The Lion: Son Of The Forest (Warhammer 40,000)

Product Information

But main thing I just want to say is that after finishing this book, I feel like people on this sub really misconstrued this book into something it isn't. Bevedan is the one to explain to Zabriel that on Caliban, the Fallen forces were the ones to open fire and initiate the battle that destroyed their homeworld. A Watcher in the Dark, not in person, but as a disembodied voice, has to prod him further, figuring himself out as a Hunter.

The Lion has risen from his 10,000-year slumber, and he’s wasting no time putting traitors to the sword. The Primarch of the Dark Angels is a monstrously powerful duelist and indomitable battlefield leader, armed with the Emperor’s own shield and a massive power sword named Fealty. Your first chance to get him is in this celebratory launch set.* And the Lion risks himself not as Guilliman would on a Practical Gambit, such as what would draw out Mortarion. This is Plan A, B, and Z. Over at Warhammer Community, our coverage of the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 continues with the reveal of a brand new Tyranid unit and close examinations of how characters and weapons work in the new system. Spell My Name with a "The": When not referred to as "Lord Lion" or "Lion El'Jonson", he's always called the Lion by the narration, regardless of the point of view character.At the end of the book, he beheads Baelor to spare him a long, painful death from of Seraphax's poison. More clarification on his full return I can only assume would be answered by the Lion's own Arks of Omen book. I can only surmise that confrontation happens with the Lion having his Protectorate and working in conjunction with Dante. The Lion: Son of the Forest is a novel set in the Warhammer 40K universe, written by Mike Brooks and released in 2023. The Lion and the Fallen have been flung into the future because their homeworld of Caliban was blown to pieces by the battle between Lion's loyalists and the Fallen. The third win, is the hilarity of another Primarch basically time travelling to this abomination hell-scape that is the modern Imperium. I can't get enough of how Robute and Lion are just the demi-god embodiments of a facepalm.

Hard Work Hardly Works: Discussed and defied; as a Primarch, the Lion is a natural at almost anything he tries his hand at, but almost is the operative word here. He's unable to control his forestwalking until he puts time and effort into practice. Aborted Arc: Early in the book, the Lion and Zabriel stumble upon the Thousand Eyes experimenting on captured space marines, and Baelor's first two point-of-view chapters mention that Seraphax has been trying to forcibly trigger the Blood Angel's Red Thirst. As soon as the Thousand Eyes learn about the Lion's survival, this plot is abandoned as Seraphax changes his plans to account for the sudden appearance of a Primarch. Here's my crux; there's some elements of narrative that I don't want to be explained or resolved. I didn't want the Lion to wake (even though I consider myself primarily a Dark Angels player first and foremost), I don't want to know who Cypher is or the reason he's doing what he's doing, and I don't want to see there being a resolution to the Fallen. A lot of that ties directly into why I love the Dark Angels, if it all gets explained away then what do they become? Dark Green Space Marines... Run the Gauntlet: At the end of the book, the Lion faces a shapeshifter that takes the form of each of his brothers in succession, forcing the Lion to fight them all one by one. Big Bad Duumvirate: While Seraphax is undeniably the leader of the Thousand Eyes warband, Markog and Baelor share equal focus with him.Lion subdues the Fallen, named Zabriel, and learns that Zabriel thought that Lion was a traitor to the Imperium and Caliban - as Zabriel saw it, Lion's fleet was the one to open fire on Caliban. Lion swears that was not the case, and has Zabriel swear that he wasn't the one to shoot first either. They start to (distrustfully at first) work together. We Can Rule Together: At one point, Baelor extends to Zabriel the offer to join the Thousand Eyes; Zabriel, of course, immediately rejects him. The massive Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer is an armoured beast , mounting a triple-barrelled neutron laser battery onto a rugged Spartan hull to create a devastatingly focused anti-tank weapon. It can detonate tanks in a single blast while shrugging off return fire like it’s nothing – everything you want in a Lord of War. Sicaran Venator Tank Hunter But Son of the Forest is not that kind of story and was never intended to be such. It is, more than anything, a character piece for the Lion. It's first and foremost goal is to explore and develop who Lion El'Jonson is when he finds himself in the current setting. Lost, alone, aged and without the guiding light he dedicated his life to there to give him a way forward. It is a story about him coming to terms with the way he feels wronged, and how he realizes he himself wronged others. Namely his "Fallen" sons, and the various ways they coped with their own wayward nature. With it exploring the theme of atonement and forgiveness, on both ends of that dynamic.

Phil Kelly's novel at the beginning of 8th Ed around Primaris being 'accepted' by the Dark Angels was bad, I'm still not sure if he even understands a lot of the narrative around the Unforgiven chapters. Gave Thorpe's Luther novel was a solid miss for me, I didn't want to see a novel where half the time is spent on Caliban pre-Lion exploring his largely inconsequential past. Halflings don’t make natural Blood Bowl players, but with enough gumption and a good lunch even the shortest soul can rise to league stardom. Take Cindy Piewhistle for example – once a master baker, now a Star Player who weaponises her delicious wares, while Puggy Baconbreath is an elite athlete by usual halfling standards, with the skill and discipline of a champion twice his size. This is easily the best 40k novel I’ve had the pleasure of reading. It’s the first time a Primarch behaves like an actual adult, and man it’s a great thing to experience. That being said, I’m not sure how good this book is going to be for you if you have not read the Dark Angels part of the Horus Heresy, or indeed a lot of the Horus Heresy in general. There is sooo much “fan-service” to middle aged dads who know and love the 40K lore on this book that it I think it needs that foundation to be enjoyed as much as I did. The Lion awakens in Imperium Nihilus, the side of the galaxy cut off from the Emperor’s light and often represented as the grimest of grimdark (see Sons of the Hydra and Spear of the Emperor). With the Imperium shattered as an organization, we follow the Lion’s gradual reintegration into the broader picture, as the scope of the narrative steadily widens from single combat to system-wide void war. This unexpectedly makes Son of the Forest an excellent introduction to the universe; as the Lion learns, so too do we readers.It's not until the end of the book that the Lion learns that Roboute Guilliman is not only alive, but leading the Imperium. But the rest of the book was great. I loved how Lion was shown as an character. And how he kept some of his arrogance, but was wise enough to always chose what gave him the best odds in any fight. The warp travel part was unexpected, but the primarchs have always had an connection to the warp. So it kind of works. Brooks lampshades Crusade/Heresy Lion hard. That Primarch would not balk at losing twenty knights. Not even on Caliban purging the Knights of Lupus did the Lion hesitate in paying the butcher's bill. This Lion pulls a Sanguinius, and meaningfully antes himself up instead, with no premonition of his death being elsewhere/when. Unstated One For All... The Fallen fight the Thousand Eyes and Markog while Lion pursues Seraphax. This turns out to be part of Seraphax's plan, as he manages to trap Lion in magic chains (forged from the iron from the blood of Sable's butchered populace). He explains his scheme: he's going to remove Lion's soul from his body, turn what remains into his own meat puppet, and have it go to Terra, gain an audience with the Emperor, and kill him so that he becomes the next Warp god (his original plan called for just "some hero of the Imperium", but Lion is an unexpected boon). This disturbs the also-present Baelor.