# Fear to Tread Advance Review



## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Posted on another forum (not my review): 



> Hey folks. Today i finished reading Fear To Tread, our very own shiny Horus Heresy novel.
> 
> Most of you know that it's written by James Swallow and for a lot of you that isn't necessarily the greatest endorsement as his 40k Blood Angels series is far from his best work.
> I'll Start off by nipping this in the bud right away- Forget about the Blood Angels series. Remember when you read Flight of the Eisenstein and thought it was awesome? This is the James Swallow we're talking about here. It's a fantastic book.
> ...


I am really excited


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## sadLor (Jan 18, 2012)

I didn't really enjoy Flight of the Eisenstein that much but I'm still excited for this book. Aside from my personal favorite, Vulkan, Sang is one of my fav primarchs. Here's hoping this is a good novel.


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## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

Sounds good and as usual I can't wait


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

I'm halfway through the novel myself. Its freaking great so far, really enjoying it and anyone who says Swallow will bungle Signus can bite their tongue. He most definitely has not. :biggrin:


LotN


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Lord of the Night said:


> I'm halfway through the novel myself. Its freaking great so far, really enjoying it and anyone who says Swallow will bungle Signus can bite their tongue. He most definitely has not. :biggrin:
> 
> 
> LotN


Lucky man...
by the way, do you like his 40K BA?


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

MontytheMighty said:


> Lucky man...
> by the way, do you like his 40K BA?


I do but I am aware that others do not.

Really though all the complaints about his 30k work are not present in this book. I have not seen the word Adeptus at any point and his Blood Angels have a great character to them both as individuals and as a Legion.


LotN


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## Words_of_Truth (Sep 20, 2007)

FotE is one of my favourite Heresy books, I've not read his Blood Angel novels though.


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Fraaaaaakk I want to read this so bad. Ive been waiting for this a really long lime and it was long since I ached for HH-action like this book.  I think The First Herectic was the last time.


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## Stephen_Newman (Jul 14, 2009)

He skipped out a few parts. Part of the novel relly let me down in some ways.

I don't know how to do spoiler notes but there are a grop of people who are so obscenely written and their purpose is also as ludicrous but the reviewer does not really mention them in too great detail. Also the sidekick badguys were too comicky for my own liking and the random jumps between time could have been handled better in my view.

As a last part I really hated Warden Annellus. Guy was a complete bastard in my opinion...


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

Stephen_Newman said:


> He skipped out a few parts. Part of the novel relly let me down in some ways.


What did he skip? I didn't see anything amiss.



Stephen_Newman said:


> I don't know how to do spoiler notes but there are a grop of people who are so obscenely written and their purpose is also as ludicrous but the reviewer does not really mention them in too great detail. Also the sidekick badguys were too comicky for my own liking and the random jumps between time could have been handled better in my view.


You do spoilers by using [] with spoiler inbetween them, and then at the end another one just like it but with / before spoiler.

What people did you dislike? And I did not feel that Kreed and Harox were badly written. Kreed was, to quote Game of Thrones, a piece who thought he was a player, and Harox was the soldier who followed his orders even when he didn't understand them. 



Stephen_Newman said:


> As a last part I really hated Warden Annellus. Guy was a complete bastard in my opinion...


I disliked Annellus as well.



Though I felt his final moments redeemed him, sacrificing himself to buy the others time.



I have finished the book, the review will be up on TFF soon, and I have nothing but praise for Swallow's story, characters and depiction of the Signus Massacre that has really brought it to life. The best parts imo are,




Horus and Sanguinius discussing the Lost near the beginning of the novel. This scene shows how much they trust each other, and how good of a person Horus used to be. He was willing to keep this secret even from the Emperor, he loved his brother Sanguinius that much. And Traitor Horus used that knowledge to try and kill Sanguinius. Its heartbreaking.

Amit finally doing what fans of the Heresy have wanted somebody to do since the start, just outright saying Horus is a traitor. It nearly got him killed by Sanguinius but it was awesome to see a Space Marine finally admit what is obvious but nobody dares contemplate because its just too horrible. And Amit's actions during the Ragefire were horrific, he was not in control so it earns him much pity, as does his reaction once he is clear-headed. This adds real depth to the Flesh Tearer, and perhaps to his future scions.

Sanguinius re-entering the battle, pinning Kyriss to the wall with his sword, and strangling Ka'Bandha to death while tearing his wings off. And his final declaration to him, to tell his kindred in hell that Sanguinius threw him back, then hurling the cursing and bleeding Bloodthirster into the pit is one of the best scenes in the Heresy yet imo. And then his killing of Kyriss in revenge for everything that has befallen them at Signus and how he casually examined the Daemon's head before flicking it away in disgust. Epic! :biggrin:

Meros' final sacrifice was heartshattering, and his quote "There will be sacrifice, but not by you!" was incredible. To defy his Primarch for the greater good and become the Red Angel, even if he could never have predicted what would happen to him, was heroic. Rafen should be 100x prouder to have Meros' gene-seed than he already is, because he is carrying a true hero's legacy. I can't wait to see what will happen to the Red Angel now that it has moved on from Tagas's hatred and feelings of abandonment to Meros, and perhaps the small spark of Meros that remains will yield some interesting results in the future.

Sanguinius got a black teardrop tattoo! That is so gangster!




LotN


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## Stephen_Newman (Jul 14, 2009)

Lord of the Night said:


> What did he skip? I didn't see anything amiss.
> 
> 
> You do spoilers by using [] with spoiler inbetween them, and then at the end another one just like it but with / before spoiler.
> ...


I was on about mainly the parts with Kanos in (The ex libby. Not to sure of the name). Thanks for the spoiler tag help!




The main ludicrous part being the Space Wolves. I did not feel they contributed much and their original purpose of killing Sang if he turned traitor was laughable. The idea of a single squad and Rune Priest doing this was ridiculous. Also the Rune Priest in general could have been better since he denies he is a witch at first (As Rune Priests do) but then almost confirms he is one in the presence of the Librarians later which confused me. Although the scene where we se his remains melded into the daemon fortress was gooey with chills.

I felt Kreed was too lackey in place, obvious for a devious villain and just trying to push his head in during the conversation with Kyriss and Ka'Bandha. Harrox was just too ready to follow Kreed for my liking. In _The First Heretic_ we see the relationship between Captains and Dark Apostles with the Apostles being the spiritual centre whilst the Captains were in full control of the groups of warriors. Felt like Kreed had too much control in my eyes or Harrox had no balls IMO.

My favourite part would be more firstly how humanitarian the Angels are when we see them rescue Hengist who is known to be a criminal and the first contact where the whole Blood Angel party gets attacked by traffic signs and other animated pieces of masonary being completely awesome!

I also felt the Red Angel talking about his shared nickname with Angron to be slightly amusing as well as Erebus finally getting what he partially deserves for constantly dicking around with his own plans and schemes.



Hope that spoiler tag works.....


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

Stephen_Newman said:


> I was on about mainly the parts with Kanos in (The ex libby. Not to sure of the name). Thanks for the spoiler tag help!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You got it.

I really enjoyed the segments with Mkani Kano, I liked that the Ex-Librarians were delved into and we saw how the Blood Angels treated their psykers.




The Space Wolves were an interesting part of the novel. For them to kill Sanguinius is of course not gonna happen, and I don't doubt that Malcador would have preferred to send a squad of Custodes which could have managed the job if they were lucky and went about it the right way. But a squad of Custodes would have raised too many questions and couldn't have gotten out there in time. The Wolves were the only option, and the Rune Priest was a part of it likely because they felt he'd be the best candidate to try and disable Sanguinius. Also I think Jonor Stiel wasn't as biased towards the Warp as other Rune Priests and Russ, so he was willing to admit that perhaps their power doesn't come from Fenris.

I don't think its that Harox didn't have any balls, the fact that he tried to kill Raldoron on his own proves that he did. I think its just he recognized that Kreed was a grasping fanatic and decided to just keep his mouth shut rather than risk getting executed for saying something and having Kreed take it the wrong way. As for Kreed I don't dispute that he was a lackey, I think he was a lackey that believed himself to be a boss and wanted to prove that. He dared to converse with Kyriss and Ka'Bandha because he had become a part of that scheme with Horus and Ka'Bandha to cheat the Gods and he felt it gave him some entitlement.

Rescuing Hengist was a kind thing of them to do, they never even asked what he did. But of course he was an undercover cultist, a smart move by Erebus that nearly cost the Blood Angels everything. But I liked the Pariah Niobe more, I felt she was very strong and brave by going into the Cathedral with the Angels. I figured out that she was a Pariah when that woman said that only around Niobe did she stop having nightmares, read that part then went over a few things in my head and came to a conclusion. Pariah.

The City Daemons were cool, especially how they behaved as if they were made of flesh and every part of them was described as it would be in an organic body. Arms made of traincars, arteries made of subway systems and sewers, troops made of lamp-posts and highway signs. It was a really imaginative sequence, plus I liked the tension in the scenes when Xargan and the Word Bearer are killed mysteriously.

The Red Angel definitely showed his stones there, willing to challenge Angron for the Red Angel title. I doubt Angron cares about it. And Erebus getting his face flayed off by Horus... that was AWESOME! I really like Erebus but he deserved that, and those who hate him will be rejoicing over that scene.




LotN


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Lord of the Night said:


> I do but I am aware that others do not.
> 
> Really though all the complaints about his 30k work are not present in this book. I have not seen the word Adeptus at any point and his Blood Angels have a great character to them both as individuals and as a Legion.
> 
> ...


Hmm...I think the main concern among fans is not whether Fear to Tread is similar to Swallow's 30K work, but whether Fear to Tread is similar to Swallow's 40K BA work. 



Stephen_Newman said:


> He skipped out a few parts. Part of the novel relly let me down in some ways...


Are you a SW fan perchance?


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## Garrak (Jun 18, 2012)

> but whether Fear to Tread is similar to Swallow's 40K BA work.


This. I'm willing to give the book a chance but I really didn't like his other BA books.


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

Garrak said:


> This. I'm willing to give the book a chance but I really didn't like his other BA books.


I liked them but I recognize why others might not. But Fear to Tread is far better than the 40k BA series, definitely something that many will enjoy. Some will inevitably dislike but no book is universally liked.


LotN


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Lord of the Night said:


> Fear to Tread is far better than the 40k BA series


OK, that's reassuring :victory:


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## Stephen_Newman (Jul 14, 2009)

> Are you a SW fan perchance?


actually no. My 2 favourite legions are White Scars and Thousand Sons. Space Wolves come down pretty low but with their history with the Thousand Sons I care very much about their portrayal.

I hope my eventual White Scars novel is completely awesome...


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Stephen_Newman said:


> actually no. My 2 favourite legions are White Scars and Thousand Sons. Space Wolves come down pretty low but with their history with the Thousand Sons I care very much about their portrayal.


how coincidental 
my fave loyalist legion: WS
my fave traitor legion: tie between TS and WE



> I hope my eventual White Scars novel is completely awesome...


As do I, Chris Wraight is writing it, take heart in that

I hope Mr. Wraight does some research on Mongols and other Central Asian steppe nomads. I hope he achieves a good balance of historical inspiration and fictional originality. I believe Abnett pulls that off nicely in Prospero Burns. Only reason I didn't enjoy that book is because SW are low on my list.


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## dickie bell (Jul 8, 2012)

hi new member here , puzzled at how some people have the book early


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

dickie bell said:


> hi new member here , puzzled at how some people have the book early


I get ARCs from Black Library, as does Bane of Kings. Dunno how others have it. Probably ARCs.


LotN


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## dickie bell (Jul 8, 2012)

Lord of the Night said:


> I get ARCs from Black Library, as does Bane of Kings. Dunno how others have it. Probably ARCs.
> 
> 
> LotN


thanks for the info , must be quite a privilege to get advanced review copys


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

Lord of the Night said:


> I get ARCs from Black Library, as does Bane of Kings. Dunno how others have it. Probably ARCs.
> 
> 
> LotN


I believe it was on sale at Comic Con, along with several other novels such as Path of the Outcast and even I think Shadows of Treachery was on sale (although I can't quite recall if it was exactly).


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## Stephen_Newman (Jul 14, 2009)

I got mine early as well as copies of Priests of Mars (signed by Mcniell no less. Never expected that), Path of the Outcast and Shadows of Treachery for helping out a friend who is friendly with the Black Library staff.


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## demonictalkin56 (Jan 30, 2011)

I got my copy (and shadows of treachery) at the recent 40k doubles weekend. 

Have just finished 'Fear to Tread' today and can say I really enjoyed it; not knowing a lot about the Blood Angels previous to this meant that I have a new found appreciation for them.

That said, I still really dislike the Word Bearers whenever they turn up in a novel....might just be me but I just can't empathise with their reason for turning.

Good addition to the series though!


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

demonictalkin56 said:


> That said, I still really dislike the Word Bearers whenever they turn up in a novel....might just be me but I just can't empathise with their reason for turning.


Truthfully I do empathize with the Word Bearers but what Raldoron says to Harrox and Kreed that the Word Bearers have never had the strength to stand on their own, that they always had to find something to stand behind, something to excuse their actions, I felt that he made a lot of sense.


LotN


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

Can't wait for this. Swallow is very under rated. FotE is one of my favourite HH novels, and while the first two BA books weren't great, the subsequent ones were much better.


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Could this book be released a bit sooner...can't wait


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## mal310 (May 28, 2010)

Finished this today. Thought it was fantastic, Swallow's best work in the series and a top three entry along with Legion and The First Heretic (IMO).


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