‘Luther: First of the Fallen’ – Gav Thorpe (Black Library)

 

Page Count: 211 Pages

Now, here is a book that I really should have read a long time before now… Nothing to do with how good the book is (it’s not bad but we’ll get onto that a little later), more that I put it in my work backpack a year ago, for a ‘commute read’, and then spent most of the last year either off sick or working from home. ‘Typical me’ really, I completely forgot it was there until a few days ago. Due to, erm… reasons, my ‘work backpack’ is now ‘just a regular backpack’ and I found ‘Luther’ nestled inside, looking slightly reproachful but ready to be read. I’m just starting out on a week of cat-sitting so thought that yesterday would be the ideal moment to finally read it…

Knight of the Angelicasta. Saviour of the Lion. Grand Master of the Order. Lord of the Dark Angels. Protector of Caliban. Chaos Heretic. Destroyer of Caliban. Sorcerer of the Abyss. Arch-traitor. Dark Oracle. First of the Fallen.

Can one man be all of these things?

Kept alive and imprisoned for ten thousand years, Luther is the curse and the salvation of the Dark Angels made manifest. None are so close to the heart and history of the Chapter as the man that embodies all that was great about the First Legion and all that is shameful about the Dark Angels. In his story is writ the tale of the Horus Heresy in a single, long life. Glory, honour, pride, shame and betrayal weave a tapestry of truth and lies that the Supreme Grand Masters of the Dark Angels have sought to understand and unravel across ten bloody millennia.

Luther claims repentance for his past deeds, but was it his sins that condemned the Chapter to its secretive fate, or should warnings from history have been more closely heeded?

I’m no scholar of the forty first millenium (we might even be into the forty second millennium by this point, I’m not sure…) but I I know my way round, up to a point. While I recognise most characters though, ask me about certain backstories though and you’ll see me look slightly embarrassed, just before I point out something behind you and then run away while you’re not looking. I’ve done it before ;o)

That is why I’ll always make time for those WH40K books that focus on a particular character and if not ‘fill in the gaps’, put some flesh on the bones of lives that, by necessity, have been pretty vague up until this point. This time round it was the turn of Luther, a key figure in the Horus Heresy, and…

I’ll be honest, I’m not a hundred percent sure that I know an awful lot more about Luther than I did when I first picked the book up. To be fair, I’ve skipped most of the ‘Dark Angels’ books, in the ‘Horus Heresy’ series, (again, reasons…) and ‘Luther’ feels like a read where you’ll get a lot more out of it if you’ve already done some background reading. Those Dark Angels and their secretive ways… ;o)

And I also feel like this ‘air of uncertainty’ is being deliberately projected, by Gav Thorpe, and if this is the case, it’s a bit of a masterstroke. Thorpe successfully navigates that fine line between ‘well meaning Luther who is led astray’ and ‘Luther the traitor who damned his world’. I’ve got no idea where the middle ground is here and I like that. Some of the best WH40K books are the ones that really make you question the motivations of a particular character (the whole ‘setting is built on lies and half-truths’ thing). In that respect, ‘Luther’ sits comfortably in that select group, it left me in no doubt why the Dark Angels have wrapped themselves up in so many secrets.

I appreciate that if you’re reading a ‘context book’, that’s exactly what you’re going to get (it’s literally the whole point). From where I was sat though, I could have done with a little more ‘Luther the Man’ and less of Luther’s habit of really going into detail when describing his life on Caliban. To be fair, Thorpe clearly knows his stuff and ‘Luther’ is a book that ‘Dark Angels’ fans will get a lot out of. While it’s not the books fault in the slightest, I personally wanted to see things move a little quicker and yes, I can see the irony in that with the book actually being set in a stasis chamber ;o) And I loved seeing the way that Luther slowly realises this, as well as what it does to him, physically and mentally.

‘Luther: First of the Fallen’ was a bit of a stodgy read, at times, although I suspect that may have been more to do with me than the book. At the same time though, it really invites you to engage with Luther’s character and puzzle out just who he is, good luck with that ;o)

And the cliffhanger ending is beautifully understated and loaded with foreboding, all at the same time; I’m definitely up for following Luther’s tale a little further.