Review: The Lost and the Damned

by Guy Haley

The second book in the Siege of Terra series sees the traitors successful in The Solar War, and they move on to lay siege to the outer walls of the palace itself.

The Solar War did some work in setting up the siege itself, and after many books, we’re finally here. This is going to follow some of the trends of the first book in the siege of terra series, with plenty of action, familiar faces and some desperate decisions to be made.

Epic confrontations

Now we’re in the final books, fans want to see the big characters of the Horus Heresy in epic confrontations. And this book has it in abundance. The selected viewpoints are diverse: The conscript, fresh and unready for the battle, a pilot who has been waiting for seeming ages and is finally entering the fight, the mighty blood angels on the wall to the viewpoint of a beastman mutant. Lost and the damned excels in its choices of whom to follow.

Many of the characters that featured heavily in The Solar War feature here too: Abaddon, Sanguinius, the Khan and more. We can’t follow every character that we’ve encountered so far over 50 books, and keeping a degree of focus avoids the book feeling shallow.

Some of the encounters are epic in this one. It’s tricky to say much without spoilers, but the book is paced well and interspersed with interesting events.

Compare and contrast

The diverse threads are engaging, despite most of us already knowing the key events. I particularly liked some of the smaller sub-plots, the perspective of a beastman was great, and something quite different (a nice callback to older Warhammer books). We get, as we’ve seen in many Horus Heresy books, the contrast between transhuman and standard soldier, but the descriptions are done well enough that it keeps it fresh, and perhaps there is an element of novelty since this is the final siege itself.

However, some of the action seemed a bit questionable. Was the Khan’s charge sensible and in character? Does some of the acrimony between the loyalist legions make sense, or would it seem more reasonable that they would pull together to defend Terra itself and be more unified? Although the differences between the different legions is often highlighted, I sometimes felt some of these elements were overemphasized. The Khan’s charge, although fitting their fighting style, is an example where it seemed more reckless and foolish than they’ve been portrayed elsewhere.

Readability

This one hurtles along and although I do think some plot points are telegraphed, it remains a page-turner. Perhaps the importance of the siege might be lost, the descriptions of the size and stature of both the structures, vehicles and war machines, as well as the scale of the war, elevate it’s importance.

Final score

Engaging, despite knowing what happens. Great action and sub-plots, which make it quite a page turner. Well worth a read.

8/10