The First Heretic: Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Amidst the galaxy-wide war of the Great Crusade, the Emperor castigates the Word Bearers for their worship. Distraught at this judgment, Lorgar and his Legion seek another path while devastating world after world, venting their fury and fervor on the battlefield. Their search for a new purpose leads them to the edge of the material universe, where they meet ancient forces far more powerful than they could have imagined. Having set out to illuminate the Imperium, the corruption of Chaos takes hold and their path to damnation begins. Unbeknownst to the Word Bearers, their quest for truth contains the very roots of heresy…
~http://www.blacklibrary.com/Horus-Heresy/First-Heretic-The.html
Having finished The First Heretic around lunchtime, I enjoyed it greatly, and now holds the prize of being my favourite Horus Heresy Novel, outclassing even A Thousand Sons by Graham McNeill.
And believe it or not, this is Dembski-Bowden’s first step down the Horus Heresy series and he’s pulled it off brilliantly. In this novel, as many have guessed, the focus is mainly on the XVII Legion, the scions of Lorgar, the Bearers of the Word. Yes, the Word Bearers are back.
Even though I haven’t read Anthony Reynolds’s Word Bearer Trilogy, I was wondering if ADB could still pull it off, and judging by the other reviews that I’ve read – he has.
There are several great moments in this book, and I especially like the fact that we see the discovery of a planet near the Eye of Terror that will prove such an important role in the 41st Millennium, but is literally nothing in the 31st. If you’re a fan of 40k then you’ve probably guessed what planet it is already. (Note for Heresy Online Readers: I cross-post this on other websites where people who read it might not always be 40k fans).
Another revelation in this novel is the identity of the first person to utter the words, “Death to the False Emperor.”
The First Heretic was well written, well paced and contained great action towards the end, although seemed to be more political in the beginning. Also, this novel was the first book that felt similar to the earlier novels that focused around the Sons of Horus, so I enjoyed it even more for that.
As well as being focused on the Word Bearers themselves, you also get a hint as to why the Ultramarine Legion might be so huge and a bit of information of the twenty Primarchs creation.
There is also a lot of character development, as the Word Bearers go from over-zealous followers, devout worshippers of the God-Emperor to renegade upholders of the Chaos Gods.
High Point: Returning to the Isstvan system again and learning about the backstory to the Word Bearers, learning about the Primarchs as well.
Low Point: What low point? There is no low point in this novel, a great book and I enjoyed every moment of it.
Rating out of 10: 10/10, Great stuff.
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