So I had thought that I wouldn’t get another collection of stories for a little bit. Strong emphasis upon the word “thought.” As it turns out, Corax by Gav Thorpe is a collection of novellas and short stories about the Ravenlord primarch. He’s taken what’s left of his Legion, deformed newcomers and all, to harry the traitor Legions on their way to Terra. Corax himself isn’t going to Terra, you see. He’s just going to make life difficult for Horus’ followers as they go to Terra. Free worlds, destroy supply lines, etc., all part of whatever penance the silly birdie thinks he owes. It’s as uplifting as Poe’s The Raven.
Dear God Emperor, this primarch whines about his lot in life more than an angsty teenager. His other Raven Guard commanders silently comment about his new nihilism. They aren’t sure if it’s from Istvaan V or from the damaged gene stock that created the Raptors. Branne, Agapito, and Arendi all try to cheer him up in their own surly ways, but nothing works. Corax continues to go down his dour path of insisting the primarchs shouldn’t exist and therefore neither should he.
He should have died at Istvaan V. The fact that the gene stock failed so horrendously at Deliverance is retribution for not dying on Istvaan V. If the primarchs were supposed to exist, the Emperor would have recreated them when His sons were scattered. And on and on it goes.
The craziest part to me was not that he was ready to throw his entire Legion and himself into the meat grinder and die, but that he had the morose epiphany that he’s not allowed to determine his penance. This random, brief thought is what gets him to retreat and order his Legion to head to Terra. Only his Father can determine his punishment. Sure, dude, whatever you say.
One thing I’ve always appreciated about Gav Thorpe’s Space Wolves is that he points out a particular flaw that I can’t stand about them—their hypocrisy. This time, however, he also flips it on the Raven Guard to show their own.
In a short story before the “Weregeld” novella, the deformed Raptors come across a band of Space Wolves that were sent to watch Corax. We’ve seen this before in The Unremebered Empire, so it’s not surprising to the reader. However, the Raven Guard, especially the Raptors, are not so keen on this decree, even if it came from Malcador himself. To make matters worse, in the Raptors’ eyes, these are Space Wolves becoming Wulfen. Monsters.
Look not at the monstrous features of the Raptors! They aren’t being hypocritical, YOU ARE! To prove they are certainly not hypocrites and are loyal to Corax and therefore the Emperor, they kill them. Seems completely legit, right? To be fair, it is what the Lion would do. Surely that won’t bite them in the ass. Until it does in the novella, when Corax realizes the Raptors are truly warp-spawned monsters.
It was a sad ending, but unfortunately, it only added to Corax’s moroseness he’d already been displaying most of the damn book. I think if I’ve learned anything from Deliverance Lost and now Corax it’s that I find the Raven Guard fascinating, but their primarch is far too emo for my tastes. Just go buy some more black eyeliner and write sad poetry, pumpkin. It kind of worked for Edgar Allen Poe.
Next up is the Master of Mankind, a book that Jen has highly praised. I’m just looking forward to reading a cohesive book instead of a collection.
Forty books down, 14 books 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. Horus Hearsay will only cover the main novels.
*Editor’s note: I resemble this remark. — Jen
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