Audio Review // Horus Heresy Grey Angel by John French

I bloody love this little series following Loken's exploits and the early days of what would eventually become the Grey Knights. Throw John French into the mix, and naturally, I had high hopes for another cracking listen. So, does Grey Angel live up to those hopes?

The Details

Title: Grey Angel
Author: John French
Performers: John Banks, Toby Longworth & Ramon Tikaram
Format: Audio Drama
Running Time: Approximately 35 minutes

The Blurb

On a distant world of the Imperium, an agent of Rogal Dorn finds himself the prisoner of a Legion whose loyalties may be divided.

Shackled and bound, the former Luna Wolf must fight a battle of wits with his captor, while the fate of another Legion hangs in the balance. With the Horus Heresy tearing the Imperium apart, can maintaining the status quo prevent another Legion from turning traitor?

And just who is the mysterious Space Marine aiding him from the shadows?

The Review

Bloody short! Hey, I love a short story, but this was really short. At around 35 minutes, Grey Angel barely gets going before it's over, and honestly, I think this story deserved more time to breathe. A lot is going on here, and I could easily have listened to another hour exploring the characters, the situation and the wider implications. That said, what is here is bloody good. The plot is particularly interesting because the Imperium has suddenly reached that point in the Heresy where nobody can really trust anybody else.

Rogal Dorn is getting increasingly suspicious of the silence coming from Caliban, so he sends agents to investigate exactly where the Dark Angels' loyalties lie. And that is where things get interesting.

This story is one for the “lore” nerds, freaks and geeks. If you're coming into Grey Angel without knowing much about the whole Lion, Luthor and Cypher situation, there is a very real chance this story will confuse the absolute shit out of you, then into this you throw the origins of the Grey Knights, and suddenly you have a lot going on.

This isn't really an audio drama that stops to explain everything to you. It expects you to have some knowledge of the wider Horus Heresy and the various factions, characters and betrayals swirling around in the background, and honestly, I quite like that. It makes this feel less like a standalone adventure and more like one small piece of a much bigger story.

The Dark Angels

The idea of Dorn investigating the Dark Angels is what really grabbed me. The Imperium is tearing itself apart, and every Legion suddenly has to question where everyone else stands. Silence from Caliban isn't exactly reassuring, so sending someone to find out what the hell is going on makes perfect sense. Then you've got the whole Luthor and Lion situation bubbling underneath everything.

It's a brilliant bit of Heresy-era uncertainty. Nobody knows exactly who can be trusted, and sometimes the most dangerous thing isn't an army charging at you; it's simply not knowing what someone else is planning.

Then there's the Grey Angel. Without getting too deep into spoilers, I really enjoyed the mysterious element surrounding the Space Marine helping our protagonist. This is where the story starts connecting the dots between the events of the Heresy and the origins of what will eventually become the Grey Knights. For someone like me who enjoys this kind of background lore, that's bloody interesting. It's one of those stories where you finish it and immediately start thinking about where it fits into the bigger picture, and that's probably why I was left wanting more.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed Grey Angel. It's a clever little slice of Horus Heresy history, packed with Dark Angels, Loken, Dorn's agents, divided loyalties and the early threads of the Grey Knights. My biggest complaint is simply that there isn't enough of it. At around 35 minutes, it feels like we've only scratched the surface of what could have been a much bigger story. I can also completely understand why this was bundled alongside another story. On its own, it feels a little too brief, but combined with its companion piece, the whole thing makes for a much more satisfying listen. If you're already deep into the Horus Heresy lore, especially the Dark Angels, Luthor, Cypher, the Lion and the early Grey Knights stuff, then there's plenty here to enjoy.

If you're not? You might want to bring a flowchart of characters and events. Good story. Great lore. Far too short.

And naturally, now I want more.