The Horus Heresy: The Buried Dagger

This is a deserved moment in the spotlight for the Death Guard both past and present, told across two narratives with similar themes. One strand features the long-awaited ‘doom of the Death Guard’, the moment when Mortarion and his sons are becalmed in the Warp and turned to Chaos, while the other focuses on ex-Death Guard Nathaniel Garro and Malcador’s Knights Errant as they unravel a series of complex, unexpected mysteries back on Terra.

It's a book about journeys reaching crucial moments, not necessarily endings but tests, revelations and turning points – for the characters and for the series as a whole. There’s an awful lot for it to cover, and while it might not be to everyone’s taste it manages to combine a lot of threads – including a few really big ones – into a narrative that’s entertaining, intriguing and complex. In an ideal world then perhaps the two arcs would have been told in separate books, but then Swallow’s Garro stories have always been about gradually digging into his motivations and the lengths he’s prepared to go so it makes sense to bring his story almost to a close alongside a fascinating character study of his estranged Primarch. After this, all that’s left is to watch as the Siege unfolds.

Wow, what a read!

The end is nigh, and the Battle for Terra looms down upon us!

In 'The Buried Dagger', Swallow guides us artfully through both present and past to give us an insight into the Primarch Mortarion's motives and mindset during the Horus Heresy. We meet more familiar faces and marvel at Malcador's enigmatic designs when we delve deep into the vaults of Terra!

Highly recommended read for veterans and new readers alike, a great stage to set the scene for the greatest battle in this timelines history!

I LOVE the Horus Heresy series. These books, despite being huge in number and written by an array of authors, are always entertaining and really keep up the excitement for future events. The fact that there is still such a sense of urgency about the characters' actions in these books, despite covering decades of in-universe time and years of real-world time, really reflects how much passion goes into these projects.

Mortarion and the Death Guard are always intruguing for me to read because they appear so infrequently in the Horus Heresy's list of character perspectives. The biggest Death Guard character we ride on the shoulder of is Nathaniel Garro, and he isn't even a traitor! It's really great to see some more of the viewpoint of those who grew so disaffected with the Great Crusade, and watch the transformation (physical and mental) taking place as these space marines become instruments of Chaos.

Needless to say, I am VERY excited for the coming Siege! This series is by far the longest-running set of books that I always physically purchase; the Horus Heresy takes up basically an entire bookshelf on its own. I am definitely looking forward to adding this one to my collection!

This was a fun read. Having read many (not all) of the previous Horus Heresy books I knew what I was getting myself into regardless. But after now 54 books in this series they have all started following a pattern of sorts. You generally won't be disappointed with the read it may however only excite a certain audience vs in the beginning they all had a great excitement surrounding them.

The fall of the Death Guard was what piqued my interest most and to Nurgle those grotesque beasts. I wasn't blown away but I enjoyed the read more so than I expected.

A stellar book filled to the brim with action, bloody mayhem, and tension. The Buried Dagger is tragic and epic at the same time, and it is one of those books that just refuses to be put down. A true masterpiece.

Lovers of the Death Gaurd will either love or hate this... I had a blast reading it tho. Continuing from more than one story, this gives us a deeper glance at the fate of the Followers of Nurgle...