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Chronological Reading Order


Petitioner's City

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Hey all, I am trying to create a reading order for the HH based on the individual strands that make it up - in essence to ultimately create a dated flow chart much like this for Star Trek literature. Based in part upon the chronology presented in Massacre, as well as books with fixed dates like Unremembered Empire (009.M31) with events given for texts with multiple chronologies to the ‘present’ of each text. I'd really like your advice - I haven't really read all the books, short stories or heard the audios. More especially I don't really follow the angels' books, or Garro. More so, a lot of dates are provisional. So beginning with the I, III and IV. Please let me know if I have missed anything!

 

I Legion (Dark Angels)

 

M30.800s [?]

Descent of Angels 

 

M30.900s [?]

"Call of the Lion"

 

M30.984 [circa]

The Dark King

 

M31.005 [?]

Fallen Angels

 

M31.008 [?]

"The Lion"

"Savage Weapons"

Grey Angel

 

M31.009

Prince of Crows

Unremembered Empire

 

M31.009 [?]

Cypher: Guardian of Order

 

III Legion (Emperor's Children)

Forge World Books: Betrayal (entry), Massacre and Extermination.

 

M31.003

Murder

Horus Rising

 

M31.004

False Gods

 

M31.005

Isstvan III

Galaxy in Flames

Betrayal

 

M31.004-6 [?]

Isstvan V

Fulgrim

"The Phoenician" (The Imperial Truth)

Massacre

Extermination

The First Heretic (M30.962-M31.006)

Aurelian

 

M31.006 [?]

Damnation of Pythos

 

M31.007 [?]

"The Reflection Crack'd" (The Primarchs)

 

M31.008 [?]

Angel Exterminatus

 

M31.009 [?]

Vengeful Spirit

Lucius: The Eternal Blade

 

IV Legion (Iron Warriors)

Forge World: Massacre and Extermination (entry)

 

M31.006

Isstvan

Massacre 

Vulkan Lives

The First Heretic (M30.962-M31.006)

Aurelian

 

M31.007

Phall

Extermination

The Crimson Fist

 

Damantyne

"The iron Within"

 

M31.008[?]

The Eye of Terror

Angel Exterminatus

 

M31.009

Dantos

Unremembered Empire

 

M31.009 [?]

Tallern

Tallern: Executioner

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The First Heretic spans a long time but I'd say the important parts of it are the stuff that happens early on, so way before Isvaan and stuff.

 

I do agree - it is the events of the first three years (962-965 I think) that are central to the book. But I think the place of the book in each legion's or force's 'story' is different - although even with the XVII, I'd put it after the first three or four books, since it 'spoils' Erebus in Horus Rising and goes beyond False Gods chronologically. As a reading order (with branches) I would probably do HR - FG - GiF - FH - (the Storm Emperor short story?) - Fulgrim - Aurelian, etc. 

So the next few Legions - the V and ever-popular VI, as well as the numerously-appearing VII. With these books the increasing appearance of 006[?], 007[?], etc, requires clarification. Any advice would be great, as well as missing texts and appearances. Sometimes the Legion or Primarch's appearance is more of a cameo, but I've tried to include these books in the lists at present.

 

V Legion (White Scars)

M30.990[circa] - M31.004

A Thousand Sons and "Rebirth" (The Imperial Truth)

 

M31.000, M31.005/6

Brotherhood of the Sword

 

M31.006

"The Serpent Beneath"

 

M31.006-7 [?]

Scars

"Allegiance" (Sedition's Gate)

Garro: Sword of Truth

 

M31.008

"Little Horus"

 

M31.009

Unremembered Empire (cameo)

 

M31.009 or later

Tallarn: Executioner (cameo)

 

VI Legion (Vlka Fenryka)

M30.900 [circa] - M31.004

Prospero Burns

 

M30.990[circa] - M31.004

A Thousand Sons

 

M31.000s [pre-Prospero]

"Wolf at the Door" (Tales of Heresy)

 

M31.004-5

"Rebirth" (Age of Darkness)

 

M31.006

Battle for the Abyss

 

M31.006-7 [?]

'Hunter's Moon' [?]

Scars

 

M31.009

Unremembered Empire

 

M31.020 or later [post-Heresy?]

Bjorn: Lone Wolf

 

VII Legion (Imperial Fists)

Forge World: Extermination

 

M30.984

The Dark King

 

M31.003

Horus Rising

 

M31.005

Flight of the Eisenstein

 

M31.006

Mechanicum

The Outcast Dead

 

M31.006 - 007

Deliverance Lost

Riven

"Hands of the Emperor" (The Imperial Truth)

 

M31.007

The Crimson Fist

Extermination (Battle of Phall)

 

M31.007 [?]

"The Last Remembrancer"

"The Lightning Tower"

 

M31.008 [?]

Grey Angel

Burden of Duty

 

M31.008

Angel Exterminatus

 

M31.009

Unremembered Empire

Oh man when I said about First Heretic, I didn't even realise you were doing it by legion! So yeah you were right in the placement I think. I thought it was just in general.

 

Thanks, it's no bother! I think I'll do each legion as a single entry to make this methodology clearer at the moment.

 

So without further ado,

 

VIII Legion (Night Lords)

Forge World Books: Massacre  (entry; Isstvan V) and Extermination (Isstvan V)

 

M30.984

The Dark King

 

M30.962 - M31.006

First Heretic

Massacre and Extermination

 

M31.006

Aurelian

 

M31.006 - 008

Vulkan Lives

 

M31.008

"Savage Weapons"

 

M31.009

Prince of Crows

Unremembered Empire

I've tried a similar thing here, putting things into the best attempt I can at a chronological order, and noting which legions have some kind of significant role/appearance in each entry: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Tymell/the_horus_heresy_series__a_reading_guide/

Might be of use smile.png

Also a couple of points on datings:

I got the impression from Hunter's Moon that it takes place (the main bit of it anyway, since it's mostly a flashback story. The "actual" thing is told from sometime long after, since the boy in the HH part is an adult now) around the same time as Isstvan V: Russ has sent out his packs to other primarchs, but the identity of the Isstvan V traitors isn't yet known.

Fallen Angels should also be around the same time as it's at a point where Isstvan III has happened, but not Isstvan V.

I also recall a line in Damnation of Pythos indicating it was taking place only weeks after Isstvan V (something about the actual characters feeling like it was a long time ago, but the ship chrons saying it was "only a few weeks"), so probably within the same year.

I've tried a similar thing here, putting things into the best attempt I can at a chronological order, and noting which legions have some kind of significant role/appearance in each entry: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Tymell/the_horus_heresy_series__a_reading_guide/

Might be of use smile.png

Also a couple of points on datings:

I got the impression from Hunter's Moon that it takes place (the main bit of it anyway, since it's mostly a flashback story. The "actual" thing is told from sometime long after, since the boy in the HH part is an adult now) around the same time as Isstvan V: Russ has sent out his packs to other primarchs, but the identity of the Isstvan V traitors isn't yet known.

Fallen Angels should also be around the same time as it's at a point where Isstvan III has happened, but not Isstvan V.

I also recall a line in Damnation of Pythos indicating it was taking place only weeks after Isstvan V (something about the actual characters feeling like it was a long time ago, but the ship chrons saying it was "only a few weeks"), so probably within the same year.

Oh that's all a big help! :) Your list is really useful. I will work on creating a chart of narrative influences rather than a straight chronology, so it's easier for someone to know how to read all of a certain thread (something I find terribly confusing and frustrating now), in conjunction with the FW books too.

That's great about 'Hunter's Moon'. I didn't realise Fallen Angels was so late (now 005.M31 with the Massacre chart). I thought it followed on close from Descent. I'll edit accordingly.

As for Damnation, I wasn't sure how soon/late it was because of the state of the Emperor's Children in the book. They seemed too far gone - more at the point of Angel Exterminatus, but that's my (subjective) interpretation. Of course the book is about the corruption of perception and being isolated so it's really easy to take any dating from it, except for the scene with the other three Iron Hands captains.

IX Legion (Blood Angels)

 

M30.984

Nostramo

The Dark King

 

M31.003

Murder

Horus Rising

 

M31.004/5/6

Signus

Fear to Tread

 

M31.006 (000. recollections of involvement in the Librarius)

Ullanor

Scars

 

M31.009 [?]

Vengeful Spirit

Lost Sons

 

M31.009-010

Imperium Secundus

The Unremembered Empire

"The Laurel of Defiance" (Sedition's Gate)

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