40k Review: The Talon of Horus by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Aaron Dembski-Bowden delivers a solid first chapter in the ”Black Legion” series, but one that is not without some serious flaws.
“The Talon of Horus” is the origin story of the Black Legion, and it’s a fascinating deep dive into a very important part of history in the Warhammer 40k universe.
As the book opens the traitor legions are locked in vicious infighting after their defeat at Terra and the subsequent flight into the Warp infested Eye of Terror. Without a common goal or uniting leader the legions squabble over the precious resources of their new home, or spend their time fighting to even old scores of perceived slights against them. we are introduced to the Thousand Sons sorcerer Iskandar Khayon, who is on his way to a secret rendezvous in the middle of the Eye of Terror. It is a meeting that kicks off a hectic adventure through some of the most dangerous parts of the Eye.
The story does a great job of pulling you in as the book opens, by portraying the early days of life for the traitor legions inside the Eye of Terror. The description of how the legions lost their purpose and basically degenerated into warring tribes is fascinating and makes for a great story setting.
The characters of “Talon of Horus” are made up primarily of members of the traitor legions, with Iskandar taking most of the spotlight. Having shed his ties to the Thousand Sons sometime after Ahriman’s failed attempt at protecting his legion brothers from the powers of the Warp, Iskandar is now aimlessly drifting through the Eye in his ship, secretly yearning to once again feel the true brotherhood of a legion.
The other main characters of the story are reasonably well fleshed out and I particularly feel that Dembski-Bowden really nailed (pun intended) the depiction of the World Eater Lheor Firefist.
My main criticism about the characters in “The Talon of Horus” is that while there is plenty of exposition about each one, and we learn a lot about their background, I felt that a lot of this information provided a lot of details of their past but did not necessarily give much more context for their motivation or behavior. There are some cool flashbacks to the Space Wolves’ attack on the Thousand Sons’ home world, for example, but it didn’t really give me a lot of insight into Iskandar and felt more like a neat little battle depiction. Also, I feel like some of the characters end up being a little “overwritten”, with so many anecdotes being told that I felt it got to be a bit silly. Not everyone has to be a secret, wrapped in an enigma, with mysterious strings of a hidden past, topped by a horrible secret that cannot be told.
I also have to level some critique at the general pacing of “The Talon of Horus”.
Initially the book pulls you in with lots of recognizable names and the promise of an epic story about the birth of the Black Legion, but events then immediately start to slow down and dozens of pages go by without actually furthering the main plot.
Once you get into the last third part of the book however, things start to pick up again. Ironically enough this is where I feel that a lot of things are suddenly glossed over, as if Dembski-Bowden realized he had spent 250 pages describing the first 30% of the story and now he needed to round up the last 70% in 50 pages.
Despite all my critique of “The Talon of Horus” I still found it to be an enjoyable book and I will certainly be picking up the next book in the series. There’s simply so much cool info about pivotal Warhammer 40k events and characters that I can live with the pacing and character issues.
It doesn’t live up to some of Dembski-Bowden’s best work like “Betrayer”, but it still tells a story that is worth reading, particularly if you’re a fan of Chaos Space Marines or if you are a big fan of Warhammer 40k lore.
Final score 3/5
Have any of you had a chance to read “The Talon of Horus yet” and what did you think of it?
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