Is this perfect? No.
Does it give me everything I want from Warhammer 40K, Horus Heresy, and Garro? Hell yeah!

Opening with an explicit acknowledgement of the violent authoritarian subjugation that make up the Imperium's Age of Enlightenment and Great Crusade, this two part audio drama is classic Horus Heresy and Garro goodness from an author who gets the galaxy and understood the assignment.

(I feel like I have some humble pie to eat, but I still maintain the Rafen Blood Angels books could be about any Chapter and are not very stimulating...at all)

*I wrote more and Goodreads ate it, which sucks. I'll try and come back to it when I'm less tired (but I almost never actually do)*

Suffice to say, I think this is a banger that gives me all I want from a Horus Heresy and Garro audio drama, and manages to serve intrigue, action, and genuine tension and emotion, while showing the Imperium for the fascist empire of psychopathic bloodthirsty sycophants and there is no good side in this conflict, only some well-intentioned individuals who have real feelings, despite being indoctrinated, killing machine demigods for an authoritarian nightmare.

There is the issue of the 'baddy' being telegraphed in the performance and the general portrayal of that faction in all Warhammer media, but whether or not the politics espoused by terrorists hiding among refugees was considered, this story at least doesn't obviously play into real world xenophobic, racist, and hateful ideologies, which is nice. ( )