Anyone who has watched/listened to any episode of the voxcast knows that I’m not a fan of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Knights and Titans especially freak me out with the emphasis upon the machine spirits. I can’t explain why, really. They just give me the heebie-jeebies. So while I know that the battles of the Beta Garmon system are super important, I wasn’t thrilled about a book about the Adeptus Titanicus. Oh yay another story about princeps and moderati struggling to control the machine spirits inhabiting giant mechs that are somehow NOT heretical to the Imperial Truth, right? Well, while that was certainly a giant facet of Titandeath, there were enough layers to this onion to actually make me care about these Legios.
You hear that, Guy Haley? You got me to CARE about a faction of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and I will never ever forgive you for it.
Rise of the Dark Mechanicum
Oh sure, they call themselves the “New Mechanicum,” and yet they wear all black instead of the red robes the Adeptus Mechanicus favors. And as much as they’d like to think they’re enlightened, Titandeath put on fully display why they are the FURTHEST thing from the light. I personally think the skitarii are abominations and that it’s cruel that the Mechanicus take tithes of human children to force them to lose their humanity and free will. However, that form of cruel conscription pales in comparison to the neural slaves the Dark Mechanicum unleashes. Or, for that matter, turning the Titans into daemonengines that effectively consume the bodies and souls of their princeps.
As much of an arrogant and violent ass Terent Harrtek is, he did not deserve to be tricked into allowing Nuntio Dolores to become a daemonengine. He did not deserve that awful fate at the very end. I actually have to wonder if Esha had told him the truth about their child, would he and Legio Vulpa have sided with the Warmaster?
Funny how a lot of bad decisions made in the Horus Heresy all lead back to someone withholding the truth. Even Mohana Mankata Vi, one of the first Titan princeps in Imperial history, understood why the traitors turned against the Emperor with the truths He withheld.
This was the reality of the warp. This was what the Imperial Truth hid. At the last moment, she felt utterly betrayed, and understood finally why the traitors had turned.
Speaking of Insights
Learning about the formation of the Titan Legios and how the daemonengines came to be was fascinating, even to my Mechanicus-loathing soul. However, there were two moments of deep reflection that struck me to my core. I actually stopped mid-walking around the lake to fish out my phone, pause the audiobook, download the ebook, and highlight the passage of this first one so I wouldn’t forget it. (I would think I looked strange if I didn’t live through the Pokemon Go! era.)
When a menial fetches Harrtek for his daemon ritual, the sight of the lowly soul kicked off a series of thoughts about the differences between the low and the mighty. The following paragraph is one of the best insights into modern-day politics I’ve ever heard. I won’t go into my personal politics with this paragraph, but just let these words sink in.
Harrtek wondered how many civilisations had been toppled at the hands of the unwitting poor. Naturally, it always happened for the benefit of powerful men. The poor were levers to be pulled, their sacrifices shifting the positions of influence about, but nothing really changed, not in the long run. The Emperor on Terra was living proof of that. Humanity was a race with a fatal addiction to tyrants.
(Of course, he doesn’t seem to notice that he’s traded one tyrant for another when we swapped loyalties.)
The second punch came from Sanguinius, as he’s talking to Jaghatai Khan on Beta Garman II about what the primarchs were supposed to be. The Khan says they are how they were made to be, but Sanguinius disagrees because of Horus’ betrayal.
If the Emperor had known what we would become, He would have ordered our destruction before we were ever taken from Him. You would think He would have known, when He gathered us to Him. Two failures should have made Him wary.
Two failures, eh? Gee, wonder what that could refer to?
But most importantly, Sanguinius is tackling something Jen and I have discussed a lot: Did the Emperor know this was going to happen? If the Emperor is indeed a god and is all powerful and all knowing, then was this all to his design? And if so, why? But if he didn’t know this was going to happen, then he can’t really be as all knowing as he presents.
I could write entire essays on these two quotes, but I’ll just wrap it all up instead. And speaking of wrapping up, I can’t believe I’ve almost wrapped up this entire series. Any takers how quickly I’ll get through The Buried Dagger?
Fifty-three books down, ONE to go.
Horus Hearsay is dedicated to Keri’s journey through the Horus Heresy saga. The chronicling of the Horus Heresy began over ten years ago, with currently 54 books in total, not counting The Primarchs series or the various short stories outside of the official anthologies. Horus Hearsay will only cover the main novels.
