The Horus Heresy (novel series)

A galaxy-spanning civil war that shaped the dystopian future of Warhammer 40,000.

The Horus Heresy is a series of science fantasy novels set in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 setting of tabletop miniatures wargame company Games Workshop. Penned by several authors, the series takes place during the Horus Heresy, a fictional galaxy-spanning civil war occurring in the 31st millennium, 10,000 years before the main setting of Warhammer 40,000. The war is described as a major contributing factor to the game's dystopian environment. The books are published in several media by the Black Library, a Games Workshop division, with the first title released in April 2006. The series consists of 65 published volumes; the concluding story, The End and the Death, was released in three volumes, with the concluding volume of the series, The End and the Death: Volume III, being released in January 2024.

Quick Facts

Subject type: Novel series
Publisher: Black Library (Games Workshop)
First book: April 2006

Lore & Background

The Horus Heresy is a dark, far-future military space opera concerning a galactic civil war within the nascent Imperium of Man, and constitutes a cornerstone event of the dystopian science fantasy Warhammer 40,000 universe. The Heresy is caused by a Chaos plot to foil the Imperium's leader and founder, the mysterious Emperor of Mankind, by fomenting rebellion and internecine warfare in the expanding Imperium of Man. The story focuses on the Emperor's 18 genetically engineered sons, the Primarchs, and the legions of genetically enhanced superhuman soldiers that they lead, the Legiones Astartes, which find themselves divided into loyalist and traitor factions as they struggle for victory.

The shared universe was originally created in 1987 by Games Workshop, parent company of series publisher Black Library, as the campaign setting for the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop miniatures wargame, and in 2006 Black Library began publishing The Horus Heresy series. The series includes new characters as well as establishing the background of previously established Warhammer 40,000 characters who play an important role in the post-Heresy fictional universe.

Reader's Guide

The popularity of the novel series contributed to the development of The Horus Heresy as a tabletop wargame spin-off of the Warhammer 40,000 miniature wargame, launched by Games Workshop's subsidiary Forge World in 2012. Initially it was a specialist game supported through a series of campaign and army books detailing the events of the conflict, alongside a dedicated range of resin miniatures. The game later evolved into a standalone system with its own ruleset and product line, and was relaunched as Warhammer: The Horus Heresy in 2022. Furthermore, publisher Cubicle 7 announced The Horus Heresy Tabletop role-playing game to be released in 2026. A sequel series, The Scouring, began publication in December 2025.

Did You Know?

The Horus Heresy tabletop wargame spin-off was launched by Forge World in 2012 and relaunched as Warhammer: The Horus Heresy in 2022.
The first three novels in the series form an opening trilogy focusing on Warmaster Horus and covering about two years in the overall Heresy timeline.