The novel Galaxy in flames written by Ben Counter is the third book of a series called Horus Heresy. The heresy consists of about 25 books each varying in length, the author also varies. Galaxy in flames was published in 2006 by Black Library which is a part of Games Workshop, inventors of the Warhammer 40 000 universe.
Early in the 31st millennium, the main ”scene” of Galaxy in flames is set around Isstvan system in space where the legions about to betray the emperor of mankind are assembling and preparing to get rid of their loyalist marines, who are sent to the surface of Isstvan III to purge the rebelling world of heretics. One marine, Saul Tarvitz of the Emperor’s Children finds out about the plans to exterminate the planet with a conveniently named exterminatus bombardment, which involves virus bombing, burning of the atmosphere and blowing up everything that is left to stand and proceeds to enter the planet to warn his brothers, and Garviel Loken, the main figure so far whose tale doesn’t end too well, sadly enough. A lot of other things happen before the loyalists get sent down to Isstvan III and while they are there. The storytelling jumps from the planet back into the fleet in orbit and what is happening there.
The story advances quite slowly in each book, mainly because the books are rather short and at least in the first three books there have been three or four different story lines each being connected in some way. The depiction of the environment, characters and everything included in the story worthy of an image is great, you can very easily get a picture of what’s happening and how it might look like. The theme of this book has clearly been betrayal, there’s no way around it. Brothers turned against each other and the Warmaster, tainted by Chaos, begins his march against the Imperium of Mankind, and even more, his creator, the allegedly god-emperor of mankind.
A certain feel of sadness landed on me once I finished reading the last chapter, the deaths of my favorite characters wasn’t a pleasant experience but yet I have the urge to pick up the fourth book and continue reading. I found that once you read the two first books you can get attached to some of the characters in which case Galaxy in flames is bound to bring up some emotions, it was a joy to read. Even though it’s a science-fantasy series, the language is not that difficult to understand if your vocabulary is refined enough. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of WH40k or science-fiction in general, I wouldn’t really touch these books. It’s not a simple universe to sink in.