Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Unremembered Empire review



The galactic warpstorm rages. The Imperium is cut off from itself. Nobody seems to know anything about anything. Yet, there is a light in the darkness and it is Macragge. Go there and be safe. Welcome to the Unremembered Empire.


Unremembered Empire is another Dan Abnett penned Horus Heresy novel. I anticipate it being good, just like all his other stories. Is it as good? I believe it is.




The universe has gone dark due to the events of those traitor Space marines. Warp travel is impossible. Communication is as well. The good guys have no idea what is happening. However, Roboute Guilliman has a way to lead people to the five hundred worlds of Ultramar and safety. Well unless you mention that Calth bit and the Word Bearers, but that is another story. Using xenos tech (I know right) he has set a beacon to Macragge for anyone in space to follow. This leads them to Macragge, safety and a second Imperium of man?

Yup it seems with no word about Terra or the Emperor being throw around, Roboute decides to start a new Imperium seat in the Ultramar system. He just needs a leader that isn’t him. Why not him? Well the whole Horus bit has soured many to the idea of Primarchs becoming the leader of government they found and all that. So who will lead then? Well that is what a lot of this tale is about, trust. Then throw in some terrorist activity along with some covert operations and you have another great mix of talking and action.

Then you throw in the appearance of the Preturnals, the Dark Angels entire legion, some Space Wolves, Word Bearers, an Iron Warrior and many more. This mix of people and events leads to some fantastic dialogue, happenings and action. There are crazy revelations that I would never have imagined and some great 40K foreshadowing.

The downside is that I forgot a characters that was introduced in Legion and reappeared in Battle for Calth. He was a character I cared little for and now look at him. A Mr. John Gramaticus. He is big news! He also has a buddy I either forgot, or haven’t read about yet that is mover and shaker for a third party. If you haven’t read this novel yet, wait and re-read/peruse Legion and Battle for Calth to get reacquainted before you  start Unremembered Empire. That or just look up the info on the interweb.

The other problem is purely my own fault. See I tend to skip the Heresy short story collections, and those look to have further events that time together books and add some more depth. I guess I should dive into those to tie up loose ends. Plus I passed over Vulkan Lives, because it did not appeal to me. Guess I need to grab that as there are events there that I had no idea about and the revelations here floored me. Does that mean I’ll have to grab Deliverance Lost as well?

Anyhoo….Unremembered Empire is typical Dan Abnett awesomesauce! He throws another great Heresy novel together with a good mix of action, drama and dialouge. I really wish he had wrote all of these, or the majority of them. It would make a good series that much better. Now to go and find a copy of Vulkan Lives.

Some of the great moments……….
A Preturnal’s identity reveal?
It’s raining men?!
An impressive Primarch development.
A young and chipper farseer is meddling again.
Space Wolves on any planet are pretty bad ass!
So many looks and nods to the future.
Avenging Son and The Lion vs. the Haunter in a steel cage match!

Questions unanswered…..
What have the Night Lords and Dark Angels been up to?
How is Kurze aboard the Lion’s ship? When/what is that all about? 

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