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The Horus Heresy #Short Story
The Laurel of Defiance
The horrors of the Shadow Crusade are over – the Word Bearers and their World Eaters allies have been driven back, and peace restored to Ultramar. But a new danger has arisen – a political one, as Primarch Guilliman and his brothers have declared themselves rulers of a new Imperium. Lucretius Corvo, Ultramarines captain and survivor of many battles, is unsure. But he is to be honoured by the primarchs with the Laurel of Defiance for his heroism, and it would be foolish to voice his doubts in such a time…
Read it Because
It's a quiet moment in the Horus Heresy (interspersed with flashbacks of battle) that shows the effect the great events have on the warriors of the Legions.
- Genres40kShort Stories
30 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 9, 2017
4 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Guy Haley
288 books725 followersGuy Haley is the author of over 50 novels and novellas. His original fiction includes Crash, Champion of Mars, and the Richards and Klein, Dreaming Cities, and the Gates of the World series (as K M McKinley). However, he is best known as a prolific contributor to Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
When not writing, he'll be out doing something dangerous in the wild, learning languages or gaming.
When not writing, he'll be out doing something dangerous in the wild, learning languages or gaming.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 7, 2024
April 2024 Re-Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order Omnibus XIII Imperium Secondus I Hope's Kindling (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus series and extras.
So, I was extremely grumpy when I wrote my last review of this and I wasn't before I revisited this, but I am now.
It's a rare occasion that I stand by such a extremely negative review, but this really is so incredibly boring and infused with the vibe of the stereotypical American 'libertarian' perspective of doing all the bootlicking with the bigoted conservative awfulness, but somehow thinking being an arsehole magically makes you a rebel and an outsider, which is weird because most Games Workshop and Black Library stuff is decidedly British.
I've really got nothing else to say because I covered it all below. Yeah, the prose is OK, I guess, but this is just painfully dull and seemingly pointless.
Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 23.41 Horus Heresy novels, 14 novellas (including 1 repeat), 77 short stories/ audio dramas (including 5 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 13 Primarchs novels, 4 Primarchs short stories/ audio dramas, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels...this run. I can't say enough good about the way the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project suggestions. I'm loving it! Especially after originally reading to the releases and being so frustrated at having to wait so long for a narrative to continue.
***
Initial Review
Theoretical: Some interesting ideas to work with.
Actual: Completely bland propaganda.
I'm want to be honest about being in a foul mood and genuinely not meaning any disrespect to Guy Haley. I hated this story. It probably deserves two, possibly even three, stars for the general competency of the writing, but I stand by my one because I had such an unpleasant experience reading it and I think it is emblematic of, while not necessarily the worst example of, everything I can't stand about Games Workshop and the Black Library, which this collection and the Horus Heresy in general are largely good at avoiding -- Imperial propaganda. The fact that the emotional depth is painfully shallow and the details are practically non existent certainly don't help. Being boring is one of the worst things a Black Library story can be, but being the literary equivalent of the justifiably criticised poster idolising Robute Guilliman that went to stores for his return to Warhammer 40K is definitely up there. (Yes, the poster is essentially a piece of in universe Imperial propaganda, but you have to actually know that context to take anything else away beyond, as charming and thoughtful as they may be, genocidal demigods of a fascist galaxy-spanning empire in which incalculable civilians, let alone combatants, die every day, are angelic vaunted heroes worthy of respect and awe.)
The story follows an Ultramarine Captain at an event on Macragge where Guilliman is honouring the bravery of those of his mini empire within an empire. Mr Rowboat is is there with his brothers, Sir Gawain and Griffith, the Dark and Bloody Angels, for no real reason it seems. Our Captain, recalls the battle against the Word Bearers and their Possessed Titan that lead to his being honoured hear, has a pint with a Librarian, remembers his dad, and pulls some sass with his Primarch and the Green Knight, before walking away like a badass™.
Look, I'm losing steam and I'm still without ADHD meds so here we go!
Corvo is both a cookie cutter Ultramarine, meaning he has as much personality as the expunged legions, and also somehow has big, generic not like other girls™ energy, because dad, sass, and not having a library pass. By which I mean, he's a bit shitty to the Librarian who is guarding the three fucking Primarchs and mentions the recent Night Lords' assassination attempt, not to mention Calth and the entirely nondescript battle our boy just came from, he still remembers his dad and has his family crest on his heraldry, but he'll never tell, and is a sassy little minx to the triumvirate of Primarchs in ways that would have seen anyone else executed on the spot or at the very least censured -- he refuses to re-up his oaths to the Emperor in an understandably jumpy environment, whips his fucking sword out, and is disrespectful directly to the Lion's fucking face, disobeying a direct order, walking off with 30 Marks to Mars blasting in his ears!
It didn't need to go down like this. I was never an Ultrasmurf hater, but I was definitely incredibly bored with them being the face of 40K for so many years with no personality beyond stoic Roman dudes. But The Mark of Calth and Know No Fear utterly power washed that indescript lack of flavour off the Sons of Macragge, genuinely making me care very much about the blue bois. I don't know whether it's standing in the shadow of Abnett and Dembski-Bowden, which is a deep and dark shadow to be fair, or what, but there is completely nothing to Corvo and the Ultramarines...or really anthying!
The World Eaters (it was World Eaters and not Word Bearers in this one, right?) [I'm genuinely not being cute. I don't remember or care enough to look it up] are a roiling mass of fanatics and enemy combatants. Could literally have been represented by any character model. Just an army of mindless Hollows, Tarnished, and Blood Drunk Hunters. Nope they have too much detail. The enemies and the combat are meh and there is a Dark Powers damned Possessed Titan in play and even that is barely interesting somehow. I will say that some of the bestial descriptions and movements of the Titan are the best thin in this story, but they are so few and far between. Also, what kind of Titan is this? I'm not quite as much of a nerd as I am embarrassing myself to be in this review, but I am aware, and every single other Warhammer and especially Horus Heresy story is aware, that Titan's come in specific classes that denote their size, shape, weaponry, etc. and that scale and size difference is colossally different! I assume it's a Warhound due to how it landed and was taken down because imagining this story with an Imperator takes it into ludicrous Attack on Titan scale. Maybe it's class is unrecognisable now (though the size would still be obvious), but even that isn't mentioned. It's just a weird, generic Titan.
The good idea of the Daemon Titan, generically conceived, and poorly relayed, is the word all the way through this stick of rock story and that word is, "Meh".
The story also has an opening interaction between our cerulean centurion and a presumably civilian woman that, while it is by no means the worst misogyny in the Horus Heresy (looking at you my problematic faves Abnett and McNeil with Grammaticus' weirdly virulent slut shaming and Lucius the Sigma's bioessentialist chauvinistic bullshit [actually, fuck that McNeil is off the fave list for just how disgustingly misogynistic Fulgrim, the novel, is]), utterly screams cishet white dude writer that made me cringe really hard, and wonder whether any other sdxualities, beyond heterosexual, exist in the Imperium and what that says and how it never coming up says about GW and BL...
Honestly, seeing the Ultramarines doing a celebration, while the Horus Heresy is taking palace, with three Primarchs, and a Daemon Titan in action was something I didn't know I needed, and absolutely could and should have been so very much more interesting and just better. The thing is Haley has shown many times he's capable of more than this, so it's an extra shame.
Yes, I've gone hard and been mean. The Butcher's Nails of C-PTSD convulsions and chronic pain are singing, and ranting about a shitty story has been cathartic, but I genuinely don't actually have a grudge against Haley, I don't think he's a bad writer, and I don't think the problematic elements are there in purpose or from any malice. I'm sorry. Let's both do better.
So, I was extremely grumpy when I wrote my last review of this and I wasn't before I revisited this, but I am now.
It's a rare occasion that I stand by such a extremely negative review, but this really is so incredibly boring and infused with the vibe of the stereotypical American 'libertarian' perspective of doing all the bootlicking with the bigoted conservative awfulness, but somehow thinking being an arsehole magically makes you a rebel and an outsider, which is weird because most Games Workshop and Black Library stuff is decidedly British.
I've really got nothing else to say because I covered it all below. Yeah, the prose is OK, I guess, but this is just painfully dull and seemingly pointless.
Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 23.41 Horus Heresy novels, 14 novellas (including 1 repeat), 77 short stories/ audio dramas (including 5 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 13 Primarchs novels, 4 Primarchs short stories/ audio dramas, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels...this run. I can't say enough good about the way the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project suggestions. I'm loving it! Especially after originally reading to the releases and being so frustrated at having to wait so long for a narrative to continue.
***
Initial Review
Theoretical: Some interesting ideas to work with.
Actual: Completely bland propaganda.
I'm want to be honest about being in a foul mood and genuinely not meaning any disrespect to Guy Haley. I hated this story. It probably deserves two, possibly even three, stars for the general competency of the writing, but I stand by my one because I had such an unpleasant experience reading it and I think it is emblematic of, while not necessarily the worst example of, everything I can't stand about Games Workshop and the Black Library, which this collection and the Horus Heresy in general are largely good at avoiding -- Imperial propaganda. The fact that the emotional depth is painfully shallow and the details are practically non existent certainly don't help. Being boring is one of the worst things a Black Library story can be, but being the literary equivalent of the justifiably criticised poster idolising Robute Guilliman that went to stores for his return to Warhammer 40K is definitely up there. (Yes, the poster is essentially a piece of in universe Imperial propaganda, but you have to actually know that context to take anything else away beyond, as charming and thoughtful as they may be, genocidal demigods of a fascist galaxy-spanning empire in which incalculable civilians, let alone combatants, die every day, are angelic vaunted heroes worthy of respect and awe.)
The story follows an Ultramarine Captain at an event on Macragge where Guilliman is honouring the bravery of those of his mini empire within an empire. Mr Rowboat is is there with his brothers, Sir Gawain and Griffith, the Dark and Bloody Angels, for no real reason it seems. Our Captain, recalls the battle against the Word Bearers and their Possessed Titan that lead to his being honoured hear, has a pint with a Librarian, remembers his dad, and pulls some sass with his Primarch and the Green Knight, before walking away like a badass™.
Look, I'm losing steam and I'm still without ADHD meds so here we go!
Corvo is both a cookie cutter Ultramarine, meaning he has as much personality as the expunged legions, and also somehow has big, generic not like other girls™ energy, because dad, sass, and not having a library pass. By which I mean, he's a bit shitty to the Librarian who is guarding the three fucking Primarchs and mentions the recent Night Lords' assassination attempt, not to mention Calth and the entirely nondescript battle our boy just came from, he still remembers his dad and has his family crest on his heraldry, but he'll never tell, and is a sassy little minx to the triumvirate of Primarchs in ways that would have seen anyone else executed on the spot or at the very least censured -- he refuses to re-up his oaths to the Emperor in an understandably jumpy environment, whips his fucking sword out, and is disrespectful directly to the Lion's fucking face, disobeying a direct order, walking off with 30 Marks to Mars blasting in his ears!
It didn't need to go down like this. I was never an Ultrasmurf hater, but I was definitely incredibly bored with them being the face of 40K for so many years with no personality beyond stoic Roman dudes. But The Mark of Calth and Know No Fear utterly power washed that indescript lack of flavour off the Sons of Macragge, genuinely making me care very much about the blue bois. I don't know whether it's standing in the shadow of Abnett and Dembski-Bowden, which is a deep and dark shadow to be fair, or what, but there is completely nothing to Corvo and the Ultramarines...or really anthying!
The World Eaters (it was World Eaters and not Word Bearers in this one, right?) [I'm genuinely not being cute. I don't remember or care enough to look it up] are a roiling mass of fanatics and enemy combatants. Could literally have been represented by any character model. Just an army of mindless Hollows, Tarnished, and Blood Drunk Hunters. Nope they have too much detail. The enemies and the combat are meh and there is a Dark Powers damned Possessed Titan in play and even that is barely interesting somehow. I will say that some of the bestial descriptions and movements of the Titan are the best thin in this story, but they are so few and far between. Also, what kind of Titan is this? I'm not quite as much of a nerd as I am embarrassing myself to be in this review, but I am aware, and every single other Warhammer and especially Horus Heresy story is aware, that Titan's come in specific classes that denote their size, shape, weaponry, etc. and that scale and size difference is colossally different! I assume it's a Warhound due to how it landed and was taken down because imagining this story with an Imperator takes it into ludicrous Attack on Titan scale. Maybe it's class is unrecognisable now (though the size would still be obvious), but even that isn't mentioned. It's just a weird, generic Titan.
The good idea of the Daemon Titan, generically conceived, and poorly relayed, is the word all the way through this stick of rock story and that word is, "Meh".
The story also has an opening interaction between our cerulean centurion and a presumably civilian woman that, while it is by no means the worst misogyny in the Horus Heresy (looking at you my problematic faves Abnett and McNeil with Grammaticus' weirdly virulent slut shaming and Lucius the Sigma's bioessentialist chauvinistic bullshit [actually, fuck that McNeil is off the fave list for just how disgustingly misogynistic Fulgrim, the novel, is]), utterly screams cishet white dude writer that made me cringe really hard, and wonder whether any other sdxualities, beyond heterosexual, exist in the Imperium and what that says and how it never coming up says about GW and BL...
Honestly, seeing the Ultramarines doing a celebration, while the Horus Heresy is taking palace, with three Primarchs, and a Daemon Titan in action was something I didn't know I needed, and absolutely could and should have been so very much more interesting and just better. The thing is Haley has shown many times he's capable of more than this, so it's an extra shame.
Yes, I've gone hard and been mean. The Butcher's Nails of C-PTSD convulsions and chronic pain are singing, and ranting about a shitty story has been cathartic, but I genuinely don't actually have a grudge against Haley, I don't think he's a bad writer, and I don't think the problematic elements are there in purpose or from any malice. I'm sorry. Let's both do better.
May 8, 2022
(Not essential reading for the HH main story.)
November 8, 2022
An okay listen about the Space Smurfs 🤷♀️🥱
October 28, 2017
There aren’t that many stories where we get to see how Space Marines deal with parties, or indeed how they tackle enemy Titans, but this one does both. There’s a nice balance to the story, both aspects equally of interest, and it does a good job of gently touching upon that poignant sense of what might have been had the Heresy not happened.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/10/...
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/10/...
February 8, 2024
The chaos titan is cool, and I love stories that explore relationships between space marines and normal humans.
February 13, 2025
Collected in war without end anthology.
August 9, 2025
The defenders of the Imperium Secundus are to be honoured, human and transhuman alike. But the ceremony does not sit well with Corvo of the Ultramarines. This story takes its time to develop the world of the Heresy outside of the battlefield, showing celebration and lightness, while in the background is destruction and ruin. It also plays around with the growing divide between the Astartes and regular humanity, a gap that grows considerably by the 41st Millenium.
We are also served some intense action as loyalists must face a daemon-possessed Titan.
What really made the story was the strong, clear characterisation of Corvo. After reading so many Heresy stories, Astartes can begin to blend together, so having a clear personality makes the story more memorable.
Corvo goes on to appear in "Pharos".
We are also served some intense action as loyalists must face a daemon-possessed Titan.
What really made the story was the strong, clear characterisation of Corvo. After reading so many Heresy stories, Astartes can begin to blend together, so having a clear personality makes the story more memorable.
Corvo goes on to appear in "Pharos".
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews