Slaves to Darkness (The Horus Heresy Book 51)

Lorgar, Lorgar, Lorgar. I won't say much to not spoil the ending but *sighs* Lorgar, how far you have fallen in the glory and admiration of the writers and community.The story is fine, not too exciting but we do get glimpses of just how badly the traitor legions have bled trying to usurp the emperor, and why Horus took such a massive gambit in the final siege of Terra, why such recklessness had to be employed, they simply lost too much, as much as the loyalists.The pacing and dialogue is fine. Nothing is TOO amazing nor eye rollingly cringy.But the ending.Oh, Lorgar, how sweet it is to see you get exactly what you deserve.

I have spent years reading the Horus Heresy/Warhammer 40k books and novellas. So I have read everything John French has written for the Warhammer 40k universe. This is his finest work in the series as a whole and this book handles some pretty important moments for the Primarchs. He brings about the events of 4 different Primarchs in a fantastic but also believable way. I really don't want to spoil this one. I will just say that I do think it is important to recommend it. Do not skip this one if you plan on reading the Siege of Terra series. It directly connects with that series.

I've not read all of the HH series but I've read close to 30 of the novels. Some of them are snoozers I can't make it through and read the wiki, others are fine and I drag myself through. A few are absolute can't-put-down read in 2 days. This is maybe not in the top tier but it's solidly in B/B+ range. You learn a lot more about the grip of Chaos and the story moves forward. Lots to enjoy.

I had very high hopes for this book. A muster with all traitor forces, nearly all traitor primarchs with Horus as the main protogonist. These made me hope.The book makes promises but never delivers. You think something will happen, author builds up to it but nothing out of ordinary happens. Every character behaves like you expect them to be.The only interesting point of the book is Lorgar’s scheme. You may skip this one.

A very good examination of the forces of Horus and their internal struggles. At first I didn't think I'd like a whole book about the "bad guys", but it didn't take long for the story to capture me. A good read that fills in a lot of missing information of Horus' side of the saga. Must read for HH fans.

While the main plot thread in the book is kinda boring I found myself very interested in the side story involving the Iron Warriors holding the line and fighting while low on resources it was an interesting perspective of the war that I feel hasnt really been represented in the other books.

Honestly, there have been some chaos themed books in the heresy series that I found rather boring and after a time almost repetitive. This book is so much more than that. John French really brings the Ruinous Powers to life in 'Slaves to Darkness'. It is a must read. It will get you so stoked for the Siege of Terra, which is right around the corner! And he wrote the first Siege book too! I can only imagine what he has in store for us in 'The Solar War' if it is even half as entertaining as this novel was! Bravo John French!!

Great book that sets the stage for the end. Well paced, well written, and highly recommended.

So Horus has pretty much smashed everything in his way, but is mortally wounded right before he reaches Terra. His superior officers of the Legion must hold it together while they try and bring him back from the grasp of death. Meanwhile, Lorgar and Perturabo are dispatched to bring in the traitors and Daemon Primarchs for the final push towards the Imperial Palace, a job more easily said than done.So my distaste for John French's previous work is not a secret. This managed to stay on the okay-side of things. I would have wanted a look into the Primarchs considering it is a heavy chunk with them in it, but instead he decides to focus on new characters in the 51st book just prior to wrapping up the traitors side before the Siege. What are you doing? It was okay, but I think it would have been great in the hands of another author's hands.

Enjoyable read. I’ve been reading the Ciaphas Cain novels recently, so this book was a nice change of pace. The story centres around the Chaos forces marshalling for the final push on Terra and there is a lot of interaction between the rebel Primarchs. I particularly liked the the scenes with Perturabo. John French is turning into one of the best authors in this franchise

Very interesting look at the way that the forces of Horus have changed since they turned. Quite liked the interactions between Primarchs that haven't really been seen together before.My only issue was that jumping between so many different characters sometimes broke the flow of the story, although given the theme of Chaos I can imagine this as a deliberate device.Overall a very good book, and now the stage is set for Terra..

John French once again manages to provide an entertaining trip through the realms of Chaos, making the antagonists believable and sympathetic.The end is nigh. If John French is involved it's going to be good.

Best one for a while I really enjoyed it. The forces of chaos and their various primarchs muster for the big push and behave in the diabolical manner you would expect.