The plots that move forward are interesting and occasionally great. Sanguinius has a nicely done Virgil and Dante interlude before facing up to Horus in the great duel, which is done extremely well and worked to a satisfyingly gruesome end. We know Sanguinius has to die, and we know how he dies, but it’s still a fight worth reading about, even if you’re trying to work out exactly which hit Sanguinius gets in is “THE” hit. Dorn gets some of the most interesting sections of the book that play with the bounds of the warp in interesting ways. Valdor gets his setup for another series, and I can’t begrudge him, or Dan, that opportunity. Even the Perpetual gang start doing something interesting. The content that means something in this book is great – but it’s also thin. Standard BL novel sized, at most. Book achieved what it promised to be - a true epic, story about what definitely qualifies as the bleakest moment in a bleak SF setting. I did not expect story will span three books but OK :) I have to say that I did not find any of the chapters to play filler role - even short chapters have a very strong effect. The Emperor and Oll Persson once conquered the Tower of Babel when Oll was his Warmaster because it was dedicated to learning Enuncia. Oll thought they were going to destroy the Tower but the Emperor thought Enuncia could be useful. Oll stabbed him. When looked at from the context of the series, book (or should I say books, since volume 3 is expected in next 4 months) stands on its own. Knowledge of the universe and setting is of course a plus but it is not necessary to know absolutely everyone or everything mentioned to enjoy the story. Horus has a moment of clarity, frees himself from Chaos’ influence, and uses the power of Chaos to restore the material universe around earth

ToW: To finish off on a somewhat more light-hearted note, and I don’t think I’ve asked you this before…but if you were a Space Marine in one of the original Legions, which one do you think it would be and why? ToW: When we talked about Saturnine you said you’d done more research and planning for that than for any book previously, and that it was the hardest book you’d ever had to write. Was TEATD more of the same? Or had writing Saturnine helped prepare you for this?

The arch-traitor Horus Lupercal's forces have bombarded Terra and the Imperial Palace lies in ruins. With the Emperor's dream in tatters, he seeks only to rob Chaos of its ultimate victory... Always start with a compliment; Jonathan Keeble is excellent, and I enjoy his performance every time. His characters and tone are consistent and recognisable, and the quality of his recording is clear and precise. Good job!

But first, a little warm up – the covers of Volumes I and II. The first featured the Emperor on the Golden Throne biding his time, the second his angelic son Sanguinius facing off against the Warmaster on the Vengeful Spirit … so what’s next?It took me two years to write the whole thing. It was literally the biggest thing I’ve ever done, the most formidable challenge, because there’s so much expectation attached to it”, he adds. “I loved it. I was almost sorry when it was over and there was nothing left to write – but I had to have a good long lie-down afterwards…” Unfortunately if we’re talking about dropping plots, we have to talk about one in particular. Here’s a big spoiler for one of the most exciting things that Volume 1 tantalised us with – the Dark King. Expand this at your peril. DA: It took two years to write, almost to the day. (by comparison, a ‘regular’ novel usually takes me three to four months, and I think Saturnine took six-ish). So from the start of 2020 to the end of 2022. That’s due to the sheer size, and the huge amount of prep, reference, discussion and ongoing research. I generated vast amounts of notes before and during the writing process. The book also, understandably, had a lot of eyes on it because it is such a crucial piece of lore, so there was a fair bit of tweaking and revision as I went along, simply to make sure everything was ‘right’. I usually write in one draft (constantly revising as I go), but this went through three full drafts. I began writing just as Aaron (Dembski-Bowden) was finishing book 7, so we overlapped and spent a lot of time discussing things and throwing ideas to and fro. I want this to be an appropriate end to a long-running and successful series, and I’m dying for people to get out there and read the whole thing as one piece, and go ‘Now I get why that mattered in book one!’”. Author manages to portray the level of devastation and loss of life in this apocalyptical war between Legions. Their downfall from which they will never recover and never again roam the stars in their hundreds of thousands. Having said that I still hope Thunder Warriors will appear from somewhere, that would truly be epic.

While exploring the Imperial library Loken finds a door that didn't exist previously and it takes him to the Vengeful Spirit. The book ends with him entering the ship We’re going to try and do this without spoilers – but if you haven’t read the End and the Death Part 1 at least, you may find some things spoiled for you a little. Where necessary, there’ll be a drop down box for very spoilery content. Open that at your peril! It starts great and gets faster and better untile second half of third part. Then it hits breaks. Story slows down as if Dan realized that there must be seconde book. Three stars because it isn't bad enough to warrant being given two stars in that it's a mostly an enjoyable read however it has problems. There’s nothing here that I’d consider a genuine spoiler, but it’s worth remembering that this is the final book of the Siege of Terra– so I’m assuming you’re familiar with what’s gone before, and have an idea of what to expect in terms of the key events/moments in the series finale. If you want to avoid anything that might possibly affect your enjoyment of the book, maybe wait until you’ve read it before reading this interview.

Now is the perfect time to catch up on all 62 books from the Horus Heresy . Or, at the very least the eight currently available Siege of Terra novels.* Pushed for time? Get a recap of the events from The Solar War to Echoes of Eternity right here . I’ve taken a slightly different approach than usual with this interview: rather than discuss characters, settings and so on, I thought it would be more appropriate to focus on Dan’s writing process for this book. We chatted about how long it took to write The End and the Death, how it compared to writing Saturnine, what it feels like now that the end is almost in sight, how to write stories with multiple rotating POVs, and loads more. It's the beginning of the ultimate conclusion to the Horus Heresy, and hope still remains for the Loyalists! The Emperor plans a gambit that could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat – but at what cost? I Horus Rising • II False Gods • III Galaxy in Flames • IV The Flight of the Eisenstein • V Fulgrim • VI Descent of Angels • VII Legion • VIII Battle for the Abyss • IX Mechanicum • X Tales of Heresy • XI Fallen Angels • XII A Thousand Sons • XIII Nemesis • XIV The First Heretic • XV Prospero Burns • XVI Age of Darkness • XVII The Outcast Dead • XVIII Deliverance Lost • XIX Know No Fear • XX The Primarchs • XXI Fear to Tread • XXII Shadows of Treachery • XXIII Angel Exterminatus • XXIV Betrayer • XXV Mark of Calth • XXVI Vulkan Lives • XXVII The Unremembered Empire • XXVIII Scars • XXIX Vengeful Spirit • XXX The Damnation of Pythos • XXXI Legacies of Betrayal • XXXII Deathfire • XXXIII War Without End • XXXIV Pharos • XXXV Eye of Terra • XXXVI The Path of Heaven • XXXVII The Silent War • XXXVIII Angels of Caliban • XXXIX Praetorian of Dorn • XL Corax • XLI The Master of Mankind • XLII Garro • XLIII Shattered Legions • XLIV The Crimson King • XLV Tallarn • XLVI Ruinstorm • XLVII Old Earth • XLVIII The Burden of Loyalty • XLIX Wolfsbane • L Born of Flame • LI Slaves to Darkness • LII Heralds of the Siege • LIII Titandeath • LIV The Buried Dagger

Unfortunately, the Oll Persson subplot is decaying in quality, mainly due to John Grammaticus' pestiferous presence. The walls have fallen, the gates are breached, and the defenders are slain. It is the end and the death. After seven brutal years of civil war, the Warmaster stands on the verge of victory. Horus Lupercal, once beloved son, has come to murder his father. The Emperor, a shining beacon of hope to many, an unscrupulous tyrant to others, must die. The lives of uncountable numbers have been extinguished and even primarchs, once thought immortal, have been laid low. The Emperor's dream lies in tatters, but there remains a sliver of hope.PDF / EPUB File Name: The_End_and_the_Death_Volume_I_-_Dan_Abnett.pdf, The_End_and_the_Death_Volume_I_-_Dan_Abnett.epub It's fair to say there is a lot going on, and this wouldn't be the book you would start with, but it's got some great things to recommend it. I really like the way that Malcador is in the first person - and Horus Lupercal in the second... with all other stories being in the third person. It takes a bit of time to get used to, but its a great way of telling the reader which protagonist is currently centre stage. In one of their most famous tales, the Ghosts intervene in the fractious civil war on Verghast in Necropolis by Dan Abnett. Two hive cities – one loyal, one traitor – wage a never-ending war across the surface, and rivalries within the Astra Militarum threaten to derail the Tanith First and Only’s efforts. Maybe this book would benefit from being split even more. Two large books and one smaller (Knight of grey, Fury of Magnus style book) to relief main story a bit. The Emperor, a shining beacon of hope to many, an unscrupulous tyrant to others, must die. The lives of uncountable numbers have been extinguished and even primarchs, once thought immortal, have been laid low. The Emperor's dream lies in tatters, but there remains a sliver of hope.