Descent of Angels (The Horus Heresy) | Mitchell Scanlon | A good prequel, if slightly frustrating

Descent of Angels (The Horus Heresy) | Mitchell Scanlon | nothing bad

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Descent of Angels ...

	Descent of Angels (The Horus Heresy) Mitchell Scanlon Games Workshop, 2007 - 416 pages average customer review:based on 56 reviews view larger image
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The next novel in the ground-breaking, bestselling series that tells the story of the Horus Heresy ? the civil war that nearly tore the human Imperium apart, ten thousand years ago. This novel explores the early history of the Dark Angels Legion and their Primarch Lion El'Johnson. When news of Horus's treachery reaches Caliban, the loyalties of this proud and mysterious Legion are tested to the limit, wth tragic consequences.

A good prequel, if slightly frustrating

Descent of Angels is most definetly a prequel novel to the Horus Heresy even though it is released after the first three books. It describes the rise of the Dark Angels from before the time of the Imperium and a little after they were discovered by the Emperor. It is a interesting read up until the last chapter where a huge cliffhanger awaits. Hopefully there will be a follow up book to complete the story, but if you are a fan of the Horus Heresy series, you shouldn't skip this book just because of the incompleteness of the story.

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nothing bad

overall this wasnt a bad book, i know a few people didnt like it, and the reviews are generally against it, but still this book is a fun read. it generates over the story of the dark angels, and their beginnings, which is good because it really gives you a sense of what it was like for some planets before the imperium, and on how planets were converted after the imperium came, and how a new space marine legion is born. Lion el johnson is also a cool character to read about, but the story focus's on a knight trying to become higher in the ranks of hte brotherhood, and then eventually becomes a space marine.

The only bad thing about the book was it was it was completely unbelievable that a planet of such traditions and culture would willingly watch and praise as the emperor tore down all the forests, and totally reconstruct the world. also the change for the characters in the noval was too quick, at first they were honorable knights fighting for the order, trying to keep its power up, and build their world better. some of them spent their entire lives serving it, then the next day they just burn it all down and become space marines willing to die for the emperor. its like comparing someone in the secret service fighting for the president, or someone in the marines in one day deciding to worship the emperor.

like i said it wasnt a bad book, and its good that the horus heresy series is including books to show the background of many space marine chapters like in Fulgrim, Descent of Angels, and Legion, but still this book doesnt really help at all to the further timeline of the horus heresy.

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A poor "Heresy" entry, but good standalone tale.

With Warhammer 40K popularity at an all time high, finding new fans beyond the tabletop battle fields amongst PC gamers and sci-fi novel enthusiasts alike, the Horus Heresy books have been in full swing now for little over 2 years. Many have voiced their disappointment that the Heresy seems to have astrayed from the primary storyline in favor of Legion-specific tales. Personally, I happen to like the Legion-specific entries (most specifically Fulgrim), but the Dark Angels entry into the Horus Heresy series was overall a weak one.

While this novel would have been fine as a standalone tale, chronicling the era of the Dark Angels just before the coming of the Emperor, it fails to capture the tension and fear that the Heresy series has thus far presented. While it is not poorly written, the pacing of the story just doesn't match up. Furthermore, the book doesn't actually tie-in to the Heresy other than hints and foreshadowing of chaotic taint upon the Dark Angels. The ending, which may or may not scream "sequel"(very unlikely) depending on how you look at it, leaves the reader with many questions and even fewer answers.

As a Dark Angels tale however, this is an intriguing book. Following the story of one up-and-coming knight, Descent tells the tale of the young warrior's trials to achieve knighthood on the harsh and terrifying world of Caliban. Within its deep jungles and foreboding darkness, Caliban hides many Great Beasts. To embark on a quest to slay such a beast would be one of the final steps to achieve knighthood. We find that our protagonist shares many traits in common with Lion El'Jonson, soon to be Primarch of the Dark Angels. But an encounter with mysterious beings in the darkest region of the world foreshadows an impending doom not only upon Caliban, but upon the rest of the human race as well.

Following the young boy from apprentice to knighthood and eventually to the ascension of Astartes, the book is rather compelling in its delivery but fails to capture that same magic that has made the Heresy series so pulse-pounding. If this book wasn't titled under the Horus Heresy line, it would have been excellent. As it stands, it was an overall weak Heresy offering that was disappointing for many. Being that the release dates between the Heresy entries are so long, Descent succeeded only in fueling readers' impatience and thirst for more Heresy. When compared to Fulgrim (The Horus Heresy) and Horus Heresy: Legion (Horus Heresy), Descent of Angels doesn't stand up to par with the rest. I would recommend saving Descent of Angels as a side read rather than an entry into the Horus Heresy.

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