# "Tales of Heresy" Review - Minor Spoilers!



## Child-of-the-Emperor (Feb 22, 2009)

As you are all probably aware by now Tales of Heresy is a collection of 7 Short Stories. I'll review each one after ive read it, starting with Blood Games, here goes!
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Blood Games
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The short story 'Blood Games' takes place on Terra at some point following Horus' heresy being revealed. The Plot mainly follows an Adeptus Custodes by the name of Amon, as he hunts a supporter of the Warmaster on Terra.

The Story briefly mentions the Nature of the Adeptus Custodes and the relationship they have with the Astartes.

Prominent characters of the time are also included; Rogal Dorn and Constantin Valdor. Two Lucifer Blacks also make an appearence (you may remember these guys from 'Legion') - As Valdor is present on Terra at this point it is unclear if he actually accompanied Russ to Prospero afterall, although he may have done but it was to my knowledge that Russ was sent to Prospero before Horus' treachery was revealed, hmm....! (although this isnt mentioned, this is just personal speculation!)

There is a nice twist towards the end of the story.

The story itself although only 52 pages long, can take a little time to get started properly but it is mostly relavent.

Overall i give it 6/10, a nice short story involving some prominent characters of the series and includes a nice twist, however it is a bit slow to get started (although i suppose its material was relavent in the end) and just doesnt come across as amazing

*Wolf at the Door*

The short story 'Wolf at the Door' follows Wolf Lord Bulveye of the Space Wolves 13th Company, and is set prior to the Heresy. Having just brought a system into compliance they recieve orders to muster with the rest of their legion to assault Prospero. They however discover a human colony on a nearby world and attempt to make contact...

It portrays the Space Wolves hatred of Psykers well, setting the scene for 'Prospero Burns!' and 'A Thousand Sons!'

It reveals small bits of information on the 13th Company, and includes small bits on the Mark of the Wulfen.

A certain well known Xenos species also play a major role!

An Astartes/Space Wolf (not sure if its exclusive to the Wolves or not!) ability (that i wasnt aware of before) known as the Red Dream is revealed, where they drift into a coma to better heal themselves.

It has some interesting characters, and shows off the Space Wolves ferocity well. It also has quite a sad ending, not quite a tear jerker though!

Overall i give it 7/10 a decent plot with some nice characters, and ties in well with the background. It also reveals an unfortunate side of the Great Crusade. However it just doesnt come across as deserving any higher than a 7! - Although it was an enjoyable read.

*Scions of the Storm*

This Short Story follows Sol Talgron captain of the 34th Company, XVII legion. It takes place straight after Lorgar being reprimanded by the Emperor. The Word Bearers recieve orders to crush a nearby planet of human 'heretics'.

Already being a fan of Anthony Reynolds from the Word Bearers series i found this a good read. Hes a great writer when it comes to action scenes. Kol badar from the Word Bearers series makes an appearance as a veteran sergeant “Sor Talgron knew he would go far” and indeed he did! - if you’ve read the word bearers series you’ll know what I mean!

It Portrays the Word Bearers in a much better way than Battle for the Abyss did (still annoys me to this day how weak, pathetic and idiotic the word bearers were portrayed in Battle for the Abyss!)

Some well known characters show there faces including; Kol Badar (as i said ), Erebus, Kor Phaeron, and Lorgar himself.

There is a decent twist at the end (although you pretty much guess its outcome from the begining!) which initially horrifies Sol Talgron.



It is also revealed that Lorgar in a way indirectly founded the imperial cult which dominates the Imperium in M.41.
The Implications of the last sentence are also severe - The Old Beliefs could well mean that Chaos was worshipped on Colchis before the Emperor arrived.


Overall i give it 6/10. Some good actions scenes, aswell as some nice juicy information is revealed leading to a lot of speculation. It was also nice to see some familiar characters (like Kol Badar!). However as you know what is ultimately going to happen, i found myself having roughly guessed the outcome before it happened!
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The Voice*

This Short Story follows Leilani Mollitas (Novice-Sister of the Sisters of Silence)

The Story generally follows the Sisters of Silence as they investigate a Black Ship stranded in the warp.

It Takes place at some point following the Flight of the Eisenstein and includes some of the same characters. Celia Harroda even makes an appearance (you may remember her from the Horus Heresy collected visions)

Well all in all i was quite disappointed with this one, didnt really seem to have much relavence and quite dull to read. The ending was fairly interesting, but the rest of the story was a bore.

Ive never really been interested in the Sisters of Silence anyway, but i dont think this reflects in how good or bad this story was! And it wasnt very good!

In itself its not badly written, just boring in my opinion.

Overall i give it 4/10. - Well written but generally just dull. It elaborated on the Pariah gene a bit more than previous publications have (at least the ones ive read), but was just uninteresting.

*Call of the Lion*

This Short Story follows Chapter Commander Astelan of the Dark Angels, aboard the Battle-Barge; Spear of Truth.

Its sort of similar to the 'Wolf at the Door' in terms of the plot, they arrive on a human inhabited world and attempt to bring them into the fold of the Imperium.

It was very well written (Well done Gav Thorpe!)

The main event in the story is Astelans 'disagreements' with the newly appointed Chapter Commander Belath. Astelan a Terran marine, and Belath a Calibanite Marine. It portrays the incompatibilities between the Terran and Calibanite Marines (assumed the same in every legion) well, which even devolves into open hostilities. You find yourself easily supporting Astelan as Belath is essentially just a young 'hot-head'. However it would seem that the Lion favours Belath's approach, which makes the Lion come across as a bit shady. (especially as we know what eventually happens to Astelan)

I feel however there could have more information or speculation involved. It is essentially 'Wolf at the Door' with different characters!

Overall i give it 5/10 - Well written and easy to read, it portrays the divisions between the Terran and homeworld marines well. However as i said its essentially the same plot as 'Wolf at the door', could have done something else! I also feel there could have more information or revelation considering its the Dark Angels, it fell short on information!

*The Last Church*

This Short Story takes place on Terra following the Unification Wars. It deals with the Rights-and-wrongs with the Emperors crusade.

The entire story is basically a dialogue between the Emperor and a Priest called Uriah Olathaire, the Emperor trying to revert the priest from his religious views and trying to make him accept the Imperial Truth.

It gives us a nice insight into the nature of the Unification Wars, and of the Emperor himself.

It Makes you realise how different the Imperium in M41 is compared to what the Emperor envisioned.

I also think the Emperor comes across (particually towards the end) as a bit of a bastard! Ruthless even. A quote towards the end i liked:

... He saw the ruthless ambition and the molten core of violence at the Emperor's heart. In that instant, Uriah knew he wanted nothing to do with anything this man had to offer, no matter how noble or lofty his ambitions might be.


It really makes you think about the Emperor and whether he was/is truley the force for good: 

There is a bit where The Emperor states that without his unification humanity would have drifted into extinction, and Uriel responds by saying along the lines of "Maybe it would have been better that way"


Overall i give it 8/10. Well written and gives us a great insight into the Unification Wars and the Emperors aspirations. It also makes us wonder whether or not humanity is better off with the Emperor! Some people may not like it as the entire story is basically a conversation between 2 people but it doesnt bother me
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After Desh'ea*

This Short Story takes place aboard the World Eaters Flagship; Conqueror, immediatly after Angrons 'abduction' and the Emperor having left. Similar in the way 'The Last Church' was done its almost entirely a conversation, this time however between Kharn and Angron.

Im not sure what to make of the portrayal of Angron to-be-honest, he comes across as a dumb giant especially in his speech. I think the Violence was over-done, about twice a page Angron would punch or strangle Kharn!

But i think it portrays Angrons rage well considering his "Brothers and Sisters" had just been slaughtered because of the Emperor. He is seen as being lost, confused and very angry, understandable considering what has happened to him. We also see some of the problems Angron is trying to deal with. However if someone doesn't know the background to Angrons 'abduction' (or even to people who do) he may come across like a cross between Gollum and The Incredible Hulk on a massive coffee buzz, so it can be hard to get a feel for the character other than 'He's barking mad'!!!

It is revealed that the World Eaters legion pre-Angron name was the 'War Hounds'. And Desh'ea im assuming is Angrons homeworld (although it doesnt exactly say this)

Overall i give this 6/10, a decent enough portrayal of Angron and what drives him. bits of information on various things are revealed. It does get a bit tedious however at certain points (use of too much violence to the extent it becomes a bore for example!) - i can also imagine some people not liking the way Angron was portrayed, but for me it was ok)

*Tales of Heresy*

Overall i think this one deserves a nice rounded 7/10! some nice stories and some great characters, nice bits of information is revealed in pretty much every story which keeps you interested and makes them relavent. My personal Favourite was 'The Last Church'.


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## Critta (Aug 6, 2008)

Just a bit of a note on "Wolf at the Door" - I'm reading the second Space wolf trilogy at the moment, and having read Tales of Heresy a little before I started on it, it's nice to see some characters appear again 

Also, the red dream is I believe a space wolf ability, as it's mentioned quite a lot in both the first and second space wolf trilogies.


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## ckcrawford (Feb 4, 2009)

I liked Wolf At the Door. Its like they saved them, but then the people on that world kind of said they wanted to go run off an do their own thing.


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## Guilliman_40k (May 28, 2009)

I also give Wolf at the Door a 5 star rating.


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Just something to keep in mind:
Call of the lion and Wolf at your door might have similarities, but the points they aim for were completely different. (You know what it was for the SW story, but the DA one was to show just how different the calabanite and terran marines were treated by the Lion. Its supposed to be an indication of the mistrust Johnson had for the terran marines, and a possible insight into what is to come for the legion.)

Unfortunately for us, Desh'ea is not the name of Angrons homeworld. Its just the name of a location where Angron and his 'brothers and sisters' were going to make a last stand against their former masters.


Personally, I thought that the ending of the voice was very interesting; it brought up a possible division within the sisters of silence themselves. Possibly a foreshadowing of things to come, perhaps where some of the first adeptus sororitas come from in due time.


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## Mabrothrax (May 19, 2009)

Having recently finished this book I have to add my thoughts...

Overall I have to say that the book is a big disappointment, the short story format really doesn't work for such an epic undertaking as the Horus Heresy series is (or should be). While I generally like the compiled short story format (Heroes of the Space Marines is well worth picking up) at this stage in the series it does little to move things along, and after a number of books that really don't propel the story forward in any way*, what we needed was a significant shove towards Terra.

_
*Descent of Angels (which despite its flaws in liked alot), Legion, Battle for the Abyss & Mechanicum are all 'meanwhile...' kind of stories that although part of the turmoil of the period aren't really intrinsic to the plot of Horus' fall._

Rather than go through each storty I'll point out some of my highlights and dislikes.

I'm not great fan of Dan Abnett. I thoroughly dislike his insistance on creating stupid made up sci-fi words to remind us where we are, and how you often feel when starting one of his books that the first three chapters are missing. I had to force myself to finish _Eisenhorn_. _Legion_ however was an excellent book even if it was about guard and an 'I'm not really an inquisitor pastiche' alien spy rather than the Alpha Legion.

But we'retalking about *Blood Games* aren't we? You could be forgiven for getting a little way into the opening story and thinking "I've read this somewhere before". 

Although featuring the Custodes it isn't really about them, but instead is a tired retreading of the usual cat-and-mouse, hunt the clues affair. There is a 'twist' that is genuinley laughable and predictable. I found the sudden insertion of Rogal Dorn to be a cheap shock-value trick that totally disregarded the Primarch as a lynchpin of the mythos.

The other serious disappointment was *Call of the Lion*. Outside of White Dwarf magazine and various rule/army books I've never read Gav Thorpe. I've been aware of _Angels of Darkness _for some time and of the character of Astelan so I was looking forward to 'Call'.

Such a dry writing style! The text felt bereft of life, and I had to wonder if the author wrote the piece out of coercion rather than desire. Although the plot was workable and the now familiar Terran marines vs homeworld marines motiff featured, the underlying impression was one of tedium. The action was bland. The central characters lifeless. I expected so much more.

The opposite is true of *Scions of the Storm*. I honestly thought _Dark Apostle_ was shit on toast. The Word Bearers with their constant infighting and snide remarks of each other seemed more like a gang of inept Bond villians trying to out cheese each other! The same was true in _Battle for the Abyss_. The Word Bearers, essentially, are that chief instigators of the Heresy and shouldn't conjure up images of such ineptitude!

Scions had none of this. The religious ideals of the Word Bearers were central to the plot. 
The descriptions of and actions of Lorgar must be some of the best Primarch related story telling to date.

And as for the last sentence about 'old ways'!

A gripping story that evolved and added something to the Word Bearers and Heresy, certianley in my opinion the best story in the book. 

The other suprise was *Wolf at the Door*. A little slow to get off of the ground, but a very well told story. The little bits of 13th company lore were good, and I have to say that Mike Lee did a good job of living up to the sorely missed Bill King's Space Wolf writing.

The author's previous experience working on _World of Darkness_ material shines through in his writing of the Dark Eldar, who were a pleasent suprise and worthwhile addition.

To recap; _Tales of Heresy _is bland. There are good parts, but they struggle to shine through the mire that is the maority of the book. You can safely skip this instalment without losing any ground on the Heresy series, although addicts would do well to check out _Scions of the Storm.
_
4/10


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## Child-of-the-Emperor (Feb 22, 2009)

Mabrothrax said:


> Having recently finished this book I have to add my thoughts...
> 
> Overall I have to say that the book is a big disappointment, the short story format really doesn't work for such an epic undertaking as the Horus Heresy series is (or should be). While I generally like the compiled short story format (Heroes of the Space Marines is well worth picking up) at this stage in the series it does little to move things along, and after a number of books that really don't propel the story forward in any way*, what we needed was a significant shove towards Terra.



Im not sure i agree. The Horus Heresy was a galaxy-wide conflict which tore humanity apart, it wasnt just about the Emperor/Horus (although obviously they are the main characters!) - many people would like to know the events which took place involving not only the other primarchs, but also events which proved the seperations in not only the Adeptus Astartes but also humanity (Call of the Lion for example, portrayed the clear cut divisions in the Dark Angels which was a precursor to Luthors betrayal)

So although not a direct story linking to the central events of the Heresy, They all play there part in the greater story and give us more insight into what was going on.

The Short-story format i thought was great, it gave us lots of information; the ups-and-downs of the crusade (Wolf at the Door), the reasoning (moral and otherwise) behind the crusade (Last Church), Etc. And all without having to publish a seperate book for each point which would have been time-consuming and ultimately fruitless (Battle for the Abyss anyone?!)

And whilst i know a lot of people just want to rush the series along to the events on Terra, i feel that we need a broader understanding of events at the time, (in order for us to better understand things like Horus' betrayal, diversions between marines, what happens to the primarchs throughout the crusade and why they stay loyal or join Horus etc etc) which short stories like this help give us. 

Just my thoughts :biggrin:


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## Mabrothrax (May 19, 2009)

Child-of-the-Emperor said:


> And whilst i know a lot of people just want to rush the series along to the events on Terra, i feel that we need a broader understanding of events at the time, (in order for us to better understand things like Horus' betrayal, diversions between marines, what happens to the primarchs throughout the crusade and why they stay loyal or join Horus etc etc) which short stories like this help give us.
> 
> Just my thoughts :biggrin:


I agree that all the strands are worth investigating, and I think that the short story format could work, but in my opinion the release schedule for the series is the crux of the problem. To have five books released in a row that significantly diverge from the main plot is, in my opnion, a mistake. The Space Wolves/Thousand Sons books being held back for the 40 Wolves codex makes sense, but ideally, they should been released sooner. Better still would have been a Salamanders/Raven Guard pov of Istvaan whilst Fulgrim was still pretty recent.

But I'm gettng off topic, so... Tales is still a bit 'meh' for me.


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## Son of Russ (Jun 1, 2009)

Tales of Heresy was overall a 6/10 on my scale...In the overall scheme of things in the Heresy Series, you would not be missing anything if you were to skip it though. As far as those who feel the divergence is so wide and unnecessary or in such a rush to get to the Great Battle on Terra...Slow down! Jeez, The Universe is Broad and Chapters abound out there with plots and parts in the Heresy...enjoy the series and dont get in such a hurry for it to compete.


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## Mossy Toes (Jun 8, 2009)

I personally thought that "After De'shea" was much better than "The Last Church". Reasons:

"The Last Church" came across for me as little more than a regurgitation of modern-day atheism by the Emperor, while He also thumbed his nose at all religions through Uriah. it didn't seem like He was there to try to convert Uriah; He was just being smug, and finishing up His little games in addition to doing all His big ones. Does He strike anybody else as a sadistic, arrogant, (admittedly well-learned) megalomaniac? I mean, what kind of being do you have to be to try to conquer the galaxy?

That said, it was still an engaging and well-written story. It is a good portrayal of the Emperor, with Uriah seeing right through him. Were it written by some inhuman intellect that could capture Him in all His glory, it would be better - but I'll make do with McNiell's depiction until then, because I'm contented with it.

"After De'shea", on the other hand - of course Angron is a violent, semi-retarded being. They've cut open his brain and stuck in random bits of metal. The human mind works in no way similar to the Primarch's - who knows how badly they damaged Angron's psyche? It's a wonder that he retained as much cohesiveness as he did. You try getting a lobotomy done on you be creatures who are as to chimpanzees as to you! Also, I found Matt Farrer's thoughts on his blog even more interesting.


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## KarlFranz40k (Jan 30, 2009)

How the hell is The Last Church an 8? Blood Games and Wolf at the Door were far better reads, infact apart from those 2 I'd say the rest of the book is complete rubbish. Glad I got it from a library and didn't actually spend money on it!


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## deathbringer (Feb 19, 2009)

I completely agree with CoTE on the last church.
You can read as many books as you like about Dark angels and Space Wolves killing people where as The last church was a completely different spin upon something there is next to no literature on.

It shows the end of an era and the priests ending shocked me and delighted me. Once again i lay homage at the feet of Graham mcNeil's writing style. h really can take a description turn it on its head break its neck and then cook it to perfection.

Tales of heresy was just a collection of stories giving us yet more background to the Imperium and most importantly for me Angron's discovery.

I didn't feel it to have any real connection to the heresy which was my major complaint, considering the title but this wasnt a book for the bloodthirsty. Violence was in the minimum and for me it was more of a psychological assessment of the fractures in the Imperium


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## Mossy Toes (Jun 8, 2009)

"After De'Shea" - I've sung it's praises already, and I'll sing them again. Glorious work, that. And it's not just my (justifiable) Matt Farrer fanboism speaking.

"Blood Games" is crap. Well, that's saying it too strongly, but it tries to tell several mini-stories, not get across one story. I don't want snapshots of the Imperial Palace and Terra, as nice as those are. Only the first section, with his approach to the Palace, really interested me.

"Wolf at the Door"...wasn't so much a Heresy tale as a Space Wolf vs. Dark Eldar one, and even then, an uninspired one at best.

Still, we all have our own views on the subject, of course.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

I really liked that _The Last Church_ is pretty much the first time we actually see the Emperor as a distinct character, as oppossed to a figure in the distance, a la _Mechanicum_ or _A Thousand Sons_. It also gave a glimpse at the real man behind the deity. A man determined to conquer the galaxy, yet curious enough about how a lone priest can hang on to his beliefs in the face of the Emperor's will. 

Maybe we'll eventually get a novel with the Empy as a central character. Here's hoping.


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

I guess the siege of the emps palace would have a bit on him but he is being fleshed out more and more as the series progresses.


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