And mention of those forces brings me to the Damnation Cache itself, and what a privilege it was to pry it open. The scale of the daemonic force unleashed, and what the end result of that unleashing would be, were an invitation and a challenge to be worthy of that dark host. I felt that once the daemons started strutting their stuff, if I wanted to do them justice, I had to write a book that was as much about fear as it was war. If, after reading this book, you’re tempted, even a little, to keep the lights on a tiny bit longer, than I will be a happy writer indeed.
Though, if truth be told, I am already a happy writer for having had the chance to play in this world of monsters.
David Annandale,
February 2014
Acknowledgements
If the act of writing is a solitary one, the result is nonetheless a collaboration, and I owe a great deal of thanks to my editors at Black Library: Christian Dunn, Laurie Goulding, Nick Kyme, Graeme Lyon and Lindsey Priestley. This book also owes a great debt to Fulgrim, so thank you to Graham McNeill for having written that marvellous tome. And for Margaux, for her love, belief and support, I have more thanks than the words to express them.
About the Author
David Annandale is the author of the Yarrick series, consisting of the novella Chains of Golgotha and the novel Imperial Creed, as well as the Horus Heresy novel The Damnation of Pythos. For the Space Marine Battles series he has written The Death of Antagonis and Overfiend. He is a prolific writer of short fiction, including the novella Mephiston: Lord of Death and numerous short stories set in the Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 universes. David lectures at a Canadian university, on subjects ranging from English literature to horror films and video games.
The crew of an Iron Hands warship face a terrible choice as they emerge into the Isstvan system in the wake of Horus’s betrayal.
Download this Horus Heresy short audio drama exclusively from blacklibrary.com
The Damnation of Pythos is the 30th novel in The Horus Heresy series – a galaxy-spanning epic of brotherhood, war and betrayal.
For Margaux, with memories of Paris in the snow.
A BLACK LIBRARY PUBLICATION
Published in 2014 by Black Library, Games Workshop Ltd., Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, UK.
Cover illustration by Neil Roberts.
Internal illustrations by Neil Roberts.
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