‘Mortis’ – John French (Black Library)

 

Page Count: 546 Pages

My ‘absolutely out of order’ readthrough of ‘The Siege of Terra’ continues with ‘Mortis’, chosen because there really is nothing cooler than cover art featuring a traitor Titan (‘Dies Irae’?) attacking the palace with loyalist soldiers trying to look like they stand half a chance against it. Seriously, if you know of cover art that is better, point me at it ;o)

This wasn’t going to be todays post but I finished ‘Mortis’ yesterday and given the state of my memory at the moment… If I don’t post something today, I’ll completely forget to post at all and that would be a shame as ‘Mortis’ was a very good read. One hell of a slog, it took me about three weeks to finish, but a very good read all at the same time.

The victories of Saturnine and the sacrifices of the Eternity Wall space port have faded into the hope of yesterday. Denied but not defeated, the traitors intensify their assault on the Imperial Palace. With the principal space ports in Horus’ hands, the Warmaster now drains the heavens of his reserves. As the pressure of the assault increases, the power of Chaos waxes. The waking lives of the defenders are filled with despair, while their dreams pull them in search of a false paradise. As the fabric of the defences fails and the will of those who stand on them cracks, Horus commands the Titans of the Legio Mortis to breach the walls. Against them stands the might of Mercury Wall and the strength of the Legio Ignatum. Ancient rivals, the god-engines of both Legions meet in battle, while within the walls a few desperate individuals seek a way to turn back the tide of the warp’s malign influence. Across Terra lost warriors and travelers make their way through wastelands and gardens of horror, towards home and an unknown future.

Well damn that was a ‘read and a half’ and not always in a good way; that will depend though on how your own journey through the ‘Siege of Terra’, and the preceding ‘Horus Heresy’ books, has gone.

I’ve read a fair few of these books (although by no means all of them); enough to have gone from ‘Black Library are milking this series for every penny’ to ‘I love what Black Library have built here’. And I really do but it does come at a price. A few dozen books in and the series is beginning to buckle under the weight of its cast and the need to make sure that every character gets their time in the spotlight. ‘Mortis’ felt like a very dense read as it had to concentrate on moving a number of character arcs forward, often at the expense of potentially cool moments that never got the chance to really breathe. I’m looking at you ‘Introduction of the Ordo Sinister’, all that build up for one Psi-Titan that dies a fiery death a couple of pages after it leaves the palace.

And so, ‘Mortis’ also falls into the trap of ‘if you like/dislike character x then….’; the plot can drag if you’re waiting for a favourite to appear (or if you’re waiting for a dull character to exit the stage). I was lucky as I got a lot out of Shibhan, Oll and Katsuhiro’s arcs as well as the politicking of the House Vyronii Knights, Your mileage will inevitably vary but those pacing issues were why it took me a few weeks to polish ‘Mortis’ off. Having said that though, to be fair, the plot can only move as fast as the advance of the Legio Mortis; that’s the whole point of the book really ;o)

At the same time though, and despite those aforementioned moments, I still found ‘Mortis’ to be a thoroughly engaging read that I couldn’t help but stick with. The pacing is glacial at times (and to be fair, when did you last read about a siege that was over quickly?) but it’s constantly moving forward with a decent mix of cinematic combat and the kind of politicking that really adds to not only the inevitability of the overall plot but the setting as a whole. It won’t be a galactic civil war that kills humanity, more the fact that humanity just can’t live with itself. Luckily, the forces of Chaos are just as useless at working together. Perturabo ups and leaves (taking his Legion with him) as there’s too much warpcraft happening and the Emperor’s Children check out of the Siege as well, presumably because they’re not enjoying themselves enough. It’s fascinating to watch this play out and fair play to John French for keeping all these plot threads moving in the same direction.

If you’re this far into ‘The Siege of Terra’ then there’s no way that you’re giving up now. The good news is that while ‘Mortis’ is a slowburner, there’s something here for everyone and it’s a book that ultimately rewards you for sticking with it.