Horus Heresy: Legion (Horus Heresy) | 
| Author: Dan Abnett
Publisher: Games Workshop
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 3755
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 1844165361
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9781844165360
ASIN: 1844165361
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 Decent pulp but for Warhammer fans only May 15, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
No one doubts that Abnet is the best of Games Workshop's stable of writers. He routinely delivers solid action stories with a good dose of fresh ideas, coined words, and solid characters.
Legion is no exception to his run, a good book to read on a plane or during a long commute.
One warning, if you're not up on Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000AD game, and not into the minue of Space Marine chapters, the great crusade etc you'll be lost.
 Action for the Thinking Man May 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is the second foray by veteran Black Library author Dan Abnett in the Horus Heresy series, and the seventh book in that series overall. His other efforts include works concerning the Imperial Guard (the Gaunt's Ghost series) and the Inquisition (both the Eisenhorn and Ravenor novels). Set in Games Workshop's rich, gothic Warhammer 40,000 (40K) setting, it benefits from 20 years of accumulated canon and imagination. This novel tells the tale of the 20th Space Marine Legion, the Alpha Legion, its Primarch Alpharius, and its network of operatives and spies.
Unlike most of the other Horus Heresy Novels, this one does not use the Marines as the primary point of view. Instead we see the tale through the eyes of members of the Imperial Army, primarily members of Geno Five-Two Chiliad, genetically engineered warriors left over from the Emperor's unification of Earth, essentially primitive prototypes for the mighty Space Marines. Peto Soneka, a "het" (translation: Captain) for one of their units is the most compelling character, but he's joined by a host of others that have equally believable abilities and motivations. Writing interesting characters has always been one of Abnett's strong points.
The beginning, usually one of Abnett's strongest points, stumbles in this novel due to an excess of odd terms that aren't easily defined by context. Where he usually weaves a compelling and immersive setting early on, it's difficult to maintain suspension of disbelief when you're wracking your brain in an attempt to figure out what some obtuse term actually means.
Fortunately he settles down into his typical excellent pacing after the first two or three chapters, and his action writing is as strong as ever. By the time you've gotten a third of the way into the book, you've forgotten the ragged beginning and can't wait to get to the next chapter. Particularly compelling is the view of the Marines of the Alpha Legion through human eyes. They retain their mystery and ability to inspire awe throughout, unlike some of the other books of this series. He really captures the intrigue, deception, and pragmatism of the Legion and mirrors it in many situations throughout the novel.
The climax and ending, typically one of Abnett's great weaknesses, works far better in this case than most of his other plots. It's not flawless, but as the deceptions within deceptions begin to unravel, the final choices are both interesting and unexpected. To say anything more might spoil the fun!
In short: if you can make it through the first few chapters, the rest of the work is well worth the price of admission, and is a refreshing change from the typical grind of "Legion goes bad except for a few good guys who try to fight the tide" that is typical of the other Horus Heresy books. Highly recommended for 40K fans, and still worth a look from general sci-fi readers.
 Churning Them Out April 30, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I started reading Warhammer novels with the Horus Heresy. I'm a big fan of the first three books. However since the third novel the books have been on a downward trend. That trend continues with Legion. The plot seems cobbled together, the bevy of protagonists presented are confusing and un-sypathetic characters, and the plot twist at the end is so bizarre it casts doubt over the entire warhammer universe.
I sincerely hope the authors quit dragging this out in an apparent effort to continue revenue and get back to the roots of the Horus Heresy.
Abnett outfoxes himself April 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
*** PLOT SPOILER ALERT ***
Abnett is, as one other reviewer says, the best author that GW has in the Black Library talent pool. It's really no contest - his opening works in the Eisenhorn series are still without peer. He's got a feeling for characters and atmospherics that few authors out there can match. This book is a joy to read for aficionados of the 31st Millennium created by GW and BL. That's why I give it three stars despite the following criticisms.
The problem, however, one of execution: LEGION is really two books jammed together and the flow suffers because no one on the BL editing staff caught that tangle. Book A is a study of life in the pre-Heresy Imperial Army, and Book B revolves around the efforts of the Cabal to influence the Alpha Legion. Book A, however, has almost nothing to do with Book B, save for a few characters forced to form that bridge between the two. And these links are demonstrably artificial - a gaffe absent in Abnett's other works.
Book B is fascinating, and the twist at the end with the two paths laid out for Alpharius is a real treat -- it's far more subtle than most BL plot lines. But it left me wondering what the point of all the chapters on the Imperial Army had to do with anything.
The early books of the Horus Heresy series - to include Abnett's own HORUS RISING - made a dedicated effort to showcase the Space Marines while also using them as the vehicle for the plot. In LEGION, the Alpha Legion seems sinister and evil -- a conclusion that trades more on the fact that we all know they turn traitor than any actual deed in the book itself. So their secrecy comes off heavy handed - we never get any insight into why the Chapter behaves the way it does. At the end of the book, the reader is just as ignorant of their motives as before, save for some cliches about pragmatism. The contrast between the 'not going to tell you' approach of LEGION and the insightful works on the Dark Angels, Emperor's Children, and Luna Wolves is both marked and unsatisfying.
Book B is the real story we all paid to read. Instead, we read chapter after chapter on Imperial Army units - chapters that don't really move the plot at all. Book A has already been written by Abnett - the Ghost series - and I wonder if he didn't fall back on his comfort zone when looking for filler in LEGION.
And I reject the argument that LEGION was deliberately written to be secretive; that that somehow is the essence of the Chapter. Rather, I think the book we wanted to read just didn't get written.
So if you pick up a copy of LEGION, save yourself some reading and simply turn to the last three chapters, and read those.
 The Series gets back on track. April 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Dan just comes in and hits one out of the park again IMHO! He does a wonderful job of portraying the mysterious Alpha Legion without over exposure, so as to keep their secretive image intact. He focuses on their scheming, ploting and spying with Imperial officers being the pawns in the delicate game being played throughout the book.
Dan also clearly shows us at the end why the Alpha Legion choose the path they did in the last few chapters. IMHO Dan covers all bases while weaving a good story. This is a good read which redeems the series after the awful "Decent of Angels" book which seemed to drag on and then quickly wrap up with very little answered.
*****WARNING SPOILER!!!!********
*****WARNING SPOILER!!!!********
*****WARNING SPOILER!!!!********
*****WARNING SPOILER!!!!********
*****WARNING SPOILER!!!!********
*****WARNING SPOILER!!!!********
*****WARNING SPOILER!!!!********
IMHO the Alpha Legion was tricked into making the wrong choice. They were played by the xeno lead Cabal who basically pointed out the "violent tendency of humanity" when they had their meeting with them. Take a look at the last thing John says in the book as another source of evidence to my view.
*****WARNING SPOILER!!!!********
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