Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Descent of Angels, 29 Oct 2007
Descent of Angels is a step in a different direction for the HH series. Where the first five novels follow on from one another or occur during a similar time frame, d.o.a takes us back to a period at the very beginning of the Great Crusade.
The author does a fantastic job of conveying the fractures already inherent in the Dark Angels, even before they leave their home world. Luther who is central to the 'fall' is portrayed as a noble and great warrior, who is only overshadowed by his Primarch The Lion. The flashes of jealousy he feels towards his commander build up to an exciting conclusion where the author leaves much to our imaginations in that we do not know what words have been exchanged between the two protagonists to result in Luther's banishment from the Great Crusade.
The story of Luther however in not the main thread of the plot, though it will in the continuing story arc of future Dark Angels HH novels. D.O.A however focusses upon the experiences of Zahariel and Nemiel as they grow up on the death world of Calliban.
The descriptions of the almost medieval style of life before the comming of the Imperium are the high point of this novel. Though the novel lacks the break-neck action of the other novels in the series, it is by no means unexciting. The hunt for the Great Beasts is a great parallel to the Great Crusade itself, with many questions raised over the right for mankind to impose its will upon those unwilling to comply.
There is great sense of a gothic undertone throughout the novel that culminates with Zahariel's exchange with the Watchers in the Dark. The suggestion is made that Calliban itself may be corrupted by the Dark Powers before the Horus Heresy.
The sibling rivalry between the two main characters is central to the novels theme of loyalty and honour, as their friendship is pushed to the limit on more than one occasion. This works great as a comparison to the relationship between Lion El Jonson and Luther.
The novel may dissapoint some as we see no Dark Angel action till the final fifth of the novel. This section has obviously been edited to fit the all too short word limit the Black Libary seems to maintain on its fiction. It lacks the level of detail seen throughout the rest of novel and the conlusion (apart from the last sentence) was poor in that it felt more like a rushed summary of a story that the author had evidently ran out of words to build.
I found myself a little dissapointed with the portrayal of Lion El Jonson as though i think the author has done much to portay his military greatness, we see too little of one his key weaknesses - the paranoia (a result of growing up alone in the woods) that would result in him losing faith in Luther and his followers.
A great HH novel that may isolate some with its pace and direction. I just hope that Scanlon is allowed to make this into the trilogy it deserves to be, as few HH stories are as tragic as Luther's fall.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Where's the rest?, 25 Oct 2007
This would merit 4 stars if it hadn't stopped just when the story was about to get good.
The story starts before the Great Crusade truly begins and tells the tale of a young knight on Caliban. The background to the Dark Angels is interesting , although more could be said about the characters involved, and the writing style is perfectly adequate. However, as the story begins to pick up the pages start to run out; Just as it gets really intriguing it stops.
The next book in the series is about the Alpha Legion... so where does that leave the tale of the Dark Angels? Buy it for the sake of completeness, but expect to be frustrated.
The Black Library needs to take some risks and allow its writers to produce longer books. I'm not sure the WH40k audience is entirely teenage any more...
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Horus Heresy this is not, 14 Jan 2008
This is a strange book. The basic concept of the story is actually quite interesting. It is set before Lion el Johnson was actually found by the Emperor and explores the constant struggle to stay alive on a world where even the most innocent looking flower can kill. Unfortunately it's let down by a few problems.
Character growth poor. Like all the previous books in the series, the central characters are not the Primarchs but those around them. The few good men who lay everything on the line to counter the treachery by their Primarch. However, unlike all but Flight of the Einstein, Descent of Angels almost completely ignores the character of the Primarch, Lion El Johnson who should of been a more central figure in the story. Given that in the first book, Horus comments on how Lion thought he should of been Warmaster and not Horus, the author missed an opportunity to explore the obvious rivarily and tension between the two Primarchs. The Emperor also makes a cameo apparence yet it's almost as if the author is afraid to explore him as a character. Further more, due to the infuriatingly premature ending of the book, many questions are left unanswered. This premature ending is the books biggest let down. Just as the books focus finally shifts onto the Great Crusade, the story ends. Given that the next book in the series is about Alpha Legion, it leads one to wonder what relevence this actually has to the series as a whole, since it ends before dealing with the Dark Angel's place within the heresy.
However, don't be put off because this is a reasonably good book and is worth buying especially if you plan on completing the series. Simply put, this would of been better off being a stand alone story and not part of the Horus Heresy since the book ends prior to the Horus Heresy being revealed. Buy only if you wish to complete the series or should they release a sequal that actually finishes what Descent starts but should you choose to purchase, be prepared to be frustraited by a book that gives the impression that the author simply ran out of ideas.
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