Makes you like fulgrim

Best combo in my opinion Keeble is the man ... no doubt ,reynolds writes good caracters and keeps it interesting the whole time and no sound effects needed because of the quality of the narrator .

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The Phoenix Rises!

An interesting in-depth look at the Third Primarch. Good performance by Mr Keeble. Not as action packed as some 30k novels but it doesn't need to be. Rather, it's an interesting look into the mind of Fulgrim, before chaos corrupted him. Recommended to all Primarch fans.

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Excellent.

Highly recommend this audio book for Warhammer players from the rogue trader era. The mighty primarchs are brought to life.

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Damn it!

He’s not a bad guy. Or wasn’t. This Sunday cos, I actually liked him in this.

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Perfectly Imperfect (Complimentary)

February 2024 Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order - Omnibus IV Shattersong (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus/iv-shattersong) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy saga and extras.

This is my fifth Primarchs novel and it is the most perfectly imperfect so far, I was eager for any Lorgar lore, but disappointed by Bearer of the Word, found Lord of Ultramar well-written but truly an unpleasant reading experience, Master of Prospero was an utter shock, becoming one of my favourite past/ side stories of the Horus Heresy, and The Great Wolf was bolter porn as art until it all came together perfectly at the end and left me sobbing.

Fulgrim and the III Legion are in their early days with incredibly low numbers, after being devastated to only 200 due to a geneseed flaw during a difficult campaign (I think) with Fabius Bile being one of the few original Emperor's Children, and they have come to bring planet autocratic capitalism to Compliance. Charisma and guile are the weapons the Phoenician would most like to bring to bear...

This seems to be a novel that knows exactly what it is trying to do and executes it perfectly. While this doesn't hit the exalted heights of parts of Graham McNeill's Fulgrim, it doesn't come anywhere near the lows, misogyny, and, in my personal opinion, utter mess of the handling of significant tertiary storylines either.

The Earth didn't move for me in the way it did for McNeill's Prospero Burns and Annandale's The Unburdened, but I genuinely had an awesome times with this novel and the way Reynolds makes perfect use of telling a tale much earlier on in Fulgrim's career that does a wonderful job of illuminating elements of the Primarch, his Palatine progeny, and the future Chief Apothecary's past, personality, and shedding light on their initial motivations and how they ended up as they did.

I genuinely felt sympathy for Fulgrim and Fabius and feel I understand their characters and arcs far more than I ever have from the main Horus Heresy series. This is not surprising with Reynolds having written about the Repairer of Ruin for a decade now. The bullying Bile receives from his battle brothers is heartbreaking and he really does seem to be trying to do good, haunted by losing so many of his First Founding fraternity, which makes his fall to becoming the Dark Millennium's Mengler and the galaxy's foremost Rocky Horror Picture Show fan, cosplaying Riff Riff 24/7 all the more tragic. Just as with the burning desire to prove himself and self-assurance in Fulgrim that will fester into preening narcissism, the zeal for vivisection is there, but this is one of those wonderful glimpses of what could have been.

This book also manages to do the main thing I want from Warhammer, and especially the Horus Heresy--humanising and making its mythological figures sympathetic, showing their attempts to not be the worst, and then circumstance and the cruelty and inhumanity of the Imperium being evident as it forces them to kill the parts of them that makes them feel and become the monsters they were created to be.

Bloody brilliant, if non-essential for the main Horus Heresy storyline, book I thoroughly recommend and would consider essential reading for any fans of Fulgrim, Fabius, or the Emperor's Children.

Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 10 Horus Heresy novels, 11 short stories/ audio dramas, as well as the 2 Betrayal at Calth novellas and the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 5 Primarchs novels, 3 Primarchs short stories/ audio, dramas, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels...this run. I can't say enough good about the way the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project suggestions. I'm loving it! Especially after originally reading to the releases and being so frustrated at having to wait so long for a narrative to continue.

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Another strong entry to the Primarchs series

An interesting look into the mind set of Fulgrim. Never my favourite character but an interesting look at the character

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A Perfect portrayal

A Fantastic book, the characters are likable the story is gripping and the performance is perfect

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Appropriately Perfect!

Fulgrim: The Palatine Phoenix was a truly breathtaking character dive into the ostensibly arrogant Fulgrim and a collection of his sons during the Great Crusade (notably including familiar faces such as 'The Spider' Fabius Bile). We were often left wondering what Fulgrim's capabilities and true purpose within the Imperium was, and we are provided with that throughout this novel. He is the Emperor's Diplomat, Emissary and Ambassador. Here we see a new side of Fulgrim, one incredibly human, humorous and relatable (arguably moreso than many other primarchs we have red about thus far). One of the best primarch novels!

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To relate to a primark

It was nice to see both fulgrim and Fabius Bile interact before the major turning points in their respective stories.

makes me want to listen to the other of their stories to see where things went from here.

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Brilliant

I love when a book focuses on the characters and not the events, this is once such book. It focuses on Fulgrim and allows the reader to better see his faults and personality. It is expertly read and I am very happy I picked this book up!

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