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The Horus Heresy #47
Old Earth
Reborn in the fires of Nocturne, Vulkan prepares for his final journey. With the choice between vengeance and duty, what will the primarch's destiny be?
Reborn in body and spirit beneath Mount Deathfire, the primarch Vulkan gathers his most trusted sons and prepares for the final part of his journey. The Legions shattered at Isstvan V have stalled the Warmaster’s advance across the galaxy, but fresh cracks are spreading through the alliance between the Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard, along with mysterious rumours of the return of Ferrus Manus. Haunted by a sense of destiny unfulfilled, Vulkan must choose between joining their war of vengeance against the traitors, or following his own barely understood path all the way to the Throneworld itself.
Reborn in body and spirit beneath Mount Deathfire, the primarch Vulkan gathers his most trusted sons and prepares for the final part of his journey. The Legions shattered at Isstvan V have stalled the Warmaster’s advance across the galaxy, but fresh cracks are spreading through the alliance between the Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard, along with mysterious rumours of the return of Ferrus Manus. Haunted by a sense of destiny unfulfilled, Vulkan must choose between joining their war of vengeance against the traitors, or following his own barely understood path all the way to the Throneworld itself.
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First published November 25, 2017
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About the author
Nick Kyme
280 books161 followersNick Kyme (b. 1977) writes mostly for Black Library. His credits include the popular Salamanders series and several audio dramas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
May 15, 2022
Reread for the 2nd time. Original Review to follow (and still stands). Having read this after gleaning far more information about the 40K universe, the events in this story have more resonance with me. The acts of the Iron Hands is better understood factoring in the severe trauma of Manus' death. As far as Vulkan, the final part of his story makes sense when you understand what happens in the Imperial Palace at the time of Horus' coming.
Original Review:
"Old Earth" is set during the Horus Heresy. It is a very interesting novel about a Legion (the Salamanders) and a Primarch (Vulkan) that I was not very familiar with.
Vulkan has been reborn, seemingly with the help of the Eldar seer Eldrad Ulthran. It seems the web of fate has decreed that Vulkan must get to Terra in order to prevent the triumph of Chaos. In the middle of this, we have the Iron Hands legion seeking revenge on the Sons of Horus for the Istvaan massacre. These two stories intertwine and Vulkan is in the middle of both. But no more spoilers.
I found the Salamanders to be the most human of the Astartes. While other Legions treat humans with varying degrees of contempt or disdain, the Salamanders are actually quite genial. I've seen, perhaps, only some Ultramarines with similar attitudes. The Iron Hands are a perfect example of the opposite view of humanity. The story of the conflict between Meduson and the Iron Fathers did not cast the Iron 1oth in the best light. A very interesting addition to the lore of both the Salamanders and the Iron Hands.
A very interesting addition to the Horus Heresy lore and one any 40K fan will enjoy.
Original Review:
"Old Earth" is set during the Horus Heresy. It is a very interesting novel about a Legion (the Salamanders) and a Primarch (Vulkan) that I was not very familiar with.
Vulkan has been reborn, seemingly with the help of the Eldar seer Eldrad Ulthran. It seems the web of fate has decreed that Vulkan must get to Terra in order to prevent the triumph of Chaos. In the middle of this, we have the Iron Hands legion seeking revenge on the Sons of Horus for the Istvaan massacre. These two stories intertwine and Vulkan is in the middle of both. But no more spoilers.
I found the Salamanders to be the most human of the Astartes. While other Legions treat humans with varying degrees of contempt or disdain, the Salamanders are actually quite genial. I've seen, perhaps, only some Ultramarines with similar attitudes. The Iron Hands are a perfect example of the opposite view of humanity. The story of the conflict between Meduson and the Iron Fathers did not cast the Iron 1oth in the best light. A very interesting addition to the lore of both the Salamanders and the Iron Hands.
A very interesting addition to the Horus Heresy lore and one any 40K fan will enjoy.
November 11, 2018
He raised his voice and then his Albian sword. ‘Another victory, another thorn for Horus and his lackeys to consider.’
‘Meduson!’ a solitary cry rang out a moment later.
‘Meduson!’ came the echo of several more voices.
‘Meduson!’ they chanted over and again, the entire chamber erupting in affirmation.
Their saviour kept his sword aloft, and revelled in the glory.
47th Horus Heresy novel is about three quests and the hard struggles to end them: Salamanders' Primarch Vulkan reborn and his trio of sworn Draaksward on the quest of returning to Terra; X Legion Iron Hands' Warleader Shadrak Meduson fighting to keep united his shattered legion in its fight against ruthless Captain Tybalt Marr and the XVI Legion fleet; Farseer Eldrad Ulthran on his quest of redemption against his former allies of the Cabal to save mankind and the rest of the galaxy.
Really loved some part of this book and the Meduson storyline was really tragic and epic, but some other ones like almost ridiculous Vulkan's fight against Aghalbor the Great Unclean One of Nurgle and all the Adeptus Arbites' sub-plot redundant pages could have been just skipped.
But the Lord of Drakes' brotherly hug getting a gruff laugh from Rogal Dorn in the end was just priceless and the Emperor's "final solution" in case of losing this long war throws a really dark shadow on the possible future of old earth in the W40K setting.
‘Meduson!’ a solitary cry rang out a moment later.
‘Meduson!’ came the echo of several more voices.
‘Meduson!’ they chanted over and again, the entire chamber erupting in affirmation.
Their saviour kept his sword aloft, and revelled in the glory.
47th Horus Heresy novel is about three quests and the hard struggles to end them: Salamanders' Primarch Vulkan reborn and his trio of sworn Draaksward on the quest of returning to Terra; X Legion Iron Hands' Warleader Shadrak Meduson fighting to keep united his shattered legion in its fight against ruthless Captain Tybalt Marr and the XVI Legion fleet; Farseer Eldrad Ulthran on his quest of redemption against his former allies of the Cabal to save mankind and the rest of the galaxy.
Really loved some part of this book and the Meduson storyline was really tragic and epic, but some other ones like almost ridiculous Vulkan's fight against Aghalbor the Great Unclean One of Nurgle and all the Adeptus Arbites' sub-plot redundant pages could have been just skipped.
But the Lord of Drakes' brotherly hug getting a gruff laugh from Rogal Dorn in the end was just priceless and the Emperor's "final solution" in case of losing this long war throws a really dark shadow on the possible future of old earth in the W40K setting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2019
This book left me so frustrated.
Firstly, the book is used to tie up some loose ends. It ties up 2 major strands of the Horus Heresy, but neither of them justified there own novel and they didn't really come across well in this book at all. It was a bit like in the penultimate season of Game of Thrones where they have to move events along rapidly (usually killing a bunch of characters off) to get the story on track. Also, like The Phantom Menace, albeit the conclusion of a trilogy here rather than the start of a trilogy, this book simply does not work on it's own. None of the plots have any element of independence; compare with Path of Heaven which is a continuation and a self-contained story.
Secondly, the A-plot is actually the B-plot. The B-plot (which really should be the A-plot) ends too early and is dealt with in a way that is completely dissatisfying (not necessarily the event, but the way it is written). The B-plot also have awful characters. It has two distinct characters which are developed so unevenly it hurts and it has an extended cast of characters that are entirely interchangeable and forgettable. The A-plot lacks meat - very little happens until then end of the book. The C-plot just feels tacked on and is just a cleaning up exercise.
Thirdly, the writing is frustrating. As I said earlier, I actually really enjoyed the last few chapters, but prior to that I felt that there was little drama or suspense. The chapters didn't whet my appetite for the next chapter. There was too much bolter porn which was entirely pedestrian. The characters were boring and uneven. The author used 'occlude' too much in the first half.
Under the surface there was a hint at some really cool things that just didn't materialise properly e.g. betrayal; repeating the sins of the father; foreshadowing of 40k; the epic conclusion of an arc with non-primarch characters; and the hint at a new sub-plot.
The last couple of chapters were really good in terms of character, plot and intrigue. The writing was not half bad either. I wanted to keep reading. This kept it from 1 star.
Firstly, the book is used to tie up some loose ends. It ties up 2 major strands of the Horus Heresy, but neither of them justified there own novel and they didn't really come across well in this book at all. It was a bit like in the penultimate season of Game of Thrones where they have to move events along rapidly (usually killing a bunch of characters off) to get the story on track. Also, like The Phantom Menace, albeit the conclusion of a trilogy here rather than the start of a trilogy, this book simply does not work on it's own. None of the plots have any element of independence; compare with Path of Heaven which is a continuation and a self-contained story.
Secondly, the A-plot is actually the B-plot. The B-plot (which really should be the A-plot) ends too early and is dealt with in a way that is completely dissatisfying (not necessarily the event, but the way it is written). The B-plot also have awful characters. It has two distinct characters which are developed so unevenly it hurts and it has an extended cast of characters that are entirely interchangeable and forgettable. The A-plot lacks meat - very little happens until then end of the book. The C-plot just feels tacked on and is just a cleaning up exercise.
Thirdly, the writing is frustrating. As I said earlier, I actually really enjoyed the last few chapters, but prior to that I felt that there was little drama or suspense. The chapters didn't whet my appetite for the next chapter. There was too much bolter porn which was entirely pedestrian. The characters were boring and uneven. The author used 'occlude' too much in the first half.
Under the surface there was a hint at some really cool things that just didn't materialise properly e.g. betrayal; repeating the sins of the father; foreshadowing of 40k; the epic conclusion of an arc with non-primarch characters; and the hint at a new sub-plot.
The last couple of chapters were really good in terms of character, plot and intrigue. The writing was not half bad either. I wanted to keep reading. This kept it from 1 star.
August 27, 2025
Some of the deaths in this were unexpected, shocking and very much heartbreaking. Can’t be this deep in a series and not be emotionally invested but there were parts that took me so much by surprise I had to reread sentences and shit because I was like wha…?!?!?!? After not caring much at first about the Salamanders I think this Vulkan arc has a spot now among my favorites. Great book all around with cool action and a lot going on and I guess getting this close to the end the series I better get used to the fact that more characters may die. On to the next.
December 9, 2017
Hello darkness, my old friend.
I had to read Old Earth. I had to read Old Earth because there's no way in hell Old Earth can be as bad as Deathfire and Vulkan Lives.
Oh Andrew. Oh, poor Andrew.
Old Earth is dross. Let's take it as read that this is badly written shite full of paper-thin characters, because it's a bloody Salamanders HH book.
This one takes the cake though, because even Nick Kyme knew he didn't have enough to write a book about the Salamanders. No, we have half a book about the Iron Hands smooshed into a third of a book about Vulkan, with a short story about Eldrad Ulthuan slapped across the joins.
Of the three, the Iron Hands tale is the worst. It goes nowhere. It accomplishes nothing. It merely takes characters Kyme slapped onto the table two books ago, picks them up, and drops them back in the box.
Fair play though. I'm amazed the guy's been paid to write a chapter when one demi-god fights his brother, who turns out to be an arm on a stick operated by a rudimentary pulley system.
It's over now. It's all over. I've suffered through this trilogy of twattery so you don't need to.
Avoid.
I had to read Old Earth. I had to read Old Earth because there's no way in hell Old Earth can be as bad as Deathfire and Vulkan Lives.
Oh Andrew. Oh, poor Andrew.
Old Earth is dross. Let's take it as read that this is badly written shite full of paper-thin characters, because it's a bloody Salamanders HH book.
This one takes the cake though, because even Nick Kyme knew he didn't have enough to write a book about the Salamanders. No, we have half a book about the Iron Hands smooshed into a third of a book about Vulkan, with a short story about Eldrad Ulthuan slapped across the joins.
Of the three, the Iron Hands tale is the worst. It goes nowhere. It accomplishes nothing. It merely takes characters Kyme slapped onto the table two books ago, picks them up, and drops them back in the box.
Fair play though. I'm amazed the guy's been paid to write a chapter when one demi-god fights his brother, who turns out to be an arm on a stick operated by a rudimentary pulley system.
It's over now. It's all over. I've suffered through this trilogy of twattery so you don't need to.
Avoid.
November 26, 2017
Nick Kyme’s third full-length Horus Heresy novel, Old Earth is book 47 (!) in the series, and the third and final book in the Salamanders arc that began with Vulkan Lives. The main thrust of the novel is the journey from Nocturne to Terra made by the reborn Vulkan, accompanied by just three Salamanders, his Draaksward. Meanwhile Shadrak Meduson tries to hold his Shattered Legions together in the fight against the Sons of Horus, while Eldrad Ulthran pulls strings (as usual) working towards his own hidden goals.
Perhaps because of properly seeing Vulkan in action, or maybe as a result of the tight plotting necessary to weave in the multiple storylines, this feels like the leanest and most enjoyable of the three Salamanders novels. It might not be the book that everyone expects, especially with so much of it given over to the Shattered Legions, but overall it’s a really satisfying conclusion to this part of the series.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/11/...
Perhaps because of properly seeing Vulkan in action, or maybe as a result of the tight plotting necessary to weave in the multiple storylines, this feels like the leanest and most enjoyable of the three Salamanders novels. It might not be the book that everyone expects, especially with so much of it given over to the Shattered Legions, but overall it’s a really satisfying conclusion to this part of the series.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/11/...
May 13, 2024
May 2024 Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order Omnibus XIX Through the Neath (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy series and extras.
I have to be honest that after loathing Deathfire and not caring about Sons of the Forge, or nearly any of Kyme's Salamanders stories, I was absolutely dreading this coming so soon. Like, I genuinely felt daunted and was not feeling good going in, but, as with every new book, I try to go in fresh and with as little expectation either way as possible...
And, I genuinely thoroughly enjoyed this! Nick Kyme lives!
Impressively knotting together many dangling thread lines, as well as building the complexity of the wider picture with a game changing revelation that I won't be spoiling in this review, Old Earth follows directly on from Deathfire with Vulkan rising, again, from Numeon's sacrifice and setting off on a wild journey across time and space with just a few of his closest sons, his Draaksward or Sword Dragons, the Nocturnean equivalent to the Luna Wolves' Mournival that tangles with many other along the way. We follow up with Shadrak Meduson and the shattered Iron X and their ongoing war with Tybalt Marr and themselves, Barthusa Narek, the truly unique Bearer of the Word finds himself embroiled in grand xenos schemes, and see just how entwined the past, the present, and everyone's Fate's are...
This book is a whole lot and I had a really good time!
Is this book kinda messy and all over the place and kinda abrupt at times? Absolutely. But in many ways it feels like a far more coherent novel than The Crimson King, and it is infinitely better than the straightforward, but painfully lacking any kind of colour of life, Deathfire.
I genuinely think Kyme does a good job of juggling the many disparate threads and manages to tell a coherent and engaging story that has enough of its own interest and drive to balance the fact that it seems they were given a whole bunch of loose ends to tie up in one book. Some lines are handled better than others and some moments are strange and almost opaque, while others are, as I said kinda abrupt and brutal, but as a novel with a purpose, clear themes, and an impetus to move things forward, balancing all of this as best it can, I think it does an admirable job!
I was engaged. I was invested. I even felt things and positively exclaimed for the first time in a while.
I think this is a book that is all about struggling with fate, identity, and that your past doesn't have to define your present or the future...but if you were specifically crafted for a purpose, it might. Narek continues to be the Traitor-Loyalist enigma on his own path with another who is also challenging the orthodox and challenging what has previously been seen as ordained. Meduson is trying to hold the Iron Hands together as they fall apart under the friction that has been building of Medusan very Meduson/ Terran and the Iron Farhers versus the Warleader situation. Things really take a coupe of weird and brutal turns there, which I could totally understand people thinking needed a little more time and focus, but, as confusing as some parts were, it worked for me and I definitely felt some serious gut punches along the way. The conflict between Meduson snd Marr has truly consumed them as it has gone on. Vulkan is going through a constant series of rebirths up to this point and has had to struggle with losing himself, Ferrus, his torture at the hands of the Night Haunter in a labyrinth of Perturabo's design. He's also wrestling with his innate compulsion to create weapons with the propensity to wreak havoc, which this sees the line started with Artefacts through really well.
Throughout all of that, everything is coming apart in this struggle for survival and the future in this time of collapse and upheaval.
I know we've had bits and bobs of the Eldar and the secret organisation, but it was fascinating to see more of them really get to see the unsteady alliance of the Craftworld and their Commorraghan cousins. It felt like there was a more familiar feel to the various Aeldari as their seemingly infallible insight is called into question and they seem less mystical and omniscient, which feels like an appropriate transition to the situation in Warhammer 40,000.
I don't really know what else to say.
I can definitely see how there are some things in here that might have angered people who were really invested in certain storylines and I think that's justified. Some of this could have done with some more space and time, but I've really been struggling with how spear out so much of Kyme's Salamanders, Iron Hands, and Shattered Legions stuff has been that having some of those squares circled and having to pull a narrative rabbit out of the hat of all these thread seems to have really lit a fire in Kyme's writing that, personally, I've found to be seriously missing, and I couldn't ask for more than that at this point.
I'm under no delusions that this is a brilliant book and it's not high on my to-read again anytime soon, not is it truly essential to the core storyline, outside of a couple of key moments that absolutely are, but I had a really good time and feel like this is the prose, characters, and energy I remember from the Kyme works I fondly remember and that are sadly missing from those I don't. As far as I'm concerned, I can put Deathfire and my hate for that book to bed, and say Nick Kyme lives!
Through the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project and my own additions, I have currently read 42 Horus Heresy novels (inc. 1 repeat and 4 anthologies), 23 novellas (inc. 2 repeats), 126 short stories/ audio dramas (inc. 10+ repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels, 4 Primarchs short stories/ audio dramas, 3 Characters novels, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.
I couldn't be more appreciative of the phenomenal work of the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project, which has made this ridiculous endeavour all the better and has inspired me to create and collate a collection of Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 documents and checklists (http://tiny.cc/im00yz). There are now too many items to list here, but there is a contents and explainer document here (http://tiny.cc/nj00yz).
I have to be honest that after loathing Deathfire and not caring about Sons of the Forge, or nearly any of Kyme's Salamanders stories, I was absolutely dreading this coming so soon. Like, I genuinely felt daunted and was not feeling good going in, but, as with every new book, I try to go in fresh and with as little expectation either way as possible...
And, I genuinely thoroughly enjoyed this! Nick Kyme lives!
Impressively knotting together many dangling thread lines, as well as building the complexity of the wider picture with a game changing revelation that I won't be spoiling in this review, Old Earth follows directly on from Deathfire with Vulkan rising, again, from Numeon's sacrifice and setting off on a wild journey across time and space with just a few of his closest sons, his Draaksward or Sword Dragons, the Nocturnean equivalent to the Luna Wolves' Mournival that tangles with many other along the way. We follow up with Shadrak Meduson and the shattered Iron X and their ongoing war with Tybalt Marr and themselves, Barthusa Narek, the truly unique Bearer of the Word finds himself embroiled in grand xenos schemes, and see just how entwined the past, the present, and everyone's Fate's are...
This book is a whole lot and I had a really good time!
Is this book kinda messy and all over the place and kinda abrupt at times? Absolutely. But in many ways it feels like a far more coherent novel than The Crimson King, and it is infinitely better than the straightforward, but painfully lacking any kind of colour of life, Deathfire.
I genuinely think Kyme does a good job of juggling the many disparate threads and manages to tell a coherent and engaging story that has enough of its own interest and drive to balance the fact that it seems they were given a whole bunch of loose ends to tie up in one book. Some lines are handled better than others and some moments are strange and almost opaque, while others are, as I said kinda abrupt and brutal, but as a novel with a purpose, clear themes, and an impetus to move things forward, balancing all of this as best it can, I think it does an admirable job!
I was engaged. I was invested. I even felt things and positively exclaimed for the first time in a while.
I think this is a book that is all about struggling with fate, identity, and that your past doesn't have to define your present or the future...but if you were specifically crafted for a purpose, it might. Narek continues to be the Traitor-Loyalist enigma on his own path with another who is also challenging the orthodox and challenging what has previously been seen as ordained. Meduson is trying to hold the Iron Hands together as they fall apart under the friction that has been building of Medusan very Meduson/ Terran and the Iron Farhers versus the Warleader situation. Things really take a coupe of weird and brutal turns there, which I could totally understand people thinking needed a little more time and focus, but, as confusing as some parts were, it worked for me and I definitely felt some serious gut punches along the way. The conflict between Meduson snd Marr has truly consumed them as it has gone on. Vulkan is going through a constant series of rebirths up to this point and has had to struggle with losing himself, Ferrus, his torture at the hands of the Night Haunter in a labyrinth of Perturabo's design. He's also wrestling with his innate compulsion to create weapons with the propensity to wreak havoc, which this sees the line started with Artefacts through really well.
Throughout all of that, everything is coming apart in this struggle for survival and the future in this time of collapse and upheaval.
I know we've had bits and bobs of the Eldar and the secret organisation, but it was fascinating to see more of them really get to see the unsteady alliance of the Craftworld and their Commorraghan cousins. It felt like there was a more familiar feel to the various Aeldari as their seemingly infallible insight is called into question and they seem less mystical and omniscient, which feels like an appropriate transition to the situation in Warhammer 40,000.
I don't really know what else to say.
I can definitely see how there are some things in here that might have angered people who were really invested in certain storylines and I think that's justified. Some of this could have done with some more space and time, but I've really been struggling with how spear out so much of Kyme's Salamanders, Iron Hands, and Shattered Legions stuff has been that having some of those squares circled and having to pull a narrative rabbit out of the hat of all these thread seems to have really lit a fire in Kyme's writing that, personally, I've found to be seriously missing, and I couldn't ask for more than that at this point.
I'm under no delusions that this is a brilliant book and it's not high on my to-read again anytime soon, not is it truly essential to the core storyline, outside of a couple of key moments that absolutely are, but I had a really good time and feel like this is the prose, characters, and energy I remember from the Kyme works I fondly remember and that are sadly missing from those I don't. As far as I'm concerned, I can put Deathfire and my hate for that book to bed, and say Nick Kyme lives!
Through the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project and my own additions, I have currently read 42 Horus Heresy novels (inc. 1 repeat and 4 anthologies), 23 novellas (inc. 2 repeats), 126 short stories/ audio dramas (inc. 10+ repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels, 4 Primarchs short stories/ audio dramas, 3 Characters novels, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.
I couldn't be more appreciative of the phenomenal work of the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project, which has made this ridiculous endeavour all the better and has inspired me to create and collate a collection of Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 documents and checklists (http://tiny.cc/im00yz). There are now too many items to list here, but there is a contents and explainer document here (http://tiny.cc/nj00yz).
August 17, 2022
Good Book split into 2 parts, the fate of Shadrak Medusan and path to Terra for Vulcan.
December 22, 2017
Well, it's the best of the Horus Heresy Salamanders novels, for what it's worth. Yes, that is as backhanded a compliment as it is meant to sound.
For those not in the know, my views of the prior Salamanders works of this era have been dim, to say the least. Vulkan Lives was the literary equivalent of having my skin flayed, while Deathfire wanted to make me facepalm every other chapter. While they certainly were not the worst things ever reviewed on this website - even for Warhammer 40,000 - there's still no denying that they were not good. So, to its credit, Old Earth seems to be one last stab to have the trilogy go out on a high note. A few old criticisms seem to have been directly addressed here, both in terms of the storytelling and style of prose. It doesn't quite save the book, unfortunately, but it makes it the leanest and easiest to read of the lot.
Synopsis
Vulkan lives. A word which was once a cry of hope is now spoken often in earnest, and the giant of Nocturne once more walks the earth. Yet, he is troubled by certain matters. Images of prophecy and possible futures hound his every waking moment, and the mysterious forces which encouraged his return still seem to have another use for him. As his sons seek to reunite with their father, Vulkan must face down a threat from ages past, one he seemingly defeated long before the Emperor's arrival. His path will bring him before both the shattered remnants of the Isstvan survivors and the Golden Throne itself before his journey is completed. Yet, what awaits him at the end of his time throws much of what he believed true of his life into question...
The Good
Surprisingly a substantial part of Old Earth proves to be genuinely good from the outset. Unlike its previous two releases, the "teaser" offers elements few other stories can and concepts which other authors have largely ignored. While most have remained focused primarily upon humanity's civil war, the quick introduction of the Craftworld Eldar into this tale - including Eldrad himself - grabs the reader's attention. This is further enforced when Vulkan awakes, only to find himself almost as confused as the reader, facing down what seems to be the living embodiment of Mount Deathfire itself, as his sons begin their hunt for him.
The opening pages are quick, satisfying, and establishes many running themes with little issue. Furthermore, it avoids the stumbling point of using faith and mystery to simply excuse the absolute single most insane things the writer can think of, or having the heroes all but pulling victories quite literally out of their rears. Here, the vagueness is used to establish atmosphere and some of the issues in following prophecy. It sets the tone, builds atmosphere, and establishes a genuinely brilliant form of bluff which relies upon the reader overlooking certain predictions in favour of others. Rather than coming completely out of nowhere to the point of being nonsensical, the thematic qualities and ideas are established very early on.
Vulkan and the Salamanders also fare much better this time in comparison to previous outings. While Vulkan himself is still sadly surprisingly unremarkably and lacks the demigod aspects the Primarchs are supposedly famed for in certain areas, they do shine through in others. Moments of personal history, half-remembered discussions and how he is viewed among the legions assists in this regard. While he's less the unstoppable juggernaut or elite general they are sometimes depicted as there is an undeniable Herculean quality to his depiction.
Many minor descriptive elements retain a more poetic quality this time around. While fleeting and lacking focused detail, many are executed so brilliantly that your mind finishes the rest. Building up where they left off or forming an almost exact visual of how the scene plays out despite how seemingly sparse it is on the page itself. It's a rare quality to get right, and a few of the repetitive or awkwardly phrased moments have been thankfully worked out of the book, meaning there are very few moments which can take you of its atmosphere. In fact, it's one of the few books where, in key scenes, there is a genuine cinematic quality to how it phrases and presents dramatic scenes.
The balance between various storylines is very clear cut and much more streamlined this time. While each book in the trilogy dabbled with the subject of various ongoing storylines, they were often either muddled by inconsistencies or suffered from extremely abrupt ends. Many even suffered from a notable issue where, at times, you questioned why they were even present rather than ending partway through the tale. This isn't the case here. The two major stories of the book focusing upon Vulkan and Shadrak Meduson are both fairly well told and compliment one another extremely well. You can see a few comparisons between the two roles, with each following a path with the remnants of their legion and seeking to unite those left. Yet, while Vulkan's story is one of myth, hidden duties and intentions, Meduson's is one of political drama, intrigue and attempting to find a purpose again.
Kyme mentions in the afterward that the Meduson plot was once considered for its own book and it's clear why that might have been the case. While the character's own arc has been notably uneven throughout the series, there was some noted substance to his efforts. He was an interesting contrast to his legion due to his Terran birth, and with the Iron Hands having fragmented into guerrilla fighting units, attempting to reunite them was a subject worth exploring. With so many clashing personalities, ideas and figures, having one person trying to turn them back into a full legion was a tale worth telling, and what we get here is definitely well told. Up to one moment, but we will get to that.
The fight scenes featured in Old Earth are odd in a few ways. They lack the more bombastic nature of other major tales or even the rapid-fire descriptive punches of two armies clashing in a constant flow of war. Instead, they treat many events almost as duels no matter their scale. You can compare Vulkan engaging a certain Dark Eldar character with Meduson leading a fleet of warships into battle. There's a consistency in how easily the narrative flows through certain actions, easily expressing large-scale or complex maneuvers through a few key sentences. While this was previously a quite infuriating factor in past works, it genuinely benefits the story here.
In fact, Old Earth was going so well that it looked as if it might redeem the entire trilogy...
The Bad
... Right up until a "reveal" happens with the Iron Hands. You can see the exact point where a flawed if solid concept and a few balanced ideas wobbled, then fell completely to bits. While it would be wrong to reveal the exact moment where everything went wrong, it's one of those moments which is so over the top and exaggerated you cannot take it seriously. The sort of bit which even a superhero comic embracing its intentional zaniness would never attempt to play for drama or even effectiveness, because it's so downright stupid. Worse still, it heralds the return of a few key problems which has plagued both the Horus Heresy and some of Kyme's works alike: Ending the story, and violently screwing over the Iron Hands with an industrial drill.
The Heresy itself was supposed to be a beginning. It was a tragedy where a bright hope was abruptly snuffed out and things started to go horribly wrong. While many traitors would be pushed somewhat down their path toward corruption, it was only the beginning of a ten thousand year journey into becoming what is featured in the game today. The same is equally true of many loyal legions, where their personalities, cultures or even dominating ideals changed over time. To give one of the better examples, you could sit down and compare the Space Wolves of M31 and M41 and find a few notable differences. They retain a number of broad key characteristics, but you can still see distinct alterations which have developed over time. Unfortunately, they are often the exception.
More than a few authors keep treating the Heresy books as the entirety of their turn rather than the beginning. Fulgrim was especially guilty of this, where the Emperor's Children were effectively converted into their modern-day selves by the end. Equally, the Sons of Horus are all too often a mere step away from being the classic Black Legion, and the Raven Guard works effectively set them up for their current selves by that series' end. The result is that you have a radical series of changes over three years, but for it to then suddenly stop and nothing to change for the next 9,997 years.
Just when Old Earth seems to be avoiding this, it slams this home with full force, to the point where the entire legion might as well have had its switch flipped from good to evil in the space of a page. By the time the book closes out, they have suddenly become exaggerated caricatures of themselves, so over the top that they would be laughed off of a Flash Gordon set. Why? Because someone slapped together a badly scrawled "redemption" arc in Codex: Clan Raukaan, and the reader needs to be reminded that the legion NEVER did anything right until that book's "hero" came along.
While this might sound bitter over the actual fall itself, the tragedy of it would have been fine. The legion turning in upon itself, even how Meduson's story ends, could have been executed brilliantly thanks to infighting or the need to focus upon the greater good. The problem is, the book hammers home how cartoonishly evil the Iron Fathers have become within the space of months following their primarch's death that it's impossible to believe. It's one of these moments where the writer needed to get from A to B, but decided to just burn his way through everything in its path, sense or good storytelling be damned. Imagine if, for a moment, A Thousand Sons went from Ahriman being his usual self to a cackling daemon summoning Tzeentch worshipper in the space of a chapter. Then multiply it for an entire legion and you might start to understand just how badly this is botched here.
The moment this comes into play, similar effects begin to show throughout the rest of the book. While they are not nearly so egregious, you can see the old habits falling back into place. Vulkan's story is suddenly catapulted forwards in a few specific scenes purely because the book requires it, in moments which arise from nowhere. The story's later phases do not so much as shift and evolve as they do lurch about. When the story needs to speed things along, you can see exactly where stages were skipped in order to keep the tale moving and bring things to a close. This is sadly very obvious in the final few pages where Vulkan meets the Emperor. After so many minor scenes and a slow-burning start, the real drama of the finale was notably blitzed through at high speed, with the final revelation talk barely lasting a few lines if that.
Another definite problem which holds back Old Earth is how it repeatedly relies upon convenience to have many things line up together. While there's something to be said for simply accepting narrative requirements or breaks in reality for drama, you can only take things so far before the reader starts to question them. The use of the Webway to overcome more than a few obstacles in this regard - or how the distance between the Salamanders and a large number of pursuers seems to be nebulously defined to the point where they could be any distance apart - hurts the book at its worst moments. This is to say nothing of how a few key scenes also fall back on bad habits. Notably how one character seems to only appear because he was in the rest of the series, and a few other major figures are regulated to merely cameo roles after a strong start.
The story suffers from being incapable of reincorporating or using certain key events as needed as well. You shouldn't be too surprised when something brand new emerges a few times over, or a character undergoes a full personality transplant at at least one point, to excuse a plot twist. Because of these, the flaws might be fewer and less painful than previous parts, but it's hard not to just question why they were not dealt with in a first draft.
The Verdict
This was genuinely depressing to read. Not because it failed, but because for so long this looked as if it might finally be a success, and I would be given nicer things to say about Nick Kyme again. Despite all that has been said about this book and its preceding tales, Kyme is still a talented author. His works with the Ultramarines - or even moments where they show up in his other works - range from entertaining to downright brilliant. When he wants to write horror, specifically of the exaggerated Hammer or surrealist variety, he's one of the three authors I would personally trust to do it right in this setting. Furthermore, he's also one of the best writers for audio dramas. It's simply that, with this mini-series within the larger Heresy saga, he seems to stick to elements he's not good at or simply bad ideas.
Old Earth starts well, keeps going relatively decently, and then starts to gradually fall apart as it goes along. There are still good moments which emerge throughout the latter two-thirds of the book, from moments of descriptive genius to a few genuinely great moments of drama. The issue is that you're left trying to force your way through contrivances, abrupt twists and moments which break any and all suspension of disbelief. If you were one of those who genuinely enjoyed Deathfire and didn't facepalm at every dramatic moment, you will likely enjoy it. If not, just buy something else from this range and wait until the Siege of Terra starts.
For those not in the know, my views of the prior Salamanders works of this era have been dim, to say the least. Vulkan Lives was the literary equivalent of having my skin flayed, while Deathfire wanted to make me facepalm every other chapter. While they certainly were not the worst things ever reviewed on this website - even for Warhammer 40,000 - there's still no denying that they were not good. So, to its credit, Old Earth seems to be one last stab to have the trilogy go out on a high note. A few old criticisms seem to have been directly addressed here, both in terms of the storytelling and style of prose. It doesn't quite save the book, unfortunately, but it makes it the leanest and easiest to read of the lot.
Synopsis
Vulkan lives. A word which was once a cry of hope is now spoken often in earnest, and the giant of Nocturne once more walks the earth. Yet, he is troubled by certain matters. Images of prophecy and possible futures hound his every waking moment, and the mysterious forces which encouraged his return still seem to have another use for him. As his sons seek to reunite with their father, Vulkan must face down a threat from ages past, one he seemingly defeated long before the Emperor's arrival. His path will bring him before both the shattered remnants of the Isstvan survivors and the Golden Throne itself before his journey is completed. Yet, what awaits him at the end of his time throws much of what he believed true of his life into question...
The Good
Surprisingly a substantial part of Old Earth proves to be genuinely good from the outset. Unlike its previous two releases, the "teaser" offers elements few other stories can and concepts which other authors have largely ignored. While most have remained focused primarily upon humanity's civil war, the quick introduction of the Craftworld Eldar into this tale - including Eldrad himself - grabs the reader's attention. This is further enforced when Vulkan awakes, only to find himself almost as confused as the reader, facing down what seems to be the living embodiment of Mount Deathfire itself, as his sons begin their hunt for him.
The opening pages are quick, satisfying, and establishes many running themes with little issue. Furthermore, it avoids the stumbling point of using faith and mystery to simply excuse the absolute single most insane things the writer can think of, or having the heroes all but pulling victories quite literally out of their rears. Here, the vagueness is used to establish atmosphere and some of the issues in following prophecy. It sets the tone, builds atmosphere, and establishes a genuinely brilliant form of bluff which relies upon the reader overlooking certain predictions in favour of others. Rather than coming completely out of nowhere to the point of being nonsensical, the thematic qualities and ideas are established very early on.
Vulkan and the Salamanders also fare much better this time in comparison to previous outings. While Vulkan himself is still sadly surprisingly unremarkably and lacks the demigod aspects the Primarchs are supposedly famed for in certain areas, they do shine through in others. Moments of personal history, half-remembered discussions and how he is viewed among the legions assists in this regard. While he's less the unstoppable juggernaut or elite general they are sometimes depicted as there is an undeniable Herculean quality to his depiction.
Many minor descriptive elements retain a more poetic quality this time around. While fleeting and lacking focused detail, many are executed so brilliantly that your mind finishes the rest. Building up where they left off or forming an almost exact visual of how the scene plays out despite how seemingly sparse it is on the page itself. It's a rare quality to get right, and a few of the repetitive or awkwardly phrased moments have been thankfully worked out of the book, meaning there are very few moments which can take you of its atmosphere. In fact, it's one of the few books where, in key scenes, there is a genuine cinematic quality to how it phrases and presents dramatic scenes.
The balance between various storylines is very clear cut and much more streamlined this time. While each book in the trilogy dabbled with the subject of various ongoing storylines, they were often either muddled by inconsistencies or suffered from extremely abrupt ends. Many even suffered from a notable issue where, at times, you questioned why they were even present rather than ending partway through the tale. This isn't the case here. The two major stories of the book focusing upon Vulkan and Shadrak Meduson are both fairly well told and compliment one another extremely well. You can see a few comparisons between the two roles, with each following a path with the remnants of their legion and seeking to unite those left. Yet, while Vulkan's story is one of myth, hidden duties and intentions, Meduson's is one of political drama, intrigue and attempting to find a purpose again.
Kyme mentions in the afterward that the Meduson plot was once considered for its own book and it's clear why that might have been the case. While the character's own arc has been notably uneven throughout the series, there was some noted substance to his efforts. He was an interesting contrast to his legion due to his Terran birth, and with the Iron Hands having fragmented into guerrilla fighting units, attempting to reunite them was a subject worth exploring. With so many clashing personalities, ideas and figures, having one person trying to turn them back into a full legion was a tale worth telling, and what we get here is definitely well told. Up to one moment, but we will get to that.
The fight scenes featured in Old Earth are odd in a few ways. They lack the more bombastic nature of other major tales or even the rapid-fire descriptive punches of two armies clashing in a constant flow of war. Instead, they treat many events almost as duels no matter their scale. You can compare Vulkan engaging a certain Dark Eldar character with Meduson leading a fleet of warships into battle. There's a consistency in how easily the narrative flows through certain actions, easily expressing large-scale or complex maneuvers through a few key sentences. While this was previously a quite infuriating factor in past works, it genuinely benefits the story here.
In fact, Old Earth was going so well that it looked as if it might redeem the entire trilogy...
The Bad
... Right up until a "reveal" happens with the Iron Hands. You can see the exact point where a flawed if solid concept and a few balanced ideas wobbled, then fell completely to bits. While it would be wrong to reveal the exact moment where everything went wrong, it's one of those moments which is so over the top and exaggerated you cannot take it seriously. The sort of bit which even a superhero comic embracing its intentional zaniness would never attempt to play for drama or even effectiveness, because it's so downright stupid. Worse still, it heralds the return of a few key problems which has plagued both the Horus Heresy and some of Kyme's works alike: Ending the story, and violently screwing over the Iron Hands with an industrial drill.
The Heresy itself was supposed to be a beginning. It was a tragedy where a bright hope was abruptly snuffed out and things started to go horribly wrong. While many traitors would be pushed somewhat down their path toward corruption, it was only the beginning of a ten thousand year journey into becoming what is featured in the game today. The same is equally true of many loyal legions, where their personalities, cultures or even dominating ideals changed over time. To give one of the better examples, you could sit down and compare the Space Wolves of M31 and M41 and find a few notable differences. They retain a number of broad key characteristics, but you can still see distinct alterations which have developed over time. Unfortunately, they are often the exception.
More than a few authors keep treating the Heresy books as the entirety of their turn rather than the beginning. Fulgrim was especially guilty of this, where the Emperor's Children were effectively converted into their modern-day selves by the end. Equally, the Sons of Horus are all too often a mere step away from being the classic Black Legion, and the Raven Guard works effectively set them up for their current selves by that series' end. The result is that you have a radical series of changes over three years, but for it to then suddenly stop and nothing to change for the next 9,997 years.
Just when Old Earth seems to be avoiding this, it slams this home with full force, to the point where the entire legion might as well have had its switch flipped from good to evil in the space of a page. By the time the book closes out, they have suddenly become exaggerated caricatures of themselves, so over the top that they would be laughed off of a Flash Gordon set. Why? Because someone slapped together a badly scrawled "redemption" arc in Codex: Clan Raukaan, and the reader needs to be reminded that the legion NEVER did anything right until that book's "hero" came along.
While this might sound bitter over the actual fall itself, the tragedy of it would have been fine. The legion turning in upon itself, even how Meduson's story ends, could have been executed brilliantly thanks to infighting or the need to focus upon the greater good. The problem is, the book hammers home how cartoonishly evil the Iron Fathers have become within the space of months following their primarch's death that it's impossible to believe. It's one of these moments where the writer needed to get from A to B, but decided to just burn his way through everything in its path, sense or good storytelling be damned. Imagine if, for a moment, A Thousand Sons went from Ahriman being his usual self to a cackling daemon summoning Tzeentch worshipper in the space of a chapter. Then multiply it for an entire legion and you might start to understand just how badly this is botched here.
The moment this comes into play, similar effects begin to show throughout the rest of the book. While they are not nearly so egregious, you can see the old habits falling back into place. Vulkan's story is suddenly catapulted forwards in a few specific scenes purely because the book requires it, in moments which arise from nowhere. The story's later phases do not so much as shift and evolve as they do lurch about. When the story needs to speed things along, you can see exactly where stages were skipped in order to keep the tale moving and bring things to a close. This is sadly very obvious in the final few pages where Vulkan meets the Emperor. After so many minor scenes and a slow-burning start, the real drama of the finale was notably blitzed through at high speed, with the final revelation talk barely lasting a few lines if that.
Another definite problem which holds back Old Earth is how it repeatedly relies upon convenience to have many things line up together. While there's something to be said for simply accepting narrative requirements or breaks in reality for drama, you can only take things so far before the reader starts to question them. The use of the Webway to overcome more than a few obstacles in this regard - or how the distance between the Salamanders and a large number of pursuers seems to be nebulously defined to the point where they could be any distance apart - hurts the book at its worst moments. This is to say nothing of how a few key scenes also fall back on bad habits. Notably how one character seems to only appear because he was in the rest of the series, and a few other major figures are regulated to merely cameo roles after a strong start.
The story suffers from being incapable of reincorporating or using certain key events as needed as well. You shouldn't be too surprised when something brand new emerges a few times over, or a character undergoes a full personality transplant at at least one point, to excuse a plot twist. Because of these, the flaws might be fewer and less painful than previous parts, but it's hard not to just question why they were not dealt with in a first draft.
The Verdict
This was genuinely depressing to read. Not because it failed, but because for so long this looked as if it might finally be a success, and I would be given nicer things to say about Nick Kyme again. Despite all that has been said about this book and its preceding tales, Kyme is still a talented author. His works with the Ultramarines - or even moments where they show up in his other works - range from entertaining to downright brilliant. When he wants to write horror, specifically of the exaggerated Hammer or surrealist variety, he's one of the three authors I would personally trust to do it right in this setting. Furthermore, he's also one of the best writers for audio dramas. It's simply that, with this mini-series within the larger Heresy saga, he seems to stick to elements he's not good at or simply bad ideas.
Old Earth starts well, keeps going relatively decently, and then starts to gradually fall apart as it goes along. There are still good moments which emerge throughout the latter two-thirds of the book, from moments of descriptive genius to a few genuinely great moments of drama. The issue is that you're left trying to force your way through contrivances, abrupt twists and moments which break any and all suspension of disbelief. If you were one of those who genuinely enjoyed Deathfire and didn't facepalm at every dramatic moment, you will likely enjoy it. If not, just buy something else from this range and wait until the Siege of Terra starts.
July 9, 2019
Not a bad entry into the series. There is the typical mayhem and warfare and a large number of cast members get killed. The Vulkan storyline is panning out and he knows what his true purpose in life is at last. I stopped reading the anthologies but the main stories of the Heresy are good enough for me. The armies of Horus are steaming toward earth and the Emperor is besieged to get his loyal sons back to stop the enemy. Where this novel was lacking is they had too many storylines at play. The 1st half concerned a fleet of Iron Hands fighting the Sons of Horus, with Vulkan's journey sprinkled in, but then the scene shifts to a handful of humans defending the walls of the Imperial Palace from cultists. Trying to do too much with too little space. Still a pretty good book.
July 12, 2025
6.5/10
Seguimos nuestro camino a Terra, en este caso de la mano de Vulkan, uno de los primarcas más enigmáticos y que posee uno de los poderes más "increíbles" dentro de los hijos de del Emperador.
Consciente de que se le necesita en Terra de forma inmediata, Vulkan dejará de lado su recién recuperada legión, para embarcarse en una aventura que le conduzca al bastión de la humanidad y acudir a la llamada de su padre.
Por desgracia esta novela es una más, no aporta nada nuevo o responde muchas de las preguntas que tenemos, incluso diría que a pesar de estar creada para el lucimiento de Vulkan, este apenas se luce.
Seguiremos el camino a ver que pasa.
Seguimos nuestro camino a Terra, en este caso de la mano de Vulkan, uno de los primarcas más enigmáticos y que posee uno de los poderes más "increíbles" dentro de los hijos de del Emperador.
Consciente de que se le necesita en Terra de forma inmediata, Vulkan dejará de lado su recién recuperada legión, para embarcarse en una aventura que le conduzca al bastión de la humanidad y acudir a la llamada de su padre.
Por desgracia esta novela es una más, no aporta nada nuevo o responde muchas de las preguntas que tenemos, incluso diría que a pesar de estar creada para el lucimiento de Vulkan, este apenas se luce.
Seguiremos el camino a ver que pasa.
August 31, 2023
Was thinking I might get a interesting salamanders story with this but wasnt the case. It wasnt bad but certainly wasn't exciting. I found myself quite bored and not very interested in the story. I'm starting to feel like the salamanders in general havnt had any really good books put out about them. Other then damnation of pythos by David Annandale, which featured salamander soldiers and was a really good read.
December 13, 2025
Autors Nick Kyme ar The Horus Heresy četrdesmit septīto Old Earth savā izpildījumā turpina Salamandru leģiona un to primarka Vulkana stāstu. Uz doto brīdi Old Earth sižets lieliski noslēdz ļoti vāji savā starpā saistītu triloģiju, pat ja paskatoties uz priekšu, vai Niks Kaims sarakstījis vēl kādu The Horus Heresy grāmatu, pēc to vāka ilustrācijas un premises ir skaidrs, ka ar šo Salamandru un Vulkana stāsts nenoslēdzas.
https://poseidons99.com/2025/12/13/ni...
https://poseidons99.com/2025/12/13/ni...
August 12, 2018
Some parts of it I enjoyed, some - not so much. Here's a very messy review. I keep getting this feeling with Nick's Heresy books, that they could've been a little less stretched out. I liked where the journey began, since I just recently read Deatfire, it was nice to start right from where we've ended. Vulkan lives indeed! But it's a secret. Salamander hugs. Narek was never a character I enjoyed reading about. The whole Cabal thing just drives me nuts, but it's a personal preference... Then the Iron Hands part. I loved it quite a lot while it lasted... Shadrack Meduson was a great character to follow, his relations with his brothers in arms - fascinating. The way it ended has truly pissed me off. Then Terra. Vulkan hugs Dorn. More Salamander hugs! Talisman thing, Emperor being a douche (as always), Eldrad cries, Narek is back with his Word Bearer boys... I don't know... I'm just excited to see what comes next. *shrugs*
December 3, 2017
Vulkan and Salamanders are unluckiest beings in the Warhammer universe. You may ask why? Because they are written by Nick Kyme. This guy is not a writer. Characters are extremely flat and uninteresting, as a result of that i don't care about any of them. I was halfway through the book and i just couldn't continue anymore. Well deserved one star.
March 24, 2018
Well, it was... a challenge, to finish this book. Unfortunately, I'm really disappointed. To be honest, the last chapters were interesting, but the rest of the book... could not recommend it.
October 31, 2019
This was a great book, bringing the Vulcan story arc to it's current culmination. We see the inner working of Chaos, the quest of a son to return to his father's side and the intertwining of several different forces pulling on the Primarch of the Salamanders in several different directions.
This is a great read and is a must read for those working through the HH series.
Vulcan Lives!
This is a great read and is a must read for those working through the HH series.
Vulcan Lives!
June 13, 2020
4 stars for: 1) lots of time spent on a Primarch, 2) several large fleet battles, 3) Primarch vs Demon, 4) Terra.
June 27, 2022
The best of Kyme's body of work, stands as a foreshadowing, and setup for the upcoming Siege of Terra.
January 21, 2018
As the Horus Heresy is drawing ever closer to the Siege of Terra, we get to see the story arch around Vulkan draw to a close. Konrad tried time and again to kill him but he is a Perpetual. One of those few that are immortal. We are talking about a guy who fell through the atmosphere of a planet and survived, if a little crazed. Struck down unto death finally by a special shard, we read the journey back to Nocturne by his sons at the end of which we see him reborn. Here we get to see why and how he came back plus the closer of another story arch in the Shattered Legions. You want battle? Here you'll have it but there are some things that can even bring a Space Marine to heel so be forewarned.
August 19, 2018
This book was really annoying and unsatisfying. Vulcan’s story has been one of the least satisfying and ham fisted in the series. As for the Iron Hands, it would appear that the author wanted to label this chapter as the shittiest bunch of cowards in the galaxy. This book certainly has coloured my view of what was a stoic bunch of survivors to a bunch of traitors and betrayers. I can only wonder why anyone at GW let this be published because won’t wont sell any models. It doesn’t have any bad guys as interesting as Sevatar or even Erebus and whilst Meduson had the potential to be as good as Garro or Thiel he gets discarded like used toilet paper. I just hope this author isn’t involved n the Siege of Terra.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2018
A very fine read indeed. Although it wasn't what I was expecting with the title 'Old Earth' - I was thinking more along the line of flashbacks to several tens of millenia prior to the 31st millenium - what happens in these pages are rocking in terms of the Heresy. Revelations of the purposes of various primarchs as well as the appearance and...progression...of the Shadrak Meduson story line make certain parts of this book outstanding and heart stopping! The end - final chapter not epilogue - is possibly one of the most foreboding pieces of information yet about the possible fate of Terra...
February 8, 2018
This story looks at Vulkan and his mission to reach Terra and the last heartbreaking battle of Shadrak Meduson’s raiders. Vulkan’s journey is reminiscent of the Hero’s Journey and the ending is as glorious as it is sad. I felt like I was watching an episode of Game of Thrones when I read about Meduson’s betrayal and death. This was a good novel to tie up some loose ends I wouldn’t mind reading about more of in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2018
This book redeems somewhat Nick Kyme's treatment of the Salamanders, possibly the most underrated legion/chapter. It is muddy at times and the whole Meduson story arc seems absolutely pointless (we get a third of the book on what is, in the end, a closed arc), but for the first time in the Horus Heresy series, we get a clear glimpse of the Salamander ethos and of their primarch.
Vulkan is shown, heard and followed, truly, for the first time. Vulkan Lives and Deathfire were exervises in frustration, filled with skippable chapters and "come on!" moments (as in "come on, this is ridiculous even for 30k"). Now, finally, not only does he live, but he also speak. Oh, what a glory it would have been to see more of him, the way we get Robby G or the Lion. But no, after what amounts to about half a book, he gets a permanent "position" and it's unlikely we will get to see him from now on, more than once at least.
It's like the HH writers met and passed on some story arc dregs to Kyme, asking him to finish them off. He did a much better job in this book, and we actually got to see some exposition by actions and setting rather than telling. The book is still weak, particularly in the story arcs part, but for the first time in Kyme's 40k history (and unfortunately I have read most of his books), there are individual parts/chapters that are truly enjoyable to read.
To be concrete: the adventures of the wacky primarch and his 3 sallies, except some murky stuff with some dark eldar (which do not amount to much action), are ok. Even some Meduson scenes are well done. The reunion with Dorn and the final parts as well.
The villany of Marr, the whole Iron Fathers parts, the pointless back and forth on Meduson, the space battles that amount to nothing, a whole bunch of characters introduced clearly only for Kyme to have someone to finish off, those parts are less fun. The eldar trickery is absolutey dull.
All in all, better than anything on Vulkan written before. Too bad it's probably the last one we'll get and too bad the Black Library writers have this "only one primarch per author" thing (except Abnett and McNeill of course).
Vulkan is shown, heard and followed, truly, for the first time. Vulkan Lives and Deathfire were exervises in frustration, filled with skippable chapters and "come on!" moments (as in "come on, this is ridiculous even for 30k"). Now, finally, not only does he live, but he also speak. Oh, what a glory it would have been to see more of him, the way we get Robby G or the Lion. But no, after what amounts to about half a book, he gets a permanent "position" and it's unlikely we will get to see him from now on, more than once at least.
It's like the HH writers met and passed on some story arc dregs to Kyme, asking him to finish them off. He did a much better job in this book, and we actually got to see some exposition by actions and setting rather than telling. The book is still weak, particularly in the story arcs part, but for the first time in Kyme's 40k history (and unfortunately I have read most of his books), there are individual parts/chapters that are truly enjoyable to read.
To be concrete: the adventures of the wacky primarch and his 3 sallies, except some murky stuff with some dark eldar (which do not amount to much action), are ok. Even some Meduson scenes are well done. The reunion with Dorn and the final parts as well.
The villany of Marr, the whole Iron Fathers parts, the pointless back and forth on Meduson, the space battles that amount to nothing, a whole bunch of characters introduced clearly only for Kyme to have someone to finish off, those parts are less fun. The eldar trickery is absolutey dull.
All in all, better than anything on Vulkan written before. Too bad it's probably the last one we'll get and too bad the Black Library writers have this "only one primarch per author" thing (except Abnett and McNeill of course).
January 27, 2018
Here be minor, irrelevant spoilers.
Let me be clear here - I am not a Nick Kyme fan. And the first couple of chapters in this book was true to his form with his sprinkling of unnecessarily complex words that, to my mind, just feels like he is trying to too hard when compared to the rest of the series. Thankfully, there was an obvious change in writing style about one-third through and I could actually read the story without stopping to go "Really?" After that point the story wasn't half bad and becomes Kyme's best bit of work, in my eyes at least, in his stint with Black Library. It was still messy in terms of flow in some parts but not as jarring as I'd come to expect from him. And a few of the character deaths were well written in that it didn't just rely on the surprise that it happened alone.
There are two things that kept popping up throughout the book and just mad me irrationally annoyed when it happened. Firstly, there is a lot of crying. Apparently everyone during the Horus Heresy just "...openly weeps..." at the drop of a hat! Secondly, I swear to you here that Nick Kyme has a shoulder fetish. At least once every ten pages someone is touching someone else's shoulder. Please, oh please, find another way to show the reader that someone is trying to reassure another that doesn't result in shoulder contact! I beg of you!
The biggest disappointed has to come from the actual characters in the book. More specifically the time we get with some of them. After looking through the list of characters at the front of the book I thought "Hot damn, this will be good. John Grammaticus is here. Let's see what this scamp is up to now." Yeah, he's in it for about two pages. So is Dorn.
TL;DR - Kyme's best Warhammer story but is still very annoying to read.
Let me be clear here - I am not a Nick Kyme fan. And the first couple of chapters in this book was true to his form with his sprinkling of unnecessarily complex words that, to my mind, just feels like he is trying to too hard when compared to the rest of the series. Thankfully, there was an obvious change in writing style about one-third through and I could actually read the story without stopping to go "Really?" After that point the story wasn't half bad and becomes Kyme's best bit of work, in my eyes at least, in his stint with Black Library. It was still messy in terms of flow in some parts but not as jarring as I'd come to expect from him. And a few of the character deaths were well written in that it didn't just rely on the surprise that it happened alone.
There are two things that kept popping up throughout the book and just mad me irrationally annoyed when it happened. Firstly, there is a lot of crying. Apparently everyone during the Horus Heresy just "...openly weeps..." at the drop of a hat! Secondly, I swear to you here that Nick Kyme has a shoulder fetish. At least once every ten pages someone is touching someone else's shoulder. Please, oh please, find another way to show the reader that someone is trying to reassure another that doesn't result in shoulder contact! I beg of you!
The biggest disappointed has to come from the actual characters in the book. More specifically the time we get with some of them. After looking through the list of characters at the front of the book I thought "Hot damn, this will be good. John Grammaticus is here. Let's see what this scamp is up to now." Yeah, he's in it for about two pages. So is Dorn.
TL;DR - Kyme's best Warhammer story but is still very annoying to read.
February 28, 2019
I have a confession to make. I dislike all of Nick Kyme's works in the Horus Heresy series. His characters are bland, his narrative uninspiring and his mysteries always seem superficial. Having said all that, Old Earth is by quite some margin the best work of Nick Kyme in my estimation.
Old Earth does have several passages, that really intrigued me and follow some storylines that I'm sincerely interested in. He is also very respectful towards notable characters from other authors and especially manages particularly well to not straw-manning the enemies. He depicts the Sons of Horus as very competent and serious adversary.
But overall the storyline of Old Earth is really fractionated. It tries to tie in various lose ends and binds them in a superficial narrative, which is completely meaningless for the story. To do that, he had to let Vulkan make many very arbitrary decisions, that seems rather forced and strange. The big revelation in the end also does not really fit the previous narrative. The head kind of does not fit rest of the body and feels imbalanced and forced. My greatest personal disappointment with Old Earth is, that Nick Kyme just skipped the most interesting combat/duel in the book and just let the winner admit later, that it was a tough fight. That was really a downer!
Altogether I think the different stories in Old Earth would have worked better as a compilation of Short Stories instead of a cohesive novel. This forced cohesion did not work very well. My final verdict is, that Old Earth is the best HH Novel from Nick Kyme so far, which makes it okayish to read. Not great, but also not the worst.
Old Earth does have several passages, that really intrigued me and follow some storylines that I'm sincerely interested in. He is also very respectful towards notable characters from other authors and especially manages particularly well to not straw-manning the enemies. He depicts the Sons of Horus as very competent and serious adversary.
But overall the storyline of Old Earth is really fractionated. It tries to tie in various lose ends and binds them in a superficial narrative, which is completely meaningless for the story. To do that, he had to let Vulkan make many very arbitrary decisions, that seems rather forced and strange. The big revelation in the end also does not really fit the previous narrative. The head kind of does not fit rest of the body and feels imbalanced and forced. My greatest personal disappointment with Old Earth is, that Nick Kyme just skipped the most interesting combat/duel in the book and just let the winner admit later, that it was a tough fight. That was really a downer!
Altogether I think the different stories in Old Earth would have worked better as a compilation of Short Stories instead of a cohesive novel. This forced cohesion did not work very well. My final verdict is, that Old Earth is the best HH Novel from Nick Kyme so far, which makes it okayish to read. Not great, but also not the worst.
December 9, 2022
I had a quick glance through some of the reviews before reading Old Earth and had low expectations as a result. Sometimes that can be a good thing; the opening act had my jaw agape at just how wonderful Nick Kyme's prose can be.
I think this book is underrated. Throughout the Heresy we've had precious little Xenos POV and whilst I understand that it's probably for the best -- with it being a terran civil war -- it's always a pleasure to get a view from an Eldar perspective. And Nick Kyme just makes that perspective sing. To walk in Eldrad's shoes in this novel is such a genuine pleasure, and whilst his motives are slightly vague and mysterious, seeing him team up with a legionary and go on what can only be described as a murder spree was a real highlight.
So, yes. This does at times feel like three different books, as the separate plots don't feel like they converge at the end, and I do understand how some would find that frustrating. I didn't though, and I found myself asking why that was. I can only put it down to the fact that I have assumed, perhaps wrongly, that Nick Kyme is a storyteller that enjoys the longer arc, that enjoys layering stories alongside and within each other. I assumed as much because he is the editor of a handful of the Heresy's short story collections.
Yes, this book ignores a lot of the plotting norms that we are used to, but I really enjoyed it because of that. It's a five star from me, and I honestly think I will pick it up again at some point in the future.
I think this book is underrated. Throughout the Heresy we've had precious little Xenos POV and whilst I understand that it's probably for the best -- with it being a terran civil war -- it's always a pleasure to get a view from an Eldar perspective. And Nick Kyme just makes that perspective sing. To walk in Eldrad's shoes in this novel is such a genuine pleasure, and whilst his motives are slightly vague and mysterious, seeing him team up with a legionary and go on what can only be described as a murder spree was a real highlight.
So, yes. This does at times feel like three different books, as the separate plots don't feel like they converge at the end, and I do understand how some would find that frustrating. I didn't though, and I found myself asking why that was. I can only put it down to the fact that I have assumed, perhaps wrongly, that Nick Kyme is a storyteller that enjoys the longer arc, that enjoys layering stories alongside and within each other. I assumed as much because he is the editor of a handful of the Heresy's short story collections.
Yes, this book ignores a lot of the plotting norms that we are used to, but I really enjoyed it because of that. It's a five star from me, and I honestly think I will pick it up again at some point in the future.
November 12, 2019
In comparison to Kyme's other contributions to the main Horus Heresy series, Old Earth is the best of the three. Regretfully, that's a very low bar. It contains the bloat of Vulkan Lives combined with the mediocre prose of Deathfire, and mixes them into a truly forgettable story with little purpose.
Somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of the book focuses on the story of Meduson and the Shattered Legions, rather than on Vulkan's journey. Several other chapters follow a plot thread focused on the fate of the Cabal. The manner in which each of these threads ties into the supposedly primary story of Vulkan's journey to Terra is absolutely contrived and totally unnecessary. Frankly, Meduson's story should've been given an entire novel of its own, and ideally one written better than this.
Like Vulkan Lives, Old Earth is riddled with scenes and in some cases entire chapters that could happily have been cut. They contributed nothing to the overarching story at all. Confusingly, this is combined with several of the theoretically most-important scenes feeling as though they were written in a very rushed manner, with far too little detail and far too much happening too quickly.
On the whole, I suppose the climax of this story does technically matter to the overarching story of the Horus Heresy, but I can't in good faith recommend this book to anyone. If you really need to know what happened, save yourself the time and money, and just read Lexicanum or something.
Somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of the book focuses on the story of Meduson and the Shattered Legions, rather than on Vulkan's journey. Several other chapters follow a plot thread focused on the fate of the Cabal. The manner in which each of these threads ties into the supposedly primary story of Vulkan's journey to Terra is absolutely contrived and totally unnecessary. Frankly, Meduson's story should've been given an entire novel of its own, and ideally one written better than this.
Like Vulkan Lives, Old Earth is riddled with scenes and in some cases entire chapters that could happily have been cut. They contributed nothing to the overarching story at all. Confusingly, this is combined with several of the theoretically most-important scenes feeling as though they were written in a very rushed manner, with far too little detail and far too much happening too quickly.
On the whole, I suppose the climax of this story does technically matter to the overarching story of the Horus Heresy, but I can't in good faith recommend this book to anyone. If you really need to know what happened, save yourself the time and money, and just read Lexicanum or something.
May 14, 2024
Somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me, it felt overall an improvement on Deathfire (prior Salamanders novel - didn't realise was that many books ago though) - generally better written, but without the heights Deathfire reached - just more solid the way through.
Two main interweaving plots here really, and I felt they didn't interweave as well as they could, as felt they were both building to a climax but then one finished somewhat earlier than the other, and really it felt that it was better having both in play, and once the other one fell off the book itself wasn't as gripping.
Continues the moving things along that we have, moving the various pieces to the right part of the board for the end, at the same time tying up some of the remaining plot points, with Meduson and the other Iron Hands continuing to their somewhat foreseeable end, with the general flaws of the Iron Hands shown well here.
Vulcan was good in this book I thought, showing his character well, but the Salamanders with him felt more like simple accessories than full fledged characters, to point I couldn't readily keep the 3 straight or care that much about not doing so.
Good amount of action and tension in the book I thought, and overall went well and continued the series along.
Two main interweaving plots here really, and I felt they didn't interweave as well as they could, as felt they were both building to a climax but then one finished somewhat earlier than the other, and really it felt that it was better having both in play, and once the other one fell off the book itself wasn't as gripping.
Continues the moving things along that we have, moving the various pieces to the right part of the board for the end, at the same time tying up some of the remaining plot points, with Meduson and the other Iron Hands continuing to their somewhat foreseeable end, with the general flaws of the Iron Hands shown well here.
Vulcan was good in this book I thought, showing his character well, but the Salamanders with him felt more like simple accessories than full fledged characters, to point I couldn't readily keep the 3 straight or care that much about not doing so.
Good amount of action and tension in the book I thought, and overall went well and continued the series along.
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