Sons of the Selenar

The Siege of Terra #Novella

by Graham McNeill

A Siege of Terra novella

The Shattered Legions have come to Terra – but when the Kryptos delivers a message of doom, the crew of the Sisypheum are drawn into their most dangerous mission yet, deep beneath Luna, where their actions could alter the fate of the galaxy.

READ IT BECAUSE
Discover the epic conclusion to the long journey of the Sisypheum through the Horus Heresy in a novella packed with revelations and action that expands the scope of the Siege of Terra.

THE STORY
The Shattered Legions crew of the Sisypheum, broken and at the end of their endurance, find themselves divided – torn between following their resurrected captain on a suicidal mission or obeying orders to return to Terra and rejoin their Legion brothers.

Following a series of garbled messages intercepted by the Kryptos, the divided warriors descend to the shattered surface of Luna. Here, their bonds of loyalty, duty, and their devotion to one another will be tested as ancient horrors of the earliest days of gene-manipulation are unleashed, and a long-buried secret is revealed.

A secret that will have far-reaching consequences for the future course of the galaxy, no matter who eventually claims Terra.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Audiobook, Fiction, Novella, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure

194 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 2020

About the author

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

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

The force of entire sections venting explosively into hard vacuum heeled the ship over like a pugilist rocked back on their heels.
The auspex screamed with incoming ordnance.
The blood-red light of a mortal wound filled the bridge. It painted Branthan in a daemonic glow.
'You've killed us all,' hissed Sharrowkyn.
Then the world turned inside out.
And red light turned to white.

So ends the journey of Strike Cruiser Sisypheum and her brave crew of battle-brothers, after an eight years long series of adventures spent capturing the Kryptos Dark Mechanicum device, chasing traitor Primarchs Fulgrim and Perturabo into the Eye of Terror, and last but not least, facing Alpharius on Eirene Septimu and became pawns in his scheme to eliminate Loyalists from XX Legion ranks.

'I am not turning on you, brother,' said Wayland.
'You talk of usurping the captain of this vessel!' snapped Numen. 'A warrior appointed by the Great Ferrus himself. How else can your words be interpreted?'
The veteran turned and marched away.
Thamatica sighed. 'He will go straight to Branthan.'
'We all should,' said Wayland.

The Shattered Legions storyline was one of my most favourite ones in the Horus Heresy saga and this novella, nearly a military sci-fi re-telling of The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare, is just a first class epic conclusion to it, with the tired and faltering band of heroes faced with its last close to impossible mission against physical consumption, internal divisions, Justaerin elite 1st Company of the Sons of Horus and all odds.
Probably this book deserved being a full length one, I was expecting the W40K
8th-9th edition reference since the Sisypheum arrives to Luna, and the bleak brutal ending was far from being a surprising one, but I totally loved every hurting page of it.

Sharrowkyn's instincts to strike back at the traitors warred with his urge to escape the mountain. He had no love for Branthan, but counted Tyro as a loyal comrade in arms. They were not friends, but they had shed blood together. Their own and that of traitors.
Branthan read the turbulent struggle of emotions within him.
'We cannot outpace the Sons of Horus but you can,' he said, turning away. 'Go, Raven Guard, get the Magna Mater out of here. Consider this my last command.'
Sharrowkyn hesitated, torn between obeying the order and fighting alongside his brothers.
'Nykona,' said Tyro. 'The mission comes first. It always does, can be no other way.'
Sharrowkyn snapped the magazine from his bolter. He handed the shells to Tyro.
'Make every shell count, Cadmus,' he said.

Make the sign of the Aquila and honour the proud Sisypheum as she sails alone through the void for the last time with her crew of loyalist brothers, a band of warriors whose fates could buck the odds and defy destiny.

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sons of the Selenar could also have been called "The Last Flight of the Sisypheum". It was a truly wonderful novella about the fate of the remnants of the Shattered Legions from the Istavaan V Dropsite Massacre.

The few remaining Astartes of the Shattered Legions have managed to limp back to the Imperium in their battered ship. Finding the traitors surrounding Terra, they decide to answer a strange distress call from Luna. This leads to the finding of the original witch-cults that helped the Emperor design the Astartes. They hold a powerful prize (that will actually come into play 10k later) that the Sons of Horus seek.

Not only was this an excellent story full of adventure and quite a few spectacular endings, but it has a great deal of interesting lore as well. A small sized novel that is hard to put down.

[Pavle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cried as I finished the book, and many times in between this epic tale.

Graham McNeill built a beautiful narrative act for these Shattered Legion brothers. I can think of no better way to end such a beautiful story. Ours is the way of pain.

Long live the Iron Tenth, and long live the shattered legions.

[Xavier Virsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome wrap-up to the shattered legions tangent.

[RatGrrrl · Rating 1 out of 5]

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

I wish I didn't have the reaction I do to certain kinds of media. I genuinely hate feeling like this and it makes me feel like an awful person.

This is one of those reviews where I feel the need to say up top that this is my own personal opinion expressed for my own entertainment and catharsis. It is only meant for readers and is not intended to be read by the author or anyone close to them. This seems especially important as I have had a least one Black Library author like my review of their work, which is lovely when I have nice things to say, but disconcerting when I have anything else to say.

I just want to be clear that I'm not trying to hate or spoil anyone's fun. I am a nobody who knows nothing. I am just somone who has read a lot of Horus Heresy suff and is very autistic with Tinkerbell's capacity to only hold a single emotion at a time and an innate passion for hyperbole. Liking things is almost always better than not liking things and I am a champion of the joys of subjectivity.

Also, this review is me releasing a lot of feelings that have have arisen from just how excited to finally get to The Siege of Terra, after reading absolutely everything else, save a handful of Primarchs stories I'm working on and the Eidolon book coming out later this year, including my own culpability and frustration with myself for getting so hype and building up the idea of this series in my head, and not just this book and absolutely isn't any kind of personal attack on or wish to disparage or discourage McNeill. I've had a lot of wonderful and critical things to say about McNeill's bibliography, but this just doesn't feel like him and lacks his usual energy and electric prose. Credit where credit is due, I don't recall this story being misogynistic, so I at least have something concrete and positive to say there.

Am I aware that my initial reaction to finishing this book is completely unreasonable and not normal? Absolutely! Neurodivergences and chronic conditions with protracted pain flare ups, constant agony, over a week without anything approaching my baseline pain and discomfort levels, and fuck all sleep are all a thing.

This doesn't change the fact that I have just had to pull myself out of a meltdown and was genuinely weeping with disappointment, rage, and sadness. Unfortunately, a disproportionate amount of those feelings, while elicited by the book, were not for the reasons intented.

I need some time to process this and come back with a clearer head*, but this might just be my least favourite of McNeill's works and I would never have guessed that this was his writing as it none of the quality or weight I associate with and expect him and the Horus Heresy.

*I was going to do this, but I realised I don't have loads to say and I want this to be done.

This is the final act for the crew of the Sisypheum, whose journey through Angel Exterminatus, Kryptos, and The Seventh Serpent created a Legion Blade reforged with the shattered remnants of the Iron Hands with Salamanders and Raven Guard, through shared the shared trauma Isstvan V and their evolving camaraderie as they did what they could to keep each other alive and take the fight to the Traitors. Their ordeals have brought them so close to the Throneworld, but they are forced to focus their attentions on Luna and deny the enemy one more time...

OK. So, everything about this book, from the characters to the setting and MacGuffin, are absolutely things I care about and I am invested in. My experience vacillated, but on the whole I loved the sagas of Shattered Legions, Angel Exterminatus is one of, if not, my favourite of McNeill's works outside of The Wolf of Ash and Fire, and I have a lot of love for the crew of the Sisypheum. The Selenar and genetech in general are absolutely fascinating to me. I am a huge sucker for the one last job, knowing very obviously from the outset a story is going to end with a high bodycount of characters I care about, or even have just met--I would die for any of the Loyalists in The Last Loyalist and Zhukel Dror instantly became one of my favourite Horus Heresy characters and had me crying my eyes out in one short story!

I make a point of all the above because however you slice it and however the plot and elements of this stories were presented to me, I should absolutely adore this!

While I haven't been a fan of Vengeful Spirit or Lupus Daemonis and I have had a fair bit of criticism for his misogyny and the bafflingly archaic and reductive understanding of sex and gender evident in his books, most notably a lot of stuff in the Lucius subplot in Fulgrim, I consider myself a big fan of McNeill. Even if I don't love everything he's written, there is a consistent quality of inspired ideas, exciting conceptions, and genuinely beautiful prose; at once poetic and heightened, while realised with such tangible vibrancy as to feel incredibly real and engaging, in every sense.

I'm not saying any of this to blow smoke up McNeill's arse, to make up for, or distract from just how disappointed I am with this novella and how little of anything positive I have to say, but rather, to show that I have a huge amount of, admittedly critical, but very real appreciation and passion for McNeill's writing.

The overwhelming feeling I had from reading this and the reason I kept doing other things and having to force myself to get through it was a total lack of energy, engagement or care. I really am not trying to be rude and don't wish to be disrespectful, so I am going to be as honest as I can be. Honestly, this felt very much like it was a purely passionless and workerlike commission that Black Library was forcing McNeill to do. With the exception of small bits of the end, it felt to me like he had absolutely no passion, interest, or care in this story or these characters, which is absolutely baffling!

At the end of the day, McNeill is a good writer and, even with my feelings about there being no soul or spark in this, the writing isn't awful or anything. It's just not...anything...beyond boring, for the vast majority. I am dead honest when I say that I would not have guessed this was McNeill's writing and genuinely would find it easy to believe that this wasn't written by any of the Horus Heresy stable with a novel to their name.

This is the Horus Heresy, the bestselling, belobed prestige Black Library series. It's The Siege of Terra, literally the Horus Heresy finale miniseries, and I find it colossally disappointing, and maybe even insulting, to have one of the last books in this series and the swangsong for some brilliant side characters we've been with for 12 years (since the publication of Angel Exterminatus) be so stale and uninspired.

The fact that this is also the most we've really got a look at Luna or discussed the truly fascinating Selenar, and even that was desultry and pedestrian, being reduced to calling Astartes monsters and having the Traitors come face to face with more monstrous versions of themselves...but with no concept, discussion, theme, or reflection beyond the surface level, is mind-boggling and galling. Also, the entire first third being fractious bickering without anything beyond the surface level disagreement and no dramatic weight or meaning is certainly a choice.

I truly feel more insane than usual trying to process this. Yeah, it's just a bad book or even just one that wasn't my cup of tea, and none of this really matters. But I truly care about this series and it's been a phenemonal help with my coping with some really rough times this year and right now, and seeing the stark difference in writers I am very familiar with, having read them for decades at this point and dedicating myself to completely completing the Horus Heresy this year (you can literally see the numbers below), it just seems like there is a lack of care and/ or passion, and that fucking sucks. For everyone.

Some of the honourable ends are done with some effect and I do like the final scene, but even at its best it felt like McNeill was barely out of neutral. I did shed some tears, but that's largely because McNeill had made me care about these characters in his other works and I was so het up with negativity and chronic pain that I was spiralling into an autistic meltdown. The meltdown and scale of my reactions are absolutely not on McNeill and are purely a result of my body and brain being fucked. That's a me problem for sure. I just want to be very clear about that.

It just really sucks when something you are so invested in and really care about by a writer you know can absolutely knock it out of the park who has never failed to muster a little energy and wonder even on the works that were my least favourite before this, but who regularly has exceptional prose and is just a phenomenal writer.

It sucks.

Initially, I was going to give this two because there are aspects of the elegaic section that were effective, but on the whole I hated reading this and forced myself to get it finished because there is no sense of care or energy until the last few pages and the whole first third of this book is just wasted with weightless squabbling and fractiousness that fails to inform anything deeper about the characters or situation, so I had to go with one, especially on the context of the established quality and expectations of the Horus Heresy and this being part of the finale.

Through the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project and my own additions, I have currently read* all 54 Horus Heresy main series novels (+1 repeat), 25 novellas (+2 repeats), Cthonia's Reckoning, as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels 3 Primarchs antholologies, 3 Characters novels, 1 Siege of Terra Novel, 1 Siege of Terra Novella, and 182 short stories/ audio dramas across the Horus Heresy (inc. 11+ repeats). Plus, 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.

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

*My tracking consistently proves shoddy, but I'm doing my best.

[AA_Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the Shattered Legions; the stories set on Istvaan and it’s aftermath are amongst my favourites in the Horus Heresy, so I was glad to hear that these were going to be tied up in a novella.

Throughout the story, there is a definite feeling of peril and finality; it’s clear that even Astartes have limits and the attrition of the campaign is taking a serious toll on these characters- I wouldn’t have been surprised if the story just ended abruptly with them all finally succumbing to exhaustion midway through this mission.

In terms of lore, this ties in nicely with Valdor and the rest of the Heresy as well as dropping some hints about what’s to come in the rest of the Siege.

It works as a novella, but I’d have been happy if the page count was doubled- there’s enough interesting ideas in here for further exploration and I’d always welcome more traitor viewpoints, which are probably all that this book lacks.

[Peter Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

McNeill has a big challenge in this novella, to wrap up a long-running storyline with popular characters within a setting with a tragic ending. He does that superbly well, providing a highly satisfying conclusion to the story arc without taking the easy way out or being trite. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil the story, but it has what you'd expect of a Black Library veteran author: tight fight scenes, tension, mystery, twists, and links to the broader 30k/40k universe, plus some subtle pop culture references. If you've been following the Horus Heresy, this is a must-read.

[Joelendil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novella takes place during the Siege of Terra storyline, but doesn’t really add anything of value to it. It is exactly why I avoid WH40K books that focus purely on loyalist space marines as protagonists. Characterization and plot are seldom strong in this shared universe, but they both all but disappears into one long string of battles when vanilla space marines are to the fore. The MacGuffin they’re after adds a little bit of lore, but this is wholly forgettable.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not what I expected, but as always a genuinely enjoyable read from Mr McNiell.

A fitting ending to the Shattered Legions arc of the Horus Heresy story.

No spoilers, but as with all the books in the Siege Of Terra series; the shadows of the Heresy grow long and the grim darkness of the 41st millennium is giving into view. Eastereggs aplenty.

[Emerson Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how this ended and connects to the present day 40k timeline of 8th edition.

[Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

It physically hurt to finish the book, and as Graham himself says in the afterword, it was all necessary.
5/5, but needs more Garuda.

[Horus Lupercal Online · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella was seriously enjoyable and if I were to compare it to something I would say it brings to mind memories of Rogue One, the Star Wars movie. It pretty much brings the same stakes to the table, and finishes the story of the Shattered Legion crew of the Sisypheum, featuring quite a few of my favorite Horus Heresy characters. As with most Graham McNeill stories, it has a good mix of action, story and sacrifices that will will be burned in your mind long after you finish this. Highly Recommended!

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars would be ideal for this. It's not a gripping tale, and at points the writing is a bit clunky, but it's a fun end to some interesting characters and a good mystery to boot.

[M.R. Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great story however it’s only 173 pages and not worth 7.99 for the kindle version

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Black Library’s Siege of Terra series is closing off the Horus Heresy with eight novels covering the major story beats, Graham McNeill’s Sons of the Selenar marks the first in an additional set of novellas which tackle slightly smaller subjects within the context of the Siege. In this case, the story of Sharrowkin, Wayland and the Sisypheum continues as, returning to the Sol System, loyalties within the crew begin to fracture. Drawn to embattled Luna, the few remaining Shattered Legionaries must put division aside and act as one if they’re to ensure vital secrets remain out of the traitors’ hands.

As a conclusion to this particular story it’s a powerful, at times emotional ride, with high personal stakes and a nice connection to what’s happening in the Siege as a whole. There’s more than enough in these character arcs to have fleshed out a longer story, not to mention the backstory to the Selenar, so in a sense it’s a shame this couldn’t have been expanded to a longer book…but as it stands, while it might not be one of the eight main Siege stories it feels very much part of the wider story both tonally and narratively, and provides a dark but satisfying conclusion to this particular story arc.

Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2020/06/...

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bittersweet conclusion to the band of brothers of the Shattered Legion. Of course, it couldn’t end well but the characters heroically meet their ends and do their part to ensure the continuation of the Imperium in this timeline and far, far, far in the future.

[Stefan Koepeknie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Feral war shouts of men born in the dark and raised on murder."
The fittingly maudlin finale for the Astartes of the Shattered Legions storyline.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could very much have done with a 'previously on' at the beginning.

[Sirvalkyerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

McNeill writes a lovely narrative that is let down at times by some clumsy dialogue. The book reminded me largely of a video game where the macro narrative is so strong you don't mind the typically cruddy video gamey voicelines you have to sit through sometimes. Or a play where the script is so good that even a poor set of actors are able to deliver a compelling experience because the text carries them through.

McNeill tells a wonderful story of the last flight of the Sisypheum. A Shattered legion of ragtag forced allegiances. Mostly Iron Hands but augmented with a few members of the Salamanders and Raven Guard. A group we've seen in other books, like Ruinstorm. I care very little for either legion in the wider 40k story but the relationship of Sharrowkyn and Wayland continues and is lovely while the essentially dual-resurrected Tyro and Brahnan struggle to co-captain this squad of strange bedfellows at their wits end and virtually all resources entirely depleted.

There are genuinely tearjerking moments at the end as we know, and our heroes know, the mission will end in only one way. But it delivers on it anyway getting you attached to the characters. It lets you stomach really miserable moments with lines such as "Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated" and "I think I'll die now". There was another really bad meme/pop culture line in the book that I simply can't remember now, but much of the interpersonal dialogue was either cringey or flat. Our trusty gene-witch of the Selenar is also written much too one-dimensional and unnecessarily blunt. She talks in caricature rather than as a real person. It becomes much more evident when reading several Horus Heresy books in succession and seeing how other authors voice same/similar characters. The dialogue in this one was rough.

But that's okay. The story is good. It's not a unique one. But this thick-as-thieves gaggle of Istvaan 5 survivors have been running on empty, fueled by duty, honor, hate and gumption for seven years and with almost nothing left to give they have one more super secret mission. Sure it seems odd that only the Sisypheum received the message from the Selenar (Kyrptos or no Kryptos). Sure it seems like it doesn't make much sense that the Sisypheum was able to repair from massive damage twice and even destroy a completely replete enemy ship. Sure it doesn't make much sense that they could slip into Lunar orbit while the entire heretic fleet floats in orbit. Sure it makes even less sense that the Moon is somehow nearly devoid of any population or military presence knowing the gene cults are there. Totally it makes even less sense that the Sisypheum crew could escape after massive calamities occur on the Terran satellite.

But who cares. The suspension of disbelief is a little hard at times but the story is compelling enough to roll with. What this novella represents at its core is how many of these stories went untold. Throughout the seven years of the Heresy you wonder how many other Shattered Legion survivors embarked on similar tasks. It evokes the exiled White Scars after they were banished for their attempted coup when The Khan went to Prospero. Cast off to the outer edges on space on suicide mission after suicide mission. Stories you can imagine but will never see text. Raids on traitor outposts or shipyards or destroying traitor resource caches. Knowing they'll die, knowing their story will never be told, having faith that their actions will hopefully help The Emperor prevail against Horus.

it's good. it's short. it's hard to put down. Don't think about it too hard, and power through the occasionally awful dialogue moments. Wish we would've gotten more out of the Selenar lore than a smattering in a few books here and there.

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

After fighting guerilla war against Horus' armies in distant parts of Galaxy for years, Shattered Legions, or better said what was left of them, are pushed by invisible hand of Faith towards Solar system and Earth's lonely and always mysterious satellite. Basically last place they expected to find themselves in.

While story is very sad (reminds me of the WW2 last-stand movies) because hey these guys grew on me, I liked how it managed to engage post-humans of Selenar Cults (this.... offshoot of humans that has even less common ground with humanity than Mechanicum) with walking weapons they helped develop.

Entire Selenar culture is like something from Polity universe. Just seeing them fighting Horus and unleashing their own weapons of mass destruction, including fantastic AI constructs, creates quite a contrast to brutal and pragmatic Empire of Humankind. It is like fight between two extremes of future humanity..... Man I need more Unification era stories. And isn't it ironic that Empire comes up as more humane. It is, ain't it? Somehow eugenics and general genetic manipulation and purification... they are cold, so completely anti-human.

But I digress, this was fantastic read. Besides the setting and high level view of Lunar cultures this was also a story of sacrifice and what it means to sacrifice everything for a greater good.

Excellent story, highly recommended.

[Станислав · Rating 2 out of 5]

Короткая история, завершающая путь воинов "расколотых легионов". К сожалению за давностью повествования "кто есть кто" из недобитых легионеров мне уже сложно вспомнить. Вообще вся линия "железного десятого" и его невольных попутчиков мне кажется неинтересной. Может быть, кроме ворона Никоны Шарроукин, остальные вызывают минимум эмоций, разве в стиле "а кто это?". Сюжетная линия с селенарским артефактом, казалось бы, обещает раскрыть какие-то тайны создания Астартес, но этого тоже не происходит и всё обрывается с намёком на продолжение в Gathering Storm.
К собственно осаде Терры эта книга имеет косвенное отношение, так что её могли убрать из основной серии.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much, much better than a lot of the Horus Heresy stuff. It dispenses with the normal HH, bad writing trope of "I am the focus character, so I am god" and a lot of characters do the best they can, but it isn't always enough.

Not the glorious ending most wanted but probably the most fitting ending for a crew who seemed damned to failure from the start, but made as much of a success out of there inevitable ending as they could.

It moves in a tight narrative and is a lesson the series could learn, dispense with 400 pages books with 200/250 pages of dead end filler, instead have more concise and purposeful books which are good and not a chore to read.

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bittersweet emotional end to the arc with this group of shattered legion Marines, crew of the Sisypheum who had already faced quite some trials in their most recent adventures.
Probably about the only Iron Hands I like in the Horus Heresy (a lot of the rest might as well be traitors really in my view).
Ties nicely to the Siege of Terra novels, especially Solar War, and has plenty of tension and emotion, with some good action scenes in there as well, but really I was reading for the end of the arc, and a strong satisfying end it was, even if I might have wished for some different outcomes.
Highly recommend.

[Ceylan Arduin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sons of the Selenar is a gripping story centered on a group of survivors from the Istvaan V massacre. While the differences between the legions are clear, their shared pain and experiences forge a strong bond between the brothers.

The mission itself is fascinating from a lore perspective, highlighting that everyone, no matter their role, has a part to play in the war. It’s a tale of duty and perseverance, of seeing a mission through against all odds.

The book is hard to put down, and its pacing and length feel just right.

[TR4XY · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is essentially pointless. It's only purpose is to complete the story of the Sisypheum crew, which has so far been lackluster and this book is no exception. The characters are bland and samey. The plot is boring, plain and simple. The dialogues and writing in general lack nuance. But, that is something that I've come expect regarding McNeill. The last good book that I've read from him was A Thousand Sons. The only good thing I can say about this novella is that my intelligence wasn't insulted and that it was a pretty short read, even though it could have been shorter.

[Michael Tite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic SoT story...and a culmination of previous stories.

I really enjoyed this story.
It tied up a lot of plotlines for the crew of the Syspheum.. it has a cool Easter egg right at the very end. The last line/name..
Overall, a very good story. Heart wrenching in places too.

[Cory Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of the shattered legions storyline or looking to get full story completion, give this book a read.

To me, I think this book is all but skippable on the grander scheme of things. It’s not a bad story by any means but doesn’t really add to the siege of Terra as much as many other books do and is very much a side quest of sorts.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

short and oh so sweet!!
oh boy what a refreshing story!
i have to admit - lore wise, why are people not talking about the importance of this novel more!?

but most importantly, what a way to wrap up the shattered legion arcs. admittedly, they did drag on during the heresy anthologies but hey we got there?
i love you sharrowkyn. you’re my number 1.

[Paul Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but bittersweet finale for the shattered legion Astartes, only 4 hours long but narrates superbly as always by Mr Keeble, there really should be no sadness when reading Warhammer as it is the grim dark future but I still felt sad to see the passing of these warriors, great book

[Kavinay · Rating 1 out of 5]

That's a lot of ink spent to get to a small factoid about Primari$ origins.

Well, hopefully that's the last of the Shattered Legions arcs--which were frankly most memorable for a completely nuts episode with a sentient hand.