The End and the Death: Volume II: The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra, Book 8, Part 2

650 Pages of tightly wound, convoluted, patchwork of battles, fights, intrigues and deceptions. Love it. I've read all of the Horus Heresy and Siege of Terra books. Taken years, but I've done it. Great 40K story line and masterful writing.

We all know where it’s heading but darn the plot thickens. The author really manages to make you feel there, as disoriented as the characters are with all the multiple dimensions mixing. It’s good to very good but very twisted at the beginning. It’s like reading within a Vortex. But I guess that’s what makes it very good as you really feel there. I can’t wait for the next one.

Disregard that 1 star review from some whiner complaining and spoiling the novel for everyone else. It was written by someone who already decided beforehand that he hated this book. Just another 40k edgelord who can only complain about what *he* doesn't like and tries to ruin the game/lore/hobby for everyone else. We all know this type... he's a "that guy".Let's break it down, *without spoilers* as that's the appropriate approach. Obviously I'm going to take for granted that everyone knows that the Emperor is mortally wounded and the loyalists win a pyrrhic victory against Horus and Chaos. This battle is how the entire setting for the 40k universe is brought about. It's no secret. What these books (and all of the Horus Heresy novels) are doing is giving us incredible detail as to how exactly the 40k universe becomes what it is.Ok, that said, the first half of this book is *much* more about the supporting cast of characters than the 1st book. Malchador and the Emperor feature far less (though the Emperor does show up near the end for an epic, and sad, reveal) and with Malchador being almost entirely consumed by the Golden Throne his chapters are often nothing more than short, broken thoughts. More time is given to characters like Fo & Amon, John, Oll and the Companions, Rann, Azkaellon and the Astartes who were trapped outside after the Eternity Gate closed, Amit and the "Denial Companies" set up to defend the inner sanctum, Dorn who continues to try and figure out a way to get free from Khorne's trap, and finally Sanguinius in all his glory. Lastly, for brief chapters (all the chapters are extremely brief... maybe 10 pages at most, most are only 2 - 4 pages), the Emperor, Valdor and the few remaining Custodes. Valdor is perhaps the one with the least amount of "screen time", showing up for a couple chapters early on and then never brought up again. There's a decent amount of time given to the Emperor in the first quarter, then nothing for a long portion, only to show up near the end for some *really* important moments. Perhaps some of the most important moments in the entire storyline, outside of Sanguinius death and the final clash between Him and Horus.The first half can generally be split into 3 sections; outside the Palace, inside the Palace and the Vengeful Spirit. There's one aspect of this book that permeates every part and it's actually really wonderfully done, and that is the warp's complete breakdown of spacetime and geometry. The outside and inside of the palace quickly becomes meaningless... it's both and neither at the same time but I'm sticking to the inside & outside designation to just make it easy. It started to happen during the 1st book but it *really* takes off in this one. *Nobody* is where they intend to be, not even the traitors. It can be subtle, like a winding staircase becoming counter-clockwise when it should have been clockwise, or entire structures (like a certain infamous prison) simply appearing dozens of kilometers away from where they should be. Characters frequently walk through one door only to appear impossibly far away from where they should be, sometimes not even on Terra any more. Even the inner sanctum is succumbing to the warp, making the nigh-unshakable Custodes feel unnerved (well, as close to unnerved as they can get).One thing is definitely certain though; the end of all things is imminent. Vulcan is even counseled to enact the "Seven Hammers" protocol, which will destroy the Golden Throne and all of Terra. The Dark King finally manifests itself, throwing everyone who looks upon it (on one side at least) into pure fright, yes even Astartes, and madness as they flee from it. Erebus shows up, chasing after John & his companions and really puts a hurt on the group. Abaddon very nearly kills him and I really wish he did. Erebus is just the absolute worst. Luckily for the loyalists, and once again thanks to the warp, time has stopped as well (which really pisses off the Dark Mechanicus as all of their machines start to fail). The first quarter of the book really dives in and drives home that nothing is proper and nothing can be trusted. Not senses, not direction, nothing. Orders are relayed on scribbled paper and run between units like a WW1 trench runner (but on jet bikes), dataslates and vox commo are long abandoned. *Nobody* is in communication with anyone from the Anabasis boarding party on the Vengeful Spirit *except* one could maybe make the argument for the 9th legion Astartes who constantly "dream" in their battle-weary fugue states of Sanguinius as he progresses through the ship in low orbit (obviously this tenuous, dream-like connection will be *VERY* important later on).Speaking of Sangunius, the 1st half deals with him and his personal guard fighting through the ranks of traitors to reach Horus. After that grueling battle, he is cut off from his guard and "lost" in darkness. Eventually *someone* shows up (not gonna say who) and helps guide Sanguinius out of the darkness and eventually to Horus. The final battle between Horus and Sanguinius is... well, it felt underwhelming to me. This is another instance where the outcome is no secret. Horus kills Sanguinius and while yes, it's sad, it's not as moving as I expected it to be. Maybe my own hype for this moment was built up too much (I mean, their battle is literally on the cover so I feel like *everyone* was hyped for this moment) but it didn't land like I expected it to. It's still wonderfully written and Abnett even made me think for a moment, "Wait, is Sanguinius going to win this fight?" even though it's already been well documented for many decades now that he doesn't. It was a joy to read Sanguinius actually start to piss Horus off and truly hurt him too, but we all know how it end and it ends... fast. Once Horus is able to actually catch him, he lands (basically) two blows and that's all he wrote. The first one cripples Sanguinius, the second kills him. I wanted it to be more emotional for me than it really was. Honestly, the reveal of the Dark King, the conversation (it) has with a certain character and the realization of what (it's) doing and what will happen because of (it's) decision, was more impactful for me than the fight between Horus and Sanguinius.The book suffers from the same issues the 1st one did, though not as bad, which is Abnett's *extreme* verbosity. I swear, I had to look up more words in the dictionary than I could count. Many are able to be interpreted from the way they're used in a sentence but combined with the totally made up words, about 100+ pages could be cut from the book just by exercising the fluff Abnett likes to throw in. It's not nearly as bad as the 1st book, which had literally back to back pages and pages of just made-up locations, characters and their titles who played no role beyond simply being names & titles. I won't say these books are his "best" work (I'm reserving judgement until all 3 are released and read), it's definitely his *grandest*. You can tell he put so much love and care into crafting these novels, which makes sense as these are the penultimate Horus Heresy storylines, and the fact that he wrote the first book some 2 decades ago that kicked this all off. Maybe a bit *too much* love and care, but if that's a fault...I'm also not sure how I feel about the liberal use of borrowed phrases from famous literary pieces with no reference to their origin. It feels... dishonest. "I will show you fear in a handful of dust" a line by T.S. Eliot for example, is used with zero reference to where it came from. Just tossed in as a line Khorne uses to taunt Dorn. This "borrowing" has been done throughout the Horus Heresy novels so you could give it a pass but I've never liked when they do this. Almost every novel (that I've read) contains lines like these. At other times, certain lines come across like when a movie character says the name of the movie. A character in the book says "the grim darkness of the far future" which is the well known tag line for 40k. A bit too tongue in cheek for the absolutely horrible events unfolding in this book and it just immediately makes me think of that Family Guy episode where they point and laugh at this trope. These moments are jarring and only serve to take me out of the story when I come across them.The good thing about this book is it's much more pared down than the 1st book. Gone are the truly massive amounts of filler. It's still a long book (650+ pages) but it reads VERY fast. With each chapter averaging 3 or 4 pages long, you really fly through it. Abnett has also cut down on the fluff words, creating a more direct and precise read, despite the mind-jarring twisting and dislocation every character experiences. If the 1st book sets up the premise and layout for every character, then this book is the streamlined version, stepping on the gas. Looking forward to the 3rd and final book to come out so we can really take them all in as one story. The end is truly really here, with the greatest story of the 40k universe only one book away from reaching its conclusion (Don't fret! There's still "The Scouring" plotlines to explore afterwards and A LOT happens during that. The Fallen, the 2nd Founding and the Codex Astartes, what happened to all of the remaining loyalist Primachs, the traitor forces fleeing into the Eye of Terror/the Maelstrom... tales of revenge, violence and loss so epic as they sweep out across the entire galaxy! It's when 40k *really* becomes "modern" 40k).

The veils fall away, but somehow the ending is far more mysterious and transcendent than we could have imagined. A worthy penultimate volume to the Siege of Terra series and the Horus Heresy saga itself.

I had a great time reading this. I was waiting for it to be released with high anticipation. The stories inside these pages are woven masterfully. There is enough atmosphere and detail that you can imagine yourself right there, at the end of all things. A lot is revealed in this one, and there is a lot of sadness. The siege is almost over, the enemy has breached the walls and the defenders are fighting for their lives as enemies come from all sides. I'm trying to stay vague, as I don't want to spoil the book, but this one is a great read. Everything is coming to a head and everyone has lost control. No one is sure how or when it happened, but any semblance of military order is gone on both sides. Men brawl by firelight with hooks and clubs, but they can't remember even what they are fighting for anymore. A fifth great power of chaos is ready to be born, and its birth scream will be the end and the death of the human race.

So I've been reading Black Library since 2006. This book is definitely not the best. It's not bad whatsoever. Not that Dan Abnett could ever write anything bad. It's just hard to deal with the chapters being a page or less short most times as you're trying to stay invested in the story of a character before they change to another. Regardless I loved the book and already pre-ordered the final book. Ave Dominus Nox yall!

It follows the plot of the siege of terra culminating in the penultimate fight between two outstanding warriors. I really enjoy the Horus Heresy series and the Siege of Terra is no exception. There is great writing on all sides of the conflict. My only regret is that Horus takes a backseat in the story in this particular volume. Hopefully he comes back center stage in vol 3.

Though I had SERIOUS reservations and personal feelings toward the first volume, I'm happy to say that the sequel answers and justifies many of the gripes I had.Though the pacing was indeed about the same as the first so go into this with that spoon of salt.It was a great 6 hour read overall following many of the essential characters and plots while keeping the riff raff minimal and the lore rich and bittersweet in the expected style of Dan Abnett. Really loved The Angel, absolutely fan boyed like a tech priest after a toaster cleaning.Worth the Kindle purchase for sure.