I make no secret of the fact that I am a big fan of The Black Library’s amazing Horus Heresy series of books and audio-novels. From the beginning of my tenure with Games Workshop all those years ago, I have always been enraptured and enthralled by the lore presented in support of their traditional tabletop war games, most specifically Warhammer 40K. Voraciously I consumed any titbit and piece of story relating to this fantastic universe, and became what is commonly known as a Fluff-buff at my local gaming store. Of course, the Warhammer 40K lore is always in a state of flux, and it can be frustrating to keep everything in perspective: the recent relaunch of both the Dark Eldar and the Necrons are excellent examples with both races receiving new lore, and in the case of the Necrons an almost entirely new origin story. This frustration extends to the actual Heresy series itself, with many denouncing the stories as conjecture and others (including myself) appreciating the solidness they lend to the 40K universe. I can quite honestly say I adore the Horus Heresy series and what it attempts to do. It is a fine example of not only the Black Library’s brand of Science Fiction, but as dark Science Fiction in general.
It is thusly that we come to the latest opus in the series, Gav Thorpe’s first foray into a full Heresy novel Deliverance Lost. It tells the tale of the Primarch Corax and his Raven Guard after they survived the traumatic Dropsite Massacre at Istvaan V, and the Primarchs attempts to not only to strengthen his legion but also strike back at Horus and his cronies. However, his task is complicated by the machinations of The Alpha Legion, one of the most secretive and mysterious Astartes Legions as they infiltrate the Raven Guard toward a dark and terrible end. The good Mr Thorpe weaves a dense and multi-strand tale befitting what is seen as a direct sequel to Dan Abnett’s astonishing Legion, the superb The First Heretic by upcoming wunderkind Aaron Dembski-Bowden and Gav Thorpe’s own Raven Guard audio-story Raven’s Flight.
Now I need to point out that I haven’t been the biggest fan of Gav Thorpe’s writing in the past, less to do with his style of writing which is punchy and gripping and reminds me of a slightly more wistful Dan Abnett, but more to do with his choice of subject matter: mainly The Eldar and his earlier exploits with The Dark Angels, who are a very unfairly maligned subject when it comes to lore. So to have a full book by Mr Thorpe that I actually want to read, nay, need to read is refreshing and he doesn’t disappoint. Gav dispenses with any pretence or catch up required, this book is part of chain and the author makes no apologies for steaming headlong into the now. This book is in no way an entry book into this astonishing series unlike say Flight of The Eisenstein or Fulgrim, which form part of a whole but can be enjoyed as entities of their own accord. Deliverance Lost is the culmination of several events in the Heresy: the massacre at Istvaan V, The Alpha Legions siding with Horus on advice from the mysterious Cabal, the revelation that said legion has not one but two Primarchs, the twins Alpharius and Omegon, and there is even a tenuous genetic link between this books story and the fantastic Nemesis, mainly the point of the power of The Emperor’s genetic material. This may seem like a weighty and unwieldy amount of pre-reading for a singular story, but persevere and it is massively rewarding on several levels.
First off, there are the main players themselves, Corax, Omegon and Alpharius and their respective Legions. It is always a joy in the Heresy series to see exactly what makes a Primarch tick, and not since Fulgrim have we gotten such an in-depth look into one of the Emperor’s sons. Corax is a wonder of a character, cold and calculating but never cruel, with perhaps one of the most labyrinth minds of his brothers. What makes him interesting is his guilt: guilt at the deaths of his men at Istvaan, guilt for the human suffering his kind has wrought, and guilt that he did not foresee the Heresy coming. Corax is presented as a believable human being, which is something quite difficult considering he is a super-human giant who can melt into shadows and break a man’s body with one hand. We may not always agree with his actions, and his guilt-driven obsession with rebuilding his legion makes for uncomfortable reading in places, he is still relatable and utterly believable.
On the other hand, we have The Alpha Legions twin leaders, Alpharius and Omegon who have undergone an unusual transformation since Legion. It is always difficult for one writer to pick up the characters crafted by another, and it shows in Deliverence Lost. Whereas Dan Abnett crafted these two characters into believable and enigmatic creatures, always on the side of mankind regardless of the means or consequences, Mr Thorpe approaches that terrible thin line that all Black Library writers need to be wary of: The Comedy Chaos Line – the point were a realistic character devolves into an almost moustache-twirling non-character because he’s For Chaos y’all! This kind of characterisation absolutely plagued Battle for the Abyss (to my mind, the only poor entry into the series) and tends to inflict primary characters, rendering them into two dimensional bad guys, who are simply bad because they are bad. While neither Primarch charge headlong into this territory, they do skim close at some points; they are callously cruel sometimes, and seem to view everyone they meet with an air of condescension quite at ends with the intelligent and resourceful characters presented in Legion. This is something I have noticed in a lot of older Black Library writers like Gav: they have problems with realistic villains and they are sometimes blinded by 40K’s own Grimdark demeanour. Whilst writers like Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill and the absolutely stellar Aaron Dembski-Bowden bring a gritty realism and solid human perspective to these other worldly characters, I sometimes feel the old guard of Black Library have problems keeping up.
However, Gav triumphs when it comes to the interactions between the Primarchs, with not only Corax and the twins raising their heads, but also Rogal Dorn, Lorgar, Horus and a surprisingly key character Konrad Curze getting in on the grim-dark action. The Heresy is always at its best when dealing directly with the interactions between these characters and some key ones are highlighted in Deliverance Lost. We see Corax’s real and genuine fear of the thin line between himself and his spiteful brother Curze, we see the brotherly respect between Dorn and Corax himself, and in a stellar chapter we are privy to an actual conversation between Corax and his Father, The God-Emperor himself. As the series continues, the writers are becoming bolder and more confident with the issue of representing The Emperor and each time he is part of a story he literally steals the scene. Similar to his twist arrival in Nemesis, and striking down of The Word Bearers in The First Heretic, and face-time we get with The Emperor is awesome and Gave continues this amazing trend. I would actually class the chapters between Corax and The Emperor as one of the many highlights of the entire book and is literally worth reading for.
The story itself is rivetting, if slightly convoluted, Gav lacking Dan Abnett natural flair with a good science fiction mystery. The primary conceit of the novel is that The Alpha Legion has infiltrated the Raven Guard with a mixture of mind-wiping and genetic tampering. This is of course wholly appropriate for The Alpha Legion who has never been the most traditional or predictable of legions. We are presented with a character who describes himself as ‘Alpharius’ (the wonderful concept of The Alpha Legions desire for anonymity was introduced in Legion) who has infiltrated the Raven Guard and suffers conflicting emotions between his duty to his Legion and also the slowly developing comradeship he has with his ‘brothers’ in the Raven Guard. This is spun out for several chapters, building to a crescendo but fizzles out as we hit the end. The emotions never reach any kind of end, ‘Alpharius’ simply steps back into being an Alpha Legionnaire and the book gallops roughshod to a slightly messy end. There is no suitable pay-off, and although the primary turn of the novel (the tragedy that befalls Corax’s attempts to reforge his legion) is genuinely tragic and a high point for the series, it all feels a bit rushed. You get the feeling that Gav poured all this wonderful characterisation and depth into his story for three quarters of the book, only to discover he was running out of pages and had to chuck everything in as quickly as possible.
The slow burning tone and mystery of the book is suddenly cast away toward the end in favour of a large and unexpected battle in the books final quarter. The Mechanicum stick their metallic noses in, Titans are unleashed and mutated raven Guard run roughshod over the mysterious concepts presented so far. Indeed, several themes and characters get absolutely lost in the scrum to reach the end: the human character of Marcus Valarius, who was built up during the audio prequel Raven’s Flight and is given significant coverage early in the book never really gets the attention he deserves or a sufficient ending to complete his arc. A quick and almost ungainly skirmish with The Emperor’s Children is hurled in at the last minute with no real point and the whole affair just feels rushed. I know that Black Library maintains a strict word and page count, but when a story is as interesting as the one Gav is trying to craft, then extra space should not be a problem. As it is, the ending turns this book from a potentially amazing one into merely a great one.
Now you may feel I have been unfairly harsh on this book, but I feel I have been quite fair. If you want to see harsh, just ask me my opinions on Battle for the Abyss or the abysmal writings of C.S Goto and then you shall see harsh. Deliverance Lost is a great book, and a solidly enjoyable read, but it is not an exceptional one. Nowhere near the shining highs of the series such as Mechanicum, Prospero Burns, A Thousand Sons or even the original opening trilogy, Deliverence Lost is still a fascinating creature and definitely worth owning. For Horus Heresy enthusiasts, it is indispensible and even fans of the Raven Guard themselves may get a heap out of this book. However, for new converts, leave this book till very late on, at least till you have read the previous seventeen books. In second thoughts, make that sixteen; you gain nothing by reading battle for the Abyss, only hours wasted! See, told you I could be harsh…
