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The Horus Heresy Books in Order

Part ofAaron Dembski Bowden Books in Order

See Aaron Dembski Bowden's Horus Heresy books in order, with quick summaries, legion background, and where to start with his key Heresy stories.

Last updated: July 11, 2026

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The Horus Heresy books in publication order

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18 books

1

The First Heretic

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2010

After the Emperor shames Lorgar and the Word Bearers, the Legion goes searching for a new truth. What they find at the edge of the universe will help set the entire Horus Heresy in motion.

2

Age of Darkness

by Gav Thorpe

2011

An anthology from the middle years of the Horus Heresy, when the war has spread and certainty is gone. Swallow's included work adds to the sense of a galaxy breaking in stages.

3

Savage Weapons

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2011

After years of war, Lion El'Jonson finally gets a chance to face Konrad Curze in person. What looks like a duel becomes something darker, and the Night Lords gain one of their defining early moments.

4

Betrayer

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2012

Lorgar and Angron lead the Shadow Crusade through Ultramar while the Word Bearers and World Eaters burn world after world. The battles are huge, but the real damage is being done inside the men leading them.

5

Butcher's Nails

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2012

Angron and the World Eaters set out on a secret mission beside the Word Bearers, only for violence and prophecy to close in around them. It is a fierce prelude to the events of *Betrayer*.

6

Shadows of Treachery

by Gav Thorpe

2012

A Horus Heresy anthology that ranges from Phall to Terra, mixing shorter stories with longer novellas. For Aaron Dembski Bowden readers, the standout is *Prince of Crows* and its Night Lords darkness.

7

The Imperial Truth

by Gav Thorpe

2013

This Horus Heresy anthology gathers stories from a galaxy where the old Imperial certainty is collapsing. Swallow's connected work helps show how faith, rumour, and betrayal reshape the war.

8

Heart of the Conqueror

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2014

A Navigator aboard the World Eaters flagship watches the Legion slide deeper into madness and corruption. Her loyalty remains, but the ship and its masters are becoming something terrible.

9

Legacies of Betrayal

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2014

This Horus Heresy anthology ranges across a galaxy at war, gathering stories of loyalists, traitors, and the cost of choosing a side. Aaron Dembski Bowden's contributions deepen the World Eaters thread before and during the wider collapse.

10

The Long Night

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2014

Sevatar sits in a prison cell in Ultramar while the scattered Night Lords decide what comes next. It is a taut Heresy story that mixes sarcasm, mystery, and the lingering aftershock of the Thramas war.

11

Howl of the Hearthworld

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2015

A Space Wolves watch pack is sent to Terra to keep an eye on Rogal Dorn and hates every minute of it. The boredom does not last, and neither does their sense of certainty.

12

Eye of Terra

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2016

This Horus Heresy anthology gathers fifteen stories from across the war, including *Aurelian*, *The Long Night*, and *Massacre*. It is a strong stop if you want shorter pieces that deepen the wider tragedy.

13

War Without End

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2016

A broad Horus Heresy anthology showing the rebellion spreading into every corner of the Imperium. It gathers shorter tales of loyalty, prophecy, and ruin, including two sharp Aaron Dembski Bowden stories.

14

Aurelian

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2017

Lorgar journeys into the heart of Chaos after the shaming of the Word Bearers. It is a dark, idea-heavy novella about revelation, temptation, and the choice that leads him toward damnation.

15

Prince of Crows

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2017

With Konrad Curze broken and the Thramas Crusade collapsing around him, Sevatar tries to keep the Night Lords from complete ruin. It is a hard, fast novella about command, loyalty, and a Legion already falling apart.

16

The Master of Mankind

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2017

While the wider Heresy burns, a different war rages beneath Terra in the webway. Custodes, Sisters of Silence, and Arkhan Land fight beside the Emperor himself as his secret project begins to fail.

17

A Rose Watered with Blood

by Aaron Dembski Bowden

2018

Lotara Sarrin watches the World Eaters flagship change into something warped and hostile on the road to Terra. The real threat may be the ship itself, and what Chaos is making of everyone aboard.

18

The Burden of Loyalty

by Gav Thorpe

2018

A Horus Heresy anthology about loyalists trying to survive as Horus closes on Terra. It gathers stories from across the war, including Aaron Dembski Bowden's *Into Exile*.

The Horus Heresy books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "The First Heretic"

    The First Heretic

    by Aaron Dembski Bowden

    2010The Horus Heresy, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Age of Darkness"

    Age of Darkness

    by Gav Thorpe

    2011The Horus Heresy, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Savage Weapons"

    Savage Weapons

    by Aaron Dembski Bowden

    2011The Horus Heresy, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Butcher's Nails"

    Butcher's Nails

    by Aaron Dembski Bowden

    2012The Horus Heresy, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Shadows of Treachery"

    Shadows of Treachery

    by Gav Thorpe

    2012The Horus Heresy, Book 7
  6. Book cover for "The Imperial Truth"

    The Imperial Truth

    by Gav Thorpe

    2013The Horus Heresy, Book 8
  7. Book cover for "Heart of the Conqueror"

    Heart of the Conqueror

    by Aaron Dembski Bowden

    2014The Horus Heresy, Book 8
  8. Book cover for "The Long Night"

    The Long Night

    by Aaron Dembski Bowden

    2014The Horus Heresy, Book 9
  9. Book cover for "Legacies of Betrayal"

    Legacies of Betrayal

    by Aaron Dembski Bowden

    2014The Horus Heresy, Book 10
  10. Book cover for "Howl of the Hearthworld"

    Howl of the Hearthworld

    by Aaron Dembski Bowden

    2015The Horus Heresy, Book 11
  11. Book cover for "Eye of Terra"

    Eye of Terra

    by Aaron Dembski Bowden

    2016The Horus Heresy, Book 12
  12. Book cover for "War Without End"

    War Without End

    by Aaron Dembski Bowden

    2016The Horus Heresy, Book 13
  13. Book cover for "Prince of Crows"

    Prince of Crows

    by Aaron Dembski Bowden

    2017The Horus Heresy, Book 15
  14. Book cover for "A Rose Watered with Blood"

    A Rose Watered with Blood

    by Aaron Dembski Bowden

    2018The Horus Heresy, Book 18

Series background & context

Aaron Dembski Bowden's Horus Heresy work is not one tidy mini-series with a single hero moving from book to book. It is better thought of as a set of major fault lines inside the wider war. His stories keep returning to the characters who are most damaged by belief, loyalty, and the moment a cause goes rotten.

That is why The First Heretic matters so much here. It follows Lorgar and the Word Bearers after the humiliation of Monarchia and shows how a Legion built around devotion goes looking for truth in exactly the worst place possible. Aurelian pushes that even further, taking Lorgar into the heart of Chaos and making the spiritual side of the Heresy feel just as dangerous as the military one.

He is just as interested in the people orbiting those great betrayals.

In Betrayer, the focus widens into the Shadow Crusade, where Lorgar and Angron tear through Ultramar and the war starts to feel less like a campaign and more like a moral collapse with chainaxes. Elsewhere, stories such as Prince of Crows, Savage Weapons, The Long Night, and The Abyssal Edge shift attention to the Night Lords, the Dark Angels, and the strange charisma of Sevatar, giving this part of the Heresy a colder, more haunted feel.

Then there is Terra. The Master of Mankind goes beneath the Imperial Palace into the webway war and brings the Emperor, the Custodes, Arkhan Land, and the Sisters of Silence into sharp view. Bringer of Sorrow and Echoes of Eternity pick up later in the war, when even survival feels temporary and every victory comes with ash in its mouth. A Rose Watered with Blood adds a smaller but memorable angle, following Lotara Sarrin aboard the Conqueror as corruption turns a warship into something almost alive.

So the best way to use this page is by mood as much as by order. Start with The First Heretic if you want the roots of corruption. Move to Betrayer if you want the Heresy at full burn. Go to The Master of Mankind or Echoes of Eternity if you want Terra itself. Across all of them, expect tragic soldiers, bitter arguments, and a version of the Heresy that feels intimate even when the whole galaxy is on fire.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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