'Horus Rising (The Horus Heresy #1)' - by Dan Abnett - review

Horus Rising
The Horus Heresy #1
Warhammer 40k
Dan Abnett

Publisher: Games Workshop

Genre: Sci-Fi/Space Opera

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Synopsis:

Under the benevolent leadership of the Immortal Emperor, the Imperium of Man has stretched out across the galaxy.

​On the eve of victory, the Emperor leaves the front lines, entrusting the great crusade to his favorite son, Horus. Promoted to Warmaster, the idealistic Horus tries to carry out the Emperor's grand design, all the while the seeds of heresy and rebellion have been sowed amongst his brothers.

(Reviewer's Note: The synopsis severely undersells the story, so if you're even remotely interested.. please give it a try.)

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'Horus Rising (The Horus Heresy #1)' by Dan Abnett follows the path of Horus. Favored son of the benevolent Immortal Emperor of the Imperium of Man (beloved by all), Horus has been entrusted to lead the great crusade as his father returns to Terra. 

Though his official title is Warmaster, Horus is at his core both a warrior and an idealist. While his tactical brilliance both in affairs of battle and diplomacy seem to have no equal, he's also the sole will of the Emperor, ultimately responsible for every aspect of the crusade his father once led. He's expected to act as the Emperor would act, but entirely on his own with no oversight from his father.. simply by interpreting on his own and making the right decisions.

Heavy is the mantle.

The story here is told from the perspective of Gavriel Loken. Another highly-skilled, decorated warrior.. Loken through unimaginable feats, is elevated to a position in Horus' direct orbit. He becomes privy to intricate diplomatic movements and finds himself in a battle below the surface of the crusade. A war encroaching on the Imperium, not from the multitudes of military actions he's accustomed to, but something more sinister.

Over the years, I've read a handful of standalone Black Library titles and each of them has been extraordinary. The storytelling seems to hail from a time mostly gone by.. of rich texturing and a cautious unraveling of details. Not too slow, not too fast.. no massive information dumps, no twists simply for the sake of adding them. Everything in its place with perfect intention.

This book is much the same. 

I had been wanting to give the core Warhammer 40k world a try for some time, but I was worried that it might be too dry for me. I love a good epic sci-fi/fantasy read, but managing that balance between the depth of information and world building with synchromatic story progression at a pace that will keep me interested.. can be challenging. There's a point where an author can get so caught up in their creation, that it becomes the main focus and the story gets sort of.. buried beneath it. 

Turns out though, I didn't need to worry. 

While Abnett is violently creative in his world building, it never once bogs down the story. Each alien world.. every unfathomable enemy.. all the machines of war.. be they sentient or not.. is a stitch in the overall mosaic of words. He paints these foreign concepts with the visual clarity of a master, yet manages to avoid the pitfalls of overwhelming the reader with the sheer amount delivered at once by drawing them out across his scenes. 

Gone too, from the more median samplings within the epic sci-fi/fantasy books, is that sense of aloofness. I find authors in this genre often fail to connect the reader with the characters in their stories. It's a challenge, certainly.. to transport the reader to a wholly exotic world while keeping it relatable. Those connections have to come in universal forms of feeling, the things we can really understand.

Abnett gives us all of that. He doesn't simply tell us there's comraderie amongst the Astartes, he teaches us brotherhood through our experiences with them. He doesn't tell us our Warmaster is a thinking, feeling warrior who's willing to adapt even his basest instincts to make the right decisions for the good of the Imperium he's responsible for.. he exposes us to his nature and bares the.. dare I say it.. humanity.. of his immortal identity. 

What a beautifully crafted story. I cannot wait to continue this series.