A Few Tales From ‘Legacies of Betrayal’ (Black Library)
I
’m not saying that you should but sometimes, it’s good to have a little clear out :o) My shelves have become a little cluttered (okay, a lot) and crossed over the line between ‘comforting’ and ‘slightly intimidating’ so I’ve started trying to shift some of the books that have sat unread for too long and I’m clearly never going to pick up. And the great thing about doing this is that it inevitably unearths a whole load of books that I always meant to pick up… until they got lost amongst the clutter. Books like ‘Legacies of Betrayal’ for example, a ‘Horus Heresy’ anthology that I’d put to one side and then promptly forgotten. It was a nice surprise to find it, that and ‘The Burden of Loyalty’ as well; we’ll save that for another day ;o)
Given everything that’s been going on this week, there was no way that I was going to finish the whole book, to be honest I didn’t even try. Anthologies are made to be dipped in and out of though so that’s exactly what I did. Quick thoughts on four tales follow then and maybe, the rest of the book will feature here another time…
‘Warmaster’ – John French
Horus muses on the title that he has been given and those that fight under it.
In only four, and a bit, pages of story, French packs a lot in and gives us plenty to think about. This is Horus at his most introspective, and therefore most honest, and we see that not only does he knows the full scale of the task he has set himself, he also knows that he has been dealt a very poor hand. Horus is going to go for it though and that gives you a hint about the Primarch that he was, as well as the tragedy of what has befallen him. I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of this tale but what we got did the job just fine.
‘Heart of the Conqueror’ – Aaron Dembski-Bowden
A Navigator’s dream posting goes sour in the face of the Civil War and she must make a terrible choice.
I liked how this one played into the theme of betrayal and its consequences. Both sides are adamant that they are doing the right thing and so have both left themselves open to betrayal. And what a place to be stuck through no fault of your own, right in the middle of two of the mightiest factions in known space. The ending may be a little predictable but is no less powerful for that. It’s been a while since I read ‘Betrayer’ so I can’t remember if the consequences of this tale bleed into that longer piece. I’d like to think that they did.
’m not saying that you should but sometimes, it’s good to have a little clear out :o) My shelves have become a little cluttered (okay, a lot) and crossed over the line between ‘comforting’ and ‘slightly intimidating’ so I’ve started trying to shift some of the books that have sat unread for too long and I’m clearly never going to pick up. And the great thing about doing this is that it inevitably unearths a whole load of books that I always meant to pick up… until they got lost amongst the clutter. Books like ‘Legacies of Betrayal’ for example, a ‘Horus Heresy’ anthology that I’d put to one side and then promptly forgotten. It was a nice surprise to find it, that and ‘The Burden of Loyalty’ as well; we’ll save that for another day ;o)
Given everything that’s been going on this week, there was no way that I was going to finish the whole book, to be honest I didn’t even try. Anthologies are made to be dipped in and out of though so that’s exactly what I did. Quick thoughts on four tales follow then and maybe, the rest of the book will feature here another time…
‘Warmaster’ – John French
Horus muses on the title that he has been given and those that fight under it.
In only four, and a bit, pages of story, French packs a lot in and gives us plenty to think about. This is Horus at his most introspective, and therefore most honest, and we see that not only does he knows the full scale of the task he has set himself, he also knows that he has been dealt a very poor hand. Horus is going to go for it though and that gives you a hint about the Primarch that he was, as well as the tragedy of what has befallen him. I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of this tale but what we got did the job just fine.
‘Heart of the Conqueror’ – Aaron Dembski-Bowden
A Navigator’s dream posting goes sour in the face of the Civil War and she must make a terrible choice.
I liked how this one played into the theme of betrayal and its consequences. Both sides are adamant that they are doing the right thing and so have both left themselves open to betrayal. And what a place to be stuck through no fault of your own, right in the middle of two of the mightiest factions in known space. The ending may be a little predictable but is no less powerful for that. It’s been a while since I read ‘Betrayer’ so I can’t remember if the consequences of this tale bleed into that longer piece. I’d like to think that they did.
‘Serpent’ – John French
I’m not popping a blurb in here because I’m still trying to work out just what happened in this tale. I mean, the immediate events are clear enough but I’m still trying to figure out the connection to the wider setting. It has been a while since I read the early books so it’s not ideal but I guess I can be excused ;o)
In the meantime… Erm, Chaos cannot be trusted, even if you’re another cultist. That fits in with the wider theme of the book and it is appropriately handled here. I just wish I could remember who Thoros is…
‘Lucius, the Eternal Blade’ – Graham McNeill
In which Lucius the Eternal seeks to find anyone who who can give him a good fight.
This was a bit of an odd one to end things on as given what we know about Lucius, the tale can be easily mapped before you start reading. Despite this, I was still hoping that ‘Lucius’ would surprise me but… No surprises here. No wonder no-one likes Lucius…
Like I said, I’d like to finish ‘Legacies of Betrayal’ but it may be a little while before I do. If ‘Warmaster’ and ‘Heart of the Conqueror’ are the standard (and ‘Serpent’ and ‘Lucius’ aren’t) then I reckon I’ll have a good time, when I finally pick this book up again.
I’m not popping a blurb in here because I’m still trying to work out just what happened in this tale. I mean, the immediate events are clear enough but I’m still trying to figure out the connection to the wider setting. It has been a while since I read the early books so it’s not ideal but I guess I can be excused ;o)
In the meantime… Erm, Chaos cannot be trusted, even if you’re another cultist. That fits in with the wider theme of the book and it is appropriately handled here. I just wish I could remember who Thoros is…
‘Lucius, the Eternal Blade’ – Graham McNeill
In which Lucius the Eternal seeks to find anyone who who can give him a good fight.
This was a bit of an odd one to end things on as given what we know about Lucius, the tale can be easily mapped before you start reading. Despite this, I was still hoping that ‘Lucius’ would surprise me but… No surprises here. No wonder no-one likes Lucius…
Like I said, I’d like to finish ‘Legacies of Betrayal’ but it may be a little while before I do. If ‘Warmaster’ and ‘Heart of the Conqueror’ are the standard (and ‘Serpent’ and ‘Lucius’ aren’t) then I reckon I’ll have a good time, when I finally pick this book up again.
Comments
Post a Comment