#curze tortures vulkan and no one is surprised

[sculptorofcrimson]

Wanna hear possibly the worst thought I've ever had?

What would've happened if instead of screaming, Vulkan moaned while Curze was torturing him?

[warsofasoiaf]

All this talk about Warhammer makes me wonder where to start? A quick glance tells me there are several dozen novels. Is there a logical order to read them in other than release date?

I would recommend picking a favorite character, legion, xeno species, or plot arc and following that. A lot of the Black Library guys are very “rah-rah” for their protagonist side and fan favorites, it isn’t always that both sides are presented well (though when they are, they tend to be excellent reads). You could also instead pick a favorite author and follow their own books. Dan Abnett is probably the best author that Black Library employs. Sandy Mitchell is great for his lighter shade of grimdark novels and his quirky characters, particularly Ciaphus Cain; you can tell from the book that he has a lot of fun writing them. Graham McNeill is good, though he can be a hit-or-miss writer. Aaron Dembski-Bowden is a fantastic writer though he’s a huge Chaos fanboy (and I’m not, it should be noted, I admit my own biases freely). James Swallow is one of the few I trust to write the Sisters of Battle well, his Fire and Faith and Hammer and Anvil made the Sisters retcon some of the worst of their fridging by Matt Ward while being awesome when they do it.

I combine the two when it comes to the Horus Heresy. Again, to admit my biases, I’m a filthy Loyalist, so I like the stories where the Loyalist legions are the stars of the show. The Prospero storyline is excellent because two of the best authors Black Library has write the Burning of Prospero from their own perspective in the novels A Thousand Sons by McNeill and Prospero Burns by Abnett. Both books give lots of personality to their respective legions, such as the term “murder-make” by the Space Wolves (and since the Rout are Worf’d throughout the Heresy, I’d better appreciate where they get their victories). Scars, by Chris Wright, only continues the excellence by characterization of Jaghatai Khan and bringing back the plot threads of Mortarion all the way from the Council of Nikaea to take center stage in the Khan’s epic takedown of the Death Lord. When it comes to the Traitor Primarchs, Abnett crushes it with the Horus trilogy, and ADB does very well in his prequel pieces The First Heretic and Betrayer, the latter of which is one time where ADB portrays the World Eater’s fury and the Ultramarine’s discipline well, fairly portraying both sides to their strengths while also giving Angron some of the best characterization in the whole series. Speaking of the Ultramarines, while I’m not always the biggest fan of Guilliman, Abnett does very well with Know No Fear and did an intelligent thing in the “Mark” system to firmly establish a chronology of the battle. Fear to Tread gives Sanguinius a chance to shine, and The Outcast Dead is a surprising tearjerker. While The Unremembered Empire has a lot of plotholes HERESY (having Vulkan win against Curze’s torture and keep his sanity only to go mad afterward undercuts his victory in Vulkan Lives), I understand and sympathize with Abnett’s intent. He had a lot of plot threads to converge which makes it difficult to craft a story, and I appreciate Unremembered Empire because it actually went out of its way to show the Legions working together and showcasing the honor and brotherhood that we saw with characters like Saul Tarvitz and Nathaniel Garro have for each other on a larger scale; small things that show the humanity even of these transhuman supersoldiers. Imperium Secundus I also respect for Abnett trying something different, showcasing Guilliman’s flaws in a very real way, even though it creates a serious continuity snarl that we have yet to take care of: how did Sanguinius make it to Terra if he and Guilliman were in the same place, and how do the Lion and Russ make it to Terra before Guilliman but after Sanguinius. I accept that it might be explained in another book, though I hope we do not get another heroic sacrifice like in The Path of Heaven, not because I don’t like heroic sacrifices, but Yesgeui’s sacrifice was awesome, sad, and awesomely sad that I don’t want a lazy rehash for the Blood Angels. And of course, because I’m a sucker for Rogal Dorn, Praetorian of Dorn is a great read.

Anyway, those are my recommendations for Horus Heresy books.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King