Horus Heresy Drive-By Reviews

There are 62 Horus Heresy books, holy cow

I’m a big Warhammer 40k fan, but only recently with my review of Horus Rising, book one of the Horus Heresy series, did I really start to get into Warhammer 30k. I’ve been chewing through the audiobooks during my commute, and really enjoying how distinct and different the HH universe is. There’s a lot of freedom to retroactively make the way things work in 40k make sense and I’m having a blast listening to them. I’m just gonna go through the ones I’ve read so far in chronological order and give a very quick and dirty run-down. On a 5 point scale with 5 not necessarily meaning a perfect book, but one that a fan shouldn’t consider skipping.

Garviel Loken returns as the POV character as he was in Book 1. The creation of the Primarchs and the truth of the future is presented as a deceptive lie to Horus, as we experience his being manipulated to the side of Chaos from the Warmasters own point of view. Captain Loken grows increasingly disturbed and distanced by the inner circle of the Sons of Horus.

It’s an ok book and an enjoyable listen, but McNeill isn’t as masterful of a storyteller as Abnett. Read it for the lore but not necessarily for the plot or the writing. 3/5

With Horus’ having fallen to chaos, the plans of his rebellion begin to take shape, starting with a purge of those seen as inadequately loyal in the ranks. The stage is set for the ultimate betrayal and massacre at Isstvan.

This book was really solid. Lots of fighting, lots of characters dying, Ben Counter writes action scenes really well. It ends with a lot of suspense and a lump in your throat. 4/5

Captain Nathaniel Garro of the Death Guard desperately flees the massacre at Isstvan in the hopes of bringing news of Horus’ treason to Terra. He squares off with chaos, rival brothers of his own chapter, and the highest level of Imperial scrutiny as his loyalty is questioned.

Great book, the first protagonist change in the Horus Heresy novels and it’s handled well. Interesting to see a perspective from a different legion and a lot of drama as Terra decides what it’s supposed to do with loyal marines belonging to a traitor legion. The Silent Sisterhood gets a lot more focus than they normally do, and there’s a fight at the end that captures desperation and suspense really well. The plot of this book is extremely well structured. 5/5

The Primarch Fulgrim leads the Emperors Children into battle, seizing an artifact that slowly turns his pursuit of perfection into a corrupting obsession. The consequences culminate in betrayal, corruption, and the first death of a Primarch.

Fulgrim takes a few chapters to get into before it really takes off. Of the Horus Heresy books I’ve read so far, it’s the one that goes the furthest in really demonstrating the personality of a Space Marine legion. It’s the first book that really fleshes out the personality of a Primarch, and the first book that shows the physical corruption of chaos that we’re familiar with in 40k. 5/5

This one is difficult to rate. For lore reasons it’s interesting in that it covers the origins of the Dark Angels homeworld and their culture before the arrival of the Imperium and compliance. Lion El Johnson is in a very different context than we’re used to seeing a Primarch in so far as he conquers his homeworld. The setting and the lore are interesting but the book itself just isn’t written that well. The latter 3/4ths of the book after the Dark Angels reunite with Johnson comes off feeling really rushed and uninspired. 3/5

Legion is great and as usual Dan Abnett doesn’t disappoint. This is the first of a few more “unconventional” Horus Heresy novels where the story doesn’t really revolve around the Space Marines. The book follows the human John Grammaticus, an immortal “perpetual” who has lived for several centuries in service to a shadowy group of aliens known as “The Cabal”. His forte is espionage, and he must deliver a warning to the elusive Alpha Legion to prevent their destruction and if possible, arrange a meeting between the primarch Alpharius and The Cabal. 5/5

I’m a few books ahead of this so far, but I’ll probably drop a separate post for the rest later, after I finish Deliverance Lost. If you’ve got the spare audible credits, the voice acting for all of these is quite good.