So, yesterday I finished a second readthrough of Dan Abnett's book Prospero Burns, part of the Horus Heresy series of books from Black Library. Set in the background of the Warhammer 40k universe, these books delve into the rich history crafted for the game, expanding upon it and showing us how we got to the grim darkness that we know and love.
Prospero Burns is actually part of a duology, a companion book to Graham McNeill's A Thousand Sons. Both tell a single story from two different sides, that story being the Scouring of Prospero. Prospero is the homeworld of the Thousand Sons Legion, an Astartes force which is able, to a man, to manifest psychic powers to such an extent that people believe it to be sorcery. In A Thousand Sons, and in fact from the known facts of the Warhammer world, we know that they have indeed delved into true sorcery, especially their Primarch Magnus the Red. As such, they are censured by the Emperor, who forbids them from practicing their magics again, and when they break that pledge the Wolves of Fenris are unleashed upon them.
This half of the story is what is told in Prospero Burns. We learn about the Space Wolves Legion and how they operate as a force. The Heresy-era Wolves are incredibly different from their more modern counterparts. Where modern Space Wolves are seen as boisterous and amicable by the normal humans of the Imperium, the older force is an object of fear and terror to much of the fledgling Imperium, and even see themselves as the Emperor's Executioners. The fact that we get to see all of this through the human eyes of Kasper Hawser allows us to see the fear, but also we're allowed to get close to them and see the Rout, as they call themselves, at rest.
Abnett has always been most at home writing the 40k world through merely human eyes. Not to say that he can't write Astartes, but he has had quite a bit of experience writing the human perspective with his Gaunt's Ghosts series. This book is yet another example of how well he can write, as the main character goes through monumental changes through the book. As he becomes more and more a part of the Rout, we can see his mindset changing bit by bit, going from the aloof researcher he wanted to be at the start, to becoming the skald of Tra, a historian and storyteller to one of the Great Companies of the Rout and truly a member of them, even to the extent that the last portion of the book, which actually details the attack on Prospero itself, is told in first person as if he is telling the story to the company.
One of my favorite portions, and I will mention that there are going to be minor spoilers at this point, is how he used a single portion of text, repeated over and over, to great effect. Kasper's memories have been messed with, which is part of why he came to Fenris to study the Rout in the first place. Over much of the book, we see portions of his memory and life before he came to Fenris, but there is one memory that Kasper sees in his dreams. We see this memory multiple times, each time he wakes before it finishes, before he can turn around and see who is behind him. But each time is subtly different, until finally it features prominently in the last battle, though I won't add anymore for fear of great spoilers. Oh, and spoilers done.
All in all, Prospero Burns is a fantastic novel, and is a must for any fan of the Warhammer 40k setting. Like all good stories, it surprises us, not only with the plot points (some designed to mislead, especially those leading to the ending), but also with the exploration of who some of these organizations are. The Astartes are all shrouded in enigma for various reasons, and like much of the Horus Heresy series, this one is devoted to shedding some light upon these warriors we love to play with on the tabletop.
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