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In the name of character examination, Dembski-Bowden focused primarily upon their flaws and failings, enhancing them and exaggerating them. The Emperor left Sureka behind to look after the Molech Warp Gate until such time as that world could be safely protected by the coming of the future Imperium of Man. So, while Seventh Retribution (and many Ben Counter stories, for that matter) would deal with something which could reshape the setting itself by introducing something wholly new or twisting an old idea; Soul Hunter works to make itself stand out thanks to character dynamics, drama and a complex web of personal character arcs. The first mention of the Emperor by that name in Imperial records is when He began the unification of Terra at the end of the Age of Strife in the late 29th Millennium.
Together they brought thousands of worlds into Imperial Compliance, establishing the rule of the Imperium over these worlds and inculcating in them the values of the Imperial Truth -- a materialist, atheistic faith in reason, science and technological progress that rejected all the vestiges of Human irrationality and superstition, including all forms of religious faith.
If this book is to be believed, the Emperor was simply a tyrant seeking ultimate control, who failed and took down everyone with him. By having and Imperial side here backing up that one viewpoint, with possible no opportunity to consider alternative depictions, it limits the story. Another source claims that even before the Unification Wars had ended, the Thunder Warriors at last realised that their creator had cursed them with short lifespans as a result of their imperfect genetic augmentations, and turned upon Him for what they saw as His betrayal. That said, and there is a "but" here, as much as it amplifies his strengths it amplifies a few irritating points of his writing.
The book repeatedly reinforces how flawed, failing and mortal he is time and time again, likely as a subversion to the mysticism behind him. I finished the book in just a matter of days and at no point did I really want to put it down, just you know, real life stuff demanded that I didn't spend my whole time reading. Through His Imperium, Humanity is united and remains one of the most powerful intelligent species in the Milky Way Galaxy as well as its most dominant in terms of both population and territory held.One thing that stood out was how ADB was able to get me acquainted with new characters as quickly as they were introduced. The Emperor wanted answers and he didn't have time to deal with Land spending too much time focusing on "Why the hell does my omnissiah feel emotion! Bereft of those traits,the Custodes, Sisters and many others seem oddly lifeless on an individual level.
It is in many ways akin to the stories of Geoff Johns at DC Comics, especially when it comes to big events. He wouldn't have changed his heart and saved Angron at the last minute the way he did (either by not letting him go back to his men or because he'd have just taken care of the opposing army himself). By the end of the European Middle Ages on Terra, all three of these Chaos Gods had awoken to full consciousness. There's nothing truly alien about it, little which seems unsettling, unreal or even otherworldly, and many of those there just react with a dulled "Oh, we're fighting here now" attitude. In his opinion, what makes the story more interesting is to have a more anti-Imperial approach to things, where Chaos will always win no matter what.Individually or in small groups -- like the self-stylised "Dait'Tar" Thunder Warriors present during the Cerberus Insurrection of the early Great Crusade era -- some Thunder Warriors would survive, living mostly anonymous and miserable lives amongst the population of Terra, all honours of the past forsaken, always fearful of being discovered. While The Master of Mankind delivers on this by giving us some of the closest and most personal looks at this larger than life character, it also gives us so much more, with a rich cast of supporting characters and peeks into other elusive aspects of the setting, including hints and twists that tie in more closely with the 41st millennium than the 31st. While each of these points isn't delved into with the depth and detail one might expect from what was done to the Legions, it nevertheless sheds a great deal of light on the subject. Fortunately for these survivors, the Imperium, believing them all dead, never truly sought to hunt them down, as all efforts were by now concentrated on the progress of the Great Crusade. But with traitor legionaries and corrupted Battle Titans now counted among the forces of Chaos, the noose around the Throneworld is tightening, and none but the Emperor Himself can hope to prevail.
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