Gamertell

Title: The Horus Heresy: Galaxy in Flames
Author: Ben Counter
Publisher: The Black Library
Release Date: 2006
Price: $7.99
Rating: Two thumbs up, 90/100, B+, **** out of five.
Pros: Quick pace, gives more explanation to different events, develops all major characters wonderfully, fixes most of the problems that popped up with False Gods
Cons: The pace is occasionally too quick for the level of detail that it has, still has some of the same problem that False Gods had.
Overall: It’s well worth the money, even with the pacing and detail flaws.

Horus Rising and False Gods opened up the story of the Horus Heresy. It followed the formerly honorable Space Marines legion known as the Luna Wolves. Galaxy in Flames follows the quickly fracturing Luna Wolves as some remain true to the Emperor and some remain true to Warmaster Horus.

This is one of the hardest books in the Horus Heresy to read because it’s the most heartbreaking. You expect these angels of death that have been bred simply to do the Emperor’s will to remain true to their creator. You become attached to everyone, whether you hate them, love them or at the very least respect them. You’ve followed them for two books already and this is the final killing to the unit that was. Many of the characters that you like actually die horrible agonizing deaths. However, it is necessary to move the story along and show the hell that the universe will soon be.

Counter’s continuation of this epic fantasy space opera is precisely what the franchise needed to pull the Heresy back on track. It brings the human aspect back into it. This is shown even through just the cover, which shows this through actually showing facing again, even through the hell of war. Character development is satisfying. Character destruction absolutely heart wrenching. It gets down to the true nature of war while pulling in military philosophy from different leading military tacticians around the world.

In its attempts at being a cohesive, stand-alone story, while being a part of a series, it passes with flying colors. The thing that might turn people off about it though, is the book follows a “go big or go home” mentality. While this in itself is not a bad thing, if it is overdone it will be taking away from the quality of the story. This is while the book doesn’t really warrant quite the response that Horus Rising deserved. Galaxy in Flames just goes too big. It still works but there’s a method to the madness and it just falls short.

If you’ve read the first two, you’re already in pretty deep. In other words, if you read Horus Rising and False Gods, get Galaxy in Flames. It’s a worthwhile book that acts as a stand-alone story and part of a series. This is definitely one of the books that would be worth paying list price for if you’ve given the Horus Heresy a chance.

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