“I was there the day Horus slew the Emperor.”Ten years ago amazing cover artist Neil Roberts, Dan Abnett and an host of other great authors started something epic.The Horus Heresy is just the best sci-fi military saga ever, with good touches of fantasy and horror (orcs and elves are alien races here and there are demons and lovecraftian horrors too).In ten years I've read this novel 3 times: first one when it was released, second one when it was translated in Italian (sadly the only one, but tra...

I am really enjoying the Warhammer 40k books. I never played any of the games, so I feel like there's backstory that I'm missing. Who is the emperor? Where did his power come from? Why does everyone follow him? His goal was to rid the universe of religion and superstition (which sounds good to me), but then he makes himself a god and creates the Primarchs who are demi-gods and proceeds to wage war on any world or people that don't fall in line with his ideology. I know the ultimate outcome of wh...

A pretty good book-but it felt more like a series of short stories than a complete novel.I'll be honest, I had no idea that a licensed book could reach these levels of quality. Abnett has a deft hand when it comes to writing characters, and he makes them interesting with just a few sentences or background details. I especially liked Torgaddon, Tarvitz and Lucius. There's surprisingly little action, considering this is a Warhammer book. But I don't count that as a negative. The unfolding events a...

Mangasm in print right here!! What an opening "Horus Rising" has. I recall reading it for the first-time many years ago and thinking "surly the end can't be the beginning of the novel." I was so confused. How wrong I was, we're now thirty novels into the series, with no sign of it ending. Dan Abnett introduces us to the Luna Wolves, Space Marines from the planet Cathonia. You could argue that "Horus Rising" becomes overawed by a type of celebrity-showcasing of a who's-who of the 30K universe. It...

Although this is a franchise novel you don't need to understand the context to enjoy it.

Horus, the newly appointed Warmaster and commander-in-chief of the crusade. He becomes the emperors proxy to the war effort and the crusade to bring all planets under one rule, The Imperium of Man. This book you will follow Horus and his unofficial war cabinet called the Mournivals and a few fellow Primarchs, loyal only to the Emperor himself. They embark on the crusade to crush an uprising in one world and without mercy, conquering another. This is solid military SF. This book touches upon topi...

So after checking out the first Fabius Bile book in the 40k catalogue, I decided I wanted to try some others, and the Horus Heresy saga has always been interesting to me. So I asked a few friends and they came up with a reading list, somewhat predictably starting with book 1.This is the story of the Space Marines and the rise of Chaos. More specifically it's about the rise and fall of Horus, the Emperor of Mankind's favourite son.It's a fairly tough book to review in many ways as it's obviously

Horus. The Warmaster. First among equals amid the Primarchs, the superhuman lords of the Adeptus Astartes (Space Marines) Legions. Most beloved of the Emperor's children.The tales of Horus are legendary. Yet, in the "current" timeline of the Warhammer 40K lore he is reviled as Horus the Arch-Betrayer. The Corrupted One. Spiritual founder of the Chaos Marines. How this tragedy happens is detailed in this wonderful series.The Emperor has manged to unify the human worlds and have recreated the Impe...

I feel remarkably dirty giving a book about the Horus Heresy 4 stars. Some other things I've given 4 stars include: On The Road, Paradise Lost, The Great Gatsby, and other classics spanning centuries of upper-middle and high literature--if there is such a thing, at least. So when I give this book, which is unabashedly pulp and a step away from fanfiction, 4 stars, I need to disclaim a good many things. You're not going to find layers of complexity here. The book sets out to do one thing and one

Some time ago I stumbled over several Warhammer 40K (or 40,000) books in Mckay's books for like $.05 each. I had never played the game (nor had I played Warhammer Fantasy battles for that matter) but I am/was aware of them. The local game shop where I'd played D&D for years also had groups of these gamers (and a good friend of mine was also at one time REALLY into the game.)So, anyway being a big fan of military science fiction I picked up the books...and now I've gotten around to reading one of...

"Perhaps we are cursed to crave something which does not exist. There are no gods, no spirits, no daemons. So we make them up, to comfort ourselves."After centuries spent fighting to bring mankind out of its dark ages and campaigning to eradicate religion, the Emperor returns to Terra, leaving command of the Great Crusade to his loyal Warmaster, Horus. But the struggles are nowhere near done, as the threat of nefarious corruption lurks in the background.Horus Rising is a remarkably good book. Su...

Very entertaining read.First of all if you are unfamiliar with Warhammer 40k it's set in distant future and it's combination of dystopian military sci-fi, Tolkein and H.P. Lovecraft .Next to fanatical humanity there are classical fantasy races like Orcs, Elfs (Eldar), Undead, Lovecraftian horrors like demons and malicious otherworldy gods and diverse menagerie of different sci-fi inspired races.Prior to this book my knowladge of Warhamer 40k was limited. I mostly know about this setting from com...

I waded into this book wearing a layer of scepticism as thick as that dude’s armour on the cover art. Now I’ve emerged from this haemic virulent bloodbath, I’m glad - and more than a little surprised - to report: it is awesome.It begins with this messy large-scale war scene filled with military jargon and corny macho bravado that to me was almost instantly off-putting. But I noticed the writing quality was considerably better than that of certain highly acclaimed sci-fi novels I’d read this year...

I know the target audience for this book are fans of the Warhammer 40k universe but I wish that being the first book of the series, the author would have taken more time to explain the different terminologies in the book. Abnett actually took more care detailing how the poet's notebook is made than most of the mythos that appears in the book.The first quarter of the book is extremely confusing as there are just too many characters making a brief appearance and that sometimes they are referred to...

Another killer book in what is shaping up to be a really amazing and imaginative universe. I'm glad I did not start my Warhammer 40K reading with this book though, I read the Night Lords and Eisenhorn omnibuses prior to this, because there's a lot of information being thrown at you right from jump street and I probably would have been lost and a little confused. There's action, character development, intrigue, history, aliens, augmented-superhumans, secrets galore, and shit tons of good writing....

This was my first exposure to anything Warhammer 40,000. When I was a kid I would often see the starter sets at the hobby/gaming shops I'd go to with my dad, but I never really had much interest for a few reasons...mostly that Warhammer tabletop stuff is expensive as fuck and the universe has always seemed kind of impenetrable, due to the fact that the history/setting seemed to be originally explained only in the manuals/codexes associated with the game. Thankfully someone had the great idea to

So on the one hand (i.e., the overly hairy, knuckle-dragging one), this is Manwich-sized chunk of meaty, SF gun-porn dripping with sweat and oozing locker-room musk. HOWEVER, on the other manicured, latte- holding hand, this is a quality, well written tale with surprising character depth and a layered plot with real complexity and an unusual amount of nuance for a popcorn page-turner. At the risk of a DUH moment, let me point out that this is Warhammer 40000 tie in. I knew nothing about the Warh...

I've finally found it. I've finally discovered what I have been looking for since I first picked up a book. I read a lot. I've been reading a book then throwing it over my shoulder when I'm done to move on to the next one for years. I read with a fervor; as if I might be looking for something; as if I'm just waiting patiently to be swept away by the exact genre of storytelling I'm longing for. Well, I bloody well found it. This is my first 40k book, and you can consider me on board for this whol...

5/5THE HORUS HERESY is a book series which is too big for me to read and I was disappointed to find out it was a series which was its own personal library. This is a shame because it's such an incredibly strong start to the series. Dan Abnett knows Warhammer 40K the same way Timothy Zahn knows Star Wars. Here, we get the prequel to the Warhammer 40K universe before the God Emperor of Mankind was a god, before Horus was a traitor, and before the forces of Chaos invaded reality through the Eye of

'But what of faith? Faith has a quality, even when religion has gone. We still need to believe in something, don't we? Here it is. The true purpose of mankind is to bear the torch of truth aloft and shine it, even into the darkest places. To share our forensic, unforgiving, liberating understanding with the dimmest reaches of the cosmos. To emancipate those shackled by ignorance. To free ourselves and others from false gods, to take our place at the apex of sentient life. That...that is what we