Horus Heresy: Battle for the Abyss (Warhammer 40,000: The Horus Heresy) - Books (Ben Counter, Paperback)

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Customer Reviews of Horus Heresy: Battle for the Abyss (Warhammer 40,000: The Horus Heresy)

Gavin Mullins
Leeds, England
28th September 2008

Brilliant
First of i'd like to say to all those who have written bad reviews for this book haven't truely understood it. Ok now thats out of the way now on with the review.

The book is simply brilliant, you really connect with the characters and how they feel at different points in the book. It's really well written with non stop action all the way through. In my opinion it's a welcome addition to the series

In short, a must buy for all the warhammer 40,000 fans out there. Thank you for reading my review.

millardini

12th September 2008

Battle for the Abyss
The Battle for the Abyss has received some very negative reviews since its release, most focussing on the lack of character and the seemingly pointless story. I have never been a Ben Counter fan, his previous novel in the series 'Galaxy in Flames' was a frustrating read that only worked because the characters were already previously established. Battle for the Abyss did not have this luxury thus the reader is left with terrible cliche dialogue that caused me to flinch. The scene when the Ultramarines kneel to their fellow Astartes was the definative low point in that regard (reminded me of a certain scene in the Phantom Menace).
However Counter is great in writing comic book action, and some of the sequences in this book were as good as anything in the series. The assault on the space station was my favorite sequence, with the brutality of the World Eaters and Space Wolves overwhelming the Word Bearers. The space battles were well thought out and possibly the most interesting character relationship was that between Cestus and admiral Kaminska.
The story itself has been the subject of much criticism, mainly because it appears many fans are unhappy with the direction the Black Libary has taken the series. Rather than simply telling the story of Horus and the Lunar Wolves as was the case with the opening trilogy, the focus has changed to include other aspects of the war. Battle for the Abyss is obvously the starting point of a Battle of Calth story line, an event which is important in the history of the war. As such I do not understand how anyone can see this as a pointless story. It may be frustrating having to wait for the eventual continuation of the Horus storyline and the Siege of Terra, but I for one do not mind this exploration of other chapters. There is a condition however, as I would hate for these strands to be left unconcluded, for example I want another novel to continue the Battle of Calth, another novel exploring Luther's fall on Caliban etc...
Where Battle of the Abyss fails is simply in the execution. Interesting characters such as Skraal the World Eater (my hero in this novel) and Mhotep (a close second)are great until someone opens their mouth. The Ultramarines are particularly terrible in terms of characterisation, to the point that the only difference between them is that they disagree on certain courses of action. Do not even get me started on how awful the Word Bearer characters are developed! Yet this should come as no surprise as this is the author who managed to destroy the banter between Loken and Torgeddon to nothing but cheesy hollywood catch lines.
The first third of this novel was so terrible in this regard that I almost stopped reading. In short this was a serious step down from the previous novels, that for the exemption of Galaxy in Flames, were good enough to be seen as more than simply merchandise, exploring complex themes with a tone that kept older readers enthralled.
But credit to the author as I found myself really enjoying the final third of the novel. The thought of a World Eater on the run in the ship was really entertaining, and well written. His final encounter with the Word Bearer admiral Zadkiel had me cheering out loud. Cestus's desperate assault and Mhotep's final battle were both epic action, which this author does better than anyone in Black Library.
For an opening to a Battle of Calth storyline, this is only adequate, and a serious drop in quality from Descent of Angels and particularly Legion. As an action novel, it definately has its excellent stand out moments. As an entry into a fantastic new franchise of novels, this is unfortunately a huge dissapointment.

Something Blue 4 You
UK
10th September 2008

Furious Abyss? Furious reader more like
I shall keep this short and sweet, and sadly harsh. Battle for the Abyss is a very anti-climactic mess filled with annoying repetition, stereotypical, bland characters formed from the personifications of their chapter traits. The Ultramarine is regimented, the Space Wolf a drunken brawler, the World Eater does a hulk smash, and the Word Bearers chant of a directionless and uninsightful philosophy given no depth. They follow a religion whose sole creed is to be a religion.

The first half of the book wastes no time dropping you into the action, and it suprisingly backfires. We learn nothing of the goals, desires, flaws, or fears of either the heretics or the loyalists. There is a naval engagement, a scene in the warp (with gribblies) and those two events with recycle repeatedly.

The second half of the book intensifies as the enemy come closer to their master plan. I won't spoil anything for the battle scenes and combats, but the final hundred pages feature some firm hardcore action. You don't care that the characters are 2D because they're laying some serious hurt on each other.

Then comes act 3, or as I like to call it, the final 3 pages. They basically forge the notion that the book is conclusive of itself, entirely pointless, and finished with all the finesse of a sledgehammer. The Battle for the Furious Abyss is irrelevant, there is no conclusion, epilogue, meaning, sentiment, moral. Did the author find out he had one week to finish the book, and he hadn't started it? Did his ex-wife sneak into his office and write these final pages before sending it to Black Library? Did Ben Counter just hate me? I do not know, but what I will say is this book is entirely skip-able, which is never a good thing in a series. Poor start, ebbing middle, no end.

Spartan
Lost
8th September 2008

Yes it is not the best but.....
I know that this is not the best in the series but read it anyway, i still enjoyed it. I believe that anyone is allowed a off day! so just read it!!!!!

Tom
Newcastle
7th September 2008

A good read, but....
I have really enjoyed the H.H series of books with the exception of "Descent of Angels," which I found to be too short for the story it was trying to tell and seemed out of phase with the rest of the series.

Having read the reviews on here about "Battle for..." I was a bit wary of buying it, but went for it anyway; and I am glad I did. Although it doesn't seem to explore the characters as well as other books, I really did enjoy the story a lot.

The main criticism is the usual one, in that the Black Library should allow the books to be bigger/longer and write with a older age group in mind.

Tom.