Horus Hersey #2: False Gods [Mass Market Paperback]

False Gods is the second book in the Horus Heresy Trilogy from Games Workshop's Black Library division. The first book in the trilogy was Dan Abnett's excellent Horus Rising which introduced the Imperium's newly appointed Warmaster, the Primarch of the Luna Wolves Legion and the Emperor of Mankind's favored son. Horus Rising showed the personality of chief architect that would someday plunge the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man into its darkest hour.

Graham McNeill takes over the writing duties for the second novel of the trilogy. False Gods details the little doubts Horus brought up during the first book and how these doubts gave those powers in the Warp the opening they needed to deceive, inveigle, and obfuscate their way into Horus' heart and mind. The Chaos Powers are not alone in their endeavor for a traitor within Horus' inner circle plots with these powers to sway the Imperium's Warmaster to their cause against the Emperor of Mankind and the Imperium. McNeill does a very good job of showing Horus' inner turmoil concerning the responsibilties heaped on his shoulders by his father the Emperor. McNeill also introduces Horus' growing resentment towards his father and thus infecting his own Legion whose admiration and loyalty to him is akin to deity worship.

There's a major section of the book where Horus and his Crusading force first begin to fight the minions of the Chaos Powers on the moon of Davin. There's a sense of Night of the Living Dead in this section as powerful Space Marines must contend with the plague zombies of their opponent. But action in False Gods takes a backseat to the manipulation of Horus and how false promises and miscontrued words from the Chaos Powers gradually breaks down Horus' will. Some have pointed out that in False Gods it's shown that the Emperor must take some of the blame as to the cause of the Heresy, but the opposite is true. Horus was given a choice as to which side to believe: his loyalty and faith to his Emperor or the words of powers in the warp. Those who have followed the mythology of GW's Warhammer 40K knows what his decision will be.

The fall of a star ascendant has begun and the end of McNeill's novel sets the stage for what will become the unveiling of the ultimate betrayal of son against father, of brothers against brothers and one man against an entire galaxy. I can't wait for the final book in the trilogy: Galaxy In Flames by Ben Coulter.

minor spoilers follow

this is a worthy sequel to Horus Rising. Unlike, say, Star Wars, the temptation of Horus is at least somewhat convincing, and the greatest irony (and a classic tactic) is that Horus is convinced by showing him parts of the future his own insurrection will create (i.e. he is shown the deification of his father, but doesn't see the actual physical condition of the emperor). I wondered at Horus' foolishness in believing erebus despite seeing him in many lies, though we have not been told what horus decided to do for himself, as it is implied he knew erebus sought to use him. Horus was certainly written as more arrogant and prideful in this novel than in the last.

I did wonder at the literary device of making the beginnings of worship of the emperor appear at essentially the same time and place as horus' treason, but will give the benefit of the doubt until book 3. I was even more skeptical of the oddly childish behavior of the astartes when horus was wounded and no officer exhibited anything remotely resembling leadership ability or responsibility and even worse when he was subsequently taken to davin, the idea of an entire space-based army taking it upon themselves to abandon their posts to have a sort of cultish vigil just doesn't seem probable.

Erebus' original motives in stealing the amathane are still not completely clear.

Like any story where you essentially know where the end of the story is, the enjoyment is in the telling of it. This book accomplishes that.

The second book of the Horus Heresy series, this time penned by Graham McNeill, is a ripping adventure tale that continues the story of Horus' inevitable fall. Garviel Lorken, the Company Captain of the Sons of Horus Legion and main protagonist from the first novel, now shares the stage with Horus himself in roughly equal measure. The supporting cast is too numerous to list here, but suffice to say, it includes many other canonical characters from Games Workshop's Warhammer 40K universe: Horus, Angron, Fulgrim, Magnus, Kharn, Abaddon, Fabius, and others.

M. McNeill does an excellent job capturing the feel of the 40K background, excels at action scenes, and captures the epic scope of the Crusade and subsequent Heresy. You really feel the ground tremor as titans stride into battle, and quail before Angron's savagery as he charges into the fray. The enemies of the Imperium fight intelligent campaigns that reflect well thought out strategy, making them worthy foes.

Gone, however, is the subtlety and delicate moral quandary of M. Abnett. Lorken's character growth, and that of some of the other characters, takes a back seat to Horus' tale and larger-scale conflict. This brings me to the two weaker points of the novel:

1 - M. McNeill uses some clumsy plot devices at key points in the work. The Mournival (Horus' council of Captains) and some of the senior Sons of Horus act stupidly or ignorantly from time to time, even though it's been firmly established that they are neither. There are a few other instances where Marines "regress" from extremely wily to easily misled.

2 - The biggest difficulty, however, is in the representation of the change in Horus. There are no slippery moral slopes filled with the excuses of expediency or necessity. There is no gradual or subtle descent, such as those displayed by M. Abnett's Inquisitor Eisenhorn. Instead, Horus takes the Warp induced visions of a man he admittedly doesn't even trust, and makes a decision without even checking the veracity of these mirages. As it's really one of the pivotal moments of the entire epic, it's disappointing that it doesn't receive the attention it deserves.

These - although fairly significant - detractors aside, the book is a very engaging read, and M. McNeill's writing style holds the reader's attention throughout. The plot flows well, and one can't wait to begin the next chapter after finishing the previous.

In short: a generally solid work with a few troubles for more discerning readers. However, any fan of 40K will easily get his money's worth on this ride.