Binx's Book Review Episode 2

 

This time I review 'Know no Fear' by Dan Abnett, the 19th book in the Black Libraries Horus Heresy series.

Covering the period immediately before, during and after the Battle of Calth from the Ultramarines point of view, Mr Abnett truly immerses you in the massive scale of the atrocities carried out by the Word Bearers.

Familiar names such as Erebus and Kor Phaeron make a return to the series and with 4 pages of Dramatis Personae (compared to the usual two) there are plenty of characters to love and to hate.

Following the intense execution and almost eradication of the 13th legion, from the field reports of Roboute Guilliman and his Ultramarines, you get a sense of how close they come to becoming extinct. There are  very few testimonies from the Word Bearers themselves so it is a very one sided book, but written so well that you never feel as if you are missing out on any of the action.

Not wanting to spoil it for anyone who is yet to read it, I wont go into too much detail of how the attack comes to be, but the sheer scale is something that has never been recorded in a Horus Heresy novel yet and doesn't tie up all the loose ends, making you want to read more and Im sure the Black Library writes wont let us down.

Having given Deliverance Lost 16 Primarchs out of 18, my review of Gav Thorpe's novel set the bar very high. So for 'Know no Fear' I will give another 16 out of 18. It could have scored higher, but it is not perfect and with such a huge host of characters to follow there were some times where I had to back track to remember who was doing what. That's probably Dan Abnett's fault, but because I was only reading it in 40 minute sections on my lunch break at work.

Finally to please our resident Ultra Smurf player, Jonno, a quick quote from the book....

They say you should always kill them. Ultramarines. If you do make one your enemy, do not allow him to live. Do not spare him. Leave an Ultramarine alive, and you leave room for retribution. Only when he is dead are you safe from harm. That is what they say.