Occupying an interesting point in the Horus Heresy timeline somewhere between The Binary Succession and The Solar War, LJ Goulding’s short story The Last Council tackles the final session of the Council of Terra before it’s disbanded in anticipation of the Siege. As High Lords posture and bicker over costs, priorities and jurisdictions, Malcador finds himself dwelling on the purpose of the Council and his role as Regent. While the debate continues, the Sigillite looks to both the past and future, his mind occupied by Horus of course, and also by buried secrets and unpalatable truths.
A little less mournful than First Lord of the Imperium, this nonetheless feels like a companion piece to that story, expanded out in an unusual three-part structure to encompass politics, Imperial history and Malcador’s relationship with the primarchs, but once again tackling questions of truth, history and contradiction. Goulding drops even more juicy snippets of lore this time around (including some potential jaw-droppers), once again tinged with just enough ambiguity to make you wonder, all mingled in with some incredibly topical subjects for debate. There’s real weight to the Council and its discussions, with lots to enjoy in this brief glimpse of the High Lords, but once again it’s very much Malcador’s story.
This was released as part of the 2018 Black Library Advent Calendar – click here to see the main page for the Advent Calendar, with links to all of the reviews.
Check out the main Horus Heresy page on Track of Words.
