Horus Rising (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Horus Heresy) by Dan Abnett
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Book Reviews of Horus Rising (Warhammer 40,000 Novels: Horus Heresy)
Book Review: Wow! A great surprise for a non-gamer!
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow! What an awesome book! But first, my background: I am such a devout SF reader, that I have an Excel spreadsheet where I log my SF books in alpha order, and I grade each one after I read it. I have so many still unread in my garage, that I rarely buy new ones unless something catches my fancy.
One day two weeks ago, I was trawling through the Amazon SF books, reading about some other book, and down below it said that I might enjoy "Horus Rising". So I linked to it, and saw it was part of a games group known as Warhammer 40,000, and part of a sub-group called the Horus Heresy. Not being a game-player, I had never heard of either. Still, I read the reviews, and thought the book sounded interesting -- but probably doubtful -- since I was not a big space opera fan, and particularly not in the war genre.
Nevertheless I ordered it. Twenty pages into it I liked it so well that I ordered the rest of the (currently) five-book series the same day!
I came away from "Horus Rising" with these impressions: First, that the author Dan Abnett has a great gift of drawing the reader into the novel, giving the characters distinctive identities with enough depth that you care about them - and writing real dialogue that is in keeping with the respective personalities. Second, I expected about 70-80% blood, war, and gore, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that there are enough undercurrents and side-issues going on -- often handled using flash-backs and flash-forwards -- that the blood, war, and gore-meter only came up to a reasonable 25-30%. Third, it's hard for an author to come up with new ideas, words, and concepts that I haven't come across in my SF reading, but there are some intriguing ones here which add fascination and mystery to the reading process.
Fourth, another word about the characters: no pun intended, the characters are larger than life, and they need to be, because the dangers they face in the universe of 30,200 A.D. are very great. I'm glad the good guys are on my team. Although it becomes a little less clear as time goes on exactly who the good guys are...
Finally, even though I read the reviews of all five books so far in print -- and thus I know basically how it all turns out -- still, it didn't dampen my interest at all about book one. In a sense, it added intrigue to it by my wondering how everything was going to get resolved by the end of the series. So in this sense, the series is not only an "action adventure", but also a "mystery".
Hat's off to Dan Abnett, and soon I expect to say that for the authors of the other four books. (A different writer writes each successive book -- like a handoff from quarterback to halfback)
Oh. About that grade that I give each book after I read it. I rate the books from 0.0 to 10.0 in 0.5 step increments. The highest grade I had given to date, were three books at 9.0: Frank Herbert's "Dune", Jack McDevitt's "Chindi", and Alastair Reynolds' "Revelation Space". But now (ta da!) they are matched by the new "Horus Rising" rating of 9.0 on my spreadsheet.
Book Review: The inevitable rise and fall of a favored son...
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally, Games Workshop and the Black Library has seen to it that the story of the Imperium greatest and darkest hour be told in a trilogy of novels. What I am talking about is the culmination of the Emperor of Mankind's Great Crusade to unite the scattered humanity into one galaxt-spanning empire. This first novel in the trilogy, as written by fan favorite Dan Abnett, tells of the time of the Great Crusade's culmination. With the Emperor finally relinquishing the command of all crusading forces to his most favored of his twenty genetically-engineered Primarch sons: Horus.
In background stories throughout the history of Games Workshop's 40K universe, Horus has been described in brief detail as being favored by the Emperor above all the other Primarchs. But other than that Horus has been seen and read by all as a twisted, megalomaniacal despot out to overthrow the Emperor once Chaos has gotten hold of him. In Horus Rising, Dan Abnett paints a portrait of Horus and his Luna Wolves Legion as sympathetic characters who are loyal to the tenets of the Emperor's Great Crusade to a fault. Horus is given personality to make him noble and great in the eyes of not just the men he leads but those of others led by his brother Primarchs. He is akin to Lucifer just before the Fall and throughout the novel, Abnett slips in small seeds of doubts and flaws that will surely lead to his predestined role as the Fallen Angel who will raze and burn the galaxy of Mankind before all is well and done.
Abnett's skill at writing battle scenes, especially up-close combat with Horus and his marines against all comers, shows just why his previous Games Workshop novels have been favorites of fans. Abnett also introduces such characters as Abaddon, Torgaddon and Loken. "Sons" of Horus who seem to represent his conscience in more ways than one. Abaddon most fans already know his fate, but Torgaddon and Loken are characters whose story may lead to damnation or redemption as the time for heresy and war inches closer. the book ends with a simple mention of whats to come with the second leg of the trilogy. Horus and his legion to stop at a backwater system and one of its moons: Davin IV.
Abnett has laid down a great foundation for the trilogy and here's to hoping that Graham McNeill (another fan favorite) continues the trilogy with another great story. I can't wait for the second book, False Gods, to be released. The story of the Horus Heresy has been a long time coming. Here's to not waiting too long to finish the saga.
Book Review: Setting the Stage
Summary: 5 Stars
This first book of the Horus Heresy series sets the stage for a tale of personal growth and moral responsibility. The central character is Garviel Lorken, 10th Company Captain of the Luna Wolves Legion, though it features many other canonical characters from Games Workshop's Warhammer 40K universe, including three Primarchs and a host of infamous figures from later in its history. Canonical characters that make appearances include: Horus, Rogal Dorn, Sanguinius, and Abaddon.
M. Abnett was the ideal author for the beginning of this project. He excels in atmospherics, moral quandary, foreshadowing, and parallels. The book opens with an ominous parallel of how we know the series must end (I assume that most readers will have some familiarity with the history and background of 40K, though it is by no means necessary), and throughout are questions of morality and responsibility that foreshadow future events. Likewise, the growth of the main character, Lorken, is mirrored by the development of those around him.
The Black Library is lucky to have a writer of M. Abnett's talents, and I can only hope that latter writers will be able to live up to his high standards. His characters spring off the page, with good depth, realistic motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. He has a true talent for bringing the gothic feel of the 40K universe to the reader. Both action scenes and more subtle elements of plot development are handled adeptly, including villains every bit as complex and clever as the protagonists. In addition to excellent characters, there's plenty of tech and military hardware for lovers of fluff.
Writing a good climactic ending, one of his few weaknesses, is minimized here, as the entire novel is clearly a preface for the rest of the tale. The only other weakness of the tale is the somewhat clumsy setup for the next book in the series. Literally within the last few pages, he brings an antagonist into the spotlight that has had only minimal prior development. It's one of the only disappointing pieces of writing in the work.
The rest (read: majority) is excellent, and one can hardly wait to see what happens next, particularly given the moral questions and foreshadowing utilized to pique the reader's curiosity.
In short: an auspicious start for the tale, well worth reading for any fan of good sci-fi, but highly recommended for 40K fans.
Book Review: Excllence in Gothic Sci-Fi
Summary: 5 Stars
I only got into WH40K by playing Dawn of War and enjoying the extrmely rich vastness of the Imperium of Man and the entire WH40K universe created by GW since the late 80s. Never having played the tabletop game I have diverted my interest in the universe strictly to the books. Ever since I read about the Horus Heresy and how close humanity came to being totally consumed by the forces of Chaos I have been searching everywhere I know for a book explaining the Heresy, only to come up empty handed until now.
Dan Abnett, my favorite BL author, has painted a rich vibrant picture of the Imperium in its infancy when Chaos was shoved to the back as being nothing more than ridiculous religious beliefs. When the Emperor of Man requested that he be seen as a mere man and not a God as he has developed into in the 10K years since his confrontation with his favoured son Horus. Abnett has given Horus an extremely human face and his actions just make you want to dive into the novel and serve as a Luna Wolf Astartes alongside Loken, Little Horus, Abaddon and Torgaddon under the Warmaster. The fall of Horus has always been seen as a direct reflection of Lucifer's rebellion against God, a favoured son being twisted and rebelling against his father in an attempt to take the throne for himself.
The war scenes are fast, ferocious, and filled with such an excitement that you don't want to put it down. Especially the final part of the book when the Great Crusade encounters the interex and the ensuing war. Also if you know about the Heresy and how it happens, the final sentence of the book is such a nice touch and really shows that these books were written for the fans after almost 20 years of asking GW to publish in depth how the Horus Heresy is revealed. Of course from the looks of it we will not get to read about the 55 Day siege of Terra and we probably will never get to hear the Emperor speak in his human form before he become the not quite alive/not quite dead man he is 10K years later.
I am very eager to read the next book, False Gods and see where Graham McNiel takes the story, I'm hoping we'll get to meet Loken again. I have a feeling something quite pivotal to the entire saga will happen with our friend Captain Garviel Loken.
Book Review: Voracious read that's not solely for a 40k connoisseur
Summary: 5 Stars
Get ready to be thrown into the 40k universe full of gore, sweet highly advanced tech/weapons and in depth political systems. The catch is being a fan of 40k isn't a requirement to entering this complex stage. This book is simply classic sci-fi lore full of monsters, space marines and distant and usually very dangerous planets. Abnett's novel excelled by creating real characters not just genetically engineered super soldiers that equate to a bad Jean Claude Van Dam movie. The story mainly revolved around Garviel Loken a highly competent captain in charge of the Luna Wolves company. Loken triumphs and conflicts whether personal or in the hell of war also become ours due to the character development. Every character's personality jumped off the page and allowed Heresy to be more than mindless violence and carnage.
Plot (classic Sci-Fi): Basically space marines go from planet to planet offering two paths for the inhabitants. Give up individual sovereignty and join or be pounded into dust.
Story (captivating overall, with some slow sections): Follows a small time player Loken being raised to higher political and social power within the empire. This book is full of fire fights and gripping close combat. That being said several sections involve setting up side characters and overall plot lines. Don't expect every page to involve shell casings falling to the floor. There are several cliff hangers that more than held my interest. This was a very detailed read and will be best enjoyed by a mature reader.
Writing (superb): The writing is well crafted and thorough. Abnett's Horus novel writing was superior due not to his sole ability to paint action but also to his ability to create believable characters with real thoughts and motives.
Final thoughts: No love story here but this is overall a well crafted sci-fi war drama. I recommend this title for Sci-Fi lovers across the board (whether or not already a 40k fan). I don't recommend Horus for those not interested in reading in depth about character development because there are definite gaps between fighting sequences (totally worth the wait).