best one for a while

really enjoyed this one compaired to the last 5 or so, then again I have a slight bias towards the night lords so take what I say with a pinch of salt. Normally the ultra marines are one of the worst loyalists to follow only topped by the drop site massacre survivors so I went into the book ready to hate it. What I got was an enjoyable book where the night lords strike hard on one of the 500 worlds of ultramar, who has to slow them down? ultra marines? gull himself? no. Normal human recruits with little to no training fighting tooth and nail doing everything they possibly can against an enemy that is no only overwhelming more powerful then these humble men but when they fall they will subjected to the worst the night lords have to offer. Knowing all that and still fighting to protect their home made for a very enjoyable book, this is one of the few books from the late stages of the heresy that I would actually recommend.

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WOW

Honestly one of the best (top 4 Horus Heresy Books upto this point). The ending is epic and the relationship between Dantioch and Pollux is one of the best in 30k/40k.

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A bit cheesy at times, but otherwise a great read.

Pharos didn't really light my world on fire when I first read it. It wasn't until I read it a second time that I started to really like this book. So I guess I'd say it grows on you. It's a bit of an outlier in the series because it sort of sits alone as an isolated event.
It does however have massive consequences though, without giving away any spoilers.
There are several very likeable characters, however the Night Lords characters in this I feel are written in a slightly cheesy way I feel, which is a shame. I think NL are often among the most engaging legions to read about, but this book sheds them in a very kind of typical villainesque style. It's just a bit over the top.

Otherwise, genuinely a good read. Love the perspective we get from young neophyte scouts still in training, suddenly forced into open combat.

9/10

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Excellent story and John Banks is fantastic

After hearing Toby longworth and Gareth Armstrong for so long it's refreshing to hear a new narrator. John Banks' Nostroman accent is on point and it's nice to hear a Sanguinius that doesn't sound like the "welcome to the world of tomorrow!" guy from futurama (as well as a MUCH better representation of a certain primarch). The story is a fantastic entry and I can't help but feel the bromantic love between Polox and Dantioch. My only criticism is that I would have liked to see more of the junior Astartes, and the night lords are as over top grimdark and one dimensional as usual.

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A quality Horus Heresy book

Pharos continues on from a lot of the short stories of the previous HH installment so you already know many of the characters and have a sense for the setting.

The plot unfurls at a good rate and there is excitement throughout, that leads to a great finale.

There are some long dialogue scenes which add nice backstory but can be a bit tiresome at points, but otherwise a great edition in the series.

Great

So much better than I had been expecting, tense until the end, worth a listen.

Brilliant

Amazing story, even better narration!

John Banks brought this story to life - I’ve always been put off from listening to audiobooks, but this guy has truly changed my mind!

Too visceral

The narration was great, but in terms of character development; the torture porn wasn't necessary.

Surprisingly amazing

Started a bit slow, but it has one of the most amazing ending in the series.

Pretty Interesting with some weird dialogue

I enjoyed a lot of this book. Most of the engagements have the Night Lords coming up with clever plans and the Ultramarines being disciplined and tactical and both gets to shine.
What I didn’t like so much was a lot of the interactions between the Primarchs. They basically speak to each for ages but rarely get to the point, dragging out scenes that would be fun until it becomes boring. Also while Pollux is shown on the cover looking heroic he does almost nothing in this story. Something strange that occurred to me is the dialogue between Pollux and Dantioch comes across like they are almost romantically involved, with the marines being way to emotional towards each other. I understand they’re friends but it was a bit too much and came across silly.