Angron: Slave of Nuceria

A brilliant insight into the psyche of Angron and the ethos of his sons. Slave of Nuceria is a jam-packed thriller filled to the brim with insane action, enthralling characterisation, and addictive storytelling. If you're a fan of the Warhammer 40k universe this story is a must read.

Book 11 in the Primarchs series, Ian St. Martin’s Angron: Slave of Nuceria explores a key moment in the early development of the World Eaters legion. Given lordship over a legion who in his eyes pale in comparison with the brothers and sisters he left behind on Nuceria, Angron demands that his sons remake themselves in his image by accepting the Butcher’s Nails. All his sons are desperate to earn his regard, but while some work tirelessly to re-engineer the Nails to be implantable into legionaries, others look to the future and fear for what will become of the legion.

It’s a story about change, about identity and brotherhood…even family. Unlike most primarchs, Angron essentially hates his sons; in his eyes they can never live up to expectations, and he simply can’t identify with them. It’s the story of why that’s the case and how the shame that his scorn instils in his sons affects them, and it cleverly contextualises a lot of the decisions he and his legion make. In order to do all of those things, it’s told via two interlinked narratives. In the ‘present’ of the story it focuses on Mago, Centurion of the 18th Company, who leads his brothers in a compliance action with fateful, unforeseen consequences [I can’t say more for risk of spoilers]. The ‘past’ of the story shows Angron as a youth on Nuceria as he’s forced to fight for the entertainment of the High Riders, and gradually bonds with his fellow gladiators.

The heart of this story is the conflict between the old legion’s values and Angron’s demands, as he reshapes the legion in his image. All primarchs change their legions, but here there’s a real sense of just how fundamental a change Angron made. The World Eaters (or War Hounds, originally) before Angron were VERY different to how we’re used to seeing them, and Mago embodies all that’s good about them, representing the values of honour, brotherhood and loyalty. His determination to save the heart of the legion gives the story a sense of weight far beyond what it would have had if the legion had been monsters already. Add to that the dawning realisation of what Angron might have originally been intended to be, and how different things could have been under other circumstances, and you’ve got the recipe for a powerful story.

It’s far less hopeful than most of the books in this series have been – Angron never had hope, beyond the chance to earn freedom (of a sort) that was stripped from him by the Emperor. That affected him in profound ways, and his story is really the tragedy of the Heresy in microcosm. It’s a fundamentally sad story of a character who could have been so much more than he was allowed to be, and it’s testament to St. Martin’s understanding and handling of the character that over the course of this book Angron and his legion become so much more sympathetic, relatable and multi-dimensional than you might expect. This is everything that a Primarchs novel should be, and delivers exactly what you want from a Horus Heresy book – a great story, and an eye-opening re-evaluation of what you thought you knew. In short, it’s an essential read for any Heresy fan.

Slave of Nuceria is a good, in-depth look into the past of the World Eater’s Primarch and the forging of their legion as the one we know and love/abhor today. For me, it had a lot going for it, but it also had something missing.

Through a series of cleverly-worked, yet at the same time managing to feel almost shoe-horned in, flashbacks, we learn of Angron’s youth on Nuceria and how the experiences there drove him to be the uncaring, brutal killing machine that he is today.

The focus of the novel is change. Change for the legion; how going from the War Hounds to the World Eaters effects the minds of the legion and change for the primarch. As you have no doubt gathered, it is set in two time periods and these tie up in the end to give a solid conclusion.

My main gripe with it is that I just didn’t feel overly excited throughout like I have in the past for other BL titles. This wasn’t something I expected given that the World Eaters are one of my favourite legions. The combats in the novel felt almost meaningless (I won’t go into too much detail as it will spoil certain aspects) but every conflict just felt like a ‘nothing conflict’ and I found myself trudging through the pages rather than flipping through them with gusto.

That being said, the parts outside of combat were interesting as they were the ones that dealt with the shift within the legion and how certain aspects, as you would imagine, were very resistant to Angron wanting to remake his son’s in his image.

Overall it’s a good, solid read that delves deeply into the past of the World Eater’s Primarch. Seeing his past and living through his experiences was enjoyable as you can really see how he became what he is. I just feel there was nowhere near enough Blood for the Blood God in this one.

That being said, the novel scores highly purely for all of the delicious back story.

Where ever Angron in involved, lots of blood is always expected to follow. This is not the book to go for in search of answers, yet you will find quite a lot if you read between the lines. I loved reading through this novel, I wish it could have been a tiny bit longer tho... Just imagine what more could have happened with a few more extra pages. I am happily pleased with it as it stands tho. Thank you Net Galley and Black Library for this opportunity to read the ARC. My link to a full review will be added to this review on the date of publication.

To my mind, the Primarchs series works best when it lifts the curtain to show aspects of the Primarchs and their legions that don’t immediately come to mind. On that basis, this book delivers in buckets! While Ian St. Martin is a familiar name to Black Library readers, this is the first of his work that I’ve read...and after this, I'd like to read more!

A simple synopsis of the book is that it’s how the World Eaters came to have the Butcher's Nails implanted legion-wide, and in doing so became the force of berserkers that we all know and love.

It’s much more than that, however, as it offers readers a glimpse of what might have been, largely through the main protagonist - Mago, Centurion of the Unbroken. A likeable, relatable character, Mago holds dear the original practices of the War Hounds while also seeking to show his respect and unwavering loyalty to Angron. This is tested over the course of the book, leading to a dramatic climax. Fans of the Horus Heresy may draw parallels to Chris Wraight's novel Scars.

It also builds on great stories by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (Betrayer, Lord of the Red Sands) and Matt Farrer (After Desh’ea) in exploring Angron himself, who comes across in far more depth than I had previously given him credit for. This is cleverly done within the plot, including some well-worked flashbacks, although the presence of a ‘present day’ character jarred a little bit for me in my read through.

For me, this is the best book of the Primarchs series that I’ve read so far. A good test of a Black Library book is whether it leaves the reader wanting to start collecting the faction they have just read about, and I certainly did after this!

Primarch Angron, a former slave, has been found and his children are struggling to find their footing. With their primarch a captive of the torturous Butcher’s Nails, devices designed to turn brutal warriors into rage-filled monsters, the World Eaters are at a loss at how to truly become their father’s sons. Angron demands that his legion adopt the Nails, but until a way is found to install the devices without killing the marine, the World Eaters are only able to disappoint their father. In the midst of this drowning sea, the legion comes upon an enemy unlike any they’ve ever fought before. The consequences of their failure to subdue the world they’ve been sent to conquer sets off a rebellion in the ranks, but the same world may be the source of a breakthrough that solve the problems facing the legion’s use of the Nails once and for all. Angron’s legion has a blood-drenched future to look forward to, victory created from the mold of their father’s only legacy: rage.

I wasn’t sure going into this book what to expect. It was my first book from the Primarchs series, and though I’ve fallen hip-deep into the Warhammer universe, I haven’t yet read the breadth of the lore. Happily, I had no problem reading and enjoying the story, or understanding what was going on. I would suggest at least some familiarity with the basics of the universe, however.

The book was intriguing, blood and destruction and battle and death, of course, but also a lot of lore from the inside of the World Eaters legion and how they changed and adapted once their primarch, Angron, was discovered. Most of the story is seen through the viewpoint of a centurion, who earned his rank and honors when the legion was the Hounds of War, and he fears the changes that he sees rippling across the legion. Their primarch is brutal, vicious, murderous, uncaring. There seems to be no bond between him and his children. Set around a campaign to raze a world, this is a tale of a desperate struggle for the future of a legion. Most readers, I would assume, know what the future holds for the World Eaters, but the dramatic tale is a tense, enjoyable read with all the blood and brutality readers are looking for.

A copy of this book was received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.