Horus Rising (Volume 1) (The Horus Heresy) [Paperback] Abnett, Dan Paperback – 28 Aug. 2014

I'm over 50, and I've only ever played a few dozen games of Warhammer in my entire life, and all those games were in the late 80's when I was gifted 'space hulk' for a birthday. The game was lost in a house move a couple of years later, and that was that!What I'm getting at is I'm no gamer and I've not attempted to paint a miniature since my Genestealers and Blood Angels from 'Space Hulk' were physically assaulted by my paint brush as a teenager.However, what I do like is science fiction, both film and novels, especially when a great deal of time, thought and effort has been invested in the lore around that particular universe, e.g. Star-trek and Warhammer 40K.I'd been looking for something to read recently as I'd been off work with an injured back and I came across the HH set of books online. I did about 60 mins of wiki reading to get the bare bones and thought I'd give the first book a go.You know you're onto a winner when you sit up waaay past bed time, saying "one more paragraph, ok just this chapter" 4 nights in a row. Yep....4 days and I'm a slow reader who likes to keep checking the index to keep up with who is who, however, I need not have worried as the myriad of character names are repeated often enough for them to sink in, which going into the book was my biggest concern.My second concern was, did I know enough basics? and the hour on Wiki was more than enough, as the author pitched the book just right, telling the story, and injecting the appropriate amount of historical reference where necessary, and it had me gripped.Abnett's descriptions of fight scenes are excellent, but one thing I didn't expect, which was a massive bonus, was the amount of humour in the book, and this is where Abnett excels in character building.I'm not going to bang on about the contents, I'll leave that to the experts, I'm here to convince those like me that it's not a heavy book, it's very enjoyable and entertaining and I've downloaded books 2&3 already!Enjoy!Jon (hubby to firechick)

I cannot wait to read the second book. Following The Luna Wolves and The Warmaster Horus as they conquer the universe is exceptionally thrilling. Fast paced action and great characters! As usual Abnett delivers.

I used to be very into my Warhammer 40K with my Space Marine army, and back then the Horus Heresy was a footnote in history. I've always been a fan of the setting, and while I don't play the games anymore, I do still enjoy reading stories. This is the first book in the long running 'Horus Heresy' series, and details the events of 10,000 years before the game.While the book is set far in history from the games' point of view, as these are the precursors to the famous space marines it didn't take long to familiarise myself with the setting. If you're new to the universe then this probably isn't the best book to start with, as there's little introduction to the mythos.The book's setting before the more formal marine chapters known later allow a greater flexibility with the marine characters as they conduct their great crusade to stamp the Imperium's seal across the galaxy. They're still superhuman killing machines, but there are nuances to their cha=racters which help offset the bleakness of the world they inhabit. Of particular interest if Horus, his fate is known to those familiar with the mythos, and its interesting to see the seeds of his future, and see him before his fall.That grim future is one of the aspects that attracts me to the 40K universe. It's very over the top, with enemies on all sides, and within if you're not careful. The basic premise is that humanity had once spread across the stars, but contact had been lost, and Earth was now reclaiming the lost colonies. Naturally many resisted, and that's were the book starts with the subjugation of one such world.As is often the case with these books the action soon involves aliens, and while they're not the most imaginative foes, they are sufficient to provide for some good action. The writer's style works well for the story, it has a sombre formality which matches the nature of the Imperium, but also well paced action for the fighting.My only real complaint was that the ending feels a bit rushed. I would also have liked to have learned more about the second set of aliens. Overall though, I enjoyed reading it. It portrays the world in a detailed fashion, yet at a steady pace. It also has a few philosophical moments with so solid insights. A good read.

I've read a lot of sci-fi, but this was the 1st book in a very long time that I thoroughly enjoyed, from start to finish, with no reservations. Well written, I cared about the characters and their motivations. Just enough detail to be fascinating but never bogs itself down. I'm buying the 2nd book the actual second I'm done typing this review.

A beautifully written and wonderful detailed novelization of the Space Marines world. I played the tabletop game quite often many years ago and this book brought back so many memories and really brought the entire 40k world to life. This was the first 40k novel I have ever read and it was magnificent. I finished all 400 pages in just a few days. Can't wait to jump into book two. For the Emporer!

El primer libro en la serie de herejía de horus, es excelente si eres un fan del universo de Warhammer y la verdad si require saber algo del universo, no necesitas ser un súper fan del mismo pero no es necesario tener la wiki a un lado tampoco, algo seco de leer pero te tiene al border del asiento y las 400 PP se te van cómo agua

Uma pena não ter edição em português, mas pra alguém que deseja iniciar em warhammer esse livro é uma ótima introdução.

Horus Heresy is a good series to start reading to get to know the warhammer 40k universe. Truly enjoyed reading Horus Rising. It isn't the best of books I've read, but it is worth the read.