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mwplante's review
4.0
Pretty cool. A little gritty even by Warhammer standards. Definitely above average fare. Haar wasn't the type of character I would expecting to meet as the central mover of a story like this. A pleasant surprise.
ratgrrrl's review
2.0
I had heard such golf things about the Blackshields audio dramas, but listening to this as part of the Errant Knights collection after all the Garro and Co stuff, this was such a let down.
There are some from Legions who have turned traitor who have refused the Warmaster's heresy, as well as the call of fhe Shattered Legions and home, but taken up as renegades taking war to Horus and their former Primarchs by their own rules or lack thereof. This is such a good and rich premise for fascinating characters and captivating stories, but this just did not do it for me.
Renegades pretend to be traitors to steal a powerful arms shipment and the whole thing ends up falling apart and devolving into a omnishambles.
I will acknowledge that I am so very tired and grumpy today, but this went from the premise being really interesting to me, through very bland and boring for the majority, to just a bit of a mess. I didn't find any of the characters compelling and the bulk of the story seemed to be a relatively boring arms deal and weapon demonstration.
I know I'm in a bad mood and being unkind, but this felt like an edgelord funhouse mirror of the Garro stories with no edge or fun. Everything is competent and it's not offensive or horrifically bad, but this is in a collection with some absolutely cracking audio dramas, easily taking the bottom spot.
I need to be clear, I love the idea of and the various chapters and warbands on either or no real side of the long war and find the complications and trials of operating outside of Imperial law and/ or not adhering to any Darker Power or faction genuinely fascinating. Just not this.
I really hope the last two are better, but at least with my expectations now hitting the floor I might enjoy them more.
There are some from Legions who have turned traitor who have refused the Warmaster's heresy, as well as the call of fhe Shattered Legions and home, but taken up as renegades taking war to Horus and their former Primarchs by their own rules or lack thereof. This is such a good and rich premise for fascinating characters and captivating stories, but this just did not do it for me.
Renegades pretend to be traitors to steal a powerful arms shipment and the whole thing ends up falling apart and devolving into a omnishambles.
I will acknowledge that I am so very tired and grumpy today, but this went from the premise being really interesting to me, through very bland and boring for the majority, to just a bit of a mess. I didn't find any of the characters compelling and the bulk of the story seemed to be a relatively boring arms deal and weapon demonstration.
I know I'm in a bad mood and being unkind, but this felt like an edgelord funhouse mirror of the Garro stories with no edge or fun. Everything is competent and it's not offensive or horrifically bad, but this is in a collection with some absolutely cracking audio dramas, easily taking the bottom spot.
I need to be clear, I love the idea of and the various chapters and warbands on either or no real side of the long war and find the complications and trials of operating outside of Imperial law and/ or not adhering to any Darker Power or faction genuinely fascinating. Just not this.
I really hope the last two are better, but at least with my expectations now hitting the floor I might enjoy them more.
trackofwords's review
5.0
Josh Reynolds’ first contribution to the Horus Heresy series, Blackshields: The False War is a 72-minute audio drama featuring ex-World Eater Endryd Haar…and lots of arguing.
This is the sort of story that’s for people who like to explore the edges of the Heresy, who don’t mind if a story doesn’t directly lead to us taking another step closer to Terra. The Blackshields are unlikely to be part of the main focus for the series, but in Haar we have a distillation of everything that’s interesting about them, and the first stirrings of what promises to be an intriguing arc.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/10/04/blackshields-the-false-war-josh-reynolds/
This is the sort of story that’s for people who like to explore the edges of the Heresy, who don’t mind if a story doesn’t directly lead to us taking another step closer to Terra. The Blackshields are unlikely to be part of the main focus for the series, but in Haar we have a distillation of everything that’s interesting about them, and the first stirrings of what promises to be an intriguing arc.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2017/10/04/blackshields-the-false-war-josh-reynolds/
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