If you're only looking for the HH storyline...

skip this one. It literally has no impact on the greater story and the only reason I can think of why you should read it is because it's linked to a 40k book called "Warzone: Pandorax".

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Strong plot

Really enjoyed this tale of adventure and hardship of the iron hands legion, “flesh is weak”!

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Not important to Horus Heresy but still great.

A good standalone story. Doesn't move the Horus Heresy plot forward as other reviews have already stated, but it's a great introspection for Iron Hands fans. Sometimes it's good just to pause and reflect on the psychological effects the Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan 5 had on the shattered legions of the Iron Hands, Raven Guard and Salamanders. Particularly for the Iron Hands. Sowing the seeds for how that legion behaves 10k years later. I wasn't familiar with the author's previous works but I think he did a good job at character development. Huge props to Jonathan Keeble. Definitely turning into my go to narrator for this series of books. Looking ahead, I see he narrates more and more of the books moving forward. Great news. I would recommend not skipping this and to give it a go.

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An unexpected joy!

Going into this book if not heard anything about it, but from start to finish I was gripped.
The story is not a major plot advancement but it is enhanced by that fact.
The characters are unique and vividly detailed, each compelling the reader to know more about them and the book doesn’t let you down.

Jonathan Keeble is, as ever, a master at what he does and he enhances each character to the next level, especially Captain Atticus.

I know I shall return to this book again.

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Enjoyed this the best so far In the series

I don’t really care that it doesn’t advance the story. If you’re reading the books you’ve a bloody long way to go anyway. Best battle descriptions, I like the full doom of this book and no hope action.

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Not as bad as I expected

I went into this with low expectations. It's a bit of an odd one but it's enjoyable enough. It has some likeable characters and really focuses on some of the weirder aspects of the lore. The voice acting is much better than Gareth Armstrong's books too, which helps get through it.

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No main plot,

Enjoyed this one even though there is no heresy plot story in it... Great final battle.

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Good book that does not advance The Heresy

Despite seeing multiple reviews that advise to skip this book, I gave it a go nonetheless. The story is actually pretty good and oddly enough, I enjoyed it a bit more than the previous book The Vengeful Spirit. Where the previous book overwhelmed me with information and stories, crammed into a novel size, this title was like a relief for my mind. With plenty of room for dialogue, character development and the gore fest we love in these novels. It has a mistery / exploration / Deathworld (non 40k book) vibe to it. The story is moving in a clear direction at all times with only a couple of sidestories that complement the main one. The ending I thought, was a thematic 40k one that neither delighted nor disappointed me much. Just meh.
The narration was spot on and Jonathan Keeble is a master at it. And I think it did a major part in carrying this book.
The only major downside I can find with this title is that it's a self enclosed story happening in the Heresy timeline. It adds nothing to the saga itself. Only more insight into the orphaned legions.
So yeah skip this and you won't miss a beat into the great story, but it's still a good book to read/listen.

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damn u pythos

Great story Keeble as always immense , a story with lots of twitsts and turns

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An OK book but wouldn't be recommending it

As the title says this book was OK and had some interesting ideas that it ultimately didn't deliver on for me. I felt that no worthwhile conclusions were reached and that the characters and their motivations could have been further explored.

Overall the book didn't add anything to the Heresy storyline and left no interesting reveals or hooks to be picked up by later books. The characters were a bit too cliche for my liking although think elements could have been further explored like two Iron Hands having very different outlooks and opinions instead of the sergeant just giving up and deciding his captain must be right.

I was left feeling that there was no suitable conclusion to the story, as the struggle the characters went through and challenges they faced ultimately resulted in no notable change or worthwhile outcome. If your a fan of the Iron Hands you may still like this closer look at them and the action scenes are decent.

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