A Beginners Guide to The Horus Heresy Series
Where To Begin With The Black Library's Best Stories
Jun 13, 2009
Newcomers to the Warhammer 40,000 universe and science-fiction fans alike would do well to check out the Horus Heresy novels. But with ten books already published and more on the horizon, it'd be easy to get lost faster than you can say "niche market."
The Warhammer 40,000 Universe
Set in the far future, the Horus Heresy is an ultra-violent story that could best be described as 'Paradise Lost in Space.' Not because it's a dense and portentous tome that academics could spend a lifetime dissecting, but because it has a similar theme of a proud soul falling from grace.
In this nightmarish future, mankind has journeyed from Earth and colonised the galaxy, but something has gone wrong. A once-thriving Empire has been scattered and entire civilisations have grown in isolation, all while a myriad alien races wage war against humanity.
Enter the Emperor, a noble warrior who unites the human tribes into one cohesive force and with the aid of his superhuman Space Marine armies, begins a crusade to return the universe to human control. Led by his twenty clone-sons The Primarchs, a Golden Age seems to be just on the horizon. That is until Horus, the Emperor's beloved right-hand man, starts to have serious doubts...
Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy In Flames
As with any good saga, the best place to start is with the beginning and the Heresy kicks off with a barnstorming trilogy. Horus Rising by Dan Abnett introduces us to this world and is told largely from the point of view of Garviel Loken, a Space Marine Captain as he takes part in numerous galactic campaigns. As a jumping off-point it's an absolute belter and Abnett's prose so evocative, it's sometimes possible to actually hear the gunfire, especially during the incredible war with the Megarachnids - a race of aliens that are exactly what their name suggests they are.
False Gods by Graham McNeil continues Loken's arc as he begins to witness treachery taking hold of his comrades. It is a worthy second chapter with less focus on the violence and a greater emphasis on the seeds of dissent working through the Space Marine ranks. This leads naturally into Galaxy In Flames by Ben Counter. Here, Loken's story comes to an end and the Marines turn on each other for the first time, culminating in the biggest fire fight of the series so far.
The Flight Of The Eisenstein and Beyond
James Swallow's fourth chapter then switches the focus to Captain Nathaniel Garro as he throttles his ship back to Earth to warn the Emperor of his betrayal. One of the more popular entries, Eisenstein is more of an extended chase scene than a war story and as a standalone book, can be read and enjoyed regardless of how much backstory the reader already knows.
Later stories include Fulgrim, Graham McNeil's second contribution that shows the corruption of the Emperor's Children Space Marine Chapter, Battle For The Abyss which is largely one big space combat that suffers a bit from being just too violent and Mechanicum, where the Cyborg population of Mars erupts in civil war. The majority of these stories can be read in any order, but benefit of course from being consumed in sequence.
Fans of the tabletop board game will of course already be familiar with these but there is a rich treasure trove of stories waiting for non-gamers out there. The initial trilogy is the best place to start and later entries will make little sense without some background knowledge, but the Dark Millenium is still worth a visit. A galaxy of terrors awaits!
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