Warhammer 30,000

Horus Heresy:
Nemesis

After setting Garro up for eternal fame in Flight of the Eisenstein, James Swallow (of Blood Angels novels fame & Faith&Fire) takes on a new challenge - putting a human story and face to the up-till-now faceless Officio Assasinorum.

From political intrigue, to sibling loss, set amidst the great story arc of 10,000 years past, James Swallow has brought it all into a slightly bulgy, but just still believable story set in the reality of the 31st millennium. Assassin operatives are not created from nothing (ok, so not absolutely the truth here); they are given names, motivations, and set up in an "Execution Force" to deal with... well, who else?! The high heretic himself whose name the heresy was born with!

I may be rusty on Assassinorum canon, but I quite distinctly do not remember the Assassin Clades (temples) Venenum and Vanus. For those with insufficient latinicity, you'll have to read the book to find out what these 2 temples focus on in their war in the shadows. (Infocyte... what a term!)

So - simple premise - create an assassin strikeforce that could remove Horus, thus killing the snake's head before it can cause more damage. Just send 6 of the Imperium's finest, in a fast-strike black ship with the finest equipment, and this little heretic's has his end written in the stars. If it were so simple. (We all know how Horus died, and it wasn't from a shadow.)

The chaos gods always have their own plans. (which is the nice great wrap-up excuse as to how one can be in the right place at the right time accomplishing a mission that is critical to the resolution of the Heresy, and yet not originally on the mission specifications!)  How the faith iin the "Lectitio Dvinitatus" can overcome Assassinorum conditioning. Why one should fight for the greater good instead of just working within mission parameters.

And how, oh how, the ephithet "Emperor's Blood" takes on a whole NEW meaning during this War in the Shadows of the Heresy. Believable? just about.  A spitting good yarn, with character motivations just enough to feel for each different assassin, their clade, and their perspective. A little too much flashing between disparate scenes, but they all wrap up together at the final epic fight scene. Assassins killing marines, fighting daemons... just another day in the life of an Assasinorum operative.

As for the political intrigue - we get a glimpse into the matters of empire that are dealt with back on Earth, with Rogal Dorn continuing his cameos of "We will do this right, or we will have failed to be noble" impressions on everyone he meets; who the high master of Assassins really is, and also a cameo wrap-up of the day's evil intentions by the Emperor himself.

The moral of this story - Fighting from the shadows will lead to jumping at all future shadows.

 Fight in the light, or forever fear the darkness.

 Heretic value - 4/5 sectors - When will the Emperor ascend into Godhood?

Available from 24 Jul 2010, $19.90 from our reality-bending stores!
Advance orders (and discount savings!) till 14 Jul.