Great post. The 40k universe is such a fantastic construction: the key features of its foundation are so reactionary that it always survives bad writers and progressive influences:
That this is a fallen universe, in which war is eternal.
That faith is indispensable in the face of horror.
That man longs to worship that which is greater than he is.
That the forces of chaos are unleashed by man's overindulgence in his most base appetites.
That only through conflict can the most heroic men emerge - the Astartes.
That one must have unwavering loyalty to one's own - humanity over xenos.
Eisenhorn is the series I always recommend to beginners. Abnett is a genuinely gifted author.
Abnett is great. I read Eisenhorn/Ravenor/Gaunts Ghosts a long time ago when I was on a big Black Library kick and they are some of my favorites. Though Ciaphas Cain is my #1.
What is fascinating about the pre Heresy period though is that Abnett pictures the way humans talk in the 31st millennium, their norms and how they regard each other, which is so very different from the 40k I am used to.
Lokens incredulity at his first encounter with Chaos after being told his entire life that spirits and gods and demons don't exist, but simultaneously how much more human everyone acts towards each other. In 40k, most humans are sort of one-dimensional because they're all zealots of war and that is the only real aspiration. This brief era of optimism and freedom is fascinating by comparison.
Very good book series. While the first book delves deep into the Mournival and Horus himself, and starts to show the cracks of corruption (especially in the very last chapter) but it’s on the second book that things start going downhill.
Optimistic warhammer 40k fiction seems like an oxymoron! Interesting to see what, if any, joy can be found in a setting doomed like the human empire in the 31st millennium. The youtube series "If the emperor had a text to speech device" was great, partially because the idea that the emperor could literally start talking and the unstoppable momentum of the imperial bureaucracy would barely notice is believable, and funny as it is interesting.
Nice article. I've been meaning to dive into the Horus Heresy for a while, and this pushed me over the edge. Just picked up the Audible version. Excite! 👍
Creation myths are rooted in fear of death and egotism (man refusing to identify as an animal and thus needing a unique origin). What are the god emperors opinions on man? A sentient monkey created by nature to spread itself to other worlds aka fruits of the noosphere? But then again what is nature? And what is mans purpose? To struggle against the other and then go extinct in the unending sea of demiurgic entropy?
How to save European civilization? The answer is quite simple... we go to Hellas. The Abrahamic faiths are just perversions of Greek religion and philosophy. Platonic theocracies that began with the Jewish priests who repurposed Hellenic teachings to create Judaism at the library of Alexandria.
Return to our civilizational roots... we have authority over the Abrahams
Yeah I realized after the fact that I reflexively used the date the audiobook came out or its newest edition or something, it's been around for a while!
Great post. The 40k universe is such a fantastic construction: the key features of its foundation are so reactionary that it always survives bad writers and progressive influences:
That this is a fallen universe, in which war is eternal.
That faith is indispensable in the face of horror.
That man longs to worship that which is greater than he is.
That the forces of chaos are unleashed by man's overindulgence in his most base appetites.
That only through conflict can the most heroic men emerge - the Astartes.
That one must have unwavering loyalty to one's own - humanity over xenos.
Eisenhorn is the series I always recommend to beginners. Abnett is a genuinely gifted author.
Abnett is great. I read Eisenhorn/Ravenor/Gaunts Ghosts a long time ago when I was on a big Black Library kick and they are some of my favorites. Though Ciaphas Cain is my #1.
What is fascinating about the pre Heresy period though is that Abnett pictures the way humans talk in the 31st millennium, their norms and how they regard each other, which is so very different from the 40k I am used to.
Lokens incredulity at his first encounter with Chaos after being told his entire life that spirits and gods and demons don't exist, but simultaneously how much more human everyone acts towards each other. In 40k, most humans are sort of one-dimensional because they're all zealots of war and that is the only real aspiration. This brief era of optimism and freedom is fascinating by comparison.
Very good book series. While the first book delves deep into the Mournival and Horus himself, and starts to show the cracks of corruption (especially in the very last chapter) but it’s on the second book that things start going downhill.
Optimistic warhammer 40k fiction seems like an oxymoron! Interesting to see what, if any, joy can be found in a setting doomed like the human empire in the 31st millennium. The youtube series "If the emperor had a text to speech device" was great, partially because the idea that the emperor could literally start talking and the unstoppable momentum of the imperial bureaucracy would barely notice is believable, and funny as it is interesting.
I love that series lmao
Great series. Holy hell some of em are so depressing
There's like 50 books in this Horus Heresy series. Do you recommend reading them all?
Even I haven't read them all, I'm on like the 5th book right now but I've enjoyed them a lot. Book 2 is very good.
Nice article. I've been meaning to dive into the Horus Heresy for a while, and this pushed me over the edge. Just picked up the Audible version. Excite! 👍
I'm honestly ashamed I didn't start it earlier, esp with the audiobook version. I'm almost done with the second book currently and it's fantastic.
Creation myths are rooted in fear of death and egotism (man refusing to identify as an animal and thus needing a unique origin). What are the god emperors opinions on man? A sentient monkey created by nature to spread itself to other worlds aka fruits of the noosphere? But then again what is nature? And what is mans purpose? To struggle against the other and then go extinct in the unending sea of demiurgic entropy?
How to save European civilization? The answer is quite simple... we go to Hellas. The Abrahamic faiths are just perversions of Greek religion and philosophy. Platonic theocracies that began with the Jewish priests who repurposed Hellenic teachings to create Judaism at the library of Alexandria.
Return to our civilizational roots... we have authority over the Abrahams
Yeah I realized after the fact that I reflexively used the date the audiobook came out or its newest edition or something, it's been around for a while!