Nemesis (The Horus Heresy) [Mass Market Paperback]

James Swallow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 27, 2010 | Series: The Horus Heresy (Book 14)

In the wake of the Dropsite Massacre, Imperial forces and those loyal to the Warmaster Horus unleash assassins to bring about a swift end to the conflict

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Swallow’s stories from the dark worlds of Warhammer 40,000 include the Horus Heresy novel The Flight of the Eisenstein, Faith & Fire, the Blood Angels Omnibus and Red Fury, as well as short fiction for Inferno! and What Price Victory. He also wrote the script for the audio book Heart of Rage, also featuring the Blood Angels. Swallow’s other credits include writing for Star Trek Voyager, scripts for videogames and audio dramas. He lives in London, and is currently working on his next book.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Games Workshop (July 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844168697
• ISBN-13: 978-1844168699
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Adventure

More About the Author

James Swallow has written several books, including Star Trek: Terok Nor: Day of the Vipers and Seeds of Dissent (from Star Trek: Myriad Universes: Infinity's Prism); the Sundowners quartet of 'steampunk' science fiction Westerns (Ghost Town, Underworld, Iron Dragon and Showdown); the best-selling novelization of The Butterfly Effect; The Flight of the Eisenstein, Faith and Fire and Jade Dragon; the 2000AD tie-ins Eclipse, Blood Relative and Whiteout; Stargate Atlantis: Halcyon; and the Blood Angels duology Deus Encarmine and Deus Sanguinius.


In addition, Swallow's short fiction has appeared in Inferno! and Stargate magazine, the anthologies Star Trek Voyager: Distant Shores, the Doctor Who Short Trips collections Dalek Empire and Destination Prague, Something Changed, Collected Works, What Price Victory and Silent Night.


His non-fiction includes Dark Eye: The Films of David Fincher and books on writing, genre television and animation; he has also written for Star Trek: Voyager, Doctor Who and Space 1889, along with several scripts for audio and videogames.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Assassins and Monsters, July 25, 2010

By 

A. Fenwick - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nemesis (The Horus Heresy) (Mass Market Paperback)

Nemesis is the latest release in the Horus Heresy series of books which examines one of the most important events in the Warhammer 40k universe. Although you do not need to have read the other twelve books, it definitely helps to have read some of them to know what is going on.

Nemesis has so many awesome characters in it I don't know where to start. If you want to know more about the Custodes, the Sigilite, or even Rogal Dorn, you will not be disappointed in this book. Obviously the main attractions in the book are the Assassins. There are five different groups or "clades" of assassins who contribute to the group formed for the mission in the novel, and they are all superhuman and lethal in their own way.

I have not read Mr. Swallow's Blood Angel series, I had heard bad things, but after reading Nemesis I may have to check out the omnibus. It would have been easy to show the assassins as being mindless killers, and for certain they are single minded (mostly), but they all act so different. Even the ones who have been changed to a point where human feelings aren't part of their minds act in distinctive and very believable ways.

As far as the rating is concerned, giving this book five stars might seem excessive. However, when I rate novels like this I am not comparing this to anything other than other fun and action packed science fiction or fantasy. This novel is not meant to be deep, but it has a great sense of history and is well executed, and for that I think it deserves five stars.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars! Horus Heresy #13, August 16, 2010

By 

Detra Fitch "Always hunting good books." (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nemesis (The Horus Heresy) (Mass Market Paperback)

Two years had passed since the betrayal at Isstvan, the event that opened the way to Horus's insurrection against the Imperium and his father, the Emperor of Mankind. During that time Horus's forces had steadily crossed the galaxy and gathered momentum. His number of followers grew ever larger with every system that Horus passed. These systems either swore fealty to Horus or they burned.

Within the confines of the Emperor's Palace is a chamber in which the Officio Assassinorum convenes. Under the Assassinorum's orders, for the first time ever, all of the Clades will work together. An Execution Force made up of six assassins, one from each prime clade, is formed. Kell, of Clade Vindicare, is to locate and assemble those selected by the Officio Assassinorum. Iota, of Clade Culexus, is a psyker girl with a rare null-aura. From the Clade Eversor comes a rage-killer known as The Garantine. Soalm of Clade Venenum is the mistress of poisons. Koyne of Clade Callidus is a shade. Tariel of Clade Vans is an infocyte.

Once assembled, the Execution Force chooses the planet Dagonet on which to lay their trap. They will lure the Archtraitor Horus to Dagonet and either assassinate the war-god or die in the attempt. But what they cannot know is that Horus and his dark allies have already embarked on a sinister plan of their own.

***** FOUR AND A HALF STARS!Author James Swallow captured my interest quickly and then slowly began weaving a plot, and subplot, that steadily built until its climatic ending. At least once, a minor character is introduced and has a detailed background told only to be killed off within a few pages. However, this will not bother most readers. You do not have to read the previous books to fully enjoy this story either. It stands alone, yet still manages to add a bit more flavor to the Horus Heresy series. Excellent! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back to the high standard of the first Heresy books, August 15, 2010

By 

Kirk L. (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nemesis (The Horus Heresy) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is one of the better offerings of late from the Horus Heresy series which began great four years ago, but had stalled over the past year-plus, with releases of what I felt to be some pretty mediocre books and plot lines.

James Swallow does a nice job of developing the details and backstories on the individual assassins in the execution force-- you know it's not going to end well for them, but the road from start to finish is compelling to say the least.

'Spear' is another outstanding story angle and the way the author develops his character as the book moves on is fresh and intriguing.

I also liked a return to a focus on the Sons of Horus chapter and some of the characters that we got to know in the first three books but had not been exposed to much in the years since.

I thought Swallow's Flight of the Eisenstein, the fourth book in the Heresy series was solid, but this is a cut above.

This isn't the best book in the series, but it's helped to spark my interest again. I hope that Dan Abnett's Prospero Burns will provide us with a return to the kind of writing that got me hooked in the first place.