Lord of the First - A Spoiler free review

[Brother Sergeant Luther]

Lord of the First – A spoiler free review

“We are as the Emperor made us – weapons, created for this bloody time, and as weapons we can ask nothing more of Him than that.”
Lion El’Jonson

I have just finished reading Lion El’Jonson Lord of the First by David Guymer. And I have to say this is the Dark Angels novel I have been waiting for since the Horus Heresy series began, it is simply a fantastic read. Do not get me wrong I also really enjoyed Angels of Caliban, but it left me wanting more, more of the inner workings of the First Legion, more of a look at the inside of the Lion of Caliban’s mind and character. And that is where Lord of the First has delivered in my opinion. It has built upon the foundations laid down in the earlier novels and short stories of the Legion’s and its Primarch’s character, to produce a what I consider a must read for any fan of the Dark Angels, hell even if you are not a fan you should still read this book.

Well ok I best talk about the writing, the book was very well paced and while not the longest book clocking in at 188 pages, it never felt rushed. David Guymer has crafted a well-researched piece, at the time of writing I have yet to find any obvious continuity errors that seem to oocur in Black Library’s books, largely down to many authors writing in the same universe, while great for output to us ravenous lore devouring fans, it must be nigh on impossible to wrangle all those story threads together and as Marc Gascogne once said:
"Here's our standard line: Yes it's all official, but remember that we're reporting back from a time where stories aren't always true, or at least 100% accurate. If it has the 40K logo on it, it exists in the 40K universe. Or it was a legend that may well have happened. Or a rumour that may or may not have any truth behind it."

And I am off on a tangent again, apologies. Anyway back to the book, while the novel does contain the bolter porn you come to expect of a 40k novel it does not take over, it is well paced within the story and adds to the tension and flow rather than distracting from it. But where Guymer shines in my opinion is with the portrayal of the characters, while we see very little of fan favourites from previous stories such as Holguin and Redloss, but during any cameos they are true to their established characters. The new characters introduced breathe life into little covered aspects of the Hexagrammaton giving brilliant insight into the Ironwing especially, as well as doing this the characters themselves are well formed and hold true to the ideals we expect from the Knights of Caliban.

Well I guess I should talk about the title character, I simply cannot fault Guymer’s portrayal of him this is the Lord of the First as I have always imagined him.

And that is all I will say on the matter as I am a strong believer that people should read the stories and form their own opinions, and I have tainted you all with mine enough.

 “Some men demand such pomp. They cannot accept the end of one era and the commencement of another without an occasion by which to mark it and give it meaning. Laurels must be given, honours and fair titles invented so that they may be bestowed upon favoured generals. Some men need recognition.” The shadows around the Emperor’s throne deepened. But beneath the layers of obfuscation, deep within the myriad guises of that singularly unfathomable being, the Lion felt the Emperor behold His firstborn son.
“Some men,” the Emperor continued, “do not.”
 

Edited March 2, 2020 by Brother Sergeant Luther

[jbaeza94]

That ending reminds me of guilliman and the end of indominus crusade

[shabbadoo]

 “Some men demand such pomp. They cannot accept the end of one era and the commencement of another without an occasion by which to mark it and give it meaning. Laurels must be given, honours and fair titles invented so that they may be bestowed upon favoured generals. Some men need recognition.” The shadows around the Emperor’s throne deepened. But beneath the layers of obfuscation, deep within the myriad guises of that singularly unfathomable being, the Lion felt the Emperor behold His firstborn son.

“Some men,” the Emperor continued, “do not.”

Nice to see Somebody agrees with my interpretation.

Edited March 3, 2020 by shabbadoo

[Ishagu]

The Legion is so damn interesting that I want the Lion to return and re-form it in the current setting.

[rendingon1+]

 “Some men demand such pomp. They cannot accept the end of one era and the commencement of another without an occasion by which to mark it and give it meaning. Laurels must be given, honours and fair titles invented so that they may be bestowed upon favoured generals. Some men need recognition.” The shadows around the Emperor’s throne deepened. But beneath the layers of obfuscation, deep within the myriad guises of that singularly unfathomable being, the Lion felt the Emperor behold His firstborn son.

“Some men,” the Emperor continued, “do not.”

 

Does it mean that Lion had foreknowledge of Horus' investiture? Or was it after?

Edited March 3, 2020 by rendingon1+