This book got a lot of flak upon release, mainly for 2 reasons: Half of it takes place on Caliban before Imperial contact, and therefore the book doesn't "advance" the Horus Heresy plotline by much at all. As for #1, I wish there were books like this for all the primarchs. It's a chance to see a world isolated from Terra for an aeon, and how that world shapes one of the few dozen most influential figures in human (future) history. The story of Zahariel and friends as they become Knights of the Order shows some aspects of the larger narrative in a different context--tantalizingly familiar, with some of the flavor of Warhammer fantasy. When the Imperium comes to Caliban, you can see what conflicts even a peaceful "compliance" stir up through the eyes of the natives. As for #2, this is a bitter fanboy complaint. Guess what, the Heresy series is a huge cash cow and there are likely to be around 50 novels in total! Some stories are more background and character study, others are more Major Fluff Battle play-by-play (Ultramarines were all "dakka dakka" then Word Bearers were like "FOOM!").
I loved this book and all from this series that explain the beginning of the warhammer 40,000 universe.
