When I first began to read the novels of the Horus Heresy series, I had no real idea of what I was getting into. I had only read one Warhammer novel (Guy Haley’s The Death of Integrity, which was a great introduction to the setting, and you should absolutely read it). That novel is set in M41, the “present day” of the 40K universe, and I knew up front that the Heresy series would be very different. It’s the Heresy that gave us the modern version of 40K; the galaxy in M31 was a much different place. Also, the authors would be telling stories that were as close to set in stone as anything ever is in this setting, stories that had had the power of myth and legend for real-world decades. And then, on top of all that, I knew that the series was long–fifty-four numbered novels, eighteen non-numbered Primarch novels, eight planned Siege of Terra novels (I believe four had been published at that time), and a whole host of short stories and spinoff materials.
All that to say, I was a bit intimidated. I’m still intimidated–I know I may never finish them all. I’ve come to terms with that–I even wrote an entire post about it–but still, even if I skip around, there’s a lot of ground to cover. And so I wasn’t sure if I was even going to make the attempt. That’s why I didn’t try to review the early novels as I finished them; what’s the point of starting if there’s no chance of finishing?
Well, here we are, seven books in, and it’s time to take the plunge! Fortunately I’ve been able to focus a bit more, and move a little faster through the series. Unfortunately, that means I need to back up and talk about the six books I’ve already finished! And I am notoriously bad at holding onto all the details of a book once I’ve moved on from it. Therefore, the next few posts won’t be incredibly detailed; they’ll be an overview of several books at once. But that’s okay; the opening entries in the Heresy series were intended to be more tightly woven than the later books. We’ll make it work.
So then, let’s get started! Today we’ll cover the opening trilogy of the series, the highly interconnected Horus Rising by Dan Abnett; False Gods by Graham McNeill; and Galaxy in Flames by Ben Counter.
Horus Rising
You’re going to find that many books in the Heresy series start in media res, with important foundational events told after the fact. We dive right into that pattern here at the beginning, with the most powerful first line I have yet to encounter in 40K:
“‘I WAS THERE,’ he would say afterwards, until afterwards became a time quite devoid of laughter. ‘I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor.’
Well, there it is! Mission complete! Roll credits! It was a good Heresy, boys, now let’s go home.
Except, wait. The legend as it’s always been told has the Emperor killing Horus, not the other way around. So what’s going on here?
We open with the conquest of a most unusual star system. The system bears an uncanny resemblance to the solar system of Earth, aka Terra–nine planets in the same configuration, led by the third planet, all orbiting a yellow sun. But more than that, the people of the third planet believe their world is Terra, the homeworld of humanity. Naturally, when the Imperium shows up, claiming to be from the true Terra…they take that personally. So then, the Emperor mentioned above isn’t our Emperor, and it’s entirely believable that Horus would kill him personally.
The tale-teller here is Garviel Loken, a Space Marine of Horus’s XVI legion, the Luna Wolves. Loken is the captain of the legion’s Tenth Company, and after his adventures on this imposter Terra, he will be raised to the Mournival. This small group is his Primarch’s personal advisory council, an egalitarian body that accompanies and advises Horus without fear of reprisal. Loken is one of my favorite characters thus far, and has an interesting future ahead of him, but he’s going to have some suffering first.
Soon we’ll back up and get some perspective. The Great Crusade is in its two hundred and third year. Not too long ago, the Ullanor campaign ended, and Horus was elevated to the post of Warmaster. But that decision, and the Emperor’s unexpected retreat to a secret project on Terra (the Webway project–see the last post) have left Horus and his brother Primarchs with doubts.
Several major developments happen in this novel. The Crusade is joined by a huge host of Remembrancers, for one. Remembrancers are artists, authors, imagists (i.e. photographers), dramatists, musicians, orators, philosophers, and other practitioners of the fine arts. At the Emperor’s directive, they are sent to record and memorialize the triumphs of the Crusade, filling the fleets with arts and culture, thus humanizing the Astartes and the military and connecting them with the populations of the Imperium. It’s a grand dream, and shows the thoroughness of the Emperor’s vision for humanity. Several Remembrancers figure into the story here: Mersadie Oliton, a journalist who serves as Loken’s personal Remembrancer; Petronella Vivar, also a journalist, Horus’s personal Remembrancer; Ignace Karkasy, a poet whose works would ultimately drive a wedge between the Mournival and the non-Astartes population of Horus’s fleet; and Euphrati Keeler, an imagist who ultimately becomes a sort of prophet of the Emperor, leading the transition from the atheist Imperial Truth to the cult of the Emperor.
For another, the 63rd Expedition–Horus’s fleet, consisting mostly of the majority of the Luna Wolves and their support apparatus–encounters the Interex, a civilization in which humans have learned to live in peace with xenos, and especially with a race called the Kinebrach. Horus, to the surprise of his subordinates, at first looks into the possibility of peace with the Interex; but the negotiations are short-lived. A bladed weapon called an anathame, known to have ties to Chaos, is stolen from an Interex museum; the Interex erroneously accuses the Luna Wolves of taking it, and the talks devolve into violence, after which the Luna Wolves exterminate the Interex. As it turns, out, though, the blade wasn’t stolen by the Luna Wolves…
…It was stolen by Erebus, a visiting chaplain from Lorgar’s Word Bearers legion. The Word Bearers had long since given themselves over to Chaos, though this information remained a secret. The Ruinous Powers had led Lorgar to the knowledge that the anathame would be needed to bring Horus over to Chaos. Exactly how, will be revealed in the next book. However, after the battle with the Interex, Horus decides that the Luna Wolves have lived up to his example, and thus he renames them: The Sons of Horus.
My verdict: Obviously I must have liked the book, because I’ve kept on with the series–but I will admit that this opening novel wasn’t quite as I expected. I didn’t know just how complex the story of Horus’s fall would be, or how much backstory it would require. The story is excellent, but there is definitely a feeling of incompleteness, and I felt the need to hurry on to the next entry. I was very pleased with the characterization, though, and was ultimately disappointed to find out that Loken won’t get a lot of screen time after this first trilogy. But we’ll enjoy it while we have it!
False Gods
We pick up some weeks after the battle against the Interex. Erebus is the star of the show here, if not the viewpoint character; it’s Erebus who weaves the web that ensnares Horus and brings about his fall to Chaos. He has already stolen the Chaos-empowered anathame from the Interex, and arranged its delivery; now he must get Horus into position. To that effect, he tells the Warmaster about the Davin system.
Davin is an already-compliant Imperial world; but now its Imperial Governor, Eugen Temba, has rebelled. Unknown to any of the Warmaster’s forces, the planet has actually given itself over to Chaos, which is a concept that the Emperor has continued to keep back from his sons and the population. They don’t know what they’re walking into; but Erebus has prepared surprises for them.
On Davin’s moon, Davin 3, the Sons of Horus encounter their first real Chaos opposition, in the form of plague zombies: diseased zombies in the service of Nurgle, the god of decay and sickness. While the marines battle it out, Horus infiltrates the wrecked battlecruiser that serves as Temba’s fortress, and fights Temba himself. But Temba is wielding the stolen anathame; and he mortally wounds Horus with it. The Mournival rush Horus back to his flagship, the Vengeful Spirit; in their haste, they trample and kill a number of Remembrancers and other mortals aboard the ship. This act will ultimately be recorded by Ignace Karkasy in an inflammatory poem that will drive a wedge between the humans and the Astartes.
With the legion’s medicae and apothecaries unable to heal Horus, Erebus convinces the Mournival that hope can be found in a Davinite healing ritual. Reluctantly they agree, and transport him to a temple on the surface of Davin (the planet, not Davin 3, the moon). And the ritual works! Except…
During the ritual, Horus’s spirit is thrust into the Warp, where Erebus meets him. Erebus shows him visions of what the future holds: a galaxy in which the Emperor has betrayed all the ideals he has formerly espoused, leading the galaxy into pain and misery. It’s a true vision, but the catch is that it is Horus himself who will bring it to pass if he serves Chaos; but of course he doesn’t get that part. Erebus is countered by the unexpected psychic presence of the Primarch Magnus, a powerful psyker himself; Magnus attempts to warn Horus against this path, and exposes Erebus’s plan. However, it’s too late; Horus has chosen to accept the offer of power from the Chaos Gods, and has given himself over to them. The stage is now set for him to rebel against the Emperor in what will become known as the Horus Heresy.
Horus, now miraculously healed, leads the Legion against another human civilization, the Auretian Technocracy, while he prepares his plans. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Loken and his fellow captain Tarik Torgaddon start down a path that will set them against the rest of the Mournival, and against the Warmaster himself. Ignace Karkasy is killed; and then, Horus directs the expedition to a planet called Isstvan III.
My verdict: I knew enough about the beginning of the Heresy to know that things are starting to come together now! Isstvan III is the site of one of the two major battles that will inaugurate the Heresy–but we’ll get to that in a moment. This book was more satisfying than the first, but only because it feels like the key in the lock of the first book; and soon, we’ll see the tumblers of that lock start turning.
Galaxy in Flames
Galaxy in Flames picks up shortly after the end of False Gods, with the 63rd Expedition taking the Isstvan system. Here, under Horus’s now-traitorous machinations, other Primarchs begin to gather with their legions–specifically, those Horus deems susceptible to his new cause. Those gathered are Horus with his Sons of Horus XVI legion; Fulgrim, with the III legion, the Emperor’s Children; Angron, with the World Eaters III legion; and Mortarion, with the XIV legion, the Death Guard. Others will join the traitors in the future, but for now, these comprise the core of the rebellion. All three Primarchs come to Horus’s side easily.
But, not all is according to Horus’s plan. A shockingly high number of Astartes are easily swayed to the traitor cause–but not all of them. About a third of each legion will not bend, remaining loyal to the Emperor. Horus cannot tolerate this, and so he devises a strategy to rid himself of the loyalist elements.
It’s important to note that his plan depends on secrecy. The loyalists have to be eliminated before they realize there is a schism in the ranks; if they knew, they would break ranks and warn the Emperor. But fortunately for Horus, Lorgar and Erebus have prepared for this! Years earlier, Lorgar created the Lectitio Divinitatus and released it to the Astartes in secret. This religious text declares the Emperor to be a god, contrary to the atheistic Imperial Truth, which states that there are no gods. It may seem counterintuitive to declare your enemy a god and send worship his way; but faith in 40K serves whichever Warp entity it is directed toward. Lorgar’s goal is to create this faith, and then turn it to Chaos. Now, the faith has spread in secret throughout most of the fleets, in the form of secretive “lodges” where anyone can meet as equals. Many of the loyalists are those who refused to join the lodges, or walked away from them as the situation grew darker. This breach allows Horus to single out the loyalists while diverting attention from the truth of his cause.
Thus, he saves the hardest battle for last. He causes the loyalist elements of the four legions to be dispatched onto the surface of Isstvan III for a final offensive. Then, he moves the fleet into a bombardment position…and launches one of the Imperium’s deadliest weapons: virus bombs.
These bombs contain an engineered virus called the Life-Eater, which is the perfect mass-murder weapon. The virus destroys all forms of organic life in seconds, with no chance of survival. It propagates through air and water, sweeping a planet’s surface in minutes; and then it dies out shortly thereafter, leaving the planet scoured clean and ready for the taking. But Horus isn’t interested in taking the planet; and so he follows up with a firebombing that ignites the atmosphere, burning off most of the breathable air. Most of the loyalists are killed.
And he would have got away with it too, if not for that meddling…Tarvitz? Saul Tarvitz, a loyalist captain of the Emperor’s Children, and friend of Garviel Loken, caught wind of the betrayal just before it happened. Risking his life, he stole a Thunderhawk gunship and raced to the planetary surface, where he would be in range to broadcast a warning to Loken and others. Thus Loken was able to lead some fragment of the loyalists to safety in sealed bunkers before the bombs fell.
At the same time, Horus had his traitors turn on the Remembrancers, who had little stake in his cause, and could serve as dangerous witnesses. Aboard his ships, nearly all Remembrancers were massacred. But some escaped deep into the ships, where they engaged in sabotage before they were hunted down; and one small group managed to escape.
The Remembrancer Euphrati Keeler had been scarred by a brush with Chaos during a recent campaign. That encounter, couple with her strong faith in the Emperor, changed something inside her. When an archivist, at the behest of Loken, conducted research that unintentionally released a daemon into the real world aboard the Vengeful Spirit, it was Keeler’s faith that led to the miraculous defeat of the creature. Now called “the saint” by her amazed congregations, her words and deeds led to a rapid increase in faith in the Emperor among the people of the fleet. When the massacre began, she and Mersadie Oliton, along with Iterator Kyril Sindermann, were rescued by loyalist Luna Wolfe Iacton Qruze. They made their way to a Death Guard frigate, the Eisenstein, where loyalist captain Nathaniel Garro had been stationed after being wounded in action. Garro’s marines took the ship from the traitors, and blasted their way out of Isstvan in a desperate bid to reach Terra and warn the Emperor of Horus’s betrayal.
And on Isstvan III, the fate of the survivors remains to be seen…
My verdict: A most satisfying, and frustrating, book! Satisfying in that this novel gives us the payoff of everything we’ve been building toward. It’s well-written, a real page-turner. Frustrating, in that there are now new plot threads that we need to play out–and I can’t wait!
So: If you’ve kept up with me this far, and you’d like to get into this series, go on and jump in. Try to finish the trilogy, at least. Don’t stop with Horus Rising, even if it doesn’t convince you; it’s a great book, but it poses many more questions than it answers. If you get to the end of Galaxy in Flames, you’ll have everything you need to know in order to decide if you want to continue the series.
Next time: We’ve covered one of the two major battles that begin the Heresy. The other is the Dropsite Massacre of Isstvan V; but before we get there, we need to see what happened to Garro and his refugees aboard the Eisenstein! And we’ll get that in book four, Flight of the Eisenstein, by James Swallow. See you there!
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