A Thousand Sons [Mass Market Paperback]

It's been quite some time since we last saw a `proper' Horus Heresy book. While Tales of Heresy provides small vignettes regarding the battles raging across the 30k galaxy, and Fallen Angels has a somewhat detached connection to the Horus saga, with A Thousand Sons Graham McNeill offers the first half of what will amount to a two-part story (coupled with dismayingly delayed--get better soon, Dan--Prospero Burns) and a robust return to the epic struggle that has become the Horus Heresy.

As with many of the Horus Heresy novels, the timeline of when A Thousand Sons occurs is a bit behind where we presently seem to be in the tale of Horus' fall from grace--a bit after the Istvaan III massacre is where the present timeline has brought us--and begins a number of months before the conclusion of the Ullanor Campaign with the Thousand Sons probing the hidden knowledge of new Imperial world Aghoru.
Additionally, the novel is broken up into three books. The first third of the book finds the Sons on Aghoru, exploring a civilization that clearly has a hidden history. It is here we meet the main crux of the characters and McNeill weaves a rich and complicated history and structure for the Thousand Sons. The second third of the novel focuses on three things: the Thousands Sons' summons to aid Leman Russ and his Space Wolves in a campaign for a world dubbed Shrike, the meeting of the chapters to celebrate the victory at Ullanor, and finally the Council at Nikaea. The final third of the novel is where the tension comes to a head, where Magnus seeks to alert the Emperor of Horus' impending betrayal, and where the Wolves of Russ lay siege to Prospero.

On Aghoru, and in these early stages of the novel, McNeill establishes each characters' own unique personalities and, for the Thousands Sons more importantly, their abilities. While we have a number of auxiliary characters, the novel focuses on three: Magnus the Red, Crimson King and Primarch of the Thousand Sons; Azhek Ahriman, chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons and close confidant of Magnus; and, though to a lesser extent, Lemuel Gaumon a remembrances assigned to the Thousand Sons.
While each character has their own purpose in the prose--and McNeill does a really nice job expanding upon the three `levels' in which these characters exists (Primarch, Astartes, Human)--the star of the novel is quite clearly Ahriman. Ahriman plays many roles in the novel--teacher, confidant, leader--but none is more important than that of devoted son, both to Magnus and the Emperor. McNeill establishes this right away and drives home its importance as Ahriman constantly refers to Magnus as "Father," and Magnus to his Astartes as "Son." It is a wonderful addition to A Thousand Sons and really separates Magnus and his Astartes from other chapters; while we see bonds of brotherhood within the other chapters, the familial sense the bind the Thousand Sons seems much more concrete than we've yet to see in others (though I suspect we will in Prospero Burns). Also, Ahriman is one of the fullest and most interesting characters yet in the Horus Heresy series. There is no doubt that Garviel Loken and Nathaniel Garro are huge, deep characters, but Ahriman is at least on that level, and is developed over the course of one novel. He is a truly sympathetic character that we only grow in affection for as his chapter and his brothers fall into ruin throughout the novel.

While Ahriman is the star, Magnus is given near as much face time and character. Apart from Horus, and perhaps Fulgrim, Magnus is the most fully realized Primarch we've yet to see in the Horus Heresy novels. Much of this has to do with the familial ties already mentioned, but it is also in part to his conviction of purpose and determination, all which ironically mark his greatest flaws. Magnus is affection towards his kin, all while being a devoted son of the Emperor, resulting in another character that is entirely likeable and easy to relate to. This likeable nature--and he is certainly more likable than any Primarch we've seen focused on--makes his eventual failures harder to bear as a reader.

This is important to note, as the Thousand Sons are the absolute antithesis of a traitor chapter. While the Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus lust for power and the Word Bearers crave a being to devote their zealotry to, McNeill presents the Thousand Sons as a chapter most noticeably defined by their restraint, not their hubris, essentially the polar opposite of how Russ' Space Wolves are presented. Make no mistake: McNeill gives us a Thousand Sons chapter that we like very much, which makes their inevitable destruction painful to experience.

The destruction brought to bear on Prospero and the Thousand Sons is nothing short of tragic. The battles that mark the siege of Prospero are brutal; as the previous Horus Heresy canon states, the Emperor's Wolves are literally unleashed. Russ and his compatriots are brutal, and that brutality takes form in the prose through the battle on Prospero. In addition, the Thousand Sons finally unleash the enormity of their powers in defense of their home world. The sheer diversity in the psyker powers employed by the Thousand Sons is staggering, and differs per each of the Fellowships of the Thousand Sons.
While everything about the prose and the revelations of the narrative is strong, one of the major issues comes with these Fellowships. There is nothing wrong with the nature of them; quite contrarily, the diversity of the Fellowships provides huge depth to the Thousand Sons canon and history. However, it also can be a source of huge confusion. As previously mentioned, we are introduced to the entirety of the cast within the first few chapters of the novel, and the sheer number of terms McNeill throws at the reader can leave you lost. Additionally, while we are given the names of various Fellowships early (the Corvidae, Pyrae, Pavoni), we aren't given any explanation of them until much later. It is a small critique, but it can make the beginning of the novel tough to read; I found myself looking at the handy list of characters quite often.

Also, McNeill's pacing is a bit off sometimes. That's not say it's bad, or even slow, it just feels a bit uneven at times. There is a lot of time devoted to the Thousand Sons time at Aghoru, but both Ullanor and Nikaea are examined with brevity. Magnus makes a single speech, albeit a moving one, at Nikaea, and that's it. While it is in character that he believe the justice of his purpose would prevail and that was all that needed to be said, I wanted more from that scene. This is much the same for the siege of Prospero. It's fantastic and tense, but it seems a bit short and there seem to be gaps in the narrative that you want filled in. I'm not judging too harshly, as I expect we'll see lots of fill in within Prospero Burns; it just leaves the reader wanting more right away.

Despite those two minor--and I stress minor--criticisms, A Thousand Sons is a phenomenal book. Graham McNeill is at the very top of his game here, weaving the tragic tale of a loyal chapter of Space Marines and their fall from grace. It is fully of rich history, dynamic characters, and plot revelations that will suck in even the most casual of Horus Heresy fans and, I suspect, will attract new legions to the brotherhood of the Thousand Sons. Graham McNeill reignites the Horus Heresy with intrigue and wonder with a novel that should not be missed. It ranks with the best the Black Library has to offer, and leaves me yearning for Prospero Burns even more that I already was.

While the series started out strong it waned a bit in the middle after so many books. A Thousand Sons brings it all back home with a great telling of a tragic story. A must have if you're a WH40K fan.

I really liked this book. It was good to get a handle on how the thousand sons descended into the madness of chaos, one step at a time. Their father cut a deal to save them that damned them.
The best part was the insight on the impact Magnus had on the Emperors plans when he tried to warn him. Magnus doomed the Emperor to the chair / throne. No desperate good deed goes unpunished in the Warhammer universe.
The battle of Prospero at the end did get a little confusing but that asside the book was good fun.
Wonder if the wolves killed Lemuel and the others who witnessed the fall of Prospero?

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