Hi guys

Presumably anyone reading this is, like me, a massive fan of the Horus Heresy and specifically the Horus Heresy book series, and the way that it has opened up the events of the Heresy and have helped make forums such as this both a popular and enjoyable place to be. You might be reading this following a misguided google link for Miley Cyrus - if so, I apologise, the appropriate links are found at the bottom of the page. But for everyone else...

Speaking personally, I've been 'into' 40k for approaching 20 years now, ever since I was a small child and wondered who those 'guys with the shoulder pads' were. I've avidly read the background and written material surrounding the 40k universe, and thoroughly enjoyed it for the most part, through the old rulebooks and early 40k novels, right through the different incarnations of the game and continuing through to the current Horus Heresy book series.

But my question is this - part of my enjoyment of this book range is built upon an existing store of knowledge concerning the 40k universe. About its different cultures, its customs, its 'feel'. How appealing then, if I had no knowledge of this universe before reading a book from the Heresy series, might the books appear to be? How attractive would the universe be to one who is an 'outsider', or else has no pre-existing conception at all of the story the books might contain? How might I view the literary abilities of Abnett, McNeil and co.? How do their stories come accross?

So, in a long and winding way, this is what my article proposes: The Horus Heresy book series provides a foundational stone upon which a large part of the current explosion in popularity of this facet of '40k' is based. So I suggest that we recommend a book from the Horus Heresy range (it can be any) to someone we each know well. Ask them to read the book (if necessary bribe with chocolate and/or beer) and then, using this thread, write a short piece on how the book came accross to them, commenting on various aspects of it that appealed to them, or perhaps parts they did not enjoy.

I think this will bring up some interesting considerations, and will cast a view on these stories in the most objective way possible. Hopefully it will generate some more discussion about the Heresy, and who knows, might even create a few new fans? I for one think that the tale of the Heresy, and everything surrounding it, is one of the most powerful and emotive in modern sci-fi, and that once the door has been opened to it many people will be well and truly hooked! This idea will be a test of that in any case, and I for one would be very interested in what people have to say about it.


So, in an effort to begin this project, I have cajouled my sister into reading 'Horus Rising' - which I think is perhaps the most easily penetrable of the books - in return for agreeing to shave her back. When completed, she will make a short post here letting us know what she thought of it (perhaps using her own username), or else through my own.

If anyone else has any thoughts on the viablity of this project, or whether its even worthwhile, I'd be glad to here it, and perhaps change the way this is done.

Thanks

Pacific

OH MY GOD! I literally persuaded my sister to read HR yesterday too... :lol:

How about we get them to compare their impressions of it?

Did you agree to shave her back as well? :lol:

a few yrs ago one of my mates (a 35 yr old punk with an iq of 3) read blood drinkers and draco...

after some explaining (what a space marine is etc) he absolutley loved them, although he thinks 'toy soldiers are gay'...

he overheard me talkin to a friend about FotE and now he is going absolutley nuts to read them, as he said that the gw novels are some of the best he has read (he has also read drachenfells, the one after that, i cant spell her name), the only other books that come close are the necroscope / vampire world books by brian lumley and stephen king... i cant wait to hear what he thinks about them...

Now THAT would be a coincidence!! :D

Mortirion you should try and persuade your friend to post on here then, and tell us in his own words what he thinks of the books!

I got my missus to read Space Wolf, and she enjoyed it which surprised me lol

Took me a while to explain what chaos was and stuff, but shew says she will read the next one soon.

Once she's read that I'll give her 'Horus Rising' and see if she'll read it.

Hmm a quandry..

I just rediscovered my copy of Ian Watson's Space Marine and have spent the last few evenings flying through it. WHAT a book, this should be required reading for all new inductees into GW's world! So now, do I give my sister this to read, which I think would be a far better introduction into what it means to be a marine, or do I stick with the original plan and ask her to read HR? <_<

Incidentally why the hell was this book not ever re-printed? Its by far the best ever book written about the process of becoming a marine in my opinion, and isn't really incorrect in terms of background (yes there are squats in there, but one of those was a main character in the Inquisition Wars and that has been re-printed several times).

Seeing it on Amazon for £20 at the cheapest makes me sad that so many people will never get to enjoy this book.

I've gone through 3 copies of SM, it's AMAZING. I read it when I was the same age as Lexandro is supposed to be, so it had special resonance for me at that time!

I still think HR is a better start, because it shows a more human viewpoint. Why don't you start her with SM and the go to HR, and I'll do the opposite for my sister? She starts on Monday... :lol:

Sounds like a plan! My sis is starting to read this evening. When I asked her which she wanted to read she said, "why don't you discuss it with your geek friends" :lol:

This sounds very interesting. I will try to convince one of my friends to read the Horus Rising as he is a major bookworm. Not so sure about his English though...

Is this the Space Marine book of which you speak?

That's the one!

A very good read, if you can find a copy.

one of my group has my copy... :( had it since 1996


hope he can still find it

First update in a while, but unfortunately this idea seems to have fallen onto the wayside..

My sister read nearly got all the way through Space Marine, but in her words, "had to stop at the point at which they flew up the aliens bottom". She thought it was well written (which means a lot coming from her as shes a prolific reader) but in the end the amount of killing and destruction became too much, simply because there was no relief from it!
I'm kind of miffed that she didn't finish it, but when you're only reading a handful of pages a day and really aren't looking forward to it, I can completely understand why.

On the plus side, she thought some of the ideas were excellent (she mentioned the marines getting their buttocks stamped after making it though the 'tunnel of pain'!), and some bits were overly gratuitous (the bit where they ate the brains of the titan crew!)

Has anyone else had any success in persuading non-hobbyists to read some GW or HH fiction?

No. Perhaps a jedi mind trick might persuade you to hand your copy of Space Marine over for my perusal.... :ph43r:

Does that count?

My sister (in her "infinite Feminist MA wisdom") has decided that all GW products are political statements encouraging neo-Imperialism and religious discontent, and has therefore refused to read any of them. :rolleyes:

I wonder if I can persuade her to get up in arms about that anti-Islam film that is doing the rounds with equal fervour...

Surely religious discontent is a good thing?

After all there are no such things as gods.

Only the Emporer. :D

Iacton.. if I had signed notice of collection of a pound of flesh upon failure to return the book, then sure no problem :D

Seriously though, I know copies of this book are few and far between now, so I'll let you know when I get it back from the person its on loan to at the moment.