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  • Battle for the Abyss

  • The Horus Heresy, Book 8
  • By: Ben Counter
  • Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
  • Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (2,300 ratings)
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Battle for the Abyss

By: Ben Counter
Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
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Summary

Now that news of Horus' treachery is in the open, a time of testing has come. Some Legions have already declared their allegiance to the Warmaster while the loyalty of others lies firmly with the Emperor. As Horus deploys his forces, loyalist Astartes learn that a massive Wordbearers fleet is heading to Ultramar, home of the Ultramarines.

Unless they can intercept the fleet and destroy the mighty battleship that has been sent to reinforce it, the Ultramarines may suffer a blow from which they will never recover.

©2008 Games Workshop Limited (P)2014 Games Workshop Limited

What listeners say about Battle for the Abyss

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Story
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

One only for die-hard Ultramarine fans

This story is a peculiar entry into the Horus Heresy series dealing with a bit of a non-event in the epic storyline which means it must work harder than the main timeline plots to become something distinct, which as I outline below it didn't for me.

This is the novel's first problem and the second is that the cast of characters are entirely contained within the tale, and disposable (I draw a parallel with the Star Wars film Rogue One).

The third is that unlike the proceeding books the protagonists and antagonists seem some what cardboard cut out good guys and villains, with the possible exception of Skral of the World Eaters.

These factors combined for a lack emotional investment in the characters which conspired to sap my enjoyment as I listened to the linear, predictable story. The other detraction here was the ponderous narrative style which continually over-explained details and went into gratuitous detail where not required... making action scenes slow and distracting from the plot and character engagement elsewhere.

The one strong positive in this story was the audio performance of the narrator which was well delivered and of excellent quality. I would normally of rated it 5 stars but necessity to make the Word Bearers overly villainous as written took away from my enjoyment.

In conclusion I can't recommend this book and don't see any reason to invest time and money in it - as a stand alone adventure it can be left without missing anything relevant to the main plot threads. Only a die-hard Ultramarine fan might find any enjoyment in this book and fans of the Word Bearers will be disappointed by the cartoonish portrayal of the legion.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Okay.

couldn't really finish it. It was more boring than the rest of the series. not the worst book though.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

not for me

brilliant performance but just a bit too much loyalist super men for me. a handful loyalist vs a whole word bearer chapter.... but if you love is ultramarines then this is the book for you

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great fun and engaging cat and mouse chase story

I enjoyed this indepth focus on a 40k space fleet tale.
Good main characters are the heart of the story and of course the mighty war ships engaged in a desperate cat and mouse chase through the 40k galaxy.
Great narration and solid writing make this a worth while listen.
I'm not sure why some reviewers didn't get on with this but I'm guessing that some people want the Horus heresy as a whole moved forward at a faster rate but for me I really enjoy a more indepth focus on the smaller engagements, characters and battles within the greater scope of the Heresy.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Battle to stay awake

Well, The warnings about this book are loud and clear. I went in with very, very low expectations and sometimes this enables the opportunity to see the good in something terrible. Not with this though.

Absolutely awful. 10 hours of my life gone. This is hardly a story, Basically a battle that goes on until it becomes incredibly tedious.

None of the characters are interesting and when a character dies it has zero emotional impact.

The main characters are massive cliches, boring Ultramarine, drunken Space Wolf and a World Eater who is basically Graaaar!

The first 5 books were great and Legion was interesting. I'm wondering if this is worse than Descent of Angels? However, it does actually have relevance to the Heresy and does move the story on from book 5 where Horus sends the legions off on their missions.

So, you could miss it out and just look up the (almost non-existent) plot online.

The performance, as ever is excellent.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

An interesting background story, but not the best

A bit slow, but interesting as a background story regarding the Word Bearers and their plan to wipe out the Ultramarines.

I have to say, the Word Bearers are intensely annoying and pompous, my least favourite legion so far, proper get on your nerves...

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Weak HH story

A rather weak story, unnecessarily protracted and rather dull. After introducing all the various characters, the conclusion ends with little if any closure for the main characters. This was chore to listen to.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Far better than reviews give it credit for!

Fantastic narration, interesting characters and nice story climax.

The narration was brilliant, multiple voices used were clearly identifiable and added to the intensity of some of the scenes.

Yes, the actual story itself might not appear to be that important and is rather tame being different perspectives from two ships, but the action and intensity of the scenes really is exciting when you can understand what is going on and who is who.

There are a few twists and turns and a good ending. I definitely think this book deserves at least 4 stars!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book!

Really did enjoy this one. some great scenes which get brought to life so well by Gareth Armstrong.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story from the horus heresy

Love it. Great book. Would recommend if you like the ultramarines. Great narrator too. I recommend.

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2 people found this helpful