Scars: The Horus Heresy, Book 28

I usually do not review books, but I thought this one deserved praise. Good narrative structure, never losing the plot threads, never deviating from it's point, and the action scenes are thrilling.Personally though the excellency of this book is due the characterization of the White Scars legion, each POV shows a little more about the legion:The Khan show every second what it means being him, and that is not showing himself, which is perhaps the strength and the weakness of his entire legion. I just love how Mr. Wraight managed to insert this into the book (again, due to his well structure narrative). His relationship with Magnus and Horus was quite well explained and justified, which helped with one of the showcases of the book: the Khan's fight against one of his brothers.Yesugei is perhaps the most affable Astartes I've EVER read to a point that he actually upped himself to the likes of Loken in my mind. Not only he is a believable and a well developed mentor archetype, but Yesugei deals with the important plot point of the Psykers through the heresy.Shiban and Torgun were good foils, though if you wish to read more about them check Brotherhood of the Storm, because their purpose is quite clear (and very important to both understand the White Scars position in the Heresy and another good justification for following Horus, and one that does not involve insanity), but I thought they could have been used more.Ilya was the Hawser character that helped the readers to see the Scars from a human point of view, and it was enjoyable seeing her liking the legion more and more as the story developed (her exasperation were somewhat funny too).One thing that really matters to me in quite a personal way though is the fact this book brings REPRESENTATION to the table (pun intended). I'm a man of asian descent (writing through a relative account) and while a big fan of the 40K universe I could hardly feel close to the characters in a personal manner due to the fact of how they are mainly european white men. My biggest praise towards Mr.Wraight is not making the Scars either a stereotype (which happens so often in media, be from the West or from the East) or white european characters in mongol skin, but their own Legion, with touches of some asian cultures (like the philosophies behind GO) that I could identify myself with.All in all, it's espetacular and far more than I would expect from the White Scars Legion. Also it brings one of the best lines of the Heresy:'By the time I make my kills, I'm always laughing.'

I wasn't particularly looking forward to this entry in the Horus Heresy series when I first saw it released. I knew very little of the White Scars legion and dismissed them as a rampaging barbarian horde. The story plays upon these notions and completely subverts them.The White Scars, led by their Primarch Jaghatai Khan, are not like any of the other legions. The Scars don't particularly fit in well with order and discipline of the Imperium. They are much more content to do their own thing. To strike out on their own and hunt the enemies of mankind on their own terms. In fact they are sometimes thought of as the lost legion, because they are usually off doing their own thing under the radar and everyone kind of forgets about them. That being the case, once the heresy starts in full swing the Scars are the last to know. They don't have a clear picture of what's going on, and the other legions have no idea if they have turned traitor or stayed loyal. The main crux of the story is Jahatai and the legion discovering the heresy and determining their place in the galaxy after it.We get a good look at the legion and their culture and discover they aren't the barbarians everyone assumes they are. In fact it quite rankles them to know they are often compared Leman Russ and his brutal Space Wolves. Upon ascending to the ranks of the Legiones Astartes the new White Scars are encouraged to follow one of the noble pursuits, be it poetry, music, art, etc. They are also one of the only legions that truly loves and finds joy in what they do. The White Scars enter battle with a smile on their faces and a song in their hearts. Freedom, speed, the joy of the hunt, these are defining characteristics of the White Scars. They quickly transformed from a legion I had almost no interest in to one of my favorites.

As someone who knew very little about the White Scars, this is an interesting look at their Chapter. I admit, I don't come out of this as a huge fan. Torghun is the one I associate the most (not surprising as I'm a huge Luna Wolves fan).Still, it's an important read in the heresy, as the White Scars could really have tipped the balance against the Imperium. Perhaps that's why the Alpha Legion does what it does....

An enthralling read,The White Scars are a fascinating Space Marine Legion, and Chris Wraight did an amazing job elucidating their lore and achievements.

Wraight has done an absolutely stellar job with his books following the Rout, and his handling of the White Scars here, probably the least-regarded of the Legions, is done just as well. There are enough cues to link the Scars back to their Asiatic roots without being overly heavy-handed about it (as another reviewer mentioned, losing the verbal tics would have made it a bit cleaner - although it did lead to an unexpected laugh during the first meeting of the Scars and the Salamander/Iron Hands company). The story in the book is complex without being byzantine, and covers more than I expected it to: the Scars, the Rout, the Alpha Legion, Salamanders and Thousand Sons all find some mention in this book without stepping on each others' toes, and there's still room left some some rather epic battles.As Wraight has done a great job keeping the Rout from being simple, smelly, mead-swilling brutes, he turns the Scars into a rather unique Legion, and even goes into some small detail on the Khan's support of Magnus, and the Librarius - which always seemed an interesting, if confusing, footnote in the history of the Heresy.The past few Heresy books have been rather weak for the most part (Unremembered Empire probably being the weakest of the lot, while I liked Angel Exterminatus for the exploration of Perturabo's character), but Scars quite easily snaps the lethargy the series has become mired in and recalls the scale of the early Heresy books - it's much more Space Marines and much less Spehss Mahreens.

What can I say? This book is fantastic on so many levels. The White Scars have been neglected until now, but here they really come to life, standing so far apart in character and temperament to many other legions. They come across as proficient, zealous, yet oddly innocent and simple when contrasted with the intricacies, intrigue, pride etc of, say, the Sons of Horus, Thousand Sons, Word Bearers, Space Wolves etc. The plot was great, the writing beyond great, and to be brutally honest I'm downright confused how this book even has a single bad review. It's fantastic. Hands down. If you like 40K, read it. You won't regret it.

I liked this book. I've never really considered the White Scars a favorite Legion of mine, but with every book, and especially this one, they grow closer to me. The author did a fantastic job with describing their ways and the would of the legion. This wasn't the fanciest or most popular stories to tell and not many people will talk about how Jagathai decided to stay loyal to Him, but I'm glad I found out now! 10/10

Superb prose, blistering pace (as one would hope of a White Scars narrative); basically an edge of your seat ride through the void.

Le 28e tome de l'Hérésie d'Horus, où apparaissent pour la "première" fois les White Scars, grands oubliés de la série jusqu'ici.Avec ses 475 pages en édition originale, on peut évidemment s'attendre au schéma classique de la Black Library, avec 200 pages "introductives", 150 pages de développements, et le reste en dénouement/action pure. Et Scars ne déroge pas à la règle, même si pour une fois, l'action se cherche un peu...Il faut dire que la construction du roman n'est pas aidée par une profusion de personnages et de seconds couteaux. Si j'ai beaucoup aimé la dichotomie Torghun / Shiba, j'avoue ne pas comprendre ce que vient faire dans ce livre l'arc Yesugei, qui ne participe jamais à quoi que ce soit de la trame principale. C'est, clairement, une novella rapportée dans le roman pour l'épaissir, et ça m'a honnêtement barbé, parce qu'à force on s'y perd sur qui fait quoi et où.Si le roman nous balade depuis Chogoris jusqu'à Prospero, en passant par Ullanor, j'ai trouvé qu'il manquait un petit quelque chose mal dissimulé sous l'orgie de personnages, de primarques et de légions (pensez donc, on a des Scars, des Word Bearers, des Space Wolves, des Alpha Legion, et même quelques Salamanders, un Iron Hand, un Thousand Sons, et des Death Guard...). Ce que Chris Wraight a développé sur 475 pages pouvait en réalité tenir en 3 novellas de moins de 100 pages.En clair, je me suis ennuyé, malgré qu'en soi, le roman Scars ne soit pas mauvais. Il part simplement trop dans tous les sens, se contente d'assimiler les Scars à "ils vont vite" et "sont indépendants", et c'est à peu près tout.Un petit ratage avant le grand Vengeful Spirit, sans grande conséquence.

La legione dei White Scars è chiaramente ispirata alle forze di Ghengjis Khan..brutale e con riti violenti in questo volume si narrano le vicende della legione durante l'eresia..dati i suoi tratti peculiari la legione deve affrontare i propri dubbi..essere fedeli all'imperatore o cedere alla propria parte oscura?