Audio Review // Twisted by Guy Haley
Twisted
Author: Guy Haley
Continuing my long-running Horus Heresy marathon, I’m still very much in the thick of it, with the finish line almost in sight. Only 21 more books to go, plus the small matter of the Siege of Terra. So yes, nearly there… somehow.
Twisted is a short but memorable stop along that road.
Fluff
Since being crippled by rebel treachery on Sixty-Three Nineteen, Maloghurst “the Twisted” has continued to serve Warmaster Horus as his closest aide and confidant. His loyalty has never wavered, but the XVI Legion around him has changed. Rivalry and ambition now fester openly, and while Horus’s authority is unquestioned, his equerry’s influence is anything but secure.
When a daemonic plot to infest the Vengeful Spirit comes to light, Maloghurst is forced to rely on the few allies still willing to aid him, including the unsettling and mysterious Davinites.
First Thoughts
You can’t beat a good mystery, and Twisted delivers one packed with suspense and quiet menace. Maloghurst is on the hunt for whoever has allowed vile spirits aboard the flagship, and the deeper he digs, the more personal, and dangerous the situation becomes.
His determination to see the truth through to its grim conclusion is genuinely shocking, and Guy Haley leans into that sense of inevitability beautifully.
Review
This was a very surprising short tale.
Maloghurst the Twisted has been largely absent since his early appearances in the series, so it’s refreshing to spend time in his head again. Here, we see him fighting to prove his worth and cling to relevance in a Legion that is rapidly changing and increasingly hostile to anything resembling weakness.
As the story unfolds, a Neverborn stalks Maloghurst through the halls of the Vengeful Spirit, whispering promises and false hopes. All he has to do is give in. The tension here is excellent, turning the ship itself into a claustrophobic hunting ground.
Twisted works particularly well as a follow-up to Vengeful Spirit by Graham McNeill, and it casts Maloghurst as a kind of dark mirror to Malcador the Sigillite, a loyal, dangerous fixer operating in the shadows of power. It’s genuinely strange that this character isn’t explored more often across the series.
An enjoyable, atmospheric tale, but one that left me wanting more. And honestly? That’s probably its biggest flaw.
