Horus Heresy Review by you the fans

[boogle]

1 Horus Rising 8/10 A great start to the series, we meet characters who we immediately warm to, who we know are going to go terribly wrong, but that doesn't stop us loving them.
2 False Gods 7/10, the setup book, expanding on the 1st book and getting us ready for the 3rd in the trilogy, my only gripe was Horus was turned nearly as quickly as Anakin Skywalker
3 Galaxy in Flames 7.5/10, had this actually been the original draft by Ben and not the re-write by other authors, it would have scored low, but with the re-write, it's a much better novel, and although we know where the ending is headed, it doesn't stop us enjoying the journey.
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 8/10 I really enjoyed the introduction to the Death Guard and it finally answered a big question about what happened to the loyalists who broke away.
5 Fulgrim 7.5/10 I liked the execution of the novel, but the corruption of Fulgrim was a bit too easy, I did like the story of the bondship between Fulgrim and Ferrus
6 Descent of Angels 6/10 The main problem with this book was one of expectation, people expected it to cover the rebellion and be in lines with events elsewhere, the fact it was set pre Heresy and at times looked like a WFB book, disappointed many people, and showed Mr Scanlon to be a good scriptwriter, but not a good author
7 Legion 9/10, lots of insights into a Legion few knew anything about, a nice big reveal, and lots of questions by the end of the book, well written characters and plotline and also well paced
8 Battle for the Abyss 2/10 moving on, only redeeming feature was the niggles between the Thousand Sons and Wolves
9 Mechanicum 7.5/10 Good novel, gave us insight into the Mechanicum factions even before the Heresy kicked off, and also gave us insight into how various Titan crews work and also a glance into the age of the Emperor
10 Tales of Heresy 7/10 overall
10a Blood Games 8/10, loved this, just a shame all Custodies after this have been **********
10b Wolf at the Door 4/10 not a fan of this, even if it does include the 13th company
10c Scions of the Storm 7/10, nice intro to Lorgar, aaron has got him down to a tee though
10d The Voice 8/10 lovely horror story, very atmospheric
10e Call of the Lion 5/10 not a great story, if it was meant to give us an idea about how the schism formed i feel it failed
10f The last Church 9/10 2 characters, not a single shot fired, but a brilliant piece, one of the best shorts that has been put into print by BL
10g After Desh’ea 7.5/10 1st readthrough i hated this, and couldn't see the point, but after a second readthrough i enjoyed this immensely, it really does set up the reasons behind angron being the way he is and what he becomes.
11 Fallen Angels 6.5/10 a better story about the Dark Angels and maybe if this had been the 1st DA story, then people may have been a lot happier
12 A Thousand Sons 9/10 Graham's best work in the HH series, the majesty and tragedy of the Thousand Sons is there for all to see, and shows that even the mightiest minds can fall to their own hubris.
13 Nemesis 7/10 i know this has divided a lot of people, but i felt that it was a good story, in some ways, it it like BftA in that the outcome bears nothing to the grander story of the Heresy, but it does open up the debate on Malcador and Valdor, as in they aren't as straight as Dorn is when fighting the war.
14 The First Heretic 9.5/10, you should hate Lorgar, you really should, and yet, Aaron makes you like him somewhat (until the second half of the book), same with Argel Tal, good characters, good story, good action.
15 Prospero Burns 8/10, another book that divides opinion, the title is a misnomer, but i believe it was always meant to be, it's main problem was the fact Dan fell ill, so it wasn't realeased in close proximity to ATS as was planned, but the fact we see an outsiders perspective of the Wolves, then the Wolves themselves being nothing like their perception, and actively playing up that perception was great reading, plus Dan's historical research to further remove the Wolves from their 40k archetype was brilliant imho.
16 Age of Darkness 7/10 overall
16a Rules of Engagement 7.5/10, another bone of contention here, i enjoyed it, it introduced us to Ventanus, and also the idea of Imperium Secundus
16b Liar’s Due 5/10, wasn't a big fan of this, took too long to get to the point of the novel
16c Forgotten Son’s 3/10 forgotten story more like, until i listened to the audio a few weeks ago, i had totally forgotten this story and when i listened to it, it felt like a 40k short (also it should be read after Promethean Sun)
16d The Last Remembrancer 7/10, nice short, shows Dorn is still feeling insecure about what he has done, and the fact there are enemies all around, also nice interplay between Dorn and Qruze
16e Rebirth 7/10, good 2 man story, gives us insights into the Thousand Sons post Prospero and..............well the other person would be a spoiler
16f The Face of Treachery 4/10, this is a bit meh, but serves as a lead in to Deliverence Lost.
16g Little Horus 8/10, I enjoyed this introspective story about Horus Aximand, it still shows his doubts about their actions on Isstvan, up to a point.
16h The Iron Within 8/10 another great story, we've had obvious loyalists within the traitor legions, now we find some in unexpected places, i enjoyed the action scenes and the scale of the carnage was suitably epic.
16i Savage Weapons 9/10 ADB introduces us to Sevetar, possibly the Han Solo of 1st Captains, brilliant interplay between Curze and Jonson, similarly between the Night Lords and Dark Angels accompanying them.
17 The Outcast Dead 6.5/10, timeline discrepancies aside, an interesting book, introducing us to parts of Terra not explored, and also some 'loyalist traitors' and also the re-emergence of...............spoilers.
18 Deliverance Lost 6.5/10, decent pacing, decent characters, more Alpha Legion skullduggery, better than average.
19 Know no Fear 8/10, I enjoyed this, despite having to continually look at the cast list, it showed the Guilliman and his sons were able to turn their hand tactically even when the chips were down, and also sets up a very important person's introduction.
20 The Primarchs 6/10 overall.
20a The Reflection Crack’d 7/10, is very disturbing, as you would expect now they have started to go all Slaaneshi, the torture scene was a bit much, and we're left still wondering who/what exhibits the bosy of Fulgrim (yes, he says he's back, but as we know Daemons do lie).
20b Feat of Iron 3/10, really didn't like this, the ending could be seen a mile off, and the fact that this story is set before Isstvan means we know that no matter what happens in the middle of the book, Ferrus is a goner, this story is out of place being written so late in the series, also it has some foreshadowing with regards to future events post Fulgrim.
20c The Lion 6/10, another decent story, a follow on from Savage weapons, also the return of Typhon, this is a semi link to the Reflection Crack'd and also the forthcoming Angel Exterminatus.
20d The Serpent Beneath 8/10, the best story in the anthology, you never quite know what's happening, and who's a 'good guy' and who's a 'bad' guy' and the final pages opens up so much debate over the ultimate intentions of the Twin Primarchs.
21 Fear to Tread 6.5/10, although i enjoyed it in a broad sense, i felt a lot of the characterisation was poorly handled and Sanguinius/Ka Band'ha final encounter went the wrong way, i did enjoy the backstory of the Red Angel and felt that certain aspects of the Legion were characterised well (the Sanguinary Guard and the Wardens, even if their chief characters were douches).
22 Shadows of Treachery 7/10, note, i am only covering the 4 stories that haven't already been given the audio treatment
22a The Crimson Fist 7/10, a tale of 2 Fists, one proving his mettle the other having his faith in himself tested, the downside to me in this story was Pertarabo, he's everything I expected him to be, sans the moustache.
22b The Kaban Project 6/10, a sort of tie in to Mechanicum, maybe even a prequel, adds to the Dark Mechanicum side of things
22c Death of a Silversmith 5/10 this is essentially an ebook in terms of length, this is set before the Heresy and doesn't give much away
22d Prince of Crows 10/10, hands down my favourite story, Sevetar shines from the moment he appears, to the moment the story ends, he's a douche of monumental proportions, but he does douchbaggery in such style you can't help but like him, i feel he's destined for big things.
The next are the next confirmed names of HH novels, i'll come back to them as i read them.
23 Angel Exterminatus .../10
24 Betrayer .../10
25 The Unremembered Empire .../10
26 Mark of Calth .../10
27 Scorched Earth .../10

E-Shorts
Kryptos 6.5/10 nice little Commando based story that could fit in post Deliverence Lost and Fulgrim.

Novellas
Promethean Sun 6/10, Silly in places, but gives us an insight into Vulkan's mindset and also how that filters down into his legion, would like to possibly see a bit more of him in Scorched Earth (pre Isstvan presumably).
Aurelian 8/10, so THIS is what Lorgar got up to in the Eye, a well written novella, and allows us to see why Lorgar changed so much in the second half of The First Heretic, also his talks with Magnus are enlightening and his confrontation with Fulgrim is brilliant.
Brotherhood of the Storm .../10 will fill this out when i've read it.

Audio Dramas
The Dark King 7.5/10 Good introduction to Curze and Dorn, and shows how the Night Lords functioned pre Heresy, they were unhinged even back then.
The Lightning Tower 7.5/10, What is Dorn afraid of? well this story should help answer that for you.
Ravens Flight 6/10, not a huge fan of this, but it does give us an insight into Corax's psychic power (which is very similar to Curze).
Garro: Oath of Moment 7/10 So Garro is the Knight Errant, and he's on his quest, I won't say anymore than that.
Garro: Legion of One 6.5/10, although I guessed where this was going, i sort of wished that it had turned out to be someone else thought dead on Isstvan.
Butchers Nails 8/10, a very good lead in to Betrayer, we find out what the Butcher's Nails are and how they affect the World Eaters, we also find another character we should hate, but actually like in Kharn (Aaron is supremely good at doing that).
Garro: Sword of Truth 5/10 I really wanted to like this story, but ultimately i couldn't bring myself to like it, it felt too generic and the antagonists were far too obvious.
Grey Angel/Burden of Duty .../10
The Sigilite .../10

[Sqallum]

Wait, you've read Sword of Truth? Could you spoiler the heck out of it please?

[Deff Mekz]

Here's mine;

1) Horus Rising- 8/10. - A great opener to the Heresy series, very enjoyable and enertaining.

2) False Gods- 4/10. - Horus's fall was way to quick and tbh unconvincing.

3) Galaxy in Flames 6/10 -A good book, but some of the characters were rather tedious and boring. Like the way Kharn was depicted in this book for eg;

4) Flight of The Eisenstein 6/10. - A great book throughout, but drags at the end.

5) Fulgrim 8/10- A great book covering the fall of Fulgrim, one of the best books in the series imo.

6) Descent of Angels -/10

7) Legion 7/10 - A great insight into the workings of the AL, tense and exciting throughout.

8) Battle For The Abyss 0/10- Considering the reviews I've read about this book I'm not going to risk wasting my money on this.

9) Mechanicum 7/10 - A good book with a interesting look at the workings of the Mechanicum.

10) Tales of Heresy 6.5/10 (Average)
-Blood Games 7/10- A really enjoyable short story, with some details on the Adeptus Custodes.
-Wolf at the door- 5/10 - A ok read, but nothing special tbh.
-Scions of the Storm- 5/10 - Just like the last short, it's a ok read but doesn't really add anything to the series.
-Call of The Lion- 5/10 -Same as the last two really, nothing special.
-The Last Church 8/10- Well hello! Now were getting somewhere, one of the best short stories in the series featuring a look into the Unification Wars.
-After Desh'ea- 9/10- Exciting, thrilling, fast paced, oh heck you get the idea. A must read.

11) Fallen Angels -/10

12) Thousand Sons 8/10- One of my favourite books in the series, following the fall of the Thousand Sons, featuring key events such as Nikea and The Battle of Prospero.

13) Nemesis 6/10 - The bad press this book gets is injustified tbh, but then it doesnt feature much bolter porn so maybe that's why. A great look into the working of the Assassin Ordos in the heresy era.

14) First Heretic 9/10- Hands down the best book in the series, this is the book all books in the HH series such apsire too imo.

15) Prospero Burns -/10

16) Age of Darkeness 6.5/10 (Average)
- Rules of Engagement 7/10- Ah Black Libary you had me going for a minute. A good look into how the Codex Astartes was formed.
- Lair's Due 7/10- Love it, a compelling short story.
- Forgotten Sons 5/10- Would of been better from just human perspective tbh, rather than from loyalist astartes.
- The Last Remembrancer 6/10- A good read, but do I really need to know for a second time that Dorn is being a wuss?
- Face of Treachery 3/10- The start of Alpha Legion becoming wayyyy to Deus Ex throughout the series, I'm not a fan tbh.
- Lil Horus 7/10- A good read and an interesting look at one of the main characters from the first trilogy.
- Iron Within- 8/10- One of my favourite stories in the series, a great read.
- Savage Weapons 9/10- ADB steals the show yet again!

17) The Outcast Dead -/10

18) Deliverance Lost 7/10- This novel through my love for the RG to even higher levels, however the AL going all "Deus Ex" just lets the novel down IMO. Although Alpharius trolling on Erebus was pretty awesome to read.

19) Know No Fear 7/10- I loved this book throughout, the only two bits that let the book down IMO, are the duel at the end, and the Tchure killing X near the start of the book.

20) The Primarchs -/10

21) Fear to Tread -/10

22) Shadows of Treachery 6.7/10 (Average)
-The Crimson Fist 8/10- Sigismund becomes a interesting character instead of just a goody two shoes you say? Sign me up!
-The Dark King 6/10- Some nice information on why Curze started to break of from The Imperium just before the Heresy.
-The Lightning Tower 3/10- Dorn is a pussy. Lame.
-The Kaban Project 6/10- A enjoyable read, and adds further hints as to why most of the Mechanicum sided with Horus.
- Raven's Flight 7/10- I loved this short, a great look into Corax's guerilla war on Istvaan V.
- Death of a Silversmith 8/10- Really enjoyable to read, the ending was pretty awesome too, but I can't say anything about that.
- Prince of Crows 9/10- Why can't ADB write the whole series? A great look into Sevatar, and even a glimpse into Curze's memories.

Audio Drama's

-Butcher's Nails 8/10- My first and only AD from BL, really enjoyable, great script and great voice acting.

[boogle]

Sword of Truth is set pre Legion of One and deals with Garro meeting Varren for the 1st time

I'm futher ahead than even that to be honest, but don't ask me just how far ahead as 'I can't say'

[The bearded one]

I only started with the horus heresy a month ago, so I'm not that far in (though at an acceptable pace, as you can see )

Horus rising: 9/10 good opening for the horus heresy series, paints a great picture of the great crusade in action, including its ideals, how it works in practice (remembrancers, iterators, accepting the imperial truth, etc.) the astartes (and how 'mortals' look at them) andsoforth. Loken's a very likeable character.

False Gods: 8/10 quite okay, but I think the turning of Horus could've used significantly more pagespace and arguments to turn him. We only go through a future shrineworld and the facility of the primarch project, untill Magnus shows up, unveals Erebus and attempts to save him. And yet he turns so utterly and irrevocably. This part could have easily used another 25-50 pages, because it ought to be the critical moment, where Horus falls. After that the book kinda goes on into a lingering epilogue with the auretian technocracy, as the main point of the book has already been passed.

Galaxy in Flames: 9/10 I might be an oddity here in that I might like this one the most of the opening trilogy. The point where it all goes to hell: Istvann III. I greatly enjoyed the descriptions of Istvan III and its warriors, capitol and mythology, the battles the loyalists fought against them, and the great tragedic moment of the virus bombing, where it all gets utterly swept away. Certainly I found the virus bombing a good read, when Tarvitz listens in horror to the horrific sound of millions crying out as they die. And of course the great line; Order the guns to fire. Let the galaxy burn! Istvann III gets scorched into oblivion and this world that was a beautiful cultured world only minutes before, turned into a horrific wasteland. With that image in my mind, the last stand of the loyalists becomes an even more grim picture, where eventually all the likeable characters find their end.

Flight of the Eisenstein: 7.5/10 okay. It was fun to read about the death guard first. Then we get some repeated events at Istvann III, though the moment of the virus strike was far from as tragic as I found it in Galaxy in Flames, because it is only observed from space. The escape and flight through the warp are fun to read, but the 'flight of the eisenstein' itself basically ends after that, and the events Dorn and on Luna drag on a bit too long like a long epilogue.

Fulgrim: 8.5/10 good book, hedonism, mhmmm. The fall of the emperor's children is a bit dependant on plotdevices though, the sword of the laer and the laer temple, but apart from that I think the slide went gradually enough from a search of perfection, to the search for pleasure. I liked the bits with Fabius, and the ending was good (and tragic), even if Istvann V was pushed in at the very end. Around page 400 I thought 'yeez, and they still want to fit the entirity of Istvann V in here?' and indeed the 'dropsite massacre' portion of the battle came and went in 2-3 pages. Still, the moving ending took away Istvann V's slightly bad aftertaste.

I finished Legion last night, and have now started with the infamous 'battle for the abyss'

Legion: 8.5 An interesting read, it was certainly quite cool to have a very different type of imperial army regiment. Though I do share the sentiment someone expressed earlier that the Alpha legion appear to be a bit too good at what they are doing, the parts in which they appear are generally great to read. For example I thought grammaticus started off, well.. a bit of an ass really, abusing his jedi mindtrick, untill of course he meets the Alpha legion, who are prepared for him, and then he peeps rather differently . It became a bit odd after that though, in Mon Lo harbour, with a crocodile bursting through a window, a dragon appearing and being set on fire, and a city screaming for several days. These last 2 are never even properly explained. The middle of the book was rather amusing in that you had 5 or more different parties and storylines going on at once, all intersecting, spying and investigating eachother. At times it went on a bit too long though. So far most books had the climax far before the end and then lingered on in epilogue (like 'false gods' and 'flight of the eisenstein'), but luckily the twist and climax were right at the end, and as great as I had heard it was. In particular the part where Grammaticus hears Horus is warmaster already, gives off a sense of forboding, while the merciless destruction of the expedition fleet and landed forces is spectacular yet tragic.

Time to move forward

Battle for the Abyss: 5/10 Well, yeah, it's not that good. I suppose its reading may have been corrupted by the variety of negativity about it, but the biggest gripe I had about it was that after a while the endless stream of shipbattling, daemonshenanigans, firefights and warptroubles was starting to become boring, as it began to feel repetitive after 400 pages. Another gripe I had was that it hardly felt like a Horus Heresy book, and might just as well have been a random 40k novel (except for some facts of course). I thought the Ultramarines and World eaters fine enough to read, though the thousand son struck me a bit too wizard-y at times and the space wolves so.. wolfy, overwhelming more believable characterization of (some) other characters by feeling more as cartoony space wolvs (which includes lots of drinking, brawling and fenris/wolf references). The word bearers struck me as skaven at times, and some of Zadkiel's dialogue reminded me directly of Thanquol ('must get rid of upstart novice Ultis, yes-yes!') Select portions of the book were good to read though, world eater captain Skraal's parts mostly, and I found it getting a bit better towards the end. What confounded me a bit why the word bearers really needed this large supership to deploy their cyclonics and virusbombs, instead of any other ship.

Currently reading; Tales of Heresy. I loved 'the last church' and I am currently enjoying 'Blood games'.

[The bearded one]

I kinda find it silly and unnecessary to begin some kind of new thread for this, when we have a perfectly nice reviewing thread over here only a couple months old, so I'll just continue:

Tales of Heresy: 8/10
-Blood Games: 8/10 Quite a nice read, giving a good glimpse at the Adeptus Custodes, the Imperial palace and portions of Terra. Enjoyable enough.
-Wolf at the door: 6/10 It was okay, but nothing very horus-heresy about it. Mostly a squad of space wolves curbstomping large numbers of dark eldar. Their resourcefulness is lovely and the setting of the planet quite nice, but at a certain point it becomes peculiar the dark eldar can't even locate some space marines with their superior technology.
-Scions of the Storm: 7/10 It was okay, but didn't add that much. I might appreciate this one more in light of 'the first heretic', but for now was simply okay. A decent ending, though I kinda felt the massacre coming and it confused me how the planet got a hold of Lorgar's words.
-Call of The Lion: / haven't read it yet
-The Last Church: 10/10 Pure win. Sure, the argumentation might not be remotely groundbreaking or brilliant, in fact it's rather simple and focusses on religion bringing violence, but I find it nicely written nonetheless, with the Emperor turning argumentation in circles to arrive at his point. I also liked the literary symbolism used with certain events and objects, such as the clock, and that it showed a great deal of unification Terra and a conversing Emperor, and I also love it simply for its willingness to adress these things, instead of focussing on battlescenes, because these events are important, interesting and informative, but we don't see it adressed in text too often.
-After Desh'ea: 9/10 This one is great, for showing another side to Angron, portraying something deeper than just a bloodcrazed butcher. This story does much to bring Angron to life.


A Thousand Sons: 9/10 It started off slow and convoluted, and confusing here and there as to the use of many terms such as those of the thousand son cults without neatly elaborating on them first, but once the information settled and the pace picked up after Aghoru, the novel became stronger and better with every passing chapter. It also managed to cram a lot of knowledge and references into the text, making it in a peculiar manner read quite scholarly and developed. I also liked picking out the clues for Prospero's demise and the references to the number 9, the sacred number of Tzeentch. I found that it adequately portrayed the important known events and that these did not disappoint in their scale and portrayal (a trap the novels often threaten to fall into when turning such legendary events into step-by-step retellings, such as the turning of Horus), such as Nikaea, the warning to the emperor, burning of Prospero and the arrival on the planet of sorcerors. All in all a terrific read that became better and better the further I got into it, with special mention having to go out to the portrayal of Magnus, making him emotionally believable, and making me sympathetic to his view and plight, despite the flaw of hubris being made clear to the reader.

Currently reading: The First Heretic. Let's see what ADB is made of.

[budman]

1 Horus Rising 9/10 the opening line is one of best I have read the level of history in that line is funny
2 False Gods 8/10
3 Galaxy in Flames 7/10
4 Flight of the Eisenstein 4&8/10 On my first reading I did not like it on the 2nd time round I liked it a lot more Garro post audios
5 Fulgrim 7/10
6 Descent of Angels 3/10 I like the book
7 Legion 9/10
8 Battle for the Abyss * /10 I don't hate the book like others do it's a fun read but it's a 40k story in 30K drag that does not fit in with anything else
9 Mechanicum 8/10
10 Tales of Heresy
10a Blood Games 7/10
10b Wolf at the Door 8/10
10c Scions of the Storm 5/10
10d The Voice 6/10
10e Call of the Lion 4/10
10f The last Church 10/10 I love this I have one Issue I know now that Graham McNeill can do things this good
10g After Desh’ea 7/10
11 Fallen Angels 3/10
12 A Thousand Sons 9/10
13 Nemesis 8/10
14 The First Heretic 9.5/10 ADB kick's it out of the park
15 Prospero Burns 3&9 /10 On the first read I hated it on the secound read right after A Thousand Sons
16 Age of Darkness 4/10
17 The Outcast Dead 8/10 I Bloody enjoyed it
18 Deliverance Lost 6/10
19 Know no Fear 9/10
20 The Primarchs 5/10 such a mixed bag
20a The Reflection Crack’d 7/10
20b Feat of Iron 1/10
20c The Lion 2/10
20d The Serpent Beneath 9/10

Novellas
Promethean Sun .../10 - not read yet
Aurelian .../10 not read yet

Audio Dramas
The Dark King 9/10 this was the first time we got a look a what a Primarch could do
The Lightning Tower 7/10
Ravens Flight 7/10 takes a while to get going
Garro: Oath of Moment 8/10
Garro: Legion of One 10 / 10 HELL YES
Butchers Nails 9/10 "why don't you just paint your amour red brother" Got a coke spit