the action through his pov, although Swallow breaks the unity from time to time to enter the minds of subordinate characters.

The book begins with an attack on a Jorgall ship, where we see both the Death Guard and the Oblivion Knight, Amendera Kendel, in action. A psyker's warning of impending doom alerts the reader to treachery ahead and the action begins.

The "Flight of the Eisenstein" shows us Horus's strategy becoming visible in the battles of the Isstvan sector. It also develops the rise of the new saint Euphrati Keeler.

These plot points are important to the overall development of the series; however, Swallow has presented some interesting touches. The description of the ship's trip through the warp seemed particularly clear and cogent; the hatred of Grulgor was palpable and handled well;
the infestation and contamination of Decius was logical and well-developed; the description of the Luna base was brilliant; and the conversion of Garro was believable.

In summary, Swallow writes a clear serviceable prose that moves the story along. His fantastic descriptions are quite realistic. I found it a very satisfying novel.

this is the only one that I not got on Amazon because was gifted to me. I was a little bit afraid that finishing to read something so awesome like Galaxy In Flames, this could be not so good.

the first that I found was you could get some break when finish GIF, because this one will give a big resume of it, but in the perspective of Nathaniel Garro. is not bad but a little bit longer. that could be fixed maybe doing this in two books or something but I feel that this book is 200 pages not 400, but still cool.

still cool because the "new" 200 pages where so full of action and cool plot that you forget about that, until you reach the end and get mad because ends too soon.

and of course, left a lot of doors opened to much more fluff, as others says, and maybe this could be spoiler, this could starts a parallel saga about the inquisition, the battle sisters, etc. but while BL do that, you get really mad wondering what happen to Garro?

in fact, this one and GIF give you a new real great perspective about marines. with his power/terminator armor, and his "perfection", they look like robots, just need "well be back" and we get Necrons. but on these two books show that they are humans. uber modified, over trained and maybe too much zealous, but still are humans. and makes me feel worried about Garro's destiny (even as I'm Iron Warriors fan), and makes me feel sad about the end of Loken, Tarvitz and the other loyalist, because, thanks to these books, I have hard times looking at them as the loyalist scum they are, oh my!!! :P

for the guy that complains about too much naval combat, well, Horus Heresy was a massive war, at every level, so, I could imagine that if some part of the story viewed in the eyes of any Princeps, could bore to you?, I not read Mechanicum yet but I'm praying for a full deploy of nasty Titans and lots of big cannons from hell. of course, I wish to think that the siege of Terra will be at least 3 books, 5 if they want to do something like this books and give a revamped resume calling it "different point of view". not bad but leave you hunger for more....wait, that's the deal!!! XDDD