Science Fiction

False Gods

False Gods

  • Downloads：1316
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-20 11:53:57
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Graham McNeill
  • ISBN：1849707464
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Far from Terra， the XVIth Legion continue in the Great Crusade as the 'Sons of Horus'。 Putting the debacle with the interex behind him， the Warmaster has become more withdrawnas he struggles to deal with the jealousy of his brother primarchs， and increasingly relies on the council of his advisors as he plans each new campaign。 Noble captain Garviel Loken harbours misgivings about the clandestine ways adopted by many of his brethren， but when the Legion is sent to reconquer the moon of Davin， it is clear that Horus has a personal stake in the matter which may have clouded his judgement。 With dark forces rising against them， have the pimarch and his warriors been drawn into a trap？

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Reviews

Matthew Bell ，

Good

Jacob Bennike ，

The narrative and the writing is good， better than Horus Rising （heresy I know）。 The characters and how they communicate though， is so bad。 I know it’s probably hard to write compelling characters in a set setting， but by not simply saying the plainly obvious to each other， they frankly end up with the communication skills of toddlers。 It doesn’t break the book， but it sure means it’s far less that it could have been。

René ，

Captivating！

Hans Gougar ，

I’m a little bit torn on this one， but I’m gonna settle on a solid 3。5 stars。 It was a hit rough following Dan Abnett with this as I don’t think Graham McNeill is quite as good with his dialogue and with his characters。 That being said， the actual events that occurred in this book were great and there was a very haunting ending。 Looking forward to book 3。

Durandir Bonhart ，

After the first book， this continues the real plot and it moves to the right direction。 The prose got better with this author and it was an easy read。On this book the characters have better defined personality and they are very different between them。 You can see how they are slowly turning into something more radical and how they connect things with the current lore of 40k， you can perfectly see the origins。SPOILERS BELOWOne thing that I didn't like much is how easy Horus falls into the traps， After the first book， this continues the real plot and it moves to the right direction。 The prose got better with this author and it was an easy read。On this book the characters have better defined personality and they are very different between them。 You can see how they are slowly turning into something more radical and how they connect things with the current lore of 40k， you can perfectly see the origins。SPOILERS BELOWOne thing that I didn't like much is how easy Horus falls into the traps， for being the Warmaster and how they describe him， he doesn't use any strategy and his decisions are guided by feelings。 This disconnection between how they tells us he is and how he acts， makes me harder to take Horus seriously。 。。。more

Jody Ruth ，

Here's a free tip for you: Go listen to the audiobook version read by Toby Longworth。 He is phenomenal， as is the story！ Here's a free tip for you: Go listen to the audiobook version read by Toby Longworth。 He is phenomenal， as is the story！ 。。。more

Mitchell Davison ，

Huge fanboy of the 40k series。 Cool to get the backstory of the heresy， and not knowing that all the chapters turned at the same time or how that went down or what motivated Horus to turn against the emperor。 And the rise of the emperor as a god-figure。 Can’t imagine it will end well for Garviel Loken and Torgaddon。 Interested to see the fate of Horus， and abaddon rising to the helm of his own Black Legion。

Chris Chester ，

I was a little surprised by the speed with which the metanarrative in this series is moving forward， but it sure does have a lot of momentum to it！False Gods is not written in as nuanced a fashion as Horus Rising nor does it deliver the same visceral pleasures。 But False Gods is less a prequel than its predecessor and it receives additional weight from the monumental events it depicts。This is still complete and total indulgent nerd fluff but I am here for it。

Vampis ，

This book was a wild ride of emotions for me。 When comparing book 1 and 2， I was struck by the differences in tone and plot。 The 1st book was an introduction to the series as a whole and showed with it’s a lighter tone。 The 2nd book is where everything comes unraveled。 The book starts out with Horus arriving at Davon， a primitive planet， at the behest of the world’s Chancellor。 From there， everything spirals into war， chaos， and madness， one step at a time（view spoiler）[ Horus descent into “madn This book was a wild ride of emotions for me。 When comparing book 1 and 2， I was struck by the differences in tone and plot。 The 1st book was an introduction to the series as a whole and showed with it’s a lighter tone。 The 2nd book is where everything comes unraveled。 The book starts out with Horus arriving at Davon， a primitive planet， at the behest of the world’s Chancellor。 From there， everything spirals into war， chaos， and madness， one step at a time（view spoiler）[ Horus descent into “madness” or evil at this case， was foreshadowed throughout the first and second book， but the second is where he truly tips over。 The foreshadowing of calling Horus a “god” over and over was a nice touch。 （hide spoiler）]A few of the themes that was touched on this book – and made one think:1）tWhat do you do with people who are “glory hungry”？ As is Customary with the Crusade， after a world is “Illuminated”， there must be someone there to ensure the world stays that way。 Horus reflects on what he and others will do after the war， yet （view spoiler）[ does not listen to his subordinates when they beg to not be left without glory。 This definitely causes problems， such as the start of the book where Horus arrives on Davon to find out the Chancellor decided to “rebel” （hide spoiler）] So far， no one has any idea what to do with themselves， and so does not think about it， or chases glory every moment they can。2）tIs knowledge power？Horus did not approve of a bodyguard that was turned into a mute by a high class family。 He was perplexed and appalled that something like that could happen to such a great warrior， and especially on the emperor’s home turf， without him （or maybe even the emperor） knowing。 A theme of this series is that knowledge is power… but also knowing what is true vs all the falsehood is just as important。 This might be a small example， but when the seeds of doubt are planted， a lot of destruction can take place。 （view spoiler）[ A more impactful example is Horus learning where he came from… or at least some “truth” of where he came from。 Everything feeds into Horus’ fears of the unknown and a future that doesn’t need him。 He loves the attention given to him and will do anything to be acknowledged – at the expense of himself or his army。 （hide spoiler）]3）tWhat is religion？The book spends a vast amount of time describing religion and hope。 While both are vague concepts that rule actions， there is no arguing with the results。 Religion is shown to be all around and there is no way to stamp it out – because humans （and other beings） will always turn to something else to comfort themselves in dark times。 It’s what is done with the name of Religion that is either good or bad。Hope without religion is very hard to come by， because hope is essentially faith， and faith comes from religion a lot of the time。 While the principle of the crusade is to stop religion， it is proven over and over that people need a reason – or higher purpose/entity – to live。 4）tCan you stick to your principles？（view spoiler）[ In the middle of the book， people are ran over by the Space Marines who are in the process of saving Horus from dying。 After it happened， the Space Marines tried to shrug it off， even though the human’s demanded that the Marines involved face justice/die。 （hide spoiler）] It is even mentioned “If we don’t uphold our principles in the dark times， why should anyone follow us？” It is notable to mention that question is universally asked across all people， places， and events， with mixed results。 The loss of faith in an entity is the first and last nail in the coffin if one wishes to be followed and respected。Themes aside， I enjoyed the book for several reasons。 It was darker and uglier than the first book ever was。 Characters might not be human， but that does not stop them from suffering from human emotions we can all relate to。 （view spoiler）[ The fall of Horus personally made me very distraught， but we all knew it was coming。 He was an extremely likeable character where you could hang all your hopes on… until he wasn’t。 I enjoy the setup of the sword going to Fulgrim。 That was a great way to include him in future stories。 （hide spoiler）]Also， when people are kept in a box and not allowed to explore or make their own decisions， they rebel。 And finally， while there was not as much humor in this book as the last book， this one quote made me happy:When Loken was asked by Vipus when he would know if something bad was going on: “I’m not sure。 Just… bad， you know？” 。。。more

Amaris B ，

These books are fun， silly， and entertaining。 No， they are not high literature， but after reading academic journals all day， I enjoy these for their simplicity and unabashed overthetop space fantasy。 They are brain candy that leave lots to the imagination， and sometimes thats exactly what I want。

David Turko ，

So conflicted between giving this a four star or five star rating。 The problem with this series is that there's a different author for each book。 I believe the first author is a better writer in every aspect。 However the story in this book is way more interesting。 McNeill does a fantastic job for engineering the fall of a central character in the 40k Universe and the payoff was both epic and tragic。 I'm full hooked on this series and I can't wait to read the next one。 So conflicted between giving this a four star or five star rating。 The problem with this series is that there's a different author for each book。 I believe the first author is a better writer in every aspect。 However the story in this book is way more interesting。 McNeill does a fantastic job for engineering the fall of a central character in the 40k Universe and the payoff was both epic and tragic。 I'm full hooked on this series and I can't wait to read the next one。 。。。more

Joshua ，

This book was great it definitely was not a stand alone story and the cliffhanger at the end has a huge weight in the established lore。 Over all a great book there is a lot of emotional and moral dilemmas that the characters go through。

Aidan ，

Great read。 Enjoyed Horus' descent into the darker powers and the dramatic cliffhanger ending was spectacular。 Great read。 Enjoyed Horus' descent into the darker powers and the dramatic cliffhanger ending was spectacular。 。。。more

Panczito ，

Mieszane uczucia。 Każdy kto interesuje się uniwersum wie do czego historia tutaj opisana zmierza jednak sam opis trochę rozczarowuje。 Ja jakby nie kupuje tej całej przemiany głównego antagonisty， brakowało mi motywacji dla niego。 Jego zachowanie przypomina mi trochę zbuntowanego nastolatka i to takiego przygłupiego。 Ja wiem że od czasu pojawienia się tej pozycji dużo rzeczy poszło jednak z jakością do przodu， jednak po genezie takiego konfliktu doprowadzającego do takiego ROZPIERDOLU spodziewałe Mieszane uczucia。 Każdy kto interesuje się uniwersum wie do czego historia tutaj opisana zmierza jednak sam opis trochę rozczarowuje。 Ja jakby nie kupuje tej całej przemiany głównego antagonisty， brakowało mi motywacji dla niego。 Jego zachowanie przypomina mi trochę zbuntowanego nastolatka i to takiego przygłupiego。 Ja wiem że od czasu pojawienia się tej pozycji dużo rzeczy poszło jednak z jakością do przodu， jednak po genezie takiego konfliktu doprowadzającego do takiego ROZPIERDOLU spodziewałem się trochę więcej patosu。 Druga część książki to już emocje jak w scenach z Joffreyem Lannisterem z gry o tron。 Kosmiczni marines są na tyle podli， bez honoru， butni， pyszni， przebiegli że no czytając leci piana z pyska i odruchowo popadasz w drgawki przewracając kolejne strony。 Niewolnicze， skrajne， surrealistyczne， nieludzkie doktryny Astartes tutaj zbierają swoje żniwo。 No nic， wchodzi jak masło。 Dawać kolejne części！！！！ 。。。more

SerpentSlayer ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book kicks off well， continuing the greatness of the first book， the scenes on Davin were brilliant。 My problems with the book is the latter half。 Horus's corruption， the pinnacle point of the whole story， felt rushed and contrived。 After that point the book picks up again and is very good。 This book kicks off well， continuing the greatness of the first book， the scenes on Davin were brilliant。 My problems with the book is the latter half。 Horus's corruption， the pinnacle point of the whole story， felt rushed and contrived。 After that point the book picks up again and is very good。 。。。more

Alex Scharfstein ，

Big E Is blowing it！Shiiiiiiiiit that be wacko crazy mode like no wayyy oh shit I need to have 8 more words for the

Scott Mattson ，

This does continue the story started in the previous volume （Horus Rising） very well， despite being by a different author。 I did enjoy reading more about Lokken and the various Scribes and remembers on the ship。 The action scenes were OK。 There were a lot but， too many of them seemed to be people hearing about the fight， or telling others what happened。 Horus's descent into Heresy was OK， but unpleasent。 There is a Conspiracy happening in the book， maybe in later volumes we will find out what it This does continue the story started in the previous volume （Horus Rising） very well， despite being by a different author。 I did enjoy reading more about Lokken and the various Scribes and remembers on the ship。 The action scenes were OK。 There were a lot but， too many of them seemed to be people hearing about the fight， or telling others what happened。 Horus's descent into Heresy was OK， but unpleasent。 There is a Conspiracy happening in the book， maybe in later volumes we will find out what it is。 。。。more

Chris Mitchell ，

That was great。 Now I just have to make sure I read other books and not power read the Horus Heresy。 Two down Fifty-Four to go？ Not for everyone but so far so good。 The Emperor protects！！

Thom ，

When Horus finally turns， the first real introduction of Chaos into the universe。 I like the insights into Horus’ mind as he slowly descends into turning on the Emperor， though I think it would’ve benefited from being split over several books （in a series with THIS MANY books， that’s saying something）。

Alex ，

This was an utter disaster of a book。 Characters: 1。5/5 i thought they were just okay， and borderline badWorld: 2/5 okayStory: 1/5 I disliked itCharacters:The characters were shallow and meaningless。 For example the first character you meet is some meaningless remembrancer that only serves as a bad window into Horus' thoughts。The character development is shallow， and tells not shows。 This whole thing is really supposed to be about Horus， but the character is very badly done。 He is supposed to be This was an utter disaster of a book。 Characters: 1。5/5 i thought they were just okay， and borderline badWorld: 2/5 okayStory: 1/5 I disliked itCharacters:The characters were shallow and meaningless。 For example the first character you meet is some meaningless remembrancer that only serves as a bad window into Horus' thoughts。The character development is shallow， and tells not shows。 This whole thing is really supposed to be about Horus， but the character is very badly done。 He is supposed to be great and awesome， but you only sense that through other peoples' reactions to him。 He is supposed to be descending into madness， but you only get a sense of that through blips of text from his mouth， where he says "yeah， i should be in charge of everythin lmao。" The character development of the main character from the last book seems to drop off a cliff。 Last book he was questioning the system， and really changing， but this time it is just another drummed up 'save everything， expose evil' quest that has little change。Other characters' "development" is similarly lacklustre。 For example， the aforementioned remembrancer lady is supposed to become less hopeful and very despondent and disillusioned with her heroes。 However， the only way that that is portrayed in the book is in a scene where she's drinking a lot and complaining about how disillusioned she is to other people。World:This book is mostly about the charactersStory:the story is very annoying to read。 The author uses many references to evil happenings to show the reader very explicitly that bad things are going to happen。 That is telling， not showing。 During the entire T of the book it is very unclear what the extent of the bad stuff is and why the heck it is happening in the 1st place， beyond“mysterious evil”。 This leads to an unenjoyable read where we spend more time wondering what the heck is going on and why rather than enjoying and immersing ourselves in the story。Overall the entire story suffers from a lack of purpose and the tell don't show problem。 。。。more

Kevin ，

i guess i’m going these now。。。

Paul Sánchez Keighley ，

RTC

Tim ，

Very good sequel Very good second book。 Helps to set the tone for the rest of it。 Can’t wait to start book 3。

Juli ，

I was there the day that Horus fell。。。。。False Gods is the second book in the Horus Heresy series。 Warmaster Horus and the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet continue the quest to bring the galaxy under control of the Emperor。 A world formerly brought into compliance has seemingly rebelled， so the Sons of Horus prepare to squash rebels， only to bring about a course of events that will bring about the great heresy。 I loved this book！ Lots of great fighting action， nurgle-ly undead fun and the beginnings of I was there the day that Horus fell。。。。。False Gods is the second book in the Horus Heresy series。 Warmaster Horus and the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet continue the quest to bring the galaxy under control of the Emperor。 A world formerly brought into compliance has seemingly rebelled， so the Sons of Horus prepare to squash rebels， only to bring about a course of events that will bring about the great heresy。 I loved this book！ Lots of great fighting action， nurgle-ly undead fun and the beginnings of the slide into chaos。 Fun times！ From 40K lore I knew what was coming。。。。but there was so much action， emotion and great story along the way。 Some events I did not expect and a couple characters got what I felt they deserved。 Several， of course， got what they did not deserve -- it is the 40K world after all。 I listened to the audio book version of this story。 Toby Longworth is a great narrator！ He did a wonderful job of bringing the story to life。 The audio is just over 11 hours long。 My son listened to the book as well and we had a great time discussing events as they unfolded。 There are interesting differences between book one， Horus Rising， and this second book。 Mostly because they were written by different authors。 I like it when a series changes out writers like this -- it makes each story just that little bit different even if the characters are the same。 The writing in Horus Rising got more atmospheric and almost poetical at times。 That story built the legend of the Warmaster。 This second book is more gritty and bloody， more action oriented。 The more in-your-face style works better for this second story， as it shows the violence inherent in the quest to bring a galaxy into compliance one planet at a time。 And， to show the beginnings of disintegration and descent into the heresy。 Great book！ Moving on to the next -- Galaxy in Flames。 。。。more

Ian Drew ，

Bad dialogue that mismatches the characters aside， I was actually surprised to find myself excited to see what happened next。

Siobhan Harmer ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Horus， honey， have you ever heard the phrase: “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”？ Or， for that matter， “don’t stick your whole entire brain in crazy”？

Ryan King ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 There was a moment when I put this book down grinning like an idiot and exclaiming aloud at the brilliance of the thing。 The first 3/4 of this book is an interweaving chronicle of compelling narratives。 I generally don’t enjoy jumping between different character perspectives but McNeill did an excellent job retaining excitement and tension。 3/4 of the way through the book I would give it a solid 5 stars but the turning point in Horus’s character threw me off。 It felt too sudden for him to flip t There was a moment when I put this book down grinning like an idiot and exclaiming aloud at the brilliance of the thing。 The first 3/4 of this book is an interweaving chronicle of compelling narratives。 I generally don’t enjoy jumping between different character perspectives but McNeill did an excellent job retaining excitement and tension。 3/4 of the way through the book I would give it a solid 5 stars but the turning point in Horus’s character threw me off。 It felt too sudden for him to flip to Chaos。 We started witnessing chinks in his armor， slowly and carefully placed， giving you the notion of possible redemption。 Maybe Horus’ pull into Chaos could be deemed good; a tragic hero forced to make the difficult decision but ultimately he succumbs to true evil。 This book sees him flip like a yin-yang pancake。The very set up where Horus rashly chooses to attack the traitors on the moon was too obvious; the Warmaster being far too rash to what we experienced of him in Book 1。 Uncharacteristically bad decisions led him to getting stabbed by a strangely enchanted blade （still not fully explained how it works and how it got in Temba’s hands） and being rendered near death。 The dismay and fear the space marines feel could have been better written because it moves too fast （the butcher people in fearful haste， yes， but let’s sit in that）。 Then Horus is taken to the temple on Davin。The sheer EVIL he becomes post-Davin is disappointing and uncharacteristic。 The complete betrayal of the emperor， manipulation of his brothers and soldiers， and ruthless killing of innocents is too much。 I wanted to cheer for him as he descended into darkness， but I can’t rationalize it。 It’s too much too fast。 I think McNeill had an incredible undertaking in writing the book that saw Horus， right-hand charismatic fatherly kind War-master， become an evil usurping warmonger。 I feel another book would have helped get Horus to his Darth Vader state。。。Nonetheless， I enjoyed the ride and will read the next one。 。。。more

Zubeyir Aslan ，

Erebus， I thought I couldn't hate a fictional character。 I was so wrong。 Erebus， I thought I couldn't hate a fictional character。 I was so wrong。 。。。more

Anthony O'Connor ，

Wonderfully gloomy， occasionally （unintentionally？） camp， utterly absorbing grimdark space nonsense that tickles all the right buttons for me on lazy days spent on couches and in hammocks。 It's also quite deftly written and vivid。 Glorious stuff when you're in the mood for it。 Wonderfully gloomy， occasionally （unintentionally？） camp， utterly absorbing grimdark space nonsense that tickles all the right buttons for me on lazy days spent on couches and in hammocks。 It's also quite deftly written and vivid。 Glorious stuff when you're in the mood for it。 。。。more

J。P。 Harker ，

Not sure if it quite matches the first book， but still a very good read

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=False Gods

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=False Gods&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,False Gods&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0