'Praetorian of Dorn' – John French (Black Library)

As I make my way through a couple of other books (slowly but surely...), lets have a little look at a book I read not long before this blog became more than just a passing fancy.

You step away from genre fiction for a few years (which then turn into a few more) and when you come back, everything has changed... I mean, of course it changes (how can it not) but it's still really interesting to see that change and track it back to what you used to know. Like John French's work for the Black Library. When I used to run another blog, way back, John French was a short story writer whose work could be found in 'Horus Heresy' anthologies. These days, French is writing whole books for the line which is a pretty big step up in anyone's book, no pun intended (but I like the way it worked). That kind of move will always pique my interest as the 'Horus Heresy' line has always been the preserve of the Black Library's brightest and best writers. The question has to be then, is John French worthy of a spot in this particular roster? The answer is 'yes' but you can't help but feel a bit sorry for him, given what he was given to write about...

Terra comes under attack from an enemy within as the Imperial Fists and Rogal Dorn prepare for the coming of Horus.

Recalled from the Great Crusade after Ullanor, Rogal Dorn and the VII Legion were appointed as the Emperor’s praetorians, but only after the Warmaster Horus' treachery was revealed did the full extent of that sacred duty become apparent. Now, the Solar System comes under attack for the first time since the war began, and many of the seemingly impregnable defences wrought by Dorn and his Imperial Fists Legion prove inadequate. With all eyes fixed firmly upon this new threat beyond the gates of Terra, who in turn will protect Dorn from the enemy within?

So, two of my favourite Legions (Alpha Legion and Imperial Fists) are squared off against each other, against a backdrop of the greatest conflict the galaxy has ever known... It felt like a bit of an anti-climax then when the first big reveal, of the book, turned out to be little more than the 40K equivalent of 'capture the flag'... I mean, I know the Primarchs don't really get on (and all want the Emperor to love them the most) but is this the sort of game that god like beings, bred for war, play when there's an actual war on? I did enjoy the way that French sets it all up but I couldn't help but wonder what the point of it was, at least to start off with. Was French given this event to write about or did he choose it? An answer to that woulc really help me figure out how I feel about it.

I'd still argue against this plot device, as an opening gambit, but the further into the book you go, the more it becomes clear that we're looking at a study of how legends are formed (which is what the whole series been about, to be fair) and what happens when these legends clash . If you're going to go up against the galaxy's greatest masters of siege warfare, how do you beat them? Simple, you pick a Legion that is so duplicitous and so many steps ahead, in the game, that they planned for this before before the Warmaster Horus even started to think about making war upon the Emperor. I liked that little revelation, how it plays out and how it drives the plot forward for key characters. I'm talking about Archamus, the Marine who is the whole reason behind this book's title. His journey, especially in the face of what the Alpha Legion's activities force him to confront about himself, is well worth the time. For a character that you think will be really one dimensional (as a lot of the Adeptus Astartes can be), French shows us that Archamus is actually a character with a lot to invest in and well worth your time following. He's definitely one of the good ones.

If that wasn't enough for you... 'Praetorian of Dorn' isn't just about espionage, there is still plenty of room for all the signature marks of a Black Library book; namely all out war between mighty spacefleets (well, once we find out what the Alpha Legion were really up to and, on a more personal level, the Primarch's themselves. These moments have everything you'd expect from a Black Library book and it's clear evidence that John French knows exactly what he is doing. Sometimes, you can't ask for anymore then that.

I wouldn’t put 'Praetorian of Dorn' in my ‘top tier 'Horus Heresy' books as that first ‘big reveal’ really jarred for me but it’s not far off at all. If you’re reading the ‘Horus Heresy’ books, well… you have my admiration for sticking with a series that long but I also think you’ll get a lot out of ‘Praetorian of Dorn’ if you haven’t read it already.