Graham McNeill’s short story The Corpse Road does for Honsou what Do Eagles Still Circle the Mountain? did for Uriel Ventris, picking up after The Chapter’s Due and showing us what the Warsmith did next. While Ventris went off hunting orks, Honsou took an unusual route out of the Ultramarines’ domain…in a corpse-hauler. His mission to see Ultramar burn may not have ended how he’d hoped, but his ‘failure’ certainly hasn’t dented his ambition. Here we get a sense of what he’s got his sights set on next…
Like Do Eagles… this is clearly a linking story that sets things up for what’s coming next, but where that story lacked a little as a standalone tale, this one works well in its own right. It’s a little shorter, but nicely self-contained. We get to see Honsou mostly through the eyes of other characters as they frantically try to contain the escalating threat aboard the small vessel, and we’re reminded of the skills and qualities that set him on his path in the first place. He’s a villain for sure, but in his blend of brains, brutality and cynical wit there’s a compelling character who’s great fun to watch. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next…
One comment