Dark Angels in Black Library's Horus Heresy Series

[jaxom]

Helpful bit of pre-reading to get familiar with some relevant topics.

 

The first thing we need to cover are memes. The term entered the psychology vocabulary via Richard Dawkins who posited that there were thought-forms arising from particular cultural constructs like how proteins and RNA are generated by DNA:

 

“Meme: n. a unit of practice or belief through which a society or culture evolves and that passes from one generation (or even one person) to the next. In this sense, the term… is a kind of metaphorical parallel to the term gene.” - APA Dictionary of Psychology

 

To continue the biology metaphor; stories are a transmission vector for memes while tropes (popular story-telling conventions) are the transmission mechanisms. The psychology field posits there is something about how the human brain operates which makes certain mechanisms more inherent or appealing than others. In short, there’s a reason that the tried-and-trued writing conventions are what they are beyond just “that’s how its always been done.”

 

An author’s ability to work with, between, and in-spite-of the archetypes and tropes in context of memes is a big part of how their work will read; just like how a chef’s ability with work with, between, and in-spite-of ingredients in context of the human senses is a big part of how their food will taste.

 

Two aspects we need to be aware of are world building and character arcs. The Great Crusade and Horus Heresy are/were effectively new settings. As such, we – the readers – must be acclimated to its vagaries and nuances. The stories told, like so many others, are based on character arcs: a character changing over time in response to narrative events and/or a character overcoming narrative obstacles.

 

Now that everyone is on the same page let’s add some Black Library context. Like so many other conversations regarding Warhammer 40k writing we can start with Dan Abnett. Dan Abnett is excellent at world building because of a few factors. He provides reader-surrogates, he leans into common linguistic roots and formulations, and he deftly uses expectations to support the world (he also occasionally then subverts those expectations to make his protagonists more interesting). Let’s look at some examples:

 

Reader-Surrogates (a character who is new to a situation/locale and must have explanations given to them rather than an author offering straight prose to explain things):

 

Ibrahm Gaunt and Brin Milo – I’m covering these two as a pair because they’re just that. Gaunt is the reader-surrogate in learning about the Tanith and their culture while Milo is the reader-surrogate for learning about the Sabbat Crusade, the Imperial Guard, and the Archenemy.

 

The Remembrancers – The stories they tell each other about their experiences prior to arrival on the Vengeful Spirit give the reader a wider impression of the Great Crusade and the nascent Imperium. Sindermann’s audience and dielectic, in particular, are the surrogate for learning about the Imperial Truth. Keeler is the surrogate for learning about the proto-church. Meanwhile, Mersadie Oliton is the surrogate for learning about the Legiones Astartes and the general mien and culture of the Luna Wolves.

 

Garviel Loken – The newest member to the Mournival is the reader-surrogate for learning about Horus, the movers-and-shakers of the other legions, the Primarchs, and command-level politics within the Great Crusade. In addition, the explanations (to him) of the purpose of the Mournival provides the reader a different perspective on the Luna Wolves compared to what Loken told Oliton.

 

Kasper Hawser – Welcome to the Vlka Fenryka; buckle up, it’s a doozy.

 

Common Linguistic Roots and Formulations (using common prefixes and suffixes in uncommon combinations and/or with familar sounding words; reader’s fill in the space around the word):

 

Vox-cast(er) – Vox, latin for voice, and caster (one who casts/throws) gives us voice-thrower while also mirroring telecast and telecaster (a television broadcast and a television broadcaster, respectively).

 

Feth – A four letter word starting with F and used as an expletive, ‘nuff said. Mildly subverted in that while its use is the same it has a root more similar to swearing by the name of a sacred figure than being rooted in a physical act.

 

Enuncia- Sounds a lot like enunciate, doesn’t it?

 

Expectations (letting a reader’s preexisting mental schema provide context and rational for an otherwise unexplained part of the world):

 

All the “Fenrisian” - Sounds Scandinavian, uses some words directly, lot’s of Hel, a weapon (Mjalnar) that sounds a lot like Thor’s, and supports the parallels between the Fenrisians as a misunderstood people similar to the difference between the actual Danes, Franks, Saxons, etc and Vikings.

 

Imperial Bureaucracy – Abnett relies heavily on a reader’s expectations of bureaucracy as a slow, heavy-handed, impersonal behemoth to avoid needning to explain details of the Administratum.

 

The Tanith – Pale skinned foresters with pale blue tattoos who are heaped with scorn by ‘proper’ regiments made up of ‘more-civilized’ people. Mk- is a common last name prefix and the leader officer’s first name is Colm. ‘Nuff said.

 

Last, before we can address the Dark Angels and the Lion, are character arcs. The simplest character arc (and some don’t even consider this a real arc) is a character overcoming narrative obstacles without change. These sorts of arcs are a classic in serialized story-telling meant to give a relatively predictable experience; the classic sitcom or Looney Tunes short experience. The other three are the ones most people mean when using the term. They are revelation, distillation, and alteration. They exist on a continuum and many characters will have a range of multiple, possibly overlapping, arches over their stories. Again, let’s look at some examples (including some from other media):

 

Revelation (A character’s qualities and worth are revealed in response to narrative events; very common for a first act or a character-establishing story):

 

Brin Milo – Brin starts out as a pretty blank slate in First and Only. It isn’t until Ghostmaker and his focal story in it that we get a real look into who he is when he’s not Gaunt’s shadow.

 

Argel Tal – We spend the entire first act getting to know him, his views, and his thoughts after our first exposure where’s he’s just a lens for the Razing of Monarchia.

 

Harry Potter/Luke Skywalker – Neither has a clear, introductory character-defining moment and instead unfold over the course of their respective stories.

 

Alteration (A character’s beliefs and code of conduct are changed in response to narrative events):

 

Elim Rawne – If you know then you know. Otherwise, go read the series.

 

Any Traitor Emperor’s Children character who isn’t Lucius or Fabius - ‘Nuff said.

 

Garro/Sigismund – Both characters are irrevocably changed by their exposure to the Lectitio Divinatus.

 

Darth Vader – From the Emperor’s Right Hand to the Emperor’s Demise.

 

Harry Dresden - If you know then you know. Otherwise, go read the series.

 

Distillation (A character’s qualities and attitudes are stripped down until they’re quintessentially themselves; the character doesn’t change, so much as becomes more intense or more themselves):

 

Ibrahm Gaunt – He just becomes… more Gaunt-y.

 

Princess Leia – She’s got a great initial character defining introduction (shooting stormtroopers and sassing Darth Vader) and proceeds to continue to kick butt and snark.

 

Harry Dresden - If you know then you know. Otherwise, go read the series.

 

There’s no hard line between the arcs and there’s usually valid points to be made regarding whether a character’s arc is revelation or alteration. It usually comes down to how much of a blank slate the character was before events and how they were introduced.

 

The Horus Heresy series will always have some mystery to where details, plot points, and how they are presented or pursed come from because it’s a collaborative work. I recommend reading the Afterword to Guy Haley’s The Lost and the Damned because it offers a view into how the sausage is made. In addition, there’s information and events from preexisting sources which had to be accounted for in one way or another. The salient pieces of information about the Dark Angels in the Horus Heresy give starting points for designing arcs (for the legion and individual characters).

 

1) Luther is placed in charge of Caliban and the recruitment-training cycle.

2) Luther and the Dark Angels on Caliban turn against the Lion.

3) The Lion and Leman Russ are part of conquering Dulan. The Lion kills the Tyrant, whom Russ had vowed to kill, and the two end up in a massive brawl. The Lion wins when Russ starts laughing about how silly the whole thing is.

4) The Warmaster orders the Dark Angels to the outer edges of expanding Imperium to get them out of the way for the initial stages of his rebellion.

5) The Dark Angels and the Space Wolves make their way to Terra together. Russ insists on breaking every rebel force on the way. When they arrive too late at Terra the Lion holds Russ personally responsible and stabs him when Russ refuses an honor duel.

6) The Dark Angels return to Caliban and are fired upon. They fight on Caliban among orbital bombardments which proceed to break apart the planet (with warp shenanigans weakening the planet). Luther psyker powers gets the better of the Lion, but he has a moment of regret and doesn’t kill the primarch. The Dark Angels recover the largest remaining shard of the planet (the Rock) and Luther, but there is no sign of the Primarch (he’s in stasis in the Rock).

 

The information does not have to be taken at face value, but one must then be careful of subverting expectations. For example Frank Herbert’s Dune establishes the enmity between feuding families by relating how one family was accused of cowardice for refusing to cross a bridge during a battle. The context and expectation is it’s a physical bridge, but a prequel reveals it was a metaphor for disobeying an order to fire on innocent civilians. The time and elegance put into an explanation can go a long way how well an explanation of “how” is received. Compare Logan’s amnesia (X- Men movies) via one minute of action and a single adamantium bullet to the state of the world in Planet of the Apes and via a three movie prequel trilogy each of which deftly built off the previous prequel.

 

Each of the previous examples also illustrate how character-driven events require motivation and actions require explanations. There are more than a single option and the difficulty is on how they are addressed. Why do the Dark Angels on Caliban fire on the returning fleet? How do the Dark Angels and Space Wolves meet up on the way to Terra? These give way points or end points, but there must also be a beginning. The choice of beginning has a major impact on world building and character arcs. Imagine Harry Potter except the story begins with Harry just arriving at the train station and his encounter with the Weaselys; we no longer have the context as Harry-the-Orphan or his abusive family. On the other end, if the story begins earlier then one has to have the appropriate narrative of how Harry doesn’t end up as a stew of neuroses and unhealthy coping mechanisms; by skipping all that, we – the reader – just go along with the long-standing “good-natured British orphan who ends up being important” archetype (Arthur, Oliver, etc).

 

Thus we establish the first question: How does Dark Angels’ tale begin compared to the other legions? The Dark Angels have a unique start. Other legions are already established when we are exposed to them. The POV and world building focuses on the legions and their role(s) in the Great Crusade (and for some, Heresy). This is the first hurdle raised by, “The Warmaster orders the Dark Angels to the outer edges of expanding Imperium to get them out of the way for the initial stages of his rebellion.” The Dark Angels did not have a previously established role in the beginning of the Heresy and so there was much room for choosing where they would first be seen. The Horus Rising trilogy and Fulgrim established expectations for introducing a legion and getting to know its culture.However, instead, in Descent of Angels and Fallen Angels, our POV focus is on Caliban and an inter-order war.

 

The problem is that, in breaking the pattern, the readers come in expecting to learn about the Dark Angels and their primarch, but barely do so. The social conventions and history we’re given about Caliban subvert expectations. The Order is not the governing planetary body under the Lion, the knights of Caliban are riven by factionalism, and the beasts of the forests are almost all eradicated. In this, the book does an excellent job of setting up a clear theme of schism.

 

The focus on schism, however, robs the narrative of any immediate import to greater tale of the Heresy, because the confrontation on Caliban does not occur until after the Siege of Terra. The narrative is continued haphazardly through short stories and the B-plot in other books. Yet it’s the equivalent of a not important cameo; like if Han Solo showed up to deliver mail in The Mandolorian. The presence of the Calibanite faction has not added any depth to the character arcs or world building upon which the Horus Heresy rests.

 

Next up: Short stories and Angels of Caliban

Edited December 3, 2019 by jaxom