They are essentially a pseudo legion called the Greyshields and are doled out to the chapters they share a geneseed link with in need of reinforcements or organized into entirely new Chapters as the crusade goes on. This is where we first dig into the Primaris Marines and the way Guilliman has organized them.
The main plot of the story sees the final battle in the crusade, where we also meet Captain Felix, a Primaris Marine and Guilliman's equerry. The death of a Primarch would be a powerful scene on its own, but the fact that we experience the whole thing from the perspective of the man dying just adds an emotional wallop that you wouldn't expect.Īct two cuts to the current timeline, with Guilliman already restored to life during the events of the Gathering Storm and now wrapping up his 100 year long Indomitus Crusade. It's a real great scene, and I would almost say the best scene in the book, but there is still so much more to come.
His incredulity at the idea of his death, the sadness he feels for his sons he's leaving behind, the panicked actions of the Space Marines trying desperately to save him and get him to safety, the thought of what will befall the Imperium without him there to guide it, and most surprisingly of all, the panic and almost fear of death itself. This scene of him dying is great, as we see it all from his perspective. Even after calling for help he is still no match for Fulgrim and after a brief fight, the Ultramarine's Primarch is laid low with a slash across his throat. There's so much great content here, but as anyone familiar with 40k history knows, there was only ever one outcome. This is also the first time Guilliman sees Fulgrim in his new Deamon Primarch form, though he knew of it ahead of time. It was always fascinating reading about the Primarchs interacting in the Heresy series, and here we see two confronting each other for the first time since that war. Roboute quickly realizes the whole thing is a trap but decides that he must fully commit and heads into Fulgrim's throne room alone, although he does concede that he will call for help if he feels the need. This is a theme we'll see pop up several more times throughout the rest of the story. Those newer to the ranks revere him more and hold him in an almost holy position, something that makes him deeply uncomfortable. There are some great bits in here where Guilliman reflects on the difference of the veterans from the Heresy and the newer recruits to the Space Marines. This was a nice nod and a great way of creating continuity.
The horrors and wounds of the Heresy are still very fresh in everyone's minds at this point, and we even get some returning characters that fans of the Heresy series will be familiar with. Lead into a trap, Guilliman decides that he must risk teleporting aboard the Emperor's Children's flagship to prevent his brother from escaping again. Anyone familiar with the lore of the Ultramarines knew what event this was depicting from the get go, and I was super excited to finally read about it on the page. The story opens up nearly 10,000 years ago after the scouring, with Guilliman leading the Ultramarines and some of their brother Chapters on a hunt to finish off his corrupted brother, Fulgrim. These couple of chapters could have been a novella on their own and it would have been a fantastic read. This amazing novel is divided into three parts, and man oh man is the first part great. So how is the thirteenth Primarch dealing with life in the 41st (42nd now?) millennium and the resurgence of Chaos? Dark Imperium by Guy Haley is our first glimpse into this newly evolving storyline, focusing on Roboute Guilliman around 100 years after the launch of the Indomitus Crusade. The new era of Warhammer 40,000 is here, and with it a new era in the background and fiction for the grimmest and darkest galaxy out there.