This book by Mitchel Scanlon is the sixth instalment of the Horus Heresy mega-series. In this one we open into a time before the Great Crusade had even properly taken off yet - those days when the Emperor (who we do get a snapshot glimpse of partway through for the first time in the series) was still collecting the primarchs from across the galaxy - in this case, Lion el'Jonson* of the planet Caliban, which is home to knightly orders sworn to protect the citizenry of their world from the great and terrible beasts which pretty much control the deep, dark forests covering most of the planet. Throughout the book we follow cousins Zahariel and Nemiel on their journey from supplicants to the Lion's knightly Order, to their establishment within the ranks as fully-grown knights, then the utterly unexpected arrival of Imperial forces turning Caliban's forests into factories and its culture into a mere expansion of the Emperor's divine mission to unite humanity - the shock of this transition is tempered significantly by the acceptance of both into the ranks of el'Jonson's new Astartes Legion, the Dark Angels, and these brave children of Caliban join the Crusade rolling through the galaxy to whatever end. So ultimately this book is less epic in scope than most of the previous instalments, but it provides a vitally interesting window into what worlds (and primarchs) may have been like before the Emperor came along to bestow upon them their Imperial destiny, and explores the potential sources of friction from this grand inclusion.
* Easily my favourite primarch so far - he just oozes chivalry and charisma.
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