Teaser

The Indomitus Crusade continues to push into uncharted territory, but not all dangers lurk beyond the Imperium’s borders. There are sinister forces closer to home, and prophetic whispers in the warp herald the coming of a new power . . .

Review

The fourth Dawn of Fire novel brings back the author of the first for a book that simultaneously pushes the narrative forwards while also doubling down on the scattershot nature of the series thus far. It’s a book that, in many ways, solidifies my opinions of the series overall. Since this is almost the halfway mark in this nine-volume saga, that’s exactly what it should be doing.

I’ve talked a fair bit in my Warhammer reviews about the up-and-down nature of a universe built by many hands. The effects of which are more evident in a multi-author series. That’s probably why such epics are so rare, even in the lands of tie-in fiction. The downsides of this are rather evident in Throne of Light. In the previous novel, The Wolftime, we spent a lot of time with a Primaris Marine struggling to fit in with an established chapter. In Throne of Light we spend a great deal of time with a Primaris Marine struggling to fit in with an established chapter. As you can guess, it feels a bit redundant at this point. To Haley’s credit, the Black Templars are markedly different from the Space Wolves. Less stubbornly resistant and more downright murderous. However, a lot of the story beats are the same. There’s the initial rejection, the challenge, the resentment, and the final welcome.

Away from that particular plotline we get some really good stuff. This is a book that gets under the skin of psykers, and there role on both sides of the crusade. Both sides are perfectly willing to sacrifice the lives of psykers to achieve their goals, but the Chaos worshippers are a little more open about it. The comparison between the Chaos Gods and the God-Emperor are one of those rare moments in Warhammer fiction that raises properly existential questions. We all know that this universe is going to kill everyone in it. So is it better to die trying to better your own life, or to lay down your life in the name of a greater power? It’s this divide that drives so much of the conflict, not just in this series, but in the grim dark future as a whole.

Having a returning author at the helm also means a more solid set of characters. We get more exploration of the high-level Chaos followers, those known as the Dark Cardinal and the Hand of Abaddon, and a triumphant return for Inquisitor Rostov. As always, however, it’s the everyday humans who shine through. Historitor Fabian most notably of all, whose delicate line-toeing between investigative chronicler and propagandist continue to generate some good quality drama.

Like I say, there is a lot of good material in here, but it still feels like the series is tugging in a dozen different directions all at once. Each individual strand is fascinating, but they’re not being woven together into a cohesive hole. Dawn of Fire is deliberately smaller in scope than the famously sprawling Horus Heresy, but it should probably start wrapping up some plotlines sooner rather than later.

Throne of Light carries both the strengths and the weaknesses of the series as a whole, so if you’ve made it this far, you know what to expect.

Book Stats

• Narrated by John Banks
• A Dawn of Fire Novel (#4)
• First Published in 2022 by Black Library
• Runtime 13hrs 54 mins