Dark Angels

The Horus Heresy #6

by Mitchel Scanlon

Auf dem Planeten Caliban ist das Leben noch immer so, wie es seit Tausenden von Jahren gewesen ist – die Ritterorden beschützen die einfachen Menschen und bekämpfen die Bestien, die in den Tiefen der endlos scheinenden Wälder hausen. Zahariel und Nemiel streben danach, sich dem größten dieser Orden anzuschließen, der von dem mächtigen Lion El’Jonson angeführt wird und seiner Vision einer friedlich vereinten Welt folgt. Doch die Ankunft des Imperiums bringt neue Sorgen und ein neues Schicksal für den Löwen, der nun ein Teil des Großen Kreuzzugs werden soll. Die Söhne von Caliban müssen sich entschieden, ob sie ihm zu den Sternen folgen wollen.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Fiction, Fantasy, Audiobook, War, Space Opera

406 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 30, 2007

About the author

Mitchel Scanlon is a British writer of science fiction novels and comics. He wrote novels for the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, and novels featuring 2000 AD character Judge Anderson. He also writes a comic series called Tales of Hellbrandt Grimm.

Reviews

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading some very harsh critiques of this book I decided to give it a try - and I am very glad I did.

I have to agree that book does not follow events already set in previous books concerning Horus' betrayal.

Here author tries to give a look at the isolated society, one that has its values, its code of conduct and one constantly fighting for their freedom from the horrors surrounding them.

He shows warrior cast (very similar in almost anything to the Space Marines), people protecting the very foundation of Caliban society (knight orders of Caliban) through the eyes of a young man and his struggles to reach his knighthood. Also he shows some more of Lion El'Jonson - one of the soon to be found Primarchs - man with the vision but also man whose eyes are always set onsome distant goal not visible to mere mortals.

All of a sudden Terran Empire reaches Calban and everything changes - people who fought and bled are now seen as mere aspirants to the Astartes Legion, orders are dismissed, way of life crudely changed - soon division begins to create as Imperial bureaucratic machine starts to change the Caliban - world that is treated in the same way like it was subdued by the means of war.

One has to wander what are the true goals of the Emperor with humanity.

Great story, cannot wait to read the sequel.

Recommended.

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The introduction of the Dark Angels legion, Descent of Angels seems to get a bad rep among the early Horus Heresy books. I must admit the only reason I can see why that is, is that it is quite different.

I suspect readers were less than thrilled at the approach, removing the book from the grand stage and focusing instead of the development of a particular planetary society long before the events of the series at large. But I actually found it really interesting. In general, being allowed a deeper look at a particular society was a refreshing reprieve from five books of mostly battles and spaceships (although yes, that is the primary reason for reading this series).

The characters were almost surprisingly human. The world of Caliban, with its lush green forests, military monastic orders and great hunts for wild and mythic beasts reminded me of Onderon in the Star Wars Old Republic era. And although coming through only infrequently, the book's colonial-centric social commentary on Imperial expansion was also more thought-provoking than your average 40k novel (although obviously not particularly complex).

Overall, solid entry. Made the Dark Angels another favourite legion of mine. I'm getting more and more of those, it seems.

[Geyser · Rating 1 out of 5]

Amateurish. Long stretches of exposition dumps told through lazy dialogue between the hero and his incompetent sidekick. Seriously, its on par with Baby Darth Vader asking Qui Gon about midichlorians. Its painfully fake.

Despite the mountains of exposition, no real insights are given into the chapter. Mysterious characters stay mysterious, things not already known are not explored. The only real depth is in the pre-Terran life on Caliban. Unfortunately, that life is rather bland fantasy stuff with knights and monsters. Plus, the good guys have a Primarch on their side, so there is no tension. The outcomes are foregone conclusions.

Many times it feels like Harry Potter in space. The main characters are young and cartoonishly naive, and they are surrounded by the usual stern teachers and kindly elders.

Once the Space Marines show up, everything is repeated again. The hero is again reduced to an ignorant child on the bottom rung who has to work his way up again. Supremely boring the second time.

Worst moment spoiler: In a moment of utter ridiculousness, a group of idiot knights plot to overthrow the space marines, their own invincible primarch and even the Emperor himself! Absolutely no thought is put into it. They plan to bomb the Emperor, and fight a guerilla war from the forests, using swords and horses. Its hilarious. To make matters worse, they tell the true believer, main character their plan, who never shows even a tiny degree of doubt about the Empire. The plot is easily disrupted (by the main character beating up the bomber) and its forgotten as soon as its brought up.

Stay away.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Mucho más trasfondo de los Ángeles Oscuros que trabajo sobre la rebelión de Horus.-

Género. Ciencia ficción.

Lo que nos cuenta. El libro El descenso de los ángeles (publicación original: Descent of Angels, 2007), con el subtítulo Lealtad y honor, nos presenta a Zahariel El’Zurias, un caballero iniciado en la Orden de Caliban, guerreros que luchan por defender a los habitantes del planeta de la enorme y variada cantidad de criaturas asesinas que pueblan sus bosques. La existencia de la Tierra es en Caliban poco más que un mito, pero entre ellos está un guerrero más fuerte, más sabio y más resistente que cualquiera de los demás: Lion El’Johnson, que poco a poco sube en el escalafón de la Orden, igual que Zahariel, y cuyo deseo de acabar con todas las criaturas hostiles de Caliban lo harán entrar en conflicto con otros grupos de guerreros. Sexto libro de la serie La herejía de Horus.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...

[Chris Berko · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a title! Dramatic AF, eh?

One of the many things I love about these Warhammer 4oK books is all the different authors. Each one has their own voice and each has their own strengths and weaknesses. It is keeping the series fresh for me and I appreciate what every one has brought to the table. This was the lowest rated of the Horus Heresy novels that I've read so far and I went into it with minimized expectations based on previous reviews, but let me tell you I ended up enjoying it just as much as the others. This author brought some serious fantasy elements to the story, until the second half, and at times I forgot I was reading a WH40K book at all. There were more knights on horses with swords and shit in the first half than space battles but once the angels landed it was back to business as usual with the science fiction elements coming back into play. This was a lot of fun to read and I think it catches some unwarranted flack because it doesn't continue any of the story lines so far introduced but for me that part of what I liked about it, it was all brand new. Keep up the good work Black Library, in me you got a fan for life!

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Descent of Angels" attempts to tell the tale of the origins of the Dark Angels - maybe. What it really tells is the origin of Squire, turned Knight, turned Aspirant, turned Space Marine, turned Librarian Zarahiel, who by the end of the novel, becomes relegated to a near non-entity, apparently. Lion el'Jonson comes across as one of the least impressive Primarchs at this point. People aren't falling to their knees in his presense, or becoming rendered speechless as they find themselves in the presence of a living Demi-God. Which comes across as especially strange on a world which is portrayed as medieval (with the exception of bolt pistols, chain swords, and power armor) where one would think groveling to a go-like being would be second nature. The Lion is just, you know, a tall, impressive guy, that people look up to. He lacks the presence, power, and charisma of the other Primarchs that we have met thus far. I also think that Luther would be prime for a main character treatment, with all of his inner conflict and turmoil, but he's just there, as well...becoming vitally important for a second, and then banished to the background yet again.

Overall, I feel that this was a somewhat underwhelming story for the Horus Heresy series and it feels like it's missing plot elements to tell a complete narrative. Admittedly, yes, this is a #6 in a rather lengthy series, but up to this point each entry has been rather self-contained with the next novel building upon an already established plot - or filling in backstory. This did none of that. Nothing in here touches upon anything else previously seen in the Horus Heresy, with the possible exception of The Watchers, who claim to be part of a Cabal that seem to be attempting to stop Horus (which I think may be touched upon a bit more in the next entry, "Legion").

I realize in a long-running, 50-plus novel series, that everything can't be amazing. But for a Chapter as storied as the Dark Angels, with their very ambiguous background (are they or aren't they heretics? what are they hiding?), this is somewhat meh.

[John Back · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this book - I have a fledgling DA Army and I was genuinely interested in their origins. In summary, the only parts of this book worth reading are the two battles, the one between Zachariel and the Caliban Lion and the battle on the planet of the damned at the end. I don't think I've ever had to endure so much filler. Scanlon literally repeats almost every single passage in the book .. but not further ahead in the book - oh no... he just rephrases and re-presents the same thing in the next passage. He does this ad infinitum and it is awful, just god-awful. I'm pleased I had the strength of will to make it to the good bits, but this was a serious disappointment. I wasn't as though he had boring characters to work with either - he had the main character (who I won't spoil), the Lion and Luther themselves - even the Emperor! There was enough plot here to make a seriously good story, but this ain't it.

[Sud666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was rather different than what I'm used to. The reason for this is due to almost three-quarters of this story takes place in a Pre-Imperium and Pre-Astartes time.

Caliban. A Death World filled with vicious predators, and worse, warp-tainted beasts that are called "Great Beasts" and are the bane of life. On Caliban, the people are protected by Knightly orders. The largest, and now, most famous is simply called The Order. Renowned warriors and pious Knights, they are led by the great knight Luther. But Luther, years ago, found an amazing child living in the wilderness- Lion El' Johnson, who has grown to become the greatest champion ever seen. More than a any human could possibly be.

Told from the viewpoint of Zahariel El'Zurias, a 12 year old Knight aspirant, we learn about the Order, its conflicts with the other knightly orders of Caliban, and the great crusade, called by the Lion, against the great Beasts of Caliban.
Zahariel, and his cousin, Nemiel, both progress through the Order and through acts of amazing bravery ascend into Knights. Then the Emperor comes to Caliban and we find out that the Lion is actually a Primarch and to be the Lord of the 1st Legion of Astartes-The Dark Angels.

The final quarter of the book details the Dark Angels campaign against the planet of Sarosh. It is here that Luther nearly betrays the Lion and descends into jealousy, causing problems in the future and leading to the deployment of Luther and his allies to Caliban while the rest of the Legion goes on Crusade. While the after-effects of this are not covered in this book, they will be momentous.

A very interesting look at the Dark Angels and their background. It also shows some of what is necessary to become an Astartes, as Zahariel and Nemiel both become transhumans. It also explains why the Lion left Luther behind on Caliban (which will later on be a momentous event, but no spoilers).
An Excellent story and a cool background of a world before the coming of the Imperium.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing book in a great series. I would not bother reading it as it has no bearing on the rest of the series.

[Nikola Pavlovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ne znam zasto ljudi imaju da kazu toliko toga loseg o ovoj knjizi.
Sto se same radnje tice slazem se da je ova knjiga neophodna, sto se kvaliteta napisanog tice pa i nemam nekih vecih zamerki. Svidja mi se kako je radnja podeljena na tri celine, takodje mi se dopada i to sto prve dve celine govore o necemu sto je u predhodnim delovima serijala bila samo daleka proslost. Descent of Angels daje potrebnu dubinu serijalu i savetujem da se ne preskace.

[Radoslav · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book abandons the main story thread of the Horus saga, and explores the origins of the Primarch Lion El’Johnson and the Dark Angels Legion.

The story is told through the perspective of the boy Zahariel, as he is introduced into the Order, a knightly brotherhood sworn to protect the people of Caliban from the Great Beasts that terrorize them.

⅔ of the book is spent on planet Caliban, where we learn more about its history and society, as we follow knights proclaiming quest, failing quest, completing quests, earning XP, getting loot and advancing through the Order.

But everything changed when the (Dark) Angels descended.

It was an OK book, though I didn’t care much for the Lion, nor does this book have anything to do with the Heresy storyline. It is an origin story, and I enjoyed it somewhat. Zahariel is a good protagonist, and I liked some of the secondary characters, like Luther and Israfael.

[Andy Blake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written unfortunately. Either Mr Scanlon didn't care, or he genuinely doesn't know how to write. It avoids a 1 star as I am quite the fan of the Dark Angels and it was good to read of the inhabitants of Caliban during its 'death world' phase, before the coming of the Emperor.

The disjointed prose spoils anything that is of promise in this book. Where a character might have been developed; where a plotline may have been followed; where some purpose and literary energy might have been in order, the writing drags it down into the same repetitive mire. The book also rushes to a rather awkward end. I have to agree with another reviewer... it seems the Imperium part was tacked on to turn it into an HH novel.

On the positive side Scanlon does manage to create, in my view, a sense of scale, a feeling that time is passing and that Caliban is changing as we move into the Imperium phase.

I appreciated the Luther scenes more than any other... he was probably the best written character (the sequence where he's talking with Zahariel in the Order's fortress, and when he and the Lion slay the beast in the last enemy order's keep are the best parts).

[Amie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I understand the community's low average rating.

You ordered an epic space opera, thinking you're getting Space Marines who'll space marine, and instead you get young, British Geralt of Rivia in Knight Witcher School. This is the most fantastic science fiction I've ever read, I wouldn't even call it sci-fantasy. On top of that, the hottest Primarch, first-born, best at everything, turns out to be a child in a grown man's body, leading children in grown men's bodies. And I know, it's basically a prequel, with the Imperium arriving in Part 3, no Heresy timeline in sight. But hear me out...I'm not a 40k apologist, I swear.

If we move past all the above and accept the book for what it is (a pre-Emperor story about a boy who is trying so hard to be good but is tainted and a damaged giant that had to fend for himself in a forest as a child that would probably scare Geralt shitless who doesn't know his true identity), it's a great story. The Descent of Angels was so much fun, but it also quietly seethed throughout the book (until it didn't) with the tragic devastation that the HH is famous for. And the Dark Angels are the most scattered, chaotic legion I've experienced so far, but someone has to be the drama.

If we move past them, I think this is one of the fresher breaks in monotony, a palette cleanser if you will, and it deserves better. I've waited all year to read The Caliban Arc and the start of it did not disappoint!

[Tarl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my second time reading this book, and in all honesty, it's as uninspiring the second time around as it was the first time.

The first in a trilogy of stories involving the history of the Dark Angels, this book is a lot slower than the Horus Heresy books surrounding it. Sure, it's a giant history to the world and knightly orders of the Dark Angels' home planet, but it feels more like a giant exposition dump rather than a true story. A lot happens, but looking back, it feels the exact opposite.

And I will be frank, I dreaded reading this book again. And I dread reading the next Dark Angels heresy book. I am hoping that the second book is better than I remember, but that remains to be seen. I know the reviews on this book are wildly different, some one stars, some five. I don't believe this book deserves a one star review. It has some good moments, and does delivery what it is supposed to, a history of the Dark Angels and a look at their world before the coming of the Emperor. And as many have said, it could very easily be its own stand alone book. That said, it's part of a series of books that are supposed to link together, so this isn't necessarily a good thing and shows a lack of cohesion with the rest of the writing team and overall flow of the Horus Heresy series of novels.

In the end, up unto this point, this is my least liked Horus Heresy novel. Even though there are some things done right and well with it, they pale in comparison to the things done poorly. As mentioned, I hope the next Dark Angels heresy book is better, but only time will tell...

[Thomas Edmund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Descent of Angels was an odd tale in the Horus Heresy series. After exploring Horus Rising and a couple of side tales, the story jumps to the origins of the Dark Angel legions. At first I was a little frustrated to jump into a flashback to the Heresy storyline, but I did feel like a good effort was made to keep the story a little fresher than the more formulaic earlier books.

Overall I liked how the story portrayed the emperor's crusade from the perspective of a discovered planet it raised political and ethical issues without losing the simplified fantasy romp feel. My only real upset with the story was that the conclusion left very abruptly 'just book one' after building tensions and plots well it felt like there was an arbitrary boss battle and then the stuff I cared about was 'to be continued'

[Lukas Deicke · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Brothers, Retribution is at hand! We are sons of Caliban! Let fury guide your weapons, let vengeance be your song! We are the angels of death and our enemies shall fall!"

Dangit, ich habe dieses Buch vor fünf Jahren gelesen und habe vergessen es hier einzutragen. Warhammer 40k bietet für mich immernoch eine dunkle und mysteriös faszinierende Galaxie nach all diesen Jahren. Die Geschichten sind überdimensional episch sodass es manchmal sogar lächerlich wird...aber ich liebe es.

[G · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book got interesting only in its final quarter when we visited Sarosh, but by then the first three-fourths of the book, dedicated to a training montage on Caliban, had dissipated any interest you might have for the outcome. Mitchel Scanlon quickly became a dreaded name I hope never to encounter again in my reading of the Horus Heresy series.

[Timothy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one after I struggled to get through the last two. Yes, it detours significantly from the main storyline of the HH. In fact, it has zero bearing on it and that’s precisely why it was good. It probably should have been its own standalone book, not attached to the main series (maybe a #.5 book?).

My main issue is after developing Caliban and the characters there, I felt like the ending was rushed and forced. It seemed more like an attempt to justify the inclusion of this book into the overall HH series, even as it occurred well before the events of Book 1. Which ultimately leads me back to thinking it should’ve been a standalone book.

On to the next!

[mikey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5


Descent of Angels is a fun and intriguing introduction to one of the most beloved space marine legions in 40k, and yet, I am confused as to why this was apart of the Horus Heresy. Save for some not so subtle foreshadowing of things to come, this book is mostly a fast paced history of the Knights of Caliban before their reunification with the wider Imperium. I enjoyed my time in this book quite a bit, but apart of the Horus Heresy, this book is not, at least not yet. I assume that in the next two Dark Angels centric books that this one will mean more to me than it does right now.

Aside from that, and the downgrade in character voice/overall prose, I had a good time with this one. The Dark Angels are one of my most anticipated legions, and this origin was a decent beginning to their saga.

“Repent! For tomorrow, you die!”

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a placeholder for a future, more thorough review. I'm about halfway through and having a doozy of a time getting through it. The book is a competent and well-written effort to lay out the first history and origins of the Dark Angels on planet Caliban during what I believe is before the Heresy of you know who. I hear it eventually gets to space, which I hope makes the book better, but the first half has been a bit... plain. The perspective hero, Zahariel, is a very boring recruit who we see goes through the process of becoming a Dark Angel of the oldest order and has to fight a bunch of Great Beasts--monsters that basically rule the planet. While following this character we get to see other legends such as Luther, Lord Cypher and Lion El'Jonson in their daily doings. It isn't as adventurous as I expected this quasi-medieval world to be and there is a lot of philosophizing, talking about war, patting each other on the back for being so honorable, and other yadda blah not-space-marines-but-still-marine jargon. It's not bad by ANY means, but it's also not juicy, dramatic or interesting. It makes me less interested in the hero characters and history. I'm new to 40k and have read Horus Rising, Dante and other books that blew me away, so coming across a book that doesn't meet those very high expectations is expected, but a disappointment, especially because my chosen faction is Dark Angels. So now I can only hope the future Dark Angel installments are better than this, but I hear they are also pretty mixed. At the very least I can still enjoy my faction while reading other faction stories.

I will revisit this if and when I finish the book and hopefully find myself enjoying it a bit more, but so far it just isn't hitting the spot. What it needs is a central character with interests and flaws and a real personal connection to the world around him or her. Zahariel just sort of goes along with everything and everyone tells him how much potential he has and how great he is and it's just boring. He doesn't challenge others' ideas or ideals and just accepts that he needs to do what everyone says because it is honorable, and yet he learns that his own leaders have conflicting attitudes about different traditions of the order. We'll see if it gets any better.

[Toondar77 · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I understand why a lot of folks don’t like this one, basically we get a whole book of backstory on what is more or less some side stuff. So this book is side stuff to the side stuff. That said, I really liked it. I like that it casts a big more of a question of motives over Lion El Johnson more than I expected. I’m pretty hyped to jump into the next one and get the conclusion of this little side story of the larger Horus Heresy

[Miss Jools · Rating 1 out of 5]

Second Audible book! The narration is fine, but because the main character is young the narration did get a bit irritating. But that's nothing compared to the poor story and awful writing. Repetitive and unimaginative. Plot was lacking, character development was none existing. No tension. Just blah. One to skip even for completionists!

[Andi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A much needed lighter read after the previous book in the series (Fulgrim).
I enjoyed this one a lot, I found the stories and traditions of Caliban to be great, being a fan of historical knightly orders as well.
The ending surprised me and left me asking some questions, but I hope I'll find the answers in a later book.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great....but not bad.....didn't like the start so much it was slow and boring but towards the last quarter it picked up.

[Cody Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst black library novels I have ever read. Really hard to get through this one. The story really has nothing to do with the heresy at all and should have been its own separate thing.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first novel in the "Horus Heresy" series, which doesn't take place at all during the heresy. It starts like YA fantasy on Caliban, then the Emperor arrives, then a mission that sows the seeds of future betrayals.
And that’s it.

Well, I'm not a fan of this departure from the original concept but I could live with it if it wasn't for Scanlon's atrocious style. It sounds like it was written for middle-schoolers with dialogue that made me cringe half the time. Not to mention the cardboard cutout characters - Zahariel and the others are all empty shells spouting insufferable empty dialogue- and the book's resolution in a few rushed pages. Gee, Mitch, you had a train to catch or what?

In short, from my point of view it's worth 1*, barely, but I'll add one because it at least has the merit of telling the story of the Dark Angels under The Lion and adding to the lore.

[César Rodríguez Cuenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

No se porque tiene puntuación baja en comparación con los demás. La mayor parte del libro transcurre en un planeta antes de que llegue el imperio, y conoces al protagonista bien. Me ha parecido bastante chulo, es un aire fresco porque desde el principio estaba claro que no iba a afectar directamente a los eventos de la historia principal, así que te quitas esas expectativas.
Aquí se puede ver como se pasa de ser humano a Astartes, como los humanos por muy a favor que estén del imperio lo ven con recelo, lo malo que es el imperio en si, aunque a veces sea el menor de los males, y un poco más de Lore sobre el mundo en general.
Hacia el final del libro hay batallas y tradiciones como en todos, un poco predecibles pero tampoco estamos leyendo un nobel de literatura, y la estructura de "somos super hermanos, pero luego te traiciono" es la estructura de los 6 libros que llevo.

[Matej Houdek · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is I, Lancelot of Camelot. Hmmm boring. You expect a unique reunion of Emperor with one of his long lost sons and what you get instead is a failed assassination plot. Yes. This is definetly what we want.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kinda different than the other books in the Heresy series, but I liked it!

[Sergio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siento que la historia al final pega un volantazo y que es un poco innecesaria pero bueno, buen génesis de personaje para el león.