Continuing with the Horus Heresy Series, and after struggling to finish Descent of Angels, I was hesitant to dive in to another book. That said, I knew Dan Abnett was capable of writing a good book, so it was more a feeling of being burnt out than anything. That said, once I picked it up, I didn't really put it down.
Coming into this novel, I really didn't know anything about the Alpha Legion except they had a twinned primarch, but that was about it. Interestingly, the main characters are not members of the legion. Instead, one of the main characters introduces an interesting, shadowy back story as a reincarnated agent of a mystery cult of seer races. I could see some people taking issue with this element of the story, but I thought it was done fairly well.
The interactions with the Alpha Legionnaires themselves are usually brief and mysterious, leaving much unsaid and unexplained. The end result is a novel that gives you a terrific feel for the Legion, while simultaneously maintaining their mysterious and subterfuge-fueled background.
Legion has a nice balance of intrigue, mystery, action, and human elements to keep the book going, and I honestly had a hard time putting it down. The novel ends with the Primarch(s) being given a choice of what side they will support and the answer is left more unclear than you would expect. I think my biggest disappointment is that there isn't a real follow-up novel (yet), though I am looking forward to their story in The Primarchs. Even a story focused again more on the human characters who were given great depth in this novel and have their stories end on a bit of a cliffhanger as well.
Because of the mysterious elements, it's hard to discuss most of the novel without possibly giving spoilers, so this review is pretty superficial. That said, I really liked it, highly suggest it, and now I'm excited to move on to the next book, Battle for the Abyss, which features the Ultramarines, who have always been a favorite of mine.
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