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Horus Heresy: Mechanicum | 
 enlarge | Author: Graham Mcneill
Publisher: Games Workshop
Category: Book
Buy New: $7.99
New (26) Used (8) from $4.02
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 4490
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 416
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 1844166066
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN: 9781844166060
ASIN: 1844166066
Publication Date: November 25, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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Product Description
In this epic story, Fulgrim author Graham McNeill tells of the civil war on Mars, and the genesis of the Dark Mechanicum. This next installment is guaranteed to keep fans hooked as the series goes from strength to strength.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
Mechanicum: Book 9 in the Horus Heresy Series December 6, 2008
Jake Thornton (Los Angeles)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
After the bitterly disappointing 'Battle for the Abyss' I had high hopes for Graham McNeil's 'Mechanicum', which deals with events on Mars leading up to the siege on Terra. And I must say those high hopes were met.
In terms of the time line, we are really no closer to the finale of this series. The events of Istvaan III have just happened, and the Abyss of the 'Battle for the Abyss' is still being constructed. This gives you a very real sense of where you are in terms of it all, but I feel like the story isn't advancing in terms of time. It is however, good to see the Heresy from different points of view.
As with all the Heresy series, there are several storylines interwoven together. In this piece more than any other, we seem to side more heavily on the side of the Imperial supporters. The cheif storyline follows Dalia, a young Terran logistician with a talent for machines. She is brought to Mars by a Mechanicum adept by the name of Zeth, because of her incredible intuition for machines and latent almost psychic ability to see how machines work. Now I don't want to give too much away but she ends up being drawn through a mystery that helped to form the Mechanicum at the very start. For those of you who are fans of 40k lore, you will appreciate this story line as it concerns a certain 'Dragon' of Mars.... The problem however, is that this stpryline has little to do with the Heresy itself, and whilst it is interesting to see this past, it really adds nothing to the Heresy storyline itself. The other story lines are concerned with the Legio Tempestus, a Titan legion, and for those old school workshop fans amongst you you'll appreciate the appearance of several knight palladin characters too. The battle scenes are well written, especially from the Titan perspectives and it's so great to see large scale battles fought with Titans. The names of various Titans and characters do become a little confusing though. If you are in possession of the Horus heresy artwork book 'Collected Visions', then the short story 'The Kaban project' also by McNeil is referenced several times and we meet characters contained within that story too. I like the way that BL has interwoven these story lines, but I feel it is really time to start moving on in terms of time line now. It's also nice to look at a section of the Imperium not really explored much before, and the description of machines and the thought processes behind them is well executed.
All in all it is a satisfying read, light on Space Marines (which is no bad thing!), filled with intrigue, plot, well rounded characters, unexpected turns, and a real sense of what is going on in the universe as the galaxy slowly tears itself apart. Well done Black Library. More like this please!!!
Getting better November 26, 2008
Adam Bossov (Chicago)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is not bad. Overall, for me, the Horus series has been a little slow. But, on the other hand, it has filled in a LOT of gaps in my knowledge of Warhammer, and I especially like the information that we are given pertaining to the beginnings of various ideas and institutions. For example, I was really touched by the decision made by the Alpha legion to side with Horus because a victory by Horus would minimize humanity's suffering in the long term.
I have also liked, although it has been a little hard to follow, how some of the stories have overlapped, and how various characters have responded to what they have learned and have then had to face intersting decisions when meeting other potential allies.
In regard to this book, I again liked learning about Mars and the Mechanicum and the various legions and orders, and was extremely interested in the ending where various secrets about the Emperor are laid forth.
To summarize, it is a must read.
Well written, explains events on Mars December 3, 2008
dshanej
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book started out a little slow, building necessary background material, but is action packed as it goes on. It is a little different than the other Horus Heresy books as it covers the mechanicum on Mars, which is a pretty weird organization. The civil war that develops on Mars between those loyal to the Emperor and those seduced by the promises of Warmaster Horus is well explained. It has great battle scenes towards the end and some tidbits on the Emperor that were completely unexpected. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the Horus Heresy novels or Warhammer 40K in general.
Great return to main storyline - but includes a strange deviation December 16, 2008
Brian Long (Ogden, UT USA)
Mechanium is the 9th chronlogical installation of the Horus Heresy. The pimary storyline involves Dalia, a transcriber with the curious ability to see and influence the mechanical, and Adept Zeth, a revolutionary Mechanicum priestess who seeks to rediscover what what lost. Also included are the traitor Fabricator-General, the Primarch Rogal Dorn, and the Regent of Terra. Other stories and situations are referenced, and help to reinforce the isolation of the Imperium, and the circumstances that lead to the Martian civil war. Combat is swift, bloody, and gruesome, and the vargary of attacks, from information warfare to nuclear strikes to Titan combat, are as varied as they are well written.
Mechanicums story shifts between Dalia and Zeth, and the warfront between the various Mechanicum forges. Ties are strained as the schism between the Warmaster and the Emperor, and the die eventually cast before Mars goes to war with itself. the destruction of priceless knowledge and infrastructure, and well as lives lost, is far more heartbreaking in this incarnation, and you actually grow to care for the normally robotic and insular Mechanicus adepts. This story serves as a stark constrast to normal Mechanicus characters, and a touching reminder that they are still human.
The ending takes an unusual turn, and will send fluff fans into a frenzy, thanks to some painfully ambiguous scenes and dialogue, and can cut in many different directions. The story still includes several portions hat needed further explanation that was never provided, involving tech thats popped up in a few other places. This is only a hiccup in a otherwise fantastic piece, though detracts and distracts enough to stop it short of perfection.
A solid addition to the Horus Heresy tale December 28, 2008
A. Nonimowse. (California)
Dalia, a lowly transcriber, is taken without explanation from her cell beneath the Librarium, where she has been imprisoned for enhancements she has made to her cogitator. Dalia soon finds herself on Martian soil where she gets to witness the Mechanicum in its pinnacle. However, all is not well: old tensions and divergent philosophies are finally fracturing the soul of Mars. Set during the same time as the massacre of Istvaan III, and the unleashing of the Furious Abyss the Heresy has finally struck at the last stop short of Terra itself.
"Mechanicum" starts off with a very tasty bang in the prologue, and continues with a very engaging first couple of chapters as one part of the main stage is set. There is a bit of a lull, depending on what you like, at that point that stretches for a good bit -- this lull, while not very action filled, does fill out the background for the story so you can understand what has been happening on Mars, and why. You do get the sense that Mars, while seemingly unified to the rest of the universe, is far from that. Individual Adepts, with their forges, reign in an almost feudal manner over their quietly contested territories. The leaders on Mars are all going their own directions. Religious arguments over the existence of the Omnissiah, grumblings about the perceived leashing of Mars to Terra, and the pursuit of knowledge taking Mars to darker places all play a significant role in this dynamic book.
I feel that "Mechanicum" delivers by filling out the Heresy even further with the dark betrayal of Mars which ultimately brings war to Terra's backyard. The reader gets to see glimpses into the technology that quite probably leads to the Golden Throne. We see the emergence of the Dark Mechanicum, and we get to see Titan combat on a larger scale. Lastly, "The Dragon of Mars" is an interesting thread which leaves to our imagination the implications of very ancient and epic designs.
This last bit really does revisit a reoccurring theme: Is the Emperor really a "good" guy? Yes, he stands against Chaos, but at what cost? What has he really done to humanity? For that matter, what is humanity to him, really? With this book you really do get a taste for how insignificant humanity itself is to the grand designs of the Emperor with his multi-millennial perspective.
In the end, "Mechanicum", is a great addition to the Horus Heresy series. I would highly recommend it.
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