Horus Rising by Dan Abnett is the first book in the Warhammer Horus Heresy series, following the 16th Legion, the Luna Wolves as they continue humanity’s crusade on behalf of the emperor of mankind, led by the Warmaster Horus himself. This novel sets a solid image of the martial prowess of Horus’s legion; swiftly disrupting and bringing into compliance a human world (designated 6319) far from Terra with a different proclaimed emperor, swooping in to save the day on a world called Murder where the Blood Angels and Emperor’s Children legions found themselves outmatched, and reestablishing contact with a lost settlement of humans known as the Interex who left Terra long ago and were apropos, but happy to be reunited with their long lost kin.

Most of this book revolves around Horus’s 10th company Captain Loken, as he rises to an advisory position beside Horus following his great success at 6319. It’s interesting seeing things from Loken’s point of view, hearing him question his orders but still carry them out. Loken’s discussions with his tutor about if and why questioning what they do is okay or if that act in itself should be seen as traitorous, and his reflection upon his first ever interactions with the dangers of the warp were interesting explorations into the mind of a soldier who is encouraged to build a sense of intellectualism and think critically.

This is a solid 9 stars, teetering on 10, I found this very easy to keep picking up having been instantly hooked, and am hoping the series continues to be just as captivating because we’re one Horus Heresy book down, and have fifty-three to go… then I’m on to the current timeline in the 41st millennium. (Don’t worry I’ll pepper other books in here and there to avoid my books being exclusively Warhammer related).