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The Horus Heresy: Primarchs #7
Ferrus Manus: The Gorgon of Medusa
Ferrus Manus, primarch of the Iron Hands, employs his brutal methods of war to bring a world to heel in the Emperor's name.
The Great Crusade has swept across half the galaxy, a million human worlds now embracing the truth and reason that comes with allegiance to the rule of Terra. But even such unparalleled success comes at a cost. Rumours abound that the Emperor plans to step back from the Crusade and raise one of his primarch sons to lead in his stead. Faced with the bitterly non-compliant human empire of Gardinaal and a leaderless host of Ultramarines, Thousand Sons and Emperor’s Children at his Legion’s command, the Iron Hands primarch Ferrus Manus decides to make an example that even the Emperor cannot ignore.
The Great Crusade has swept across half the galaxy, a million human worlds now embracing the truth and reason that comes with allegiance to the rule of Terra. But even such unparalleled success comes at a cost. Rumours abound that the Emperor plans to step back from the Crusade and raise one of his primarch sons to lead in his stead. Faced with the bitterly non-compliant human empire of Gardinaal and a leaderless host of Ultramarines, Thousand Sons and Emperor’s Children at his Legion’s command, the Iron Hands primarch Ferrus Manus decides to make an example that even the Emperor cannot ignore.
215 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2018
64 people are currently reading
801 people want to read
About the author
David Guymer
173 books176 followersDavid Guymer is a freelance author, PhD in molecular microbiology (which still comes in more handy than you might think), and tabletop warlord based in the Yorkshire East Riding. He has written for Black Library, Marvel, Aconyte Books, Asmodee, Mantic Games, Cubicle 7, Creative Assembly, and Mongoose Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
June 7, 2020
An arrowhead of Xiphon Interceptors flashed across his vantage, causing his cloak to balloon up around his fist, and gunned through a loose hail of flak towards the steaming crags that encircled their position.
The Emperor's Children were about to learn the cost of challenging the Iron Hands in battle.
The storm had been raised.
A good Horus Heresy Primarchs series novella about Ferrus Manus and X Legion early days, before the Emperor retired from the Great Crusade to begin work on his secret project, with the Iron Hands showing their trademark brutality but still far away from believing that human flesh is weak and striving to replace their organic bodies with more "pure" bionic substitutes
Ferrus Manus was not renowned for his beauty. He did not haunt the dreams of men in the way of Fulgrim or Sanguinius or Homs, but he was beautiful, as a chamabal sabre or a hand-wrought suit of armour could be beautiful. Akurduana saw now why Fulgrim loved this Gorgon so, and why that love was reciprocated so fiercely.
He was perfect, perfect in every way.
A slow burn of a read, with the Gorgon of Medusa initially playing nearly a marginal role and leaving the scene to Iron Hands joint military exercises with their Emperor's Children allies.
Santar emerged from the crowd, with the dulled edge of a training blade raised. He was clad in riveted half-armour that among the Medusans seemed to constitute casual attire, baring for the first time the huge augmusculature of a cybernetic left arm. 'You have shown us how the Third Legion prepares for war. Let me demonstrate how the Iron Tenth spends the eve of battle.'
Liked this first part, with Moses Trurakk, an Iron Hands’ fighter pilot, and Akurduana, Emperor's Children captain, Palatine Blade, and the finest swordsman of III Legion at that time, shining among a sea of characters, with Ferrus Manus not appearing much, but his presence looming on the scene like a physical one.
Ferrus Manus raised Akurduana's sword on his finger.
He was powerless to resist.
'At least he bled you,' said Ferrus.
Akurduana touched his eyebrow, and almost laughed at the giddying sight of red on his lacquered gauntlet. The blood on Santar's face had been his.
'A first?' Ferrus asked.
'A first.'
'Small victories, then,' said Ferrus, delivering the eve-of-battle toast with the grim humour of a born conqueror.
Then, the brutal compliance campaign against the Gardinaal stellar empire begins and the Gorgon starts playing a more active role, with quick effective flashes about his past on Medusa and his relationship with his brothers.
The man backpedalled swiftly until his back was to the wall, his undead lord between himself and the furious primarch.
'We know all about you,' boomed Strachaan. 'We know you, and the High Lords believe you can be beaten. They believe I can beat you.'
'I doubt it.' Ferrus dragged his hammer from the top step as he started forward. 'My own father doesn't know me.'
At this point storyline reminded a lot Perturabo's one, with Ferrus trying to excel among other primarchs, but it quickly gets better and better with the Gorgon showing at last his role of breaker of worlds incarnating the Emperor's desire of conquest, making an example of Gardinaal Prime and making a clear statement to his brothers and father too.
'What has now passed was your war, what now commences shall be mine. There will be no feast of celebration, no proclamation of victory. I do not claim worlds. I conquer them. My victories are their own proclamation. I will present my brother Guilliman with ash around a barren star - that shall be my proclamation, and the Gardinaal shall forever more be remembered only for the manner in which they fell.'
And that ending, with Fulgrim appearing at last and an unexpected turning point in X Legion history, was a five stars one for me.
July 7, 2018
I need to apologize in advance, because this is going to be harsh. Probably too harsh. Likely more than it would have been if the story was about any other Primarch. I do not want to disrespect anyone’s work, but sadly, to me this book is a disappointment.
I would like to start with the good stuff though. An Emperor's Children legionnaire, one of the few characters I actually enjoyed, meets Gorgon for the first time. The way we see Ferrus though Akurduana’s eyes is simply amazing, beautifully described. He is perfect. A rugged, brutal giant. A pale and scarred mountain, a true conqueror. Unbreakable metal. Silver eyes. He is perfect that way, not like Fulgrim or Sanguinius. I always had an issue with Ferrus being called ugly or unattractive. The way he is described in the books never seemed ugly to me, it’s just a different kind of perfection. He is indeed the opposite to Fulgrim and he is beautiful that way. I love that this was finally acknowledged, especially by a character from the legion of Phoenician. This shows they really know a thing or two about beauty.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find much more good scenes in this book. Not like it was ALL bad, it just was nowhere near my expectations. I was excited to read it, probably even more than I was excited for the books about my favorite traitor Primarchs, because I wanted to learn more. I wanted to finally get to know Ferrus, a loyalist whom I really liked whenever he was mentioned in the past. Always being forgotten, his deeds barely mentioned aside from his early passing and it’s consequences, the Gorgon deserved a good story. I could not wait to read about his upbringing on Medusa, about his relationship with his brother, see different sides of his personality. I’ve got none of it. A mediocre story of a guy trying to exceed his brothers’ accomplishments, show everyone that he is better than Horus, than Guilliman… but that's not his story. It’s Perturabo’s. We don’t need another Perturabo. Ferrus needs a story of his own! I was disappointed by his behavior, almost jealousy, unreasonable underappreciation of his own sons. This is not the Ferrus that I know, and even if he has his faults, which I don’t mind at all, I want to see different sides of him. I want to see GOOD sides of him too. He was a loyal son, one who did not let the closest brother that he ever had to sway him from his cause. He fought and lost his life for the Imperium of Man, for the Emperor. I wonder now if the author was trying to imply that he ended up there because of his nonsensical desire to prove he is better than anyone else. Even my heretical ass does not want loyalists to be such simple minded d*ckheads. It devalues the struggle. It makes it seem like they were only guided by some petty bullsh*t, not actual loyalty. I always liked Ferrus for being straight forward, determined, honest. Maybe stubborn. Headstrong. Not petty.
I wrote this review before I read the last chapter. Now, when I finished it, I find myself on the fence again. The ending made it better. The dialogue between Ferrus and Fulgrim, the concept of perfection brought up again… I thought of giving it 3 stars instead of 2 just because of that. But I won’t for the body of this novel was a letdown between two good scenes in the beginning and at the very end. The non-astartes parts seemed like a filler, and for what? This whole book looks like a huge missed opportunity. I wish I could’ve loved it, but that’s just not the case. I still hope that someday we will see a proper representation of the Primarch of the Tenth. Not this time.
I would like to start with the good stuff though. An Emperor's Children legionnaire, one of the few characters I actually enjoyed, meets Gorgon for the first time. The way we see Ferrus though Akurduana’s eyes is simply amazing, beautifully described. He is perfect. A rugged, brutal giant. A pale and scarred mountain, a true conqueror. Unbreakable metal. Silver eyes. He is perfect that way, not like Fulgrim or Sanguinius. I always had an issue with Ferrus being called ugly or unattractive. The way he is described in the books never seemed ugly to me, it’s just a different kind of perfection. He is indeed the opposite to Fulgrim and he is beautiful that way. I love that this was finally acknowledged, especially by a character from the legion of Phoenician. This shows they really know a thing or two about beauty.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find much more good scenes in this book. Not like it was ALL bad, it just was nowhere near my expectations. I was excited to read it, probably even more than I was excited for the books about my favorite traitor Primarchs, because I wanted to learn more. I wanted to finally get to know Ferrus, a loyalist whom I really liked whenever he was mentioned in the past. Always being forgotten, his deeds barely mentioned aside from his early passing and it’s consequences, the Gorgon deserved a good story. I could not wait to read about his upbringing on Medusa, about his relationship with his brother, see different sides of his personality. I’ve got none of it. A mediocre story of a guy trying to exceed his brothers’ accomplishments, show everyone that he is better than Horus, than Guilliman… but that's not his story. It’s Perturabo’s. We don’t need another Perturabo. Ferrus needs a story of his own! I was disappointed by his behavior, almost jealousy, unreasonable underappreciation of his own sons. This is not the Ferrus that I know, and even if he has his faults, which I don’t mind at all, I want to see different sides of him. I want to see GOOD sides of him too. He was a loyal son, one who did not let the closest brother that he ever had to sway him from his cause. He fought and lost his life for the Imperium of Man, for the Emperor. I wonder now if the author was trying to imply that he ended up there because of his nonsensical desire to prove he is better than anyone else. Even my heretical ass does not want loyalists to be such simple minded d*ckheads. It devalues the struggle. It makes it seem like they were only guided by some petty bullsh*t, not actual loyalty. I always liked Ferrus for being straight forward, determined, honest. Maybe stubborn. Headstrong. Not petty.
I wrote this review before I read the last chapter. Now, when I finished it, I find myself on the fence again. The ending made it better. The dialogue between Ferrus and Fulgrim, the concept of perfection brought up again… I thought of giving it 3 stars instead of 2 just because of that. But I won’t for the body of this novel was a letdown between two good scenes in the beginning and at the very end. The non-astartes parts seemed like a filler, and for what? This whole book looks like a huge missed opportunity. I wish I could’ve loved it, but that’s just not the case. I still hope that someday we will see a proper representation of the Primarch of the Tenth. Not this time.
March 15, 2018
First of all I would like to say that I am an Iron hands fan.When I get a book called Azrael for example I would like to read about Azrael so when I bought the book I was expecting to read about Ferrus Manus and not Akurduana.Ferrus was probably the least mentioned character in the book. He is mentioned 3-4 times. One on the ship when he talks with some Imperium officers ,on the ship again when he talks with Akurduana,on the ship when he got attacked,on the battlefield when everyone is saved by the greatest of them all Akurduana. I could easily name the novel Akurduana when he is the one that is in my mind when iam thinking of the novel.How great he is that no-one in the Iron hands can beat him and the primarch steps in to best him. Really disappointed about the book it's maybe one of the worst I have read from warhammer books
January 14, 2021
I have always enjoyed the Pre-Heresy-based 40K (technically 30K) novels. They often lay solid foundations for the lore and history of this enormous setting.
Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Xth Legion-The Iron Hands, is a complicated figure. Grim and dour, similar in nature to Perturabo, he wishes to make a statement. While his other brothers from Guliiman to Horus often get the lion's share of the credit for the Crusade, he wants his brothers to acknowledge his abilities.
When the Imperium runs across the human worlds of Gardinall, they face a foe that is nearly comparable in terms of tech and is ruthless in the use of human wave style attacks. The first Imperial elements have met abject failure and a nuclear strike has decimated the Guard regiment and caused over 800 Astartes killed. Manus is deployed to take control of the remaining forces and weirld them like a hammer against the enemy.
Without spoilers, Manus is able to leave his unique style of warfare imprinted on the enemies of mankind, but it does beg the question "At what cost?" The interactions of Manus with his Emeperor's Children Equerry, as well as with other members of the Astartes is interesting. As far as the assassination attempt on Manus, it proves a common statement "Do not fuck with Primarchs".
A superb addition to the 40K collection of mine and one that will be appreciated by any Warhammer fan.
Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Xth Legion-The Iron Hands, is a complicated figure. Grim and dour, similar in nature to Perturabo, he wishes to make a statement. While his other brothers from Guliiman to Horus often get the lion's share of the credit for the Crusade, he wants his brothers to acknowledge his abilities.
When the Imperium runs across the human worlds of Gardinall, they face a foe that is nearly comparable in terms of tech and is ruthless in the use of human wave style attacks. The first Imperial elements have met abject failure and a nuclear strike has decimated the Guard regiment and caused over 800 Astartes killed. Manus is deployed to take control of the remaining forces and weirld them like a hammer against the enemy.
Without spoilers, Manus is able to leave his unique style of warfare imprinted on the enemies of mankind, but it does beg the question "At what cost?" The interactions of Manus with his Emeperor's Children Equerry, as well as with other members of the Astartes is interesting. As far as the assassination attempt on Manus, it proves a common statement "Do not fuck with Primarchs".
A superb addition to the 40K collection of mine and one that will be appreciated by any Warhammer fan.
December 30, 2025
Przeciętne do bólu - fabuła jak i przedstawienie Ferrusa. Prymarcha kompletnie nic nie wnosi do historii, a to miała być książka o nim. Nudne i słabo napisane. Jedyna scena, która się jakoś broni to ostatni dialog między Ferrusem a Fulgrimem. Ale to zdecydowanie za mało. Najgorsza książka z serii prymarchów jaką czytałam do tej pory.
June 10, 2018
The seventh book in The Primarchs series, this did not disappoint. I found it not quite as good as some of the others, and yet it shows a good vision of who Ferrus Manus is and the depths he will go to when leading his legion and making examples of those who defy the will of the Emperor. The technologically advanced eleven worlds of the Gardinaal, in defiance of the Great Crusade, refuse to bend the knee. The Iron Hands are provided the chance to work to advance the influence of the Imperium. The work begins in earnest as a scattered for of Ultramarines, Emperor's Children and Thousand Sons also fall under Ferrus Manus' silver hands. The battle ebbs and flows but the system falls under compliance after the 10th Legion Primarch scours the planet of Gardinaal Prime, destroying it's power and political figurehead. This is a cold blooded and brutal message and only Ferrus Manus and the forces under his iron command could prevail so quickly. The arrival of two other Primarchs as the deed is completed gives assurance to the power of the Iron Hands and their father.
This was good and the interactions and bonds written and shown here, especially the aerial might and skill of the Iron Hands pilots was really interesting. Ferrus Manus is as he should be, a raw bar of unbreakable metal, unworked and yet able to learn. He is what he was created to be, however and shows his strength and power here, to all who have the misfortune to bear witness.
Danny
This was good and the interactions and bonds written and shown here, especially the aerial might and skill of the Iron Hands pilots was really interesting. Ferrus Manus is as he should be, a raw bar of unbreakable metal, unworked and yet able to learn. He is what he was created to be, however and shows his strength and power here, to all who have the misfortune to bear witness.
Danny
March 31, 2024
March 2024 Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order (https://www.heresyomnibus.com) [but because of ole Iron Man's involvement in the series it was hard to decide when, so filling a gap between when I need to actually read words seemed to be the time] as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus series and extras.
I am a larger lady and there are many different foods I enjoy, but vegan cookie dough ice cream and scrambled egg on a pizza that is kinda burnt when I ordered pasta...is a very messy and excessive metaphor, which is sadly apropos here.
OK.
The Iron Tenth and the Golden Third are doing a counter terrorism training day against each other during the hayday of the Great Crusade (which between stuff like this and the way various Legions engaged in the Custodies Blood Games with particular legionaries being noted for their prowess and renown for their efforts, makes the whole Thiel getting his helmet Dursted seem incredibly silly) when they get word a small fleet of Ultramarines and Thousand Sons are having trouble with a Compliance. Ferrus and his sons with his favoured brother's sons falling under the command of Mr. Stark with a familiar Phoenician face serving as acting equerry and foil for Iron Man. Faced with an comparatively equal, if non-space-faring empire, with powerful psykers, augmented soldiers, and a slightly different flavour of Space Fascism and the early mistakes of the leading Son of Ultramar, the situation is fractious and calls for a delicate touch, but a blundering, blustering, brutal iron first...does something, I guess.
Mangled, meandering metaphors and synopsis that aren't really for anything but my own amusement aside, this book is an absolute mess. I hate to say it, and want to be explicit here that Guymer's prose and various elements of this novel are absolutely wonderful, but this, at least in my extremely humble opinion, is a bit of an omnishambles. Look, if there was a chance to explore the antagonists here, who are genuinely one of the most interesting and fleshed out human forces seen in Black Library books, (which says something complimentary here, but less so overall) I would be all over it. If there was any tiny scrap more about the Imperial Army Medicae staff, up to and including a Warhammer 30K version of M*A*S*H, ER, or Casualty, I would be the happiest camper. But, to turn up to the Primarchs series book about the Primarch who gets got in, like, book five, but within the events unfolding by book three, who as far as I'm aware never got his novella like Lorgar, Vulkan, etc., and it barely be about him at all... I truly don't understand.
I learned from the book that Ferrus Mannus was a secretly masochistic bastard who is what you get if you mix two parts Fulgrim and three parts Angron in an archaeotech blender and send it through Jeff Goldblum's teleporter with a T1000 arm and Alex Mac's leg (to fit an arm, you see?). He was so pathetic and frail of character to be wantonly petty that he would compromise his beliefs, and frankly seriously call into question whether he in fact holds any, beyond his pride. Admittedly these aren't nothing, but they came from about two incidents that have baring on his character. Beyond a single, fake out flashback, there's nothing about his life on Medusa or his relationship with anyone, beyond the buddy buddiness he shares with Fulgrim and no-one else, as we already know. I don't think I even know anything more about the Iron Hands, beyond some of them are weird with machines and each other about machines in a strange and vaguely chauvinistic manner. I feel like I know less about them!
As much as I am flabbergasted about what this book does and doesn't have, I do have to say there are some gorgeous turns of phrase and moments. I genuinely adored the last Medicae officer and the description of the triage-morgue situation and attendant. That was exquisite. I'm being really serious. It took my breath away a little bit, but it was a fleeting moment in a morass of confused, stodgy bravado and bolters.
It's funny, I come away from this feeling somewhat protected from Heresy fatigue because this is a Primarchs book, and strangely being more interested in reading more Guymer, because of what I liked, but so very much guarded against the confusing soup that this was.
I feel awful giving such a low score and harsh review, but I think it's fair and I have people I've never seen rate any of the Heresy lower than 4/5 give this 3/5, which really says something. It sucks to not enjoy something and it only feels worse when there is good and it's nothing actually problematic and awful that makes something bad, it's simply not a good book and makes very little sense as Ferrus Mannus' Primarchs novel. Something either from his first person or at least seeing somewhat inside his head would have been preferable, or something following someone explicitly studying or considering him, as with the Remembrancer in Chris Wraight's exalted Sanguinius: The Great Angel. Honestly, anything more about the Gorgon than this.
Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 21.41 Horus Heresy novels, 12 novellas, 59 short stories/ audio dramas, as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 12 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.
I am a larger lady and there are many different foods I enjoy, but vegan cookie dough ice cream and scrambled egg on a pizza that is kinda burnt when I ordered pasta...is a very messy and excessive metaphor, which is sadly apropos here.
OK.
The Iron Tenth and the Golden Third are doing a counter terrorism training day against each other during the hayday of the Great Crusade (which between stuff like this and the way various Legions engaged in the Custodies Blood Games with particular legionaries being noted for their prowess and renown for their efforts, makes the whole Thiel getting his helmet Dursted seem incredibly silly) when they get word a small fleet of Ultramarines and Thousand Sons are having trouble with a Compliance. Ferrus and his sons with his favoured brother's sons falling under the command of Mr. Stark with a familiar Phoenician face serving as acting equerry and foil for Iron Man. Faced with an comparatively equal, if non-space-faring empire, with powerful psykers, augmented soldiers, and a slightly different flavour of Space Fascism and the early mistakes of the leading Son of Ultramar, the situation is fractious and calls for a delicate touch, but a blundering, blustering, brutal iron first...does something, I guess.
Mangled, meandering metaphors and synopsis that aren't really for anything but my own amusement aside, this book is an absolute mess. I hate to say it, and want to be explicit here that Guymer's prose and various elements of this novel are absolutely wonderful, but this, at least in my extremely humble opinion, is a bit of an omnishambles. Look, if there was a chance to explore the antagonists here, who are genuinely one of the most interesting and fleshed out human forces seen in Black Library books, (which says something complimentary here, but less so overall) I would be all over it. If there was any tiny scrap more about the Imperial Army Medicae staff, up to and including a Warhammer 30K version of M*A*S*H, ER, or Casualty, I would be the happiest camper. But, to turn up to the Primarchs series book about the Primarch who gets got in, like, book five, but within the events unfolding by book three, who as far as I'm aware never got his novella like Lorgar, Vulkan, etc., and it barely be about him at all... I truly don't understand.
I learned from the book that Ferrus Mannus was a secretly masochistic bastard who is what you get if you mix two parts Fulgrim and three parts Angron in an archaeotech blender and send it through Jeff Goldblum's teleporter with a T1000 arm and Alex Mac's leg (to fit an arm, you see?). He was so pathetic and frail of character to be wantonly petty that he would compromise his beliefs, and frankly seriously call into question whether he in fact holds any, beyond his pride. Admittedly these aren't nothing, but they came from about two incidents that have baring on his character. Beyond a single, fake out flashback, there's nothing about his life on Medusa or his relationship with anyone, beyond the buddy buddiness he shares with Fulgrim and no-one else, as we already know. I don't think I even know anything more about the Iron Hands, beyond some of them are weird with machines and each other about machines in a strange and vaguely chauvinistic manner. I feel like I know less about them!
As much as I am flabbergasted about what this book does and doesn't have, I do have to say there are some gorgeous turns of phrase and moments. I genuinely adored the last Medicae officer and the description of the triage-morgue situation and attendant. That was exquisite. I'm being really serious. It took my breath away a little bit, but it was a fleeting moment in a morass of confused, stodgy bravado and bolters.
It's funny, I come away from this feeling somewhat protected from Heresy fatigue because this is a Primarchs book, and strangely being more interested in reading more Guymer, because of what I liked, but so very much guarded against the confusing soup that this was.
I feel awful giving such a low score and harsh review, but I think it's fair and I have people I've never seen rate any of the Heresy lower than 4/5 give this 3/5, which really says something. It sucks to not enjoy something and it only feels worse when there is good and it's nothing actually problematic and awful that makes something bad, it's simply not a good book and makes very little sense as Ferrus Mannus' Primarchs novel. Something either from his first person or at least seeing somewhat inside his head would have been preferable, or something following someone explicitly studying or considering him, as with the Remembrancer in Chris Wraight's exalted Sanguinius: The Great Angel. Honestly, anything more about the Gorgon than this.
Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 21.41 Horus Heresy novels, 12 novellas, 59 short stories/ audio dramas, as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 12 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.
March 12, 2023
Not my favorite. Was a little hard to follow. The climax of the book was really good. Some of it was confusing. Probably wouldn't read again.
April 25, 2018
Here's a book that was apparently written quite well, but was translated rather poorly. David Guymer did write a nice story that would fit in with of most books in the warhammer universe, however it's not how, in my opinion at least, a primarch series novel should be like. Too many perspectives, too little focus on Ferrus Manus himself.
January 21, 2022
Wow now this was bad. I've read quite a few warhammer books at this point and many sit firmly in mediocrity. Ferrus Manus was just plain painful to read though. It has the same issues as other 40k books, terrible pacing caused by an inability to tell a story without hoping between a dozen povs but then adds in truly terrible writing and a plot structure that makes its own story pointless.
Ferrus wants to prove he can do things like his brothers but when things don't immediately go his way, he reverts right on back to rage fueled man child. We spend half the book introducing characters and then giving them eye glazing sections of the war to take part in only for my boy Manus to carpet bomb the enemy and his own troops to end things in an hour.
So the battles you forced yourself through?
Pointless.
The characters that are introduced in such a rapid fire manner that you'll spend half the book trying to rember who they are?
Pointless but at least they're all dead.
The story who's only purpose was to tell us about the titular character?
Pointless unless you count his love for bombing things and swinging his hammer with his metal arms(there is so much prose dedicated to these stupid arms WHICH ARE NEVER EXPLAINED).
Hey though, by the end of countless deaths of character and braincells he accepts that's he's a shithead. We end with him goofing with his pretty boy brother at the mass funeral for all the men he lead to their deaths.
Did I mention this whole fuck up is only 200 pages? Please avoid this book.
Ferrus wants to prove he can do things like his brothers but when things don't immediately go his way, he reverts right on back to rage fueled man child. We spend half the book introducing characters and then giving them eye glazing sections of the war to take part in only for my boy Manus to carpet bomb the enemy and his own troops to end things in an hour.
So the battles you forced yourself through?
Pointless.
The characters that are introduced in such a rapid fire manner that you'll spend half the book trying to rember who they are?
Pointless but at least they're all dead.
The story who's only purpose was to tell us about the titular character?
Pointless unless you count his love for bombing things and swinging his hammer with his metal arms(there is so much prose dedicated to these stupid arms WHICH ARE NEVER EXPLAINED).
Hey though, by the end of countless deaths of character and braincells he accepts that's he's a shithead. We end with him goofing with his pretty boy brother at the mass funeral for all the men he lead to their deaths.
Did I mention this whole fuck up is only 200 pages? Please avoid this book.
October 27, 2024
Ferrus is one of the few primarchs I don't know too much about so was hoping to learn something new in this book, I did not. Seen none of his personality, no cool stories and no origin stories. Felt like a pointless read.
January 16, 2020
Poor show! perhaps a book named after a specific character should have more of that character?
it barely has Ferrus in it and the rest of the characters are uninteresting some of them aren’t even iron hands.
it barely has Ferrus in it and the rest of the characters are uninteresting some of them aren’t even iron hands.
December 9, 2018
Boring
After 4 chapters done..literally uninteresting and just plain brining. I knew it would be iron hands are boring but I gave it a chance..nope. Literally just plain on boring.
After 4 chapters done..literally uninteresting and just plain brining. I knew it would be iron hands are boring but I gave it a chance..nope. Literally just plain on boring.
August 1, 2019
A good few years ago, we reviewed Mortarion's Heart, and since that time I have served as something of an evangelist to it. To put it simply, the audio drama did the impossible of re-writing one of the single worst parts of an abominably bad codex, and turned it into a fantastic story. It kept the same events, the same enemies and the same essential actions, but reworked them from the ground up to make Kaldor Draigo a genuinely good character. The Gorgon of Medusa is a dark reflection of this. It took one of the few genuinely good bits of Iron Hands lore to be offered up in the last decade and re-wrote it to disgrace them. The result is about as bad as you can imagine.
To give a brief impression of why, please allow for this brief diversion. You might have noticed that, despite my nature as a fan of the Iron Hands, we did not cover the Eye of Medusa. There's a simple reason for that. Upon the announcement that David Guymer was to write an Iron Hands series, I asked him one simple question:
"Will this trilogy ignore Codex: Clan Raukaan's stuff?"
His response:
"I didn't write the Codex, so it'll be my own take, but in a word: no, I can't ignore the Codex."
So, naturally, I skipped it. Going from second-hand sources, it did seem to heavily influence how he depicted the chapter, and much of its rampant stupidity was present in the first of his novels. The problem is that this seems to have now seeped through into his Horus Heresy works, as many of those same flaws quickly arise here as well. I will freely admit that this is speculation on my part, but it seems that this was Guymer's defining go-to source for how to write the Iron Hands, and it defined most of his works about them.
Where are we going with this? Because it led to one obvious problem with The Gorgon of Medusa: It means we had a genuinely talented author trying to envision a great Horus Heresy story by using something which is less a rulebook than a tabletop gaming hate crime as his point of reference.
This is going to be painful.
Synopsis
The Lords of Gardinaal have managed to remain steadfast in the face of the Great Crusade. Against all odds, they have constantly held their ground, overwhelming and deflecting one attack after the other with highly advanced technology and superior air power. Even the mighty Titan Legions have found themselves hard pressed against their opponent, with more than half of their number lost in the opening attack. Ferrus Manus aims to correct this.
Arriving in orbit of Gardinaal with a detachment of Iron Hands and Emperor's Children, he initiates a massed assault on the world below, seeking to break it once and for all.
The Good
Now, let's be clear from the start: There is some good in here despite that introduction. Unlike, say, Empire's End, this isn't a desperate clawing attempt to find a silver lining either.
The most obvious point from the start which works in the book's favour is how Guymer builds atmosphere through minimal description. As an author he has a distinct talent for taking bleak, hopeless or depressing tales and adding engaging qualities to them. In a manner akin to Dark Souls' storytelling, he can build a world of monsters, remove almost anyone with typical sympathetic traits and still produce something which keeps you hooked. In a conflict with has tyrants on one side and on the other the Emperor's personal breaker of worlds, this was something essential to the story. It never pulls its punches and never lessens the sense of somber bitterness which haunts many of the events.
More than a few of the secondary characters are quite well fleshed out, with Akurduana of the Emperor's Children being foremost among these. The character is well rounded and displays what the legion could have become with a few more like himself, Tarvitz and Abdemon at their head. Combined with the events of The Palatine Phoenix, this allows the reader to gain a far better impression of what the legion was like prior to Laer than Fulgrim permitted. More importantly, none of them ever feel superfluous to the plot, as they always have something to do. That's a point we'll be expanding upon in the next section, however, as it was a double-edged sword.
Another interesting aspect of the story was how it plays with certain events. The original story was excellently told, but you could see how there would have been periods of waiting between major setpieces. This streamlines events without simplifying them, and it certainly allows them to fit the novella format far better than I otherwise might have expected. Combined with how Guymer typically uses a minimal word count to tell as much as possible about a scene, it makes far better use of its limited page count than a few previous series books.
Most importantly still, the battles and pitch engagements are extraordinarily violent and utilise every opportunity to define each side. For all the faults present here that we will be getting to later on, the Iron Hands' brutality is still at the forefront of this conflict. You see just why they were needed among the legions rather than being some superfluous addition many write them off as. Equally, their attitude initially swings more toward being the usual "necessary evil" that the Index Astartes depicted them as, especially in the face of enemies such as the Lords of Gardinaal. Said lords themselves are effectively the antithesis of the Imperium. For all the atrocities, mistakes and massacres the Emperor inflicted, it was in an uncompromising approach to restore humanity's glory. The Lords show just how far they have fallen, and what true tyranny is. It ends up being an "end justifies the means" view fighting against "tyranny justifies itself" in regards to where they stand.
Finally, we have Ferrus. Before we get into the negatives, the book does try to utilise a few of the elements seen in Fulgrim for his personality. Some of the rage he is known for is better tempered with other qualities such as humour and secondary traits. What's more, he's more willing to correct himself on mistakes than almost any other primarch and is far more satisfied in his role as a simple tool of the Emperor's will than even Russ or Guilliman. Interestingly, along with addressing a few blind spots in his history, it's suggested that he cultivates some of the more negative qualities detractors often depict him as. Thanks to this, it makes him more three dimensional than many write him off as at first glance.
Unfortunately, the moment you look away from these qualities things start to go wrong. Very, very wrong indeed.
The Bad
So, after all of that good, you might be asking just how this could go wrong? For starters, the focus is in completely the wrong place.
Remember Akurduana? The story is much more about him than the Iron Hands. Really, in a move which eclipses even Prospero Burns, the story shifts completely away from the legion or primarch in question and favours frequently following this member of the Emperor's Children. This in of itself isn't a bad thing. Akurduana himself was a likable example of how to humanize an Astartes, and for all its flaws the aforementioned Prospero Burns did show how to make an outside view of a legion engaging. The problem is that it doesn't know where to draw the line, so it quickly stops being a story about Ferrus himself and starts following Akurduana himself, as he starts to do everything of importance.
To offer a quick example of how this is misused, the book frequently has Akurduana "teaching" the Iron Hands and their primarch the error of their ways. He continually cites failings without end, his comments gloss over their strengths and he relentlessly outperforms them at every turn. In the training cages he smacks about every single last member of the legion until Ferrus himself rages out and gets involved personally out of sheer envy. This is promptly treated as some great lesson of how his anger and arrogance constantly gets the better of him, and how little honour there is in a primarch fighting an Astartes. Everyone then just nods sagely as if this is some great lesson, and some vast failing they have overlooked. Something which might have carried more weight if Akurduana's primarch wasn't fucking Fulgrim!
The story relentlessly blindsides the legion with moments like this, seemingly ignoring how hypocritical many of the points Akurduana levels against them are. Worse still, when he's not outperforming the characters he's stealing screen time away from them. Ferrus himself appears or is discussed in the relative minority of this book's chapters, and the focus itself never bothers to try and address this point in any way. This would be akin to watching Big Trouble in Little China, if it dropped the parody element and Jack Burton was replaced with John Matrix.
Frustratingly, the book deals with little of Ferrus' true history and doesn't spend enough time showing what makes him tick. For better or worse, every other release in this series goes into details behind each primarch's past. Guilliman's depicted his difficulties adjusting to leadership, Lorgar and Perutrabo's both delved into their childhood, Fulgrim's covered his adjustment to leadership and need to outperform his brothers, and Russ' one detailed how he was shaped by his experiences on Fenris. Ferrus though? No dice here i'm afraid. It tries to overcome this via second-hand accounts and detailing how those around him are shaped, but it doesn't work for a multitude of reasons.
The foremost among these is that the novella's descriptions and depictions of figures are typically about those figures. They occasionally describe Ferrus in comments and consider his role there, but this is more often than not in passing and without the sort of reverence you might expect. Often the best way to build up a figure as a legendary individual - even when the focus is placed elsewhere - is by having others discuss them in high terms. Griffith in Berserk and Keyser Söze in The Usual Suspects are the two foremost examples of this done right, without it veering into pandering or needless boasting. Yet, the story uses Ferrus all too often as a point of discussion more than anything else, so it's not so much hyping him up as using him as a conversation piece.
A second issue which stems from this simply is the fact that, compared with the others, we know little of Ferrus himself. We have rarely seen his style of leadership, associating with his officers or even how his outsider approach to governing Medusa's clans was viewed. As the book actively avoids looking through his eyes, it robs the story of showing his true strengths and flaws in a manner akin to the others, or making him personable enough to become engaged in. This was essential as, with Ferrus dead and the Horus Heresy series having no desire to move backward, we are left with nothing save for Feat of Iron. A short story which is top on the list of "Avoid at all costs!" tales produced in this era.
The story seems to actively divert itself away from making the Iron Hands engaging or even offering them victories, while also piling on additional flaws. This is evident from the very start, as the book has Ferrus rushing in rather than waiting for reinforcements. Not only is this done out of an apparent need to send a statement to the Emperor and his brothers, but it's a contradiction to the original tale itself. In that, he was the reinforcements the Imperial taskforce had been needing to attain victory. It's done simply to try and draw parallels with the Drop Site Massacre and make it seem as if he can't help but continually rush in in acts of recklessness. He stays at the back of the army itself for much of the book, and when we finally do see him, it does offer him all of the power and strength he deserves. The issue is that, very soon after this, that is promptly overshadowed by Akurduana single-handledly correcting a mistake every member of the Legio X had completely missed. One which could have erased every single victory they had accomplished.
So, you might be wondering why nothing here is covering the secondary Iron Hands characters. To put it bluntly, they're forgettable. The book makes the Emperor's Children, Ultramarines and even the small band of Thousand Sons more successful and engaging by far than any member of the legion who is supposed to be getting their victory moment. In the case of the Emperor's Children they simply outdo the Iron Hands at everything (better tactics, fewer losses, more kills etc) and leave everyone in the dust, while the Ultramarines get more memorable moments to themselves. Worse still, Ferrus sends the Ultramarines in via the first wave of the final assault, ordering their leader, Ulan Cicerus, to correct his mistakes. This could have come across as a sign of Ferrus' typical cold brutality, and Cicerus did indeed die during the final assault. The problem is that, given how it is framed, it comes across as Ferrus using the Ultramarines as cannon fodder more than anything else.
The likes of Gabriel Santar are all but pushed out of the book, to the point where he's near constantly overshadowed by everyone else there. This just ends up causing far too many problems, and contributes to the book's single greatest sin: The Gorgon of Medusa does nothing to make Ferrus' loss any sadder. It does nothing to show the Iron Hands at their best, nor does it give you any reason to root for them. If anything, it seems hell-bent on making you feel as if they had the Drop Site Massacre coming to them. It wasn't undeserved or a loss, it was inevitable. The fact that Ferrus treats diplomatic efforts as a mere annoyance, and even seems to be looking for an excuse to blow up the planet, is depicted in such a way that he is almost unlikable the entire way through. He's less the monster humanity needed than a simple minded raging thug who was constantly spoiling for a fight until he bit off more than he could chew.
Betrayer seemed to cement the World Eaters as the "joke legion" in the minds of too many people. In that same regard, The Gorgon of Medusa seems structured in a way which could only make the Iron Hands remembered as the "failure legion" of the Astartes.
Perhaps the single most frustrating part is how the novella stretches and twists the timeline until it resembles a slinky. This is supposed to be partway through the Great Crusade, before all of the primarchs have been discovered and perhaps a decade or two after Guilliman took command of the Ultramarines. The problem is that events are referred to that shouldn't be widely known yet, and a multitude of vehicles which shouldn't exist yet show up.
Personally, I try to be forgiving on this front. Mistakes happen and while it's worth joking about it, it's only a minor issue. However, when you have Storm Eagles, Sicarans, Fire Ratpors and Thunderhawks all showing up (vehicles which should only be made a few hundred years from now, or by people who have yet to actually join the Imperium), it becomes a significant flaw. If you feel this is being unfair somehow, imagine watching Dunkirk, only to see the Nazis arrive with ME-262s and Tiger Mk Is. That's how immersion breaking this can be when done en mass like this.
The Verdict
The Gorgon of Medusa is by no means the most painful thing reviewed on this website. Nor is it even in the top twenty worst books covered on here. That being said, it horribly botches an essential victory the Iron Hands and Ferrus Manus needed. Rather than breaking the constant barrage of "We're failures! We're disgraceful! We lose every battle! Ferrus is angry thus he's stupid!" it compounds it. The end result is a work which honestly seems as if it has been written with the intention of preventing anyone from being interested in the Iron Hands over actually exploring the legion.
The core prose is fine, the structure works and the descriptive style remains solid. It's just everything else which drags down this book. Again, let this be made clear - David Guymer is by no means a poor penman nor an untalented author. The man wrote a spectacular end to the Gotrek and Felix saga, his work on the Age of Sigmar short stories has far more hits than misses and he remains one of the few authors I would trust to pen a truly hopeless story while keeping it engaging. It's just that he seems to have been given the worst sort of reference possible to work from when writing this chapter. If you truly want a worthwhile story by this author go to Black Library and buy almost anything else which isn't Iron Hands related.
If you're after a good Heresy-era Iron Hands story, i'm afraid Angel Exterminatus and the Damnation of Pythos are still the closest we have come to such a thing thus far. As for this? Just read the Lexicanum article on these events. You'll be left with a far better and more concise impression of events than anything found in this book.
To give a brief impression of why, please allow for this brief diversion. You might have noticed that, despite my nature as a fan of the Iron Hands, we did not cover the Eye of Medusa. There's a simple reason for that. Upon the announcement that David Guymer was to write an Iron Hands series, I asked him one simple question:
"Will this trilogy ignore Codex: Clan Raukaan's stuff?"
His response:
"I didn't write the Codex, so it'll be my own take, but in a word: no, I can't ignore the Codex."
So, naturally, I skipped it. Going from second-hand sources, it did seem to heavily influence how he depicted the chapter, and much of its rampant stupidity was present in the first of his novels. The problem is that this seems to have now seeped through into his Horus Heresy works, as many of those same flaws quickly arise here as well. I will freely admit that this is speculation on my part, but it seems that this was Guymer's defining go-to source for how to write the Iron Hands, and it defined most of his works about them.
Where are we going with this? Because it led to one obvious problem with The Gorgon of Medusa: It means we had a genuinely talented author trying to envision a great Horus Heresy story by using something which is less a rulebook than a tabletop gaming hate crime as his point of reference.
This is going to be painful.
Synopsis
The Lords of Gardinaal have managed to remain steadfast in the face of the Great Crusade. Against all odds, they have constantly held their ground, overwhelming and deflecting one attack after the other with highly advanced technology and superior air power. Even the mighty Titan Legions have found themselves hard pressed against their opponent, with more than half of their number lost in the opening attack. Ferrus Manus aims to correct this.
Arriving in orbit of Gardinaal with a detachment of Iron Hands and Emperor's Children, he initiates a massed assault on the world below, seeking to break it once and for all.
The Good
Now, let's be clear from the start: There is some good in here despite that introduction. Unlike, say, Empire's End, this isn't a desperate clawing attempt to find a silver lining either.
The most obvious point from the start which works in the book's favour is how Guymer builds atmosphere through minimal description. As an author he has a distinct talent for taking bleak, hopeless or depressing tales and adding engaging qualities to them. In a manner akin to Dark Souls' storytelling, he can build a world of monsters, remove almost anyone with typical sympathetic traits and still produce something which keeps you hooked. In a conflict with has tyrants on one side and on the other the Emperor's personal breaker of worlds, this was something essential to the story. It never pulls its punches and never lessens the sense of somber bitterness which haunts many of the events.
More than a few of the secondary characters are quite well fleshed out, with Akurduana of the Emperor's Children being foremost among these. The character is well rounded and displays what the legion could have become with a few more like himself, Tarvitz and Abdemon at their head. Combined with the events of The Palatine Phoenix, this allows the reader to gain a far better impression of what the legion was like prior to Laer than Fulgrim permitted. More importantly, none of them ever feel superfluous to the plot, as they always have something to do. That's a point we'll be expanding upon in the next section, however, as it was a double-edged sword.
Another interesting aspect of the story was how it plays with certain events. The original story was excellently told, but you could see how there would have been periods of waiting between major setpieces. This streamlines events without simplifying them, and it certainly allows them to fit the novella format far better than I otherwise might have expected. Combined with how Guymer typically uses a minimal word count to tell as much as possible about a scene, it makes far better use of its limited page count than a few previous series books.
Most importantly still, the battles and pitch engagements are extraordinarily violent and utilise every opportunity to define each side. For all the faults present here that we will be getting to later on, the Iron Hands' brutality is still at the forefront of this conflict. You see just why they were needed among the legions rather than being some superfluous addition many write them off as. Equally, their attitude initially swings more toward being the usual "necessary evil" that the Index Astartes depicted them as, especially in the face of enemies such as the Lords of Gardinaal. Said lords themselves are effectively the antithesis of the Imperium. For all the atrocities, mistakes and massacres the Emperor inflicted, it was in an uncompromising approach to restore humanity's glory. The Lords show just how far they have fallen, and what true tyranny is. It ends up being an "end justifies the means" view fighting against "tyranny justifies itself" in regards to where they stand.
Finally, we have Ferrus. Before we get into the negatives, the book does try to utilise a few of the elements seen in Fulgrim for his personality. Some of the rage he is known for is better tempered with other qualities such as humour and secondary traits. What's more, he's more willing to correct himself on mistakes than almost any other primarch and is far more satisfied in his role as a simple tool of the Emperor's will than even Russ or Guilliman. Interestingly, along with addressing a few blind spots in his history, it's suggested that he cultivates some of the more negative qualities detractors often depict him as. Thanks to this, it makes him more three dimensional than many write him off as at first glance.
Unfortunately, the moment you look away from these qualities things start to go wrong. Very, very wrong indeed.
The Bad
So, after all of that good, you might be asking just how this could go wrong? For starters, the focus is in completely the wrong place.
Remember Akurduana? The story is much more about him than the Iron Hands. Really, in a move which eclipses even Prospero Burns, the story shifts completely away from the legion or primarch in question and favours frequently following this member of the Emperor's Children. This in of itself isn't a bad thing. Akurduana himself was a likable example of how to humanize an Astartes, and for all its flaws the aforementioned Prospero Burns did show how to make an outside view of a legion engaging. The problem is that it doesn't know where to draw the line, so it quickly stops being a story about Ferrus himself and starts following Akurduana himself, as he starts to do everything of importance.
To offer a quick example of how this is misused, the book frequently has Akurduana "teaching" the Iron Hands and their primarch the error of their ways. He continually cites failings without end, his comments gloss over their strengths and he relentlessly outperforms them at every turn. In the training cages he smacks about every single last member of the legion until Ferrus himself rages out and gets involved personally out of sheer envy. This is promptly treated as some great lesson of how his anger and arrogance constantly gets the better of him, and how little honour there is in a primarch fighting an Astartes. Everyone then just nods sagely as if this is some great lesson, and some vast failing they have overlooked. Something which might have carried more weight if Akurduana's primarch wasn't fucking Fulgrim!
The story relentlessly blindsides the legion with moments like this, seemingly ignoring how hypocritical many of the points Akurduana levels against them are. Worse still, when he's not outperforming the characters he's stealing screen time away from them. Ferrus himself appears or is discussed in the relative minority of this book's chapters, and the focus itself never bothers to try and address this point in any way. This would be akin to watching Big Trouble in Little China, if it dropped the parody element and Jack Burton was replaced with John Matrix.
Frustratingly, the book deals with little of Ferrus' true history and doesn't spend enough time showing what makes him tick. For better or worse, every other release in this series goes into details behind each primarch's past. Guilliman's depicted his difficulties adjusting to leadership, Lorgar and Perutrabo's both delved into their childhood, Fulgrim's covered his adjustment to leadership and need to outperform his brothers, and Russ' one detailed how he was shaped by his experiences on Fenris. Ferrus though? No dice here i'm afraid. It tries to overcome this via second-hand accounts and detailing how those around him are shaped, but it doesn't work for a multitude of reasons.
The foremost among these is that the novella's descriptions and depictions of figures are typically about those figures. They occasionally describe Ferrus in comments and consider his role there, but this is more often than not in passing and without the sort of reverence you might expect. Often the best way to build up a figure as a legendary individual - even when the focus is placed elsewhere - is by having others discuss them in high terms. Griffith in Berserk and Keyser Söze in The Usual Suspects are the two foremost examples of this done right, without it veering into pandering or needless boasting. Yet, the story uses Ferrus all too often as a point of discussion more than anything else, so it's not so much hyping him up as using him as a conversation piece.
A second issue which stems from this simply is the fact that, compared with the others, we know little of Ferrus himself. We have rarely seen his style of leadership, associating with his officers or even how his outsider approach to governing Medusa's clans was viewed. As the book actively avoids looking through his eyes, it robs the story of showing his true strengths and flaws in a manner akin to the others, or making him personable enough to become engaged in. This was essential as, with Ferrus dead and the Horus Heresy series having no desire to move backward, we are left with nothing save for Feat of Iron. A short story which is top on the list of "Avoid at all costs!" tales produced in this era.
The story seems to actively divert itself away from making the Iron Hands engaging or even offering them victories, while also piling on additional flaws. This is evident from the very start, as the book has Ferrus rushing in rather than waiting for reinforcements. Not only is this done out of an apparent need to send a statement to the Emperor and his brothers, but it's a contradiction to the original tale itself. In that, he was the reinforcements the Imperial taskforce had been needing to attain victory. It's done simply to try and draw parallels with the Drop Site Massacre and make it seem as if he can't help but continually rush in in acts of recklessness. He stays at the back of the army itself for much of the book, and when we finally do see him, it does offer him all of the power and strength he deserves. The issue is that, very soon after this, that is promptly overshadowed by Akurduana single-handledly correcting a mistake every member of the Legio X had completely missed. One which could have erased every single victory they had accomplished.
So, you might be wondering why nothing here is covering the secondary Iron Hands characters. To put it bluntly, they're forgettable. The book makes the Emperor's Children, Ultramarines and even the small band of Thousand Sons more successful and engaging by far than any member of the legion who is supposed to be getting their victory moment. In the case of the Emperor's Children they simply outdo the Iron Hands at everything (better tactics, fewer losses, more kills etc) and leave everyone in the dust, while the Ultramarines get more memorable moments to themselves. Worse still, Ferrus sends the Ultramarines in via the first wave of the final assault, ordering their leader, Ulan Cicerus, to correct his mistakes. This could have come across as a sign of Ferrus' typical cold brutality, and Cicerus did indeed die during the final assault. The problem is that, given how it is framed, it comes across as Ferrus using the Ultramarines as cannon fodder more than anything else.
The likes of Gabriel Santar are all but pushed out of the book, to the point where he's near constantly overshadowed by everyone else there. This just ends up causing far too many problems, and contributes to the book's single greatest sin: The Gorgon of Medusa does nothing to make Ferrus' loss any sadder. It does nothing to show the Iron Hands at their best, nor does it give you any reason to root for them. If anything, it seems hell-bent on making you feel as if they had the Drop Site Massacre coming to them. It wasn't undeserved or a loss, it was inevitable. The fact that Ferrus treats diplomatic efforts as a mere annoyance, and even seems to be looking for an excuse to blow up the planet, is depicted in such a way that he is almost unlikable the entire way through. He's less the monster humanity needed than a simple minded raging thug who was constantly spoiling for a fight until he bit off more than he could chew.
Betrayer seemed to cement the World Eaters as the "joke legion" in the minds of too many people. In that same regard, The Gorgon of Medusa seems structured in a way which could only make the Iron Hands remembered as the "failure legion" of the Astartes.
Perhaps the single most frustrating part is how the novella stretches and twists the timeline until it resembles a slinky. This is supposed to be partway through the Great Crusade, before all of the primarchs have been discovered and perhaps a decade or two after Guilliman took command of the Ultramarines. The problem is that events are referred to that shouldn't be widely known yet, and a multitude of vehicles which shouldn't exist yet show up.
Personally, I try to be forgiving on this front. Mistakes happen and while it's worth joking about it, it's only a minor issue. However, when you have Storm Eagles, Sicarans, Fire Ratpors and Thunderhawks all showing up (vehicles which should only be made a few hundred years from now, or by people who have yet to actually join the Imperium), it becomes a significant flaw. If you feel this is being unfair somehow, imagine watching Dunkirk, only to see the Nazis arrive with ME-262s and Tiger Mk Is. That's how immersion breaking this can be when done en mass like this.
The Verdict
The Gorgon of Medusa is by no means the most painful thing reviewed on this website. Nor is it even in the top twenty worst books covered on here. That being said, it horribly botches an essential victory the Iron Hands and Ferrus Manus needed. Rather than breaking the constant barrage of "We're failures! We're disgraceful! We lose every battle! Ferrus is angry thus he's stupid!" it compounds it. The end result is a work which honestly seems as if it has been written with the intention of preventing anyone from being interested in the Iron Hands over actually exploring the legion.
The core prose is fine, the structure works and the descriptive style remains solid. It's just everything else which drags down this book. Again, let this be made clear - David Guymer is by no means a poor penman nor an untalented author. The man wrote a spectacular end to the Gotrek and Felix saga, his work on the Age of Sigmar short stories has far more hits than misses and he remains one of the few authors I would trust to pen a truly hopeless story while keeping it engaging. It's just that he seems to have been given the worst sort of reference possible to work from when writing this chapter. If you truly want a worthwhile story by this author go to Black Library and buy almost anything else which isn't Iron Hands related.
If you're after a good Heresy-era Iron Hands story, i'm afraid Angel Exterminatus and the Damnation of Pythos are still the closest we have come to such a thing thus far. As for this? Just read the Lexicanum article on these events. You'll be left with a far better and more concise impression of events than anything found in this book.
February 12, 2018
Every Black Library author has a particular niche where they excel and the Iron Hands is that area where David Guymer shines, particularly their relationship with the machine.
In this novel about Ferrus Manus, the Iron Hands have yet to become the rigidly dogmatic adherents to the Machine Cult they are in 40K. That said their way of war is brutal and uncompromising, free of the jingoism of liberation which characterises the discourse of other Legions such as the Ultramarines or the Emperor's Children with whom they are allies. David Guymer portrays a Legion which is more "innocent" and a primarch who is finding his voice and standing amongst a pantheon of more established primarchs.
What I enjoyed here is that although this is a novel about the 10th Legion primarch, other characters within the Legion are allowed to breath and be fleshed out on the pages. The primarch doesn't take centre stage all the time and isn't in your face however his influence overshadows how the rest of the characters tick - whether Iron Hands, Emperor's Children or Ultramarines. Each Legionary reacts in their own way - the Iron Hands aim to please their genefather, the Emperor's Children are allies and friends whilst the Ultramarines have a completely different mindset and way of war which causes them to clash. There is a crescendo building up where in the end Ferrus Manus comes down with the force of a thunderbolt, having found his own voice and standing.
Another depiction I thoroughly enjoyed is that of the Gaardinal - an insular system of eleven worlds and a reflection of how the Imperium will become by the 41st millenium. The Legiones Astartes react with horror at how the citizens of the Gaardinal live and how their society is structured and conditioned to behave. The reader, with the benefit of hindsight, can draw parallels with how different the nascent Imperium was during the Great Crusade and how it would become after the Horus Heresy. The Legionaries from all three Legions are in essence staring into a warped mirror of what the Imperium - their creation through blood and toil and fire - would become.
In this novel about Ferrus Manus, the Iron Hands have yet to become the rigidly dogmatic adherents to the Machine Cult they are in 40K. That said their way of war is brutal and uncompromising, free of the jingoism of liberation which characterises the discourse of other Legions such as the Ultramarines or the Emperor's Children with whom they are allies. David Guymer portrays a Legion which is more "innocent" and a primarch who is finding his voice and standing amongst a pantheon of more established primarchs.
What I enjoyed here is that although this is a novel about the 10th Legion primarch, other characters within the Legion are allowed to breath and be fleshed out on the pages. The primarch doesn't take centre stage all the time and isn't in your face however his influence overshadows how the rest of the characters tick - whether Iron Hands, Emperor's Children or Ultramarines. Each Legionary reacts in their own way - the Iron Hands aim to please their genefather, the Emperor's Children are allies and friends whilst the Ultramarines have a completely different mindset and way of war which causes them to clash. There is a crescendo building up where in the end Ferrus Manus comes down with the force of a thunderbolt, having found his own voice and standing.
Another depiction I thoroughly enjoyed is that of the Gaardinal - an insular system of eleven worlds and a reflection of how the Imperium will become by the 41st millenium. The Legiones Astartes react with horror at how the citizens of the Gaardinal live and how their society is structured and conditioned to behave. The reader, with the benefit of hindsight, can draw parallels with how different the nascent Imperium was during the Great Crusade and how it would become after the Horus Heresy. The Legionaries from all three Legions are in essence staring into a warped mirror of what the Imperium - their creation through blood and toil and fire - would become.
December 5, 2024
For the algorithm, 4 stars. Reality? 3.5 stars.
David Guymer, first off, has incredible prose. Maybe I’m just all in on Warhammer and, as they all seem to have similar prose, it scratches a particular itch so I’m biased. Still, this brother can WRITE beautifully. Had me scratching my head at times like where on earth did that description come from? It was beautiful haha
Story? Short, but honestly, I liked it a lot. I wasn’t expecting novel/novella of the year, but for what it offers, I thought it was good. There isn’t much time spent with Ferrus Manus, but when he’s on the page, you can FEEL his power in a way that had me shaking with testosterone and rage at work, ready to conquer the drywall and saw the crap out of some plywood. The story actually spends more time on the Iron Hands from both their perspective and the perspective of an Emperor’s Child (Fulgrim babies, might have the name wrong). Honestly, I liked this angle. It elevated this chapter and their Primarch to a sort of legendary status, and damn if we didn’t do battle with some legends.
Pacing was a little odd, and that was due to the prose. It was slow, or felt so the entire way through, but not in a bad slow. It’s as though David Guymer knew he only had 190-210 pages to do something epic, so he really set out to make every detail pop. This may not be for some people, but for me, I enjoyed it and savored every battle cry and gory exploration of the Astartes steam-rolling (sort of and absolutely) the Gardinaal.
All in all, it was a good book. 5 stars? Nah, too short for that, it had a lot that could’ve been explored that just wasn’t able to. 4 stars? A bit divisive. 3.5 stars? On the money. It has a lot of room for more,but for what’s there, it nails it. I found in not spending as much time with Ferrus Manus as I wanted to that he becomes more of a legendary figure, fleeting and not seen as often, which matches the tale of how he slew a dragon on his home planet.
Awesome read, ignore the hate and enjoy it for what it is.
David Guymer, first off, has incredible prose. Maybe I’m just all in on Warhammer and, as they all seem to have similar prose, it scratches a particular itch so I’m biased. Still, this brother can WRITE beautifully. Had me scratching my head at times like where on earth did that description come from? It was beautiful haha
Story? Short, but honestly, I liked it a lot. I wasn’t expecting novel/novella of the year, but for what it offers, I thought it was good. There isn’t much time spent with Ferrus Manus, but when he’s on the page, you can FEEL his power in a way that had me shaking with testosterone and rage at work, ready to conquer the drywall and saw the crap out of some plywood. The story actually spends more time on the Iron Hands from both their perspective and the perspective of an Emperor’s Child (Fulgrim babies, might have the name wrong). Honestly, I liked this angle. It elevated this chapter and their Primarch to a sort of legendary status, and damn if we didn’t do battle with some legends.
Pacing was a little odd, and that was due to the prose. It was slow, or felt so the entire way through, but not in a bad slow. It’s as though David Guymer knew he only had 190-210 pages to do something epic, so he really set out to make every detail pop. This may not be for some people, but for me, I enjoyed it and savored every battle cry and gory exploration of the Astartes steam-rolling (sort of and absolutely) the Gardinaal.
All in all, it was a good book. 5 stars? Nah, too short for that, it had a lot that could’ve been explored that just wasn’t able to. 4 stars? A bit divisive. 3.5 stars? On the money. It has a lot of room for more,but for what’s there, it nails it. I found in not spending as much time with Ferrus Manus as I wanted to that he becomes more of a legendary figure, fleeting and not seen as often, which matches the tale of how he slew a dragon on his home planet.
Awesome read, ignore the hate and enjoy it for what it is.
December 5, 2018
Note: I am writing this moments after completing my reading of this, rather interesting, take on 'The Gorgon'.
Truthfully, I had read previous reviews attempting to avoid spoilers and get a gauge of what I should expect. Now, after reading this and falling back onto the plethora of aforementioned reviews. I can firmly say that the vast majority of reviews are warranted; however, I categorically disagree with the general consensus of this book. This was unlike any Warhammer novel i have read to date. I believe this is an excellent depiction of the Iron Hands, their true nature as loners, in the vast Imperium. This is not to say that they are not compatible with any other Legion. This is saying that although there are times when i scratched by head pondering why David Guymer chose the routes he did in depicting the X Legion. By the end of the narrative it all made sense.
I personally think this was a great book. Furthermore, it did take the light away from the Iron Hands in favor of others. This in my opinion was done with deliberate intent. I want to look into more of Guymer's writings within the Black Library. Specifically, because his writing style is a mixed bag of many other BL authors; however, he truly stands apart from his peers in specific ways which has impressed me. I won't go into too much detail as i do not want to spoil this for anyone.
Of course, this text has its own issues which, can or cannot be overlook, by the individual reader.
Definitely worth the read and I am certainly going to buy the Collectors Edition because this was unique in and of itself. This is coming from a fan of a much different Space Marine Legion, but none the less made me appreciate and want to start a small force from the Iron Hands Chapter.
Well done,
Pavle
Truthfully, I had read previous reviews attempting to avoid spoilers and get a gauge of what I should expect. Now, after reading this and falling back onto the plethora of aforementioned reviews. I can firmly say that the vast majority of reviews are warranted; however, I categorically disagree with the general consensus of this book. This was unlike any Warhammer novel i have read to date. I believe this is an excellent depiction of the Iron Hands, their true nature as loners, in the vast Imperium. This is not to say that they are not compatible with any other Legion. This is saying that although there are times when i scratched by head pondering why David Guymer chose the routes he did in depicting the X Legion. By the end of the narrative it all made sense.
I personally think this was a great book. Furthermore, it did take the light away from the Iron Hands in favor of others. This in my opinion was done with deliberate intent. I want to look into more of Guymer's writings within the Black Library. Specifically, because his writing style is a mixed bag of many other BL authors; however, he truly stands apart from his peers in specific ways which has impressed me. I won't go into too much detail as i do not want to spoil this for anyone.
Of course, this text has its own issues which, can or cannot be overlook, by the individual reader.
Definitely worth the read and I am certainly going to buy the Collectors Edition because this was unique in and of itself. This is coming from a fan of a much different Space Marine Legion, but none the less made me appreciate and want to start a small force from the Iron Hands Chapter.
Well done,
Pavle
November 21, 2020
Exterminates a world of 100 billion
Overweening ambition to power.
Bullies anyone whose talents undermine his will, then pretends it was a duel between equals.
One of the good guys.
Ferrus is the Warhammer 40k world distilled into its purest form. A Primarch who killed a dragon isn't overly concerned with wiping out lesser mortals. Those lesser mortals from the Iron Hands and other units witness Ferrus' Hitleran escapades and are ultimately consumed by them.
He expects primacy amongst his brothers expressly because of his brutal manner, expecting that if annihilation is the quickest way to victory, then it is the best. Unlike Fulgrim, he does not create schemes to add to the challenge of his campaigns.
No genocide perpetrated by the War Hounds had ever been so severe, or so total.
The book isn't about Ferrus, who will be rightly sacrificed for the story in the Horus Heresy arc while fighting for the "good" guys. It is about the grimdark setting. Repeated references to comradery aside (undermined when Ferrus causes the deaths of his best leaders), our protagonist is as evil, more evil even, than the antagonists.
I have read complaints that Ferrus gets sidelined in his own book. Personally, I do not see him as a compelling character in himself, there are limitations imposed by the canon. It is a good book about the supporting characters, while firmly reminding you they are supporting a very bad goal.
Overweening ambition to power.
Bullies anyone whose talents undermine his will, then pretends it was a duel between equals.
One of the good guys.
Ferrus is the Warhammer 40k world distilled into its purest form. A Primarch who killed a dragon isn't overly concerned with wiping out lesser mortals. Those lesser mortals from the Iron Hands and other units witness Ferrus' Hitleran escapades and are ultimately consumed by them.
He expects primacy amongst his brothers expressly because of his brutal manner, expecting that if annihilation is the quickest way to victory, then it is the best. Unlike Fulgrim, he does not create schemes to add to the challenge of his campaigns.
No genocide perpetrated by the War Hounds had ever been so severe, or so total.
The book isn't about Ferrus, who will be rightly sacrificed for the story in the Horus Heresy arc while fighting for the "good" guys. It is about the grimdark setting. Repeated references to comradery aside (undermined when Ferrus causes the deaths of his best leaders), our protagonist is as evil, more evil even, than the antagonists.
I have read complaints that Ferrus gets sidelined in his own book. Personally, I do not see him as a compelling character in himself, there are limitations imposed by the canon. It is a good book about the supporting characters, while firmly reminding you they are supporting a very bad goal.
February 6, 2022
This is a preliminary review of what I have read so far. This book is atrocious. Rhythm and flow do not exist in the structuring of the prose. Heavy reliance on flowery words for, as this reader is concerned, the sake of sounding as the great fantasy and science fiction writers.
The above issues are further plagued by the unique word structure common to the 30k/40k universe. Now, to be fair, it is hard to know how character names are derived - whether it be the author’s creation or an assembly within the Black Library wheel house, but the names for the characters are extraordinarily clunky and cumbersome to get through - more so than your standard novel within this setting. To be clear, this does not relate to names characters that have long been established - such as the titular character of the novel.
Due to the flowery word play, obtuse names, and lack of narrative flow the book is extremely difficult to read through. This book is, somehow, more of a slog to read than The Witcher series which is known for the rough English translation; even Pygmy by Chuck Palanhuk (sp?) which was intentionally written in broken English was easier to get through. This is a real let down.
The above issues are further plagued by the unique word structure common to the 30k/40k universe. Now, to be fair, it is hard to know how character names are derived - whether it be the author’s creation or an assembly within the Black Library wheel house, but the names for the characters are extraordinarily clunky and cumbersome to get through - more so than your standard novel within this setting. To be clear, this does not relate to names characters that have long been established - such as the titular character of the novel.
Due to the flowery word play, obtuse names, and lack of narrative flow the book is extremely difficult to read through. This book is, somehow, more of a slog to read than The Witcher series which is known for the rough English translation; even Pygmy by Chuck Palanhuk (sp?) which was intentionally written in broken English was easier to get through. This is a real let down.
March 12, 2018
Dear David,
Finished Ferrus Manus recently. Utterly loved this novel. (Mild spoilers ahead).
In my opinion, the novel was about the Iron Hands and their primarch trying to prove themselves, which made for some very nice scenes. Loved the Akurduana character. Really a memorable character. Being so good and still such a nice soul, such a human space marine. And so the story builds, with the Emperor's Children and Akurduana for sure teaching the Iron Hands some lessons, until Ferrus can't restrain himself and battles Akurduana. On the one side, because of his anger and the honor of the legion, on the other hand forgetting that there isn't much honor in a fight between a primarch and 1 starts .... Well done.
And so, Ferrus Manus learns more about himself, and we about him. I always love the novels in which different legions/chapters compete, both trying to be the best. This novel showed such things in a very good way, both on primarch level as on astartes level. At the end also a nice description of Roboute Guilliman, my favorite 30k character. Thanks for this nice novel. Very entertaining, 5 out of 5 stars.
Finished Ferrus Manus recently. Utterly loved this novel. (Mild spoilers ahead).
In my opinion, the novel was about the Iron Hands and their primarch trying to prove themselves, which made for some very nice scenes. Loved the Akurduana character. Really a memorable character. Being so good and still such a nice soul, such a human space marine. And so the story builds, with the Emperor's Children and Akurduana for sure teaching the Iron Hands some lessons, until Ferrus can't restrain himself and battles Akurduana. On the one side, because of his anger and the honor of the legion, on the other hand forgetting that there isn't much honor in a fight between a primarch and 1 starts .... Well done.
And so, Ferrus Manus learns more about himself, and we about him. I always love the novels in which different legions/chapters compete, both trying to be the best. This novel showed such things in a very good way, both on primarch level as on astartes level. At the end also a nice description of Roboute Guilliman, my favorite 30k character. Thanks for this nice novel. Very entertaining, 5 out of 5 stars.
March 31, 2018
In the middle stages of the Great Crusade, when three primarchs are still to be found and rumours of the Emperor’s future plans are just beginning to circulate, the Iron Hands and Emperor’s Children are performing joint exercises when they hear of the 413th Fleet’s difficulties bringing the Gardinaal empire to compliance. Instead of waiting for reinforcements, Ferrus decides to take Gardinaal himself and send a statement to his brothers and father.
Overall it’s an intriguing book, which – when it clicks – takes a really good look at a character who inevitably receives less attention than others, and a legion whose earlier days really haven’t seen much exploration before. In the Gardinaal empire it also has protagonists who offer a powerful foreshadowing of the Imperium’s – certainly individual humans’ – bleak future. In many respects it’s a great success, but it’s just let down a little by problems - too many secondary characters, and a somewhat impenetrable writing style - which, while certainly not deal-breakers, do detract from its positives.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/03/...
Overall it’s an intriguing book, which – when it clicks – takes a really good look at a character who inevitably receives less attention than others, and a legion whose earlier days really haven’t seen much exploration before. In the Gardinaal empire it also has protagonists who offer a powerful foreshadowing of the Imperium’s – certainly individual humans’ – bleak future. In many respects it’s a great success, but it’s just let down a little by problems - too many secondary characters, and a somewhat impenetrable writing style - which, while certainly not deal-breakers, do detract from its positives.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/03/...
May 6, 2018
Last night I finished reading Ferrus Manus: Gorgon of Medusa.
Overall I feel it was pretty good and the characters in it are especially well done; Akurduana is my favorite, and I also liked Moses Trurakk. Both characters are given a lot of details about themselves to identify with. The action is almost unstinting, with only short periods of rest in between the ongoing war between the Imperium and the Gardinaal.
The greatest fight in the book comes when the Gardinaal try to assassinate Ferrus Manus. They fail, but it’s a hell of a fight and really fun to read. It’s almost like a great, well done WWE championship match at Wrestlemania or one of the other big events they put on. It does not have the emotional resonance of Russ’s fight against the Lion but it does have a lot of physicality, effort, and high stakes for both sides.
5/5, Guymer did great 👍
Overall I feel it was pretty good and the characters in it are especially well done; Akurduana is my favorite, and I also liked Moses Trurakk. Both characters are given a lot of details about themselves to identify with. The action is almost unstinting, with only short periods of rest in between the ongoing war between the Imperium and the Gardinaal.
The greatest fight in the book comes when the Gardinaal try to assassinate Ferrus Manus. They fail, but it’s a hell of a fight and really fun to read. It’s almost like a great, well done WWE championship match at Wrestlemania or one of the other big events they put on. It does not have the emotional resonance of Russ’s fight against the Lion but it does have a lot of physicality, effort, and high stakes for both sides.
5/5, Guymer did great 👍
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2018
Oh the ANALOGIES...lulz. This, like most of the Primarch series before this (maybe save Fulgrim) is just one big analogy for the ultimate battle that decides the Gorgon's future. I liked the characterization of Manus here, he has not, in my opinion, gotten enough life breathed into him as yet. I feel like there was a lot of potential to really cement a personality onto the Iron 10th that would help stand them apart. If nothing else, the way they wage war and their unstoppable wrath or raising the bloody storm is very akin to say, the Death Guards preheresey selves, or the Iron Warriors. In fact, their characterization was a little more unique to me in say Galaxy in Flames...clinging to the mechanized parts of themselves and judging flesh as weakness. I dunno. I enjoyed it, I am enjoying the series. I will continue.
September 18, 2020
This is an enjoyable tale of the Great Crusade.
Ferrus Manus was a dour, pretty humourless individual and this book does not attempt to lighten him. Driven, pragmatic and capable of total ruthlessness he was a soldier's soldier, He uses the opportunitiy to command forces fo four legions in one campaign as a way of promoting his worth as a potential Warmaster once the Emperor quits the Great Crusade for his own Great Project beneath the Imperial Palace on Terra.
Guymer does a good job of giving Marines of the various legions distinct personalities and some even become likeable. The fighting is on a suitably vast scale and the essential bolter porn is front and cente. All told this is an interestting addition to the Primarchs series and well worth the read.
Ferrus Manus was a dour, pretty humourless individual and this book does not attempt to lighten him. Driven, pragmatic and capable of total ruthlessness he was a soldier's soldier, He uses the opportunitiy to command forces fo four legions in one campaign as a way of promoting his worth as a potential Warmaster once the Emperor quits the Great Crusade for his own Great Project beneath the Imperial Palace on Terra.
Guymer does a good job of giving Marines of the various legions distinct personalities and some even become likeable. The fighting is on a suitably vast scale and the essential bolter porn is front and cente. All told this is an interestting addition to the Primarchs series and well worth the read.
February 16, 2025
It's an Emperor's Children book.
I'm a huge Iron Hands fan and I hated this book. I was very excited for this and bought the limited edition book. The best way to describe it is it's like going on a blind date with someone, the date is beautiful, gorgeous, everything you'd hoped for but then as soon as you sit down, right from the start all they do is talk about another guy that they are in love with. Then you realise how rotten and ugly they are on the inside.
I understand it's meant to show the weakness of the IH, but it's too much and also why? It just makes out they are morons whilst emphasising how perfect the Emperors Children are.
I'm a huge Iron Hands fan and I hated this book. I was very excited for this and bought the limited edition book. The best way to describe it is it's like going on a blind date with someone, the date is beautiful, gorgeous, everything you'd hoped for but then as soon as you sit down, right from the start all they do is talk about another guy that they are in love with. Then you realise how rotten and ugly they are on the inside.
I understand it's meant to show the weakness of the IH, but it's too much and also why? It just makes out they are morons whilst emphasising how perfect the Emperors Children are.
April 10, 2025
Very difficult to follow
Too many threads, ineffectively portrayed characters, difficult or too complex transitions. A bit of a mess really and rather frustrating to read.
The Iron hands are probably the least sympathetic Legion and Ferrus Manus is portrayed really as a barbarian with little redeeming value and almost no nuance whatsoever. Ork war bosses have more subtlety than Ferrus.
There’s not much to like here besides some Thousand Sons and Ultramarines. The IG and IH are grotesque. Could have been great if it was edited better so it isn’t so smash cutty everywhere and disjointed with a much better development of FM that actually made sense. Meh.
Too many threads, ineffectively portrayed characters, difficult or too complex transitions. A bit of a mess really and rather frustrating to read.
The Iron hands are probably the least sympathetic Legion and Ferrus Manus is portrayed really as a barbarian with little redeeming value and almost no nuance whatsoever. Ork war bosses have more subtlety than Ferrus.
There’s not much to like here besides some Thousand Sons and Ultramarines. The IG and IH are grotesque. Could have been great if it was edited better so it isn’t so smash cutty everywhere and disjointed with a much better development of FM that actually made sense. Meh.
December 29, 2023
I’m really conflicted on this one. It’s a good book, it’s just not a book about Ferrus Manus. It’s even more about the Emperors Children than the Iron Hands, which is weird considering what it’s meant to be about.
It’s actually a great book though. Especially if you enjoy the more humorous side of the Grimdark future, listening to the audiobook genuinely made me laugh out loud a few times. The author obvious doesn’t take themselves too serious and it’s really awesome.
It’s just not about Ferrus Manus. Not really.
It’s actually a great book though. Especially if you enjoy the more humorous side of the Grimdark future, listening to the audiobook genuinely made me laugh out loud a few times. The author obvious doesn’t take themselves too serious and it’s really awesome.
It’s just not about Ferrus Manus. Not really.
January 31, 2024
This book was once again.... fine.
I think I just hate the iron hands. Even with a Primarch, Ferrus Manus is a painfully one-dimensional character.
Maybe if I was shown more of his bonding with Fulgrim and what made them closest of brothers I would like him more, but in this story, his titular novella, he is disappointingly dull.
His best moments are when he is with one of Fulgrims son's, but even then, the emperor's children's legioner is who is carrying the interest there.
Unfortunate, to say the least.
I think I just hate the iron hands. Even with a Primarch, Ferrus Manus is a painfully one-dimensional character.
Maybe if I was shown more of his bonding with Fulgrim and what made them closest of brothers I would like him more, but in this story, his titular novella, he is disappointingly dull.
His best moments are when he is with one of Fulgrims son's, but even then, the emperor's children's legioner is who is carrying the interest there.
Unfortunate, to say the least.
October 23, 2025
I swear if Ferrus actually got developed as a character (and lived long enough), he'd be an pretty interesting primarch. However he does give off a Rogal Dorn type of attitude, although considerably more hot-headed and prone to outbursts. At least that's how I feel about him. The conflict focused on here in the book is OK (typical great Crusade compliance stuff), but the other Iron Hands and even that one Emperor's Children marine are interesting. I like the description of how the Iron Hands operate with their clans and their ships. Pretty cool stuff overall.
March 30, 2023
A slow disjointed start, that builds into something decent, but most might have ditched it before it gets there.
Ferrus Manus has always struggled as a character, as he lacks a distinctive character, and has felt like more of a compound, and this comes across in the book, as a Fulgrim/Angron/Perturabo hybrid, that is trying to not be seen as Vulkan. It shows, as his character seems quite inconsistent throughout the book.
Ferrus Manus has always struggled as a character, as he lacks a distinctive character, and has felt like more of a compound, and this comes across in the book, as a Fulgrim/Angron/Perturabo hybrid, that is trying to not be seen as Vulkan. It shows, as his character seems quite inconsistent throughout the book.
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