Tag Archives: Tallarn

The Horus Heresy: Tallarn series – Interview with John French (July 2016)

Within Black Library’s epic and ever-growing Horus Heresy series there are a few sub-series, collections of stories which fit together to form a story arc in their own right as well as contributing towards the whole series. One such arc is the story of the Battle of Tallarn, as told (primarily) by John French, and with the release of the short story Tallarn: Siren this arc has now come to a close.

EDIT (July 2017): a year after writing this review, the collected Tallarn stories (most of them, anyway) are now available in a single volume – appropriately just named Tallarn – which forms book 45 of the Horus Heresy series.
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QUICK REVIEW – Tallarn : Siren – John French

Set early on in the Tallarn arc within the wider Horus Heresy series, John French’s Tallarn : Siren finds a handful of Imperial citizens holed up in a tiny underground shelter with the last surviving astropath on the planet. As they desperately try to make contact with any other survivors, they attract the attention of both Marshall Lycus of the Imperial Fists and the invading Iron Warriors, one determined to use the astropath to send word of the planet’s fate, the other keen to prevent that happening. The shelter’s occupants await rescue, but fate may have something else in store for them.
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QUICK REVIEW : The Eagle’s Talon – John French

For the seventh story in Black Library’s Summer of Reading campaign the attention turns to the Horus Heresy, with the prose version of John French’s excellent The Eagle’s Talon audio drama. A brave, unusual story when told in audio format, if slightly less so in prose, it details a key moment in the Battle for Tallarn as three squads of Imperial Fists attempt to infiltrate an enemy transport vessel. Written as transcripts of linked vox excerpts interspersed with dry commentary from an unknown narrator, it takes a while to adjust to the choppy style but turns out to be an unusual, effective structure.

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QUICK REVIEW – Tallarn : Witness – John French

Beginning with the first novella Tallarn : Executioner, the story of the Battle of Tallarn has developed into a mini-series of its own within the Horus Heresy, with John French’s micro-short Tallarn : Witness capping everything off. Set in the aftermath of the battle’s conclusion, it sees the new governor of Tallarn surveying the desolate surface of his world from the bridge of a Titan, and considering the cost that the victors have paid for their success.

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Iron Corpses – David Annandale (audio drama)

In conjunction with The Eagle’s Talon by John French, David Annandale’s Iron Corpses continues the tale of the Battle of Tallarn in audio format, either as an MP3 or as part of the upcoming joint audio CD. This follows on directly from The Eagle’s Talon, as a lone Iron Warrior strikes out through the blasted devastation created when the troop transport hit the surface of Tallarn. Having survived through sheer chance, Warsmith Koparnos knows he is slowly dying on the virus- and radiation-scarred surface, but sees an opportunity for both survival and vengeance in the shape of an intact Titan.

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The Eagle’s Talon – John French (audio drama)

In a brave move that will gain approval and derision in equal measures from different elements of their fanbase, Black Library have decided to tell the events of the Battle of Tallarn across not just multiple releases but multiple formats. Having told the main body of the story in his novellas Tallarn : Executioner and Tallarn : Ironclad, John French has also contributed an audio drama in the shape of The Eagle’s Talon, available as a standalone MP3 or soon to be packaged with David Annandale’s Iron Corpses on audio CD. Told largely via found footage-esque snippets of vox transmissions, it follows a handful of Imperial Fists legionaries attempting to take control of a vast traitor transport vessel.

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Tallarn : Ironclad – John French

Following hot on the heels of the general release for Tallarn : Executioner comes John French’s latest Limited Edition novella, Tallarn : Ironclad. Yes, it’s an expensive hardback novella that won’t please everyone, but for those willing to fork out for it, aesthetically it’s an absolute beauty, complete with creepy daemons embossed beneath the dust jacket. Following on from Executioner and Black Oculus it widens the view of Tallarn to take in the entire conflict, with Perturabo’s legion opposed by a ramshackle mixture of loyalist forces, while an emissary of Horus asks pointed questions regarding the Lord of Iron’s use of resources in this meat grinder of a battle. We see through the eyes of characters on both sides of the struggle, as it gradually becomes clear that for all its complexity, ultimately everything about this battle boils down to a single question – what are the Iron Warriors actually doing on Tallarn?
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Tallarn : Executioner – John French

Ten million tanks! Or maybe one million tanks. Whatever the number, the Battle of Tallarn is famed for the vast numbers of armoured vehicles that were deployed. In his Horus Heresy novella Tallarn : Executioner, John French chronicles the opening sequence of this infamous battle, from the initial virus bombing of the once-verdant world to the early engagements that demonstrated to the Iron Warriors that Tallarn’s population wasn’t going to let them have their world without a fight. Originally available only as a Limited Edition novella, it’s now been re-issued in standard format to coincide with the release of Tallarn : Ironclad, the next in the Tallarn arc.

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QUICK REVIEW : Black Oculus – John French

The latest Horus Heresy quick read from Black Library, John French’s Black Oculus is a prequel of sorts to his excellent novella Tallarn : Executioner, which was a limited edition release in 2013 and is sadly still not yet generally available. After the events at the climax of Angel Exterminatus, Perturabo ordered his fleet into the heart of a black hole, deep within the Eye of Terror. Here we get a glimpse of the terrible effects that decision had upon the Navigators who guided the Iron Warriors fleet on that fateful journey that led to their arrival at Tallarn.

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