The Crimson King

The Horus Heresy #44

by Graham McNeill

Exiled, hunted and reviled, the Thousand Sons Legion are adrift – as is their primarch, Magnus. But with his power and personality fracturing, drastic action is needed by the Legion if they are to avoid losing their gene-father forever.

After the razing of Prospero, Magnus the Red spirited the Thousand Sons away to the aptly un-named Planet of the Sorcerers, deep within the Eye of Terra. Removed from the concerns of the galaxy at large and regarding the Warmaster’s unfolding Heresy with cold detachment, he has dedicated his hollow existence to the preservation of all the knowledge once held in the great libraries of Tizca, should mankind ever seek such enlightenment again. But his sons can see the change in their primarch – he is a broken soul, whose mind and memories are slipping away into the tumult of the warp. Only by returning to the scenes of his greatest triumphs and tragedies can they hope to restore him, and allow the Crimson King to be crowned anew by the Ruinous Powers.

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

535 pages, Paperback

First published December 5, 2017

About the author

Hailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill narrowly escaped a career in surveying to work for Games Workshop as a games designer. He has a strong following with his novels Nightbringer, Warriors of Ultramar, Dead Sky, Black Sun and Storm of Iron.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graham McNeill's A Thousand Sons is my most favourite one HH novel, love the tragic fall from grace of Magnus the Red and XV Legion, loved first part and the ending of this maybe too much long book and all the references to past stories, but after 44 novels (and lots of novellas, e-shorts and audiobooks) is very difficult remember everything happened in this 10+ years long saga (I totally forgot Lucius joined the XV on the Planet of Sorcerers in Lucius: The Eternal Blade, he is not among the Dramatis Personae at the start of the novel and in the end it seemed to me the author almost forgotten about him in the end too...).

Almost a 5 stars read, but it was like there were 100+ unnecessary pages for me.
If I'd read this one just after re-reading The Razing of Prospero: Horus Heresy Omnibus 3 omnibus probably this one was going to be a full 5 stars review.

Sadly it is not.

[Callum Shephard · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been some time since we have last had a truly out-and-out traitorous book. With the developments surrounding the Imperium Secundus, the push towards the Siege of Terra and the gathering of forces, a few elements have been left by the wayside. Many among the traitors' ranks are still unaccounted for, and seem to have been left to their own devices. This is true of the Thousand Sons more than any other force as, in its full spectacle, A Thousand Sons managed to tell their entire story within a single volume. In what remains one of the series' greatest releases, it told the reader everything of the Sons' rise and fall, meaning you might be left wondering what else is there to tell. A lot, as it turns out.

The Crimson King examines what happened to the legion in the wake of its arrival on the Planet of Sorcerers, and the gathering of its remnants. Magnus' faustian pact is known to many, and the legion itself is ravaged with the flesh change once more, but their story is not over. Magnus himself wants little to nothing to do with the ongoing conflict, and busies himself with desperately attempting to restore their lost repository of knowledge. Unfortunately, even this is denied to him. Robbed of much of his power, he is slowly fading with every passing effort. Now, it falls to the Sons to rescue him, no matter the cost.

The Good

A major positive in favour of The Crimson King is how it tries to simply follow on from the past story. While there are a few shout-outs and references to larger events, you could easily go right from A Thousand Sons to this without the need to read anything between them. A few elements do arise and a number of characters previously isolated from events do appear, but in the vast majority of cases you quickly get the gist of things within the book. It's something always worth citing as a major strength in any long running series, and an indication that the writers involved have not become so wrapped up within their own story that it is no longer accessible to casual readers. Even without that though, the book does a surprisingly good job of filling in certain details for itself, giving you just enough to keep going and even reminding you of a few critical elements which might have been forgotten in the intervening years.

The characters prove to be a major driving point in the story as ever, and you start to finally see where the Thousand Sons might become their more malevolent selves. While A Thousand Sons set up their fall, the fault largely lay with Magnus himself and few to no characters displayed any indication of falling to Chaotic influences. Here however, you start to slowly understand how even those so badly burned by Chaos as the Sons could be gradually pushed into its service. Ignoring how psychic powers were core to their very culture, even accepting that the Sons' own thirst for knowledge led them to damnation, you quickly see how they are all but addicted to knowledge. Even caution only tempers this by so much, and Ahriman's opening scenes quickly make it clear that they are far from above using their own powers to attain their goals, even with the risks it incurs.

The desperation of the situation has altered the legion as a whole, but much like the Iron Warriors in Angel Exterminatus, you can still see elements of their loyal selves in their actions. It is simply tainted with bitterness and desperation now, and even with their best efforts it is clear just how easily even the best of them can fall prey to the worst of temptations. While the story is hardly subtle when it comes to this point - and Ahriman carrying the Book of Magnus is enough of a reminder on its own - many of the core elements are well executed enough that it's hard not to enjoy it. The subject of daemons and attempts to fight fate in particular stand out as some of the story's highlights, and moments both during and between the major battles return to the same points time and time again. Just as soon as you think you have made your mind up on one subject, something will be added to quickly change it, hooking you until the end.

The battles themselves are what you would expect from McNeill by now - Big, bloody, fast and excellently told, but props need to be given to his presentation of psychic combat. It seems that this book was an excuse for the author to truly cut loose and play with a few ideas, so with have psychic powers being used for any number of things over time, from trying to predict the future of a medical operation to altering the senses. Plus it's used to show off their power with body horror which would leave John Carpenter applauding the descriptions. As psychic powers rip men inside out, mutations plague many marines and warriors are cut in twain, the book always makes it clear just how visceral each fight truly is. No matter which side is winning, the actual blows will always be among the most satisfyingly brutal of the series so far.

There also seems to have been a concerted effort to correct a few past perceived mistakes, both in regards to certain armies and characters. While he might have seen his fair share of successes, there is no denying Lucius tended to end up worse in McNeill's books. Yet here he's back to full strength, and happily dueling his way up the ranks, one warrior at a time, even using his trademark whip to easily overcome a few powerful foes. The loyalists meanwhile have the benefit of a much more traditional depiction of the Space Wolves (because, as welcome as stereotype breaking depictions are, sometimes you just need the fun of a boisterous space viking who can back up his boasts) but also the Ultramarines. The latter in particular proves to be one of the best quietly badass figures we have seen in a while. A former Chief Librarian turned Knight Errant, Dio Promus lacks the more overt pushes and glorification you would expect, but nevertheless shows off the best of his legion's capabilities. By the book in the best way, carefully tactical, pragmatically using the abilities of others as needed while being a powerhouse in his own right, he serves as the Sons' main threat for much of the book. The opening chapters sell it so well that, upon encountering two of the best swordsmen in the legion, he is able to force them into retreat with a casual threat.

Naturally, there is a very tragic end to all of this. Unfortunately it is next to impossible to explain without spoiling almost the entire book, so I will simply say that it was very satisfying. It lacked the direct nature and sheer impact of A Thousand Sons' finale but it nevertheless proved to be a fantastic next step on their way to damnation. Especially when it came to using many seemingly unchanged elements or more positive qualities of the Sons against them during their final hours before they performed an unthinkable act.

The Bad

If there is a major negative to be found here, it stems largely from the introduction. While many key elements are explained, outlined and even expressed through descriptions, it lacks the proper build-up or lead-in you would expect. Honestly, upon reading it for the first time i almost thought that there was a chapter missing due to the abrupt nature of the start, and the lack of coverage for certain key elements. While fans of the audio dramas will know why Lucius is with the Thousand Sons, his presence can be extremely perplexing at first, and the attempt at a cold open just doesn't work. It evens out quickly, but even after having re-read it several times, there is a distinct lack of key information.

Another definite problem is how, while you can see how Chaos itself and even element of Prospero's burning have impacted the legion, it lacks much of the scarring you would expect. Oh it was a traumatic event, but the book treats it as having had less of an impact upon the Sons than the Drop Site Massacre did upon the shattered legions. This is almost certainly in part the fault of a time-skip, but even accounting for that it just lacks much of the punch you would expect for such a tale. The Sons lost everything after all, but they are persevering and surviving, almost treating the burning of Prospero as a setback at points.

The more obvious nature of the book also hurts a few plot elements which were treated as major twists. They weren't. There's one or two you can see coming from whole chapters away due to some heavy foreshadowing. While the actual execution might have been enjoyable, waiting for it to take place simply meant it lacked much of the plot relevance it was obviously supposed to have. This in turn also hurts the Sons, as it's always painful to read any book where any supposedly smart man can't see the answers before him, but all the more so when this should have been taught to them from past pains.

Finally, the biggest bugbear stems from Magnus himself oddly enough. He takes a back seat in this story, and while that is certainly fine given his more prominent role in past books, there are times when he seems far more like a story device than a true character. He's there to be reacted to and create the key event which pushes the plot along, and while his conversation with Lorgar is one of the book's most enjoyable bits, it's certainly not up to scratch with what we have seen before. Having legionaries stepping out from under the primarchs' shadows is often a good thing, but that doesn't mean it should come at the cost of the primarchs themselves.

The Verdict

Overall, this is a very solid read. Definitely flawed in places and there will be sections you will want to skip, but still enjoyable. There's no denying this could have been a much more well rounded tale with a little more time, and the awkward opening hurts it more than anything else, but once the ball gets rolling it proves to be another success story. If you enjoyed the likes of The Outcast Dead or Scars, where you knew something critical was wrong but could still have some fun with the tale and all its tidbits of lore, this is definitely one of you. Otherwise, pick it up softback but don't shill out for the hard cover publications.

Oh, and for those wondering, yes there is a Stephen King shout out, only it's not to the story you're thinking of.

[75338 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't bother. Unless, like I, you just really feel the need to read every 'major' novel in the HH series. Which makes me a sucker, I guess, but oh well.

The book starts with Lucius. WTF?? Apparently you really needed to have read a bunch of other stuff and listened to the audio dramas since the last HH series novel. They're desperately trying to lengthen the narrative campaign and drawing out the cash cow process for as long as possible by weaving together improbable superheroes-style "character-driven" storylines. At this point it's less about grimdark 30K storytelling and more about establishing characters for some type of soap-opera superhero collection of "supersoldiers of the stars" that the reader/fan should follow for as long as the Black Library can drain our wallets.

/rantoff

The book itself is decently written, about on par with what you expect from BL and Mr. McNeill, with moments of excellence and reflection on Magnus and his tragedy, and moments of genuine good characterization of human remembrancers and line Astartes. The rest is just cringey, poorly done combat and supersoldier hero worship. Then again, I'd do worse, I suppose. It's confusing, disorganized, cuts quickly from place to place and people to people with no warning or indication or way for the reader to figure out where/who/what/when. Then again, I had a hard time forcing myself to go back and read it every day or so. It just wasn't all that interesting, except maybe a daemon trying to corrupt Ahriman et al, and some genuinely interesting characters.

The rest is just meh. Meh.

[Simon Mee · Rating 3 out of 5]

But one truth I have found to be incontrovertible is this: Old friends make the worst enemies.

Three stars. I don’t want to. But I have to.

The main issues with The Crimson King are covered elsewhere and I agree in all material respects with this review. So instead I will comment on what I think (a) are the constraints that Horus Heresy imposes on its characters, and (b) what The Crimson King does offer within those aforementioned restrictions.

Short-changed

Initially, I thought the cause of the incomprehensibility of parts of The Crimson King was that the rapid publication schedule of the Horus Heresy forced McNeill to rush the book and compress elements that deserved more exploration. The material within could have supported a book at least as long as A Thousand Sons, or even two books. However, McNeill’s afterword makes it clear that I was wrong. McNeill describes himself as burdened by writing this story and that The Crimson King is the most that could have been wrung out of him.

However… …The Horus Heresy still has a negative impact on this book. The length of the series means that a lot of characters have been introduced that then must be reused for consistency. The problem is that they are too minor to advance themselves, so the stories tend not to centre around them. Their repeated bit parts adds a brittleness to them, we learn pieces about them without ever properly development of their personalities, which gets repetitive. Add in a few new characters for other roles where needed and it gets a bit hard to keep track.

Nagasena has important, well written character-building moments… …split over three different books… …and all they add up to are moments. His proper development is repeatedly pushed aside because he’s put up against Space Marines, which limits what you can do with him in respect of such confrontations (even Nagasena dueling them is a bit marginal in plausibility).

There is a similar issue with Ahriman, who is at least a major player, and his supporting cast. McNeill does handle the jump between A Thousand Sons and The Crimson King in an acceptable way with Ahriman but I would expect that from what should be a central character. Ahriman's problem is that I am constantly trying to distinguish elements of his journey with those of Amon, Haathor Maat, or Menkaura. You do need different characters for plot purposes, but there is an overlapping of personalities that obscures the key point of Ahriman – he will sacrifice others with little more than the shake of his shoulders.

Unexpectedly though, there is a character who has benefitted from the length of the Horus Heresy.

Lucius.

He’s a stock character who doesn’t need further development. I would even hold that it is better that he doesn’t have any such development. If the Horus Heresy is [insert a generic sport], Lucius is [insert specialist role within a generic sport], carrying out his task for the benefit of [team/crew/squad] without ever carrying the weight of a [insert key role within a generic sport]. The Crimson King burnishes Lucius’s reputation and he can now be slotted in later in the series pretty painlessly with the menacing undertone that he gets the job done.

Ahriman turned to Lucius and the swordsman flinched as Ahriman’s voice echoed within his skull. +Be swift,+ he sent.
‘Please,’ said Lucius, ‘it’s me.’

Lucky Lucius.

The Dark Side

Because The Thousand Sons are relatively in tune with the Warp opens the story up to the heart of Warhammer 40K:

The amorphous, gory masses of his skull elongated and twisted like birthing snakes as they transformed into two serpentine necks topped with bulbous growths that undulated like birth sacs.

Horror Horror Horror.

The main theme of horror running through The Crimson King is the inadequacy of the human form to contain supernatural powers. Most of the time, this is revealed in visceral, often explody, ways. There is also the failure of morality in dealing with such powers. Some are more obvious, such as with Hathor Maat. Others open to interpretation, such as the slight twist on the trope of the mewling child threatening betrayal of one's hiding place.

While McNeill did not quite put the plot together coherently, he nailed the dark dark tone of the Warhammer 40K universe. It’s a brutal and unforgiving cosmos, where the verbal duels with your erstwhile allies are the least of your issues. This sense of conflict leads into the obverse of the concept of brotherhood where McNeill twists it towards its more toxic elements. I find it interesting how brotherhood does not always work to the good. Tribal loyalties can result in conflicting moral standards imposed on outsiders (witness the fate of Promus), or revelations of a hierarchy of who will be saved (witness the choices of Ahriman):

‘I am sorry, brothers,’ said Ahriman.

The Crimson King encourages me to reflect how having a close relationship is not automatically a virtue. While the group of Space Wolves are the closest to the “good guys”, they mishandle a number of interactions (like Leman) and their results don’t quite line up with certain pronunciations of certainty. There are also some exchanges involving Chaiya and Camille which hint at extremely complicated thoughts – shame there that the book needed more space to expand them!

‘You cut your own face off,’ said Hathor Maat. ‘Tell me why you mutilated yourself so completely. And speak truly – it will make my task that much harder if you lie.’
‘I wanted to make myself ugly,’ said Lucius, without shame or hesitation. ‘Why?’
‘Because a dead man spoiled my perfect beauty with his fist,’ said Lucius. ‘And if I couldn’t be perfectly beautiful, I would be perfectly ugly.’

The Crimson King contains some of McNeill’s best work. It is consistent (if occasionally slapstick) with the dark violence of the setting. There are a range of relationships carried by top tier dialogue.

[Heinz Reinhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one started slow for me, likely due to personal events that had sapped a large percentage of my attention span. But after the halfway point this one truly soared. So much has already been said of this one, and admittedly, I don't think it's quite as good as it's predecessor, 'A Thousand Sons', but it is very good, and delves pretty deep into the esoteric lore of the setting, with loads of winks and nods to mythology, classical literature, Lovecraft, Scripture, and and ancient history.
Very good read, one of the top tier of the Heresy series.

[Javir11 · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10

Seguramente la nota no sea justa, pero mis expectativas eran muy altas, una novela centrada en el Rey Carmesí y su legión, ambos de mis favoritos, crearon un hype que ha estado muy muy lejos de alcanzar.

Eso no quiere decir que sea una mala novela, de hecho nos muestra muchas cosas y nos explica muchas otras, como por ejemplo el motivo por del papel tan "limitado" de Magnus hasta el momento en la Herejía, lo cual cuadra bastante, así como su futuro cambio de actitud.

En cualquier caso se deja leer bien, pero le falta que nos diera más respuestas y un papel más protagonista del Rey Carmesí.

Continuaré con la saga, sobre todo ahora que Terra está tan cerca.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a slog.

My original rating was two stars, however the final 50 pages managed to claw back another star.

I found this book a tough, arduous read. That is no reflection on the author, Graham McNeill, who’s storytelling was as good as ever; I just found sections of it slow and posturing.

I’m not an author so I don’t know if some sections were actually needed, however it just felt soooo long! When a book is dragging and you’re begging to finish it - it’s just not speaking to you. This was the case here.

Also, Lucius? Did I miss something? If I need to do any reading beforehand, I’d like the book to say that in the first pages.

[Marc Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes a man?

This is ultimately the core of this novel, this ball of war and philosophy and butchered hope. If you broke yourself down to your most key features; how many men would you be? What kind of men would they be?

The Crimson King grasps at our many ideas of Magnus from many different sources. A Thousand Sons, Master of Prospero. They all flow and blend into a melange of information and understanding. Who Magnus is, what he represents. There is a stunning vision and ambition in this novel. Its characters, more than many others in the Heresy, move in the arcs destiny has laid out for them; drawn towards the endgame by their own hope and despair.

It is a journey paved in the suffering of the Legion and those who have been touched by it, lit by the fires of their past glories and failures.

McNeill fights through his own ennui to provide us a beacon in the darkness. It is a novel that wants to illuminate us, even if such illumination is a self contained psychedelic vision quest into the minds of gods and the heart of darkness.

[Matthew Hipsher · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an effort to tie up some loose ends, we get this update on Magnus the Red and the efforts of the 1000 Sons to reclaim all of the shards of his soul that were strewn about the universe by Lehman Russ in a previous book.
For most of the story, Ahriman, one of the 1000 Sons, is the focus and his quest for the shards, but we also see him interact with each of the shards, the pieces of Magnus's soul that represent different parts of him.
We also see the Imperium's efforts to retrieve some of the shards and then the story really takes off.

Great book, absolutely necessary for the larger HH story and really enjoyable!

[RatGrrrl · Rating 3 out of 5]

CW Child Murder, Loss of Memory/ Self

May 2024 Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order Omnibus XIX Through the Neath (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy series and extras

This was a mess.

A beautiful, fascinating mess at times, but a truly bizarrely weighted and paced mess that didn't really feel like a coherent novel at all.

I still had an inordinately better time than I did with Deathfire and a lot more fun than with Vengeful Spirit.

Following the Razing of Prospero by Wolves of Fenris, Custodes, and Sisters of Silence, Magnus the Red, the eponymous Crimson King, and the Thousand Sons were whisked off to the Planet of the Sorcerers in the Eye of Terror. It was revealed in Scars (if I remember correctly) and reinforced in Deathfire that when Leman Russ broke Magnus' back and the Sorcerer Primarch opened himself up to the warp, his essence fractured and became scattered throughout time and space.

This is the story of Ahriman leading a group of Thousand Sons to collect those pieces of Magnus in an attempt to him whole again, while the Agents of Malcador, a mix of those with strong negative feelings for the XV for various reasons, pursue a similar goal and work to thwart them.

This was always going to be an all over the place kind of narrative, but it didn't have to be this off balance.

It started strong and it's undeniable that McNeill's prose is pleasant and engaging, at times it's downright delectable with evocative and mind-boggling imagery and genuinely emotional moments. There's some really incredible moments, the whole opening sequence is exquisitely crafted, and there are some wild ideas and conceptual awesomeness, but the actual orchestration of the plot and execution of the themes and character arcs just aren't there.

The similarities and differences between this and Deathfire, with Vengeful Spirit sitting between them in a strange Venn diagram, are striking. I'm not going to get too much into Deathfire because I already talked a lot about it in my review for that, but let's just say I didn't like it at all and found it to be entirely one-dimensional and lacking any flavour or energy. Conversely, this is all flavour and energy without a wrangle plot. Both books, in my opinion, needed a lot more development and editing. Vengeful Spirit was just kinda boring and uncomfortable in a lot of ways, but it had the rote plot and general lack of colour or Deathfire with just a sprinkle of McNeill pazazz.

The ultimate difference for me being that at least with The Crimson King, there are some moments of brilliance and energy in the text.

The major thing both books share is the absolutely stifling constraints of being a book about explicitly getting from A to B, either getting a deadish Primarch home to hopefully alive them or collecting all the Magnuses to make home whole. It's the same narrative journey of getting their space dads back in action.

Ahriman is a fascinating character.
I sure wish we got to see more of that in the Horus Heresy books he's in!

One of the issues that seems to come up a lot with major characters, especially major characters who are a big deal in Warhammer 40K, like Ahriman, is that writers seem to be incredibly hesitant to establish how they were before and/ or unsure or unwilling to commit to the process of having their stories mould them into the characters we know. I absolutely appreciate that it must be an incredibly daunting task and it is well known just how utterly exhausting the Warhammer fanbase can be. The endless character edging and sudden massive swings and personality changes, without being ushered into the minds of really seeing the workings play out is tough.

An example of how I think this is handled really well with an arguably even larger 40K character is Kh��rn, the eventual Betrayer. ADB and Farrer write him in a way that is so immediate and through his eyes or the eyes of those around him that we really get to see him change over time and really get a feel for his personality, especially with the different perspectives on him we get, such as Argal Tal, Captain Sarin, Angron, etc. I just want to get to see what makes Ahriman tick more, and, honestly, the same with Magnus. At least with the big guy we get these odd, grandiose monologues, but even those feel very written and divorced from his actual perspective, especially the end of the book, which, no spoilers, but I think McNeill is going for hope and hubris, but it comes off as laughably clueless.

Things started going off the rails when the assault of the prison for psykers just kept on going and going and going without anything really going on beyond the possessed, angry, and insane psykers going feral and McNeill having his M*A*S*H moment. There's also just a lot of insensitive and not cool language and handling of neurodivergences and disabilities throughout the book that starts here. Everyone has their own perspective and I have read some thoughtful and compelling discussion about 'madness' and eldritch horror as delineated from neurodivergences and I think there is a way to handle things like that in interesting ways, but sensitivity and awareness of identities and experiences that are not his own have proven time and again to not be tools McNeill has. This isn't the worst of his offenses or of the handling of this kind of thing by Black Library by a long way, but it becomes all the more stark in a sprawling morass of an ongoing action sequence of which the scale at times seems to go from being in small rooms to having huge war engines involved moment to moment...it's just a lot.

Not only is this book wrestling with the fact the end is already written, but when you have to have to attempts and failures they have to be meaningful and/ or interesting, which isn't always the case.

For all the stodge and confusion there are wonderful sequences of various characters waltzing in the warp and getting separated, an incredibly fun and just plain mean scene between Magnus and Lorgar, as well as some genuinely heartbreaking scenes between Magnus and Amon, and the tragedy of altered perception, lack of memory, time and place that are all written really well, as well as a perfectly executed pay off from way back. This book is just very buckshot in its approach.

This book has absolutely taught me that I would infinitely rather read a sprawling mess with good and sometimes excellent prose, rather than incredibly bland writing that conforms to a strict structure...even if it was more bloated than Ku'gath on Space Turkey Day.

Things have been a bit unwieldly deep in the Heresy with this, Vengeful Spirit, and Wolfsbane all being a bit disappointing and messy, while also having some wonderful moments and writing at times. The fact I've read The Buried Dagger and absolutely loved it is something that is definitely helping me keep the faith.

Not too long before the Siege now, after this and the next omnibus and my ridiculous omnibus omega. I didn't let Deathfire break me and I definitely had fun here, I just wish it was more coherent.

Through the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project and my own additions, I have currently read 40 Horus Heresy novels (inc. 1 repeat and 4 anthologies), 22 novellas (inc. 2 repeats), 124 short stories/ audio dramas (inc. 10+ repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels, 4 Primarchs short stories/ audio dramas, 3 Characters novels, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.

I couldn't be more appreciative of the phenomenal work of the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project, which has made this ridiculous endeavour all the better and has inspired me to create and collate a collection of Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 documents and checklists (http://tiny.cc/im00yz). There are now too many items to list here, but there is a contents and explainer document here (http://tiny.cc/nj00yz).

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful entry in the Horus Heresy series, this book tells the tale of Magnus the Red and his Thousand Sons after the breaking of Magnus by his brother, the Great Wolf, Leman Russ. It details the flight of the remnants of the legion from the burning of Prospero, their home. It tells of the shattering of Magnus' soul into shards and the quests that his equerry Amon, and his most powerful and vital son, Ahzek Ahriman and the various orders of sorcerers of the Legion endure.
This book delves deep into who Magnus is, what he is and becomes, and what he has been doing before during and after the Heresy. Magnus is a flawed and beautiful creature. He was ignored and admonished for being the only Primarch to warn the Emperor of the betrayal of Horus, and in return he was flung from the Emperor's sight and all PSykers within the Legions banned from using their powers. Of course the Thousand Sons never followed this edict and for this the Space Wolves were loosed upon them. The outcome was inevitable and the ensuing degradation into the chaos embrace of the Great Ocean is the sublime rub here. The Thousand Sons returned to the power that flows through them and yet are cast adrift on its currents in a vain attempt to do the unthinkable, restore the shards of the father to bring him back from the brink of death.
They do this.....for the most part.
In opposition are the hand picked warriors of Malcador the Sigillite and the retinue of former Ultramarines, Space Wolves, Raven Guard, the Mechanicum and even the Silent Sisters, with their Black Ships. They flounder around trying to keep Ahriman and others from securing the shards of Magnus' soul and in doing so pull forth the ultimate wrath of their enemies and make enemies within their own covenants.
The finale sees Magnus restored....almost. He misses the most vital soul shard, the piece of his humanity, love and emotion, his sense of duty and truth. Missing this, Magnus commands his sons to find their lost fleet and join Horus in the Battle for Terra, and inasmuch as their presence and powers bring to bear, find his lost and last soul shard, which is in the Imperial Palace, home of the Emperor. And to war the Thousand Sons go.

Man, this was good. As I have mentioned before when referencing Magnus in books of this series before this one, he is truly a figure that I pity and feel for. He has this immense power and is yet told that he cannot use it. It's like telling a roaring flame to generate no heat. He is defiance, and yet there is nothing farther from it that he wants to be. He wants to be the loyal, dutiful son and infinite scholar, and yet he is made to be weakened and almost killed by his own hubris and strict code. He lives in the Warp and yet still loves his father, the Emperor. Truly this explains him better than any book I've read about him, including the Primarchs book of his same name. I will be thinking about this one until the next entry in the series comes out in February.

[Ogbaoghene · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's ironic that the author of a novel about a legion consumed—pun intended—with potential is seemingly blind to the potential of his own story.

This is not so much a review as a wishlist of things I would have loved to see (read). So here goes, I wish:
• this were a shorter book, leaner and meaner. With a much more condensed and focused story.
• the story had been more focused on the chase[s], Amon chasing down Magnus, Ahriman chasing the shards, the wolves chasing Ahriman. These are all there but feel lost in the noise.
• there was a greater sense of urgency, maybe if the narrative had better preserved a sense of what was at stake. Yes, the fate of the Crimson King is known but I would have appreciated a story that made me doubt that.
• the story had maybe ignored the stakes and just focused on the chase. Mad Max: Fury Road anyone?
• this had felt like an actual chase, a proper race to the finish. Fast paced and action filled, with a single linear path and both parties scrapping and one-upping the other.
• the depiction of the Space Wolves was more nuanced. We're familiar with their unthinking hate (fear) of maleficarum, it would have been nice to get insight into why. We already know there's a lot more to the Wolves than what's on the surface, portraying them as mindless attack dogs is just wasteful.
• this story had taken a deeper look at the Crimson King himself. One of the shards complains about how he's an aspect that gets overlooked a lot. I would have liked to see that taken further, to feel like I had really been inside Magnus' head.
• the easter eggs were more than just references and callbacks. This second (past) meeting with Kasper Hawser lacked that sense of import from Prospero Burns had. Same thing with the Prosperine refugees, especially the inquisitor to be. I am getting really tired of BL putting together these set pieces that either take forever to pay off or that they squander.
• more had been done with Nagasena and Promus' characters. The loss and return of the formers sword and the death of the later were given very little meaning. So those events had much less impact than they should have.
• the author had put that bit with the shard on terra at the end. In my opinion, that would have been the perfect twist and made for a killer reveal.

[Veronica Anrathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Would give 4,5 if I could, not 5 only because I feel like it could've been brought up just a little bit to reach the level of my absolute favorites, and I only give 5 to those. Otherwise this book was very interesting and engaging, no part really felt like a filler. Well developed familiar characters, direct links to several previous HH books, real human struggle and the insanity of the Planet of the Sorcerers. Many story lines, all of them complete. I've always found the concept of the shards of Magnus absolutely fascinating, in this book it is shown from a different, deeper perspective, both marvelous and heartbreaking. The Crimson King appears as an old man struggling with Elzheimer's or dementia, an illness many people fear more than death. A powerful, all knowing demigod unable to remember events, recognize his sons. The whole thing became a lot more real, horrible, tragic. The idea of his sons making questionable decisions, being willing to sacrifice themselves and each other, going above and beyond to make him whole again, does not seem to be much of a stretch. What else a child would do to help his dying parent to get better? Bittersweet ending we all knew was inevitable made me even more excited for the final books of the Heresy.

Was a little confused with the presence of Lucius... pretty sure I've already read a short where he duels a Thousand Sons legionary, yet I have no idea how he got there. Also, the book could've used smoother cuts between the scenes. Nothing really bothered me though.

A very entertaining read overall, definitely among the better HH books. Would recommend.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the twists. I liked the plethora of characters. I liked the mysteries seeded in the narrative. I liked that tha antagonists had a fighting chance (and agency) for a fair portion of the book. I liked the premise. I liked the places it took us - literally the places (not a metaphor). I liked the call back to earlier books.

I didn't like the lead protagonist and his character journey. I didn't like the fact that the plot felt like half a plot - the conclusion was underwhelming like Jason and the Argonauts ending after getting the fleece but before returning home or, on another reading, it ending before he gets the fleece! I didn't like recurring characters like the universe is tiny. I didn't like allusions to things I didn't recognise, but which felt important.

Overall I enjoyed many elements of the book, but I felt that it doesn't work well as standalone; it doesn't ahve a satisfying end; and the final proper chapter left me confused.

[Kevin Collett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has been a difficult book for me to read. I really like Graham McNeill as an author, I thought the premise of the story was good but I found this book an immense grind to get through.

The first 200 pages were really hard work and then the pace of my reading picked up and I thought, ‘a-ha, it’s just taken me time to get into it,” but that only lasted for 50-100 pages and then the final 100-150 pages were another real grind to get through.

Bit of a shame but these things happen.

[Michael Dodd · Rating 5 out of 5]

With Prospero sundered by the Wolves, the Thousand Sons are adjusting to life on the Planet of the Sorcerers. Magnus mourns the loss of so much knowledge from Prospero, but his sons fear for his fractured soul.

Thousand Sons fans are going to love this, as will anyone who likes their fiction on the grand scale – there’s a lot of continuity here, which means lots to enjoy if you’re fully up to date with the series, but it works beautifully as a story even without reading/remembering absolutely everything that’s happened or will happen.

Read the full review at http://www.trackofwords.com/2017/06/0...

[Patrick Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright, I've done enough complaining about my bête-noir, McNeil’s over-use of recent history and modern cultural references. I'll do it one more time then never again.

McNeil is really good a writing about the grand tragedy of knowledge loss. He wrote two of the most major and impactful scenes about exactly this; the disaster on Mars when the Dark Mechanicum release scrapcoade that trashes huge vaults of collected data and ignites power disasters that annihilate huge libraries of humanities past, and again on Prospero, when the Space Wolves do the same thing to the library collected there.

These scenes and their impact play a large part in the sense of doom and tragedy that informs the setting and the Heresy series in particular. But *in* McNeils stories characters are continually pulling Shakespeare off the wall, picking up European/medieval Tarot cards, finding the skull of Nikolai Tesla etc. I feel something that it wouldn't be a surprise for someone to pull out a vinyl album of Cat Stevens and jam that out on the planet of the sorcerers.

And they rarely seem to reference the forty (or thirty) thousand years of pseudo history between now and then.

It makes the setting feel small and cramped and massively undercuts the horror of lost knowledge and memory loss that plays such an important part in the background and psychology of the characters.

And it irritates me because it knocks me out of the story every single time, and with greater alienation the more it occurs.

Like, if he really wants to do it he should at least invent new (old) crazy shit for people to talk about and discover.

..........................

The book;

While many Heresy books are about terrible parenting, this is also about terrible childrening.

I remember in the book 'Emperor of All Maladies' reading about the children of cancer patients being simply unable to let them go. Though the disease is terminal and the treatments can be agonising, they will often prolong the suffering of the people they love because to simply allow death would be to 'give up'.

Is this love? It is, of a kind.

We start the book after the end of the fall of Prospero. The 1k Sons have been swooshed through space to the Planet of the Sorcerers (which ADB re-names in later books, possibly because he thinks it sounds silly), along with bits and pieces of Tizca and their dad, Magnus, who had his back broken by Leman Russ.

We know that in a few years the 1k Sons, along with Magnus, show up at Terra ready to stomp on things with Horus, and we know that at the moment they seem to have very little interest in doing that. Is all this because McNeill wrote Magnus as too much of a topping fellow in A Thousand Sons and had to come up with a reason for him to join Horus?

Possibly, but if it is we got quite a lot out of it.

The 1k Sons quickly find out that dad is dying. He's essentially a weird Demon/Angel/Supersoldier magical dude anyway and when Russ smashed him up (McNeill describes Magnus's insides like Enochian angel organs, to good effect) he literally broke his hyperdimensional soul into pieces which got scattered throughout the galaxy and which are all now dying separately.

So now we have a classic object quest which is also an internal psychodrama as all the shards of Magnus have their own desires and point of view on what is going on. Curious that this is a book about a contest between powers, sons, nightmares and enemies to either engineer a soul or prevent it being remade.

I didn't count them exactly but I think we have;

- Asshole Bro Magnis.
- Alzheimers Magnus (they all are a bit).
- Weird Ash Magnus (what was up with that guy?).
- Librarian Magnus.
- Cosplay Librarian Magnus (multiple shards are largely bibliophiles).
- Good Guy Magnus (is on earth and bookends the novel).

The less insane and deluded shards of Magnus repeatedly tell the 1k Sons that nothing good will come of putting them back together, that it would be better to let him die, that there is nothing they can do.

Being outside the fiction we know that this is largely (probably) the case. Magnus becomes a demon and ends up 99.9999% evil and cracking the galaxy in half like a dinner plate.

But his sons won't, or can't, let him go. No matter how much he asks to be left to die, or how crazy and dangerous his Altzheimers self becomes, or what the sacrifice is, or how much of a bad idea it looks like being, they just keep trucking along in their various ways, causing utter havoc to everyone.

All of this is orchestrated by everyones favourite blue, feathered Magic the Gathering and 4e D&D player.

Tzeentch corrupting the 1k Sons to be honest, does not take very long. But to be fair, he has a pretty trump hand, more so than with any other legion. If they choice is between going a bit evil or dying, then some of us would willingly die. If its between evil and being horribly mutated into a huge mindless flesh beast in eternal agony, then few of us would take the deal, and if its between evil and watching people we care about mutating into crazy flesh beasts, how many of us would resist?

So off a-questing we go, with a three-pronged story;

- Amon goes on a freaky dream/grail/spirit quest in a Voyage to Arcturus style, across the Planet of Sorcerers to find his mad dad and persuade him to join up with his other selves. This was my favourite part of the book and some of the shorter elements were very good indeed.

This part also has some of the most affecting scenes as Amons desperate need for his father meets the mental decay of Magnus, whose personality and memory flip back and forth, sometimes enthusiastic and hopeful, sometimes forgetting what is going on or drifting back in time, and on a few occasions massively endangering or murdering his own sons.


- Azhek Ahriman goes on a more classically 40k-ish journey across space to grab soul bits, along for the ride are a demon in a robot, a gang of increasingly-bitter 1k Sons and Special Guest Appearance; Lucius the Eternal! Lucius is a surprisingly fun character to drag along, his utterly insane omni-destructive hyper-narcissism makes him an engaging counterpoint to the sad introverted 1ksons.

- Annd in hot pursuit of Azhek are Space wolves (boo) an ex-Smurf, one Raven Guard who stays off screen (classic) and the Sigilites slightly-ridiculous 1980's Samurai, who are charged with stopping whatever the hell is going on.


Throughout the book, Magnus and his sons are persistently attacked by their greatest enemy; foreshadowing.

This is more of a general Horus Heresy problem, start the heresy at humanities peak, its megabeasts have already won their reputations so for a large part we don't get to see that happen. Instead we get to see them fall apart while their reputation for being amazing is more told than shown.

But it's brought into sharp relief by the really-very-significant amount of it in The Crimson King. There's lots of bird totems, dust, people falling out of walls talking about inevitable betrayal, multiple warnings of hubris and doom. It all goes on so much that it perhaps makes the characters ignoring it seem a little stupid.

Nevertheless, the books does manage to sustain itself, a little like the planet of the sorcerers itself, on the strength of its own invention; dream visions, megastructures (Celestial Orrerys, Nightmare Psyker Prisons, Warp-Carved Hyper Cathedrals to the concept of extinction, Infinite Oceans of Memory etc), some strong characterisation, some exciting scumbags (Lucius, the Demon Robot) and the essential tragedy of the story.

Towards the end the soul-swapping and hyperpowers do blur a little and make the final conflict a little bit of a 3rd act skybeam but McNiel does nail the landing. The titanic hubris of Magnus and his sons would count for little, or simply be insensible, without genuine and deep idealism. As fucked up and monstrous as they become, they are still originally motivated by the desire to do the right thing. Azhek and Amon want their dad back, Magnus wants to save human culture.

By the end of the story our boys are back on track to the best of all possible worlds, they just need to do one more utterly terrible thing first.

[Arnis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tūkstošdēlu (TD) leģions, kurš kā mitoloģiskais Ikars pārāk tuvu pielidoja Saules gaismas spēkam, tā līdzīgi to primarks Magnuss pārāk dziļi iemaldījās warp ētera jeb kā TD to dēvē Great Ocean ūdeņos. Par daudz pārvērtēja savus spēkus, pārāk augstās domās par savām spējām spēt gan būt pārākam pār jebkuru tajos sastaptu mošķiem, gan spēt pretoties lielākajiem warp monstriem un pat Haosa dieviem. Tik augstās domās, ka pat pēc paša Imperatora atbalstīta lēmuma uz Nikaea pārtraukt un aizliegt tā leģionos psaikeru, Librarainu un citu mentālo spēju pielietošanu (ar saviem izņēmumiem, protams), pat tad Magnuss uzskatīja, ka zina labāk. Rezultātu tam The Horus Heresy sērijas lasītājs varēja iepazīst sērijas divpadsmitajā A Thousand Sons grāmatā, bet šajā, nu jau četrdesmit ceturtajā, stāsts ļoti saīsinot ir par ceļu, kādu tas pēc dzimtās planētas Prospero iznīcināšanas mēro, lai pilnībā pievienotos nodevēju pusei.

https://poseidons99.com/2025/10/26/gr...

[Father Aaron Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again, I really wanted to like this but I just can't. The Thousand Sons are probably one of the most important factions in the entire story (a story which has dozens of factions). BUT, they also love to spend forever talking about silly nonsense magic that really just boils down to "my infinite laser beam beats your everything-proof shield," but for like 10 chapters. Lucius is cool though. Hope nothing crazy happens to him.

[Ruth Letterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written amazing story! I couldn't put it down! And the payoffs from The Thousand Sons were pretty good! It was good to see the thousand sons recovering and coming back to the bigger conflict finally in the end. This book is definitely one of my HH favourites.

[Matthew Woodard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cracking Horus Heresy book. Always love reading those about the Thousand Sons. A solid sequel to the brilliant first.

[L.L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Los mil hijos tienen de las caidas al caos mas interesantes. Da cierta tristeza como Ahriman se convierte en este ser vil cuando antes era uno de los pocos astartes humanos, que sentía pedia por los mundos que arrasaban y esperaba ese momento en que la cruzada acabara para poder dedicarse a leer y destilar vino.

[Matej Houdek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting treasure hunt. SW had a potential, but in the end, they don't fail to deliver their usual measure of dumbness.

[Steven Foot · Rating 3 out of 5]

As something of a recent devotee of McNeill's work I came into this with eager anticipation. I had read his book A Thousand Sons and found it one of the most amazing, grand scale, epic sci/fi reads I have ever come across. The expertise and understanding with which he captured the heart of the Thousand Sons legion was nothing short of spectacular and a book I continue to push upon any who ask for my recommendations.

What a pity it is that I sit here to write what should be a similar review for The Crimson King but alas will not be.

Its an unfortunate thing that McNeill could not quite set the tone for what this story was meant to be. In essence the plot narrative is not unlike Magnus himself, splintered and divided in some many different lines that they are barely held together by the merest thread of a common element. It appeared that the grand flow of McNeill's staggering imagination what clutching at straws a little in order to find what was needed in order to tell the right story.

It comes as little surprise that The Crimson King's narrative suffers so. McNeill himself was under enormous pressure to deliver a follow up to one of his finest pieces, a lofty task in and of itself. Throw in several elements going on in his personal life, as stated in the books afterward, it can clearly be seen that the upheaval going on around him at the time clearly affected his vision for this particular story.

That is not to say that the book is without redemption. McNeill's skills are all on full display and his penmanship has never been finer at capturing the bitterness of the Thousand Suns legion nor their rivals in the Space Wolves. Magnus himself, whilst relegated to supporting character, could not have shone brighter as a character any reader could not help but sympathise with. Broken in both body and soul, the once great Primarch's feeble condition in which we find him draws parallels with such real world problems such a dementia, a spectre that grows more and more common with each passing day. Undoubtedly the real star of the show is McNeill's descriptive passages which never cease to show him for the true heavyweight in Warhammer literature that he is. His ability to so wonderfully describe the ever changing nature of the Planet of the Sorcerers with ease and colour that never once slows the action but continually adds layer after layer of bright imaginative imagery that startles and amazes with each sentence.

In conclusion, whilst it is not a bad read it certainly does not live up to rather high expectations that were put upon it yet, it should be noted, that while it does not retain the same quality as its forebears it is a must for any fan of the Thousand Sons or those who simply wish to follow the story of the Horus Heresy in a linear fashion.

[Edward · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I started reading this entry to the Horus Heresy I was surprised by how much I was drawn into the story. It felt good being back with the characters from A Thousand Sons and even the addition of new (but known) characters like Lucius to the warband made for some nice dynamics. I was sorely disappointed, then, when the plot of the book unfolded. It felt so contrived. Ultimately, it was simple. Magnus needs putting back together and each soul shard was on a different planet. Hijinks ensue! But at the same time, McNeill introduces so many confusing extras. I've never asked "why is this happening" so many times while reading a book before.

The Wolves were a pain to read (they dampen any story they're in) and the rest of the "good" guys felt shoehorned in. Lemuel, Chiara, and Camille have barely any time in the plot and would conveniently disappear at the first sign of danger. There was no explanation as to why they were there or why there were so few of them. The standoff on Tizca really riled me up. Their plan was unbelievably stupid to the point it basically gave away the final third of the book.

Of course, there are a lot of Warp scenes in this book. I appreciated McNeill's attempt to offer flowery descriptions of the various locations, but there are only so many ways you can describe something as "indescribable". When Magnus, Amon, and Ahriman travel the warp it is profoundly uninteresting.

The only thing saving this book is how much I enjoyed the conversations between Ahriman and Afogormon. The big bold text on the page made my brain release happy chemicals.

Gonna move onto the Siege of Terra now. 2/5

[LuisJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Predictable, unimaginative, overly-padded and exhibits the worst tendencies of this series to exaggerate such that it becomes meaningless and fatiguing.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The wider our view of the universe becomes, the more our beliefs must come to us second-hand. Our reliance on higher authorities dorm almost every aspect of our world view."

I would recommend reading "Thousand Sons" and "Magnus: Master of Prospero" as well as the short story "The Sixth Cult of the Denied" before starting this book, to get the most out of the experience. Afterwards you can listen to the audibook "Morningstar".

Magnus has been broken. In the pages of "Thousand Sons" we saw the Vlkya Fenryka lay waste to Prospero. Leman Russ, Lord of Winter and War shattered Magnus, and aspects of the Crimson King were sent out into the galaxy. Broken, his loyal sons seek to make their father whole again.

Being set deep within the Heresy, there a number of returing characters.

The story begins with a monologue from a character named Janus, formerly Reveul Arvida of the Thousand Sons.

Arvida was not on Prospero when the world was attacked by the Emperor's Wolves. He returned to the planet in the short story "Rebirth" only to find nothing but ash and his traitorous cousins the World Eaters digging through the ruins. In "Scars" he aids Jaghatai Khan in battle against Mortarion, earning his respect. He begins to suffer from the flesh change in the short story "Allegiance". In "The Path of Heaven" his body is wracked with pain as the flesh change strikes at him every time he makes use of his psychic powers. Despite this he taps into the warp to help bring the White Scars to Terra. Dying, his life is saved by Malcador the Sigillite in "The Last Son of Prospero" as a shard of Magnus is fused with Arvida, to form a new being, Janus.

Much of the story follows Ahriman. 40k fans know him as a Champion of Chaos but here he is first and foremost a loyal son, desperate to fix his father.

Lucius of the Emperor's Children abandoned his Legion after the events of "Angel Exterminatus" to seek out worthy foes to defeat. In the audio drama "Lucius: Eternal Blademaster" he sought the Thousand Sons duelist Sanakht. But the duel was interrupted by Ahriman, who had use of Sanakht.

Lemuel Gaumon and Camille Shivani, both of whom are former rembrancers also make a return in this story.

Yasu Nagasena is an agent of the Sigillite, he first appeared in "The Outcast Dead" and again in the audio drama "Wolf Hunt". He appears again in this book, working alongside Space Wolves and a son of Guilliman to hunt down the shards of Magnus.

The story is fitting for the Thousand Sons, being a story of delving into the Warp, trapsing through time, and making deals with Daemons. I really enjoyed the description of the Warp and it's effects on the cast. The depiction of Magnus as a broken old man, his memory lost was heartbreaking. It felt very akin to the cognitive decline that can often happen to our parents as they age. One minute Magnus knows where and when he is, the next minute he believes himself fighting in the Great Crusade, unable to recognise the son that stands before him.

McNeill does a good job at demonstrating the slow decline of the Thousand Sons, as they bicker and argue, growing resentful and mistrusting. They aren't full blown Chaos Marines, but they walk a dark path. They still have noble ideals, but through desperation and a hunger for the knowledge to change reality, they make greater and greater sacrifices.

Overall really enjoyed this, and looking forward to Siege of Terra: The Fury of Magnus. (If you enjoyed this at all I would also recommend reading John French's Ahriman series).

[Abhinav · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read the full review over at my blog:

https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...

It has been ages since I last read something from the Horus Heresy series. Coincidentally, that happened to be Graham McNeill’s The Vengeful Spirit. And now finally, after a gap of some three years, I’m returning to the series that I fell in love with almost ten years ago. After catching myself back up with the Legacies of Betrayal anthology, I dived head-on into the latest release, The Crimson King by Graham McNeill, which carries on from A Thousand Sons, finally continuing a story almost five years old. The Crimson King does a lot to flesh out how the Thousand Sons legion fully turned away from the Emperor and how it “healed” itself after the terrible fall of Prospero. For any fan of the XVth Legion, this novel is a must-read.

Graham’s A Thousand Sons stands for me as one of the best novels in the Horus Heresy series. It details the first grand chapter of Magnus the Red’s fall from grace and paints a very vivid and detailed picture of the XVth Legion in an era where it was considered to be one of the finest of all the Legions, paragons of knowledge and enlightenment. However, as a certain fictional character once said, “with great power comes great responsibility”, and in their hubris the sorcerer-warriors of the Thousand Sons forget their duties and their oaths. Graham did a lot to peel back the webs of mystery surrounding them with this novel and now with The Crimson King he takes it a step further as he details the second grand chapter of Magnus’ sons as they struggle to reorient themselves following the burning of Prospero.

The fall of the XV Legion was an event that shattered its warriors. The utter brutality of the Space Wolves at Prospero just further left them disillusioned and uncertain about their future. Thousands died, the planet burned, so much knowledge was lost. And all because of the hubris of a few and the lies of a few more and the gullibility of the rest. And now the Legion has to bring itself back together and rise up. Which is not an easy thing to do. The remnants are on the Planet of the Sorcerers somewhere in the Warp, Magnus the Red has closed himself off from most of his sons except his equerry Amon and the Legion’s Chief Librarian, Ahzek Ahriman. How can they even begin?

To get a full picture of events going into The Crimson King, I’d certainly recommend reading A Thousand Sons and the short stories Thief of Revelations and Lucius, the Eternal Blade. Both short stories can be found in the anthology Legacies of Betrayal. The events therein form the bedrock for what happens in The Crimson King and provide certain insights as well. So, moving on.

I loved this novel. Graham gives us a really strong start with some of the Legion’s senior leadership in the form of Ahriman, Hathor Maat, Sanakht, Menkaura and Tolbek sent off by Magnus on a mission to realspace. For plot reasons, Lucius also goes with them, whom Ahriman has foreseen as playing an important role in the Legion’s resurrection. The whole mystery of the mission is up for grabs for a fair bit until it all comes together rather explosively and we learn that Magnus wanted access to some kind of a daemonic entity named the Iron Oculus. From here begins a tale of treachery and betrayal that sees these characters cross the lengths of the galaxy and beyond to save their Legion. And almost every moment of it is fantastic.

[Michael T Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a slog.

A Thousand Sons is by far my favorite Horus Heresy book up to this point, so it's so frustrating that I haven't given a damn about any of their follow-ups (is this just the second one? I might be forgetting one). I think what made ATS work for me was Lemuel, the main POV character, and his incredibly human story.

Amazingly, Lemuel makes a return here! I should've been so excited, right? Except I didn't even recognize him at first because that was like 30 books ago or whatever, and I was so bored already.

I don't know what the issue is. I guess it's just that, like, the main story is different people searching for different shards of Magnus' soul because it got split apart at some point. So like ... what is the point of this book? By the end, we are essentially back at square one. I don't think this is a huge spoiler, so I'll say that some might point out that there's a 'more humanitarian part' missing or however one character phrases it at the end. 'He'll never be as kind as he once was.' Shrug. The goddamn war could have been the cause of that, and then this whole book could have just never happened. Right? Maybe certain things are being set up here, and because I know only the very broad strokes of where things are going, I missed them. But this just felt like another big 'so what?' to me.

Oh, also, we've got Ahzek Ahrimon, Amon, Aforgomon (???), and like seven other characters whose names begin with an A. That did get ridiculously confusing. Thankfully Aforgomon speaks in bold, so that helped.

Things I liked:
-at one point Magnus' dying body is being held in a throne that they're using to keep him barely functioning, and the way it's written it's obviously meant to mirror the Emperor, plus he's sending off his sorcerers to possibly die for him, which mirrors the Black Ship sacrifices ... I smiled at this.
-MacNeill's writing is still good. Excellent descriptions of bizarre things (moving through a river to represent time travel was especially groovy), it's more just the entire structure/raison detre for the book as a whole that had me checking my phone every few pages.

[Rev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graham Mcneil’s The Crimson King offers a deeply introspective and unsettling continuation of Magnus the Red's downfall. Where as A Thousand Sons chronicled his hubris and the catastrophic consequences of his choices, The Crimson King takes us into the aftermath of said choices, a portrait of a once godlike being unraveling and all together shattered in body, mind, and soul. I really enjoyed the overall structure of this entry as Graham McNeill delivers a story that is as much about cosmic horror and metaphysical/psychological decay as it is about war, crafting a richly layered and often painful exploration of a broken mind lost in its own contradictions. Furthermore, the most striking and impressive aspect of this novel is how via Magnus’s condition it functions as an extended and surprisingly authentic metaphor for dementia. With Magnus as a being trapped within himself, his thoughts fragmenting, his identity slipping through his fingers. Once the proud, all-seeing master of sorcery Magnus now drifts between moments of lucidity and madness, his past and present collapsing into each other in a disorienting chaotic spiral. His body wastes away and his mind flickers between rage, sorrow, or even desperate clarity and his own sons, the only ones who still stand by him often struggle to reconcile the legend of their father with the wreck he has become. It is a heartbreakingly human depiction of ultimate decline, magnified to mythic proportions through McNeill's vivid, often dreamlike prose that only get better as the book rages on.