Echoes of Eternity

The Siege of Terra #7

by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Book 7 of the global bestselling series, "The Horus Siege of Terra".

The walls have fallen. The defenders’ unity is broken. The Inner Palace lies in ruins. The Warmaster’s horde advances through the fire and ash of Terra’s dying breaths, forcing the loyalists back to the Delphic Battlement, the very walls of the Sanctum Imperialis. Angron, Herald of Horus, has achieved immortality through annihilation – now he leads the armies of the damned in a wrathful tide, destroying all before them as the warp begins its poisonous corruption of Terra. For the Emperor’s beleaguered forces, the end has come. The Khan lies on the edge of death. Rogal Dorn is encircled, fighting his own war at Bhab Bastion. Guilliman will not reach Terra in time. Without his brothers, Sanguinius – the Angel of the Ninth Legion – waits on the final battlements, hoping to rally a desperate band of defenders and refugees for one last stand.

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Novels

400 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2022

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

At this point, the Siege of Terra-series and the author behind its seventh installment need no introduction. So let me get straight to the point: I loved Echoes of Eternity. 

The phrase “this piece of art took me on a rollercoaster” is definitely a cliché at this point. But what do we mean by saying it? What a rollercoaster essentially is all about is movement, about being strapped into a seat and being moved along the path laid out by its architect. It’s supposed to excite, to surprise, to fright; a good rollercoaster makes you feel all this at precise points according to its design. A good rollercoaster also leaves room for moments of calm and respite, for the eventual returns to speed and spins to amaze even more. 

With a work of art like a book, the range of emotions for the ride broadens indefinitely, but a rollercoaster of a book is still all about movement, and Echoes of Eternity was one of the rare books that managed to pull this magic trick off: an orchestra of emotion that used every chapter to pull at my heartstrings, to drag me through the darkest mud or occasionally lift me into amazing heights. There wasn't a single chapter that left me cold or where I felt like it was just going through the motions.

When I think about the book, especially in comparison to its six precursors, what strikes me is its strong focus and concentration: the Siege books often struggle with all the balls they have to juggle at the same time, often binding a strong core story together with various sub-plots, side-quests and under-currents which all have to progress simultaneously towards the finale of the series, sometimes to the detriment of the actual book you’re holding in your hand. Contrary to this, Echoes has the luxury of being able to focus on exactly the story and the moments that it wants to tell. The only outlier is a subplot about the further goings-on in the Imperial Dungeon, but even that is consistent in its themes and has enough emotional heft to enhance the thrust of the story instead of delineating from it. 

Overall though, the book is remarkable in its clarity of theme and structure. It’s the inverse of what the characters in the book experience: where dust and chaos limit decisions to what’s right in front of them, reduce the tactics of the defenders to desperate struggles for an hour of prolonged life and limit the strategies of the besiegers to a tidal movement in the direction of the Palace and the next-greatest battle. 

Like its immediate predecessor Warhawk, Echoes is primarily focused on two specific Legions: the World Eaters and the Blood Angels. While the book definitely works as part of the Siege-mini-series, it gets a lot of mileage out of ADB’s previous work on the World Eaters, namely his brilliant Horus Heresy novel Betrayer. Many moments from Echoes feed off the energy of ‘Betrayer’, mostly by continuing the laid-out movements originating during the Heresy to their ugly conclusion or contrasting the broken nobility and tragic vitality of Betrayer’s World Eaters (and associated moments and quotes) with the frenzied, hollowed out, helplessly mad shells that they are by the terminus of the Siege. Representing the XIIth Legion in this novel are Apothecary-turned-Berserker Kargos Bloodspitter as well as Lotara Sarrin, captain of the Legion’s flagship, and of course the tortured might of Angron himself. Lotara’s passages are especially harrowing and sobering, as the proud, fierce woman who used to put Astartes into their place by sheer force of presence has been reduced to a shadow of herself, haunting the mutating ruins of her once-majestic vessel.

Dissolution is one of the main themes of the novel: the army of rebels has turned into an animalistic horde, the strategic ploys and tactical movements are forgotten in favor of hacking the few remaining survivors apart and smashing the ruins of the Palace to rubble, as whatever flawed righteousness motivated the traitors to turn against the Emperor is lost to the helplessness of true madness and the laughter of thirsting gods.

 On the side of the defenders, ADB is finally able to write about one of his favorite Legions and their primarch: the Blood Angels and Sanguinius. He combines two contrasting PoV Blood Angels, Zephon and Nassir Amit, with various other survivors, among them some new characters and a few that he has written about in the past, like Martian genius Arkhan Land. ADBs enthusiasm of the Blood Angels is definitely palpable here, and he seems to have great fun diving into the facets of their character and even digging into the shadowy corners of their bloodsoaked past before they were united with their primarch. I found Amit to be a surprisingly interesting character, compelling because of rather than in spite of his monstrousness, and Zephon works well as a gloomy, brooding counterweight. 

The star of the show is definitely the Great Angel though, despite ADB being deliberately careful with the application of Sanguinius’ actual “screentime”. Fully half of the novel goes by without him showing up, and even afterwards ADB restrains himself to use the Angel only sparingly in chosen scenes, seldom from his own PoV and mostly through the eyes of worshippers, allies and enemies. Sanguinius has always been set up for tragedy; even most readers only passingly familiar with the lore of 40k and the Space Marines of the Angel’s lineage are aware of the cruel fate that awaits him at the conclusion of the Heresy on board the Vengeful Spirit. One task of the Horus Heresy was setting up this eventual tragedy so Sanguinius' sacrifice would have an appropriately emotional impact. To be honest, for me the Heresy series so far had not always done the best job with his; despite strong exceptions, I often had the sense of just being *told* why Sanguinius was “beloved by all” - I didn’t really feel it. This got better with the latter novels of the series, but if Echoes excelled at one thing, it was *showing* a Sanguinius that I deeply care about. 

Make no mistake, Echoes is a bleak, dark book: it often veers straight into the genre of Horror - more so than the other Siege books - with it’s presentation of the horrors of war, the body/mind horror for the involuntary changing and mutating followers of Chaos as well as the grinding desperation of the defenders with their backs to the literal last wall. But ADB knows that, for a marathon, you need a water bottle here and there to reach the end, so he smartly weaves - like the aforementioned talented rollercoaster architect -  tiny moments of respite, moments of inspiring defiance, fist-bumping badassery, shared exhaustion and, most moving of all, empathetic gentleness. These are provided in different contexts and from different characters, but Sanguinius is the one character that gets scenes for all of these. By presenting Sanguinius in all of these different aspects, ADB manages to show me a Sanguinius that I fall in love with instead of just telling me why I am supposed to like him.

The story of the novel is anchored on a famous event, or rather a famous legend, from the annals of the Siege of Terra lore: that close to the very end of the Siege, the Great Angel of the Emperor held the Eternity Gate all by himself against the hordes of the enemy and dueled the Great Daemon of the Blood God in the skies above it. ADBs duty with Echoes is now to present the “true story” which the legend is based upon. The Siege contracted unto a single point, the defenders backed into the final corner and the wave of the Warmaster’s horde crashing upon them. I will of course not spoil what exactly transpires on the way towards and during the conclusion of the novel, but let me just tell you that the final parts of the book are - as the kids say - metal as fuck.

So, what more is there to say? Echoes of Eternity is everything I hoped for from the Siege and, in my opinion, delivers in the final lap of the series one of the best novels of the whole Horus Heresy. Chapeau, Mr. Dembski-Bowden!

[Liam Loftus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly glorious

[Harrison Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know who this book is for, which could be said for the siege of terra series in its entirety.

The initial appeal of the horus heresy was that it was a more nuanced, morally ambiguous setting that depicted its major characters (from all factions) as tragic protagonists with flaws and believable motivations and progressions- that is to say, it better represented the fundamental, unique 'grimdark' nature of the warhammer setting than most of the current 40k lore.

This book felt like the opposite of that fundamental appeal. There is no tragedy at all in the book. As a matter of fact it goes out of its way to try and seemingly retcon some of the defining tragic characters and moments of the series in the name of flattening out (formerly) more three dimensional characters in an effort to.. make the story less nuanced and the characters more black and white? It seems antithetical to the core appeal of the heresy.

A few notes:

- the author/BL elected to use the second to last book of the siege (following a previous 60 book series) with half a dozen critical storylines and countless characters in flux, to write a book essentially dedicated to only two of the ~25 factions, and uses far too much of its almost 600 pages on flashbacks and origin stories that are functionally irrelevant to the main story beats of the series.

- There are bizarre incongruous stretches where the author, with unambiguous rhetoric, uses narration to demand the reader reinterpret previously established events or characterizations of key characters from prior books or authors. This isn't inherently bad in theory, but is executed so poorly it comes across as polarizing and jarring; more retcon than re-contextualization.

- There is no compelling exploration of right and wrong, relative morality or philosophical introspection by characters at seemingly any point in this book. Character's are portrayed as functionally objectively evil or overtly righteously good, which is ironic for a series that prides itself on 'grimdark' moral ambiguity.

- This book, like the entire series, continues the trend of telling the reader one thing, while unabashedly and definitively showing the opposite. For a story and series that is extremely character focused the cognitive dissonance of constantly being told how bad everything is for a faction when basically no one of import has suffered any meaningful consequence is tiring.

This is a frustrating entry, and seems especially surprising considering ADB's previous novels were some of the better entries in generally milquetoast and unimpressive series that more often then not misses its core appeal; that it isn't a generic high fantasy superhero space story.

I don't think this book, or series, missed the mark; I think my expectations were not in line with black library's approach to the IP.

If you are looking for a straightforward and simple warhammer story of heroes and villains clashing, this certainly fits the bill and is likely the best of the series to date.

[Xavier Virsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

One of the best of the siege of terra series. You get insight into what it's like to be a demon prince. You get some insight on Magnus and his relationship with his patron. The 9th primarch kicks some butt. The build up to the final book.

[Normkompatibel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Siege of Terra book yet, top 5 40K book. Trust me.

[DarkChaplain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright. I'll be the odd one out and say it right up: I did not enjoy Echoes of Eternity much. Even though I wish I had been able to.

To me, this book feels strange, especially when looked at in the context of the Siege of Terra series. It feels disconnected - deliberately so, going by the author's afterword. It's at the same time very limited in scope while also featuring more than enough strings that I do not think really mattered all that much in the immediate context of the penultimate Siege novel.

Often I found myself thinking this should have been a Sanguinius Primarchs short novel instead or this chapter would've been great in that Siege-anthology we strangely never got, but not here. There are large parts of the book that are spent just showcasing the bleak state of Terra - which is great! In terms of his craft, ADB certainly scored many hits here. He nailed atmosphere and desperation, the end of an era of enlightenment.
But while reading those sections, I kept coming back to the thoughts "everything's f'd, I get it already" and "please begin the story now". In many ways, Echoes came across as a highly detailed illustration of the setting, rather than as a living narrative that gripped me.

And then I hit the flashback section of the book. For all the things these sections bring to the table about the Revenant Legion, Blood Angels, Sanguinius, I could not help myself but think that these parts aren't immediately relevant to the Siege. That they should've been told much earlier, but that they broke up a novel that already seemed a rather demotivating slog to me. I honestly lost count of just how many other novels I binged while struggling to keep going with this one.

In terms of bleakness, Echoes... well, echoes a few things I thought about Master of Mankind a few years ago. But unlike MoM, it did not rope me in through revelations, through twists or even mystery. It hammered me, the reader, just as much as the defenders of the Eternity Wall. Which, I believe, was the point. A point achieved rather well.
...but I find myself realizing that it's not enough to excite me in the long run.

Not only am I rather tired of the constant press of action setpieces, which a Siege situation like this tends to turn into, but for my taste, the novel lacked factors to balance out the bleakness even just a little bit. Funnily enough, for all my criticisms of that particular plotline and cast, I missed the Perpetuals. I never thought I'd say that, but they provided a throughline that, being wholly absent here, left me stuck in vignettes, setpieces and despair, without a real journey, an adventure, to follow along with. The cast remains largely static, set in place early and then remaining there through wave after wave of assaults.

The closest to a moving plotline would be Kargos and Vulkan. The latter however leaves for and stays in the same environment, no matter how weird it may be, for the entirety of the book. He's headed for a showdown that lasts multiple chapters, and it's probably the part that I enjoyed most in a sense - because it had actual lengthy dialogue sections of opposing characters simply interacting and arguing about the nature of the war and universe.

Kargos, meanwhile, is on the trip to the Eternity Gate.... but if you've read the book, you realize that he's simply spiralling into his own doom. Heck, there's a fake-out death just in time for the flashback section. Not knowing it is a fakeout, those flashback chapters of Amit and Kargos feel extremely out of sync with the narrative - because we see a bond which is already apparently broken by death. Just that at the end of it all, it turns out that the bloke isn't dead, but more warped than ever. I felt decidedly unimpressed by that development.

Even fan-favorite Blood Angel Zephon (who seemingly replaced Azkaellon's function at Sanguinius' side, huh? Where the frak are the Sanguinary Guard?) felt largely uninteresting to me. His interactions with Arkhan Land felt grating at times, rather than endearing; and while Arkhan did go through some significant personal changes in mindset - a highlight for sure - he remained just as static in his role within the unfolding events as most everybody else.

At the end of the day, I didn't need the countless individual fates described here in some chapters. I'd have loved those sections decoupled into a short story companion piece, but here they bogged things down even further. The Conqueror/Lotara Sarrin sections, too, were at their most useful as a vehicle to provide scope, but on their own, again, better a short story. I'd even argue you could almost entirely cut&paste them into a separate book and it'd work just as well.
For all the complaints Gav Thorpe's The First Wall received for its three-plotline structure, where folks would find one of them superfluous, I feel like a lot of pieces of Echoes of Eternity would be subject to similar criticisms.

Frankly, I like a lot of things ADB did with Sanguinius as a character. Especially during the climax, he's got some great depictions, some highly inspiring moments.
But overall, I don't think I had a good time with the book, at least not the way I am used to with most of ADB's books. It's a technical marvel in how it depicts the grinder, but the nails failed to bite into my brain.

And in the context of the Siege, I'm not sure this is the novel that the series needed at this penultimate position. It's too intimate for that. Too closed off from other cast members, events elsewhere, and simply refused to comment on other plotlines. I understand that this is, in some ways, the point ADB was going for... but it's a bummer as part 7 of an 8(9) part series.

And for all of the things missing from The Siege of Terra #7: Echoes of Eternity, it is probably the novel in the series that I could go in and cut the most paragraphs, pages, chapters from. As a piece of literary art it is stunning. As a story it barely resonated with me on an emotional level.

[Lukas Deicke · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 overall. A lot of wholesome and tragic Blood Angels Lore. The rest was a little bit tedious. A lot of World Eaters "Grrrr, Kill, Maim, Burn!" stuff. Not my stuff though.

[Periklis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very special pleasure finishing an ADB book. He invests an interest to his characters and commits to the tone and theme of each book, in such an emotional degree. Here's to hoping that it won't be long until his next book...

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what a book.

The turbulence of this book really hammers home the fact that the siege is almost over.

I really enjoyed this book. It handles the tragedy of those who have fallen from grace as traitors so well, where they are monsters you can sympathise with. The moments that they have clarity over what they have become.
The heroes, so downtrodden and stalwart. Failing to give in after taking loss after loss after loss, always aware they are playing for time.

I do feel this is the first book where we see the transition from “traitor” to “chaos/ evil” more clearly than before. I understand why, but I do feel they don’t need to be so overt demonstrating what monsters they are.

I really enjoyed the book and it certainly lives up to the standard of the series thus far. However it still falls short of the heights that were Warhawk and Saturnine.

[Hanz Löwe · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the end is nigh, how would a mortal feel? How would a transhuman feel?

This book offers the best plausible dissection of human and transhuman psychologies I have read in BL books so far, Dan Abnett has a lot to live up to if he is writing the final book!

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series and this is the best one so far

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The past is on one side of that sound. Fate is on the other.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a book. Easily tied with Saturnine as the best in the Siege of Terra series, and probably the entire heresy. ADB combines elements of horror, thriller, and action adventure in this masterwork. He gives life to key characters at the same time as keeping the plot surging forwards. Other Siege books have been bleak in their outlook, but this one felt different. ADB manages to capture the scaleand epicness of events, while at the same time building out great individual storylines to really make you care as a reader.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply Stellar

A fantastically written and paced book where every character adds something to the story being told. The tension builds in spite of already being sky high at the very start, until an emotional and exciting end that makes you desperate for more. The portrayal and backstory of the Blood Angels and their Primarch is believable and adds so much to this book and the others.

I can't wait until the next one because it's the endgame now.

[LEGO Yoda · Rating 5 out of 5]

So now we’re finally near the end of the Horus Heresy, and this book definitely feels like that. Every chapter feels frantic and epic in that you know everything is about to end very soon and all the POVs offer interesting stories that actually do progress the Siege further which was a problem I sort of had with the earlier books in the series.

[Matt TB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adored the dark and hazy tone of the writing, the narrowed down character choice was a great decision.

Couple of wow moments but not quite got my heart racing as Saturnine did.

[Revreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Echoes of Eternity is a breathtaking and harrowing installment that thrusts readers deeper into the chaos of the Imperial Palace's final hours. Here, Aaron Dembski-Bowden delivers a novel that not only cements Sanguinius as one of the most compelling characters of the whole series but also captures the Blood Angels' tragic nobility as they stand on the brink of annihilation. The stakes, both personal and galactic, have never felt higher, making this a standout entry within the entire Horus Heresy saga. From the opening pages, Echoes of Eternity pulses with an atmosphere of desperation and impending doom. The Blood Angels, battered and besieged, fight not just against the armies of Chaos but against the darkness within themselves. Their struggle with the Red Thirst reaches a fever pitch here and Dembski-Bowden masterfully conveys the tension of warriors clinging to their humanity whilst teetering on the edge of monstrous bloodlust. Yet, at the heart of this novel stands Sanguinius. Often depicted as an angelic paragon of virtue, here he is finally revealed in all his complexity, but still remains profoundly human. Dembski-Bowden's portrayal captures the immense burden Sanguinius bears—the knowledge of his doomed fate, the heartbreak of watching his sons succumb to their curse, and the responsibility of holding together a crumbling defense against impossible odds.
His inner conflict is palpable, as he grapples with both the physical toll of the siege and the emotional weight of knowing that his death is the key to humanity's last hope. Far from a passive martyr, Sanguinius emerges as a leader whose defiance against the inevitable is nothing short of awe inspiring. Furthermore this review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the climactic duel between Sanguinius and Ka'Bandha. Their previous clash had been fierce, but this final battle is elevated to mythic proportions— giving us a showdown not merely of strength but of spirit. Ka'Bandha, the avatar of Khorne's bloodlust, seeks to break Sanguinius both physically and mentally and to drag him and his Legion into eternal damnation. Yet, Sanguinius fights not just for survival, but for the very soul of the Blood Angels and humanity’s survival. Each strike carries the weight of a Primarch's fury and the desperate hope that his sons can transcend their curse for the sake of the imperium, or whatever is left of it.

[Gordon Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Siege of Terra takes another step towards its long-anticipated finale, this time in the expert hands of Aaron Dembski-Bowden who brings together many of the most loved characters from his previous Horus Heresy books. Dembski-Bowden has bestowed the likes of Arkhan Land and Lotara Sarrin with far more depth, personality and (admittedly grim) humour than we typically find in Black Library novels, and also rises to the challenge of handling humble yet charismatic fan-favourite Sanguinius; the demi-gods' demi-god.

The set pieces, including two Sanguinius-focussed duels and an additional Primarch vs Primarch encounter are rip-roaring action spectacles crying out for the attention of bold, ambitious and incredibly well-funded screenwriters, but at the heart of the novel is the relationship between Sanguinius and his sons. The Blood Angels Primarch plays the roles of father, war leader, politician and figurehead, always excelling yet, unlike many of his brothers, always remaining likeable and relatable.

There's plenty more going on too, including a history of the Blood Angels that could easily have been its own novel, and a bonfire of tertiary characters. It's all good (or great) but there's nothing tying much of it together except that it all feels very much in the author's wheelhouse, meaning that the individual stories are somehow more than the sum of their parts. In some ways this is everything you could want from a Dembski-Bowden Siege of Terra novel and more, but it I can't help but feeling that its a Dembski-Bowden novel first, and the lead-up to Dan Abnett's (three-part) grand finale second. Everything is awesome, but is this the right time to be awesome with these specific characters? Maybe I'm nit-picking, but one or two elements just felt a little out of place.

[Horus Lupercal Online · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me first start off by saying I’m a huge fan of Aaron Dembski-Bowden. I’ve read quite a number of his books, and the Nightlords trilogy especially were some of my favorite 40K novels. That said, having read this book I struggled with the number of stars I wanted to give this. I went back and forth between 3 or 4 stars, and in the end decided to go with the latter. This book went on a different path then the previous ones, instead focussing on a smaller cast. Now…this does pay off in the end, but at then again, there were also a lot of times the book went erm…back in time (pun intended). At certain points that took me a bit out of the main narrative, seeing how we’ve done this trick now quite a few times during the Horus Heresy. The final third half of this book contains some breathtaking moments and more than made up for the, dare I say slow moments of the first halves. All in all this definitely wasn’t a bad book, and even though I did expect more of this one, it certainly satisfied me at the finish line.

[Andrej Manchevski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I understand all the praise Aaron Dembski-Bowden gets from the community. His writing clicked with me more than any other I've read so far in this series. Like in the hands of a maestro, always in control of the tempo.
There are interesting types of scenes here - a lot of introspection from characters, flashbacks, tangents. But what makes for great reading is that they are squenced in a way that holds you engaged.
Except for about 20 pages near the end, which seemed like a subplot grafted onto the book as a requirement made by some executive, the pacing of the story was immaculate.

[Trevor Bouley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book of the Horus Hersey series in my opinion. It’s a summation of all the values that define the series: tragedy, brotherhood, hope and hopelessness. Defiance in the face of impossible odds, while being damned to fail. It also focuses on the human aspect of the 40K universe which is so often forgot with the space marines, primarchs and daemons running around. I think this is an absolute gem of a sci-fi novel

[Chris Bowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid, exciting entry in the series but not the greatest and not the greatest work from ADB.

Backstory and focus on just a few characters was very effective. Some outstanding scenes. Many primarch moments.

Some scenes went on unnecessarily long. Plot not furthered a great deal at all. Demon combat not as memorable as in Fear to Tread.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dembski-Bowden writes chaos so well, and it turns out he also writes loyalists well too. What a fantastic book - perhaps let down a little by the sheer number of storylines, but nonetheless a fantastic, slow retreat into the final act of the siege.

[Alessandra Di Giovanni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se la saga finisce così senza farci vedere l’ultimo attimo tolgo pure ste tre stelline e mi incateno ai cancelli di chiunque diriga questo circo.

[M.R. Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last third of this book was brilliant

Can’t believe it’s so close to the end of the heresy books !! So so many

This book just leaves you wanting more!!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was outstanding, Dembski-Bowden knows how to tell an epic story!

[Will Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a ride and what an ending...

Even though we all know what happens at the end of the Heresy, the story managed to utterly grip me.

Loved it.

[Derek Milliken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfection

[Father Aaron Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and disturbing in equal measure. The best book in the series. We are definitely coming to the end here and the prose has hit new highs. The pulp sci-fi has given way to genuine space opera

[Troy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 2 different 1v1 primarch fights towards the end of the book were pretty good but I wasn't very entertained by anything else going on in this one.