Book Review 41 // False Gods by Graham McNeill

Welcome to February and the first blog post of the month and I am happy to announce the first post is a book review. I have managed to complete this book in ten days. This is amazing for me and I know I am constantly saying how impressed I am at my speed of reading but I am truly surprising myself these days. So pray tell what novel could I have read so quickly:

False Gods by Graham McNeill

Book Details

Title: False Gods (Horus Heresy #2)
Author: Graham McNeill
Publisher: Black Library
Type: Paperback
Page Count: 416
Commercial Fluff: The human Imperium stands at its height of glory - thousands of worlds have been brought to heel by the conquering armies of mankind. At the peak of his powers, Warmaster Horus wields absolute control - but can even he resist the corrupting whispers of Chaos?

Review

I was there the day that Horus fell...

What an opening. If you haven't read my review of book #1 please do me a solid and read that one first (Link). Now that's done let us get into this book. This review does contain spoilers so please be aware, I am only going to go into detail on the first third of the book after that I will just make some hints, leaving it you to discover it for yourself. This is the second book of the opening trilogy and so far this series is just building at a rapid rate. It opens at the end of book One (no surprise lol), and the Sons of Horus are still reeling from their dealings with the Annex. From here they are diverted back to one of their earlier conquests by Erebus of the Word Bearers. Upon arriving back at Davin a backward feral world they discover the garrison left behind has gone rogue and claimed the Moon as their sovereign territory. Feeling this as a personal failure Horus decides to lead the attack personally. From this point on the scene is set, we have an epic horror themed fight as a misty swamp is suddenly filled by hordes of shambling Zombies and you fear for some characters lives. The fighting is fast paced and actioned filled as Horus battles his way through a crashed starship to strike down the traitor (a dark reflection of what is to come above Terra). It is also at this time we discover Erebus is up to something traitorous and the stolen Annex weapon (from book One) reappears in the traitor Commanders hand. An epic duel full of gross descriptive terms are used to help you imagine the rotting form of the traitor general. Though ultimately successful Horus is mortally wounded and alongside a battered Mournival return to the flagship were they accidentally unleash their wrath on the human crew. Now feared by the human crew and with Horus in a death state the Mournival allow Erebus to convince them the only chance to save the Primarch is with the aid of the Serpent Lodge (A feral mystic order from Davin).

From here on in there are just way to many spoilers that it would just ruin the book if I wrote more, all you need to know is that Horus' pride gets the better of him and once returned to his Sons he is a changed being. The book ends with a brutal, unnessercery battle were Horus starts to clean house and remove troublesome personal from his forces, he also declares his intend to move against the Emperor and that their next destination is the Istvan system.


Overall a great read. The characters are starting to grow into the roles we expect them to play (Especially Abaddon) and we even get a small camo from Angron and the World Eaters. I really enjoyed this book which is proven by how quick I read it.

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