Outcast Dead, The

Good story

Rated 4 out of 5 by Rob

The principal story, of an astropath who comes into possesion of knowledge that could change the fate of the war with Horus falling into the hands of a group of astrates, who themselves are on the run, is very enjoyable. However, there are chronological points in the story relating to the wider heresy that seem out of synch (Read Thousand Sons, and False Gods to see what I mean) maybe its the work of chaos, but it does detract a little from the story. Overall it is a good read, and some of the characters may yet appear again in the series.

Out of sync

Rated 4 out of 5 by Remus

Exactly what @Rob said. The story is very nice and it is the first one I read about navigators and astropaths. Even nicer, the characters of the space marines, custodes and other humans are well shaped up. However I was puzzled by the out of sync of the story, especially knowing Graham McNeill is one of the main writers of the series. It's like he forgot a big part of what was written so far (even by him). I would like to see a nice timeline in the next Horus Heresy book to explain what happened when (but maybe the book on the battle of Calth will shed some light on this).

well done

Rated 4 out of 5 by adam

good story, goofy cover art, i like when the story touches on unity war stuff.

Another brilliant entry by Graham McNeill!

Rated 5 out of 5 by Mark-Anthony

The Horus Heresy series has been maturing nicely whilst there's a lot to tell still. The latest installment, The Outcast Dead has proven to be a memorable novel from those in the series which have not centred exclusively on the Astartes like Mechanicum and Nemesis and the brilliant Prospero Burns to a certain extent. The characters are well developed, to a point where there isn't the cliched good vs evil. The characters all have their agendas and you can't really blame them for the choices they make. As Adam has said, I like it when the story touched on the Unity Wars.

Answers bring questions!

Rated 4 out of 5 by andrew

The outcast dead offers a new insight into the horus heresy where we see navigators, astropaths and custodians take a central arch in the saga. The story is woven together nicely, although at times a little disjointed, but finds its feet and rushes in for a great ending. Characters are introduced which im sure whole novels could be written about....more questions are left in the air as the outcast dead strive to survive!

Solid Effort by McNeill

Rated 4 out of 5 by Scott

I really enjoyed the view from the "homefront" on Terra, with an inside look at the lives of Astropaths and Navigators. I especially enjoyed the more complete characterisations of the World Eaters, who are all too frequently depicted as one-dimensional, and the full demonstration of Atharva's powers as one of the Thousand Sons. This novel exceeded my expectations, as I am usually not that excited about ancillary characters in the Heresy. Kai and Athena and Roxanne are going to stick with me, though. Very well done.

An amazing read

Rated 4 out of 5 by Derek

Exceptional story, with amazing characters. It was very depressing reading about life in the slums of a hive. But it adds so much to the story, the characters are well written and handled perfectly, especially Atharva. My only problem was some of the events were obviously out of sync. It didn't detract from the story, since the events were barely mentioned, but enough to notice. I can't wait to see where our "loner" goes from here...

Good, non-Legion focued chapter in the Heresy series

Rated 4 out of 5 by Bill

I've liked all of McNeill's stuff in this series, and while I enjoyed this novel as well, it is my least favorite, but only b/c all those others were so great. I've been reading them for too long to have noticed the breaks in chronology, if someone would like to point them out. All the non-Legion centered books have been great examples of alternative perspectives surrounding the heresy, this is no exception. And it certainly sheds some light on how things came to pass, it would seem the Emperor is not as all powerful as he's almost always portrayed, and the pre-Unity arc was intoxicating

Too much sauce

Rated 3 out of 5 by Martin

I know that Mr. McNeill can do much better than this. I enjoyed all titles of HH, this one too, but it´s far from the best. Took too much time even to start, would be maybe better fitted as novelette. To be correct, not a bad story, Astartes- and other characters well depicted, but still- THIS IS HORUS HERESY! For the writer of STORM OF IRON, Ultramarines series and THOUSAND SONS (all top-tittles HH and W40K I ever red) is this rather mediocre- well written, but for McNeill not well enough.

Worth Reading

Rated 4 out of 5 by Calum

Better than some of the other crap masquerading as Horus Heresy titles. McNeill's latest contribution to the series grants us a deeper insight into civilian life on Terra, and into the lives of the astropaths toiling behind the scenes to maintain communications across the Imperium. The characters - particularly the members of the titular Outcast Dead - are interesting, the plot is decent and the pre-Unity revelations are fascinating. The ending certainly implies that the story will continue in another novel, perhaps one set in the aftermath of the Heresy.

Well balanced novel

Rated 5 out of 5 by Shakok

Mr. McNeil did an exceptional work on a non Adeptus Astartes story focusing on the Astropaths who played a big role in the Heresy and were almost wiped out by Magnus using forbidden sorcery to warn his father. All the characters were nicely played and deeply involved in the story to unravel the secret in Kai Zulane's mind (how did he get through all those punishments and tortures as he was a fragile old man?). Hope to find out what become of Severian and Babu Dhakal in the future whether they got a part to play in the civil war? Very enjoyable and balanced book to read.