Thursday 15 March 2012

The First Heretic

What I find is the sign of a great Warhammer novel is whether I want to collect that faction after reading about them. This is totally the case after finishing my first Aaron Dembski-Bowden book. I probably never will as I'm not a fan of the daemon aesthetic but that's besides the point.

This is all about Lorgar Aurelian and his Word Bearers and what they get up to leading up to the events in False Gods, Galaxy in Flames and Horus rising. It opens with a load of Emperor worshipping, some kick-ass action from the Ultramarines and then the big guy himself turns up, fucks off all the Word Bearers so they end up looking for other things to do now they can't worship the Emperor. Queue much fighting, talking with a blind woman, disliking Custodes, exploring, getting possessed, writing books until they reach Isstvaan and join the heresy.

As with previous books, I found myself sympathising and feeling sorry for Lorgar. All he did was hold his father in high esteem and got well and truly shat on for doing so just as Magnus was in A Thousand Sons. He felt a lot more human than a lot of the Primarchs I've read about seem to be which was a nice touch.

The main protagonist is a chap called Argel Tal, which surprised me as I was expecting a lot more focus on Erebus. It was a good surprise as I'm really not a fan of that evil Chaplain. So anyway Argel is the Captain of the 7th Assault Company and we see his adventures in befriending the Custodes, travelling into the warp, fighting with his conflicting views on what's happening around him. It lent a very personal feeling to the story which made it a joy to read after the torture that was trying to get through Nemesis.

It was a fantastic novel and I'd definitely recommend this novel to anyone. Well worth a 9/10, which if memory serves me correct could very well be the highest score I've given a book so far! Prospero Burns awaits on my bedside table!

1 comment:

  1. dude thats an awesome summary of the book and a great take on the overall story arc!

    ReplyDelete