Garro: Vow of Faith [Signed Limited Edition] - The Horus Heresy Novella Hardcover

The Horus Heresy #Novella

by James Swallow

Returning to the start of his spiritual journey, Nathaniel Garro abandons his duties to search instead for Euphrati Keeler, the Living Saint, and any answers she can give him…

Long has been the road of Nathaniel Garro. After escaping the treachery of Isstvan III aboard the Eisenstein, he was gifted with new purpose as the Agentia Primus of the Knights Errant – and yet, Garro has become listless as the full extent of Malcador the Sigillite’s plans for the future are revealed, questioning his place in the galaxy once more. Even as the armies of the Warmaster draw near, Garro strikes out into the wastes of holy Terra. The object of his search? None other than the Living Saint, Euphrati Keeler.

Explore more of Terra than ever before as Garro's journey comes full circle and he seeks the woman who once saved his life and put him on his path. Filled with doubts and fears about the war and his place in it, Garro needs find a new path to tread... and Keeler might just be able to help him again. Please note that the eBook edition of 'Garro:Vow of Faith' does not include the additional colour content from the limited edition.

Genres: 40k, Science Fiction, Novella

126 pages, Hardcover

First published December 30, 2015

About the author

James Swallow is a New York Times, Sunday Times and Amazon #1 bestselling author and scriptwriter, a BAFTA nominee, a former journalist and the award-winning writer of over sixty-five books, along with scripts for video games, comics, radio and television.

DARK HORIZON, his latest stand-alone thriller, is out now from Mountain Leopard Press, and OUTLAW, the 6th action-packed Marc Dane novel, is published by Bonnier.

Along with the Marc Dane thrillers, his writing includes, the Sundowners steampunk Westerns and fiction from the worlds of Star Trek, Tom Clancy, 24, Warhammer 40000, Doctor Who, Deus Ex, Stargate, 2000AD and many more.

For information on new releases & more, sign up to the Readers’ Club here: www.bit.ly/JamesSwallow

Visit James's website at http://www.jswallow.com/ for more, including ROUGH AIR, a free eBook novella in the Marc Dane series.

You can also follow James on Bluesky at @jmswallow.bsky.social, Twitter at @jmswallow, Mastodon at @jmswallow@mstdn.social and jmswallow.tumblr.com at Tumblr.

Reviews

[Dylan Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a long time since I last read/listened to the adventures and exploits of Nathaniel Garro. I must say, I have missed him, and I am damn glad that James Swallow finally got the chance to release him in book form again. Garro: Vow of Faith was something of a major step along Garro's story arc. I think we are going to see his role as a "pre-Grey Knight" lessen, and his role as the faithful battle captain take the fore. The action in the story was great, and the re-appearance of an old character was amazing. I really liked getting to see Euphrati Keeler and old Sindermann again, as well as being introduced to some newer characters among the faithful. The journey Garro makes is a great one in these short pages, from the doubts drowning his spirit to the affirmation of Faith, it was a good read. I do wish that it was a fair bit longer. Maybe with some extra enemy actions/Garro searching for The Saint, but those are just minor things.

On the physical book itself, the cover art is amazing. Getting 1-2 pages directly from the Lectitio Divinitatus is AWESOME. I've wanted Black Library to produce something like a real copy of it for ages, and this little detail is glorious. The internal art is awesome(and of course, me being me, I picked up the canvas art print from Black Library as well!), and the bonus lore pages in the middle with the art was awesome. I do think the book really should have had a ribbon bookmark, like EVERY other Limited Edition novella in the series. Though that is disappointing, I still think this was a fairly nicely done Limited Edition.

[RatGrrrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate the limited edition bullshit Black Library pulls with its artificial scarcity and value creation, but it's undeniable that the books are very pretty and I have spent more than I would like to admit on them in the past. The stories themselves have been hit or miss with the best augmenting and adding depth to a character, event, or book that, while not essential, adds something meaningful or is at least a good story.

Garro: Vow of Faith does manage to deliver, despite it taking me a while to really get into this without Toby Longworth doing the hard work for me.

Garro is questioning his faith and the sketchy services he provides Rancid Rincewind, so he is granted leave to go on a little pilgrimage to see his old friend, Euphrati Keeler, the Living Saint. He's no the only one looking for her as that darn Chaos-powered assassin from Nemesis all the ways back when.

This isn't my favourite Garro story, but it adds a lot of colour to the current situation with the burgeoning faith that will come to be the Imperial Creed and we get to check back in with the old Iterator, Sinderman, and the Saint Keeler, as well as getting the end to the Nemesis storyline, and get to see Garro really go through it mentally and physically as he wrestles with his faith and his duty. There are also flame demon weapon fire bullets, which are pretty cool.

Definitely not required reading, but thoroughly entertaining, especially for a Garro fangirl like myself.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of idealistic characters who stick by their vows and what they believe in even when times get tough. So I was not surprised when I reached book three, “Galaxy in Flames” by Ben Counter, of Black Library's “Horus Heresy” series that I would meet some of my favorite characters in all of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. I'm taking of course about the Space Marines who stood loyal to their vow to the Emperor when their Legions went rogue and tried to kill them on Istvaan III. Of those characters my favorite is probably former Luna Wolf (He was never a Son of Horus) Garviel Loken.

“Galaxy in Flames” also introduced my second favorite Loyalist member of the Traitor Legions, Battle Captain Nathaniel Garro formerly of the Death Guard, but we didn't really get to know him until James Swallow's excellent fourth “Horus Heresy” novel “Flight of the Eisenstein,” which I loved. So I of course followed Garro to his own sort of sub-series within the “Horus Heresy” series. What was especially interesting about the Garro series is so far they've all been audio dramas, and they've all been amazing. If you haven't listened to them do yourself a favor go and download them from Black Library's website, or buy the boxed set of CD's. You get Swallow's stories, fun music and sound effects, but best of all you get Toby Longworth as a narrator. The man can make anything sound epic. I want Toby Longworth to narrate my life.

So this December I was especially intrigued when Black Library announced that the Garro series would be returning to print with a new novella titled “Garro: Vow of Faith.” You could get as an e-book, or splurge and get the deluxe limited edition signed hardcover. I had some extra money at the time so I bought the hardcover and I'm glad I did. It's a fun book. It's got a breathtakingly gorgeous Neil Roberts dust cover painting and the actual hardcover is made up to look like a heavily annotated copy of the Lectito Divinitatus, the holy book of Garro's faith. The real question though was how was the story? Having just finished it I'm happy to report that “Vow of Faith” is another highly satisfying entry in the Garro series that moves the title character forward in some intriguing ways and also hints at the further development of one of my favorite Warhammer 40K institutions, the secretive Inquisition.

When we catch up with Garro in “Vow of Faith” he's experiencing a bit of a crisis of faith and identity because he's recovering from the shocking revelation at the end of “Shield of Lies,” where he discovered that his master, Malcador the Sigilite, a shadowy and powerful Psyker, is forming his own personal army to deal with the treachery of the Warmaster Horus and the other Traitor Legions that turned to Chaos. So Malcador gives his top agent some time off and Garro uses it to seek out the woman who changed his life back during “The Flight of the Eisenstein” novel, Euphrati Keeler, a mysterious and powerful woman who is venerated as a living saint by the underground church that worships the Emperor of Mankind as a god.

What follows is a fun novel of chase and intrigue as Garro sets out across Terra to find Keeler, but he's not the only seeking that Saint. Two of Horus' agents have infiltrated Terra and embarked upon a quest to assassinate Keeler.

It's always fun to visit Terra in a 40K novel because it's not a place we often see. It's especially fascinating during the “Horus Heresy” because we're getting a glimpse of Earth right as it's come together after many years of divisive and apocalyptic warfare. In “Vow of Faith” Swallow takes Garro and us readers to some of the planet's more fascinating locales including a vast desert, an arctic wilderness, a gigantic “walking city,” and a massive industrial metropolis that hovers above the Earth.

As we visit these locales we're given moments of action and intrigue, but more importantly we're along with Garro as he meditates on his faith and struggles to find the right path in the morally murky morass that life during the Horus Heresy has become. It's great because as a Space Marine Garro is a deeply noble and larger than life hero, but he's also very vulnerable and is plagued by many of the doubts that us mere mortals would have.

Along his journey to find Keeler and protect her from the assassins at her heels Garro meets some interesting characters. We learn something intriguing about the Imperial Fist Sigismund, especially given his later history. For me though the best encounters came at the end when Garro was reunited with both Keeler and Kyril Sindermann, the iterator (lecturer and sort of teacher) from the first four “Horus Heresy” novels. It was great revisiting these characters and seeing what they've come to stand for since I last read about them.

So ultimately one of the most interesting aspects of “Garro: Vow of Faith” is how Swallow tackles the idea of faith and how it drives people at this point in 40K history when the Imperium is basically a secular empire. You get to see how Garro's faith impacts the crisis he's going through and it ultimately leads him onto a pretty interesting path. The story also deepens the mystery of what exactly is going on with Euphrati Keeler. I'm as excited to read more about her as I am to read more about Garro.

My only real complaint about “Vow of Faith” is not really Swallow's fault and that is the fact that by reading it I may have spoiled some Horus Heresy books I have not read yet. I won't say which ones, but ultimately that's okay. They're not huge spoilers and for people who have read far enough those moments that provide connective tissue to other books might be pretty cool.

So for me, “Garro: Vow of Faith” was a pretty pricy read, but it was worth it. Swallow gave us a character driven story that took Garro back to his roots and put him on an exciting path. So I look forward to the next adventure of Garro even if Toby Longworth is not narrating, but I hope he is.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Keeler was the first true saint of the believers in the Emperor. Garro was the first true Martyr of the imperial faith"
- Iterator Kyril Syndermann

Garro's story started in "The Flight of the Eisenstein" as he saved the lives of Euphrati Keeler, Kyril Sindermann, and Mersadie Olton. He found purpose in serving Malcador as a Knight Errant, but has begun to question the Sigillite and is unsure of the path he walks.

Euphrati Keeler has begun to spread word of the Emperor's divinity, and many have begun to call her a Saint. Garro seeks her out, looking for answers.

This story also ties into the plotline of "Nemesis" in which assassins were sent to kill Horus. One such assassin, Erisede Kell reappeared in the short story "Gunsight" which provides an explanation as to his shift in allegiance.

Garro really grew on me as a character over the course of the many audio dramas he appeared in. His duty took him across a war-torn galaxy. He was stripped of his Legion's colours and had to abandoned old loyalties to serve the Emperor. His doubts and fears are explored in this short story, as well as the burgeoning Imperial Faith that will dominate the Imperium by the 41st Millenium.

Garro next appears in "The Buried Dagger" and in the Siege of Terra stories "Saturine" and "Garro Knight of Grey".

Knight Errant Vardas Ison also appears in this story. Formerly of the Blood Angels, he first appeared in the audio drama "The Watcher" and his next appearance is in "The Buried Dagger".

[Gamer Gamersson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great climactic story for Garro. I'm a sucker for the way James Swallow writes Keeler, and this is definitely the most interesting story he's given his best known Knight Errant. A rare, genuine 10/10 Warhammer novella.

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

After six audio dramas, and eight years after his first appearance in the Horus Heresy series, Nathaniel Garro is back in a new book entitled Garro : Vow of Faith, James Swallow’s first novella-length contribution to the series. Picking up where Shield of Lies left off, with Garro growing increasingly dissatisfied with his role as Malcador’s Agentia Primus, it sees him putting that role to one side while he embarks on a personal mission to find the living Saint Euphrati Keeler. While he searches for her trail, agents of the Warmaster are also on the hunt for Keeler, aiming to disrupt the defences of Terra with her death.

Read the rest of the review at https://trackofwords.wordpress.com/20...

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite some annoyance at this being yet another BL "Limited Editon" Horus Heresy novella rather than a proper full novel to move the main plot arc along it's an actual Garro book rather than an audio or script and therefore in my opinion worth it if you can get hold of it.

The story itself, though somewhat slight, is a good one and re-introduces a few figures from the past while adding some new depths to their characters. The novella also offers answers to a couple of questions which might have been nagging in the back of fan's minds while setting up a "gallery" of possible futures and directions.

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story of warrior not used to fight from shadows [but bound by oath to follow commands of his master that constantly put him in the shadows] seeking a purpose, raison-de-vivre, to which to lend its sword. Even if you are not into Warhammer this is great, although short, story of adventure, betrayal and finding ones purpose in life. Not to mention descriptions of Terra at the time of Horus Heresy.

Highly recommended.

[Alexander van der Pol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best Novellas of the horus heresy, really going in depth on the internal conflict one might have as a space marine at the time. The quest for ones self, the quest for finding ones purpose and when it is found how to handle it.

The birth of faith, the emperor protects, always.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice to see Garro starting to get somewhere.

Shame I've missed most of his story though, because I haven't listened to the audio books.

[Andrew Jamieson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book. The Garro audiobooks were great but the character was long overdue a printed escapade and this did not disappoint. Essential reading for any Horus Heresy nut.

[75338 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Somewhat hyperbolic overwrought and occasionally pompous prose. Read if you REALLY like the subject matter.