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The Horus Heresy
Cthonia's Reckoning
A Horus Heresy Anthology
In the final years of the Horus Heresy, all eyes were on the Siege of Terra. But out in the vast darkness of space, war raged over a thousand other worlds – including the home world of the Sons of Horus, Cthonia.
READ IT BECAUSE
Witness the bitter, spiteful struggle between the Imperial Fists and the Sons of Horus over the Warmaster's home planet of Cthonia, in seven stories from a variety of authors.
DESCRIPTION
After seven long years of conflict, the Horus Heresy nears its end. But now, as the Warmaster Horus marches on Terra to rip his father from the Throne, the seat of the arch-traitor’s power lies empty. Cthonia, a world once dominated by brutal murder-gangs, is occupied by the Emperor’s praetorians – the indomitable Imperial Fists. For the Sons of Horus, this outrage demands a reckoning. From the towering heights of Traitor’s Gate, stronghold of the VII Legion, to the unending warrens in the planet’s crust, the two sides slaughter one another without remorse. It is a war of spite, and only the most ruthless will rise to claim Cthonia.
CONTENTS
– Sons of Cthonia by John French
– To the Last by Michael F Haspil
– The Gangs Beneath by Gary Kloster
– The Flesh Harvest by Nicholas Wolf
– Traitor's Faith by Noah Van Nguyen
– For Hate's Sake by Gav Thorpe
– Postulant by Chris Forrester
In the final years of the Horus Heresy, all eyes were on the Siege of Terra. But out in the vast darkness of space, war raged over a thousand other worlds – including the home world of the Sons of Horus, Cthonia.
READ IT BECAUSE
Witness the bitter, spiteful struggle between the Imperial Fists and the Sons of Horus over the Warmaster's home planet of Cthonia, in seven stories from a variety of authors.
DESCRIPTION
After seven long years of conflict, the Horus Heresy nears its end. But now, as the Warmaster Horus marches on Terra to rip his father from the Throne, the seat of the arch-traitor’s power lies empty. Cthonia, a world once dominated by brutal murder-gangs, is occupied by the Emperor’s praetorians – the indomitable Imperial Fists. For the Sons of Horus, this outrage demands a reckoning. From the towering heights of Traitor’s Gate, stronghold of the VII Legion, to the unending warrens in the planet’s crust, the two sides slaughter one another without remorse. It is a war of spite, and only the most ruthless will rise to claim Cthonia.
CONTENTS
– Sons of Cthonia by John French
– To the Last by Michael F Haspil
– The Gangs Beneath by Gary Kloster
– The Flesh Harvest by Nicholas Wolf
– Traitor's Faith by Noah Van Nguyen
– For Hate's Sake by Gav Thorpe
– Postulant by Chris Forrester
221 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 18, 2022
35 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
John French
154 books298 followersJohn French is a writer and freelance game designer from Nottingham, England. His novels include the Ahriman series from Black Library, and The Lord of Nightmares trilogy for Fantasy Flight. The rest of his work can be seen scattered through a number of other books, including the New York Times bestselling anthology Age of Darkness. When he is not thinking of ways that dark and corrupting beings could destroy reality and space, John enjoys talking about why it would be a good idea... that and drinking good wine.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 9, 2024
Sons of Cthonia by John French ☆☆☆☆
To the Last by Michael F Haspil ☆☆☆
The Gangs Beneath by Gary Kloster ☆☆☆
The Flesh Harvest by Nicholas Wolf ☆☆☆ 1/2
Traitor's Faith by Noah Van Nguyen ☆☆☆☆ 1/2
For Hate's Sake by Gav Thorpe ☆☆☆
Postulant by Chris Forrester ☆☆☆☆
May 23, 2024
May 2024
This review is just my personal, subjective opinion and for my own entertainment and catharsis. It is not intended for anyone who had anything to do with this book or anyone too close to someone who was involved with the book. Readers only please. Also, I don't know nothing, I just read a lot of Horus Heresy stuff.
Also, also, right up top I want to say that I think it's awesome to see new Black Library authors! This review isn't meant to disparage anyone, beyond whoever has the final say on what goes to print in what state. I'm sure with Games Workshop/ Black Library being such a huge company, even the editors have relatively little power, but I digress. More authors and more authors of various backgrounds and experiences are a wonderful thing that will eventually lead to better things for everyone.
OK.
"I've been excited to get into this!", Me, before actually getting to this.
OK. So I've reviewed each of the stories below as, unlike other Horus Heresy stories, they don't have their own entries on here. I've also rated them individually and the average of them does not come to one, but John French is doing a phenomenal amount of heavy lifting up front and doesn't deserve to be included in any other aspect of this review.
The one reflects my overall experience and I'll get into that.
TLDR: This anthology bummed me out so hard and left me feeling more depressed than when I turned to make believe to distract me from my depression.
Cthonia's Reckoning is an anthology of Horus Heresy short stories that the official Warhammer Community announcement newsletter after it was revealed at WarhammerFest 2022 described as an "anthology of new-lore", which the trifecta of the Games Workshop Corporation Promotional Newsletter being called Warhammer Community, the promotional event being Warhammer Fest, and a anthology of new stories being called "new-lore" already has so much major corpo marketing shpiel going on. I do understand that the stories take place with a time being covered by the new lore of the new edition of the Horus Heresy tabletop game, but the way it is presented in the announcement is bizarre!
At some nebulas time, around the time of the Siege of Terra, (possibly beginning a little before and likely ending a little after) a force of Imperial Fists were sent to take and hold the Warmaster, Horus Lupercal's homeworld of Cthonia, presumably to disrupt his resupply and reinforcement for the Siege, but also SPITE. We know there are Imperial Fists all over the place that haven't been able to get back to Terra for various reasons, and even if the new-lore is they were sent from Terra, despite that seeming to not make sense with the whole coming Siege and Dorn's general freaking out and putting guns, armour, and men on anything that doesn't move fast enough, I can buy it. This is the Dark Millennia, a lot of stuff doesn't make sense and the lore is constantly evolving and changing, and that's a good thing, actually! Especially if it means we get more cool stuff.
I'm being vague because the promotional material and blurbs are all very vague and the stories themselves are also very vague on the actual setup detail:
"After seven long years of conflict, the Horus Heresy nears its end. But now, as the Warmaster Horus marches on Terra to rip his father from the Throne, the seat of the arch-traitor’s power lies empty. Cthonia, a world once dominated by brutal murder-gangs, is occupied by the Emperor’s praetorians – the indomitable Imperial Fists. For the Sons of Horus, this outrage demands a reckoning. From the towering heights of Traitor’s Gate, stronghold of the VII Legion, to the unending warrens in the planet’s crust, the two sides slaughter one another without remorse. It is a war of spite, and only the most ruthless will rise to claim Cthonia"
Ultimately, it doesn't matter and the set up is that the Imperial Fists came to take Cthonia for the Imperium and vent their frustration at making the pretty palace all big and mean and, presumably the fighting has been furious and going on for some time?
This is where I am genuinely confused, as the vast majority of these stories are small individual scuffles and situations in the Ganger sewers and subterranean underworld-come-zone mortalis. It's never really explicitly stated, but it seems more like the aftermath of either one colossal event, like the annihilation of the surface of Calth, and/ or has been going on for so long and so bloody that everyone is worn down to the bone, like the Underworld War beneath the surface of Calth.
I'm sure this gets thrown around (I haven't looked at any reviews or discussion about this book yet, I prefer to read and review in a vacuum as much as I can. Yes, this does bite me when me when my C-PTSD gets triggered), so I'm just going to address it up top. This is not a poor person's Mark of Calth. Mark of Calth was a phenomenal collection of stories showing vastly different perspectives and details of the Underground War of Calth and events around it that underwent a whole lot of development, drafting and editing, so the stories felt grounded in time and place, as well as in relation to wider events, and characters with depth and individuality, you know, character. Mark of Calth also had the benefit of having the bloody brilliant Know No Fear novel that told the story of the calamity and set up a lot of context and elements that were borne out in Mark of Calth.
This is not Mark of Calth or any kind of lesser reflection.
I know I'm being a bitch and I'm sorry. I'm just having some fun and venting some of my frustrations and the feeling of crushed hopes this book left me with. Character Limit.
***
There doesn't seem to be individual entries for the stories as with the rest of the Horus Heresy, so be reviewing them here as I go through them.
Sons of Cthonia by John French 5/5
At this point John French and Gareth Armstrong feel like old friends, so this was a wonderful way to start.
This is a real 'All of this has happened before, all of this will happen again' story that sets a tone for this collection that makes me hopeful for these stories, even as this story grapples with the hopelessness and pointless of violence and war, and the perpetuating cycles.
In the gutters beneath Cthonia a relatively young Imp Fist and an old Son of Horus stalk one another in their own subterranean purgatory. They are both exhausted and depleted from a larger engagement, grubbing around in the filth for something to kill and something to kill with. The veteran has a lot to say about how things were and how things are as they circle one another and the drain...
No-one tells a grimdark story of the utter foulness and worthless thing that is war quite like John French, and I will always adore his utter refusal to glamorise or glorify it
This is a oddly beautiful story in its desperate sadness and pointed pointlessness. There's something positively dramatic about it in the theatrical sense, and I could imagine a strange abstraction of this as performed on stage, predominantly performed in a soliloquay that addresses the audience as much as the Imperial Fist. Honestly, I'm getting way too excited about the idea of Brechtian Warhammer stories!
...Waiting for Buzzgob.
Anyways, this was a fascinating and impressively restrained first story!
To the Last by Michael F Haspil 4/5
The Loyalist fleet is taken by surprise by the void supremacy of the Traitors over Cthonia. A valiant and prodigious captain prepares to make a last stand against an old rival and overwhelming odds above the homeworld the Arch Traitor...
I make no bones about purely action and military maneuver stories generally not being my favourite or particularly what I come to the Horus Heresy looking for, but when they are well written I have a good time.
This reminded me of watching Battlestar Galactica Reimagined and did an impressive job of portraying void warfare and telling a decent story.
The Gangs Beneath by Gary Kloster 2/5
In the sewers below Cthonia, Gangers face death or worse at the hands of the Traitors, getting caught in the crossfire, or running across one of the less caring Loyalists. In that desperate struggle even the mightiest transhuman warrior needs every ally and advantage they can get...
I enjoyed this story enough and it came close to making a more meaningful or at least more emotional impact, but it didn't quite get far enough past the tropes and shallow story and characters, which just a bit more of would have really elevated this.
This might be a case of suffering from the uncanny valley of seeming more promising than it was. I was really hoping there was going to be a deeper hook with the Astartes' memories of being a scared Ganger himself or that his completely inhuman Battle-Brother would have some interesting tension, growth, or tragedy for his callousness, but ultimately the flashbacks were just about how he was a badarse even before he was a Space Marine and the potential pathos was wasted.
Unfortunately, all the characterisation was thin, especially the Gangers who could have been swapped with goblins, grots, or ewoks with very little difference.
It's a real shame as the general prose narrative are decent, if unoriginal, but a just about decent general 40K story isn't good enough for the Horus Heresy, and now I've reviewed myself down from a three to a solid two.
The Flesh Harvest by Nicholas Wolf 2/5
Unfortunately, this needed a lot more time in the oven, originality, and editing.
In the Cthonian sewers rival gangs search for profane treasures...
I feel really bad about how much I'm about to go in on this. It's the first Wolf story I've read and there being new blood in the Black Library is a wonderful thing, but this just isn't of a quality for the Horus Heresy and isn't great by general 40K standards.
I mentioned the inappropriate way some people throw around terms like fanfiction or bad fanfiction for things they don't like and the traits they are generally referring to in my review of that book I have vowed to not speak on again. A quick summary is lack of development, drafting, editing, depth, originality, and general quality of prose and weighting of the story. There are countless fan works that excel in all of these areas, outstripping published works inordinately. Unfortunately, this is the converse.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, stories don't need to be entirely original and tropes, beats, and conventions are all good if handled well. The way I look at it is the more formulaic, tropey, and obvious a story is the greater expectation I have for quality of prose, tightness of the plot, and, honestly, the overall quality. This is the Horus Heresy and the Dark Millennia, so I am very aware of the start and end point, the kind of stories being told, and that so much is known and/ or obvious, so it really is all about the journey and the quality of the story and its elements.
I'm sure you can see where this is going...
This is a very by the numbers, workerlike, fantasy/Sci-fi plot. Scoundrels are searching for treasure in an unpleasant place and forced to form an alliance for a time after getting sketchy information from a sketchier source, which, again, is fine, but the there's no depth to anything and the only thing that makes it any different from any other story of that plot are the Horus Heresy language.
Speaking of language, this suffers from the classic genre fiction, particularly IP fiction, issue of absolutely hammering a term and in here it's "Zone Mortalis" to the point where it feels like this is an advert for the fancy terrain pieces for the game. I might be wrong, but I thought Zone Mortalis was the term for the battle map of a starship. I'm almost certain there's a Horus Heresy story that explicitly states that. Honestly, the specifics don't bother me, but when one phrase is repeated ad nauseum that really does.
Another element of the language is that, just like this review, it's just ungodly wordy, telling, as opposed to showing, and just needs so much editing and cutting down! There's truly no reason for this story to be so long and worry. Look, I am very aware that this is a major case of the Legion calling the Lucifer Black, I admit it, but I don't have editors and I'm not being published in a prestige series.
Also, the MacGuffin the story is all about just doesn't actually appear and by extension part of the ending is just non-existent. The details of the MacGuffin normally wouldn't actually be interesting or important in and of itself, but given the nature of the Dark Millennia, Archaeotech, Chaos and Xenos artefacts, and all the weird, wonderful, awful, and absolutely contraband technology, so this is an element that could be actually be interesting. Like, this is basically an Indiana Jones plot, so having the end with a Nurgle Grail, Ark of the Tzeentch Covenant, or finding some doomsday weapon that is used to trigger the destructive ending.
I feel awful for going in so much on a new Black Library author and I do want to say that beyond the mentioned issues the writing shows promise and I would be interested to see what they do in the future, but this is the first major release for the Horus Heresy post the finishing of the main series and The Siege of Terra either being in its last gasp or over when this was released, so it's disappointing. As I always say with elements like this, it is as much, it not more, on the editors, and whoever ultimately greenlights works for publishing, as the author.
Traitor's Faith by Noah Van Nguyen 3/5
I appreciate that this story was going for something.
The leader of a Sons of Horus group on Cthonia engages in a personal war of cat and mouse with an Imperial Fist he once called brother and wishes to again. Can he make his old friend see the light and what will he sacrifice for the opportunity?
Maybe it's me, but I'm noticing a concerning trend in Horus Heresy short stories from the last couple of years that seem to be going through a lot less development and editing. There's a particularly wordy and shallow tone, which is increasingly seeming like a new house style.
I don't like it.
This story at least had the hook of the former friendship and the ignorant faith of the Heretic, but this is another story filled with Adeptus Astartes, rather than characters who happen to be Space Marines.
I truly want to support the new authors, but the bar for quality Black Library is willing to put the new Horus Heresy Series logo is depressingly low. It's particularly depressing for stories like this that have a decent core, but need development and drafting to be more resonant, and a different editing process/ sensibility that trims the fat.
For Hate's Sake by Gav Thorpe 3/5
I've got deja vu...
An Imperial Fist and a Son of Horus play cat and mouse in an underground chamber while pontificating about how different and the same they are, before launching into The Four Underhivemen Sketch.
(Curse John Cleese for making Monty Python feel gross now that he's such a hateful bastard)
I don't know if this anthology is getting to me. I don't know if I am feeling more lenient or harsher towards this story because of how little fun I am having with this book, or how much the fact this collection opens with a, in my personal opinion and incredibly biased John French fangirl (but also a big, if critical, fan of Gav Thorpe) superior version of this story is influencing my feelings.
Right now this is a solid middle to upper three. I don't think I could honestly give this a four and two would be too harsh, unless I get a case of the writing a review changes the scores.
This at least has more of a hook than some go the previous ones and solid, if competent, prose and plotting, though it does still seek like the editors were asleep at the wheel. Or more cynically, these stories are purposefully not edited down because this is already a bit of a sparse anthology...
I really am a fan of Thorpe, but this is definitely not him firing on all cylinders. Sadly, this is more a The Divine Word, than a Raven's Flight, Weregeld or Path of the Eldar.
I just can't get over the fact that this is ostensibly the same story as Sons of Cthonia, but with a touch more, we are alike, you and I, and self pity. But it's not different enough of a take, perspective, or anything to be seen as an interesting sibling pieces to Sons. It seems really odd that two stories so similar would be published in same anthology without something more significant to contrast them. It's also the penultimate story, so it's not even like the two stories are book ending it.
I talked myself down to a low three, but a three it remains.
One more to go...
Postulant by Chris Forrester 4/5
CW: The end of this story has some real graphic Injury and Wound Detail
After reading this anthology I don't know if I'm being overly generous because I am elated to have felt something and ecstatic for this book to be over.
Set some time later than the previous stories, after the fall of the Emperor of the chanting of the Sons of Horus are to be believed, (the Warmaster's forces have been saying the Emperor's dead since Tales of Heresy, so who can say), a squad of the Dark Angels' Dreadwing touch down on Cthonia with one of their patented weapons too big and scary for anyone but then to have, so sayeth the Emperor, and the eponymous Postulant, a prospective new member into the hallowed Host, or rather, the harrowing host, that is the Dreadwing of the Hexagrammaton...
When I have a bad run of reading I start to convince myself that I'm just a hater and maybe I don't like anything, but then I read something that is actually pretty good and feel vindicated.
This story isn't mind-blowing, but it is easily a one of two contenders for second place in this anthology. There is actual tension and drama between characters that, classic Legion/ Chapter archetypes they might be, actually have some deeper character traits and/ or a sense of grounding in and being impacted by the galaxy and history around them.
I cannot tell you how depressing it is to write the above and it be a serious achievement for stories in this anthology.
I love it when Space Marines are shown to be the nightmare abomination weapons of mass destruction they were made to be and it works extra special when they are Dark Angels, because they bastard so well, and no-one bastards quite like the Dreadwing. (I mean, I also like it when individual Astartes not representing the Imperium are sweet baby Angels like the one with Sevatar and the 'ghost', which, again, has the Dark Angels bastarding it up good and proper) [I don't think I have ever used bastard as a verb before. This book broke my brain].
Compassion resulting in mass death and horrific injuries I love a lot less, but I guess grimdark is gonna grimdark. The description of the injuries and wounds are freaking gnarly!
It's just great to see the grizzled veterans worn down to the inhuman knife edge they are, like a Terminator (The James Cameron kind) with the imitation human skin melted off wanting nothing more than to kill the enemy regardless of collateral damage and the bright naivety of the Postulant just smashing together.
I don't know anything anymore.
This anthology absolutely bummed me out and I cannot see myself reading any of this, with the exception of the John French story, ever again.
Hooly. Dooly.
I have currently read* all 54 Horus Heresy main series novels (+1 repeat), 25 novellas (+2 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels, 3 Characters novels, and 160 short stories/ audio dramas across the Horus Heresy (inc. 10+ repeats and Cthonia's Reckoning). Plus, 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.
This review is just my personal, subjective opinion and for my own entertainment and catharsis. It is not intended for anyone who had anything to do with this book or anyone too close to someone who was involved with the book. Readers only please. Also, I don't know nothing, I just read a lot of Horus Heresy stuff.
Also, also, right up top I want to say that I think it's awesome to see new Black Library authors! This review isn't meant to disparage anyone, beyond whoever has the final say on what goes to print in what state. I'm sure with Games Workshop/ Black Library being such a huge company, even the editors have relatively little power, but I digress. More authors and more authors of various backgrounds and experiences are a wonderful thing that will eventually lead to better things for everyone.
OK.
"I've been excited to get into this!", Me, before actually getting to this.
OK. So I've reviewed each of the stories below as, unlike other Horus Heresy stories, they don't have their own entries on here. I've also rated them individually and the average of them does not come to one, but John French is doing a phenomenal amount of heavy lifting up front and doesn't deserve to be included in any other aspect of this review.
The one reflects my overall experience and I'll get into that.
TLDR: This anthology bummed me out so hard and left me feeling more depressed than when I turned to make believe to distract me from my depression.
Cthonia's Reckoning is an anthology of Horus Heresy short stories that the official Warhammer Community announcement newsletter after it was revealed at WarhammerFest 2022 described as an "anthology of new-lore", which the trifecta of the Games Workshop Corporation Promotional Newsletter being called Warhammer Community, the promotional event being Warhammer Fest, and a anthology of new stories being called "new-lore" already has so much major corpo marketing shpiel going on. I do understand that the stories take place with a time being covered by the new lore of the new edition of the Horus Heresy tabletop game, but the way it is presented in the announcement is bizarre!
At some nebulas time, around the time of the Siege of Terra, (possibly beginning a little before and likely ending a little after) a force of Imperial Fists were sent to take and hold the Warmaster, Horus Lupercal's homeworld of Cthonia, presumably to disrupt his resupply and reinforcement for the Siege, but also SPITE. We know there are Imperial Fists all over the place that haven't been able to get back to Terra for various reasons, and even if the new-lore is they were sent from Terra, despite that seeming to not make sense with the whole coming Siege and Dorn's general freaking out and putting guns, armour, and men on anything that doesn't move fast enough, I can buy it. This is the Dark Millennia, a lot of stuff doesn't make sense and the lore is constantly evolving and changing, and that's a good thing, actually! Especially if it means we get more cool stuff.
I'm being vague because the promotional material and blurbs are all very vague and the stories themselves are also very vague on the actual setup detail:
"After seven long years of conflict, the Horus Heresy nears its end. But now, as the Warmaster Horus marches on Terra to rip his father from the Throne, the seat of the arch-traitor’s power lies empty. Cthonia, a world once dominated by brutal murder-gangs, is occupied by the Emperor’s praetorians – the indomitable Imperial Fists. For the Sons of Horus, this outrage demands a reckoning. From the towering heights of Traitor’s Gate, stronghold of the VII Legion, to the unending warrens in the planet’s crust, the two sides slaughter one another without remorse. It is a war of spite, and only the most ruthless will rise to claim Cthonia"
Ultimately, it doesn't matter and the set up is that the Imperial Fists came to take Cthonia for the Imperium and vent their frustration at making the pretty palace all big and mean and, presumably the fighting has been furious and going on for some time?
This is where I am genuinely confused, as the vast majority of these stories are small individual scuffles and situations in the Ganger sewers and subterranean underworld-come-zone mortalis. It's never really explicitly stated, but it seems more like the aftermath of either one colossal event, like the annihilation of the surface of Calth, and/ or has been going on for so long and so bloody that everyone is worn down to the bone, like the Underworld War beneath the surface of Calth.
I'm sure this gets thrown around (I haven't looked at any reviews or discussion about this book yet, I prefer to read and review in a vacuum as much as I can. Yes, this does bite me when me when my C-PTSD gets triggered), so I'm just going to address it up top. This is not a poor person's Mark of Calth. Mark of Calth was a phenomenal collection of stories showing vastly different perspectives and details of the Underground War of Calth and events around it that underwent a whole lot of development, drafting and editing, so the stories felt grounded in time and place, as well as in relation to wider events, and characters with depth and individuality, you know, character. Mark of Calth also had the benefit of having the bloody brilliant Know No Fear novel that told the story of the calamity and set up a lot of context and elements that were borne out in Mark of Calth.
This is not Mark of Calth or any kind of lesser reflection.
I know I'm being a bitch and I'm sorry. I'm just having some fun and venting some of my frustrations and the feeling of crushed hopes this book left me with. Character Limit.
***
There doesn't seem to be individual entries for the stories as with the rest of the Horus Heresy, so be reviewing them here as I go through them.
Sons of Cthonia by John French 5/5
At this point John French and Gareth Armstrong feel like old friends, so this was a wonderful way to start.
This is a real 'All of this has happened before, all of this will happen again' story that sets a tone for this collection that makes me hopeful for these stories, even as this story grapples with the hopelessness and pointless of violence and war, and the perpetuating cycles.
In the gutters beneath Cthonia a relatively young Imp Fist and an old Son of Horus stalk one another in their own subterranean purgatory. They are both exhausted and depleted from a larger engagement, grubbing around in the filth for something to kill and something to kill with. The veteran has a lot to say about how things were and how things are as they circle one another and the drain...
No-one tells a grimdark story of the utter foulness and worthless thing that is war quite like John French, and I will always adore his utter refusal to glamorise or glorify it
This is a oddly beautiful story in its desperate sadness and pointed pointlessness. There's something positively dramatic about it in the theatrical sense, and I could imagine a strange abstraction of this as performed on stage, predominantly performed in a soliloquay that addresses the audience as much as the Imperial Fist. Honestly, I'm getting way too excited about the idea of Brechtian Warhammer stories!
...Waiting for Buzzgob.
Anyways, this was a fascinating and impressively restrained first story!
To the Last by Michael F Haspil 4/5
The Loyalist fleet is taken by surprise by the void supremacy of the Traitors over Cthonia. A valiant and prodigious captain prepares to make a last stand against an old rival and overwhelming odds above the homeworld the Arch Traitor...
I make no bones about purely action and military maneuver stories generally not being my favourite or particularly what I come to the Horus Heresy looking for, but when they are well written I have a good time.
This reminded me of watching Battlestar Galactica Reimagined and did an impressive job of portraying void warfare and telling a decent story.
The Gangs Beneath by Gary Kloster 2/5
In the sewers below Cthonia, Gangers face death or worse at the hands of the Traitors, getting caught in the crossfire, or running across one of the less caring Loyalists. In that desperate struggle even the mightiest transhuman warrior needs every ally and advantage they can get...
I enjoyed this story enough and it came close to making a more meaningful or at least more emotional impact, but it didn't quite get far enough past the tropes and shallow story and characters, which just a bit more of would have really elevated this.
This might be a case of suffering from the uncanny valley of seeming more promising than it was. I was really hoping there was going to be a deeper hook with the Astartes' memories of being a scared Ganger himself or that his completely inhuman Battle-Brother would have some interesting tension, growth, or tragedy for his callousness, but ultimately the flashbacks were just about how he was a badarse even before he was a Space Marine and the potential pathos was wasted.
Unfortunately, all the characterisation was thin, especially the Gangers who could have been swapped with goblins, grots, or ewoks with very little difference.
It's a real shame as the general prose narrative are decent, if unoriginal, but a just about decent general 40K story isn't good enough for the Horus Heresy, and now I've reviewed myself down from a three to a solid two.
The Flesh Harvest by Nicholas Wolf 2/5
Unfortunately, this needed a lot more time in the oven, originality, and editing.
In the Cthonian sewers rival gangs search for profane treasures...
I feel really bad about how much I'm about to go in on this. It's the first Wolf story I've read and there being new blood in the Black Library is a wonderful thing, but this just isn't of a quality for the Horus Heresy and isn't great by general 40K standards.
I mentioned the inappropriate way some people throw around terms like fanfiction or bad fanfiction for things they don't like and the traits they are generally referring to in my review of that book I have vowed to not speak on again. A quick summary is lack of development, drafting, editing, depth, originality, and general quality of prose and weighting of the story. There are countless fan works that excel in all of these areas, outstripping published works inordinately. Unfortunately, this is the converse.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, stories don't need to be entirely original and tropes, beats, and conventions are all good if handled well. The way I look at it is the more formulaic, tropey, and obvious a story is the greater expectation I have for quality of prose, tightness of the plot, and, honestly, the overall quality. This is the Horus Heresy and the Dark Millennia, so I am very aware of the start and end point, the kind of stories being told, and that so much is known and/ or obvious, so it really is all about the journey and the quality of the story and its elements.
I'm sure you can see where this is going...
This is a very by the numbers, workerlike, fantasy/Sci-fi plot. Scoundrels are searching for treasure in an unpleasant place and forced to form an alliance for a time after getting sketchy information from a sketchier source, which, again, is fine, but the there's no depth to anything and the only thing that makes it any different from any other story of that plot are the Horus Heresy language.
Speaking of language, this suffers from the classic genre fiction, particularly IP fiction, issue of absolutely hammering a term and in here it's "Zone Mortalis" to the point where it feels like this is an advert for the fancy terrain pieces for the game. I might be wrong, but I thought Zone Mortalis was the term for the battle map of a starship. I'm almost certain there's a Horus Heresy story that explicitly states that. Honestly, the specifics don't bother me, but when one phrase is repeated ad nauseum that really does.
Another element of the language is that, just like this review, it's just ungodly wordy, telling, as opposed to showing, and just needs so much editing and cutting down! There's truly no reason for this story to be so long and worry. Look, I am very aware that this is a major case of the Legion calling the Lucifer Black, I admit it, but I don't have editors and I'm not being published in a prestige series.
Also, the MacGuffin the story is all about just doesn't actually appear and by extension part of the ending is just non-existent. The details of the MacGuffin normally wouldn't actually be interesting or important in and of itself, but given the nature of the Dark Millennia, Archaeotech, Chaos and Xenos artefacts, and all the weird, wonderful, awful, and absolutely contraband technology, so this is an element that could be actually be interesting. Like, this is basically an Indiana Jones plot, so having the end with a Nurgle Grail, Ark of the Tzeentch Covenant, or finding some doomsday weapon that is used to trigger the destructive ending.
I feel awful for going in so much on a new Black Library author and I do want to say that beyond the mentioned issues the writing shows promise and I would be interested to see what they do in the future, but this is the first major release for the Horus Heresy post the finishing of the main series and The Siege of Terra either being in its last gasp or over when this was released, so it's disappointing. As I always say with elements like this, it is as much, it not more, on the editors, and whoever ultimately greenlights works for publishing, as the author.
Traitor's Faith by Noah Van Nguyen 3/5
I appreciate that this story was going for something.
The leader of a Sons of Horus group on Cthonia engages in a personal war of cat and mouse with an Imperial Fist he once called brother and wishes to again. Can he make his old friend see the light and what will he sacrifice for the opportunity?
Maybe it's me, but I'm noticing a concerning trend in Horus Heresy short stories from the last couple of years that seem to be going through a lot less development and editing. There's a particularly wordy and shallow tone, which is increasingly seeming like a new house style.
I don't like it.
This story at least had the hook of the former friendship and the ignorant faith of the Heretic, but this is another story filled with Adeptus Astartes, rather than characters who happen to be Space Marines.
I truly want to support the new authors, but the bar for quality Black Library is willing to put the new Horus Heresy Series logo is depressingly low. It's particularly depressing for stories like this that have a decent core, but need development and drafting to be more resonant, and a different editing process/ sensibility that trims the fat.
For Hate's Sake by Gav Thorpe 3/5
I've got deja vu...
An Imperial Fist and a Son of Horus play cat and mouse in an underground chamber while pontificating about how different and the same they are, before launching into The Four Underhivemen Sketch.
(Curse John Cleese for making Monty Python feel gross now that he's such a hateful bastard)
I don't know if this anthology is getting to me. I don't know if I am feeling more lenient or harsher towards this story because of how little fun I am having with this book, or how much the fact this collection opens with a, in my personal opinion and incredibly biased John French fangirl (but also a big, if critical, fan of Gav Thorpe) superior version of this story is influencing my feelings.
Right now this is a solid middle to upper three. I don't think I could honestly give this a four and two would be too harsh, unless I get a case of the writing a review changes the scores.
This at least has more of a hook than some go the previous ones and solid, if competent, prose and plotting, though it does still seek like the editors were asleep at the wheel. Or more cynically, these stories are purposefully not edited down because this is already a bit of a sparse anthology...
I really am a fan of Thorpe, but this is definitely not him firing on all cylinders. Sadly, this is more a The Divine Word, than a Raven's Flight, Weregeld or Path of the Eldar.
I just can't get over the fact that this is ostensibly the same story as Sons of Cthonia, but with a touch more, we are alike, you and I, and self pity. But it's not different enough of a take, perspective, or anything to be seen as an interesting sibling pieces to Sons. It seems really odd that two stories so similar would be published in same anthology without something more significant to contrast them. It's also the penultimate story, so it's not even like the two stories are book ending it.
I talked myself down to a low three, but a three it remains.
One more to go...
Postulant by Chris Forrester 4/5
CW: The end of this story has some real graphic Injury and Wound Detail
After reading this anthology I don't know if I'm being overly generous because I am elated to have felt something and ecstatic for this book to be over.
Set some time later than the previous stories, after the fall of the Emperor of the chanting of the Sons of Horus are to be believed, (the Warmaster's forces have been saying the Emperor's dead since Tales of Heresy, so who can say), a squad of the Dark Angels' Dreadwing touch down on Cthonia with one of their patented weapons too big and scary for anyone but then to have, so sayeth the Emperor, and the eponymous Postulant, a prospective new member into the hallowed Host, or rather, the harrowing host, that is the Dreadwing of the Hexagrammaton...
When I have a bad run of reading I start to convince myself that I'm just a hater and maybe I don't like anything, but then I read something that is actually pretty good and feel vindicated.
This story isn't mind-blowing, but it is easily a one of two contenders for second place in this anthology. There is actual tension and drama between characters that, classic Legion/ Chapter archetypes they might be, actually have some deeper character traits and/ or a sense of grounding in and being impacted by the galaxy and history around them.
I cannot tell you how depressing it is to write the above and it be a serious achievement for stories in this anthology.
I love it when Space Marines are shown to be the nightmare abomination weapons of mass destruction they were made to be and it works extra special when they are Dark Angels, because they bastard so well, and no-one bastards quite like the Dreadwing. (I mean, I also like it when individual Astartes not representing the Imperium are sweet baby Angels like the one with Sevatar and the 'ghost', which, again, has the Dark Angels bastarding it up good and proper) [I don't think I have ever used bastard as a verb before. This book broke my brain].
Compassion resulting in mass death and horrific injuries I love a lot less, but I guess grimdark is gonna grimdark. The description of the injuries and wounds are freaking gnarly!
It's just great to see the grizzled veterans worn down to the inhuman knife edge they are, like a Terminator (The James Cameron kind) with the imitation human skin melted off wanting nothing more than to kill the enemy regardless of collateral damage and the bright naivety of the Postulant just smashing together.
I don't know anything anymore.
This anthology absolutely bummed me out and I cannot see myself reading any of this, with the exception of the John French story, ever again.
Hooly. Dooly.
I have currently read* all 54 Horus Heresy main series novels (+1 repeat), 25 novellas (+2 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels, 3 Characters novels, and 160 short stories/ audio dramas across the Horus Heresy (inc. 10+ repeats and Cthonia's Reckoning). Plus, 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.
June 18, 2022
A great collection that does more than many full novels to explain why the Sons of Horus were so willing to turn against the Emperor.
Sons of Cthonia, John French
The idea of the Heresy as fraternal conflict is one that has had less prominence as the series has progressed, so it’s nice that the first Heresy-as-setting title opens with an exploration of these themes. French’s contribution to this anthology is taut and claustrophobic, fittingly set in labyrinthine tunnels and explores the changes that the Horus Heresy has wrought on the Legions and individual legionaries. It’s an interesting companion piece to the same author's Sigismund in that respect.
To The Last, Michael F Haspil
This is a really enjoyable story of void warfare, where the Astartes take a welcome back seat. BL anthologies tend to have one or two stories with a character crying out for a full length novel to follow up, and Captain Rumiko is one of those.
The Gangs Beneath, Gary Kloster
A story that looks at those caught between the warring factions of the Heresy, unworthy of attention unless they have utility. There are parallels with French’s Sons of Cthonia here in the suggestion that in losing memories of their past lives Space Marines lose more than just the ability to recall them.
The Flesh Harvest, Nicholas Wolf
First-person stories are vanishingly rare within the Heresy and this instantly made this story stand out. The fact that it’s very good helped too. Again another mortal-led story, and once more set in the literal underworld of Cthonia, the titular flesh harvest is a reminder of the role that Chaos plays in this war.
Traitor’s Faith, Noah Van Nguyen
Halfway into the anthology we get our first story from the Sons of Horus perspective. Noah Van Nguyen is a relative newcomer to BL, but is fast proving himself to be as good a writer as anyone in the stable. This is yet another great piece from him with memorable characters, full of action and dripping with the pathos that the best Heresy stories a drenched in.
For Hate’s Sake, Gav Thorpe
In many ways this story explores similar ideas to French and Kloster’s contributions- the similarities between recruits to both legions, the motivations of the respective sides but above all, how hatred is a motivating force. A really good short.
Postulant, Chris Forrester
This story, focusing on a *different* legion to the others in the anthology is another that I hope leads to a sequel novel.
Sons of Cthonia, John French
The idea of the Heresy as fraternal conflict is one that has had less prominence as the series has progressed, so it’s nice that the first Heresy-as-setting title opens with an exploration of these themes. French’s contribution to this anthology is taut and claustrophobic, fittingly set in labyrinthine tunnels and explores the changes that the Horus Heresy has wrought on the Legions and individual legionaries. It’s an interesting companion piece to the same author's Sigismund in that respect.
To The Last, Michael F Haspil
This is a really enjoyable story of void warfare, where the Astartes take a welcome back seat. BL anthologies tend to have one or two stories with a character crying out for a full length novel to follow up, and Captain Rumiko is one of those.
The Gangs Beneath, Gary Kloster
A story that looks at those caught between the warring factions of the Heresy, unworthy of attention unless they have utility. There are parallels with French’s Sons of Cthonia here in the suggestion that in losing memories of their past lives Space Marines lose more than just the ability to recall them.
The Flesh Harvest, Nicholas Wolf
First-person stories are vanishingly rare within the Heresy and this instantly made this story stand out. The fact that it’s very good helped too. Again another mortal-led story, and once more set in the literal underworld of Cthonia, the titular flesh harvest is a reminder of the role that Chaos plays in this war.
Traitor’s Faith, Noah Van Nguyen
Halfway into the anthology we get our first story from the Sons of Horus perspective. Noah Van Nguyen is a relative newcomer to BL, but is fast proving himself to be as good a writer as anyone in the stable. This is yet another great piece from him with memorable characters, full of action and dripping with the pathos that the best Heresy stories a drenched in.
For Hate’s Sake, Gav Thorpe
In many ways this story explores similar ideas to French and Kloster’s contributions- the similarities between recruits to both legions, the motivations of the respective sides but above all, how hatred is a motivating force. A really good short.
Postulant, Chris Forrester
This story, focusing on a *different* legion to the others in the anthology is another that I hope leads to a sequel novel.
June 23, 2022
I love this for its approach to covering a military action during the Heresy. While not every story is a winner, it succeeds in capturing the scope and character of the conflict without trying to be a single, jumbled narrative.
Now could we get Isstvan 3's Reckoning, Isstvan 5's Reckoning, and Beta-Garmon's Reckoning too?
Now could we get Isstvan 3's Reckoning, Isstvan 5's Reckoning, and Beta-Garmon's Reckoning too?
July 8, 2022
Cthonia when Horus was found: gangers
Cthonia after 200 years of Great Crusade development, progress & investment in the Emperor's Beloved Son's homeworld: gangers
The only good story in this collection ("Postulant") had Dark Angels protagonists instead of the VII or XVI Legion.
+ the duel between the Sons of Horus Power Axe Praetor & the Imperial Fists Power Sword Praetor misleadingly shown on the cover doesn't happen in any of the stories in this anthology.
Cthonia after 200 years of Great Crusade development, progress & investment in the Emperor's Beloved Son's homeworld: gangers
The only good story in this collection ("Postulant") had Dark Angels protagonists instead of the VII or XVI Legion.
+ the duel between the Sons of Horus Power Axe Praetor & the Imperial Fists Power Sword Praetor misleadingly shown on the cover doesn't happen in any of the stories in this anthology.
July 20, 2023
A mixed bag of original stories with a few gems, essentially flawed by the premise of the collection.
The idea of a set of non-connected short stories revolving around a single conflict, in this case the battle of Cthonia, is pretty solid, but the execution of this collection leaves a lot to be desired.
For a start, the war for Cthonia is a side-story at best and utterly inconsequential at worst. None of the stories really explain why Cthonia is significant (beyond it being the homeworld of Horus Lupercal, the leader of the renegade forces) or why it is worth fighting for. In fact, multiple stories talk about how the planet is a worthless burned out husk. I know it is silly to talk about realism in an epic science-fantasy series like Warhammer, but it does not make sense, given Cthonia's proximity to Terra, for the Imperial Fists to be employed in its defence. If there is an explanation, this short story collection does not give it.
It does not help that lots of the stories have ill-defined stakes. The stories that do buck this trend though are:
Sons of Cthonia: A tight narrative about duelling Ctholians beneath a ruined city.
The Flesh Harvest: A fun gory Necromunda style romp involving competing gangs and otherworldy entities
Traitor's Faith: An interesting insight into the conflicted minds of the combatants.
That said, this book is not a good introduction to the Horus Heresy series at all. For that you should check out "Lupercal's War", which is a much more consistent and interesting set of stories. It is also a much cheaper paperback, if that has an impact on your decision.
The idea of a set of non-connected short stories revolving around a single conflict, in this case the battle of Cthonia, is pretty solid, but the execution of this collection leaves a lot to be desired.
For a start, the war for Cthonia is a side-story at best and utterly inconsequential at worst. None of the stories really explain why Cthonia is significant (beyond it being the homeworld of Horus Lupercal, the leader of the renegade forces) or why it is worth fighting for. In fact, multiple stories talk about how the planet is a worthless burned out husk. I know it is silly to talk about realism in an epic science-fantasy series like Warhammer, but it does not make sense, given Cthonia's proximity to Terra, for the Imperial Fists to be employed in its defence. If there is an explanation, this short story collection does not give it.
It does not help that lots of the stories have ill-defined stakes. The stories that do buck this trend though are:
Sons of Cthonia: A tight narrative about duelling Ctholians beneath a ruined city.
The Flesh Harvest: A fun gory Necromunda style romp involving competing gangs and otherworldy entities
Traitor's Faith: An interesting insight into the conflicted minds of the combatants.
That said, this book is not a good introduction to the Horus Heresy series at all. For that you should check out "Lupercal's War", which is a much more consistent and interesting set of stories. It is also a much cheaper paperback, if that has an impact on your decision.
February 20, 2023
Nothing happens in this every story feels really pointless. Other than a few well written character bits this is not worth the read quite boring.
December 20, 2023
One of the better short story collections. And the limited edition is rather handsome, shame they're unlikely to release more in this format of unsigned limiteds.
July 13, 2025
Good read (listen) while doing other stuff. some of the short stories are definitely better than the others. I think my favorite was 'To the Last', the second one. there are some good moments in others, like the second half of the fourth story, but some of them are kind of boring or are kinda cool concepts that are poorly executed. Overall was good, not a waste of time or anything but not close to peak either.
August 29, 2025
Cthonia, homeworld to the Warmaster and his Legion. A world of dueling gangs and ferocious violence. Now it is besieged by the Emperor's praetorians, the Imperial Fists. Horus may bleed the galaxy, but his homeworld will be made to pay for his crimes.
Cthonia is curiously absent from most of the Heresy series, almost an after thought, only briefly explored in the short story "Lupus Daemonis". While the battle of Calth was first explored in a full length novel "Know no Fear" it would later receive an anthology "Mark of Calth" that further developed the conflict. Cthonia's Reckoning is similar to Mark of Calth, but is missing its Know no Fear. Without a proper novel exploring the full scale conflict of the Imperial Fists assaulting Cthonia, the short stories feel like they are missing context. We are getting short insular stories without having a picture of the wider conflict.
The collection itself seems to have been put together to be released alongside the second edition of the Horus Heresy table-top game, as the box art focused on the Imperial Fists v Sons of Horus conflict.
Sons of Cthonia by John French *****
John French is such a fantastic writer, his writing feels weighty and significant in this tragic tale set deep in the underworld of Cthonia.
The story starts with a young Imperial Fist, deep in the tunnels where gangs once brawled for territory and mirror coins were lain over the eyes of the slain. This Imperial Fist appears to know the myths and culture of Cthonia intimately, as it is revealed he is Cthonian. The Imperial Fists have been here long enough to have recruited from the local population.
But the Imperial Fist is not alone. A veteran of the Sons of Horus haunts the tunnels, himself a Cthonian. These two sons of the same planet walk diverging paths, each in a rival gang. The violence they conduct feels personal and intimate, as they stalk through the underground warrens of Cthonia, each acting as prey and predator. French creates a claustrophobic atmosphere, as if you too were down there in the dark.
French does a fantastic job of adding character to Cthonia, developing an identity of violence and ritualistic practices. Cthonia is an underworld, anything valuable carved out long ago, now it is an empty husk where gangs eek out a living, carving up territory through skirmishes and brawls.
That the two Space Marines are natives of Cthonia means that the lore and culture of the planet are plainly laid out to the reader, while still feeling natural.
The story is grim and bitter, the perpetuating of a cycle of violence that has haunted Cthonia for generations. Tragic and theatrical, the story ends with a soliloquy that felt Shakespearean.
To the Last by Michael F Haspil ***
A fierce void battle takes place above Cthonia as traitor reinforcements seek to drive out the Imperial occupiers.
Action focused but we'll executed. If you enjoy stories of void combat than this will be right up your alley.
The Gangs Beneath by Gary Kloster ***
An Imperial Fist born on Necromunda fights down in the Underhive of Cthonia. To take down the Sons of Horus, he has to trust Cthonian gangers.
Necromunda is of course both a planet in Warhammer, and the setting of a tabletop game where gangs fight each other. The gang culture of Necromunda has been developed across multiple Black Library books, and it does serve as a recruitment world for the Imperial Fists, so it was a clever lore connection to highlight the similarities between Necromunda and Cthonia.
Unfortunately the combat feels very similar to what was seen in "Sons of Cthonia".
The Flesh Harvest by Nicholas Wolf **
A first person narrative about a Cthonian ganger looking for treasure while the underground is turned into a killing zone by the Legions.
Interesting premise, but there was something about the narrative voice of the story that I found a little juvenile. I'm used to the Heresy trying to carry itself with a certain weight and seriousness, while this story at times felt a little more goofy. Also for a story about a Cthonian ganger, it felt sort of generic, like it could have taken place on any hive world in the Imperium, compared to French's Sons of Cthonia it lacked details to develop the world.
Traitor's Faith by Noah Van Nguyen ****
Sons of Horus Chieftain Kovarny leads his brothers into battle against the Imperial Fists, but he has delivered strict orders, the Imperial Fist Captain Garrius is to be captured, not killed.
On a battlefield during the Great Crusade Kovarny and Garrius became brothers. Now Kovarny seeks to save his brother, to show him the error of his views, to explain that the Emperor is the real traitor and the Legiones Astartes deserve to inherit the galaxy.
To me this is the sort of story the Heresy is all about. Bonds of brotherhood shattered, betrayal turning friendship into betrayal anf disgust, characters deluding themselves into believing falsehoods because the truth is too painful. Great stuff.
For Hate's Sake by Gav Thorpe ****
"Hate is slow and and cold, continually eroding that which it touches."
A hateful and violent story of a son of Cthonia and a son of Necromunda. Born on violent worlds they scraped and fought to survive, only to be taken by the Legions, turned into weapons of hate.
The violence of the book is sharp and cruel, like two rats in a trap. The combatants have nothing left but their mutual hatred. They know they well die down in the dark and all that is left to them is to be the killer and not the killed.
The similarities between the two Astartes only highlights the pointless nature of the war.
Again this is another story of dueling Astartes down in the dark, which is beginning to feel more than a little repetitive.
Postulant by Chris Forrester ****
'The Emperor is dead!' They jeered. 'Dead. Dead. Dead!'
This story isset during the Scouring. The Warmaster has been slain and the Emperor sits on the Golden Throne of Terra. The Lion arrived too late to save his father. Now the Dreadwing of the Dark Angels have come to bring death to Cthonia.
The Dreadwing make use of the most horrific weapons in the Dark Angel's arsenal, rad and bio weapons that can cull entire planets. There is no honour in what they do, only revenge driven by anger and shame. Shame that they were not there to defend the walls of Terra, shame for failing to protect the Imperium, shame for letting the Emperor fall.
Some nice tension and drama to wrap up the book.
My final thoughts on the anthology was that too many of the stories felt like they were threading the same ground of having a lone Imperial Fist facing off against a lone Son of Horus somewhere deep underground. That and the scale of the conflict and the nature of it was a bit confusing. At first I thought the Imperial Fists were the invaders, but it seems like they had secured Cthonia quite quickly and the Sons of Horus came to reclaim the planet. Maybe if the book had opened with a novella that dealt with the conflict on a wider scale I would appreciate it more.
Cthonia is curiously absent from most of the Heresy series, almost an after thought, only briefly explored in the short story "Lupus Daemonis". While the battle of Calth was first explored in a full length novel "Know no Fear" it would later receive an anthology "Mark of Calth" that further developed the conflict. Cthonia's Reckoning is similar to Mark of Calth, but is missing its Know no Fear. Without a proper novel exploring the full scale conflict of the Imperial Fists assaulting Cthonia, the short stories feel like they are missing context. We are getting short insular stories without having a picture of the wider conflict.
The collection itself seems to have been put together to be released alongside the second edition of the Horus Heresy table-top game, as the box art focused on the Imperial Fists v Sons of Horus conflict.
Sons of Cthonia by John French *****
John French is such a fantastic writer, his writing feels weighty and significant in this tragic tale set deep in the underworld of Cthonia.
The story starts with a young Imperial Fist, deep in the tunnels where gangs once brawled for territory and mirror coins were lain over the eyes of the slain. This Imperial Fist appears to know the myths and culture of Cthonia intimately, as it is revealed he is Cthonian. The Imperial Fists have been here long enough to have recruited from the local population.
But the Imperial Fist is not alone. A veteran of the Sons of Horus haunts the tunnels, himself a Cthonian. These two sons of the same planet walk diverging paths, each in a rival gang. The violence they conduct feels personal and intimate, as they stalk through the underground warrens of Cthonia, each acting as prey and predator. French creates a claustrophobic atmosphere, as if you too were down there in the dark.
French does a fantastic job of adding character to Cthonia, developing an identity of violence and ritualistic practices. Cthonia is an underworld, anything valuable carved out long ago, now it is an empty husk where gangs eek out a living, carving up territory through skirmishes and brawls.
That the two Space Marines are natives of Cthonia means that the lore and culture of the planet are plainly laid out to the reader, while still feeling natural.
The story is grim and bitter, the perpetuating of a cycle of violence that has haunted Cthonia for generations. Tragic and theatrical, the story ends with a soliloquy that felt Shakespearean.
To the Last by Michael F Haspil ***
A fierce void battle takes place above Cthonia as traitor reinforcements seek to drive out the Imperial occupiers.
Action focused but we'll executed. If you enjoy stories of void combat than this will be right up your alley.
The Gangs Beneath by Gary Kloster ***
An Imperial Fist born on Necromunda fights down in the Underhive of Cthonia. To take down the Sons of Horus, he has to trust Cthonian gangers.
Necromunda is of course both a planet in Warhammer, and the setting of a tabletop game where gangs fight each other. The gang culture of Necromunda has been developed across multiple Black Library books, and it does serve as a recruitment world for the Imperial Fists, so it was a clever lore connection to highlight the similarities between Necromunda and Cthonia.
Unfortunately the combat feels very similar to what was seen in "Sons of Cthonia".
The Flesh Harvest by Nicholas Wolf **
A first person narrative about a Cthonian ganger looking for treasure while the underground is turned into a killing zone by the Legions.
Interesting premise, but there was something about the narrative voice of the story that I found a little juvenile. I'm used to the Heresy trying to carry itself with a certain weight and seriousness, while this story at times felt a little more goofy. Also for a story about a Cthonian ganger, it felt sort of generic, like it could have taken place on any hive world in the Imperium, compared to French's Sons of Cthonia it lacked details to develop the world.
Traitor's Faith by Noah Van Nguyen ****
Sons of Horus Chieftain Kovarny leads his brothers into battle against the Imperial Fists, but he has delivered strict orders, the Imperial Fist Captain Garrius is to be captured, not killed.
On a battlefield during the Great Crusade Kovarny and Garrius became brothers. Now Kovarny seeks to save his brother, to show him the error of his views, to explain that the Emperor is the real traitor and the Legiones Astartes deserve to inherit the galaxy.
To me this is the sort of story the Heresy is all about. Bonds of brotherhood shattered, betrayal turning friendship into betrayal anf disgust, characters deluding themselves into believing falsehoods because the truth is too painful. Great stuff.
For Hate's Sake by Gav Thorpe ****
"Hate is slow and and cold, continually eroding that which it touches."
A hateful and violent story of a son of Cthonia and a son of Necromunda. Born on violent worlds they scraped and fought to survive, only to be taken by the Legions, turned into weapons of hate.
The violence of the book is sharp and cruel, like two rats in a trap. The combatants have nothing left but their mutual hatred. They know they well die down in the dark and all that is left to them is to be the killer and not the killed.
The similarities between the two Astartes only highlights the pointless nature of the war.
Again this is another story of dueling Astartes down in the dark, which is beginning to feel more than a little repetitive.
Postulant by Chris Forrester ****
'The Emperor is dead!' They jeered. 'Dead. Dead. Dead!'
This story isset during the Scouring. The Warmaster has been slain and the Emperor sits on the Golden Throne of Terra. The Lion arrived too late to save his father. Now the Dreadwing of the Dark Angels have come to bring death to Cthonia.
The Dreadwing make use of the most horrific weapons in the Dark Angel's arsenal, rad and bio weapons that can cull entire planets. There is no honour in what they do, only revenge driven by anger and shame. Shame that they were not there to defend the walls of Terra, shame for failing to protect the Imperium, shame for letting the Emperor fall.
Some nice tension and drama to wrap up the book.
My final thoughts on the anthology was that too many of the stories felt like they were threading the same ground of having a lone Imperial Fist facing off against a lone Son of Horus somewhere deep underground. That and the scale of the conflict and the nature of it was a bit confusing. At first I thought the Imperial Fists were the invaders, but it seems like they had secured Cthonia quite quickly and the Sons of Horus came to reclaim the planet. Maybe if the book had opened with a novella that dealt with the conflict on a wider scale I would appreciate it more.
December 26, 2022
Poor compilation with no direction
Not a great anthology at all, most stories were nothing but action sequences with no real background as to why this war on Cthonia is even happening. Some interesting stories, however most were very similar in execution which failed to help the reader understand what the point if this anthology was.
Not a great anthology at all, most stories were nothing but action sequences with no real background as to why this war on Cthonia is even happening. Some interesting stories, however most were very similar in execution which failed to help the reader understand what the point if this anthology was.
May 2, 2023
Boring.
May 14, 2023
A very well written and edited collection of short stories, narrating the skirmish missions on Horus' planet at the time his legion invades terra.
Most of them, if not all, are character driven, contained stories, emphasising the futility of war between "brothers".
Sons of Cthonia - John French (4/5)
A tale of two legionaires, on opposite sides, finding a futile, common, fighting ground.
Great characterisation and writing, works great as an introduction to this short anthology of skirmish battles.
To the Last - Michael F Haspil (3/5)
A tale of void (spaceship) warcraft between the Sons of Horus and the Imperial Fists' fleet, surrounding the planet.
I tend to get lost in larger scale tales but this was well-written and paced with witty characterisation in between.
The Gangs Beneath - Gary Kloster (4/5)
A claustrophobic tale about an "against all odds" mission in the underworld of Chtonhia. My personal highlight reading it was the contrast between humans and the transhuman space marines, making this a tale of heroic deeds from the most unlikely people.
The Flesh Harvest - Nicholas Wolf (3/5)
Very well-written, it was a bit overshadowed by the previous story, mostly because it involves a similar theme and structure. That said, the description of the gangs' culture on Chthonia is a unique highlight in this anthology .
Traitor's Faith - Noah Van Nguyen (3,5/5)
A tale of two former battle brothers finding themselves on opposite sides. Great writting, an idiosyncratic look at the confined "zone mortalis" battles, with characters that hopefully will be featured in more stories. Especially since they announced their release as miniatures/named characters for the tabletip game
For Hate's Sake - Gav Thorpe (3/5)
Again, a story that is overshadowed by the one presiding it. Similar theme and development. Thorpe is a veteran writer and he can make every story compelling though...
Postulant - Chris Forrester (3/5)
A small chronicle of a drop assault in the same setting, this time featuring the Dark Angels legion. I am not a huge fan of the Dark Angels' mythos (secrets within secrets, wrapped in a secret agenda...) but the author writes compelling action and good characterisation.
All in all, this book was intended as a companion piece and an introduction, to the new edition of the Horus Heresy tabletop game. Most stories would make good scenarios on the table. As a story collection, it is not an essential HH read but, it covers a corner of the universe left in the shadow up until now and we get to discover fresh voices and veteran storytellers alike
Most of them, if not all, are character driven, contained stories, emphasising the futility of war between "brothers".
Sons of Cthonia - John French (4/5)
A tale of two legionaires, on opposite sides, finding a futile, common, fighting ground.
Great characterisation and writing, works great as an introduction to this short anthology of skirmish battles.
To the Last - Michael F Haspil (3/5)
A tale of void (spaceship) warcraft between the Sons of Horus and the Imperial Fists' fleet, surrounding the planet.
I tend to get lost in larger scale tales but this was well-written and paced with witty characterisation in between.
The Gangs Beneath - Gary Kloster (4/5)
A claustrophobic tale about an "against all odds" mission in the underworld of Chtonhia. My personal highlight reading it was the contrast between humans and the transhuman space marines, making this a tale of heroic deeds from the most unlikely people.
The Flesh Harvest - Nicholas Wolf (3/5)
Very well-written, it was a bit overshadowed by the previous story, mostly because it involves a similar theme and structure. That said, the description of the gangs' culture on Chthonia is a unique highlight in this anthology .
Traitor's Faith - Noah Van Nguyen (3,5/5)
A tale of two former battle brothers finding themselves on opposite sides. Great writting, an idiosyncratic look at the confined "zone mortalis" battles, with characters that hopefully will be featured in more stories. Especially since they announced their release as miniatures/named characters for the tabletip game
For Hate's Sake - Gav Thorpe (3/5)
Again, a story that is overshadowed by the one presiding it. Similar theme and development. Thorpe is a veteran writer and he can make every story compelling though...
Postulant - Chris Forrester (3/5)
A small chronicle of a drop assault in the same setting, this time featuring the Dark Angels legion. I am not a huge fan of the Dark Angels' mythos (secrets within secrets, wrapped in a secret agenda...) but the author writes compelling action and good characterisation.
All in all, this book was intended as a companion piece and an introduction, to the new edition of the Horus Heresy tabletop game. Most stories would make good scenarios on the table. As a story collection, it is not an essential HH read but, it covers a corner of the universe left in the shadow up until now and we get to discover fresh voices and veteran storytellers alike
August 23, 2022
An interesting collection of stories that give a better insight into how and why the Sons of Horus betrayed the Imperium.
While the focus on Cthonia and the end of the heresy was enjoyable to read, many of the stories had a very similar style and tone, with a very limited selection of locales. They all felt as though there was a very specific brief and they had to hit key points to stay relevant.
The cohesion was nice, but slightly repetitive.
Overall very much worth the read, and enjoyable enough collection of stories.
While the focus on Cthonia and the end of the heresy was enjoyable to read, many of the stories had a very similar style and tone, with a very limited selection of locales. They all felt as though there was a very specific brief and they had to hit key points to stay relevant.
The cohesion was nice, but slightly repetitive.
Overall very much worth the read, and enjoyable enough collection of stories.
August 2, 2024
Between a 3 and a 4 - and while I don't generally like the anthologies, this one was quite good I thought as all set on Cthonia, dealing with the theatre of war that was occurring there during the Horus Heresy, right up until the final act of that theatre.
While the stories could be a bit mixed at times, they all seemed to capture well the atmosphere of Cthonia, an almost claustrophobic type of feel, and gave us a good feel of the mindsets of the different Legions in play here, especially those native as such to Cthonia.
Quite bleak at times, but felt a good set of stories overall.
While the stories could be a bit mixed at times, they all seemed to capture well the atmosphere of Cthonia, an almost claustrophobic type of feel, and gave us a good feel of the mindsets of the different Legions in play here, especially those native as such to Cthonia.
Quite bleak at times, but felt a good set of stories overall.
July 17, 2022
Mixed feelings. I hadn’t read up on this before buying and hadn’t expected it to be a short story collection.
That said I think the idea of all the shorts around one conflict (where typically Horus heresy short collections are all individual) works well here.
Would I have preferred one proper well built narrative following some of the key events and fleshing them out? Of course! But it is what it is.
I’ve read worse new release tie in books (Indomitus anyone?)
That said I think the idea of all the shorts around one conflict (where typically Horus heresy short collections are all individual) works well here.
Would I have preferred one proper well built narrative following some of the key events and fleshing them out? Of course! But it is what it is.
I’ve read worse new release tie in books (Indomitus anyone?)
June 10, 2023
Sons of Cthonia - Imp Fist Vs. SoH in tunnels.
To the Last - epic void battle
The Gangs Beneath - Imp Fists vs. SoH; gangers help
The Flesh Harvest - Gangers race to retrieve artifacts from vault; Word Bearer chosen
Traitors Faith - SoH try to convert Imp Fist Garrius - No chance
For Hates Sake - SoH and IF fight over drilling gear; locked in wrestle as roof caves
Postulant - Dark Angels delivering a Vortex Weapon
To the Last - epic void battle
The Gangs Beneath - Imp Fists vs. SoH; gangers help
The Flesh Harvest - Gangers race to retrieve artifacts from vault; Word Bearer chosen
Traitors Faith - SoH try to convert Imp Fist Garrius - No chance
For Hates Sake - SoH and IF fight over drilling gear; locked in wrestle as roof caves
Postulant - Dark Angels delivering a Vortex Weapon
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2023
Few short stories taking place around Horus's home world Cthonia during final years of heresy. Terra is under siege, here Imperial Fists took the planet, but now face counter offence by traitor relief forces.
Most stories take place in the tunnels of the underhive between small groups of Astartes.
Most stories take place in the tunnels of the underhive between small groups of Astartes.
July 26, 2022
This book did nothing to advance the Horus Heresy timeline. Save your money, do not buy it.
May 25, 2023
It was a quick, easy read that ended up being a lot of fun. 3.5 stars, really.
December 11, 2023
pretty good, the space battle is a really good story.
January 14, 2025
Most of the different stories were good and they were connected in time and place, but somehow it feels like a big introductory explanaition would have added a lot of value to the anthology.
July 1, 2025
A nice solid anthology with only one weak link. The Flesh Harvest being the real standout.
October 23, 2025
A waste of time - the first story here is the only thing remotely resembling a saving grace in what is, otherwise, a collection of irrelevant and unnecessary stories that achieve nothing.
October 1, 2022
Better than Calth atleast
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