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The Horus Heresy Book One - Betrayal is a supplement for Warhammer 40,000 dealing with war and battle in the dark age of the Horus Heresy. This book, lavishly illustrated in full colour, contains extensive background information on the Imperium as it stood at the end of the Great Crusade. Also detailed are the histories of the four Legions who took part: the Sons of Horus, Emperor's Children, World Eaters and Death Guard and an extensive campaign system.

This book also contains a complete Space Marine Legion Crusade Army list as well as games rules for the Primarchs of the four Legions, super-heavy vehicles and special characters featured in the story.

289 pages, Leather Bound

First published January 1, 2012

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Alan Bligh

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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Profile Image for Sud666.
2,338 reviews198 followers
April 14, 2017
This is the Sourcebook for the Horus Heresy in Warhammer 40K.

It is beautifully illustrated and chock full of information about the Horus Heresy. It gives detailed background information on the lore and history of the Warhammer 40K world. Everything from the initial units (Luna Wolves, Word Bearers, etc) that served under Horus to the equipment used.

If you are interested in playing the game, obviously this book will help you, but even if you have no desire to play this is a valuable resource on the Horus Heresy. It is a good companion to the Horus novel series and explains many of the different units, structures and organizations of the Imperium of Man.

This is a great reference book for anyone interested in the Warhammer 40K world and the seminal events that led to the Horus Heresy.
1,379 reviews24 followers
December 2, 2019
Horus Heresy event set in the Warhammer 40k universe is event that actually caused the highly dystopian W40K.

Rebellion of half of the superhuman (Space Marines) army against the Emperor brought the revival of human Empire to a halt and unleashed untold horrors on unsuspecting populace. It was always presented as battle of good vs evil but is the situation truly black and white as one is told?

This is book one in the magnificent Forgeworld's contribution to the lore. Told from the perspective of witness of Heresy (after the Horus is defeated) we are presented with the very beginning of Horus' rebellion against his father and his purging of traitor legions of any loyalist forces. We are given overview of Istvaan atrocities and detail lore on three main traitor legions and their Mechanicum cohorts.

Level of details, descriptions of these mighty armies and their leaders, Primarchs, is astounding. We can see that some of them were in conflict with the Emperor almost from the beginning and Horus' call just brought this emnity to the surface. Dioramas used as illustrations are done beautifully. Details on troops, armor, vehicles and weaponry are truly amazing.

Excellent book that contains a lot of lore information for W40K/HH enthusiast even if one is not tabletop player.

Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Tucker Johnson.
18 reviews
November 28, 2024
Incredible background to 40k & 30k alike. We get a look at much of the great crusade, various legions (Sons of Horus, World Eaters, Emperor’s Children, Death-guard), and the infamous betrayal at Istvaan III.

The background on the unification wars and great crusade was particularly interesting as these events were somewhat less covered in previous material.
Profile Image for Dylan Murphy.
592 reviews32 followers
April 8, 2016
Oh man what a book! Took me quite a while to finish this monster but man was it good! The whole book was extremely well done. The art and pictures of models were master pieces, the lore and background material was phenomenally written and supremely interesting. If I wasn't already sold on the Heresy tabletop game, I would be now! Really can't wait to read the rest of the books from Forge World, and if you are on the fence about getting these expensive books, DO IT!
Profile Image for Brody.
100 reviews
March 4, 2016
An exceptional, memorable start to what I think is going to be a landmark series. Angron & the World Eaters are given a slashing nihilism that totally lives up to the horror of all their works. Mortarion & the Death Guard hide their depression in plain sight.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

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