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Okay, here we go again! Remember to follow my blog for quicker updates and other stuff :). Now then, enjoy!



Battle for the Aybss: Ben Counter

NEWS OF HORUS'S treachery is in the open, and a time of testing has come. As Horus deploys his forces, loyalist Astartes learn that the Wordbearers are sending a fleet to Ultramar, home of the Ultramarines. Unless they can intercept and destroy it, the Ultramarines may suffer a blow from which they will never recover.
Battle for the Aybss continues the epic tale of the Horus Heresy, a galactic civil war that threatened to bring about the extinction of humanty.

Right, Battle for the Aybss. The eight novel in the Horus Heresy series, and the first featuring the Ultramarines, and follows brother captain and fleet commander Cestus of the seventh company, as he tries to bring down the Furious Aybss, a ship enhanced by the dark powers of the warp before it can reach Ultramar, and reduce the worlds of the Ultramarines to ashes. Side from Cestus and his Honour Guard, we also get a ragtag bunch of Space Marines from three other legions, Brynngar, a captain of the Space Wolves, Mhotep, a sergeant and the only Thousand Son on board, and Skraal of the World Eaters. Needless to say, when Thousand Sons and Space Wolves meet, this won't be pretty.

This book also contains some decent ship-to-ship warfare, which helped me as I am currently writing a book (non 40K), which contains a small space battle at the beginning. However, I felt that it was very action packed, with hardly and slow parts. Also, like Descent of Angels and it's sequel, I felt that it strayed from the original layout featuring Horus and his Legion, but we got them back in Nemesis, so I am content.

High Point: The Ultramarines getting killed, (always good to see some smurfs getting killed) and the honour duel between two of the loyal space marines.

Low Point: Too much action, and it didn't feel good enough to be like a Horus Heresy novel, similar to the Dark Angels ones.

Rating: 6 / 10

~Bane of Kings
 

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Good review and well made points.
Personally I think the ship-to-ship scenes were the best part of the book. Sadly the Word Bearers and their "Monster Ship" came across like James Bond Villains and their superweapons.... All a bit campy I'm afraid.
All in all this is the Horus Heresy book I like the least.
 

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Only thing remembering from this novel was Skraal and Mhotep which were quite ok, every other character i didnt care at all and this novel felt totally rushed out of door. Also Word Bearers like already mentioned seem just target practise for people. Ship to Ship warfare was quite good as you said.

Worst novel of HH so far, even more than Descent of Angels or its sequel.
 
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