After so many years and collections the number of Horus Heresy audio dramas I haven't heard at least once is rapidly dwindling, but this was one I knew absolutely nothing about before going in and I absolutely loved it.

Tallarn is a theatre I'm not too familiar with, but inferring from this there was a big war between the Iron Warriors and at least Mechanicum/ Legio Titanicus with the IV Legion taking the day, only for the Loyalists to virus bomb the battlefield, including their own survivors? That seems to be the perspective of one battered Warsmith who makes a desperate march hoping to do something before he dies a horrible death of disease.

I really enjoy these small focus stories that make for wonderful audio dramas and would make spectacular short films. The impossible nightmare situation, the horror of the battlefield and ashes of victory, and the indomitable will to survive are visceral and consuming. The vast majority is just inside the head one dying Astartes deteriorating by the moment but determined to keep on keeping on.

Sean Barrett's tense, terse, almost breathless narration is utterly perfect for this.

One other aspect I really appreciated about this story is that it is from a Traitor Extremis perspective, but it doesn't treat the Warsmith as an explicit baddie, until something towards the end. This is great to see because the Loyalist and Traitor Legions, and even the Space Marine Chapters and Chaos Space Marines 'are not so different you and I'. There is a zeal and relish that's actually more honest, if not better with the Traitors as the Imperium--they are both utterly awful and cause untold unnecessary and totally unjustifiable suffering and death--but everything is always from the Imperium's perspective, so they are painted as good. Sometimes even otherwise great Black Library authors forget this fact... There is only war. It is grimdark and everything is awful. It's only individual actions and situations that can contain any goodness and light.

I really had a cracking time with this and there are some incredible moments I'll mention in spoilers below. It definitely is more of a mood/ survival piece that adds a little colour to the end of a battle, so it isn't essential listening. However, I absolutely do recommend it, especially if you enjoy Riddick and that one great Star Wars fan film about the Rebel pilot shot down and left behind on Hoth. This is one where it seeks apparent tour mileage may vary.

***SPOILERS***

This fucking dude almost kills himself with radiation to nuke the virus, so much so that it's revealed Space Marines excrete a weird snot pus bubble from their pores to protect them from dangerous atmospheres!
The reveal of allegiances was always going to be the case, but I was not expecting the double Titan dreadnought mode and I love to see the utter wildness of machine spirits as the WTF entities they are! ( )