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.
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.
Great article, just a small correction, Horus Rising was released in 2006, not 2018, also, great to see that the setting keeps evolving, now that another primarch has returned, things will get even more 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
Science Fiction Review: Horus Rising
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.
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.
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?
Great article, just a small correction, Horus Rising was released in 2006, not 2018, also, great to see that the setting keeps evolving, now that another primarch has returned, things will get even more 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