Last time, on the Horus Heresy, the Lion told Sanguinius and Roboute Guilliman that the Emperor was indeed alive and Horus had not yet reached Terra. Konrad Kurze was laughing maniacally in the corner, probably because he was proven right. I doubt he was laughing because the Lion stayed his execution. The revelation ended Imperium Secundus, and now the three brothers know that they must reach Terra without delay. However, there is one pesky little problem of the Ruinstorm that the Word Bearers created when invading Calth. Ruinstorm by David Annandale is the story of how the blonde brothers trio escaped the systems affected by these warp storms.
It’s one thing to say that you’re going to go to Terra, but it’s another thing to actually do it. As mentioned in a few books now, the entire segmentum with Ultramar is trapped in a giant Ruinstorm. Not even the Lion’s super creepy warp pet, Tuchulcha, can find a way through. The trio will have to find a way to break the various barriers that are keeping the Ruinstorm alive. David Annandale must be a fan of video games, because he employs the rule of three that this band of brothers has to get through.
Not only that, but remember the fun on Pythos? How that all appeared to set up the wars in Pandorax in the 40k universe? All of that comes into play here as well. On the first planet/barrier they land, they find refugees from across the Pandorax system with Iron Hands and one lone Raven Guard. The Space Marines are refugees from Istvaan V who came to the system to look for Captain Atticus and the Veritas Ferrum. Oh how my ears perked up when I heard the name of the ship. I didn’t remember the name of the Iron Hands captain from Pythos, but I remembered the ship.
On the one hand, it all comes full circle. On the other, I instantly know shit is about to get super cereal. I didn’t know immediately if that ship became the feared “Pilgrim” wreaking havoc across the system, but I did know mentioning that ship is far from a coincidence. There are no coincidences in the Horus Heresy.
In a surprise to no one, the final barrier is on Davin. Curse that stupid planet and Erebus’ stupid face. They have to face what brought about the downfall of Horus, or something. That isn’t exactly what happens, but it’s pretty darn close. Each brother faces his own temptations and has to come through on the other side unscathed.
The most heartbreaking of the three temptations is of course Sanguinius’, where he comes to the realization that if he does not accept a daemon’s help to defeat Horus, his sons will be afflicted with a Black Rage. One of our viewers once commented that every book gives background info on one piece of WH40k lore. In Ruinstorm, it’s definitely where the Black Rage came from. At one point, Sanguinius is so consumed with his vision of fighting Horus, he believes one of his sons is actually Horus and that now is the time of his final confrontation. He nearly killed the poor Blood Angel who was begging for mercy. After experiencing the Black Rage himself, of course he doesn’t want to condemn his sons to such horrors. But he also knows he can’t save his sons by condemning the rest of the galaxy.
While we already know this is the choice Sanguinius makes, it doesn’t make it any less sad.
And yet, it’s kind of crazy that I read two Temptation of Christ allegories back to back.
Now that the Band of Blonde Brothers are free to head to Terra, what about another brother who still has to make his way there? Rogal Dorn was there from the beginning, Leman Russ and Jaghatai Khan arrived not long ago, and Ferrus Manus will, uh, not be joining them. That just leaves the newly revived Vulkan. It’s rather fitting to read about Vulkan since the next podcast episode will feature Salamander by Nick Kyme.
Forty-six books down, 8 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.
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