Saturnine

The Siege of Terra #4

by Dan Abnett

Siege of Terra Book 4

As the traitors tighten their grip on Terra, Rogal Dorn must marshal the Imperial hosts to weather the storm. But not all of the defenders will survive the onslaught…

READ IT BECAUSE
Dan Abnett returns to the Horus Heresy! Experience one of the crucial stages of the Siege, as Rogal Dorn and Horus match wits in a game of Regicide where the board is the Throneworld itself, and one wrong move could lead to utter devastation…

THE STORY
The Traitor Host of Horus Lupercal tightens its iron grip on the Palace of Terra, and one by one the walls and bastions begin to crumple and collapse. Rogal Dorn, Praetorian of Terra, redoubles his efforts to keep the relentless enemy at bay, but his forces are vastly outnumbered and hopelessly outgunned. Dorn simply cannot defend everything. Any chance of survival now requires sacrifice, but what battles dare he lose so that others can be won? Is there one tactical stroke, one crucial combat, that could turn the tide forever and win the war outright?

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

469 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 14, 2020

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lion’s Gale space port fell to the enemy on the eleventh of Quintus It was a long way from where they were, hundreds of kilometres west. Everything was a long way from everything else, because the Imperial Palace was so immense. But the effects were felt everywhere, like a convulsion, like the Palace had taken a headshot.

Dan Abnett returns to the Horus Heresy and The Siege of Terra delivering a mind-blowing  tale of four simultaneous battlefronts, sacrifices, victories, and death, with some of the best fights scenes in the series, heroic and brutal deaths, and more than a bad guy getting at last what he deserved since the first opening trilogy was released fourteen years ago.

‘Army lines are fracturing across the northern reaches,’ said Icaro. ‘Assault is a primary factor, traitor hosts driving up from the south. They have Astartes support.’
‘On the ground?’ asked the Great Khan.
‘On the ground, in force,’ she confirmed. ‘World Eaters, Iron Warriors, Thousand Sons, Luna Wolves-‘
They’re not called that any more,’ said the Khan.
‘My apologies, lord. But I won’t use his name,’ she replied.

This is Abnett's longest book, as massive as the scale of the conflict inside it, with lots of different kinds of fightings: epic chavalry charges, classic siege warfare, hopelessly last stand defences against overwhelming enemy forces, and much more.

‘He wants our father,’ said the Khan quietly. ‘He wants unhindered access to the Palace. He has one foothold, he wants another. It is not complex, Rogal, not any more. Eternity Wall Port must be defended and held. Lion’s Gate Port must be retaken. It is an offence they have claimed it at all.’
‘It was unavoidable,’ said Dorn.
‘I’m not blaming you, Rogal,’ said the Khan. He sighed.

Think of it as the siege of Minas Tirith by Sauron's army in the far grim future of Warhammer 40000 and you still have no idea of much epic this book is, with a warzone the size of Belgium and so many characters shining, shaming, and dying.

‘Fall back!’ Halen yelled into the vox. ‘Fall back to second now!’ A blast took him off his feet. Grit and flame swirled around him. A strong arm pulled him to his feet.
‘No, brother,’ the Angel said, looking down into Halen’s cracked visor. ‘No need. Not yet.’
Sanguinius let him go, and turned to the mangled lip of the wall. He leapt off, into the wallowing curtains of fire, wings unfurled.

Praise to Dan Abnett, the real Lord of the Dark Millennium, for fixing years and years of often conflicting lore and shaping new one inside these pages, with so many references shifting from pivotal historic events like the rise of Imperial Cult religion, the founding of Inquisition, and the birth of the myth of Ollianus Pious, saint patron of the Astra Militarum, to silly little pieces of lore as Khârn’s ‘kill-counter’ originally introduced in William King's The Wrath of Khârn classic short tale.

"My lord,’ said Rann. There was silence all around them.
‘I’ve seen it, Fafnir,’ said Sanguinius. ‘From here, to the gate, to the port, across Anterior, across Magnifican. This is everywhere and everything. Far too many stories, a million of them, all destined to be lost, for only the last line of the book matters.’
‘Then we had better make sure we’re the ones who write it,’ said Rann.

Totally enjoyed every part of it and that Leetu easter-egg, making not just canon the 1985 L2 Imperial Space Marine miniature from Games Workshop, but probably introducing a character with a certain very important role in the now not so far future (if you've read William King's The Emperor and Horus tale in Realm of Chaos: The Lost and The Damned, White Dwarf magazine #161 or somewhere else, you probably know what I'm talking about...) just made my day.



‘I believe the Emperor is a god,’ Keeler hissed across the table at Hari in mock conspiracy.
‘I know,’ said Hari.
‘An actual god.’
‘I know, mam.’
‘And that’s not a popular concept,’ she hissed, ‘especially with the Emperor.’
‘Please stop that,’ said Amon.
‘It’s as if He doesn’t want people to know, or something,’ Keeler said. She looked at the Custodian. ‘So I can’t leave, Amon?’
‘No.’

A wonderful book and a must read if you are into military science-fiction, but if you are a fan of Warhammer 40000 and the Horus Heresy saga, this is just the stuff dreams are made of.

‘Rogal has learned a flexibility. A sleight of hand.’
‘Like letting our archenemy into the Sanctum Imperialis?’
‘Yes. Letting him in, cutting his throat, and then sealing the flaw behind him. This Land fellow’s lockcrete will close the flaw once the trap is sprung, and build a tomb for whoever comes.’
‘We’re meeting their decapitation strike with one of our own?’
‘Exquisite, isn’t it?’ said Malcador, and laughed.

Excelsior.

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Siege of Terra series, covering the Horus Heresy has been excellent. But, "Saturnine" stands apart and is in keeping with the top-notch quality of the first three Horus Heresy books. A perfect blend of lore, incredible action, fascinating and famous personalities, and some philosophy thrown in as well. This is a story that has it all.

The Traitor Forces have reached Terra and started the Siege of the Imperial Palace. This story is told from a variety of viewpoints- from the average human soldier of the Solar Auxillia to the "ordinary" Astartes that form the line, and even Primarchs. As someone who enjoys not only the story but the entire process of world building, this was a great volume.

From learning about the plans of Horus, to the counter operations of Dorn, to the slow and steady rise in the belief in the God Emperor, all of this is detailed and explained. The spear-tip assault led by the Sons of Horus, the Emperor's Children's assault on the Wall, the Death Guard fight the White Scars, the list of incredible battles is to long to list.

On top of all this, we have come to a point where there are several Primarchs running around on the same planet. The scenes are truly amazing. From Sanguinius fighting four Titans, or Jaghatai Khan's furious assault, to even the scenes of Apotheosis for Angron and Fulgrim as they ascend to Daemon Princehood.

This is also a book of endings. Many famous units and characters meet their end during this apocalyptic conflict. I deeply liked the viewpoint of the normal humans, as they see their atheist world crumble and belief in the Emperor soars as the obvious fact becomes common- belief in the God Emperor actually works.

One of the best Heresy books I've ever read. Highly recommended to anyone interested in this lore. But, if you are new to this, I'd suggest other places to start so that you can appreciate the story in its full context. For knowledgeable 40K fans? This is a "must-have" novel.

[Andrey Nalyotov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost a MASTERPIECE.
Dan Abnett did it again - one of the best books in the Horus Heresy range and best book of the Siege of Terra mini series to date.
It is not a simple book and in the simplest terms explanation of why W40k is the way it is.

I will not expand more - because the best review for this book is an Afterword written by Dan himself.
Just get it and read the novel and the afterword.
"The building blocks are all there: the Imperial creed, the founding myth of the Guard, the Inquisition and its need to both gather data and supress it. Ans so on... ten thousand years of lore and future history, unspooling from one world-shaking moment of the Siege."
And of course the answers to the Emperor you all were expecting about.

Plus some justice in the universe set on injustice and bad boyz never getting what they deserved.

DAN ABNETT - THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.
And role in the Penitent!

[Chris Wiggill · Rating 1 out of 5]

SPOILERS

I don't get why people love this book so much, it was awful, the traitors all come off as incompetent fool who can't do anything right, the loyalist come off as supermen who can't do anything wrong, Dan Abnett doesn't seem to realize the story is from two sides and both are supposed to be strong. Every battle has the traitors just charging in and being slaughtered, the loyalists killing enemy marines like they were children, the focus of battles makes you feel like it's just one person fighting off hordes, without ever showing a broader perspective of what's going on, one part actually has two pages of a captain in introspection, when suddenly ending with, he shoved his axes into a terminator, to which I thought, what terminator, where did the terminator come from? The whole scene made it seem like the captain was just standing still thinking, not once did it say he was in the middle of a battle fighting enemies, so it made it feel like the terminator just showed up, stood their patiently waiting for the captain to finish his thoughts, and then letting the captain kill him. The entire book was like this, even when the traitors won a battle it was only said after the battle, but during all the focus was on loyalists easily killing traitors like they were nothing.

The final part with Saturnine was built up so much, and then was just as bad, the traitors just arriving and being mowed down, Abaddon gets stuck and looks like an idiot, whining about teleportation. when Kibre showed up I thought it might change, but no, reinforcements show up and he gets his butt kicked super easily.

The Entire book was so one sided it makes you wonder why anyone was afraid of Horus, the writing was so bad, especially towards the traitors, who came off like idiots, constantly shouting Lupercal for some reason, instead of say, for Lupercal, which makes sense, or droning on, the emperor must die, over and over, without realizing what a stupid mantra that is to keep saying.

I've read so many of Abnett's books, and in everyone he makes the main characters super heroes who are way more powerful then they should be, and the only way to show their prowess is to makes those they're fighting idiots who die really easily. Be it Gaunt's Ghosts, Malus Darkblade, or this. It was boring as hell, I was actually wanting characters I loved to die, just because I was so sick of the one sided way the book went. The battles were literally just paragraphs of loyalists killing enemy marines one after the other.

This is not a good book, it is really not a good book for the end group of the Horus Heresy books, Dan Abnett should never write again, I was disgusted that all the books I'd read up till this point led to such an anticlimactic war, where the long awaited invaders are incompetent fools, and the defenders do everything right and just mop up the enemies like they were nothing. It was like watching an MCU movie where the loyalists are The Avengers, and the traitors are just the fodder that are only there to die and make the heroes look cool.

Abnett forgets that the Horus Heresy isn't just about the good guys, it's about both sides, and watching two marines fight where one dies from a single hit but the other is super unkillable is boring as hell, two marines fighting should be a battle of attrition since both are really hard to kill, not one guy killing hundreds of marines one after the other.

This book is the worst Horus Heresy book and maybe one of the worst books I've ever read. People can praise it, but that doesn't remove the facts of what I said, boring, one sided, biased, bad characters (it's like he seriously hates Abaddon), anticlimactic, insulting (especially to those who are chaos fans) and just plain pointless.

[Bastiaan Vergoossen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saturnine is Dan’s biggest novel yet (that’s saying something, about Saturnine, about the siege of Terra, about Dan as an author). I’m sure this will become one of my biggest reviews yet. And Saturnine deserves it. Fully. Just to get to the point of it: this is a VERY GOOD book. There were a lot of scenes I liked IMMENSELY. And there were many scenes that were just very good, entertaining and so on. So, I can say I LOVED this book and the siege of Terra is now very much on track, after some good and some lesser things in the previous 3 novels.

BIG SPOILERS ahead. I need to say some things exactly the way they are to show my true feelings and review this book proper.

The main story within this novel is a good one, there has gone some thoughts into it. As with the previous books explaining they need to weaken the Emperor’s shield that protects the palace before they can attack it proper, with daemons and daemon primarchs, now we have a good story about 4 major warzones, with 1 needed to be sacrificed and one being a secret chess match trap. One of the great things in this book, is that it foreshadows a lot of things. Not just things that will happen in 40k, or that are main stream in 40k, but also things that COULD happen this novel, but as a reader you don’t know for sure IF they are about to happen. Just the fact that these things COULD happen makes you very excited, as a longtime fan of 40k and the Horus heresy. Just the idea ….. even if it doesn’t deliver or doesn’t even happen: it puts a smile on your face ….. A smile that appears MOSTLY because of the years you have been investing in these stories, characters, this world (big big galaxy of a world really). It’s become part of your live. And within this world and hobby things don’t get bigger than the siege of Terra. When reading the first 5 HH books, some 13 years ago or something like that, I couldn’t help but start thinking even more about the siege of Terra. Enjoying the first books immensely, with Istvan III and V and so on, but still wanting to see the SIEGE. That was the endgame.

What do I mean by foreshadowing parts of the book that COULD happen? For example, when it is explained that Perturabo and Horus probably WOULD see the crack within Saturnine defences and use it, and when the novel implies that it COULD be Horus HIMSELF wanting this glory and PERHAPS landing on Terra to lead this attack himself ….. well, that gets you as a fan excited. And no, I’m not angry when it gets to be Abaddon, the entire mournival, Fulgrim and the ENTIRE III legion to lead this attack and NOT Horus. This is still very cool. I can remember when it was said : ‘the ENTIRE III legion …..’ I really let out a laugh, in amazement, in the craziness of it all.

Also, the tease about Khan vs Mortarion continues.

Sometimes it’s good to know things in advance as a reader, like the fact that a character like Niborran (very likable character with a very hatefull sidekick Brohn) knows eternity wall space port is doomed and he still has to go and command it. The book has some nice twists here and there too, like the Cadwalder one, where he is sent to GET Niborran out of the slaughter of eternity, but instead decides last second to join him.

As Dan explained in the afterword, how do you show a lot of fighting (and the siege has A LOT OF IT) without getting bored and repetitive? Well, Dan has made some very good choices in the way he shows fights in different styles. Seen through different eyes. This also gives us some very cool and epic moments, like the Diaz scene on the bridge (amazing scene, what a fighter) or the Loken scene on the wall (how Garviel thinks, reacts, fights, predicts each move and responds). Good stuff, cool stuff. Dan also made real characters out of some NAMES that have been around for some time (or some very long time), which is a cool thing. Camba – Diaz was just a name, a captain in Mechanicum (if my memory serves, it’s his first appearance), a very little character in Solar war and now a real character during this book, who gets some of the coolest scenes in the entire novel. Niborran also was just a general, but is now a fleshed out very lovable person.

Zephon gets a bit of a strange fate I think. To be fully restored by Land in ADB’s short story and being able to fight in the siege, only to die immediately in his first real fight (without landing a blow). On the other hand, he did what he needed to do: to shield a human, shield humanity. That’s beautiful still.

The book has also some nice talk about miracles and belief, also about soldiers lying to themselves and others to keep going, to endure war, something soldiers in real life could do.

Dan was talking about the good stuff from movies like Endgame and comics, and now we get team ups in siege of terra novels, like the magnificent seven (intended the number 7?), Loken, Garro, Sepatus, Haar, Gallor, Thane and Sigismund.

How about deaths in this book? Yeah, and some point it’s a bit of a massacre, surely among the sons of Horus. Too much? Perhaps. Okay, in book 4 of the siege you can expect some casualties and some big names to drop, but perhaps we now have to few traitor characters to take us through the rest of the siege. Interesting thing is that the bigger the name was during the series, the bigger his sent off scene was. For example: Goshen was always just a name, a very minor sons of horus character. He (probably) dies without a blow landed. Marr (a character with a bit of more scenes during the series and even an own audio story, which I LOVED by the way) gets into the fight but he and his soldiers get massacred. Perhaps his death was a bit too quick, to less dramatic. But that’s just my opinion. It still had some nice pay off with the things that were said. If you realize that THIS is the first time they enter the siege, appear in the siege of Terra books, and you see they are immediately finished off, then I think: mmm, you (the authors) SHOULD have given them a bit more screentime and THEN finish them off.

Aximand, a mournival character and throughout the series a big name, gets a bit of more time to fight and shine. Okay, we need to realize that not every character can get a BIG SENT OFF, which would make the story less believable, but still you like to see some big clashes when you are expecting them, after all these years longing for them.

I think the siege is now fully underway, full on steam. This book gives us many great scenes, many great fights, some very nice character moments and developments. The scale, the 4 big warzones, the number of battles, the number of characters and viewpoints: it all gives us a siege of terra book we always longed for. Surely when we realize that we still have FOUR books (probably amazing books) to go. On the other hand, when you read this one you yearn for more. It’s Dan’s biggest book ever, and it could (perhaps should?) have been bigger. In the end, we don’t get a satisfying finish with the Colossi wall battlefront and the Khan over there. We don’t need Mortarion vs Khan in this one yet, but the warfront here seems somewhat unresolved. The eternity space port ending scenes felt a bit rushed, with even perhaps the Saturnine wall scene with Fulgrim and the Emperor’s Children also being a bit short. On the other hand, perhaps I just need to be patient and wait for further scenes in book 5 to 8.

One problem I have had throughout the siege series so far, is the fact that there are TO FEW traitor primarchs scenes throughout the first 4 books, in my opinion. This book has a very good variation between astartes scenes, human scenes, primarchs scenes. Many of our favorite characters get some time to shine and get proper scenes and enough pages. Fans of the loyal triumvirate should be happy, there are quite some good scenes with the Khan, Sanguinius and Dorn. Also in the first 3 books these 3 primarchs have got some good time to shine. Not so the traitors. Horus never really appears in this book, and although his shadow hangs above all that happens, his absence is felt. Mortarion only gets one scene if I’m correct. Fulgrim was mostly absent in Solar war (only in 1 scene short), mostly absent in book 2 and 3 (only there shortly for some conference with his brothers), and although he now gets some cool scenes, he still has very few pages in this book. The Emperor’s Children as a legion have had very few pages during the siege so far. If Fulgrims action at the end of this book means that he is ALREADY bored and leaves the siege with his legion to massacre Terran populace, well, then I think I’m definitely NOT happy with that. Such an important character as Fulgrim didn’t get enough time to shine at the siege itself, in my humble opinion.

If it’s all an organized PLAN by the authors to built up tension and use traitor primarchs more and more in the LATTER siege books, then I could except their few appearances in book 1-4 and wait for some cool stuff in 5-8. (And I’m a loyalist fan and Guilliman adorer by the way, so I wonder how my more treacherous brothers feel about their primarchs). So, please, give the traitor primarchs and some astartes characters some more love in book 5-8. Characters like Lucius, Fabius Bile, Sevatar, Kaesoron (amongst others) have YET to appear during the siege. Typhon also had very little screentime. We can only hope.

Finally, I like to take a quick look at some of the scenes I ABSOLUTELY LOVED. Here they are (wonderfull job on these Dan!!!) :

- Sanguinius and the titans. Do I need to say more? Badass scene.
- The conversation between Perturabo and Abaddon. Marvellous scene. Back and forth, Abaddon trying to learn from Perturabo but also being just Abaddon and taking it to far. Loved it.
- The Camba Diaz bridge scene. Amazing description about the slaughter of some world eaters. Very cool fight scene, very heroic also.
- Angron who walks before Montsalvant and asks for the surrender. All cannons then on Angron. Also emotional because of the mix with Desh-ea and the arena. Tragic. Nice way to match it a bit with some of the old lore. These are LEGENDARY SCENES that NEED to have a place in this BIGGEST BATTLE EVER.
- Sigismund vs Fulgrim, Dorn vs Fulgrin, Dorn and Sigismund vs 50 EC’s champions. Cool scene, although it might have been a bit longer in the end.


So there you have it. My biggest review EVER. A book WORTHY of such a review. Definitely a 5 out of 5 stars book (which I only give to books I ABSOLUTELY LOVED). A book that kicks off the siege PROPER, which gives me high hopes for book 5-8. MASSIVE COMPLIMENTS TO DAN AND THE OTHER AUTHORS (it’s a team effort, who did get WHAT idea? Perhaps we shall never know, but we need to laud them all !!!).

A long time Horus Heresy fan is VERY PLEASED. Keep up the good work, I will be there for the final battle ….. (and NO, NOT the wolftime this time….)…. I WILL BE THERE THE DAY THE EMPEROR SLAYS HORUS.

[Ariel N · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tragic part is we know none of the four novels remaining can get better than Saturnine.

[Skywatcher Adept · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many talented 40k writers, but Abnett just owns the lore. This is an ultimate Heresy book. Abnett collects the broken pieces of lore from all of the misbegotten parts of the Series and crafts them together with his golden touch. Ominous yet uplifting. This is one of the few books that left me stunned.

[Lukas Deicke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best "Siege of Terra" entry so far. Never thought that I would actually like a full book in which Dorne talks so much.

[K Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read all 56 books of the Horus Heresy that preluded the Siege of Terra series, it was a mixed bag with mostly enjoyable, immersive and set firmly within the grim darkness of the lore. The siege of Terra was also excellent and I enjoyed the books up until this one. The Author of this one though has truly let the side down in a number of ways.

I have enjoyed all of Dan Abnett's previous work, he writes well, his style is raw and emotional and well suited for conjuring graphic imagery of battle, but in this book there is a jarring shallowness to his understanding of the lore as it has developed. This shows mainly in the dialogue, which throughout the book was jarring and immersion destroying with few exceptions. When attempting considered conversations between decades old and long established characters, the author misses the mark completely, I felt I was reading a book about different characters wearing the same names such was the contrast with previous work. I think Abnett's strengths now would be better tempered by co-authoring any future titles with someone who better appreciates the previous character developments and setting. There is also an overwhelming bleeding of progressive politics into the book further jarring the reader from the future to our virtue signalling present, Abnett apparently using every opportunity to score virtue points by inserting his unwelcome worldview into the warhammer universe.

The overuse of the word 'sh*t' is quite apt for the dialogue in this book, and perhaps reveals the authors attitude to the universe and series, with phrases that are so off the mark as to be ridiculous, such as a conversation between Astartes that ended with "I enjoy teasing the sh*t out of you". It reads almost like sabotage at times, rather than a poor understanding of the lore but for the benefit of the doubt.

This is the worst of the Horus Hersey in certain regards, that could have been tempered by others working on the series. It is a disappointment that they allowed this to print as it sullies all previous work and lowers the bar for the future of the series considerably. Perhaps with better research of the lore and co-authoring any future titles in the series, the Author can remain loyal to the true characters of the series and hopefully keep his politics out of future work.

[Michael Dodd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Siege of Terra reaches its halfway point with this 500+ page beast of a book, in which secrets are revealed, big names start to fall, and the stakes – somehow – get even higher. Having taken Lion’s Gate spaceport, the traitor host marches on the fortifications of the Lion’s Gate itself while simultaneously driving at the Eternity Gate spaceport, stretching the loyalist defenders to breaking point. With battles raging on multiple fronts and resources dwindling, Dorn faces impossible questions of compromise and sacrifice, as he searches for a strategy that might tip the balance in his battle of wills and wits with Perturabo.

This is classic Abnett – the master of the multiple-viewpoint war story – with four major conflicts taking place intertwined with smaller, subtler subplots exploring recurring characters and setting up questions or concepts for future development. Think Necropolis, only bigger, more complex and – somehow – more impactful. For all the big fist-pump moments it provides – and there are plenty, some expected and some less so – it also poses intriguing questions of the Imperium’s future and history, made more complex and more tantalising by the reader’s knowledge of what follows the Heresy. It’s a beautifully constructed book, an incredible achievement even for an author as talented as Abnett, and an absolute must-read for any Heresy fan.

Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2020/04/...

[Pavle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Abnett, you are the King.

This will be hard to write without intense spoilers because this installment of Siege of Terra was the most impactful in my life than I could have imagined. The resolution when I finished it was absolutely divine and honestly there is a lot one can learn from it. Through Abaddon and Sanguinius, to Dorn and the Khan, for Mortarion and Magnus. There is so much that I did not know I wanted and longed for in a Horus Heresy novel. It was absolutely exceptional and I truly, truly loved every page of this text. The guardsmen especially have a special place in my heart now, more so than the other books, and finally we are able to see Solar Auxilia being absolute legends. Definitely pick this up for I cannot rave more about it without going into complete fanboy mode over one of the all-time greatest authors.

[J M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that will live in legend, and infamy

[blood for the dice god · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wow, this book was my favourite so far, I found my self not being able to put it down.

[Chris Bowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saturnine isn’t a bad book, but isn’t a great one either. There are some excellent scenes, some interesting philosophy about hope/faith and excellent characterisation & dialogue. With it being a Dan Abnett book, these things are to be expected. However, Dan Abnett here is not only writing for the Horus Heresy, a huge collaborative effort, but writing for an incredibly long series that is nearing completion. What this means is that for Saturnine there are many restrictions on his creative genius, arguably many more than in the first book of the series Horus Rising; in the later, the characters and plot are almost wholly Dan Abnett’s, in the former the characters and plot are strongly influenced by all that has come before.

Saturnine has too many plot threads, too many characters but an oddly simplistic plot. Most perturbatory. It almost feels like a collection of ‘cool’ scenes. Despite all this, it’s certainly one of the better titles in the overall series (not just the Siege of Terra subseries) and worth reading for anyone that has stuck with the Horus Heresy for this long.

HH score (compared to other HH works): ★★★★✩
Overall score (compared to other Dan Abnett works): ★★★✩✩

[Christian Freed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bogs down a little with so much going on. Same old 40k though. A lot of named characters get killed in this one. Makes sense since the war is finally coming to a close. Some of them took me by surprise. The violence amps up and, to be honest, gets a little tiring. Still, this is a worthy edition in the Horus Heresy.

[Kit Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to imagine how the Siege of Terra tops this. Fantastically tense throughout, great and varied fights that convey a true sense of exhaustion from the loyalists, and most importantly: extremely cool lines from Primarchs while they’re kicking ass

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Abnett's best works, without question. On a par with Legion in terms of great HH books. Abnett shows his mastery at fielding a vast panoply of characters, plots and settings, while managing to not let the reader get lost or confused. The book starts at pace and never lets up. Epic action, heartfelt scenes, great writing. Honestly, noone does it better.

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abnett does his own Two Towers-style Horus Heresy siege bringing Garro and Loken back for the final act, as well as more information on John Grammaticus and the origins of the Primarchs. It's a lot of lore mixed in with the battle sequences and it's what Abnett does best, separating the bolter-porn with consequences, character development and the idea of a myth of godhood being spawned before us. I've been waiting for another go between Tarik Torgaddon and Loken since Tarik was forcibly turned (poor, poor Tarik; one of the series' most tragic characters), and Abnett does that with justice and gutso. It's a grand book - one of the largest thus so far - and feels almost like a finale in itself.

[Matt TB · Rating 5 out of 5]

By giving this 5:5 I feel like I should knock the previous Siege books down to 2’s or 3’s... Abnett has blown me away here! Such a complex narrative tackled in a fantastic way, it’s an intense read from start to finish, ended up reading act 3 in a day, simply couldn’t put it down.

[Tepintzin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel weird giving a rarely-awarded five stars to a 40k book, but here we are. "Saturnine" is noteworthy for tying together macro and micro plotlines, with four main stories going on, and keeping them all going forward in an engaging manner.

However, I really enjoyed it because it hit on a number of my favourite themes, namely, the human need for faith, for belief in *something* and where our most sacred stories come from and why these stories remain so vitally important to us, even though we know intellectually that they can't possibly be true.

"Saturnine" drags us through a whole spectrum of emotions, too. I'm not sure what to think of the fact that despite its ups and downs, this is ultimately a march to the gallows for some beloved characters. If you don't know who I'm talking about, I won't spoil it for you even though the ending to this tale has been known for around 30+ years. Since Dan Abnett will be writing the last volume, I now expect that he'll tell the known stories in ways I don't expect.

[Kavinay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes!

1. Abnett is really a cut above most BL writers. He has this knack for capturing the utter ridiculous banality of the Imperium even when the humans are battling the worst evils imaginable.

2. Stuff happens! More is brought to a head (Little Horus) and greater depth is added to the lore (Primarch creation) than the last 30 or so HH books put together. The shame of it is that the entire HH line could have been this good if the main line books followed a similar packed narrative rather than going on interminably about Calth and so on.

3. Everyone's swearing now. Is this new? Did I miss something where BL relaxed on the kid friendly dialogue accompanying genocidal violence? Even Dorn swears now. It's great!

[Peter Grimbeek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Abnett is one of my favourite writers. He does military sf set in a war across worlds between chaos and the imperium, and he does it with larger than life characters that as Joni Mitchell would put it, have grabbability.
I've read all of the Gaunt series, and some of the Horus Heresy series, and at times the latter just seems (in hands of a number of writers) to be unmitigatedly cruel and dark. Not so with Dan, the light creeps in through various cracks in this dark edifice, and in the end, while all is not well, there is a sense of underlying balance. There is even a sense of larger matters than this titanic struggle being in play.
Which is how I like it ...

[Lee Rawnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

[Darlenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing book!! The only thing I didn't like was the John Grammaticus/Erda plot. I think is kind of unnecessary info.

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top tier dark science fiction action. Inevitably, it is near-essential that you've read the majority of the Horus Heresy series, or at least the Siege of Terra books, to have the barest grounding in what is going on in this book. Once over that hurdle, this is one of the finest military science-fiction works I've ever read, with night/day differing 'actions' described in prose perfectly pitched to the style of the action (heroic singular combat, vicious special operations, cavalry combat(!), and siege warfare). Piled high with long-burning story threads from over 15 years-worth of novels, and moments drawn from decades of Games Workshop "fluff", "lore", and culture, it is a sumptuous feast that reminds us that the Warhammer 40,000 universe has grown from the simple shared joy of models and dice-rolling in fantasy settings, to stands on its own feet as a monument to the capacity of unified human creative endeavour to build a brilliant, inspiring, and evocative mythology that, for me for certain, and I'm sure for thousands of others, is a part of our identity as people.

[Mark Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! I love how Dan approached such a mammoth undertaking with a macro and micro perspective, focusing on the grand aspect of things - the incessant battle, the primarchs, the scope of the Siege, the stakes - whilst also focusing on the more human and humane nature of the characters, namely the Imperial Army troopers and their place within this great conflict. There are four battlefronts and each are given their due and linked with one another by employing different writing styles. You care about the characters, the reader is invested as the story progresses. There were times I chuckled, other times I was in awe and cheered on and other times I cried.

Thank you Dan Abnett for writing this book.

[Josh Sellers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Abnett may be the best contributing author to this series. He has a way of telling a story that no only feeds into the world building and grim dark genre, but gives it a sense of meaning and weight through his philosophical conversations had through characters and questions posed to the reader. As always, this story progresses the main plot by following the stories of existing and new characters - showcasing various perspectives and fronts of the war. Some of the new characters introduced were phenomenal. Simply put, Niborran’s character is a fu*king badas*. Thoroughly enjoyed this book and really looking forward to continuing this series and seeking out other novels written by this author within the broader Black Library.

[Heiki Eesmaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a lot of work to even go through Siege of Terra and I truly don't think there's point in skipping books in this last leg of the journey. Even though BL has put their top writers to work here, the prose of Abnett is still so much better than that of others. Plotwise, the loyalists get a bit of a break, lots of Abnett's characters (that I actually remember to my surprise, the dramatis personae is huge). So a great book in this context, but don't take it out of it and try to read just this one.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected, Saturnine is the best of the Siege so far. It has everything I want from a 40k book, and more. Admittedly, some parts dragged, but for the most part Abnett met the challenge of a battlefield the size of Belgium. It's not Know No Fear, but it's close. Amazing.

[Matty · Rating 4 out of 5]

every time my sweet baby boys, Loken and Garro, fight, I worry. BUT NOT TODAY BABY! Loken collecting little horus aximands head was so satisfying. and now he's 3 sword style zoro? hell yeah dude. the Abbadon glazing never ends though. that is disappointing