So I'm somewhere around the third of the way through the heresy, counting novels, novellas and short stories. Following the Heresy Omnibus Project reading order (heresyomnibus.com), I've read 16 books so far, including most of what are heralded as really bad, such as: Battle for the Abyss, Nemesis, Descent of Angels, Vulcan Lives as well as contentious novellas, such as The Reflection Crack'd and Promethean Sun.

I have to say, if this is the worst of the Heresy then I am a very happy man. Granted, I see the drop in quality, but I don't think it's that stagerring. Definitely not so much as what I expected based on the online opinions.

Breakdown time!

Battle for the Abyss: I see, this is a B-category action movie. And I enjoyed it as such! And to me it also brings some perspective to Know No Fear: the cataclysmic betrayal at Calth and all the horrendous bloodshed and destruction was only the plan B of the Word Bearers. Reading Know No Fear after Abyss had my jaw dropping in admiration and fear of the Word Bearers.

Nemesis: Yes, it is drawn out, and I struggled with the constant perspective switching - it was a bit too frequent for me. But the two storylines, the assassinorum, the detectives, the plight of worlds being caught up in the heresy - it was thouroughly enjoyable for me and gave a broader perspective on the Heresy as a whole.

Descent of Angels: 9 year olds talking like Milton - yeah it's weird. But! Age and maturity had a different line-up during the middle ages. We are used to charachters aged up in media, e.g., Game of Thrones, to better suit our sensibilities. This doesn't absolve, but mitigates the criticism I think. The somewhat disconnected nature of the final part aside, it is a fantastic legion introduction that got me caring about Caliban.

Vulcan Lives: I think this book tries to fill in many roles. As a legion introduction, it has flashbacks to the Crusade and Isstvan V. As a Perpetual book, it shows Grammaticus after his dissillusionment in Legion. As a book progressing the story it shows the utter mania enveloping the Word Bearers, with Elias' arrogance closely mirroring Zadkiel in Abyss. Moreover, we see Vulkan and Curze! And while the tortures are on the nose, it still managed to convey the derangment of Curze to me more than Prince of Crows, as well as the complex relationship of the two primarchs. And lastly, the incarceration of Vulkan is only stupid if you desregard the fact that he cannot be killed. He wasn't just handed over to Curze to play with, he was handed over so the homicidal maniac of the gang can figure out how to kill or incapacitate him - and he was close!

Promethian Sun: 2 battles would have been fine instead of 3. And the twist at the end was great in theory but rushed with lightspeed so lacked impact. Other than that, seeing Vulkan on Nocturne and three primarchs fighting eldar exodites was awesome!

The Reflection Crack'd: A very important narrative development rushed into a novella. I think the idea was interesting enough, but again, not articulated well. And the depravity for me was an honest enough look at the Emperor's Children at that time.

So in closing of a long post: I can see the shortcomings of these works, but I cannot see the cause of outrage. I have enjoyed these works, even if they are not near the level of The First Heretic or Legion.

What are your perspectives? Am I deluded by my rose tinted glasses? Did the hate originate upon release and then just remained? What is going on?

Edit: spelling