Audio Review // Hands of the Emperor by Rob Sanders

I am continuing my adventures in the timeline of the Horus Heresy with this next title: Hands of the Emperor. This is another short story that appears in the collected stories of War Without End. I’ve snuck back into the format of a single story per post. I prefer it this way so I will continue this trend.

Title: Hands of the Emperor

Author: Rob Sanders

Fluff: There are no more loyal servants of the Master of Mankind than his own Custodian Guard... except, of course, for his appointed praetorians, the stalwart legionaries of the Imperial Fists. When Shield-Captain Enobar Stentonox is assigned to watch over the Palace, it is only a matter of hours before a full alert is sounded – secure airspace has been breached, by none other than their well-intentioned Space Marine allies. With neither side willing to accept responsibility for the mistake, tensions rise and a new battle begins in the skies over Terra.

Review

We join the forces located on Terra for a tense and nerve-jarring adventure. The central part of the tale follows Shield-Captain Stentonox on his first watch as commanding officer of the Imperial Palace, and what a first watch! This title gives us a rare insight into the life of the Palace and how a lack of communication can lead to outright conflict. As one hand (Imperial Fists) fails to conform to the other hand’s (Custodians) rules, we watch as a continent-sized orbital platform heads toward the Imperial Palace. Though piloted by “allies,” they can not be treated as such, and soon, paranoia reigns, and conflict is joined.

It was great to learn a bit more about the Custodians and Silent Sisters and discover more about the orbital platforms. Overall, it was a very good listen. It did seem strange that Dorn would move such a security risk into the city's airspace, but we can ignore that in exchange for a good and exciting story. As always, thanks for stopping by and reading.