Excellent audio-book that sheds some light on Malcador's (known as The Sigillite) past and role. Also well depicted were actions of Imperial Army covert ops (predecessors of W40K storm-trooper elites) and secrets residing under the immense Imperial Palace in the Himalayas. Also we get to know what is Emperor doing in the meantime (pretty, pretty cool :))

Highly recommended to SF and Warhammer 40K fans. ( )

I remember being really unimpressed with this when I came out, possibly too naively focused on the cover Lost Legion marked skulls on Malcolm Dumbledore's throne that never come up (I remember falling for the April Fool's Black Library did of Dan Abnett doing a novel about the Lost Legions...what a sweet summer child I was), and I was feeling very similar about the rather bland Imperial Army Black Ops stuff, but Shitty Sidious was dropping some fascinating nuggets from his jackal maw. Strangely forward commentary on the Emperor, including criticism, hints towards work they undertook together and differences between design and actuality, and more.

I still don't understand how the actions taken by the Horus Heresy's version of Mason made the Sigillite take notice of him. But it's the least interesting thing about this story.

There is something electric that genuinely got under my skin about the way Chris Wraight writes and Toby Longworth perfomz Malcador. It's incredible and actually gave me goosebumps. Listening to this when I came out and how much more (relatively) affable he presents himself was why I was taken aback by him being the worst in the proto-Grey Knights and Inquisition stories, where I came to know and love to hate him.

The hints and reveals mentioned so casually only get more wild as they venture underground with some things I absolutely must have missed. I know. I shouldn't be so baby having car keys dangled at her, but the lore and the references are obscenely tasty and at least seem organic. I always enjoy the links to Terran and our Earth history and this includes the strongest, most apropos connections, truly threading the mythological needle. There are few answers, some suggests, and so many more questions not be be (fictionally) factually answered because lore is cool, but endless possibilities and speculation on the edges of deep lore is better.

Truly hitting me in the feels with Malcador revealing himself a custodian of culture and his naive, but earnest and good driving forces, buried deeper than the foundations of the Imperial Palace that drive him to be the utter bastard he is. He talks about hope and is described as an "old man worn out by an eternity of service stumbling into the dark". How dare you make me feel things for Malcador Mr. Wraight! You absolute madlad.

I really found myself collapsing into myself considering the epochs the Emperor and others have been alive and how Dr. Manhattan it has made them. Obsession and fear slowly eroding their souls until there is nothing left but a brutal dedication to survival no matter the means or cost. This level of understanding without any actual excusing bring conveyed is truly exquisite. Wraight is fucking knocking it out of the park.

The doors and the Emperor's work raises so many fascinating questions. Who and/ or what is actually responsible for the area behind the doors. The efforts happening now should be acknowledged, but the most obvious idea to me would lay some blame upon the Emperor, or at least tied to him and/ or who/ or whatever he was before.

To be clear, everyone involved in the Imperium is doing evil, regardless of intentions, but those in power who created this machine, equally regardless of intentions, have become evil in the sense that cancer is evil. What I mean is I still fucking hate the worst Space Dad and Malevolent Merlin, but this context breaks my heart and I truly love that the lore of Warhammer 40K lead to stories with such power as this.

How I ever thought this was a bit shit blows my mind. What was I on? (a whole lot of constant C-PTSD conversion symptoms, depression, and severe anxiety, but, like, that's no excuse my gal).

This went from being remembered as one of the most average Warhammer stories I had heard to being up there with the best, as much as one can be for a huge lore dump and humanising monologue. Bloody brilliant! ( )