Horus Rising by Dan Abnett

Hot on the heels of reading listening to my first ever Warhammer book, I read listened to my second. NOW I understand the popularity. Bear in mind that the target audience for this book is folks who love Warhammer and have a far greater knowledge of its universe than I do. I had to do a little research for this review so I don’t like an utter moron, but I will probably still fail.

Disclaimer – I read this in September, so forgive me if I’m a little hazy on some of the details.

So, what’s it all about?

Horus Rising is set prior to the time periods of the games and other books when the Empire is in the midst of its expansion. The Emperor has not yet adopted his status as a god and Horus was just a soldier instead of a traitor. This book flips the switch on the later series, as the Emperor is no benevolent leader, but a dictator subjecting other races to his cause. Horus is one of his favoured soldiers who helps to lead the charge in their galactic expansion. However, Horus is angered when the Emperor decides to take a back seat in the war effort, placing him in charge instead. This sets Horus on the path to the treacherous type we know and love today.

Is it any good?

Yeah, it’s great. Despite my blessed ignorance of all things Warhammer, it hit a lot of the right notes for me. Instead of a naff “Good Vs Evil” deal, the Emperor and his soldiers were the equivalent of a bunch of (over-powered) jackbooted thugs stomping their way through the galaxy, showing no mercy to any who thought or looked differently. While there is plenty of action, much of the book is the Emperor expounding his political and philosophical theories to Horus, and of course, Horus showing his dissent to his fellow soldiers. Seeing the Emperor in this light may be a shock to some Warhammer fans, but there is no doubt many an empire began in a similar fashion. Sulking Horus might be more familiar, but his arguments against the Emperor’s decision are not weak, and if you buy into their “expansion” philosophy (for the purpose of the book only, I hope), you can also see his point of view. One thing regular fans may miss is the presence of the enemy from future Warhammer, which does not yet exist in this universe, but there is no shortage of bad guys to boo at. The only difference is, you’ll be rooting for them in the future.

Verdict

I loved it, and I want to keep reading the series. Did you hear that noise? That was my TBR groaning…

• Format: Audiobook
• Obtained from: Bought
• Listening time: 12 hours 16 minutes
• Publisher: Black Library
• ISBN: 9781849707435 (pb)
• Narrator: Toby Longworth