Age of Darkness

The Horus Heresy, Book 16

By: John French, Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Chris Wraight, Dan Abnett, Gav Thorpe, Graham McNeill, James Swallow, Nick Kyme, Rob Sanders

Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong, Martyn Ellis, Jonathan Keeble

After the betrayal at Isstvan, Horus begins his campaign against the Emperor, a galaxy-wide war that can lead only to Terra. But the road to the final confrontation between father and son is a long one - seven years filled with secrecy and silence, plans and foundations being formed across distant stars.

An unknown history is about to be unveiled as light is shed on the darkest years of the Horus Heresy, and revelations will surface that will shake the Imperium to its very foundation....

This collection contains nine short stories:

'Rules of Engagement' by Graham McNeill

'Liar's Due' by James Swallow

'Forgotten Sons' by Nick Kyme

'The Last Remembrancer' by John French

'Rebirth' by Chris Wraight

'The Face of Treachery' by Gav Thorpe

'Little Horus' by Dan Abnett

'The Iron Within' by Rob Sanders

'Savage Weapons' by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

©2011 Games Workshop Limited (P)2011 Games Workshop Limited

the voice actors are always amazing for warhammer.

great insight into the events and I love this series. left me wanting many more.

Great… but

Great excluding Martyn Ellis, needs to be removed from their books as an author please.

Shows the galactic scale of the Heresy

Each story is super interesting, and dives into what the Heresy is like from many perspective. From the often-forgotten worlds within the empire to the space marines fighting on the front lines, you get to see just how far the Heresy has reached. I enjoyed the fact that they managed to turn a single world's destruction (including the legions on it) into something that can be felt across the universe.

Short Stories, short love

Mashed into this novel are some relatively listenable short stories. Personally, around 3 or 4 of the stories were my absolute favorite while the others were not bad, yet, they weren't what I was captivated by compared to the few I did enjoy. All the authors wrote excellent stories, but with my biased toward certain space marine legions I found myself more or less drawn to a select few authors and tales.
The narrators, however, are exactly what you already know and love. Out of the 3 'eavy hitters though, I always thoroughly enjoy Martyn Ellis's renditions of the stories he reads, he's got a very distinct voice and tends to portray his story's characters in a distinct way without sounding too far fetched in their nuances.

overall: good filler for the bigger heavier fluff

Great

Great. As all of the series is. Get it. Love it. Words words words. Words

Very good.

The Iron within is probably the best short story in the whole book. others are good but it's the best.

Some performers not there right fit

Martyn Ellis seemed out of place. He's not terrible but just isn't suited for the material. I had to skip those chapters.

Barabas Dantioch

This culmination of novellas is well worth the listen. It is setting the mood for the upcoming Ultramarine and Word Bearer showdown as well as fill in the gaps with how might the wider Imperium be reacting to the Heresy. 'The Iron Within' is fantastic.

A great story collection

All the stories in this book varied from good to excellent, stand outs being Savage Weapons and Iron Within. Defiantly worth a read to get a better idea of the scale of the heresy, solid entry with some of the best characters on display.

The Iron Within I'd simply amazing!

I don't normally re-listen to audio books, however the short story Iron Within is so awesome! Dantioch is a perfect example of how one man can hold off an army. Most of the horus heresy is one disappointment after another if your a fan of the good guys. This story is exceptional in all aspects from rockstar Jonathan Keebles amazing narrating, to the character details and story telling. This story should be a movie.