Galaxy in Flames

Wow! Just plain wow! The battle scenes at the end were full of gallantry, nobility, honor, and all the good things you expect in an epic where brave men make a last stand. The path to get to that point was also a very good read as the treachery of the heresy is finally revealed and pits Space Marine brother against brother. Once I picked this up, I could not put it down. Ben Counter manages to maintain the crescendo and swift pace of the series in the closing volume of this first trilogy. He also sets things nicely for the rest of the series. Horus solidifies his power, but he is in a race against time to carry out his plans before the Emperor finds out about the treachery. Legions turn against each other as the Astartes take sides. Oh, show more Captains Loken and Tarvitz and the other loyalists will, in their last stand, make sure Horus' forces pay dearly for their treachery. There is drama, intrigue, action, suspense, and more in this novel that does not let go until the end. Counter's narrative is epic in scope and style; in some ways, this is like reading a classic epic poem. This is definitely a very good entry in the series. I will definitely go looking for the next one. show less

Initial Reaction

I have read this book, which I consider one big book with Horus Rising and False Gods with parts of Flight of the Eisenstein as a coda, at least four times in the nearly 18 years since it was published, and every time it has made me cry. These books are incredible and the stories and characters within are something special.

I will be taking a little break to catch up on reviews and to keep on top of other reading, including a proper write up for this, after Flight of the Eisenstein, as well as reading the early stories and accounts of the Horus Heresy, including The Emperor and Horus by William King, The Horus Rebellion by Alan Merrett, and The Dornian Heresy for fun.

This whole saga continues to be an unbelievable show more undertaking, despite the wildly vacillating quality as things go on, but this opening trilogy is damn near perfect for what it is. I think some of the negative reviews I've seen don't seem to know what that is and judge it unfairly. I'm all for the joys of subjectivity and I know my brains mercurial and sporadic tastes, but I think complaints about characters making ridiculous choices and acting in 'unbelievable' ways make the mistake of viewing this as a traditional sci-fi story or space opera. The Horus Heresy is the foundation story for Warhammer 40K (with its own foundation stories, which spirals back on itself); it is myth and legend like the Eddas, Odyssey, Illiad, and The Contending of Horus and Seth. It draws on these and classic and foundational tales from across the globe, particularly the latter, both in form and through in universe references, surpassing the simple pig Latin Catholic allegory it began as, the just over 15 lines of small box text in the Book of the Astronomicon, as I mentioned in my Horus Rising review, to become a gestalt. It is a reflection and interpretation of all of these things through the medium of novels, novellas, short stories, audio drama, and a graphic novel about big dudes in armour with machine gun rocket launchers, giant cathedral spaceships, it's own eldritch horror, combining Cthulhu mythos with every concept of hell and the supernatural, and every alien in media on steroids.

I'm not saying this should be held up with Homer, Snorri, and Sîn-lēqi-unninni, but the mythological and allegorical nature are self evident, so some criticisms I've seen do have a ring of ‘cancelling’ Achilles for being too problematic a fave. Yeah, taking concubines is awful and pouting over having yours stolen because your king wanted a new one so you nearly lose a war and your ‘close personal friend’ and [roommate] seems absolutely ridiculous behaviour, but these aren't stories about realism and, in the case of the Astartes and Primarchs, being exactingly genetically engineered and going through truly inconceivable amounts of indoctrination will make you do some odd things.

Anyways, I need to stop acting as an Iterator for this series and come back after I get my head together enough to catch up on reviewing False Gods and this in full. But the tragedy of the tragedy of the Mournival, the death of the Great Crusade, the kindling of the Imperial Creed, Qruze embodying Milgram's obedience, Tarvitz stepping out of being a line officer and stepping up for his moment, the camaraderie between the Loyalist Captains, and Counters wonderfully visceral and vivid descriptions, without wallowing in florid detail are all glorious elements I have a lot more to say on another time.

For now, I have a Flight to catch with a certain Battle Captain on the commandeered Eisenstein. show less

In the general realm of Warhammer 40k books, this is fairly high on the quality scale. It's not overly info-dumpy, it his back on the people per, and it achieved a good mix of action and plot movement.

I'd have liked some more warp grotesquery and grim darkness, actually, but as the backbone of the Horus Heresy this book does a good job of driving home the bitterness of betrayal.

While not as well written as the first two in this series, this one still delivers a real emotional punch from the shocking aspect of the story itself. Horus has now declared war on the galaxy and the god-like Emperor himself, and the reader is subjected to the angst of seeing many, good, loyal characters betrayed and destroyed by Horus' treachery. This one also sets up the coming conflict between those loyal to the Emperor and those who wish a universal rule by a godless people led by Horus. Funny how these science fiction stories can parallel today's events philosophically....

3rd book in the Horus Heresy series. This continuation of the story has the feel of a season ending cliffhanger.

Fiction is a subjective art form. You either like something, or you do not like something. This review will not spoil anything, in fact, it will not focus on the material at all except to say, this is a story set in the "Warhammer 40K Universe," which is foremost an table-top wargame. What this will be is a small critical look at the format, writing style, and character development of the novel.

The book is broken down into chapters, with each chapter giving you, in bold print, three insights as to what in going on in the chapter. These three little "insights" could be easier defined as overshadowing statements that range from show more one word, to a few words. Each chapter has multiple story arcs beginning and ending with a double spaced break which gives the reader the opportunity to switch story arcs. This technique gives the reader the impression of multiple actions happening at or around the same time. Since the premise of the lore setting is futuristic and fantastical war setting, this writing strategy works well to move the whole story arc along with multiple characters interaction in the chaos of warfare.

The writing style is well developed, with multiple authors working together in writing books in the series. The authors work well together to create one seamless story arc, which is still going on today with over 50+ titles. The series itself is almost like the way a television show is developed. There are some books that need to be read in order that move the story along its long reaching story timeline, but every so often, there is a novel in the numerical sequence that is a one shot informative novel about a specific hero or villain, which are offshoots of the main story timeline, and usually deal with a past event. Because of this we also get great character development within the lore.

The ease of reading is about a low medium for me. The only thing that makes it a little more difficult to read is the use of similar spelling and pronunciation of words that seem familiar yet foreign and specific to this story's universe. The character development is good, and the ease of the sentence structure, punctuation, and vocabulary make for an easy and enjoyable read.

I recommend this book and the rest of the series if you enjoy military, science-fiction, aliens, or weird-fiction genres. show less

The third book in the first trilogy of the Horus Heresy is fantastic. This is a book about the first stand for the emperor against the Traitor Horus, and the great battle of Isstvan III. Horus shows his true colours to the imperium, the rememberencers are killed and the next stage of attack is planned. Ben Counter, while obviously working from Dan Abnett’s outline, is a great author. He is a very descriptive writer, and makes you feel as if you are present during the bloodshed and his word choice evokes just the right emotions from the reader. I anxiously await the next book in the Horus Heresy, as well as other novels by mister Counter.

Wow! I knew going in that Horus was a traitor.....thus, the Horus heresy.....but, I wasn't expecting such diabolical and sad events! It's heartbreaking!

My son is a huge War Hammer fan....he plays the game, paints the models, reads the books, etc.....he got me interested in the books.....I was very curious about the mythos surrounding the game. I've really enjoyed these books so far. I highly recommend the series for anyone who likes fantasy, sci fi, or militant novels.