For the first time since Tales of Heresy, we are delving into a book of short stories that are following the legions of the Adeptus Astartes (better known as the Space Marines).

Space Marines are inherently fun. After all, they’re living walls of muscle and armor. They excel at causing complete death, destruction and mayhem on a battlefield and that’s before any of the really big guns (like Dreadnoughts) come into play.

However, there are things that make them harder to write about.

In a weird way the books came across as more hard hitting than some of the video games that have been released, like Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior or early Warhammer 40k PC games.

The action was a lot more hectic. The characters were more realistic. There also happened to be a lot more honesty in the books than in early Warhammer games and Fire Warrior. Through the development of the story you’re witnessing the history that is merely mentioned in the games. You are seeing the heroes and villains of the galactic civil war that grew from Warmaster Horus’s decision to betray the God-Emperor.

Click through for a recap of the Horus Heresy novels…

Title: The Horus Heresy: Descent of AngelsAuthor: Mitchel ScanlonPublisher: The Black LibraryRelease Date: 2007Price: $7.99Rating: Two thumbs sideways, 73/100, C, ** out of five.Pros: Great character development, exciting when the story isn’t slowed down by itself, gives a completely different view of the events of the Horus HeresyCons: The story takes too long to develop.Overall: It’s a fresh perspective in the series that just didn’t realize its potential.

Even at its lowest point, The Horus Heresy had never put out a truly average installment. That’s what I would be saying if Descent of Angels didn’t fall flat on its face by bringing an entirely new view on the Heresy…