In early 2018, ty was looking for recommendations on how to navigate the huge backlog of books on the horus heresy. I put together this list with my recommendations on the must-read horus heresy and not so much. I also include my star rating for each book. your mileage may vary 🙂
You are reading: Horus heresy books to skip
update: 7/1/19: Added books I’ve read in the year or more since my original post
update: 10/30/20: terra siege update! my thoughts on the first four siege books and filled in some of the gaps. I’ve also highlighted my must-reads
horus rising(i) by dan abnett ***** I’ve read this three times. “I was there the day horus assassinated the emperor.”
false gods(ii) by graham mcneill **** the origin of the fall of horus.
galaxy on fire (iii) by ben counter *** the conclusion of the initial trilogy which is the tragedy of horus. I don’t find the writing in this book as strong as the first two, but the plot carries it.
eisenstein’s flight (iv) by james swallow **** this one reads like an action movie. features claw.
I used to recommend skipping fulgrim (v) (you can read my review of fulgrim on goodreads to see why), but as people have pointed out in the comments, there are some shocking events that have place. in this book (someone loses their mind). if you know the heresy there are no surprises here and I still say skip it and avoid having to go through it.
I’ll still recommend skipping the descent of the angels (vi) unless you really like dark angels.
legion(vii) by dan abnett ***** this one divides people but it’s abnett and it’s amazing. don’t expect an alpha legion book. there are big reveals in this book related to the 40k universe.
battle for the abyss(viii)- just don’t do it
mechanicum (ix) by graham mcneill **** covers the civil war on mars. interesting background but can be skipped. fun to read along with dan abnett’s titanicus book set in 40k for a couple of callbacks.
tales of heresy (x) ***** this is an anthology but I highly recommend it. at least blood games by dan abnett, the voice of james swallow, the last church by graham mcneill and after desh’ea by matthew farrer.
fallen angels (xi) jump unless you love dark angels
a thousand sons(xii) by graham mcneill **** must be read. then go ahead and read… prospero burns(xv) by dan abnett ***** this and thousands of children were originally supposed to come out at the same time but was delayed due to a health issue by dan abnett so we had to wait almost a year for it.
nemesis (xiii) by james swallow jump unless you really like assassins.
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the first heretic (xiv) by aaron dembski-bowden ***** must be read. adb and lorgar and the true beginning of the heresy.
age of darkness (xvi) **** a skippable anthology. here are some good short stories that fill in the background of the heresy of the main authors of the black library.
the dead outcasts (xvii) and the lost deliverance (xviii) can be omitted. Outcast Dead covers the exploits of the members of the Traitor Legions who were on Terra when news of the heresy broke. lost liberation is about corax and the raven guard after isstvan v.
know no fear (xix) by dan abnett ***** required reading. the battle of calth and it’s abnett.
the primarchs (xx) jump
fear of treading (xxi) by james swallow *** I would recommend it for blood angel fans. it has some great flashbacks with horus and sanguinius and some great reveals. the events in signus prime are mentioned in future books.
Shadows of Betrayal (xxii) no anthology required **** but there are some great short stories here. john french’s crimson fist, graham mcneill’s dark king, dan abnett’s tower of lightning, and aaron dembski-bowden’s prince of ravens.
angel exterminatus (xxiii) by graham mcneill *** may be omitted. the adventures of fulgrim and perturabo graham almost made the primarch of the iron warriors into a good guy in this book.
betrayer(xxiv) by aaron dembski-bowden ***** can be skipped, but don’t! angron and lorgar cause chaos overseas. kharn when he was less frantic. makes you think maybe these guys aren’t really that bad?
mark of calth (xv) anthology – can be omitted.
lives of vulkan (xxvi) by nick kyme I skipped this one. I think you can too, unless you’re a fan of vulkan and salamanders.
the forgotten empire(xxvii) by dan abnett **** this book starts the imperium secundus book arc. you could skip this entire arc, but I wouldn’t recommend it. there are many primarchs and it is abnett.
scars (xxviii) by chris wraight I haven’t read this so I think it can be skipped, but I’ve heard good things about it so I might catch up later. it’s about the white scars and the khan, of course.
vengeful spirit by graham mcneill *** is not mandatory but it is interesting to see the point of view of horus and its development. this is the book of the knights and also has some death watch.
the damnation of pythos (xxx) by david annandale legacies of betrayal (xxxi) – deathfire anthology (xxxii) by nick kyme war without end(xxxiii) – anthology eye of the earth (xxxv) – anthology the silent war (xxxvii) – anthology there are a lot of anthologies, salamander, shatter legions and other books mixed in here that I haven’t read and I don’t think you need either. this is the time period i think the black library lost its way and was producing tons of horus heresy content but most of it was background and didn’t move the plot towards terra. There are probably some gems there but you have to find them.
pharos (xxxvi) by guy haley **** continues the imperium secundus arc so it’s not necessary, but it’s a great book. I really like dantioch and polux.
the way to heaven (xxxvi) by chris wraight – i haven’t read this one. how the white scars reach the earth.
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angels of caliban (xxxviii) by gav thorpe **** i recommend this one. continues the arc of the dark angels of the fallen angels and concludes the story of imperium secundus.
praetorian of dorn (xxxix) by john french ***** highly recommended. terra and imperial fists. great story and has a great reveal at the end.
corax (xl) by gav thorpe – this is a collection of stories about corax and raven guard. jump unless you like raven guard.
the teacher of mankind (xli) by aaron dembski-bowden ***** required reading. the emperor is an idiot.
garro (xlii) by james swallow **** is not required reading, but this is a collection of all the great tales of garro.
tallarn (xlv) by john french that collects the four stories of tallarn. It’s not required reading, but I’ve heard good things about this book, especially if you’re a knucklehead.
ruinstorm (xlvi) by david annandale *** continues from the imperium secundus story arc and begins the path to terra. it’s annandale, so it has some horror elements. Also, it explains how blood angels come to terra from overseas and ultramarines and dark angels don’t.
old earth (xlvii) by nick kyme I have not read this one but if you are going to read any of the vulkan books I recommend this one. sets vulkan’s current disposition when entering terra siege
the burden of loyalty (xlviii) anthology: I would recommend abnett’s perpetual to fill the gap between calth and terra for our favorite oll persson and john grammaticus perpetuals.
I haven’t read graham mcneill’s crimson king (xliv) yet and I don’t feel like I missed anything so I would just recommend it to thousands of suns/magnus fans.
wolfsbane (xlix) by guy haley *** i’m mixed up with this book. I read it after Slaves of the Dark and didn’t think I was missing much. This is probably a must read if you’re a Leman Russ/Space Wolves fan. the b-plot about the origin of belisarius cawl is actually what made me go read it, but that plot ended up being passable. There are some great flashback scenes when Horus and Russ met.
slaves of darkness(li) by john french **** excellent, required reading. Horus has to get the gang back together and head to Terra. almost all the traitor primarchs make an appearance. there is a wolfsbane plot point that sets up the current state of horus, so if you don’t read wolfsbane and are confused, he read the spoilers.
titandeath (liii) by guy haley ***this is probably a jump unless you’re into titans. I don’t think this one lives up to the hype of the battle for beta-gammon.
the buried dagger (liv) by james swallow i didn’t read this death guard book. details mortarion’s final fall into chaos.
the siege of terra
we’re reading all the siege of terra books, right? It’s what we’ve been waiting for over 10 years.
the solar war (site of terra i) by john french ****½ the return of some of my favorite characters from the early books was the highlight for me. horus has entered the solar system and encloses terra. lots of empty war fighting and some cool twists. this is my second favorite book in the sot series so far.
the lost and the damned (the siege of terra ii) by guy haley **** the siege really begins when the forces of horus set foot on terra. Lots of great scenes and characters in this book. I wasn’t that thrilled with the story from the guard’s point of view, but I understand why he’s there.
the first wall (siege of terra iii) by gav thorpe ***½ the battle for the lion’s gate spaceport is the main event of this book. the other stories with keeler and the imperial guard reinforcements are interesting but in the end not much happens in this book.
saturnine(sige of terra iv) by dan abnett ***** the siege book we’ve all been waiting for and my favorite of the series so far! abnett has all the characters in this book and delivers some epic scenes. no spoilers, but the body count is high.
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