Nick Frichette
As the Horus Heresy series continues to sprawl across the Warhammer 40,000 literary landscape like the vast Imperium it seeks to chronicle, Tales of Heresy arrives not as a narrative juggernaut, but as a patchwork collection; one whose individual pieces vary in both tone and quality. Devoted readers may approach it hoping for revelations about the early days of the Imperium, but they’ll need to sift through uneven terrain to find the few gems buried within.
Comprised of seven short stories, Tales of Heresy bills itself as a multifaceted look at the seeds of the galactic civil war that would one day sunder humanity’s empire. In practice, however, the anthology struggles under the weight of its own ambition. Several entries feel forgettable, derivative, or worse, like footnotes rather than stories in their own right. Fortunately, a handful rise above.
Chief among them is "After Desh’ea", a taut and character-rich examination of Angron, the Primarch of the World Eaters. Told with brutal intimacy and striking emotional texture, it paints a portrait of a man broken by slavery, rage, and the impossible expectations of empire. For a franchise so often consumed with battles and bolters, this is a rare moment of raw psychological insight.
Following close behind is "Blood Games", a clever and atmospheric tale about the Custodes, the Emperor’s personal guard. Part spy thriller, part existential meditation on duty, it deftly expands a corner of the mythos that is often shrouded in gold and mystery. "Scions of the Storm" also earns its place, offering a compelling early look at the Word Bearers Legion before their descent into heresy, laced with ominous foreshadowing.
Then there is "The Last Church", a philosophical rumination in the form of a Socratic dialogue between the last priest on Terra and a mysterious visitor. It is less a story than a staged debate, but it succeeds in raising provocative questions about faith, reason, and the cost of progress.
The remaining stories, unfortunately, fade into the warp. Competent but uninspired, lacking the thematic weight or narrative craft to leave a lasting impression. Readers unfamiliar with the broader series may find themselves unmoored, while even longtime fans may struggle to justify the entire volume for the sake of a few strong entries.
In the end, Tales of Heresy is less a cohesive book than a curated exhibit. Some works worthy of close inspection, others best passed over. For those invested in the mythos, After Desh’ea alone may be worth the price of admission. But for anyone else, this volume may read more like apocrypha than scripture.
Horus Heresy Bolter or Bin Rating: Bolter - After Desh'ea, Blood Games, The Last Church, Scions of the Storm. Bin everything else.
In Mechanicum, Graham McNeill turns his considerable talents toward one of Warhammer 40,000’s most enigmatic factions: the shadowy priesthood of Mars. On paper, the novel promises a rare and tantalizing premise, a glimpse behind the curtain of the pre-Heresy Mechanicum, that blend of techno-religious zealots and cybernetic artisans who power the Imperium’s engines of war. But while the gears grind and the war engines roar, the human, or post-human, core of the Mechanicum remains frustratingly out of focus.
We are, it’s true, offered a few fleeting insights into the inner workings of Martian society before the cataclysmic schism of the Horus Heresy. But these moments are superficial, often sidelined in favor of grand set pieces and escalating conflict. The finer details of culture, belief, and daily life are treated more like set dressing than the substance of the story.
And collapse it does. By the novel’s midpoint, the plot gives way to titanic warfare, with the story slipping into a blur of clashing god-machines and pyrotechnic spectacle. While some readers may come for the combat, others looking for a more textured exploration of identity, faith, and technological dogma may find themselves wanting.
There are hints (faint ones) that McNeill is planting seeds for future relevance within the wider Horus Heresy series. But unlike its stronger peers, Mechanicum feels oddly disconnected. Its events ripple outward with barely a splash, leaving readers to wonder if what they've just read will matter at all in the grander scope.
For diehard fans of the Knight Houses or devotees of Titan-scale warfare, the novel may offer a satisfying indulgence. But for those drawn in by the allure of the Martian priesthood’s mystery, its ancient rites, its cryptic doctrine, its uneasy coexistence with humanity, Mechanicum is a disappointment. Beneath the towering robots and scorched red sands, there was a richer, stranger story waiting to be told.
Horus Heresy Bolter or Bin Rating: Bin (Not really worth the time to read)
Ben Counter’s Battle for the Abyss is, at its core, an action spectacle draped in the iconography of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. A novel of the Horus Heresy series, it chronicles the efforts of a ragtag band of loyalist Space Marines racing against time to prevent a monstrous warship, the Furious Abyss, from wreaking devastation upon the Ultramarines' home sector. It is a book of relentless momentum, filled with close quarters combat and an abundance of bolter fire.
But for all its bombast, Battle for the Abyss is a novel of little consequence. While its events set the stage for the more momentous Battle of Calth, they are in no way required reading to appreciate the greater narrative of the Heresy. Those hoping for deeper insights into the Imperium’s collapse, the philosophical schisms of the Legiones Astartes, or the grand designs of the Traitor Warmaster will find little to linger over.
The novel does offer the first glimpses of the Ultramarines and Space Wolves within the Horus Heresy series, yet these portrayals are serviceable rather than revelatory. There is little characterization here that cannot be found in other works, and the novel’s heroes—though courageous and steadfast—are broadly drawn, fulfilling their archetypal roles without much depth. The antagonists, meanwhile, are villains of a purely functional sort, present to embody treachery but lacking the compelling menace that makes figures like Erebus or Horus himself so memorable.
Unlike its immediate predecessor in the series, Legion, which delivered a narrative rich with intrigue and unexpected revelations, Battle for the Abyss is refreshingly—or frustratingly—straightforward. There are no grand twists, no staggering betrayals, and no deep moral dilemmas to unravel. It is a novel that exists almost entirely in the moment, offering spectacle without subtext.
And yet, in its own way, it succeeds at what it sets out to do. For readers who simply want an unrelenting action story, one unburdened by the labyrinthine complexities of the Horus Heresy, Battle for the Abyss delivers. Its battles are numerous, its stakes are clear, and its action is unceasing. For those seeking depth, it is a disappointment. But for those content to revel in the fury of war without the weight of history pressing down upon them, it may serve as an enjoyable, if fleeting, diversion.
Horus Heresy Bolter or Bin Rating: Bin (Not really worth the time to read)
Within the sprawling Horus Heresy series, certain generalizations have been made. Chief among them: Dan Abnett is one of the Black Library’s finest storytellers. Legion is a testament to that reputation.
Unlike its predecessors, Legion departs from the grand theater of war lead by the Astartes to deliver something far more intricate—a taut, cerebral spy thriller teeming with subterfuge, shifting allegiances, and shadowy manipulations. In many ways, it is the perfect introduction to the Alpha Legion, the most enigmatic of the Emperor’s Space Marines.
Abnett’s prose is razor-sharp, his pacing relentless. The novel's ensemble cast crackles with wit and depth, each player thrust into a labyrinth of deception where every move is a gamble. It is a narrative of secrets within secrets, where nothing is as it seems—a fitting mirror to the Legion it portrays.
For those seeking the Horus Heresy's central storyline, Legion may feel like a diversion; it does not directly propel the core arc forward. Yet to bypass it would be to miss one of the series' most compelling and thought-provoking installments. This is Abnett at his finest—gripping, intelligent, and impossible to put down.
Descent of Angels is, in a lot of ways, the first divergence of the Horus Heresy series. While the first four books are a part of the core inciting incident of the Heresy, the fifth is a look inside the mind of one of the key players, the sixth is an entirely different type of story.
In book 6 we are placed into the shoes of a lowly recruit for The Order, which will one day become the Dark Angels we know and love. This book covers their backstory and introduction to the Imperium. If you are a die hard Dark Angels fan, you may enjoy it. If you are not, you probably won’t.
in my experience the first 50% was an absolute slog. The pacing was slow, the plot didn’t really go anywhere. Around the 50% mark, the story picked up with some intrigue, combat, and resolution (although, to be blunt, there is clearly a sequel coming with that ending).
it’s hard to recommend this to readers interested in the Dark Angels because you could just as easily skim the wiki page and learn everything you need to know. There is no additional depth gained from reading a few hundred pages about it.
If you’re trying to read the “core” plot of the Horus Heresy, skip this one.
Contains spoilers
Finished! It's a a real thrill ride, maybe my favorite of the Heresy series so far.
I have to say though, I'm a little disappointed. Horus' betrayal seemed to come out of nowhere in the last book, and it's even more confusing here. Why would so many Space Marines join him? How did they spread this message enough for people to join, but not so far that it didn't get discovered early?
