Horus Heresy Books In Order

Publication Order of The Horus Heresy Books

Horus Heresy is a series of sci-fi/fantasy novels written by various authors. The series attempts to expand the universe of the tabletop miniature game Warhammer 40K.

+The Story

Warhammer 40,000 has been in existence since the late 1980s. The tabletop miniature wargame transports players to a dystopian universe where they must assemble miniature figures of soldiers and monsters to fight one another.

These battles are supposed to take place in the 41st Millennium during which the galaxy is dominated by a vast but fractured human empire.

The Horus Heresy series of books takes place ten thousand years before the events of Warhammer 40,000. The Horus Heresy is the fictional civil war that crafted the bruised and battered world of Warhammer 40,000.

Taking readers back to the 31st Millennium, the books introduce Earth at a time when humanity has finally decided to conquer the galaxy, having deemed it to be the rightful domain of their race.

A figure only known as the Emperor begins this Great Crusade. A shockingly charismatic individual of significant prowess and conviction, the Emperor is atheistic in his perception of the universe, placing his trust in science and logic.

The Emperor believed that humankind was created, whether by accident or design, to rule and dominate. And as the most powerful human in existence, augmented in his abilities by a litany of psychic abilities, the Emperor moved to unite all the scattered human colonies in space under the banner of his empire.

This involved the deployment of massive fleets to undertake expeditions to all the corners and crevices of the galaxy. The Emperor sought to achieve total dominion over the galaxy using an elite force of superhuman warriors, and he succeeded in his efforts, assimilating millions of worlds from star systems tens of thousands of light-years away in the span of two centuries.

The Emperor saw a future where human beings were among the most dominant species in the universe and he attained that dream.

However, even after he brought a multitude of species under his thrall, the Emperor knew that the real fight had hardly begun. Because of his vast psychic abilities, the Emperor was aware of immaterial entities that existed in parallel dimensions of thought and emotion, and who sought to bring harm to humankind.

These entities were responsible for the plague of religion that had ensnared man and alien alike over the millennia. The Emperor knew them as the Gods of Chaos.

He also knew that humankind’s evolution would inevitably expand their consciousness to a point where they would not only gain awareness of the Gods of Chaos but that they would also become susceptible to their corruption.

The Emperor began the Great Crusade because he believed that under his dominion, mankind could avoid the intrusion of their invisible nemesis.

The Heresy Horus series shows that not only where these entities of Chaos aware of his workings but they had already taken steps to thwart him.

The novels attempt to explore the horror that unfolds when they finally make their move. The Horus Heresy is spoken of as a time when half of mankind’s greatest warriors turned to the worship of dark gods and, thus, tried to wipe out their colleagues.

It begins when the son of the Emperor, the so-called Primarch Horus is tempted by the Chaos Gods. The Primarch Horus engages his father in a devastating battle that leaves the Emperor at the edge of death, sustained only by a complex machine.

At a time when humanity was looking to forge a bright new future after sounding the drums of victory on millions of world, they are dragged back into the dark ages. The Human Empire is split right down the middle and the foundations the Emperor worked so hard to cement are ripped out.

This marks the start of a war that will last several years, turning the galaxy into the dystopian setting that players encounter in the 41st Millennium.

The Horus Heresy series began publication in 2006. The goal was to use novels and short stories to expand the world and history of Warhammer 40,000. The first three books in the series describe the means through which the Horus Heresy was sparked.

This first trilogy is told in a linear format. The dozens of books that follow are nonlinear in their publication and the manner in which their stories are told. The books initially focus solely on the rebellion the Gods of Chaos fermented and used to fracture the human Empire. Then they proceed to explore the outcome of that rebellion.

+Horus Rising

The Imperium of Man stands at the peak. Millennia of expansion have catapulted Humankind to the top of the galaxy’s food chain. The Emperor has finally achieved his dream, which is why he decides to return to Earth, leaving his Warmaster Horus in charge of his Kingdom.

Unfortunately for Horus, the Emperor’s territories are vast and keeping them and the other commanders in line won’t be easy.

The first book in the Horus Heresy series takes readers to the height of the Imperium of Man. A long time ago, mankind was scattered throughout space. A powerful Emperor initiated a Great Crusade that united the various human colonies and waged war against all other alien life.

The Emperor attained victory using powerful warriors called Primarchs and the super soldiers they led.

In this book, the Emperor decides to leave the front lines to his favorite Primarch, Horus, while he returns to earth. He elevates Horus to the position of War Master, a development that leaves Horus’ colleagues unsettled. Conspiracies ensue.

+False Gods

The Human Imperium stands unchallenged in the galaxies. War Master Horus governs with absolute power. Horus wants to continue the emperor’s grand design to secure mankind’s future for millennia to come. But he has begun to succumb to the whispers of the dark gods.

The second book in the Horus Heresy series finds War Master Horus struggling to lead. Horus is aware of a force moving behind the scenes to undermine his rule and fracture his empire.

But he won’t stand for it, not with legions of space marines at his beck and call.