Angron: Slave of Nuceria

The Horus Heresy: Primarchs #11

by Ian St. Martin, Jonathan Keeble (Narrator)

A Primarchs Novel

The Twelfth Primarch has been found! United with the War Hounds – now renamed the World Eaters – the gladiator Angron gives his sons an ultimatum that will change their very nature, and their destiny.

READ IT BECAUSE
You've seen the immediate aftermath of Angron's recruitment into the Imperium in the short story 'After Desh'ea' – now Ian St. Martin brings us the details of what happened next, and the World Eaters' adoption of the Butcher's Nails.

THE STORY
As the Emperor travels the galaxy at the head of his Great Crusade, few events are as important as rediscovering his scattered sons, the Primarchs, and bestowing them as the masters of their Legions. United, a Legion becomes a reflection of its Primarch, both in his strengths and his flaws. For the Twelfth Legion, once the War Hounds and now the World Eaters, the line between strength and flaw is almost impossible to separate. Placed in command of a Legion he does not want, in service to a father he cannot forgive, Angron gives an ultimatum to his children, one that will set them down a path that they can never return from. So desperate for his acknowledgement, will the World Eaters follow their father and cast themselves in his broken image or will they resist? And will any of them ever learn who their father was truly meant to be?

Written by Ian St. Martin

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy, Military Fiction

Audible Audio

First published April 27, 2019

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Because this galaxy belongs to us,' hissed Khârn as he drew back his axe. 'And in our galaxy, there is only war.'



Suggested soundtrack: "World Eater" from Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos (Full Album) 1989

https://bolt-thrower.bandcamp.com/tra...













As the Emperor travels the galaxy at the head of his Great Crusade, few events are as important as rediscovering his scattered sons, the Primarchs, and bestowing them as the masters of their Legions.

Iocare knew their concerns. He understood them. He knew why so many viewed him as foolish, even suicidal. Every XII Legion warrior, no longer War Hounds but now the Eaters of Worlds, who had undergone the procedure had died. No one. Librarian or otherwise, had taken the Butcher's Nails into the meat of his mind and lived.
But he would.



United, a Legion becomes a reflection of its Primarch, both in his strengths and his flaws.

"Are you prepared?' asked Korit, his voice harshened by the grille of his snarling crimson helm.
Iocare closed his eyes, took a slow breath, and then opened them again. 'Bring forth the hammer, my brother.'



For the War Hounds XII Legion the line between strength and flaw is almost impossible to separate, but when the Twelfth Primarch has been found at last, placed in command of a Legion he does not want, in service to a father he cannot forgive, Angron gives an ultimatum to his children, one that will set them down a path from which they can never return, embracing their fate and becoming Eaters of Worlds.

Previous prototypes of the Nails had run the gamut of entry points for affixing the implants to the subject's brain. Substantial progress had been made with a model that had attached itself at the temples, but it had been discarded with the others after once more it had ended in failure, and more dead or blood-maddened World Eaters had been cast into the incinerators of the 203rd Expeditionary Fleet.



And will any of them ever learn who their father was truly meant to be?

Khârn looked from Gahlan Surlak back to the immense silhouette of his father, crouched in shadow. 'That is your command, sire?'
Angron snarled, a hurt, bestial noise that sent adrenaline spiking through Khârn's veins. 'Kill them,’ hissed the demigod, spitting frothed blood onto the ground. 'Kill them all.'



This is the tragic tale of Angron the Red Angel, Lord of the Red Sand and Primarch of the World Eaters, reunited to sons he refuses to acknowledge and despise so much to order that the World Eaters conquer their targeted worlds within just 31 hours, a single Nucerian day and the time he had scored his greatest victory upon his adoptive planet, or suffer decimation as punishment.

'You all know me.' Mago stopped, basking in the radiance of a company of Space Marines poised to enter battle. 'And you know there is no more time to waste with words. Be swift. Trust in the shields of your brothers, just as they will trust in yours. Fight as one, and no foe will survive against us. We go forth to war, Unbroken, for Angron and the Emperor!'



But this is a tale about Angron-Thal'kr too, Child of the Mountain and property of House Thal'kr, raised in the brutal world of Nuceria as a slave, and about his suffering a whole lifetime of tortures and abuses in the arena by the planet's ruling masters known as High-Riders, and how they have broken him at last.

They left none alive. Ever. The taking of captives and prisoners never entered a centurion of the Xll’s considerations as he planned a campaign or readied his brothers to charge. Such matters were not the purpose of the Legions. They were a blade, directed at a throat they had been created to cut, not capture.



And this is the tale about how the XII Legion chose the path to damnation too, embracing their father’s path and hammering the Butcher’s Nails inside their skull.

Brujo had been three compliances ago, when an orbital strike from the fleet had been fired against the primarch's orders. Not expecting the bombardment, the better part of a Chapter fighting alongside Angron had been incinerated in moments. Once the battle had ended, the primarch had returned to orbit, and not a single one of the shipmasters who had loosed their ship's guns was now alive to see Ghenna.



Because Space Marines are just weapons and tools, nothing more, and their duty is to obey their Primarch, even if he is a broken one.

'You call yourselves... conquerors,' snarled Angron. 'You dare to name yourselves the Eaters of Worlds, when again and again you fail to measure close to the fury of my brothers and sisters who earned their name and glory in fire and blood, in the lamentations of their enemies. You are nothing but pretenders.'



Even if they are going to lose their mind and become bloodthirsty rampaging cannibals, blinded by neverending rage and putting the whole galaxy to flames, just for their wish to finally become accepted by their gene-sire.

'Decimation.'
Mago's heart sank. Once more the lives lost in their failure were to be compounded by Angron's rage. One in ten of the warriors who had survived, who had fought and bled for each other, for him, would yield their throats as punishment. One in ten would die to appease their lord's broken mind.
'Draw lots or make examples, warlords,' said Angron. 'But one in ten is the price that must be paid.'



And that's the greatest tragedy about Angron and what’s left of the War Hounds, they really had no chance once the Nails were driven into the Primarch skull, making him slaughter in blind frenzy old gladiator Oenomaus, much more a father to Angron than the uncaring Emperor who left his comrades in arms dying without him, and unleash a bestial howl for days after coming back to senses.

Batto, captain of the Devourers, was the first to come forward to his father's side to try to placate him. Within a single second Angron had torn both of his arms from their sockets and sent them flying through the air, before he lifted the Terminator from his feet and broke his head open against the ground. One of Batto's arms crashed at Mago's feet, the fingers twitching around the chainglaive they still held.





Because Angron died then, and all that remains is just a monster.

+You. Must. Stop.+
The closer they came to Angron, the further Tethys was able to glimpse into their father's mind. He saw flickering images and sensations, a lifetime of abuse and horror unravelling and turning back upon itself. An unbroken cycle of torment that ripped and tore at an already frayed consciousness.



A bloody, heartbreaking and horrific tale indeed.

'Do you see now?' asked Angron. The primarch reached down, running blunt fingertips across the silver cables of Khârn's implants. Khârn twitched, his synapses screaming out their demands for violence at being touched, but awe kept him fixed in place.
'Do you see?'

[Veronica Anrathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking. That's the word.
Angron has always been one of my most favorite Primarchs. I've always felt for him, his tragic story, most unfair treatment by the Emperor, wasted potential, defective, wrong, irreversible damage. I thought, what else could be written about him? His story has been told so many times, from so many view points and time frames, by so many people... I was wrong. We've never seen him before the Nails. Never before. And even the tiniest glimpse on the slave of Nuceria, before he became the Eater of Cities, of Worlds... just a peek, a moment to see what he was... and the idea of what he could've been. What he'll never be.

It's a must read. That's all.

[Dawie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got what I came for. I want more.... Blood for the Blood god!

[Callum Shephard · Rating 3 out of 5]

We return once again to the Primarchs series, and once more with one of its odd figureheads. Angron himself is a character who has suffered from a lack of exposure while also being featured in no shortage of books. Much like Mortarion and - to a lesser degree - Vulkan he is one of those figures who ultimately has shown up in no shortage of books, but has often been left playing second fiddle to other characters. Part of that is likely down to how Betrayer is considered a high point, and near perfectly covered Angron's entire story in one volume. Part of that might also be due to the fact that - much like a few others - Index Astartes gave him a simple tragic tale which was not the easiest work to adapt into a fifty book long series. As such, Angron: Slave of Nuceria was a book which was both going to face an uphill battle while also being desperately needed to flesh him out a little more.

The end result of Ian St. Martin's efforts is a book which partially accomplishes its intended goals. When taken on its own it does benefit from a strong structure, surprisingly memorable characters, a good twist and a number of great individual moments. However, when taken into account with the rest of the series, it leaves something to be desired. Unfortunately, its very structure means it's something which cannot be judged without comparing it with other works.


The Synopsis


Set mere months into Angron taking leadership of the Legio XII, he is still a stranger to many of his sons. Isolating himself for long periods of time and typically appearing only to issue insults or executions, morale among the former War Hounds is ebbing with every passing victory. Bled dry and losing ever more of their number to his mass cullings, some among them question if their gene-father is a creature broken beyond repair.

Divided and seeking answers, some among the legion's number are going to ever greater lengths to unify themselves with the primarch. One among them believes that the Nails themselves are the answer to appeasing the Red Angel...


The Good


The greatest thing which works in the book's favour stems from the chosen time period in which the story is set. A fair number of fans have constantly wondered just what the War Hounds were like prior to Angron's ascension, and how they differed in culture, temperament and attitudes to their later World Eater incarnations. As the story is set so soon after their re-naming, there are many among their number who still remember their traditions and creeds. This is exemplified very early on when we see the legion utilising phalanx formations, favouring the use of power spears and calling upon one another with ranks which will soon no longer exist.

Furthermore, we have viewpoint characters who can directly contrast their thoughts with those of their more bloodthirsty kin. The majority of the focal characters among the legion help to examine this evolution as they favour their lives as the War Hounds, as it more accurately depicts their nature as a legion inspired by the Spartans or Greek hoplites than the berzerkers that they would become. This serves to compare and contrast each state of the legion, but curiously it is left up to the reader as which was truly better. While Angron himself is certainly at fault, and many cite shortcomings among the World Eaters attachment to the Nails, it doesn't forget their strengths. As such, you're never left with the book hammering down on the "THIS IS A MISTAKE! THEY ARE NOW THE JOKE LEGION!" angle other stories resorted to.

More curiously still, there are multiple arguments made in favour of the Nails even by sane members of the legion, some of which are fairly compelling. Kharn, even without citing any attachment to Angron himself, brings up a multitude of points in their favour. It shows why he was one of the best suited to their inclusion, and how certain minds much more easily adapted to the enhanced aggression than others. Plus, this leads to one of my favourite visual displays of them taking hold that I have seen to date, where the page itself runs red with blood over the descriptions. No, seriously, as Kharn is lost to the haze for the first time, the bloody rage literally blots out his initial reactions over three pages. It sounds heavy-handed, but with the build-up it is fairly effective.

Several other forces are also at work within the World Eaters legion, and the book helps to show how the Nails' inclusion wasn't quite so cut and dry as one imagined. For one thing, it took multiple prototypes for anyone to get a working set, and even then it was only accomplished by an outside source taking interest in the work involved, and a discovery from a lost planet. It makes for the dynamic and downfall much more tragic, as it makes it clear that if any one of the things leading up to this had failed, the World Eaters would have likely avoided their fate.

None of this is to say that Angron is left out of the focus either, and Ian St. Martin utilised a fairly inventive take to examine this and shed further light on his time among the gladiators. We learn some very interesting details, notably where his name originated and potentially why he never utilises his surname (no, I can't reveal that due to spoilers). The circumstnces which led to the Nails being forced upon him are another critical element among his story, as we see so much of the person that he could have been. Ironically, what little is shown makes him closer to a much more stable version of Perturabo or an odd balance between Guilliman and Russ. It's fairly engaging, and it makes for some of the story's best parts.

Unfortunately, for all the good it does there's almost always a "But" added onto the end.


The Bad


Let's deal with the elephant in the room first - This is treated like a prequel to Betrayer. Other stories did similar things, such as Angel Exterminatus utilising many characters from Storm of Iron, but that worked as it did offer more depth and detail to each one, including a proper introduction. With Slave of Nuceria, you repeatedly run into the problem of Betrayer being treated as required reading. Many characters from that book show up with little true introduction, such as Lhorke and Delvarus, but they are just there. Other events, meanwhile, take place but lack the further descriptions in Betrayer which makes them more impactful. So much of this is presented seemingly with the intent that the reader should be familiar with what is going on. This can work in a direct trilogy, but these are supposedly from seperate series in the same timeline.

Another notable problem stems from a few logical issues and quirks within the timeline, especially in relation to Angron. One thing which the Forgeworld books noted very clearly is that Angron started in a poor place, but did improve for a time. There was a period of relative lucidity between his acceptance of his role in the legion, and the Horus Heresy. This is even noted in a number of books as well, but here he's stuck at the end of his development. He's a furious rage monster, but lacks many of the more human quirks which he supposedly lost over time. For example, he's already treating the Devourers as an unwanted addition, despite supposedly appreciated by him at first. He even treats them as expendable fodder, and his restructuring of the legion is turned into a ludicrous act of self-destruction. Initially, there was some odd brutal logic behind it, but now he keeps saying "You have 24 hours to conquer the entire world. Even if you are successful but exceed that, I will slaughter one in ten of you."

The problem is only made worse by the fact that Angron's history on Nuceria is changed in one crucial way: He only gains the Nails after he has been a gladiator for some time. The impression many works offered was that he was implanted with these while young, and thus it interfered with any efforts to foster rebellion. instead these were forced upon him early into his adult life, so it comes across as him just never making the push they needed to get out. That's also without getting into the issue of how the hell they pinned down/kept confined a demigod who could likely slaughter entire stadiums with just his fists. Even with these new additions, his current self is given little more depth or detail beyond wanting to die; something already expressed in Betrayer.

Finally, the book sadly suffers from an extremely weak opening. While you can see why it was a chosen move on the part of Ian St. Martin early on, it interferes with the pacing. We only get any substantial interaction between Angron and the legion, and much of it is instead devoted to combat between the War Hounds and an enemy which is barely expanded upon. it helps to show their style of warfare. However, there should have been better ways to balance out a good mix of character development and action without letting the latter eclipse the former for one-third of the work.

Finally, elements of Ian St. Martin's writing style made it difficult to keep up with broad, sweeping events. His form of describing scenes is excellent when it comes to individual duels, and is best suited to moments of character drama or conversations. It's why the book is often strongest when there are two or three people in a scene at a time. However, the massive battle scenes fall somewhat short, and he tends to skim over key details in places. It reached the point toward the end when, once an enemy stronghold had been overwhelmed, I honestly stopped to check if I had accidently skipped over several pages thanks to a rapid resolution of events.


The Verdict:


Overall, Angron: Slave to Nuceria has promising points but it still falls prey to a few problems which held back previous books. It's decent on the whole, with no small number of great moments and good ideas, along with a solid effort to flesh out Angron's personal history. However, not enough of the book is about the primarch himself, and it tells us little about him that we did not already know. It skips over a stage where he should have been undergoing development, or one of the more interesting eras where he was at a more lucid state despite the Nails. Between this and repeating the mistake David Annandale in structuring Guilliman, it makes for a book which is only a good short story when it could have shed light on something wholly new.

[Simon Mee · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all have our guilty pleasures. Chocolate almonds, The Life of Kylie, playing with Lego until your mid-twenties then starting again in your mid-thirties. We’ve all been there, I’m sure.

Super-powered characters who still manage to be losers are my guilty pleasure.

Angron = Angry = Mind Blown

”Hnng” says Angron as he bleeds from his scalp, his eyes and his mouth like a haemophilic Russian Prince.

Angron's contribution to pre-battle briefings is a distracted, snarling indifference before stalking off. Angron’s father has given him command over the World Eaters Legion, Space Marines that fight with tactics out of date since about the time of Caesar. Angron somehow makes them even worse at battle, with decimation being his go-to form of course correction. The denouement is Angron shoving nails in his own men’s heads to “improve” them, all the while moaning about how unfair it is that some of his Space Marines favoured sticking pointy things in one's enemies, not your own cerebellum.

And yes, we get to see Angron’s origins. Enslavement followed by a cavalcade of deaths of unnamed or barely named associates and erstwhile foes. Angron’s empathy causes him pain, until the nails his enslavers drill into in his head replaces that hurt with rage. However, view Angron’s struggles in context with his Primarch brothers, some of whom start in at least as difficult circumstances. Most make the best of their situations in one way or another. Angron can’t even get a slave out of a giant worm alive.

I love that Angron is a loser. It’s one of the enduring things about the Warhammer 40K universe that the major characters are dipshits, and Angron might be the dipshittiest of them all. Angron’s heritage makes him a demigod but he acts as an overgrown and dangerously violent child. While this is like his brothers, he’s far less successful at it, which makes it amusing. Angron being angrymight be a grade school level of characterisation, right down to his name, but it is consistent. It also fits well with the plot, which boils down to who must change: Angron, or the World Eaters.

Legion of Dumbasses

Angron isn’t exactly beloved by the World Eaters but, amongst a legion of supermen, he’s the supermanliest of them all. I can see why you might like to be more like your Dear Leader. Unfortunately, the World Eaters are terrible at gaining his love. You would expect a list of DRAMATIS PERONAE to contain some pretty key characters. Yet three of them blow themselves into space in the first twenty pages while homebrewing putting nails in their heads. That’s a special level of incompetence.

While Angron isn’t exactly helpful with his leadership, the World Eaters are awful enough on their own. They suffer serious losses against an enemy that walks up and puts their hands in your face. The World Eater's win, before spiking the football in the endgoal:

'Because this galaxy belongs to us,' hissed Khârn as he drew back his axe. 'And in our galaxy there is only war.'

…which comes off a lot less tough when you realise he’s saying this to a literal adult foetus.

The World Eaters are losers. They can’t work out how to please Angron until he requires full frontal lobotomy, which a portion of them pathetically rebel against. I don’t doubt World Eaters go on perform some outrageous feats of savagery during the Horus Heresy arc, but St. Martin knows their ruin is a given, even as one of their champions claim otherwise:

'You will fail,' hissed Mago through clenched teeth. 'Only ruin will follow you, and history will vindicate me.'
Khârn lookes down, his eyes never leaving Mago's as he raised his axe. 'No, brother, it won't. Because you will not be there to write it.'

Not everyone gets to be Ultramarines. Even the Ultramarines themselves get a lot of hate for always winning. Angron and the World Eaters are a hilarious group of losers, who go on to replace dissension with cannibalism. I love reading about a group of outrageously powerful human beings who are so obviously doomed to fail. It’s my guilty pleasure.

Nailed it.

[DarkChaplain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closer to a 3.5+. However, I really don't feel satisfied to the point of giving a clear 4 stars. There are so many things this book does right, especially in terms of action pacing and Angron's past.
But at the same time, there were many missed opportunities, underused characters and a cliffhanger that only makes sense if you still remember another novel from the early 20s of the HH series proper, and even then the significance may pass you by due to how tacked on it feels.

While I enjoyed the read a good bit, the further I got through it, the more I found that something wasn't quite right. I definitely can't say that it lived up to my admittedly high expectations.

[Monsour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guess this book did something for me. It makes me care about the 2nd worst Primarch Angron himself.

The story is not just about Angron and the glimpse on his tragic past. Its also the story of his son's, trying to find away to make their father accept them. The book shows us how the imprint of gene seed effect the Legion on the emotional level and how will the majority of them took some really drastic way to understand their gene sire.

[Jake Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling in a way I found pretty surprising considering Angron is such a simple, straightforward character. Smartly, St. Martin elects to play the affair as a tragedy with a foregone conclusion, and I actually did find the ethical questions surrounding the Butcher’s Nails to be adequately pondered. While the first third does take a bit to get going because of the excess detail of the initial invasion, once we get a look at Angron’s past as we bounce back and forth from past to present while covering the initial event that led the Nails to be implemented, it’s precisely what it says on the tin. Frankly if this has any major issues, it’s that I could’ve actually done with more time spent on Nuceria itself and the ‘family’ Angron had, as I think it really would’ve hit a home run in just how dour this tale ends up being- rather than just focusing namely on one person as a focal point for audience sympathy. Personally, I also would’ve liked to see the actual moment Angron was saved and maybe an interaction with the Emperor himself just to inform the dynamic more? Granted, I’m not fully acquainted with the lore so I don’t actually know when/if the Primarchs ever met their father in person, but it just would’ve made the story feel more robust if he was more than just a looming presence within the narrative. All in all, more great pulp sci fi, albeit less consistent than the Night Hunter’s story, so this is really more like 3.5 stars.

[RatGrrrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

March 2024 Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order - Omnibus X Shadow Crusade III Chosen of Chaos (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy saga and extras.

Really, really good, but I wish it had twisted the rope a little more and made me bawl, but I am a glutton for emotional punishment, especially when it comes to my precious angry babies.

This is an incredible look back at the early days of the World Eaters leading up to the Legion-wide adoption of the Butcher's Nails through a failed (by Angron's exacting standards) scouring of a world and their furious return. Accompanying this epoch of the Legion, we witness the early years of the Primarch's life from his capture to shortly after he had the Butcher's Nails embedded in his skull by the High Riders.

Both narratives are filled with buckets of tragedy and mountains of blood, acting as a heartbreaking mirror as in one the horrifically abused and traumatised Primarch treats his sons with brutal contempt as they suffer at his and each others' hands in a struggle to mutilate the mien of the Legion in the hope of earning the care and respect of their genesire, while we witness the young, innocent Angron so desperate to avoid causing anyone suffering forced into a nightmare of physical and emotional attrition that shape him into the ursine beserker without scope for anything else, even before the nails were hammered into his skull.

The conceit for how and why we see the scenes of Angron's past is impressively simple and clever, working incredibly well, as well as tying into other aspects of Angron that make it a brilliant call.

This truly is a brilliant Horus Heresy novel and easily one of the best and most effective of the Primarchs series, not only showing us the life and significant events and their effects on both Angron and his Legion, but going out of its way to do so through entertaining and engaging narratives that illuminate the character of the Warhounds and the diversity of thought and feelings about the Primarch and the Butcher Nails.

My only real complaint, and this is only minor and because I'm such an emotional masochist, is that I really wanted this book to break me like Betrayer and After Desh'ea do. I definitely got choked up and it is is brutal and sad, but I didn't fall to pieces. That doesn't mean it's not wonderful, regardless of the millimeter of tears per hundred pages quota being less than I hoped for.

A truly solid entry in both the the Primarchs and the wider Heresy series, not quite as Exalted as Sanguinius: The Great Angel by Chris Wraight got me personally, but absolutely top tier and one I will be returning to in the future for sure.

Bloody marvellous!

Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 19.41 Horus Heresy novels, 11 novellas, 53 short stories/ audio dramas, as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 10 Primarchs novels, 4 Primarchs short stories/ audio dramas, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels...this run. I can't say enough good about the way the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project suggestions. I'm loving it! Especially after originally reading to the releases and being so frustrated at having to wait so long for a narrative to continue.

[EyeballGiant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoilers and also I'm going to assume this isn't your first 40k rodeo

I choose 40k books based on the author. I'd never heard of Ian St. Martin before. That's always a risk when you're reading Warhammer books because they have a history of, let's say, uneven quality. I chose this one for superficial reasons: I liked the paper quality and then I spotted the 3 black pages towards the end. I'd never seen anything quite like that in a book before so I said this'll be worth 18 dollars if only to spend some time speculating what those solid black pages in the back are.

I hate to describe a sci-fi franchise's subseries' subseries this way, but this book is really kind of avant garde in places. I'm surprised at the literary techniques on display.

Firstly for a book called Angron: Slave of Nuceria I would say Angron isn't really the focus of the story. Though his backstory is explained, namely why he has a head full of angry wires instead of brains, I would say the story is focused far more on the consequences of that on his Legion-- on the exploration of the impending damnation of the entire Legion and its culture. I was pleasantly surprised by this: instead of an exhausting character study, we get the direct consequences of such a person being why he is the way he is.

The book is sci-fi warfare by branding only. It would slot neatly on any horror shelf. The war the World Eaters fight hardly resembles warfare at all, to the point the World Eaters themselves are commenting on it, and it really only serves as a frame for what true marrow of the horror: the Butcher's Nails. There's a lot of contemplation about what being lobotomized by angry wires means, and St. Martin does a solid job of making this a real point of contemplation for the legion. It's a common problem I find in the 40k setting for the choices the characters make to be completely inexplicable because of how terrible they are, and perhaps this is best exemplified by the World Eaters. Who would choose to be lobotomized by a machine that makes you only feel anger and aggression? Especially when you could, you know, just say no to that? I would say the central question here is what if we just say no to that?

I liked it a lot. The ending was disturbing and it felt earned considering the roller coaster leading up to it. The three black pages I mentioned before are Kharn getting the Butcher's Nails literally hammered into his brain and experiencing a violent psychotic break so atrocious we're not allowed to see what happens, and as the nails are installed and begin to rewire his brain the black pages start and end only when his slaughtering is complete. The epilogue is written in first person from the perspective of Kharn where he no longer has any memories or feelings and, in what I suppose is a moment of clarity, marvels at how far he's sunk into the quagmire of Chaos and is even, for a second, horrified at the atrocities he's committed, only for that moment to be interrupted by a call on the vox that there's more slaughtering to be done.

In a setting filled with malevolent gods turning people into sex slugs or rotting fly babies it's interesting to see that the horrors wrought on Angron were entirely human in nature. That the damnation of the World Eaters was an entirely human one, at least initially, and the angry god to adopt his legion later was really only formalizing what they'd been doing for decades.

It's probably not an easy feat to make Angron, a character defined by just being endlessly filled with rage and not having much of a personality beyond that, a sympathetic and perhaps even tragic or heroic figure.

I would not describe this book as a good entry to the 40k setting, but if you're already familiar with the events this is one of the better ones. I was very pleasantly surprised.

[Marco Antonio · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the newly reforged XII legion is halted by an enemy whose chosen tactic is to “kill them with kindness”, the newly found primarch nails the solution to their dilema.

[Xavier Virsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. Angron was great before the nails, afterwards not so much... watch out the grisly brain surgery made me take a break twice lol

[Gijs Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

When should you read this? If you are vaguely aware of/interested in warhammer 40k. Thats it, no "If you care about this or that person, if you like this specific writer, etc. No, just: if you're into 40k this is a must read.
The entry level is relatively low, especially for 40k standards. If you know vaguely what a primarch and a space marine is you can understand this story.

Okay, so what is this about then? Other than the angriest primarch ever of course.
This book tells both the story of how the XIIth legion fell to the butchers nails, and the story of how Angron gets his own infamous implants.

Okay, I might be slightly biased since one of the first 40k books I've ever read was 'betrayer'Betrayer: Blood for the Blood God, and Angron has remained one of my favorite primarchs ever since .
This book gives a glimpse into Angrons past, showing how he was before the nails poisoned his mind: Kind, calm, and it seems he might have even had some latent psychic abillities.
Not only Angron is shown in a different light however; his Legion as well. The warhounds (the old name for the world eaters) once seemed the epitome of discipline, relying on each other while calmly walking into battle in thightly knit phalanxes.
All of this is written in a nice pace, focussing on the important moments without dragging them out. I finished this book in less then a week (rather fast for me, given I still have school, work etc.) and it rekindled my love for 40k books, which was starting to flounder slightly.

Spoilers from here on out:

The world eaters show up at a world that claimed compliance several years back, but seems to have fallen to some strange power. Angron gives his marines the same order as always when they must fight on a new world: conquer it in 31 standard terran hours or face decimation.
When they fail to do so and one of his commander speaks up against the punishment, no longer willing to spill the blood of his own men, Angron goes into a nails induced rage. Legionaries start dying in droves and the psychers of his legion band together to put him to sleep. One of them goes too deep into Angrons mind however, and the both of them fall into a deep coma.
From here on out we follow two different stories: The one in the present, where different factions within the world eaters argue over the butcher nails and wether or not to accept them. And the story of Angrons youth, before the nails.
These last parts are written through the perspective of the psycher who follows Angrons mind from the very beginning through to the part where the nails are implanted in him, reawakening them both.

[Alina Zabiyaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blood will wash the dust away. Blood will wash the past away…

Even though the quality of its individual stories may vary slightly, Horus Heresy: Primarchs – the ongoing set of tales about the greatest of the Emperor’s children forging the fate of a whole galaxy – is one of my favourite Black Library series. Of special interest to me have been the legends of those nine who would later go on to embrace the darkness (or is it primordial truth?..) of Chaos. Besides, among a whole host of recognizable figures, the setting of Warhammer 30/40K can boast its own Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and also Spartacus. Yes, a transhuman one at that...

Unlike his brothers, the Twelfth Primarch is the only one who would not rise to rule over the world of his upbringing, and there was a very special reason for that. In the book, Angron’s previous life is sometimes mentioned by himself, but the larger part of it is shown through the visions of a Legion Librarian, tracing his father’s tortured life path from the beginning. Several times we see his younger self in the fighting arena, watched by degenerate spectators as he's forced to butcher his fellow slaves and the horrors unleashed upon them in the grim semblance of Ancient Rome’s most popular attraction – the spectacles of indescribably inhuman cruelty that effectively put Hunger Games and its likes to shame. Discovered at last by the Master of Mankind, this former gladiator-champion suddenly finds himself attired in the full panoply of a Legion commander which he has absolutely no wish to become. Like Corax and to an extent Mortarion, the Twelfth had been a leader of rebels, turned by his Creator into one who would instead go on to crush rebellions against the nascent Imperium’s tyranny. But, ever since taking part in the Great Crusade, Angron regards himself as only a ghost of his former self, and sees the Emperor as just another high-rider, a despot as much intent on his enslavement as those cursed others had been.

The Slave of Nuceria’s actual plot revolves around the question of Butcher’s Nails that Angron strongly wishes to see implanted in all of his warriors. Mistakenly believing that this twisted archeotech would make them better warriors more deserving of Angron’s respect, the majority of the legionaries crave their blessings – while the smaller, wiser part sees them for what they really are: a debased, horrible means of torture and punishment. (The actual reason for their implantation is revealed in the most darkly heart-wrenching episode of Angron’s past). Incidentally – ironically – it is the Legion’s current enemies, the population of yet another world they are sent to bring to Compliance, that eventually give the Eaters of Worlds the idea of constructing the best, most viable version of the implant. And then, of course, the Twelfth Legion’s doom follows…

Ian St Martin wonderfully portrays the strained relationships between the World Eaters and their gene-father, the legionaries’ desperate yearning to prove themselves to him – because, after having been (forcibly) reunited with his sons, he constantly makes them feel ashamed of what he perceives as their inadequacy. To Angron, the transhuman warriors under his command are so weak and worthless compared to the ordinary men and women whose resilience and bravery he’d so often witnessed – those who had fought beside him, bringing terrible retribution upon their oppressors, before the Primarch was snatched from them by a distant entity that denied the only true future both to himself and those he had suffered and fought with. Theirs had been the true bonds of blood – blood spilt together upon red sands for decades and later in a meticulously-planned rebellion – while the former War Hounds are just a poor replacement, at best.

But still, whether Angron wants it or not, he is his Legion’s gene-father, the sire they all look up to with utmost deference and trust, and anyway he is not to be blamed for what had been done to him – which is, I suppose, one of the most poignant tragedies of the entire Horus Heresy. Angron’s better part had been forever left on distant Nuceria, although it is darkly ironic that the Primarch who had showed such touching sentiment and care towards his enslaved mortal fellows would become the one to eventually turn his gene-sons into berserk, blood-crazed beasts with no trace of humanity altogether.

It’s also been interesting to follow the heated dispute of Centurions Mago and Khârn, regarding their father and the future of their Legion, both of them certain they know exactly which path would better suit their brothers. It is actually the question of what lengths Angron’s unloved sons would go to (all for the sake of the Legion) in ether obediently fulfilling his plan for them or strongly denying it in favour of their noble, proud history. However, both choices prove incredibly hard to make and bring only loss and ruination in the end.

There is a lot more to discuss about the story, which is no wonder since the Primarchs and their progeny still face the same existential and moral dilemmas as the common humankind, only on a much greater scale. In general, the style St Martin chose for this story, action-heavy and dialogue-rich in equal measure, perfectly matches the spirit of the 12th Legion. This predominantly curt, laconic prose conjures in the reader’s mind the metallic tang of blood and clash of weaponry, as Angron fights brutally time and again, the bloodthirsty song of the Butcher's Nails spurring him on, while his legionaries attempt to reforge themselves in their stern, scornful father’s image.

Like the rest of the Primarchs installments, this is a great story on its own, but would certainly feel even richer beside the other existing tales about Angron and his Legion. By the way, the prologue and epilogue could be perfectly read as two short stories in their own right, since they demonstrate the very beginning and the very end of the 12th Legion’s transformation brought about by its Primarch. Essentially, the World Eaters’ tale is the chronicle of desperate ambitions and false choices, paternal indifference and filial mistakes, shattered brotherhoods and subsequent lies of the decaying Imperium too ashamed to remember the truth. Not that the new, degraded, blood-crazed Eaters of Worlds themselves would care too much, anyway...

[Swords & Spectres · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.

Slave of Nuceria is a good, in-depth look into the past of the World Eater’s Primarch and the forging of their legion as the one we know and love/abhor today. For me, it had a lot going for it, but it also had something missing.

Through a series of cleverly-worked, yet at the same time managing to feel almost shoe-horned in, flashbacks, we learn of Angron’s youth on Nuceria and how the experiences there drove him to be the uncaring, brutal killing machine that he is today.

The focus of the novel is change. Change for the legion; how going from the War Hounds to the World Eaters effects the minds of the legion and change for the primarch. As you have no doubt gathered, it is set in two time periods and these tie up in the end to give a solid conclusion.
My main gripe with it is that I just didn’t feel overly excited throughout like I have in the past for other BL titles. This wasn’t something I expected given that the World Eaters are one of my favourite legions.

The combats in the novel felt almost meaningless (I won’t go into too much detail as it will spoil certain aspects) but every conflict just felt like a ‘nothing conflict’ and I found myself trudging through the pages rather than flipping through them with gusto.

That being said, the parts outside of combat were interesting as they were the ones that dealt with the shift within the legion and how certain aspects, as you would imagine, were very resistant to Angron wanting to remake his son’s in his image.

Overall it’s a good, solid read that delves deeply into the past of the World Eater’s Primarch. Seeing his past and living through his experiences was enjoyable as you can really see how he became what he is. I just feel there was nowhere near enough Blood for the Blood God in this one.

That being said, the novel scores highly purely for all of the delicious back story. However, at the same time, I am glad that it wasn't any longer of a read.

[Chris Comerford · Rating 5 out of 5]

He may have what is hands-down the most on-the-nose Primarch name in history, but this book makes it clear that Angron gets angry(on) for some pretty good reasons. Granted, those reasons translate into monstrous flesh-ripping and wholesale murder of his own Legion brought on by psychotic cybernetic implants, which isn't good, but still.

[Jayme · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like these stories but I just wish the primarchs were actually the main characters all throughout. I don’t care about the other characters built up just to be killed off in the same chapter when I’m purely reading this to read about Angron, not whoever-the-fuck

Still, his backstory on the gladiator world was wicked and so worth reading this for

[Lochlan Finney · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is by far the best of the 40k books i have read so far, the tragedy of Angrons life and the finality of the final fall of the XII legion into madness by the butchers nails. on a more meta narrative side this book heavily leans into seeking the approval of an abusive and sometimes absent father figure.

i would rate this 6 stars if i could.

[Tyler Kershaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the best Primarch novel. Gives much needed lore and character development to Angron and his legion. Also was really interested to see a bit of Angrons back story.

[Troy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got some glimpses of angrons early days, which is what I was hoping for.

[Tyberius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Id be angry aswell if my name was Ron.

Amazing read. Really makes him more of a character instead of a force or nature.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

These ‘Primarchs’ novellas are a mixed bag; at the beginning it felt like they may not give much more insight into the Primarchs themselves, but would deal with slightly different aspects of the Space Marine Legions in the Great Crusade era, and for some of us, that felt like enough. (I still think that Guilliman one about Ultramarines Destroyer squads was great. I mean, Ultramarine Destroyers? What a combination.) Several books later, it does seem most of them have been happy to follow a familiar pattern: the Primarch and his Legion come to a non-compliant world, we meet some ‘new’ characters (who are doomed) and some previously established characters from the Legion (who we already know will make it through to the Heresy, in most cases) and the Primarch acts exactly as you’d expect, probably doing awful atrocities on the world while cackling (if a Traitor) or doing awful atrocities on the world while feeling a bit bad or at least ambivalent about it (if a Loyalist).

St Martin is a good writer, but he can’t match Matthew Farrer and ADB’s work on this legion (and they were also writing when there hadn’t been all that much ‘fleshing out’ of the World Eaters, which gave them an advantage). So while ‘Angron: Slave of Nuceria’ deals with a sliver of XII Legion history that hasn’t been dealt with in great detail before, and has more writing than you might expect about Angron’s time on Nuceria as part of the ‘Eaters of Cities’, it still doesn’t feel to me like it gives us much of anything new. Good effort, though.

6/10

[La Criatura]

"I'll read this book that's about a character who has on multiple past occasions moved me to real life tears," I said. "It'll be fun," I said. It was not fun! It was not fun!!!

It feels impossible to talk about anything Angron-related without bringing up Betrayer, so let's address the elephant in the room. I love that book. I think it's fantastic, I recommend it constantly to people looking for specific Heresy novels to read. It is not, as I would have assumed, the be-all end-all or final word on Angron (in this era) as a character, and genuinely thank goodness for that because the way this novel approaches him is, while keeping with the same themes, actually quite different. Betrayer to me is a study of someone whose circumstances are beyond my ken but whose affliction is not- I noted while reading and in my review that it's very much about what disability and chronic pain can do to a person, and that the World Eaters as a faction are quite uncomfortably relatable due to that. This book goes less into that, and more into how a lifetime of horrible, unceasing abuse, terror, and pain can affect someone's ability to have normal relationships with the people around them.

Crazy how 40k novels are regularly graphically violent to a degree that borders on cartoonish and yet there are few things in them that have actually made me feel as viscerally discomforted as some of the more violent parts in this book. The parts with the Ghennans are quite unpleasant, and equally if not more so is everything related to what they did to Angron as a child. There's a kind of cruelty to it that feels somehow worse than so much of the other casual cruelties of this universe- maybe because the person it's happening to is a child, or maybe because we know his fate and know the universe never really stops being cruel to him, and that he never has a chance to heal from the cruelties inflicted on him, both physically and mentally.

Whatever it is, being in Angron's shoes for as much time as you spend in them really does make everything he does and is make so much sense. Being someone he doesn't want to be, doing things he doesn't want to do, for someone he likes no better than those who held his chains before who were at least honest about being slavemasters, surrounded by people who claim that they love him but couldn't possibly understand what he's been through or what he feels now. Trauma is something that, by virtue of it not being a thing within most posthumans' capacity to experience, is not something they know how to handle or empathize with- but it is nevertheless something Angron possesses in great quantities, and has no outlet for other than violence and seeking a death we already know he'll never be able to have the peace of.

As senselessly cruel as he himself can be to his children, it's not hard to understand why he feels like he does about them. How can they claim to love him when they haven't been through anything even remotely similar to what he's suffered, even for a moment? His insistence they all get the Nails alongside him isn't born of hatred, but more of a soulgrinding loneliness, of the gaping hole that yawned open inside of him when everyone who truly knew him and loved him- and who he truly knew and loved- was taken from him.

It's even worse knowing he wasn't supposed to be this way at all. He was meant to be a healer! He was made to be a gentle, sacred thing that could take pain from others and endure it when others couldn't. It sucks even worse knowing that if he'd ended up basically anywhere but where he ended up he could have been a drastically different person, and might have even been happy. They should invent a bit of 40k canon about Angron that doesn't make me want to kill myself with a hammer! That would be nice!!

As a bit of a segue/aside, it also feels like every study of Angron is also kind of unavoidably also a study of Kharn, at least in this era. Not a complaint, because I love Kharn a lot, but goodness gracious their relationship is... a lot. Angron is extremely a "hurt people hurt people" character, who inflicts abuse on his children because he's been abused so badly and because he physically doesn't have the ability to not do so, but in Kharn's case it's like. Kharn feels like an abused wife begging their spouse to come home for the sake of their children. This is probably an objectively insane thing to say but I have to say it.

Anyways. It's kind of crazy how many absolute bangers there are in the Primarch novels and how much I've loved most of the ones I've read so far. It's a marker of how good both this book is and how good the rest of them are that it's a contender for top spot among those. It's definitely the best so far at making me cry!

[Maximus Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book from the Primarch series that I have read, since he fascinated me the most after his appearance in the first trilogy of Horus Heresy. What could a creature that only knows violence and carnage have much to offer in terms of backstory. A lot of it, it seems.

31 hours, the World Eaters have 31 hours to conquer a planet before incurring the wrath of their newly rediscovered Primarch. They employ the usual tactic since their Warhounds day by advancing on the enemy using the strategy of Roman Phalanx but found that the enemy is not a pushover as it seems, even if they are weaponless. Having failed to capture the planet in 31 hours, the legionaries are subjected to Decimation upon declaration of Angron, at which the Centurion of one of the company objects, which throws Angron into a frenzy which require psychic intervention to calm him down. It was at this point that we have a glimpse of Angron's past.

Since very young, Angron was captured by the noble houses of the planet he landed on and was enslaved as a gladiator for the entertainment of the masses. He has won battles upon battles due to his demigod gifts. Surprisingly, the Angron we saw here is compassionate and had quickly build a bond with his fellow gladiators, saying that it was a farcry from the bloodlust Angron in the days of the Great Crusade is merely understating it. His disobedience in killing his mentor as instructed by the High Riders had caused the rage inducing Butchers Nail (think lobotomy) to be install within him, to result in the Angron we know.

At the same time, a group of legionaries desperate for their Primarch's acceptance are toiling to be as close to him as possible ala installation of the Butcher's Nails in the whole legion. Realizing what this would happen if this were to be allowed, the earlier Centurion tried to amass a force to destroy and ultimately rebel against their brothers that had the Nails implanted and their Primarch, which expectedly, ended in total bloodshed.

It's interesting to see that at Angron loathes the tactic of the pre-Nails World Eaters with their slow advancement as he prefers them to attack with sheer rage and fury. Comparing with the Angron that was portrayed during his gladiatorial days, brotherhood was an integral part, similar to the brotherhood that was portrayed when the legionaries Phalanx advance, to prove that they really are his sons. Angron's tragic descend to madness and his wish to die upon battle was really well done upon, knowing that he dwells upon guilt, hate and rage just adds upon the misery of Angron and ultimately his legion in the pursuit of resembling him.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10
TDLR: This is a good warhammer book. Give it a read

For the first time one of my major complaints is that this book is far too short. We get about 200 pages of book with larger than normal text size & a hell of a story. Had we spent more time in Angron’s origin story & awful his life was with that paralleling how awful he was treating his sons. We could’ve had a 10/10. That is story of what happened but it’s cut short. There have been quite a few Warhammer books I’ve read where I’m begging for it to be shorter but this book really could be used more time.

The story follows Magos, one of the founding sons the legion Warhounds who later become the World Eaters. He’s watched the legion he loved, his brother get abused by the broken monster that is their father. You primarily see Angron through Magos’s eyes - as a son who loves & loathes his father. In other World Eater books you’re primarily seeing Angron through the eyes of Kharne - who loves and admires Angron. I think Magos is a better judge of character tbh. Our protagonist is attempting to resist the changes his father is attempting to push onto the legion - a brain mutilation/augment that makes the patient feel nothing but bloodlust.

The other story follows Angron’s origins. Who he was on his homeworld and how he ended up with the butchers nails himself. You better understand his motivations for his desires after learning more about him.

There is still plenty of 40kisms but this book is fast and clean. Had the author given us more time with Magos, more time to learn about the warhounds and how Angron hated his sons, and more time immersing ourselves in Angron’s home world we would’ve had easily one of the best warhammer books of all time. I imagine that was probably the initial plan but it was cut short. Oh well!

What we still have is better than your average warhammer book & a fast paced read. For Horus heresy fans I give this a strong recommend and if anyone’s a fan of Angron and his sons it’s a must read

[Rakib Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angron has always been one of the Primarchs that interests me a lot, and I have always wondered how he was like before the heresy. This short novel delves deep into the origin of the traitor Primarch, although in a bit unorthodox way. This goes to Angrons past, even before the introduction of the nails. Despite some issues this was a blast to read.

Angron is a fascinating yet tragic villain and this is the perfectly detailed pseudo-origin story he deserves. ‘Ian St. Martin’ skillfully divulges the motivations and trials of the demigod, while also depicted him in a rare humane way. It is hard not to feel bad for the guy after one gets to witness his journey of transformation from a mere human into a bestial machine of anger first hand.

The glimpse of pre-heresy Khârn was another delicious treat. And also the story of how the Apothecary ‘Gahlan Surlak’ learned to recreate the ‘Butcher’s Nails’ for mass production for use on the World Eaters, while the legion decimating Ghenna was another part of their story finally told.

The issues I have with the book is the weak beginning part which seemed to drag on for a bit before going into the meat of the plot. The lack of the part of the story when the Emperor arrived in Nuceria as well as the weak depiction of the supposed good guy of the story ‘Mago’ was rather lackluster.

But, as a whole, the sheer grandiosity of Angron’s charismatic dialogues (especially during his rediscovery by Khârn) and his indomitable brutality made the tale a very enjoyable experience. I hope we get more story of the ‘World Eaters’ from this author.

Rating – 8.5 out of 10.

Find other reviews and stuff for 'Black Library' fiction on my blog - https://theoctedpath.wordpress.com/

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angron slave of Nuceria was a bit of a surprise.

I was expecting non stop carnage and madness and very little new lore to discover, in stead Ian takes us to the moment right before the butcher's nails would rip open the soul of the legion and turn them into the mad berzerkers we all know and love today. It was interesting to learn of a sizable faction in the legion that had serious doubts about drilling spikes into their skulls designed to make you a non stop kill frenzy brute was a good idea. yeah when you say it out loud and out of context of the warhammer 40k universe it really sounds insane anyone, let alone tens of thousands, would agree with something like that. The best apart about this shism is that we get some insight in the warhounds legion that preceded the world eaters.

Not only do we get insight in the legions past, we also get several important moments in Angrons past. The flashbacks to his past were touching and you can really feel the raw anger but even more so anguish and pain that this character embodies. For me the best flashback was shortly after his discovery Angron decides to run away and die on a battlefield against a foe for a noble cause. When Kharn asks him to return and built the new empire as his goal, his response really resonates with me; " Empire" Angron sneered the word. "What empire has ever been anything more than the ruins that are discovered by the one that rises after it?" Anyone who always assumed Angron is little more then a drooling maniac will really be surprised when reading this book.

So yes Anron slave of Nuceria, good story if a bit short, a worthy addition to the black library.

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aside from Curze Angron is most definitely most mentally unstable Primarch.
Unlike Curze, Angron did not become psycho because he decided to (because you know, why not especially because there is no point in living at all and it is so difficult to be awake because you know) like Curze but because he was broken by the Nuceria slavers while very young.

Angron is maybe only Primarch that did not manage to rule the world but lived in its gladiatorial pits and entertained the populace by fighting with the other gladiators. Being a man's man he found his calling in bloody battles where he fought with martial pride and honor. We will never know what he truly could become if given chance.

Being a highly intelligent (super)man, with great level of empathy especially to his fellow gladiators Angron has everything stacked against him and when finally nails come in as a punishment.... it is over for Angron the Warrior..... Deeply terrorized but mighty creature takes his place. And when Emperor makes one big mistake (again, I am wondering why) in a move that has as much sense as putting a wolverine in ones underpants for safekeeping [because nothing bad can happen, right....] Angron decides to kick his father Emperor into pulp and undo his work at first opportunity - which remained in domain of theory until finally Horus decided to provide Angron with the vent.

Novel portrays in great detail the fall of World Eaters legion, proud battle hardened warriors, under dominion of Chaos for a simple reason of trying to be accepted by their gene-father.

Very sad tale, great addition to the series.

[Kevin Eisenhuth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been ranking each book in this series because they have been of such varying quality its been kind of fascinating.

Angron surprised me by being the best of the lot by a country mile. Personally it's the first one that I'd say actually perfectly met the criteria of what I expected this series to be.
An insight into his childhood, his personality, his impact on his sons and ultimately what makes Angron, Angron.

Way too many of these churned out boring bolter porn which barely touched on their namesake. I'm looking at you Guilliman, Vulkan and Ferrus.

I enjoyed the characters, the interactions within the legion especially regarding its changing nature with Angrons arrival, the insight into Angrons brutal childhood which might make him the most tragic of all the Emperors sons and the writing was top notch. This was good enough for its own novel in the Horus Heresy franchise.

If you only ever read one of the Primarchs books I'd reccomend this one.

Honourable mentions to Perturabo, Lorgar, Corax, Jaghatai Khan and Fulgrim

[Darren K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The angriest of the primarchs gets his own story. It is a tale split in two. The first part is set after Angron takes over his legion, as his people prepare to accept the butcher's nails and attempt to subjugate a rebel planet. The other part is of Angron's origin as a gladiator.

In a book about the angry boy, it's surprising that the first part is far more interesting. The rebel planet is home to a threat that you just don't see too often in these stories, and seeing the space Marines struggle against them creates one of the more memorable battle scenes. And as that's going on, youve got the World Eaters split in those that desire the nails to be like their father, and those who fear what the nails will do to the legion.

As for Angron's part, it's a lot more straightforward, and doesn't have much in it that you can't deduce yourself. As I came close to finishing the book, I realized that Angron is just a lot more interesting after he falls to Chaos.