Nice while it lasted, but won't re-listen.

Master of Mankind is to my mind, peak Aaron Demski-Bowden, with regards to strengths as an author and style of writing. There's a LOT of good in this book and a lot that's just fascinating, but be sure that you don't take anything that The Emperor says at face value, otherwise you might find yourself confused. Without wishing to spoil, suffice it to say that The Emperor's interactions are specifically crafted in such a way as to maximize His charismatic appeal to the person or party with whom He is speaking. As a rule of thumb, His statements throughout the Horus Heresy series should rarely be taken as a representation of His own opinions, but rather as a tool for Him to exercise His will; So far in the series, the only exceptions are in His interactions with Malcador, Constantin Valdor, and a very select few of His sons. If you are still a bit new to the lore, be sure to keep this in mind throughout the story, or you may well find yourself lost.

It should also be said that while ADB's strengths as a writer are evident, so too are his biases. It's difficult to pinpoint or provide any examples without giving spoilers, but for those who don't know, the author is well known for being something of a cheerleader for the Chaos faction, and his own personal daddy issues are a poorly kept secret within the 40K community. I mention this not as a jab at the author, but to provide context; If you find yourself scratching your head at moments in the story that just seem a bit off, knowing the above might be helpful. At least it was for me. I can only speak for myself here, so take this for what you will, but I can honestly say that my story experience would have been negatively impacted had I not been aware of some of the author's personal leanings beforehand, and I hope that this context might similarly help the experience of others, particularly those invested in the Horus Heresy series.

Overall, I'd ultimately really only recommend Master of Mankind to those invested in the Horus Heresy series or 40K as a whole. It's certainly no Horus Rising or Wolfsbane, but there's enough to keep your interest if you're waiting for other new releases in the series. For those who are still learning about the franchise, it's far from inaccessible, but bear in mind the points of context above. If you're freshly new to the lore however, steer clear, Master of Mankind requires a mild-to-moderate amount of background knowledge; If you're interested in the franchise and want to learn more, you'd probably find Horus Rising, Flight Of The Eisenstein, Legion, or The First Heretic more approachable.

26 people found this helpful

How many Custodes does it take to close a door?

I enjoyed this book a great deal. It contains some of the rare glimpses into the direct actions of The Emperor as well as insight into his life across human history. You also get to see more instances of The Big E being an epic-level bastard and showing that despite being incredibly intelligent and possessing remarkable psychic abilities, he is still oblivious to much of what goes on in the minds of those around him.

Aside from The Emperor exhibiting some remarkable callous and narcissistic behavior, and at times inconsistent behavior, the novel introduces several Custodes and Silent Sisterhood characters. The novel catches up on what has been happening since Magnus' Folly. Spoiler: it is both a lot and not much at once.

The novel also brings some Mechanicum characters back onto the stage. One of my personal favorite things was the inclusion of a particular Techno-Archaeologist from way back in the 40k fluff.

As usual, Aaron Dembski-Bowden crafts an enjoyable and entertaining tale. it is not as depressing as his Night Lords stories but there absolutely some grimdark moments. Jonathan Keeble does an admirable job narrating the novel.

One last note, the audio in this reading was one of the most consistent that I have noticed from Black Library. There were a couple of scenes where I turned the volume up a notch but that was all. I often feel I am adjusting the volume too often in BL audio productions so this was a very welcome change.

4 people found this helpful

Ave Imperator

Your reading a 40k review, it's doubtless what brought you here. Love him or hate him the Emperor is one of the driving forces of the War Hammer universe. This book puts in better perspective his life, reasons, and why the 40k is how it is. Great story, brilliantly presented, and worth it even if you don't care for the factions involved, there is something for all. including a lurking horror that may bring a new player to this universe's horizon.

3 people found this helpful

Makes the Emperor Sympathetic

I liked how the Emperor is portrayed here. He’s a man who has an aura of authority. But still a man. And even though people see him as all powerful he still has limits. Not his own, but those imposed by how psychic power and everyone else work.

It’s great insight into his personal feelings with the Primarchs and how everything is pushing him to one goal. And how getting to that goal requires relying on unreliable tools such as the Primarchs and mankind itself.

The narrator is great and provides a good mouthpiece to all the characters.

2 people found this helpful

Best one since the last one by Aaron

Some of these books drag on far to long, this one ended so quickly; I could listen to this story for 1000 hours, amazing book cannot recommend enough.

1 person found this helpful

A masterpiece

Aaron Demski-Bowden, Keeble and the War in the Webway... Perfect. I binged this book, left me utterly devastated and joyfull at the same time.

1 person found this helpful

Aaron Dembski-Bowden Does it Again

Everytime I hear one of Aaron Dembski-Bowden story's I tell myself how can this be topped? Than I listen to it and WOW! I'm amazed at the story and passion drove into each story I started With Talon of Horus than Black Legion after that The NightLords Trilogy Than I gave this a go And I Now know Aaron Dembski-Bowden is my favorite Writer from Games Workshop.

Now we know why the emperor didn’t just….

…kick Horus arse on day 1. This is one of my favorite HH novels and fills in a huge plot hole in the whole series.

Sensational

Narrator sounded exactly how I always imagined the Emperor. Also excited for the character insight into factions like the Sisters of Silence that I'd known only from random articles.

Yup!!!

You like Warhammer 40K!? Buy this book! Buy it! Come on! Yup! Do…it! Now