Mortarion: The Pale King

The Horus Heresy Primarchs, Book 15

By: David Annandale

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

A Primarchs Novel

"Banish all thoughts of mercy, because mercy is the plaything of the coward and the lie of the tyrant. Today, the blade descends on tyranny's neck."

Mortarion makes his debut in the fifteenth Primarchs novel, and wastes no time in bringing his own brand of grim justice to the galaxy.

Listen to it because....

The fifteenth instalment in The Horus Heresy Primarchs series, The Pale King tells of the atrocities committed by the Reaper in the name of justice—and the consequences of challenging his methods.

The story:

Once, the Galaspar System suffered under the cruel regime of the Order. Billions of people toiled endlessly to enrich their masters, enduring short lives of poverty, squalor and fear. But Galaspar’s sins did not go unnoticed by the Imperium, and so Death itself sentenced the Order to annihilation.

Mortarion, newly uplifted to commander of the Death Guard, descended upon the world, and with him came a slaughter of untold proportions. The sheer brutality of Mortarion’s campaign left the Imperium appalled. Seeking to understand its horrors, two noble primarchs have come to Galaspar, summoning their brother to account for his actions. But the Pale King brooks no challenge to his methods, for when the scythe falls, it reaps a gruesome toll.

Written By David Annandale. Narrated by Jonathan Keeble. Running time 5 hours and 34 minutes (approx).

©2022 Games Workshop Limited (P)2022 Games Workshop Limited

A mood setter

This is probably the best primarchs book I’ve read/listened to so far.

I won’t spoil anything. I will say if you are a fan of Mortarian you’ll love this book, it gives you some insight into who mortarian is and his mindset. HH fans in general should also read this for the same reasons.

Top notch Primarch building...

Terrific brotherly banter. A solid peek into Mortarion's character and heart. Cool Easter eggs.

Great look at Mortarian’s character!!

Was great to listen to. Though for his primarch book, I was hoping to learn more about his experience on barbarus or when the emperor first discovered him. I’m sure that detailed part of the lore is out there. But was so interesting to also learn of some of the original battle captains of the legion, and how Typhon and Garro ascended. Also loved the hint on Typhon’s true path as Typhus! Was a great addition to the story. The Death Guard was the first instance of space marine lore that got me interested in 30k/40k. This is definitely one of the top 5 books for the legion!

One of the good ones

Plotwise, this story has a similar premise to the Ferrus Mannus primarch book. Mortarion wants to prove himself and his Legion, and so takes on a totalitarian civilization. But unlike Ferrus Mannus and some other Primarch books, Mortarion is very active throughout the story. There are some excellent combat scenes throughout the book, hateful villains, and excellent supporting characters whose stories pay off in the end.

Overall, this story is more well-rounded than most of the Primarch books, with enough combat, characterization, and worldbuilding to make a satisfying stand-alone read.

Must read for all fans of the XIVth

Great read. The pacing was good and the meat of the story was gripping. Defined does the Primarch of the XIVth justice.

Love it!

It's non stop action and really gives you a good taste of what he is like in that universe

Great early Death Gaurd read.

Interesting tidbits about Garro before he was a Captain…also some early foreshadowing of Typhon’s corruption by papa Nurgle.

Very Mortarion

Great insight into the primarch of thr Death Guard and his legions brutal ways.

Fantastic narration and great characters

The narrator hit this one out of the park. Great story and vivid imagery throughout. 10/10 would recommend

One of the better ones

I don’t like Mortarion, for a variety of reasons, However I did like this book. It was definitely one of the better Primarch novels.