Mark of Calth (25) (Horus Heresy)

First posted on Amazon.co.uk on 21 July 2013

Mark of Calth is a collection of eight short stories about what happened after the treasonous and treacherous attack of the 17th Legion of the Word Bearers on Calth and the 13th Legion of the Ultramarines, and after they had "poisoned the system's sun", making the surface of the planet inhabitable.

As it generally happens for many readers in such cases, I liked some stories more than others. The two I liked the least were the first one ("the Shards of Erebus", by Guy Haley) and, more surprisingly, the last one ("Unmarked") by Dan Abnett, although he happens to be one of my favourite authors (and in this I am certainly not alone). The reasons for not liking these two stories were similar. They were drafted in such a way that I simply did not see the point of the story or, perhaps more accurately, I did not understand what the respective authors were getting at.

I like the six other stories, however. My three favourites were "The Traveller" (David Annandale), The "Underworld War" (Aaron Demski-Bowden) and "The Athame" (John French), essentially because they were the most original in both style and content although I will refrain from mentioning anything more about them to avoid spoilers.

For those familiar with the works of Anthony Reynolds, "Dark Heart" will show you something of the early feats of one Marduk, and how he manages to impress Kor Phaeron, first Captain of the Word Bearers. "Calth that Was" (Graham McNeill) and "A Deeper Darkness" (Rob Sanders) are told from the perspective of the Ultramarines. They are about how they continued to fight the war against the Word Bearers but from underground. The "Underworld War" is also largely about this underground conflict, but from the viewpoint of a Word Bearer.

Three and a half stars.

As other reviewers have commented, The Mark of Calth is a collection of stories that describe Calth (specifically the aftermath of the Word Bearers attack). Honestly, the stories really vary in length, depth, and quality. Some were interesting and some were a little different (in both good and bad ways). Overall, the book is definitely worth reading (especially if you are a HH fanatic like me!) However, and this will probably get my review shot down, I'm starting to get tired of how the HH series is getting "bogged down" in Ultramar and I'm growing irate over the continued references to Perpetuals, The Cabal, and Oll Perrson. Yes, in case you are wondering, we get the "treat" (don't worry, I won't put any spoilers in!) of reading about Oll Perrson (aka Dan Abnett's misguided hijacking of Ollanius Pius) and his continued journey after Calth. Seriously, this whole Perpetual/Cabal BS is turning me off to the entire series. I won't rant too much but if you're like me, you'd really like to see the series get its focus back--meaning get back to the Marines and the events that actually matter. Thus, while some of the stories are alright reads, the book fails to address my interest in seeing the series advance and the continued development of Oll Perrson as a major character disgusts me. Therefore, I can only give the book two stars.

Not as good a read as I had hoped that it would be,especially after reading other books that were based on events before and after this book. I had hoped for a better read to expand my knowledge of this particular battle within the Warhammer universe. It's a vey good read but drags out in some places and it's sometimes hard to follow the story lines. But I did enjoy reading it once, but really doubt I'll go back to it later.

The stories themselves were not that spectacular. Like others that commented on this book, it seems like the Heresy is getting bogged down with Gulliman and this corner of the universe.
This book wasn't really necessary, and not worth the price unless you want it for the collection. The Black Library should have just moved onto another primarch after Know No Fear.

This story is told very well. The strength of the characters is definitely shown as well as the ever present inner struggle for the Ultramarines to come to grips with the new enemy within their fellow astartes.

Stories by Dan Abnett and Aaron Dembski-Bowden alone make this anthology worth five stars, but the real stand out here is Graham McNeill's novella. It is no exaggerration to classify it as his finest work to date.

I would recommend reading or rereading Know No Fear prior to reading this book to get up to speed with what is going on, or at least a refresher if you already read Know No Fear. All the short stories are good but the last Three are very good.