Book Review: Prospero Burns
So here we have a unique treat (at least for me). Written by Dan Abnett and due to come out in January 2011, Prospero Burns gives the other side of the story told in A Thousand Sons.
First off, if you haven’t read Graham McNiell’s A Thousand Sons, do so as soon as you can. Not only is it an excellent book, but reading Prospero Burns without having read Sons is like playing 40k using cardboard cutouts: Fun, but lacking that extra something. As such, this review is written from the perspective of having read both of them, and will at points consider them to be a single tale.
First things first, the combined story of the fall of Prospero exemplifies the dark tragedy and majesty of the Horus Heresy series. The characters are as large as life, and their motivations are well developed and believable. The Thousand Son’s are very sympathetic, and the greatest tragedy is that they are wrong, not disloyal. But that’s mostly McNiell’s achievement.
Abnett, on the other hand, gives us an amazing look into how the Space Wolves act, how they think, and how they fit into the rest of the setting. Abnett walks a tightrope, simultaneously staying true to existing Space Wolves background, while fundamentally redefining what they are both as a chapter and as individuals. The story is presented from the perspective of a Remembrancer who has traveled to Fenris to join the Wolves as a Skjald. An undercurrent of mystery runs throughout the book as he and the Space Wolves try to discern his motives and untangle the web of intrigue that binds them to the Thousand Sons. A web that leads them all towards the blood and fire of Prospero.
Abnett masterfully uses repeating themes and metaphors to draw you further and further into the mystery and gives it quite a bit of development before you even know that it exists. The whole novel inexorably leads to the reveal near the end. A reveal that, quite honestly, blew me away.
I’ve read a lot of books by Abnett, and I must say, this is quite possibly his best work to date. It’s just really, really good. I occasionally read people disparaging his work as “war porn” and such. While that may have some truth to it, to say that his work is nothing more than that is a disservice to him, his books, and to readers everywhere.
In conclusion, the novel is fantastic. Prospero Burns is much more than a great Warhammer 40,000 novel, it’s a great science fiction novel that happens to be set in the 40k universe.The story of Prospero is a masterfully written tragedy that hits you right where it should. Fans of the Space Wolves, the Thousand Sons, and books should read this. Just make sure you read A Thousand Sons first, you’re doing yourself a disservice otherwise.
~5/5 Stars – So this comes out in January, not too long to wait. How many of you have read A Thousand Sons? What did you think?
