Book Review // Nemesis by James Swallow
My quest to read the entire Horus Heresy series in order has led me to book thirteen, Nemesis. I read this tale a long time ago and was excited by the title at the time, as assassin stories were very few and far between. I hope it has stood the test of time.
Book Details
Title: Nemesis - Horus Heresy Book 13 (Unlucky for some)
Author: James Swallow
Publisher: Black Library
Type: Mass Paperback
Page Count: 507
Fluff: After the horrors of Istvaan V, Horus declares outright war against the Imperium. In the shadows of the Emperor's Palace, powerful figures convene. Their plan is to send a team of assassins to execute the arch-traitor Horus and end the war for the galaxy of mankind before it's even begun. But what they cannot know is that another assassin is abroad already, with his sights firmly set on killing the Emperor.
Review
The last book I read by James Swallow was Flight of the Eisenstein, a great book. However, I would classify this book as a filler piece in the series. In the grander schemes of the Horus Heresy war, this is just a side adventure, but what a great side adventure. We have a crowded world slowly decaying into rebellion under the fear of the Warmaster’s forces visiting the world. Then, to make things worse, there seems to be a serial killer loose in the city! While all this is taking place, back in the Imperial Palace, the rulers of the Assassin Clans have met to create an Execution Force - Their goal is to kill the Warmaster. What is an Execution Force, you ask? One operative from each cell operates in a team working alongside the other assassins in an attempt to kill Horus, but where should they strike? Luckily, they happen to know a world he will be visiting soon.
The book is well-written and delightful. What we have with this book is two short stories meshed together to create one whole story. Usually, this would annoy me, and quite a few Black Library titles have in the past done this by pulling this stunt, but the cast of characters was few and easy to remember. The tales combined so well in the end, just in time for the action to pick up, that it felt natural and right. It's ultimately a fun read as we already know the Execution Force will fail, but you just can't stop hoping they will succeed. It also lets us see behind the veil and how a war of shadows and assassins is ultimately hated by the Primarchs on both sides and is then banned from being used during this war moving forward - Does this stop Malcador or Erebus? I doubt it. I hope we get more shadow wars happening, but I believe this is the only assassin adventure in the series, which is a shame.
A fun read and I highly recommend it, it doesn't need to be read in order as it is pretty much a stand-alone tale. But with this finished we are now onto a Word Bearer's tale, a legion I have always had a soft spot for.
Thanks for reading drop me a comment.
