Customer Reviews

Galaxy in Flames (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Horus Heresy)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For the past year or so fans of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 have been tantalized and teased by the first two books in the Horus Heresy series of novels. These novels from Games Workshop's publishing arm, Black Library, were to detail the root beginnings of the most calamituous event in human history: The Horus Heresy.

The first two books in the series were titled Horus Rising and False Gods respectively. Dan Abnett wrote the first book with Graham McNeill writing the second one. Both books showed in great detail and drama the steps and circumstances which led the Emperor of Mankind's most favored Primarch and Son to stray from the Imperium's creed and falling for the lies and temptations of the Great Powers of Chaos. Abnett and McNeill's take on the Primarch Horus and his Luna Wolves (soon renamed The Sons of Horus) really emphasizes Horus' similarities to Lucifer before that angel's fall from God's grace. By the time False Gods ends the seeds of Horus' heresy has grown and he'd come up with the plans to bring those brother Primarchs he could sway to his cause and manipulate those he sees as threats to be as far away as possible from Terra and the Emperor.

Ben Counter (writer of the very good Soul Drinkers series of books) folows Abnett and McNeill with an action-packed novel that breezes by quick despite being 400+ pages long. Right from the start the reader was dropped into the preparations for an assault on Isstvaan III where a previusly compliant Imperial world has seceded from the Imperium and denounced the Emperor. We're shown how Horus and his new secret allies have made Isstvaan III to be the battleground from which Horus could weed out those Astartes whose loyalty towards the Emperor and his Imperium is much stronger than those to him. He would need to cut this small, but hard core of men from his plans of defeating the Emperor. The rest of the story deals with how Horus' plans for the loyalist Astartes comes to fruition and the fate of such loyalist characters as Saul Tarvitz of the Emperor's Children, Loken and Torgaddon of the Luna Wolves and Captain Nathaniel Garro of the Death Guard. The novel also shows how Garro learns of the heresy and escapes with not just proof of Horus' treachery but the seed and founding of what would become the Imperial Faith in the Emperor as Divine.

Galaxy in Flames was as I'd hoped the beginning of the Heresy into full-blown war would turn out to be. The civil war which now pits brother Astartes against brother Astartes turns out to be as brutal and horrific a fight as any novel concerning these warriors in past Warhammer 40,000 novels. The Heresy has begun with Galaxy in Flames but the war itself is just beginning. Counter's writing was top-notch and this shouldn't be a surprise for anyone who has read his Soul Drinkers series. I'm a bit wary of the next book in the series which brings the story into Captain Garro's hands. The story itself should be told, but James Swallow's work on the Deus Encarmine and Deus Sanguinius were mediocre at best. Here's to hoping that Swallow has researched his subject more and doesn't change the canon of whats allowed.

Ben Counter continues the Horus Heresy series with this 3rd installment. The old adage that power corrupts is a significant theme in this series. The book flows at a quick pace with individual struggles for survival spaced between brief interludes describing the plotter and loyalist attempts to discover each others' plans, with the final climatic battle on Isstvan III revealing Warmaster's plot.

The characters originally presented by Dan Abnett and refined by Graham McNeill are in full conflict and action. This installment is more about survival as the Warmaster betrays the loyal Space Marines on Isstvan III by first dispersing them into a hazardous assault on the capital, and then attacking them. Not only are those Space Marines loyal to the Emperor in danger, but also the Remembrancers who follow the same path. The Warmaster is clearing his house of potential distractions and those who may oppose his change in leadership.

The book presents the different views of loyalty, honor, and the desire for power. There is loyalty between the individual characters through the shared experiences of danger. There is loyalty to their commander, Warmaster Horus, and there is loyalty to the human race and the Emperor of Mankind. Then there is loyalty to no one but themselves. The desire for perfection, power, and viewpoints on loyalty give a very human psychology to the super human Space Marines. The conflict of these loyalties results in the major characters being divided along with the resulting conflict.

Not sure how the writers agreed on how to write this series, but they have done a good job so far of developing a theme of questioning absolute power and different viewpoints of morality that was first introduced by Abnett.

W40k fans know the history of the Horus Heresy, but this series gives personality and character to the figures and names depicted in the game. The book's font size is a little bit larger than the previous 2 books, which definitely makes it a lot easier to read after a long day without having to strain one's eyes. Overall, light reading and quick paced, finished it in one evening and found it to be entertaining.

Ben Counter tells the difficult story of bravery and betrayal, heroism and treachery on Isstvan III extremely well.

This installment is less about the Warmaster and more about those who are forced to come to grips with their allegiance and duty to the Emperor of Mankind: Captains Garviel Loken (Sons of Horus), Tarik Torgaddon (Sons of Horus), Saul Tarvitz (Emperor's Children), Nathaniel Garro (Deathguard), Kharn (World Eaters) and of course- the Swordmaster Lucius (Emperor's Children).

In this book, Counter effectively captures the struggle by all to make the choice between their chapter legions and the master of humanity. For those seduced by the warp gods of Chaos, there can only be one decision: heresy. This book takes the reader down the paths faced by each key Space Marine and details the decisions that will ultimately decide their fate.

For those of us familiar with the events of the Horus Heresy, there is no real surprise in the outcome, for those who follow their consciences know in their hearts what will happen. Counter's tale is one of moral courage and duty. Does one take the path of least resistance, or does one stay true to sworn obligations and allegiances? The ultimate betrayal by the one trusted friend and comrade in Choral City comes as no surprise, but is just as gut-wrenching and tragic than it would have been if the history of the Horus Heresy had not already been written.

This book is must-reading for any Warhammer 40k enthusiast, and as a professional soldier myself, I found that many of the questions and eventual decisions (and their consequences) that Loken, Tarvitz, Garro and Torgaddon made are similar ones that I faced as a leader of troops in the Middle East.

Top-notch reading.

This is the first book by Ben Counter I have read.

He presents a good 3rd book in the Horus Heresy series (no longer a trilogy, given the pending publication of the flight of the eisenstein), and despite this being a case of the reader presumably knowing the general plot direction and the likely if not detailed fate of many of the characters invovled, he does a good job of telling a tale in which the reader remains involved and interested.

Despite its 400-page length, this book actually feels very quickly paced, and battle scenes compose a good chunk of the book as the various events in the Isstvaan system play out. I will note that the astartes much have been rock stupid not to realize that the unusual order of battle for the initial invasion of isstvaan III was for one very obvious reason.

This book was good enough that I will seek out some of this author's other work.

I have read all of the Horus Heresy books that have been released to this date, and this one is the best of the three. The book introduces several new characters and gives old characters new wrinkles to their personalities. The only criticism that I have of this book is that it does not explain how some of the primarchs that have sided with Horus come about making that choice. This might prove difficult to follow for newcomers to Warhammer 40K, but those familiar with the Warhammer 40K universe will be able to fill in the blanks just fine. The bar has been set pretty high for James Swallow to follow up with Flight of the Eisenstein. Hopefully his understanding of the 40K universe has improved since Deus Encarmine and Deus Sanguiness.

After reading the other reviews here, frankly I am shocked people think so highly of this book. It was immediately apparent to me after reading the first chapter of this novel that Ben Counter simply does not possess the same skill level and sophistication of prose that Abnett and McNeill displayed in the first two installments. Their work was on a completely different level from Counter's blundering, sloppy attempt. Honestly I feel as though this novel was an insult to the complexity and sheer power of the first two books.

One of the aspects I enjoyed most about the previous two Heresy novels was the skilled indirect characterization that both writers applied to the development of the main "dramatis personae." Through actions and dialogue I really felt the strength and will behind the Astartes, something I feel that Counter's work totally lacks. His rendering of the Legion captains was so stilted and two-dimensional I found myself groaning regularly throughout the novel. Most of the dialogue attributed to Loken, Tarvitz and Lucius felt basic and repetitious, to the point where I actually got frustrated while reading. For instance, Emperor's Children Captain Lucius, as well as Eidolon for that matter, were CONSTANTLY either thinking or talking about how "perfect" the Children are. This is an aspect of character that should be demonstrated through action and plot development, not something that should occupy most of the monologue and dialogue of these characters. Ideally, it should be mentioned once or twice as a battle cry or admonition and then shown through mastery of tactical combat. Every other sentence from Eidolon is perfect this and perfect that. You know when hear a word repeated often enough it starts to sound weird and lose meaning? Honestly by two-thirds of the way through the book, I thought that if I read "perfection" one more time I would lose my freaking mind. To make this worse, I never actually SAW this perfection. It was described in battle scenes as "overlapping patterns of fire and movement" and other basic elements of ranged combat that should be second nature to ANY legion, yet I never saw any quality or feat of this legion which sets it apart from the others. It is merely tiresome and heavy-handed direct characterization, which should be beneath an author at this level. To summarize this point, I found it very hard to identify with any of the characters in this book because of the unrealistic, repetitive and frankly amateur inner voice and dialogue, as well as the very basic and rudimentary characterization.

Environment description and design is something so vital to science fiction that it alone can determine whether a novel triumphs or passes into obscurity. Throughout the battle in the Choral City and Sirenhold, I struggled to form an image in my mind of these settings. Counter's portrayal of these battlefields is so limited in scope that I was never able to fully picture the flow of combat nor the apparent beauty of the city itself. For instance the layout of the city and the subsequent deployment of the legions was never fully communicated. I had to go back and re-read sections just to get an idea of where everyone was. Without the use of a map, it was difficult to picture where the Legions were in relation to one another. For this same reason the supposed glory of the Andronius, the Emperor's Children vessel, fell short. At one point Counter actually uses the phrase "wondrous spaces" in reference to parts of the ship instead of actually taking the time to describe it, which is just pathetic considering how short this book actually is (see my point on length below). From my perspective, Counter has failed at the most basic requirement of sci-fi and fantasy, that being a florid and detailed description of the setting.

The last points I am going to make concern basic elements of writing which should be a matter of course to an author at this level. The first is basic consistency throughout the book and the series. At one point Counter refers to Nero Vipus as a captain, when in fact he has been the most featured SERGEANT in all the books. That is just plain sloppy. He also describes the iterator Sindermann before a speech as being "overwhelmed and a little afraid at the number of people gathered before him." Are you joking? Kyril Sindermann is the First Iterator of the Warmaster's fleet, chosen for his power to sway populations of entire planets with his words. This just makes no sense. In addition to this, the book is riddled with poor sentence structure and the occasional misplaced comma. Also, one previous reviewer said that this 400 page book was a surprisingly quick read. If you compare the font size and line spacing to False Gods, you will see why. If this work has been published with the same pagination as the previous Heresy books, it would be about 200 pages.

I played Warhammer 40k for many years, but only in the past year have I started reading the fiction. I had been previously hesitant, thinking that perhaps it was geared for younger readers or that the authors would fall short from portraying the power and majesty of the 40k universe. After reading McNeill's Ultramarines omnibus I was elated and immediately decided to read the Horus Heresy series. This novel, however, is exactly what I was worried about. If this had been the first book in the series or the first Black Library publication I had purchased, I probably would have abandoned the 40k books altogether. Do yourself a favor and don't buy this book new. I understand the need to continue with the series so I won't say "do not read it," but I urge you to buy it used. Spend as little money as possible and don't expect much from this amateur author.

Ben Counter's description of the massacre on Isstvan III and the last stand of the loyalists Sons of Horus rises to the highest level of military science fiction. He seems to have relied heavily on historical renditions of the battles of Stalingrad and Berlin to create a gritty realism that far surpasses the first two Horus novels.

But his achievement doesn't end with great battle scenes. He accomplishes two things that elevate his novel to a level above "good" military science fiction. First, he captures the camaraderie that develops on the battlefield between fellow soldiers and conveys those feelings with both pathos and warmth. Several set scenes vibrate with such emotion that I found myself comparing them to similar scenes in Homer's Iliad and Tolkien's The Return of the King. Second, he illuminates the rise of the Emperor cult and illustrates vividly (not tells) the attraction of Chaos gods. This illumination is essential to the tension that must exist between Chaos and the Empire.

If the Horus Heresy is going to be a great series and I suspect it will be, the reader must understand the attraction of Chaos, otherwise it is just another story about super heroes fighting villians or put another way--good verses evil. I think Ben Counter has found the middle way, fairly describing the attraction of Chaos and the piousness of the Emperor or Order.

I wasn't expecting this to turn out as well as the previous two books due to having just finished the Soul Drinker Omnibus and not being a huge Ben Counter fan. Don't get me wrong, I think he's a fine writer, but just something doesn't quite click with me. Anyways, I was very impressed with this work and highly recommend it to others.

This novel chronicles the brutal opening conflicts of the 'Horus Heresy', an event which has unending repurcussions for humanity within the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Ben Counter authors the third installment of the series, and from the opening scenes one can sense the change that has seeped through the Great Crusade.

The whole undertaking has come to a critical turning point. The human face of the crusade, in the form of administrators and the civilian-type 'rememberancers' attactched to the expedition fleet exist in the shadows of the Astartes that once fought singularly to protect them. Seeds of division and distrust are sown amongst the superhuman Astartes themselves. Tension builds throughout the expedition, and the central characters introduced in the previous installments find themselves burdened with facing up with their beliefs and loyalties.

Action is laced throughout the pages, and it is furiously paced (typical of Counter's forays into this universe). Most notably, some Space Marines in this are given unmistakeably human layers; an unusual concession in most tales in this Mythos. The story streams along, and the ideals and imagery of the young Imperium makes for heady Science Fiction. This series focuses on the core 'Future History' of the Warhammer 40,000 universe- the Horus Heresy- a rich Mythos in its own right. This
novel in particular breathes life into a host of seminal characters, while the conflicts are unremittingly savage and moving.

Not having read a Black Library publication in recent months, I was slightly sceptical about enjoying this read. But I found (over the two days I spread it over) that one could not help accelerating from a third way through the novel, while being enthralled in the process. Ben Counter writes of battles furiously, and I found that the visual qualities of these depictions snuck up on me- they were quite vivid and entertaining like few authors can craft.

I have played a single Warhammer 40,000 game and pledged not to touch it again. One does not have to enjoy playing the Warhammer games, because this fiction is more than just 'background filler' or 'fluff' to add atmosphere to a tabletop match. However, I believe this Mythos holds great promise for science fiction readers from all circles. It has dizzying scope; shot through with gripping 'histories' of events and figures, and echoes many classical myths, from a number of cultures.

Readers of the previous installments will not be disappointed; curious minds new to the series will find much entertainment.

'Galaxy in Flames' is probably the stand out publication Black Library has to offer at present, and a fitting example of what the Galaxy of the 41st millenium has to offer.

After the mess that Graham McNeill made of the second book, I think Ben Counter did an excellent job of restoring depth to most of the characters. We were given cardboard cutouts of all the space marines in "False Gods." This was most particularly true of Horus.

In Galaxy in Flames the characters actually have motivations, and they actually talk like real people again. It's not quite as good as the first book, but it is definitely refreshing.

Plot-wise, we still aren't really clued in to WHY Horus's forces are fighting where they're fighting. More questions about what precisely Horus is aiming at are raised than are answered. Perhaps that is for the best, however, as it does set us up very well for the fourth book. It's hard to judge the glossing over of Horus's role in this book without knowing if it will pay off in the end.

That said, "Galaxy in Flames" saves this series, and sets it up for greatness. Or at least, I hope it does.