Time to hop back to the 30k verse for some more Heresy Goodies. I am now on Eye of Terra, which is once again a collection of short stories. I struggle to sound enthusiastic when writing about them all at once, so I will break them down into separate accounts. Up first The Wolf of Ash and Fire by Graham McNeill.
Title: The Wolf of Ash and Fire
Author: Graham McNeill
Buy now via Amazon.ca for Kindle version.
Blurb: The Wolf of Ash and Fire is a Horus Heresy short story that takes place during the Great Crusade, before the outbreak of the Horus Heresy. The Wolf of Ash and Fire follows Horus Lupercal, fighting alongside the Emperor Himself, as the Luna Wolves battle for control of the Ork-held planetoid of Gorro.
Review
Straight-up, this is an enjoyable title, and it is precisely what I expect from Graham McNeil. What I found the most interesting about this piece is that it is actually pre-heresy. We are in a tale set during the Great Crusade, before Ullanor. Horus is just a Primarch no Warmasters here, just a straight-up hero of the Imperium.
McNeil does a great job in the first half of the book referencing plot points that come into play during the later books and really is an excellent teaser into the series. We also get Sejanus and the Mournival in this tale pre-Loken, which was nice to see. It showcases them at their best before they fall into chaos.
Whilst the second half is all about the action. The main villain of the title, a fantastic Ork, felt powerful and scary and a challenging opponent for the Primarch and Emperor to deal with. Many Space Marines were killed, a this made the threat real. Too often, a Primarch enters the fray and is entirely unstoppable, lessening the threat. Touches like these are nice to enjoy.
Overall a great short story well worth the listen/read time for new readers. It showcased the Hero of Horus and deserves to be enjoyed earlier in the series. I feel it is too late, as we know too much, but it is beautiful to witness the father-son dynamic of the duo, which is rarely seen with the other Primarchs.
Have you enjoyed this story yet? Let me know in the comments and if you use any links on the blog; thank you for supporting my growth.
Until next time cheers!
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