The Lost and the Damned

The Siege of Terra #2

by Guy Haley

Siege of Terra Book 2

The Solar War is over. The Siege of Terra has begun. As the Traitors unleash their deadliest weapons, the defenders of the Throneworld face nightmare and plague – but Terra must stand.

READ IT BECAUSE
Discover the lengths to which Horus will go to claim Terra as his own – and the horrors he is willing to set upon its defenders.

THE STORY
On the thirteenth day of Secundus, the bombardment of Terra began. With the solar defences overcome through the devastating strength of the Traitor armada and the power of the warp, Horus launches his assault on the Throneworld in earnest. After withstanding a ferocious barrage of ordnance, an immense ground war commences outside the Palace with every inch gained paid for in the lives of billions. The front lines are beyond horrific and the very air is reduced to poison and blood. Bodies are thrown into the meat grinder but the outer redoubts cannot possibly hold for long, even with the loyal primarchs to reinforce them. For Horus has his own generals to call upon. Between the plague weapons of Mortarion and the fury of Angron, the defenders face a losing battle.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k, Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Military Fiction

426 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2019

About the author

Guy Haley is the author of over 50 novels and novellas. His original fiction includes Crash, Champion of Mars, and the Richards and Klein, Dreaming Cities, and the Gates of the World series (as K M McKinley). However, he is best known as a prolific contributor to Games Workshop's Black Library imprint, and has sold over 2 million books set in their Warhammer universes.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘This is black snow. The Palace is covered in layered void shields so deep it’ll take the enemy months to pound their way through. Everywhere else on Terra? Not so well provided. So what’s falling on us is the vaporised remains of the rest of the world. It’s full of rad and poison. Kill us all dead eventually, not that we’ll last that long.’

Second long time awaited chapter of the Siege of Terra is an epic military sci-f(antasy)i retelling of the Battle of Britain with the Warmaster’s forces obtaining supremacy on the skyes above blighted Throneworld and preparing the terrain for the following first massive land assault on the Imperial Palace from Death Guard, Night Lords, and World Eaters Traitor Legions.
Conscript Katsuhiro and a couple of Alpha Legion operatives give to the reader the point of view from human people caught in the bloody conflict between Legiones Astartes, but the Horus Heresy saga is essentially a long spanning tale about a war between superhuman Space Marines, so besides Katsuhiro’s main pov we have the ones from First Captain of the Blood Angels Raldoron, First Captain of the Sons of Horus Abaddon, temporary leader of the Night Lords Gendor Skraivok the Painted Count and, last but not least, ever-loving Angron’s equerry Khârn.



‘Confirmed. No one runs from the Conqueror,’ Lotara said. ‘What about you? Khârn?’
Khârn could no longer hear. Words belonging to something else forced themselves out of his mouth.
‘Blood for the Blood God!’ he roared, and joined battle at his father’s side.

The Astartes storylines are very entertaining ones, with Abaddon’s usual arguing with Layak and showing us what’s happening within the Vengeful Spirit and the traitor fleet, Raldoron pointing to the Pointed Count what is capable of a real champion of the Imperium, and Khârn struggling to contain his Primarch’s wrath for not being first one assaulting the Palace because of the Emperor’s power still too strong to let the Neverborn step on Terra.



Dorn himself spoke then, a message that went to every helm, vox-bead and address system in the Palace.
‘The time for speeches is done,’ said Dorn. ‘The first great test is here. My order to you all is simple, yet heed it well, and exert yourselves to see it done.
‘They are coming. Kill them all.’"

The Primarchs have some great mother-scenes too, with Jaghatai Khan leading the V Legion in a fast sortie against Death Guard legionaries to save imperial conscripts and gather intelligence about the enemy’s new talents developed after their falling to darkness, Sanguinius leaving the security of the walls at the cry of “I’m not going to die today” and inspiring troops in his role of messianic figure, Rogal Dorn becoming more and more ruthless and similar to his brother Perturabo, busy on weakening the Aegis and other Palace defences, and Angron having a trip inside the Lord of Iron’s Labyrinth and landing on Terra at last in a litteral rain of blood.



He saluted, and declamed pompously, ‘I am Gendor Skraivok, the Painted Count, Lord Commander of the Night Lords Legion, and I am your end.’
The Blood Angel was unimpressed. ‘Never heard of you,’ he said, and come in to attack, his power sword buzzing.

A real must read to all fans of siege warfare tales, Horus Heresy, Warhammer 40000, and to all people who loved Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Night Lords trilogy and wanna find out at last if Lucoryphus of the Bleeding Eye Raptor Cult really was or not the first one getting on the top of the walls…

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The events described in the Siege of Terra novels are vaguely known. What these novels do is shed detailed light on the specific events.

Horus' army has arrived. The first forces make landfall. I loved the fact that Haley tells the initial stages of this monstrous battle through the eyes of frightened conscripts. While there are quite a few moments of the high and mighty (Primarchs and such) there is a good attempt to see the war through the eyes of the normal baseline human.

The changes in the fallen Primarchs are noticeable. Many of the interesting details that are in this story are truly interesting. From Angron's rampages to the war plan of Horus. It explains much about why the Chaos forces did the assault in the manner in which they did. There was a sinister mystical aspect that often gets overlooked.

This is an epic story and the battles are intense. From the lighting strikes of the Great Khan and Sanguinius to seeing the return of the Titan Legio Solaris- this one is truly an amazing story. While, perhaps, not the best place to start for a newbie-the 40k enthusiast will find plenty to love in this excellent novel.

[RatGrrrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

June 2024 Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order Omnibus XXI The Siege of Terra (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy series and extras.

I am so very pleased to have read a second Haley book I absolutely adore and have literally no notes, especially after loving the first third of each of the rest of his other Horus Heresy books.

If the Solar War is seen as a prelude to the Siege of Terra, The and the Damned is the true beginning!

This is a macro narrative in the same vein and quality as Know No Fear by Dan Abnett, covering a huge amount of ground on both the Loyalist and Traitor sides, so it's difficult to give much of a summary beyond getting to see the beginning of the War on Terra through the eyes of those on every level of the theatre of war, from the conscripts and cultists of the initial wave, through the Blood Angels, White Scars, and their Primarchs battling Death Guard, to the commanders and Primarchs, discussing, arguing, and ignoring tactics to Horus and the Emperor connecting in the Warp, as well as the World Eaters struggling to contain their Daemonic forebear until it is for beings of the warp to set hoof on Terra, the plight of the Beastfolk of the Imperium, agents of Alpharius, and the incredible vain glory of the Painted Count.

This might just be my favourite wide focus story in the Horus Heresy!

I feel like this is a real cometh the hour, cometh the person situation, and Haley has truly stepped up and written his arse off with this one!

I have always enjoyed parts of his work, but felt the energy and interest seemed to bleed away from everything of his I've read, save Curze's Primarchs book, and I've always been so confused by that. The opening of Wolfsbane on Terra I absolutely adore, but I found the actual thrust of the novel on the Vengeful Spirit lacking, as I truly found the first third of Titandeath to be a perfect novella, but then didn't care about the actual important battle. But with this, I had an absolute ball from start to finish and felt this was everything I've seen in Haley's previous work, elevated to a new level and the phenomenal standard the Horus Heresy has set for itself, but hasn't always maintained.

I absolutely hate to hate, despite how liberal I can be with my ones when I feel crushed, but I truly love to be able to love something and extoll it's virtues, and I cannot say enough good about this!

The balance and weight of the narrative, perspectives, and the secondary storylines are all brilliant. Haley juggles a while lotta characters, Legions, and situations, including my absolute favourites in the crew of the Conquerer, and they all feel distinct and full of their appropriate character.

I don't really know what else to say, but this is an absolute triumph and I hope Haley is incredibly proud of just how much he understood and aced the assignment.

I don't mean to sound shady, but if you had said to me that the last three Horus Heresy books I had read had been French, McNeill, and Haley, and the scores had been, four, one, and five, I would never have guessed that Haley would be the five and that, despite being a French superfangirl and having a really good time with The Solar War, my favourite Siege of Terra boos so far, and, honestly one of my favourite Horus Heresy books with a wider focus, would be this one by Haley.

As much as it sucks to suck, it fucking rocks to rock!*

*I am cringing at this, but my brain made me think it, so now you have to read it.

Awesome novel is awesome and I am so hype again after being totally crushed by The Sons of the Selenar.

Through the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project and my own additions, I have currently read* all 54 Horus Heresy main series novels (+1 repeat), 25 novellas (+2 repeats), Cthonia's Reckoning, as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels 3 Primarchs antholologies , 3 Characters novels, 2 Siege of Terra Novels, 1 Siege of Terra Novella, and 183 short stories/ audio dramas across the Horus Heresy (inc. 11+ repeats). Plus, 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.

I couldn't be more appreciative of the phenomenal work of the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project, which has made this ridiculous endeavour all the better and has inspired me to create and collate a collection of Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 documents and checklists (http://tiny.cc/im00yz). There are now too many items to list here, but there is a contents and explainer document here (http://tiny.cc/nj00yz).

*My tracking consistently proves shoddy, but I'm doing my best.

[Bastiaan Vergoossen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lost and the damned review.

Finished lost and the damned. Some thoughts, spoilers.

A problem I had with the solar war, was that we were dropped into an invasion almost immediately, without a real built up that my mind needed to get (even more) hyped for this so important moment in the universe we all love, the siege of terra. For years now, for some perhaps 20 years or more, the siege of terra had some special place in our heart and was formed by a lot of different lore parts into something, a story, perhaps everyone’s own view of it. One of the big questions of this series is: can it live up to the hype? Can the 8 books become A view of the siege of terra that COMPLEMENTS our own ideas about this event? (Not replace it, but add to it). As Dan Abnett said in some interview, the authors hope that they can live up to the high expectations and give fans A good telling about the siege. Perhaps not THE SIEGE some fans have had in their minds for years, but still a good telling of this story, perhaps an addition to the older parts.

When I started the solar war, the hype was very big. For years I have waited for this moment. When then some things were missing in my opinion (and I still give solar war a 4 out of 5 stars, definitely a good book and worthy opening of the siege series), that immediately has a big impact. For example: I needed a gathering of ALL the traitors at the start of this book. Making plans, deciding how to attack and so on. Just to get the idea: yeah, everyone (almost everyone) is present now, here we go. That scene wasn’t there. The attack almost immediately began.
When the siege starts, and you have your first book for a couple of months, until the second arrives, you immediately want to see everyone. All the traitor primarchs for example, and surely Horus himself. While reading the book it turned out that we would only get Perturabo and Horus mostly in the special warp scene. Angron and Fulgrim we only saw very shortly, near the end. That immediately made it for me a bit LESS grand, a bit smaller. And still, French gave us some very cool scenes in the void war, with some real cool grand scale of ships and orbitals and so on.

This second book fixed a lot of those problems for me. We saw a gathering of the traitor primarchs, making plans, arguing and so on. Horus himself was present, and not only in some special warp scenes. This immediately gave me the feeling: NOW we are truly underway, now the siege can start properly. These things are important, also because for perhaps 20 years I had some ideas in my head about the siege and then you NEED to see some things that are important for you.

Some cool stuff and things I liked in Lost and the damned:


- Cool scene with that first shell at the sanctum, as a challenge to the triumvirate.

- The scene with the conscripts arriving really gave a sense of pressure, chaos, overcrowded, scale and so on. Good scene.

- I liked the Abaddon vs Layak scenes. I liked them in solar war and now I liked them again, although they felt a bit repetitive. I like how Abaddon is so suspicious about the things happening with Horus and the warp, which fits in nicely with the 40k Abaddon. Also cool to see how Abaddon takes over when Horus is not around, even provoking and silencing other primarchs.
- The team of authors has given the invasion and siege a good deal of thought. It’s not just : well, we bombard, then drops some ships, attack the walls, take the palace, kill the Emperor and it’s done. The concepts with the Aegis, it’s strengths but also weaknesses, the Emperor holding back the neverborn and therefore also the daemon primarchs and so on: well thought upon, felt realistic in an unrealistic world.
- I liked the Kharn – Angron scenes and the question : what to do with angry ron, we can’t keep him around but he also can’t land of Terra yet …. Angron’s landing on Terra then was also nicely done. And although we don’t get a lot of the other traitor primarchs in this book (most feature only 1 or 2 scenes): seeing them all (almost all) together was enough for me to satisfy this need of grand scale, grand gatherings and the feeling that NOW we have a proper siege going. Now I can patiently to wait for the other books when surely Fulgrim, Mortarion and Magnus will play bigger roles.
- The Khan doing what the Khan does best, attacking using speed, was an entertaining scene, surely when the Khan faced some problems on the way back and a certain rescue came. The rescue scene could have had a bit more to it though, but okay, nice scene. Also, the Khan is developing into a very likable character. He was always a bit aloof, bit strange, on the sidelines, but now he is starting to become the primarch who thinks about the ordinary humans and population of Terra. Only strange thing is, is that this would have fitted better with Sanguinius his character, his compassion. Not that he isn’t compassionate, but perhaps it should have been HE who would value the normal humans that much. Bit strange, but okay.
- The scene with Sanguinius landing beyond the wall, being adored and giving the ordinary humans hope was a nice one. Scene matches with the cover, which is a good thing I think.
- On the scale : one of the difficult but important things for the siege is, is giving it the right scale, the enormity of it. This book did well on that part. Perhaps not perfect, but still there were some scenes in which the scale and the greatness of it all comes to shine properly.

Well, seeing how Haley built up this second book, with the first shells, the air battle, the aegis, the first attacks on the 3 lines and thereafter on the walls itself, the conscripts as canon fodder and the astartes only fighting near the end: A very good built up, which made it a book out of it’s own right, but also shows they (authors) have the right amount of built up and pace to REALLY let the siege of terra series work. Book wasn’t perfect, perhaps even here and there some inconsistencies with the older books and the whole HH series, but a worthy addition to the siege series and a good book considering it’s really a built up to part 3. When we have finally 8 books, I think we will have a siege of terra story that is a worthy story considering the legend it is and the meaning it has had for us fans all these years.

4,5 out of 5 stars.

[Liam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Game Workshop have been building up to the Siege of Terra for so long now, through the Horus Heresy series. It's finally arriving, and so far it's a huge disappointment,

The biggest problem I had with this book was the language. It goes totally overboard on metaphors and similes, which means that it reads like poetry written by a not very good poet. Descriptive passages go on and on, mixing metaphors and finding new ways of talking about how dirty and how noisy war is, until I was losing the will to read. So, so many pages talking about how noisy the siege is.

The Primarchs, some of the most interesting characters in the GW pantheon, have mostly been reduced to caricatures. Horus does precisely nothing for the entire book. Angron storms around in a sulk. Fulgrim just giggles and claps in his brief appearance. Sanguinius is apparently completely bullet-proof now. With their roles greatly reduced, there's very little talking in the book other than barked orders above the noise of the siege. There's one scene with the Mechanicum which hints at the possibility of some interesting politics but then ignores them for the rest of the book, and there's a scene where the 12 High Lords come together, for a little bit of exposition but no interesting interplay.

There are also a couple of Alpha Legion operatives who are sadly wasted. Having sneaked inside the defences they then do hardly anything at all. A huge waste for one of the most interesting legions.

This rather long book could have just as easily been an interesting two or three page narrative in White Dwarf magazine, rather than a filler novel to start the siege off.

[Matthew Hipsher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part 2 of the Solar War picks up where part 1, the Siege of Terra left off, and it doesn't skip a beat.

This book also does the multi perspective well, jumping from the siege walls, to galactic cruisers, from inside the throne room to Sanguinias fighting demons seamlessly.

We see almost all of the major players in this book, and there are a few plot threads sewn up nice and tight.
But I think the highlight of the book is all of the scenes through the perspective of the nirmal human soldier, Katsuhiro. It's an amazing view into normal human life on Terra during the siege.

Absolute must read.

[Ludivco Street · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frustrating

Haley is wonderful writer. He has written some of my favourite books, and there are flashes of greatness here, but there are clouds too. The primarchs are caricatures and one dimensional. Antron is huffy, petrurabo has lost all of his cool, the others might as well not be in it. The battles are booming but the scale is so big as to be baffling at times. Layak's floating island did it for me. Pity. Solar war was ok. This one was ok. Hope this series develops. So far, a stumbling start.

[Monsour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angel Boy is the Best Boy change my mind.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was a much stronger and more compelling tale than the first instalment of the Siege of Terra. Why then, you could ask, am I not giving it five stars? Because I am a nerd.

The book has several instances of bad science - and I am not talking about the fantasy parts here. I have no problem with void shields, las pistols, or daemonic infestations, but nonsense in the more mundane parts annoys me. Such things rip me right out of the zone and should have been edited out. Let me give a few examples:

“Five beams of collimated light slammed into the tower, their impacts tightly grouped, each coming in from a different angle.”
How can beams be both parallel and come from different angles? It doesn’t make sense.

“Where the play of black energy caressed them, the lenses dimmed from healthy blues and greens to angry reds, then through lower frequencies to sulphurous, glowering oranges.”
It is unusual to describe visual light by frequency rather than wavelength, but that is not my issue. The problem is that red is much lower in the spectrum than orange. Anyone who has seen a rainbow should know!

“The sun was gone, hidden by clouds of ash black as the sackcloth of myth.”
Ok, this is not so much bad science as just a bad metaphor but I still feel it is related. Sackcloth is brown unless dyed. It may be that in the far future sackcloth is thought to have been black, but we don’t know that and the statement just comes off as confusing.

So yeah, awesome book. I heartily recommend it - especially if you are less pedantic than me. :)

[Horus Lupercal Online · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read this was! I loved how we followed the story through both human eyes, and transhuman eyes. That was a very clever way to keep the story fresh, interesting, and introduce us to some new characters (as well as including a few that make a comeback here).

There are so many highlights in this novel that it’s hard to pick favorites. But there was one scene in particular that featured The Khan, that for me truly stood out (trust me, when you read it, you will know which scene I’m talking about). In all honestly there was also something in the beginning of the book that took me a bit out of the story as I encountered what I thought to be the first error in continuity. I had to go back to Old Earth to see if I had maybe misread something: I didn’t. Going on the internet I saw that this “error” will be put to rest later on in the saga, so that put my mind at ease.

Simply put, this novel was absolutely worth 5 stars. It was a thrilling novel, with many amazing battle scenes, terrific characters, and stand out moments. I can’t wait to see what the next book will bring to the table: For the Emperor!

[SpiritualKungFu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the trench war outside the palace more gripping and enjoyable to read then the void battles in the solar war, the human perspectives here seem to work better too especially the conscripts going from green to veterans over the course of the siege, the description of the opening tests against the palaces defences was cool with gradually greater forces pressed against the trenches as the defenders keep thinning out in numbers and ratios and disease starts killing large numbers off, it all gave a good sense of how the battle progressed and what people faced on the ground, it also works well as a way for the novel to continuously build the action in a natural way, also both traitor and loyalist primarchs are enjoyable to read here angron calling flugrims space marines his peacocks was funny, it would have been interesting to see the war on the rest of the planet play out in more detail but it's understandable that they centralised the action so I can't really complain about it.

[Kirbie Ackman · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I did throughly enjoy this book, I think it could have been split into two and tacked onto the first and third. I just didn’t think anything stood out so much that it needed to be its own book. The end I was left wanting more… it kind of fizzled out a bit.

I loved the POV’s of the humans among the Legionaries.

I’m hoping that there is a bit more of the beast people in the next few books. They just kind of came out of no where, in all the 54 books of the heresy we didn’t even get a short story of these beast people. Boom these characters we haven’t heard of are at the siege! And even with their introduction in this story it was barely anything to go on. That was a little frustrating.

You’ll never hear me complain about The Khan, White Scars, Raldoran and Kharne! Their POV’s were amazing, as always!

[Prime · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really want to root for Guy Haley. He is a good author and seems like a cool guy but like many of the books in the Siege of terra series you can tell he's fighting against obnoxious corporate mandated word count. It leads to sections of the book feeling really drawn out and boring and if I'm being honest I only really enjoyed the last 100 pages when it chose to focus on Space Marines

With that being said the trench warfare stuff was quite awesome. Some of the best I've read in some time. Truly gripping stuff and perhaps the only good 'human' story we've gotten in the SOT. Its just a shame a lot of the other aspects felt drawn out.

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Banger. Haley is one of the best writers in the Black Library stable and this shows his balance of everyone from the doomed conscripts in the first line of defence and the Primarchs like Horus, Angron and Sanguinius. It's an ensemble novel that drifts around from chapter to chapter expertly - building on the first wave before the Space Marines land. The suspense and dread of the calm before the storm is felt here - and Haley writes bolter-porn well. It's hard for some writers to capture the sheer scale but he does.

[Chavdar Chankov · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lost and the Damned had great moments as I expect from every Siege of Terra book. I was interested to see how those stories would play out. As always the traitor parts are the best, because they give us a glimpse into their world.

But I think the story got clogged at a point that made it harder to read. Also there were some sub character stories that led nowhere. Such as the Dark Mechanicum one, the flyer one, Kharn and If i might say, even Sanguinius. But still there were plenty of cool moments to make up for it.

[Christian Freed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Standard Black Library. I was surprised that a few characters survived the end. The battles were massive, the strategy deep- and slightly alarming with the waste of lives- but the ending is building as traitor legions start operating on Terra.

[Matty · Rating 4 out of 5]

the painted count is such an evil twink night lord. he's gonna be way more fucked up when he comes back after being tortured in the warp by demons for 666 years or whatever it was. otherwise this book was cool. demon primearch Angron was pretty sick. voice actor for the audio book ATE

[Emerson Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started out a little slow but once past that the narrative and background kept me entertained. Im excited for the next six books.

[Richard Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book, action all the way and a progression to the final confrontation that ends the heresy.

[Colton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My space Jesus messiah gets his spotlight

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ab Seite 355 saß ich aufrecht

[Henry Parrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last flickering of the light in the face of overwhelming grim darkness. Pure Horus Heresy.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legit amazing. Best Horus Heresy book in a long while.

[Lee Frost · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a slow starter for me, and other books got in the way of me ploughing through.
That being said the finale to this has set the scene for years to come. I cannot wait to see how the writers handle the remainder of the Siege.

[Chris The Lizard from Planet X · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: The Lost and the Damned by Guy Haley – Siege of Terra Book 2
Reviewer: A Newcomer to the Grim Darkness of the Far Future


Introduction:

As someone still relatively new to the sprawling and brutal universe of Warhammer 40,000, diving into The Lost and the Damned by Guy Haley—Book 2 of The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra series—was both a thrilling and overwhelming experience. I came in with only a broad-strokes understanding of the 31st Millennium setting: a galaxy at war, the Emperor on Terra, his traitorous son Horus rebelling, and countless genetically engineered warriors tearing reality apart. What I encountered in this novel was something far more intricate and immersive: a massive tapestry of heroism, horror, and humanity teetering on the brink of annihilation.

⸻

Plot Overview:

The Lost and the Damned picks up with the traitor forces tightening their noose around Terra itself. The Solar War has ended. The traitor fleet has arrived. The Siege has truly begun.

Unlike the first book (The Solar War), which focused more on space battles and the long approach to Terra, this entry shifts the action planetside. The scope is more intimate yet no less epic, portraying the siege from the perspectives of many different characters: from common soldiers and civilians to powerful demigods like the Primarch Rogal Dorn and his corrupted brother Perturabo. Guy Haley excels at capturing the emotional gravity of each of these perspectives, showing us the creeping doom of a civilization’s final stand.

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Perspective and Character Depth:

What truly impressed me as a newcomer was how human this book felt, despite its mythic scale. You can feel the weariness of the defenders, the despair of the people inside the walls of Terra, and the ruthless ambition of the traitor legions clawing at the gates. The novel doesn’t just glorify war; it shows its rot, its cruelty, and the way it erodes even the most disciplined of minds.

One standout for me was how the book gave weight to non-Astartes perspectives. Through the eyes of Imperial citizens, common soldiers of the Imperial Army, and the mysterious Sisters of Silence, we see that this isn’t just a battle between gods and monsters—this is the slow collapse of a world. You begin to understand that the Warhammer universe is not just bleak for the sake of it; it’s a place where every small flicker of hope matters precisely because it’s so fragile.

Haley also writes Primarchs and Astartes with an almost Shakespearean grandeur, yet he never loses sight of their emotional cores. Rogal Dorn, tasked with defending Terra, becomes a figure of desperate stoicism—rigid and brilliant, yet clearly unraveling under the weight of responsibility. Perturabo, on the other side, is a fascinating study in bitterness and unrecognized genius.

⸻

Tone and Atmosphere:

If you’re not used to the grimdark tone of Warhammer 40K, this book might come across as relentlessly bleak. But as I quickly learned, that’s a feature, not a bug. The sheer despair of Terra’s fall is what makes the moments of resistance shine. Every act of courage, every loyal stand, feels like a miracle. The writing is richly atmospheric—decaying gothic architecture, endless legions of soldiers, brutalist machinery grinding through human flesh. Haley captures the nightmare perfectly.

What surprised me was the subtlety in how he conveys madness—not just literal insanity, but philosophical madness. The traitors believe in their cause. The defenders cling to faith in a silent Emperor. Chaos isn’t just monsters and daemons; it’s ideology gone rot. That element was haunting, and it elevated the story above just military sci-fi.

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Accessibility for New Readers:

Now, if you’re brand new to Warhammer 40K, this book is not the ideal starting point. It assumes a lot of prior knowledge. The politics, the factions, even the terminology (what’s a Custodes? a Tech-Priest? the Mechanicum?) can be dizzying. There’s a glossary in some editions, and I had to consult the Warhammer wiki more than once.

That said, The Lost and the Damned still works if you approach it the way you’d approach Shakespeare or epic fantasy: let the world wash over you, absorb what you can, and allow the emotional resonance to carry you. The stakes are always clear: the walls are crumbling, the defenders are outnumbered, and something terrible is breaking through the cracks of reality.

⸻

Themes and Emotional Impact:

There is something profoundly moving about seeing Terra—essentially the cradle of human civilization—reduced to a battlefield. Haley doesn’t just give us spectacle. He gives us tragedy. Every defense feels temporary. Every sacrifice feels necessary. There’s no guarantee of survival. The fact that you feel for these characters, even knowing the broad strokes of the universe’s future, speaks to Haley’s skill.

One especially powerful theme is that of faith. Not just in religion or the Emperor, but in people—comrades, leaders, and the idea of enduring long enough to see morning. That fragile, desperate kind of faith is what keeps the defenders going. It’s what gives this book emotional resonance amid the thunder and blood.

⸻

Final Thoughts:

As someone still orienting myself in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, The Lost and the Damned was a brutal, dense, but ultimately unforgettable experience. Guy Haley weaves tragedy, spectacle, and character drama into something that feels both ancient and futuristic, spiritual and nihilistic. It’s a story of last stands, crumbling belief, and the terrible price of rebellion.

I don’t recommend starting here if you’re new—but if you’re curious and willing to be overwhelmed, this is a hauntingly powerful entry that reveals just how deep the Heresy goes.

⸻

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
Massive in scale, unrelenting in tone, and surprisingly emotional—this is grimdark at its finest.

[Kavinay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the HH average fare. The principal characters and threads being brought to a head helps make up for the usual bolter porn.

I do worry though that some the central conflicts are given short shrift with no hint of further clarity:
[Primarchs] "Why didn't daddy tell us about Chaos."
[Malcador] "Chaos is awful, daddy knows best."
[Primarchs] "That's true."

[Chris Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copied from Reddit to remind me what happened:

[Spoilers] Siege of Terra: Lost and the Damned Full Summary

In my tradition of summarizing the events of HH books, here's the Lost and the Damned full summary:

*Book starts off with the traitor fleet bombarding Terra from Orbit. The first shot is fired directly at the Sanctum Imperialis, but does no damage and the shell is intercepted by dozens of point defense lasers before it even reaches the void shields. The loyalist guns on the ground respond, and a massive exchange of fire takes place. However Horus' bombardment is largely inefficient on the Palace itself due to "The Aegis", an Dark Age-era void shield array far above anything else the Imperium has. The Aegis is multi-layered and self-repairing, and in concept is invincible. Horus could simply exterminatus the planet, but doesn't due to the importance of Terra to ruling the Imperium. Dorn has also placed Terra's last orbital place in the atmosphere over the Palace, providing a sort of sacrificial shield as well as gun platform

*Dorn is basically forcibly conscripting anyone who can hold a lasgun, sending them in cramped trains around the Palace. There's an "acting officer" (implied to be a regular Imperial Army professional) for every 300 soldiers and anyone who stumbles off or tries to desert is executed. Our main character for these characters is Katsuhiro, a Japanese ("Dragon Nations") enumerator who's in way over his head. Their training consists of the forced multi-kilometer march from the train dropoff point to their post, which is considerably long. Along the way they're taught to roughly march in formation and told to aim and pull the trigger on their lasgun. Katsuhiro is posted on the 1st of 3 trench lines around the outermost palace wall, set up to avoid Chaos forces from being able to reach and dig under the walls themselves. We meet several of Katsuhiro's squadmates, 1 of which is an Alpha Legion operative from earlier book Myzmadra and the other a grizzled veteran called Doromek who tried to intentionally avoid the earlier drafts. The desperation and grimdark style of these chapters reminds me of 15 hours.

*For symbolic/morale purposes, Dorn holds a regular meeting with the High Lords of Terra in the Great Chamber of the Senatorum Imperialis as the bombardment rains down against the Aegis. They all discuss the situation with Dorn, the Khan, Sanguinius, Valdor, and Malcador. Dorn emphasizes the main strategy is to buy time for Guilliman to arrive and all efforts are designed to bog down Horus for as long as possible, which is why he's doing things like forcibly conscripting hundreds of millions of souls. The forced conscription and their deployment outside the palace in what is essentially a suicidal mission rubs Khan the wrong way. Dorn also states that if he wanted to run a rebellion he would have skipped Terra and tried to have taken as much territory elsewhere as possible, waging a war in Segmentum Pacificus to bleed out the Imperium's resources and eventually encircle Segmentum Solar. The Terra rush is because Horus is being driven by the Chaos Gods to slay the Emperor personally, the Gods care about nothing else but his death. Unlike earlier books, the loyalists seem to have a full understanding of the Warp here and never underestimate or question its malice or capabilities.

*A weary Malcador for once in his life finally opens up about nearly everything, and honestly. He tells the Primarch's about the Webway Project, the need to hide Chaos, that it was a mistake to not tell the Primarch's the truth, the Webway being of Xenos origin, etc.. He updates on the Primarch's situation, telling Khan/Sanguinius/Dorn that Vulkan lives and is inside the Imperial Palace looking after a failsafe by the Webway Portal. There has been much discussion on this scene, because Dorn apparently is shocked despite having earlier met Vulkan in the novel Old Earth. I'm not sure what Haley was doing here, but it should be noted that Dorn simply reacts with a shocked "what?!" when Malcador says Vulkan Lives, Sanguinius/Khan ask all the other questions.

*Aboard the Vengeful Spirit, Abaddon has become disgusted with Horus. He is literally swelling with power, his face and form bubbling as the Chaos Gods channel massive energies into his body continually. He spends most of his time sitting in a comatose state on his throne, clutching the skull of Ferrus Manus. Lupercal's Court isn't just physically corrupted, it now exists in a warp pocket dimension inside the ship itself. When Abaddon steps into the chamber it's like he's stepping foot on a Daemon World. Horus is guarded by only 2 Justaerin and Falkus Kibre, but hundreds of Word Bearers under Zardu Layak are in the room. This is something that disgusts Abaddon greatly and he continually resists the urge to kill Layak. Abaddon says Horus' old charisma is appearing less and less, and he is more of a sort of terrifying abomination than anything else now that commands through fear instead of personality. Abaddon wants Horus to wake up and command the siege, but Layak says he's doing important work as his spirit walks the Warp.

*We see what Horus is up to inside the Warp in a rather surreal sequence. It's a flashback to his first time seeing the Emperor, when he was young and brought from Cthonia to Terra to much celebration. As his dropship descends, he's accompanied by 4 old comrades that over the course of the conversation are revealed to be the Chaos Gods (this is never stated directly, but simply becomes obvious by their words and descriptions of their appearances). Horus is not entirely lucid and can't really remember who these companions were, nor can he remember their names. Throughout it all all 4 companions urge Horus on, celebrating his achievement and status. Horus lands and marches across a large avenue before a throne that the Emperor sits upon, millions crowded on both sides cheering him on. The 4 companions follow him but suddenly shrink back. The Emperor speaks, stating that it's not enough Horus torment him in the present but must also ruin their old fond memories of the past now as well. The conversation between the "present" Emperor and Horus plays alongside what actually transpired, and as you see Horus pledging an oath to the Emperor the current Horus is fanatically yelling that he will destroy him. Horus wakes up and nearly collapses, and Abaddon is disgusted by the weakness. He states that he has what he needs but is angry that Mortarion is late.

*We get a scene where Sanguinius flies over the Palace on his own against the wishes of Dorn. During his time over the Palace he suddenly gets a vision seeing how the palace looks in M41 before it snaps back to the present time. He meets with Raldoran and Maximus Thane of the Imperial Fists (from the Beast Arises) at Bastion 16, which the loyalists believe will be the first site the traitors touch down at. It also is where poor Katsuhiro is stationed outside of.

*There's a meeting of the traitor primarch's in space that shows what a mess they've all become. Kelbor-Hal is also there, but is largely shown to be prideful and useless. Perturabo is bitter that Horus is having him simply fortify the sol system in preparation for Guilliman's arrival instead of commanding the siege. Angron is a monster that simply wants to immediately attack. Fulgrim gets his kicks deliberately trolling angron and watching the reaction. Magnus keeps to himself and refuses to really cooperate with anything. All the traitors are projected via hologram inside the Vengeful Spirit. Abaddon, Tormageddon and Aximand are there too, but Horus is late and Abaddon expresses his frustration that he must be with Layak again. Abaddon tries to get the primarch's under control but they laugh him off and Perturabo states that Horus values his brothers more than his servants. Abaddon eventually cuts off Angron's audio feed, so all you see is his hologram screaming which Fulgrim finds hilarious.

*Horus eventually arrives and is able to control the situation, stating that Abaddon has all his authority when he's not around. Layak explains that the Daemon Primarch's are literally being forced into obeying Horus now by their Patron Gods. Perturabo gives a briefing of the situation, stating that despite his duty of fortifying the sol system he also has been analyzing the Aegis and found a weak point with his bombardment patterns. It's centered around Bastion 16, which had a reactor accident recently. The aegis' self-repair ability is weaker there and will take some time to repair. If the traitors concentrate orbital fire on that spot, they can weaken the barrier to the point where slow-moving aircraft can safely enter it and make attack runs at the void shield generators, guns, etc.. Angron doesn't like this, and simply wants to attack the palace immediately, but Magnus explains that the Emperor's psychic might is not only preventing any daemonic manifestation on Terra it also would disintegrate the daemon primarch's if they tried to set foot on its soil. The Emperor is getting weaker, and Magnus believes that by decimating enough population centers elsewhere on the planet they can use the bloodshed to power a ritual to disable the Aegis and the Emperor's psychic shield.

*Is a scene where Sanguinius meets with the loyalist Fabricator-General Kane deep underground, where they show the Legio Solaria Princeps Eshin from Titandeath. She reveals that she saw Horus collapse on Beta-Garmon. The information really leads nowhere for this book however so it's sort of a useless scene.

*Moves to the first traitor landings on Terra, which are conducted by the Lost and the Damned. Specifically Traitor Army who have been sitting in their ships for months doing nothing and a herd of Beastmen which are driven into a frenzy of a recorded speech by Layak where he points out the injustices the Imperium has heaped upon his kind. Despite being for void use only the traitors forcibly land these massive troop transports around the palace, specifically Bastion 16. Hordes of Beastmen, Mutants, Traitor Army, & Cultists attack the panicked conscripts but they repel the attack. This pattern repeats itself many times over the coming weeks. During one such battle one of Katsuhiro's comrades who accused Doromek of being suspicious is found shot through the back by a lasburn.

*As the traitors make their landings, it changes perspective to a pilot of a Imperial Army fighter wing at the Palace. The traitors make constant bombing attempts on void shield generators, anti-gun batteries, etc and it's a bit of a Battle of Britain scenario. There are no enemy astartes aircraft and the Imperials dominate the fighting, though one by one anti-ship batteries and void arrays are being disabled by weight of numbers.

*There's a bit where Katsuhiro and a few others in his squad venture inside a tunnel that leads back to the Palace Gates, originally built for Officers to flee once their line has been overrun. Myzmarada, posing as an army soldier, is planning to detonate explosives where it leads under Bastion 16. There's a flashback by Myzmarada that shows how she was recruited. A Marine claiming to be Alpharius says that she's the type of person they want, loyal to the ideals of the Imperium but hates how it's being run. He is surprisingly forthcoming about everything, stating that in a few years there will be a rebellion where Horus will go rogue and the Alpha Leigon will join him as Horus' victory will ultimately allow humanity to survive.

*Perturabo meets with Horus personally on the Vengeful Spirit away from the other Primarch's for the next stage of the plan to breach the Aegis. Pert sees Horus as a slave to Chaos, and is quietly gathering all warp lore so he can master the warp unlike Horus has. Horus very much appeals to Perturabo's emotions here, stating that he appreciates all he has done and he's the only other primarch he trusts anymore. He considers the other Primarch's children, but not Perturabo. Pert is somewhat flattered but highly paranoid/distrustful of Horus still nonetheless. The Daemonically Mortarion later arrives and his very presence is killing the chapter serfs and sending Sons of Horus into seizures by the smell alone. Only Horus, Tormageddon, and Abaddon are unaffected as Aximand, Falkus, etc are convulsing (Pert isn't there anymore). Abaddon himself doesn't get why he's unaffected and Layak hints its because he already has the Gods favor, which Abbadon dismisses angrily. Horus tells Mortarion that he'll uphold his vow to have the Death Guard be the first on Terra.

Angron is furious when he hears the news of the Death Guard landing on Terra first while he still does nothing. He goes inside The Conqueror and starts to rampage across its lower decks, massacring anything he comes across. Lotara Sarin appears, haggard and dirty but still rational. She has basically been trying to keep Angron out of the ship for quite some time due to the damage he causes, hence why he has been seen perched on its exterior so much in recent books. She tells Kharn (who himself is barely resisting the urge to massacre Lotara and everything else) that this time Angron's warpath is leading to the reactor core, and if he kills all the Tech-Adepts there they risk a meltdown that would destroy the ship. She reveals she has been talking to acting Night Lords leader Gendor Skraivok, who controls the Nightfall, about putting Angron inside the ships labyrinth until it's safe to unleash him on Terra. Kharn follows Angron down into the bowels of the Conqueror and fights with Angron, who is in such a frenzy that he now wants to take his skull for khorne as it'd make a fine prize. Angron reveals he knows Kharn's ultimate destiny and wants to supplant him as the Chosen of Khorne. Kharn gets his ass kicked until he places a teleport hormer on Angron which sends him into the Nightfall's ever-shifting labyrinth where he will rampage for the next several weeks.

The next phase of the siege begins several weeks after the initial bombardment. Kelbor-Hal's Disciples (Nul Through Oct, led by Sota-Nul) each beach one of their Ark Mechanicus ships around the Palace. If one draws a straight line connecting the Ark Mechanicus to the Sanctum Imperialis, it forms the Star of Chaos. The ships unleash endless waves of Lost and the Damned as their void shields provide cover to begin erecting siege engines. At the same time, the Death Guard begin their drop pod assault on the Walls and the first Chaos Astartes set foot on Terra. Katsuhiro has to deal with it. All seems lost for the group around Bastion 16 until Jaghatai Khan arrives leading a massive White Scars jetbike charge, he refuses to leave the conscripts to die despite Dorn's orders. The charge reaches the Dark Mechanicus landing zones as the Khan slays over 40 Death Guard Marines himself before being stabbed by a warp-tainted poison blade that saps his strength. Sanguinius also violates Dorn's orders and sweeps into the warzone alongside Raldoron and the Blood Angels. Sanguinius rescues Jaghatai, who he finds beneath a mound of dead Death Guard. They lead a semi-organized retreat back to the final trench around Bastion 16 which is basically directly in front of the Helios Gate of the Imperial Palace. As soon as Jaghatai enters the Palace perimeter the Emperor's psychic powers kills the warp taint in his body. During all this the Night Lords launch a Raptor attack on the Palace Walls under Lucoryphus from the ADB NL novels. Despite consider themselves above Chaos, Lucoryphus and many other Raptors are beginning to mutate.

*More weeks pass, and the situation for the conscripts is truly dire. Katsuhiro is now essentially a hardened veteran and everyone around him is dying of plagues. The sky suddenly parts and an island of floating bones descends from the sky. The palace guns try to shoot it down, but their shots simply pass right through it. The island projects the giant image of Zardu Layak, who declares that the Imperium has abandoned the common folk to die and if the citizens of Terra join Horus now they will be spared. After Layak finishes his speech it begins to rain blood, the ritual to break the Emperor's shield and on Terra and destroy the Aegis has finally begun. Aboard the Nightfall Angron is ejected into space from his maze-prison and immediately makes his way towards the surface.

The Dark Mechanicus reveal their plan constructing massive "Warp-Bane" guns that sap the Aegis of its energy. At the same time massive Towers of Nurgle have been built and are rolling towards the walls, with 3 at Katsuhiro's section alone. Endless swarms of Lost and the Damned assail the last trench network in front of the palace walls. The Aegis finally gives way, and Horus' orbital bombardment sweeps through the Palace defenses devastating everything it comes across. Katsuhiro, running and laughing hysterically at the sheer concept of what hes been through, only survives by running to the hidden tunnel he discovered earlier, where inside he overhears Myzmarada and Doromek planting charges to destroy Bastion 16. Katsuhiro escapes the tunnel just as the Bastion explodes. He emerges witnesses a flaming mass crash to the ground. It's Angron and he begins slaying everything he comes across. Faced with Angron and the incoming Siege Towers Katsuhiro is about to lay down and let himself die when Sanguinius appears and leads a massive Blood Angels charge from the gates. Imperial Fists under Thane as well as Titans from the Legio Solaria come with them. Dorn has relented and allowed the Palace gates be opened and all the surviving Army conscripts be allowed inside as the Space Marines and Titans buy time.

During the battle, the Night Lords begin to land on the wall directly. Raldoran is challenged by Skraivok who is incredibly arrogant. Skraivok is dominating the fighting but suddenly the Daemon in his blade abandons him, leaving his base abilities no match for Raldoran. Skraivok is slashed and thrown off the Wall. Dying on the ground he sees his Daemon Blade's physical form. The Daemon says that he'll save Skraivok's life and give him new power. Skraivok agrees, but the Daemon then adds that to obtain this new power he must endure 6x666 years of torment in the Warp. Skraivok disappears screaming.

Ultimately the Marines/Titans are able to destroy the Nurgle Siege Towers and escort all of the conscripts to safety. Angron charges at the Walls towards Sanguinius and yells a challenge, but the Emperor's remaining barrier still blocks him from getting any closer. Sanguinius salutes Angron with his spear and states that while they'll battle soon, today is not that day.

*Once inside the walls Katsuhiro apologizes to a Marine (who turns out to be Thane) about how hes been a burden and how many astartes died protecting them. Thane states that it doesn't matter who anyone is anymore, mortal and astartes, and the conscripts are all brave warriors for the emperor who should have each others backs. Katsuhiro is attended to by a medic and begins screaming as he sees Doromek smirking at him and disappearing into the crowd. The medic thinks he's delirious and puts him under with drugs.

The final chapter shows Horus again in a comatose state scanning the Warp, Abaddon watching angrily nearby. Layak states that Horus is doing important work, the Siege is being waged in both the Materium and Immaterium and each time Horus enters the Warp he is breaking the Emperor's spirit bit by bit. Layak states that he knows Abaddon's growing resentment against Horus and reveals that Horus is basically now a wildfire. He's glowing bright, swelling with the powers of Chaos but that the Gods are going to see him burn out soon and he will die soon. Abaddon asks what will happen if Horus dies before he kills the Emperor, and Layak states that the Gods will have to find another champion in that case.

FIN

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t expect that many people read my reviews. I mostly write them because, as I get older, I forget things. Many of those things are things I care about, as time, life, death all happen around me, around all of us. Jotting down a review doesn’t prevent the onward march of time, but when I come back around to the Heresy, when I need to distract myself from the shit-hurricane that life can be yet again, I’d like to go back and see how what I saw long again changed with my perspective. Id like to see if things I hated about it all are things I (hypothetically) now appreciate, or if maybe, as happens rarely in man over time, I stood firm in my values on things, real or not.

Anyway…

With all the things going on in the world, I initially couldn’t make myself read the book for long stretches. It begins with a long of waiting and tension, which is exactly how the history tell me war begins. The enemy host is now over Terra, darkening the sky, preparing the opening assault of the largest battle the Imperium has ever known . Haley did perhaps too good a job with that. It took me most of a month to finish the first 25% of it, then days ( less than a week) to read the rest.


For clarity, lately I’ve mostly just been reading this exclusively on my lunch breaks at work. My free time outside of work has been occupied by family stuff. So, the works have begun to grind to a halt.


I think the guardsman plot line was excellent. You have 54 books before SoT to get your fill of trans human violence, and even here there’s some, but the POV offered by the focus on Katsuhiro showed what it would be like if you and I were boots on the ground at the imperial palace. The lack of training, the hopeless slough that is the day to day life of the average conscripted citizen showed me what exactly the rest of the heresy was likely like through human eyes. The end passage between Katsuhiro and Thane nearly made me tear up.

I don’t wanna spoil too much but I did at the spoiler thingy because that last part.

It revealed to us also that Horus is nearing an end point to his power. He must strike soon or the Pantheon choose another because his “gift” is consuming him.

There is a lot to like about this book, but I can’t get to it all. I’ll say it is a very “cinematic” book. It felt full of scenes that would translate over to the movies. I’m very tired so I don’t know that I can effectively elaborate on that…. Despite the damn half book complete with origin story I���ve written in this review.

Suffice to say this is the new book to beat for this series. It was well done.

Now, on to the next book.

[Hawke Embers · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I had to compare the Solar War to anything it would be that of a delicious looking meat pie. HUGE and filled with mouth watering promise but when you take a mouthful you realize its just pastry with no substance. So while French was busy attempting to put readers off the Horus Heresy Guy Haley was busy at work making a new and better pie! A pie filled with flavor, substance and an edgier title!

Now, I don’t even like pie all that much but what I'm trying to say is that if the Solar War left an unsavory taste in your mouth, like the pastry tasted suspiciously like granite, then give The Lost and The Dammed a go it is a huge improvement!

It took me a while to get around to this one after the last disappointment so let me start by saying this was a good book and while French attempted to remove the personalities of the Primarchs, the Lost and The Damned returns them to life. Rogal Dorn says more than a few worst in this novel and there are some good character moments between these demi-gods and even the minor characters’ felt fleshed out.

Unlike the Solar War there was a real sense of scale here too, with doom and gloom at every turn but a tangle hope (At least for some characters’) looming on the horizon. Here, you will understand Rogal Dorn's defensive strategy unlike in the previous book and the fight choreography was expertly crafted.

This novel is teeming with life but it is not perfect.
I still felt there was a little too much focus on the little guy and maybe this is a personal preference but I would have much rather have seen more from the perspective of the Astartes. Despite this, these insignificant characters’ are all well fleshed out and do help give a good sense of the scale of the conflict. There is a real sense of apocalyptic scale in this book, this is after all, the greatest conflict in anything ever written (In Terms of Scale).
Sadly there is also a little bit of PC checkboxing going on in this novel; like many BL novels these days but while French handles it with all the subtlety of stepping on a bear trap, Haley intergrades’ it into the narrative without it feeling too forced, so it was alright and allows the reader to focus on the bigger picture.

Overall, a solid sci-fi novel and I feel less sceptical going foward, I hope you do too.

[Rev · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lost and the Damned continues the Siege of Terra series with a gripping and ultimately tension-filled portrayal of the brutal, unrelenting assault on the Imperial Palace. From the outset, the novel viscerally captures the sheer scale of the siege whilst maintaining a surprisingly intimate sense of dread and excitement in nearly every plot advancement. Guy Haley's prose strikes a solid balance between grandiose, mythic descriptions of the conflict and sharp, more instinctive depictions of the suffering endured by both sides. The atmosphere is thick with desperation and the narrative structure keeps the pressure building with each chapter, mirroring the suffocating reality the loyalists perpetually face as they’re pushed further and further into their own defenses. The standout element here for me aside from the prose is without question Sanguinius. Haley does a phenomenal job conveying the Primarch's immense burden as both warrior and symbol with the Angel's internal conflict, his knowledge that he must serve as a beacon of hope while fully aware of the near impossibility of victory is some of the most compelling character work in the novel. His moments of altruistic reflection alongside these awe inspiring scenes in battle and descriptions of him simply flying over the battle field lend a great weight to his presence that resonates throughout the narrative. Though, If there's one element I find myself wanting more of, it's deeper and more consistent character work. While Sanguinius and several other key figures like the Khan shine here, some of the other perspectives particularly among the human defenders often feel a bit fleeting. The broader picture is undeniably engaging, but the siege's emotional toll could hit even harder with more time spent in the minds of its participants. That said, given the scope of the series and the looming climax I'm confident that future installments will provide that additional focus on this. The lore advancements here are also a major strength. From the shifting dynamics within the traitor forces to the increasingly evident corruption of Horus, the book enriches the larger mythos without feeling like simple exposition. The portrayal of the warp's influence on the traitor legions is especially well executed, with the creeping madness and decay manifesting in both grand gestures and subtle details alike.