Ahriman: Unchanged
So far I have been left feeling meh, the Ahriman stories seemed to follow non-Thousand Son characters and left me a little disappointed. With that in mind, I made sure I picked up a book that would truly showcase the Thousand Son legion and turned to the Horus Heresy.
Book Details
Title: A Thousand Sons
Author: Graham McNeill
Publisher: Black Library
Type: Paperback
Page Count: 558
Commercial Fluff: Censured at the Council of Nikea for his flagrant use of sorcery, Magnus the Red and his Thousand Sons Legion retreat to their homeworld of Prospero to continue their use of the arcane arts in secret. But when the ill-fated primarch forsees the treachery of Warmaster Horus and warns the Emperor with the very powers he was forbidden to use, the Master of Mankind dispatches fellow primarch Leman Russ to attack Prospero itself. But Magnus has seen more than the betrayal of Horus and the witnessed revelations will change the fate of his fallen Legion, and its primarch, forever.
Review
This wasn't my first time reading this book, but it was so long ago I had forgotten a lot more than I remembered. The main point of this tale is showing how pride always comes before a fall. The pride was Magnus and the fall was the Thousand Sons.
Graham McNeill makes a point of showcasing the Thousand Sons as the Emperor's most loyal sons and as you delve deeper you realize you are watching a car crash in slow-mo and you just can't turn away. Unlike a lot of the Space Marines showcased before the Thousand Sons are unique in the fact that they are free thinkers, trained to ask questions, learn from other cultures and to face the powers of the warp and harness them. Even stranger for them is the fact that they are preparing for life after the crusade, we find out that Ahriman is learning to be a winemaker!!
The novel starts slow, very slow to be honest but soon gains pace until we are running headfirst into the title fight of this stage of the Horus Heresy. For most of the tale, we view it through three sets of eyes, Ahriman - The favoured son of Magnus and future Chaos Champion, Magnus - Proud Primarch of the Thousand Sons and three Rememberancers - Sucked into the action due to having certain powers. This gives us some interesting viewpoints to follow, Ahriman a trusting son who believes his legion is loyal and saving the galaxy from ignorance. Magnus believing he knows everything allows his arrogance to get the better of him and blinds him to the dangers around him. The Remembrancers - Beliving they are with some of the best Space Marines they are wearing rose-tinted glasses right up to the end when the truth becomes known to them
Overall a great read that showed the Thousand Sons at their best and worst. It also had some great links to the Ahriman series and even some sneaky mention of Blood Ravens. Well worth the read and has reinvigorated my joy for the Thousand Sons I would love to hear your thoughts on this novel, have you read it? Drop me a comment below and next week we will move onto the Primarch series and MAGNUS to continue the month of Thousand Sons.
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