Horus' character was the focus of the first three HH novels. But the novels since have significantly spread out, showing how wider events in the galaxy both set the conditions for his rebellion as well as inflamed it. Vengeful Spirit is a return to Horus as main character. It is a check-in to see how things are going for the rebel and, in video game terms, give him an upgrade.
There are two primary plot lines running through Vengeful Spirit. The first follows Horus, his Legion, and the Death Guard as they travel to the planet Molech to discover what the Emperor had hidden there many years ago and erased from the primarchs' memories. The second line is a coordinated assassination attempt on Horus, coordinated by another character who has been absent since the opening trilogy, Garviel Loken. Loken bringing together disparate characters from loyal Legions, they attempt to board Horus' flagship, the titular Vengeful Spirit, and take down the Warmaster.
While Vengeful Spirit is enjoyable, particularly the climax and denouement (like many HH novels), it lacks the cohesion and originality of other HH novels. For one, it repeats a storyline that, while not yet stale, does add weight to any future argument that conspiracies to assassinate Horus are a tired, dead plot. Nemesis featured such a sub-plot, as did Angel Exterminatus, and so too does Vengeful Spirit. Who knows how many future HH novels will, as well. For another, the Astartes battles which occur fall on the gratuitous side of the HH originality line. Where some novels/stories possess battles the reader feels the heat and implications of, the battles of Vengeful Spirit always seems to fall to second fiddle behind Horus' overarching quest on Molech. A bit more mystery/tension/focus on the quest and a little less bolter porn would have made a difference.
Vengeful Spirit struggles a bit with setting/sense of place. The overwhelming majority of the novel is an extended battle for Molech. And the battlefield is extremely spread. McNeill introduces readers briefly to the landscape in the early going, but rarely follows up with little clues to let readers know where on that large battlefield the characters/legions are and what's at stake in the moment. He does occasionally provide a meta-update—a feeling—who is winning and losing, which helps. But more could have been done to provide a true battlefield experience beyond the blood and guts—the series bread and butter (ha ha). Betrayer, for example, does a better job of presenting a massive battlefield and the stakes.
And the last issue with the novel is the climax. Handled too hurriedly, it is a scene which needed impact to justify the whole novel. By contrast, relatively few words and relatively little scene building is performed. In fact, I might have broken it up and spread it out as an interlude between the book's Acts to give it more weight... The reader has no trouble understanding the meaning McNeill is trying to convey, but I don't think the potential for the scene is fully realized.
Not all is questionable. There are some positive things to say about Vengeful Spirit, however. I would agree with wargamer.net that the novel does bring Act I to a close. By not focusing on a particular Legion or primarch, it allows the reader to catch up on several HH storylines. It is Leman Rus and Maclador, for example, who organize the assassination plot. Readers get to briefly see Fulgrim in his new, post-Angel Exterminatus form. Mortarion, Rogal Dorn, Lorgar also make appearances. And so while the novel may not possesses the most unique angle or the most singular of fireworks, in the context of the series it's not to be skipped.
In the end, there are some issues with Vengeful Spirit. In the context of the series architecture, I understand a novel-length story was perrhaps needed to close the first Act of HH. But the amount of actual story here could have been a novella. The assassination sub-plot feels like padding and arguments can be made as to the necessity of certain battles on Moelch. Taking all that into consideration, however, the novel reads straight-ahead in McNeill's focused style, and indeed a key event in the HH timeline does occur that diehard readers of the series will not want to miss. (The cover art should perhaps also be noticed: it is perhaps the iconic image of Horus.)
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