Angels of Caliban: 38 (The Horus Heresy)

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The opening of the “loyalist” Dark Angels in Angels of Caliban is when they relieve a world of Ultramar that has suffered occupation by a stray force of World Eaters, remnants of Lorgar and Angron’s Shadow Crusade into Guilliman’s star realm.

Overall Gav’s done a great job of tying everything together here into a cohesive book, but also providing a platform for what’s to come next as one arc comes to an end and we take another step closer to Terra. Maybe then he wouldn’t have been so welcoming to Typhon when his Death Guard blundered into the Caliban system. In addition I have to say that although by no means dull, the Caliban set parts of the book are where Gav seems to stray back into his typical Dark Angels pattern where needless intrigue and mystery are inserted in an apparent attempt to revert to the Angels of Darkness template.Better yet Thorpe delivers an acceptable reason for not executing Curze and that was always going to be the hardest part to swallow, at least for me. The Dark Angels went planetside and began to fight the forces of traitor legions that were left behind, but the Lion had his doubts that Curze was ever in the system.

The Unforgiven – Annael, Telemenus, Grand Master Belial, Supreme Grand Master Azrael, Chaplain Asmodai, Chaplain Sapphon, Chief Librarian Ezekiel, Astelan, Cypher. Plus, that was the original seed of all of this and it is a truly definitive Black Library publication. To be honest, part of this larger plot left me feeling a little disappointed because I felt as if the motivations of the three above-mentioned characters weren’t really laid out properly that would make the context of their turn in loyalties matter as much as we know matters.Likewise the wider Dark Angels story, although it might require a little catching up to be fully on top of things – it’s been 27 books and over 7 years since Fallen Angels, with their story previously continued via a novella and a handful of short stories. Through Astelan we learn more about the I legion’s history dating back to the Emperor’s Six Hosts of Angels. It is very much a prologue to the series itself, and focuses on the Luna Wolves’ campaign to bring to compliance the world of Zaramund a second time after it seceded away from the Imperium. With the Dark Angels spread across a hundred systems, primarch Lion El’Jonson stands as Lord Protector of Ultramar – though his true motives are known to few indeed, and old rivalries on the home world threaten to tear the Legion in half. Aboard the Vengeful Spirit, Calas Typhon and his men met with Horus's men, members of the Dark Angel's, and representatives from the Mechanicum and Imperial Army (Ayliet Phalanx auxilia regiment) to commemorate the victory.