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The Horus Heresy #8
La Bataille des Abysses
A Horus Heresy novel
As Horus deploys his forces, a small band of loyal Space Marines from disparate Legions learn that a massive enemy armada is heading to Ultramar, home of the Ultramarines, headed by the most destructive starship ever constructed.
READ IT BECAUSE
A group of heroes who know there is no glory for them come together to strike a blow against the traitors. It's a classic tale of a a handful of brave warriors against a mighty foe, and it doesn't get much mightier than the Furious Abyss...
THE STORY
Now that news of Horus's treachery is in the open, a time of testing has come. Some Legions have already declared their allegiance to the Warmaster, while the loyalty of others lies firmly with the Emperor. As Horus deploys his forces, a small band of loyal Space Marines from disparate Legions learn that a massive enemy armada is heading to Ultramar, home of the Ultramarines, headed by the most destructive starship ever constructed. Unless they can intercept the fleet, and destroy the mighty battleship the Furious Abyss, the Ultramarines may suffer a blow from which they will never recover.
As Horus deploys his forces, a small band of loyal Space Marines from disparate Legions learn that a massive enemy armada is heading to Ultramar, home of the Ultramarines, headed by the most destructive starship ever constructed.
READ IT BECAUSE
A group of heroes who know there is no glory for them come together to strike a blow against the traitors. It's a classic tale of a a handful of brave warriors against a mighty foe, and it doesn't get much mightier than the Furious Abyss...
THE STORY
Now that news of Horus's treachery is in the open, a time of testing has come. Some Legions have already declared their allegiance to the Warmaster, while the loyalty of others lies firmly with the Emperor. As Horus deploys his forces, a small band of loyal Space Marines from disparate Legions learn that a massive enemy armada is heading to Ultramar, home of the Ultramarines, headed by the most destructive starship ever constructed. Unless they can intercept the fleet, and destroy the mighty battleship the Furious Abyss, the Ultramarines may suffer a blow from which they will never recover.
360 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
510 people are currently reading
2281 people want to read
About the author
Ben Counter
158 books211 followersBen Counter, as well as making several contributions to Inferno magazine, has written the Soul Drinkers and Grey Knights series and two Horus Heresy novels for the Black Library. He is an ancient history graduate and avid miniature painter with a bronze demon under his belt.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 404 reviews
March 21, 2017
This one turned out to be a nope for me. Not the worst idea behind the story, but the narrative is rather blurry and plain. Loyalists are not horrible, yet they lack character development. Word Bearers are my main problem here, they are portrayed as a total chiche. Zero depth, they are nothing more than mustache twirling villains who only want to do evil shit. Also they are ZEALOTS. I swear I haven't heard the word zealot (and it's variables) as many times in my entire life as the author uses it in this book. Synonyms, dude! Use some synonyms! The story is not important to the main plot of the series, I would not say it completely terrible, but rather just unnecessary. Gained nothing from reading it.
February 19, 2023
This is my first review, but since this book seems to be getting some negative buzz i just felt i had to speak up. Needless to say i absolutely loved this book. It's the classic tale of David vs. Goliath in which a small imperial ship needs to stop an enormous traitor ship bound for the Ultramarines homeworld.
The cast of characters is wonderfull. What's great about it is that there are two heroes from The Thousand Sons legion and World Eaters. Unique because both these chapters eventually turn traitor during the Horus Heresey. The book has some great action scenes and had my attention from beginning to end. A well deserved five stars:)!
The cast of characters is wonderfull. What's great about it is that there are two heroes from The Thousand Sons legion and World Eaters. Unique because both these chapters eventually turn traitor during the Horus Heresey. The book has some great action scenes and had my attention from beginning to end. A well deserved five stars:)!
June 16, 2025
Another exceptional addition to the Horus Heresy series.
The Horus Heresy has begun. But few Loyalists realize it. The Word Bearers have created a monstrous new battleship called the Furious Abyss. Now they are leading a fleet to Calth to destroy it while the main Ultramarines Legion has been deployed away by Horus and it is open to invasion.
Captain Cestus of the Ultramarines and Brynngar of the Space Wolves band their forces together, accompanied by a Loyalist World Eater, Skraal, and a Loyalist Thousand Son, Mhotep. Their mission is to try to warn Calth and to try to stop the Furious Abyss. More than that I will not spoil.
This was an excellent story as we see directly into the events occurring after Istvaan. The fact that the World Eater and the Thousand Son remain loyal shows how destructive the Heresy truly was. At no point, till near the end, do the Marines realize the extent of the perversion of the Word Bearer's acts. The fact that they go into this localized conflict against their fellow Astartes was the entire Horus Heresy in a microcosm. The Loyalists' lack of knowledge about the Warp, daemons, and their lack of psykers (due to the Council of Nikkea Edicts) has severe consequences in this story ( except for Mhotep). The strain that is put on the ties of brotherhood is clearly shown in all the bitter feelings as a result of the Word Bearer's treason, and the conflicts amongst the different legions is fascinating. As is the look into how each legion does have it's own way of doing things. A Space Wolf and a World Eater have more in common than, say an Ultramarine and a Thousand Sons. Also interesting to see and hear about loyal members of those two Legions. Both Skrall and Mhotep are excellent characters.
An excellent addition to the Horus Heresy and one I truly enjoyed reading.
The Horus Heresy has begun. But few Loyalists realize it. The Word Bearers have created a monstrous new battleship called the Furious Abyss. Now they are leading a fleet to Calth to destroy it while the main Ultramarines Legion has been deployed away by Horus and it is open to invasion.
Captain Cestus of the Ultramarines and Brynngar of the Space Wolves band their forces together, accompanied by a Loyalist World Eater, Skraal, and a Loyalist Thousand Son, Mhotep. Their mission is to try to warn Calth and to try to stop the Furious Abyss. More than that I will not spoil.
This was an excellent story as we see directly into the events occurring after Istvaan. The fact that the World Eater and the Thousand Son remain loyal shows how destructive the Heresy truly was. At no point, till near the end, do the Marines realize the extent of the perversion of the Word Bearer's acts. The fact that they go into this localized conflict against their fellow Astartes was the entire Horus Heresy in a microcosm. The Loyalists' lack of knowledge about the Warp, daemons, and their lack of psykers (due to the Council of Nikkea Edicts) has severe consequences in this story ( except for Mhotep). The strain that is put on the ties of brotherhood is clearly shown in all the bitter feelings as a result of the Word Bearer's treason, and the conflicts amongst the different legions is fascinating. As is the look into how each legion does have it's own way of doing things. A Space Wolf and a World Eater have more in common than, say an Ultramarine and a Thousand Sons. Also interesting to see and hear about loyal members of those two Legions. Both Skrall and Mhotep are excellent characters.
An excellent addition to the Horus Heresy and one I truly enjoyed reading.
January 17, 2021
Not much to say about this one, for good or bad. It doesn't hold up to the strongest Horus Heresy novels, but I would not count it among the weakest ones either. I didn't quite understand the critical treatment it's received, to be honest, but it did read like a filler book of sorts.
Anyway, the march through the most over-the-top space opera in history continues on.
Anyway, the march through the most over-the-top space opera in history continues on.
January 29, 2019
Wow! It sure took a long while to get through this book. I had gone into this book knowing that it is not very well loved by the community, but I am not sure I was prepared for it. Ben Counter's writing is nearly unreadable in many parts of this book. The sentence structure is appalling. I am amazed this even got past a copy editor. This makes for a very hard read and/or even enjoy. The story, while okay, is weighed down by an unnecessarily long narrative with wooden, colorless characters. The dialogue is lacking and there are some attempts are creative imagery that just falls flat. The core of the book is okay and there are some moments that shine through to provide a decent read, but they are few and far between. I have long thought of Ben Counter as one of the weakest writers in the Black Library and am unsure how garners popularity.
The first real weak entry I have read in the Horus Heresy series. I hope this is merely an anomaly.
Unless you are a purist/completionist (like myself), I would move on to more compelling books in the series.
A sad 2/5. Better grammatical structure and less filler is needed.
The first real weak entry I have read in the Horus Heresy series. I hope this is merely an anomaly.
Unless you are a purist/completionist (like myself), I would move on to more compelling books in the series.
A sad 2/5. Better grammatical structure and less filler is needed.
January 17, 2020
An exciting and intense story and IMO a much more polished and well written book than Counter's first story in the Heresy saga, Galaxy in Flames. Galaxy was a great tale but some of the dialogue and character interactions were cheese-o-rama. Battle for the Abyss reminded me of Mad Max: Fury Road in that it was one long chase scene with no slow or boring spots and the action was exquisitely done. There were long stretches in here where there were like four or five different action pieces happening simultaneously, with many different combatants, and not once was I confused or couldn't visualize what was going on. In fact this shit was chock full of stand up and cheer moments and tons of well deserved comeuppance. I'm a sucker for revenge stories and many scenes hit that sweet spot for me which it turns out that I kind of needed because of the non-stop onslaught of pain and misery and bummer shit in the earlier volumes. This series continues to enchant me, it continues to entertain me, and has exceeded my expectations in every way.
October 6, 2022
Ova knjiga nije nezanimljiva ali zestoko smrdi na filer.
February 23, 2021
After the last two entries, I am happy to report that this venture into the Horus Heresy is right back on track with the stories that I like. Some may dislike it for various reasons, but slavish and fanatical devotion to the cause, no matter what said cause may be, is really what Warhammer 40K is all about. And, *spoiler*, everyone dies in the end! Like, literally everyone...I don't think you can get a more 40K ending than that (well Kor Phaeron doesn't...but his appearance is really only a cameo, at best). I also enjoyed rooting for a World Eater and a Thousand Son. Traditional bad guys taking on the role of a good guy is probably one of my favorite "swap stories." Although, "to be fair" Skraal and Mhotep are not aware that they belong to "Traitor Legions" at the time of this story.
It's nice to read a science fiction story, as well, which pretty much takes place entirely in space. So many modern science fiction stories seem to forget that and restrict themselves to localized planetary settings.
A must read for the series!
It's nice to read a science fiction story, as well, which pretty much takes place entirely in space. So many modern science fiction stories seem to forget that and restrict themselves to localized planetary settings.
A must read for the series!
September 2, 2020
BftA was not a bad book. I just struggled with it a lot. The last part had a lot of redeeming qualities for me personally and nearly had me giving it a 5 star rating, yet I couldnt purely for the fact that there are a lot of things that held me back from getting to the end. Not the best HH for me personally but not bad either.
July 29, 2011
For a book which charts a chase across space and dimensions, this is a distinctly pedestrian affair and dumps us right back onto the downward spiral which had briefly been interrupted by the 7th book.
One can't help but feel that the critical success of 'Flight Of The Eisenstein' made the dark lords of The Black Library decide that another space-race was in order. Sadly, unlike that book, 'Battle For The Abyss' is low on interesting characters and sky-high on cliche and stereotypes.
Plotwise, the story revolves around the treachery of The Word Bearers legion and their commissioning of a gigantic starship named The Furious Abyss which they intend to use against the planet Ultramar, striking a dolorous blow against the loyalists. Ultramarine Captain Cestus gives chase in his own ship, The Wrathful along with a motley crew consisting of marines from the Space Wolves, World Eaters and Thousand Sons legions.
Unfortunately, the Word Bearers don't emerge as the sinister but deluded religious fanatics that they're supposed to be, rather they're portrayed as the standard snarling villains of every bad fantasy book ever written ever. The Ultramarine is a drag, the Space Wolf is a weak Viking parody and the action is stop-start and thoroughly uninvolving.
For all that though, there is a considerable amount of mileage to be gained from the twin tragedies of Mhotep of The Thousands Sons and Skraal of the World Eaters, as they fight tooth-and-nail to stop the Word Bearers, ignorant of the fact that their own legions have already turned traitor.
Skraal in particular is a revelation as he fights a one-man war from within the bowels of The Furious Abyss itself. These two characters may well have saved the book, but it finds itself dragged straight back to mediocrity thanks to the thoroughly bland and incompetent Word Bearers.
Must do better.
One can't help but feel that the critical success of 'Flight Of The Eisenstein' made the dark lords of The Black Library decide that another space-race was in order. Sadly, unlike that book, 'Battle For The Abyss' is low on interesting characters and sky-high on cliche and stereotypes.
Plotwise, the story revolves around the treachery of The Word Bearers legion and their commissioning of a gigantic starship named The Furious Abyss which they intend to use against the planet Ultramar, striking a dolorous blow against the loyalists. Ultramarine Captain Cestus gives chase in his own ship, The Wrathful along with a motley crew consisting of marines from the Space Wolves, World Eaters and Thousand Sons legions.
Unfortunately, the Word Bearers don't emerge as the sinister but deluded religious fanatics that they're supposed to be, rather they're portrayed as the standard snarling villains of every bad fantasy book ever written ever. The Ultramarine is a drag, the Space Wolf is a weak Viking parody and the action is stop-start and thoroughly uninvolving.
For all that though, there is a considerable amount of mileage to be gained from the twin tragedies of Mhotep of The Thousands Sons and Skraal of the World Eaters, as they fight tooth-and-nail to stop the Word Bearers, ignorant of the fact that their own legions have already turned traitor.
Skraal in particular is a revelation as he fights a one-man war from within the bowels of The Furious Abyss itself. These two characters may well have saved the book, but it finds itself dragged straight back to mediocrity thanks to the thoroughly bland and incompetent Word Bearers.
Must do better.
September 5, 2023
This novel shows us the space marines at their worst. It shows them as overpowered Mary-sues, comically evil villains, personality-lacking brutes and npcs, that are only there to be butchered by the main "Characters."
The story follows a bunch of heroes who have to destroy the big bad superweapon in order to save the world, even though they are outnumbered.
Our heroes don't have much personality, other than belonging to some Legion. But who needs personality in a fight against Space-Bismarck, if you can have plot-armor instead?
This book basically represents a bad action movie.
Also, the writer doesn't seem to trust the audience with inner dialogue since, most of the time, we are being told what characters feel or think, rather than seeing it ourselves and having to form our own opinion, which would have been much better and less boring.
Some warp-related and mythological scenes are interesting, new, and terrifying, but they don't have the impact they could have had since one doesn't care or fear for the characters, and they seemingly overcome every challenge with ease.
So yeah, don't waste your money on this filler.
The story follows a bunch of heroes who have to destroy the big bad superweapon in order to save the world, even though they are outnumbered.
Our heroes don't have much personality, other than belonging to some Legion. But who needs personality in a fight against Space-Bismarck, if you can have plot-armor instead?
This book basically represents a bad action movie.
Also, the writer doesn't seem to trust the audience with inner dialogue since, most of the time, we are being told what characters feel or think, rather than seeing it ourselves and having to form our own opinion, which would have been much better and less boring.
Some warp-related and mythological scenes are interesting, new, and terrifying, but they don't have the impact they could have had since one doesn't care or fear for the characters, and they seemingly overcome every challenge with ease.
So yeah, don't waste your money on this filler.
September 4, 2018
4 Stars
I was recommended this book by one of my goodreads friends and I did not know what to excpect because I never read any of Ben Counter books before and while reading this book I thought it was really good. I finally realized after reading this book that I should maybe read more books by him since I liked this book. I would read this book maybe one more time. I would recommend this book to anyone.
I was recommended this book by one of my goodreads friends and I did not know what to excpect because I never read any of Ben Counter books before and while reading this book I thought it was really good. I finally realized after reading this book that I should maybe read more books by him since I liked this book. I would read this book maybe one more time. I would recommend this book to anyone.
January 27, 2015
OK HH novel. Ultramarines are so dull though.
January 10, 2022
I decided to read this book to fill in my canonical knowledge of the Horus Heresy. I saw that it had some dubious reviews but wanted to give it a chance all the same.
Unfortunately, this is not a great book, and probably the weakest HH book i've read, if not the weakest 40k book overall.
The story sounds great and should be a cracking read, but Cestus and his band of underdogs vs. The might of the Word Bearers and the FURIOUS ABYSS is unfortunately undone by poor writing, wooden, 2d characters, bad pacing and, if im honest, irrelevancy with regard to the overall story. Nothing happens here that you dont already know from The First Heretic. There is no wider introduction of any other facet, so its really just story on its own, which would be fine if it were well written, but it just isnt. Sentences are overly long, overloaded with adjectives, or just plain nonsensical: 'reaching the vox, he ordered the abandon ship', 'prayer, on the crude, fleshly level, was just a stream of words spoken by a man'. Its just not great, and compared to Abnett, ADB, or MacNeil, it really doesnt stand up.
Plot elements hinted to be crucial are instead cul-de-sacs that affect no one else other than those already involved. The antagonist Zadkiel is practically a moustache twirling vaudeville villain, and the other characters are just legion stereotypes. The bearded Space Wolf who drinks a lot and gets a lot of wolf analogies, the angry World Eater who kills everything in sight, the starchy, by the book Ultramarine who is shouting silly things like 'battle plan theta epsilon' at people. It is like what detractors imagine w40k fiction is like.
The action sequences arent that bad, and do draw you in, but they are oddly spaced, and often over far too soon. Instead we are left with these boring characters that just repeat themselves endlessly. Not a necessary book to understand HH, avoid unless there is nothing else to read.
Unfortunately, this is not a great book, and probably the weakest HH book i've read, if not the weakest 40k book overall.
The story sounds great and should be a cracking read, but Cestus and his band of underdogs vs. The might of the Word Bearers and the FURIOUS ABYSS is unfortunately undone by poor writing, wooden, 2d characters, bad pacing and, if im honest, irrelevancy with regard to the overall story. Nothing happens here that you dont already know from The First Heretic. There is no wider introduction of any other facet, so its really just story on its own, which would be fine if it were well written, but it just isnt. Sentences are overly long, overloaded with adjectives, or just plain nonsensical: 'reaching the vox, he ordered the abandon ship', 'prayer, on the crude, fleshly level, was just a stream of words spoken by a man'. Its just not great, and compared to Abnett, ADB, or MacNeil, it really doesnt stand up.
Plot elements hinted to be crucial are instead cul-de-sacs that affect no one else other than those already involved. The antagonist Zadkiel is practically a moustache twirling vaudeville villain, and the other characters are just legion stereotypes. The bearded Space Wolf who drinks a lot and gets a lot of wolf analogies, the angry World Eater who kills everything in sight, the starchy, by the book Ultramarine who is shouting silly things like 'battle plan theta epsilon' at people. It is like what detractors imagine w40k fiction is like.
The action sequences arent that bad, and do draw you in, but they are oddly spaced, and often over far too soon. Instead we are left with these boring characters that just repeat themselves endlessly. Not a necessary book to understand HH, avoid unless there is nothing else to read.
September 11, 2015
Battle For The Abyss is primarily hampered by its very uninspiring plot and kind of dull characters - Ultramarines are stiff and noble, Space Wolves are impetuous vikings, World Eaters are crazy, Word Bearers are fanatics. There is really no reason to care about any of these characters and none of it feels consequential.
The best bits are when the World Eater captain gets trapped on the ship and we get to see something beyond 'Imma get really mad-d-d-d-d!!!!', and seeing the Thousand Sons guy just generally be a calm dude - Marines are either stern or angry so it's nice to see a dude that is just chillin.
The best bits are when the World Eater captain gets trapped on the ship and we get to see something beyond 'Imma get really mad-d-d-d-d!!!!', and seeing the Thousand Sons guy just generally be a calm dude - Marines are either stern or angry so it's nice to see a dude that is just chillin.
March 25, 2022
3.5 stars. This book offered no surprises, no insights, no answers and so no disappointments. The action picked up from the first page, but the dialogue was stilted (even for this lore which is saying something), and the plot twists were obvious to be laughable. The climax was soon upon us, which also predictable, along with the resolution. Having said that, though, I will continue with the series.
October 5, 2017
This is the first book in the series which I really found lacking. Very little happened in terms of plot to justify 400 pages. It just kept plodding along, aimlessly this way and that. Hopefully the next one won’t be so dull.
February 11, 2022
Battle for the Abyss. The hated one. It has its fans, but it is striking how much lower its average rating is compared to other books in the Horus Heresy.
A tiny team of Space Marines made up of four different Legions must try to bring down a much larger group of Word Bearers on the latter Legion's massive ship the Furious Abyss, which will otherwise destroy the Ultramarines’ home of Macragge in sneak attack.
There are flaws to the story. Counter is not the best with dialogue. He likes to tell us things through lengthy descriptions. The actions scenes are middlingly described. Yet, I still think Battle for Abyss serves as a coherent action story, both self-contained and with implications for the wider Horus Heresy. Perhaps most importantly, he makes a World Eater look good, the most dipshittery Legion of them all.
Foes
‘It is better,’ said Ultis, ‘that lesser men like this lose their freedom than that the Word remains unspoken. Even if what we do is slavery, even if our passion is like a chain that holds them down, these are small prices to pay to see Lorgar’s Word enacted.’
It’s a fairisshhhhhhhh criticism to note the Word Bearers are a bit basic in personality. We can argue over the details. In Counter's defence, the Word Bearers as zealots are not going to express a wide a range of emotions; none of them seem that far removed from Erebus, the main Word Bearer we’ve seen so far; and there’s some interesting power dynamics at play. They have their own way of fighting, which leads to interesting forms of conflict, particularly as they manipulate the emotions of the protagonists. As to the provenance of the Furious Abyss or the fact that the Word Bearers just aren’t that good at fighting our protagonists for what they should be – yeah, for sure, but we’re talking a fantasy universe here. Let’s not get sidetracked measuring power levels.
Yet, there's also a wider point – most of the villains or third parties in this series are hardly standouts. The Cabal in Legion are goofballs, particularly considering their ancient origins. Fulgrim picks up a sword that tells him to be naughty. The defining "personality" trait of the arachnids on Murder is that they have sharp stabby legs. The titular Horus of the Horus Heresy rebels over the prospect of filling in tax returns. We can have a bit of a moan that Counter doesn’t have the tricks (or well deployed clichés) as McNeill or Abnett or Dembski-Bowdento make our enemies abit more fun but, just like Galaxy in Flames, the villain has a clear goal that creates tension. They’re fine for what the book is – a straight man action story.
”Friends”
Counter puts together a set of protagonists with skills that complement the situations that Counter puts them in. Yet they often conflict with each other in ways that mean you aren’t left at the end thinking “what a bunch of bros”.
Think of all those sins, and that is without the mission you died fighting. You led a whole fleet to its destruction. You allowed your battle-brothers to die in vain. You protected a psyker, knowing full well that he was in breach of the Council of Nikaea –all of this to fight your fellow Astartes. Where, captain, do we start with you?’
Cestus is a classic good boy Ultramarine. Yet he suffers for making the right decisions. His colleagues die, generally without any hint of heroism or a final stand. Being even-handed costs him the friendship of the Space Wolf Brynngar. He throws away a small closely-knit fleet for the greater goal and has to tell the Admiral, “well, too bad”. Cestus’ power is driven by will to an extent that even when under the influence of the psychic fever dream he drags along a dead colleague with him, while having no idea where he is. He isn’t charismatic, but he is driven in a way where it costs him in believable ways. He both pushes on and is (eventually) reflective as to the cost imposed on others:
‘You are right, admiral. You have shown nothing but courage and honour throughout this endeavour and I have repaid it with ignorance and scorn. This is not fitting behaviour for a member of the Legion and I offer my humble apology.’
Cestus’ strength of will is personal to him and is not some aspect of the Legion in which he serves, as evidenced by his final showdown. As for his own death, he barely gets a moment of satisfaction before it all explodes around him. There is no obvious glory for doing the right thing.
As for the support cast, Brynngar is an enthusiastic torturer and susceptible to malign influence. He begrudgingly sacrifices his life so Cestus can survive which, as it turns out, doesn’t happen. Doing the “right” thing doesn’t always guarantee a payoff. Mhotep is incarcerated for significant portions of the book and his act of heroism is done alone, with no one ever seeing his critical role. Skraal hides because he has to, with no expectation of relief, being driven “more” (as he is a World Eater) by the experience. They all have their resolutions, but they are satisfyingly unsatisfying.
Bad?
Battle for the Abyss isn’t the best in the series. Horus Rising was the supreme opener to it, and the later book Know No Fear lies in wait as the Black Library’s hall of famer. However, it is way too lowly rated when it’s an efficient story that showcases distinguishable traits (and to emphasise, makes a World Eater look good).
A tiny team of Space Marines made up of four different Legions must try to bring down a much larger group of Word Bearers on the latter Legion's massive ship the Furious Abyss, which will otherwise destroy the Ultramarines’ home of Macragge in sneak attack.
There are flaws to the story. Counter is not the best with dialogue. He likes to tell us things through lengthy descriptions. The actions scenes are middlingly described. Yet, I still think Battle for Abyss serves as a coherent action story, both self-contained and with implications for the wider Horus Heresy. Perhaps most importantly, he makes a World Eater look good, the most dipshittery Legion of them all.
Foes
‘It is better,’ said Ultis, ‘that lesser men like this lose their freedom than that the Word remains unspoken. Even if what we do is slavery, even if our passion is like a chain that holds them down, these are small prices to pay to see Lorgar’s Word enacted.’
It’s a fairisshhhhhhhh criticism to note the Word Bearers are a bit basic in personality. We can argue over the details. In Counter's defence, the Word Bearers as zealots are not going to express a wide a range of emotions; none of them seem that far removed from Erebus, the main Word Bearer we’ve seen so far; and there’s some interesting power dynamics at play. They have their own way of fighting, which leads to interesting forms of conflict, particularly as they manipulate the emotions of the protagonists. As to the provenance of the Furious Abyss or the fact that the Word Bearers just aren’t that good at fighting our protagonists for what they should be – yeah, for sure, but we’re talking a fantasy universe here. Let’s not get sidetracked measuring power levels.
Yet, there's also a wider point – most of the villains or third parties in this series are hardly standouts. The Cabal in Legion are goofballs, particularly considering their ancient origins. Fulgrim picks up a sword that tells him to be naughty. The defining "personality" trait of the arachnids on Murder is that they have sharp stabby legs. The titular Horus of the Horus Heresy rebels over the prospect of filling in tax returns. We can have a bit of a moan that Counter doesn’t have the tricks (or well deployed clichés) as McNeill or Abnett or Dembski-Bowdento make our enemies abit more fun but, just like Galaxy in Flames, the villain has a clear goal that creates tension. They’re fine for what the book is – a straight man action story.
”Friends”
Counter puts together a set of protagonists with skills that complement the situations that Counter puts them in. Yet they often conflict with each other in ways that mean you aren’t left at the end thinking “what a bunch of bros”.
Think of all those sins, and that is without the mission you died fighting. You led a whole fleet to its destruction. You allowed your battle-brothers to die in vain. You protected a psyker, knowing full well that he was in breach of the Council of Nikaea –all of this to fight your fellow Astartes. Where, captain, do we start with you?’
Cestus is a classic good boy Ultramarine. Yet he suffers for making the right decisions. His colleagues die, generally without any hint of heroism or a final stand. Being even-handed costs him the friendship of the Space Wolf Brynngar. He throws away a small closely-knit fleet for the greater goal and has to tell the Admiral, “well, too bad”. Cestus’ power is driven by will to an extent that even when under the influence of the psychic fever dream he drags along a dead colleague with him, while having no idea where he is. He isn’t charismatic, but he is driven in a way where it costs him in believable ways. He both pushes on and is (eventually) reflective as to the cost imposed on others:
‘You are right, admiral. You have shown nothing but courage and honour throughout this endeavour and I have repaid it with ignorance and scorn. This is not fitting behaviour for a member of the Legion and I offer my humble apology.’
Cestus’ strength of will is personal to him and is not some aspect of the Legion in which he serves, as evidenced by his final showdown. As for his own death, he barely gets a moment of satisfaction before it all explodes around him. There is no obvious glory for doing the right thing.
As for the support cast, Brynngar is an enthusiastic torturer and susceptible to malign influence. He begrudgingly sacrifices his life so Cestus can survive which, as it turns out, doesn’t happen. Doing the “right” thing doesn’t always guarantee a payoff. Mhotep is incarcerated for significant portions of the book and his act of heroism is done alone, with no one ever seeing his critical role. Skraal hides because he has to, with no expectation of relief, being driven “more” (as he is a World Eater) by the experience. They all have their resolutions, but they are satisfyingly unsatisfying.
Bad?
Battle for the Abyss isn’t the best in the series. Horus Rising was the supreme opener to it, and the later book Know No Fear lies in wait as the Black Library’s hall of famer. However, it is way too lowly rated when it’s an efficient story that showcases distinguishable traits (and to emphasise, makes a World Eater look good).
September 19, 2025
I love a good abyss but this wasnt a very good one.
August 4, 2011
I have been waiting for this novel patiently. Finally the story would veer back to the time line of the heresy set forth from book 1 into the Fulgrim. Although Descent and Legion were cool books, Legion much better than Descent, they were not in the time line of the heresy. Battle for the Abyss was a cool tale finally introducing Ultramarine characters and Space Wolves. Although it is as the title implies the Battle for the Abyss, the Battle for Maccrage and Ultramar are not decided in this book. I fear Mechanicum will not cover it either. I want to get back to the story and pace set forth by the first 3 novels with characters I can follow and get to know like Loken and Tarvitz. Cestus was awesome but he is gone now...making this almost another stand alone novel. I enjoyed the story, and the book, the battles and the characters, I just want to get back into an time line with continuity like the first three novels. I can only hope that is coming.
March 26, 2013
This one was a dud for me. Not a fan. It's not that it's a bad book per se, featuring as it does a small ship chasing a much bigger ship to stop them from doing Terrible Things (TM).
It's just that well, it's not that interesting or well-written, not to mention that it feels much more like a M41 story than a M31: In other words it fails to a large degree to take advantage of the setting (IE: The Horus Heresy) both the Ultramarines and their antagonists largely act as they would ten thousand years later. (not entirely mind, there are a few nods) but it just feels like a gross neglect of the setting.
Now, it is possible I am judging the book too harshly: I read many of these books after each other and was kinda getting burned out at this point. Still, it lacks the interesting bits of most of the other Horus Heresy books.
It's just that well, it's not that interesting or well-written, not to mention that it feels much more like a M41 story than a M31: In other words it fails to a large degree to take advantage of the setting (IE: The Horus Heresy) both the Ultramarines and their antagonists largely act as they would ten thousand years later. (not entirely mind, there are a few nods) but it just feels like a gross neglect of the setting.
Now, it is possible I am judging the book too harshly: I read many of these books after each other and was kinda getting burned out at this point. Still, it lacks the interesting bits of most of the other Horus Heresy books.
January 28, 2024
I want to start by making a few things clear, before getting into this review:
- I was coming in so hype from Flight of the Eisenstein (I'm saving my re-read of Fulgrim for the whole Shattersong Omnibus following www.heresyomnibus.com) and I was at peak Warhammer, especially Horus Heresy, hyperfixation on a special interest and having a ball.
- I think Counter is a fantastic writer, I love a lot of his work, and he was so lovely when I randomly met him at a Magic: The Gathering re-release event many moons ago.
- They quality of the Horus Heresy books vacillates, but coming back to the opening quadrilogy after reading a whole lot in the last year and being shocked by how much they stand up and in my honest mood even surpass many far more respected books in terms of the way literature is critiqued (art is subjective and not a competition, but we understand their are certain qualities and attributes that raises the quality of a work), so I'm not going to be grading this series on a curve like I might do with other Black Library titles.
- Expanding on the above, if this had the white cover, bottom third cover art, big red title, and the the grey Aquila Space Marine Battles banner across the top, I would have very different expectations and reactions than the full cover art with top third black text box with outline and text in gold. I know this is ridiculously granular, but this was the eighth book released of a series which had established itself with certain qualities.
(No shade on Space Marine Battles in particular, I just think this has the feel of a good entry in that series, rather than as part of this one)
I feel a huge amount of relief at having this book finished because, while their are moments of quality writing with beautiful moments and gorgeous descriptions, this one really missed the mark for me. I feel awful for how much negative stuff I have to say, some of which I don't think is Counter's fault at all, and all of which is my own subjective opinion, especially as I remember having a good time with this previously.
The Word Bearers with the aid of what will eventually become the Dark/New Mechanicum/s make the biggest, baddest spaceship and are heading to go mark Calth up with it as the decisive sucker punch against the Ultramarines. A ragtag group of Astartes from various Legions, Space Wolves, World Eaters, and Thousand Sons, lead by Ultramarines and their commandeered ships have something to say about that.
I know I've been in a lot of pain and discomfort today, while reading the book and writing this review with my chronic conditions flaring like Warp storms, so maybe I'm being unfair in how I felt, or more importantly didn't feel, about this. But it was laid up listening to the good, the bad, the ugly, and the phenomenal that had me sobbing pretty much from start to finish of Horus Heresy audio dramas that made me begin this quest to finally actually fully complete the saga, especially with The End and the Death Part III released this year.
Unfortunately, I didn't like a lot of this (for a Horus Heresy novel).
I think in many ways this novel (and Counter) were given a raw deal in when this novel was released and what it had to do. The foundations this is built on are incredibly shaky, eschewing the established Horus Heresy formula of introducing a single Legion through their past and present, using this to specifically hone in on their reputation and perceived character, while exploring how they are and aren't like this. This is essential for creating a baseline, exposing misconceptions, establishing tensions that were fermenting long before Davin, let alone Isstvan, and, most importantly for anyone who isn't a 40k nerd, actually giving the reader an idea of who, what, why, where, when, and how. There is a ludicrous amount of lore, history, knowledge, and dramatic irony we nerds are aware of, but is all but impenetrable for someone coming in fresh. This is something I praised Horus Rising and whole opening quadrilogy for, as they gradually increase the scope and elements over the course of several novels. Honestly, to be fair to Counter here, I feel like this was a bad call on Black Library and the Horus Heresy planning team that he is taking the blow for, especially when The First Heretic and Know No Fear are so far away. I get that chronologically this makes sense to be before Know Know Fear, but chronology? The Horus Heresy doesn't know her, and introducing the stakes and reasons to care about the Shadow War: Red Vs Blue Heresy Boogaloo are far more important. Counter got done dirty and Black Library made logistical mistakes, which I know is hard to believe as, despite the quality of a lot of the work their authors create, they seem to be run with the same efficiency and methods as the Munitorum in the Dark Millennium.
Going by the release and almost all suggested reading orders, at least as far as the novels are concerned, outside of the odd character and reference, we know nothing about the Legions involved in this story. So far we have become familiar with and invested in the Lunar Wolves/ Sons of Horus, Emperor's Children, and Death Guard, as well as getting an introduction to the Dark Angels and a glimpse of the Alpha Legion. This novel doesn't do much to address this or really give the Space Marines much individual character, backstory, or motivations beyond being the absolute embodiment of the stereotypes and tropes of their respective Legions. They do develop as the story goes on, but not as much as I hoped and thought I remembered.
We have the drinking, fighting, good times, but hates Thousand Sons because of the Edict of Nikea (which we get a very brief explainer for), Space Wolf, the shamed and secluded, but really making making an effort to be an ambassador for his Legion, Thousand Son, a mega-scarred and lary World Eater (who has mutual distrust and not liking the mirror match with the Space Wolf), and a couple of Ultramarines, embodying the rather starched Roman legionary, but will do what's necessary of they have to thing going on. The only additional elements being given to these Ultramarines who are essentially the main protagonists is that they are lonely, homesick, and one had a vision (having a vision is not a personality trait). Don't get me started on this being the introduction to the Word Bearers (beyond Erebus), one of the most fascinating Legions and narratives in this whole saga, once they get the introduction they deserved in The First Heretic and Aurelian, being reduced to moustache-twirling villains without any aspect to them, beyond zealotry and cutthroat ambition that reduces them to slapstick buffoons! I know I am the bearer of the word of myth and foundation story archetypes, but they aren't presented like that and this novel lacks any of the mythic legend, outside of the David versus Goliath aspect.
Even as individuals and preexisting relationships between the Ultramarines and the Space Wolf, we have next to nothing to go on beyond Star Wars Prequels levels of told not shown relationships:
'Hello there, Ultrakin, remember when we brought that nest of gundarks to Compliance?'
'I do, master... I mean Fenrykenobi'
Another less Horus Heresy, more standard 40K fare is the curse of the Whedon dialogue that's infected nearly all genre media. My go to example of this the tonally bizarre, especially considering the context, Poe/ Kylo Ren dialogue that opens the Force Awakens as an instance of this in a film in generally love. I want to be clear that the Dark Millennia are ridiculous and silly in their grimdarkness; Blanchean, but unnaturally quipping Ultramarines giving it the classic 'that went well' (if I recall correctly, multiple times) in intense situations feels weird, forced and 'cool', rather than in character. Torgaddon is an archetypal fool and a constant joker in the previous books, but there soldierly camaraderie, almost dad joke quality to his humour, rather than Alan Tudyk in Macragge Blue power armour.
I also think themes and expressions honour, tragedy, and sacrifice are somewhat mishandled, certainly not to the same degree as in Honour to the Dead which I am rather dreading being the capstone of the Shadow War I Omnibus. I am all about and have genuinely felt bolstered in real life considering positive and meaningful moments that can exist in the micro within a galaxy where everything is awful and grimdark in the macro, but I think it's something, especially with the honour and Imperial Truth indoctrinated into Astartes and their whole worldview, that needs to be handled with deftness and care to not become affirming or apologia for the jingoistic nightmare that is the Imperium. Of course, most of the individual Space Marines feel this way and are true believers, so it is down to the author to construct the narrative and narrator's voice that doesn't reinforce that. If you really look for it the difference is definitely there and incredibly important, something Games Workshop and Black Library can be very slack on, particularly because the vast majority of media is presented as coming from the in universe perspective of the Imperium.
Never forget that 40K (and the surrounding millenia) is a satire of empire, authoritarianism, and religious extremism that used to be much more clear about how inhuman and monstrous a weapon Astartes are made to be. Don't get me wrong, I love my Lokens, Tarvitzes, Garros, etc., but I celebrate their personal victories and adore how their narratives explicitly criticise the state of things and show the inconsistencies and hypocrisy in the Imperium, and the tragedy of being stuck in the impossible situation the system has created, as much as the external threats, again, many of which are only threats because of the beliefs and actions of the Imperium. This is why the Night Haunter, the Red Angel, and Corax are my favourite Primarchs, and Khârn, Argal Tal, Torgaddon, and the Loyalists (and specifically how they are treated) of the Traitor Legions are some of my favourite characters. They truly embody the way both the Imperium and Immaterium choke all that is good with their dogma and brutality.
This book was the first time I started to fear Heresy Burnout, which is scary with how I've barely got started, but I am determined to pass the Rubicon and I am looking forward to Know No Fear being the next novel in this Omnibus, which is one of my favourites and, I believe, is widely acknowledged as being in the top tier Horus Heresy novels.
As much as I have had to criticise, I do have some positive things to say and there certainly are pockets of brilliance with a lot of competent, but unexciting logistics between them. The main thing Counter is fantastic about is how he handles anything to do with the Warp. His descriptions of the geography and denizens of the Immaterium as fragments and reflections of emotion are surrealist masterpieces! His command of presenting the uncanny unreality of the Aether is sublime. The way this is then channelled into the paranoia and horror of Warp entities on board the Loyalist ships and the way the Realm and sorcereries of Chaos affects the mind creates some wonderful 'The Thing' vibes is great and could have been given even more screen time to be honest. I am just infinitely fascinated with the Immaterium, Warp travel, and it's affects on the laws of physics and the psyche.
The description and story that go along with the gallery on the Furious Abyss are also really well done, as are elements of the World Eater and Space Wolf's storylines (and to an extent the Thousand Son), especially in the way they echo each other and the similarities and differences of what they go through and how they reflect on and experience feeling alone and disconnected from their battle bother cousins. There is one moment of the Space Wolf ruminating on his feelings and remembering a trial he went through as a neophyte that was one of the only times I actually felt any connection or emotion.
I absolutely powered through this, but not in my usual excited, insatiable way. Instead, I just let it wash over me while I've been laid up with chronic pain, stimming by rearranging my whole 40k ebook library by factions, which took all night, from the individual authors I had been sorting it into in recent weeks. I just needed to have this done, so it didn't bog me down.
The reason I have referred to the characters by their Legions is because, beyond Skraal and Cestus, I genuinely didn't recall or dare to learn their names, which, as someone who really needs to connect, positively, negatively, or otherwise, with characters to feel anything or have the stakes or tension mean anything, says everything about my experience.
There are moments of brilliance, where Counter's imagination, descriptive, and emotional flare shine through, but, ultimately, this is in my honest opinion a not great Horus Heresy novel released in an order that makes no sense that would be a pretty good 40k one. Honestly, swap the Thousand Son for a Grey Knight or any Librarius heavy Chapter, the World Eater for a Flesh Tearer and this works pretty much as is as a 40k novel, which I really don't think should be the case for what we have come to expect from the Horus Heresy.
- I was coming in so hype from Flight of the Eisenstein (I'm saving my re-read of Fulgrim for the whole Shattersong Omnibus following www.heresyomnibus.com) and I was at peak Warhammer, especially Horus Heresy, hyperfixation on a special interest and having a ball.
- I think Counter is a fantastic writer, I love a lot of his work, and he was so lovely when I randomly met him at a Magic: The Gathering re-release event many moons ago.
- They quality of the Horus Heresy books vacillates, but coming back to the opening quadrilogy after reading a whole lot in the last year and being shocked by how much they stand up and in my honest mood even surpass many far more respected books in terms of the way literature is critiqued (art is subjective and not a competition, but we understand their are certain qualities and attributes that raises the quality of a work), so I'm not going to be grading this series on a curve like I might do with other Black Library titles.
- Expanding on the above, if this had the white cover, bottom third cover art, big red title, and the the grey Aquila Space Marine Battles banner across the top, I would have very different expectations and reactions than the full cover art with top third black text box with outline and text in gold. I know this is ridiculously granular, but this was the eighth book released of a series which had established itself with certain qualities.
(No shade on Space Marine Battles in particular, I just think this has the feel of a good entry in that series, rather than as part of this one)
I feel a huge amount of relief at having this book finished because, while their are moments of quality writing with beautiful moments and gorgeous descriptions, this one really missed the mark for me. I feel awful for how much negative stuff I have to say, some of which I don't think is Counter's fault at all, and all of which is my own subjective opinion, especially as I remember having a good time with this previously.
The Word Bearers with the aid of what will eventually become the Dark/New Mechanicum/s make the biggest, baddest spaceship and are heading to go mark Calth up with it as the decisive sucker punch against the Ultramarines. A ragtag group of Astartes from various Legions, Space Wolves, World Eaters, and Thousand Sons, lead by Ultramarines and their commandeered ships have something to say about that.
I know I've been in a lot of pain and discomfort today, while reading the book and writing this review with my chronic conditions flaring like Warp storms, so maybe I'm being unfair in how I felt, or more importantly didn't feel, about this. But it was laid up listening to the good, the bad, the ugly, and the phenomenal that had me sobbing pretty much from start to finish of Horus Heresy audio dramas that made me begin this quest to finally actually fully complete the saga, especially with The End and the Death Part III released this year.
Unfortunately, I didn't like a lot of this (for a Horus Heresy novel).
I think in many ways this novel (and Counter) were given a raw deal in when this novel was released and what it had to do. The foundations this is built on are incredibly shaky, eschewing the established Horus Heresy formula of introducing a single Legion through their past and present, using this to specifically hone in on their reputation and perceived character, while exploring how they are and aren't like this. This is essential for creating a baseline, exposing misconceptions, establishing tensions that were fermenting long before Davin, let alone Isstvan, and, most importantly for anyone who isn't a 40k nerd, actually giving the reader an idea of who, what, why, where, when, and how. There is a ludicrous amount of lore, history, knowledge, and dramatic irony we nerds are aware of, but is all but impenetrable for someone coming in fresh. This is something I praised Horus Rising and whole opening quadrilogy for, as they gradually increase the scope and elements over the course of several novels. Honestly, to be fair to Counter here, I feel like this was a bad call on Black Library and the Horus Heresy planning team that he is taking the blow for, especially when The First Heretic and Know No Fear are so far away. I get that chronologically this makes sense to be before Know Know Fear, but chronology? The Horus Heresy doesn't know her, and introducing the stakes and reasons to care about the Shadow War: Red Vs Blue Heresy Boogaloo are far more important. Counter got done dirty and Black Library made logistical mistakes, which I know is hard to believe as, despite the quality of a lot of the work their authors create, they seem to be run with the same efficiency and methods as the Munitorum in the Dark Millennium.
Going by the release and almost all suggested reading orders, at least as far as the novels are concerned, outside of the odd character and reference, we know nothing about the Legions involved in this story. So far we have become familiar with and invested in the Lunar Wolves/ Sons of Horus, Emperor's Children, and Death Guard, as well as getting an introduction to the Dark Angels and a glimpse of the Alpha Legion. This novel doesn't do much to address this or really give the Space Marines much individual character, backstory, or motivations beyond being the absolute embodiment of the stereotypes and tropes of their respective Legions. They do develop as the story goes on, but not as much as I hoped and thought I remembered.
We have the drinking, fighting, good times, but hates Thousand Sons because of the Edict of Nikea (which we get a very brief explainer for), Space Wolf, the shamed and secluded, but really making making an effort to be an ambassador for his Legion, Thousand Son, a mega-scarred and lary World Eater (who has mutual distrust and not liking the mirror match with the Space Wolf), and a couple of Ultramarines, embodying the rather starched Roman legionary, but will do what's necessary of they have to thing going on. The only additional elements being given to these Ultramarines who are essentially the main protagonists is that they are lonely, homesick, and one had a vision (having a vision is not a personality trait). Don't get me started on this being the introduction to the Word Bearers (beyond Erebus), one of the most fascinating Legions and narratives in this whole saga, once they get the introduction they deserved in The First Heretic and Aurelian, being reduced to moustache-twirling villains without any aspect to them, beyond zealotry and cutthroat ambition that reduces them to slapstick buffoons! I know I am the bearer of the word of myth and foundation story archetypes, but they aren't presented like that and this novel lacks any of the mythic legend, outside of the David versus Goliath aspect.
Even as individuals and preexisting relationships between the Ultramarines and the Space Wolf, we have next to nothing to go on beyond Star Wars Prequels levels of told not shown relationships:
'Hello there, Ultrakin, remember when we brought that nest of gundarks to Compliance?'
'I do, master... I mean Fenrykenobi'
Another less Horus Heresy, more standard 40K fare is the curse of the Whedon dialogue that's infected nearly all genre media. My go to example of this the tonally bizarre, especially considering the context, Poe/ Kylo Ren dialogue that opens the Force Awakens as an instance of this in a film in generally love. I want to be clear that the Dark Millennia are ridiculous and silly in their grimdarkness; Blanchean, but unnaturally quipping Ultramarines giving it the classic 'that went well' (if I recall correctly, multiple times) in intense situations feels weird, forced and 'cool', rather than in character. Torgaddon is an archetypal fool and a constant joker in the previous books, but there soldierly camaraderie, almost dad joke quality to his humour, rather than Alan Tudyk in Macragge Blue power armour.
I also think themes and expressions honour, tragedy, and sacrifice are somewhat mishandled, certainly not to the same degree as in Honour to the Dead which I am rather dreading being the capstone of the Shadow War I Omnibus. I am all about and have genuinely felt bolstered in real life considering positive and meaningful moments that can exist in the micro within a galaxy where everything is awful and grimdark in the macro, but I think it's something, especially with the honour and Imperial Truth indoctrinated into Astartes and their whole worldview, that needs to be handled with deftness and care to not become affirming or apologia for the jingoistic nightmare that is the Imperium. Of course, most of the individual Space Marines feel this way and are true believers, so it is down to the author to construct the narrative and narrator's voice that doesn't reinforce that. If you really look for it the difference is definitely there and incredibly important, something Games Workshop and Black Library can be very slack on, particularly because the vast majority of media is presented as coming from the in universe perspective of the Imperium.
Never forget that 40K (and the surrounding millenia) is a satire of empire, authoritarianism, and religious extremism that used to be much more clear about how inhuman and monstrous a weapon Astartes are made to be. Don't get me wrong, I love my Lokens, Tarvitzes, Garros, etc., but I celebrate their personal victories and adore how their narratives explicitly criticise the state of things and show the inconsistencies and hypocrisy in the Imperium, and the tragedy of being stuck in the impossible situation the system has created, as much as the external threats, again, many of which are only threats because of the beliefs and actions of the Imperium. This is why the Night Haunter, the Red Angel, and Corax are my favourite Primarchs, and Khârn, Argal Tal, Torgaddon, and the Loyalists (and specifically how they are treated) of the Traitor Legions are some of my favourite characters. They truly embody the way both the Imperium and Immaterium choke all that is good with their dogma and brutality.
This book was the first time I started to fear Heresy Burnout, which is scary with how I've barely got started, but I am determined to pass the Rubicon and I am looking forward to Know No Fear being the next novel in this Omnibus, which is one of my favourites and, I believe, is widely acknowledged as being in the top tier Horus Heresy novels.
As much as I have had to criticise, I do have some positive things to say and there certainly are pockets of brilliance with a lot of competent, but unexciting logistics between them. The main thing Counter is fantastic about is how he handles anything to do with the Warp. His descriptions of the geography and denizens of the Immaterium as fragments and reflections of emotion are surrealist masterpieces! His command of presenting the uncanny unreality of the Aether is sublime. The way this is then channelled into the paranoia and horror of Warp entities on board the Loyalist ships and the way the Realm and sorcereries of Chaos affects the mind creates some wonderful 'The Thing' vibes is great and could have been given even more screen time to be honest. I am just infinitely fascinated with the Immaterium, Warp travel, and it's affects on the laws of physics and the psyche.
The description and story that go along with the gallery on the Furious Abyss are also really well done, as are elements of the World Eater and Space Wolf's storylines (and to an extent the Thousand Son), especially in the way they echo each other and the similarities and differences of what they go through and how they reflect on and experience feeling alone and disconnected from their battle bother cousins. There is one moment of the Space Wolf ruminating on his feelings and remembering a trial he went through as a neophyte that was one of the only times I actually felt any connection or emotion.
I absolutely powered through this, but not in my usual excited, insatiable way. Instead, I just let it wash over me while I've been laid up with chronic pain, stimming by rearranging my whole 40k ebook library by factions, which took all night, from the individual authors I had been sorting it into in recent weeks. I just needed to have this done, so it didn't bog me down.
The reason I have referred to the characters by their Legions is because, beyond Skraal and Cestus, I genuinely didn't recall or dare to learn their names, which, as someone who really needs to connect, positively, negatively, or otherwise, with characters to feel anything or have the stakes or tension mean anything, says everything about my experience.
There are moments of brilliance, where Counter's imagination, descriptive, and emotional flare shine through, but, ultimately, this is in my honest opinion a not great Horus Heresy novel released in an order that makes no sense that would be a pretty good 40k one. Honestly, swap the Thousand Son for a Grey Knight or any Librarius heavy Chapter, the World Eater for a Flesh Tearer and this works pretty much as is as a 40k novel, which I really don't think should be the case for what we have come to expect from the Horus Heresy.
September 25, 2012
A forewarning to all about to read this review: The book i’m about to cover is widely despised throughout the fanbase. As such this won’t be a traditional look at the title so much as an answer to many criticisms. Before reading this I would suggest looking for a few negative reviews to understand how people see this novel.
The Book’s Plot
It starts when the Heresy has just been put into motion. Not everyone is aware of Horus’ betrayal due to problems with communications and the Warp, isolating many of the Imperium’s defenders. The largest of the Space Marine legions, the Ultramarines, are located far from Terra and not knowing Horus’ treachery have followed his orders to mobilise on the planet of Calth.
One of the traitor legions holding a grudge against the Ultramarines, the Word Bearers, are tasked with ambushing and wiping them out. Commanding the most powerful human warship ever built, the Furious Abyss, a detachment of Word Bearers are directed to spearhead the attack.
Encountering an Ultramarines warship by chance, the Fist of Macragge, the Abyss destroys it en route to its target but an astropathic death scream alerts loyalists on the Vangelis star port to what’s happened. Responding to this apparent threat, an honour guard of Ultramarines along with Space Wolves, World Eaters and Thousand Sons band together. Forming as strong a fleet as they can and hunt it down.
It is not long before they uncover the true scale of the enemy they face and even as alliances break down the astartes are forced into a desperate race against time. One in which the entire outcome of the Heresy could hinge upon their victory.
What Worked?
What worked the most in this book was combining together characters of very contrasting background. Each of the legions are total opposites of one another and it helps to give a more varied cast of characters. The story does not specifically focus upon the differences, but uses it to further the characters. This a missed opportunity in a lot of the earlier Horus Heresy books or overlooked entirely, but in Battle for the Abyss it’s given the right amount of focus.
It’s especially effective when trying to highlight some of the more noble aspects of the Ultramarines in comparison to the Emperor’s other servants. Something which I think they needed considering how commonplace their chapters are in the current timeline and allowed for a much more diverse cast of characters.
There are also some good descriptions given to all the loyalist legions within the books. The Space Wolves are more or less the same as the ones in the 41st millennium but we get some good impressions of their more spiritual nature. The World Easters are frequently focused upon as full blown berserkers who are more bloodthirsty than Klingons on a ‘roid rage. And the Thousand Sons are depicted as being detached, calculating and more willing to go against their orders if they think it is the right choice.
All of them get some very characterising moments, especially the Thousand Son leader, which seems to reflect more upon the individual characters than the legions they represent. Something which is good as it makes them feel more like characters than just symbols for each space marine faction.
What helps perhaps the most with having the multiple perspectives is how they view the Thousand Sons and the Warp. As a result of the Council of Nikea and the Emperor’s lies the book makes it clear that almost none of them have any idea of just how perilous Warp travel is, and just how necessary psychers are to their survival.
As is it should be with all books in this series, Battle for the Abyss feels extremely pessimistic. Right from the first engagement the heroes are clearly the underdog and at no point do they ever achieve anything which can be called a victory until the very end. Counter’s long experience with displaying the very bleak and failing aspects of Warhammer made him the perfect person for this, and he does build up an extremely grim atmosphere.
The battle scenes are viscerally detailed in his usual style, with explosive engagements on both sides and some extremely descriptive engagements between both sides. The highlight of the whole book is definitely its endgame because of this and the pitch battle in attempting to bring down the Furious Abyss is suitably violent.
As for the Furious Abyss itself, it actually makes the Word Bearers much more intelligent than the Collected Visions had depicted them. Previously it was suggested that the vast majority of the legion, thousands of warships, somehow managed to sneak into the Ultramar system and ambush the entire Ultramarines legion. In addition to this, rather than just bombing all 300,000 of them from orbit, the Word Bearers landed and then proceeded to take them on in open battle.
The novel reveals that this was a desperate gamble and what the original plan involving the Furious Abyss was, it makes them look much more cunning and a lot more intelligent. They had never intended to face any of the Ultramarines in an open battle and would have killed the entire legion in a single strike were it not for the novel’s protagonists.
Where Did It Fail And Why Was It Badly Received?
I think it was so badly received for two main reasons. The first was the author Ben Counter. Counter has extremely contrasting views of his works within the fandom. Some love him and some hate him, with there being no middle ground. So upon hearing that he was making this book some fans would have already written it off in an instant.
The second is due to the way Counter writes his characters. In his books there are never any noble or actually good characters, many of them are only slightly better than the villains. Concerned with holding the Imperium together, survival or revenge. He was simply the wrong person to do a book about the blue-blooded Ultramarines.
Another problem was the setting. This was the first time the Ultras from the Great Crusade were depicted in any novel and we only see a small isolated group of them. Unlike the Horus trilogy, Fulgrim, or any other book in the series we see nothing of the actual legion itself or even any sign of their primarch. This means besides the most basic of aspects of the legion, we see very little of what they were like. In fact the Ultras just come off much like their current selves in the 41st millennium. We learn more about their leader, Cestus, in a few pages than we ever do about his legion.
Actually, we’re given more details about the World Eaters than the Ultramarines in this novel. It’s not a good thing when the secondary characters are given more details and prove to be more interesting than the protagonists.
What’s more is that the combat, while well written, does become repetitive before the end as the space marines keep fighting one another in very similar ways. The heroes always attempt to directly board the Abyss and fight their way on it, the villains always use the Warp in some way against them. Either through daemonic threat, psychers or causing shockwaves in the Warp itself to slow down the pursuing ships.
Speaking of the villains, I will address one common complaint here: the portrayal of the Word Bearers. Many people complain that the book is too black and white in its portrayal of the heroes and villains. This is perplexing for two reasons, the first being that all of the Word Bearers we’ve seen, admittedly mostly Erebus, have all been utter monsters with no ambiguity about them. The second being that this is supposed to be the legion behind the downfall of the Emperor, the first one to fall to Chaos, the first one to begin setting the stage for Horus’ fall, the first one to actively make deals with the Warp.
That being said, the Word Bearers here are moustache twirling generic villains. They don’t stand out enough and they simply don’t have enough impact to be truly memorable in any way. While they are competent fighters, they do make some intelligent decisions, they also make some incredibly stupid ones and don’t have a defining characteristic. They aren’t shown to worship Chaos; they seem to treat daemons more as tools rather than aspects of their gods. They come across as being more like the Black Legion than they do religious fanatics.
Even during the final moments of the book they do nothing to help make them stand out and they just seem like basic stock characters. It’s something which is all the more noticeable when compared to the larger than life heroes of the book.
Is it worth reading?
There’s no doubt that Battle for the Abyss is one of the weaker books of the Horus Heresy but it’s not the abomination people seem to think it is. It’s an average Black Library story and only seems to be bad in comparison to previous books in the series. Had it not directly followed epics like Fulgrim, were there not so high expectations being placed upon it, the novel would likely be much better received.
I’d suggest giving it another shot and reading it as an entirely separate story rather than a direct part of the Heresy.
It’s easy to breeze through the book in a few hours straight, and I think that’s how it was intended to be read. Go into it with no preconceptions and it can prove to be an enjoyable if somewhat forgettable action novel.
The Book’s Plot
It starts when the Heresy has just been put into motion. Not everyone is aware of Horus’ betrayal due to problems with communications and the Warp, isolating many of the Imperium’s defenders. The largest of the Space Marine legions, the Ultramarines, are located far from Terra and not knowing Horus’ treachery have followed his orders to mobilise on the planet of Calth.
One of the traitor legions holding a grudge against the Ultramarines, the Word Bearers, are tasked with ambushing and wiping them out. Commanding the most powerful human warship ever built, the Furious Abyss, a detachment of Word Bearers are directed to spearhead the attack.
Encountering an Ultramarines warship by chance, the Fist of Macragge, the Abyss destroys it en route to its target but an astropathic death scream alerts loyalists on the Vangelis star port to what’s happened. Responding to this apparent threat, an honour guard of Ultramarines along with Space Wolves, World Eaters and Thousand Sons band together. Forming as strong a fleet as they can and hunt it down.
It is not long before they uncover the true scale of the enemy they face and even as alliances break down the astartes are forced into a desperate race against time. One in which the entire outcome of the Heresy could hinge upon their victory.
What Worked?
What worked the most in this book was combining together characters of very contrasting background. Each of the legions are total opposites of one another and it helps to give a more varied cast of characters. The story does not specifically focus upon the differences, but uses it to further the characters. This a missed opportunity in a lot of the earlier Horus Heresy books or overlooked entirely, but in Battle for the Abyss it’s given the right amount of focus.
It’s especially effective when trying to highlight some of the more noble aspects of the Ultramarines in comparison to the Emperor’s other servants. Something which I think they needed considering how commonplace their chapters are in the current timeline and allowed for a much more diverse cast of characters.
There are also some good descriptions given to all the loyalist legions within the books. The Space Wolves are more or less the same as the ones in the 41st millennium but we get some good impressions of their more spiritual nature. The World Easters are frequently focused upon as full blown berserkers who are more bloodthirsty than Klingons on a ‘roid rage. And the Thousand Sons are depicted as being detached, calculating and more willing to go against their orders if they think it is the right choice.
All of them get some very characterising moments, especially the Thousand Son leader, which seems to reflect more upon the individual characters than the legions they represent. Something which is good as it makes them feel more like characters than just symbols for each space marine faction.
What helps perhaps the most with having the multiple perspectives is how they view the Thousand Sons and the Warp. As a result of the Council of Nikea and the Emperor’s lies the book makes it clear that almost none of them have any idea of just how perilous Warp travel is, and just how necessary psychers are to their survival.
As is it should be with all books in this series, Battle for the Abyss feels extremely pessimistic. Right from the first engagement the heroes are clearly the underdog and at no point do they ever achieve anything which can be called a victory until the very end. Counter’s long experience with displaying the very bleak and failing aspects of Warhammer made him the perfect person for this, and he does build up an extremely grim atmosphere.
The battle scenes are viscerally detailed in his usual style, with explosive engagements on both sides and some extremely descriptive engagements between both sides. The highlight of the whole book is definitely its endgame because of this and the pitch battle in attempting to bring down the Furious Abyss is suitably violent.
As for the Furious Abyss itself, it actually makes the Word Bearers much more intelligent than the Collected Visions had depicted them. Previously it was suggested that the vast majority of the legion, thousands of warships, somehow managed to sneak into the Ultramar system and ambush the entire Ultramarines legion. In addition to this, rather than just bombing all 300,000 of them from orbit, the Word Bearers landed and then proceeded to take them on in open battle.
The novel reveals that this was a desperate gamble and what the original plan involving the Furious Abyss was, it makes them look much more cunning and a lot more intelligent. They had never intended to face any of the Ultramarines in an open battle and would have killed the entire legion in a single strike were it not for the novel’s protagonists.
Where Did It Fail And Why Was It Badly Received?
I think it was so badly received for two main reasons. The first was the author Ben Counter. Counter has extremely contrasting views of his works within the fandom. Some love him and some hate him, with there being no middle ground. So upon hearing that he was making this book some fans would have already written it off in an instant.
The second is due to the way Counter writes his characters. In his books there are never any noble or actually good characters, many of them are only slightly better than the villains. Concerned with holding the Imperium together, survival or revenge. He was simply the wrong person to do a book about the blue-blooded Ultramarines.
Another problem was the setting. This was the first time the Ultras from the Great Crusade were depicted in any novel and we only see a small isolated group of them. Unlike the Horus trilogy, Fulgrim, or any other book in the series we see nothing of the actual legion itself or even any sign of their primarch. This means besides the most basic of aspects of the legion, we see very little of what they were like. In fact the Ultras just come off much like their current selves in the 41st millennium. We learn more about their leader, Cestus, in a few pages than we ever do about his legion.
Actually, we’re given more details about the World Eaters than the Ultramarines in this novel. It’s not a good thing when the secondary characters are given more details and prove to be more interesting than the protagonists.
What’s more is that the combat, while well written, does become repetitive before the end as the space marines keep fighting one another in very similar ways. The heroes always attempt to directly board the Abyss and fight their way on it, the villains always use the Warp in some way against them. Either through daemonic threat, psychers or causing shockwaves in the Warp itself to slow down the pursuing ships.
Speaking of the villains, I will address one common complaint here: the portrayal of the Word Bearers. Many people complain that the book is too black and white in its portrayal of the heroes and villains. This is perplexing for two reasons, the first being that all of the Word Bearers we’ve seen, admittedly mostly Erebus, have all been utter monsters with no ambiguity about them. The second being that this is supposed to be the legion behind the downfall of the Emperor, the first one to fall to Chaos, the first one to begin setting the stage for Horus’ fall, the first one to actively make deals with the Warp.
That being said, the Word Bearers here are moustache twirling generic villains. They don’t stand out enough and they simply don’t have enough impact to be truly memorable in any way. While they are competent fighters, they do make some intelligent decisions, they also make some incredibly stupid ones and don’t have a defining characteristic. They aren’t shown to worship Chaos; they seem to treat daemons more as tools rather than aspects of their gods. They come across as being more like the Black Legion than they do religious fanatics.
Even during the final moments of the book they do nothing to help make them stand out and they just seem like basic stock characters. It’s something which is all the more noticeable when compared to the larger than life heroes of the book.
Is it worth reading?
There’s no doubt that Battle for the Abyss is one of the weaker books of the Horus Heresy but it’s not the abomination people seem to think it is. It’s an average Black Library story and only seems to be bad in comparison to previous books in the series. Had it not directly followed epics like Fulgrim, were there not so high expectations being placed upon it, the novel would likely be much better received.
I’d suggest giving it another shot and reading it as an entirely separate story rather than a direct part of the Heresy.
It’s easy to breeze through the book in a few hours straight, and I think that’s how it was intended to be read. Go into it with no preconceptions and it can prove to be an enjoyable if somewhat forgettable action novel.
April 15, 2017
A könyv alaptörténete kicsit erőltetett. A négy légió alkalmi szövetsége még csak-csak hihető – a rendházuktól épp távol lévő alakulatok tagjai honnan is tudnának arról, hogy géntestvéreik és primarchájuk már nagyban a káosz útját követik? –, ám a szereplők megformálása… hát… nem sikerült túl jól. Nem vártam semmi különöset e téren, de a szerzőnek sikerült alulmúlni még ezt is. Az Ultragárdista kapitány kifejezetten semmilyen lett, nulla egyéniséggel – a négy főszereplőn kívül a többi szereplőt megemlíteni sem érdemes, hiszen tipikusan csak golyófogónak kellettek, hogy legyen egy tömegbázis, aki elhullhat, mielőtt rátérhetünk a fontosabb szereplők végórájára is –, a Világfalóktól érkező „berzerker” hiteltelen (jelenleg úgy tűnik, az egész rendházával együtt), az Ezer Fiak leereszkedő „egyiptomi mágusa” és az Űrfarkasok italozó, folyton verekedő „viking barbárja” pedig a legklisésebb karakterek lettek, amikbe belefuthatunk hasonló zsánerkönyvekben. Náluk álmából felkeltve bármelyik írópalánta izgalmasabb személyiségeket tudott volna kreálni. Hopp! Majdnem elfelejtettem, ott van még a giga-hajón utazó Igehirdető gonosztevő banda is! Na, ők fanatikusak voltak. Ennyi. Éljen az Ige – de azért veszejtsük el a sajátjaink közül is azokat, akik túl ígéretesnek mutatkoznak az Ige szolgálatában –, a hatalom és a küldetés, miközben meg a legapróbb problémán sem tudnak felülkerekedni soha, hiába van Megírva, hogy minden akadályt legyőznek. Igazán szerencsétlen banda. Szinte rossz volt nézni, mint szerencsétlenkedik magukat keresztül a könyvön. Bár lehet, hogy csak az Ultragárdisták voltak túl kemény ellenfeleik…
Ezen – kétségtelenül komoly – hibán kívül különösebb kivetnivalót nem találtam a könyvben. A harci leírások izgalmasak voltak, lüktetők, néhol vérrel komolyan meglocsoltak, a hipertérről szóló részek leírása kifejezetten érdekes és jól sikerült részei a könyvnek, ahogy az őrület határán táncoló látomásos részek szintén remekek voltak.
Bővebben a blogon:
http://profunduslibrum.blogspot.hu/20...
Ezen – kétségtelenül komoly – hibán kívül különösebb kivetnivalót nem találtam a könyvben. A harci leírások izgalmasak voltak, lüktetők, néhol vérrel komolyan meglocsoltak, a hipertérről szóló részek leírása kifejezetten érdekes és jól sikerült részei a könyvnek, ahogy az őrület határán táncoló látomásos részek szintén remekek voltak.
Bővebben a blogon:
http://profunduslibrum.blogspot.hu/20...
December 31, 2021
Trochu to mám komplikované, jak čtu sérii na přeskáčku. V polštině jsem u nějaké třicáté knihy, ale díly 7-12 už měli vyprodané, takže musím čekat na české vydání. (Tady se přiznám, že jsem líný a v angličtině se mi to číst nechce.) Takže tohle byl návrat ještě před bitvu o Calth… a navíc je to celé soustředěné na jednu vesmírnou bitvu. Nositelé slova postavili obrovskou loď, svou vlastní Hvězdu smrti a míří k planetě Ultramaru. A proti nim jen hrstka lodí.
Zpočátku mě to dost nudilo, vesmírné bitvy nejsou úplně to, na čem bych ulítával. Naštěstí to s průběhem času začne být o dost zajímavější. Dojde na souboje s warpem, temnou magii, démony, probíjení se nepřátelskou základnou. Na monumentální hrdiny, odporné protivníky, silné ideje, prostě to, co mě na Warhammeru baví. (Samozřejmě, včetně masakrování po tisícovkách.)
Je to divný. Jak mám osobně radši zranitelné a nedokonalé hrdiny, tak nějak nechápu, jak na mně může fungovat tohle – romány, ve kterém jsou hrdinové doslova nadlidé. Což je ale podle mě vyváženo tím, že ty postavy jsou, z hlediska naší civilizace, fanatici. Autoři vás nenutí, abyste měli ty hrdiny rádi… pokud z nich budete mít trochu obavy, tím líp. Jsou takovým mixem Soudce Dredda, Torquemady a tanku Tiger.
Zajímavé je tu složení týmu, který, než aby se v průběhu knihy utužoval, spíš se rozděluje. Máte tu klasického Ultramariňáka, pragmatického a sázejícího na rozum. Pak je tu Požírač světů, berserk v té nejryzejší podobě, Hvězdný vlk, vikingsky stylizovaný bojovník nenávidějící magii… a vedle toho jeden z Tisíce synů, který si s magií zahrává. Jak jsou postavy mimo hlavní dění, ani netuší, že už jejich legie stojí proti sobě…
Postupně mě knížka strhla, a vlastně jedinou zásadní výtku bych asi měl k protivníkům, kteří jsou takoví ti, co si nejvíc sami hází klacky pod nohy tím, kolik času věnují vnitřním válkám a bojům o moc.
Zpočátku mě to dost nudilo, vesmírné bitvy nejsou úplně to, na čem bych ulítával. Naštěstí to s průběhem času začne být o dost zajímavější. Dojde na souboje s warpem, temnou magii, démony, probíjení se nepřátelskou základnou. Na monumentální hrdiny, odporné protivníky, silné ideje, prostě to, co mě na Warhammeru baví. (Samozřejmě, včetně masakrování po tisícovkách.)
Je to divný. Jak mám osobně radši zranitelné a nedokonalé hrdiny, tak nějak nechápu, jak na mně může fungovat tohle – romány, ve kterém jsou hrdinové doslova nadlidé. Což je ale podle mě vyváženo tím, že ty postavy jsou, z hlediska naší civilizace, fanatici. Autoři vás nenutí, abyste měli ty hrdiny rádi… pokud z nich budete mít trochu obavy, tím líp. Jsou takovým mixem Soudce Dredda, Torquemady a tanku Tiger.
Zajímavé je tu složení týmu, který, než aby se v průběhu knihy utužoval, spíš se rozděluje. Máte tu klasického Ultramariňáka, pragmatického a sázejícího na rozum. Pak je tu Požírač světů, berserk v té nejryzejší podobě, Hvězdný vlk, vikingsky stylizovaný bojovník nenávidějící magii… a vedle toho jeden z Tisíce synů, který si s magií zahrává. Jak jsou postavy mimo hlavní dění, ani netuší, že už jejich legie stojí proti sobě…
Postupně mě knížka strhla, a vlastně jedinou zásadní výtku bych asi měl k protivníkům, kteří jsou takoví ti, co si nejvíc sami hází klacky pod nohy tím, kolik času věnují vnitřním válkám a bojům o moc.
March 13, 2020
This is my second time having read this book, and I read it over quite a long period of time this time around. Mostly it was because much like the first time I had read it, it just didn't interest me all that much.
I did enjoy how this book deals with a number of characters from a variety of legions interact with each other as they go towards one standard goal. World Eater, Ultramarine, Thousand Sons, and Space Wolves. It's an interesting bunch, and their interactions and prejudices are the main draw for this novel as tempers flare as doctrines collide.
The overall story is pretty good, and I enjoy the chase as they pursue the enemy craft as it heads to Ultramarine space. It is a nice show of just how quickly the Word Bearers fell to the Chaos gods and how they differ from the other legions in this regard, and just what a shock it is to those still loyal to Terra. It's a good foreshadow for the events yet to come, and a good set up for later novels involving the Ultramarines and Word Bearers.
That said, it's a long read, with pacing issues I found. Intense action between long moments of quiet, which is quite realistic, but not that interesting to read. Even though some of the inter-character conflicts happen during these moments, they don't quite carry the same amount of excitement that the main conflicts bring about. (such as boarding actions, and direct conflicts with the Word Bearers)
In the end, this was a pretty good book, despite the pacing issues. I find myself enjoying multi-legion novels more than single legion ones for just the inter-personal interactions that they give us. Will I read this book a third time? Most likely not. Two was quite enough...
I did enjoy how this book deals with a number of characters from a variety of legions interact with each other as they go towards one standard goal. World Eater, Ultramarine, Thousand Sons, and Space Wolves. It's an interesting bunch, and their interactions and prejudices are the main draw for this novel as tempers flare as doctrines collide.
The overall story is pretty good, and I enjoy the chase as they pursue the enemy craft as it heads to Ultramarine space. It is a nice show of just how quickly the Word Bearers fell to the Chaos gods and how they differ from the other legions in this regard, and just what a shock it is to those still loyal to Terra. It's a good foreshadow for the events yet to come, and a good set up for later novels involving the Ultramarines and Word Bearers.
That said, it's a long read, with pacing issues I found. Intense action between long moments of quiet, which is quite realistic, but not that interesting to read. Even though some of the inter-character conflicts happen during these moments, they don't quite carry the same amount of excitement that the main conflicts bring about. (such as boarding actions, and direct conflicts with the Word Bearers)
In the end, this was a pretty good book, despite the pacing issues. I find myself enjoying multi-legion novels more than single legion ones for just the inter-personal interactions that they give us. Will I read this book a third time? Most likely not. Two was quite enough...
January 30, 2022
"They were written into existence, born as syllables of The Word" - The Word Bearers seem an odd choice to form one of the Emperor's legions, since they seem to hold first loyalty to the word of Lorgar which struck me as both antithetical to the ideals of The Imperium and a hindrance to their service of The Emperor. It's little surprise then which side they will take in the division caused by Horus.
In this book we're finally brought back to the main line of events, picking it up sometime after the horrific Drop Site Massacre. The Word Bearers command a new behemoth of a ship, The Furious Abyss, crafted by The Mechanicum to serve Horus.
Many of the previous books have dealt with themes of betrayal but this story has an equally potent sense of uneasy trust forged by necessity. This is set off by the discovery of the Word Bearers' betrayal and forces some of the remaining loyal legions to unite in an unsettling mission that is vital to the Emperor's cause.
The intensity is back in this, another relentless plot with excellent characterisations. It's not quite as twisty as some of the earlier tales but just as twisted. I was glad to get back on track and this story was exactly what the doctor ordered after the traumatic events of the previous books.
In this book we're finally brought back to the main line of events, picking it up sometime after the horrific Drop Site Massacre. The Word Bearers command a new behemoth of a ship, The Furious Abyss, crafted by The Mechanicum to serve Horus.
Many of the previous books have dealt with themes of betrayal but this story has an equally potent sense of uneasy trust forged by necessity. This is set off by the discovery of the Word Bearers' betrayal and forces some of the remaining loyal legions to unite in an unsettling mission that is vital to the Emperor's cause.
The intensity is back in this, another relentless plot with excellent characterisations. It's not quite as twisty as some of the earlier tales but just as twisted. I was glad to get back on track and this story was exactly what the doctor ordered after the traumatic events of the previous books.
February 28, 2025
The battle for the abyss. When I started writing reviews of the HH series, I instantly started thinking about how I would review this one. The battle for the abyss has no real purpose. It's not particularly fun to read and doesn't do anything interesting for the rest of the series. Nothing really happens in this book. At the start, we do not know that the battleship, the furious abyss, exists. By the end, it has been destroyed, having failed to complete its sole mission. A later book in the series will also contest/retcon several details of this book that make it even less relevant.
Since it has very little impact on the rest of the series, we're left to hope that the story stands on its own. There are a few nice moments between characters and some fun fights, but it never really builds to anything that stands out. It also suffers from an extremely rare problem for 40K, believability. There aren't many things in the setting that I wouldn't believe, but the idea that the word bearers are able to have such a massive ship (3 of them no less) built without anyone's notice seems a little... ridiculous?
All in all, it's really not worth reading. There's nothing here worth sticking around for, as an individual book or as part of the series generally.
Since it has very little impact on the rest of the series, we're left to hope that the story stands on its own. There are a few nice moments between characters and some fun fights, but it never really builds to anything that stands out. It also suffers from an extremely rare problem for 40K, believability. There aren't many things in the setting that I wouldn't believe, but the idea that the word bearers are able to have such a massive ship (3 of them no less) built without anyone's notice seems a little... ridiculous?
All in all, it's really not worth reading. There's nothing here worth sticking around for, as an individual book or as part of the series generally.
June 20, 2018
As expected, I think Ben Counter does a better job writing his own characters than he did writing characters that other authors created (see my review of Galaxy in Flames for that). Spoilers ahead.
I think this novel could have been condensed a great deal. Suspension of disbelief gets pretty strained, partially because the massive gunship allows enemies to pursue for... almost no reason. If they'd cut out that chase and just had the boarding action earlier, it would have made more sense, though still would have strained that suspension of disbelief. Small bands of heroes going up against insurmountable odds and succeeding is pretty standard fare in SF/Fantasy, but it feels rather out of place in such a grimdark setting. You could argue that everybody dying in the end (good guys, bad guys, neutral guys, pretty much everybody) balances it back out, but I'm not entirely convinced.
Kaminska is probably the best female character we've had in the series so far, though (and just a pretty cool character in general), so bonus points there! In general the "good" guys (again, calling the Imperium "good" is a stretch, but that's a whole other discussion) are pretty interesting, but the villains come across as bland. After books like Fulgrim where we get to see interesting portrayals of characters descending into madness, having such a by-the-book (Word Bearers pun, anyone?) portrayal of the baddies is a little underwhelming.
I think this novel could have been condensed a great deal. Suspension of disbelief gets pretty strained, partially because the massive gunship allows enemies to pursue for... almost no reason. If they'd cut out that chase and just had the boarding action earlier, it would have made more sense, though still would have strained that suspension of disbelief. Small bands of heroes going up against insurmountable odds and succeeding is pretty standard fare in SF/Fantasy, but it feels rather out of place in such a grimdark setting. You could argue that everybody dying in the end (good guys, bad guys, neutral guys, pretty much everybody) balances it back out, but I'm not entirely convinced.
Kaminska is probably the best female character we've had in the series so far, though (and just a pretty cool character in general), so bonus points there! In general the "good" guys (again, calling the Imperium "good" is a stretch, but that's a whole other discussion) are pretty interesting, but the villains come across as bland. After books like Fulgrim where we get to see interesting portrayals of characters descending into madness, having such a by-the-book (Word Bearers pun, anyone?) portrayal of the baddies is a little underwhelming.
October 3, 2022
Quite sucky, but still mildly entertaining. Here's why, in a nutshell:
- The premise sucks. Like, it's dumb silly. We're Word Bearers we build big ship to destroy Macragge hurr durr... So the first half of the book is just budget Battlefleet Gothic Armada with some boring ship-to-ship combat descriptions.
- The character names suck. Skraal, Zadkiel, Reskiel, really? It's so uninspired you might as well throw in Zahariel and Nemiel from Descent of Angels... Ughh.
- Bad guyz wanna make Macragge go boom. That's all... Coming from Lorgar's legion, I would have expected something more nuanced and intricate.
But...
- The second half of the book is quite fun. Blood and gore, vivid description of the warp.
- Poor Cestus goes through hell and back. And that's cool.
- Word Bearers are grimdark.
Overall, the book sits in-between Flight of the Eisenstein and Descent of Angel on my sucky factor.
- The premise sucks. Like, it's dumb silly. We're Word Bearers we build big ship to destroy Macragge hurr durr... So the first half of the book is just budget Battlefleet Gothic Armada with some boring ship-to-ship combat descriptions.
- The character names suck. Skraal, Zadkiel, Reskiel, really? It's so uninspired you might as well throw in Zahariel and Nemiel from Descent of Angels... Ughh.
- Bad guyz wanna make Macragge go boom. That's all... Coming from Lorgar's legion, I would have expected something more nuanced and intricate.
But...
- The second half of the book is quite fun. Blood and gore, vivid description of the warp.
- Poor Cestus goes through hell and back. And that's cool.
- Word Bearers are grimdark.
Overall, the book sits in-between Flight of the Eisenstein and Descent of Angel on my sucky factor.
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