What do you think?
Rate this book
The Horus Heresy #Audio Drama
Honour to the Dead
A Horus Heresy short story
As Calth burns, the Titans of the Fire Masters and True Messengers duel over the ruined city of Ithraca. With the Ultramarines scattered, who will defend the terrified population?
READ IT BECAUSE
It’s Titan on Titan action on a dying world, but despite the scale of the armoured behemoths, the heart of the story is a mortal woman and her family. And Aaron Dembski-Bowden has called this his favourite Horus Heresy story ever – worth a try, we think.
THE STORY
As Calth burns, the Battle Titans of the Fire Masters legion take to the streets of the city of Ithraca, ready to massacre the fleeing civilian population in the name of their new, dark masters. But the remaining loyalist engines of the Legio Praesagius – the True Messengers – still stand ready to defend the Imperium, even in the face of almost certain death. With the nearby Ultramarines forces scattered and lost, the people of Ithraca must fend for themselves as gigantic war machines unleash apocalyptic weaponry across the ravaged skyline...
This story also appears in Legacies of Betrayal, book XXXI of the Horus Heresy series.
The prose version of Gav Thorpe's Audio Drama released in May 2013.
As Calth burns, the Titans of the Fire Masters and True Messengers duel over the ruined city of Ithraca. With the Ultramarines scattered, who will defend the terrified population?
READ IT BECAUSE
It’s Titan on Titan action on a dying world, but despite the scale of the armoured behemoths, the heart of the story is a mortal woman and her family. And Aaron Dembski-Bowden has called this his favourite Horus Heresy story ever – worth a try, we think.
THE STORY
As Calth burns, the Battle Titans of the Fire Masters legion take to the streets of the city of Ithraca, ready to massacre the fleeing civilian population in the name of their new, dark masters. But the remaining loyalist engines of the Legio Praesagius – the True Messengers – still stand ready to defend the Imperium, even in the face of almost certain death. With the nearby Ultramarines forces scattered and lost, the people of Ithraca must fend for themselves as gigantic war machines unleash apocalyptic weaponry across the ravaged skyline...
This story also appears in Legacies of Betrayal, book XXXI of the Horus Heresy series.
The prose version of Gav Thorpe's Audio Drama released in May 2013.
ebook
First published August 13, 2013
3 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
About the author
Gav Thorpe
378 books581 followersGav spent 14 years as a developer for Games Workshop, and started writing novels and short stories in the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 when the Black Library imprint was launched in 1997.
He continues to write for Black Library, and his first 'homegrown' novel series The Crown of the Blood has been released via Angry Robot.
Currently living in Nottingham, Gav shares his home with his loving and very understanding partner - Kez, and their beautiful little boy - Sammy.
He continues to write for Black Library, and his first 'homegrown' novel series The Crown of the Blood has been released via Angry Robot.
Currently living in Nottingham, Gav shares his home with his loving and very understanding partner - Kez, and their beautiful little boy - Sammy.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
September 29, 2013
Black Library has definitely upped the Audio Quality with this one, from getting their own music composed (as opposed to using assets from THQ's Dawn of War and Space Marine games) over a full cast of voice actors to more sound effects than any other audio drama they have released so far.
Aside from a few instances of the background music being a tad too loud compared to the overlying voices, this audio drama was a pleasure to listen to.
That being said, I absolutely loved the raving madness of the Traitor Warhound's Princeps, and presenting the civilian side of the atrocity of Calth was refreshing. Especially since the female civilian protagonist had more to worry about than her own life, and was not at all like the past women we've seen throughout the Heresy series. No saint, no confessor, not even a techpriest - just a simple woman, caught up in a war of intimidating proportions.
The Ultramarines in this drama felt more like supporting characters, with a bigger role towards the end. They moved the story along, but did not overshadow the Titans or the chaos in Ithraca.
I feel that The Mark of Calth, an anthology mostly involving Ultramarine supremacy, Word Bearer schemes and reachery, presented on a cadaver of a planet, could have really benefitted from a story like this - set during the opening of the battle, before everybody was forced underground.
If it wasn't for this rather excellent audio adaption, I'd certainly mad that Honour to the Dead was not included in The Mark of Calth, but as it is, I can only recommend this audio drama.
Aside from a few instances of the background music being a tad too loud compared to the overlying voices, this audio drama was a pleasure to listen to.
That being said, I absolutely loved the raving madness of the Traitor Warhound's Princeps, and presenting the civilian side of the atrocity of Calth was refreshing. Especially since the female civilian protagonist had more to worry about than her own life, and was not at all like the past women we've seen throughout the Heresy series. No saint, no confessor, not even a techpriest - just a simple woman, caught up in a war of intimidating proportions.
The Ultramarines in this drama felt more like supporting characters, with a bigger role towards the end. They moved the story along, but did not overshadow the Titans or the chaos in Ithraca.
I feel that The Mark of Calth, an anthology mostly involving Ultramarine supremacy, Word Bearer schemes and reachery, presented on a cadaver of a planet, could have really benefitted from a story like this - set during the opening of the battle, before everybody was forced underground.
If it wasn't for this rather excellent audio adaption, I'd certainly mad that Honour to the Dead was not included in The Mark of Calth, but as it is, I can only recommend this audio drama.
May 5, 2013
I started listening to audio-books because of the Warhammer 40000 universe and so far all of the audio-dramas were great, especially those linked to Horus Heresy series.
This one is no exception - audio effects are great, you can almost feel thunderous war machines going to combat and firing their weapons at the enemy. There are certain .... well, let's call it weird acting :) like voices used for traitor Titan legion Princeps and his Titan ... they sound like they are from the cartoon :) could not stop giggling whenever they were main actors.
That aside, this work brought Warhammer 40k mechanized warfare to life(same can be said for Mechanicum novel) and it is a truly an experience.
Highly recommended for fans of the lore (or for anyone who likes stories of giant mechas fighting off in urban environment :))
This one is no exception - audio effects are great, you can almost feel thunderous war machines going to combat and firing their weapons at the enemy. There are certain .... well, let's call it weird acting :) like voices used for traitor Titan legion Princeps and his Titan ... they sound like they are from the cartoon :) could not stop giggling whenever they were main actors.
That aside, this work brought Warhammer 40k mechanized warfare to life(same can be said for Mechanicum novel) and it is a truly an experience.
Highly recommended for fans of the lore (or for anyone who likes stories of giant mechas fighting off in urban environment :))
November 10, 2015
Set during the events in the novel Know No Fear, we are treated to two Titan legions fighting each other within a city. A sub-plot follows a trio of Ultramarines trying to escort a woman and her baby to safety. By the end of the story both polts intersect with each other.
Brilliantly acted and with special effects that convey the huge battle and devastating weapons, this is an awesome audio drama. The one point I did not like was the portrayal of the Traitor Princeps - too comical in its attempt to be evil and mad.
I hope many of the characters are revisited latter in the series.
Brilliantly acted and with special effects that convey the huge battle and devastating weapons, this is an awesome audio drama. The one point I did not like was the portrayal of the Traitor Princeps - too comical in its attempt to be evil and mad.
I hope many of the characters are revisited latter in the series.
March 21, 2016
One of the better Horus Heresy audio dramas, when concerned with the actual quality of the voice actors and the sound effects! Really, the Titan Warhorns and plethora of weapons were amazing! I had my volume turned well up past safe levels and let the might of the Omnissiah's war machines wash over me!
There were a lot of good parts in this, showing both the smallest scale of a civilian trapped on Calth at the start of the battle, and the largest with the Titan warfare. Really damn good stuff from Mr. Thorpe! I hope that we get to see the little child as either a IG or Ultramarine in the future!
There were a lot of good parts in this, showing both the smallest scale of a civilian trapped on Calth at the start of the battle, and the largest with the Titan warfare. Really damn good stuff from Mr. Thorpe! I hope that we get to see the little child as either a IG or Ultramarine in the future!
February 7, 2017
There were a lot of good parts in this, showing both the smallest scale of a civilian trapped on Calth at the start of the battle, and the largest with the Titan warfare. Really damn good stuff from Mr. Thorpe! I hope that we get to see the little child as either a IG or Ultramarine in the future.
Without the amazing sound effects, the story isn't quite as fun a read! But still very good!
Without the amazing sound effects, the story isn't quite as fun a read! But still very good!
June 3, 2013
Plot was bolter porn, but it was a treat to listen to.
July 31, 2013
Actually really good for an audiodrama i enjoyed it...
February 2, 2024
Re-Listen and standing review February 2024: Listening as part of the Heresy Omnibus suggested reading order as part of Shadow War I - Only The Faithful (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) - First thing after reading Know No Fear.
Look, I'm a big girl and I can admit when I'm wrong. I fully got it wrong in my last review and have really turned around on this audio drama.
This is why whenever I recall not liking something I can never trust myself, as depending where I am with my mental and/ or chronic health, hormones, etc. I am often at the mercy of my own mind's mercurial whims and nonsensical intensity of feeling that feels so passionate and righteous at the time. This is also why I absolutely had to get off twitter.
In the midst of the Word Bearers attack on Calth, in the City of Ithaca, Varina rushes to retrieve her son and gives her all to get him to safety. Along the way she runs into Ultramarines heading to the muster point and the epic and terrifying might of Titan warfare, as the God-Machines of the Loyalists and Traitors square up among the rubble.
If this series has shown us anything, it is that the Adeptus Astartes are weapons, monstrous weapons devoid of humanity and slave to their indoctrination and leaders, except when they are not. There are those individuals and those moments in which some retain a modicum of and/ or find a glimmer of humanity, whether in the human they once were or reflected in the humanity around them. This is a story when not aspects of the Space Marines come together to help save human lives, a glister of hope among the tragic detritus and trauma of Calth.
We can have a little hope as a treat; The weak glinting of the Astronomicon glimpsed from the otherside of the void among the endless dark and eternal war. You cannot have the grimdarkness without the motes of light to give it depth, and, hooley dooley, did Calth need a little light.
But we must also not forget that in the Dark Millennium:
"Hope is but the first step on the road to disappointment, brother. You can fight for hope if you wish. I will fight to bring honour to the dead."
The above line has been remarked by Aaron Dembski-Bowden in an interview as the dividing line between 30K with its Great Crusade and stirrings of rebellion and the grimdarkness of 40K where the is only war. The Mark of the Dark Millennium, if you will. All propagandist saccharine notions of hope, unity, and the Emperor's supposed vision for humanity die on Calth, leaving only the simple martial understanding of honour, the need for revenge, and the constant battle with the Darker Powers and their Slaves to Darkness.
I think the thing I railed against in my previous review was the fact a mother and child seemed melodramatically, emotionally manipulatively, and within stereotypical gender roles. The Horus Heresy is absolutely a mythic legendary melodrama, as the historic epics are, characters are used symbolically and as archetypes, and these are hot bad things when done well, as they most often are, including here on reflection.
There is genuinely a problem with the boys club of writers, characters and perspectives in the Horus Heresy. The events on Calth provide many opportunities for characters who are not men to see some action. It was extremely disappointing how few were included in Know No Fear, but Varina was an example and I missed it as I was on some 2nd wave feminism black and white thinking BS. Women do not need to be martial to be strong and heroic. We do love to see that, the captain of the World Eaters flagship is amazing, as is the captain of the Sword of Baal from Angels of Death, and the commanding officer of the Cadians in Space Marine, and we want to see more. But, there is value and heroicism in a civilian and a parent doing everything the can to save their child and try to stay alive in the midst of Titanic war machines and the Warriors of Ultramar. It could be seen as far more brave in fact, than fighting on for honour and revenge.
I clearly brought a lot of my own frustrations and internalised misogyny to this story in my previous review that I tried to put on Thorpe, which I now recognise. This was incredibly wrong and very shallow reading of the character, solely as a wife and mother. Upon reflection, I don't feel like the text is reducing her to that. I unreservedly apologise for my comments in my previous review, which I disavow but have kept below to not hide from how I can get lost in the sauce sometimes.
The action and scale of the Titan warfare is impressive and dynamic, switching between perspectives on street level and within the literal Godhead of the Reaver.
One element I do think still rings strangler true with a Marvel movie comparison is the egalitarian motivations/ excuses of the Traitor Princeps as he goes about his gory and destructive work. As it is with him and Lorgar, as it so often is with Marvel villains having driving ideals and perspectives that are actually very right on, on paper, but the methods through which they act and how much anything they truly do works towards achieving that goal leave a lot to be desired. I do think the handling of this aspect could have been a bit more deft and interesting, rather than him seeming a bit like the stereotype of a bad 'commie'.
Listening to this in context with Know No Fear and the Horus Heresy series as whole made a world of difference. I am fully bought into the epic tragedy and legendary mythos of the Warhammer 40K foundation narrative, which seriously recontexualised my experience. I'm loving this series and can't wait to dive into more.
Jonathan Keeble absolutely kills it with his performance!
Good audio drama is good.
***
Re-Listen 1/5 review January 2024: listening to Audible collections of audio dramas at random [Review Disavowed in extremis, but keeping up to not hide from how reactionary and cringe I can be at times.
It brings me no pleasure to be honest about how listening to this again after so long, especially with how much respect I have for so much of Thorpe's work--The Path of the Eldar books and his Horus Heresy Raven Guard works, especially Raven's Flight (The Grey Raven not so much, but the editor of Lupercal's War did you dirty there Gav)--but this made me feel a kind of limp hatred, like, repulsed and annoyed, but with absolutely no energy or effort behind it because this isn't worth it.
I have read/ listened to obscene amounts of hours of Horus Heresy media and I think this is the worst I have encountered so far. I want to be clear that this is all just my subjective opinion and I do respect Thorpe, but this is just unacceptable for many, many reasons. Also, when I saw worst Horus Heresy media, I mean as a whole, contained piece. The bioessentialism and sex science (not the cool Slaanesh kind) Graham McNeill gets into in Fulgrim and Dan Abnett having John Grammaticus just fully out of pocket with his misogyny, slut shaming, and generally neifn a fucking creed in Legion, are far worse crimes than this awful audio drama, but take in their entirety those books are much more than just that. This is offensive in a number of ways, but not in any that are explicitly problematic.
It's been a long time since I heard one of the big production audio dramas and I thought I missed them, but this is such a bad example. The script is really bad. Not really bad for Thorpe, but really, really bad. Like, if you took the Heresy signage off this and sold it as a 40K audio drama that wouldn't help at all. But the direction and subsequent voice acting is entirely too much, which could be really fun and campy, but this story takes itself embarrassingly seriously. These are phenemonal voice actors who have been directed and/ or allowed to do the trite, discordant amateur dramatics. I don't understand.
2013 wasn't the best year for audio dramas in HH or 40K, so maybe there was something in the water and all the prayers and incense were going in the actual HH novels that were damn good that year, I don't know. Even more strange is that between Know No Fear and The Mark of Calth, the Ultramarines had been rescued from being nothing and actually had personality and struggles and stories for them to be characters in. But Honour to the Dead is just rote dross that could be set anywhere with any legion or chapter at any point in time. There is no grounding, no character, no placing the experiences of any of the Astartes, Titan Legions, civilins or a thing, beyond, so Calth is a whole thing and the Word Bearers are here because reasons. Like, how are there so many wonderful, incredibly talented, beautiful people involved in the creation and oversight of an audio drama for the biggest Black Library series ever that allowed this to happen and be sent out? I don't know if the rumours are true that there are one or more pseudonyms Black Library authors use when they don't want their own name on something being published, but this seems to prove it's not true. Because why else would a genuinely brilliant author, fantastic games designer, and I have been anecdotally been led to believe a genuinely lovely guy put his name on this?!
(Seriously though, if you do ever see this Gav, I'm just having some fun and this is bad, but you have so much good, I hope you see the funny side)
Beyond all the fun, silly, subjective stuff, I don't actually take issue with a mother and child being used purely as an emotional stick to attempt to hit the author with, especially when there is no effort at all put into that plotline and them as characters. The call sheet says, 'screaming mother and cute, indestructible baby'.
Finally, and this is genuinely my biggest issue and I might be out here on my own with this one, but this story is antithetical to actual GrimDark and Warhammer storytelling, and seems to be mark a real watershed moment in the turning from Warhammer 30 & 40K being satirical, and more so with the Horus Heresy, epic and mythological, embracing the nihilism of the empire of space nazis and the Imperium being awful, but the innocents and those tossed about on warp currents and propaganda, having these moments of heroism, pathos, and tragedy in the face of all of this and the utter futility of a galaxy that will end in blood and nothingness, and in between everything wants to kill everything this else. That darkness and honesty and holding up these unlikely candles of emotions and bolter porn is what makes everything about these settings great. But this is purely Marvel Cinematic Universe feel good thoughtless Avengers shit and that is the worst thing about all this. The Mark of Calth did a good job of threading that needle between hope and solidarity without it feeling sappy and jingoistic, but this and, sadly, a lot do aesthetics and perspectives of Games Workshop, Black Library, and the rise of bigotry and hatred within the community (as well as and in direct contrast to the diverse and incredible people who have always been here, as well as those who have joined more recently).
I want to be clear that I don't think there is malice or mustache twirling going on with this story or GW/ BL for the most part. There absolutely have been some serious issues with representation and treatment of staff and hobbyists that is utterly unacceptable, but I do believe there a lot of people who just want the best for these games and worlds. But lazy and thoughtless approaches when dealing with the things in these stories and worlds (this absolutely isn't all on Thorpe to be clear) very quickly becomes something nasty and dangerous. This isn't that, but it is marking a real change of perspective and I'm sad to see it for everyone.
I have only gone this hard because I genuinely care and have the respect in do for this creator and these properties. I've been cold and I could have been kinder, but I stand by what I've said, and when I'm hype, I am all about the joyous hyperbole, so it goes both ways.
Bad audio drama is bad.
Look, I'm a big girl and I can admit when I'm wrong. I fully got it wrong in my last review and have really turned around on this audio drama.
This is why whenever I recall not liking something I can never trust myself, as depending where I am with my mental and/ or chronic health, hormones, etc. I am often at the mercy of my own mind's mercurial whims and nonsensical intensity of feeling that feels so passionate and righteous at the time. This is also why I absolutely had to get off twitter.
In the midst of the Word Bearers attack on Calth, in the City of Ithaca, Varina rushes to retrieve her son and gives her all to get him to safety. Along the way she runs into Ultramarines heading to the muster point and the epic and terrifying might of Titan warfare, as the God-Machines of the Loyalists and Traitors square up among the rubble.
If this series has shown us anything, it is that the Adeptus Astartes are weapons, monstrous weapons devoid of humanity and slave to their indoctrination and leaders, except when they are not. There are those individuals and those moments in which some retain a modicum of and/ or find a glimmer of humanity, whether in the human they once were or reflected in the humanity around them. This is a story when not aspects of the Space Marines come together to help save human lives, a glister of hope among the tragic detritus and trauma of Calth.
We can have a little hope as a treat; The weak glinting of the Astronomicon glimpsed from the otherside of the void among the endless dark and eternal war. You cannot have the grimdarkness without the motes of light to give it depth, and, hooley dooley, did Calth need a little light.
But we must also not forget that in the Dark Millennium:
"Hope is but the first step on the road to disappointment, brother. You can fight for hope if you wish. I will fight to bring honour to the dead."
The above line has been remarked by Aaron Dembski-Bowden in an interview as the dividing line between 30K with its Great Crusade and stirrings of rebellion and the grimdarkness of 40K where the is only war. The Mark of the Dark Millennium, if you will. All propagandist saccharine notions of hope, unity, and the Emperor's supposed vision for humanity die on Calth, leaving only the simple martial understanding of honour, the need for revenge, and the constant battle with the Darker Powers and their Slaves to Darkness.
I think the thing I railed against in my previous review was the fact a mother and child seemed melodramatically, emotionally manipulatively, and within stereotypical gender roles. The Horus Heresy is absolutely a mythic legendary melodrama, as the historic epics are, characters are used symbolically and as archetypes, and these are hot bad things when done well, as they most often are, including here on reflection.
There is genuinely a problem with the boys club of writers, characters and perspectives in the Horus Heresy. The events on Calth provide many opportunities for characters who are not men to see some action. It was extremely disappointing how few were included in Know No Fear, but Varina was an example and I missed it as I was on some 2nd wave feminism black and white thinking BS. Women do not need to be martial to be strong and heroic. We do love to see that, the captain of the World Eaters flagship is amazing, as is the captain of the Sword of Baal from Angels of Death, and the commanding officer of the Cadians in Space Marine, and we want to see more. But, there is value and heroicism in a civilian and a parent doing everything the can to save their child and try to stay alive in the midst of Titanic war machines and the Warriors of Ultramar. It could be seen as far more brave in fact, than fighting on for honour and revenge.
I clearly brought a lot of my own frustrations and internalised misogyny to this story in my previous review that I tried to put on Thorpe, which I now recognise. This was incredibly wrong and very shallow reading of the character, solely as a wife and mother. Upon reflection, I don't feel like the text is reducing her to that. I unreservedly apologise for my comments in my previous review, which I disavow but have kept below to not hide from how I can get lost in the sauce sometimes.
The action and scale of the Titan warfare is impressive and dynamic, switching between perspectives on street level and within the literal Godhead of the Reaver.
One element I do think still rings strangler true with a Marvel movie comparison is the egalitarian motivations/ excuses of the Traitor Princeps as he goes about his gory and destructive work. As it is with him and Lorgar, as it so often is with Marvel villains having driving ideals and perspectives that are actually very right on, on paper, but the methods through which they act and how much anything they truly do works towards achieving that goal leave a lot to be desired. I do think the handling of this aspect could have been a bit more deft and interesting, rather than him seeming a bit like the stereotype of a bad 'commie'.
Listening to this in context with Know No Fear and the Horus Heresy series as whole made a world of difference. I am fully bought into the epic tragedy and legendary mythos of the Warhammer 40K foundation narrative, which seriously recontexualised my experience. I'm loving this series and can't wait to dive into more.
Jonathan Keeble absolutely kills it with his performance!
Good audio drama is good.
***
Re-Listen 1/5 review January 2024: listening to Audible collections of audio dramas at random [Review Disavowed in extremis, but keeping up to not hide from how reactionary and cringe I can be at times.
It brings me no pleasure to be honest about how listening to this again after so long, especially with how much respect I have for so much of Thorpe's work--The Path of the Eldar books and his Horus Heresy Raven Guard works, especially Raven's Flight (The Grey Raven not so much, but the editor of Lupercal's War did you dirty there Gav)--but this made me feel a kind of limp hatred, like, repulsed and annoyed, but with absolutely no energy or effort behind it because this isn't worth it.
I have read/ listened to obscene amounts of hours of Horus Heresy media and I think this is the worst I have encountered so far. I want to be clear that this is all just my subjective opinion and I do respect Thorpe, but this is just unacceptable for many, many reasons. Also, when I saw worst Horus Heresy media, I mean as a whole, contained piece. The bioessentialism and sex science (not the cool Slaanesh kind) Graham McNeill gets into in Fulgrim and Dan Abnett having John Grammaticus just fully out of pocket with his misogyny, slut shaming, and generally neifn a fucking creed in Legion, are far worse crimes than this awful audio drama, but take in their entirety those books are much more than just that. This is offensive in a number of ways, but not in any that are explicitly problematic.
It's been a long time since I heard one of the big production audio dramas and I thought I missed them, but this is such a bad example. The script is really bad. Not really bad for Thorpe, but really, really bad. Like, if you took the Heresy signage off this and sold it as a 40K audio drama that wouldn't help at all. But the direction and subsequent voice acting is entirely too much, which could be really fun and campy, but this story takes itself embarrassingly seriously. These are phenemonal voice actors who have been directed and/ or allowed to do the trite, discordant amateur dramatics. I don't understand.
2013 wasn't the best year for audio dramas in HH or 40K, so maybe there was something in the water and all the prayers and incense were going in the actual HH novels that were damn good that year, I don't know. Even more strange is that between Know No Fear and The Mark of Calth, the Ultramarines had been rescued from being nothing and actually had personality and struggles and stories for them to be characters in. But Honour to the Dead is just rote dross that could be set anywhere with any legion or chapter at any point in time. There is no grounding, no character, no placing the experiences of any of the Astartes, Titan Legions, civilins or a thing, beyond, so Calth is a whole thing and the Word Bearers are here because reasons. Like, how are there so many wonderful, incredibly talented, beautiful people involved in the creation and oversight of an audio drama for the biggest Black Library series ever that allowed this to happen and be sent out? I don't know if the rumours are true that there are one or more pseudonyms Black Library authors use when they don't want their own name on something being published, but this seems to prove it's not true. Because why else would a genuinely brilliant author, fantastic games designer, and I have been anecdotally been led to believe a genuinely lovely guy put his name on this?!
(Seriously though, if you do ever see this Gav, I'm just having some fun and this is bad, but you have so much good, I hope you see the funny side)
Beyond all the fun, silly, subjective stuff, I don't actually take issue with a mother and child being used purely as an emotional stick to attempt to hit the author with, especially when there is no effort at all put into that plotline and them as characters. The call sheet says, 'screaming mother and cute, indestructible baby'.
Finally, and this is genuinely my biggest issue and I might be out here on my own with this one, but this story is antithetical to actual GrimDark and Warhammer storytelling, and seems to be mark a real watershed moment in the turning from Warhammer 30 & 40K being satirical, and more so with the Horus Heresy, epic and mythological, embracing the nihilism of the empire of space nazis and the Imperium being awful, but the innocents and those tossed about on warp currents and propaganda, having these moments of heroism, pathos, and tragedy in the face of all of this and the utter futility of a galaxy that will end in blood and nothingness, and in between everything wants to kill everything this else. That darkness and honesty and holding up these unlikely candles of emotions and bolter porn is what makes everything about these settings great. But this is purely Marvel Cinematic Universe feel good thoughtless Avengers shit and that is the worst thing about all this. The Mark of Calth did a good job of threading that needle between hope and solidarity without it feeling sappy and jingoistic, but this and, sadly, a lot do aesthetics and perspectives of Games Workshop, Black Library, and the rise of bigotry and hatred within the community (as well as and in direct contrast to the diverse and incredible people who have always been here, as well as those who have joined more recently).
I want to be clear that I don't think there is malice or mustache twirling going on with this story or GW/ BL for the most part. There absolutely have been some serious issues with representation and treatment of staff and hobbyists that is utterly unacceptable, but I do believe there a lot of people who just want the best for these games and worlds. But lazy and thoughtless approaches when dealing with the things in these stories and worlds (this absolutely isn't all on Thorpe to be clear) very quickly becomes something nasty and dangerous. This isn't that, but it is marking a real change of perspective and I'm sad to see it for everyone.
I have only gone this hard because I genuinely care and have the respect in do for this creator and these properties. I've been cold and I could have been kinder, but I stand by what I've said, and when I'm hype, I am all about the joyous hyperbole, so it goes both ways.
Bad audio drama is bad.
July 16, 2025
Not a bad short read. Helpful only in that it gives a little more insight into the minds of early heretics and post-heresy Ultramarines. Loyalist Princeps Mikal and traitor Princeps Tyhe duke it out in the dying city of Ithraca. Mean a Space Marine squad led by Sergeant Aquila encounters the desperate mother Varinia and her newborn Pexilius.
Tyhe dies with the realization that it was his demonic titan engine who was more in control of his. Varinia dies along with Gaius, the Space Marine most dedicated to protecting her. Sergeant Aquila now takes on responsibilty for protecting the baby, not out of hope, but to honour the dead (duh duh duh).
Originally published as an audio book. So maybe it's better in that format.
Tyhe dies with the realization that it was his demonic titan engine who was more in control of his. Varinia dies along with Gaius, the Space Marine most dedicated to protecting her. Sergeant Aquila now takes on responsibilty for protecting the baby, not out of hope, but to honour the dead (duh duh duh).
Originally published as an audio book. So maybe it's better in that format.
March 29, 2018
I bought this after Aaron Dembski-Bowden said that it was his favorite short 40k story. ". . .HttD has the moment that the Space Marines, as a concept, begin to change from the expansive/crusading Legiones Astartes to the future hypno-indoctrinated, monastically militant, everything-enduring defenders of a crumbling/static empire," he wrote. Alas, I just found it to be tedious non-stop action. But I did like Varinia's arc. Nothing more vulnerable than a woman trying to protect her baby in the middle of a crazy warzone.
July 31, 2025
"Hope is but the first step on the road to disappointment, brother. You can fight for hope if you wish. I will fight to bring honour to the dead."
Titans clash in the city of Ithica and the common people of Calth suffer. The Ultramarines have been betrayed by their once allies, the Word Bearers, and caught up in the carnage is a woman, struggling to get to safety with her baby.
The civilian perspective doesn't often get a lot of focus in the Heresy, so I appreciate the change of pace. The scale of conflict is horrifying and brutal even for those in power armour, let alone a normal human.
Titans clash in the city of Ithica and the common people of Calth suffer. The Ultramarines have been betrayed by their once allies, the Word Bearers, and caught up in the carnage is a woman, struggling to get to safety with her baby.
The civilian perspective doesn't often get a lot of focus in the Heresy, so I appreciate the change of pace. The scale of conflict is horrifying and brutal even for those in power armour, let alone a normal human.
September 9, 2013
The real surprise behind Honour to the Dead is more how it managed to fail than its actual failure.
Advertising titan combat on Calth, the blurb on the audio drama’s cover makes it sound more like bolter porn than anything of substance but that’s only half right. There’s certainly very little substance, but the drama almost seems determined to avoid the violence. At every turn, even as the city is torn down, moments of conflict and battle are told just out of sight rather than truly shown.
A group of Ultramarines take out traitorous members of the Imperial Army? It’s told from the viewpoint of a character who can’t see them. A group of titans move to flank a number of enemy war engines as they fight their way to a downed craft? We hear the commands from the Princeps commanding the group and only hear the impact of their efforts in brief statements rather than see the fight itself. In fact the only time we get any remotely lengthy or detailed titan vs titan combat is during the very conclusion. This not only removes the drama’s main selling point but there’s nothing really there to make up for it.
What is seen of the city is barely described or gone into at all, the shape, layout, design or even its state of development might as well be left to guesswork. The only few hints which are given come from the fact titans are able to use the buildings as cover, but little to nothing is actually established. Like far too many stories today, it feels as if the entire first act was simply cut for time so they could try to get to the meat of the action, severely botching their tale as a result. This becomes evidently clear as not only do the characters barely react to the outset of civil war and allied forces turning upon them, but we’re hardly told who they are.
The book follows three groups of characters, two loyal and one traitor, all of who are one dimensional at best. Of the civilian and Ultramarines, the former can only be identified by her overwhelming desire to keep her infant son alive and the latter can be more easily categorised by the weapons they lug into battle than personalities. The loyalist princeps is only defined by the fact his titan is the most recently constructed out of his legion and, unlike his traitor counterpart, he is not a caricature of a raving maniac. Yes, the last guy manages to make Fabius Bile look stable and Skeletor sound like Tim Curry. His engine is also so corrupt that it effectively becomes a walking plot hole as you have to wonder how the hell no one noticed it being very obviously daemonically possessed.
Unfortunately for us the sound effects are the only remotely decent part of this drama and even they have countless problems. While the overall quality and direction is fine, even the aforementioned Chaos loon at least sounds like the actor was putting effort into his role, the stuff they are given to work with does little to help them. Furthermore at many points the sound effects simply sound wrong. Collapsing buildings, music, alarms, bolter fire and the loud whirring clunks of scout titans moving are all excellent but many weapons are hilariously bad. Plasma fire consists of some of the most laughable effects any Black Library product has ever used and Vulcan mega-bolters sound like slow firing light machineguns.
Just as it has no beginning, the audio drama also has no apparent end. By the conclusion nothing has apparently been achieved by any characters involved and the fight is still going on as it draws to a close. The loyalists have the upper hand, but no personal stories have been resolved, the combat isn’t close to being over and the Ultramarines aren’t even at the destination they spent the entire drama running to. It’s as if there was massive editing to the story at the last minute and large chunks were removed of a much longer tale.
What really makes Honour to the Dead hard to listen to however is the odd way in which Gav Thorpe went about writing this. Every single event, even as new revelations occur are written as if they have already happened, as if this were some massive flashback. The excuse to this is supposedly in the introduction, stating this is a historical file, but huge parts of the tale could not possibly be recorded by anyone and it never fails to look odd. It comes down to over an hour of listening to this:
“Invigilator’s commander leads the battlegroup. Princeps Senioris Mikal, veteran of many battles, hears the general order to halt. He eases his consciousness deeper into the mind impulse unit of his war engine to survey the scene, his senses moving from sight and sound and touch to thermal optics, frequency audit and tactile resonance. For a moment he feels weak, a man of flesh and bone with a slowly beating heart trying to tame a colossus of metal driven on by the unimaginable energies of a plasma reactor. Invigilator’s crude awareness defies him briefly, almost petulant, before Mikal imposes his will upon the machine spirit.”
If you’re after Legio Titanicus related combat, Dan Abnett’s still the man to go to. The original comic he wrote with Andy Lanning, and Titanicus, are still two of the best titan focused works out there and this audio drama can’t hold a candle to them. Save your money and just go find a copy of one of them instead.
Advertising titan combat on Calth, the blurb on the audio drama’s cover makes it sound more like bolter porn than anything of substance but that’s only half right. There’s certainly very little substance, but the drama almost seems determined to avoid the violence. At every turn, even as the city is torn down, moments of conflict and battle are told just out of sight rather than truly shown.
A group of Ultramarines take out traitorous members of the Imperial Army? It’s told from the viewpoint of a character who can’t see them. A group of titans move to flank a number of enemy war engines as they fight their way to a downed craft? We hear the commands from the Princeps commanding the group and only hear the impact of their efforts in brief statements rather than see the fight itself. In fact the only time we get any remotely lengthy or detailed titan vs titan combat is during the very conclusion. This not only removes the drama’s main selling point but there’s nothing really there to make up for it.
What is seen of the city is barely described or gone into at all, the shape, layout, design or even its state of development might as well be left to guesswork. The only few hints which are given come from the fact titans are able to use the buildings as cover, but little to nothing is actually established. Like far too many stories today, it feels as if the entire first act was simply cut for time so they could try to get to the meat of the action, severely botching their tale as a result. This becomes evidently clear as not only do the characters barely react to the outset of civil war and allied forces turning upon them, but we’re hardly told who they are.
The book follows three groups of characters, two loyal and one traitor, all of who are one dimensional at best. Of the civilian and Ultramarines, the former can only be identified by her overwhelming desire to keep her infant son alive and the latter can be more easily categorised by the weapons they lug into battle than personalities. The loyalist princeps is only defined by the fact his titan is the most recently constructed out of his legion and, unlike his traitor counterpart, he is not a caricature of a raving maniac. Yes, the last guy manages to make Fabius Bile look stable and Skeletor sound like Tim Curry. His engine is also so corrupt that it effectively becomes a walking plot hole as you have to wonder how the hell no one noticed it being very obviously daemonically possessed.
Unfortunately for us the sound effects are the only remotely decent part of this drama and even they have countless problems. While the overall quality and direction is fine, even the aforementioned Chaos loon at least sounds like the actor was putting effort into his role, the stuff they are given to work with does little to help them. Furthermore at many points the sound effects simply sound wrong. Collapsing buildings, music, alarms, bolter fire and the loud whirring clunks of scout titans moving are all excellent but many weapons are hilariously bad. Plasma fire consists of some of the most laughable effects any Black Library product has ever used and Vulcan mega-bolters sound like slow firing light machineguns.
Just as it has no beginning, the audio drama also has no apparent end. By the conclusion nothing has apparently been achieved by any characters involved and the fight is still going on as it draws to a close. The loyalists have the upper hand, but no personal stories have been resolved, the combat isn’t close to being over and the Ultramarines aren’t even at the destination they spent the entire drama running to. It’s as if there was massive editing to the story at the last minute and large chunks were removed of a much longer tale.
What really makes Honour to the Dead hard to listen to however is the odd way in which Gav Thorpe went about writing this. Every single event, even as new revelations occur are written as if they have already happened, as if this were some massive flashback. The excuse to this is supposedly in the introduction, stating this is a historical file, but huge parts of the tale could not possibly be recorded by anyone and it never fails to look odd. It comes down to over an hour of listening to this:
“Invigilator’s commander leads the battlegroup. Princeps Senioris Mikal, veteran of many battles, hears the general order to halt. He eases his consciousness deeper into the mind impulse unit of his war engine to survey the scene, his senses moving from sight and sound and touch to thermal optics, frequency audit and tactile resonance. For a moment he feels weak, a man of flesh and bone with a slowly beating heart trying to tame a colossus of metal driven on by the unimaginable energies of a plasma reactor. Invigilator’s crude awareness defies him briefly, almost petulant, before Mikal imposes his will upon the machine spirit.”
If you’re after Legio Titanicus related combat, Dan Abnett’s still the man to go to. The original comic he wrote with Andy Lanning, and Titanicus, are still two of the best titan focused works out there and this audio drama can’t hold a candle to them. Save your money and just go find a copy of one of them instead.
December 8, 2025
Short as far as short stories go. The stronger part of this story was following a mother and child through the destruction wrought by Ultramarine & Word Bearer Titan's clashing. When being rescued amidst the battle by a small band of Ultramarines, this one humanizes the conflict in a different way than other stories have
Enjoyed this one as a brief vignette
Enjoyed this one as a brief vignette
May 9, 2017
Mas de la batalla de calt
Read
March 31, 20203.5
November 27, 2020
Giant robots, treachery, rebellion and civil war. All the good stuff you would expect from Warhammer.
October 8, 2023
More enjoyable than I expected for a Gav Thorpe work. The production quality of the audio drama isn't the best but its good enough and I always enjoy a good story focused on Titans.
May 23, 2024
Decent tale of Titan warefare in the battle of Calth. Pretty high quality audio production and solid prose by Thorpe. Definitely not essential but solid; add a star if you're into Titans.
January 18, 2025
Collected in legacies of betrayal book
May 28, 2025
Pretty generic but some horrible chaos knight lore
November 24, 2025
A nice little tale of hope and defiance in the face of overwhelming odds. I really enjoyed the civilian perspective of Calth and seeing the Blue guys being true good guys.
May 19, 2020
Review for the e-book version of this audio drama
Interesting story, particularly because it shows perspective from arguably the least represented point of view in all Warhammer 40,000 storytelling - non-combatant civilians. Not exclusively, mind.
It has some annoying, unreal monologue, which detracts from its relatability.
The story is of no consequence to the overall story of the Horus Heresy.
The e-book for this audio drama can be found in the compilation Legacies of Betrayal
Interesting story, particularly because it shows perspective from arguably the least represented point of view in all Warhammer 40,000 storytelling - non-combatant civilians. Not exclusively, mind.
It has some annoying, unreal monologue, which detracts from its relatability.
The story is of no consequence to the overall story of the Horus Heresy.
The e-book for this audio drama can be found in the compilation Legacies of Betrayal
September 4, 2014
You can read the full review over at my blog:
http://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/2014...
[This was reviewing alongside Censure by Nick Kyme, another Horus Heresy audio drama.]
Honour To The Dead in comparison is a much different kind of audio drama. It focuses on more characters, for one, and it also features some really intense Titan combat. Titan combat in the Horus Heresy has been in dribs and drabs up until now. The occasional novel will feature something exciting, but in the main the novels deal with the Asstartes themselves and with the Army personnel. The Titans don’t get much screen-time unfortunately. But fortunately, Honour To The Dead does much to correct that.
Gav’s story here is set in the aftermath of the first moments of the Word Bearers’ betrayal, after the Campanile smashes into Calth’s central defenses and the planet itself is bombarded with the detritus of war as the treachery breaks out and the Ultramarines legion is slaughtered in space. In the city of Ithraca, the loyalist Legio Praesagius is preparing to embark on its carrier ships, to be taken into orbit as part of the Ultramarines legion fleet that is set to begin a campaign of compliance and extermination against a nearby Ork empire. But everything goes wrong in the final moments and the battle-engines of the Fire Masters legion declare against Guilliman for Lorgar. Ithraca is thus setup for a near-apocalyptic battle between the massive war-engines of both Titan Legions, even as scattered Ultramarines forces attempt to retake the city from Word Bearers and cultists alike and the people of the city are left to fend for themselves.
There are three primary story arcs in this audio. The first involves the Legio Praesagius, the True Messengers, of course with the third involving a combat squad of Ultramarines and the third an Ithracan woman as she braves looters, cultists and more in order to find safety for her baby boy. Each of the three arcs intersect at one point or another, and Gav’s genius is in that very fact itself. He brings together these story strands really well, and tells the tale of the battle for Ithraca across three major viewpoints.
But the focus always remains on the battle between the war-engines of the True Messengers and the Fire Masters, with characters from both sides getting a really great turn-out in terms of characterization. For me, Gav has always been one of Black Library’s finest and his technical and narrative storytelling are both top order in this audio drama. His audio drama The Raven’s Flight, which focused on the Raven Guard Primarch Corvus Corax during the Dropsite Massacre, is one of my all-time favourite audio dramas from Black Library and I think that Honour To The Dead is well-enough a match for that one. The ever-awesome Toby Longworth isn’t on the voice duties here, but that was a small matter indeed because the story was so damn good.
Producer Sean Gunn did a remarkable job with all the sound effects and the casting of Gareth Armstrong, David Timson, Jane Collingwood, Jonathan Keeble and Luke Thompson works really well once again. Far as I know, Luke Thompson is a newcomer and it is really nice to see that the audios are getting ever more sophisticated, whether they be in terms of sound effects in the background or the number of voice-actors. More diversity in the cast means that there is more to enjoy because you don’t have just a small, very small, handful of people doing far too many voices. I loved the days of Big Finish when Toby Longworth did all the audios for Black Library, but I love equally all that Heavy Entertainment has been doing of late. And definitely a special commendation to Stephen Slater for all the music that he composed for this audio.
Oftentimes, the mood in Honour To The Dead is one of abject fear and tension. Whether they be scenes of Titan horns blaring in the midst of battle, or the various characters being up to no good, the sound and voice-acting in Honour To The Dead is definitely exceptional. Jane’s scenes were a bit too dramatic, but I still loved the humaneness she brought to her character, and she captured the required fear, hauntedness and terror really well, so yeah.
Rating: 9.5/10
http://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/2014...
[This was reviewing alongside Censure by Nick Kyme, another Horus Heresy audio drama.]
Honour To The Dead in comparison is a much different kind of audio drama. It focuses on more characters, for one, and it also features some really intense Titan combat. Titan combat in the Horus Heresy has been in dribs and drabs up until now. The occasional novel will feature something exciting, but in the main the novels deal with the Asstartes themselves and with the Army personnel. The Titans don’t get much screen-time unfortunately. But fortunately, Honour To The Dead does much to correct that.
Gav’s story here is set in the aftermath of the first moments of the Word Bearers’ betrayal, after the Campanile smashes into Calth’s central defenses and the planet itself is bombarded with the detritus of war as the treachery breaks out and the Ultramarines legion is slaughtered in space. In the city of Ithraca, the loyalist Legio Praesagius is preparing to embark on its carrier ships, to be taken into orbit as part of the Ultramarines legion fleet that is set to begin a campaign of compliance and extermination against a nearby Ork empire. But everything goes wrong in the final moments and the battle-engines of the Fire Masters legion declare against Guilliman for Lorgar. Ithraca is thus setup for a near-apocalyptic battle between the massive war-engines of both Titan Legions, even as scattered Ultramarines forces attempt to retake the city from Word Bearers and cultists alike and the people of the city are left to fend for themselves.
There are three primary story arcs in this audio. The first involves the Legio Praesagius, the True Messengers, of course with the third involving a combat squad of Ultramarines and the third an Ithracan woman as she braves looters, cultists and more in order to find safety for her baby boy. Each of the three arcs intersect at one point or another, and Gav’s genius is in that very fact itself. He brings together these story strands really well, and tells the tale of the battle for Ithraca across three major viewpoints.
But the focus always remains on the battle between the war-engines of the True Messengers and the Fire Masters, with characters from both sides getting a really great turn-out in terms of characterization. For me, Gav has always been one of Black Library’s finest and his technical and narrative storytelling are both top order in this audio drama. His audio drama The Raven’s Flight, which focused on the Raven Guard Primarch Corvus Corax during the Dropsite Massacre, is one of my all-time favourite audio dramas from Black Library and I think that Honour To The Dead is well-enough a match for that one. The ever-awesome Toby Longworth isn’t on the voice duties here, but that was a small matter indeed because the story was so damn good.
Producer Sean Gunn did a remarkable job with all the sound effects and the casting of Gareth Armstrong, David Timson, Jane Collingwood, Jonathan Keeble and Luke Thompson works really well once again. Far as I know, Luke Thompson is a newcomer and it is really nice to see that the audios are getting ever more sophisticated, whether they be in terms of sound effects in the background or the number of voice-actors. More diversity in the cast means that there is more to enjoy because you don’t have just a small, very small, handful of people doing far too many voices. I loved the days of Big Finish when Toby Longworth did all the audios for Black Library, but I love equally all that Heavy Entertainment has been doing of late. And definitely a special commendation to Stephen Slater for all the music that he composed for this audio.
Oftentimes, the mood in Honour To The Dead is one of abject fear and tension. Whether they be scenes of Titan horns blaring in the midst of battle, or the various characters being up to no good, the sound and voice-acting in Honour To The Dead is definitely exceptional. Jane’s scenes were a bit too dramatic, but I still loved the humaneness she brought to her character, and she captured the required fear, hauntedness and terror really well, so yeah.
Rating: 9.5/10
October 22, 2018
As much as I enjoy a good clash of Titans this entry doesn’t add enough to either the WH40k sub-genre or to the Battle of Calth.
May 24, 2017
No matter how hard I try, I just can't really bring my self to like this audio drama. Sure, the setting is quite good and I love the acting of both the Princepts, especially the over the top ham of Tai, the Chaos Princept.
The problem is that the sound effects are horrible... enormous turbo lasers should NOT sound like the pew-pew of a toy gun. A Mega bolter should not sound like a machinegun. and the woman trying to flee with her infant son just sound awful most of the time.
...Ok. the war horns of the titans did sound awesome though.
The problem is that the sound effects are horrible... enormous turbo lasers should NOT sound like the pew-pew of a toy gun. A Mega bolter should not sound like a machinegun. and the woman trying to flee with her infant son just sound awful most of the time.
...Ok. the war horns of the titans did sound awesome though.
February 1, 2017
This short story interconnects four poignant threads together as Calth burns: A mother and her baby, a traitor titan pilot who realizes that his cause has used him, an Imperium titan pilot trying to keep hope alive and a small squad of Ultramarines who give up on hope even as they replace it with duty in the face of the grim darkness of the upcoming future. The verb tense is similar to Abnett's 'Know No Fear' and gives the work a sense of tragic immediacy. Excellent.
December 1, 2015
This one deserves the 5 stars.
Mind blowing action, and by far the best sound effects I've ever heard in the audio dramas yet. I listened to this "thing", this "audio drama", and I out those in quotations because it is a monster of sound and action. I had it playing on superb speakers on my car and the Titans walking literally shook the car, and to hear the Titan war horns roar...absolutely terrifying.
IF YOU LOVE WARHAMMER40k you CANNOT miss this.
Mind blowing action, and by far the best sound effects I've ever heard in the audio dramas yet. I listened to this "thing", this "audio drama", and I out those in quotations because it is a monster of sound and action. I had it playing on superb speakers on my car and the Titans walking literally shook the car, and to hear the Titan war horns roar...absolutely terrifying.
IF YOU LOVE WARHAMMER40k you CANNOT miss this.
January 20, 2026
Very well voice-acted story. I respect it attempting to go for some heavier, more emotional story beats, but unfortunately it didn't really grip me at all. Mostly forgettable short story, as far as I'm concerned.
September 12, 2014
A decent Titan vs Titan war on Calth set during the Heresy era
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews