I am coming to the end of reading this book, and I thought that I would share a few thoughts, as it is a great one for Epic fans.

Firstly, I have generally have mixed feelings about GW literature. Largely, it's fairly formulaic stuff, uninspired and usually standard. There are some good writers (we all know who they are) but even then the story is largely the same, rebranded. Read the First and Only novels and you will find repeated ideas and set pieces.

The Horus Heresy series breaks this a little, as the stories are micro-narratives within a larger story line, and this helps.

To cut to the chase, The First Heretic is excellent, and is a great book to read even if you have not read other HH books, and is especially good for HH fans. It focusses on the Word Bearers, who are the first loyalist Marine Legion to rebel. The story starts with the initial doubts of the legion and the Primarch, which makes it different right away from other HH books as the rebellion is usually the climax of these books. The story follows the gradual turning of the entire legion (at a believable pace), the reasoning and events leading up to the events, and goes all the way through the seperation from Imperial forces and first contact with the Chaos energies. It covers the events of Isstvaan V in some detail, and even examines the initial scattering of the 20 Primarchs at 'birth'. It even hints at the issues around the two lost legions of the first founding. On top of this, it is very well written, and this has jumped to become my favourite 40K book of all time. It's not flawless, but it stands as an excellent science fiction book generally.

Highly recommended.

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https://www.cybershadow.ninja - A brief look into my twisted world, including wargames and beyond.
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Aaron Dembski-Bowden is definitely the best BL author at the moment - I'd recommend Soul Hunter+Blood Reaver as well. Really interesting new look at CSM

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www.epic-uk.co.uk
NetEA NetERC Human Lists Chair
NetEA Chaos + Black Legion Champion

I've enjoyed all the latest stuff in the Horus series. The Outcast dead is a good read too.

Deliverance lost too

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www.epic-uk.co.uk
NetEA NetERC Human Lists Chair
NetEA Chaos + Black Legion Champion

Got to agree with you, the first heretic is a great read. As is Prospero burns.

Steve.

I quite liked First Heretic.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It presents a tale of Marines turning to Chaos not through a desire for power instantly turning them into cartoon villains that love to shout "BLOOD! SKULLS! BLOOD!" but instead their turn was a gradual slide into nihilistic madness. They went to the edge of the universe in search of answers, and the truth they found drove them mad.

The main character embodies this slide into madness, as he ends up hearing voices inside his head (a common symptom of mental illness) as he is gradually possessed by a daemon over the course of many years, followed by his flesh becoming corrupted as the daemon takes hold.

Much better presented than Horus' flip-turn to being evil in the first few books.

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Currently doing a plastic scenery kickstarter

I really enjoyed Prospero burns but haven't heard that many people that liked it.

I'd divide them into

Good - Deliverance Lost, Horus Rising, Prospero Burns, First Heretic, Mechanicum, Fulgrim, Flight of the Eisentstein, Galaxy in Flames
OK - Outcast dead, False Gods, A Thousand Sons, Tales of heresy, Legion, Descent of Angels
Poor - Age of Darkness, Nemesis
Dire - Battle for the abyss

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www.epic-uk.co.uk
NetEA NetERC Human Lists Chair
NetEA Chaos + Black Legion Champion

I liked the darker, more serious side to the Space wolves, much better!

The only books in the series i didnt like very much were the dark angels ones and nemesis.

Prospero Burns was one of the best, IMO.


I mostly agree with Steve's list, but I think the Good/OK categories are interchangeable based on personal taste. The only one I really disagree with is that Legion is truly good, not just ok.

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Let us playtest like the Greeks of old... You know the ones I mean

I have enjoyed them all to varying levels except for Nemesis, I just cant get into it

love the series but the one i really struggled with was Mechanicum....the First Heretic would be my favourite to date for story and writing...

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May your tankard never be dry and the Dice Gods look favourably upon your endeavours!