Aurelian

The Horus Heresy #Novella

by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

After the destruction of Monarchia and the Emperor’s reprimanding of the Word Bearers Legion, the primarch Lorgar spent many long years searching the stars for the universal truths of the cosmos – when he finally came to gaze deep into the Eye of Terror, with grim inevitability he found that the Eye stared back. Now, guided by the daemon Ingethel, he undertakes a spiritual journey into the heart of Chaos itself and sees that the entire destiny of mankind and the Imperium could rest upon just a few nexus events. As the Great Crusade burns itself out in treachery and deceit, Lorgar weighs the cost of his ambitions, and sets his course for eternal damnation.

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

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2011

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written novella about Lorgar Aurelian's falling from grace and his pilgrimage into the Eye of Terror not shown in The First Heretic, set after the events of Fulgrim.



A very good story about Chaos full of hints to the future of the HH saga, and the ending sets the stage for Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Betrayer.






Lorgar's battle against the herald of Khorne was epic, seeing the Crimson King again and his new path toward corruption was a blast, but not liked much how the Primarch of the III Legion, the Warp entity possessing him, and all the Emperor's Children and their crews were depicted as poor morons...The Word Bearer's surprise boarding of all their fleet was just too much awkward for me.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

What did Lorgar see in the Eye of Terror...

The novella actually has two parts, and the first part (middle of the book) is the Pilgrimage of Lorgar.
This part is a hugely interesting read for everyone that like to muse on the nature of Chaos, The Primordial Truth. And again, you see that the Warp screws everything up.

The second part however (start and ending of the book) is about Lorgar coming to age/strength after the Dropsite Massacre on Isstvan V. Together with his fellow-traitor primarchs. And he doesn't like what he sees in Fulgrim.
That's right, the storyline of the most epic novel in the Horus Heresy, Fulgrim (Warhammer 40,000) is actually continued ! (for a bit) Just after you thought there was at least one thread wrapped up completely, ADB comes around and proves you dead wrong :)

[Jakub Sládek · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘I see more than you realise.’ The Word Bearer turned to face his brother’s captor. ‘If you think to relish all of eternity while playing puppeteer to my brother’s bones, you will find yourself fatally disappointed one night.’

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great novella from ADB, fleshing out Lorgar's storyline and giving us a vital glimpse into his motives

[RatGrrrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

March 2024 Re-Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order - Omnibus X Shadow Crusade III Chosen of Chaos (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy saga and extras.

Great novella is great, even if it does kinda just end.

This is the companion piece to The First Heretic that sees the a bunch of bad bros getting together for the first time since the Dropsite Massacre and airing out some tensions with how things have changed. It's also the story of Lorgar's personal Pilgrimage, after Argal Tal and Co were the proverbial Gal Vorbak in mineshaft, complete with some cool Chaotic cameos and some more of that good ole possible/ actual future timey wimey stuff the Darker Powers are so fond of.

This was great to revisit, but if I completely honest it didn't knock my socks off the way it did many years ago. ADB's writing is great and they are an author who can make big reveals that a story revolves around part of the story, opposed to being the story, or a vehicle for a revelation or event , as in a rare moment of slipping in the Heresy for James Swallow with Ghosts Speak Not essentially being a perfunctory story for a single, and admittedly epic, word. But there's no getting around the fact that the sights, sounds, and interactions are going to hit so much harder the first time than any other, which is totally understandable, although I am coming off the back of my many many times of reading After Desh'ea by Matthew Farrer this morning and every time it breaks my heart and makes me cry...a lot.

In some ways this feels like (and my apologies that I don't remember and didn't look up the thing I'm referencing) that DLC for, I think, Mass Effect 2 that is absolutely essential and a bunch of stuff makes zero sense if you go from 2 to 3 without it. Shadowbroker, maybe? Although this isn't absolutely essential for those speedrunning, this is packed with flavour and some important information and interactions that absolutely add colour and depth to the series, following up and presageing various narrative threads throughout the saga.

Ultimately, this is utterly phenomenal and truly mind blowing the first time, and subsequently still very good, standing above so much of the unfortunate entries and novellas I've come across recently, but it's by no means anywhere near as dear to me as The First Heretic, After Desh'ea, Prospero Burns, Raven's Flight, etc.

Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 17.41 Horus Heresy novels, 11 novellas, 48 short stories/ audio dramas, as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 8 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.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella is the story of Lorgar Aurelian, the leader and Primarch of the Word Bearers Space Marine Legion. They are and were the very heart and many believe the reason for the traitorous Horus to turn upon the Emperor and embrace the Ruinous Powers.
Aurelian depicts the enlightenment of Lorgar and the powers and influence he brought to bear to push Horus over the edge. It depicts the interaction of the Daemons of the Warp, in form as gods for the traitor legions. Lorgar was and appears ever immune to their influence and inhabitation. He has turned from the "False Emperor" but has not succumbed to the Warp and its insidious taint and mutation.
Lorgar is a very interesting character and is really deep and hard to read. He believes in his path and that what makes him so dangerous within the Horus Heresy. He has plans and develops them, almost being the very mind and conscience behind Horus.
This was a very quick read but worth it. Really good time!

Danny

[Timo S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do not attend to omit that I have a distaste for all literature focused on Lorgar. This one is quite ridiculous though. The weakest primarch realizes his place and all of a sudden has unlimited potential surpassing all his brothers. Sounds like the children stories als "If I find my true self, I‘m strong and independent“. Power scaling has always been an issue in this universe (probably inevitable with so many authors) but this one is simply not stringent to the rest of the heresy and not even the work of the author. Additionally, this story adds nothing to the overall plot and due to its wrong scaling doesn’t fit in.
*The worst part* is that the author seems incapable of remembering his own writings. In the second to last chapter of the first heretic we learn that Lorgar was broken after the eye of terror and intended not to go through with the heresy. Erebus describes what an effort it was to sway him again. All that happens in the eye of terror here is that lorgar becomes insanely powerful and super confident. This is simply a manifest of lacking continuity and bad writing.
I pray the day comes where Games Workshop will decide it’s enough and have Corax end his wretched existence in the eye of terror. First and foremost to save me any literature featuring him and only second because I despise him.

[chilledgricken · Rating 4 out of 5]

cool short story! mostly just an extension and bridge between The First Heretic and Know No Fear, but Lorgar is kinda badass in this haha

the more i read about him, the more i enjoy him. his changes so far have been so interesting to follow, i'm just expecting things to spiral further from here

[Tyberius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah buddy!!!

[Mhoram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aurelian is, far and away, the single greatest story published within the overarching series of the Horus Heresy. It is so good that I read through it in a single sitting, and have gone back and re-read it at least half a dozen times in the year since. It focuses entirely on the character of Lorgar, Primarch of the Word Bearers, following his journey into the Eye of Terror many years pre-Heresy, and his reactions after Isstvan V to learning that Fulgrim has become possessed. It grants him some brilliant character development, which, while we saw those changes in "The First Heretic", we did not see them happen or see what actually triggered them. While the novella was described by Black Library at the time of release as not being necessary reading for the story of the Heresy, I have to disagree. I feel it is ENTIRELY required reading for the overall story - both of the corruption of Lorgar, and of how the Heresy truly began. Good news for those of you who missed the limited edition release: it is now publicly available to order from the Black Library website, and it is worth every cent...

[Tarl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit, I had my doubts about this novella when I first heard they were releasing it. However this novella ended up being one of the best stories I have read in the Horus Heresy collection. Where some of the other novels present the primarchs poorly, this one presents them magnificently.
This was a wonderful read and fits well within the history of the 40k universe. It presents a better view of the primarch of the Word Bearers than 'The First Heretic' does and provides closure for that story. It explains why he did what he did and provides a lot of insight into his actions.
My only complaint is the way that Games Workshop went about marketing this story, making it a limited release with a bunch of filler (though nice, it's still filler) and charging an arm and a leg for what is really only about 73 pages of story.
If you enjoy the Horus Heresy series of books, try to get your hands on this story. It's worth the read, just not the price that was being charged for it.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving it 4 stars because I love ADB's work, and I think that trying to explain this small chunk of 40K "history" in a short story was probably challenging without making it too detailed (and thus too long). It didn't feel like it lived up to the hype that made me hold off on reading it until now - there were no major revelations, and the ending didn't wow me like a lot of other books in the HH series. Still, it's solid writing, and a fast, enjoyable read.

[Andrew Ziegler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well shoot, this was excellent.

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lorgar's final journey into the heart of chaos comes with a price.

And that price is having to put up with some of the most annoying, riddle-incarnate demons ever.

Aurelian is a short novel that continues and also complements the previous book where the Word Bearers where the focus: The First Heretic. It follows Lorgar on his entirety as he travels to the warp in hopes of finding the final answer and the primordial truth. And oh he does just that.

Aurelian is short but it builds up on the forte of Lorgar as a faith-driven characters that is willing to do everything to accomplish is divine quest. He faces various challenges that alter his point of view, and also bears witness to some nasty realities that tremble his certainty. It is a compelling and entertaining journey that reads quite well and superbly fast due to a well structured pacing.

My major complain, however, is the fucking demons. Dear gods do they talk like the most pretentious cunts ever. One of them is a literal literary tool that speaks both a true and a lie, and you can not know which is which. All these riddles feel unnecessary and way too melodramatic, as if their whole purpose is to actually try to trick the reader into believing these demons have such a grand scheme. To my own interpretation, their only purpose is to confuse Lorgar so that he is more easily sway towards Chaos, yet even he expresses a lot of disdain and tiredness of these plots and riddles, so why keep up with the bullshit then? And yet, despite the clear-cut view that Chaos demons are not good, Lorgar still falls for it.

I mean, that's pretty much every idiot that falls to Chaos at this point, but still. A good read, but I personally find it too be a just too pompous.

[Rev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Aurelian is once again a masterclass in Warhammer storytelling that thankfully & precisely encapsulates the depth, tragedy, & overall allure of Lorgar's transformation. Much like his approach in The First Heretic, Dembski-Bowden defies conventional narrative structure, weaving a tale that shifts fluidly across time & space, drawing the reader into a kaleidoscopic vision of Lorgar's descent. His faith, unyielding & sincere, is both his strength and his curse seeing his struggle to reconcile his devout pursuit of divine truth with the Emperor's starkly rational, impersonal vision. Thus rendering his fall not as a betrayal, but as an inevitable consequence of his untempered, fervent belief, making his story just as tragic as it is existential & explosive. Also I absolutely loved the further information we get regarding the motivations & inner workings of chaos/the chaos gods, its actually insane how much information can be crammed into such a small page count yet still land itself so well. Moreover Lorgar currently takes the spot as my favorite primarch in the Horus Heresy & this book was a wonderful little afterthought of The First Heretic.

[Ethan Nunya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novella is good but I almost wish it had been appended to the book to which it owes all of its context and overarching plot: The Last Heretic.

Here are we informed of the hidden visions and deeds of Lorgar as he walks the face of planets in the eye of terror. These encounters were only hinted at in The Last Heretic and I feel they should have been explored in that book.

The plot itself is good but it exists only alongside The Last Heretic and cannot stand on its own unfortunately. If you are reading the Horus Heresy series I recommend reading this but only immediately after and as a companion to The Last Heretic. In this context and this context alone is it an enjoyable and informative read.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely essential read for fans of the Primarch Lorgar

This novella is bloody brilliant! I finished this in two sittings I simply could not put this down. There is so much information about chaos and its motives as well as how Lorgar comes to the decisions he makes in future events that any fan of the Horus Heresy would be missing out so much vital information.

I would go so far as to say that this novella goes hand in hand with 'the First Heretic' as essential reading, it makes more sense that these two be combined to form one book, who cares about page count, when content this rich is so damn satisfying!

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

"All I ever wanted was the truth. Remember those words as you read the ones that follow. I never set out to topple my father's kingdom of lies from a sense of misplaced pride. I never wanted to bleed the species to its marrow, reaving half the galaxy clean of human life in this bitter crusade. I never desired ang of this this, though I know the reasons for which it must be done.
But all I ever wanted was the truth"

Bridging the gap between "The First Heretic" and "Betrayer" both by ADB.

This story goes a long way to developing Lorgar as a character and in particular his relationship with "Chaos". Rather than a devout adherent from the jump, he is sceptical, questioning. There is an internal conflict as he struggles with what is being presented to him. It represents a shift or rather growth in his character. Really this story is demonstrating how Lorgar is coming into his own with the Heresy, which was shown in "Betrayer" with his increased powers.

Great read and pretty essential to the overall story of the Heresy.

[Lanfear · Rating 4 out of 5]

El camino de Lorgar, la verdad que le enseñaron los dioses a su elegido. El que iba a empezar la guerra pero no a liderarla. Magnífico ejemplo de lo que es capaz de dar de si Lorgar, mejorando un personaje ya de por sí notable y interesante. Siempre llama la atención, sea donde sea, ya sea peleándose con Corax o con Fulgrim.
La reunión de lo traidores es quizás uno de los momentos más esperados por mi. Los hijos corruptos del emperador reunidos.(Excepto Fulgrim)

[Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the piece that was missing from “The First Heretic”. We get to see Lorgar up close during his time spent in the Warp that was skipped over in “Heretic”, as he becomes the chosen of Chaos, what that means to him and how he’s developed. If you’ve read only that book you have an incomplete picture of him as a character. Here in this this novella, you see Lorgar finally begin to be “complete” both in-story to others as well as from a readers perspective.
Aaron Dembski-Bowden shines in character studies and this novella shows off those talents. Gone is the picture of the “lesser” Primarch who would rather be a scribe than a warrior, and cannot measure up to his brothers. Here is the Chosen of Chaos, willing to put aside victories that would gain him esteem amongst his peers for the sake of the Long War. This novella shows that where once we might have seen him as a second fiddle to Horus despite being the original heretic, there’s much more going on beneath the surface. And ADB shows that Lorgar’s waters run deep.

“Horus leads the Legions into heresy, but Lorgar is the cancer in the Warmaster’s core.”

[Jack Creagh-Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before the events of this book, Lorgar was recognized as the "runt" of the primarchs. It is in this book when we witness him developing further into the Arch-priest of Chaos and showing power more on par to his brothers. It was also interesting to learn more of how the warp and reality are related despite their separation, or at least in terms of how the Word Bearers understand it.

[Wouter Dhondt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice novella that adds more information on Lorgar after the First Heretic book. I didn't like him after First Heretic, but his character improves a lot here. Middle part dragged a little, loved the first and last parts. Feels like this should've been added to First Heretic as an appendix.

You probably want to read Fulgrim (and maybe Thousand sons) before this one.

[Jayme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting forray into the minds of the primarchs post-Isstvan V. Wish I read this before Slaves to Darkness, since it gives a stronger backstory to a certain betrayal BUT still solid. Love any time the primarchs talk amongst themselves. They really do feel like legacy characters whose personalities and characteristics are complex but clear.

[Luke Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling and satisfying look at the Primarch of the Word Bearers and his own interactions with the power of Chaos in the wake of the Dropsite Massacre, Aaron Dembski-Bowden continues his compelling and nuanced depiction of Lorgar as the Primarch of the Word Bearers comes into his own.

[Marsha Altman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! A novella that's worth the time! This fills in what happened to Lorgar in the warp and his relationship with the other primarchs. It won't make any sense if you haven't read the First Heretic.

[Isaac Neubeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome follow up to the First Heretic, definitely doesn't live up to the horror and excitement of its predecessor but it fills in some interesting and essential bits of lore following Lorgars descent into the Eye of Terra and finally fully committing to chaos

[Stefan Koepeknie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best (arguably) of the Warhammer writers with another good one.

[Thomas Creedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great insight into some primarchs - but some slightly tedious fight scenes.

Glad I read it, though - lots of insight into random bits of the history.

[Sergio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Supa

[Sean Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This and First Heretic may be some of the single best Horus Heresy books out there. At once the Traitor legions are given real thoughts and feelings beyond the mustache twirling antics of Chaos.