A single CD with two Audio Dramas for the Horus Heresy: Hunter’s Moon by Guy Haley and Thief of Revelations by Graham McNeill.
Hunter’s Moon is a nice story, well told, though it could easily have been a regular 40K story. Thief of Revelations, on the other hand, sweeps across the entire Heresy, but left me wondering what the point of the story was.
Luckily, as far as sounds and narration go, this is one of the best Black Library products I’ve had in a long time. They are getting better with these audio products.
The Thousand Sons and the Space Wolves – two Legions whose destinies were irrevocably entwined at Prospero, and yet who now dance separately to fate’s tune. As sanctioned executioners, the Wolves of Fenris were meant to root out treachery at the heart of the Legions…but would they be capable of carrying out a death sentence upon one of the Emperor’s own sons? Meanwhile, Ahzek Ahriman and Magnus the Red cast their sight over the galaxy, seeking any clue as to what the future might hold.
#1 – The Physical Product
Hunter’s Moon / Thief of Revelations is a single CD with Horus Heresy audio dramas by Black Library. The total running time is approximately 75 minutes.
Black Library Audio dramas, unlike their audio books such as Scars, are read by multiple people, often taking different roles. They also tend to have more sound effects (which I thought were really well done here, much better than in Honour to the Dead).
Black Library’s official price is £10.00 for this CD, though both stories are also available individually as downloads and for 6-quid-something from Amazon.
#2 – Hunter’s Moon by Guy Haley
Hunter’s Moon is, I think, the better story of the two.
Set on a (relatively) primitive planet that is visited every few decades by the mystical “giants in starships”, the story is told entirely from the perspective of a few human fisherman.
Indeed, Hunter’s Moon uses the trope of the wise old man telling a young boy about his encounter with the Space Marines many years ago. The set-up works very well for an audio-drama for obvious reasons.
In a nutshell, the story revolves around a Space Marine ship crashing on this ocean planet and with the fisherman rescuing the ship’s sole surviving Space Marine – a Space Wolves, who in turn tells them his tale.
Before long, the Heresy (obviously the reason the ship crashed in the first place) follows the Space Wolf down in the shape of an Alpha Legion ship.
A simple story, well told, with enough Heresy-references to keep fans happy. I liked that Guy Haley kept the Alpha-Legion trademarks subtle, avoiding sadly overused key phrases.
Worth listening to.
#3 – Thief of Revelations by Graham McNeill
If Hunter’s Moon is a simple, well-told story, Thief of Revelation seems to have bitten off more than it can chew.
In the opening and first half of the story, we get to see Ahriman and his secret Cabal working away on the Planet of the Sorcerers, trying to find out more about the mutation that has befallen the Thousand Sons (by examining a particular specimen) and – obviously – getting ready for the Rubric of Ahriman.
Halfway through the story, the question arises whether they should inform their Primarch – Magnus the Red – or keep the preparations for the Rubric secret.
Eventually, Ahriman goes off to meet with Magnus, who in turn takes him on a magical mind-journey through all the hot-spots of the Heresy: Calth, a Night Lords vs. Dark Angels battle, Sanguinius in Fear to Thread, and more.
And than the story ends.
What was the point? I don’t know.
The entire story seemed to be an insider reference to other locations and events in the Horus Heresy, but the Thief of Revelations lacked a story of its own. If and how the second half of the story, Ahrimans galactic journey with Magnus, did or did not relate to the first half, his studies of the mutations among the Thousand Sons, isn’t clear.
On the upside, the production of this story in particular cool, with interesting “70s” sound-effects to visualise (auralise?) the mind-space-journey by Ahriman and Magnus.
#4 – Thoughts?
This audio drama is an odd mix.
- Hunter’s Moon is a fun story, but it could’ve easily been the story of a 41st-millennium Space Wolf landing on some planet, pursued by some other 41st-millennium foe. The links to the Heresy are tenuous at best. The whole “Space-Marines-as-mythical-beings” feels more 40K than 30K.
- Thief of Revelations is the exact opposite. Especially the second half is nothing but references and visitations of Horus Heresy key-events. It’ll likely confuse anyone who hasn’t read a good part of the series. However, Graham McNeill apparently forgot to actually tell a story amid this round-trip among the Horus-Heresy-highlights.
A special mention needs to go to the performers and the people responsible for the sound effects.
Whatever I might think of the stories, the quality of the production for this audio drama, at the very least, is fantastic.
Z.
Zweischneid
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