Which Horus Heresy Books You Should Read

[Cynical Cat]

So I was talking with Hotfoot, aka The Guy Who Doesn't Work Full Time and Reads Less Than Me, and the subject of which Horus Heresy books are worth reading came up. Since they've been putting them out for a couple years now and have multiple authors working on them, there's a fair number by now. So here begins my recommendations. I'll be addressing each book in order they were published.

1) Horus Rising. This is a tricky one. Pay off happens in later books, but it sets the scene. A secular, aggressive, and humanist Empire in the 30th Millennium. The reconquest of the galaxy is seen as only a matter of time and effort and many of the Sons of Horus worry about what will come after the Great Crusade is over, seeing their place already eroded by Imperial bureaucrats. Horus has been named Warmaster and the Emperor has retired from the front for his own reasons.

It's not a bad book, but it's all set up and the problem is that False Gods is a miss.

Recommendation: Read it only if you want to get a feel for the 30th Millennium, which is does well.

2)False Gods. Horus is wounded by a corrupted weapon and is taken to a place of healing. Unfortunately, the place of healing conceals a Chaos cult and presided over by First Chaplain Erebus of the Word Bearers. Hrous falls to Chaos.

And oh merciful God is the corruption sequence awful. It's really terrible. The scene where Horus gets wounded isn't that impressive either.

Recommendation: Pass.

3) Galaxy in Flames. It's good. Horus uses an uprising on Isstvan as an opportunity to purge loyalists elements before beginning the civil war. Unreliable members of the Emperor's Children, Sons of Horus, and Death Guard are used to attack the rebels and then both forces are bombed from space. Suspect ships are destroyed. Then there is a ground assault to finish off the survivors. The protagonists are, of course, the embattled and doomed loyalists who are being slaughtered by their brothers.

Recommendation: Read. The only weakness is that a lot of the characters are from the earlier books and if you haven't read them then you'll miss out on some character development, but that's a fairly minor weakness.

4) The Flight of The Eisenstein. The famous escape of a single loyalist vessel from Isstvan, bringing warning to the rest of the Imperium of the Heresy. Easier said than done, of course.

Recommendation: Read.

5) Fulgrim. The fall of Fulgrim and the Emperor's Children, after the Primarch takes possession of a daemon weapon and its corrupting influence takes hold.

Recommendation: Pass. It's not badly written, but the descent into depravity is too clean.

[Josh]

Fulgrim is good for making you want lots and lots of Emperor's Children die in any novel they feature in. They quickly rocketed to my list of most-hated ponces in 40K from that book alone and nothing written about them since has changed my opinion.

Oh what a fabulous day it would be if the 14th Black Crusade was the Imperium and the forces of Chaos teaming up to exterminate the Emperor's Children to the last man. Well, except for Lucius, who should die at the hands of a lowly Tau drone while he's taking a shit.

Abaddon would get a win for a change, the Imperium would be rid of at least one blight, everyone wins.

[Cynical Cat]

Fulgrim is good for making you want lots and lots of Emperor's Children die in any novel they feature in. They quickly rocketed to my list of most-hated ponces in 40K from that book alone and nothing written about them since has changed my opinion.

Angel Exterminatas is actually better at that, but that one is further down the list.

[Josh]

Fulgrim is good for making you want lots and lots of Emperor's Children die in any novel they feature in. They quickly rocketed to my list of most-hated ponces in 40K from that book alone and nothing written about them since has changed my opinion.

Angel Exterminatas is actually better at that, but that one is further down the list.

Angel Exterminatas just reinforced it. I wanted Perturabo to rip Fulgrim's head off and shit down his neck soooooooo bad.

I did have an issue with that one, but we'll discuss it when we get there.

[Cynical Cat]

6) Descent of Angels. This book mainly takes place on feudal Caliban, during Lion El'Johnson's campaign to unify the planet. As such it's not really about the Heresy although it is about the origin of the Dark Angels and feudal knight orders with relic technology.

Recommendation: It's good, but you need to either care about the dark angels or want to read about the clashes of knightly orders with remnant tech on a planet infested with monsters.

7) Legion. The Alpha Legion and a conspiracy of Chaos hating aliens called the Cabal make their debut. The central character is a long lived psyker who is a Cabal agent. The book is interesting and does a good job of characterizing the elusive Alpha Legion. Unfortunately, the subordination of the Alpha Legion to the Cabal's designs at the end of the book is badly done and completely unconvincing.

Recommendation: Pass. You can go to Lexicanum and get all the necessary information on the Alpha Legion. I really do hate the ending.

8) Battle for the Abyss. A scratch force from various different chapters has to come together to stop a Word Bearer super dreadnought from completing it's mission of destruction.

Recommendation: This books doesn't advance the timeline of the heresy or reveal much about any legion or primarch, but it is entertaining. If you want to read a stand alone novel of stop the super-Bismark in space, read this.

9) Mechanicum: This deals with the start of the Adeptus Mechanicus split during the civil war, what the Mechanicum was like during the age of the Great Crusade, and what was lost because of it.

Recommendation: Read it. This book is very good on several different levels.

10) Tales of Heresy. A short story collection set during the Great Crusade and early Heresy. It generally pushes back the borders of the universe and gives us glimpses at beings such as the Custodes and the World Eaters that we have not really seen before.

Recommendation: Read if you like short stories and are interested in the maneuverings and world of the late Crusade/early Heresy.

11) Fallen Angels. Continues with the Dark Angels. Lion El'Johnson has a plan to cripple Horus without fighting him directly by attacking a world that is construction extraordinary siege engines that Horus will need to breach the Imperial Palace. Back on Caliban things are getting worse and the Dark Angels there must face a crisis while being increasingly alienated from the rest of the Legion

Recommendation: Read. Both plot lines are engaging.

[Josh]

Hunh. I was generally not impressed with either DA book- the protag completely failed to engage my interest and there's really no twist to it- it's the same Jonson/Luther story we've already had laid out for us in Angels of Darkness. Legion on the other hand grabbed me pretty thoroughly. I agree the ending is weak, but I liked the characterization of the Legion and also I totally grooved on the geno troops.

Really, the whole DA storyline improved a lot for me once they started tangling with Curze and the Night Lords.

Totally agree on Mechanicum. GW is doing a much better job with the AM these days, as compared to the old days when they were just plot device A. "Mechanicus techpriest along for the ride is hiding some sort of dangerous archeotech/Necron research that's going to get nearly everyone killed, then he gets killed by his hubris/monstrosities in the end."

Really, I'm kind of surprised that the Guard and the Astartes didn't just automatically set their mission planning up with the inevitable Mechanicus betrayal in mind.

"Okay now when we get the base set up that's when the Mechanicus are inevitably going to backstab us. So be extra watchful for cloaked assassins, burrowers coming up from the underground, teleport gates in the basement levels, or a surprise cloud of flesh-eating insects/scarabs."

"YES SIR!"

[Cynical Cat]

Hunh. I was generally not impressed with either DA book- the protag completely failed to engage my interest and there's really no twist to it- it's the same Jonson/Luther story we've already had laid out for us in Angels of Darkness.

No, there's no twist but Luther's fall is actually well done and I liked the military campaign in the second book. It follows the rule of "showing not telling" and demonstrates strategic skill by El Johnson instead of just telling us he's good at strategy. Of course, I like Dark Angels so your mileage may very.

Legion on the other hand grabbed me pretty thoroughly. I agree the ending is weak, but I liked the characterization of the Legion and also I totally grooved on the geno troops.

As did I, but I never warmed to Grammaticus (who is no small part of the book) and combining that with the piss poor ending means I can't recommend the book. You might have noticed I don't lightly recommend a book.

Really, the whole DA storyline improved a lot for me once they started tangling with Curze and the Night Lords.

Agreed.

[Cynical Cat]

12) Thousand Sons. About the terrible, tragic fall of the Thousands Sons Legion.

Recommendations: Read this. By any standard, it's very good.

13) Nemesis. A kill team of assassins from several different shrines is set after Horus. Erebus has created his own super assassin to kill the Emperor. Paths cross. Hijinks ensue.

Recommendations: Read, it's good.

14) The First Heretic. Chastised for worshiping the Emperor as a god and defying the secular Imperial Truth, Lorgar and his Word Bearer Legion attempt to redeem themselves and find their way. They find the road to hell and take it. This is the fall of the Word Bearers, corrupted by loyalty to their primarch, the taint of their home world, terrible truths, deceptive half-truths, and the very human desire to be proven right in the first place. The consequences, of course, are horrific.

Recommendations: It's Aaron Dembski-Bowden so of course you should read it.

15) Prospero Burns. The companion piece to Thousand Sons, this told from the perspective of an observer embedded in the Space Wolves. "There are no Wolves on Fenris" is truism, meaning not only that the creatures on Fenris that are called wolves are not Terran wolves, but that the Space Wolves are not what others believe them to be and that they do not even think of themselves as Space Wolves. It's not as good as Thousand Sons and it contains a couple of questionable plot points, but it is entertaining and a good look at the Space Wolves. It also references Ahmad ibn Fadlan's account of being among the Viking Rus, which gives it bonus points.

Recommendation: Not as good as Thousands Sons, but still worth reading.

[Hotfoot]

So I was talking with Hotfoot, aka The Guy Who Doesn't Work Full Time and Reads Less Than Me

There are literature PHDs that read less than you, you cheeky git.

[Cynical Cat]

16) Age of Darkness: Short stories set in the early Heresy, the stories deal with conflicts and challenges the civil war brings. The book focuses more on political and social problems than military conflict.

Recommendation: Read if the subject matter appeals to you.

17) The Outcast Dead: A story taking place on Terra where Imperial forces and escaped Traitor Legionnaires are both trying to capture an astropath who has had visions of the future.

Recommendation: There's a timeline gaff, but the story is good.

18) Deliverance Lost: The Dropsite Massacre has inflicted catastrophic casualties on the Raven Guard, preventing them from playing much of a role in conventional warfare. Their Primarch, Corax, begs the Emperor for Dark Age technology to rapidly rebuild his legion and his request is granted.

Recommendation: This book didn't grip me, even with Alpha Legion shenanigans. It certainly wasn't bad, but I can't recommend it.

19) Know No Fear: The Word Bearers have come to the world of Calth in Ultramar to join the Ultramarines on a great campaign that might heal the rift between. Or so the Ultramarines think. In reality the Word Bearers are here to kill the largest loyalist legion before they even know that Horus has rebelled.

Recommendation: Read, it's really fucking good. It will also greatly improve your opinion of the Ultramarines.

[Josh]

It will also greatly improve your opinion of the Ultramarines.

It was a good story, but let's not get crazy now.

[Cynical Cat]

It will also greatly improve your opinion of the Ultramarines.

It was a good story, but let's not get crazy now.

Obviously not if you're a dirty Texan because a hater has got to hate.

[Cynical Cat]

20) The Primarchs. This book consists of four novellas, each one dealing with a different primarch with emphasis on revealing their character and attitudes. The Primarchs covered are Fulgrim, Ferrus Manus, Lion El'Johnson, and Alpharius.

Recommendation: The short stories are cover each primarch fairly well and are entertaining. If you're interested in at least two of the four, read it.

21) Fear to Tread. The Blood Angels and their primarch take center stage as they are the target of a plot to corrupt or destroy them.

Recommendation: The story is entertaining, but it's not very important to the story of the Heresy. It is, however, important to the Blood Angels. If you like the Blood Angels, read it.

22) Shadows of Treachery. A collection of short stories sandwiched between two really good novellas.

Recommendation: Read it. The novellas alone are worth it.

23) Angel Exterminatus: Fulgrim and the Emperor's Children join up with Perturabo and the Iron Warriors to plunder a lost cache of Eldar super weapons in the Eye of Terror. All is not what it seems and in addition to the unreliable nature of the degenerating Emperor's Children and the dangers of the eye, the Iron Warriors are being stalked by vengeful survivors of the Dropsite Massacre.

Recommendation: Read it. The novel does contain the annoying flaw of retconning Honsou's (an Iron Warrior) origins, but I'm not fucking attached to Honsou so my eyes are dry.

24) Betrayer: Angron and his degenerating World Eaters are fighting alongside Lorgar and his Word Bearers as they tear through Ultramar and burn as much of paradise to the ground as possible. It's about the fall of Legion as the World Eaters slowly go blood mad, contrasted with the Word Bearers who have new fire and purpose.

Recommendation: Read it. It's ADB and that's all that needs to be said.

[Josh]

They really have hit on the last few. Getting Dembski-Bowden in has been a huge boon to the series, naturally, but overall I think the series has matured nicely. I'm with you on Honsou, a character that never really worked for me. He was sort of meh to okay in his debut and since then has really mostly prospered by author fiat more than anything.

[Cynical Cat]

Black Library seem to have realized very quickly that they struck gold with Demski-Bowden. One Hate was good, but when he started knocking it out of the park with the Night Lords without wanking them out or shying away from their many, many flaws it must have been obvious that he should be writing Heresy books.

As for Honsou, I don't dislike the character or think he's a product of writer's fiat, I simply don't care about him. If the story he is in is interesting, like say Storm of Iron, then that's fine. But if he catches bolter rounds to the throat, that's fine as well. His only really interesting feature is his struggle to power while burdened with the contempt of others because he's a product of Imperial Fists gene seed. And now that might be gone. Meh.

[Josh]

The problem I have with Honsou is that he's written to be threatening, but he's never felt particularly threatening to me beyond being an Iron Warrior, who by default can smear most lifeforms in the galaxy. But he doesn't feel special, like he's a superior warrior or war leader. However, he's written as if he's special, hence my comment on writer's fiat.

Talos, from the Night Lords series, that dude feels threatening. He's crafty, dangerous, and feral. He is what Honsou should on some level be.

Then again, part of the problem is that Honsou is tangling with the Wardmarines and so you know that he'll always come out behind. The Ultrasmurfs stood off a hive fleet, one Chaos warband isn't going to truly imperil them. Also there's the shift from being the villain protagonist in Storm of Iron to being just a plain villain in the subsequent novels he appears in. Even the short stories mostly revolve around his whole 'GRRR VENTRIS' fixation.

Finally I'll flat out admit that McNeil's Ultramarines stories never have really caught my imagination, either. I'm not ripping them in general as being bad works, it's just that to me they've always been fairly bland.

[Cynical Cat]

I agree. In Storm of Iron Honsou was a competent but fallible captain fighting against a respectable enemy and ended up with a win. The Ultramarines have long struggled with blandness, a problem mostly solved by Romanizing them up and the Heresy books, but still extent in the 40K era books. Being the villain of a story centered on Blandmarines is a fate I wish on no one.