Horus Heresy: Battle for the Abyss by Ben Counter
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.37 You Save: $4.62 (51%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.75 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Horus Heresy: Battle for the Abyss
Book Review: Good side story
Summary: 3 Stars
I must agree with many of the other critiques that this is a good side story and it does have some strong action packed scenes. Finally we get to see one of the Thousand Sons in action (I always felt that their story was one of the most tragic). The downside is that we didn't get to see any of the Primarchs. Like the title says, it's a good story but only a side story.Book Review: This one was ok.
Summary: 3 Stars
I am not a huge fan of ship-to-ship battles and that was pretty much all this one was... it wasnt terrible... I just prefer ground-based combat in books.Book Review: The Heresy Continues - Book 8 in eh Horus Heresy series
Summary: 2 Stars
Battle for the Abyss' is book 8 in the Horus Heresy saga, based on the history of Games Workshops Science Fiction table-top game, Warhammer 40,000. Set in the 30th Millennium, the saga tells the tale of the Imperium of mankind's expansion across the galaxy, and it's crumble from within, as the largest civil war in history threatens to destroy humanity forever. The saga up to this point has been hit or miss. While it has been brilliant to see this well known story told in such detail from many points of view, some of the books fail to really grab the attention of the reader or have plots that frustrate and annoy. Author, Ben Counter, did a sterling job with his first book in the saga, that closed off the opening trilogy. 'Galaxy in Flames' weaved several story lines together and opened up new ones for other authors to continue. The first trilogy made us care as we were brought along with the story through the eyes of several characters, some loyal to the Imperium, some to the rebels. And indeed as the tale continued in the excellent 'Flight of the Eisenstein' and the fantastic 'Fulgrim' we were pulled through the myriad of tales to create a sublime experience. Alas, Battle for the Abyss' fails to impress on the most basic levels.
Without creating spoilers, the Abyss of the title is the Furious Abyss, a ship forged by the Mechanicum of Mars as a giant ship with one mission in mind: To destroy the Ultramarines legion. The setting takes place just as Horus is about to invade Istavaan, roughly around the same time as 'Galaxy in Flames' is set. The Word Bearers, now hostile to the Imperium, and integral in the tainitng of Horus, have been charged with this duty. They test their new weapons Systems on a lone Ultramarine cruiser, arousing the attention of a nearby Imperial station, where members of the Ultramarine legion, are joined by Space Wolves and loyal World Eaters, along with a single member of the Thousand Sons. They battle the odds in pursuing the massive ship with the aim of destroying it before it can damage their legion.
The story seriously lacks anything to make us care. Firstly it suffers from a repetition of structure throughout the book. The Word bearers destroy a ship, they are pursued through the warp. They emerge into real space, have another battle, jump through the warp, emerge, have another battle etc. Gone are the subtle webs of plot present in any of the opening trilogy, as are any characters we really care about. Led by an honor guard of Ultramarines, whose flawless perfection make them as dull as they are to play in the table top game, they lack character and depth. Whereas in other books, we've been drawn into the real life and mindset of a marine, here there is nothing but bland duty. The most interesting character is Mhotep, a lone Brother sergeant of the Thousand Sons Legion, and his arc throughout the story is one of the few reasons I kept reading. The plot suffers from lack of feasability too. The largest most advanced ship ever created, containing a whole chapter of the Word Bearers legion is being attacked by three small cruiser with a total of roughly fifty marines on board. Those are worse odds than assaulting the Death Star. While there is nice imagery about warp travel, and particularly of the entities that dwell there, as well as a deepening understanding of the Word Bearers legion, this alone does not suffice to make this a good read.
The main problem with Abyss, is it doesn't feel like its part of the rest of the saga; a problem that blighted the dire 'Descent of Angels'. It doesn't really connect you with what's happening in the rest of the emerging heresy. While one could say the same of Dan Abnetts excellent 'Legion' that at least pulled one through with its intricate plot and brilliant twist. Abyss feels like a stand alone book, and suffers, I feel, from bad writing.
So while we wait eagerly for this tale to unfold, leading to its final ulmtimate conclusion, Abyss is a sad let down. And its a few more months till 'Mechanicum' comes out. Im sure you will buy this book anyway, particularly if you have read the previous installments, but I've been slating my thirst for tales of heresy by reading the opening five books again.
How I wish Black Library had replaced this book with the tale of the raising of Prospero by the Space Wolves. Now thats a tale I really want to read.
Book Review: Another Characterless Heresy Novel
Summary: 2 Stars
One of the most disappointing things about the majority of novels from the Black Library is the avoidance of anything controversial - from ethical dilemmas, to gender issues and more. Battle for the Abyss is no different and is exactly as dull. Where authors like Abnett in his incredible Eisenhorn and Ghost series was able to discuss real issues that might tear the Imperium apart in the 41st century, this novel steers clear and makes the Ultramarine protagonists and the Word Bearer antagonists pointless cutout props with no moral depth.
But that isn't the only disappointment. There isn't a single appearance by a Primarch. The council of Nikeas is mentioned many times but without details about what actually happened. The warp begins to play a much more central role in the plot from both the Word Bearer side and from the Thousand Sons - all with zero explanation of how their warpcraft became so proficient (one marine is basically a Farseer!). The crowning failure however is that the book ends with the smoking hulk of the Abyss drifting toward the Ultramarine fleet around Macragge - after an absurd penetration mission that we're somehow supposed to believe and without showing us the reaction on the faces of Gulliman when he realizes what just unfolded before his very eyes.
Early Heresy books, dealing with the stunning Primarchs and their real dilemmas as they participated in the Great Crusade were gripping ("I was there the day Horus Fell"). The Abyss and Descent of Angels (excepting the appearance of the Emperor) as written are unimportant place-holders in the unfolding drama that, given it's 10,000+ year wake, should be a little more dramatic.
Book Review: Epic Fail
Summary: 2 Stars
First of all, this book is fraught with grammatical errors throughout, how did so many mistakes get past the editor? Secondly, I found myself questioning the logic of the tactical decisions made by the Astartes, they are supposed to posesses superior strategy and tactics after all, but the good guys manage to lose most of their fleet in the first engagement with the Furious Abyss, flying headlong into the teeth of its guns with little chance of inflicting real damage. I have a hard time believing that the Codex Astartes would have Captain Cestus command his warriors to perform such foolish attempts. So many other ways he could have cracked that nut, without total losses. It's total crap and basically nothing in this book strikes me as reasonable at all.
The combat scenes are very cookie-cutter, just like the characters, with the ONE EXCEPTION being Mhotep, whom the other characters hate for his use of his powerfully gifted psychic mind. This angers me because it shows lack of depth in the other characters, and I kept waiting for Mhotep to just kick the Space Wolf square in the eggs. After Mhotep sacrafices his ship and its entire crew for the cause, you would think he would earn some appreciation, but no....
For the record, even the misleading Descent of Angel's was better than this, it feels like Ben Counter had a deadline of one week to write the entire book and forgot to use spellcheck. This is the runt of the series for sure, a far cry from the absolutely awesome 'Fulgrim' and the excellently written "False Gods".