The Horus Heresy (1,2,3): Sweats Nervously

On top of looking pretty darn cool, Galaxy in Flames features my favorite thing  in 40K on the cover: an Imperial Titan, a giant version of the knight. Yes, there are friggin' knights in this setting!

To finish my Thanksgiving break backlog is the first trilogy of Black Library's The Horus Heresy, which I retroactively decided to review all three since they are essentially a single arc (and apparently after the next book things are a lot more fragmented). Truth be told, I did not expect to be so captivated by these first three books (in a series of at least forty more and counting) whose entire appeal rests on the condition that you already know the broad strokes of the lore or none of it, but god are they compelling.  In what amounts to a three-act Greek tragedy (or the first act of a larger story for the committed), Horus Rising, False Gods, and Galaxy in Flames tell the story of the the turning of the charismatic Horus Lupercal, hero and beacon of human supremacy in the thirty-thousandth millennium, from a symbol of heroism to the champion of Chaos.

Book One - Horus Rising:
This book is arguably the most skippable of the three, not because of it being the least in terms of quality or action (there's plenty of it), but by virtue of it being what amounts to the prologue of the series. I would strongly recommend not skipping this book though, as it essentially sets up the atmosphere of trust and brotherhood that will be purposefully annihilated by the end of the series. This covers the "Great Crusade", lead by the Emperor of Man and his Primarch children (essentially trans-human demigods created with science and psychic power), when it is on course with most everything going according to plan as the Crusade enters its final stages. You're also introduced to several of the major characters of the first arc, though not even close to all of the movers and shakers of the series as a whole, and this is a move for the best as it helped me get acquainted with each of these characters. It was also interesting to note how each of the major characters reacted with their fateful encounters with the unknown. Loken, like a Astartes, goes out of his way to learn of these new foes and forces, remaining resolute against his peers' dismissals of the supernatural. Sinderman, on the other hand retreats into his books, trying to find a rational or precedent in the universe for unexplained things happening. I could go on, but that would begin to spoil things, which this book reads best if you don't know the specifics. There's an incredible tension seen as the book progresses, with characters often unknowingly raising questions and creating dynamics that only worsen as the arc progresses, and it's fantastic. However, while this book does have seeds of tragedy (and there are some), it's largely about a future humanity in a different time from our own, filled with hope, optimism, and confidence for the future. After noticing this I found it somewhat eerie as we seem to be entering a time of increasing uncertainty, anxiety, and pessimism, like the Imperium of Man in the forty-thousandth millennium. Spooky. If you know absolutely nothing about 40K, this is surprisingly a good place to start, as you'll encounter all the strange and disquieting events of these fateful months like the woefully uneducated characters. It's chock full of foreshadowing, and even better is that you don't need to know the backstory to pick up on these, they're that well done.

Book Two - False Gods:
Taking place several months after Horus Rising, False Gods is when things imperceptibly take a turn for the worse. It's best if you take a break between the previous book and this one, as it helps erase some memories of the former. Why I suggest this is that it helps you get into the mindset of the principle cast (the ones who are noticing changes) and their unease/confusion. One of the largest changes I noticed as the book progressed was a theme of loneliness and isolation. The protagonists in turn find themselves isolated and vulnerable materially, militarily, and even spiritually in turn. Some, like the aforementioned Loken pass with flying colors, but others, like Horus, are victims. Even the initial villain, a traitor general who was left behind to whip a planet in order, was a victim. He dies, not with an evil cackle or snarl, but with whimpered apologies and tears. These aren't tears born of sorrow or regret in the traditional sense, but in the sense that he felt abandoned, cast aside, sent to rot on a planet while the Crusade marched on. It's sobering stuff, and Horus' test is even more horrific. In perhaps the best writing in the book (and probably the biggest reason to read this book), Horus experiences a terrifying vision of the future, but it is not malevolent at first, only shifting as he perceives it. He walks in a peaceful meadow, barefoot in the grass, and with zero warning the nature of the setting shifts, turning from calming to unsettling in an instant. He drank the cool spring water, the chemical runoff of millions of industrial processes searing his skin, that sort of thing. It's all the more powerful because Horus reacts like the reader, with a double-take, then skepticism, and quickly fear before fleeing in terror. After this sequence we get few more conversations with Horus as he isolates himself from others, and the expeditionary fleet in turn begins to show cracks in its cohesion and functioning. People are killed, protocols are broken, martial law is declared, but is any of it done for the right reasons? Two guesses which.

Book 3 - Galaxy in Flames:
Whoo boy, yeah this is when things really start going for the worse in the expedition. Nearly everything is confidential, strange insignias and banners are showing up, high profile people are "leaving the expedition", and in the words of one of the more cognizant Astartes: "when was the last time we pacified a planet without killing everyone?". Yeah, things are pretty bleak in this one, and it only gets worse (in a good way). At this point pretty much every important character, whether they are traitor or loyal is either broken or dead, with a good majority of the loyal broken ones embracing religion (one of the goals of the Crusade was to finally stamp out religion). The one exception to this is Loken, who through it all remains conscious and skeptical, and he really suffers greatly for it, losing essentially every friend he has ever known to the forces of Chaos or death. About half of this book tells the story of how Horus and Co. finally let the masks come off and reveal that they're no longer interested in anything pro-Imperium, which is the big draw of the book. This involves a massive mix of betrayal, massacre, WMD's, and savagery on their part. In a nutshell, nearly all of the good guys die, but the core message is probably the most positive of the three books. It's not important that people died, but why and what they died for that is more important. The forces of Chaos and disorder won the day, but they were stymied and beaten by forces inferior to them at nearly every turn. It's only with a desperate and cowardly bombardment of the entire planet that the traitors destroy the remaining loyalists, and the latter die with courage and integrity, taking solace in their true victory in death. Grim stuff. There's also plenty more supernatural stuff here, and while it does admittedly lose a tad of its unsettling edge there remains an off-putting element of unknowableness about the otherworldly powers that be. You'd think that voices and visions wouldn't be terribly off-putting in a book in the current year, but it just works here. Maybe it's the clash with the sci-fi setting; after all, this is the future, ghosts, daemons, and dark, thirsting gods can't be real, right? Like the other two books, this one is pretty darn good, but the subtle elements work best if you've read the other two. Finally, like False Gods, you should probably take a break between books here as this one again starts many months after the events of the previous book, allowing an even stronger sinister air be cast on your recollections of prior events.

There are at least forty-five main books in The Horus Heresy series, and after reading these first three I fully intend to read each and every one of them. However, I know that for many that's more than a little much to consume outside of retirement, and to them I'd recommend this first trilogy. My one real complaint with these three is that we really don't see much of Horus after his ordeal (in which he acted like a real moron, why didn't you trust your brother?!) besides him showing in public, doing something shady, and then peacing out. Alternatively, when in private he's doing all manner of rituals, yet we never see anything from his warped perspective, which is a damn shame. I hope that this is different in the other books, but something tells me that I shouldn't hold my breath if what I heard is true. Each book is written by a different author, yet each feels very much consistent with the last down to the characters, which is notable in and of itself. You could know nothing about 40K or you could be a rabid fan, these three books are fantastic reads, though I've heard that some of the later ones aren't as good. While obviously not the most uplifting and the opposite of cheerful, I'd strongly recommend these three books for their detailing of a man betraying everything he once stood for and setting off on a quest to destroy what he helped build.

"So if you're second only to the Emperor, why didn't he 

see fit to tell you of his plans? Why wouldn't he 

if he has the utmost trust and faith in you?"

"...I don't know."