Science Fiction

Horus Rising

Horus Rising

  • Downloads：6804
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-26 08:55:41
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Dan Abnett
  • ISBN：184970743X
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

Re-release of the mass market edition of the first novel in the best selling Horus Heresy series

Under the benevolent leadership of the Immortal Emperor the Imperium of Man has stretched out across the galaxy。 On the eve of victory， the Emperor leaves the front lines， entrusting the great crusade to his favorite son， Horus。 Promoted to Warmaster， the idealistic Horus tries to carry out the Emperor'sgrand design， all the while the seeds of heresy and rebellion have been sowed amongst his brothers。

Download

Reviews

Bogdan Balostin ，

If all the Warhammer 40K books were like this。。。 *sigh in Cthonic*Amazing SF Fantasy book that deals with a few important topics and less on battles， even though it's about a great military campaign of uniting humankind in the cosmos。 I know if you start this without ever heard of Warhammer 40K maybe your expectations will be quite low， but let me assure you this is high-quality fiction right here， with lots of hints and subtle world-building and character development。It helps if you know a few If all the Warhammer 40K books were like this。。。 *sigh in Cthonic*Amazing SF Fantasy book that deals with a few important topics and less on battles， even though it's about a great military campaign of uniting humankind in the cosmos。 I know if you start this without ever heard of Warhammer 40K maybe your expectations will be quite low， but let me assure you this is high-quality fiction right here， with lots of hints and subtle world-building and character development。It helps if you know a few things about Warhammer 40K lore， as you will appreciate more the scope of this one singular novel。 Even if you don't， this is a fantastic place to start。 Most of these novels indeed tend to focus on combat which I personally hate。 Some fans would ask then why am I reading military SF if I hate combat scenes。 My reply is that the lore and world history is very interesting， the politics of Warhammer， the naivety of humankind who think are the good guys， are way more interesting than the battles。And then， it's the symbolism in this book， the tragedy of replacing one god with another， and the foreshadowing of the fall; as you can see， it's a literary complex novel that could have been longer。 I'm not sure how the series will continue with other authors。 。。。more

Kate ，

Even if you don’t play Warhammer 40k， （which， by the way， you should） this is a great fantasy book。 A futuristic human society， 30 thousand years into the future， made up of humans and their god like， genetically engineered military protectors， the Astartes， set out to bring all the human worlds together under the singular vision of the one true Emperor。 All human worlds must acquiesce and join the Empire or face invasion。 Aliens， Xenos， are enemies。 The only good Xenos is a dead Xenos。 There is Even if you don’t play Warhammer 40k， （which， by the way， you should） this is a great fantasy book。 A futuristic human society， 30 thousand years into the future， made up of humans and their god like， genetically engineered military protectors， the Astartes， set out to bring all the human worlds together under the singular vision of the one true Emperor。 All human worlds must acquiesce and join the Empire or face invasion。 Aliens， Xenos， are enemies。 The only good Xenos is a dead Xenos。 There is， black and there is white and in the eyes of the Emperor， it seems， there is no grey。 Into this steps Horus， one of the genetically engineered direct descendants of the Emperor himself。 Horus is named Warmaster and is put in charge of the armies， the world conquering expeditionary forces。 He must manage complex political and tactical situations， carrying out the Emperors mission to conqueror the galaxy with unwavering zeal。 But war IS more complex than right and wrong and cracks begin to show in Horus’ conviction。 Can Horus continue to carry out the Emperors messianic mission or will he become a heretic and start to wonder if there might be another way？ This is the first book in the Horus Heresy series。 The book is laid out in novella sized， interlinked stories， most delivered from the point of view of Loken an Astartes warrior under Horus’ direct command。 The book shows a mastery of its subject matter as well as allowing deep philosophical and moral questions about war to be explored。 This book is an excellent introduction to the lore of Warhammer 40k， but would be a fantastic read for those who enjoy fantasy or lowbrow sci-fi generally。 。。。more

Ben Wright ，

This was an excellent first book in a series。Gavriel Loken was an excellent POV to show us the beginning on the end of the Lunar wolves。 It was interesting finally seeing Horus in the flesh， and it was nice to see the good charismatic leader before his eventual decline into chaos。 My main issue I had was this didn’t feel like a full story， so be prepared to want to immediately pick up book 2

Spyros ，

What I was expecting: Blood and gore， over the top violence， cheesy dialogues and walking churches。 What I got: Sophisticated narrative， complicated characters， literary merit， morality-building passages， witty quotes， philosiohical questions about the nature of divinity， honesty， honor， botherhood， allegiance。。。 and blood and gore。For what it is， it's a 6/5。 The only science-fantasy （it is absolutely not sci-fi） novel I've truly enjoyed。 This is high thumos material though。 Probably not for eve What I was expecting: Blood and gore， over the top violence， cheesy dialogues and walking churches。 What I got: Sophisticated narrative， complicated characters， literary merit， morality-building passages， witty quotes， philosiohical questions about the nature of divinity， honesty， honor， botherhood， allegiance。。。 and blood and gore。For what it is， it's a 6/5。 The only science-fantasy （it is absolutely not sci-fi） novel I've truly enjoyed。 This is high thumos material though。 Probably not for everyone。 Especially these days。“Warriors always seek the brotherhood of their kind。” 。。。more

Yuli ，

So my first two star review。 I must say i dont take any pleasure in this as i really wanted to enjoy this read。 The book is just bad， no way to sugar coat it。 It has a interesting idea behind it and thats it。 I always have been a warhammer fan and i am a big scifi fan so i started reading Horus rising expecting it would be somewhat simple but i did not expect to be so dumb。 Alas the books fails at all it atempts。 Outside the general premise of a space opera everthing about its presentation is du So my first two star review。 I must say i dont take any pleasure in this as i really wanted to enjoy this read。 The book is just bad， no way to sugar coat it。 It has a interesting idea behind it and thats it。 I always have been a warhammer fan and i am a big scifi fan so i started reading Horus rising expecting it would be somewhat simple but i did not expect to be so dumb。 Alas the books fails at all it atempts。 Outside the general premise of a space opera everthing about its presentation is dumb。 The thoughts of the charaters are dumb。 Their decisions are dumb。 The military aspects are dumb。 The author is so void of skill that he even fails to describe the scenenography。 I would not recomend this to any scifi fan as it is just too low quality to enjoy even if you are a fan of the warhammer universe as myself。 If you are a young and unexperienced reader tempted to try this because of the games please heed my warning and pick up one of the classiscs。 。。。more

Starkjul ，

Epic story of the darkest possible timeline of human future and expansion into the stars

Stefan Vrhovac ，

This was my introduction to Warhammer 40k （more like 30k amirite？） and I am in love。 I read an listened along to the audible audiobook narrated by Toby Longworth， who has an AMAZING voice and is now how I will imagine all Astartes to sound like。 Instantly ordered a couple of more Horus Heresy books and after finishing this review I'll instantly use a credit on audible to get False Gods and read along to it。 Off I go！！ This was my introduction to Warhammer 40k （more like 30k amirite？） and I am in love。 I read an listened along to the audible audiobook narrated by Toby Longworth， who has an AMAZING voice and is now how I will imagine all Astartes to sound like。 Instantly ordered a couple of more Horus Heresy books and after finishing this review I'll instantly use a credit on audible to get False Gods and read along to it。 Off I go！！ 。。。more

Michael ，

Not half bad for military science fiction。3，5 stars

Alexander W ，

An AMAZING start and introduction to the franchise and main lore of the Warhammer 40k Universe

Marcelo Troysi ，

"The stars are mankind's birthright。 That's what he told me。 That's one of the first things he told me when we met。 I was like a child then， raised up from nothing。 He set me at his side， and pointed to the heavens。 Those points of light， he said， are what we have been waiting generations to master。 Imagine， Horus， every one a human culture， every one a realm of beauty and magnificence，free from strife， free from war， free from bloodshed and the tyrannous oppression of alien overlords。 Make no m "The stars are mankind's birthright。 That's what he told me。 That's one of the first things he told me when we met。 I was like a child then， raised up from nothing。 He set me at his side， and pointed to the heavens。 Those points of light， he said， are what we have been waiting generations to master。 Imagine， Horus， every one a human culture， every one a realm of beauty and magnificence，free from strife， free from war， free from bloodshed and the tyrannous oppression of alien overlords。 Make no mistake， he said， and they will be ours。"I was expecting just some super huge buffed dudes in armor killing some aliens。 The book has a lot of that， nevertheless， it is a very intelligent story with some interesting philosophical ideas about what draws humans for religion， prejudice， xenophobia， imperialism and the cultural destruction of the colonized。 However， halfway trough the story， some WEIRD FUCKED UP SHIT starts to happen and I loved！！！ 。。。more

Vigneswara Prabhu ，

The first entry into the much acclaimed Horus Heresy Series of Novels， Horus Rising doesn't disappoint。 From the onset we are introduced to Garviel Loken， the stoic， level headed and thoughtful captain of the Luna wolves， VII th company， who holds an inquisitive mind and hidden well of compassion and unshaking belief in the Emperor's Crusade for Humanity。Set sometime after the Ullanor Crusade， which saw the Luna Wolves Primarch Horus Lupercal elevated to the position of 'War master'， second in i The first entry into the much acclaimed Horus Heresy Series of Novels， Horus Rising doesn't disappoint。 From the onset we are introduced to Garviel Loken， the stoic， level headed and thoughtful captain of the Luna wolves， VII th company， who holds an inquisitive mind and hidden well of compassion and unshaking belief in the Emperor's Crusade for Humanity。Set sometime after the Ullanor Crusade， which saw the Luna Wolves Primarch Horus Lupercal elevated to the position of 'War master'， second in influence only to the Emperor himself。 The tale follows Garviel， and other members of the Space marines Legions， as well as the non-Astartes complement of the Crusade encountering and belligerents， some not always apparent。Abnett's writing is dripping with Foreshadowing， Irony & Lamp shading and such delicious lines as ‘I WAS THERE，’ he would say afterwards， until afterwards became a time quite devoid of laughter。 ‘I was there， the day Horus slew the Emperor。’ It was a delicious conceit， and his comrades would chuckle at the sheer treason of it。 AndFor， as Sedirae had once said， ‘The only thing that can beat an Astartes is another Astartes’， and they had all laughed at that。 The impossible was nothing to be scared of。 Or even， my personal favorite，‘Thank you，’ she said。 ‘I’ve found strength。 I’ve found—’ For a moment， Loken was certain she had been about to say ‘faith’。 ‘What？’ ‘Trust。 Trust in the Imperium。 In the Emperor。 In you。’ ‘In me？’ ‘Not you， personally。 In the Astartes， in the Imperial army， in every branch of mankind’s warrior force that is dedicated to the protection of us mere mortals。’ She took a sip and sniggered。 ‘The Emperor， you see， protects。’ （Dun， dun dun） The interactions between Loken， and several human crew members such as Sinderman， Keeler， Mersadie are wrought with clashing ideologies， beliefs and reveals a more human side of the genetic engineered killing machines。 So are engaging the sections involving Saul Tarvitz of the Emperor's children。 The most surprising， and perhaps a little disturbing is who the man chosen as the Emperor's War master was; before he was twisted and mutated beyond reason by the ruinous powers of chaos。 Horus Lupercal was a charismatic leader and father Primarch to his men， who cared for their lives， as well as those of humanity。 Through brilliant intellect， politics and a smile that can make friends out of worse enemies he was forefront in realizing the Emperor's vision， and the duty that was bestowed upon him。But the chinks are there; traces of doubt， unease and frustrations at the general indifference shown by the Emperor by abruptly withdrawing from the Crusade。 And how his need for secrecy， even from his sons hurt their trust。 For his world， Abnett creates a litany of new Xenos as well as estranged human civilizations who have diverged and evolved in unique ways following the events of the Age of Strife。 The inhabitants of the planet designated '6319'， who are a dark mirror into the current imperium， complete with their own version of the 'Imperium of Mankind'， complete with an 'Emperor of Mankind'。 As well as the advanced human splinter civilization of Hellenistic themed， Interex。In the background， you can see the seeds of Heresy and chaos corruption slowly gnawing at the golden Aquila of the Emperor。 Even when you know how things are going to end up in a galactic scale dumpster fire， you can't help but wish thinking， 'What if？'。 It's like seeing a car drive off the cliff and not being able to do anything about it。 Finally it need not be particularly said but， Erebus was a F*****g A**hole。 。。。more

Juhana Karlsson ，

Having played the Warhammer 40k tabletop game （2nd and 3rd editions） as a teenager， and continuing to play several pc games in the WH40k universe today， I decided to give this a try。I was quite skeptical about this "military sci-fi" novel， but it turned out to be extremely well written and highly entertaining。 The battle scenes are as over-the-top and manly as they should be， but what surprised me was the depth of dialogue and character development。 Dan Abnett does so good job describing the dar Having played the Warhammer 40k tabletop game （2nd and 3rd editions） as a teenager， and continuing to play several pc games in the WH40k universe today， I decided to give this a try。I was quite skeptical about this "military sci-fi" novel， but it turned out to be extremely well written and highly entertaining。 The battle scenes are as over-the-top and manly as they should be， but what surprised me was the depth of dialogue and character development。 Dan Abnett does so good job describing the dark and violent setting of the far future， that I almost felt as if I was "there"。As this series consists of 50+ books， I'll probably never read/listen to them all， but at least a couple more for sure。 。。。more

Tanya McGrath ，

The first Warhammer book I have read。 At first I thought it was ok but nothing special。 How wrong I was。 Gripped from the end of chapter 6 onwards after the conversation between Dorn and Loken revealing that Horus was indeed a complex individual and thus the plot and characters were not the 2d bore I thought they would be。

Zak ，

Fuck Erebus

Matthew Bell ，

Good

Reiner Rubin ，

To be honest， before starting this book my expectations were kinda low。 I was expecting a trashy yet fun space opera。 Instead， I got an existential crisis and very good prose。It’s a good book with morally ambiguous characters and an intriguing story， especially if you’re not familiar with the WH40K。 If I wanted to introduce a friend to this universe I’d suggest them to read this！

F。 William Davis ，

This was fantastic！ It is flavoured by the brutality of the battles being waged， but the focus is much more about the characters， their beliefs and ultimately the politics of the empire。 The characters feel very real as they struggle with their devotion to the Emperor while trying to work out what it is they actually believe in。 The warp is not well known or understood at this point in time， it appears。Loken is an easily likeable character， with his earnest nature and his thirst for truth and tr This was fantastic！ It is flavoured by the brutality of the battles being waged， but the focus is much more about the characters， their beliefs and ultimately the politics of the empire。 The characters feel very real as they struggle with their devotion to the Emperor while trying to work out what it is they actually believe in。 The warp is not well known or understood at this point in time， it appears。Loken is an easily likeable character， with his earnest nature and his thirst for truth and transparency。 I also really liked Horus， he's not a typical irate & vengeful Warmaster。I was desperately confused at the very start。 I just couldn't get what was going on with the "imposter" or "emperor" and going back over the paragraphs wasn't helping。 I actually started to grasp what had happened after plowing blindly on ahead， but I still don't really know if I've nailed it。 Having asked Google several times "where should a 40k noob start reading？" I have noticed there is some disagreement about whether to start with The Horus Heresy or whether to save it until after you're well versed in 40k lore because it is only backstory， based on 30k events。 As a noob who didn't start with Horus Heresy I'll add my two cents， that I wish I had started here。 I'd only read the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies and although I enjoyed them both I really think that having this background would have helped to understand the deal with the God Emperor a whole lot better。 The real reason I didn't start here is that 50ish books in a series is daunting， but I'm glad now that I have started。 。。。more

Durandir Bonhart ，

I finally decided to jump in the books of WH 40k with the Horus Heresy。 I was worried the quality wouldn't be good， but it ended being an excellent experience。The beginning of the book was a bit confusing， the author struggled to make smooth jumps between different scenes and time jumps。 It's also hard to differenciate most of the Lunar Wolves characters， they are very similar except Lorkar and Torgaddon。Later on the writing doesn't get any better but the plot carries it。 The story gets interest I finally decided to jump in the books of WH 40k with the Horus Heresy。 I was worried the quality wouldn't be good， but it ended being an excellent experience。The beginning of the book was a bit confusing， the author struggled to make smooth jumps between different scenes and time jumps。 It's also hard to differenciate most of the Lunar Wolves characters， they are very similar except Lorkar and Torgaddon。Later on the writing doesn't get any better but the plot carries it。 The story gets interesting and you just want to read the next one。 。。。more

Paul-Luuk Profijt ，

I gave this a shot due to it's high ratings， but was worried that it was a bad book hyped by 40k players。 The truth is somewhere in between: it does have a few honestly interesting characters， though many others fall flat。 The storyline is vague and the method of jumping back and forth through time is frustrating。The start especially is very cringy， with lines like "the Astartes are large in any way a man can be measured to be large"。 But after the first third of the book， it does get better。 Th I gave this a shot due to it's high ratings， but was worried that it was a bad book hyped by 40k players。 The truth is somewhere in between: it does have a few honestly interesting characters， though many others fall flat。 The storyline is vague and the method of jumping back and forth through time is frustrating。The start especially is very cringy， with lines like "the Astartes are large in any way a man can be measured to be large"。 But after the first third of the book， it does get better。 The final third was honestly quite interesting。 。。。more

Deryk Allan ，

A superb start to an excellent series。

Sam ，

If it was not for help from 2 friends drip feeding me info and lore and teaching me that every single name in this damn book is important I think I would've been lost， but as my first dip into what I'm calling deep Sci fi that was pretty expected。Regardless， this was a super read， far better than anything I'd expected from it， this book had been shelved for years and I'm glad to have finally read it。Mad that there's 50+ more though。。。 If it was not for help from 2 friends drip feeding me info and lore and teaching me that every single name in this damn book is important I think I would've been lost， but as my first dip into what I'm calling deep Sci fi that was pretty expected。Regardless， this was a super read， far better than anything I'd expected from it， this book had been shelved for years and I'm glad to have finally read it。Mad that there's 50+ more though。。。 。。。more

Hans Gougar ，

Liked this more than I expected by a LOT。 Great characters， great action， intriguing plot。 Well worth a read。

James Gamble ，

I've been reading Warhammer 40k lore for some time now and finally decided that I should dive into the novels。 Oh， mah， gawd， I love this book。 It does such a great job at introducing characters， the scenario， and just the epicness that is the Warhammer 40k universe。 Usually I try to limit myself to so many pages of reading per day as to not spend an entire day reading。 With Horus Rising， I broke my rule quite often and would read way more than my allotted time。Loken is a great character and the I've been reading Warhammer 40k lore for some time now and finally decided that I should dive into the novels。 Oh， mah， gawd， I love this book。 It does such a great job at introducing characters， the scenario， and just the epicness that is the Warhammer 40k universe。 Usually I try to limit myself to so many pages of reading per day as to not spend an entire day reading。 With Horus Rising， I broke my rule quite often and would read way more than my allotted time。Loken is a great character and the author took pains to ensure that Loken， while， somewhat flawed， is set apart from his fellow Astartes。 He has admirable qualities， but at times seems to be a little out of the loop as to what other character's thoughts and feelings are。 However， as the book continues， he begins to question things as they are， learning more about himself in the process。If you want to jump into Warhammer 40k lore， this is the book to start with。 I'm already done with book #2 （review coming soon） and can't wait to start book #3。 。。。more

Alejandro Galicia ，

Me ha sorprendido muy gratamente este libro。 No esperaba gran cosa y me he encontrado una historia interesante con matices en su trama y personajes que no vi venir en un principio。 La narrativa de San Abnett puede resultar extraña y lenta en un principio pero esto se soluciona cuando la trama se torna mas interesante。 En un principio no tenía intención， pero seguramente me lea el siguiente en algún momento。

Kieran Delaney ，

Pretty good， fairly standard fare but the foreshadowing of events to come was very well done which gave it an extra star for me。

Mitchell Davison ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Really enjoyed this book， lots of foreshadowing to the cataclysmic fall of space marines， eventually fighting brother against brother。 None of that in this book， but the emperor is growing as a diety and not mere mortal any longer。 Erebus first chaplain of the word bearers really sewered everyone here with his stealing of the relic。 Interesting to see long “chaos” chapters fighting alongside “loyal” ones。 Always enjoyed dan abnett， interested to see how the fall of Horus is portrayed in the book Really enjoyed this book， lots of foreshadowing to the cataclysmic fall of space marines， eventually fighting brother against brother。 None of that in this book， but the emperor is growing as a diety and not mere mortal any longer。 Erebus first chaplain of the word bearers really sewered everyone here with his stealing of the relic。 Interesting to see long “chaos” chapters fighting alongside “loyal” ones。 Always enjoyed dan abnett， interested to see how the fall of Horus is portrayed in the books。 On to the next one。 。。。more

Chris Dilts ，

Blazing testosterone-fest in the spirit of the film 300 but in space with guns。 While I do enjoy Warhammer and the lore behind the Games Workshop universe， this story did not pique my interests as much as I thought it would。 Some more robust influence of Lovecraftian cosmic horror might do this IP some good， as the super-macho Heinlein-without-political-satire does not really do it for me。If you are looking for a simple story about your favorite WH40k characters then this is for you， otherwise， Blazing testosterone-fest in the spirit of the film 300 but in space with guns。 While I do enjoy Warhammer and the lore behind the Games Workshop universe， this story did not pique my interests as much as I thought it would。 Some more robust influence of Lovecraftian cosmic horror might do this IP some good， as the super-macho Heinlein-without-political-satire does not really do it for me。If you are looking for a simple story about your favorite WH40k characters then this is for you， otherwise， there are about 40k other books that tell a more engaging story and I'd recommend reading those first。 。。。more

Joshua ，

This book is an amazing way to get into the lore or Warhammer。 At points it referred to other thing in the lore that you feel like you should have known already but I think it’s an amazing audio book。

Florent ，

7，5/10

Nicholas Gravel ，

A great introduction to the Horus Heresy。 Before this， I wasn't aware of what a Primarch was。 I could care less about the game but the first three Heresy novels were really top-notch。 A great introduction to the Horus Heresy。 Before this， I wasn't aware of what a Primarch was。 I could care less about the game but the first three Heresy novels were really top-notch。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Horus Rising

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

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