Promethean Sun

The Horus Heresy #Novella

by Nick Kyme

The Great Crusade reaches a feral world known only as One-Five-Four-Four. The forces of the Imperium arrive to deliver the primitive natives from enslavement at the hands of the alien eldar. The Iron Hands of Ferrus Manus and Mortarion’s Death Guard fight in theatres of war across the world, but the most vicious combat takes place in the deep jungles, where Vulkan and the Salamanders bring the Emperor’s wrath to the heathen aliens.

Vulkan and his sons must brave the deadly jungles, battle monstrous reptilian beasts and contend with the vile sorcery of the eldar if they are to liberate this world and bring the Emperor’s light to its backwards inhabitants.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Fiction, Novella, Fantasy, Audiobook, War

128 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2011

About the author

Nick Kyme (b. 1977) writes mostly for Black Library. His credits include the popular Salamanders series and several audio dramas.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vote: ☆☆☆½

Re-read in the Born of Flame anthology.

Far better than I used to remember, Vulkan's flashbacks on Nocturne were the best part and I totally forgot about the Emperor disguised as theOutlander part.



Loved the XVIII Legion interacting with Ferrus Manus and his Xth, but I really would liked Mortarion and Death Guard having much more screen-time, sadly XIV Legion never had that in the whole Horus Heresy saga, and with the series closing to the end it's a real shame.



Savage planet One-Five-Four Four aka Caldera is going to have a role in Old Earth and Vulkan is still upholding his vow to defend it 1500 years later in The War of the Beast series, so this novella is a must read if you are a fan of Salamanders and their immortal Primarch, sadly the ending was a real forced one to say least.

[RatGrrrl · Rating 3 out of 5]

March 2024 Re-Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order - Omnibus VII Anvil of War (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy saga and extras.

Mixed feelings about this one.

Vulkan and his sons fight Exodite Eldar and their dinosaur mounts in the jungles, while his brothers, Ferrus Mannus and Mortarion and thief Legions take on the other biomes of the planet. The Lord of Drakes endeavours to do so with compassion for the humans who inhabit the planet, while reflecting on his life back on Nocturne and the coming of the Emperor. Unfortunately, intentions do not guarantee results and the line between saving or condemning a world...

I remember thoroughly enjoying this when I first read it and loved having the sexy fake drake skin limited edition, but after so many years and so many stories that have blown me away I can't help but feel a bit tepid on this one.

I can't really explain why. It's well-written and, at least on paper, has all the ingredients I want, as well as doing a better job than some of the Primarchs novels of giving a look at their protagonist...but I just didn't feel anything.

I love the Exodites and it's criminal how little we see of the non-Craftworld Eldar Dino-Riders! There's tragedy and mystical nonsense! I truly can't explain why this just didn't do it for me. It could well be just the way my mental health is blowing today

The objective quality of it is why I kept it as a 4/5*, despite my enjoyment being more like 3/5, but your mileage may vary.

*Edit: After seeing so many other neutral and negative reviews that raise issues I had and more, I feel more comfortable giving this the 3/5 I think it deserves. They also made me realise there is more I could say, but others have said it better than I would and I just don't have the energy or brainpower to waste on a book that made me feel so little.

Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 12.41 Horus Heresy novels, 6 novellas, 35 short stories/ audio dramas, as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 7 Primarchs novels, 3 Primarchs short stories/ audio dramas, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels...this run. I can't say enough good about the way the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project suggestions. I'm loving it! Especially after originally reading to the releases and being so frustrated at having to wait so long for a narrative to continue.

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read a great deal of the other books that Nick Kyme has written, particularly about the Salamander's Astartes in the Warhammer 40K universe. Salamander, Firedrake - both great novels that I thoroughly enjoyed and consider some of the best new writing about a previously untold Astartes chapter. I'm looking forward to Nocturne very eagerly, I might add.

However, the reason why I'm giving this particular book, which deals with the same Astartes legion, the Salamanders, a one-star rating, is very simple:

I can't buy the damned thing.

This isn't a case of my being impatient, or cheap and stingy. No! I love giving the Black Library, the publishers, my money in exchange for books that detail the events of the Horus Heresy.

That is, when they give me a chance to do so.

Basically, to cut to the chase, this low, one-star review is not because Nick Kyme, the author, decided to suddenly suck overnight with his writing. It is a kind of "protest" review. Not of his work, but of the decisions of the publisher, Black Library.

This book came out as a limited edition, only so many copies made (about 3,000 if I'm not mistaken), each copy being something in the neighborhood of $60.00 (U.S. dollars), not counting shipping and handling (and remember, books have weight, and they're going from the U.K. to the U.S.). In addition, when they were put on sale on the website, pretty much the entire stock got wiped out in less than a few days. I might be off on how fast, but the point is that they sold FAST.

Complicating all of this was the fact that the announcement and arrival of this book was pretty much overnight - Black Library has a habit of letting its fans know when books are coming out months ahead of time. For this one, however, it was announced about a week or so before going on sale.

Now, the stock that remains is being sold ONLY at Games Day Events. Which wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that I do not live in the U.K., or near any of the other locations where they once in a great while decide to go visit (a.k.a. Chicago). Add to this the fact that having them only available at these events is more redolent and noisome than the miasmatic stench coming off of a Nurgle plague-marine - it reeks of crass capitalism and, more importantly, abusing the fans by using a "baited lure" approach.

Adding insult to injury, you get people who buy as many copies as they can (or can get their friends to buy for them), and then turn around and sell them on Ebay for sometimes upwards of double the price (not to mention the fact that since it is Ebay, you are still taking a gamble on being able to trust the buyer, no matter how "safe" it might be).

For "mortal" fans like me, with limited means and a finite budget, who are still very passionate and dedicated fans of the series and of the authors - I get screwed and denied even a chance to get a copy of this book. To read the story and enjoy another awesome story in an awesome setting, written by a good writer.

The timing, pricing, and limited production run regarding the release of this book virtually assures that a good chunk of the fanbase will NEVER get to see this book. I'll be lucky to probably ever see a copy of the damned thing underneath a hermetically-sealed glass case on display.

The problem for me is that while I get and can appreciate the whole idea of a limited edition, is it too hard to make a regular, mass-market version for release at the same time? Or even a couple of months afterwards? Especially when there are lots of people who might not be able to pay the price of a book that has a fake-fake-lizardskin cover to it, but still want access to the story within and would be happy with paying $10, $15 dollars (at least in the U.S.) for a "nice" regular paperback edition?

Of course, there is the whole "e-book" solution - that's nice, but I like to hold an actual BOOK in my hands. If that is going to be the only workaround, then why wasn't it presented when the print version was put on sale? (It's not like you have to wait for the books to be printed.) Again, the whole situation reeks of milking the fanbase which, if that is what is really happening, is sad to know.

My only advice to the publishers would be to come up with a better way to get your content to your audience, because there are a lot of worlds out there to explore - I enjoy 40K, but if it becomes too complicated, difficult, and pricey to enjoy, then I'll probably start looking for something else. Content is king in this scenario, and getting it all to your fans in a timely, efficient, and fair manner is more important to securing our loyalty as fans than by coming out with shiny editions that are, well... shiny. Just ask your contemporary, J.K. Rowling. Never heard of any problems regarding the availability of her books.

So there it is, my (protest) "review" of Promethean Sun. In the unlikely event that I ever get to read it, I'll post a review up here of what the actual story was like, not of what-the-story-could-be-but-I'll-never-know-because-I-can't-get-a-copy.

[Tarl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the complaints that are listed here about the Black Library's handling of the sale of this book, this is a review of the story itself, NOT the way it was sold. I would find giving the author's writing a bad review because of something out of his control to be a misdirected stab at the wrong person. If you have an issue with how the Black Library handled things, contact them directly. Putting it on somewhere devoted to rating the story and the author's writing of it, is just wrong.

In this story, Kyme portrays Vulcan during the Horus Heresy. This story is linked to the story of the primarch of the Iron Hands in 'The Primarchs' so it is interesting to see another side of the events that occur in that collection. The story itself is full of action like most of the 40k novels, and Kyme handles the sprawling battles really well. Vulkan behaves as you expect him to, and those under him are also handled with a care of someone who loves writing about the Salamander legion.

The writing is strong and the plot fairly tight. The flow between Vulkan's memories and the battle in the present mix seamlessly and there's very little disruption when the story moves from one to the other. The Eldar are handled well as well, very alien and their true motives clouded until the very end of the story.

All in all, one of the better short stories in the Horus Heresy series, though not worth the price that was attached to it. This would have been perfect in 'The Primarchs' and is a real shame it wasn't included there. Still, if you can get your hands on a copy or the ebook, I recommend picking this up.

[Silicon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short read although it doesn't progress the Heresy and you could easily remove this from the "Heresy legend" without losing anything at all.

That being said it did give further insight into the Salamanders and their Primarch Vulkan who is the compassionate one of the Primarch's...ironic really when his name is Vulkan and so similar to Star Trek's "Vulcan" who are not compassionate at all because that's illogical...

I digress. I enjoyed reading even though I do not find the Salamanders that exciting.....a little book for a little legion...seems quite fitting and maybe this title is good because it gives a break from the heavier Horus Heresy novels.

[Dylan Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun getting to read about Great Crusade Salamanders!
I think the Salamanders might actually reach up to Blood Angel and Raven Guard levels of awesome for me, assuming they keep getting presented more or less the same way lol.

Anyways, Vulkan's pre-GC story was awesome, and the action on 154-4 was great fun.
Wish I had gotten the LE, but that was WAY before I started reading BL lol

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

First glimpse of Vulcan in the heresy. That's the only real positive. Not worth the eBay money, but I'm not selling mine, owned for the collection more than the content.

[Veronica Anrathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually not that bad, just not my cup of tea.

[Rico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor vulkan

[Simon Mee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Promethean Sun is a book that rationalizes why Vulkan turns flamethrowers on Eldar children. As a bonus we get a bro out moment with THE EMPEROR OF MANKIND. The book achieves its goals of explaining key moments in Vulkan’s development, so congratulations to Kyme on that one.

Other than that, it is very plainly written. The conversations between the three Primarchs are colourless with each character struggling their way through exposition. The battle scenes vary from deliberately cartoonish to merely dull. There’s also a weird cognitive dissonance over my understanding of the role of rembrancers in the Great Crusade.

‘No one must see that we are saviours, Glaivarzel. The Emperor needs us to be warriors, to be death incarnate.’

Coincidently, there is a part of it that reinforces my response to Annandale’s trolley problem in The Damnation of Pythos. Vulkan chooses to genocide innocents and feels good about it.

In his darker moments, he wondered if he actually despised these sorry humans for allowing themselves to be conquered and wondered if his supposed compassion had evaporated.

Ethics really isn’t a conundrum in the same way in the Warhammer 40K universe.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story takes place during the Great Crusade, after the events of “Vulkan: Lord of the Drakes” where the Terran and Nocturnean halves of the Legion are unified. It also takes place alongside “Feat of Iron” which was also written by Nick Kyme.

Deep on a jungle world, the Salamanders battle against the Exodites, the dinosaur-riding cousins of the Drukhari (or Dusk Raiders for you Nocturneans) that Vulkan especially loathes. Dinosaurs v Salamanders feels a little on the nose, but it provides some fun action.

Perhaps the best aspect of the story is the recounting of Vulkan’s life on Nocturne. There is almost a Superman like quality to his origin. A strange powerful being adopted by a normal father who he loves despite his son’s apparent strangeness. You can see how the kindness and compassion of N’bel would be passed on to his adopted son Vulkan. We also see “The Outlander” come to Nocturne, which was nice to have contained in a BL book.

Another part of the story I enjoyed were the interactions between Vulkan and his brothers Ferrus and Mortarion. All three have been tasked with bringing this world into compliance, but Vulkan struggles to keep his two brothers from each other’s throats.

Numeon Captain of the First Company whose earliest canonical story is told in “Vulkan: Lord of Drakes” reappears here, and he later features in “Vulkan Lives” and “Deathfire”.

Hekat’tan Captain of the 14th Company is one of the protagonists of this story, and he later appears in the story “Forgotten Sons”. Captain Gravius of the 5th Company also appears, and can be read about in the 40k novel “Salamanders”.

I partially enjoyed the ending, as I felt it demonstrated the evils of the Great Crusade, and how they take root in even the most compassionate of the Primarchs. This world that was brought into compliance had once been victims of the Dusk Raiders, much like Nocturne, but the human inhabitants had been saved by the Exodites. Knowing that the human population saw aliens as their saviours, Vulkan killed the remaining population. Murder and subjugation is the way of Empire after all.

If I’m being critical, the story felt a little too long with too much focus on action to keep me engaged. The parts I enjoyed I really liked, but the parts I didn’t enjoy seemed to drag a little. Still worth reading for fans of the Salamanders.

[Lanfear · Rating 3 out of 5]

El primer encuentro con Vulkan, la lucha con los eldars. En esta parte de la historia del imperio, Vulkan toma protagonismo por fin, junto a otro primarca también muy conocido, Ferrus Manus. La personalidad de Vulkan es lo más llamativo de esta novela, y eso que estamos hablando de legionarios y dos primarcas enfrentándose a eldars montados sobre velociraptores. Vulkan es el único de sus hermanos que tiene la auténtica cualidad de compasión y sensibilidad, corazón por así decirlo. Es diferente a sus hermanos, todos con sus absurdos y infantiles códigos que siguen compitiendo quien es más fuerte a los ojos de su padre. En cambio Vulkan ve a los humanos indefensos como las auténticas víctimas de esta guerra a tan enorme escala. Ninguno de ellos se pregunta si vale la pena matar a tantos millones y ver arder mundos enteros para que así el imperio tenga un mundo más sometido. Todo lo que Vulkan siente es la gran carencia de los primarcas.

[La Criatura]

Love how 40K is comprehensive enough in its setting that you can just have Vulkan fighting giant dinosaurs. Sure, why not.

Vulkan’s probably my favorite loyalist for the reason of “he is genuinely trying to do good in a universe that will do nothing but punish you for trying to do good” and for having something obliquely wrong with his brain (cognitive dissonance). Most charming parts of this to me were the bits about his childhood/adolescence, it’s fun to me that he’s also probably one of the more well-adjusted primarchs just because his childhood was only bad in one specific way and everything else was pretty normal and even *good*. But even then, he’s not really immune to the way his real dad ignores the autonomy of His children in order to bend them into a preferred shape for war.

Fucked up. We should kill that guy I think. Anyways, solid enough and doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.

[Maksud Afandi · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book gives some interesting insight into Vulkan’s thoughts on humans and his brothers, but is overall pretty boring. The moments with Vulkan are very interesting, especially the parts with his backstory and his life on his home planet, but the second he isn’t in the picture there is nothing interesting at all. There are plenty of boring moments and story beats, even in some moments where he is there, the story is just overall not engaging. The beginning especially is so boring I wanted to stop, but kept going, just to be underwhelmed. Didn’t like the audiobook that much either, the voice acting felt weaker than normal, not bad though.

[Matt Argueta · Rating 4 out of 5]

First real glimpse at Vulkan and an encounter with the Salamanders, under normal circumstances, during the Great Crusade. This gives good backstory to Vulkan's origins, what separates him and his Legion from the others, and the duality he faces as a compassionate child of Nocturne, but also the Primarch of the Emperor's Legions. 

The backstory with N'bel, the meeting of the Outlander, and the insight into his thoughts and demeanor towards other humans during the conflict were great insight into Vulkan's character and sets a good stage for what's to come in the other Salamander focused HH stories. While this one felt a little slower, I really enjoyed the read

[Seb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent tale of the Salamanders, with appearances by Ferrus and the Iron Hands and a cameo by Mortarion. A good insight into the character of the Salamanders, Vulkan, Ferrus and Mortarion, and inter-Primarch relations. Typically overblown and unrealistic action sequences which I continue to feel detract from the quality of the series more often than they add to it.

*Not essential reading for the Horus Heresy, a nice-to-have if you are into the Salamanders or the setting in general.*

[Gwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's so funny to me how people use Vulkan as an example of a "good space marine" even though in this book alone he has an entire planet destroyed just because the Eldar had protected them from the Drukhari, and he only considers that it may have been too harsh for a few minutes 😭😭

Anyway, I found the story with the Salamanders to be pretty boring and I couldn't really focus on those bits because it just didn't hook me in. However, Vulkan's backstory was pretty decent.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked the Vulcan character in this book. if you want a quick read with plenty of action then this is for you.

[John Haslach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I consider this to be the actual Primarch book since it gives actual insight into Vulkan's character and past. It also feels suitably grim in the endinig.

[Gary Bake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok for a short story. Awesome to see eldar on dinosaurs. Also some good history of Vulkan. I would have like to have read it before Vulkan lives. Slow story though with not much actually happening.

[Ben Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice intro short story to vulkan

[Alex Galbraith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor first half, ridiculous ending entirely at odds with the main character, one bit of decent and compelling plot in the middle.

[Thomas Langley · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty okay intro to Vulkan with some interesting flashback sequences

[Matias · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novella changed my opinion of Nick Kyme, hugely, in a positive way. First of all, for a long time I've had huge prejudices considering his writings. IMO the short Iron Hands story in The Primarchs was...horrible. Shortly after reading that, my friend couldn't finish reading The Fall of Damnos, saying it was also horrible.

Promethean Sun was something completely different. Really interesting stuff. Mr. Kyme has written of the Salamanders a lot before, so his skills - so far - are best within that setting.

Jeez! Now I'll have to buy and read Vulkan Lives :D

I recommend this to every 40K fan.

[Mhoram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick Kyme has always been a bit of a hit-and-miss author for me. Thankfully, this is one of his better works. It's an interesting character study in Vulkan, and well worth reading before Vulkan Lives if only to give you some investment for the character before the traumas he suffers in the latter books. It also gives some hints as to his relationships with his brother Primarchs, and how his Legion fights. It's not a story central to the Horus Heresy as a whole, but it's still worth reading. The climax was rather disappointing, feeling a bit forced, but that thankfully does not ruin the book.

[Hakan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting short story but not really worth the lengths you would have to go to obtain a copy.

The flow of Vulkan's memories between his childhood on Nocturne and the battle was interesting to read. I have to go back to Primarchs some day and re-read the part about Ferrus Manus to see how well the stories link together.

In the end, though, I have to agree with Tarl that this story would have fit much better in the "Primarchs" anthology, or maybe a second anthology with some of the other first twenty.

[John Rhodes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this is not required to get a larger grasp of events during the Horus Heresy, fans of the salamanders will get a little more information regarding Vulcan from this book. It also introduces people that play a part in the series in later novels. Giving you a piece of their character before they get to be fleshed out in a full novel. I did find that a lot of part we're dry and hard to keep focused. It was all in all a good read.

[Derek Weese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the cost, I think. First time Vulkan is shown as a character in the Heresy series, the action is decent but the gold in the story is not the bolter porn, rather it is the background info on Vulkan. Well worth the read. Also, the Emperor (possibly) makes (made?) a surprise guest cameo as well. Took me only about two and a half hours to finish. Read, if you can, before starting 'Vulkan Lives' also by Kyme.

[David Alexander McLane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice hardback novella from deep in the Horus Heresy range. The reader gets to see two Primarchs fight side by side, which is somewhat a rarity. There's also some nice background information on the Salamanders Primarch, Vulkan.

This one takes place during the compliance of One-Five-Four Four, the same planet being subjugated in the author's previous novella, Feat of Iron, focusing on the Salamanders with cameos from Ferrus Mannus and Mortarian. Pretty cool stuff.

[Denis Guz · Rating 1 out of 5]

for the Horus Heresy series collectors (which I am) or Salamanders fans (which I am not) only. Artistic or plot value of this book is very close to zero. One hundred pages of pretty straightforward military action with just a few short glimpses into Vulkan's past. Boring