[BLOG]: Book Review: Horus Heresy: Know No Fear

Post Reply
User avatar
Lonesamurai
Big Kahuna
Posts: 627
Joined: 28 Feb 2011, 20:27
Contact:

[BLOG]: Book Review: Horus Heresy: Know No Fear

Post by Lonesamurai »

This is a blog post. To read the original post, please click here »
Unaware of the wider Heresy and following the Warmaster’s increasingly cryptic orders, Roboute Guilliman returns to Ultramar to muster his Legion for war against the orks massing in the Veridian system. Without warning, their supposed allies in the Word Bearers Legion launch a devastating invasion of Calth, scattering the Ultramarines fleet and slaughtering all who stand in their way. This confirms the worst scenario Guilliman can imagine – Lorgar means to settle their bitter rivalry once and for all. As the traitors summon foul daemonic hosts and all the forces of Chaos, the Ultramarines are drawn into a grim and deadly struggle in which neither side can prevail.

Image

Another Horus Heresy novel and this time finally bringing the spotlight on Guilliman and his Ultramarine legion! Dan Abnett reminds us just HOW badass Guilliman truly is. BUT, theres not enough of him, this is a novel about his Legion, his transhuman sons and NOT Guilliman himself, unlike Deliverance Lost, which is all centered around Corax, we know who Guilliman is, we know the Ultramarines and we also know that Know No Fear is the direct follow up to The First Heretic and following the betrayal and near destruction of the Ultramarines by Orgar and his Word Bearer Legion, after the Emperor chose Guilliman and the Ultramarines as his honour guard to bring the Word BBearers to heal about the over zealous nature that they revered the Emperor as a god.

The other side of things this book expertly sums up for 40k fans, and more importantly, fans of Uriel Ventrus from Graham Mcneill's Ultramarine novels, is how Calth became the underground culture is is in the 41st millenium!

But the big thing about this book, is showing Guilliman (and the other primarch's) for just HOW badass they are, especially in their armour! This 10 foot tall Demigod can survive WITHOUT a helmet, on the skin of his ship and the slight atmosphere that clings to the hull because of the gravity the ships mahoosive size actually creates!

Know No Fear has epic space battles, land battles, stories of death, loss and hope. But mostly, it's a tale of betrayal, while the Iron Hands, Raven Guard and sAlamanders are being near to wiped out on Istvaan 5, Lorgar sends the Word Bearer's to calth to take out the Ultramarines, the only legion truely big enough to single handedly turn Horus' betrayal away from Terra and with the Space Wolves off taking out the Thousand Sons for Magnus' flouting of the Nikea Edict, only the Ultramarines are the last enemy chess piece that needs removing from the board and Lorgar manages it and shows Guilliman why the Nikea Edict needs to be abolished to destroy the Daemons the traitor legions are using!

The one thing that show's through out Dan Abnett's books, is that there is an incredible amount of detail, he knows this universe inside and out, he fleshes out characters and places and draws you in. If you haven;t read a dAn Abnett novel, they can be slow, but in a good way, they draw you in and as this is a Horus Heresy novel, its a good intro into Dan Abnett's writing aswell (although you've read one or two already by him if you are reading the Heresy novels in order anyway)

Fantastic novel, great follow up from The First Heretic and ties up lots of knowledge about the Ultramarines, how they fight, how they live and even how they die. It gives more information about the scale of the Heresy and just how planned it all is by the traitor primarchs and Horus!

Utterly fantastic, a must read!

9 outta 10
Image
Post Reply