Mechanicum

The Horus Heresy, Book 9

By: Graham McNeill

Narrated by: Toby Longworth

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

As the flames of treachery spread throughout the Imperium, Horus plots to subvert or destroy all those who would stand against him.

On Mars, home world of the Mechanicum priesthood, the great manufactory-cities have long produced much of the weaponry required for the expeditionary fleets across the galaxy - making the world invaluable to whoever controls it in the coming war.

Now, the Warmaster's agents begin to stoke the fires of rebellion, turning the loyalist forges and the mighty Titan Legions against one another. And, with whispers spreading of an ancient terror lurking beneath the Red Planet's surface, the Dark Mechanicum rises....

©2008 Games Workshop Limited (P)2015 Games Workshop Limited

New Light

I'm fairly new to the Warhammer universe. I've read about 18 books and listened to 2, this being the second. I wasn't really a fan of the Mechanicum before. In other books their depiction came off as more annoying than anything. There were a few individual members that I liked here and there, but as a whole I didn't care for them. This book changed that. Seeing how Mars functions with its Forges and better yet how their War Machines work is amazing. I also like that the story is tied directly to the first three Horus Heresy novels, unlike some others that jump in the timeline.

The narrator is a great fit for the job too. He has the perfect vocal range for the Mechanicum, and does a good job with different voice to help separate the characters out. None of them are annoying, and are distinct.

Definitely a top 10 of 40k books I've picked up so far.

great book, essential as well

This book is a pleasure to listen too, and its essential for understanding the nature of the Mechanicus, and its role in The Horus Heresy

This entry misses on so many levels

This book is a disjointed mess, with an unlikeable prototypical Mary Sue main character, entirely forgettable supporting cast, terrible pacing and an ending that settled... nothing.

Our protagonist is a mess. She doesn't grow at all during the story. She pops in knowing everything and solving everyone's problems with her near godlike special powers. Some powers simply manifest right when she needs them to fix whatever situation they're in. Everyone loves her and everyone treats her with unearned respect. Then she simply exits the story near the end and isn't seen from again so you spend the last 10% of the book reading about the inconsequential actions of a bunch of side characters, none of which have any positive influence on the outcome of the plot.

The pacing is erratic. You'll be at a high point in the action and ripped away to suddenly be introduced to a new character 80% of the way into the book just for that character to vanish again without a trace by the next chapter.

Many character motivations are sketchy at best, with only the loosest of reasons given for them to do whatever it is they're doing in any given scene, with most of those motivations being "I trust/love/believe in/respect/honor the protagonist" for nebulous reasons. The morality of some characters seem to whiplash between good and evil sometimes in the same chapter.

Lastly, you don't really learn anything new about Mars that you didn't already know tangentially from reading other books in the black library or playing the game and owning the rule books. There's nothing new here, there's nothing shocking here, there's no big reveal that made me gasp and say "I never would have thought that about the Mechanicum!"

In fact, I think you'd be better off buying the Mechanicum rule book for 40k and reading it, even if you don't play the game, because it has more back story and lore than this novel.

I honestly can't remember being as disappointed with the end of a book since I read Stephen King's Tommyknockers twenty years ago.

What truly boggles my mind is that Graham McNeill is usually not this dull and and boring of a writer. In fact, several of his novels are some of my favorite in the Black Library collection. This felt like a pay project for him that he really didn't have his heart in. It was almost like someone handed him a chapter outline and said "Ok, fill this in with words" and that's what he did.

Not bad!

It not best HH book (it is no Betrayer, Know No Fear, Master of Mankind or The First Heretic) but it is also not the worst either (which IMHO is Vulkan Lives...a truely dreadful book). But still...worth a listen! Toby Longworth is a great narrator as always.

Must read for 40k

If you like 40k lore this is a must read. it's a fantastic history of Mars

Good start, fumbles a bit toward the end.

Pretty good overall, but Dalia's storyline suffers at the end.

It's rather pretentious to make fun of the damsel trope in old literature when your character is suffering from Mary Sue syndrome with some chosen one trope thrown in.

A tale of Martian Civil War

This chapter of the Horus Heresy was a little harder to follow than previous books, lots of characters, lots of names. Still an excellent story and the narrator is probably my favorite of all the books in the series.

wordy but very exploration of another world, fun

lots of sci fi style names for advanced tech and robots. set on Mars it explores a advanced society of humans waging a greedy Civil War, one side seeking to abandon human ethics to expand their research and technological power. the others dutifully serving as a production center for far flung human colonies and fleets. greed versus nobility. the ending is brutal and provides an end as well as an opening for sequels.

The War of the Mechanicum

This book was an outstanding piece of work. The story gripped me and refuse to let go as I listened while I went about my day. The mystery and war aspects of the book were amazing, not to mention the narrator voiced the characters beautifully. Highly recommended!

the admech are the best but this was underwhelming

is as titled but I need to fill this space with fifteen words prompt says so anyways

Favourite heresy book so far

Probably due to my love of Titans, this was my favourite book thus far in the series

The best self-contained novel in the HH series.

It takes an especially talented writer to take a 30K/40K novel away from the genre's pulp roots, but McNeill is such a writer. The plot is water-tight, the pacing akin to a screenplay, the description appropriately verbose, and the characters humane and relatable. Don't expect a grand exploration of themes, instead adjust your expectation for a story that is perfect in its concision, simplicity, and humanity. This audiobook wouldn't nearly be so strong if not for the multiple voices of Toby Longworth. It is astounding how he can make every character unique, how he can immerse and excite you with a wide range of tempo and volume. The perfect narrator, in my opinion.

Not my favourite so far

The story is decent but the Narrator is a bit annoying. He has a habit of starting sentences speaking extremely quietly and by the end of the sentence he is basically roaring. Not due to what is happening in the story -i think it's just a style thing. I didn't connect with the mechanicum "heroes" as much as I did with the protagonists in the previous Horus Heresy novels.

Epic

Superbly written, and a great performance 10/10 a powerhouse of a sci-fi book. Possibly my favourite of the Horus Heresy collection.

Amazing from start to finish

What can i say about this book that would explain how good this book Is love warhammer 40k? Get this book love the lore then get the book want a truly incredible story then get THIS BOOK now

what a book riveting

engaging till the end excellent read. keeps you listerning till the end. another great book from the horus heresy series.

the rise of the dark mechanicum

the story seemed to be very well spaced so the book was finished right as you feel the need to know more about the red planet . it's a shame black library didnt play with the michanicums history. very impressive read

A must for any fan of the mechanicum

loved every moment. makes me want to buy a not so small mortgage worth of models

Great story but could have been read louder.

All told a good story and a great continuation to the story but it seemed to be quietly read at times which lessened my enjoyment just a tad.

The finale is worth it

A bit long and drags out in places however the finale makes it all worth it