Review of The Fury of Magnus by Graham McNeill

After three straight novels of space marines attacking space marines, wave after wave, Graham McNeill's novella The Sons of the Selenar offered an excellent respite. Catching up with things beyond Terra, it looked at what was happening with the Shattered Legions on the outskirts, and told a compelling story in the process. McNeill's second novella in the Siege of Terra series, The Fury of Magnus (2020), likewise takes a look at a character who has largely been sitting by the side. Things, however, eventually get even closer to Terra—even more so than Horus has been able to achieve—to date, at least.

Magnus is aloof, perhaps the most cerebral primarch among the Traitors. As such, his involvement in the Siege of Terra has been ambiguous to date. He allowed the Shattered Legions carrying the legacy of the Selenar to escape without a fight, yet he appears to be loyal to Horus and the goal of tearing down the Emperor. Inherent to the novella's title, The Fury of Magnus cracks open the primarch to see what is boiling inside.

Like Sons of the Selenar, The Fury of Magnus is an excellent respite from the unending onslaught of the Siege. McNeill is one of the best HH writers, and here he is trusted with some powerful material that needed to be handled delicately. He does precisely so. There are a couple massive, importune scenes that showcase what McNeill can bring to the table in terms of scene setting and prose. Aware of the stakes, he matches in tone and story.

Sorry, but I gotta be that guy. The Fury of Magnus contains one of my biggest pet peeves in fiction: a dead character who comes back to life. In this case it's a major character—one of the biggest characters in the series, in fact. He/she (no spoilers) dies on screen, only to be brought to life through some hand waving involving my least favorite flavor of the HH: the Perennials. Meh. Hopefully your mileage varies.

Like the Sons of the Selenar, recommending The Fury of Magnus is easy. If you're skipping through the HH like a stone, reading only the so-called “important” books, you can skip this one. It doesn't form a vertebrae in the series' spine. For everyone else, including readers who are selectively going through the series—reading almost every book, this one should be on your radar. It's a story that constantly moves in unexpected directions, has nicely set dramas, and handles big scenes extremely well. It goes without saying anyone interested in Magnus would do well to pick this up. On with the Siege!