[Horus Heresy Review] Know No Fear - Dan Abnett

[wittdooley]

So here's the review for No Know Fear. It's true that its a bit more gushy than I wanted it to be. It's true that I should probably just write Dan Abnett a Valentines Day card now, expressing my undying love for his writing. Whatever.

I read this one in a matter of two days. It would have been less, but I had to work and sleep. It was that compelling. I couldn't put it down.

Know No Fear - Dan Abnett Review (http://queencityguard.com/index.php/2012/02/09/horus-heresy-review-know-no-fear-dan-abnett/)

As I intimate in the review, I don't think it's quite as good as Prospero Burns, but damned if it isn't close. They're very different books, so it's hard to look at them comparatively. Suffice it to say I loved Know No Fear.

Please, comments & critiques & rambling thoughts welcome.

Cheers.

[Grailkeeper]

I didn't know it was out yet, how did you get it?

[MarneusCalgar]

Grail, on the Black Library page you can get it...

Witt, nice review, hope to buy it soon

[wittdooley]

I didn't know it was out yet, how did you get it?

eBook purchase for the win. As soon as I saw that I could get it from Black Library app via ebook, I did. No regrets there.

[isotope99]

Not sure I can be quite so positive, although it is a good book overall. Nice to have a meaty entry in the heresy that deals with the main plotline and the action is definitely well told. The main problem is character development is virtually zero, there are pages of characters listed at the beginning but only a couple you really care about. The rest fall in and out of the story so fast it's hard it's even harder than usual to remember who's who and harder still to care.

For me, it's not until the last quarter of the book when things really start to pick up and you begin to root for the characters bevcause they get some real purpose and not you stop just wondering who's going to be next to take a bolter round to the face.

I think you called it right by saying it's the 'Saving Private Ryan' of the series with all the good and bad that goes with that.

Pros:


Remedies a weakness noticed re. the Istvaan V part of the heresy in that the sense of disbelief is really played up.
The 24 style countdown works pretty well at the beginning.
Some great big picture descriptions of the damage being done. One of the benefits of the story jumping around like it does is that you get a view from the whole planet. This is especially noticeable in the very first stages of the attack.
Some cinematic battles.
Weird cryptic character in Oll that I'd like to see expanded.


Cons:


Laughably one-sided. I know the Ultramarines are supposed to be on the ropes but it comes across like the Word Bearers could have wiped out the largest legion in the galaxy by mid afternoon and still had time for a little late supper if they'd been paying attention.
Too many characters with hardly any 'screen' time. You need to photocopy the list of characters as a reference just to keep track of who's who and there's no reaction scenes to key events or character deaths, it's just on to the next one. This may suit the documentary style of the text but it isn't very thrilling.

[wittdooley]

Cons:


Laughably one-sided. I know the Ultramarines are supposed to be on the ropes but it comes across like the Word Bearers could have wiped out the largest legion in the galaxy by mid afternoon and still had time for a little late supper if they'd been paying attention.
Too many characters with hardly any 'screen' time. You need to photocopy the list of characters as a reference just to keep track of who's who and there's no reaction scenes to key events or character deaths, it's just on to the next one. This may suit the documentary style of the text but it isn't very thrilling.


It's funny. It seems like we are polar opposites lately in all of these books. I think your list of cons are actually purposeful and make the book stronger. Calling it laughably one sided is...I don't know? An exaggeration? The Uktramarines get ravaged. Ravaged. No one has ever pretended that Lorgars legion had any fantastic tacticl acumen. In fact, most of Lorgars brothers think his legions abilities as warriors is laughable. Their shtick is that they are zealots and the use humans as meat shields. The WBs are overconfident and as a result they're pushed back. I guess I just don't agree that it was one sided.

I like the fact that there are so many named characters that don't get screen time. They're there to give a name to the thousands that die. And they do that well. I intimated this in the review, but some of my favorite parts of this book are the sections where we get to see how one of those named many meet their end. In my opinion, those moments are what humanizes this whole story and gives it breadth.

[calltoarms]

I have to agree with Witt. Not the best, but very, very good. At first, the perspective annoyed me, but after a while, I realized it was adding to the suspense quite well.

[Defenestratus]

Cons:
Laughably one-sided. I know the Ultramarines are supposed to be on the ropes but it comes across like the Word Bearers could have wiped out the largest legion in the galaxy by mid afternoon and still had time for a little late supper if they'd been paying attention.
Too many characters with hardly any 'screen' time. You need to photocopy the list of characters as a reference just to keep track of who's who and there's no reaction scenes to key events or character deaths, it's just on to the next one. This may suit the documentary style of the text but it isn't very thrilling.

I'm halfway through the book and I 100% agree with your assessments.

I can't really recall the names of the dead smurfs at this point. As characters they were rather flat and not given enough time to ripen in the imagination.

Surely none of them were Ned Stark.

[arget8]

I can't wait to read this one. Abnett, Blue boys, word bearers...what's not to like?

[ozybonza]

I really enjoyed this book - especially the pacing and writing style.

The only criticism I had was the mini-arc with that "Ol" guy - it seemed like all set up, no payoff.