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Product Description
Product Description
Graham McNeill continues the story of the single most important event in the history of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. For years, fans have been clamouring for novels about the Horus Heresy - the bloody civil war that set Space Marine against Space Marine and nearly spelled the end of mankind at the hands of the traitor Horus. The second book, in the initial trilogy, will be a springboard for a full range of books set during this terrible war - when gods walked amongst the stars and the Emperor of Mankind ascended to the Golden Throne. "False Gods" takes the epic story onwards as Horus struggles to keep his armies in line and the seeds of his downfall are sown.
About the Author
Graham McNeill hails from Scotland, where he narrowly escaped a career in surveying nearly six years ago to join Games Workshop's Games Development team. As well as seven novels, he's also written a host of short stories for Inferno! magazine and takes on more freelance work than can be healthy.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Graham McNeill had a lot to live up to with this book, the successor to Dan Abnett's superb Horus Rising, which was widely acclaimed as one of the best Warhammer 40,000 novels that the Black Library has produced. In False Gods, McNeill continues the story of Captain Loken and the Sons of Horus, the elite superhuman Space Marines that are destined to fall under the corrupting influence of the dark gods of Chaos. So, is it any good?
Emphatically `Yes'. Though all Warhammer 40,000 fans will be well aware of the tragic fate of the angelic Primarch Horus, there is a grim fascination in following his downfall and I found it very difficult to put this book down. Unusually for a Black Library book (the publisher is known for its tendency to deal out mass bombardments of death and destruction from the word `Go'), there's a good deal of build-up before the first confrontation takes place. And - without wishing to spoil the moment - what a confrontation it turns out to be!
In many ways, this book was what I expected Horus Rising to be. Much of the story is told from Horus' point of view, whereas the previous book relegated his magisterial presence to the background. In False Gods we follow Horus both physically and metaphysically through his struggles with powers divine and diabolical. I am sure that most Warhammer 40,000 fans will prefer this direct approach to telling Horus' story, but it does have its flaws. The divine ineffability that had previously veiled the godlike Primarchs is fast wearing thin as the Horus Heresy series continues. And there's the rub - it's unavoidable that the more familiar we become with these fantastic beings, the more mundane they seem. The Primarch Fulgrim is sadly wasted in this instalment, although McNeill clearly revels in the chapter featuring the animalistic Angron, a wonderfully wild and atavistic monster. The penmanship of the gritty Scot also transfers well to characters like the wrath-fuelled Abaddon, and the Space Marines as a whole feel like a far more brutal brotherhood than before.
Although McNeill lacks some of Abnett's facility for conveying the rich splendour of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and his writing is somewhat less elegant, for the most part you would not notice that this is a different author. Unfortunately, the iterator Kyril Sindermann is used mainly for exposition rather than philosophy, and First Chaplain Erebus' scheming is thunderously obvious, but I'm picking holes here in what is essentially a sound and gripping tale. Above all else, McNeill writes Space Marine stories well, and False Gods is no exception. The time has come to return to the worship of the old gods. You know it makes sense.
Emphatically `Yes'. Though all Warhammer 40,000 fans will be well aware of the tragic fate of the angelic Primarch Horus, there is a grim fascination in following his downfall and I found it very difficult to put this book down. Unusually for a Black Library book (the publisher is known for its tendency to deal out mass bombardments of death and destruction from the word `Go'), there's a good deal of build-up before the first confrontation takes place. And - without wishing to spoil the moment - what a confrontation it turns out to be!
In many ways, this book was what I expected Horus Rising to be. Much of the story is told from Horus' point of view, whereas the previous book relegated his magisterial presence to the background. In False Gods we follow Horus both physically and metaphysically through his struggles with powers divine and diabolical. I am sure that most Warhammer 40,000 fans will prefer this direct approach to telling Horus' story, but it does have its flaws. The divine ineffability that had previously veiled the godlike Primarchs is fast wearing thin as the Horus Heresy series continues. And there's the rub - it's unavoidable that the more familiar we become with these fantastic beings, the more mundane they seem. The Primarch Fulgrim is sadly wasted in this instalment, although McNeill clearly revels in the chapter featuring the animalistic Angron, a wonderfully wild and atavistic monster. The penmanship of the gritty Scot also transfers well to characters like the wrath-fuelled Abaddon, and the Space Marines as a whole feel like a far more brutal brotherhood than before.
Although McNeill lacks some of Abnett's facility for conveying the rich splendour of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and his writing is somewhat less elegant, for the most part you would not notice that this is a different author. Unfortunately, the iterator Kyril Sindermann is used mainly for exposition rather than philosophy, and First Chaplain Erebus' scheming is thunderously obvious, but I'm picking holes here in what is essentially a sound and gripping tale. Above all else, McNeill writes Space Marine stories well, and False Gods is no exception. The time has come to return to the worship of the old gods. You know it makes sense.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
What can I say. Pity the man who has to follow Abnett in a novel series, especially Abnett on form.
Horus Rising was a supreme success, and as good a teller of space marine action stories as McNeill is, he is simply not the writer that Abnett is. And unfortunately this book makes it obvious.
That being said, it is still a good book, enjoyable, and makes a noble effort to carry on the style, pace and scope of the first book. And it does not fail. Its just... not as good. Sorry Graham.
That being said, the change in the Mournival is worth it, and is rather well done, and Loken and other key characters are written with amazing continuity.
Unfortunately, I hated the bits with Horus in the warp. Frankly they were not enough to explain why Horus falls (though I will give McNeill this - his description of a 40k shrine world is absolutely fantastic - and almost enough on its own - its just a shame that the rest of Horus' acid trip is not nearly as poignant or strong).
So, a damn good effort, but simply not as good as Horus Rising.
Horus Rising was a supreme success, and as good a teller of space marine action stories as McNeill is, he is simply not the writer that Abnett is. And unfortunately this book makes it obvious.
That being said, it is still a good book, enjoyable, and makes a noble effort to carry on the style, pace and scope of the first book. And it does not fail. Its just... not as good. Sorry Graham.
That being said, the change in the Mournival is worth it, and is rather well done, and Loken and other key characters are written with amazing continuity.
Unfortunately, I hated the bits with Horus in the warp. Frankly they were not enough to explain why Horus falls (though I will give McNeill this - his description of a 40k shrine world is absolutely fantastic - and almost enough on its own - its just a shame that the rest of Horus' acid trip is not nearly as poignant or strong).
So, a damn good effort, but simply not as good as Horus Rising.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Loved Dan Abnett's first book in this trilogy so bought this follow up. It suffers from the author not being quite as good as Abnett and the change in voice of some of the characters which sometimes grates. When writing about other characters or general battle scenes Graham McNeil is spot on though and the overall book is very enjoyable.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
better than the first book...in my opinion
After horus rising i was keen to understand why horus fell as far as he did. His anxiety and worry about his new role as warmaster is tested and his character flaws spew over. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Robin G. Symons
The're right behind you!
The atmosphere in this novel is terrific. There is a brooding presence which is the force of chaos and an overarching sense of impending doom. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Lee Hanley
fantastic book
I bought this and 'Horus Rising' at the same time. Read them both cover to cover in 3 days and they are brilliant. Read more
Published 7 months ago by G. Bash
Chaos is coming!
Perfect!
Having dabbled with the Games workshop creations as a younger man,i recently enjoyed returning to the 41st millenium and the Adeptus Astartes in book form. Read more
Having dabbled with the Games workshop creations as a younger man,i recently enjoyed returning to the 41st millenium and the Adeptus Astartes in book form. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Rogertheshrubbr
Disappointing
Dan Abnett will always be a hard act to follow, and although this book's not bad, it's simply not as good and was therefore quite a disappointment. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Callatrics
Brill
i bought the first book and loved it and this is just as good u really need to start from the first as they run in order.
Published 11 months ago by leigh
False Gods review
After reading Horus Rising I could not wait to get into the next book in the series. I purchased False Gods and whilst waiting for it to arrive I read some of the reviews written... Read more
Published 17 months ago by foley
No
Ok the eagerly anticipated 2nd book in the series, written by Graham McNeill, now i have read the ultramarines omnibus also by McNeill so i had a good idea of what he was capable... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Random Spawn
Surprisingly good
This is the second book in the Horus Heresy series based on the miniatures game Warhammer 40K. The book is set some 10 000 years before the 40K universe and deals with the... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Alwayslearning
Excellent!!
I read from the half way point of this book to the end last night, took 5-6 hours, and I didn't flinch once to realise the time going by. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Alan Smith
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