Descent of Angels: The Horus Heresy, Book 6

This was definitely one of my favorite books of the series thus far. This author has definite writing talent, and I hope to see more of his work as I continue to move through the HH series.

This was a fun and interesting look into Caliban before and a little after the rise of its primarch. I enjoyed the slice of life of our protagonist as he went through his trials and it was interesting to watch him see the rise of this primarch from the outside. The battles and characters were well written, I only wish I felt the events at the end would have been more epic. Even the protagonist notes....the historians won't even write of this minor skirmish. A bit melancholic at the end, but I do want to read more. To follow this story and characters further.

they focused on what the universe was like before the heresy. what it meant to become astarte and to have it taken away

I’m running out of superlatives to describe the Horus Heresy series. All respect and love to the Black Library editorial board, whom together have crafted a truly awe inspiring and tragically compelling narrative.Delighted with this purchase and excited to read more.

TL;DR -- I have trouble deciding if I should pass book along to my Dad as an introduction to the 40K milieu. On one hand the answer isn't a definite 'no', but on the other hand I shouldn't be having trouble deciding whether the book would make a sufficiently good impression for him to keep at it.********************I can see why some people can't stand the book and yet others like it. It feels, and reads, like an abridged version of three middle books in a five part series, with non-existent first book helpfully summarized at the beginning to remind the reader what happened and occasionally alluded to along the way -- and yet at the same time the book dawdles along with considerably more contemplative navel-gazing than even I have a taste for! It doesn't help that I only agree with somewhere between one third and one half of the contemplative lecturing, and I'm trying to adjust for that in subjective taste, but the presentation of the dawdling itself seemed rushed (if that makes any sense) and I rarely got the feeling of characters chewing over ideas and coming to real grips and acceptance of them.As (currently, August 2014) the earliest book chronologically in the Horus Heresy timeline (until when-if-ever the "missing first book" is ever released I guess??), it has a lot of potential for a great introduction to the whole Warhammer 40K milieu, or at least the Imperial side of it. And to some real extent it does meet that potential: it _almost_ counts as a shift between an ersatz version of regular Warhammer (medievalish fantasy knights on a crusade against nightmarish forces of chaos) into the vastly larger futuristic 40K setting. Its design also completely spoils what's going to happen, which I guess was a catch-22 for the author: almost anyone reading this book is already going to know where it's going, and I can understand a mandate to get there asap and not spend a (missing) book on the origin story of Lion El' Jonson since that would only distantly hint at the 40K elements to come, so why play around pretending things are going to be a surprise for the reader?But on the other hand, this approach gutted me from sharing in much surprise and discovery by the characters. After all, most readers of ANY book will have some solid idea what's going to happen in it already from marketing promotions trying to convince the reader the book is worth reading; but that doesn't mean the author should, within the story, confirm and reveal most everything asap, and rapidly skip along the revelations by the characters.So do I recommend it for the uninitiated or the initiated, either one?Maybe. Meh-by. :/

If you've always wanted to know the back story to a Primarch during his time on his home planet before he is re-united with the Imperium of Mankind, then this is one of the few in depth books I have read so far that covers that specific theme. If you're new to the HH you may or may not have heard of a legion called the Dark Angels led by a Primarch named Lion'el Johnson. This despite this book being written after the Heresy starts, it serves as a prequel to show the origins of the Dark Angles and shine some light on Johnson's life during the time he grew up and lived on the deathworld of Caliban and events after they have become a complete Legion during the Great Crusade. I'll make sure not to mislead you by letting you know that this story isn't shown from the perspective of the Primarch however. The main character of this book is a man named Zahariel and this story is told from his experience in becoming a knight and eventually and Astartes, all the while detailing some of Johnson's exploits and the history of Caliban.

This was a solid entry, if you can get past the drawling conversational prologue to the story. What follows is an incredibly intimate look into the soul of the First Legion. Unlike other space marine stories, this one offers a rare look into who the Dark Angels are and what set them on their tragic course through the millennia. As much as I love the story, the payoff is frustratingly swift, leaving us nothing but to move on to the next entry in the series.

This book seems to get the shaft when it comes to reviews. The reason may be that people want more civil war and they want it now! With that in mind this book doesn't fit that picture. It does lay some groundwork for a future schism to be more fully revealed later.What it does do is give a look into life on a planet before the society is reunited with "Old Terra", first contact and the aftermath of reunification and it's effects on the people, The Lion and the the formation of the Legion. It is a great insight into the life of man and the Imperium. I love SF like this. Man spread throughout the galaxy and struggling to live after a collapsed empire without the technology that made it possible. With only a few relics of the past and legends to keep them going..The actual "Descent of Angels" is rendered so well in this book I will remember it as one of the best moments I have read so far from the Black Library.