Galaxy in Flames: The Horus Heresy, Book 3

This is part of a 12 book pre-cule to the Warhammer 40k.Even as a fan there are some clanging disconnects. If it's an empire that is secular then why are there "chaplains" and why are the "Word Bearers" even a legion? Inconsistencies like that probably ring loudly because I am a fan of the genre.Yes. Heavy and repetitive. I find myself confusing one story line with the next as the "heros" are very similar and the is a lot of re-telling and flash back that has never worked for me.Still...I read it. There is a lot to be said for building the basis for the later conflicts, hero/enemy backgrounds and filling in (sort of) the why of it.Could have been handled in half the number of books in my opinion but perhaps I'll change my mind as I continue working thru. I just finished #4.

You know, the more I read these books, the less I like the world of 40k. The Space Marines are sort of the heroes of the 40k world, but when you really get into their backstory and their behavior, you see that they are basically psychopathic killers with nothing to redeem them. Even the "loyalists" are still murdering fiends who seem to revel in death and destruction.really makes the Tau look good.

I read the first three books of the Horus Heresy series so fast, I honestly already forgot much of the details. All three were good reads. I think I finished each one in three days. On the flipside, I strongly suggest read The First Heretic before anything else. When I got into the series, I just wanted to read about marines being turned into disgusting Chaos beasts and killing untainted marines in bizarre ways. The first half of The First Heretic is slow, but after that it gets nice and Chaotic. The first three books have no Chaotic killing insanity. They were awesome for plot and background reasons. More importantly, The First Heretic lightly references things that happened in the first three books that caused two thoughts: 1) I want to reread the first three books so I can remember what happened when xyz, and 2) Those first three books were really long and I have a ton of other stuff to read, so maybe that can wait.Therefore, read The First Heretic to get your super awesome, bloodthirsty Chaos craze out of the way. Then read the first books in the series. They're all great!

this books is just mind blowing, for every fan of WH40K universe, this is a must have. describe so well the battles in Istvaan system that you almost can see the epic battle images. a book full of action, maybe a little lack of gore and butchery since Angron, Kharn and his fellas make some appearances, but its ok. was almost so good as the first one.some guy complains about was not well written, the dramatis personae, etc, etc. well, If I want to read Shakespeare, I will buy Shakespeare. this book is something like the action part of the other two. Horus Rising and False God set all the context for this one which in fact must be longer and cover more battles, butchery, etc, you know what I mean, in the past everybody ask how could be those battles on Istvaan where the ubber marines become traitors, where the now Chaos marines used to be loyalist, how could be wear a super power armor and be bombarded by Melta Lances, Toxic Bombs and all the paraphernalia that now is know as Exterminatus. just so exciting.and of course, prepares you for the next book and the continuity of the story but for me at least, makes a good parallel story where some of the loyalist marines of the traitors legions could survive, and even find his way out of the planet. of course they will not fall in chaos but they will not be stupid so, no back home and be slaughtered for the imperium. perfect fluff for a renegade chapter, but oh well, those are ideas that I'm cooking for my minis.the thing is, until now this is the second best book from the saga until I read (I'm a little late, I'm reading Legion), I just can't wait when BL release the book of the battle on Terra. =D

Begins one year after the end of book two, "False Gods".Remembrancer Euphrati Keeler lay unmoving and unresponsive in a medicae bay since she and Sindermann faced the horrible creature from the warp in Archive Chamber Three. The apothecaries and medics could find nothing physically wrong with her, save for the eagle shaped burn on her hand that refused to fade. The power she used to defeat the chaos spawn was nothing less than a miracle. Euphrati is now called a saint. A new church is being founded in the name of the Emperor. However, there are those who desire the death of the saint.When the Warmaster commands Captain Garviel Loken of the Sons of Horus Legion and selected others to be in the speartip drop down to Isstvan III (to take Choral City), Loken asks Captain Iacton Qruze to look after the remembrancers Mersadie Oliton, Euphrati Keeler, and Kyril Sindermann. While Qruze helps keep his three charges alive, Loken and all the others on the surface of Isstvan III find themselves totally betrayed.Can you hear it? It is the music of the spheres.***** Author Ben Counter takes off where "False Gods" left. The attitudes of the characters in this installment mirror those from the previous story perfectly. From there, Counter takes readers' imaginations to a whole new level. The battle scenes were so real to me that I could almost feel the planet tremble beneath my feet and hear the bolter blasts. It gets no better than this! *****Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

The Horus Heresy really gets going in this third book of the series. In it we have the first of the major battles of the Warmaster's rebellion against the Emperor. It loses some of the subtlety and nuance of the first two books. They focused more on the corruption and seduction of chaos, even amongst the mighty space marines, but this is a more predictable affair, with a little less philosophy, but balanced with a lot more action.On the positive side it does feel like a 40k story, and the grim reality of the universe is captured well. Unfortunately it feels a bit simplistic, and is really a novel length show down between the various legions. Many of the big players of the rebellion are present, and you can see how they start to form the characters in the histories of the heresy.While it lacked some of the strengths of the first two books, it did create enough excitement for me to purchase the next three books, although I do hope that they return some of the depth lacking in this story.

This is a reasonable end to the first Horus Heresy Trilogy where the action kicks off in abundance. However it is missing some of the dark mystery of the first two Graham McNeil novels. In those the Warmaster had more dialogue and character and the hero Loken was more in evidence. In this one Tarvitz tends to be the central character. Whilst the horror of the betrayal is graphically described, it becomes a bit of a slug-fest in the end. There also appears to be bits of plot missing, unless they are being kept hidden for future books. There is a feeling that plotting, actions and conversations are taking place between the Primarchs which we are not party to. This leaves the story a bit empty rather than sinister and mysterious as it should be.

This is a good follow-on from the previous book, fitting in with the style of "False Gods" very smoothly. The characterisations are maintained from the previous book and taken to their logical conclusion very well. The action scenes are well-written and the interactions between the characters are quite reasonable.As with the previous book there's an unfortunate lack of the kind of emotional impact which I thought would come easily to a story containing the type of plot elements that this one does, but some of the most profound scenes, such as the final stand-off between the Mournival are quite weak.Overall however I think this is a reasonable end to the first trilogy which moves on nicely from the second book, and contains some truly exciting action sequences.

As a Horus Heresy fan, I never tire of reading these fantastic books. The torturous birth of the Grimdark future brought to life by perfectly honed writing

Excellent book and a must read for a 40k nut, though I read this quite a while ago I now realise it seems rushed, dont get me wrong but this was the pebble that caused the land slide trilogy if your a fan you know what I mean, I just thought they could have expanded on it a bit more but still a brilliant book