Gav Thorpe - the Luther novel

[Allart01]

I'm not Gav's biggest fan, but this is solid work - probably his best, actually, but I haven't read Lorgar. 

I have to say I am not surprised at the lack of spoilers, because there is little to spoil and much to be discussed, since the book -just like the words of the Dark Oracle himself- is quite open to interpretation.

This is not a linear story, but an episodic narration illustrating the character of Luther and the descent of the Dark Angels from the First Legion to the Unforgiven.

I would definitely recommend it to my fellow Dark Angels fans.

 

Now, my main takeaways/nuggets of information under spoilers:

 

Caliban is confirmed to be corrupted by Chaos at its very heart - even the Great Beasts have a malice that hints of them being something more sinister than simply animals. Moreover, the planets itself as a whole seems to have a spiteful, hateful intent towards human life.

 

It seems like Farith was the first Chapter Master of the Dark Angels, and the decision to hide what happened on Caliban is said to have been taken by "The Council of Farith". He was killed by the Fallen themselves, in one the the Chapter's first encounters with them and the discovery of the traitors still being around. The decision to begin the Dark Angels' eternal Hunt was taken soon after this episode.

 

Luther seems actually regretful of his actions and tries his best to help the Grand Masters interrogating him, but he obviously has no clue what recruit #4646383, or even someone he actually knew, is up to thousand of years since he has last seen them. 

What Luther tries do to is warning the Chapter from the perils of becoming obsessed with the Hunt, but he obviously goes unheeded as the Dark Angels become more and more consumed by it.

 

The book makes it look like Luther did not actually fall to Chaos. He was tempted, he read some books and tried some rituals; Typhon and Erebus tried to recruit him after his scolding at Zaramund... but he never actually sealed the pact, refusing to use the Anathame on Corswain and, later, the Lion. In one of the first chapters, a daemon of Tzeentch accuses him of being the traitor within his own ranks, and his own council (Astelan, Cypher/Zahariel, Gryffain of the Firewing and a new female character) seems to doubt his resolve. They asked him to reveal the "password" to activate the defensive batteries of Caliban, and Luther eventually obliged. This leads me to believe that Luther did not actually want to attack the Lion's fleet - we know from Angels of Darkness that it was actually Astelan who gave the order. 

Luther's damnation -the torture, the stasis, the mistrust, having to watch the decadence of the Chapter- sounds more like punishment from the gods for betraying their expectations, and for refusing to go "all in" on their plans. He comes off as a tormented, indecisive character, with moments of weakness and moments of resolve that always leave him stranded in the middle, like during the Saroshi accident in Descent of Angels. 

He doesn't want Caliban to join Horus -he tries to keep him as distant as the Imperium. He just wants Caliban to go on his own, not realizing the impossibility of it.

Luther insists on this -as he stepped off from his path to damnation, so should the Chapter abandon its obsession for the Hunt before it consumes them. Off course, his warnings fall on deaf ears.

 

The fate of Corswain is left unknown. He reaches the Zaramund system on the pursuit of Typhon, where Luther refuses the chance to murder him and seal the pact with the Dark Gods. He gets some recruits and assets from Luther before departing for Terra... which means some of the marines he arrives with at the end of Saturnine may not be as loyal to the Imperium as they should. I'm biting my nails and hoping they don't pull a "Dark Anglez did traitor stuff lol" or something like that at the Siege. 

 

Luther leaves his cell at the end of the book. He suspects Azrael left the door open for him, but he does not know for sure. 

Luther seems to believe he must find the Lion not only to redeem himself, but the Lion's Sons too. When the Primarch will come back, he will not only forgive Luther, but the Unforgiven too, and reforge them into something new, steering them back on the right path, the path of the First Legion.

This seems the prelude to something... I guess we shall see.

 

To conclude, Luther himself defines his own testimonies as unrealiable. He is overall very confused and disorientated not only by the stasis-induced timeshifts, but by the effects of the Chaos storm over Caliban too - seemingly another punishment from the gods for their disappointment. He just isn't able to recall a lot of details and events, and his thoughts are an amalgama of actual recollections, visions of the future or simply nightmares and hallucinations. He himself can't actually tell truth from lie, and trust his own memories. 

Edited November 25, 2020 by The_Bloody

[Tymell]

Pleasantly encouraged by all the positive response to this I'm seeing here. The Caliban parts of Angels of Caliban were by far my favourite bits of that book (which was especially surprising given how dull I found them previously), so I'm hoping for more of that quality.

[Dagoth Ur]

I'm not Gav's biggest fan, but this is solid work - probably his best, actually, but I haven't read Lorgar. 

I have to say I am not surprised at the lack of spoilers, because there is little to spoil and much to be discussed, since the book -just like the words of the Dark Oracle himself- is quite open to interpretation.

This is not a linear story, but an episodic narration illustrating the character of Luther and the descent of the Dark Angels from the First Legion to the Unforgiven.

I would definitely recommend it to my fellow Dark Angels fans.

 

Now, my main takeaways/nuggets of information under spoilers:

 

Caliban is confirmed to be corrupted by Chaos at its very heart - even the Great Beasts have a malice that hints of them being something more sinister than simply animals. Moreover, the planets itself as a whole seems to have a spiteful, hateful intent towards human life.

 

It seems like Farith was the first Chapter Master of the Dark Angels, and the decision to hide what happened on Caliban is said to have been taken by "The Council of Farith". He was killed by the Fallen themselves, in one the the Chapter's first encounters with them and the discovery of the traitors still being around. The decision to begin the Dark Angels' eternal Hunt was taken soon after this episode.

 

Luther seems actually regretful of his actions and tries his best to help the Grand Masters interrogating him, but he obviously has no clue what recruit #4646383, or even someone he actually knew, is up to thousand of years since he has last seen them. 

What Luther tries do to is warning the Chapter from the perils of becoming obsessed with the Hunt, but he obviously goes unheeded as the Dark Angels become more and more consumed by it.

 

The book makes it look like Luther did not actually fall to Chaos. He was tempted, he read some books and tried some rituals; Typhon and Erebus tried to recruit him after his scolding at Zaramund... but he never actually sealed the pact, refusing to use the Anathame on Corswain and, later, the Lion. In one of the first chapters, a daemon of Tzeentch accuses him of being the traitor within his own ranks, and his own council (Astelan, Cypher/Zahariel, Gryffain of the Firewing and a new female character) seems to doubt his resolve. They asked him to reveal the "password" to activate the defensive batteries of Caliban, and Luther eventually obliged. This leads me to believe that Luther did not actually want to attack the Lion's fleet - we know from Angels of Darkness that it was actually Astelan who gave the order. 

Luther's damnation -the torture, the stasis, the mistrust, having to watch the decadence of the Chapter- sounds more like punishment from the gods for betraying their expectations, and for refusing to go "all in" on their plans. He comes off as a tormented, indecisive character, with moments of weakness and moments of resolve that always leave him stranded in the middle, like during the Saroshi accident in Descent of Angels. 

He doesn't want Caliban to join Horus -he tries to keep him as distant as the Imperium. He just wants Caliban to go on his own, not realizing the impossibility of it.

Luther insists on this -as he stepped off from his path to damnation, so should the Chapter abandon its obsession for the Hunt before it consumes them. Off course, his warnings fall on deaf ears.

 

The fate of Corswain is left unknown. He reaches the Zaramund system on the pursuit of Typhon, where Luther refuses the chance to murder him and seal the pact with the Dark Gods. He gets some recruits and assets from Luther before departing for Terra... which means some of the marines he arrives with at the end of Saturnine may not be as loyal to the Imperium as they should. I'm biting my nails and hoping they don't pull a "Dark Anglez did traitor stuff lol" or something like that at the Siege. 

 

Luther leaves his cell at the end of the book. He suspects Azrael left the door open for him, but he does not know for sure. 

Luther seems to believe he must find the Lion not only to redeem himself, but the Lion's Sons too. When the Primarch will come back, he will not only forgive Luther, but the Unforgiven too, and reforge them into something new, steering them back on the right path, the path of the First Legion.

This seems the prelude to something... I guess we shall see.

 

To conclude, Luther himself defines his own testimonies as unrealiable. He is overall very confused and disorientated not only by the stasis-induced timeshifts, but by the effects of the Chaos storm over Caliban too - seemingly another punishment from the gods for their disappointment. He just isn't able to recall a lot of details and events, and his thoughts are an amalgama of actual recollections, visions of the future or simply nightmares and hallucinations. He himself can't actually tell truth from lie, and trust his own memories. 

Perfect, this is a bit more what I was looking for. Thanks!

[Taliesin]

Looks like the hardcover of this comes out at the start of March. Probably picking that up.

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by Taliesin

[DarkChaplain]

High-Res cover from Amazon, because it is rather pretty:

[Petitioner's City]

Well it's finally out :D

[DarkChaplain]

Listening to the book now, and with only the first "tale" finished, I'm already impressed. It might turn out to be the most important book for the Dark Angels, period, even more defining of their character than Angels of Darkness was back then.

[DarkChaplain]

Haha, looks like in the second tale Luther...

...kind of told the 3rd? Supreme Master, who was alive during the War of the Beast, that there is, y'know, always another Beast waiting right around the corner. His story goes unheeded by Castagon/Puriel, of course (whose name recurrs in M41, btw, used by an Interrogator-Chaplain in Eye of Ezekiel), but if actually understood, we might not have needed 2 assaults on Ullanor in The Beast Arises.

 

I found it rather interesting to see Luther, even in his stasis cell, being tapped into current events that shake the galaxy. I'm curious to see what else could've been avoided had the Dark Angels not hated his guts so much.

 

The Tale of the Beast in itself is actually a pretty cool pre-Imperium Caliban story from Luther's youth. Neat to see a snippet of why Luther may hold the old ways in such high regard, and why he's disgusted with some of what's going down post-Imperium.

[jaxom]

Just finished it. Very solid story, and did a better job setting the tone of pre-Imperial Caliban than the original trilogy did. Not required reading for Dark Angel fans or Heresy fans, though it has two things I found interesting.

First, how Luther met the Lion. It's nowhere as fairytale like as it usually gets portrayed in the codexes. Did the Lion stick around the dead beast longer than necessary because of the laughter? Maybe, but he definitely got shot and then hunted down. Considering what we know of his temperament; that he then ended up trusting Luther even a bit says something about their relationship... unless he never truly trusted the Order because of it? Second, Corswain being pointed at Terra by Luther, but still arriving after Mortarion and Typhon. Warp shenanigans I would guess.

 

However, I don't think it was worth the same as one of the big books simply due to its length. If it were mass-paperback price, sure.

[Knockagh]

Oh I would say it’s definitely required reading for a DA fan. This is a superb piece of work. Taking the Luther legend and turning it into a superb story covering thousands of years, multiple chapter masters and periods of imperial history and all the while questioning the imperium and everything it stands for is no small feat. This book could have been a total disaster. Anyone with even a passing interest in the DA should read this. It’s proper history

[DarkChaplain]

Finished up to the Tale of the Book (thanks to some impromptu plumbing being required on the bathroom sink today...), and just want to say that that story alone is helping me reconcile a lot of the retcons to the timeline. It puts Zaramund into perspective in a way better way than before, adds an additional important scene to what we saw in the prologue(?) of Angels of Caliban, contextualizes relationships outside the Legion, gives Luther a proper opportunity to say what he did in Grey Angel, and even adds more depth to the exile back in Descent of Angels. Great chapter/tale.

 

It's also consistently cool so far to see the past tales being reflected in the framing narrative too, by drawing parallels between events and characters. Cypher is being regarded as an unknown factor that may or may not be an enemy in one conversation, while we are also seeing that mirrored in Luther's finding of the Lion. And then when things backfire on the Dark Angels who tried to parley, as we know it would, that, too, parallels Luther's decision of taking the Lion cub in backfiring on him in later years.

 

Gav's being clever with his framing, and I already wish there were more tales in here.

And while Luther is shady, I don't even think it's worth doubting him at all so far. He's putting his cards on the table openly and doesn't shy away from making himself look bad and conceited either. He admits to his failings, his pride and what not. But he also holds firm to his belief that only the Lion can be his judge, so he won't "repent" to anyone else. The way he's being constructed by Gav in this one so far has been precisely what I was looking for.

[DarkChaplain]

Another cool tidbit: There's a link to the second Dawn of Fire novel here, albeit an indirect one. The kind of fanservice I appreciate, something non-intrusive that still nods towards another (recent) work for those who have read it.

[DigestPantheon]

Another cool tidbit: There's a link to the second Dawn of Fire novel here, albeit an indirect one. The kind of fanservice I appreciate, something non-intrusive that still nods towards another (recent) work for those who have read it.

 

I love little easter eggs between stories, where if you catch the reference you get to do a little "ooooh! that's from x!"

[Knockagh]

What’s the bets for the next one of these character books? Malcador? An unlikely one, but one I would love to see would be Kyril Sindermann. His pre crusade history and recruitment as an Iterator and conversion to the imperial truth. Pretty sure garro will get one but it could be a bore.

[DarkChaplain]

I don't think Sindermann pre-Horus Rising would be that interesting overall. I could see a post-Heresy Sindermann novel with flashes back to pre-Heresy and Heresy, though. I just don't think he's big enough a character, or that anybody really would like to do it.

 

Malcador is a big contender, obviously. I might have said Krole, but she's more than covered in Saturnine.

 

Frankly, I think this highlights one of the biggest weaknesses of the Heresy. There's not much in terms of major non-Astartes, non-Primarch characters left. They abandoned those they had pretty quickly, never to be mentioned again.

 

For Astartes, I could see Erebus getting a book, maybe Kor Phaeron post-Children of Sicarus. These two dropped off the stage years ago now. I'm actually pissed that Erebus hasn't even popped up during the Siege (yet), and Lorgar is out as well.

I mean, Erebus was last seen in Vulkan Lives, chronologically, wasn't he? He got kicked out by Horus and Lorgar at that point and was doing his own thing, and did all his "I know better than anybody, I'm the hand of fate" bs, yet.... that was 8 years ago.

Kor Phaeron at least was fleeing from the Macragge's Honour and found Sicarus, so we know where he is and that he's sitting things out, but he, too, is building something new there that we're not privy to.

 

On the contrary, I think Garro is done and dusted. I wish Swallow had done more with the "novel"'s framing texts, but I'm confident in saying that we've seen all there is to him that we need to know, and any further backstory to Straight Arrow Garro would be a disservice to the character. I'd also doubt that he'll survive the Siege at this rate.

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

As for Luther, I'm working my way towards the end and I'm hard-pressed not to count this as one of my favorite books published by BL in recent memory. I keep juxtaposing Luther's tales with the other Dark Angels Heresy stories, and even Gav's Legacy of Caliban, and to me, Luther makes sense. His motivations work, his flaws do as well. He's reflected, self-deprecating just as much as sticking to his core values. He sees how he betrayed them before, or didn't understand lessons as clearly as he should have.

 

Luther has long been one of my favorite characters in the entire setting, and one I never felt like he'd gotten enough of a shot in the wider fiction. Always just a figure of unknown intentions and revelations, who we only saw through the eyes of others or Codex entries. We got a very narrow view of him before. Usurped hero, arch-traitor, conjurer of warp storms, brother-killer, leader of the Fallen? Maybe he's all those things and more, but most importantly: Luther himself is just a man. I think this book demystifies the bloke to just the right degree, while still giving plenty to ponder, to wonder.

And, ironically, it highlights just how far the Dark Angels, the Unforgiven, have actually fallen themselves, by hyping themselves up over Luther's betrayal, laying blame at his feet for things he didn't even know happened. Heck, it's been 7000 years in and out of stasis for him to even find out / piece together that the Emperor is a corpse on a golden chair - yet he is called heretic against a faith that didn't actually exist in his day.

[Blood-worm's Master]

What’s the bets for the next one of these character books? Malcador? An unlikely one, but one I would love to see would be Kyril Sindermann. His pre crusade history and recruitment as an Iterator and conversion to the imperial truth. Pretty sure garro will get one but it could be a bore.

I would love to see Kelbor-Hal!

 

For Astartes, I could see Erebus getting a book, maybe Kor Phaeron post-Children of Sicarus. These two dropped off the stage years ago now. I'm actually pissed that Erebus hasn't even popped up during the Siege (yet), and Lorgar is out as well.

I mean, Erebus was last seen in Vulkan Lives, chronologically, wasn't he? He got kicked out by Horus and Lorgar at that point and was doing his own thing, and did all his "I know better than anybody, I'm the hand of fate" bs, yet.... that was 8 years ago.

The most recent is Wraight’s Child of Chaos from 2018 and I feel it says everything there was to say about him.

Edited April 6, 2021 by Blood-worm's Master

[Knockagh]

I think sinderman pre heresy would be fascinating. He would have been involved in getting the public behind he crusade. A 40k Peter the Hermit. I can see him being involved in purges against religions on terra before the crusade. The insight into the politics of the build up to the crusade could be compelling reading. I love origin stories.

 

DC is right to say the lack of non Astartes personnel was the biggest weakness of the heresy series. I do think there’s a very deliberate effort being made in the siege series to rectify that. The siege series has had brilliant human characters so far. The lack of them in the heresy series was a deliberate policy from BL, one I never understood and I think it did huge damage to the overall series.

Edited April 6, 2021 by Knockagh

[DarkChaplain]

Keep in mind that by the time we meet Sindermann in Horus Rising, the Crusade was basically in its final phase, with Horus already being warmaster. Kyril was still reasonably youngish by imperial standards, even if highly accomplished as an Iterator. I don't think he was even alive before the Crusade

[Knockagh]

Keep in mind that by the time we meet Sindermann in Horus Rising, the Crusade was basically in its final phase, with Horus already being warmaster. Kyril was still reasonably youngish by imperial standards, even if highly accomplished as an Iterator. I don't think he was even alive before the Crusade

That’s a good point! I hadn’t even thought of that. Kind of knocks my idea dead right there. Still would be cool to have a book detailing the background to the crusade etc. Might come with a unity wars series.

[mc warhammer]

perpetual sindermann confirmed.

[Kelborn]

So about Luther....

 

 

 

What might come next for him and the DAs in general? Anything hinted at in this book?

[jaxom]

Nothing really hinted at. It explores preexisting Dark Angel themes, makes Luther a three-dimensional character. The interesting part, from my perspective regarding the future:

 

Luther seems genuinely repentant and that doesn't fit well with him getting along with Marbus in the future. He also seemed more and more disturbed by the fanatical Dark Angels and how far they've fallen from the ethos and ideals of the original Legion and the Order. Is it possible we end up with a three-way First Legion war? The Unforgiven, Marbas and the full on Chaos Fallen, and Luther's non-Chaos Fallen?

 

Also, I'm a little miffed about the absolute segregation of the Hexagrammaton and the Caliban faction. I get that the Caliban faction was set up before the Hexagrammaton existed (in real life), but still....

Edited April 7, 2021 by jaxom

[DarkChaplain]

My one disappointment with the novel is that it's shorter than I'd have liked. For instance, I'd very much loved to hear a tale of Luther's time on Caliban, leading the Order alongside the Lion and being pushed aside, or talking about how his gain-brother and him got along during the Lion's upbringing.

On top of that, I think a chapter on Zahariel wouldn't have gone amiss, considering that he's been important to Luther ever since Sarosh, and was semi-groomed as an ally before departing Caliban, too.

 

Honestly, I could think of a few more periods of Luther's life that I'd have loved to hear more about.... but then, that's a sign of a novel well-told, that made me wish to hear more and more about and from this character. I loved getting to see Caliban, with all its grime and glory alike, through his eyes, seeing him bouncing from justifying his actions to reprimanding his own foolishness. How even in the moments he could fall without recourse, he did not, holding to his code even still.

 

To me, this is the missing piece needed for the Siege's developments at the end of Saturnine, too. It's a vital piece for the wider Legacy of Caliban series. It's important as a companion to Angels of Caliban and Angels of Darkness.

Like Luther himself, it is a central piece of the Dark Angels lore, but also one that isn't running about the galaxy doing big important stuff, instead remaining locked up in its cell.

 

Man, I really want to read what Gav's endgame is going to be for the fall of Caliban book, sometime in the future. Frankly, I'd even be down to him calling it Starfire, considering how important that term is. The big reveal about Luther's duel with the Lion isn't here, but it is so strongly hinted as pivotal, I'm excited. Gav's clearly been building up to that for a while, and with all we know from the Zaramund lore that made its way into the current? edition of Visions of Heresy, Angels of Caliban, Exocytosis and now here, even the involvement of Typhus in Legacy of Caliban makes a lot more sense.

 

We definitely haven't heard the end of Luther's story, at any rate, neither about his past nor his future endeavors past 8th edition fluff.

[jaxom]

 

On top of that, I think a chapter on Zahariel wouldn't have gone amiss, considering that he's been important to Luther ever since Sarosh, and was semi-groomed as an ally before departing Caliban, too.

 

Lord Cypher in all the post-Imperium Contact tales is Zahariel.

[DarkChaplain]

 

 

On top of that, I think a chapter on Zahariel wouldn't have gone amiss, considering that he's been important to Luther ever since Sarosh, and was semi-groomed as an ally before departing Caliban, too.

 

Lord Cypher in all the post-Imperium Contact tales is Zahariel.

 

 

Well duh. However...

 

In almost all instances, Luther refers to him as the "Lord Cypher" in his ceremonial role, not talking about "Zahariel" as he was. He mentions the name, but that's all. Up until the climax of Angels of Darkness, it's still just Zahariel El'Zurias.

 

He spent decades with Luther before taking over from the previous Lord Cypher (who we still don't know the true identity of with any certainty, and that's another thing Luther could have confirmed or denied to us in, say, The Tale of the Book). Zahariel also witnessed Luther's moment of weakness in orbit over Sarosh, and while Luther mistrusts the new Lord Cypher to some capacity, he didn't elaborate as to why in any real depth to the Supreme Grand Masters that visited him. They asked about Cypher, but he didn't tell them who the Lord Cypher he actually knew was. He spoke more of Zahariel as a functionary in lead of the Mistai, than as a knight of the Order who had only recently received that title and role.

 

And before that happened, Zahariel was in close contact with the Ouroboros on Caliban, caught Luther with his proverbial pants down while studying arcane lore, executed Belath, supposedly freed Loken from Luther's captivity, helping him and Qruze to escape Caliban, and more - stuff that may have warranted a tale of mistrust.

 

Personally, I'd not be surprised if the missing memories Luther is trying to access are deeply rooted in Zahariel's doings and the Ouroboros trinity. That the Lord Cypher himself blocked him from accessing that memory to prevent him from interfering with the long con.

 

On the other hand, I'm still not sure that the current Cypher is the same Lord Cypher aka Zahariel in M41, with all the other hints given in Angels of Caliban, most notably the sword being given into somebody else's care.