Galaxy in Flames by Ben Counter is the final book in the beginning trilogy of the Horus Heresy series from the Black Library and it tells of the beginnings of the galaxy-shattering events of the Horus Heresy. And now a summary: Continuing on from the events of False Gods, Horus has recovered from his grievous wounds on the planet of Davin and is now leading his Legion towards the Istvaan system, along with some of his brother Legions, most notably the World Eaters, the Word Bearers, the Death Guard, and the Emperor's Children, ostensibly under the impression that they are there to quell a rebellion against the Emperor. As with the previous books, the "main character" is Garviel Loken, a Space Marine of the Sons of Horus who is suspicious of the changes taking place in his Chapter. Loken's fears are soon realized when after the rebellion is swiftly dealt with, Horus orders the virus bombing of Istvaan V, with many loyalist Legions still on it. The Legions loyal to Horus turn on their brother Legions and begin slaughtering them, an act of such utter betrayal that it is felt by the Emperor all the way back on Terra. As Loken watches helplessly, Horus orders the planet to be cleansed by virus bombs, while the Traitor Legions are given advance warning and shelter against the horrifying viral weapons. The remainder of the Loyalist Legions and the survivors of the rebellion are vaporized, and their psychic screams resound in the mind of the Emperor, who is utterly horrified that his favored son could betray him. Horus, however, was now completely devoted to Chaos and his sacrifice of the people and Astartes on Istvaan V cemented his service to them. Though some of the Loyalist Marines escape, the damage was done. With this done, Horus then turned his gaze towards his ultimate goal, thus beginning an era of war and strife throughout the whole galaxy: Terra.
As with the previous two books of The Horus Heresy, Galaxy in Flames is a fantastic book. Ben Counter is a great author and he does a superb job of introducing the Legions and primarchs who became the basis of the Chaos Legions. The thing I love about all of the different Legions is that they are all so different, with varied personalities and ideals and practices. The rich back story and lore of the Warhammer 40,000 universe is really exemplified in the Horus Heresy series and I love it because of this reason. Galaxy in Flames does a nice job of tying together the events of the previous two books and showing how they all fit together in the grand scheme of the Heresy proper. It is also worth noting that this is the book in which Horus finally succumbs to the lures of Chaos after battling with them in the previous two installments. So this opening trilogy not only deals with the beginnings of the Heresy, it also shows that no being, no matter how mighty and noble, is beyond corruption. Horus' eventual surrender to Chaos is made all the more heartbreaking by the fact that he corrupted his own brothers into joining him in his war against the Emperor, and in the name of his own hubris, countless millions of lives were ended. And lets not forget the fantastic battle sequences and the character development, easily on par with the previous books in the series. Galaxy in Flames is a great war novel and it is certainly among one of the best novels I've read in some time. If you have heeded my advice and read the previous two books, then there is no reason not to own Galaxy in Flames. If you have not done so, then I urge you to give these books a shot. You'll enjoy them, seriously. Galaxy in Flames gets 5 virus bombs out of 5. Until next time!
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