The End and the Death: Volume I (Volume 8) (Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra, 8) Paperback – 17 Aug. 2023

+ much like the excess of the war itself, Dan Abnett gives us some of the most beautifully excessive, descriptive prose I have ever read; pages upon pages of exquisite descriptions of the horror and chaos of the worst conflict ever told in fiction+ It feels real because of this! There are other wars on larger scales in other franchises, but the muck and grime and brutality of it is thrown in your face with devastating relentlessness.+ The Emperor does things!+ Horus does things!+ Many more story threads pushing forwards+ Answers to decades old questions+ A cliffhanger ending that answers more of those questions and asks even moreIt has been an exquisite journey to read through the series and wait for this book. It was worth the wait.

I love Dan Abnett and was really looking forward for this book. It is hard to believe that the Horus Heresy saga is almost over, and he is probably the best author to narrate its very end. Overall, he did a great job with this monumental task, although there are small issue. The story has lots of characters, subplot and mysteries, that has to be resolved, and this takes a certain amount of space. Most of the subplots are interesting, but a few of them takes longer than needed IMHO, resulting sometimes in an unpleasant break of the flow of the narration. But this is a little thing on, otherwise, a fantastic book. The story is an emotional rollercoaster, where you finally see the perspective of the biggest players at all, Horus and Big E. And it is full of truly emotional moments, especially because you know that, for some of your favourite characters, this might be (or will be) the end of the road.Final consideration: I started reading this book on Kindle, but then got the whispersync audiobook from audible (with a discount). I highly recommend listening the audiobook, because the voice acting is top notch and brings the story to a whole new level.

There's a slight tear on the back which is a little annoying but nothing major.

An amazing book from the best author of the last 20 years.

Such a great story. Really well written and continues the process of tying all the storylines together. There was one line that literally gave me a chill. But I can't say what, as it would be a spoiler!

A grand ending looms, the Shadow and the Light, meld and twist. This is the highest-fantasy science fiction novel of its kind I have ever read, and it is a marvel. Truly. I am biased towards 40k, true, but this is by the grimmest, darkest, strangest and most beautiful beast yet. Dan Abnett, I name thee Loresmith of the Horus Heresy.Step through the doors of madness, potential reader...step through, but beware, for this is the end, and the death.

Thank God they gave the finale to Dan Abnett. He's by some margin the most talented of the Black Library authors, and the number of disparate threads that need to be drawn together at the end of the (honestly bloated) Horus Heresy series really does require the touch of a master craftsman.Abnett doesn't disappoint. Epic in length (this is volume 1 and it runs to over 600 pages), the book remains nimble and light on it's feet, never feeling like it's dragging or indulging in undue padding. Even the repeated 'Fragments' chapters, which combine short vignettes or even individual sentences describing the ongoing horrors of the war, never feel like irrelevant bloat, while the 7 or 8 converging narratives are adeptly handled.Probably the best entry in the series since Horus Rising itself, and lining us up for a truly epic conclusion.

Could not put this down. Fabulous build up towards the climax of the saga of the Heresy. Dan Abnett at his finest yet.

Husband has been an avid follower of the series. He enjoyed this latest addition.

This book is long, really long, so long that Abnett had to split it in order to release in 2? volumesNow the issue is that not all that is written here is good, seriously if you see the chapter's title is "Fragments" skip it, you're not missing much. But what's good is REALLY GOOD, it sets up the final confrontation while also doing its best to pave the way for the send-off of most of the main characters and their respective plots, some interesting developments and revelations and even bittersweet moments for characters that are not gonna make it.I'm eagerly waiting the conclusion.

We've known the story of the final confrontation of the Emperor and Horus for decades. But always it has been described in relatively dry terms and at a very high level - like a history text.The Games Workshop authors have been toiling for years now telling the story of the Heresy from every angle and in great detail. In doing so they have introduced us to many many new characters readers have come to care about through those many novels and short stories. They have given the Heresy the grandeur missing from all the prior descriptions of the conflict.But it has all, and always, been to lead us inexorably to this point. The final battle. A battle whose end we already know, and which will give birth to the entire larger 40k universe we have been reading about and playing in for almost 40 years.I would not want to have to write this story. To try to do justice to the enormous wind-up that got us here. So did Abnett pull it off?Yup. At least through the first half.The structure of the book takes us essentially from the sealing of Eternity Gate by Sanguinius to the boarding of the Vengeful Spirit and the initial encounters there. It is told in vignettes that alternate between main characters moving the timeline of the book forward, and vignettes documenting - very up close and personal - scenes from the conflict raging in and around the palace. I think this structure does a good job conveying the scale of the conflict as it winds to its final conclusion. It keeps us from forgetting that while the main fight is going to be between the Emperor and Horus, millions of others are fighting and dying at the same time.Is it long? Yes. But did you want it to be short? Could this have been told in a shorter format? Sure, but that's already been done. And if the "fluff" (as some describe it) had been left out, I think the book would have failed to convey the scale of it all. This is the pivotal moment in the entire 40k universe. I think it's appropriate to take the time to do service to that. And to do service to all the "minor" characters that have fought through however many thousands of pages of novels to get to this point. I think they earned it.And I think Abnett was absolutely the right author to tell this final story of the Heresy. GW has lots of great authors writing lots of great novels and short stories for it. But the guy who gave us Eisenhorn, Ravenor and Gaunt's Ghosts has to occupy a special place.

Lettura interessante e appassionante

Dan Abnett is a master of the narrative. Everyone knows how this dramatic conflict ended but finally some questions about more particular events are answered. I don't want to make spoilers so i just would say that is worth every euro. Can't wait for the Vol II