Book review: War Without End (Horus Heresy XXXIII)

This set of short stories contains twenty-one short stories which bring us action from across the galaxy. I won’t attempt to describe each one here.

Short stories have by this stage become a vital part of the Heresy narrative. They allow authors to bring us action from around the galaxy which can be considered part of the narrative but not worth the space of a novel by themselves. The short story format also means these stories don’t have to be complete by themselves, but can build something over time. A good example of this is the narratives of the Dark Angels fighting the Night Lords, and then breaking free to arrive in Ultramar.

Authors use short stories to provide an introduction to an upcoming novel, or a epilogue to a previous one. Both types are present in this anthology, with a story that acts as a preview to Pharos (book 34) and several stories which continue narrative lines established in Vengeful Spirit (book 29).

I have enjoyed the short story anthologies in the Horus Heresy so far, and if some stories felt pointless, or not an addition to the narrative, that is not so bad. Having a dud short story in an anthology of over twenty is preferable to having dud novels occupy space in the series that could have been given over to more worthy stories.

As a reader your enjoyment of this and other anthologies is going to differ. If you like short stories as a storytelling format, and you enjoy tales which link together the main novels in this series, you are going to have a better reading experience than someone who just wants to get on to the next story novel.

For me these anthologies are more good than bad, so I’m happy to have them.

rating: 3 golden thrones