Night Lords, Dark Angels and Gav Thorpe. Oh my! I make no secret of it: Angels of Caliban might just be the trifecta of everything I love about the Horus Heresy.
We’ve got the Night Lords, the Dark Angels, and Gav Thorpe writing the whole thing. Honestly, to say I’m excited is a bit of an understatement!
So, let’s dive in.
The Details
Title: Angels of Caliban (The Horus Heresy #38)
Author: Gav Thorpe
Format: Kindle
Length: 328 pages
The blurb:
With the Dark Angels spread across a hundred systems, Lion El’Jonson stands as Lord Protector of Ultramar. But his true motives are known to few, while old rivalries threaten to tear his Legion apart.
When word arrives of the Night Lords’ attack on Sotha, the Lion’s brutal response pushes Imperium Secundus towards civil war. With ancient secrets, bitter rivalries and the fearsome warriors of the Dreadwing in play, even the Lion’s loyal brothers may not be enough to stop disaster.
The Review
Got to say, that was a cracking read!
This book has pretty much everything I love about this era of Warhammer 40,000 lore. We even get the origin story of the Fallen, which is a massive moment for anyone invested in the Dark Angels. And the Zahariel storyline? Shocking stuff. Absolutely deserving of a chef’s kiss!
Luther is also going from strength to strength as a character. I’ve really enjoyed watching his story develop, and there’s so much going on beneath the surface with him. He’s becoming a genuinely fascinating part of the wider Dark Angels story. But that's not all!
Gav Thorpe has once again delivered a brilliant Dark Angels novel, and he’s juggling four Primarchs along the way. That’s no small task, but it works remarkably well. There’s a real War of the Roses feel to the whole thing, with political manoeuvring, old grudges and competing claims to power threatening to tear everything apart. The conflict isn’t just about who can bring the biggest army to the fight. It’s about loyalty, ambition, mistrust and what happens when people who should be working together start questioning each other’s motives. And the Primarchs themselves? This is where things get really good.
Guilliman is growing into a political powerhouse and master manipulator, depending on your point of view, of course! He’s increasingly comfortable playing the political game, and you can see how dangerous that could become. Sanguinius, meanwhile, is becoming more brooding and uncertain. He’s questioning the future and his place within it, and that doubt adds another layer to a character who can so easily be seen as the shining beacon of the Imperium. Then there’s the Lion. Warden. Protector. Would-be king.
There’s something very Macbeth about Lion El’Jonson here. You can practically imagine him deciding that the best way to protect the realm is to take control of the whole thing. And honestly, I can absolutely picture him attempting a coup if he thinks it’s necessary! Of course, we can’t talk about this book without mentioning Konrad Curze. Curze is utterly broken by the civil war. He’s searching for a death he knows he cannot find, but he keeps seeking it anyway. There’s something tragic about that, and the way he speaks during his trial is one of the highlights for me.
In a galaxy full of madness, the madman can sometimes be the only one speaking any sense. I love it!
What makes all this work is that the characters are moving forward. Their stories are developing, their relationships are changing, and the consequences of their decisions are beginning to pile up. This doesn’t feel like a side adventure that leaves everything exactly where it started. It feels like the bigger story is genuinely going somewhere, and with the Siege of Terra getting closer, there’s that bittersweet feeling creeping in. I’m excited to see where the story goes next, but I’m also becoming increasingly aware that this enormous journey is heading towards its conclusion.
There’s still plenty to uncover, though, and Angels of Caliban gives us enough twists, revelations and unanswered questions to keep me hungry for more.
Could This Inspire Something for Sector 102?
You know I can’t read a story full of political intrigue, divided loyalties and people fighting over who gets to be in charge without wondering how I could pinch a little inspiration for Sector 102!
“The Protector Who Wants the Throne”
(This is a proposed Sector 102 scenario idea, not established lore.)
Imagine a flooded arcology or isolated settlement on the outskirts of Sector 102. Its appointed protector has kept the place functioning through years of disaster. They control the food supplies, organise the defences, and make the difficult decisions that have kept the population alive. The citizens owe them a great deal. But over time, the protector has started to believe that the official authorities are weak, distant and incapable of doing what needs to be done. Why should they wait for orders from Mega-City One when they know what’s best for their own people? Before long, protection starts to look a lot like control.
Meanwhile, rival factions are manoeuvring for influence. One group supports the protector, another wants Justice Department to intervene, and a third is quietly preparing to seize power for itself. Then an external threat arrives, perhaps a mutant warband, a corporate security force, or a gang looking to exploit the chaos. Suddenly, everyone has to decide whether their grudges matter more than survival.
Why this could work on the tabletop: I could run it as a series of linked skirmishes rather than one big battle. One game might involve a raid on a supply depot, another an attempt to capture a communications hub, and a final showdown at the protector’s headquarters. The interesting part is that the protector doesn't have to be a straightforward villain. They might genuinely believe they’re saving the settlement. The question is whether keeping people safe gives someone the right to rule them.
That feels very appropriate for the world of Judge Dredd: power, questionable motives, and people convincing themselves that they're doing the right thing, and, of course, it gives me another excuse to put some miniatures on the table and tell a story!
Final Verdict
Angels of Caliban is an excellent read and has plenty to keep a Dark Angels fan happy for a long time. The revelations are satisfying, the character development is strong, and the political intrigue gives the story a real sense of momentum. Gav Thorpe does a fantastic job of bringing several Primarchs into the same narrative while allowing each of them to develop along their own path.
I came for the Night Lords and Dark Angels, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. But I also got a whole lot more than that. The story is progressing, the stakes are rising, and the Siege of Terra is getting closer. I'm excited to see what comes next, even if there's a part of me that's sad to know this massive saga is heading towards its end. For now, though, I’m more than happy to keep turning those pages.
Highly recommended, especially if you’re a Dark Angels fan.
Cheers for reading, and I'll see you on the next adventure!
