Like probably most readers I've followed the Horus Heresy series from the start and I have my favourite authors and until this book James Swallow wasn't amongs them. I felt flight of the Eisentstein was the weakest of the first five books and whilst Nemesis was a big improvement it still wasn't up there with the McNeil or Abnett offerings.
All that has changed with Fear to Tread.
James Swallow has done an excellent job in conjuring a picture of the Blood Angels as an elite unstoppable force and builds an initial picture of this legion and its vast starships as an incredibly effective, disciplined and powerful force with the ability to shatter worlds and defeat any enemy.
He then proceeds to introduce a real element of ominous disquiet and as with the best horror stories the supernatural element builds creating a sense of unease even for the superhuman space marines of this elite legion and yes, even for their primarch.
Perhaps one of the best achievements of all is to show how fragile this superhuman force is when compared to the truly awesome power of chaos and perhaps in all the Horus Heresy books so far this best demonstrates the sheer scale of the chaos powers. This is best shown when (SPOILER WARNING) the Blood Angels fleet sees the stars begin to dissappear throughout a quadrant of space as something impossibly vast and dense begins to blot out the stars. It's a great sequence and gives the impression that for possibly the first time the Blood Angels and their primarch are feeling a frisson of fear as they begin to appreciate the scale of their enemies power.
The book isn't perfect and the first half and the build are probably more effective and powerful than the last part of the book. As has also been pointed out by some other reviews the physics of some aspects of the action are questionable, but to my mind that's irrelevant. We all read these books because they are sheer escapism and who is to say what physics in the 41st Millenium will look like and where Daemons are concerned the laws of physics simply don't apply anyway, so my inclination is to forget about the science and enjoy the ride.
Putting the core story to one side the book also perhaps more than any other in the series so far demonstrates the vulnerability of the seemingly unstoppable and all conquering space marines and imperial navy when confronted with the powers of the warp. It also gives an interesting insight into the the way that Sanguinius is perceived by Horus and others and the different agendas of Horus and the different chaos powers.
Fear to Tread is the 21st Book in the Horus Heresy series and in my view it deserves to be in the top third in terms of quality together with a couple each from Abnett and McNeill and the First Heretic by Aaron Dembski Bowden.
It's a must read if you are following the Heresy storyline anyway, and if you are a fan of Space Marines it's also a good addition to the canon and it even stands up pretty well as a stand alone novel.
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Top reviews from other countries
SEWyvern
Embrace the Fear
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 15, 2012Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Great story, but weak characterisation
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 27, 2012Verified Purchase
P. J.
Not the worst just doen't stand out.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 3, 2015Verified Purchase
jubalgunn
At last a book about the Blood Angels Primarch
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 30, 2013Verified Purchase
Donna Goodson
a great addition to the bookshelf
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 18, 2016Verified Purchase
