That seems like a fairly obvious place to start. I decided to exclude Horus Rising by Dan Abnett because it is the first book of the series and universally recommended. That is why I have compiled the best Horus Heresy books published today. And with a series as large as the Horus Heresy, there are going to be dips in quality that are skippable.

If you are anything like me, you are probably interested in the series but don’t have time to read 40 books. The start of the series, Horus Rising, False Gods, and Galaxy in Flames unfolds like a trilogy, so plan accordingly, because you'll need to continue deeper and deeper into the world and story with more audiobooks.The Warhammer 40k Horus Heresy book series is gargantuan, currently sitting at 40+ books. This highly rated series is perfect for a deeply absorptive audio marathon that brings all the drama. Tales of Heresy, for example, unites previous narrators in the series, including acclaimed voice actor Gareth Armstrong. As you dive further into the series, you'll discover recurring British actors and narrators who immerse you into this epic tale and get to enjoy multicast narrations. The first three installments in The Horus Heresy are narrated by the British actor of film, television, radio, and horror games, Toby Longworth, who also voiced Star Wars characters in The Phantom Menace. Some are thrilled and some are not, and so commences an epic tale filled with Space Marines, Lunar Wolves, fascists, suspicion, manipulation, and betrayal. The series starts with Horus Rising, in which the Emperor of Mankind retires and places his son Horus (genetically engineered) in charge as Warmaster. In this fictional universe, the Golden Age utopia took a serious turn into the Dark Age, with the threat of human extinction, during the throes of a galaxy-spinning civil war.

This massive series-more than 50 novels, plus novellas, short stories, audio dramas, and spin-offs-is set 10,000 years before the far future of Warhammer 40,000. Welcome to the 31st millennium in this grim, action-packed series about war, honor, loyalty, and betrayal spanning the galaxy.

Horus heresy book