The Warhammer 40k Horus Heresy book order, explained

What’s the correct Horus Heresy book order? This guide provides the full Horus Heresy reading order for all the novels, and the Siege of Terra mini-series, complete with spoiler-free summaries for each book.

If you want more great stories of action, courage, and tragedy, we have another guide to the best Warhammer 40k books. Our guides to the Warhammer 40k factions are packed with lore.

If you’re only interested in one Legion of Space Marines, the second half of this guide provides reading lists for each Legion.

The best Horus Heresy book order is:

• All the Horus Heresy novels in order
• Best Horus Heresy books for each legion 

All the Horus Heresy novels in order

1 – Horus Rising

Horus Rising is told mostly from the perspective of the Space Marine Garviel Loken as he is inducted into the inner court of Horus Lupercal, Warmaster of the Imperium. After centuries persecuting the Great Crusade to reunite the lost worlds of mankind, the Space Marines must confront their assumptions about their place in the universe. Meanwhile, the treacherous Erebus of the Word Bearers begins to enact a scheme that will eventually topple the galaxy.

2 – False Gods

In False Gods, Horus is laid low on the moon of Davin, thanks to a plot by Erebus. In an effort to save his life, his loyal sons deliver him into the clutches of a cult devoted to the ruinous powers of Chaos. Horus awakens a changed man.

3 – Galaxy in Flames

In Galaxy in Flames Horus’ treachery is laid bare. On Istvaan III Horus  and three fellow Warhammer 40k Primarchs – Mortarion of the Death Guard, Angron of the World Eaters, and Fulgrim of the Emperor’s Children – commit the elements of their legion most loyal to the Imperium to a ground assault, before virus-bombing the planet’s surface. Forewarned, some Loyalists survive, and the traitor forces root them out in a gruelling siege.

4 – The Flight of the Eisenstein

The Flight of the Eisenstein begins in the void above Istvaan III, as Captain Saul Garro of the Death Guard is warned of the Warmaster’s treachery. He escapes from the traitor forces in a single vessel and must make a desperate warp-jump towards Terra, all the while contending with the depredations of the Plague God Nurgle.

5 –  Fulgrim

Fulgrim begins before the Heresy, following the perfectionist Emperor’s Children Space Marines as they encounter a strange alien civilization that changes their destiny forever. It ends in the dropsite massacre at Istvaan V.

An Imperial retribution fleet arrives to crush Horus’ rebellion, and is in turn set upon by traitor elements in its own rearguard. Fulgrim faces off against his once beloved brother Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands in single combat, and slays him.

6 – Descent of Angels

Descent of Angels is set before the outbreak of the Heresy, in two time main periods. On the feudal world of Caliban, the knightly Order purge the great Chaos beasts that haunt the forests and terrorise the innocent. Their leader, the superhuman Lion El’Jonson, is a lost Primarch son of the Emperor, supported by his sworn brother Luther.

When Caliban is incorporated into the Imperium, the Lion is elevated to command of the Dark Angels Space Marine Legion. His former brother chafes, knowing he will forever lie in the Lion’s shadow – and the seeds of a dire treachery are sown.

7 – Legion

Set before the Heresy begins, Legion follows the covert Alpha Legion as they are contacted by agents of the mysterious Cabal. This interspecies Xenos alliance has grave news about the fate of the galaxy that can only be averted if the Imperium loses the coming civil war. The book also introduces the concept of Perpetuals, beings which – like the Emperor – are functionally immortal.

8 – Battle for the Abyss

In Battle for the Abyss a hodge-podge band of Space Marines from different legions team up to destroy a Word Bearers super weapon. Widely regarded as skippable.

9 – Mechanicum

Kelbor Hal, Fabricator general of Mars and ruler of the Mechanicum tech priests, is beguiled with promises of forbidden to join Warmaster Horus’ cause. Devastating scrap-code is unleashed across Mars, and all out civil war erupts within the Mechanicum across the entire galaxy.

10 – Tales of Heresy

Tales of Heresy is a short story collection. Contains the notable story ‘After Desh’ea’, featuring the first, fatal meeting between the World Eaters and their Primarch Angron.

11 – Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels is split into two, disconnected stories. When news of Warmaster Horus’ betrayal reaches the Dark Angels, their legion is fully committed to a campaign against lethal Xenos. Lion El’Jonson leads a lightning strike to secure and deny powerful siege weapons from the Warmaster’s advancing forces.

Meanwhile on the Dark Angels’ home-world Caliban, conditions deteriorate, dire secrets are revealed, and outright rebellion from the Imperium erupts among the elements of the Legion banished from Jonson’s side.

12 – A Thousand Sons

A Thousand Sons explores the history and motivations of the Thousand Sons, Legion of Sorcerers. Part of the novel is set before the Heresy, following the sorcerer Ahriman as he searches for a cure to the degenerative mutations that plague his Legion. The pursuit of answers drives the Thousand Sons to cross lines set for them by the Emperor – a decision that sees the Imperium’s judgment descend upon their homeworld, Prospero, in the form of the

13 – Nemesis

Nemesis is a side story about a Kill Team of 40k Assassins attempting to bring down the Warmaster Horus. No surprises – it doesn’t work. Notable for being an early appearance of Constantin Valdor, master of the Adeptus Custodes.

14 – The First Heretic

The First Heretic is set 50 years before the Heresy. Lorgar and the Word Bearers worship the Emperor as a god, a devotion which he rejects entirely. Lorgar is gripped by despair, but his adopted father Kor Phaeron and chaplain Erebus set him on a search for truth.

His investigations uncover the great warp rift known as the Eye of Terra, and lead the legion to direct its devotion at new masters, the ruinous powers of Chaos. The novel concludes in the lethal events of the dropsite massacre at Istvaan V.

15 – Prospero Burns

Leman Russ and the Space Wolves Legion are despatched to bring Magnus the Red and the Thousand Sons Legion to justice. Told from the perspective of a human servant, it reveals the history of bad blood between the two legions, and the terrible events of the invasion that ensure the planet Prospero Burns.

16 – Age of Darkness

Age of Darkness is a short story collection. Notable stories include:

• Little Horus, which hints that Garviel Loken may yet live;
• The Iron Within, which shows that not all Iron Warriors turned to the Warmaster’s cause…
• Savage Weapons, a furious fight between the Primarchs of the Dark Angels and the Night Lords
• Face of Treachery, in which strange allies assist Raven Guard survivors in escaping from Istvaan V.

17 – The Outcast Dead

The Outcast Dead is a side story set in the underbelly of the Imperial Palace. Warriors from disgraced Legions, and the last surviving pre-Space Marine Thunder Warriors, band together to protect an Astropath who has learned a secret that threatens the outcome of the war.

18 – Deliverance Lost

Deliverance Lost follows the Ravenguard. After the Legion is almost wiped out during the drop site massacre on Isstvaan V, their primarch Corvus Corax seeks the Emperor’s gene alchemy to rebuild his legion. Agents of the Alpha Legion interfere, with terrible consequences.

19 – Know No Fear

In Know No Fear, the Word Bearers spring a devastating betrayal on the Ultramarines, destroying masses of their forces on the planet Calth and isolating them from the wider war. Can the dauntless 13th Legion survive total annihilation?

20 – The Primarchs

The Primarchs is an anthology of four novellas, each focused on a particular Primarch. Of particular note, in ‘The Reflection Crack’d’, the leading captains of the Emperor’s Children attempt to rid Fulgrim of daemonic influence; in ‘The Lion’, the Dark Angels’ war against the Night Lords becomes complicated by two more Legions; and in ‘The Serpent Beneath’, the Alpha Legion invoke their most convoluted plot ever – to infiltrate the Alpha Legion.

21 – Fear to Tread

In Fear to Tread, Sanguinius of the Blood Angels, noblest but most troubled of the Primarchs, must face daemons – the inner daemon of the red thirst, and the daemons of the blood god Khorne. Will he, and his Legion, resist the pull of Chaos?

22 – Shadows of Treachery

Shadows of Treachery is a short story collection packed with noteworthy tales. In ‘The Crimson Fist’, you learn what became of Rogal Dorn’s retribution fleet after the dropsite massacre; learn how Corvus Corax and the Ravenguard survivors are rescued from Istvaan V in ‘The Raven’s Flight’; and in ‘Prince of Crows’, learn how Sevatar aims to lead the Night Lords while the Night Haunter lies grievously wounded following a battle with Rogal Dorn.

23 – Angel Exterminatus

In Angel Exterminatus, Fulgrim and the Emperor’s Children enlist Perturabo and his elite siege breakers to seek out an ancient Eldar war machine from within the Eye of Terror. Perturabo suspects a trap, but walks willingly into it, confident he can bring his brother to heal.

Meanwhile, survivors of the loyalist Legions shattered during the dropsite massacre on Istvaan V attempt to thwart their plans, with the aid of a mysterious Aeldari ally.

24 – Betrayer

Betrayer sees a joint campaign of Word Bearers and World Eaters terrorize the worlds of Ultramar. There is a ritual purpose to this campaign of terror, as Lorgar seeks the war-gods favor for his brother Angron. Features the best bromance in the series, between Khârn the Bloody of the World Eaters, and Argel Tal of the Word Bearers.

25 – Mark of Calth

Mark of Calth is a collection of short stories following the survivors of both the Ultramarines defenders and Word Bearer traitors in knife-point battles below the surface of the now-desolate planet Calth.

26 – Vulkan Lives

Believed slain on the fields of Istvaan V, Vulkan of the Salamanders is a perpetual – Vulkan Lives, because Vulkan cannot die. But as he is now imprisoned within a labyrinthine torture dungeon by his brother Konrad Curze, he may not appreciate this gift…

27 – Unremembered Empire

Believing the Imperium already fallen, Roboute Guilliman founds Imperium Secundus in the Ultramar subsector, installing Sanguinius as Emperor. Can The Unremembered Empire survive its own, inner struggle, as well as the depradations of the Warmaster and his forces? 

28 – Scars

The White Scars have always been an outsider legion on the fringes of the Imperium’s Great Crusade. In Scars, a sudden surprise assault by the Alpha Legion on both them and the Space Wolves forces them to make a choice- will they side with the Warmaster, or the Emperor?

29 – Vengeful Spirit

Horus leads an assault on the Imperial Knight world of Molech. He seeks power beyond measure – power that he believes the Emperor himself may have drunk from. Garviel Loken, the last loyalist son of Horus, leads an infiltration mission to find and mark Horus’ flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, for an assassination attempt.

30 – The Damnation of Pythos

In The Damnation of Pythos, Space Marines from three legions who survived the dropsite massacre at Istvaan V regroup on a death world – but darker forces than alien megafauna threaten them.

31 – Legacies of Betrayal

Legacies of Betrayal is a short story anthology packed with stories about characters who will endure into the 41st millennium. Learn more about Lucius the Eternal in The Faultless Blade, Khârn the Betrayer in Khârn: The Eightfold Path, and Bjorn the Fell-Handed in Bjorn: Lone Wolf.

32 – Deathfire

Vulkan of the Salamanders lies dead, his body recovered to the Ultramar sector. His sons must make the dangerous journey to their homeworld Nocturne to bring him to Mount Deathfire and attempt his resurrection.

33 – War Without End

War Without End is a short story collection. Contains several key Emperor’s Children short stories, and Twisted, which follows Horus’ equerry Maloghurst contends with daemon-worshipping plotters and his uncertain future as the Warmaster’s right hand man.

34 – Pharos

The mysterious Xenos artefact known as the Pharos enables the worlds of Imperium Secundus to communicate, despite the ongoing tumult of the Ruinstorm. Seeing nothing more than a convenient target, the forces of the Night Lords descend upon the beacon – the conflict that follows will have consequences millennia later.

35 – Eye of Terra

Eye of Tera is a short story anthology. Contains several key stories, including Aurelian, which recounts Lorgar’s pilgrimage into the Eye of Terra to speak with the representatives of the Chaos gods.

36 – The Path of Heaven

After four years of grinding war against the Death Guard, the White Scars must make a perilous voyage through the warp – The Path of Heaven – if they are to reach Terra in time to participate in the siege.

37 – The Silent War

A short story collection, particularly focused on the agents of Malcador the Sigilite. Important stories include The Grey Angel, in which Garviel Loken travels to Caliban to try and gauge the loyalty of Luther of the Dark Angels; and Luna Mendax, in which Loken is visited by the ghost of his friend Torgaddon.

38 – Angels of Caliban

In Angels of Caliban, Konrad Curze and the Night Lords terrorize Imperium Secundus. Lion El’Jonson’s obsession with bringing him to justice almost tears the fragile alliance.

39 – Praetorian of Dorn

In Praetorian of Dorn, Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the Imperial Fists and castellan of the Imperial palace, musters for war in the Garmon cluster. Meanwhile, agents of the Alpha Legion stage their most audacious deception ever.

40 – Corax

Corax is a collection of short stories and novellas that focuses on Corvus Corax and the Ravenguard legion, following his attempts to exact justice from the Warmaster in the wake of the betrayal at Istvaan III.

41 – The Master of Mankind

The Master of Mankin reveals why the Emperor of Mankind was absent from the front lines of the Horus Heresy. His great work, constructed in secret in the Imperial Dungeons, teeters on the brink of destruction – can the 10,000 warriors of the Adeptus Custodes hold back the tide of annihilation?

42 – Garro, Weapon of Fate

Garro, Weapon of Fate was originally released as several distinct audio dramas. Nathaniel Garro is a former legionary of the Death Guard. Now in the service of Malcador, the Sigilite, he strikes out on covert missions across the galaxy. Several parts of this story take place earlier in the Heresy timeline, including the recovery of Garviel Loken after his presumed death on Istvaan III.

43 – Shattered Legions

Shattered Leaders is a short story collection following the survivors of the dropsite massacre on Istvaan V as they lead a guerrilla campaign against Warmaster Horus, under the banner of Shadrak Meduson.

44 – The Crimson King

When Magnus the Red was bested by his brother Leman Russ during the burning of Prospero, not only was his body broken, but his spirit, too. In The Crimson King his sons seek the fractured fragments of his soul to recover their father.

45 – Tallarn

Without warning, the Iron Warriors fleet arrives above the forgotten Imperial staging world of Tallarn and virus bombs it into lifelessness. A few defenders survive to send word to the Imperium, and the planet becomes host to the biggest tank war in history. Though the Imperials will never know, Perturabo has a very personal objective on this world, that he is willing to risk the wrath of the Warmaster to secure.

46 – Ruinstorm

Realising that the Imperium still stands, the three Primarchs of Imperium Secundus lead their forces into the deadly warp storm known as the Ruinstorm in an attempt to stand rejoin their father. Will any of them make it to the Imperial Palace before the Siege of Terra begins?

47 – Old Earth

Vulkan of the Salamanders must choose between leading the survivors of the shattered legions against the traitor forces, or following a path that will lead him to Terra, Old Earth, to stand beside his father at the siege.

48 – The Burden of Loyalty

The Burden of Loyalty  is a short story collection. Notable stories include The Wolf King, which sees the Space Wolves harried by the forces of the Alpha Legion before they have recovered from the disastrous burning of Prospero; and The Binary Succession, in which the political mess of the Martian civil war creates new fault lines in Imperial politics.

49 – Wolfsbane

Wolfsbane explains why the Space Wolves were not present during the Siege of Terra. Rather than stand on the walls of Terra, Leman Russ leads the Space Wolves to seek the traitor Warmaster’s heart. Can the Emperor’s Executioner defeat his traitorous brother?

50 – Born of Flame

An anthology of novellas and short stories about Vulkan and the Salamanders legion, several of the tales in Born of Flame act as prequels to the Salamanders Warhammer 40k novel series.

51 – Slaves to Darkness

In Slaves to Darkness, the Warmaster’s forces muster at Ullanor, but Horus is absent, fighting an unseen, inner war. Horus’ equerry Maloghurst must bear the burden of command; sacrifices must be made if the Warmaster is to prove triumphant.

Meanwhile, Lorgar makes a pilgrimage into the realm of Chaos to retrieve Fulgrim from his indulgences. Perturabo extracts himself from the rearguard campaign he is fighting against the Ultramarines to bring his brother Angron and the World Eaters to heel for the final assault.

52 – Heralds of the Siege

Heralds of the Siege is a short story collection with several key stories: ‘Childen of Sicarus’ follows Kor Phaeron of the Word Bearers as he grapples with his destiny. ‘Now tolls Midnight’ follows the great leaders of the Imperial defence as they realise the forces of Horus have finally invaded the Sol system – truly gripping.

53 – Titandeath

Titans in numbers never seen before make war in the Garmon cluster. The heart of the novel tracks the hatred between two Titan legions, Legio Solaria and Legio Vulpa, and rival Princeps with a shared past. Meanwhile, Sanguinius maneuvers the many Titan Legions at his disposal in an effort to break the Warmaster’s hold on the cluster – a conflict that will be known as the Titandeath.

54 – The Buried Dagger

The seeds of poison sewn in the Death Guard Legion by First Captain Typhus finally bear rotten fruit in The Buried Dagger. En route to the Sol System, the Death Guard fleet is becalmed in the warp, overtaken by an unending sickness that will not let them die. Primarch Mortarion will strike any bargain to deliver his Legion.

The Siege of Terra reading order

The Siege of Terra series forms the long-awaited, epic conclusion to all the Horus Heresy’s many plots, machinations, ambushes, and preambles.

Warmaster Horus Lupercal and his vast armada of Chaos Space Marines, traitor 40k Titans, mortal cultists, and daemon allies have at last arrived at the Sol system to launch their final assault on Terra (Earth), aiming to kill and supplant the Emperor of Mankind himself.

There are eight full Siege of Terra novels, one of which is so big it’s split into three parts, plus three novellas – all the main titles and Fury of Magnus are essential reading. This is the crescendo and climax of the whole Heresy series, after all!

I – The Solar War

In The Solar War, we see the chaos fleet overwhelm the solar system’s outer defences, commanded by master strategist Perturabo of the Iron Warriors.

Sons of the Selenar (novella)

In Sons of the Selenar, the remnants of Shadrak Meduson’s shattered legions attempt one last mission, to stop the Sons of Horus from claiming the genetic alchemy of the Selenar genecults on Luna.

II – The Lost and the Damned

In The Lost and the Damned, the traitor forces bombard the planet from orbit to the point of environmental destruction, before launching their ground assault on the continent-sized defensive trenchworks surrounding the Imperial Palace.

The attack is led by Mortarion and the Death Guard, joined by his brother Angron of the World Eaters, now a rage-fuelled, daemonic demigod of destruction. Blood Angels primarch Sanguinius flies to the defenders’ aid at key points, but the conclusion is never in doubt.

After a heroic effort, the mostly human Imperial Army defences are overwhelmed.

III – The First Wall

The First Wall opens with a new focus: the outer walls of the Imperial Palace itself, defended by Rogal Dorn‘s yellow-clad legion of Imperial Fists.

The keystone is protecting the Lion’s Gate spaceport – Terra’s biggest port facility, which, if captured by Horus’ forces, could be used to land their Titan legions on the surface. We, er, won’t spoil how that goes.

IV – Saturnine

Author Dan Abnett’s Saturnine is a more complex read. The Imperial Palace (more a thousand-mile-wide fortress city than a building) has many rings of vast walls and gunlines for the traitor host to fight through and, while they do, each side is watching the clock, watching the skies for incoming Ultramarines, and searching for a cunning master-stroke strategy to turn the tables.

Fury of Magnus (Novella)

In Fury of Magnus, Magnus the Red seeks an audience with his father – or, perhaps, his father is seeking an audience with him. Is there any possibility of redemption for a son so far fallen to ruin?

V – Mortis

If you like hundred-foot-high battle robots, John French’s Mortis is a hoot. With the traitors well and truly settled on the surface, Horus can finally deploy his titans; the loyalists deploy their remaining titan legions in turn, and we get a series of awesome engine-on-engine confrontations across the blasted ruins of the Outer Palace.

Garro: Knight of Grey (Novella)

Amid the ruins of the Imperial Palace, Nathanial Garro, Knight of Grey struggles to protect Euphrati Keeler, the first saint of the Imperial Church. He will face off against his greatest foe, his genefather, Mortarion, Primarch of the Death Guard.

VI – Warhawk

Chris Wraight’s Warhawk is, frankly, a bit of a love letter to Jaghatai Khan and the White Scars. With the traitors closing in on the Inner Palace, the praetorian of Terra Rogal Dorn commands all remaining forces to converge on defensive positions and hold out as long as they can.

But the White Scars don’t like huddling behind walls, and instead sally out to forestall the traitor advance. Watch out for one of the series’ best primarch grudge matches here.

VII – Echoes of Eternity

Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Echoes of Eternity is a gripping study in the unique emotional charge found in the penultimate stages of a siege. Think ‘Aragorn and Theoden in the Hornberg with the Uruk-Hai banging on the door’. Horus’ forces have breached the Inner Palace and are advancing on the Imperial Sanctum – the core building within which the Emperor sits on his Golden Throne.

The Imperial Fists are all but slaughtered; the remaining White Scars are holed up in the faraway Lion’s Gate spaceport; Blood Angels are mostly spent, and beating a fighting retreat. Reinforcements from the Ultramarines appear nowhere near. The end is nigh – but the loyalists fight on.

VIII – The End and the Death

The final Horus Heresy Siege of Terra book – The End and the Death – comes in three volumes. The Imperium’s last defenders are dwindling; the Imperial Palace is swimming with blood; Terra itself is sinking into the Warp; and Warmaster Horus’s final victory seems inevitable – but, at long last, the Emperor rises from his throne…

This is the Horus Heresy’s absolute finale: the death of Sanguinius and the final duel between the Emperor and Horus aboard the Vengeful Spirit. Beyond that, we’ll have to wait and see…

 

The best Horus Heresy books for each legion

No fewer than 18 vast legions of transhuman warriors fight it out across the many Horus Heresy novels, and each has its own distinct main characters, storylines, and styles. You’re bound to find yourself loving some, and despising others – so we’ve picked out these dedicated book lists to help you find the best novels about your favorite marines.

We’ve included all of the novels and short stories that make a major contribution to each faction, including stories that advance the plot of a legion significantly but only feature them as an antagonist.

Not every story from the Heresy is included: some books and many short stories are self-contained and don’t advance any of the wider character or plot development. Some books appear in multiple reading lists, as they tell two sides of the same conflict.

Word Bearers Horus Heresy reading order

The Word Bearers were the first legion infected by Chaos and the masterminds of Horus’ fall. Throughout the Heresy they embrace the powers of Chaos – but they are not the masters of it that they believe themselves to be.

• The First Heretic
• Aurelian (collected in Eye of Terra)
• Know No Fear.
• Macragge’s Honour (graphic novel): Kor Phaeron, Dark Apostle of the Word Bearer’s, flees from Ultramarines justice into the warp, arriving on a daemon world in the Eye of Terror.
• Betrayer
• Children of Sicarus
• Slaves to Darkness

Thousand Sons Horus Heresy reading order

Magnus the Red, Primarch of the Thousand Sons, attempts to warn the Emperor of Horus’ betrayal – but the sorcery he uses to reach the Emperor has terrible consequences. His attempts to escape Imperial retribution damn his legion.

• A Thousand Sons
• Prospero Burns
• The Crimson King
• The Fury of Magnus

Sons of Horus Horus Heresy reading order

Horus is slow to claim the gifts of Chaos, and the process almost destroys him.

• Horus Rising
• False Gods
• Galaxy in Flames
• Little Horus (collected in Age of Darkness)
• Warmaster (collected in Legacies of Betrayal): Horus discusses his plans for the war with a mysterious audience.
• The Either (collected in Shattered Legions): Tibalt Marr, “The Either”, seeks to slay the master of the Shattered Legions.
• Garro, Legion of One
• Grey Angel (collected in the Silent War)
• Luna Mendax (collected in the Silent War)
• Vengeful Spirit
• Twisted (collected in War Without End)
• Wolfsbane
• Slaves to Darkness
• Titandeath

Iron Warriors Horus Heresy reading order

The sharp mind and wounded pride of Perturabo, Primarch of the Iron Warriors, slowly turns to paranoia and obsession, as he seeks the power and glory forever denied his Legion. Only the honour of breaking Rogal Dorn’s fortification of the Imperial Palace will satisfy him.

• The Crimson Fist (collected in Shadows of Treachery): The Iron Warriors interdict an Imperial Fists retribution fleet, but the battle does not go as Primarch Perturabo predicts.
• The Iron Within (collected in Age of Darkness)
• Angel Exterminatus
• Tallarn
• Slaves to Darkness

Death Guard Horus Heresy reading order

Mortarion, Primarch of the Death Guard, believes there is no hardship his legion cannot endure. Yet he is not ready for the rot that First Captain Typhon will unleash within his legion, nor the price that he must pay to save his sons.

• Galaxy in Flames
• Flight of the Eisenstein
• Scars
• Daemonology (collected in War Without End)
• Vengeful Spirit
• The Path of Heaven
• Exocytosis (collected in Heralds of the Siege)
• The Buried Dagger

Night Lords Horus Heresy reading order

The Night Lords were the Imperium’s terror troops. But only the will of their primarch Konrad Curze held them together- as they turn on the empire they built, Curze descends into madness.

• The Dark King (collected in Shadows of Treachery)
• Vulkan Lives
• Pharos
• The Painted Count (collected in Heralds of the Siege)
• Savage Weapons (collected in Age of Darkness)
• Prince of Crows (collected in Shadows of Treachery)
• Angels of Caliban
• Night Haunter

Emperors Children Horus Heresy reading order

The pursuit of perfection and unwitting exposure to a fell chaos artefact drives the Emperor’s children to utter depravity.

• Horus Rising
• False Gods
• Galaxy in Flames
• Fulgrim
• The Reflection Crack’d (collected in The Primarchs)
• Aurelian (collected in Eye of Terra) – mostly stars Lorgar, but has deep lore about Fulgrom
• Angel Exterminatus
• Imperfect (collected in War Without End)
• Chirurgeon (collected in War Without End)
• The Soul, Severed (collected in Heralds of the Siege)
• The Path of Heaven
• Slaves to Darkness

World Eaters Horus Heresy reading order

A simple, brutal legion, the World Eaters are already psychotic killers at the outbreak of the Heresy. As the war progresses, their savagery attracts the attention of the blood god Khorne.

• After Desh’ea (collected in Tales of Heresy)
• Galaxy in Flames
• Lord of the Red Sands (collected in War Without End)
• Butcher’s Nails (collected in Legacies of Betrayal)
• Rebirth (collected in Age of Darkness)
• Betrayer
• Slaves to Darkness
• A Rose Watered with Blood (short story)

Iron Hands Horus Heresy reading order

After the Dropsite Massacre on Istvaan V, the Iron Hands, Ravenguard, and Salamanders Legions are all but destroyed. Attempts to rebuild the legions are thwarted, but the survivors fight on as guerrilla warriors.

• Feat of Iron (collected in The Primarchs)
• Fulgrim
• Veritas Ferrum (collected in Legacies of Betrayal)
• Angel Exterminatus
• Shattered Legions
• Damnation of Pythos
• Imperfect (collected in War Without End)
• Old Earth

Imperial Fists Horus Heresy reading order

When the retribution fleet despatched to destroy Warmaster Horus at Istvaan V is consumed in the dropsite massacre, Dorn turns his legion’s gaze to the fortification of Terra – but his most favored son has goals of his own.

• The Lightning Tower (collected in Shadows of Treachery)
• The Crimson Fist (collected in Shadows of Treachery)
• Templar (collected in The Silent War)
• The Praetorian of Dorn
• Duty Waits (collected in Heralds of the Siege)
• Now Peels Midnight (collected in Heralds of the Siege)

Raven Guard Horus Heresy reading order

The Raven Guard Primarch Corvus Corax survives the massacre at Istvaan V and attempts to rebuild his shattered legion with technology from the Emperor. But fate will not be kind to his legion…

• Fulgrim
• Raven’s Flight (collected in Shadows of Treachery)
• Face of Treachery (collected in Age of Darkness)
• Deliverance Lost
• The Divine Word (collected in Legacies of Betrayal)
• Corax
• Valerius (collected in Heralds of the Siege)

Salamanders Horus Heresy reading order

Vulkan, Primarch of the Salamanders is thought slain on Istvaan V, but death does not come easily to the Primarch. Long trials eventually bring him to guard the Emperor’s throne room during the Siege of Terra.

• Fulgrim
• Scorched Earth (collected in Born of Flame)
• Vulkan Lives
• Deathfire
• Old Earth

White Scars Horus Heresy reading order

An outsider to the other legions, Jaghatai Khan’s loyalty to the Imperium is in doubt at the outbreak of the Heresy, but the scion of the White Scars knows the peril of Chaos too well. His road to stand beside the Emperor at Terra is long and hard.

• Brotherhood of the Storm (collected in Legacies of Betrayal)
• Scars
• Allegiance (collected in War Without End)
• The Path of Heaven
• The Last Son of Prospero (short story)
• Restorer (short story)

Blood Angels Horus Heresy reading order

The Primarch Sanguinius of the Blood Angels is an angelic being, tormented by dark desires. Resisting the allure of Chaos, he is haunted by visions of his own death, but they will not deter him from returning to stand with the Emperor.

• Fear to Tread
• Unremembered Empire
• Sins of the Father (collected in Eye of Terra)
• Herald of Sanguinius (collected in Eye of Terra)
• Angels of Caliban
• Ruinstorm

Optional, but recommended:

• Master of Mankind
• Bringer of Sorrow (short story)

Ultramarines Horus Heresy reading order

Betrayed by the Word Bearers, the Ultramarines are isolated by warpstorms in the far galactic East. Believing Terra lost, their Primarch Roboute Guilliman founds Imperium Secundus to keep the dream of the Imperium alive.

• Know No Fear
• Macragge’s Honour (graphic novel)
• Mark of Calth
• Betrayer
• The Unremembered Empire
• Pharos
• Angels of Caliban
• Ruinstorm

Space Wolves Horus Heresy reading order

The Emperor wants Magnus the Red brought to Terra alive, but Horus tricks Leman Russ of the Space Wolves into razing his home-world. When he learns of Horus’ perficy, Russ is determined to bring his spear to the Warmaster’s heart.

• A Thousand Sons
• Prospero Burns
• Wolf King (collected in The Burden of Loyalty)
• Wolf’s Claw (collected in Legacies of Betrayal)
• Scars
• Wolfsbane
• Weregeld (collected in Corax)

Adeptus Mechanicus Horus Heresy reading order

Kelbor Hal, fabricator General of Mars, is lured to the traitor cause by access to forbidden lore. A schism erupts on Mars, with loyalists fleeing to Terra. What will become of the Martian Empire now that it is denied its homeland?

• Mechanicum
• Into Exile (collected in The Burden of Loyalty)
• The Binary Succession (collected in The Burden of Loyalty)
• Master of Mankind
• Bringer of Sorrow (short story)

Dark Angels Horus Heresy reading order

Tensions fester in the heart of the Dark Angels legion, as the Primarch Lion’El Jonson’s former mentor Luther foments rebellion within the legion.

The Dark Angels have the most twisting plot of any legion, as characters are murdered and replaced, loyalties swap, and the mantle of Cypher swaps from person to person. You should consider reading everything for the Dark Angels if you want to get the full story

• Descent of Angels
• Leman Russ: The Great Wolf
• Call of the Lion (collected in Tales of Heresy)
• Fallen Angels
• Savage Weapons (collected in Age of Darkness)
• Grey Angel (collected in The Silent War)
• The Lion (collected in The Primarchs)
• Prince of Crows (collected in Shadows of Treachery)
• Cypher: Guardian of Order (collected in Legacies of Betrayal)
• Master of the First (collected in Eye of Terra)
• Unremembered Empire
• By the Lion’s Command (collected in War Without End)
• Angels of Caliban
• Ruinstorm

Alpha Legion Horus Heresy reading order

Everything you know about the Alpha Legion is a lie. Their interventions throughout the Heresy are mysterious and contradictory – but are they really traitors?

Novels from the perspective of the Alpha Legion are rare, and those sometimes include operatives with mind-wipes to hide their own objectives from themselves.

• Legion
• Hunter’s Moon (collected in Legacies of Betrayal)
• Wolf King (collected in The Burden of Loyalty)
• The Face of Treachery (collected in Age of Darkness)
• Deliverance Lost
• The Serpent Beneath (collected in The Primarchs)
• Scars
• Tallarn
• The Seventh Serpent, collected in Shattered Legions
• Castellan of Dorn

The Perpetuals Horus Heresy reading order

The Perpetuals touch on some of the deepest lore in the Heresy, but they’re only ever side characters in other narratives. It’s worth getting familiar with these characters though, as they have important roles to play in the Siege of Terra series.

If you’re hungry for more Warhammer action and want to see how your favorites turn out in ten thousand years, have a gander at our guides to the latest Warhammer 40k codex releases, and bookmark our Warhammer 40k news page for fresh updates daily.