Horus Hearsay #49 – Wolfsbane Ain’t a Silver Bullet

So I already knew that Leman Russ was going to try to assassinate Horus, because in a previous book—don’t remember which one—he had returned from the failed mission half dead. I had wondered if there was going to be a book about this failed venture, and there is, Wolfsbane by Guy Haley. Of course it was going to be a FAILED attempt. Horus has the thickest plot armors of all plot armors right now. And of course Leman Russ can’t die because he also has plot armor. The mission and the book are almost pointless, now that I think of it.

Well, they’re not Battle for the Abyss pointless—and not much is, let’s be real. Leman Russ is a major character and it’s 100% within his idiom to want to kill Horus himself. As he mentions AD NAUSEAM, he’s the Emperor’s executioner. It’s his job to, well, execute enemies to the Throne. He’s killed and maimed his own brothers before, but none of them were like Horus, even without the plot armor.

So unfortunately, since we know how this scene will go, we have to fill in the gaps with padding. Lots and lots of padding.

One Cannot Simply March Directly to Horus

Of course Leman Russ can’t just go directly to Horus without passing Go and collecting $200. He has to make a show that he’s leaving Terra. Then he has to go to Fenris and meet with witch doctors and have a seance or two. Oh and we can’t have a possible suicide mission without a lot of self-reflection across the Legion.

It all takes up way too much time, and it’s beyond obvious that Guy Haley was buying page space. The whole mission against Horus could have been told in a novella, but evidently the Black Library demanded a full novel. So to be fair to Mr. Haley, he did his best to fill those pages and keep it interesting.

That said, though, he didn’t really use the Space Wolves to keep things interesting.

Haley’s Favorite Character

Jen and I have joked that it’s pretty obvious that Belisarius Cawl is Haley’s favorite character to write. Mayhaps this novel was the beginning of that love affair?

A good half of Wolfsbane is about Cawl and the hapless Friedisch abandoning their post with the Adeptus Mechanicus to declare loyalty to the Emperor. The only connection between this story and Leman Russ hunting Horus is that they take place in the same system. Horus just happens to be visiting this system to recruit the Mechanicum, and this is where Leman Russ tracks him down. Why not tell Cawl’s story while we’re here, AMIRITE?

At least this was the most entertaining part of the whole book. It’s almost as if these stories were individual novellas that GW told him to squish together. It would be the first time a book has fealt like that in this series.

And speaking of novellas, next book is all about the Salamanders, Born of Flame by Nick Kyme. Unfortunately for me, it’s another short story/novella collection. And there’s a novel in there? Sheesh, this will take me awhile.

Forty-nine books down, 5 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.