Audio Review 50 // The Damnation of Pythos by Pythos David Annandale

Hopping back into the Horus Heresy verse. Decided to hit up the next story as an audio book, this is mainly due to me enjoying other novels at this time and not being ready to go back to reading the series. I doubt I will miss out on much as I know the audio dramas do an amazing job.

Title: The Damnation of Pythos (The Horus Heresy #30)

Author: David Annandale

Fluff: In the aftermath of the Drop Site Massacre at Isstvan V, a battered and bloodied force of Iron Hands, Raven Guard and Salamanders regroup on a seemingly insignificant death world. Fending off attacks from all manner of monstrous creatures, the fractious allies find hope in the form of human refugees fleeing from the growing war, and cast adrift upon the tides of the warp. But even as the Space Marines carve out a sanctuary for them in the jungles of Pythos, a darkness gathers that threatens to consume them all…

Get a Copy via my Amazon Link: The Damnation of Pythos

Firstly we need to discuss the cover. Space Marines of Iron Hands and Salamander legions, fighting a giant multi-eyed Lizard/dinosaur beast! This has grabbed my attention and I was excited to listen!

This story did something other stories have failed to do, it made me like the Iron Hands. David Annandale achieved something with the characters that others have failed to do, which was to make them relatable. Other authors seem to get stuck to the idea of them being more machine than man, but Annandale managed to make them cold and calculating like a machine but still have humanity in them. He also managed to make the darkness of space scarier, it is easy to get absorbed into the civil war, but at the end of the day, the galaxy was still largely unexplored and more dangers exist out there, more than Horus vs Emperor.

Pythos is one of those worlds, having been corrupted way, way, way back by a force of chaos. Having failed to find a higher intelligence here it lurked and manipulated the live forms, creating plans and scheming for the day that it could be released into the galaxy properly. Here enter our space marines. Beaten, broken and scattered, Captain Atticus of 111th Company of Iron Hands has created a force from the survivors of Isstvan. His goal is to strike back at the enemy and beat them with a thousand cuts, but first, his forces need a rallying point, a base, and Pythos is that key.

The world of Pythos is the villain of the piece, a true death world. Full of Fauna and Flora manipulated to be alpha predators. We get lots of dinosaur-style creatures, ranging from standard sizes up to Imperial knights scale (Godzilla could easily live here), all the way down to waves of roving moss that will suck the blood old of its victims, yep you read that right, vampire moss! This made a world full of life and deeply terrifying. I could happily just read about the planet more. But at the heart of the story was Loyalists vs. Chaos and the warp. This main arc was beautifully played out, leaving you kind of knowing what was going to happen but still amazed and shocked when it hits home.

Overall a beautifully written piece and David Annandale did an amazing job. If you are looking for Space Marine on Space Marine action, you will be disappointed. But, if you want Grim Dark this the book for you.

I hope you enjoyed it? Feel free to comment below or seek me out on one of the many social platforms that I hang out on. Here is a quick LINK (Solo bio link) to my details. Cheers to reading this.