The Magos (Eisenhorn)

I've read both the Eisenhorn and Ravenor series multiple times (and a lot of Dan Abnett's other Warhammer 40K novels), so I was excited to see this book was being published. I had already read some of the short stories included in this book so I was tempted to skip over them, but I didn't. I recommend you read them, thoroughly, before reading the actual novel. They will make it much more enjoyable. The short stories were all decent, as could be expected. They serve their purpose. However, the novel itself, The Magos, is excellent. I don't think it is as good as the original trilogy (but, maybe nostalgia has just made me partial to them), but it is a good book. The plot, while grand, lacks the size of the original novels. I still enjoyed it though, and I especially enjoyed the tie-ins with the short stories (hence, why you should read them). I read this entire book in one sitting without much trouble, in that it was good enough to keep me enraptured for so long. I would recommend it to any Warhammer 40K fan. You'll be more likely to enjoy this book if you're already very familiar with the Eisenhorn novels.

Bought as a gift. Seemednwell enjoyed.

Excellent book. I am not really a follower of the Warhammer Universe. I was introduced to it through the Ciaphus Caine series, which is another Warhammer series very much worth checking out. I tried to follow the Horus Heresy (very long) series for a while but lost interest. However, because of these two I did happen accross the Inquisitor Trilogy(s) by Abnett . . . I am a big Sci Fi/Fantasy fan. I'm the guy who ends up rambling on about how "you have to read Zelazny" at parties . . . I was very pleasantly shocked by Abnett's skills as a write. I'd pace him up there with Glen Cook as far as gritty realisitic fiction goes. Unfortunetly, due to Warhammer's appaeant inability to publish physical novels in any quantity on some of their series, and my refusal to go kindel (books should be books, you should be able to flip through the pages and spend time and money building shelves to display them on . . .) I have not read Pariah yet. I was very excited to see this available to pre-order hardcopy and read it over the next two days after getting it. It does not dissapoint. After reading it I decided I might even break down and order the digital copy of Pariah (maybe). My only complaint is I think 3 of the short stories included were already in the two trilogy omnibuses of this series. I understand it's an editor decision to have "all the short stories here." However, considering most people interested in this series have already read the Omnibuses and therefore read those short stories . . . but overall the package of stories is quite worth it. If you miss Eisenhorn then you won't be disappointed here. If you are unfamiliar with Eisenhorn then you should read the trilogies and then get this one.

The last Eisenhorn novel came out in the early 2000s, and then, there was the Ravenor series and shorts where occasionally there were "guest shots" with Eisenhorn. If you read the most recent Pariah and Penitent, duology that suddenly became a trilogy at the end of Penitent, labeled and sold as the final chapter in the Eisenhorn/Ravenor story, you realized that a lot had occurred "off stage" to Eisenhorn between Hereticus and Pariah. Some characters were gone. Eisenhorn seemed to have grown oddly more powerful, and the audience was left to fill in the gaps. The Magos fills in some of those gaps. The title is in reference to three separate characters in the book. The first Magos is a master of biology who has an impressive set of credentials and capabilities, but spends the entire book on a backwater planet, essentially just wasting away. He does have two interludes of excitement involving fierce foes indeed, and the Magos uses his brain to outwit and take out the threats to his adopted (though hated) world. He ends up saving Eisenhorn at the end of the book too. The second Magos is a master of Chaos that ends up being one of the main villains in the series. He is something even more dreadful than a full-on Chaos mage. (That is not a spoiler as the book is constantly dropping hints about this.) The final Magos is what happens to Eisenhorn. (Spoilers below) So, much of the book is repeats for those that have been faithfully following and reading the canon novels and shorts involving Eisenhorn. The stories in this book appear to have been homogenized a bit to ensure they fit together with the main story, how Eisenhorn ends up looking for Queen Mab at the beginning of Pariah. It was a fun refresher, and we see just how much Eisenhorn has changed as a character. We also are firmly told that he wants the Inquisition to accept what he has done and help defeat the King in Yellow, or perhaps the King in Gold would be more appropriate. Do I recommend the book? Yes, both for the die-hard Eisenhorn fans and those that want a satisfying arc at the end of the current duo/trilogy as this book sets up the final, redemptive path for Eisenhorn. ** Spoilers Follow ** These are more or less essential to understand before going to the final book in the Pariah/Penitent trilogy. Eisenhorn essentially burns away all his resistence to the Warp in this book. He does not embrace it and become a demon-lord. Rather, Eisenhorn becomes a self-reliant, vessel for warp energy. By the end of the book, his bound daemon-host is actually frightened of Eisenhorn. There is not path back to normalcy for Eisenhorn. He is less human than one of the Chaos Marines by the end of the book. Still, he is the one hope to stop the King in Yellow. Ravenor's shade also reveals that at the end of the series he will slay Eisenhorn. Neither is happy about it, but both seem to accept it. Finally, one of Eisenhorn's aides is a mole for the Inquisition, and Eisenhorn keeps her around so that she can go speak on his behalf to the Inquisition and bring them into aid Eisenhorn in dealing with the King in Yellow. This sets up the "cavalry" riding in with the attendant confusion with deciding who is the enemy, and having Eisenhorn doing something wildly heroic on his way to oblivion.

The series of vignettes is a masterful work that's hard to discern at first that it is a collection of very interwoven tales. Without spoiling anything, it is quite a tremendous book and well written and very worth your time if you're a fan of Abnett or just wh40k in general. A very compelling story.

The Magos connects Abnett's Eisenhorn short stories together with a few of his other 40k shorts, and adds a whole new novella into the process. I can't assess the old short stories properly -- I grew up with them and don't have the distance. But the new novella works VERY well. Structurally, the Magos provides connective tissue between Abnett's Ravenor and Pariah trilogies, providing additional details on the metaphysics behind the creation-language Enuncia and the investigative leads Eisenhorn follows in Pariah. But it's also a nice piece of writing in its own right. Abnett mixes in folklore concepts of fairy tales with extraplanar dimensions in a way that unites both under the cosmology of 40k. Characters both lead and trivial are written in a charming, compelling fashion, and Abnett plays with language in a fashion most surprising for a licensed tie-in novel. It's pretty dang good.

Dan Abnett's writing is always incredible, and his eisenhorn and ravner series both got me completely sucked back into 40K again. I absolutely love The Inquisitor books and can't wait until he has an opportunity to finish the Bequin trilogy as well. Definitely recommend these books and this one is nice because it adds not only a new longer story about a new character but several other many stories that help to flush out some of the background of the characters that I've come to know from the other books. Would definitely recommend picking these up if you are a fan of the Warhammer 40K universe or just really good characters!!

When you didn't know there was another Eisenhorn novel until years later, you pay the price for it!