"Descent Of Angels" by Mitchel Scanlon

AKA 'Decent Of Angels'. Cause it's decent, I guess...? FUCK, failure of joke. My memory of this book and also of its companion piece 'Fallen Angels' is not particularly favourable. Let's see if that is still the case after re-reading it.

Your MOM Descended on my Angel last NIGHT.

My patience is tested initially with a portentuous, overdone hand-wringing preface a-weeping and a-wailing about the fall of the Angels, the curse of Caliban and how Luther was a chill bro who gets totally misrepresented by the durn Emperor and his LIES. Our narrator for this intro isn't defined, but I'm guessing it's Zahariel. Who? Well, we'll get to that.

Once the italics disappear, the books set about establishing the character of Caliban's society before the Empire reaches it. They're essentially in a feudal state with castles, horses, knightly orders etc. However, they also have the technology for pistols, chainswords and power armour, though in crude forms. Their civilisation is harried by creatures called Great Beasts, each of which is a hideous yet unique monster. They sound very Chaos-tainted from the first time they're described, so the big secret reveal that's sold hard during 'Fallen Angels' that Caliban suffers heavily from warp-taint is, well, kind of pre-spoiled. Right off the bat though, I'm impressed - the beginning of this book is WAY better than I remembered it as. The ominous scene setting introduction, Zahariel's initiation, and the first time we see Luther and Jonson - pretty much handled impeccably. Scanlon's dialogue and characterisation is patchy, though. Especially when dealing with Zahariel and Nemiel. I can see why I hated these characters on my first reading. Also, the writing is a little shaky - not full of weird, twisted errata like 'False Gods' was, but packed with clichés, ie darkness that "seemed to reach out from... haunted depths like a living thing, enveloping (characters) in its silken embrace like an unwelcome lover." Count 'em up kids.

Early on, Lion El'Jonson's name is retconned to mean 'The Lion, The Son Of The Forest', not just a straight up stolen name from a dude who wrote a poem called 'The Dark Angel'. I would think that to make this a little more credible, the book would be full of forests with 'Jon' in their name. But no. Ah well. Anyway, Jonson's origins story is gone over in depth here - with almost 2/3 of the book dedicated to his life before the Imperium finds him, he may have the most 'pre-reunion with daddy' HH history of any Primarch in the series. The fact he was alone in the forest for the first few years of his life makes him unique amongst his brothers - most of them were quickly given surrogate father figures. Even Angron and Night Haunter - while fending for themselves - were at the centre of large societies of humans. This goes a long way towards explaining why the Lion is so secretive and has such an obsession with being self-sufficient.

The Lion wants to be the very best, that no-one ever was.

We also learn quite early on that the Lion has some premonitions of the Emperor and his crusade coming to Caliban. Not so special and unique now, are you Conrad? Ahh, that's unfair I guess... but I'm petty like that.

There are hints early on of how much the Order of Caliban will influence the First Legion - ie there are famed cavalry called the Ravenwing, the order has a Lord Cypher who is Keeper Of Secrets, they all wear hooded surplices over their armour... couple this with the fact we know Caliban has crude bolt pistols and chainswords, and you could argue the Lion had to make nearly no adjustments when he assumed control of his Legion. Also, when it comes down to it... ain't Knights In Space just a cool idea? Unoriginal but cool. Anticipation of this almost glosses over the fact the Lion uses goddamn CHILD SOLDIERS of 7 and up, putting them in incredibly deadly situations. But again, that totally fits with what a fucking ice-dick motherfucker he is. He also gets incredibly butthurt if anyone reminds him the Dark Angels existed before he took control. Insecure or what?

It's not all about the Lion (and I think this fact is one of the reasons 'Descent Of Angels' was quite poorly received by HH fans and still gets shit on today). Luther is a major character from the very beginning of the book. I found his character very bland the first time round, but after 'Grey Angel' single-handedly rejuvenated my interest in this character, I paid much more careful attention this time. And Zahariel is a much more interesting character than I remembered. He's outwardly cavalier and confident he's The Bravest Little Knight. But he's tormented by memories of his brutal initiation, where he was disturbed by the cruelty of the men he now calls brother. His rivalry with his close relative Nemiel also secretly disturbs him. Zahariel is terrified of the Great Beasts (a pretty normal reaction and one that makes him a much more relateable character).

So, the first quarter or so of the book is mostly scene setting and context. Then we're show the order in action when they come up against the Knights Of Lupus (RIP J Dilla). Zahariel goes on a Beast Quest (hoping to one day rhyme like Freddie Gibbs) and discovers his hidden psychic powers, as well as meeting the hidden Watchers In The Dark. The Emperor and his Astartes don't arrive until over halfway through 'Descent Of Angels'. It's a bold move, and I can see why so many people ended up pissed off and bored, but I think it ultimately pays off. We see these characters and learn their culture for a long while, so their reactions to the Imperium mean more. Already, the seeds of the Dark Angels' schism are sown...

I mean, this guy would have totally flown a spaceship if he had one.

Zahariel's discovery of his psychic abilities is pretty damn great. However, I don't see how he had to kill a Calibanite Lion. First you make this big song and dance about how the Beasts are all different to each other and there are no two the same. Then you say that the only Calibanite Lion was already killed by Jonson, a fucking Primarch. Then Zahariel finds out that no, guys, there's totally another Calibanite Lion and he just goes and kills it. I get that the purpose of this was for Zahariel to catch the Primarch's gaze - not in a totally favourable way, either ("NOW I DON'T HAVE THE HIGH SCORE ANYMORE!!!!! GRRRR!!") - but why not have it be a different, equally badass beast? It's still impressive for a teenager to triumph in that way, why double back on your own mythology to emphasise it?

In my opinion, the plot (and some of the action sequences) of 'Descent Of Angels' are surprisingly good. It's just that there's a bit too much exposition and dialogue handled in a stumbling, haphazard way. All the more reason to wish that Dan, Aaron, John French or Chris Wraight get the next Dark Angels full length. We got the brilliant 'Savage Weapons' from ADB and the Lion's excellent treatment in 'Unremembered Empire' from Dan, but that shit ain't enough. I want a full First Legion novel where they talk a bit more like normal people - I mean, I know they're pompous, honourable knights but that doesn't mean they have to spout awkward Tolkeinesque drivel. Regardless of the blandness of the writing, and sometimes of the characters, the lasting gift of 'Descent Of Angels' is the relationship between Luther and Jonson. It's a little bit fraternal, a little bit unspoken (sexual?) jealousy, and a little bit political power-struggle. Tough to describe. You really get the feeling that while there's envy there, Luther loves the Lion and wants him to succeed. Few Primarchs we've seen have a contemporary like this; I'm thinking a little bit of the Abbadon/Horus relationship, but even there we're always reminded of their military hierarchy.

The Knights of Lupus episode (as well as many more moments through this book) shows Luther as the smoothie in the partnership. Luther is the diplomat to the Lion's intractable, tactless bastard. If they'd stuck together, I've no doubt they could have achieved great things. The KoL episode, though, also really illustrates what a shit the Lion is. This segment starts with a gripping siege scene, albeit a very videogamey one - kill these guys! breach the walls! this guy is pulling on a lever - oh no, more Elites! Shit, a giant boss battle! Oh, a final cutscene, this guy's gonna tell us some history and accuse us of being the REAL monsters... IT'S LIKE MASS EFFECT 3 UP IN THIS BITCH. After this, we get a glimpse of how naive and short-sighted the Order's goals are: what do they think will happen after the Great Beasts are gone? (This is reinforced as poorly thought out in 'Fallen Angels', when we realise the importance of the function Great Beasts played on Caliban). Furthermore, we start to suspect that Jonson massacred an entire knightly order just to get a peek at their forbidden library of knowledge. Another question always in my mind was: how does the open, even-tempered good guy Luther in this book become the disquieting, slimy presence in 'Grey Angel'? I guess I will have to re-read 'Fallen Angels' to find out.

All we wanted... was the right... to live... and breed horrible Chaos monsters...

The 'payoff scene' where the Stormbirds of the Imperium finally arrive is excellently handled. I really like the initial chapters where Calibanite and Imperial are just feeling each other out. In these novels, we haven't really been shown what happens a) when a Primarch meets the Imperium or b) when the Imperium meets a feral but obviously 'compliant' world. It's not pretty, as their ecosystem, social structure and even beliefs are rendered down in a matter of weeks as mulch for the Imperial regime. It's not long after our heroes have passed their trials that we are whisked forwards in time - the process of Astartification (?) is glossed over. There could be an excellent HH book that spends most of its time on the process of implanting the new initiates with gene-seed, but 'Descent' isn't it. (I don't understand why a lot of reviewers seemed to lambast the book for its incredibly slow pace during its 'Caliban' sections, then got angry when a lengthy 'WE ARE TURNING INTO ASTARTES' sequence wasn't included.)

Instead, we're off to the Great Crusade. We learn quickly that the respected senior members of the Order were taken along with the Astartes and slotted into their ranks - shit, old Hadariel is even a Chapter Master. Seems like the existing Terran structure of the 1st Legion was very accommodating to the Order (or, more likely, the Lion would brook no disagreement). We're not in the new-look 1st for long before we're off to Sarosh, an apparently unobtrusive, compliant world. Actually it's totes corrupt and Chaotic but rather than resisting the False Emperor in the usual way, they're outwardly compliant and burying any real progress in endless bureaucracy. The description of this is weirdly funny, but also deadly boring. Man, the White Scars are ill-treated in these books, eh? On Sarosh, we get a friendly White Scar dude who just says alternative phrasings of "DON'T TRUST EM" again and again. Christ, at least he's better than Hakim... or the White Scar Librarian in 'A Thousand Sons'. I will never get tired of bringing up those racist-ass characters. Still, I read the first chapter of Chris Wraight's 'Scars' and it looks like he is gonna redress that balance, so... cautious optimism. BUT WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE ANGELS SO MOVING ON...

Like the White Scars dude said...

Overall though, the Sarosh segment - which wraps up the book and sets up the concept for 'Fallen Angels' - is great, as Scanlon ratchets up the creepiness excellently. From the featureless golden masks all Saroshi wear, to the fact that projected census data shows 8% of the planet's population is simply unaccounted for, there's clearly Some Wrong Shit Goin Down. When the planet does, inevitably, erupt into Empire-defying violence, it's extremely chilling. Having said that, the "suicide bomb shuttle" plot detail is fucking stupid and depends on an incredibly retarded Mechanicum contingent on board the Invincible Reason.

"You guys, this shuttle the diplomats are coming in is really old and busted."
"Bor-ing! I'm so OVER it already. Don't even BOTHER scanning THAT shit."

It does at least lead to one of the book's best moments - the tense sequence where Luther debates whether or not to actually defuse the bomb... how badly does he want the Lion to stop overshadowing him? Dramatic.

The end of the book is abrupt, and comes when an intense action sequence is seemingly just getting underway. I guess the HH writers quickly learned the lesson of the exhausting 'Fulgrim' - always leave 'em wanting more... Suddenly, Zahariel, Luther and many of their brothers are packed off back to Caliban. With the Lion becoming increasingly capricious, those who are out of favour are to be swept under the rug and forgotten about. Ostensibly, they're "overseeing recruitment on Caliban" but everyone knows the real score. It's worth noting that at this point, we're still over 50 years before the outbreak of the Heresy. I'm not sure what to think of the Future Fallen Angels being 'benched' so quickly, basically a few months into the 1st Legion's involvement in the Crusade. In fact it seems to contradict the 'Grey Angel' section where Luther implies his involvement took into account several significant battles alongside 7 or more other Legions including the Luna Wolves. But this may just have to go into the growing file of "Stuff that shows HH readers don't read each others' shit too religiously."

I was kind of dreading this re-read. But I really enjoyed 'Descent Of Angels' the second time around. The writing is often clunky, and it very rarely surprises. Still, I can't see why I hated it so much before. All that's changed? I actually CARE about the Dark Angels now. Stuff like 'Grey Angel', 'The Lion', 'Unremembered Empire' and especially 'Savage Weapons' have got me interested in these humourless dicksmackers. It's crazy they got benched so quickly - for a while it seemed like nobody wanted to write about these dudes at all. More recently, there seems to have been a thawing of the ice towards these guys, so we'll see what happens. First read-through, the stilted, overly formal and often clichéd writing style really annoyed me. However, I now think it's intentional - Scanlon wants to create a mythic ambience to the book. First read-though, I shared the still-prevalent HH fanboy opinion - "All this shit is irrelevant, it's just for DA groupies - give us stuff that has a bearing on the actual Heresy!" Now I think this stuff is pretty relevant to maybe the sleeper hit of the HH series - the character studies of the Lion and Luther's natures and motivations. At this point, it seems very unlikely that Scanlon will be asked back for another book, but I don't think he's the shithound that many BL fans seem to paint him as. And therefore, I'm giving this the cautious thumbs-up of a 7/10.

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