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Hereticus
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 2, 2026
People who love science fiction and haven’t approached the Eisenhorn trilogy absolutely *should.* Goodness- what a ride! Abnett put together a space drama full of relationships, betrayals, philosophy, religion, all centered around something that a lot of modern literature misses: the inevitability and allure of The Wrong Thing. People will often say to fight fire with fire, but what happens when the fire customizes itself to your life? Consumes everything you love? Do you give up? Become an arsonist? Or can you, imperfectly, own that The Right Thing will be full of mistakes and take responsibility for both the burns and the victory?
Malleus was all about the allure of evil, as was the very end of Xenos. Eisenhorn makes one hell of a point about the Necroteuch: sure, he resisted it and destroyed it, but it wasn’t his kind of evil either. It was a cackling villain, an Emperor Palpatine promising unlimited power. But the Malus Codicium showed Eisenhorn that evil was diverse and varied per person: it just sat there, said nothing, held information. So of course he read the whole thing, used it, and nearly gave himself over to chaos. When Aemos took hold of it, I screamed OH NO. An information addict and a reference source? That’s my kind of librarian nightmare. Relatable.
But despite that, Eisenhorn had options. Not good ones, but ones that wouldn’t end all of humanity immediately. He was responsible for preserving Pontius and giving him his deadly, friend-killing body. He was therefore partially responsible for the destruction of the Distaff, his friends, his workers, innocent people. But my favorite part of Hereticus is his conversation with Tobias near the end: yes, he was responsible. But it was all he could do, and the best option anyone had. It was “The Emperor’s Work” even though a Puritan would say it was heresy. He was a Radical. And it’s the Radical Eisenhorn who destroyed the Codicium.
Like I said in other book reviews; sci-fi often asks “What do you do with a broken world?” Warhammer says “The world’s broken; now what?” Eisenhorn’s trilogy says “You do what you can, you do what’s right; and that’s what matters.”
As always, the sensory descriptions of the worlds are wonderful (but once again, hey; what did the cologne smell like? Get us to know Midas a little better!), the fights are kinetic, and the ending was literally explosive. Not a dull moment, with the little conversations mattering just as much as a planet being nuked from orbit. You can’t go wrong here: if you want an intro to Warhammer, a great space opera trilogy, an action-packed barn-burner, a philosophical treatise, you’ve got it here.
Malleus was all about the allure of evil, as was the very end of Xenos. Eisenhorn makes one hell of a point about the Necroteuch: sure, he resisted it and destroyed it, but it wasn’t his kind of evil either. It was a cackling villain, an Emperor Palpatine promising unlimited power. But the Malus Codicium showed Eisenhorn that evil was diverse and varied per person: it just sat there, said nothing, held information. So of course he read the whole thing, used it, and nearly gave himself over to chaos. When Aemos took hold of it, I screamed OH NO. An information addict and a reference source? That’s my kind of librarian nightmare. Relatable.
But despite that, Eisenhorn had options. Not good ones, but ones that wouldn’t end all of humanity immediately. He was responsible for preserving Pontius and giving him his deadly, friend-killing body. He was therefore partially responsible for the destruction of the Distaff, his friends, his workers, innocent people. But my favorite part of Hereticus is his conversation with Tobias near the end: yes, he was responsible. But it was all he could do, and the best option anyone had. It was “The Emperor’s Work” even though a Puritan would say it was heresy. He was a Radical. And it’s the Radical Eisenhorn who destroyed the Codicium.
Like I said in other book reviews; sci-fi often asks “What do you do with a broken world?” Warhammer says “The world’s broken; now what?” Eisenhorn’s trilogy says “You do what you can, you do what’s right; and that’s what matters.”
As always, the sensory descriptions of the worlds are wonderful (but once again, hey; what did the cologne smell like? Get us to know Midas a little better!), the fights are kinetic, and the ending was literally explosive. Not a dull moment, with the little conversations mattering just as much as a planet being nuked from orbit. You can’t go wrong here: if you want an intro to Warhammer, a great space opera trilogy, an action-packed barn-burner, a philosophical treatise, you’ve got it here.
January 6, 2026
Un romanzo che va a chiudere la trilogia dell'inquisitore, come gli altri ben scritto, con uno stile che fa trasparire la freddezza del protagonista.
C'è poco spazio per i "saluti" e quando ci sono, sono freddi e sbrigativi per la maggior parte, anche quando si tratta di personaggi ormai affezionati nel corso dei 3 romanzi.
Il finale l'ho trovato piuttosto sbrigativo, risolto in una misera cronologia di eventi.
C'è poco spazio per i "saluti" e quando ci sono, sono freddi e sbrigativi per la maggior parte, anche quando si tratta di personaggi ormai affezionati nel corso dei 3 romanzi.
Il finale l'ho trovato piuttosto sbrigativo, risolto in una misera cronologia di eventi.
March 17, 2026
En la Inquisicion Imperial, o mueres joven como un Puritano, o vives lo suficiente para convertirte en un Radical. Gregor Eisenhorn esta tan vivo que su radicalismo roza la herejia (y un poco mas que rozar).
Bromas aparte, un gran cierre de trilogia que no enseña que las decisiones que tomamos, buenas malas o regulares, siempre acaban volviendo para cobrarse su precio. Sobre todo las malas.
Bromas aparte, un gran cierre de trilogia que no enseña que las decisiones que tomamos, buenas malas o regulares, siempre acaban volviendo para cobrarse su precio. Sobre todo las malas.
August 20, 2026
Excellent ending to the series.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews