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Horus Rising (Horus Heresy) | 
 enlarge | Author: Dan Abnett
Publisher: Black Library
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy New: £1.53
You Save: £5.46 (78%)
New (34) Used (13) from £1.52
Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 1627
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 416
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 3.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 184416294X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781844162949
ASIN: 184416294X
Publication Date: April 20, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Please read this review if you aren't a W40K addict December 19, 2007
J. Duducu (Ruislip)
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
The problem with reader reviews on Amazon is almost every book ends up being a 4 or 5 star must read because the fans write the reviews. This doesn't tell you how the book really compares to other works. Let's face it we all know that most books produced are not 5 star masterpeices of art. So let me try and add some balance.
The writing is good and it is at times thought provoking, there is more here than blood and thunder. However the biggest flaw is the story telling. I got sucked into this series apparently without end so I am hoping you may be forewarned unlike me.
This is a first of a trilogy which by the end sets up the Horus Heresy. 3 books to get to the start of the story. Now what happens is interesting but that over a 1,200 pages to start a tale, that's longer than war and peace! So there is a LOT of filler here. For example at times you read several pages from the book the character is reading, is that necessary? There is a side story on a world called murder which admittedly does introduce new characters but is backstory turned into 100 pages. Indeed most of this book is background.
The real annoyance is the painfully slow progress of the story over 3 books. Just when you think the story may actually get out of 1st gear books 4 and 5 actually go back in time to cover many of the same events from a different perspective. It's a story line that seems to be going nowhere and yet I was first drawn to the books because I know what will happen at the end and at that will be a great book but I maybe an old man before they actually get that far!
So ignore the fan boy stuff. If you want to try some games workshop fantasy there are one off books to try but this is an over ambitious and badly thought through project to see how many books they can stretch the old "rise and fall" story for as long as they possibly can. If the whole thing had been condensed into 1 trilogy then this could have been something special as it is it is for hardcore W40Kers only who obviously don't mind spending a fair amount of cash on mediocre books.
Mediocre genre writing November 8, 2007
Mat Bettinson (Chichester, UK)
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
Looking at this from the point of view of someone who doesn't normally read commissioned genre books, I thought I'd give the Horus series a go since it seemed to get good reviews. Horus Rising is by no means terrible, but it utterly lacks in story telling or character. The author is a practitioner of writing in a professional sense but doesn't seem fully vested within it.
Vaugely familiar with Warhammer 40K I can only imagine how a true fan would approach this with every single paragraph essentially just ramming home the same tired themes. I grew tired of it quickly and longed for something else. The greatest crime, however, is the almost complete lack of story. This meanders gently, using up word after word, page after page telling you the same thing about the same characters over and over.
The combat sequences are few and far between and they're not terribly inspired anyway. I had little of the sense of majesty that the author was trying to portray by the repeated statement of W40K doctrine. I can't really see how after reading this novel I'd rest the rest. Other writers also offer this meandering style which has you fear no significant story will ever be told also, but then you'll enjoy the writing and care for the characters. Horus Rising is two dimensional, dull and lacks a plot unless you care to subject yourself, presumably, to the full six-book series. I do not.
To say there's better sci-fi authors out there would be putting it mildly. Do yourself a favor and read some classics you've missed before getting into this genre trash.
A greate begining October 20, 2007
Daniel J. Burns (North West)
Ok as you will have guessed this is pre-heresy when horus is a good guy (shocking I know!). It brings the characters into the story fluently and portrays their personalities well, or indroduces them well.
The book has sinister plots and more than just Space Marines to enjoy e.g. the remembrancers, Imp. Guard, etc, as the first volume makes an impact. Almost entitirely a good read!
Ok why the missing star? Well simply because it is boaring for a large chunk of the book. After the first chapter or so it becomes painfully slow and uninteresting. That said after the boaring chapters comes a fantastic book starting with the Emperor's Children suicide mission.
Over all a very good book, mostly not too slow while still describing events, objects etc with adequate detail. 4 and a half stars!
 Nobility and the seeds of corruption October 5, 2007
Jeremy Daw (Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom)
I'm relatively new to the Warhammer 40K universe, having read (and, it must be said, thoroughly enjoyed) a handful of novels by writers like Ben Counter, James Swallow and, of course, Dan Abnett. In that respect, I expected the impact of this novel, which describes the beginning of perhaps the pivotal event in the 40K universe, to be diminished. Without really understanding who Horus is in relation to the 'present' of the 40K universe, how could it not be?
Well, it's a testament to the powers of the author that such considerations as prior knowledge really matter very little. You could be entirely ignorant of the 40K milieu and still be pulled inexorably into a very involving, engrossing and epic story.
This is very much a foundational text for the series that follows it. The nature of 30K Space Marines is explored in great detail. Their emphasis on brotherhood, honour and a resolute secularism (this in deliberate ironic contrast to the Emperor-worship that is a hallmark of the 40K setting) is established in considered, intelligent prose and the characters of Abaddon, Loken and Horus himself are all well-delineated. What is clear from this novel is that being a Space Marine is not just about superhuman strength and stamina and a breath-taking expertise with weapons. It's also about a philosophy and a sense of belonging. The seeds of the Heresy are certainly here and they are found as much in the pride of the Legions themselves as they are in the corrupting touch of the Warp.
This isn't to say that the novel is one big philosophical treatise. There's plenty of action, as well as talk, and anyone who's read much of Abnett's work will know that he writes action incredibly well. Here, his writing is breathtakingly precise and clear - and terribly exciting. He makes much of the Astartes' size, strength and speed, continually reminding the reader of the superhuman nature of the Space Marines in ways that are simply awe-evoking.
Although the Space Marines (particularly the Luna Wolves) are, quite sensibly, centre stage, the more human characters that populate the novel - such as the iterator Sindermann and the remembrancer Euphrati Keeler - are also written very well. Abnett uses them as an effective contrast with the Astartes, highlighting the Space Marines' courage and martial skill, while also illustrating that they are at least one step removed from humanity as we would understand it.
Finally, there is Chaos. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but its presence in this novel is handled very well indeed, as, for that matter, is its explanation.
On the whole then, an excellent start to the series - one that brings the more hopeful and ordered world of the 31st millennium to life and populates it with believable characters - even the ones that act and talk like little gods. I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of this series develops.
The Begining of the End - Horus Rising July 6, 2007
Kyle White (Scotland, UK)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Im a fan of Dan Abnett and was curious about the world of warhammer 30k compares with the grim darkness of 40k these are the 2 reason i bought this book and it was great i had to order the sequels straight after reading this.
The quality of everthing is amazing the imperium is just begging and there is hope everywhere, what is missing from 40k boooks is the majesty of worlds and everything is new instead of feeling everything is old and broken contrasts with the darkness of 40k
The book takes on the Great crusade where the Emperor of mankind sent his greatest warrior the Adeptus Astartes - the Space Marines to find and bring under control all the lost human colonies that were lost when great warpstorms stopped the ability to navigate in the warp therefore taking thousands of years to get anywhere
The book is from the point of Garviel Loken Captain of 10h Company of the Luna Wolves Legion and his legendary primarch Horus who recieved the new title of Warmaster and has to come to terms with his responsibilities.
A MUST READ FOR ANY FAN OF WARHAMMER 40000
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