The Horus Heresy series chronological order?

[Erikjust]

Okay i donīt know if the title is the best one but i would like to know if you where to read the Horus Heresy books in the order of which the events before and during the heresy took place how would the different titles be placed then?

I would say (but this is only my best guess) how the series would look if you read it in the way that the events unfolded in the heresy.

Decent of Angels (the events described in this book takes place well before the heresy even began, the Emperor is still leading the great crusade)
First half of Thousand Sons (it describes the events that takes place up till the moment Horus is made warmaster, it describes the events leading up to Horus becoming the Warmaster)
First half of Prospero Burns (same as Thousand sons gives a good overview on the events leading up to Horus becoming the Warmaster)
Horus Rising (Horus have become The Warmaster and as such but the seeds of the heresy is sown here)
Thousand Sons The part where Magnus is put on trial for sorcery (as Horus in False Gods describes these events its clear that these took place before this one)
Prospero Burns same part as Thousand Sons (it describes the events from a different angle)
False Gods (here Horus makes the pact with the Chaos Gods)
The rest of Thousand Sons
The rest of Prospero Burns
Galaxy in Flames (the first real start of the Heresy is described here and since it ends with Horus receiving a signal from Magnus we can assume that the events of Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns have taken place here)

Iīm not quite sure where the other fits in and the rest of the books may have retconned the events so that Magnusīs warning came after the whole Istvan 3 events and not before, but iīm not sure.

Anyways i would like to see your list on where the different books would fit in if they where placed in the order of which the events before and during the heresy took place.

[shadowhawk2008]

Thing is, you can't really put the series in chronological order since there is so much overlap, especially with the three anthologies. It'd be a commendable effort but really, it'd be very laborious since you would have to section off several of the novels and then fit them into the chronology.

What's better is to analyse/put together the different plot threads. Such as Istvaan III/Istvaan V/Nikaea/Calth and so on.

[Erikjust]

Hmm why not okay

Then lets put them in this form The Great Crusade (before Horus was crowned Warmaster), Warmaster and Nikaea(from the point he was crowned Warmaster till the point where he turned), Istvaan III, Istvaan V, Calth (all of these are what happened during the heresy up to the point of the battle on terra)

The Great Crusade:
Decent of Angels
Thousand Sons
Prosporo Burns
First Heretic (not sure havenīt read it)

Warmaster Nikaea
Thousand Sons
Prosporo Burns
Horus Rising
False Gods
Legion (perhaps not sure)

Istvaan III
Galaxy in Flames
Flight of the Eisenstein
Thousand Sons
Prosporo Bruns (not sure about either of them as i donīt know when exactly the burning of Prosporo took place compared to the rest of the heresy)
Fulgrim
The Outcast Dead(not quite sure about this one either)

Istvaan V
Fulgrim
The Outcast Dead
Deliverence Lost
First Heretic

Calth
Devliverence Lost
Know No Fear
Nemesis

Post Battle of Terra
Thousand Sons (the epilogue takes place after the whole Heresy has failed)

The different anthologys/collection of stories i think can be put in the different places.

I havenīt read some of the others so iīm not quite sure when on the time scale they take place.

[Buddha777]

The first Heretic takes place under the great crusade as well as Istvann V.

I'm wondering where Mechanicum fits in as believe it is after Istvaan III but before Istvaan V. Anyone know? This could also help place Deliverance Lost since it clearly happens after the Martian revolt and Istvaan V; but is very vague on how long the marine "renewal" program takes.

[gitburna]

Has anyone grouped them under the colour swatch on the sleeve?

I think there's supposed to be something about "theme" involved in that too. I think yellow swatch indicates "post Isstvan", but i'm not sure about the specifics of Green, Purple and Blue (and i can't offhand remember if there's any red swatches yet)

[Erikjust]

So done
At the beginning everything is light green the Great crusade is underway mankind is united under the banner of the Emperor
Warmaster and Counsil of Nikaea dark green everything is still green but with the censure of Magnus and the shutting down of the librarians things are starting to go wrong.

Istvaan III

Orange the Heresy is starting and the traitor legions dispose of those in their own ranks that are still loyal to the emperor

Istvaan V

Red the Heresy is well under way in a swift move Horus and the traitor legion almost totally destroy 3 of the greatest loyalist legions.

Calth

Maroon now Horus has started toward Terra and the remaining legions are either ignorant of the events on Istvaan V or to far away to reach Terra in time.

[Iron_Lord]

Nemesis, and most of the Age of Darkness anthology, takes place two years into the Heresy.

[Erikjust]

So Nemesis takes place after the Istvaan V massacre and Calth invasion??

[Iron_Lord]

So Nemesis takes place after the Istvaan V massacre and Calth invasion??

Correct. Quite a bit after.

[Casper Hawser]

Using your chart theres a few I'd add.

The Great Crusade:
Decent of Angels
Thousand Sons
Prosporo Burns
First Heretic
Legion
The Dark King (audio)
Tales Of Heresy

Warmaster Nikaea
Thousand Sons
Prosporo Burns
Horus Rising
False Gods
Fulgrim

Istvaan III
False Gods
Galaxy in Flames
Flight of the Eisenstein
Fulgrim
Fallen Angels
Battle for the Abyss
Mechanicum

Istvaan V
Fulgrim
First Heretic
The Outcast Dead
Raven's Flight (audio)
Age Of Darkness
Deliverence Lost

Calth
Devliverence Lost
Tales Of Heresy
Battle for The Abyss
Butcher's Nails (audio)
Know No Fear
Garro Oath of Moment (audio)
Garro Legion Of One (audio)
Age Of Darkness
The Lighting Tower (audio)
Nemesis

I think thats everything Ive read or listened to.

[Erikjust]

Wait isnīt there one of the Thousand Sons fighting along the Space Wolves and one of the Ultramarines in the book? If Battle of the Abyss takes place after the Istvaan 5 massacre woudlnīt the Thousand Sons soldier be fighting against the Space Wolf and ultramarine?

[Casper Hawser]

Both characters have been away form their legions for some time if memory serves correctly. There is definitly know love between them also there is a squad of World Eaters that aides the Ultra Marine Captain against the Word Bearers.

[Erikjust]

Both characters have been away form their legions for some time if memory serves correctly. There is definitly know love between them also there is a squad of World Eaters that aides the Ultra Marine Captain against the Word Bearers.

They DEFIANTLY would have needed to have been away from the legions for some time, otherwise both the Istvaan III and V massacre plus the burning of Prosporo might put somewhat of a dampener on the loyalty between those "loyalists".

Oh and iīm not sure Dark King belongs on the Great crusade list as it is Dorn the censures Kurze and not the Emperor i think it belongs on the Warmaster Nikaea side of things.

[Lord Lorne Walkier]

Using your chart theres a few I'd add.


Istvaan III
False Gods
Galaxy in Flames
Flight of the Eisenstein
Fulgrim
Fallen Angels
Battle for the Abyss
Mechanicum


Calth
Devliverence Lost
Tales Of Heresy
Battle for The Abyss
Butcher's Nails (audio)
Know No Fear
Garro Oath of Moment (audio)
Garro Legion Of One (audio)
Age Of Darkness
The Lighting Tower (audio)
Nemesis

I think thats everything Ive read or listened to.

I think you have, Garro Legion Of One (audio), in the wrong place.... This "(audio)" took place entirely on Isstvan III..

[Xisor]

I've been re-reading elements of the HH, so far I've woven a loose thread around the following (and a sensible reading order):

The Implications of Magnus
Battle for the Abyss
The First Heretic
Prospero Burns
A Thousand Sons
The Outcast Dead
Aurelian
The Battle of the Fang
Atlas Infernal

I think some elements of the Ragnar books ought be included here, but I've not read them so can't account for their relevance in terms of themes and such.

[Casper Hawser]

I think you have, Garro Legion Of One (audio), in the wrong place.... This "(audio)" took place entirely on Isstvan III..

Yes but that story occurs a year or so after Garro Oath of moment which takes place on Calth during the Word Bearers attack. Maybe I should have added an after Calth section.

[Casper Hawser]

They DEFIANTLY would have needed to have been away from the legions for some time, otherwise both the Istvaan III and V massacre plus the burning of Prosporo might put somewhat of a dampener on the loyalty between those "loyalists".

Oh and iīm not sure Dark King belongs on the Great crusade list as it is Dorn the censures Kurze and not the Emperor i think it belongs on the Warmaster Nikaea side of things.

The Dark King takes place before Horus is made Warmaster so I assumed it belonged in the Great Crusade, My reasoning is that Dorn is at Ullanor when Horus is made warmaster and spends a year with him before departing for Terra in Horus Rising where he gets caught up in a warpstorm until the Fists find Garro and the Eisenstein. Also Fulgrim is at Ullanor and then Nikea then he's off crusading against the Laer so I don't think he could have fit in a quick crusade with Dorn and Curze during this time period.

[nedius]

There are problems with trying this.

Some of the books out right contradict the timelines set by others.

At the beginning of Galaxy in Flames, Horus wants to know how Russ's campaign against Magnus is going. So Russ was sent to elimiate Magnus BEFORE Istvaan II. However, in Outcast Dead, Magnus arrives on Terra AFTER Istvaan III, and Russ is then dispatched.

So in one book Russ is after Magnus before Istvaan, and in another he's sent afterwards.

[Iron_Lord]

Most of the books- Galaxy in Flames, Fulgrim, A Thousand Sons- seem to work on the same chronology.

The Outcast Dead is the only one that doesn't fit.

[Casper Hawser]

Most of the books- Galaxy in Flames, Fulgrim, A Thousand Sons- seem to work on the same chronology.

The Outcast Dead is the only one that doesn't fit.

I think McNeil is showing how much the warp mucks around with travel and communications.

Magnus sets off to warn the Emperor the warp spits him out in the future which causes communication to break down with Terra right when they need it most (during Istvaan 5). Then when Russ is sent to bring Magnus back the warp spits him out in the past when he speaks to Horus he see's that Magnus has lied because Horus is crusading in Drakonis along side the World Eaters.

This is how I saw it anyway I could be wrong.