Angels of Caliban – What’s It All About?

The Story of Angels of Caliban

“With the Dark Angels spread across a hundred systems, primarch Lion El’Jonson stands as Lord Protector of Ultramar – though his true motives are known to a few indeed, and old rivalries on the home world threaten to tear the Legion in half. But when word comes of the Night Lords’ attack on Sotha, the Lion’s brutal actions bring Imperium Secundus once again to the brink of civil war. Not even the most fearsome warriors of the Dreadwing, nor any arcane secret of the Order, can guarantee victory if he sets himself against his loyal brothers.”

That is, in marketing-industry-speak, the back cover ‘blurb’ for Angels of Caliban, the next instalment of the New York Times bestselling Horus Heresy series.

Which is all fine, but what does it all actually mean? What is the story told in Angels of Caliban? Well, read on and (without spoilers for the novel itself) I shall give you an idea of things to come…

(And if you want a re-cap on the story so far, read this blog post first). Keep an eye on my blog over the next week or so, as I’ll be publishing lots of other resources.

The Dark Angels in the Horus Heresy

My ambition for the Dark Angels since getting involved with their storyline has been to make them, and what happens to the Legion, relevant to the wider Horus Heresy. Like many Legions, both loyalist and traitor, their story impacts hugely on the ‘present’ of the 41st millennium but until the novel range there was nothing that implied they were anything more significant than some space marines that took part in the fighting and, for various reasons, missed out on the Siege of Terra.

From The Lion onwards (see the previous reading list!) I and other authors in the series have endeavoured to make the actions of the Lion, and those he abandons on Caliban, part of the ‘Big Story’. In Angels of Caliban all of the various threads come together to demonstrate why the Dark Angels, as much as the Blood Angels or White Scars or Sons of Horus, were pivotal to the way the war and the Siege of Terra played out.

Imperium Secundus

The first front dealt with in Angels of Caliban is the ongoing story of Imperium Secundus – the Five Hundred Worlds of Roboute Guilliman and the Ultramarines. Here we see exactly what it means for the Lion to be ‘Lord Protector’ of Ultramar, the general of its armies and the guardian of the Five Hundred World. Having turned his back on the prospect of defending Terra, the Lion puts all his effort and belief into sustaining the new Imperium, and is determined to counter any and all threats to its survival.

Unremembered Empire Artwork by Neil Roberts

The first task, as presented to those outside the Dark Angels, is to clear away the remnants of the Shadow Crusade of the Word Bearers and World Eaters. This is how the story opens, with the Dark Angels confronting the remains of a conquering force from the Legions of Lorgar and Angron.

However, there is a different goal to the Lion’s military activities, as cover for his ongoing to search for the traitor Konrad Curze. The hunt for Night Haunter consumes the Lion but he has been thwarted at every turn.

When the beacon at Sotha is interrupted by a Night Lords attack, the Lion believes Curze must be responsible. He has been chasing shadows across Imperium Secundus when his prey has been hiding almost in plain sight all the time. He returns to Macragge, and discovers that Curze is not responsible for Sotha, but has made his presence felt again at the heart of Macragge Civitas, daring as much to confront Sanguinius himself.

Out of guilt and anger at what he perceives to be his own and Guilliman’s failings to protect the Imperator Regis, the Lion embarks on a campaign to eliminate all enemies from Macragge and drive Curze into the open, no matter how brutal the suppression has to become.

As you can see from the cover of the book, he is successful, in a way, bringing out the Night Haunter for their final confrontation. The cost is high though, and the Lion’s actions have weakened the already tenuous bonds between him and his brothers. Has too much damage already been suffered for Imperium Secundus to survive? What does the future hold when the lords of Ultramar face the truth of what they have done?

Caliban

While the Lion’s single-mindedness starts to break apart Imperium Secundus, the seeds of his earlier actions begin to grow into full rebellion on Caliban. Having virtually shamed and disowned his own liege-father, Luther, and stripped his lieutenants of their commands away from the home world, the Lion allows resentment and division to fester while he pursues other goals.

Fallen Angels Artwork by Neil Roberts

In the absence of the primarch, others vie to fill the power vacuum. Luther, Grand Master of the Order, sets about restoring the greatness of Caliban’s military. Astelan, Terran of the First legion, dedicated to the Emperor and no other, manoeuvres for power within the cabal of the Grand Master.

The Librarian, Zahariel, is confronted by the truth of Caliban’s otherworldly nature and becomes a vessel for its liberation from not only Imperial oppression, but the bonds placed upon it by the Order and the mysterious Watchers in the Dark. Through the maelstrom of personalities and politics, the Lord Cypher, Guardian of Order, weaves his own plans to protect against the machinations of Chaos.

When transports dispatched by Paladin Corswain arrive to take thirty thousand Calibanite recruits to the war, internal divisions are brought to the fore and loyalties are tested to the full. With the power not only to rule the world at stake but once again to reach out to the stars, the politics of Caliban are forced to a dramatic and murderous conclusion that will change the fate of the galaxy…

I’m going to publish an Angels of Caliban specific Q&A blog in a couple of weeks, after people have had a chance to read the book. If you have any questions, comments or observations, just get in touch. I’ll reply to you directly, and combine all responses into one blog post.

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**