[40k Review] Fear to Tread - James Swallow

[wittdooley]

Hey all! Been a bit too long since I've written a review. Life gets busy, I guess! Anyway, here's the full text of my most recent review of James Swallow's Fear to Tread, the latest entry in the Horus Heresy series. Typically, I'd put it on my blog, but the site is apparently down, so I apologize both for the length here, as well as the lack of pictures with pithy comments. Forgive me

As always, C&C welcomed. Lots to discuss! Enjoy!

-----------Fear to Tread - James Swallow --------------------

Lately, the Black Library’s Horus Heresy novels have been quite good. Ignore the six straight New York Times Bestsellers (I mean, 50 Shades of Grey is one also) and you’re still left with books like Prospero Burns, The First Heretic, and Know No Fear, books that have show that the talented stable of authors helming the series, it’s “brain trust,” if you will, are capable of creating stories set in the grim dark world of Warhammer 40,000 that stand alone as pieces of literature and not simply as fan service bolter porn.

With that in mind, I was supremely excited for Fear to Tread, the latest installment in the Horus Heresy, penned by James Swallow. It had a signature event of the Heresy mythos—the Signus Prime incident. It had one of the most recognizable Astartes Legions—the Blood Angels—in their solo-book debut. And it was penned by Swallow, a writer that, in my estimation, has grown by leaps and bounds since his initial Blood Angels offering as evidenced by his great work on the Garro stories. There was a lot of build up, a lot of hype, for the release of Fear to Tread. Sadly, for me, the novel as a whole was a bit underwhelming.

Fear to Tread is the retelling of the Blood Angels’ crusade to the Signus Cluster of the galaxy in effort to purge what they believe to be the last remnants of a xenos species (the nephalim) that they’d fought before. Unbeknownst to the Blood Angels and their progenitor Sanguinious, their assignment to Signus by the Warmaster Horus is a trap borne from knowledge of the Blood Angels’ genetic flaw, one whose aim is to turn the Blood Angels to the traitor banner.

The narrative revolves, primarily, around three Blood Angels of varying ranks and designations: Raldoran, the Chapter Master of the Blood Angels and Sangunius’ closest confidant; Meros, a line apothecary; and Kano, a former member of the Librarius. While Sangunius does receive quite a good deal of time in the narrative, the story is driven by the aforementioned Astartes. And to be honest, that isn’t really a bad thing. Raldoran is an interesting, if not somewhat vanilla character. Meros and Kano both have more depth as characters, as both have internal struggles that plague them throughout the novel. The problem, I think, is that they just aren’t THAT memorable, which can be said in a large part for the narrative as a whole. Much like Deliverance Lost before it, Fear to Tread is simply lacking as a whole. The frustrating thing is that there are places that COULD be memorable, but are left underdeveloped.

For me, these underdeveloped threads are very clearly in three places: Sanguinius’ relationship with Horus, the Sigillite’s order to send the Space Wolves, and the Blood Angles breaking of the Edict of Nikea. We’re treated to interactions between Sanguinius and Horus at the novel’s outset, and I think it’s the best part of the book. We’re reminded of two things: how noble Horus actually was before his fall and how strong his bond with Sangunius was. These scenes involving the two primarchs at the beginning of the narrative are poignant and lasting. The problem lies in the fact that their kinship really isn’t ever addressed later on, especially upon realization of Horus’ betrayal. It’s an oversight that, were it explored furthered, could have really strengthened this book and turned Sanguinius into the sympathetic Primarch, much like Horus was in the opening trilogy.

The omission of any real “oomph” behind the Space Wolves inclusion is, simply put, disappointing. To be fair, I’m a big Wolves fan, but the notion that execution squads were sent to every Legion following the Razing of Ticza is sort of a big deal. I love how the Wolves are characterized when they board the Blood Angels’ flagship, but after that, they get lost in the narrative until it’s their time to die. It could have been expanded upon at great length, but wasn’t.

Finally, the breaking of the Edict of Nikea by the Kano and the Blood Angels Librarius, while understandable due to the situation, is kind of brushed under the rug because they broke it to save their Primarch. It didn’t really sit well with me because the notion that they did anything wrong is arbitrarily dismissed.

As with any Horus Heresy novel, there are some solid ‘revelations’ that come to help move the overall narrative of the Heresy along. But in Fear to Tread, the fulfillment of those ‘revelations’ just doesn’t seem as strong as in other entries to the series. Coupled with the relatively safe narrative, Fear to Tread sits as an “okay” addition to the Heresy mythos. It certainly isn’t bad, and there are some really great parts, but in the end it feels like you’re eating a pizza with really great pepperoni that has doughy crust and a bland sauce. You’ll eat it, because who doesn’t love pizza, but it doesn’t really leave you wanting more.

[Kyban]

I wonder if some BL authors are put off by the prospect of going too in depth and creating canon. Maybe they don't elaborate on some things that we wish they would because they don't want to intrude on the fluff other authors have mentioned.