Title: Master of the First
Written by: Gav Thorpe
Running time: 36 minutes
Performed by: Gareth Armstrong, Tim Bentinck, Jane Collingwood and Jonathan Keeble
Commercial Fluff: The Dark Angels and the Night Lords fought one another to a bloody stalemate during the Thramas Crusade and, though the Lion eventually claimed victory, it left the First Legion scattered and under-strength. Back on Caliban, those Dark Angels loyal to Terra grow impatient for a return to past glories, nominating Chapter Master Astelan as their leader – meanwhile Jago Sevatarion, First Captain of the Night Lords, still languishes in a dismal gaol cell. Both must consider where their own personal loyalties lie, and what path they will take in the days to come.
This audio reveals the truth of what has been happening on the Dark Angels home world of Caliban while the Lion has been battling against the Warmaster’s forces on the other side of the galaxy. With ties both to ongoing events in the wider Horus Heresy, and to Gav Thorpe’s Legacy of Caliban series, this is an audio no Dark Angels fan will want to miss.
Review
Went into this audio book pretty blind. All I know is that so far Gav Thorpe has done a great job of writing Dark Angel stories and he continues with this short adventure. This tale is set on Caliban and starts to truly show the divide forming in the first legion. We are at the training fortress with Luther, some terrans and the new breed of First Legion Troopers. The morale on the base is poor, with most of the Marines feeling slighted by the Lion, this is leading to a lot of anger and contempt to build from within. This contempt and anger starts to fester more and more until it flows over into pure hatred and ultimately murder.
Another great story that makes me want to create a small Dark Angel force. I love the back stabbing, the secrets and who was in the wrong. I highly recommend spending the 40 minutes to enjoy this tale.
Astelan is a character shadowed by Luther and at some point it should be the other way around in my opinion. But maybe Astelan acted in this way to cover himself..
ReplyDeleteThat's what I like about this tale and the Dark Angel story arc in general. There is so much who is right and who is wrong, who is loyal and who is traitor. It is a great political intrigue tale.
DeleteYou feel bad for the exiles, but is it reason enough to go rogue?