Horus Heresy Exclusive – Last Chance to Order (Black Library)

A new Horus Heresy Exclusive, chronicling the aftermath of the Isstvan Dropsite Massacre

Nearly a quarter of a million loyal Space Marines lost their lives on Isstvan V – the Dropsite Massacre lasted only a few hours, and yet the Iron Hands, Raven Guard and Salamanders were slaughtered by those they had once called kin. With the disappearance of their primarch weighing heavily upon their hearts, Ra’stan and Usabius of the XVIIIth Legion leave behind their fellow survivors and strike out into the Urgall Depression. Their mission: to find what, if anything, remains of mighty Vulkan...

I was lucky enough to get an early excerpt of this novella. Not enough to write a full review, but if you were on the fence about it, I can report that Kyme’s firing on all cylinders with this book.

Some of you may have caught my review of Promethean Sun, the author’s first Black Library exclusive (also a Horus Heresy story featuring the Salamanders Legion). I wasn’t as impressed with that as I had hoped to be, and it did make me a little worried about Scorched Earth and Vulkan Lives. My fears have been proven unfounded, however.

In Scorched Earth, Kyme offers a great glimpse at the post-massacre fight for survival on Isstvan, as a pair of Salamanders witness the brutal aftermath of Horus's treachery. Atmospheric and well-composed, this bodes very well for Vulkan Lives, the author’s first full-length Heresy novel. (I started Vulkan Lives this morning, and so far I am really enjoying it, and it promises to offer something rather different from many of the previous Heresy novels. Review hopefully next week.)

Be sure to order Scorched Earth TODAY!

“Shadows of Treachery” ed. by Christian Dunn & Nick Kyme (Black Library)

A Horus Heresy Anthology

From the battlefields of Phall and Isstvan, to the haunted shadows of Terra itself – the greatest war in the history of mankind rages on. While the traitor Legions continue their campaign of terror across the galaxy, preparations are made for the defence of the Imperial Palace and the final, inevitable reckoning that must yet come between Horus and the Emperor...

I know a few readers who really don’t like the Horus Heresy anthologies of short stories, but I rather like them. They offer some great gap-filling fiction for specific events (noteworthy or just interesting), and are great for marking time between the full-length novels. It’s just a pity that some of these stories couldn’t be longer still – there are two novella length stories (one by the great Aaron Dembski-Bowden), but the rest of the stories within are pretty short. I think it’s a good collection, but some people may be disappointed with the fact that three of the stories are just prose versions of audio-books. As someone who prefers prose to audio, though, I thought this was a great read and addition to the series.