Honour To The Dead is a 75 minute Horus Heresy Audio Drama from Black Library, which ties into the story arc surrounding the Word Bearers attack on the Ultramar plant of Cath.
I enjoyed Mark of Calth quite a lot (my Review Part 1 and Part 2), so I thought of this as a great little addition to add to my collection.
I was slightly disappointed by Honour To The Dead. The story itself is fine, though it felt a bit generic and not necessarily a “Calth” story (or even a “Horus Heresy” story), other than being set on a war-ravaged world of the Imperium.
More importantly, I thought the balance between sound effects and (soft-spoken) performers was off, making it not as enjoyable to listen to as it should have been.
As Calth burns, the Battle Titans of the Fire Masters legion take to the streets of the city of Ithraca, ready to massacre the fleeing civilian population in the name of their new, dark masters. But the remaining loyalist engines of the Legio Praesagius – the True Messengers – still stand ready to defend the Imperium, even in the face of almost certain death. With the nearby Ultramarines forces scattered and lost, the people of Ithraca must fend for themselves as gigantic war machines unleash apocalyptic weaponry across the ravaged skyline…
#1 – The Product
The product itself is a basic, single CD in a standard CD-box. There isn’t much to tell about it.
Black Library’s Space Marine Battles Audio Dramas have more bling to them (which I thought odd, given that the Horus Heresy is their big seller, I suppose). Than again, I have little use for the fancy additions either way.
The CD costs £10.00 directly from Black Library, £8.50 as an MP3-download from Black Library, or £7.00 from Amazon! So even if you want it in MP3, it’d be cheaper to buy the CD from Amazon and import it! Strange world.
#2 – The Story
Spoiler Warning again!
Honour To The Dead follows three story-lines.
- First, and taking up by far the most time, is the tale of two battling Titans, (with their Titan Legions in the background, though it comes down to a duel) one from a loyal Legion and one from a Traitor Legion.
- Second is the tale of a civilian mother and her baby lost in the confusion and destruction of the war raging around here.
- Third a group of Ultramarines patrolling the bombed out city that is the Titans’ battlefield.
As can be expected, the different stories all cross paths towards the end. The civilian mother seeks protection from the Ultramarines, who in agree to protect her with lofty vows how they are ultimately fighting for the people of Calth.
In turn, the Ultramarines with mother and baby in tow end up in the exact piece of city where the two Titans (and actually more than two) meet for their final showdown.
Still, the Titan-battles are the main show and take up the biggest part of the story. Still, I did think the addition of the Human/Space Marine perspectives were a great addition to view the Titans’ battle from a “less-titanic” perspective, even if the pompous monologues of the Ultramarines and moral messages were overdone.
#3 – My Problems With This One
As said above, Honour To The Dead delivers a decent tale. Three things irritated me, however.
- A Silly Villain: The evil titan-commander was a rather flat vaudeville villain, constantly laughing manically. Admittedly, I don’t know how one could develop a better bad-guy in such a short time, but this one was plain silly, which in turn lessens the final epic dual of the story somewhat.
- Horus Heresy?: The tale takes place on Calth and Honour To The Dead is branded as a Horus Heresy story. Ultimately, there’s not really anything Heresy-specific in it though. The story could’ve easily been set in any war involving Titans in the 41st millennium. If you’re looking for a Heresy-story in particular (rather than Titan-action of any flavour), it really adds nothing.
- Bad Audio: What I found most annoying however, were the sound effects. The idea was not bad, as the the Titans are constantly blaring war horns and the various weapons all have unique sound effects. Added to that a constant “background-noise” of bullets and explosions. And all of it was … relatively to the text … very loud. The problem was exacerbated by the soft and fairly quiet voice of many of the performers.
The last bit in particular may have been just my CD, or it may just be my preference.
Either way, I constantly wanted to strangle the Titan-guy, when I couldn’t hear what he had said through the overlaid sound-effects, and that obviously lessened the enjoyment of it all.
- Did you give on of the newer Horus Heresy Audio Dramas a try (there are at least one or two more just for Calth, over and above Honour To The Dead, I believe?
- Did you listen to Honor To The Dead itself?
- What did you think of it (both story and “audio-quality”)?
Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
Z.
Zweischneid
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