# Favourite Human Horus Heresy/Black Library Character?



## D-A-C (Sep 21, 2010)

Hey everyone.

Let's face it, writing about all conquering Astartes, demi-God Primarchs and a soon to be God Emperor (whoops spolier .. nah not really) the HH writers have wisely decided to usually include a human or group of human characters for us follow. 
*
So my question is, which human character have you most enjoyed following/readng about in both specifically the Horus Heresy series and then also any other Black Library fictions you have enjoyed.

*If you answer (and I hope we'll get a good amout of replies on this one) for the love of the Corpse God don't just write character names without any explanation as to why you enjoyed them.

Anyway I'll go first (*minor spoilers throughout*) :

*Cyrene from The First Heretic *- This is perhaps one of A-D-B's best written characters (and he has written a few really good ones). The character stood out to me as being, not only a great way for us to view and understand the Word Bearer Legion, but also she played a vitally important role within both the Legion and the story itself. 

Now I will also admit that I'm a big softy and the fact that it was both a girl as well as a disabled one (loss of eyesight due to that bastar... nevermind) really tugged on my heartstrings. But I also feel it added a fresh take on the various situations she found herself in, i.e. meeting the religious leaders on Colchis and the Primarch Lorgar etc as she couldn't see them and so it added a new dimension to the story as a whole. 

Finally two scenes that really stuck with me are; the part where she and her ... ahem ... lover, wake up and he is late for the meeting, can't find his sabre etc, which I though was an excellent bit of characterisation which emphasised that, yes, these characters are grown-ups (something again A-D-B in particular does really well IMO) and also the her ending with Aquillon. I was literally devastated by what followed and am not ashamed to admit that like Argel Tal, I too read her final message more than once, and waited for it to be finished, but alas it wasn't to be. 

Finally I'd like to add that even though I am playing Black Legion on the Table Top, my Vindicator shall be of the Word Bearer's Legion and I have actually nicknamed it 'Cyrene's Revenge'. Sigh ...

Anyway that was my favourite human character in both 40k fiction and the Horus Heresy Series specifically. There are others I enjoyed and I'll chip in about them if anyone else selects them as their favourites.

So, who is you favourite human character?

P.S How the heck do you start a poll, as i'll set one up, if we get enough responses?


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## Imperious (May 20, 2009)

This is easy. Malcador. Thread over. 

Why? Too many reasons. But I'll go with saving humanity until the Emperor was able to take over the golden throne.


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## cegorach (Nov 29, 2010)

Imperious said:


> This is easy. Malcador. Thread over.
> 
> Why? Too many reasons. But I'll go with saving humanity until the Emperor was able to take over the golden throne.


As far as achievements go, saving the imperium and being the emperors most trusted individual goes pretty high. 

Malcador ftw.


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Cyrene was a good character but i was a little confused at just how easily she seemed to accept the Word Bearers dramatic descent into Chaos. Would have liked to have seen some of her reactions to the confessions which would no doubt have become more and more disturbing.

Me? Far far too many. Too name a few. There will be Spoilers for most of these in the list

Hurtardo Bronzi from Legion - Excellent character. Funny, smart, good at his job and then an Alpha Legion operative. His scenes almost stole the book for me at some points, having some of the funniest quotes from the HH series to date.

Virtually the entire Tanith First and Only - I can't just pick one, Gaunt, Rawne, Beltayn, Corbec, Larkin, Mkoll, Caffran, Daur, Dorden etc etc etc It's my favourite BL series for a reason. Abnett really made me care about the characters and it's so refreshing to actually read a detailed and long series that is all about the human element, forgetting the Astartes. When some of the big names died, it really genuinly tugged at me and sent a shiver down my spine (you'll know which ones i mean!) It's just so much more easy to relate to them than characters in other books who are usually either Astartes or Inquisitors. 

I would list more or go into more detail on individual Ghosts but i'm out of time, may come back later to finish off


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Hmm Horus Heresy humans, not my first choices for favourites but if I had to pick i'd say...Eristede Kell from _Nemesis_. That solemn assassin sniper was quite good, despite the mixed reception to _Nemesis_ I thoroughly enjoyed it, Spear was my favourite of that piece but he isn't human, anymore.

But I enjoyed Kell's dedication to the mission, his fight scenes, the one where he kills Spear was awesome, and his final moments of sacrifice.

As for full BL there is no question about it. Ciaphas Cain is my all-time favourite human character. The wise-cracking secretly cowardly yet resolute and often heroic Commissar is a triumph of Black Library, and the only series i'd buy in complete hardback. Every Cain novel is cracking with humour, a rare thing in the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium but Sandy Mitchell has created a character that is funny and 40k at the same time, the reason that despite not being a Heresy author, I think he is one of Black Library's best.

"Blood for the Blood God!"
"Harriers for the Cup!"


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

John Grammaticus from _Legion_. I can't really say why, but he was the first name to come to mind when I thought about it. Ahriman would come second.


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Ahriman being Astartes doesn't fit the criteria for this ^^. Grammaticus was cool though, enjoyed him alot. Tbh i loved everyone in Legion. Bronzi, Soneka, Grammaticus and of course the extreme bad ass that was Dinas Chayne


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## D-A-C (Sep 21, 2010)

Angel of Blood said:


> Cyrene was a good character but i was a little confused at just how easily she seemed to accept the Word Bearers dramatic descent into Chaos. Would have liked to have seen some of her reactions to the confessions which would no doubt have become more and more disturbing.


Hey Angel looking good !!!! (points to the new medal) :friends:

As for Cyrene, I think that given the fact that she witnessed the heretical (in her eyes ... which is a very un-PC comment if you think about it) activities of those damned Ultra Smurfs literally destroying her world and blinding her in the process, then it's a little easier to understand her acceptance of the Legions fall.

Also I think that she was intimately knowledgable about a vast number of the individual Astartes and her meeting with Lorgar must have been a life changing experience (even if you are blind). So in that respect her willingness to follow her 'Angels' on their descent into Chaos worship is very well portrayed. 

There also might be an argument that she, along with her planet, held some of the 'Old Faith' which Kor Phareon and Erebus had been propogating on conqurered worlds, which was in essence early Chaos Worship. 

Those are just some thoughts. 

BTW well done on both the award and spotting that Asartes post ... NO ASTARTES ALLOWED lol, human characters only please.


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

I'm going with The Tanith First. Everyone apart from Cuu, are my favourites. Second would probably be the main characther from _Prospero Burns_. (Yes, I've read the book, see my review). 

Bane of Kings Out.


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## ckcrawford (Feb 4, 2009)

I liked Sindermenn. I forgot how to spell his name. But he basically mentored Loken's beliefs in the beginning of the book. And continued to do so through that trilogy. 

As for other BL fictions, I liked Guardsmen Hawke. Not many guardsmen can say they've been responsible for so many traitor astartes deaths.


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## GWLlosa (Sep 27, 2009)

Bronzi FTW. I loved his reaction to interrogation and he had some epic comic lines.

Malcador and Grammaticus were cool, but they were sufficiently high in power level that I wasn't really thinking of them as "human" anymore, myself.


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## Grimskul25 (Feb 17, 2009)

Definitely Commissar Cain for me in general terms of Black Library books, you get a feeling of common humanity you don't see quite often and its hilarious how despite trying to just save his own hide, in the process he always ends up with credit of doing something amazing and becoming a hero. 

For the Horus Heresy series, my favourite is probably Garro.


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

Commissar Cain... He is the man...


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## Malcador (Nov 19, 2010)

Malcador (who would've guessed?) and John Grammaticus. Both intriguing characters.


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## comrade (Jun 30, 2008)

HH Books: Luther, I sympathize with his predicament. 

BL books all together: Commissar Cain. Because he is the Man!


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## D-A-C (Sep 21, 2010)

I must admit, I'm surprised by the lack of responses this thread is getting ATM.

Also folks, I don't want to sound like an a** but try and write more than 3 words when explaining why you like a particular character.

My whole idea behind this topic was that so many people are reading the Horus Heresy series that they must have specific _human_ favourite characters.

I mean, what about Lemual Gaumon and his chats with Ahriman in _Thousand Sons_ or the chase of Kallista Eris, by those brain leech things, in that same novel?

I thought the three human characters in _Thousand Sons_ were some of the best crafted of the entire series, and remember how they were left?

Also what about Septimus and Eurydice from Soul Hunter? They are typically excellent quality characters (as let's face it we have come to expect from A-D-B who is getting a well deserved reputation amongst us 40k followers).

So like I said, this thread isn't just about liking character x, in a way liking certain characters tells everyone a heck of alot about who you are as a person (sometimes more than we like to share).

Anyways, those are just some of my thoughts.


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## ckcrawford (Feb 4, 2009)

I wasn't really that much of a big fan of Lemual Gaumon or Kallista Eris. They weren't terrible, but I was much more interested in the Thousand Sons conflicts with other legions. The depiction of the rembrancers in the first three novels could not be surpassed in my opinion. Especially talking about the details of them in _Horus Rising_.

Septimus and Eurydice were also another good depiction of viewing a legion in the eyes of mere mortals. Though I must say, the Night Lords and especially a company with Talos are an exceptional case of how they treat their slaves.

I wouldn't be that surprised at the responses. Some threads get less to no responses. 

Especially when people talk about the hard core characters. Hawke for example. He doesn't really put a good example for a well detailed and functional character. But hes pretty much just a slob of a soldier and the fact that fate gave him so much luck is quite funny. Especially since he was the soul survivor of that Iron Warrior Destruction at Hydra Cordatus.


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## D-A-C (Sep 21, 2010)

Anyone else want to share their favourite human character from either a Horus Heresy or any other Black Library book?


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## daemonprinceofchaos (Aug 4, 2008)

that one guy in storm of iron who blew up half on the iron warriors sure he was awesome as hell


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## High_Seraph (Aug 28, 2009)

My vote is for Dinas Chayne of Legion. Dinas was a child soldier at the age of eleven and a sergeant at 12 or 13 IIRC. He also put up quite a fight against Alpharius at the end but was split in half for his trouble.


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## Chompy Bits (Jun 13, 2010)

Horus Heresy - Fuck, that's a hard one. Like many people it seems, I liked a lot of the human characters in _Legion_. Though I gotta say my favourite there is Grammaticus. He's like an uber spy and master manipulator who's been around for ages. Plus, he took out a Lucifer Black unarmed. That's some old school badassery right there. Also, his end, after he realised the large scale effects of his actions, was quite memorable.

Modern - This is a bit of a random one but I'd probably go with Toros Revoke from _Ravenor Returned_. That guy took kicking ass to a whole new level. Fighting the Brass Thief in melee was quite epic, seeing as pretty much nearly everyone else who went toe-to-toe with it ended up sliced to ribbons. Not to mention he would have taken Ravenor in that psychic duel if Nayl hadn't interfered. An interesting character, he should have been featured more in my opinion.


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## MuSigma (Jul 8, 2010)

Favourite normal human charactor from HH series, none spring to mind.

From 40k, Eisenhorn - Reason although not an enhanced human being he always manages to handle what is thrown at him, usually at great cost. Seems to have the right mind set to take on the monsters both human, alien and supernatural, and that comes across more than the need for super physical abilities - the mind set. Possibility the only hardline Inquisitor who doesnt come across as an unbalanced bigotted megolomaniac.


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## D-A-C (Sep 21, 2010)

MuSigma said:


> Favourite normal human charactor from HH series, none spring to mind.


Seriously?

Of course, your entitled to your own opinion, but out of curiousity which novels have you read in the series so far?

As I find it hard to believe that none of them particularly appealed to you.


To everyone else, reading some of these responses has made me rememeber just how badass Grammaticus was lol.

So my top three would have to be :

1. Cyrene

2. The Thousand Sons trio (but only as a trio as I thought they worked well together)

3 Grammaticus


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## MuSigma (Jul 8, 2010)

D-A-C said:


> Seriously?
> 
> Of course, your entitled to your own opinion, but out of curiousity which novels have you read in the series so far?
> 
> As I find it hard to believe that none of them particularly appealed to you.


I have read them all except Prospero Burns, very few ordinary humans have been massively impressive. 

The young tech priestess in Mechanicus who became the new guardian of the Dragon, the Agent in Legion, the assassins in Nemesis were good charactors, yes the three remembrancers in a 1000 sons. 

None have actually struck me in any way as exceptional though. I suppose its because very few have had the opportunity to lead the plot as it were. 

The young cousins in the two Caliban based books were good - but both became Astartes.


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## D-A-C (Sep 21, 2010)

MuSigma said:


> I have read them all except Prospero Burns, very few ordinary humans have been massively impressive.
> 
> The young tech priestess in Mechanicus who became the new guardian of the Dragon, the Agent in Legion, the assassins in Nemesis were good charactors, yes the three remembrancers in a 1000 sons.
> 
> ...


So does that mean your an astartes only kind of guy?

I'm really suprised none of them stood out for you much.

What about my favourite, Cyrene from _The First Heretic_? Check out my OP about why I think she is great lol.

But like I said, each to their own lol. If you didn't particularly find any memorable thats fine with me.


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## MuSigma (Jul 8, 2010)

D-A-C said:


> What about my favourite, Cyrene from _The First Heretic_? Check out my OP about why I think she is great lol.
> QUOTE]
> 
> Cyrene was a good charactor, an important witness of the desecration of her planet, just to make a point, a needless evil act.
> ...


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

The Garantines best quote was when they were talking about the party that was being held where they were recruiting the callidus from "Must have lost my invite"


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## shas'o Thraka (Jan 4, 2010)

Probably Gregor Eisenhorn, the way that he believed in the imperium even when they turned against him was, in my mind, awesome:grin:

Although Guardsman Hawke is pretty awesome as well.


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