Prospero Burns (15) (The Horus Heresy) Paperback – Box set, August 26, 2014

You know when you launch a new RPG and you want to build an axe wielding village burner without equal? But then you realize that in order to get your Strength, Dexterity and hit points high enough, you're going to have to dump a stat.... and what stat do you usually dump? That's right, we all know you take that bucket of Charisma points, dump it into the toilet and pull the handle faster than you can say "Leonard Pyle is a great conversationalist".Then you end up with dialogue options during the game like "Gunnar Gunnarsonsonson no like Talk. Only talk to Axe. Axe like to drink blood. Short conversations."Yeah, that's pretty much the Space Wolves in a nutshell. They're planks of wood with a frowny face painted on them until it's time to kill something. Because of that fact, the story has to be chronicled by someone who is most decidedly not a Space Wolf. A human with very thin motivations to visit the home planet of the Space Wolves except for "Heyyyy man, it just seemed like a good idea, you know?"Not that this is a bad story. Far from it. I think Dan may have written something bad in his life... like maybe when he was an angsty teenager, but he hasn't written anything bad since. Either way, this is a great story and phenomenally written. Dan is a master of the Simile and highly proficient with Metaphors to boot.His description of scenes sometimes has me put down the book for a moment and go, "Ok, ok, that was damned good sir. Damned good."So, although the Space Wolves are probably the most boring group of beings in Warhammer 40K (My love of the Thousand Sons has nothing to do with this! They did nothing wrong!), except for maybe the Hrud, this book is still outstanding and I wouldn't skip it. In fact, I think it's a must-read of the Horus Heresy series.

The start was a little confusing to me.But the account of Kasper Hawser is worthy addition to the Horus Heresy.

I never cared about the Space Wolves. This book made me care and really enjoy the ethos of the Vlka Fenryka (Space Wolves). I continually was surprised by the disorientation of the perspective of Kasper Hawser, and how that was used to describe his situations. At first I didn’t care for the flashbacks, but they tied in so neatly it was an excellent pay off.

I'm sure when most people saw the premise for the book they assumed it would just be 400 pages of space vikings with names like Sven Bloodmane drinking beer, eating mutton and rampaging across Prospero. But, thankfully, Dan Abnett has a lot more sense and brains then to write a book like that. It's not a book about the actual sacking of Prospero but why and how it came to be attacked. The Battle of Prospero was told in the Novel A Thousand Sons, so there was no real reason to tell the same story again. Originally the Emperor only wanted Russ to bring Magnus back to Terra but the book shows the factors at work that made the wolves unleash their full wrath on the Thousand Sons.The book has a lot more subtlety than it is given credit for and is my favorite book of the Horus Heresy series for not stepping up to the stereotypes of the Space Wolves and turning them instead into the believable and extremely dangerous Legion they were always meant to be. Of course they come across as a very simple, transparent Legion... because they are in most ways. They are supposed to be the counter of the Thousand Sons who pursue knowledge endlessly and hone their skills in the arts as well as war; meanwhile the Wolves know their role and do it extremely well without question. I love the way Abnett crafts the Wolves in a different light then the Ragnar series of books created and, in keeping with other books of the Horus Heresy series, tell the story through different vantage points.Needless to say, I love the book and while I understand while some people didn't like it, if you want pure action 24/7 then you should know that the Horus Heresy series is probably not for you. If you want the how and why of the Heresy then I highly recommend Prospero Burns and all the other Horus Heresy book... well, maybe not Battle for the Abyss.

I understand why some people give this book mediocre reviews.....the title is very misleading. I remember being probably 75% of the way through the book and Prospero had still not been burned, or even mentioned for that matter. But if you read A Thousand Sons first (which in my opinion you should), then you already know what happens between the Space Wolves and thousand sons anyways. The twist at the end and the way Abnett masterfully builds up to it through Hawser's (the main protagonist) accounting of basically most of his life gave me chills. Hawser is easily the coolest and most interesting remembrancer in the HH series, my only wish is that he appeared in more books. This is just such a unique book, not really any other written in the same style. Taking a close look at my 4 favorite Abnett works in the series; Horus Rising, Prospero Burns, Know No Fear and Unremembered Empire, each one is quite unlike the other three. Abnett is a badass. Finally top shelf prose in science fiction!

This is quite possibly the most magnificently written story that I have ever read. Dan Abnett is a master of his craft, and I fear that my words simply cannot do this book the proper praise that it deserves. I love long stories such as Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and this story certainly feels like like it belongs in the greater setting of the Horus Heresy grimdark saga, but this book stands out as such an incredible tale on its own that I feel anyone, science fiction fans, fans of the fantasy genre, fans of mystery and thrillers, should not miss this book. Some context may be missed without a wider Warhammer 40,000 understanding, but you could do a lot worse than Prospero Burns as a starting point for a new reader to take the plunge in to the 40K universe. Taken as a part of that universe, and understanding all of the implications of this book... I have sat in stunned silence for a good while after completing Prospero Burns. It is that good. There are no wolves on Fenris.

A good addition to the series, but I found the narration awkward for the opening hook. I had to put it down for quite some time and come back to it. Maybe it was the names or the terms, or maybe I’m just stupid. Anyway, it’s basically the Flags of our Fathers to the Thousand Sons Letters From Iwo Jima.

Antes de hablar del libro en si; diré que me llegó de manera rápida, tán sólo en 5 días y en perfectas condiciones.Sobre el libro. Debo de decir que si quieres saber más sobre la Legión de los Lobos Espaciales este es un buen lugar para enterarte de detalles que con anterioridad no se sabían o son explicados de mejor manera. Una buena lectura cortesía de Dan Abnett que no decepcionará para nada.

The timeline is a bit jarring. Take your time. It is worth it. The ending is also pretty cool I find. Made me like the space wolves and lemon russ.

Possibly the best HH author, Dan Abnett never fails to deliver. Riveting story and perspective on not only the Space Wolves Legion, but a lot of exposition on Lemon Russ as well. Excellent story and ending. Highly recommended as a follow up to A Thousand Sons.

great book, love the WH40k lore