A major theme in the bestselling book series The Horus Heresy is fatherhood. The inciting incident of the series is the abandonment of Horus Lupercal by his father The Emperor, and many of the primarchs struggle with their positions as gene-fathers to the adeptus astartes, as well as to the various father figures in their lives.
In some ways, the I legion Dark Angels work as a microcosm in this regard. With half the legion turning traitor under Luther – a figure sometimes viewed as a foster father to the primarch Lion El’Jonson – a lot of the themes of the heresy is played out at a smaller scale within the Dark Angels.
Through an analysis of the Dark Angels novel Decent of angels by Michel Scanton (2007) I will explore the relationship between Lion El’Jonson and Luther, and how themes of fatherhood, upbringing and tradition materialize in their relationship.
Tradition is an important part of both identity and conflict within the Dark Angels, and to get a more complete understanding of how they work within the story, I will analyze these concepts as they appear in the novel through the works of political theorist Hannah Arendt. Arendt’s work concerns tradition, authority, and identity in the modern age, and can help give us a better understanding of an organization steeped in tradition during the tumultuous events of the 31st millennium.
Analysis of a vast book series such as The Horus Heresy will never be complete. But with this analysis of a popular theme within a single novel, I seek to both get a better understanding of said theme, and to invite further discussion about the rest of the series.
Author bio
Arild Julius Østrem is an Assistant Professor in pedagogy at Inland Norway University of Applied Science, with an MA in philosophy. His interest includes early childhood education and political philosophy. Growing up he played Dark Angels and Blood Angels, but today he mostly plays Warhammer the Old World.
