Sometimes committing heresy isn't that bad...

I love reading. I'm a fervent follower of the beauty of words on a page. The glorious intertwining of worlds and ideas forming new pictures and views in my mind. Yeah I'm  BIG fan. As anybody who reads this may know, I am also a big fan of the Warhammer 40k universe and have found myself constantly pulled into reading the fiction surrounding that world multiple times. I've read a lot of the Black Library material and found most of it falls short of actual decent reading.

Now I know there are people out there who think that books are meant to be containers filled with intellectual thought and very little else. These hunters of literature will destroy most books claiming they are of little worth and have nothing to contribute to the world in the way of new thought. I am not one of them, but i can tell the difference between action-porn and intellect.

I've read Chuck Palahniuk, Richard Matheson and had the misfortune of reading a  Paulo Coelho. Ihave delved into Shakespeare, swam through Dante Alighieri, explored Lovecraft's world and generally had my share of what the high-born-literate individual claims to be decent works of fiction. I may be no Literature Major, but i have had my fill, and sometimes i just need some good old escapism. That's where the Black Library stuff has helped slake my thirst.

However, besides a few of Dan Abnett's books, and some of Graham McNeill's fiction, most of it has just seemd to fall short of actual entertainment. It has all been so formulaic; Introduce character, fight scene, talk a little, fight scene, big monster, fight scene, deus ex machina, fight scene, bigger monster, talk, fight, leave reader knowing that they might have to pay more for anything better... It just leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Read the codeces if you want more just seems to be the gist of it. Almost every one of those books seems to be a mere advertisement for their range of models. And what makes it sad is that in most cases, that is the truth.

And then came the Horus Heresy. Anyone familiar with the lore, you know the gist of it: Christ-Like Emperor saves mankind, leads humanity into the outer reaches of space to bring his glory to everyone, saving more human civilisations along the way, and generally being an all round good guy. Recliams his sons( see apostles) lets them rule his armies, the story continues and Horus, the favoured son rebels against him. Forgive my haphazard summary, but most people should get what i'm talking about. All the codeces published by Games Workshop along with their rulebooks have given small details as to the entire Heresy and the events around it, so for most readers of the series the story is old news.

And that is where Black Library has started to shine. What would be the point of reading a book, when you already know the ending, you ask? And with almost all of the books in the series, that is the case. However these books are more about the journey than the destination. And what a journey it is!

Black library has allowed its authors to explore many different facets of the Warhammer universe. The reader knows that this all happened a few thousand years before their current army became what it is, and therefore knows that most of the horrors they already knew everything about probably will not feature, but when they do, they appear in style. characters are grown in rich environments, ideals are questioned and even some decent intellectual thought enters into the books. Unlike most of the non-Heresy fiction, there doesn't seem to be a formula to the works. You can sympathize with Horus and his viewpoint, you feel sorry for Magnus the Red and the great betrayal laid on him. Hell you even start to see the supposed heroes in a different light, with even The Emperor showing a bit of dark in his golden form. The entire series just works well.

That is not to say there are no fight scenes, because when the action comes, it is intense and loaded with energy and pace. All the battles are well described and don't feel monotonous in any way. Its like GW decided that they'll give the authors a big colouring book, and let them fill in the white space in whatever way they feel.

The Horus Heresy so far is gorgeous. Brilliantly paced, well written and generally great escapism. There may be no deeper thought that hasn't been done before in sci-fi, but when taken in the context of the Warhammer 40 000 world, it works brilliantly.

Congratulations Black Library, you are starting to prove yourself worthy.