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Ashes of the Imperium: The Scouring, Book 1
Audiobook 1 in the Scouring Series
As the Siege of Terra ends, there are many loose ends – Traitors trying desperately to escape, a monumental vacuum of power to fill, and a crumbling galactic government to see to. Those who hold on to power must decide how to wield it, and a new structure must be put in place, all while desires to exact vengeance run high.
LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE
It's the beginning of an epic series. Find out what happens after the cataclysmic events of the Horus Heresy, as an unsteady Imperium must find its footing and learn how to exist without the guidance of the Emperor.
THE STORY
Horus is dead. Terra lies in ruins. The Emperor is silent. Amid the rubble of the Palace, shell-shocked survivors emerge into the light of an uncertain dawn. New powers are present now, ones that have travelled the length of the galaxy to bring salvation to the Imperium, though they are as readily cast as usurpers as redeemers. The survivors of the Traitors’ Grand Armada, now scattered and desperate to escape vengeance, are riven with doubt and dissension, and their gods too are silent. Amid all the grief and confusion, some hopeful souls believe the war to be over and an era of renewal just ahead. But wiser heads know that this war can never end, and that the only question remaining is who shall rise to power within the perilous new age, and who shall fall.
Written by Chris Wraight. Narrated by Jonathan Keeble. Runtime 15 hours and 28 minutes approx.
As the Siege of Terra ends, there are many loose ends – Traitors trying desperately to escape, a monumental vacuum of power to fill, and a crumbling galactic government to see to. Those who hold on to power must decide how to wield it, and a new structure must be put in place, all while desires to exact vengeance run high.
LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE
It's the beginning of an epic series. Find out what happens after the cataclysmic events of the Horus Heresy, as an unsteady Imperium must find its footing and learn how to exist without the guidance of the Emperor.
THE STORY
Horus is dead. Terra lies in ruins. The Emperor is silent. Amid the rubble of the Palace, shell-shocked survivors emerge into the light of an uncertain dawn. New powers are present now, ones that have travelled the length of the galaxy to bring salvation to the Imperium, though they are as readily cast as usurpers as redeemers. The survivors of the Traitors’ Grand Armada, now scattered and desperate to escape vengeance, are riven with doubt and dissension, and their gods too are silent. Amid all the grief and confusion, some hopeful souls believe the war to be over and an era of renewal just ahead. But wiser heads know that this war can never end, and that the only question remaining is who shall rise to power within the perilous new age, and who shall fall.
Written by Chris Wraight. Narrated by Jonathan Keeble. Runtime 15 hours and 28 minutes approx.
503 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 5, 2025
261 people are currently reading
258 people want to read
About the author
Chris Wraight
219 books385 followersChris Wraight is a British author of fantasy and science fiction.
His first novel was published in 2008; since then, he has published books set in the Warhammer Fantasy and Stargate:Atlantis universes, and has upcoming titles in the Warhammer 40K setting.
He is based in the south-west of England.
His first novel was published in 2008; since then, he has published books set in the Warhammer Fantasy and Stargate:Atlantis universes, and has upcoming titles in the Warhammer 40K setting.
He is based in the south-west of England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
December 7, 2025
Absolutely phenomenal.
Doesn’t feel like you could read this without reading the siege; there’s so many plot lines which are continued here.
There’s so many key plot threads that reach deep into contemporary lore, and Wraight handles it with such finesse you wouldn’t know this wasn’t how it was all along.
You’re beginning to see the distrust creeping in. Those weren’t at the siege are automatically discounted, and the survivors themselves are so broken mentally that they have no idea what to do next.
I genuinely can’t wait for the next instalment. It’s a great time to be a fan.
Doesn’t feel like you could read this without reading the siege; there’s so many plot lines which are continued here.
There’s so many key plot threads that reach deep into contemporary lore, and Wraight handles it with such finesse you wouldn’t know this wasn’t how it was all along.
You’re beginning to see the distrust creeping in. Those weren’t at the siege are automatically discounted, and the survivors themselves are so broken mentally that they have no idea what to do next.
I genuinely can’t wait for the next instalment. It’s a great time to be a fan.
December 13, 2025
I do not recommend.
I've read well over a 100 40k books. This was one of my least favorite. I read these kinds of books to avoid thinking about current events. I want to read a good story, maybe even thought provoking. This was not it. Save your money.
I've read well over a 100 40k books. This was one of my least favorite. I read these kinds of books to avoid thinking about current events. I want to read a good story, maybe even thought provoking. This was not it. Save your money.
January 20, 2026
We are back! Back for a post-fall Berlin novel.
the Emperors dream is dead, again! and definitely absolutely dead this time for real no take backs. We are back for schemes and ruin, and we are glad to have Chris Wraight setting the path. This calm and somewhat neutral mild cynic fits neatly and well into an age of empyric calm and material disorder; the warp is stilled! the chaos gods got their fingers bitten and have scampered off for a century or two leaving psykers somewhat flat and things otherwise relatively 'normal' or at least, material. As in real wars the high drama of the final battles collapses into scrabbling and bureaucracy, so here the warp-infused superheroic magical Mahabharata legendary fuckfest is done, and everyone feels let down.
It is an Age of Man, though the Transhumans don't yet fully realise this, and a main thrust of the story is that of the varied hierarchies and organisations of (relatively) unaltered humanity slowly getting their shit together and creepily, carefully, edging towards taking back the Imperium of Man from the slightly shrivelled Primarchs and their Legions.
It is a story of complex varied fates, of plans grasped wildly in post-disaster moments, and most of all about souls searching for meaning. Nobody quite knows what to do, (apart from Basilio Fo, now Xanthus of the proto-Inquisition, who is rapidly scheming his was into some sort of position).
One nice thing about Chris Wriaght is that he actually has some vague idea of the scale and scheme of time, with (at least some other) Black Library writers, five minutes after the guns fall silent we would have a Miles Teller moment with someone saying damn, I really want to “INQUIRE about this or that IMPERIALLY” (and also wear black leather doing it), as it is we have a slightly more pseudo-realistic coagulation and sorting of powers and motivations, lots of sweaty mortals running around between meetings and interrogations, lots of confusion about who exactly is in charge of what and lots of opportunities for careful, clever or inspired work to shape the future as it is being born.
the question of who is in what meeting, and who gets to say what when, of _how things actually work_ of where authority comes from and how it is wielded, all the arguments and manipulations, the contingencies and surprises, all the stuff of real-life political causality, it’s all a lovely feast of bureaucratic and political drama, of the kind at which Chris Wraight excels.
Beyond the human/transhuman conflict (the Transhumans are going to lose and it’s going to be fascinating to watch), we get to see the monsters search for meaning - hell is FUCKED, literally absolutely temporarily leathered, demons bollocked, mutants screaming (more in psychic distress than physical distress this time), magic jammed and the Nightmare Faith that millions, perhaps billions, gave their loyalty to, (and which did indeed deliver real true and actual magic), is now kaput. The voices of the gods are silent. The mutations ache and everyone is running for their lives and, just as importantly, desperately trying to work out just what the fuck the meaning of their lives is now that the Cause is dead and the Gods have run away.
These are deeply personal matters, but also galactic existential matters; for some worldlings they are about the here-and-now, but for others the shape of their existence is defined by that of future Galactic History, so these deep questions about what-happens-next, combine with motivations drawn from ideas about what will happen. Conversations with tiddly widdly demons suggest the meaning of the War itself is up for grabs; the Chaos Gods _nearly actually died?_ they are terrified of the Emperor waking up? Was this, in fact, actually something of a victory for Man? Well possibly, arguably, maybe.
I mean we know what's going to happen, but it’s still interesting to spend time with people who don't, that's literally every Historical Novel ever. Most interesting is the chaos of the day, with people groups and tendencies struggling with their schedules as if they were snakes, just trying to work out what the hell is going on, while through their actions, and decisions (and one never knows exactly which decisions will be important, Guilliman suborns the mortal contingent of the council to get his way, but in doing so, he legitimises them, and sets the template for all future arguments - he cannot now put aside a power he himself used to set the seal on his actions), but no-one at the time knows exactly which impulse or decision will prove vital to the future - Khalid Hassan goes looking for his bosses bones and gets dragged into a recruitment scheme to fill the post of the next Master of Assassins, Rogal Dorn gives Kyril Sindermann his authority for some kind of book-collection project - OOPS; that’s how you get an Imperial Inquisition. Never collect books guys, very bad vibe.
One very mildly silly part is the pre-war, or mid-war, stowage of the actual 'Black Ships' in a big iron room on Luna, just in case someone needed to secretly gather a shitload of Psykers galaxy wide for some reason. Hell, maybe they were for another project. You never really know when you will need a bunch of magic men.
I am eager to see where this series goes! Hopefully it doesn't sell _too_ well, meaning it stays in the hands of actually relatively good writers and retains the high-quality pseudohistorical feel without being besieged by corporate demands for slop and normie whines on forums because the missed an inference. Here's hoping!
the Emperors dream is dead, again! and definitely absolutely dead this time for real no take backs. We are back for schemes and ruin, and we are glad to have Chris Wraight setting the path. This calm and somewhat neutral mild cynic fits neatly and well into an age of empyric calm and material disorder; the warp is stilled! the chaos gods got their fingers bitten and have scampered off for a century or two leaving psykers somewhat flat and things otherwise relatively 'normal' or at least, material. As in real wars the high drama of the final battles collapses into scrabbling and bureaucracy, so here the warp-infused superheroic magical Mahabharata legendary fuckfest is done, and everyone feels let down.
It is an Age of Man, though the Transhumans don't yet fully realise this, and a main thrust of the story is that of the varied hierarchies and organisations of (relatively) unaltered humanity slowly getting their shit together and creepily, carefully, edging towards taking back the Imperium of Man from the slightly shrivelled Primarchs and their Legions.
It is a story of complex varied fates, of plans grasped wildly in post-disaster moments, and most of all about souls searching for meaning. Nobody quite knows what to do, (apart from Basilio Fo, now Xanthus of the proto-Inquisition, who is rapidly scheming his was into some sort of position).
One nice thing about Chris Wriaght is that he actually has some vague idea of the scale and scheme of time, with (at least some other) Black Library writers, five minutes after the guns fall silent we would have a Miles Teller moment with someone saying damn, I really want to “INQUIRE about this or that IMPERIALLY” (and also wear black leather doing it), as it is we have a slightly more pseudo-realistic coagulation and sorting of powers and motivations, lots of sweaty mortals running around between meetings and interrogations, lots of confusion about who exactly is in charge of what and lots of opportunities for careful, clever or inspired work to shape the future as it is being born.
the question of who is in what meeting, and who gets to say what when, of _how things actually work_ of where authority comes from and how it is wielded, all the arguments and manipulations, the contingencies and surprises, all the stuff of real-life political causality, it’s all a lovely feast of bureaucratic and political drama, of the kind at which Chris Wraight excels.
Beyond the human/transhuman conflict (the Transhumans are going to lose and it’s going to be fascinating to watch), we get to see the monsters search for meaning - hell is FUCKED, literally absolutely temporarily leathered, demons bollocked, mutants screaming (more in psychic distress than physical distress this time), magic jammed and the Nightmare Faith that millions, perhaps billions, gave their loyalty to, (and which did indeed deliver real true and actual magic), is now kaput. The voices of the gods are silent. The mutations ache and everyone is running for their lives and, just as importantly, desperately trying to work out just what the fuck the meaning of their lives is now that the Cause is dead and the Gods have run away.
These are deeply personal matters, but also galactic existential matters; for some worldlings they are about the here-and-now, but for others the shape of their existence is defined by that of future Galactic History, so these deep questions about what-happens-next, combine with motivations drawn from ideas about what will happen. Conversations with tiddly widdly demons suggest the meaning of the War itself is up for grabs; the Chaos Gods _nearly actually died?_ they are terrified of the Emperor waking up? Was this, in fact, actually something of a victory for Man? Well possibly, arguably, maybe.
I mean we know what's going to happen, but it’s still interesting to spend time with people who don't, that's literally every Historical Novel ever. Most interesting is the chaos of the day, with people groups and tendencies struggling with their schedules as if they were snakes, just trying to work out what the hell is going on, while through their actions, and decisions (and one never knows exactly which decisions will be important, Guilliman suborns the mortal contingent of the council to get his way, but in doing so, he legitimises them, and sets the template for all future arguments - he cannot now put aside a power he himself used to set the seal on his actions), but no-one at the time knows exactly which impulse or decision will prove vital to the future - Khalid Hassan goes looking for his bosses bones and gets dragged into a recruitment scheme to fill the post of the next Master of Assassins, Rogal Dorn gives Kyril Sindermann his authority for some kind of book-collection project - OOPS; that’s how you get an Imperial Inquisition. Never collect books guys, very bad vibe.
One very mildly silly part is the pre-war, or mid-war, stowage of the actual 'Black Ships' in a big iron room on Luna, just in case someone needed to secretly gather a shitload of Psykers galaxy wide for some reason. Hell, maybe they were for another project. You never really know when you will need a bunch of magic men.
I am eager to see where this series goes! Hopefully it doesn't sell _too_ well, meaning it stays in the hands of actually relatively good writers and retains the high-quality pseudohistorical feel without being besieged by corporate demands for slop and normie whines on forums because the missed an inference. Here's hoping!
December 20, 2025
THEY ADDED GIRL SUPER SOLDIERS TO MY WAR BOOK
I went from obsessing over every new Horus heresy book to struggling to get through these recent releases. This does not capture the hype of Horus Rising and half of the plot lines are uninteresting and irrelevant. The writing isn’t poor but the story sucks… who in their right mind is giving this 5 stars… oh that’s right, click on their profile and they think every black library release is a 5/5.
I went from obsessing over every new Horus heresy book to struggling to get through these recent releases. This does not capture the hype of Horus Rising and half of the plot lines are uninteresting and irrelevant. The writing isn’t poor but the story sucks… who in their right mind is giving this 5 stars… oh that’s right, click on their profile and they think every black library release is a 5/5.
December 16, 2025
Great intro to the scouring. The damage done by old structures failing - strong egos and opinions of Primarchs running up against one another - and humanity trying to carve out a space for itself under the guise of Malcador’s most trusted chose; Khalid Hassan
December 28, 2025
Do you ever have one of those reading experiences when you almost try to drag out the book as long as possible just because you don’t want the book to end?
That’s this book, a brilliant book, one of the best black library books I’ve ever read, although It definitely loses some of its momentum towards the end. This is hardly surprising as it’s such dense and intense at the start it would be impossible to maintain that throughout
Only Chris Wraight (the best BL author since ADB low key retired) could have pulled this off. He seems the only one at GW at the moment capable of maintaining a grasp on all these plot threads and characters and he does a great job of capturing the chaos, trauma, depression and melancholy of the period as shown by his books like two metaphysical blades.
I love how it jumped around and showed all the different ways the different levels of participants dealt with the fallout. It’s sets up interesting future plot threads and conflicts. There were a few surprising twists also.
The writing is superb as always with Wraight. He’s very good at the politics (although a lot of this was too similar to his valerian books) and primarch stuff, good at characterization and giving different characters different voices and believable views and ideologies.
I am loathed to bring this up because it’s so petty but seeing the other reviews of this book and how some seem obsessed with drowning all art in a never ending pointless culture war I feel obliged
There js a short section (less than a chapter) with a female custodes in it. I know right? The sheer utter horror of it all
for my part I think the way they have introduced female custodes into 40K is hilariously bad and unnecessary. To just have them there and to act as that has always been the case with no elaboration or explanation or anything at all is embarrassing.
However, I also think the retcon they did with Oll Persson and the cabal and the perpetuals was also hilariously bad and unnecessary, albeit better explained.
However unlike those creating accounts on here just to down vote this book I can acknowledge a poor bit of needless and weird retcon as bad and lazy writing motivated by corporate pandering without having a mental breakdown or claiming this is the thin edge of the wedge in a Jewish attempt to feminize men and destroy western civilization (no hyperbole I have literally seen people say this about this online)
It is funny how these same people vote bombing on here would never give another book a one star review for a bad or weird chapter and It’s funny how they can ignore or make a distinction between this retcon and the hundred of other retcons made on the last 30 years of Warhammer; I wonder what about this particular retcon makes them inarticulate with rage???
I can also separate one weird out of place chapter when making a judgement about an entire book - and they can too expect for this book. Hell, one of those ‘fans’ decided to give the excellent son of the forest book one star based on being literally triggered by a single word in a sentence!! The sheer utter snowflakery of it all
Finally, I have been reading and playing and collecting 40K since September 1993. These people who I guarantee are relatively new to the hobby themselves have the nerve to call others tourists and claim proprietary over something they do not and will never own. The hobby was here before them and will be here long after they go. I play 40K a lot in real life and all the people I meet IRL are warm, open, inclusive and welcoming - unlike these terminally online cultural parasites who add nothing but bile and division. I have to keep reminding myself, as shown by the average vote on here, that these people are only a small but very vocal minority.
But it does bother me that some of the highest reviews for two of the best written books in the BL are inarticulate, unoriginal, boring culture war slop that lacks any kind of insight, nuance or understanding of the history of sci fi or 40K.
It’s that perfect mix of arrogance and ignorance.
It’s the irony and hypocrisy of these people calling others tourists or attacking others for ‘inserting their politics’ when these authors are just doing what sci fi writers have been doing since the genre literally started! Sci fi has always been about exploring the human condition and asking questions and creativity and imagination but if we were to listen to these haters any attempt to imagine anything other than universe populated by straight white male protagonists is a ‘evil woke mind virus’ or ‘inserting one’s politics’ - like all great sci fi and fantasy has always been apolitical 🙄
TLDR;
This is a great book - unless you have the emotional stability of a child and are so easily triggered and offended by a bad and pointless corporate mandated retcon that has no bearing on the plot that you can’t get over it.
That’s this book, a brilliant book, one of the best black library books I’ve ever read, although It definitely loses some of its momentum towards the end. This is hardly surprising as it’s such dense and intense at the start it would be impossible to maintain that throughout
Only Chris Wraight (the best BL author since ADB low key retired) could have pulled this off. He seems the only one at GW at the moment capable of maintaining a grasp on all these plot threads and characters and he does a great job of capturing the chaos, trauma, depression and melancholy of the period as shown by his books like two metaphysical blades.
I love how it jumped around and showed all the different ways the different levels of participants dealt with the fallout. It’s sets up interesting future plot threads and conflicts. There were a few surprising twists also.
The writing is superb as always with Wraight. He’s very good at the politics (although a lot of this was too similar to his valerian books) and primarch stuff, good at characterization and giving different characters different voices and believable views and ideologies.
I am loathed to bring this up because it’s so petty but seeing the other reviews of this book and how some seem obsessed with drowning all art in a never ending pointless culture war I feel obliged
There js a short section (less than a chapter) with a female custodes in it. I know right? The sheer utter horror of it all
for my part I think the way they have introduced female custodes into 40K is hilariously bad and unnecessary. To just have them there and to act as that has always been the case with no elaboration or explanation or anything at all is embarrassing.
However, I also think the retcon they did with Oll Persson and the cabal and the perpetuals was also hilariously bad and unnecessary, albeit better explained.
However unlike those creating accounts on here just to down vote this book I can acknowledge a poor bit of needless and weird retcon as bad and lazy writing motivated by corporate pandering without having a mental breakdown or claiming this is the thin edge of the wedge in a Jewish attempt to feminize men and destroy western civilization (no hyperbole I have literally seen people say this about this online)
It is funny how these same people vote bombing on here would never give another book a one star review for a bad or weird chapter and It’s funny how they can ignore or make a distinction between this retcon and the hundred of other retcons made on the last 30 years of Warhammer; I wonder what about this particular retcon makes them inarticulate with rage???
I can also separate one weird out of place chapter when making a judgement about an entire book - and they can too expect for this book. Hell, one of those ‘fans’ decided to give the excellent son of the forest book one star based on being literally triggered by a single word in a sentence!! The sheer utter snowflakery of it all
Finally, I have been reading and playing and collecting 40K since September 1993. These people who I guarantee are relatively new to the hobby themselves have the nerve to call others tourists and claim proprietary over something they do not and will never own. The hobby was here before them and will be here long after they go. I play 40K a lot in real life and all the people I meet IRL are warm, open, inclusive and welcoming - unlike these terminally online cultural parasites who add nothing but bile and division. I have to keep reminding myself, as shown by the average vote on here, that these people are only a small but very vocal minority.
But it does bother me that some of the highest reviews for two of the best written books in the BL are inarticulate, unoriginal, boring culture war slop that lacks any kind of insight, nuance or understanding of the history of sci fi or 40K.
It’s that perfect mix of arrogance and ignorance.
It’s the irony and hypocrisy of these people calling others tourists or attacking others for ‘inserting their politics’ when these authors are just doing what sci fi writers have been doing since the genre literally started! Sci fi has always been about exploring the human condition and asking questions and creativity and imagination but if we were to listen to these haters any attempt to imagine anything other than universe populated by straight white male protagonists is a ‘evil woke mind virus’ or ‘inserting one’s politics’ - like all great sci fi and fantasy has always been apolitical 🙄
TLDR;
This is a great book - unless you have the emotional stability of a child and are so easily triggered and offended by a bad and pointless corporate mandated retcon that has no bearing on the plot that you can’t get over it.
January 21, 2026
⭐ As a science fiction book.
⭐⭐ As the beginning of The Scouring.
⭐⭐1/2⭐ As a 40k book.
I was looking forward to a new beginning for a new series which I think has potential and lots of interesting areas to explore, unfortunately I found this to be a disappointment.
My major issues for this book are:
A lack of clear direction, this book jumps all over the place without ever feeling like it's going somewhere, where Horus Rising had us explore the initial corruption from various POV this doesn't have a similar drive and just sort of goes from one thing to the next.
Too many POVs that felt wasted, I don't mind the use of multiple different perspectives but it just seemed like too much and too little happening with many of them, I would have preferred more focus and direction, especially as a single POV can help ground a story and introduce audiences.
The drama and conflict (not action which is alright but character conflicts) feel a little flat, maybe this was just me but I just couldn't get that invested, this felt like a prologue to something when it should have been a gripping opening to the next big 40k series.
Most of the book feels like it should have been 'End of an Era' too much of this book feels like set up and doesn't pay off for my preferences.
Switching between Loyalist and Traitors was a bad decision, I think this should have solely focus on the Loyalist with a following book focusing on the Traitors, giving each the space they need to explore the repercussions of the Siege on Terra, and eliminating some of the POVs.
I appreciate that this couldn't have been an easy task but the choices made by the author left me feeling a bit let down.
⭐⭐ As the beginning of The Scouring.
⭐⭐1/2⭐ As a 40k book.
I was looking forward to a new beginning for a new series which I think has potential and lots of interesting areas to explore, unfortunately I found this to be a disappointment.
My major issues for this book are:
A lack of clear direction, this book jumps all over the place without ever feeling like it's going somewhere, where Horus Rising had us explore the initial corruption from various POV this doesn't have a similar drive and just sort of goes from one thing to the next.
Too many POVs that felt wasted, I don't mind the use of multiple different perspectives but it just seemed like too much and too little happening with many of them, I would have preferred more focus and direction, especially as a single POV can help ground a story and introduce audiences.
The drama and conflict (not action which is alright but character conflicts) feel a little flat, maybe this was just me but I just couldn't get that invested, this felt like a prologue to something when it should have been a gripping opening to the next big 40k series.
Most of the book feels like it should have been 'End of an Era' too much of this book feels like set up and doesn't pay off for my preferences.
Switching between Loyalist and Traitors was a bad decision, I think this should have solely focus on the Loyalist with a following book focusing on the Traitors, giving each the space they need to explore the repercussions of the Siege on Terra, and eliminating some of the POVs.
I appreciate that this couldn't have been an easy task but the choices made by the author left me feeling a bit let down.
January 12, 2026
Finished up Ashes of the Imperium- 4/5 ⭐️
The best aspect of this book is how it takes place in a totally unexplored time in canon, immediately post Heresy yet long before the Imperium turns into what we all know and love. Both the Imperials and Chaos forces are unsure if the gods even exist anymore, expect the Emperor to be back up and leading the Imperials soon, and both sides are wondering if the fight is even worth it.
The worst aspect of this book is some of the plotting, the last 1/8th in particular seemed a little rushed. The invasion of Luna, in which the Ultramarines take a huge number of casualties, and the destruction of the Chaos Neptune moon by Iron Warriors was definitely abrupt.
That being said I really liked two of the metaphysical aspects Wraight brings up here- one is that he states fairly unequivocally that the Chaos gods were almost destroyed by the Emperor when he eliminated Horus’ soul. After years of pro-Chaos propaganda from some of the BL authors, giving the Imperium back their win state, however improbable, is nice. I also liked the Word Bearer’s plan to bring the gods back by stoking the hatred of the Imperium.
As for characters, not all were bangers but I did enjoy Theokon and Prayto, Iron Warrior and Ultramarine Chief Librarian respectively. Theokon’s ultimate fate of rejoining his legion, realizing they are making the same mistake as the other Chaos forces by trying to master the warp, but being unable to run from it is a nice classic little grimdark ending.
The non-Astartes characters are gaining in strength and asserting their rights against the demi-god legions and their primarchs. This is definitely something that is going to take a long time to transform into the system of 40k, so we more so saw the first steps here than we got any conclusion. Still, petty bickering amongst the high lords is always fun.
The end of this book made me laugh out loud- not because it was bad, but because the book “preview” at the end was Horus Rising.
The best aspect of this book is how it takes place in a totally unexplored time in canon, immediately post Heresy yet long before the Imperium turns into what we all know and love. Both the Imperials and Chaos forces are unsure if the gods even exist anymore, expect the Emperor to be back up and leading the Imperials soon, and both sides are wondering if the fight is even worth it.
The worst aspect of this book is some of the plotting, the last 1/8th in particular seemed a little rushed. The invasion of Luna, in which the Ultramarines take a huge number of casualties, and the destruction of the Chaos Neptune moon by Iron Warriors was definitely abrupt.
That being said I really liked two of the metaphysical aspects Wraight brings up here- one is that he states fairly unequivocally that the Chaos gods were almost destroyed by the Emperor when he eliminated Horus’ soul. After years of pro-Chaos propaganda from some of the BL authors, giving the Imperium back their win state, however improbable, is nice. I also liked the Word Bearer’s plan to bring the gods back by stoking the hatred of the Imperium.
As for characters, not all were bangers but I did enjoy Theokon and Prayto, Iron Warrior and Ultramarine Chief Librarian respectively. Theokon’s ultimate fate of rejoining his legion, realizing they are making the same mistake as the other Chaos forces by trying to master the warp, but being unable to run from it is a nice classic little grimdark ending.
The non-Astartes characters are gaining in strength and asserting their rights against the demi-god legions and their primarchs. This is definitely something that is going to take a long time to transform into the system of 40k, so we more so saw the first steps here than we got any conclusion. Still, petty bickering amongst the high lords is always fun.
The end of this book made me laugh out loud- not because it was bad, but because the book “preview” at the end was Horus Rising.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2025
And we're off with a return to 30k and a new post-heresy novel, about the bridge between 30k and 40k that I remember wanting since as long as the heresy has been around. so much of the immediate aftermath of the apocalypse is the imperium picking up the pieces and the dogfights of the fleeing traitors hounded by the relentless ultramarines in peak battlestar galactica '33' mode but for an entire novel. Large, sprawling ensemble that Wraight manages really well and I love the attention to detail here - particularly looking at how changed the survivors of the siege of terra are.
dorn, guillman, etc playing major roles but also a lot of time is spent exploring who the baseline human figures are in a world post the emperor and wrestling to regain that power for themselves is fascinating to see. Possibly the most hyped I've been about a new BL series since well; the Siege of Terra - 30k has - partly due to its insistence on an actual longstanding narrative rather than just a scattershot of series - always been my favourite.
dorn, guillman, etc playing major roles but also a lot of time is spent exploring who the baseline human figures are in a world post the emperor and wrestling to regain that power for themselves is fascinating to see. Possibly the most hyped I've been about a new BL series since well; the Siege of Terra - 30k has - partly due to its insistence on an actual longstanding narrative rather than just a scattershot of series - always been my favourite.
January 4, 2026
Ashes of the Imperium is the first in a new series, which hopefully will bridge the gap between the Horus Heresy series and the "modern day" Imperium from the familiar tabletop game universe, which most fans will be very familiar with. As a starting point for a potentially lengthy series, it does a great job of laying foundations for plotlines moving forward, principally, the direction which Primarchs such as Roboute Guilliman and Rogal Dorn will push the Imperium following the recent incapacitation of the Emperor. It's almost certainly not a spoiler at this point to say that there is tension and dissention amongst the Primarch brothers, and it is arguably the key focus of this book.
As a novel in its own right though, Ashes of the Imperium suffers slightly from the thing I feel most Black Library material does; the narrative follows 4-5 character perspectives, and I am usually apathetic towards one of them, sometimes more, instead yearning to get back to the other characters. The more adept authors do a get job of balancing them, but sometimes it's inevitable that you feel like you're reading separate A, B and C plotlines.
A good read. Fans of the Siege of Terra should read this.
As a novel in its own right though, Ashes of the Imperium suffers slightly from the thing I feel most Black Library material does; the narrative follows 4-5 character perspectives, and I am usually apathetic towards one of them, sometimes more, instead yearning to get back to the other characters. The more adept authors do a get job of balancing them, but sometimes it's inevitable that you feel like you're reading separate A, B and C plotlines.
A good read. Fans of the Siege of Terra should read this.
January 12, 2026
How do you follow the Heresy and the Siege? This is a decent stab at it I think - I enjoyed the way in which the imperium is forming and what that means for everyone involved in it and, if it needed showing, that the imperium really isn’t the good guy in all of this. Good characterisations and few mini twists which I didn’t see coming, I’m excited to what this series brings.
Review of advance copy
This is an ok book and I'm waiting for the continuation. There are some cool moments, and lore. Also I like that it's not bolter-porn. Unfortunetly this books spends way too much time over unimportant characters and boring plotlines while the most interesting things have too little screentime. I would give this book 4/5 rating but one thing change my mind: this book features a female custode and the author tries to gaslight the reader into thinking that there were alwas female custodes, nothing new here. Lmao what is this cheap lore? If you really want them in this univerese at least think about some good reason.
January 25, 2026
Easily one of the weakest BL books I've read. The attempt at political manoeuvring is basic, poorly written and predictable, the characterization is off, and the dialogue is just trash, even within the already low standards you have to accept when getting into a 40k novel.
January 14, 2026
Not the best 40k book I've read but decent enough considering it is picking up the pieces post Horus Heresy
December 9, 2025
annnnnd we’re back to 30k!!
now personally - this is my EXACT type of novel. i absolutely love heavy dialogue and a more “political” book.
some veeeeeery interesting things in here. i don’t know if it’s a book that’s giving us some heavy foreshadowing for what my happen in 40k in the future or maybe just refining some lore they may have missed out on. i could totally be reading into some of this stuff a little to much but time will tell.
overall - stellar book! i’m excited to see where this series goes. (and please GW. we’re not going to live forever. so release these quick).
now personally - this is my EXACT type of novel. i absolutely love heavy dialogue and a more “political” book.
some veeeeeery interesting things in here. i don’t know if it’s a book that’s giving us some heavy foreshadowing for what my happen in 40k in the future or maybe just refining some lore they may have missed out on. i could totally be reading into some of this stuff a little to much but time will tell.
overall - stellar book! i’m excited to see where this series goes. (and please GW. we’re not going to live forever. so release these quick).
January 22, 2026
I finally finished my first book of the year. Hot take: this is among one of the best ten books in The Horus Heresy series. We all read The Horus Heresy as the origin story of the 40k universe but in fact, it isn't. It is the story that leads up to _that_ one scene on The Vengeful Spirit with Horus, Sanguinius and The Emperor. And that was the genius of it, we all knew how it ends and still they tell a compelling story. But it does not tell the story of how the 40k universe came to be, that story starts NOW in 'Ashes of the Imperium'. The Emperor is entombed on the golden throne, Horus is dead, the traitor legions scattered. And what a story Chris Wraight tells!
The first 300 pages are a four star novel honestly but the end is slightly anticlimactic as he passes the story to all the other authors that will follow. I love how none of the main characters are primarchs but that we see the events through the eyes of astartes and baseline humans from both sides. We see the Imperium from the perspective of Khalid Hassan, an agent of Malcador that continues plotting after his master's death; and I do love me some plotting. Next is Archamus, an Imperial Fist that fought in the siege (love him), Titus Prayto, an ultramarine librarian - who suddenly can't use his powers because the warp is sad - He _didn't_ fight in the siege (don't love him).
But don't worry, you get to see the discussions between Dorn and Guilliman, you see Dorn shouting at Leman Russ. I love how the surviving primarchs are portrayed with such nuance: Dorn is far from the autistic caricature that lives online: he is passionate, vengeful, direct. Guilliman is a genius poltivian and logistics expert but he also pulls off some Alpha Legion level plotting. Russ is smarter that you think. The Lion is still a dick. Vulcan has trauma, the Khan barely survived.
The traitor point of view is my favorite though: we meet Julatta, the best character in the book, a mortal cult leader that had to make decisions after they loose the siege. Her story is one of the most iconic in the entire Horus Heresy, no spoilers. We see level-headed, rational and proud Ortag of the Iron Warriors, secretly my favorite traitor legion - although I play Alpha Legion - that has to deal with the bullshit of Word Bearers in a crisis of faith. It's more like a crisis of faith you would expect from hardline christian Americans though, they ask some superficial questions that are only existential to them and go on being fanatic hardliners five minutes later.
We also get Vardesh Kraiya, a sons of Horus apothecary turned defender of Luna because Titus Prayto needs an opponent. Yes, you get astartes shooting bolters at each other, don't worry, it's not all political intrigue. The siege of Luna provides the necessary (for some) battle scenes but luckily doesn't take up too much of the 512 pages.
You get to see maddening glimpses of The Emperor on the golden throne. You see how mortal citizens openly dream about a world where they have power because - and this might be the book's tagline- ALL THE PRIMARCHS HAVE FAILED. You see the roots of a mortal lead Imperium while the imperial cult is still quite successfully repressed. Honestly this book is a delight, very well written with a good idea of what all the different kind of Horus Heresy readers want and provides fantastic plots and characters for all of them. I can't wait for what comes next.
The first 300 pages are a four star novel honestly but the end is slightly anticlimactic as he passes the story to all the other authors that will follow. I love how none of the main characters are primarchs but that we see the events through the eyes of astartes and baseline humans from both sides. We see the Imperium from the perspective of Khalid Hassan, an agent of Malcador that continues plotting after his master's death; and I do love me some plotting. Next is Archamus, an Imperial Fist that fought in the siege (love him), Titus Prayto, an ultramarine librarian - who suddenly can't use his powers because the warp is sad - He _didn't_ fight in the siege (don't love him).
But don't worry, you get to see the discussions between Dorn and Guilliman, you see Dorn shouting at Leman Russ. I love how the surviving primarchs are portrayed with such nuance: Dorn is far from the autistic caricature that lives online: he is passionate, vengeful, direct. Guilliman is a genius poltivian and logistics expert but he also pulls off some Alpha Legion level plotting. Russ is smarter that you think. The Lion is still a dick. Vulcan has trauma, the Khan barely survived.
The traitor point of view is my favorite though: we meet Julatta, the best character in the book, a mortal cult leader that had to make decisions after they loose the siege. Her story is one of the most iconic in the entire Horus Heresy, no spoilers. We see level-headed, rational and proud Ortag of the Iron Warriors, secretly my favorite traitor legion - although I play Alpha Legion - that has to deal with the bullshit of Word Bearers in a crisis of faith. It's more like a crisis of faith you would expect from hardline christian Americans though, they ask some superficial questions that are only existential to them and go on being fanatic hardliners five minutes later.
We also get Vardesh Kraiya, a sons of Horus apothecary turned defender of Luna because Titus Prayto needs an opponent. Yes, you get astartes shooting bolters at each other, don't worry, it's not all political intrigue. The siege of Luna provides the necessary (for some) battle scenes but luckily doesn't take up too much of the 512 pages.
You get to see maddening glimpses of The Emperor on the golden throne. You see how mortal citizens openly dream about a world where they have power because - and this might be the book's tagline- ALL THE PRIMARCHS HAVE FAILED. You see the roots of a mortal lead Imperium while the imperial cult is still quite successfully repressed. Honestly this book is a delight, very well written with a good idea of what all the different kind of Horus Heresy readers want and provides fantastic plots and characters for all of them. I can't wait for what comes next.
January 10, 2026
Fantastic book. This will eventually turn into required reading for 40k, and I gotta say I enjoyed the book. One or two borderline nitpicks kept it from being 5 star, so take it with a grain of salt.
Pros: From my past reading of the author, limited albeit, this is right up my alley as he is great at world building and setting a picturesque scene. The dynamics of the human side, the traitor side, and the primarchs all trying to figure out where we go from the end of the Siege is truly fascinating. If you’re into the politics of the grim dark future of 30/40K, you’ll love it. Action is here, but it’s not the main feature, which is a pro for my tastes.
Cons: My main con is it’s long (pause). It’s a dense, deep dive into the post Seige world. You’re gonna be reading it for a bit, so set your expectations that this is more of a marathon read than a sprint. If you don’t like multiple povs, you may not enjoy this as much. I usually don’t mind but the jumping around is a bit much even for me. I don’t necessarily think you need to read every Heresy/Siege series book to understand it, but I’d recommend coming in after watching at the very least lots of lore vids and discussion on the Heresy before you attempt to tackle this.
(Note: although I don’t necessarily agree with the hot button topic that a lot of the basement dwellers seem to be baby raging about in this book, it’s here and it’s not gonna go anywhere. It honestly didnt detract at all from the overall story.)
Pros: From my past reading of the author, limited albeit, this is right up my alley as he is great at world building and setting a picturesque scene. The dynamics of the human side, the traitor side, and the primarchs all trying to figure out where we go from the end of the Siege is truly fascinating. If you’re into the politics of the grim dark future of 30/40K, you’ll love it. Action is here, but it’s not the main feature, which is a pro for my tastes.
Cons: My main con is it’s long (pause). It’s a dense, deep dive into the post Seige world. You’re gonna be reading it for a bit, so set your expectations that this is more of a marathon read than a sprint. If you don’t like multiple povs, you may not enjoy this as much. I usually don’t mind but the jumping around is a bit much even for me. I don’t necessarily think you need to read every Heresy/Siege series book to understand it, but I’d recommend coming in after watching at the very least lots of lore vids and discussion on the Heresy before you attempt to tackle this.
(Note: although I don’t necessarily agree with the hot button topic that a lot of the basement dwellers seem to be baby raging about in this book, it’s here and it’s not gonna go anywhere. It honestly didnt detract at all from the overall story.)
January 25, 2026
Too many characters, too many perspectives, too much description, too many repetitive musings over this and that bullshit philosophy that don't really matter, TOO MANY WORDS. I'm not sure what I was expecting. This is the Horus Heresy after all.
This had plenty of potential. It was just brutally murdered by clear directives in word counts.
Still, the descriptions were meaningful. This was the Devastation. This was the Aftermath of the Great War (usually a theme I enjoy). There needed to be a good few. There were just too many.
Too many meetings in dark rooms between who-the-fuck-cares MUSING. Never DOING. MUUUUSING.
I wish some of the characters talked like people, not uber-stylised purveyors of constant philosophy.
It took FAR TOO LONG to introduce, coherent plotlines. The more interesting one did not amount to much, the mystery on the Neptunian moon. But the politicking was interesting, even if I lost track of this or that administrator. When finally the bolter porn came, it did not add up to much. Given the circumstances/story, I suppose it couldn't. Still...
The last couple of bouts of philosophising were the only memorable and thoughtful ones: people trapped in their own bad decisions.
I'm not excited for the follow-up. I'm not detecting any particular threads.
This had plenty of potential. It was just brutally murdered by clear directives in word counts.
Still, the descriptions were meaningful. This was the Devastation. This was the Aftermath of the Great War (usually a theme I enjoy). There needed to be a good few. There were just too many.
Too many meetings in dark rooms between who-the-fuck-cares MUSING. Never DOING. MUUUUSING.
I wish some of the characters talked like people, not uber-stylised purveyors of constant philosophy.
It took FAR TOO LONG to introduce, coherent plotlines. The more interesting one did not amount to much, the mystery on the Neptunian moon. But the politicking was interesting, even if I lost track of this or that administrator. When finally the bolter porn came, it did not add up to much. Given the circumstances/story, I suppose it couldn't. Still...
The last couple of bouts of philosophising were the only memorable and thoughtful ones: people trapped in their own bad decisions.
I'm not excited for the follow-up. I'm not detecting any particular threads.
December 30, 2025
This was a great book. The portrayal of an Imperium without its Emperor, the political intrigues between the High Lords and the Primarchs, and the desperation of the survivors from Horus's side was all done incredibly well, and the plot twist on Laomedeia I could have never seen coming but was very much enjoyable. I also liked how the true, worsening state of the Emperor gets revealed slowly over the course of the book, from where at the beginning everyone thinks it'll be a couple weeks until he's back to the fear from those in the know that he might not even survive at all. The way they showed the understandable bitterness of the Imperial Fists, who carried the Siege only to now be supplanted by the Ultramarines at every turn, was also well done. Rogal Dorn definitely needs treatment for PTSD instead of another crusade, though. I would have liked to see a little more of Vulkan and the Khan, too, but in all fairness their legions are decimated, and the primarchs that we are shown more of are written very well.
December 19, 2025
It is unbelievable that after the Heresy and the Siege there is anything left to say and yet, here we are.
This book is beautifully written, the plot is intricate and yet thoroughly understandable, but I was left with a distinct impression at the end.
Guilliman reveals himself as a political beast, making exactly the same mistakes as the Emperor, Dorn basically thrashes and whines that he can’t just do what he wants, and Perturabo, the Traitor most skeptical of the Chaos gods, is making exactly the same mistakes as Horus.
This is the only book across the Heresy and the Siege (maybe with the exception of Master of Mankind) that truly made me feel dread in the pit of my stomach. The only 30k book that really made me understand WHY, in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. There can only ever BE war, forever, and even those who want to escape that eternity have no way out.
This book is beautifully written, the plot is intricate and yet thoroughly understandable, but I was left with a distinct impression at the end.
Guilliman reveals himself as a political beast, making exactly the same mistakes as the Emperor, Dorn basically thrashes and whines that he can’t just do what he wants, and Perturabo, the Traitor most skeptical of the Chaos gods, is making exactly the same mistakes as Horus.
This is the only book across the Heresy and the Siege (maybe with the exception of Master of Mankind) that truly made me feel dread in the pit of my stomach. The only 30k book that really made me understand WHY, in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. There can only ever BE war, forever, and even those who want to escape that eternity have no way out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2026
Wraight knocks it out of the park with the first book of the Post Heresy series.
January 6, 2026
Throughout Ashes of the Imperium, Chris Wraight does a fantastic job at focusing on the setting through a lens other than the standard bolter porn that so many 40k books fall victim to. The bulk of the book documents the post-siege politicing by the surviving elements of the Imperial Administration and the Primarchs, which displays the slow grind from the previous Imperium into what we all know and love in the modern millennium. The grudges, schemes, and plots between the legions especially help this book stand out, since throughout the Heresy and Siege of Terra, the Loyalist legions served as a monolithic bastion of good, compared to the far more diverse and nuanced views shown in this book. So good is this depiction that, frankly, many of the older books feel lackluster compared to it. While it could, in theory, be read as a standalone, the payoff of reading the Siege of Terra makes the book feel far more impactful.
Perturabo is also in this book, 10/10
Perturabo is also in this book, 10/10
December 8, 2025
I rated this novel "1-star" due to the femstodes retcon.
To be honest and generous to the woke mob, I might have rated the book higher if femstodes were given an actual explanation to their existence.
For example: There were around ~50 surviving Custodes after the Siege, so they had to start recruiting women or something like that.... But no, they were effortlessly and lazily shoehorned into the novel.
The definition of a hobby tourist is inserting your real life politics into the setting. And that is what is exactly on display here. Warhammer had a good run; but alas, all good things must come to an end.
Read my "Lion Son of the Forest" review - I predicted this.
Horus was right.
To be honest and generous to the woke mob, I might have rated the book higher if femstodes were given an actual explanation to their existence.
For example: There were around ~50 surviving Custodes after the Siege, so they had to start recruiting women or something like that.... But no, they were effortlessly and lazily shoehorned into the novel.
The definition of a hobby tourist is inserting your real life politics into the setting. And that is what is exactly on display here. Warhammer had a good run; but alas, all good things must come to an end.
Read my "Lion Son of the Forest" review - I predicted this.
Horus was right.
January 27, 2026
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The first real glimpse into the Devastation that is left at the end of the Siege of Terra and by extend the betrayal that is the Horus Heresy. The fact that they should be feeling elation and triumph in their “victory” and all they feel is utter desperation. The fact that both sides feel this immense despair makes it all the more poignant. Theokon was one the most interesting characters in the book and I hope too read more of him. I loved how this book clearly shows how the Imperium became the horrible monstrosity that we all know and love in 40k. If the rest of the Scouring series is able to match this performance then it will fast become a favourite series for me.
December 22, 2025
No one is better at navigating the complicated politics of Terra, than Christ Wraight. As such starting off the scouring with his work was a brilliant choice. A lot of this book reflects and resembles his work in the Watchers of the Throne series, specifically The Regent's Shadow. It is so fascinating going from his view of Terra 10, 000 years in the future, to its rebirth in the tumultuous aftermath of the Horus Heresy.
A lot of moving parts, but they all come together for a very satisfying whole. Can't wait to enjoy further stories set in this time period.
A lot of moving parts, but they all come together for a very satisfying whole. Can't wait to enjoy further stories set in this time period.
December 25, 2025
This book was fucking incredible. Chris Wraight perfectly understands why this era is so interesting. Every single character (of which there are *so* many, all of whom are impressively well defined) struggles and crumbles under the constant weight of their personal failures during the Siege. The Heretic stuff, particularly the sections on Luna is *electric* to read. Despite its towering ambition, this book delivers everything I could've dreamt of, and I'm gonna be ravenously waiting for the next scouring book.
January 4, 2026
I wasn’t sure where we would end up after the Horus Heresy and Siege of Terra.
I’m pleasantly surprised by this!
I felt it takes some of our familiar characters out of the madness of the End and the Death and introduces them (and us) to a new era.
Some threads and ideas are finished up, others begin.
There is the seeds for some things we know in modern day 40K being planted.
Surprises throughout, I’m looking forward to where this series goes next!
I’m pleasantly surprised by this!
I felt it takes some of our familiar characters out of the madness of the End and the Death and introduces them (and us) to a new era.
Some threads and ideas are finished up, others begin.
There is the seeds for some things we know in modern day 40K being planted.
Surprises throughout, I’m looking forward to where this series goes next!
January 17, 2026
Frustrating, because the worst people on Terra hate it for the dumbest reason, but also… this kind of sucks? Like I love the Heresy, I loved the siege, and maybe there’s an inherent flaw to the inevitable cash-cow “OK what about the aftermath” series but this felt glacially paced and unfocused. Some interesting scratching of mysteries, and there’s a lady so that’s cool, but… this might be a fatally flawed series.
December 30, 2025
Action Packed but Little Movement
Looks like the start of another long series on the scouring. Readable and action packed but very little story progression. Seeing some hints of the early choices that shaped the current imperium but seems to be dragging out a bit and didn’t introduce too many engaging characters.
Looks like the start of another long series on the scouring. Readable and action packed but very little story progression. Seeing some hints of the early choices that shaped the current imperium but seems to be dragging out a bit and didn’t introduce too many engaging characters.
December 28, 2025
Oh boy… Payback is about to begin…
Very good stuff! The new iron warrior character was a delight to follow. Guilliman being naive makes him more likable to me, even more if in the future he regrets what he is doing right now…
Amazing, and very good start to the Scouring
Very good stuff! The new iron warrior character was a delight to follow. Guilliman being naive makes him more likable to me, even more if in the future he regrets what he is doing right now…
Amazing, and very good start to the Scouring
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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