Prospero Burns

?!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 by Lost1

Where is the reading extract?!!! Can't wait for this book. The space wolves legion is the best.

Best work so far, from the Best writer so far.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Jon

just finished the book. In my world this is the best book in the Horus Heresy series. And it is also the best by Abnett. It really does what it promises: show the fall of Prospero from another angle. And it even goes beyond the call of duty. This book not only is a fantastic 30k story, but fantastic sci-fi story and litterature. It's as deep as A Thousand Sons, as Bad-Ass as Horus Rising and has the huge secrecy of Legion. It follows A Thousand Sons by showing a legion we haven't seen before. Grahm made The fifteen legion cool. Dan has given the Space Wolves character adn depth. Thank you Dan

prospero burns

Rated 3 out of 5 by tami

not what i was expecting at all! its a good story but where is the background of the wolves? prospero and the thousand sons barely get 3 chapters like i say its a good story............... but not to spoil it for anyone thousand sons was better! sorry dan!!!

Blew my doors off!

Rated 5 out of 5 by Jeff Preston

Dan Abnett's wording, pace & the way he describes the dialog is perfect. The reader has no choice but be transported to a different place, a different time. You're no longer just reading a book, but you are immersed in a way that I have never seen or experienced before. In summary, it's a brilliant novel. A PERFECT counterpoint to Graham McNeill's A Thousand Sons. The author is able to grab the reader, pull them IN to the story, drag them through the muck, and blood, burn their eyebrows off, then neatly tuck them in to bed at the end. It's really genius storytelling. Dan Abnett is a master!

No failing is recognised and there's no need for Mr. Abnett to correct it.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Xhalax

When I started reading PB, I was a little worried that people may not enjoy this book as much as A Thousand Sons simply because....it wasn't what I expected....but once the book got started, I was exceptionally glad that Mr. Abnett took such a bold step with the Wolves as it felt both natural and much needed. I laughed, I cried, had it not been 2am when I finished the book I would have danced and a new phrase had entered my speech pattern because of PB. An awesome story and an elegant and eloquent example of how perception dictates so much of what we see, hear and do.

Best of the 15 so far

Rated 5 out of 5 by matthew

Wow this could have gone wrong in so many ways and just been a flip of thousand sons. But alas it was AWESOME, Story was approached from an angle i didnt see coming. Thanks dan for the awesome day in bed enjoying your book.

Unexpected

Rated 2 out of 5 by Lost1

Had alot of high hopes for this book(battles, background on the Wolves, the actual battle of prospero.) It was a good book, but not what I thought it was going to be.

Prospero Burns

Rated 2 out of 5 by Richard

Not what I expected from such a great author. Very disappointed with this novel. A Thousand Sons was so much better and very difficult to put down. Normally Dan's novels are hard to put down, this one was difficult to keep on reading. Not the worst of the Horus Heresy series though!

Very Disapointing

Rated 2 out of 5 by Robert G

This was by far one of Dan's worst works. It was very painful to read. Had to keep taking breaks as I was falling asleep reading it. There were only a few parts in this book that really grabbed my interest. As this is part of the Horus Heresy, it was a must read but besides that I don't think I would have finished it.

Title was a letdown and created unfair expectations!

Rated 3 out of 5 by Karl

I expected this book to continue from where "Thousand Sons" left off (and of course take the Wolf's story and side into account) but it didn't (continue/advance the story forward that is). If you don't have any expectations of that the book should do just that (and advance the Horus Herasy saga) then its a good book in itself. I really wanted to read more about the siege of Prospero from a Space Wolf perspective and then some new info/material on what happend next but the invasion and "burning" of Prospero is told in little detail and quite quickly is a really small part of the book.

Decent, but unexpected approach.

Rated 3 out of 5 by J

I felt that too much time was spent developing the protagonist and his unique relationship with the wolves of Fenris, and because of it the book lacked the exciting action that is normally seen in Dan's work. 4/5 of the book is spent developing this character, and 1/5 is the invasion of Prospero. In my opinion this book doesn't belong in the Horus Heresy collection and the only reason it is in the series is because of the timeline. These novels are supposed to be about developing and introducing to us, the reader, the unknown and mysterious 30k era of the warhammer universe and early imperium

good, not great

Rated 3 out of 5 by Marcus

What most people forget is that this was supposed to be released before thousand sons. Taken in that context it makes more sense. Those who complain about it not focusing on the attack on Prospero until later in the book, well did thousand sons do any different? This book does work well in the HH series and is a good flip side to thousands sons, however it wasn't really to my taste. A hard read that has great pace at some points only to be followed by long periods of nothing much happening. A good ending though that tied up everything nicely. Not the best HH but not the worst either (Legion!!)

great HH not what expected but MO

Rated 5 out of 5 by kenneth

Great book!it's what every one wants, different! not the same old read that you would expect from the space wolfs. very indepth & fresh. from the 40K norm. keep up the great work & I will keep on reading it. thank you for doing a great job on this book.

prospero burns hot

Rated 5 out of 5 by robert

another piece of the HH story fleshed out the wolves are as scary as ever and the feel of a government going wrong is worth its wait in aurum.

Huge Disappointment/yet good read in it's own right

Rated 3 out of 5 by Chad

I waited for a LONG time for this book to come out. HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. The wolves and have VERY little place in the book. If the book had been titled "The life and times of Kasper Hawser," I would have loved it. Very good read, as far as THAT goes. But the title and cover are VERY misleading. The book is like 90% about this one dude and his memories. Not at all what I was expecting. I'm a big Space Wolves fan. Would have loved to see more about the actual Space Wolves and the battle for Prospero. I mean COME ON; there was only passing reference to the battle between Russ and Magnus!!!!!!

Something different

Rated 4 out of 5 by Rob Dog

Some people may be disappointed by this book not covering as much material on the destruction of Prospero as they'd like, but then I'd argue that the major points of that were well covered already in "A Thousand Sons". Prospero Burns is more about why the Wolves exist and show a different side to their legions nature than has been seen in the HH series so far. The Wolves and Leman Russ himself become far more fleshed out, their reasoning behind their actions is understandable. If you want to read about Prospero burning - buy a Thousand Sons. This book is about the wolves, and a good read it is

its own book

Rated 5 out of 5 by jared

to me the book starts off slow and doesnt pick up till part 2. having said that, the action in this book are second to none dan made me fell as if i was there trying to avoid bolter, rounds.

What it means to be the Emperor's executioners

Rated 4 out of 5 by matt

Just as ADB did with the Word Bearers, so too are the Space Wolves brought into a new light. The buildup of their portrayal as the ultimate weapons of expedience was great, but Dan made them darker, more feral and infinitely more cunning - and that made the story even better. I think Dan's greatest strength here is taking every opportunity to make the ordinary parts of the story extraordinary, especially when it means expanding the 40k universe. Perfect example - the Quietude sequences were amazing! Slick work with Kasper's true purpose as well. Thank Uppland for Mr.Abnett...

not the book advertised

Rated 3 out of 5 by Lee

i love the heresy books and when i heard that dan would be writing about the space wolves i looked forward to it ,but it didnt live up to its advertising or its description,there were some intresting ideas including the tie-in to how horus had got russ enraged,against magnus but overall this book is one mans memories of events but not a book that shows us the other version of events (sorry)

Killer read.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Gareth

I rate this book up there with Legion and horus rising.I think I read Legion three times,read PB twice.Some of the guys reviewing here have rated it down seemingly because the book wasn't what they expected or wanted?Great read,good of GW to give Dan the leeway do his thing.

congrates

Rated 5 out of 5 by robert

wow HH on the new york best seller list not bad for a small city in the colonies

Best HH book for me

Rated 5 out of 5 by Me

Loved it. I've always been a SW fan, and he has fleshed them out a little more. Thank you. Love the out of box thinking.

People missing the point

Rated 5 out of 5 by Matt

People seem to be missing the point of the Horus Heresy series to me. We all know WHAT happens give or take a few details and a nice bit of visceral description, the idea behind this series for me is the WHY. Take Mechanicum, lots of action packed a few juicy secrets but the book pales in comparison to the First Heretic because of the scene setting and the why. If you want to hear about Prospero getting burnt, as someone else said read Thousand Sons, if you want to here what the sons of Russ were really like and WHY they were like it this book is excellent.

Amazing work

Rated 5 out of 5 by Todd

I am a huge Dan Abnett fan, and have ready many of his Warhammer 40K books. This one will go down as one of my all time favorites. I had a copy of Eisenhorn that he signed and now I wish I had a signed copy of Prospero Burns!!! Well done Mr. Abnett. It was fantastic.

Fast and Slow

Rated 5 out of 5 by Jeff

This is one of those books that I wanted to read as fast as possible and as slow as possible. Fast because I wanted to find out what happened. Slow because it was so good I didn't want it to end. This one was AMAZING!

Prospero singed rather than burned

Rated 4 out of 5 by James

While I do like abnett's work I do have to say I don't fall for thenhypemof the name. I was on pins and needles for this book because I was lead to believe it would deal with prospero and the thousand sons and how the sons of Russ came and laid waste. Abnett spent too much time in the wrong direction I feel and wasted my time with fillers of the conservatory and hawser and the less pertinent battles the wolves fought. I definately didn't need to read a sci fi version of the 13th warrior. Was hawser supposed to look like Antonio banderas? I didn't get interested until Nikea...

Prospero Burns

Rated 5 out of 5 by John

This is my favorite Heresy novel. As many have stated it is not what I expected. It turned out it was much better. Dan Abnett just gets better and better. I love how this book delivered an almost personal look at the Wolves. They are my favorite Space Marines and to read an account of them at home unarmored felt very real...made them seem mre human. The book is just a fantastic read. Note: If you are new to Warhammer 40K you might not read this first.Read a few others first and Prospero Burns will seem much richer in detail and the story lines will run much deeper and make more sense.

Thank you

Rated 5 out of 5 by Pablo

Thank you, thank you, thank you Dan! A thousand times thank you. I really enjoy it. So far in my top 4 of the heresy.

a let down!

Rated 3 out of 5 by udontwannaknow

The first part of the book is a drag to read and very tiresome. Its not what I expected after waiting so long for this book. I expected more battles and more background on Russ and space wolves as a hole. all of that was missing and all you get is random talk at the start and a lot of repeats. There is so much repeated text, it gets old after a while. its going to go up on the shelf and probably be never read again.

Cut my thread...in a good way.

Rated 4 out of 5 by Craig

An extraordinarily good sci-fi novel. I really enjoyed this and could not put it down. It does indeed look at the events leading up to the fall of Prospero from a different viewpoint from Thousand Sons, but it is not specifically Space Wolves centric (although Dan's take on them is fascinating). If Dan keeps writing stories of this complexity I forsee his books sitting alongside Iain M Banks Culture novels on my bookshelf in years to come.

Space Wolves never looked so good.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Tim

The story is told through the eyes of Kaspar Hawser, an Imperial Conservator tiring of the endless fighting to secure his interests – the knowledge and mysteries of elder civilisations – against the rolling juggernaut of the Terran administration. He resigns his commission and sets out to ply his talents to an Astartes Homeworld, setting out for Fenris – home of the Space Wolves. He is accepted as a skjald (a historian and storyteller) for the incumbent Chapter (jarl) guarding The Fang (Aett.) Through him we learn of the mystery of this Legion who, until this novel, have largely been regarded with something of passion from their fans (hello Buff Steve) and incredulity from their detractors. It’s no secret that this novel has been eagerly awaited since last year, ever since the release of A Thousand Sons by Graham McNeill – to which this is the companion piece. Imagine that the two novels are accounts of the same history merely told from the perspectives of the protagonists. However, it’s not that simple. In reading A Thousand Sons you gain something of a sympathy for the Legion. The Crimson King is noble seeking all knowledge and willing to turn that to further his father’s goal. We feel his pain at the censure of Nikaea and his sacrifice as *SPOILER* ultimately, his psychic talents lead to his father’s early ascension to the golden throne. *SPOILER ENDS* We see the Wolves of Fenris as brutal murderers – honourless, tactless, guileless. A simple wave of grey death. This is the other half of the looking glass. We learn the traditions of the Wolves, their utilisation of trinkets and tales, their own psychic dabblings, and the true nature of their creation. And in that we also learn of the creation and nature of other Legions; including yet more of an insight into the missing two. Dan Abnett is one of ‘those’ authors. His writing is inspirational. His depth of research is impressive seeming to have drawn on many sources to fully understand the ancient Viking culture from which the Space Wolves have been drawn. Battles are detailed, characters are fully formed and fleshed out, background and details are rich and vibrantly coloured. The Wolves are not protrayed as hard-drinking battle-hungry Vikings; rather solemn, morose, cerebral killers. I loved the book from beginning to end. Kasper Hawser’s arc is wonderful and I don’t wish to spoil it so I have made no mention of it in this review. But it is truly exciting stuff. Eye opening too. Prospero Burns deservedly continues the run of Horus Heresy Mass Market Paperbacks hitting the New York Times Bestseller list, and topping various Sci-Fi sales charts. Nemesis, The First Heretic, A Thousand Sons, and now Prospero Burns have been some of the best Horus Heresy novels to date, and worth additions to any collection. With the quality of Black Library publications being released, it is difficult for any fan – even an aspiring author one like me – to sit behind their keyboard and not try to get in to this elite club. Black Library, and Dan Abnett – I salute you, sirs and madams. Prospero Burns is a sculpture of refinement and delicacy; all hewn in ice, with a dangerously sharp axe.

Disappointment

Rated 2 out of 5 by Dan

I had expected more from the coolest Loyalist Legion and BL greatest writer. Not very good at all, focuses far too little on the Space Wolves, did not flow as well as Abnett's usual stuff. Please, Please can we have another Space Wolf HH book, hopefully one written better then this book. Sorry Dan, your still the best writer in BL, but I never expected such a bad book.

Absolutely Awesome

Rated 5 out of 5 by peterd

I've read near every book from Black Library. I have to say that this book raises the bar by levels. The story telling is on a par with any science fiction or fantasy I have read. I have a shelf where Steven Eriksson and Stephen Donaldson dominate. Dan Abnett is there now. Its rare when you finish a book and are awed by it. This is such a book. Like most people I expected to read thousand sons again from afar. Not so, you just have to read this to appreciate what Dan has done. My thanx, Dan for this gift. I really mean that.

???

Rated 2 out of 5 by Skylar

This was a good book but it was a bit of a let down. i was looking forward to the actual battle for Prospero. But still not bad.

Big Dissapointment

Rated 1 out of 5 by Erwin

I'm a huge Dan abnett fan but i believe this is one of his worst novels to date. It was an interesting approach to attempt to show the space wolves from the conservationist point of view but he took it to far. I was 90% in to the book and they werent in Prospero yet? Thousand sons makes a much better read (with a much more interesting background from the thousand sons.) It almost seems like Dan was dissapointed for having to write about the wolves and attempted to do something fun with a new twist. Just to many small episodes and to much background from the human for a book with this title.

hate to say i was dissapointed, but.....

Rated 2 out of 5 by robert

After flying through 1000 sons, which was an epic read, giving lots of background as to the 1000 sons and their primarch I was expecting the same story but from the wolves side. Having just read 'blood pact'which brimmed throughout with action and like all of dan's books, I could barely put it down and wanted to read from cover to cover, i was excited to read prospero burns, but it just didn't deliver for me, it jumped about alot and didn't really focus on the wolves that much, their primarch, or the end of prospero, in short if I'd not read it i don't feel i'd have missed anything

PROSPERO BURNS

Rated 1 out of 5 by Alister who's very disapointed

quote ABOUT THE BOOK The Emperor is enraged. Primarch Magnus the Red of the Thousand Sons Legion has made a terrible mistake that endangers the very safety of Terra. With no other choice, the Emperor charges Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves, with the apprehension of his brother from the Thousand Sons home world of Prospero. This planet of sorcerers will not be easy to overcome, but Russ and his Space Wolves are not easily deterred. With wrath in his heart, Russ is determined to bring Magnus to justice and bring about the fall of Prospero. NONE OF THIS HAPPENS !!! poorly constructed

BAM!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 by The Red Angel

Honestly i wasn't expecting this book to follow a non-wolf but Dan did it with flying colors and i was amazed at how freakin cool the wolves are especially with that eye thing that means don't go there

Is it even Prospero?

Rated 4 out of 5 by Nick

I finished the book just 15 minutes ago :) It certanly is one of the best BL books I have read so far in my life. The story realy is a strong point of this book, despite some concers I had at the begining - it was starting slowly and quite uninteresting, but later developed to a crazy almost detective novel in the 30 millenium at the brink of heresy. As I wrote in the title, the question arises if the Name is adequate for thr book? For the whole reading I had a feeling that some other name would be much more suitable and now that the book is read the feeling is only getting stronger.

It's about time!

Rated 5 out of 5 by SpaceWolf Elite

I've been begging for a book that would include the mighty Wolves of Russ! And here it is! Emperor be praised!

Too much of Hawser and less of the Wolves

Rated 2 out of 5 by Shakok

At the start of this book, I was completely thrown off the track as I was expecting Space Wolves to be introduced but instead we've got an unknown character called Hawser. The book focused mainly on him, on his past and being welcomed into the Space Wolves. Not much said about the Space Marines themselves and the main title of the story didn't come into it till the very end of the book. Sorry Mr. Abnett, you are a good author but this book was a let down and dull...

Could have been better....much better....

Rated 2 out of 5 by Mike

Dan is a great writer, Lone Wolves, Horus Rising, and the other stuff he has done. When I read this book it came across as just reading the same type of book... sort of like drinking a different type of Soda.There is so much new to the wolves it seemed to make them into not space wolves at all! And the meat of the book seemed to be in 10 pages. Didn't even get to see Russ. I'm a die hard Wolf Fan, and totally did not like this, Thousand Sons was a much better book. IT is written well, just not what I was looking for or saw matching the wolves.

Caught by surprise... so very Wolf like

Rated 5 out of 5 by Matt

Wow! Breathtaking Unexpected Unrelenting from start to finish. I couldn't put it down. I was expecting to not like the Space Wolves, however Dan manages to maintain their fierce, feral image while creating relatable characters. These two sides are woven seamlessly into a refreshing story true to the Wolves we know Laced with twists that had me trying to see what lay behind the obvious. Laugh out loud moments served to make the characters real and relatable. The Thousand Sons were not cast in a purely negative light which made the story believable Epic. Worthy sequel to A Thousand Sons

Prospero Burns

Rated 4 out of 5 by John

Thankyou Dan for another contribution. While this book does not meet my expectations of that i have gotten from Dan's other works it is still a good read. I however do agree with others where I want to hear more about the Space Wolves. Their origin and beliefs towards the emperor and the primarch. I have been waiting to read something from their point of view. Good book all in all though.

Prospero Burns

Rated 5 out of 5 by Alex

I read this one in about 2 days, absolutely superb. The Space Wolves are characterised with a new depth and imagination. I was left with a visceral feel of how they live, how they think, and why they are the way they are. The skjald's story is mastefully told, juxtaposing his old life against that of the wolves with an engaging mysterious narrative. This is definitely one of the best Heresy books so far. It compliemnts Thousand Sons (which is also awesome) perfectly without repeating anything contained therein. May Mr Abnett continue to write more about the Vlka Fenryka.

Religion and Science debate in the book

Rated 4 out of 5 by Schne

Just about in the middle of the book Dan Abnett has his characters discuss religion and science. The point seems to be that sciences dispels the mystery religion has to offer. Although I enjoyed this book and think highly of Dan Abnett, this sounded more like an attempt to please the stupefied. Religion is tradition and primitive 'why' explanation. Science is a methodology on which there is still mystery, since science shows us that we are not capable of understanding the universe to a full.

More like lighting the Flame...

Rated 3 out of 5 by Andrew

This was a book set before 1k sons, and as such should not have been called "Prospero Burns". Hell 1k sons was large enough to split into 2 separate books. they should have made it 3 books. prt 1. Thousand Sons following the evens up to Nikea prt 2. This book following the events of Russ heading towars Prospero. prt3. The Battle of prospero where "prospero Burns". Thye say dont Judge a book by its cover but this cover was made for a different story...

One of the best BL books ever published

Rated 5 out of 5 by Mark-Anthony

This is absolutely one of the best books BL has ever published penned by the mighty Dan Abnett no less. It offers a fresh perspective into what the Rout is really like, and what led to the Battle of Prospero. The war between Magnus and Leman Russ and their respective legions started through Kasper Hawser. Not only that, but there is the science vs religion debate which elevates this book. This is a momentous work of literature not just bolter porn.

Somewhat confused...

Rated 5 out of 5 by H

Yes. I am somewhat confused, not with anything pertaining to Dan Abnett's novel, which was, in my eyes and those of many, without flaw, but instead with the reaction of many of the 'reviews' here. I see comments raging about how there wasn't enough battle or how the Wolves weren't portrayed properly, or the Sons not given enough spotlight. These are absurd complaints. Did A Thousand Sons not deal with the battle of Prospero in great and thorough detail? Yes, it did. Why then should Dan Abnett simply re-iterate what has already been said? Nothing new would be revealed.

Tales of the Vlka Fenryka…

Rated 5 out of 5 by Kodanshi

…with a small post–script featuring the attack on Prospero. I think this is why some people on here have expressed dislike. Putting that to one side, this is an incredible book, almost like a documentary on the life of Space Wolves. It gives them a united culture and philosophy, and makes them definitely seem more mature than the teenage–styled Space Wolves books that have come before. It also shows how intelligent and tactically adept they are, far from their appearance as bestial barbarians, and that they have the burden of bringing other errant Astartes into line. Thoroughly recommended!

a book about a mortal who hangs with the space wolves

Rated 1 out of 5 by harry

i thought this was going to be like thousand sons.a space marine of the space wolves been all space wolfy and show their side of prospero,Lemun Russ' backstory of the wolves and then Horus lieing to them to destroy magnus. Leman pushing for the Trial on Nikea,Leman dealing with the whole killing a brother thing.Bjorn kicking ass,secret rituals Othere windmaker,the wolves thuoghts about the Thousand Sons,The Wulfren curse and their super brutal training. talking of who they are. i didn't get half of that. instead i read about a human with memory flashbacks that barely is involved in the heresy.

Burn

Rated 5 out of 5 by Scullmeister

Like many readers, this story was not what I was expecting, but it was better. All too often we are placed amongst superhuman warriors who seemingly want to backstab each other, who all share similar faults and continually call each other "Brother". This book however, views things from another angle, a human view in the presence of the Astartes. A nice change of pace. Dan's writing is visceral, vivid and engrossing. In my humble opinion, this is the best book in the series so far.