• Nemesis

  • The Horus Heresy, Book 13
  • By: James Swallow
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
  • Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (2,087 ratings)

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Nemesis  By  cover art

Nemesis

By: James Swallow
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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Publisher's summary

After the horrors of Istvaan V, Horus declares outright war against the Imperium. In the shadows of the Emperor's Palace, powerful figures convene.

Their plan is to send a team of assassins to execute the arch-traitor Horus and end the war for the galaxy of mankind before it's even begun. But what they cannot know is that another assassin is abroad already, with his sights firmly set on killing the Emperor.

©2010 Games Workshop Limited (P)2015 Games Workshop Limited

What listeners say about Nemesis

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Skip this:Fluffy filler that amounts to nothing

As an audiobook this is fine. Perhaps an overuse of Russian accents but the read is fine. The story itself is not worth your time. There are two plotlines about assassins from both sides of the conflict that are completely unrelated. In the book, these stories constantly interrupt each other and mess up the pacing before coming together to neutralize each other. And it's not that these assassins must inevitably meet, just as Horus must inevitably and purposefully face the Emperor, they meet by pure luck *cough*Emperor'sWill*cough*. If this book was never written, nothing you know about 40k would be different and it does nothing to further the events of the Horus Heresy. It adds little to pre-existing lore outside of some vague ideas about life on Terra or the origins of the Assassinorum. The characters are one dimensional. The action lacks stakes and therefore turns into descriptive filler of nothing we haven't seen before in 40k. Fights exist only to make the assassins seem powerful but don't further the plot. Any personal conflict is bland and ultimately pointless as it too is never resolved or adds to character depth.
What's good: The beginning is good. Differences of philosophy of waging war of Dorn v. the Assassinorum. The intrigue of the Assassinorum. The initial mystery until the killer is immediately revealed too soon and lacks any plot impact. The initial getting the team together (as an idea). In terms of execution of this part, it just drags and in the end, the assassins lack any form of team dynamic other than mutual dislike (which doesn't change) so it becomes just filler. This would have been better as a short story that was just about the assassins.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

not the strongest story at all

many characters and I could follow some of what was happening midway I got lost. where was the action happening?

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

It was ok

As the Praetorian of Terra has said of Guillimans Codex Astarti. "3 out of 5. It was ok."

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book

Yes it may be fluff and not necessary to the main overarching story, but if you enjoy learning about some of the galaxy's politics and the Assassinorum, this is a good book. and Jonathan Keeble did an outstanding job narrating. With the multitude of characters, he made each one unique and easy to follow who was talking.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

View of assassins

It’s a good look at all the different houses of assassins which is great. However the story itself is not great by itself.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible

Here’s a story that really stands out among the Horus Heresy books. Since it’s not focused on space marines, it really gives a sense of tension because failure is right around the corner. Also has unusually satisfying character development for this series.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

easily skipable

the only redeeming part was the last hour, took me 4 tries to get half way through this one.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

a lot to process

a lot to process must pay close attention there are many threads to follow but a definite payoff.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • TJ
  • 10-18-20

Good, but don't write home

'Non essential' hits the nail on the head for a story that still serves to flesh out the setting of the Horus Heresy. We revisit themes from previous books and get some thought provoking loose ends, but nothing here adds up to much in the grand scheme. The characters with depth aren't often in the spotlight, but everyone plays neatly into their roles.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Some Vigilance Required

Interesting story, but hard to get through. only book in the Heresy I have struggled to get through.

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1 person found this helpful