Horus Heresy 6: DESCENT OF ANGELS by Mitchel Scanlon | Warhammer Book Club with Mira

It's time to turn back the clock and go to mythical fantasy land where knights and dragons roam dark forests and peasents cower in their villages - no, it's not the return of Brettonia, it's DESCENT OF ANGELS!
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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

[@yoboh4841]

"we're going to kill you, unless you're good with your taint" - arbitor ian 2024

[@Smittumi]

I'm great with my taint. /twerks powerfully

[@ajt_channel]

I am telling you right now. If you do all 40+ HH books, i will be here for each and every one. Love these book club videos.

[@yojon4905]

Same here

[@rosspalmer5171]

Funny you should mention The Emperor sounding like Pratchett's Death, because I've always imagined him as Christopher Lee.

[@briochepanda]

He had been voiced by the late Christopher Lee in an animated version of Soul Music, I believe.

[@larsickenroth7169]

In Good Omens it was Brian Cox, which also worked pretty well!

[@mikedaknight8854]

Ian Richardson in the hogfather

[@jonharrison9222]

@@mikedaknight8854 And in the earlier animations - Wyrd Sisters and Soul Music.

[@jacobturnerart]

I always imagined him speaking like Truman Capote

[@hero4life15]

the reason i LOVED this book is because it was the first time you get the perspective of the people on the planet as they join the imperium and how they feel about how it destroys their culture and turns them into a cog in a war machine and how they feel about it. super insightful into different people on calibans perspective. its GREAT

[@phantasmrain]

Mira has a fantastic Knightmare shirt! Such an amazing show.

[@timothymoss5007]

I've got to say that at first I avoided these videos because of their length, but they're very quickly becoming my favorite ones on your channel.

[@MrShanden]

Can't wait for y'all to get to First Heretic and Betrayer

[@OK-hl6qd]

First Heretic one of the best and most important books of the HH series

[@towenaar4142]

Argel Tal 😭😭😭😭😭

[@mutatorbeam8368]

24:45 Mira best narrator for the Emperor confirmed!

[@miramanga]

BWAHAHAHAH!!!

[@matthiasoc7141]

So excited for Legion. I was a huge Alpha Legion fan way back, so when Abnett gave them such a good book I was so excited.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Patreons already have it :)

[@IamLertimo]

Remains the one and only Alpha Legion book that makes any sense at all.

[@AubLambe]

Ian subtle disappointment about Salamander books was so good

[@6Stevo]

Miras T Shirt gets an instant like. I actually quite enjoyed this book. I can see why others don't though.

[@allenbeever7934]

I agree with everything you wrote 😊

[@OmegaLittleBob]

I read this book knowing almost nothing about Dark Angels so i found most of the exposition pretty neat

[@poursperfectpints]

I think my favorite part of this book was the Lion when they're walking up into the tower. He talks about sympathizing with the beasts because they're all unique, and as such they're all alone. And that killing them is a mercy. I wasn't expecting the Lion to come off as wishing for death. But he comes out of the forest, only to find that among his own kind he's still alone. It's incredibly sad. And not having anyone else to really open up to, being unable to share his thoughts with anyone who would understand... It really makes sense that he's so aloof. I genuinely felt bad for him.

[@6dragondaddy913]

Regarding the "we'll never fight". My favorite is the Ultra who was being punished for coming up with hypotheticals about how to fight other space marines

[@ftayl5]

I remember ready the books 1-5 so easily, one after the other and really enjoyed them. This book totally killed my momentum, took months to get through.

[@OK-hl6qd]

100% this was a really bad book; glad ppl are realizing that now.

[@gonk0190]

This is the book that made me realise that I should probably consider skipping some of the series…

[@OK-hl6qd]

@@gonk0190same

[@MrGkh01]

Yeah agreed this book wasn't great. Still I have read every book in the series so far and yeah there are a few others that are not good as well.

[@Elbuarto]

For me the first hurdle was Battle of the Abyss and later the absolute trainwreck that was The Outcast Dead. I actually enjoyed Descent of Angels though.

[@mattjames6847]

On Warhammer fans and subtlety, to quote Garth Merenghi, 'I know writers who use subtext and they're all cowards'

[@DavidBain-mh1oz]

Very good chemistry between you and mira, good to listen to! However, book 6 Descent of Angels was a tough read but it did get better towards the latter stages. I couldn't help imagine monty python knights during the read. (Coconut hoof noises and "Camelot" etc)😂🎉❤

[@allenbeever7934]

😂

[@DavidBain-mh1oz]

​@@allenbeever7934you know where I'm coming from bro.

[@OK-hl6qd]

this book as horrible

[@gabrielwalton4097]

Man I'd love it if you guys read Luther: First of the Fallen, such a better look at Caliban and the order Also really interesting to see how much more growth the Lion has got in the most recent Lion: Son of the Forest

[@IamLertimo]

Completely agree. The Dark Angels have been served by a lot of very indifferent novels. The Luther book felt the first Dark Angels book that was written for people over the age of 14. Gav Thorpe's not my favourite w40k author (being responsible for a lot of the aforementioned tat), but credit where it's due Luther is a corker.

[@vadersjester]

Mira's jumper is absolute *chef's kiss*

[@ironbomb6753]

A jumper is a shirt?

[@miramanga]

a jumper is a sweater @@ironbomb6753

[@vadersjester]

@@ironbomb6753 It'd be called a sweater in the US.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

It’s on-topic too! 😂

[@miramanga]

@@HistoritorJimaldus thank you for noticing 🙌🏼

[@Dartharus]

Not sure you can get more Arthurian than questing beasts and an order of knights notionally equal. Maybe I'm too much of a Lion apologist but my reading of Luther's exile (particularly after reading later Dank Angel books) was that he (like lancelot) the Lion's most trusted lieutenant and after seeing what chaos can do to a planet and narrowly avoiding assassination, sending him home with a contingent of grizzled veterans to look after the future of Caliban is the most sensible thing to do

[@collecter343]

And much like a lot of things during the Heresy, poor communications soured the relationship of the parties involved.

[@studentjohn]

I think that 'Lion El Johnson: A 9 on the bastard scale' could be a very terse entry on one of the Warhammer 40k wikis

[@pgael7196]

OMG, you're right. How could I not notice the "names paradox"...

[@aylameridian]

Descent of Angels is easily one of my favourite Horus Heresey books so far!

[@duncanself5111]

Love the Knightmare jumper Those were the days

[@knocker655]

Props to Mira for the Treguard t-shirt ❤

[@merci_ann]

I'm doing my best in keeping up with the Bastard Scale and so far it looks like this: Lucius - 27 Fabius - "blown up the scale"/ contested by Ian Erebus - 12 The Lion - 9 Bequa - 9 Fulgrim - 8.5 Julius - 6 Marius - 5.5 Solomon - 3 Everyone else in Descent of Angels - 3 Iacton Cruze - 1 If I missed smth - let me know

[@miramanga]

THIS IS AMAZING! Thank you! :)

[@merci_ann]

@@miramanga no problem Mira, I'll be posting updates on every bookclub c:

[@miramanga]

@@merci_ann everyone needs a Rememberancer!

[@willumbermarchant5510]

Luscious higher than Irratbus? Seems strong

[@RichardStevenson92]

I hated this book when it first came through but my 2nd read through this month was actually really enjoyable. Felt like it could have been a completely stand alone Sci-Fi book. While I think you’re right about the exposition dumps to a degree, I do think it’s mitigated by the fact that they’re kids right? They’re being lectured by their tutors and teachers?

[@Gothamite40k]

I MUST HAVE THAT JUMPER.

[@sodinc]

Yes

[@seano4977]

That's a blast from the past. I remember that from when I was a kid and I'm almost a bus pass crumbly.

[@ReverendMeat51]

Mira's "yay!" at the confirmation of upcoming Salamanders books makes me sad. They... aren't great.

[@jacobcollier23]

Legion is amazing! Looking forward to yall's video on it.

[@6dragondaddy913]

"I want space battles"... BATTLE FOR THE ABYSS... "Not like that... Not like that..."

[@Brickfrog427]

You know, I just came up with this realization as I messaged my friend complaining about this. It actually makes sense on multiple levels that the weird maybe bad maybe good world spirit of Caliban is called Ouroboros, a serpent eating itself. Because doesn't that really describe the entire Dark Angels legion? But then, like, doesn't that describe the ENTIRE DARK ANGELS PLOTLINE? It's always moving forward but always moving backwards and always eating itself it is INSANE. I really feel like just summing up their stuff in bullet points and skipping a lot of it would not result in the reader missing much. I actually really did like the world of Caliban pre-Legion. It was such a weird and interesting place to visit, I love how they took the Dark Forest and Knights theme and just ran with it. Look out for Nemiel to return in book 11, Fallen Angels, and then a real sudden apperance in book 20, The Primarchs, in one of the short stories there!

[@Warh0und]

After the Horus Heresy the Dark Angels returned to Caliban where the Lion’s fleet was fired upon by the defences. The following altercation between the loyalist Primarch Lionel Richie and his betrayer father figure Luther Vandross broke the planet.

[@miramanga]

😂😂😂

[@christiangoldsmith7863]

Loving Mira’s Nightmare jumper. I loved that show as a kid ❤

[@user-fr9ip5df2n]

For not listening to the audio ook. You did The Emprahs voice accurately :)

[@lexman7179]

I actually quite enjoyed Descent of Angels although it left a lot of threads hanging.

[@billybongos957]

I finally took the plunge into the Horus Heresy when there was a big Audible sale, and it's really nice having these to come to after finishing a listen. My comprehension/plot retention is automatically going to be less than if I had read, so it's nice being reminded of things I forgot as well. I went into this knowing that this one was often disliked or skipped, so with my expectations tempered, I had a pretty good time overall. It was kind of like a palate cleanser after Fulgrim and before Legion. Zahariel's journey felt a bit more personal than the multiple narratives we've had before, and I like the spooky woods bits and monsters. However I am pretty new to 40k still and didn't really know anything about the Dark Angels so a lot of the things that would be obvious to DA players were still a mystery, but I do get how this would work better already having read about them. Having now finished this and Fallen Angels, I can say that while these aren't at the levels of the preceding novels, I ended up a lot more interested in the 1st Legion as a whole. Is there a point where you'll diverge from the release order of the HH series in order to follow a narrative, or will you keep going as is? Also regarding the Lion on a horse, I'm reminded of giant Radahn and his normal sized horse from Elden Ring, worth a look if you're not familiar.

[@kevinlehnert9387]

I wouldn't say the Dark Angels and Caliban sharing the same naming culture is an oversight. Caliban is where Lion El Johnson was placed into by the warp and it was very specific about it. If the warp was pure random, he and all the other Primarchs should have been dropped on the much more common uninhabitable planets like Venus and Pluto and immediately died. Caliban is the chosen home world of the Dark Angels and they are very similar and it's not random or a coincidence, it was meant to be.

[@finnrd]

I am so keen to hear Mira's thoughts after the Scars stories have been told :D

[@ThatRandomPerson15]

Sure as sure is good. I can't wait for Mira to find out about He whose word drowns out all others.

[@hooliganblack832]

I didn't massively enjoy this one, but I did get into the story of Zahariel and Nemiel and the irony of the more loyal one ending up on Caliban with the 'traitors' and the one who'd joined the plot against the Emperor staying with the Lion. I liked how they changed and developed in their respective stories and was looking forward to what seemed like an inevitable reunion at the end of the Heresy. And then Lionel happened...

[@OK-hl6qd]

this was a really bad book, worst of the series

[@Elbuarto]

They did Nemiel really dirty. He had a solid character arc and then BAM... Lion got his feefees hurt.

[@6dragondaddy913]

Don't lose your head over Nemiel...

[@jonharrison9222]

Kudos for the T-shirt. I wrote off to get on Knightmare five times over the years.

[@Marcharius]

Those look very much like The Old World books over your left shoulder Ian ❤ Please keep these videos coming 🙏

[@nicholaschapman9324]

On the names thing, Emperor knowing the naming style would be a good excuse. Its a loose excuse 😅

[@TheCosmicFool]

I’m reading through the books in order for the first time and discovered your videos. I just finished book 6 yesterday and onto book 7 today (attempting 1 book a week or so)

[@TurbosTantrums]

Lion'El Richie and his best mate Luther Van'Dross, presumably

[@ProfessorOtakuD2]

That jumper screams "Ooooh, nasty"

[@MrZane-bl8qm]

I would not say Lion had an instinct to destroy everything just because he slew beasts. The humans weren't having a grand time with the beasts.

[@timgrimstead4063]

Yes!!! New book club🎉. Thank you for the podcast format also. Perfect for gym.

[@origulator]

Honestly I can believe that there are draft horses alive today that could probably be ridden by a primarch, at least sans armor. Draft horses are scary.

[@stevenjohnson8524]

25.00 - The Emperor is an Ork. confirmed.

[@mus_cetiner]

Hi, I am so glad that your channel has grown and it was good from the start. Thanks for all the Lore and chit-chat that you both do. Look forward to this channel growing and more content.

[@jeffharris7668]

Great video as always, I can't wait to see the review of Legion (because I am Alpharius)!

[@SamsButterscotch]

I LOLVE Mira's Knightmare sweatshirt!

[@jehhuty]

I can't even imagine the title being "Horus Heresy 55" in a few years. What a ride

[@connorjohnston5528]

Zahariel felt like that kid character that every 90s cartoons would add in who is super important but also has no idea what is going on so that someone can spout exposition to them

[@hurvos]

Can't wait for next time, Legion is so good

[@jeffriesmovies]

Thank you both very much for reading all the heresy books I didn’t have the patience for

[@6dragondaddy913]

Mira says she understands "sure as sure"... I'm crying

[@mintyhobo2348]

Oh my goodness you guys are absolutely glowing in this video.

[@keepcalmandre-roll5480]

Mira is hands down winning best T-Shirt award :)

[@S1leNtRIP]

Gosh, I just appreciate these vids so much! Thanks guys!

[@edwilson5727]

that Knightmare top.... fantastic

[@Deimos0]

"yer a wizard zahariel"

[@db9631]

I have been subscribed to your channel for a while now, Ian, but for some reason I've preferred your lore videos over the book reviews. I decided to click on this one today and I paused after ten seconds when I realised what I was looking at... ....PLUS 100 POINTS FOR A KNIGHTMARE SHIRT! You, lady and gent, have won the internet for today. Keep up the good work Ian & Mira!

[@SirWilliamKidney]

Don't forget to leave a like, kiddos!

[@Character_Building89]

Yes! Love these book clubs.

[@jeffreygreen8668]

Hell, The First is the best Legion by a looooong fucking way, and I loved this book. Saw it, bought it and read it on the same day. And now that The Lion has returned, we’re going to see some shit. Cannot *wait* for he and Grandpa Smurf to meet up… Love, as always, the irreverence 😏😏😏

[@jedthementalist5112]

I want that top!! Knightmare on Sinclair Spectrum..... maybe not the Spectrum, looks too good for my old grey tape deck.

[@ayupinglesenglishstories3734]

Love this, well done guys. Your videos are so re-watchable. Keep 'em coming. Will be interesting to see what you make of legion. I kind of lost it soon after legion I think, and picked things back up at the solar war.

[@TheCosmicFool]

I’m on the second part of the book (trying to read one book a week and then watch your video). I personally can see The Lion as a younger Charles Dance, with Zahariel as Kit Harrison (there seems to be a lot of Jon Snow about the character in his skill and humility so far)…

[@allenbeever7934]

That book summary is the best yet!

[@allenbeever7934]

Also. Side step to your left

[@demonbox7780]

Love you folks! 😄

[@thearmchairjacobite2765]

I think this is my favorite book in Warhammer. I absolutely love knights . The only book that gives it a run for its money in my opinion is Luther.

[@jacklewis1850]

I didn’t like this book at first; but once I got my head into pretending it wasn’t a typical warhammer book and read it as more of a Witcher esc book, I really enjoyed it and bought some dark angels

[@bayushiteishiru6291]

New cam and mics work great guys. Thanks for the vid!

[@karlarden6260]

That moment when Iain regretfully acknowledges that the Salamanders get So Many Books 😂

[@willumbermarchant5510]

They are without a doubt the worst, most dull, stories in the series. The thing is that 'nice space marines' just doesn't suit the setting.

[@Mugdorna]

I has such hope for the Salamander books, so disappointing

[@DOUGLASaraujosoares]

Finishing the read of this book today if everything goes well! hahaha nice vid

[@martinsleight321]

I feel the book 'Luther' is so enlightening, and weirdly answers a lot of questions, from his perspective at least.

[@Johnny_Cameron]

I'm very much looking forward to the next two Book Clubs.

[@danollerenshaw8410]

When I need some fresh air, I take my dog for walkies around the local jonson

[@Jake-kn9fo]

Reading Old Earth right now and I have to agree with Ian’s rating, heavily considered dropping it a few times but the completionist in me won’t. I didn’t mind the the last 2 salamanders books tho

[@TheShadowChesireCat]

I mean, there's Knight Houses that have tournies including jousting. In specialised metal armor. I think Admantine armor. I do think there's probably giant horses out there in space that can carry a primarch. They may have like 3 toes though, because regular horses are like balancing on the equivalent of the big toe, and prone to hurting themselves because balancing on one toe is bad design, much like the human spine. Normal horses can get up to 21 hands high. I'm sure also with crossbreeding with high gravity world horses for solidness, maybe megafauna horse types too, you could get horses capable of supporting primarchs, maybe even the Emperor. And I think Space Marines on horses would be interesting. Warhorses are also a weapon in a knight's arsenal, not just a mode of transport. Motorbikes can run over someone, but they can't crush heads with hooves the size of dinner plates (and that's the hoof size of like 18+ hand tall horses, if you had like 35 hand high horses, they're probably 3ft/1m per hoof).

[@RyanF1313]

I don’t know why, but I felt sorry for Luther reading this book.

[@WOOOFelixWOOO]

This was my first heresy book I found it on a train on a long trip loved it at the time got me back into warhammer after a 15 year brake

[@mattjames6847]

White Scars: because you can't do beurocracy at 200 mph

[@Empiriarch1945]

maybe they should change the names a bit 23:05 to make it different, but once becoming space marines, they need to change thier names. That should make more sense, or the other way around

[@michaelgrey1351]

I think the best representation on screen of how the Emperor would speak is that of the angel in A Dark Song.

[@CygnusMaximusXIII]

"Legion" is the best Heresy book, hands down! Can't wait for that one!

[@michaelcaricoo]

Feel like I'm one of the minority here but I actually really liked Descent of Angels. I definitely went in with "this isn't a Heresy novel" which helped though

[@MrLigonater]

I think Black Library just likes destroying enchanted forest worlds. Tanith, gone, the woods of Caliban, turned into a strip mall.

[@axelNodvon2047]

This book’s portrayal of imperial arrival to Caliban really contradicts some of the other primarch’s homeworlds. Leman Russ, Sanguinius, Corax, and the Khan used their position as primarch to make the imperium leave their homeworld mostly alone. And not industrialized like many other new planets conquered

[@slackeratlarge575]

There is a short story where the lion finds Luther leading dark angels for horus and the lion loses this mind and sends Luther home

[@Dartharus]

‘The lives of my warriors are not yours to spend like coin, Horus. Buy victories with the expense of your wolves, not my knights.’

[@King_Koolkaine]

This book, for me, was very entertaining! I found myself extremely excited for Fallen Angels after I had finished it. Currently blazing through Scars and hoping to have the Heresy completed by the end of 2024!

[@williamleonardreesejr.1992]

I've always enjoyed this one oddly enough. I know it's a bit hated by the fandom, but I LOVE seeing this side of the Lion. His humanity that is unshown anywhere else in the series. His ambition, his pride, his loneliness, his want to connect to the people he is around with.

[@Bazscoobz]

I loved this book.

[@DFloyd84]

One of the tragedies of the Dark Angels is how Lion sent Luther back to Caliban. If he had tact, Lion would have declared that he was sending Luther back because he's the best instructor the legion has, having trained Lion himself, and legionaries trained by Luther would earn greater glories. If Lion could have made it out to be an honour, Luther might not have turned on him and Caliban would still be intact.

[@willumbermarchant5510]

Doesn't Lion have a 2nd sense for betrayal, he suspected Luther already but wasn't ready to get rid of him completely

[@ropable]

I recall this being the first HH book that wasn't really about the HH, and that it was imminently skippable.

[@OK-hl6qd]

Correct

[@user-jq1mg2mz7o]

legion hype legion hype