Having recovered from his grievous injuries, Warmaster Horus leads the triumphant Imperial forces against the rebel world of Isstvan III. Though the rebels are swiftly crushed, Horus's treachery is finally revealed when the planet is razed by virus bombs and Space Marines turn on their battle-brothers in the most bitter struggle imaginable.
A good finale to the opening trilogy. As with the previous novel, my biggest critique is the quickness and totality of Horus’ turn to chaos. Good battle scenes, though I wish there was a bit more to the novel than that.
In the general realm of Warhammer 40k books, this is fairly high on the quality scale. It's not overly info-dumpy, it his back on the people per, and it achieved a good mix of action and plot movement.
I'd have liked some more warp grotesquery and grim darkness, actually, but as the backbone of the Horus Heresy this book does a good job of driving home the bitterness of betrayal.
Couter picks up after McNeill ably, and I was able to find the flow in his writing style quickly. He carries the story to a tragic coda, showing the events that surround the Chaos Marines unveiling. The time spent on the characters in the story earlier come to a head as that careful crafting of attachment fuels the narrative. Definitely recommended.
Mon année de lecture 2018 se poursuit sous le signe de l'univers Warhammer 40k avec ce troisième volume de la trilogie inaugurale de la saga "Horus Heresy". C'est en effet dans cet opus que s'achève le commencement, si je puis me permettre cette pirouette. Les fondations sont cette fois posées, la saga va pouvoir partir dans toutes les directions, avec des romans plus ou moins indépendants suivant des arcs différents. Pour revenir à ce troisième volume, il est à la hauteur des deux premiers, toujours dans un style épique qui fonctionne bien avec des personnages forts qu'on apprécie de suivre, qu'ils soient sympathiques ou antipathiques. Cette saga est vraiment une très bonne surprise, je m'attendais clairement à des romans moins subtils et je suis heureux de m'être trompé. Par contre, je vais sans doute faire une petite pause dans mes lectures dans cet univers pour lire au moins un roman …
Mon année de lecture 2018 se poursuit sous le signe de l'univers Warhammer 40k avec ce troisième volume de la trilogie inaugurale de la saga "Horus Heresy". C'est en effet dans cet opus que s'achève le commencement, si je puis me permettre cette pirouette. Les fondations sont cette fois posées, la saga va pouvoir partir dans toutes les directions, avec des romans plus ou moins indépendants suivant des arcs différents. Pour revenir à ce troisième volume, il est à la hauteur des deux premiers, toujours dans un style épique qui fonctionne bien avec des personnages forts qu'on apprécie de suivre, qu'ils soient sympathiques ou antipathiques. Cette saga est vraiment une très bonne surprise, je m'attendais clairement à des romans moins subtils et je suis heureux de m'être trompé. Par contre, je vais sans doute faire une petite pause dans mes lectures dans cet univers pour lire au moins un roman de la rentrée littéraire de janvier. Il faudrait tout de même que j'évite une overdose de Space Marines !
Wow! Just plain wow! The battle scenes at the end were full of gallantry, nobility, honor, and all the good things you expect in an epic where brave men make a last stand. The path to get to that point was also a very good read as the treachery of the heresy is finally revealed and pits Space Marine brother against brother. Once I picked this up, I could not put it down. Ben Counter manages to maintain the crescendo and swift pace of the series in the closing volume of this first trilogy. He also sets things nicely for the rest of the series. Horus solidifies his power, but he is in a race against time to carry out his plans before the Emperor finds out about the treachery. Legions turn against each other as the Astartes take sides. Oh, Captains Loken and Tarvitz and the other loyalists will, …
Wow! Just plain wow! The battle scenes at the end were full of gallantry, nobility, honor, and all the good things you expect in an epic where brave men make a last stand. The path to get to that point was also a very good read as the treachery of the heresy is finally revealed and pits Space Marine brother against brother. Once I picked this up, I could not put it down. Ben Counter manages to maintain the crescendo and swift pace of the series in the closing volume of this first trilogy. He also sets things nicely for the rest of the series. Horus solidifies his power, but he is in a race against time to carry out his plans before the Emperor finds out about the treachery. Legions turn against each other as the Astartes take sides. Oh, Captains Loken and Tarvitz and the other loyalists will, in their last stand, make sure Horus' forces pay dearly for their treachery. There is drama, intrigue, action, suspense, and more in this novel that does not let go until the end. Counter's narrative is epic in scope and style; in some ways, this is like reading a classic epic poem. This is definitely a very good entry in the series. I will definitely go looking for the next one.
