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  • Lion El'Jonson: Lord of the First

  • The Horus Heresy Primarchs, Book 13
  • Written by: David Guymer
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
  • Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (70 ratings)

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Lion El'Jonson: Lord of the First

Written by: David Guymer
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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Publisher's Summary

Book 13 of the Primarchs series. 

Listen to It Because

The Dark Angels have their secrets...and their primarch is no exception. Discover what the Lion was up to while the Great Crusade came to an end. 

The Story

Each primarch is an exemplary being, derived from the Emperor’s own genetic stock to embody a facet of His personality. Their powers are unfathomable, but only one of them is the First. Lion El’Jonson is the paragon of what it is to be a primarch. His Legion, pre-eminent for most of their long history, typify the virtues of temperance, pride and martial excellency that the Lion embodies. They are the Emperor’s last line and final sanction. They are His Dark Angels.

Now, while the Emperor gathers His mightiest sons for an assault on Ullanor Prime, the Lord of the First instead draws his Legion to the farthest reaches of the known galaxy, seeking to subdue a single rebellious world. Is this but another example of the Lion’s infamous pride, or is there more afoot amidst that graveyard of empires that is the Ghoul Stars, more than the Lion will share even with his own sons?

Written by David Guymer. Narrated by Jonathan Keeble. 

©2020 Games Workshop Limited (P)2020 Games Workshop Limited

What listeners say about Lion El'Jonson: Lord of the First

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Worst Primarch Book So Far…

Before I begin Jonathan Keeble is an amazing narrator.

I generally choose books that I think I will really like which is why it pains me to write such a poor review of this one.

There was virtually no information about Lion El’Jonson in this book. In Perturabo’s Book it covered his upbringing, his innate abilities, what drives him and even had some emotional moments where he realized he screwed up…

In this book it was mainly the Dark Angels fighting the Krave with a few instances of Lion El’Jonson intervening here or there. But I felt like they talked more about Duriel then they did The Lion. I’m disappointed with this one…

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Probably my favourite Primarch story so far.

I'm not all the way through them yet, but of the Primarch books, this one has been my favourite.

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YOU DON’T KNOW THE POWA OF THE DARK ANGELS!

This was absolutely insane and shows just powerful and frankly different the lion’s sons are from all the other legions. They EXTERMINATE those horrors which cannot be allowed to exist even in memory. In this we see the Dark Angels forced to unleash all their forbidden weapons and techno sorcery to defeat the Cthonic Krave, a nightmare xenos race that is able to hijack and subvert entire planetary populations, entire empires….

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For The Lion

Great story showing both the strength of the 1st and the complexity of this storied legion.

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Wow! Excellent book I just loved it!

Finally a more intimate view of the Dark Angles and the Lion and there place among the Legions from the Emperor’s perspective.

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Thoroughly enjoyed.

This book really sheds a light on the internal culture of the Dark Angels and how they fit into the panoply of the Emperor's Legions. Highly recommend. Even if you're not the biggest fan of the 1st, there's quite a bit you can take away from this novel.

Spend that credit!

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  • Brandon
  • 2020-10-23

I really loved this book.

Obviously some bias as I am a HUGE fan of Dark Angels. I am even a Dark Angels player owning models for the tabletop.

I really enjoyed this book. Really gave a lot of deep details of how the Dark Angels function internally. Also got to get a good peek into the mind of Lion El'Jonson (Literally). Also gave a fantastic glimpse into just how dangerous many of the earlier Xeno's races were before the ones we know in the 41st Millennium.

Loyalty and Honor!

5 people found this helpful

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  • Hector Cruz
  • 2020-11-13

Not what I was expecting (in a GREAT way)

Going into this novella I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was very pleasantly surprised that it took some twists and turns into the realm of horror and mystery.

I’ve never been a huge fan of the Lion and the First Legion, but this story turned that around for me. The characterization of the Lion as a dark genius who does what he must out of a sense of duty was a refreshing change, and it really endeared him to me as a character.

David Guymer’s very clever use of secondary and tertiary characters to set the mood and mystery of the story was clever, and I really appreciated all of the details and depth of the First Legion. Combat scenes came in fast and furious, like a hyperkinetic anime and it was a joy to follow along.

I definitely recommend this book to everyone, whether new to Warhammer or a grizzled veteran of the grim darkness of the future.

4 people found this helpful

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  • Jared Egeler
  • 2021-02-25

Poorly written - Mary Sue Dark Angels

I was excited about this book after reading some other books in the Primarch series and having loved the the two Dark Angels Horus Heresy books. However, the author writes like Matt Mercer with an Ultramarines codex. The angels in this book are da bestest at everything, and are the coolest edgelords ever. in the previous primarch books we got to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the others. but the author writes The Lion as a perfect, favorite child who can do no wrong. The author missed the point of this book series entirely.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Jeffrey Stewart
  • 2020-11-23

The real Dark Angels

Fleshes out the Dark Angels and their purpose as a Legion as intended by the Emperor. Delves deeply into their collective beliefs and values and provides insight into why they felt morally betrayed by The Fallen.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Kindle Customer
  • 2020-10-19

Best Dark Angels Book so far

This book goes along way to explaining the purpose meaning and origin of the DA. Short but insightful conversations between. Big E and the Lion are great. I enjoyed it and I hope to see more of the Lion in the future.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Michael C Redl
  • 2021-02-09

Over all Great!

Book over all is good, the Narrator is Amazing! really does a great job. The over all story is kind of ok. While good, the narrator carries this book into the 5 star range. If you are a Dark Angels fan boy, this is an amazing book. If you are looking to get into knowing about the dark Angels this is a must read.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Alexander
  • 2021-02-02

Must Read for Any Dark Angels Fan

This does a great job of giving you an inside look at the Dark Angels during the pre-heresy years, and really sells them and especially the Lion for the badasses they are. Also once again counteracts the meme that Dark Angels are secretly traitors.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Kindle Customer
  • 2021-02-01

Understanding The Lion

This book is centered around understand the Lion. it's not a book about him. That being said, it's a badass Dark Angels book. Do not over look this piece. or you'll regret it.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Leslie Courtney
  • 2021-01-27

The First Legion Triumphs!

This novel was nothing short of fantastic. It provides a good window into the motivations and philosophy of the Dark Angels, as well as goes into their reason for existing. They are the exterminators of the Emperor, and he gave them the means to do so. It also explains why the Lion was not at Ulanor and gives us a glimpse into his relationship with his father, the Emperor. The threat that the Dark Angels must face is also a welcome edition to the setting, as they manage to provide both a credible threat to the space marines while also giving us another fearsome enemy that is not one of the old favorites. The performance by Jonathan Keeble is once again perfect and really pulls one into the story.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Shawn Ray
  • 2021-01-14

The Lion deserves being the 1st

I was skeptical about this, I always appreciated the Lion but never cared for the Dark Angel. This changed that, the strategy, planning, obfuscation, and focus on the culture of the Dark Angels and thier purpose in the lore made this story a pleasure.

1 person found this helpful