Rheteric Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Some have said that one can jump right into the Horus Heresy whenever. Others have stressed the mental ecstasy that comes in tandem with the various epiphanies associated with backtracking from 40k to the HH(I have, thus far, subscribed to this belief). Which 40k books do you think should be read before beginning the horus heresy novels, if any? Also, which Horus Heresy novels MUST one read before picking and choosing random HH novels to read? For example: a friend of mine suggested I read the first 4 books in the series(horus rising/false gods etc.) And then I could basically read whatever I wanted after making those first 4 my foundation. Suggestions?opinions? Thank you all in advance Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrion Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 At least read the first three but virtually every book expands the story in one sense or another. Read them in order if you can, but Legion in particular stands out as a book that can be read standalone from the rest and still give a good sense of the bigger picture. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3811416 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rheteric Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thanks!.Any advice in regards to how much(if any) 40k I should read before going into the HH? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3811443 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muctar Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 None, if you don't want to. Though they have similarities both have enough thematic differences to be nearly unique. The Horus Heresy (30k) is all about the potential of mankind, how it's dashed against the rocks of treachery, the shock of it all, and the fight to bring mankind back to the glory of the Great Crusade (which can never happen). While 40k is the grimdark future where humanity is constantly fighting myriad enemies just to survive and maintain their crumbling Imperium. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3811460 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archaon9 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I'd recommend reading them in the published order. Some books link together pretty closely whereas others are only tied together in a broad sense of the heresy. Some like the first heretic jump earlier than the previous timeline up to the 'present'. Some people from what I've read are only reading ones featuring specific legions which can work.The 1st three set the plot really well and follow the Luna wolves/Sons of Horus. They are written to a high quality so worth reading for that alone. Battle for the abyss is probably viewed as the weakest of the series so far just to warn you but overall it's a good series.A thousand sons and prospero burns are different perspectives of the same end event so I'd recommend reading them together.With 40k books I wouldn't say any are must reads to enjoy the horus heresy fully, like Muctar says it's a before and after setup. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3811771 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volt Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Honestly I wouldn't advise you get into it to begin with. If you're a fan of a particular legion like the Dark Angels, Blood Angels, Night Lords, etc, just buy those books. The Horus Heresy is not only in-universe about the miserable failure of missed potential, but the HH series itself is a story of missed potential. I would give GW points for doing that from a meta perspective if it was done on purpose, but knowng GW it probably wasn't. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3811790 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelPaladin Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 HH required reading: The opening trilogy The First Heretic Legion Those will give you a great foundation, after which you can read them in pretty much any order. But, I would probably read them in the order they were published. Also, I think calling the HH series a miserable failure of missed potential is frankly ridiculous. Its by no means perfect, but it has been an enormous success in pretty much every way. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3811827 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blood Angel Scout Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Rheteric Couple of ways of going about it would be to read the books that relate to the "original cannon" or the ForgeWorld HH books i.e those that have been the main events in the HH since 2nd ed: Dropsite Massacre-Calth-Prospero-Signus Prime-Tallarn and the Siege itself (anyone feel free to include any others I may have missed) or to go all in, reading/listening to everything released in the order they've been published, as many plot-lines interlink or shorts set up main novels though they are not essential i.e. some people have posted in other threads they would have preferred to read Brotherhood of the Storm before Scars as would have increased their enjoyment of the novel or listening to Butcher's Nails before reading Betrayer, gives a better depth to points made in the latter. This can also be the same approach to the 2nd part of your question, regarding reading 40k, with one of the recent releases in the HH series, Damnation of Pythos has strong connection to the 40k Pandorax campaign/novel as well as an audio and short story in the Sedition's Gate anthology in the HH as one example. Personally, I've went the latter approach-consuming it all when I can- not a fan of audio, prefer to read the printed versions- mainly because I'm getting "answers" to questions I have had for over 20 years but like many elements of this hobby, it's entirely up to you as to what "cannon" you want to use Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3811840 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volt Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 HH required reading: The opening trilogy The First Heretic Legion Those will give you a great foundation, after which you can read them in pretty much any order. But, I would probably read them in the order they were published. Also, I think calling the HH series a miserable failure of missed potential is frankly ridiculous. Its by no means perfect, but it has been an enormous success in pretty much every way. The HH series went downhill after the second book. False Gods was horrible. I don't even know why the hell the Black Library handed off a trilogy and didn't let the original author finish it. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3811851 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucien Eilam Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I don't even know why the hell the Black Library handed off a trilogy and didn't let the original author finish it. They didn't. The first three books were written more or less simultaneously, and released over a period of like 5-6 months. It was never going to be one author writing the whole thing. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3812361 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volt Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I don't even know why the hell the Black Library handed off a trilogy and didn't let the original author finish it. They didn't. The first three books were written more or less simultaneously, and released over a period of like 5-6 months. It was never going to be one author writing the whole thing. Which is a horrible idea to hand one author characters, then suddenly rip them out of his hands and give them to somebody else. The HH certainly isn't met for reading the whole thing, many parts of it suffer from incredibly low quality of writing/editing and some rather strange ideas. Better to just pick one or two interesting books out here and there and ignore the rest. While we did get jems like A Thousand Sons, Horus Rising, and Prince of Crows.... we also have Deliverance Lost, Vulkan Lives, False Gods, Battle for the Abyss, etc. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3812707 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucien Eilam Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Which is a horrible idea to hand one author characters, then suddenly rip them out of his hands and give them to somebody else. I'm pretty sure they must have known right from the briefing what the plan was, so nobody can have "suddenly ripped" anything away from anyone. some rather strange ideas Not nearly as strange as most of the stuff you post on here. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3812723 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urauloth Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 You can start almost anywhere as long as you have a basic understanding of what you're dealing with. I started with Know No Fear and worked back to Horus Rising and The First Heretic etc from there. I also don't really recommend reading them all, because some of them are pretty awful and don't add anything to the overall narrative. You miss out on absolutely nothing of relevence by skipping Battle for the Abyss, for example. As a very rough guide, if ADB or Dan Abnett wrote it, it's probably great. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296850-how-and-when-should-one-begin-the-horus-heresy/#findComment-3815281 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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