Cthonia's Reckoning

The Horus Heresy

By: John French, Michael F. Haspil, Gary Kloster, Nicholas Wolf, Noah van Nguyen, Gav Thorpe, Chris Forrester

Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong

A Horus Heresy Anthology

In the final years of the Horus Heresy, all eyes were on the Siege of Terra. But out in the vast darkness of space, war raged over a thousand other worlds—including the home world of the Sons of Horus, Cthonia.

LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE

Witness the bitter, spiteful struggle between the Imperial Fists and the Sons of Horus over the Warmaster's home planet of Cthonia, in seven stories from a variety of authors.

DESCRIPTION

After seven long years of conflict, the Horus Heresy nears its end. But now, as the Warmaster Horus marches on Terra to rip his father from the Throne, the seat of the arch-traitor’s power lies empty. Cthonia, a world once dominated by brutal murder-gangs, is occupied by the Emperor’s praetorians—the indomitable Imperial Fists. For the Sons of Horus, this outrage demands a reckoning. From the towering heights of Traitor’s Gate, stronghold of the VII Legion, to the unending warrens in the planet’s crust, the two sides slaughter one another without remorse. It is a war of spite, and only the most ruthless will rise to claim Cthonia.

CONTENTS

• Sons of Cthonia by John French
• To the Last by Michael F Haspil
• The Gangs Beneath by Gary Kloster
• The Flesh Harvest by Nicholas Wolf
• Traitor's Faith by Noah Van Nguyen
• For Hate's Sake by Gav Thorpe
• Postulant by Chris Forrester

Read by Gary Armstrong.

©2022 Games Workshop Limited (P)2022 Games Workshop Limited

Not Quite What I Was Expecting

It definitely gives you plenty of Sons of Horus vs Fist stories but it feel like this was a missed opportunity to really flesh out Cthonia. What bits we do get is pretty vague.

Mike Haspil nails void warfare

decent filler stories giving inside deep lore but one story stood out in particular by Mr. Mike Haspil. I'm not a huge fan of void warfare and this story had me leaning in to listen closer. it was simply amazing if anything grab this book for that story only

Mostly mediocre

As expected there's nothing impressive happening here. Just some various storiea mostly about Fists and Sons of Horus fighting.

One exception is the rather excellent story: 'To the Last' about a ship captain and her crew battling ships in the void above Cthonia. That was a gem among the mostly banale storiea about marines shouting platitudes while killing each other.

Very Good Anthology

Most anthologies are usually a mixture of the good, the bad and the indifferent, This book is neither bad nor indifferent and succeeds in capturing the scope and character of the conflict.

Created to sell toys.

This collection of short stories about a previously unexplored part of the Horus Heresy comes across as a mostly average tie in to the recently released HH boxed set and miniatures. Nothing here advances the overall story. It is a series of one-offs with no-name characters you will struggle to connect to. Narration is good but he goes a little fast and I kept having to rewind because I could not keep track of which character I was suddenly in the perspective of. That probably says a lot about the writing as well.
If you’re a fan of the series and have read/listened to them all, this is an ok selection of B and C list BL authors that can lightly scratch the itch for something more substantial. Otherwise, save your credits.