Horus Heresy 4: THE FLIGHT OF THE EISENSTEIN by JAMES SWALLOW | Warhammer Book Club with Mira!

We're at the end of the first four books and it's time to re-live the last three through the eyes of totally-not-Loken-clone Nathaniel Garro and his supporting cast - old guy, religious guy, and angry teenager!
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Mira's interview with James Swallow: • Let's Talk...Flight of...
Intro Art by @KCP FARGO
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Copyright: Unless noted in the video, all images © Games Workshop 1987-2022. Title music is 'Black Rainbows' by Karl Casey @White Bat Audio
#bookclub #40klore #horusheresy #tabletopgames #40karchives #warhammer40000 #warhammer30k #wargaming #40khistory #blacklibrary #ravenor #eisenhorn #danabnett #bookclub

[@Gothamite40k]

I feel bad for Mira having to read all of that gory stuff. At least there’s nothing like it at all in Fulgrim!

[@themachine7534]

Fulgrim isnt that bad there is one scene that everybody talks about .. how about the buried dagger ?

[@dekai7992]

​@@themachine7534 You might have missed Gothamite's sarcasm, mate.

[@captain_torket3254]

Fulgrim isn't that mandatory imo. They can already jump to the arc of First Heretic - Know No Fear - Betrayer

[@Gothamite40k]

Agreed it's probably not a necessity, but it is important in filling in how the Emperor's Children fell (I'm interested in hearing Ian and Mira's take on the merits of how Fulgrim got corrupted). The inclusion of the dropsite massacre is important too. I'd say at least Part 5 is required reading.

[@6dragondaddy913]

New meaning to "that's a shitty painting"...

[@afitz34]

‘This death,’ rasped the voder, ‘this death is ours. We choose it. We deny you your victory.’

[@boydsinclair7606]

😢

[@jasonpeacock9735]

One bit of old lore is in the very earlier 2000s Indexes Astarte articles. The Death Guard article has a few paragraphs on Garro and the Eisenstein. It end with speculations on Garro’s fate. One theory is he became an Apothecary and devoted his life to curing the Death Guard. One theory was he ultimately fell to Chaos and became a Daemon Prince called the “Lord of Flies”. And there was a theory he may have become part of the early Inquisition. Reading this book when I first came out, it was fun to see James weave those multiple fates into the command squad.

[@hlynkacg9529]

The old lore suggested that Garro and other loyalist members of traitor legions became the progenitors of the Gray Knights

[@jasonpeacock9735]

@@hlynkacg9529 well, your free to look at page 36 of Index Astartes III, published in 2003, to check my source.

[@IamLertimo]

@@hlynkacg9529 Which of course contains a kernel of truth (or at least for now!)

[@Benry87]

Temeter and Huron Fal's last moments was the first moment in the Heresy that actually made me have to sit back and take a moment. It's one of the best-written moments in the series and Keeble nails the emotion of the scene.

[@boydsinclair7606]

Veterans prerogative. We die together then. 😢

[@sidtheragali1447]

absolutely!

[@merci_ann]

This book club made me start reading entire Horus Heresy project. Thank you for this Mira!

[@miramanga]

It's our pleasure! We love Heresying!

[@6dragondaddy913]

Not sure how thankful you'll be during Battle for the Abyss and Damnation of Pythos... Jk most of the books are pretty cool at least

[@merci_ann]

Also, the greatest thing to see is how each time it's plain to see how more freely you're able to talk about those books. You joke more and banter - that's what keeps it so entertaining for me❤

[@merci_ann]

I agree with Mira on this one. Garro and other characters feel distinct enough for me to stay interested. Keeler is the best underused character so far. That's my biggest gripe

[@JakeStaines]

I enjoyed Eisenstein more than I expected to, but that's mostly because I'd previously listened to the Garro audio... 'media experiences' or whatever they were called, which all seemed very "And then heroic space marine Garro jumped up and fired his gun at the bad guys, and the bad guys exploded. Some bad guys were about to do a bad thing but then they also exploded. A figure strode into the carnage - who was it? GARRO". So I was kind of dreading it and got pleasantly surprised.

[@Plague-speaker]

Really liked this one. After the uneveness of Galaxy in flames, this was such a breath of fresh air. The first few chapters are a bit of a slog, but when the story picks up, it was such a rush for me

[@N0TYALC]

I always skip the first few chapters lol

[@asphyxianone]

The banter is always as fun to hear as the book talk.

[@Fozz20Movies]

Straight as an arrow Garrow. One of/possibly the favorite book of the heresy series for me

[@Kasper_G]

I simply cannot wait to see Mira's reaction to book 5(my personal favorite)!

[@Kristian.B.Kristiansen]

"Fulgrim" very much isn't my farvorite, but I also really look forward to seeing her react to it.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

You can already see her interviewing Graham about it on her channel :)

[@Kasper_G]

ngl I posted this comment then saw the interview on her channel! @@HistoritorJimaldus

[@PoolNoodleGundam]

Remember kids: It's not betrayal, it's correcting your mistakes.

[@user-dq1wp8mj9y]

I love this book. The build up watching characters react to stuff that we know is coming is the joy of the HH books!

[@BentJacket]

I say it every ep but I love these vids. Lets me relive books I love and Mira is just so excellent. Im looking forward to fulgrim, my fav book in the series (followed by legion) and I want to see Mira's reaction.

[@colonelkilling2425]

Religious Space Detective. Now I need that tee shirt. Haha!

[@Elbuarto]

Warhammer Book Club with Mira is the best thing since sliced corpse-starch!

[@CousinOfCurze]

The human parts in Fulgrim are going to be a treat for Mira ...

[@jasonnewman3355]

Garro's arc finishes SO strong in Siege of Terra.

[@filteredjc4653]

I really like this one. The Nurgle warp creatures are great and I also kind of enjoy the 'obvious baddies being bad'. Good review guys!

[@RedemptiveChief]

I would have loved to know how Mira felt about Garro having to tell Dorn that Horus is a big big traitor.

[@glenriches4779]

Love the silent sisters in end and death. Few can even see them and the one who can thinks she's a war godess.

[@stgoodson3]

Dorn gets a unfairly bad rap for Flight. The attitude is like how dare he not take our word that Horus, his most beloved, trusted and respected brother who is the Emperor’s chosen proxy, is now rebelling against the Emperor? Like it’s the most casual thing in the world. You’re kidding yourself if you think any other Primarch would handled such news any better. For them to do so betrays just how unthinkable the whole thing is and how beloved Horus was.

[@6dragondaddy913]

Also keep in mind Guilliman was holding a trial for a Sergeant that dared run theoreticals about killing other Astartes right before Calth went down...

[@azoun420]

i am really enjoying going through the heresy books with you two. keep up the great work

[@SirWilliamKidney]

An *extra* glamourous Mira today!

[@2MeatyOwlLegs]

'Roberto Luis Vuitton' had me howling. Thanks Mira!

[@maxkraus9614]

Love this series so much. I'd love to see more time dedicated to each book, it seems like you guys are moving along at a certain clip but you have so much more to say. I'd happily listen to more of this per episode

[@klausmeier2021]

YES! I read the first three books in the series years ago and restarted in 2023 with Eisenstein. So great to finally see you talk about a book I have read recently. (Even though I am at work and will be at a work party tonight. But Saturday morning will be all Nurgle all the time).

[@Luizguilherme-iz9yl]

23:30 "ROBERTO LUIS VITON" !! had me absolutely dying, i don't think she even knows the joke so that just makes it so much better! poor robert guillotine

[@amituna7903]

One of the few books that are told from a space marines pov, is filled mainly with space marine characters and is really compelling throughout

[@IamLertimo]

I think there's a fairly key difference between Loken and Garro although I accept the similarities (and I agree the Heresy books get annoyingly repetitive around this point, both in recurring stereotypes and revisiting the same f*%&ing event over and over again...). Anyway, of Garro and Loken, I feel Loken is the more flexible and intuitive of the two. He does what he does because he has been unwittingly distancing himself from his brothers for some time and learning to think for himself (remember all the books he was reading on the Vengeful Spirit directed by Sindermann). Garro does what he does because his actions are dictated by his strong sense of honour. As Mira said, unlike Loken he's already an outsider in his legion. When Mortarian joins Horus, Garro is forced to choose between his not-very loving family one side and his implacable sense of right and wrong on the other. I think James Swallow said something along these lines about Garro in Mira's interview: "at this point, all he has left is his honour." Loken had a moral decision to make, whereas Garro pretty much had none. Even without his religious 'awakening', hIs moral code would have dictated his actions come what may (One of the later Garro books is titled Garro: Weapon of Fate, which is about right. He's a passenger in his own story, bound to a course he cannot alter).

[@helios7170]

Well said and agreed. Garro is a victim of fate and has very little choice in how his story plays out. That’s pretty cool though, because of the religious awakening in him, it seems from his perspective that the events playing out in his life have been predetermined, he is living his destiny.

[@mickthelick5788]

I agree. I would add that it's probably relevant that Garro is from Terra and not the Death Guard home world. As such, he will likely of sworn his allegiance direct to the Emperor rather than Mortarian and fought in the crusades before Mortairan was found and took leadership of the Legion.

[@sanguinius_yt]

That’s why Loken is my favourite astartes. Such a good character to introduce us to the Horus heresy. Very human.

[@IamLertimo]

@@sanguinius_yt I agree. A lot of the early Heresy books have so much more work gone into them in terms of characterisation. There was a specific effort made to highlight how the M31space marines are more human than their M41 counterparts, and Loken is the exemplar. It kind of gets lost or forgotten as the series goes on, most of the astartes display distressingly little agency as characters. They are on the side they are on because that's the side they are on. It's possibly accurate in terms of how allegiances are chosen by many people in war, but storytelling requires characters with agency: this is a bit of a bugbear of mine with the way that key events in the lore are always being written by the codex authors, because they never put any thought into plot or story arc, then some poor writer has to turn the whole mess into a story with relatable characters and a cogent storyline.

[@gr8avocado]

Totally agree with the Loken/Garro sameness. Iv'e read pretty much every book the two are in and still get confused who did what.

[@brandondollar]

I would definitely buy a "Religious Space Detective" shirt. It would be neat if the I symbol was in the background.

[@miramanga]

🤣

[@user-dq1wp8mj9y]

Somehow I missed out Fulgrim so am quickly reading it now before I watch Mira's interview and your next HH Book Club!

[@APC117]

Excited to see what she thinks of Fulgrim and Legion. Legion being my favorite book so far

[@mickthelick5788]

I enjoyed that book as well. I really wish there was more lore on the Alpha Legion.

[@midorixiv]

Fuggin' strabo

[@boydsinclair7606]

Caleb was an Emperor dammed hero! 🫡 He read the Lecticio Divinitatus over a wounded Garro; brought the battle captain into the Emperor's divine grace, saved the ship by sealing the weapons deck, and was possessed by Nurgle but stayed and died loyal (twice) He failed to become an Astartes, but was braver than most of them, and saw the rot of the lodge early on. Damn hero 😐

[@angelicdespot2735]

It's going to be interesting to see how you guys - Mira particularly - present all of these. The quality of the writing in this series is, shall we say, 'variable'... I can't imagine you're going to enjoy all of them, but equally I can't imagine Mira will feel comfortable interviewing an author who wrote a book she found tedious and poorly written. I thought Flight of the Eisenstein was very bad (although it was a long time ago now and can't remember all the reasons why). The exception - and to finish on a positive note - is that I still remember the bit where they've jettisoned the engines and are just waiting in space, in the cold and feeling very small and vulnerable. I remember that bit feeling very powerful.

[@angelicdespot2735]

Just watched Mira's interview with James Swallow, and he seems like a really nice and interesting guy. Feel a bit bad having written this! Goes to show how difficult it will be across the whole series.

[@THCthehempcloud]

Lmao the “throat gang” is crazy!!!!!

[@HereticalKitsune]

Another great novel, yay~ Somehow I never really picked up on how similar Loken and Garo are.

[@6dragondaddy913]

I always considered Garro far more serious and taciturn than Loken.

[@nrgspike]

Best of luck getting through Fulgrim, Mira... you may need to keep a bucket nearby.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

She already has :) and interviewed Graham McNeill about it! 😮

[@robbobstone]

So far in the 5 books and 7 audio dramas I have listened to this was my favorite one. Nathaniel Garro is a bro

[@Mysaladdays-go6cc]

'Dan will save me'. Yup.

[@Haanzer]

Finally getting around to listening to these videos and really enjoying it as a recap of what happens in these books without having to re-read them, especially hearing Mira's non-wargamer perspective on all this not being completely de-sensitised from years of engagement with 40K lore. Also just a quick heads up, this video is missing from the Book Club Playlist.

[@jameshollins5659]

Best 2 KZbinrs woooop

[@danh945]

I've read nearly all the heresy books. I'm totally up to date on the seige of terra series. And I still can't tell Loken and Garro apart.

[@namewastaken360]

Mira's interviews are fantastic, must be the most under-rated channels on KZbin. The retreading of the same events around Istvaan got very boring after a few books. Some of my favorites coming up are Mechanicus and Prospero Burns, ran out stream around there though.

[@RedemptiveChief]

Dorn is in the first book he’s says he convinced Horus to put Loken in the mournival

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Little cameo by Dorn and Sigismund!

[@sylntghost007]

I cant wait to see what Mira thinks of Fulgrim. It will sure be intense for her.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Haha, did you see her interview with Graham McNeill yet??

[@sylntghost007]

Thanks . On my way now.@@HistoritorJimaldus

[@alexandrebelinge8996]

I want a playlist of all the movie action summary !

[@kerlyenai]

That has to be one of the coolest book names, ever.

[@lmao7183]

When I read, "The Flight of Einstein" the first thing that came to mind when I thought about the ship's journey through the Warp, and the scene with the reanimation of traitor Death Guard and Garro's battle with them, was a song by Led Zeppelin called, "No Quarter". IMHO, that song just fits that scene and the Einstein's journey through the Warp thematically somehow.

[@betathoughtexperiment]

I just found your videos yesterday and now I have a new one today. That's serendipity

[@MaxOVADrive]

I'll pray to Dan Abnett 😂

[@boydsinclair7606]

Soloun Temeter and Huron Fal was my favorite sad moment from this book 😢

[@euansmith3699]

Mira, "Do you... interesting..." 😄😄😄 Book Club is the best 40k content.

[@andrewdowler4479]

Loved the flight, and very much enjoyed your discussion

[@6dragondaddy913]

Gene sperm? I see we're ramping up for Fulgrim....

[@beowar]

is it possible that this video isn't added to the book club playlist? I missed it and just happened upon it in the recommended videos list, for which I'm very glad cause I love these

[@Character_Building89]

Pray for Mira, Fulgrim next.

[@Exodus26.13Pi]

Title picture is perfect! 🎉

[@william3958]

Finally! Binged the previous three and was craving the next episode

[@MrLigonater]

“On Wednesday we wear plague.”

[@senorsuave]

I really hope Roberto Louis Vuitton sticks

[@briochepanda]

A story of mean girls, finding god and chunky vegetable soup.

[@gonzokules7794]

Like Ian mentioned, the Eisenstein is part of the lore from the very beginning. It is an important part of the story, Swallow did a good job and give the bone some flesh. Its not my favourite book, but I still like it quite a bit. And it was necessary for people who just start the heresy books without any background infos. btw. what is the name of the gloriuos intro/outro song? Can anyone help plz?

[@willumbermarchant5510]

It's in the credits at the end

[@gonzokules7794]

@@willumbermarchant5510 I literally found The White Bat just a couple of days ago, but thank you. 😅

[@willumbermarchant5510]

@gonzokules7794 in a month I'll tell you where you lost your keys yesterday

[@horuslupercal9936]

Everything in the HH series through this book was fantastic. After that it went off the rails a bit.

[@gandalf1379]

I'm really enjoying these book club videos. You two have really good rapport and it's really interesting listening to someone's opinion who isn't fully into the lore. I'm a bit worried for Mira's mental health with respect to stuff like Fulgrim and The First Heretic lol... and Big E isn't quite the selfless good guy she might be expecting...

[@Monstein]

Always up for old DG lore. Best legion.

[@WitchKnightMusic]

off topic but i love Miras longer hair and fresh look with the lippy and the shirts

[@colonelkilling2425]

Fulgrim! That is an epic.

[@Florfilm]

Garro is one of my favorite HH characters. How will you be reading the short stories. Especially the Garro ones. For example Vengeful Spirit is really confusing if you haven’t read the first few Garro stories. Or will you do all the collections in order of publishing.

[@6dragondaddy913]

Garro gets one of the best moments when he -redacted- -redacted- right in the -redacted- during the -redacted-

[@ericklewis1530]

The Chapters going over Istvaan is a bit rough to read through especially if you just read Galaxy in Flames like I had - but it's very good once you get past that part of the book. Watching the human characters and space marines react and make choices around a literal galaxy changing events is very cool. I'd go from First Hereitic -> Know no fear -> Betrayer now.

[@WaywardBrigand]

This was my first 40k book and I still love it.

[@Gothamite40k]

Yay! Been waiting for this :) Hope your work travels are going well, Ian!

[@davidshaw123451001]

I don’t think Garro and Loken are obviously the same due to similar personalities. It’s simply because they both don’t originate from their Primarch’s original world. So, issues like the lodges will be against the Emperor and their loyalties will be different to those who share a world with their Primarch.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Loken is Cthonian iirc - you never hear about his early life though

[@dmeep]

I liked and subscribed just to spite you Ian

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Another awesome novel from the Horus Heresy's literary collection!

[@Methazar]

My favourite book. I read it at least once a year. I need to get a new copy though, mines starting to fall apart lol

[@sidtheragali1447]

"Rogal Dorn's personality is based on having no personality." That hit home hard.

[@beatjunky101]

Really enjoying these. Lookin forward to Fulgrim

[@kirksabio2382]

Thank the emperor, I aint the only one who thought Garro was boring. Honestly, the tenseness of the first act was really cool and had enough of a supporting cast for Garro to limp along, but when they threw in their first warp jump, i wad praying for Iacton Qruze to take over the novel. Garro's fight at the end felt like a good way to cap off the novel though. Deffo not my favorite, but there's still tonnes to like, in it. Edit: I lost it at throat gang ROBERTO LUIS VUITTON LMAOO

[@consolescrub4031]

The nickname "Straight arrow Garro" was very well deserved. Minor spoiler for him and Keeler; I think both him and Keeler have their moments way further on in the heresy.

[@jazzyb4656]

Malcador takes Garro away at the end to become one of the first Grey Knights.

[@Mr.Hotman]

Not a fan of the HH books, but a fan of you❤

[@fabianocarvalholeopoldofil3476]

Anyone know if this book will have a reprint? I can't find a new one at reasonable price

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Tried the games workshop website? They had it there recently for about £8 - Mira got it delivered to her local store for pickup

[@garayworkshop74]

In the headcannon of some fans the Sister of Silence were one of the two lost legions, but they did, said or saw something that "granted" them the demotion out of the Legions and got them forced to be mute. Checks the f#@k out considering that Warhammer is a satire of our society.

[@mintybill]

After avoiding all things imperium, i finally gave in and started to listen to the Horus Heresy series while painting.......and while skiving at work. These videos have been really helpful in picking up the bits I've missed. Cherrs, guys, keep it up. P.s. what books are skippable/poorly writren?

[@Anghellik9]

The thing I miss about the earlier Heresy books is all of these weird xenos and non-compliant human worlds who do things in entirely different ways. Sometimes better, sometimes even worse somehow

[@MutualMischief]

"a religious space detective" - a jedi?

[@defdaz]

Great book!

[@randomacademypilot]

Thank you.

[@PsychoticFruitfly]

Huron Fal went out like a G.

[@InvisibleJiuJitsu]

Should have been a Loken led book. Having a complete main characters switcheroo lowered how much I cared about what happened

[@TheMharr]

Agreed, but not possible unfortunately. The first few books *needed* (from a narrative standpoint) to follow the Sons of Horus; but Garro *needed* (from an established lore standpoint) to be the one to take the news to Terra. Just one of the many pitfalls that comes with writing an entire 50 book series based on 30 years worth of lore tidbits.

[@InvisibleJiuJitsu]

@@TheMharr yep!

[@SirVergewaltig0re]

Why I cant buy a new physical version of that book? Only used for 100%. Wth.

[@nicholasleon7819]

the great crusade is so funny to me because when i imagine an alien species wiping out another i imagine one that’s like technologically way mor wadvamced like bombarding the other from orbit or doing weird third body problem type stuff like turning their entire solar system into a 2d plane but the great crusade is just like we are the same tech level as you and we’re going to come down there and fucking kill you with our guns and stab you to death. like that spongebob meme where squidward has his arm around the little kid fish and the caption is “we’re gonna kill you”

[@dismafuggerhere2753]

just tickling the algorithm

[@amandaidange4981]

XD! I wamt that "Amanda" name!

[@earnestwanderer2471]

You guys should switch to the other “F” bomb... Fething.

[@garayworkshop74]

To me, saying that Loken and Garro are the same is such a simplistic thing. Both are military, so yes, they wouldn't have a very deep personality. But both of them are loyalist for very different reasons. It's kid of funny how Garro said to Hakur or Qurze that they were saved because they didn't followed their primarch blindly, when in fact they were saved because the did follow the emperor blindly. Faith and stuff applies. While Loken got there from the other end of the spectrum, he did participated in the lodge, he did look for information from a secular stand point. He questioned everything and everyone. Truth, not Faith.

[@georgereimers5269]

garrow lost his leg not arm because he limps with it