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The Horus Heresy #34
Pharus
Mit dem noblen Imperator Sanguinius an der Spitze, der von Macragge aus herrscht, bildet das Imperium Secundus das letzte Leuchtfeuer der Hoffnung, wa¨hrend die Streitkra¨fte des Kriegsherrn u¨ber den Rest der Galaxis herfallen. Roboute Guilliman, der nach wie vor Herr u¨ber Ultramar ist, hat seinen Bruder davon u¨berzeugt, dass Terra gefallen ist und dass der mysterio¨se Berg Pharus auf Sotha den Schlu¨ssel zur Zukunft der Menschheit darstellt. Aber die Night Lords, Konrad Curzes grausame und mitleidlose So¨hne, lauern in den Schatten und setzen ihren lange gehegten Plan, den Pharus selbst anzugreifen, in die Tat um.
396 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 25, 2015
151 people are currently reading
1780 people want to read
About the author
Guy Haley
285 books727 followersGuy Haley is the author of over 50 novels and novellas. His original fiction includes Crash, Champion of Mars, and the Richards and Klein, Dreaming Cities, and the Gates of the World series (as K M McKinley). However, he is best known as a prolific contributor to Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
When not writing, he'll be out doing something dangerous in the wild, learning languages or gaming.
When not writing, he'll be out doing something dangerous in the wild, learning languages or gaming.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews
February 15, 2017
The first full-lenght HH novel by Guy Haley after some good short stories is an awesome debut, a real masterpiece.
An action packed tale with lots of twists, great unforgettable characters, references to Novamarines and Scythes of the Emperor Space Marines Chapters history and events echoing into the W40K setting 10000 years later. Really not bad for a first novel.
Pharos is a touching tale of brotherly love too: Sanguinius and Guilliman;Sanguinius and Konrad Kurze (giving us an amazing fight scene between two Primarchs cursed with the gift of prophecy); Kellendvar and Kellendvir (Guy Haley's depiction of Night Lords here is far better and disturbing than more famous Aaron Dembski-Bowden's one, Kurze's sons never been so wicked and their vox communication scrambling system was a real blast); Barabas Dantioch and Alexis Polux (Maybe they not have the same father, but the brotherhood between the disgraced warsmith of the Iron Warriors and the Imperial Fists captain is really forged in blood, defending the Pharos mountain against the overwhelming VIII Legion forces); Obedeii and the other young scouts, brothers in arms forged in the crucible of war.
And the ending left me speechless.
Just one of the best Horus Heresy novels I've read.
August 10, 2016
Review also published here
Oh boy, what a ride. To me, Pharos is the Horus Heresy in top form. It covered all the bases: Primarch drama, action, massive Legion-scale battles, revelations, big repercussions for 40k as we know it, very likeable characters...
Pharos continues on from various plotlines within the Imperium Secundus story arc. Set after The Unremembered Empire and Deathfire in the mainline series, but also A Safe and Shadowed Place , The Long Night and The Dark Between the Stars as well as The Laurel of Defiance (found in War Without End ), it has many details, characters and situations to draw on. It feels like the novel that Imperium Secundus needed, and heralds the beginning of the end for that particular arc.
We have seen the Pharos before, of course. The mysterious beacon of hope for Roboute Guilliman's second empire featured in The Unremembered Empire (and even prior to that), guiding many loyalist elements to Ultramar and Macragge specifically. Barabas Dantioch, loyalist Warsmith of the Iron Warriors, is still hard at work decoding the secrets of the ancient machine. He was joined by Alexis Polux of the Imperial Fists, and the two provide some very endearing moments throughout the book.
Dantioch isn't doing so well. He was a wreck when he first appearend in Age of Darkness , but since then, things have only gotten worse. Alexis, meanwhile, is in peek condition, a giant next to his bowed friend. And friends they are, despite their many differences and the feud between their original Legions. They have grown into brothers, friends beyond all doubt, and their relationship was one of my favorite things about Pharos.
On the other hand, we have two actual siblings in the Night Lords Kellendvar and Kellenkir. While Kellendvar is wary of his brother's changes since the dropsite massacre, he still supports and defends him against their superiors. He is determined to save him from his apparent madness, while Kellenkir considers him weak and would love to keep torturing mortals to unwrap the secrets of death and suffering. They are very polarising in a sense, and their kinship seems quite one-sided. There are some great scenes elaborating on their past growing up on Nostramo and the changes they went through, however. Their plotlines were resolved admirably, in my opinion.
And then there is another pair of brothers: Roboute Guilliman and Sanguinius. The latter is still highly uncomfortable with his position as emperor of Imperium Secundus, and his growing distaste for the charade is palpable. For the first time I felt that Sanguinius made sense and felt natural in this whole arc. Abnett barely looked at him in TUE, after all.
And then there is another surprise guest who faces off in a debate against Sanguinius. I loved the whole chapter dealing with that! It held so many implications for the series, and the Emperor, as a whole, that I just breezed through it, twice.
But aside from the themes of brotherhood on various levels, there is still the war for Sotha, home planet of the Pharos, where the majority of the book takes place. Invasion by the Night Lords under Krukesh the Pale leaves the world torn and bloody, with its defenders rallying around the beacon at Mount Pharos. There are plenty of great tunnel fight scenes, and it is clear that the two siegemasters Dantioch and Polux are exceptional at their jobs, stopping the Night Lords outnumbering them 20 to 1 from overrunning them within hours.
Outside of the mountain, we follow a group of Space Marine neophytes in the last stages before full ascension, and a rag-tag band of irregulars in the sothan military.
Led by Mericus Giraldus, sergeant of the Sothan First Auxilia, the enlisted farmers and were a highlight for me. Mericus especially had a very insolent tone that made him enjoyable to read about from start to finish, whether it was him fooling around with his troops or telling off Captain Lucretius Corvo of the Ultramarines. He was just an all around relateable, interesting character who lightened up the mood in an otherwise grim war.
Scout Oberdeii, the point of view character of the neophytes, meanwhile, added a layer of desperation to the conflict. Being the literal future of their company, the recruits are confronted with their first real battles and have to weigh their responsibilities to the Legion, meaning survival to replenish the ranks, with their desire to strike back at the Night Lords. For Oberdeii, another problem arises with close proximity to the Pharos: He has been having strong visions of impending doom ever since being deployed for training on Sotha. He isn't the only one there, but his experiences were rather more extreme, as The Dark Between the Stars attests to.
Oberdeii's insecurities about his performance and continued training, especially when confronted with possible taint via the Pharos, made him interesting to follow, and relatable despite his already transformed form and mind. He is stuck between humanity and experiences of fear, and the exalted status of the Legiones Astartes. This gives us the first good look at scouts in the Heresy, and I appreciate it very much.
Captain Lucretius Corvo, in contrast, is a space marine in his prime. He has recently come to greater glory, as detailed in Laurel of Defiance (which I thought excellent), and much trust is placed upon his shoulders by Guilliman. He is to relieve the Ultramarines and the defenders of the Pharos, buying them time until the bulk of the Legion forces arrive in system.
Despite some stiffness, Corvo still comes across well and strong, even when facing strange odds and daemonic influences. His encounter with Mericus and Oberdeii resulted in some great material to read through.
I honestly hope Haley can come back to Corvo and Company in the near future, and maybe expand on the Chapter founded by the Captain after the Heresy: The Novamarines. He has previously written about them in Death of Integrity , which is among my favorite Space Marine Battles novels to date for its mature and elevated rendition of Space Marines and the Genestealer threat. Seeing more of their cultural origins via the Heresy would be a boon.
On the traitor side, the cutthroat Night Lords are as despicable and twisted as ever. Treachery within their ranks is a given at this point, and it is clear why their Primarch abandoned them as hopeless. Power plays are being made, even while they unleash true horror on the natives of Sotha and the defenders of the Pharos. These aren't the somehow sympathetic figures of Dembski-Bowden's Prince of Crows that win you over with over the top badassery, but actual villain figures that possibly never had a realistic chance to turn out any other way.
So is Pharos any good? Yes. It is bloody excellent and one of my favorites in the series. It propels the series plot forward, both in obvious and subtle ways. It delivers amazing Primarch scenes, touching encounters between friends, honest sacrifices and strong action scenes on top of a layer of horror and desperation. It subverts the theme of hope for Imperium Secundus that the lighthouse represents by turning it into a cause for disaster, both immediate and in the far future.
Pharos is not only an incredible addition to the series, but also a stellar full length HH debut for Guy Haley, who has earned his place among the top authors working on the Horus Heresy already, as far as I am concerned. Here's to many more contributions of this caliber.
Oh boy, what a ride. To me, Pharos is the Horus Heresy in top form. It covered all the bases: Primarch drama, action, massive Legion-scale battles, revelations, big repercussions for 40k as we know it, very likeable characters...
Pharos continues on from various plotlines within the Imperium Secundus story arc. Set after The Unremembered Empire and Deathfire in the mainline series, but also A Safe and Shadowed Place , The Long Night and The Dark Between the Stars as well as The Laurel of Defiance (found in War Without End ), it has many details, characters and situations to draw on. It feels like the novel that Imperium Secundus needed, and heralds the beginning of the end for that particular arc.
We have seen the Pharos before, of course. The mysterious beacon of hope for Roboute Guilliman's second empire featured in The Unremembered Empire (and even prior to that), guiding many loyalist elements to Ultramar and Macragge specifically. Barabas Dantioch, loyalist Warsmith of the Iron Warriors, is still hard at work decoding the secrets of the ancient machine. He was joined by Alexis Polux of the Imperial Fists, and the two provide some very endearing moments throughout the book.
Dantioch isn't doing so well. He was a wreck when he first appearend in Age of Darkness , but since then, things have only gotten worse. Alexis, meanwhile, is in peek condition, a giant next to his bowed friend. And friends they are, despite their many differences and the feud between their original Legions. They have grown into brothers, friends beyond all doubt, and their relationship was one of my favorite things about Pharos.
On the other hand, we have two actual siblings in the Night Lords Kellendvar and Kellenkir. While Kellendvar is wary of his brother's changes since the dropsite massacre, he still supports and defends him against their superiors. He is determined to save him from his apparent madness, while Kellenkir considers him weak and would love to keep torturing mortals to unwrap the secrets of death and suffering. They are very polarising in a sense, and their kinship seems quite one-sided. There are some great scenes elaborating on their past growing up on Nostramo and the changes they went through, however. Their plotlines were resolved admirably, in my opinion.
And then there is another pair of brothers: Roboute Guilliman and Sanguinius. The latter is still highly uncomfortable with his position as emperor of Imperium Secundus, and his growing distaste for the charade is palpable. For the first time I felt that Sanguinius made sense and felt natural in this whole arc. Abnett barely looked at him in TUE, after all.
And then there is another surprise guest who faces off in a debate against Sanguinius. I loved the whole chapter dealing with that! It held so many implications for the series, and the Emperor, as a whole, that I just breezed through it, twice.
But aside from the themes of brotherhood on various levels, there is still the war for Sotha, home planet of the Pharos, where the majority of the book takes place. Invasion by the Night Lords under Krukesh the Pale leaves the world torn and bloody, with its defenders rallying around the beacon at Mount Pharos. There are plenty of great tunnel fight scenes, and it is clear that the two siegemasters Dantioch and Polux are exceptional at their jobs, stopping the Night Lords outnumbering them 20 to 1 from overrunning them within hours.
Outside of the mountain, we follow a group of Space Marine neophytes in the last stages before full ascension, and a rag-tag band of irregulars in the sothan military.
Led by Mericus Giraldus, sergeant of the Sothan First Auxilia, the enlisted farmers and were a highlight for me. Mericus especially had a very insolent tone that made him enjoyable to read about from start to finish, whether it was him fooling around with his troops or telling off Captain Lucretius Corvo of the Ultramarines. He was just an all around relateable, interesting character who lightened up the mood in an otherwise grim war.
Scout Oberdeii, the point of view character of the neophytes, meanwhile, added a layer of desperation to the conflict. Being the literal future of their company, the recruits are confronted with their first real battles and have to weigh their responsibilities to the Legion, meaning survival to replenish the ranks, with their desire to strike back at the Night Lords. For Oberdeii, another problem arises with close proximity to the Pharos: He has been having strong visions of impending doom ever since being deployed for training on Sotha. He isn't the only one there, but his experiences were rather more extreme, as The Dark Between the Stars attests to.
Oberdeii's insecurities about his performance and continued training, especially when confronted with possible taint via the Pharos, made him interesting to follow, and relatable despite his already transformed form and mind. He is stuck between humanity and experiences of fear, and the exalted status of the Legiones Astartes. This gives us the first good look at scouts in the Heresy, and I appreciate it very much.
Captain Lucretius Corvo, in contrast, is a space marine in his prime. He has recently come to greater glory, as detailed in Laurel of Defiance (which I thought excellent), and much trust is placed upon his shoulders by Guilliman. He is to relieve the Ultramarines and the defenders of the Pharos, buying them time until the bulk of the Legion forces arrive in system.
Despite some stiffness, Corvo still comes across well and strong, even when facing strange odds and daemonic influences. His encounter with Mericus and Oberdeii resulted in some great material to read through.
I honestly hope Haley can come back to Corvo and Company in the near future, and maybe expand on the Chapter founded by the Captain after the Heresy: The Novamarines. He has previously written about them in Death of Integrity , which is among my favorite Space Marine Battles novels to date for its mature and elevated rendition of Space Marines and the Genestealer threat. Seeing more of their cultural origins via the Heresy would be a boon.
On the traitor side, the cutthroat Night Lords are as despicable and twisted as ever. Treachery within their ranks is a given at this point, and it is clear why their Primarch abandoned them as hopeless. Power plays are being made, even while they unleash true horror on the natives of Sotha and the defenders of the Pharos. These aren't the somehow sympathetic figures of Dembski-Bowden's Prince of Crows that win you over with over the top badassery, but actual villain figures that possibly never had a realistic chance to turn out any other way.
So is Pharos any good? Yes. It is bloody excellent and one of my favorites in the series. It propels the series plot forward, both in obvious and subtle ways. It delivers amazing Primarch scenes, touching encounters between friends, honest sacrifices and strong action scenes on top of a layer of horror and desperation. It subverts the theme of hope for Imperium Secundus that the lighthouse represents by turning it into a cause for disaster, both immediate and in the far future.
Pharos is not only an incredible addition to the series, but also a stellar full length HH debut for Guy Haley, who has earned his place among the top authors working on the Horus Heresy already, as far as I am concerned. Here's to many more contributions of this caliber.
September 6, 2020
This was an excellent story set during the Horus Heresy. The Ruinstorm has cut the Imperium in twain. Sanguinius reigns as Emperor of Imperius Secundus. Guilliman is attempting to use a xenos device known as the Pharos to communicate with the rest of the Imperium. The Night Lords find out and decide to take the Pharos.
That's the bare bones basis. It is an excellent story that does much to fill in the blanks of the Heresy time's lore. It is also a great look into the dark and twisted VIII Legion. It is a legion of killers, murderers, rapists, sadists, serial killers, etc. Lovely people. The VIIIth was used as Imperial terror troops. When a conquered world had rebelled again, the Night Lords were sent in to exact vengeance. Through the application of terror tactics such as broadcasting planetwide, audio and video of their torture and killing.
Facing twenty thousand of this fallen legion, stand less than a thousand Ultramarines and a hodgepodge mix of Imperial Fists and Dark Angels. A gory and bloody tale of combat between very different legions- the dark and savage Night Lords versus the calm and logical Ultramarines and the steely resolve of the Imperial Fists is interesting.
All in all, a great addition to the Heresy series and a must read for any Warhammer fan trying to learn more about the Heresy times. Two things- I finally learned what happens to Dantioch, the loyal Warsmith of the Iron Warriors working with the Imperium. The second is a subtle hint that that light of the Pharos, and not the Astronomicon as is commonly believed, may have attracted the attention of the Great Devourer. Very interesting.
That's the bare bones basis. It is an excellent story that does much to fill in the blanks of the Heresy time's lore. It is also a great look into the dark and twisted VIII Legion. It is a legion of killers, murderers, rapists, sadists, serial killers, etc. Lovely people. The VIIIth was used as Imperial terror troops. When a conquered world had rebelled again, the Night Lords were sent in to exact vengeance. Through the application of terror tactics such as broadcasting planetwide, audio and video of their torture and killing.
Facing twenty thousand of this fallen legion, stand less than a thousand Ultramarines and a hodgepodge mix of Imperial Fists and Dark Angels. A gory and bloody tale of combat between very different legions- the dark and savage Night Lords versus the calm and logical Ultramarines and the steely resolve of the Imperial Fists is interesting.
All in all, a great addition to the Heresy series and a must read for any Warhammer fan trying to learn more about the Heresy times. Two things- I finally learned what happens to Dantioch, the loyal Warsmith of the Iron Warriors working with the Imperium. The second is a subtle hint that that light of the Pharos, and not the Astronomicon as is commonly believed, may have attracted the attention of the Great Devourer. Very interesting.
December 30, 2015
Minor spoilers ahead.
'Pharos' is a first Horus Heresy novel from the uber talented sci-fi author Guy Haley. And guess what — HE OUTDONE HIMSELF with it.
This novel is definitely one of the best HH novels to date. Especially count that knowing, that I hate Imperium Secundus stuff and think that it's Arc should have ended a long time ago.
But let's get back to the amazing HH book # 33.
The best depiction of this masterpiece (and yes that is actually what 'Pharos' truly is) was made by the author himself in his afterword.
Pharos gives us a 'nightfall', the end of an era, collapse of the post crusade Imperium, the dying of the Emperor's dream, the return of Old Night and rails running for the next HH arc 'The Gauntlet'.
In plain metaphorical praise — all the book is rounding up around the snuffing of the light: directly and metaphorically. HH book #33 - that's snuffing the light of the Pharos beacon on Sotha and putting out the last bright embers of Imperium. Imperium that was before. Truly, even darker arc of Horus Heresy will start now.
All the characters from the previous arcs of Imperium Secundus are here. Primarchs and 'usual' legioners. Same as very interesting and ultradimensional characters of Guy Haley other HH shorts: Lucretius Corvo (from his previous commemoration and actions at Astagar) and lovely brotherly couple from the 'A Safe and Shadowed Place' short — Kellendvar and Kellenkir.
'Knowledge tyrannised him, and it would not let him sleep.' - that's how i was feeling moving through the pages.
Writing the main storyline, Guy Haley has written an epic story about the 'small' stuff. For example, he has shown in examplary fashion the life and death of an imperial fringe world, using Sotha. With it's architecture, infrastructure and people. Also he has gone a great length to describe the strife and fear of young scouts and all their 'road' to being full Astartes. Just check the quote:
«He was still amazed at the power he had been granted. Not very long ago he had had the spare muscles of any youth, but now his arms were thick and powerful. For the last two years synthetic biochemicals had driven his metabolism into overdrive. Supplementary organs moderated every aspect of his physiology. When their work was finished, they would bring perfection to the randomly created, misfiring systems of nature. What had taken millions of years to evolve into a clumsy, unfinished state, the Emperor had perfected in mere decades….»
Actually it also gives us one of the best depictions of how a simple human beings (soldier) sees SM in Horus Heresy times:
«Mericus had never been so terrified in his life. He had never felt completely at ease around the transhuman warriors of Ultramar. Nobody did. But to face a Space Marine coming at him in anger was an entirely different experience to awkwardly sharing a drink with one. He had become used to how big they were. Too used to it. The warrior coming at him was too huge to be called a man. His was the human form pushed to the limits of recognisability. The armour made him into something that, in earlier eras, would have had him classified as an armoured vehicle... The whole effect was one of massive, almost ridiculous overscaling.
This was a man distorted beyond the capacity of a normal mind to absorb. He was more than an ogre. More than the wildest story. There was simply too much of the «Space Marine to appear real. Everything about him was intended to inflict maximum damage to beings and machines far greater than a mere man. He was heavy, strong, fearless, unbelievably fast and utterly deadly….And he was coming for Mericus'».
Also, one of the best part of the book was the 'Probity' run. It was dreary. But as it's own, best kind. It was a great example of ambush and counter-ambush warfare in different conditions.
«…If this is a deliberate act, whoever set us this little dilemma is clever. They chose this spot, where we are spread thinnest. Theoretical – if we escort this wreck all the way, we will be leaving a big hole in the patrol net. They might be waiting for us to do exactly that, to follow us all the way home themselves»…
Reading that, I did remember that Guy Haley wrote an amazing 'Death of Integrity' with it's claustrophobic corridor war.
But the greatest achievement of Guy Haley as an author in it, is that he was able to show Space Marines Legiones from different point of views, and write down a great list of characters (new to us and previously used by the different authors).
In general, all the Ultramarines are shown as they always were: methodical thinkers and examplary fighters. Best of Ultramarines quote « I do not know whether to censure you or commend you». On the other hand — Night Lords have a cool opinion about the 'Ultrasmurfs' too: «Attention, my mighty Forty-Fifth. The bookkeepers of Macragge approach».
Their Primarch as well as NL father, totally insane Curze are depicted really well, with the essence of their souls right on the pages. But, from the Primarch side, 33rd novel gives us the best Sanguinius depiction to date in all the HH novels.
Proud, fearful, free and bound at the same time. His character is a true vision of predeterminism. Even if, as a true son of his father, he will never totally surrender to it. Even his quotes are beautiful:
«Please. I do not believe Father intended to sacrifice our entire species on the altar of His own apotheosis, I stand by His dreams still. But all this? Daemons? Gods? The things that He told us were not real are real. He must have known! If He had warned us, if He had told the truth, we could have armed ourselves against it. His lack of trust in us was His undoing.»
The dialog with Curze gives us even more insight into the psyche of a 'winged miracle':
«Did Horus seek out the darkness, or did it find him? You knew our brother – he was proud, and ambitious, but he was noble, and in many respects the best of us. If he was tempted in ignorance, then how could he have protected himself? There is more to this than Horus’ lust for power.»
But as with every character in any book — some feels alive, others had lesser screening time overall. Doesn't help that the novel itself tries too hard to make events flowing. Trying to unravel the mystery of the Pharos beacon; to make a rally point and future road for the VIII legion; to give heroes great cameos and indulge reader with great character of our old heroes and monsters. And of course tis a tale of insurmountable madness, darkness of the drearest kind and true evil (one way or another).
Which leads us to one of the novel biggest issues. Being awesome foray into the HH stuff the novel reverberate with the fact, that author was a little afraid of making a mistake and actually writing the novel in the setting with the Horus Heresy pedigree. As he said himself — due to 'fear of messing it up'. Plus even if he tried (as he mentioned in the afterword himself) — he wasn't very successful in making sons of Curze not a bloody fiends and moustache villains. At some points they always go beyond the edge with their abilities and characters.
But sometimes you do feel sorry for this maniacally bloody monsters, especially some greatly made characters like Painted Count or Headsman or warrior of 'dreadful epithets' Kellenkir.
«Gendor Skraivok... admired the stoicism of his warriors while it still lasted. He understood their poor humour. They had been promised freedom from a lying Emperor, and instead found themselves prisoners of their own ambitions, locked into ceramite cells aboard a dormant installation at the back end of nowhere.». Or - «His was not a happy company», or «You are a warrior worthy of the most dreadful epithets, Kellenkir, and my hatred of you is outweighed twice over by my appreciation of your talents.» How you wouldn't like this characters.
Even being a little bloody fiends, at the same time Night Lords in 'Pharos' feels really alive and that's would be my other praise for Guy Haley.
As 'philosopher' Skraivok has told himself: «They were monsters. He was a monster. How odd to view oneself so; no man ever sets out to be a monster, and yet here he was. Monstrous.Things cannot be any other way...»
Alas, as with all thing connected to predeterminism. there is always a choice, even a bad one. But that is still a choice, or desicion made by the other in your stead:
«Service without payment is slavery. I am slave of no man, nor ever shall be.»
The true antiheroe(s) of 'Pharos' is not the Night Lords Legion or Krukesh the Pale, Lord of Kyroptera, who leads invasion on Sotha, but brothers — Kellendvar and Kellenkir, the «lovely couple» from the 'A Safe and Shadowed Place' short. They show us in all it's dreary (Haley indeed love this word) horribleness the road by which a man becomes a monster. And author, intrigued with that line, deeply explore it.
«We are machines in the manufactories of war,’ hissed Kellenkir.»
Kellenkir pessimism, defitism and predeterminism are what driving him like the Legion's father Curze into the jaw of madness and to the total damnation:
«You speak of death as if it is a god… Oh, little brother, the Imperial Truth contained so many lies. There are gods. Look into the storm, and you will see their faces».
In the end, even his optimistic (ever dreamful) brother came up by conclusion that:
«Kellendvar had not sent his brother with the others for a very good reason. He would have tarried to kill and maim. Such propensity for bloodshed; for a long time he had thought Kellenkir insane. As he watched Kellenkir dabble his fingers in spilled blood and smear it across the plates of his armour, Kellendvar was beginning to think that was not the case.
He was beginning to fear that his brother was simply evil».
Nobody safe anymore in HH, as miserable fate of 3 (or more) characters will be shown to the reader. George Martin should be proud — he has a talented successor for his work ;)
Another good (that is debatable) point is the ending, mainly the Epilogue. Which sent ripples into the 41st millennium.
As a final thought — I can't recommend this novel high enough, cause it is awesome!
And as the final word about 'Pharos', I will give you the quote with the 'fun' depiction of Legions differences in warfare:
«They are going to make it,’ said Vorsh disbelievingly. They did not... ‘Well, that worked well,’ said Vorsh sarcastically. ‘Never mind, I never much liked Forvian».
'Pharos' is a first Horus Heresy novel from the uber talented sci-fi author Guy Haley. And guess what — HE OUTDONE HIMSELF with it.
This novel is definitely one of the best HH novels to date. Especially count that knowing, that I hate Imperium Secundus stuff and think that it's Arc should have ended a long time ago.
But let's get back to the amazing HH book # 33.
The best depiction of this masterpiece (and yes that is actually what 'Pharos' truly is) was made by the author himself in his afterword.
Pharos gives us a 'nightfall', the end of an era, collapse of the post crusade Imperium, the dying of the Emperor's dream, the return of Old Night and rails running for the next HH arc 'The Gauntlet'.
In plain metaphorical praise — all the book is rounding up around the snuffing of the light: directly and metaphorically. HH book #33 - that's snuffing the light of the Pharos beacon on Sotha and putting out the last bright embers of Imperium. Imperium that was before. Truly, even darker arc of Horus Heresy will start now.
All the characters from the previous arcs of Imperium Secundus are here. Primarchs and 'usual' legioners. Same as very interesting and ultradimensional characters of Guy Haley other HH shorts: Lucretius Corvo (from his previous commemoration and actions at Astagar) and lovely brotherly couple from the 'A Safe and Shadowed Place' short — Kellendvar and Kellenkir.
'Knowledge tyrannised him, and it would not let him sleep.' - that's how i was feeling moving through the pages.
Writing the main storyline, Guy Haley has written an epic story about the 'small' stuff. For example, he has shown in examplary fashion the life and death of an imperial fringe world, using Sotha. With it's architecture, infrastructure and people. Also he has gone a great length to describe the strife and fear of young scouts and all their 'road' to being full Astartes. Just check the quote:
«He was still amazed at the power he had been granted. Not very long ago he had had the spare muscles of any youth, but now his arms were thick and powerful. For the last two years synthetic biochemicals had driven his metabolism into overdrive. Supplementary organs moderated every aspect of his physiology. When their work was finished, they would bring perfection to the randomly created, misfiring systems of nature. What had taken millions of years to evolve into a clumsy, unfinished state, the Emperor had perfected in mere decades….»
Actually it also gives us one of the best depictions of how a simple human beings (soldier) sees SM in Horus Heresy times:
«Mericus had never been so terrified in his life. He had never felt completely at ease around the transhuman warriors of Ultramar. Nobody did. But to face a Space Marine coming at him in anger was an entirely different experience to awkwardly sharing a drink with one. He had become used to how big they were. Too used to it. The warrior coming at him was too huge to be called a man. His was the human form pushed to the limits of recognisability. The armour made him into something that, in earlier eras, would have had him classified as an armoured vehicle... The whole effect was one of massive, almost ridiculous overscaling.
This was a man distorted beyond the capacity of a normal mind to absorb. He was more than an ogre. More than the wildest story. There was simply too much of the «Space Marine to appear real. Everything about him was intended to inflict maximum damage to beings and machines far greater than a mere man. He was heavy, strong, fearless, unbelievably fast and utterly deadly….And he was coming for Mericus'».
Also, one of the best part of the book was the 'Probity' run. It was dreary. But as it's own, best kind. It was a great example of ambush and counter-ambush warfare in different conditions.
«…If this is a deliberate act, whoever set us this little dilemma is clever. They chose this spot, where we are spread thinnest. Theoretical – if we escort this wreck all the way, we will be leaving a big hole in the patrol net. They might be waiting for us to do exactly that, to follow us all the way home themselves»…
Reading that, I did remember that Guy Haley wrote an amazing 'Death of Integrity' with it's claustrophobic corridor war.
But the greatest achievement of Guy Haley as an author in it, is that he was able to show Space Marines Legiones from different point of views, and write down a great list of characters (new to us and previously used by the different authors).
In general, all the Ultramarines are shown as they always were: methodical thinkers and examplary fighters. Best of Ultramarines quote « I do not know whether to censure you or commend you». On the other hand — Night Lords have a cool opinion about the 'Ultrasmurfs' too: «Attention, my mighty Forty-Fifth. The bookkeepers of Macragge approach».
Their Primarch as well as NL father, totally insane Curze are depicted really well, with the essence of their souls right on the pages. But, from the Primarch side, 33rd novel gives us the best Sanguinius depiction to date in all the HH novels.
Proud, fearful, free and bound at the same time. His character is a true vision of predeterminism. Even if, as a true son of his father, he will never totally surrender to it. Even his quotes are beautiful:
«Please. I do not believe Father intended to sacrifice our entire species on the altar of His own apotheosis, I stand by His dreams still. But all this? Daemons? Gods? The things that He told us were not real are real. He must have known! If He had warned us, if He had told the truth, we could have armed ourselves against it. His lack of trust in us was His undoing.»
The dialog with Curze gives us even more insight into the psyche of a 'winged miracle':
«Did Horus seek out the darkness, or did it find him? You knew our brother – he was proud, and ambitious, but he was noble, and in many respects the best of us. If he was tempted in ignorance, then how could he have protected himself? There is more to this than Horus’ lust for power.»
But as with every character in any book — some feels alive, others had lesser screening time overall. Doesn't help that the novel itself tries too hard to make events flowing. Trying to unravel the mystery of the Pharos beacon; to make a rally point and future road for the VIII legion; to give heroes great cameos and indulge reader with great character of our old heroes and monsters. And of course tis a tale of insurmountable madness, darkness of the drearest kind and true evil (one way or another).
Which leads us to one of the novel biggest issues. Being awesome foray into the HH stuff the novel reverberate with the fact, that author was a little afraid of making a mistake and actually writing the novel in the setting with the Horus Heresy pedigree. As he said himself — due to 'fear of messing it up'. Plus even if he tried (as he mentioned in the afterword himself) — he wasn't very successful in making sons of Curze not a bloody fiends and moustache villains. At some points they always go beyond the edge with their abilities and characters.
But sometimes you do feel sorry for this maniacally bloody monsters, especially some greatly made characters like Painted Count or Headsman or warrior of 'dreadful epithets' Kellenkir.
«Gendor Skraivok... admired the stoicism of his warriors while it still lasted. He understood their poor humour. They had been promised freedom from a lying Emperor, and instead found themselves prisoners of their own ambitions, locked into ceramite cells aboard a dormant installation at the back end of nowhere.». Or - «His was not a happy company», or «You are a warrior worthy of the most dreadful epithets, Kellenkir, and my hatred of you is outweighed twice over by my appreciation of your talents.» How you wouldn't like this characters.
Even being a little bloody fiends, at the same time Night Lords in 'Pharos' feels really alive and that's would be my other praise for Guy Haley.
As 'philosopher' Skraivok has told himself: «They were monsters. He was a monster. How odd to view oneself so; no man ever sets out to be a monster, and yet here he was. Monstrous.Things cannot be any other way...»
Alas, as with all thing connected to predeterminism. there is always a choice, even a bad one. But that is still a choice, or desicion made by the other in your stead:
«Service without payment is slavery. I am slave of no man, nor ever shall be.»
The true antiheroe(s) of 'Pharos' is not the Night Lords Legion or Krukesh the Pale, Lord of Kyroptera, who leads invasion on Sotha, but brothers — Kellendvar and Kellenkir, the «lovely couple» from the 'A Safe and Shadowed Place' short. They show us in all it's dreary (Haley indeed love this word) horribleness the road by which a man becomes a monster. And author, intrigued with that line, deeply explore it.
«We are machines in the manufactories of war,’ hissed Kellenkir.»
Kellenkir pessimism, defitism and predeterminism are what driving him like the Legion's father Curze into the jaw of madness and to the total damnation:
«You speak of death as if it is a god… Oh, little brother, the Imperial Truth contained so many lies. There are gods. Look into the storm, and you will see their faces».
In the end, even his optimistic (ever dreamful) brother came up by conclusion that:
«Kellendvar had not sent his brother with the others for a very good reason. He would have tarried to kill and maim. Such propensity for bloodshed; for a long time he had thought Kellenkir insane. As he watched Kellenkir dabble his fingers in spilled blood and smear it across the plates of his armour, Kellendvar was beginning to think that was not the case.
He was beginning to fear that his brother was simply evil».
Nobody safe anymore in HH, as miserable fate of 3 (or more) characters will be shown to the reader. George Martin should be proud — he has a talented successor for his work ;)
Another good (that is debatable) point is the ending, mainly the Epilogue. Which sent ripples into the 41st millennium.
As a final thought — I can't recommend this novel high enough, cause it is awesome!
And as the final word about 'Pharos', I will give you the quote with the 'fun' depiction of Legions differences in warfare:
«They are going to make it,’ said Vorsh disbelievingly. They did not... ‘Well, that worked well,’ said Vorsh sarcastically. ‘Never mind, I never much liked Forvian».
January 4, 2016
Guy Haley makes his Heresy debut with aplomb; presenting us with an alternately action packed and characterful novel. Whether it's taking a look at the ever fraught court politics of Imperium Secundus or presenting us with a brutal insight into the fractured and ever more malevolent Night Lords, he holds both attention and a good few continuing plot threads with deft hands.
Haley presents characters that we care about or are interested in seeing more of; from the humble human auxiliaries on Sotha up to a member of the new Kyroptera who try to manage the Night Lords. It is especially nice to see him picking up characters from his own previous shorts (A Safe and Shadowed Place, Laurel of Defiance), as well as those of others. This story engages with the enigma of the Pharos in ways that mirror things to come in the future of 40k, as well as mining the distant past for answers. It also gives us the focus on affairs on Macragge that Deathfire lacked, taking us straight into the heads of some of he major players.
All in all, for the man's first Heresy novel, Haley is to be congratulated. His previous works were all of a quality that I enjoyed, and this is no different. I look forward to seeing more of his work in the Heresy as we plunge towards The Gauntlet.
Haley presents characters that we care about or are interested in seeing more of; from the humble human auxiliaries on Sotha up to a member of the new Kyroptera who try to manage the Night Lords. It is especially nice to see him picking up characters from his own previous shorts (A Safe and Shadowed Place, Laurel of Defiance), as well as those of others. This story engages with the enigma of the Pharos in ways that mirror things to come in the future of 40k, as well as mining the distant past for answers. It also gives us the focus on affairs on Macragge that Deathfire lacked, taking us straight into the heads of some of he major players.
All in all, for the man's first Heresy novel, Haley is to be congratulated. His previous works were all of a quality that I enjoyed, and this is no different. I look forward to seeing more of his work in the Heresy as we plunge towards The Gauntlet.
January 2, 2016
After two relatively stagnant years without any truly remarkable additions after The Unremembered Empire, and with an exception for Anthony Reynolds’ excellent novella The Purge, the Horus Heresy makes a comeback.
And what a triumph of a comeback Pharos was. As one light dies within the story, another shines brightly, and that’s Guy Haley. Having singled the author out since The Shards of Erebus in Mark of Calth, my only thought at the time had been, “this guy’s a genius at characterization”.
You can imagine my delight when I began Pharos and found the same ingenuity within. Pharos has a cohesive plot without unnecessary complexities, relies entirely upon its rich cast of characters and their autonomous choices, and boasts a style of writing seldom seen in the Horus Heresy.
Mr Haley’s writing is largely dialogue-driven. It does not allow for the reader to get bored. It’s crisp and flows naturally. The amount of detail is measured to be interesting and offer insight into the world, but not tire the reader with things they can imagine for themselves.
A thing that’s always admirable in any book is restraint. Restraint in its imagery, expression, plot devices. More specifically in the Horus Heresy, restraint in the description of gratuitous “badass” violence, and the use of Primarchs. Guy Haley succeeds in both those.
…You know where he doesn’t practice restraint? Death. Death and breaking your heart. And he does it in an exemplary manner, over and over again. So… Thanks a lot about that, Mr Haley. Thanks. And thank you for all the realistic, and unglorified deaths.
On a different note, I feel that his portrayal of the Night Lords is perhaps the best one so far. They are the nasty hive-world gangers that they were always meant to be, despicable and dark, yet bickering and hilarious. The Ultramarines are the efficient, honourable and intelligent force we have grown to adore. The highlight though, is the humans of the novel, and particularly Sergeant Mericus. Congrats for making a human, a totally normal human, that is a badass, has reactions different to the standard “wet yourself and scream” upon seeing an Astartes, and actually survives more than one chapter.
The plot was easy to follow, hooking, and entirely character-driven, which was refreshing. The tension piles and piles up, and all the expectations built are eventually met, in an explosive finale that marks the end of an entire Horus Heresy arc. It does not fail to examine deeper themes as well, such as fate, mortality and morality, fear and the lack of it, and it does so with enough subtlety to allow the reader a conclusion of their own.
Special kudos for:
a) How the Pharos is handled, start to finish.
b) The depictions of the demon and the Ruinstorm.
c) “We float for Macragge.”
d) Curze and Sanguinius.
e) Spoiler: The deaths of Sigma and Sergeant Arkus.
f) That utterly chilling epilogue.
The novel gets a 10/10. Here’s to hoping for more stuff like this from Guy Haley and the entire Horus Heresy team.
And what a triumph of a comeback Pharos was. As one light dies within the story, another shines brightly, and that’s Guy Haley. Having singled the author out since The Shards of Erebus in Mark of Calth, my only thought at the time had been, “this guy’s a genius at characterization”.
You can imagine my delight when I began Pharos and found the same ingenuity within. Pharos has a cohesive plot without unnecessary complexities, relies entirely upon its rich cast of characters and their autonomous choices, and boasts a style of writing seldom seen in the Horus Heresy.
Mr Haley’s writing is largely dialogue-driven. It does not allow for the reader to get bored. It’s crisp and flows naturally. The amount of detail is measured to be interesting and offer insight into the world, but not tire the reader with things they can imagine for themselves.
A thing that’s always admirable in any book is restraint. Restraint in its imagery, expression, plot devices. More specifically in the Horus Heresy, restraint in the description of gratuitous “badass” violence, and the use of Primarchs. Guy Haley succeeds in both those.
…You know where he doesn’t practice restraint? Death. Death and breaking your heart. And he does it in an exemplary manner, over and over again. So… Thanks a lot about that, Mr Haley. Thanks. And thank you for all the realistic, and unglorified deaths.
On a different note, I feel that his portrayal of the Night Lords is perhaps the best one so far. They are the nasty hive-world gangers that they were always meant to be, despicable and dark, yet bickering and hilarious. The Ultramarines are the efficient, honourable and intelligent force we have grown to adore. The highlight though, is the humans of the novel, and particularly Sergeant Mericus. Congrats for making a human, a totally normal human, that is a badass, has reactions different to the standard “wet yourself and scream” upon seeing an Astartes, and actually survives more than one chapter.
The plot was easy to follow, hooking, and entirely character-driven, which was refreshing. The tension piles and piles up, and all the expectations built are eventually met, in an explosive finale that marks the end of an entire Horus Heresy arc. It does not fail to examine deeper themes as well, such as fate, mortality and morality, fear and the lack of it, and it does so with enough subtlety to allow the reader a conclusion of their own.
Special kudos for:
a) How the Pharos is handled, start to finish.
b) The depictions of the demon and the Ruinstorm.
c) “We float for Macragge.”
d) Curze and Sanguinius.
e) Spoiler: The deaths of Sigma and Sergeant Arkus.
f) That utterly chilling epilogue.
The novel gets a 10/10. Here’s to hoping for more stuff like this from Guy Haley and the entire Horus Heresy team.
February 24, 2024
7,5/10
Hablando durante las navidades con un amigo sobre este mundillo, me volvió a picar el gusanillo de esta saga, la cual la tenía abandonada desde hace años, y creo que este parón me ha venido genial.
Pharos, como la mayoría de novelas de esta saga a esta altura, es una historia de transición, aunque tiene su importancia a la hora del devenir de la gran batalla en Terra.
A su favor tiene la gran cantidad de acción, la aparición de muchos primarcas y como a pesar de las buenas intenciones de Guilliman, igual esta vez se haya equivocado.
He tirado un poco en falta más protagonismo de los Ángeles Sangrientos, que son una de mis legiones favoritas, top3 seguro, y que en esta historia aparecen muy en segundo plano.
Mientras la fe del Emperador siga en mi, continuaré con la saga.
PD: No cuento demasiado de la historia para no meter spoilers y porque la sinopsis ya narra los eventos principales.
Hablando durante las navidades con un amigo sobre este mundillo, me volvió a picar el gusanillo de esta saga, la cual la tenía abandonada desde hace años, y creo que este parón me ha venido genial.
Pharos, como la mayoría de novelas de esta saga a esta altura, es una historia de transición, aunque tiene su importancia a la hora del devenir de la gran batalla en Terra.
A su favor tiene la gran cantidad de acción, la aparición de muchos primarcas y como a pesar de las buenas intenciones de Guilliman, igual esta vez se haya equivocado.
He tirado un poco en falta más protagonismo de los Ángeles Sangrientos, que son una de mis legiones favoritas, top3 seguro, y que en esta historia aparecen muy en segundo plano.
Mientras la fe del Emperador siga en mi, continuaré con la saga.
PD: No cuento demasiado de la historia para no meter spoilers y porque la sinopsis ya narra los eventos principales.
December 27, 2015
The book came out as an e-book yesterday, and I finished it today. It's the direct sequel to "Unremembered Empire" and while it's useful to have listened to the audiobook "Herald of Sanguinius" it's not required. It also is starting to line up our characters for the return to Terra and Aaron Dembski-Bowden is working on a novel entitled "Master of Mankind".
So it's Ultramarines vs Night Lords in the battle for the Pharos on Sotha. There's plenty of action, much of it from the point of view of some Ultramarine Scouts as well as plain old humans. There's blood and sacrifice, but be warned, there's also lots of Night Lords doing Night Lord things, which is pretty stomach-churning.
Lastly, Sanguinius is in a good chunk of the book, and Guy Haley seems to have the best handle on his personality than any other author. Andy Smillie hasn't done badly, but in Guy Haley's hands the full depth of his conflicted character emerges. Haley has a knack for showing Sanguinius as very birdlike, and it's kind of funny.
Lion El'Jonson retains my title of Worst Primarch Ever.
So it's Ultramarines vs Night Lords in the battle for the Pharos on Sotha. There's plenty of action, much of it from the point of view of some Ultramarine Scouts as well as plain old humans. There's blood and sacrifice, but be warned, there's also lots of Night Lords doing Night Lord things, which is pretty stomach-churning.
Lastly, Sanguinius is in a good chunk of the book, and Guy Haley seems to have the best handle on his personality than any other author. Andy Smillie hasn't done badly, but in Guy Haley's hands the full depth of his conflicted character emerges. Haley has a knack for showing Sanguinius as very birdlike, and it's kind of funny.
Lion El'Jonson retains my title of Worst Primarch Ever.
May 9, 2017
Well I just finished this, the 34th installment in the Horus Heresy series. This book was really awesome! What lies within these pages is the tale of the Imperium Secundus, wherein the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, ruled by Primarch Roboute Guilliman of the Ultramarines becomes victim to the Night Lords legion. Sanguinius, put in charge as the new Emperor, as news assumed from the three Primarchs within the new Imperium has forced the decision to be made, has taken over, reluctantly. As Primarch of the Blood Angels legion, he is no stranger to power but is not comfortable with total power. The Lion, Primarch of the Dark Angels legion, and Protector of the Realm, as appointed by Sanguinius is also present, though he is seeking the Night Lords Primarch, Konrad Curze, the Night Haunter. He has no idea his sons have come through the Ruinstorm, engineered by Erebus, a traitor marine serving Horus, to attack the Five Hundred Worlds.
The Night Lords discover the Pharos, an ancient xenos machine capable of communicating almost like the Astronomican from Holy Terra does. They assault the planet holding the ancient device within a protective mountain range, and are much more numerous than the few forces occupying the fortress/mountain. They destroy the capital city of Sotha, the planet holding the Pharos. The Night Lords are known for their torture and bloodletting, and this is in full force after they divide and conquer.
The Imperial Fist legionnaire, Captain Polux works inside the Pharos, with an ancient and very old and damaged Warsmith of the Iron Warriors who did not side with Horus as the rest of his legion did. He has worked out a good bit of how the Pharos works, and yet knows still nowhere near enough. Together the Warsmith Dantioch and Captain Polux manage to do what no one else had ever been able to; they figure out how to aim and use the Pharos to give information to Roboute Guilliman and let him and others know the planet Sotha has been invaded. Plans are put in place and defenders, meager in number to the Night Lords, begin to travel to Sotha.
This book was a joy to read and was filled with so much to fill the mind. The machinations of the evil traitor Night Lords, the planning and adherence to planning and protocol of the Ultramarines, as well as a great side story of the Sothan Auxillia, the planetary defense troops. Add another plot line about a group of Neophyte Ultramarine Scouts led into battle by their venerable and respected Sergeant Arkus, and there is almost too much going on here. I loved every minute of it!
There is a tense confrontation between Sanguinius and the Night Haunter, wherein he causes mayhem and then runs away, yet again unscathed. The friendship and brotherhood displayed between Captain Polux and Warsmith Dantioch is an absolute gem within these pages. There is absolutely nothing that a 40k fan or a fan of the Horus Heresy books will find lacking here. This is surely on par with the earlier books, and the author, Mr. Haley has really turned up the heat and extended the storytelling here to the Nth degree. The worse part of this book was finishing it, I swear! I wanted another 500 pages!
Danny
The Night Lords discover the Pharos, an ancient xenos machine capable of communicating almost like the Astronomican from Holy Terra does. They assault the planet holding the ancient device within a protective mountain range, and are much more numerous than the few forces occupying the fortress/mountain. They destroy the capital city of Sotha, the planet holding the Pharos. The Night Lords are known for their torture and bloodletting, and this is in full force after they divide and conquer.
The Imperial Fist legionnaire, Captain Polux works inside the Pharos, with an ancient and very old and damaged Warsmith of the Iron Warriors who did not side with Horus as the rest of his legion did. He has worked out a good bit of how the Pharos works, and yet knows still nowhere near enough. Together the Warsmith Dantioch and Captain Polux manage to do what no one else had ever been able to; they figure out how to aim and use the Pharos to give information to Roboute Guilliman and let him and others know the planet Sotha has been invaded. Plans are put in place and defenders, meager in number to the Night Lords, begin to travel to Sotha.
This book was a joy to read and was filled with so much to fill the mind. The machinations of the evil traitor Night Lords, the planning and adherence to planning and protocol of the Ultramarines, as well as a great side story of the Sothan Auxillia, the planetary defense troops. Add another plot line about a group of Neophyte Ultramarine Scouts led into battle by their venerable and respected Sergeant Arkus, and there is almost too much going on here. I loved every minute of it!
There is a tense confrontation between Sanguinius and the Night Haunter, wherein he causes mayhem and then runs away, yet again unscathed. The friendship and brotherhood displayed between Captain Polux and Warsmith Dantioch is an absolute gem within these pages. There is absolutely nothing that a 40k fan or a fan of the Horus Heresy books will find lacking here. This is surely on par with the earlier books, and the author, Mr. Haley has really turned up the heat and extended the storytelling here to the Nth degree. The worse part of this book was finishing it, I swear! I wanted another 500 pages!
Danny
June 12, 2017
This entry into the series made me smile. It was reminiscent of the earlier works that included the actual storyline and a set of old characters who get some time on stage alongside a new set of red shirts who get erased just after you begin to care for them.
I am kind of sick of Ultramar, honestly, ever since Know No Fear it has been all Ultramar all Imperium Secundus all the time. Yes, that is clearly a large portion of this tale, but as the Python's liked to say, "Get on with it!"
This novel had some excellent interactions with Primarch characters. I love it when these authors tackle the Primarchs and breathe life into these 20 dudes who, let's be honest, I do not suppose were this deep when GW invented them in with the game. I loved the chapter that revolved around Sanguinius interacting with Kurze. That was riveting to me and something this series needs so much more of. Guy Haley ALMOST scratched the surface of making CK a little sympathetic! Madness.
Guy Haley had some great moments and this novel gave me hope that the coming Dark Imperium novel that will explain the resurrection of Roboute will be a good read.
I gave this novel four stars because of some good character writing and having the story move back on track. If nothing else, it seems like Guy has at least READ the other HH novels and cares to pull on those threads that need pulling. After a set of Anthologies...and another to come next...stuff like this novel stand out like a Beacon in the void....see what I did there?
I am kind of sick of Ultramar, honestly, ever since Know No Fear it has been all Ultramar all Imperium Secundus all the time. Yes, that is clearly a large portion of this tale, but as the Python's liked to say, "Get on with it!"
This novel had some excellent interactions with Primarch characters. I love it when these authors tackle the Primarchs and breathe life into these 20 dudes who, let's be honest, I do not suppose were this deep when GW invented them in with the game. I loved the chapter that revolved around Sanguinius interacting with Kurze. That was riveting to me and something this series needs so much more of. Guy Haley ALMOST scratched the surface of making CK a little sympathetic! Madness.
Guy Haley had some great moments and this novel gave me hope that the coming Dark Imperium novel that will explain the resurrection of Roboute will be a good read.
I gave this novel four stars because of some good character writing and having the story move back on track. If nothing else, it seems like Guy has at least READ the other HH novels and cares to pull on those threads that need pulling. After a set of Anthologies...and another to come next...stuff like this novel stand out like a Beacon in the void....see what I did there?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2016
Much like David Annandale, Guy Haley is proving to be one of those authors my opinion has gradually shifted on. Despite the utter contempt I held towards Death of Integrity, his surprising success with Baneblade and later Valedor proved that he was a reliable author in his own right, capable of forging great stories. Now, with Pharos, we have some of his best work to date and a great spin on several major legions.
The story here focuses upon the Imperium Secundus once again and the world of Sotha, the lynchpin to Guilliman’s new empire. Cut off from the outside world, loyalist forces seek to utilise the xenos beacon installation in order to seek out the remaining loyalists and expand their sphere of influence past the Ruinstorm. Yet, even as they take their first steps towards truly controlling the facility, Pharos has gained undue attention. Arriving in force, the Night Lords legion seeks to break the loyalist hold on the world and take the facility for their own ends…
After several novellas and a multitude of anthologies, readers were getting understandably antsy that the story was slowly grinding to a halt as authors sought to expand upon this era. While this was by no means an entirely bad thing, and introduced many fantastic new tales and ideas, the lack of visible progression for several years was understandably infuriating. Those same readers will be happy to know that Pharos sets the wheels in motion once more, and begins to gradually push things towards the battle of Terra.
While the focus is still placed squarely upon the Imperium Secundus, many focal elements tie into the wider war in the galaxy and tying up certain plot threads. This is worthy of note as Haley manages to achieve this, alongside tying into multiple short-stories, while making the work relatively self contained. While it certainly benefits from reading many of those works, unlike Vengeful Spirit the story never feels overstuffed or creaking under its own weight. After several such books suffering from those difficulties, it’s a very welcome change to see an author carefully handle these elements while ensuring the story remains relatively streamlined.
A big part of what helps make this book surprisingly accessible is its new ensemble of characters. While several prominent figures are carried over from past books, the vast bulk of the Night Lords and prominent Ultramarines are relatively new, most having only briefly featured in one of Haley’s prior short stories. This offers them far less baggage to work with, but Haley nevertheless manages to make them extremely compelling, especially the contrasting nature of the Night Lords themselves. Each manages to reflect a different aspect of the legion, but retains their own identity without risking turning into a shadow of First Claw. Furthermore, their individual arcs within this book have a distinct beginning and ending with little left to carry on elsewhere, allowing this to more easily serve as a point for someone to jump back onto the series without compromising the Horus Heresy’s typically high quality storytelling.
The actual contrast between many of the characters is remarkably striking, and allows for fantastically introspective and contrasting moments, especially between Dantioch and the traitor legions. These moments are rare, but they’re added in just enough to keep you engaged and reading without it ever seeming as if one side is too familiar with the other. It’s one of the best examples of balancing these elements with internal character dynamics since Storm of Iron. Even when the story can’t resort to that, the methods they develop to fight one another are enough to keep you reading. As a small aside, it’s also worthy of mentioning that Haley has the Night Lords lose without them seeming overly weak. Thanks to their most interesting stories stemming from their flaws, more than a few Night Lords tales have them being routed by more disciplined legions, often the Ultramarines or their successors in particular. While that corruption is evident, they still hit hard and pull off multiple victories which help prove just why they’re such a terrifying force to behold.
The action in question is most definitely tempered in Haley’s style. It lacks some of the bombastic, punchy lines and descriptions of other long serving authors but there’s a grace to this simplicity. It’s a nice change of pace with the story offering just enough general descriptive information to allow the reader to build a general image in their head and focusing upon the core combat. This might sound a little like what has been criticised of Gav Thorpe in the past, but there’s a broader spectrum to events. Even when he is pinning down fighting to a key event or engagement, it’s never limited to just a few characters and rarely loses any sense of scale. It’s a big improvement over several such problems found within Death of Integrity, and allows for far smoother transitions between combat scenes than you’d normally find in the average Black Library release.
A few older issues do sadly hang over the story, some of which are emblematic of his overall style. For starters, the dialogue and sentence structure of his characters is oddly skewed and almost clipped in a few ways, shortened to very brief statements. This is most evident with the Ultramarines themselves, especially the theoretical/practical elements which have become such a key part of them in recent years, but even dialogue from mortal characters does not flow quite so well as with other authors. While he can certainly nail rough around the edges or easy going figures and posthuman super-soldiers, there seems to be little middle-ground between the two.
What’s more, Haley’s take on certain characters fails to really gel with certain other depictions. Much like McNeill’s take of a reluctant and introspective Perturabo contrasted with John French’s homicidal madman of a primarch, several characters here are the antithesis of their previous depictions. This is most evident when Dantioch makes his first appearance, behaving in an oddly enthusiastic and upbeat manner for a dying Iron Warrior and Polux has a few similar moments alongside this. While there are very few which stand out besides these two, the fact both are such core characters in this book only makes the shift all the more noticeable and oddly jarring. Plus, it doesn’t help that Haley still has this habit of dropping the occasional massive plot-shifting bombshell in the wrong place or underplaying it until it lacks substantial impact.
For all its problems though, Pharos remains a very entertaining read and an excellent return to form for the Horus Heresy series. Those of you who fell behind or stopped paying these books your full attention around Unremembered Empire, now is the time to get back into this franchise. Definitely give this one a good look, but just be mindful that it’s not entirely perfect.
The story here focuses upon the Imperium Secundus once again and the world of Sotha, the lynchpin to Guilliman’s new empire. Cut off from the outside world, loyalist forces seek to utilise the xenos beacon installation in order to seek out the remaining loyalists and expand their sphere of influence past the Ruinstorm. Yet, even as they take their first steps towards truly controlling the facility, Pharos has gained undue attention. Arriving in force, the Night Lords legion seeks to break the loyalist hold on the world and take the facility for their own ends…
After several novellas and a multitude of anthologies, readers were getting understandably antsy that the story was slowly grinding to a halt as authors sought to expand upon this era. While this was by no means an entirely bad thing, and introduced many fantastic new tales and ideas, the lack of visible progression for several years was understandably infuriating. Those same readers will be happy to know that Pharos sets the wheels in motion once more, and begins to gradually push things towards the battle of Terra.
While the focus is still placed squarely upon the Imperium Secundus, many focal elements tie into the wider war in the galaxy and tying up certain plot threads. This is worthy of note as Haley manages to achieve this, alongside tying into multiple short-stories, while making the work relatively self contained. While it certainly benefits from reading many of those works, unlike Vengeful Spirit the story never feels overstuffed or creaking under its own weight. After several such books suffering from those difficulties, it’s a very welcome change to see an author carefully handle these elements while ensuring the story remains relatively streamlined.
A big part of what helps make this book surprisingly accessible is its new ensemble of characters. While several prominent figures are carried over from past books, the vast bulk of the Night Lords and prominent Ultramarines are relatively new, most having only briefly featured in one of Haley’s prior short stories. This offers them far less baggage to work with, but Haley nevertheless manages to make them extremely compelling, especially the contrasting nature of the Night Lords themselves. Each manages to reflect a different aspect of the legion, but retains their own identity without risking turning into a shadow of First Claw. Furthermore, their individual arcs within this book have a distinct beginning and ending with little left to carry on elsewhere, allowing this to more easily serve as a point for someone to jump back onto the series without compromising the Horus Heresy’s typically high quality storytelling.
The actual contrast between many of the characters is remarkably striking, and allows for fantastically introspective and contrasting moments, especially between Dantioch and the traitor legions. These moments are rare, but they’re added in just enough to keep you engaged and reading without it ever seeming as if one side is too familiar with the other. It’s one of the best examples of balancing these elements with internal character dynamics since Storm of Iron. Even when the story can’t resort to that, the methods they develop to fight one another are enough to keep you reading. As a small aside, it’s also worthy of mentioning that Haley has the Night Lords lose without them seeming overly weak. Thanks to their most interesting stories stemming from their flaws, more than a few Night Lords tales have them being routed by more disciplined legions, often the Ultramarines or their successors in particular. While that corruption is evident, they still hit hard and pull off multiple victories which help prove just why they’re such a terrifying force to behold.
The action in question is most definitely tempered in Haley’s style. It lacks some of the bombastic, punchy lines and descriptions of other long serving authors but there’s a grace to this simplicity. It’s a nice change of pace with the story offering just enough general descriptive information to allow the reader to build a general image in their head and focusing upon the core combat. This might sound a little like what has been criticised of Gav Thorpe in the past, but there’s a broader spectrum to events. Even when he is pinning down fighting to a key event or engagement, it’s never limited to just a few characters and rarely loses any sense of scale. It’s a big improvement over several such problems found within Death of Integrity, and allows for far smoother transitions between combat scenes than you’d normally find in the average Black Library release.
A few older issues do sadly hang over the story, some of which are emblematic of his overall style. For starters, the dialogue and sentence structure of his characters is oddly skewed and almost clipped in a few ways, shortened to very brief statements. This is most evident with the Ultramarines themselves, especially the theoretical/practical elements which have become such a key part of them in recent years, but even dialogue from mortal characters does not flow quite so well as with other authors. While he can certainly nail rough around the edges or easy going figures and posthuman super-soldiers, there seems to be little middle-ground between the two.
What’s more, Haley’s take on certain characters fails to really gel with certain other depictions. Much like McNeill’s take of a reluctant and introspective Perturabo contrasted with John French’s homicidal madman of a primarch, several characters here are the antithesis of their previous depictions. This is most evident when Dantioch makes his first appearance, behaving in an oddly enthusiastic and upbeat manner for a dying Iron Warrior and Polux has a few similar moments alongside this. While there are very few which stand out besides these two, the fact both are such core characters in this book only makes the shift all the more noticeable and oddly jarring. Plus, it doesn’t help that Haley still has this habit of dropping the occasional massive plot-shifting bombshell in the wrong place or underplaying it until it lacks substantial impact.
For all its problems though, Pharos remains a very entertaining read and an excellent return to form for the Horus Heresy series. Those of you who fell behind or stopped paying these books your full attention around Unremembered Empire, now is the time to get back into this franchise. Definitely give this one a good look, but just be mindful that it’s not entirely perfect.
January 29, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed Pharos. Not a short book, but I would have welcomed a few extra hours of reading to flesh out some of the great supporting characters. The relationships between Arkus and the neophytes, and Dantioch and Polux displayed a more compassionate side of the Astartes, which was done well but I wanted more of it. I liked the story arc with Sergeant Mericus and his squad because it felt like once the night sky started to light up, the music died and it was in fact not going to be a chill weekend after all, but they still pulled through.
I found it interesting reading this after Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work, since it covers events that will happen on Sotha 10,000 years in the future. Lastly, I did not expect the epilogue but was pleasantly surprised by it and the entirety of this book.
I found it interesting reading this after Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work, since it covers events that will happen on Sotha 10,000 years in the future. Lastly, I did not expect the epilogue but was pleasantly surprised by it and the entirety of this book.
April 23, 2023
I don't have too much to say about this one. I didn't find it great but it also wasn't bad. The first half the book I found slow and boring but it picked up a little. Had some good primarch fights. Features heaps on the night lords and curze so if your a big fan of that faction you will probably like it more then me.
April 26, 2016
Oh man, I really don't know where to begin. I've been a fan of Guy Haley's various warhammer fiction for quite some time now, though I have definitely not read all of it yet. He shows a remarkable talent for storytelling and creating exceedingly awesome character(or making them into one!). Pharos is Guy's first novel length release for the massive Horus Heresy series, and he does not disappoint. While the novel certainly starts off a little slowly with build up and character/world building, I still felt that the story was told in such a way that every single page was enjoyable. The pacing of the story was perfectly done(though I wish it was longer!), the characters were both immensely fun and extremely relatable, and the action was just out of this world.
The characters in this story were the highlight for me. Guy Haley really did a fantastic job with taking over the already developed characters. Daniotoch and Polux were some of my favourites, being the the team taking operating and taking care of the Pharos, they featured pretty heavily in the novel and it is was glorious. The unlikely team were a pure joy to read throughout the whole book, from the friendly jibes to the stark differences in thinking between these 2 supposed arch-enemies. Their whole story was amazing, and I really can't wait to see where else they go with them. The Night Lords were amazingly done, and it was really nice to see a new author take them on and really do them justice. I liked Guy's take on them even more than ADB's if I'm honest. While I loved seeing the very monsterous and hilariously sadistic/sarcastic Night Lords in ADB's previous works, Guy brought in a sort of humanity to them. You could see their humanity a fair bit more. You could see the man beneath the monster, and how that monster really came to be. They were all amazing in their own way really. From the Kellen Brothers, to the Painted Count and Krukesh the Pale they were all intensely fun, and profoundly relatable in ways that really make me happy for the future of BL. On the loyalist side of things, my biggest surprise was the Sothan Irregulars and Sergeant Mericus. While I can certainly enjoy a good regular humans in 40k, generally I don't care for them much because they're generally relatively boring compared to the numerous other faction in warhammer. But these guys, oh man these bastards were so fucking cool. I cannot express how awesome they were, or how well done their story arc was. By the Gods, what a treat!
To finish up, on the superhuman side of Imperum Secondus, I felt Guy did a great job with Guillimen. Showing his intensely calculating nature whole also having huge swathes of emotion thrown in that felt extremely natural. I felt probably my favourite part of the novel was the fateful meeting between Sanguinius and The Night Haunter. I don't want to say anything to spoil it for anyone, but God Damn Guy Haley!
So, all in all? Easily one of my absolute favourite HH releases. Period.
The characters in this story were the highlight for me. Guy Haley really did a fantastic job with taking over the already developed characters. Daniotoch and Polux were some of my favourites, being the the team taking operating and taking care of the Pharos, they featured pretty heavily in the novel and it is was glorious. The unlikely team were a pure joy to read throughout the whole book, from the friendly jibes to the stark differences in thinking between these 2 supposed arch-enemies. Their whole story was amazing, and I really can't wait to see where else they go with them. The Night Lords were amazingly done, and it was really nice to see a new author take them on and really do them justice. I liked Guy's take on them even more than ADB's if I'm honest. While I loved seeing the very monsterous and hilariously sadistic/sarcastic Night Lords in ADB's previous works, Guy brought in a sort of humanity to them. You could see their humanity a fair bit more. You could see the man beneath the monster, and how that monster really came to be. They were all amazing in their own way really. From the Kellen Brothers, to the Painted Count and Krukesh the Pale they were all intensely fun, and profoundly relatable in ways that really make me happy for the future of BL. On the loyalist side of things, my biggest surprise was the Sothan Irregulars and Sergeant Mericus. While I can certainly enjoy a good regular humans in 40k, generally I don't care for them much because they're generally relatively boring compared to the numerous other faction in warhammer. But these guys, oh man these bastards were so fucking cool. I cannot express how awesome they were, or how well done their story arc was. By the Gods, what a treat!
To finish up, on the superhuman side of Imperum Secondus, I felt Guy did a great job with Guillimen. Showing his intensely calculating nature whole also having huge swathes of emotion thrown in that felt extremely natural. I felt probably my favourite part of the novel was the fateful meeting between Sanguinius and The Night Haunter. I don't want to say anything to spoil it for anyone, but God Damn Guy Haley!
So, all in all? Easily one of my absolute favourite HH releases. Period.
April 9, 2024
April 2024 Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order Omnibus XIII Imperium Secondus I Hope's Kindling (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus series and extras.
This is a lot of fun with somewhat vacillating quality and a run time and climax that didn't quite live up to the vaunted heights of some of its parts.
Imperium Secondus endures under the empathic and alien light of the Pharos Beacon, despite there being a Nighthaunter on the loose and an Emperor Regent who doesn't seem to be doing anything or even around. It sure would be bad if there were a huge amount of Night Lords just chilling in their safe space and itching to attack...
I had a lot of fun with this. You can tell because I've said that phrase a ridiculous amount of times now. There's a lot to love and a few things to criticise, but I think I feel more critical because it was so close to being absolutely spectacular.
Guymer writes dialogue and drama superbly. I had only read their short stories and listened to audio dramas before (maybe a Primarchs book, I forget all of them apart from the few I loved) and my enjoyment waxed and waned, but the writing was always good, so I was genuinely fascinated to see what their Horus Heresy novel would be like.
The way they handle the various massive players and the various disparate groups and events in this is seriously impressive. This is a book with some big figures and very different groups, from Guilliman, Sanguinius, and Nighthaunter to the variously representated Legions, auxiliary guard, neophytes, and the lovely, old odd couple of Pollux and Dantioc. Everyone feels substantial and unique with some truly impressive dramatic moments and dialogue. Guymer excels in displaying a different side of the Primarchs without losing them feeling like them, Sanguinius in being a bit sooky and over it, Guilliman being less controlled, Nighthaunter seeming to really speak from the heart and reach out.
Carrying on the story from the hugely respected Dan Abnett is no small ask, but the fidelity to The Unremembered Empire, while telling a new story is impressive.
One thing that seems rather unique to Guymer is his ability to insert humour into the text in a way that feels natural and represents a bit more of the silly side of Warhammer, while maintaining the overall grimdark tone, somewhat like the artistic sensibilities of John Blanche who was instrumental in forging the aesthetics and timbre of the Dark Millennia. I genuinely chuckled a couple of times. It's not like there's big jokes or that it's jarring of anything. It's just that Guymer clearly has an understanding of that element of Warhammer and a penchant to play around with it in a way that i think really works.
The action and horrifying details of the Night Lords' exploits are all pretty great.
In terms of things I'm more critical of, I felt like the end wound up being a little protracted and unsatisfying. I really got the impression from the stories leading up to the novel that the underground was going to have more going on with it. I really though there was going to be some Junji Ito creepyness down there that would lead to some kind of Come the Apocalypse allies index team up. I didn't need to be right, but it did seem like the end could have done with something else, especially as it felt like it took a long time to wind down to the climax, rather than building momentum.
One small element I really didn't appreciate, though I truly believe it is a matter of ignorance, rather than malice, is the liberal use of the word "cripple" when describing the injuries, needs, and disabilities of Dantioc, particularly in the passive narration. It's just not an appropriate word to be applying and it's a failure of knowledge and understanding on the part of Guymer and the editors.
The handling of the tragic part at the end is really lovely and I definitely felt some things, I really shouldn't complain. But, I really wanted it to break my heart and it just didn't. It was still very good, but auntie needs her tears!
Ultimately, while this is by no means a perfect book, it's a thoroughly entertaining one and just...impressively nice and good for how rough some of the things that go down are. There's no doubt that Guymer committed to the awfulness and vacillating competency we have come to expect from the VIII Legion. There's very obvious love and care in here and I really appreciate it.
The post credits reveal was a nice jaw dropping moment and I think that maybe something related being somehow dormant and released by all the use of the Pharos could have added something to the close, but nevertheless it was a cool reveal.
Good novel is good.
***
I had a lot of fun with this one, especially with some of the dramatic moments and quality of the dialogue and characterisations. I do think it felt a bit too long and kinda petered out a bit with a spicy kick right at the close.
More thoughts when I've processed and have more brain.
Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 24.41 Horus Heresy novels, 14 novellas (including 1 repeat), 79 short stories/ audio dramas (including 5 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 13 Primarchs novels, 4 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.
This is a lot of fun with somewhat vacillating quality and a run time and climax that didn't quite live up to the vaunted heights of some of its parts.
Imperium Secondus endures under the empathic and alien light of the Pharos Beacon, despite there being a Nighthaunter on the loose and an Emperor Regent who doesn't seem to be doing anything or even around. It sure would be bad if there were a huge amount of Night Lords just chilling in their safe space and itching to attack...
I had a lot of fun with this. You can tell because I've said that phrase a ridiculous amount of times now. There's a lot to love and a few things to criticise, but I think I feel more critical because it was so close to being absolutely spectacular.
Guymer writes dialogue and drama superbly. I had only read their short stories and listened to audio dramas before (maybe a Primarchs book, I forget all of them apart from the few I loved) and my enjoyment waxed and waned, but the writing was always good, so I was genuinely fascinated to see what their Horus Heresy novel would be like.
The way they handle the various massive players and the various disparate groups and events in this is seriously impressive. This is a book with some big figures and very different groups, from Guilliman, Sanguinius, and Nighthaunter to the variously representated Legions, auxiliary guard, neophytes, and the lovely, old odd couple of Pollux and Dantioc. Everyone feels substantial and unique with some truly impressive dramatic moments and dialogue. Guymer excels in displaying a different side of the Primarchs without losing them feeling like them, Sanguinius in being a bit sooky and over it, Guilliman being less controlled, Nighthaunter seeming to really speak from the heart and reach out.
Carrying on the story from the hugely respected Dan Abnett is no small ask, but the fidelity to The Unremembered Empire, while telling a new story is impressive.
One thing that seems rather unique to Guymer is his ability to insert humour into the text in a way that feels natural and represents a bit more of the silly side of Warhammer, while maintaining the overall grimdark tone, somewhat like the artistic sensibilities of John Blanche who was instrumental in forging the aesthetics and timbre of the Dark Millennia. I genuinely chuckled a couple of times. It's not like there's big jokes or that it's jarring of anything. It's just that Guymer clearly has an understanding of that element of Warhammer and a penchant to play around with it in a way that i think really works.
The action and horrifying details of the Night Lords' exploits are all pretty great.
In terms of things I'm more critical of, I felt like the end wound up being a little protracted and unsatisfying. I really got the impression from the stories leading up to the novel that the underground was going to have more going on with it. I really though there was going to be some Junji Ito creepyness down there that would lead to some kind of Come the Apocalypse allies index team up. I didn't need to be right, but it did seem like the end could have done with something else, especially as it felt like it took a long time to wind down to the climax, rather than building momentum.
One small element I really didn't appreciate, though I truly believe it is a matter of ignorance, rather than malice, is the liberal use of the word "cripple" when describing the injuries, needs, and disabilities of Dantioc, particularly in the passive narration. It's just not an appropriate word to be applying and it's a failure of knowledge and understanding on the part of Guymer and the editors.
The handling of the tragic part at the end is really lovely and I definitely felt some things, I really shouldn't complain. But, I really wanted it to break my heart and it just didn't. It was still very good, but auntie needs her tears!
Ultimately, while this is by no means a perfect book, it's a thoroughly entertaining one and just...impressively nice and good for how rough some of the things that go down are. There's no doubt that Guymer committed to the awfulness and vacillating competency we have come to expect from the VIII Legion. There's very obvious love and care in here and I really appreciate it.
The post credits reveal was a nice jaw dropping moment and I think that maybe something related being somehow dormant and released by all the use of the Pharos could have added something to the close, but nevertheless it was a cool reveal.
Good novel is good.
***
I had a lot of fun with this one, especially with some of the dramatic moments and quality of the dialogue and characterisations. I do think it felt a bit too long and kinda petered out a bit with a spicy kick right at the close.
More thoughts when I've processed and have more brain.
Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 24.41 Horus Heresy novels, 14 novellas (including 1 repeat), 79 short stories/ audio dramas (including 5 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 13 Primarchs novels, 4 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.
November 27, 2024
Нападение на Фарос я бы назвал скорее вбоквелом, чем прямым продолжением Ереси Хоруса. Ересь продолжает развиваться и к Терре приближается угроза, но Повелители Ночи решают напасть на таинственную гору Фарос в мире Сота, потому что эта гора вроде как связана с перемещением в варпе (ибо Император куда-то пропал, и если убрать маяк, он может и не вернуться). По факту в недрах горы скрыт ксеносский артефакт, аналог Астрономикона.
Примерно 70-80% книги - это типичная Ваха. Атака, бой, выжидание, новая атака. Взрывы болтеров, лязг цепных мечей. Повелители Ночи показаны весёлой гоп-компанией, которая не совсем и не понимает, зачем им Фарос, но скорее всего это что-то важное. Я ждал, что может быть нам расскажут секрет, как работает маяк и зачем он нужен, но у Хейли была другая задача.
Я бы отнёс "Фарос" к обычной (типичной) Вахе, если бы не сцены с Конрадом Курцем и Сангвинием. Вот это было прямо очень интересно читать. По факту это два антипода, они похожи, но диаметрально разные по полюсам. У Хейли отлично получилось передать мерзость Курца, который говорит, что ему глубоко плевать на то, что делают сейчас его Повелители Ночи. И если бы его легион погиб, ему бы тоже было глубоко плевать. Ему всё равно, что там с Фаросом, он сам по себе. Он тихий убийца, ассасин, который лучше всех владеет оружием и никого не боится. Ни Императора, ни того, кто его замещает... Очень интересный и насыщенный по смыслу сюжет получился. Очень хотелось бы, чтобы таких моментов в книгах по Вархаммеру было больше. Именно они и представляют основной интерес, а не все вот эти вот мелкие стычки-перестрелки, от которых после уже десятка прочитанных книг сильно устаёшь.
Книга весьма неплохая (вытянул Курц), у Хейли читал раньше "Скарсника" и "Гибель единства", которые тоже очень понравились. Всё на уровне. 8/10.
Примерно 70-80% книги - это типичная Ваха. Атака, бой, выжидание, новая атака. Взрывы болтеров, лязг цепных мечей. Повелители Ночи показаны весёлой гоп-компанией, которая не совсем и не понимает, зачем им Фарос, но скорее всего это что-то важное. Я ждал, что может быть нам расскажут секрет, как работает маяк и зачем он нужен, но у Хейли была другая задача.
Я бы отнёс "Фарос" к обычной (типичной) Вахе, если бы не сцены с Конрадом Курцем и Сангвинием. Вот это было прямо очень интересно читать. По факту это два антипода, они похожи, но диаметрально разные по полюсам. У Хейли отлично получилось передать мерзость Курца, который говорит, что ему глубоко плевать на то, что делают сейчас его Повелители Ночи. И если бы его легион погиб, ему бы тоже было глубоко плевать. Ему всё равно, что там с Фаросом, он сам по себе. Он тихий убийца, ассасин, который лучше всех владеет оружием и никого не боится. Ни Императора, ни того, кто его замещает... Очень интересный и насыщенный по смыслу сюжет получился. Очень хотелось бы, чтобы таких моментов в книгах по Вархаммеру было больше. Именно они и представляют основной интерес, а не все вот эти вот мелкие стычки-перестрелки, от которых после уже десятка прочитанных книг сильно устаёшь.
Книга весьма неплохая (вытянул Курц), у Хейли читал раньше "Скарсника" и "Гибель единства", которые тоже очень понравились. Всё на уровне. 8/10.
February 22, 2018
The secret, warpborn villainies want nothing more than to escape the immaterium for realspace and aggrandize their pleasures in the horror of torture and blood. They hunger for it. They would make this nightmare and themselves a 'reality'. Their gutlust is no lie.
The Emperor, harbinger of mankind's destiny, it's 'manifest' destiny, that they should rule supreme among the millions of stars in the galaxy, he believes himself savior of the human race, it's sculptor and architect. But he denies his own dominion and denies the truth that he 'knows' is out there behind the thinning veil, the horror of endless gore. He Lies!
More and more this theme creeps up in the HH series and as it tears the demi-god Primarchs and Legiones Astartes apart. Loyalty is but a trust, sometimes won with action, sometimes understood only metaphysically, and sometimes just a compulsion to follow strength out of fear. It is fragile and depends on continued renewal and fellowship. Distance can make everything seem as if a dream...
When Konrad Curze, hehem, sorry, The Night Haunter! -- haha, speaks with Sanguinius about the nature of the Primarchs, their purpose and design, he wonders how much the Emperor 'knew' about what would happen and if the scattering of the Primarchs was mere chance or secretly orchestrated. This section of the book, The Night Haunter's tortured soul laid bare, his suffering an extended finger of guilt pointed directly at the Emperor-Father, it is absolutely great. The pain in Sanguinius when he realizes that he too, is a freak out of all the other brothers. The doubt that is played there, when brother's eyes meet...
That is why this book is good.
The writing is straight forward, the pacing good, the characterizations better than average. It furthers the story line in a way that makes one anticipate the next book with excitement. The unanswered questions of why the Emperor lied, why he keeps so much secret, why he leaves so much to chance when he sees perhaps even a millennia into the future... those are the things that keep me up at night.
The Emperor, harbinger of mankind's destiny, it's 'manifest' destiny, that they should rule supreme among the millions of stars in the galaxy, he believes himself savior of the human race, it's sculptor and architect. But he denies his own dominion and denies the truth that he 'knows' is out there behind the thinning veil, the horror of endless gore. He Lies!
More and more this theme creeps up in the HH series and as it tears the demi-god Primarchs and Legiones Astartes apart. Loyalty is but a trust, sometimes won with action, sometimes understood only metaphysically, and sometimes just a compulsion to follow strength out of fear. It is fragile and depends on continued renewal and fellowship. Distance can make everything seem as if a dream...
When Konrad Curze, hehem, sorry, The Night Haunter! -- haha, speaks with Sanguinius about the nature of the Primarchs, their purpose and design, he wonders how much the Emperor 'knew' about what would happen and if the scattering of the Primarchs was mere chance or secretly orchestrated. This section of the book, The Night Haunter's tortured soul laid bare, his suffering an extended finger of guilt pointed directly at the Emperor-Father, it is absolutely great. The pain in Sanguinius when he realizes that he too, is a freak out of all the other brothers. The doubt that is played there, when brother's eyes meet...
That is why this book is good.
The writing is straight forward, the pacing good, the characterizations better than average. It furthers the story line in a way that makes one anticipate the next book with excitement. The unanswered questions of why the Emperor lied, why he keeps so much secret, why he leaves so much to chance when he sees perhaps even a millennia into the future... those are the things that keep me up at night.
March 13, 2025
Ave Dominus Nox! Guy Haley’s Pharos is a solid inclusion on the Horus Heresy series. The book does a very good job of telling a very cohesive story with interesting characters and satisfying conclusion. The inclusion of some very compelling Night Lords characters really boosted the book’s appeal as well as some interesting and well written human characters. Haley does a very good job in showing restraint and not going too overboard with Primarch drama. Overall an enjoyable entry in the series and definitely worth a read if you like Ultramarines or Night Lords.
February 9, 2020
Reading physical books nowadays is a bit tricky as my daughter thinks they should be hers! This one was a good read though I went back and forth between 3 or 4 stars and think 3 and 1/2 is probably most accurate BUT here’s the thing: the author does a GREAT job of digging deep into the characters’ personalities through little glimpses of humanity here and there and that is what earns the higher rating.
Well that’s book 34 of the Horus Heresy done. Now on to book 35!
Well that’s book 34 of the Horus Heresy done. Now on to book 35!
September 4, 2019
This is an absolutely amazing book. A great look at to what non-gene enhanced soldiers face in a galaxy in flames. We also get a mix of different Astartes legions and the interplay is perfect. The ending almost moved me to tears and I couldn't believe a 40K book could do that.
Great book, moves the Heresy story forward in a major way and I think it's a must read for this series.
Great book, moves the Heresy story forward in a major way and I think it's a must read for this series.
October 4, 2021
I enjoyed this installment quite a bit. Pharos and Imperium Secundus is quite interesting, even if I’m not that big on the Night Lords. The ending, with the hint at the origins of the Tyranids was my favorite teaser in the book, even though that was only an afterthought.
February 24, 2024
:((((
Pretty enjoyable book though I felt the egregious disparity between 20,000 nl and 200 on sotha basically being equal,
Was still enjoyable
Dantioch should have done more beyond tbh, though was still extremely saddening
And the epilogue is a fantastic detail
Pretty enjoyable book though I felt the egregious disparity between 20,000 nl and 200 on sotha basically being equal,
Was still enjoyable
Dantioch should have done more beyond tbh, though was still extremely saddening
And the epilogue is a fantastic detail
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2019
Another solid if unexceptional entry in the Heresy saga. I was intrigued by the story thread involving the neophyte scouts, and sorry it seemed to drift into the background as the book went on.
November 9, 2023
Best one in quite a while. Great story and compelling characters on both sides. Fun little easter egg in the epilogue.
September 28, 2024
That had been the greatest lie of all. The universe was Nostramo writ large. Surviving in the stars was the same as surviving the streets of home.
Reading Pharos allows me to backdate Haley’s issue with good guys vs bad guys from 2017 to 2014. To reiterate, sometime around the Dark Imperium trilogy it clearly became such an issue for Black Library that Haley drastically course corrected, so my criticisms do not hold true for his more recent work. Pharos does reinforce my opinion that there was a problem – it’s not that Haley is a bad writer, more a calibration to the ostensible setting where everyone is meant to be bad.
There is some lore and character development around the Ultramarines, Novamarines, Crimson Frists, etc and that is all well and good – I like this book… …and ironically the opening scene with the servitor is a brilliant microsm of what the Imperium really is. The problem is that I have see the obvious issues in main antagonists all too well.
Evil
He was beginning to fear that his brother was simply evil.
Pharos rests on the pretty simple concept that the Night Lords are bad. They commit a serious of:
[redacted],
acts that include:
[redacted],
with a climatic scene involving
[heavily redacted].
When comparing to the protagonists - who are good-and-loyal-to-each-other-and-have-just-the-right-words-to-buck-up-spirits - , I cannot avoid the feeling of Manichaeism. The Night Lords are the North Koreans, the residents of Sotha are the Werewolves – the remake of Red Dawn coming out in 2012 feels uncomfortably close for comparative purpose.
In fairness, Haley does want to add three dimensionality to the Night Lords:
It is easy to regard the sons of Curze as cartoon villains, bloody fiends as relentless as any B-movie maniac. I was keen not to depict them as such. The Legiones Astartes who make up the warriors of the murderous VIII Legion surely did not leap from their mother’s arms intent on torture and death. The process by which a man becomes a monster is another thing that intrigues me, and I was keen to explore it.
…and I would say it is an okay effort with the relationship between the twins Kellenkir and Kellendvar. However, I do feel a bit repulsed by the idea that if you can write enough trauma into the background story then the acts of evil will flow naturally. It is doable from a literary perspective but I believe it is harder than it sounds and Haley just does not quite get there. That the Night Lords have a dark history does not engender my sympathy when they [redacted].
Konrad Curze makes a brief appearance in the book, mainly to keep him active as a threat and… …he does actually pull off a cruelly evil moment that I did kind of appreciate, even if it does reinforce my point about this being cops and robbers level of philosophical discourse, Haley’s express claims to the opposite notwithstanding:
To my mind he possesses a depth that some of his brothers lack. Of all of them, he knows the most. He is a tragic figure, so close to redemption, but never quite reaching it.
No.
Bad
‘You expect me to be gibbering in terror?’ Mericus snorted. ‘We’re not all cowards. Damn few of us are. These men here,’ he waved his hand back at his depleted command. ‘They’ve been fighting hard. They’ve killed a few of you legionaries, do you know that? They’re braver than your lot, if you ask me.’
Part of me wonders whether you could realistically create a coherent legion from such a tortured group of souls.
Well, Haley resoundly says: HELL NO
The Night Lords, who bring an overwhelming superiority of numbers to Pharos, get dunked on by Loyalist Space Marines, Scout Marines, and… …by god… part time planetary defence forces. I have probably forgotten a scene where they trip over a local rock. Most of them even mess up jumping through a dimensional portal.
Through sheer numbers they push on to their objective, but the opportunities for the Night Lords to demonstrate their war fighting skills are limited and countered by them repeatedly getting ambushed or taking prolonged periods of time to remember they have jump packs. I get they always come well stocked with an array of carving knives but a few more working brain cells would have helped.
‘I know. It’s just the way I am. I wasn’t born here, captain, but this is where I belong. We’ll fight for Sotha, we’ll fight for our home.’
I found the pacing of Pharos good and there are well written characters and scenes (I do really like the Loyalists!). Conversations were generally better constructed than a couple of the Primarch series books where Haley mashed monologues together. The problem is that moral simplicity grates on me in this universe. Yes – the Traitors are generally going to come off worse where their powers depend on mass sacrifices, but there is still a complexity in their actions that the best novels do manage to get across - Pharos stubbornly refuses to engage with this.
Reading Pharos allows me to backdate Haley’s issue with good guys vs bad guys from 2017 to 2014. To reiterate, sometime around the Dark Imperium trilogy it clearly became such an issue for Black Library that Haley drastically course corrected, so my criticisms do not hold true for his more recent work. Pharos does reinforce my opinion that there was a problem – it’s not that Haley is a bad writer, more a calibration to the ostensible setting where everyone is meant to be bad.
There is some lore and character development around the Ultramarines, Novamarines, Crimson Frists, etc and that is all well and good – I like this book… …and ironically the opening scene with the servitor is a brilliant microsm of what the Imperium really is. The problem is that I have see the obvious issues in main antagonists all too well.
Evil
He was beginning to fear that his brother was simply evil.
Pharos rests on the pretty simple concept that the Night Lords are bad. They commit a serious of:
[redacted],
acts that include:
[redacted],
with a climatic scene involving
[heavily redacted].
When comparing to the protagonists - who are good-and-loyal-to-each-other-and-have-just-the-right-words-to-buck-up-spirits - , I cannot avoid the feeling of Manichaeism. The Night Lords are the North Koreans, the residents of Sotha are the Werewolves – the remake of Red Dawn coming out in 2012 feels uncomfortably close for comparative purpose.
In fairness, Haley does want to add three dimensionality to the Night Lords:
It is easy to regard the sons of Curze as cartoon villains, bloody fiends as relentless as any B-movie maniac. I was keen not to depict them as such. The Legiones Astartes who make up the warriors of the murderous VIII Legion surely did not leap from their mother’s arms intent on torture and death. The process by which a man becomes a monster is another thing that intrigues me, and I was keen to explore it.
…and I would say it is an okay effort with the relationship between the twins Kellenkir and Kellendvar. However, I do feel a bit repulsed by the idea that if you can write enough trauma into the background story then the acts of evil will flow naturally. It is doable from a literary perspective but I believe it is harder than it sounds and Haley just does not quite get there. That the Night Lords have a dark history does not engender my sympathy when they [redacted].
Konrad Curze makes a brief appearance in the book, mainly to keep him active as a threat and… …he does actually pull off a cruelly evil moment that I did kind of appreciate, even if it does reinforce my point about this being cops and robbers level of philosophical discourse, Haley’s express claims to the opposite notwithstanding:
To my mind he possesses a depth that some of his brothers lack. Of all of them, he knows the most. He is a tragic figure, so close to redemption, but never quite reaching it.
No.
Bad
‘You expect me to be gibbering in terror?’ Mericus snorted. ‘We’re not all cowards. Damn few of us are. These men here,’ he waved his hand back at his depleted command. ‘They’ve been fighting hard. They’ve killed a few of you legionaries, do you know that? They’re braver than your lot, if you ask me.’
Part of me wonders whether you could realistically create a coherent legion from such a tortured group of souls.
Well, Haley resoundly says: HELL NO
The Night Lords, who bring an overwhelming superiority of numbers to Pharos, get dunked on by Loyalist Space Marines, Scout Marines, and… …by god… part time planetary defence forces. I have probably forgotten a scene where they trip over a local rock. Most of them even mess up jumping through a dimensional portal.
Through sheer numbers they push on to their objective, but the opportunities for the Night Lords to demonstrate their war fighting skills are limited and countered by them repeatedly getting ambushed or taking prolonged periods of time to remember they have jump packs. I get they always come well stocked with an array of carving knives but a few more working brain cells would have helped.
‘I know. It’s just the way I am. I wasn’t born here, captain, but this is where I belong. We’ll fight for Sotha, we’ll fight for our home.’
I found the pacing of Pharos good and there are well written characters and scenes (I do really like the Loyalists!). Conversations were generally better constructed than a couple of the Primarch series books where Haley mashed monologues together. The problem is that moral simplicity grates on me in this universe. Yes – the Traitors are generally going to come off worse where their powers depend on mass sacrifices, but there is still a complexity in their actions that the best novels do manage to get across - Pharos stubbornly refuses to engage with this.
November 4, 2024
An extra star just for that epilogue.
January 22, 2025
Courage and honour!
Iron within, Iron without.
Iron within, Iron without.
April 6, 2019
Another brilliant Horus Heresy book! Awesome to get so much from the Night Lords perspective.
December 14, 2024
A satisfying ending? What a nice change of pace.
4.5/5
4.5/5
January 3, 2018
You can read the full review over at my blog:
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
In many ways, we are in what could possibly be called the middle-phase of the Horus Heresy, with novels such as Deathfire and War Without End and, of course, Pharos. The Dropsite Massacre has happened, Rogal Dorn is busy fortifying Terra, Horus and his allies have spread their web throughout the Imperium, and Guilliman has holed himself up in Ultramar, cut off from the rest of the galaxy by the Ruinstorm. Doesn't exactly paint a pretty picture for the Imperial war effort. But all the same, the more I read of the years preceding the climactic Battle of Terra, the more wide-eyed and amazed I feel, such are the many countless mysteries and concepts being unveiled.
Pharos marks Guy Haley's first full-length entry into the Horus Heresy, having already contributed some great short stories to the humongous series. He's written some short stories and stuff prior to this, but this is definitely the big score and he proves yet again why he is one of the best authors in this far-flung age of never-ending war. Pharos is everything I wanted to see in a Horus Heresy novel, whether that be great characters, great plot, great action, great concepts, or anything else really. Pharos is easily one of my best reads of 2017 and is a runaway hit as far as I'm concerned.
Note: Some minor spoilers about the novel follow.
Pharos continues several plot threads introduced previously, whether that be from Dan Abnett's novel The Unremembered Empire, Laurie Goulding's The Heart of The Pharos audio, Rob Sanders' The Iron Within novella from the Shadows of Treachery anthology, or even Guy's own short story The Safe and Shadowed Place from the War Without End anthology. Pharos marks a convergence of several different plot-lines and, unfortunately, it also marks the end of the dream of Imperium Secundus that Guilliman once envisioned. From my understanding, while the events herein take place at one forgotten corner of the realm of Ultramar, the overall story is nonetheless a major turning point in the history of the Horus Heresy, and Guy presents a novel that lives up to every single expectation that results from such a perception.
To start with, I absolutely loved all of the characters here. Captain Adallus, Sergeant Arkus, Warsmith Dantioch of the Iron Warriors, Captain Polux of the Imperial Fists, Sergeant Mericus Giraldus of the Sothan First Auxilia, Captain Gendor Skraivok of the Night Lords, Roboute Guilliman, Konrad Curze, Sanguinius, Captain Lucretius Corvo and more besides. Guy has drawn up some of the best characters of the Heresy to him, and he gives each and every one of them a grand outing, delving into the depths of their psyche and presenting them at their most complex. I loved every second of it and the characters are one of the main reasons why I plowed through the novel as far as I did. The characters leapt off the pages and the more I read of them, the more I wanted to see. And Guy certainly did not shy away from some "controversial" deaths, instilling early on in the reader that no character was safe, no matter how high or low in the pecking order. It speaks to his skills as a writer that he made me care about every character who died, for he had already created that bond between me and that character. Having already met some of them in other stories, that bond was even stronger in those cases, and it made me really sad to see that some of them did not survive the butcher's bill.
Of the characters, there were of course some very notable highlights in the novel, but of the many scenes that stood out, one in particular absolutely made my day. It deals with Konrad Curze and Sanguinius back on Macragge. Ever since the events of The Unremembered Empire, the insane Primarch of the Night Lords has been missing, seemingly having disappeared although suspected to be on the Ultramarines homeworld still. And Sanguinius has grown ever more tired of performing the role of the Emperor of Imperium Secundus, unable to fully deal with the realities of his role and chafing at the limitations set on him. Guy Haley brings these two disconnected brothers together for one of the most explosive scenes in the entire novel and he dives right to the heart of their internal struggles and includes some great commentary on the state of the larger war and their places within that war. Absolutely phenomenal.
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
In many ways, we are in what could possibly be called the middle-phase of the Horus Heresy, with novels such as Deathfire and War Without End and, of course, Pharos. The Dropsite Massacre has happened, Rogal Dorn is busy fortifying Terra, Horus and his allies have spread their web throughout the Imperium, and Guilliman has holed himself up in Ultramar, cut off from the rest of the galaxy by the Ruinstorm. Doesn't exactly paint a pretty picture for the Imperial war effort. But all the same, the more I read of the years preceding the climactic Battle of Terra, the more wide-eyed and amazed I feel, such are the many countless mysteries and concepts being unveiled.
Pharos marks Guy Haley's first full-length entry into the Horus Heresy, having already contributed some great short stories to the humongous series. He's written some short stories and stuff prior to this, but this is definitely the big score and he proves yet again why he is one of the best authors in this far-flung age of never-ending war. Pharos is everything I wanted to see in a Horus Heresy novel, whether that be great characters, great plot, great action, great concepts, or anything else really. Pharos is easily one of my best reads of 2017 and is a runaway hit as far as I'm concerned.
Note: Some minor spoilers about the novel follow.
Pharos continues several plot threads introduced previously, whether that be from Dan Abnett's novel The Unremembered Empire, Laurie Goulding's The Heart of The Pharos audio, Rob Sanders' The Iron Within novella from the Shadows of Treachery anthology, or even Guy's own short story The Safe and Shadowed Place from the War Without End anthology. Pharos marks a convergence of several different plot-lines and, unfortunately, it also marks the end of the dream of Imperium Secundus that Guilliman once envisioned. From my understanding, while the events herein take place at one forgotten corner of the realm of Ultramar, the overall story is nonetheless a major turning point in the history of the Horus Heresy, and Guy presents a novel that lives up to every single expectation that results from such a perception.
To start with, I absolutely loved all of the characters here. Captain Adallus, Sergeant Arkus, Warsmith Dantioch of the Iron Warriors, Captain Polux of the Imperial Fists, Sergeant Mericus Giraldus of the Sothan First Auxilia, Captain Gendor Skraivok of the Night Lords, Roboute Guilliman, Konrad Curze, Sanguinius, Captain Lucretius Corvo and more besides. Guy has drawn up some of the best characters of the Heresy to him, and he gives each and every one of them a grand outing, delving into the depths of their psyche and presenting them at their most complex. I loved every second of it and the characters are one of the main reasons why I plowed through the novel as far as I did. The characters leapt off the pages and the more I read of them, the more I wanted to see. And Guy certainly did not shy away from some "controversial" deaths, instilling early on in the reader that no character was safe, no matter how high or low in the pecking order. It speaks to his skills as a writer that he made me care about every character who died, for he had already created that bond between me and that character. Having already met some of them in other stories, that bond was even stronger in those cases, and it made me really sad to see that some of them did not survive the butcher's bill.
Of the characters, there were of course some very notable highlights in the novel, but of the many scenes that stood out, one in particular absolutely made my day. It deals with Konrad Curze and Sanguinius back on Macragge. Ever since the events of The Unremembered Empire, the insane Primarch of the Night Lords has been missing, seemingly having disappeared although suspected to be on the Ultramarines homeworld still. And Sanguinius has grown ever more tired of performing the role of the Emperor of Imperium Secundus, unable to fully deal with the realities of his role and chafing at the limitations set on him. Guy Haley brings these two disconnected brothers together for one of the most explosive scenes in the entire novel and he dives right to the heart of their internal struggles and includes some great commentary on the state of the larger war and their places within that war. Absolutely phenomenal.
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