Of all the Legions we’ve seen so far in the series, it is perhaps the Imperial Fists of whom we have seen very little of in comparison. The World Eaters and the Iron Warriors might make a claim as well, but they have at least been at the forefront of the Heresy all the way while the Imperial Fists have been relegated to the defense of Terra and seemingly have done little of note, being a static legion in effect. Which kind of rankles since the VII Legion is as interesting as any of the others and Dorn’s role as the Praetorian of Terra is a vital one in the Heresy.
John French’s Praetorian of Dorn was all set to change the shortcomings of the series with regards to the VII Legion. Pitting Dorn and his sons against the vile machinations of Alpharius and his nefarious sons, Praetorian of Dorn turned out to be a rather mixed novel that spent far too much time on the XX Legion rather than the VII, and thus failed to really elucidate a strong sense of Legion personality for the Imperial Fists while the Alpha Legion only got better and better. With some big revelations and a fantastic climax, it wasn’t a bad novel however, but it did leave me very dissatisfied in the final reckoning.
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