NOTE: I don't want to ruin anyones enjoyment of the series of books but this book has really given me new insight into the birth of the Primarchs, which I'd like to discuss with other like minded individuals.So If you plan to read this book or are in the process of doing so, or just not interested - please ignore this post.
If people think this will ruin peoples pleasure in the books - I will delete the post if requested.
I've enjoyed nearly all the Horus Heresy books so far (except those 2 dreary Dark Angel books even though I love the background of the DA's but the authors were terrible), seeing the background of the Mechanicum, the way the Alpha Legion conduct thier battles and the fall of the Thousand Sons from grace.
But I've always wondered how the Word Bearers became the 1st Traitors or why the hatred shown against the Ultramarines and Gulliman?
This is the 1st book written in the series by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, and I was worried that I may not like his style (he's no Dan Abnett), but soon as I got through the first chapter I was hooked and enjoying his prose. Especially as it dealt straight away with the use of the Ultramarines to punish the Word Bearers for their lack of compliance progress and use of Faith and God Worship. Now I see why Calth had to burn...
But even more comes the small descussion on the fate of the 2 lost Legions:
from previous lore from the start of the 'Rogue Trader' book, we know 2 legions were removed from the list of the 1st Twenty - no names, no primarch.
What happened to them?
Even in the 1st Horus Heresy book, when Horus was shown the birth chamber on Terra, it was recounted that all 20 Primarchs were taken and spread across the galaxy. But what happened to the lost 2, were they just lost never to be found or some accident happen to them?
In this book we get a small section in which the Captain and Chaplain are discussing their Gene Father Lorgar and mention that they had never seen him so upset as "when he was beside his Father and saw what his brother primarchs of the 2nd and 11th had become.."
So we get our first glimpse that the two Primarchs were found but still a mystery as to what was wrong with them?
Later, the Word Bearers discuss how the Ultramrines seemed to have larger Legions than the rest of the Imperium. I had always just assumed that the realm of Ultramar had better resources and larger populations from which to recruit than the usual one home planet; but they then go on to mention that rumours had it that the 2 failed legion troops where subsumed into the Ultramarines Legion.
Could it be that the lost 2 Primarchs were found in the distant eastern segment of the galaxy, nearer to the Ultramarines than any of the other 17 Legions?
The next revelation is on how the accident that allowed the Primarchs to be spread across the galaxy actually happened:
In the 1st Book - we learn how Horus is taken on a spirit journey into the realm of chaos and shown various sights.
One of which is the Chamber on Terra that the Primarchs were created, but it just ends at the point when the accident happened - no clue as to what caused it - we assume from previous writting that the Gods of Chaos managed to breach Terra and the sacred wards put in place by the Emperor.
Now we know that it was the interference by the Word Bearers namely Argel Tal that destroyed the Geller Field protecting the Laboratory from such Warp influence - and so the Word Bearers became the architects of their own down fall. Such poetic justice and really good use of the favor of the Gods of Chaos - especially Tzeentch - plans within plans - the past and the future have no meaning to the Warp, just a means to an end.
Finally the one new revelation that has me perplexed and wondering is a section that discusses the way that a number of the Primarchs which were of interest to Chaos came to land on their indivdually planned planets (not so random as previously thought), as they may have been secret havens of Chaos influence.
The section details 10 of the Primarchs and how they came to land; I won't discuss all of the them - but all 9 Traitor Legions are discussed: Word Bearers, Lunar Wolves, World Eaters, Emperors Children, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, Iron Warriors, Night Lords and Alpha Legion.
But then a description of the 10th Primarch
The first was a blazing meteorite, ploughing into the soft soil of a temperate world. The pod didn't punch deep; it carved a furrow in the ground and skidded to a halt in the midst of an evergreen forest si dense that thr overhanging trees refused the moonlight above.
The child that emerged from the broken pod was pale of skin and fierce of eye. His hair was as black as the armour of the warriors he would grow to lead.
He is this Primarch?
I have my thoughts - what do other people think?
Hope this has not spoilt anything for others - I highly recommend reading this book in the series.
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