Review of Horus Rising by Dan Abnett

Confession time: I am a skeptic of IP-based fiction. As a teenager, I read some very poor Star Wars universe books. I tried a few Dragonlance books, as well as some of the non-Frank Herbert Dune books. I have avoided anything video game related. Overall, I understand there may well be a few well written pieces hidden away, but most that franchise fiction I tried was poor quality: cheap plotting, mediocre to bad technique, and low expectations of reader intelligence. Staring at the MASSIVE Warhammer pantheon of books, I was understandably reluctant. But, always trying to challenge myself, I dipped a toe in the water: Dan Abnett's Horus Rising (2006). The water was warm and pleasurable.

In short, Horus Rising was a pleasant surprise. I went in expecting stinky cheese and instead got a solid, three course meal I can recommend beyond for people likewise skeptical of the IP. While superficially Horus Rising is literally of the “squids in space” variety, it is absolutely not that type of fiction a level deeper, specifically in its development theme, its representation of power/authoritarianism, its questions about religion/the supernatural, its approach to colonialism, and its prose. But I get ahead of myself. What's the story about?

First book in a series, Horus Rising sets the stage for the usurpation of the galactic human throne. It's 38,000 millennia in the future and humanity has spread across the stars, there finding other species likewise looking to dominate with blood and war. An immortal emperor ruling all known humanity, he appoints warlords to carry out invasions and planetary takeovers. His most beloved warlord is Horus. A deceivingly brutal man, Horus cultivates the devotion of his space marines brothers while carrying out the emperor's orders to subjugate and eradicate species who do not bow the knee. Onto this backdrop, Abnett layers the stories of a small handful of people in Horus' orbit as they are sent on a mission by the emperor to explore, and if necessary, subdue a newly discovered planet of xenos.

As stated, I went into Horus Rising expecting mediocre if not poor writing, telling an action-oriented tale of space marines blasting bug aliens to paste. What I got instead was a surprisingly subtle story of soldiers caught in an authoritarian regime, trying to come to terms with the tenants of their creed in the face of the realities they encounter carrying out orders—some real Vietnam War shit but with power armor. It's decidedly 'post-colonial' in this regard. If the reader peeled off the Warhammer sticker from the book's cover and said this is Starship Troopers-esque science fiction examining the meaning of power, religion, and diaspora I would wholly buy in. The IP, while present, is not just images and devices. Abnett explores the ideas in surprisingly delicate fashion given the exterior is gruff marines sawing off legs and arms of bugs. There is a gravitas present from page one that dominates the book and gives it a substance the reader can sink their proverbial teeth into, not to mention a substance that a lot of books without the IP's sticker simply do not possess—truly a pleasant surprise.

Abnett's lexicon and manner of presentation treats the audience intelligently. Things are not spelled out. Clashes of ideals have a degree of subtlety. Characters' interests are shown not told. Tone is consistent and appropriate. (I expected the space marines to be super heroes who do no wrong a la Golden Age sf, but I instead got a neutral presentation that hinted more at the morality of their leadership and work than anything heroic...)

Epic fantasy has excelled at the high-level view to existence. While often personified in honor, glory, loyalty, etc., the forces at work are typically virtuousness, authoritarianism, religion/belief, and questing for power—to build dominions and establish dominance. Monkey tribes in the jungle doing monkey things, basically. Horus Rising captures this as well. And so while the touch and feel is often science fiction (space ships, laser blasters, space marines, spider aliens, etc.), the actual undercurrent to mood and theme is epic fantasy. More specifically, it feels like Spartan or Viking brothers adhering to an ideology in their pursuits of glory. These are kings and their armies warring over planets and space rather than mountains and fields, and theme is complementary.

If there are any drawbacks to Horus Rising, one would certainly be the ending. While a nice pause in the overarching storyline, it nevertheless feels abrupt—chopped, like the end of a chapter not a novel. Again, the series is massive in length, so I'm a bit worried about any future volumes I may read endlessly prolonging the storyline.

Based on Horus Rising, I am cautiously optimistic. A little reading reveals Abnett is not the sole writer of the series. The next book is written by a name unknown to me. (Always a scary prospect to enter unknown author waters.) Regardless, I have respect for Horus Rising at a minimum. It upended my expectations on almost every front. I would even recommend the book for people interested in the aforementioned themes of post-colonialism, and the aspects which inevitably come in tow at the high level: power struggles, cultural ideals, etc. Still warmly surprised...