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The Horus Heresy #Short Story
The Wolf of Ash and Fire
Horus Lupercal, ever the favoured son of the Emperor of Mankind, stands ready to lead his Legion against the ork-held planetoid of Gorro. After nearly two centuries of warfare in the name of the Great Crusade, the many victories of the Luna Wolves have become the stuff of legend still, nothing could prepare them for the singular honour of fighting alongside the Emperor himself once more...
Read it because
Remember Horus as he was in Horus Rising, before he turned all evil? Don’t you miss that guy? Well, here’s a chance to see him like that again… with the Emperor by his side.
43 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 20, 2014
32 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
About the author
Graham McNeill
339 books913 followersHailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill narrowly escaped a career in surveying to work for Games Workshop as a games designer. He has a strong following with his novels Nightbringer, Warriors of Ultramar, Dead Sky, Black Sun and Storm of Iron.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
February 23, 2017
I was there the day Horus saved the Emperor...
The longest Black Library Horus Heresy e-short is a great and epic prologue to the best military sci-fi saga ever.
Almost non stop action and the Luna Wolves at their finest hour before their falling from grace.
Liked a lot all the references to HH events like Lorgar's censure and the one to "The beast arises" saga BL publishing now.
So glad I decided to celebrate first ten years of the HH saga re-reading the first novels and found this one at the start of the "Crusade's end" omnibus, it really deserved to be developed in a full lenght novel.
An "Ullanor Crusade" series in the future would be much appreciated too.
September 9, 2016
Full review also found here!
The Wolf of Ash and Fire was very enjoyable, if not without flaws. Being a prequel story, set before even the Ullanor Crusade, this short story nonetheless references and strengthens plot points and twists throughout more recent Horus Heresy installments.
Beware, this review turned out a lot longer than anticipated!
However, the story felt much stronger during its first half than the second, and some points which were introduced in the first part never got followed up on in the second. A bigger incident which has not been detailed in the novel series, but featured in the Luna Wolves' part of the Forgeworld Horus Heresy rulebooks, was brought up - something that will undoubtedly confuse people, as it is not well known but impactful lore.
An intriguing plot device is introduced in relation to this via the Mournival and Hastur Sejanus in particular. After the introductory scene, however, it is forgotten, and its lack of inclusion in the Horus Heresy opening trilogy, and Horus Rising in particular, makes it feel like a solid idea that holds no relevance in the wider scheme of things. Maybe McNeill's upcoming novel Vengeful Spirit will pick the idea back up - it still appears to be too little to late, though.
At the end of the day, however, it felt good to see Hastur Sejanus and the Mournival before Horus Rising. Seeing their dynamic before Garviel Loken entered the stage was satisfying, especially paired with Horus's theatrical nature. Overall there have been quite a few good callbacks to Horus Rising and False Gods during the first half of the story.
The second half, however, focuses a lot more on action than I liked. Many of the Emperor's and Horus's elite warriors seem to find their ends here, and while the highly developed Ork antagonists feel menacing, I felt like the story was stronger when taking a step back and observing the Master of Mankind and Lupercal, focusing on dialogue rather than action.
I also noticed that Horus was described as using a power sword and storm bolter - which seems fine, until you realize that storm bolters were said to not yet exist during that timeframe. At a later point, the weapon was refered to as "twin bolters", so maybe that was just an oversight, and I am most certainly blowing it out of proportion. Still, it bugged me when I read it.
After all is said and done, it is easy for me to recommend this story to series fans and newcomers alike. I felt this short could be a nice and short introductory piece to the Horus Heresy series, reinforcing the father-son-relationship between Horus and the Emperor, which was not clearly shown but only talked about in the opening trilogy.
The Wolf of Ash and Fire should do an impressive job reinforcing the first few novels' impact on the reader, new and old. It could have done more if given a larger page count, however, and I firmly believe that turning it in a full novella would have done a lot to turn a pretty good story into a fantastic one. As it stands, however, Graham McNeill delivered a damn fine addition to the Horus Heresy series.
The Wolf of Ash and Fire was very enjoyable, if not without flaws. Being a prequel story, set before even the Ullanor Crusade, this short story nonetheless references and strengthens plot points and twists throughout more recent Horus Heresy installments.
Beware, this review turned out a lot longer than anticipated!
However, the story felt much stronger during its first half than the second, and some points which were introduced in the first part never got followed up on in the second. A bigger incident which has not been detailed in the novel series, but featured in the Luna Wolves' part of the Forgeworld Horus Heresy rulebooks, was brought up - something that will undoubtedly confuse people, as it is not well known but impactful lore.
An intriguing plot device is introduced in relation to this via the Mournival and Hastur Sejanus in particular. After the introductory scene, however, it is forgotten, and its lack of inclusion in the Horus Heresy opening trilogy, and Horus Rising in particular, makes it feel like a solid idea that holds no relevance in the wider scheme of things. Maybe McNeill's upcoming novel Vengeful Spirit will pick the idea back up - it still appears to be too little to late, though.
At the end of the day, however, it felt good to see Hastur Sejanus and the Mournival before Horus Rising. Seeing their dynamic before Garviel Loken entered the stage was satisfying, especially paired with Horus's theatrical nature. Overall there have been quite a few good callbacks to Horus Rising and False Gods during the first half of the story.
The second half, however, focuses a lot more on action than I liked. Many of the Emperor's and Horus's elite warriors seem to find their ends here, and while the highly developed Ork antagonists feel menacing, I felt like the story was stronger when taking a step back and observing the Master of Mankind and Lupercal, focusing on dialogue rather than action.
I also noticed that Horus was described as using a power sword and storm bolter - which seems fine, until you realize that storm bolters were said to not yet exist during that timeframe. At a later point, the weapon was refered to as "twin bolters", so maybe that was just an oversight, and I am most certainly blowing it out of proportion. Still, it bugged me when I read it.
After all is said and done, it is easy for me to recommend this story to series fans and newcomers alike. I felt this short could be a nice and short introductory piece to the Horus Heresy series, reinforcing the father-son-relationship between Horus and the Emperor, which was not clearly shown but only talked about in the opening trilogy.
The Wolf of Ash and Fire should do an impressive job reinforcing the first few novels' impact on the reader, new and old. It could have done more if given a larger page count, however, and I firmly believe that turning it in a full novella would have done a lot to turn a pretty good story into a fantastic one. As it stands, however, Graham McNeill delivered a damn fine addition to the Horus Heresy series.
July 13, 2025
Ah, the good old days… The first half had real promise, what with the dialogue between the Mournival and the dramatic arrival of The Emperor… I hoped to explore Sejanus’s character more and expected to feel a growing sense of loss the more I connected with him, knowing he’s already dead by Horus Rising. Who was the man that Garviel Loken had replaced on the Mournival? Sadly, we don’t get to really answer this question since the story quickly pivots into an extended Ork battle and never really looks back.
I suppose I should be more interested in Horus and The Emperor, as that’s kind of the whole point of the story. Horus witnesses the Emperor doing clearly warp-things and just shrugs it off, which felt jarringly out of step with the pacing and internal conflict we saw in Horus Rising and False Gods. It’s not a bad story, just oddly lopsided.
I suppose I should be more interested in Horus and The Emperor, as that’s kind of the whole point of the story. Horus witnesses the Emperor doing clearly warp-things and just shrugs it off, which felt jarringly out of step with the pacing and internal conflict we saw in Horus Rising and False Gods. It’s not a bad story, just oddly lopsided.
June 27, 2020
Horus and his forces are fighting a huge armada of Orc ships on their way to attack the mechanized moon that is the center of their empire. Things are not going well, until a secret is revealed that turns the ties.
This takes place long before the era that begins the Horus Heresy. Where father and son still hold mutual respect, fighting side by side.
Solid adventure story set in the WH universe.
This takes place long before the era that begins the Horus Heresy. Where father and son still hold mutual respect, fighting side by side.
Solid adventure story set in the WH universe.
February 4, 2015
This is one of the few Black Library stories that puts the Emperor front and center, and here he's paired with Horus as they take down some Orks. It's a fun, simple short story that's held back by some mediocre dialogue.
One of the primary reasons the Emperor is such an interesting character in the canon is that he rarely speaks for himself - everyone is pursuing their own ends through him, so indirectly, he becomes whatever the author needs him to be. However, when you have to actually get him to say something, you collapse all those possibilities into a single dialogue. It takes a lot of literary skill to pull off something worthy, and unfortunately McNeill doesn't have it here.
Still, this is worth your time.
One of the primary reasons the Emperor is such an interesting character in the canon is that he rarely speaks for himself - everyone is pursuing their own ends through him, so indirectly, he becomes whatever the author needs him to be. However, when you have to actually get him to say something, you collapse all those possibilities into a single dialogue. It takes a lot of literary skill to pull off something worthy, and unfortunately McNeill doesn't have it here.
Still, this is worth your time.
March 28, 2014
Seriously, best short story ever. That may or many not be my hormones talking though. A big gushfest which pretty much anything before Heresy is. Because ya know people where semi-happy.
October 18, 2022
The Wolf of Ash and Fire is a short story that takes place immediately prior to the Ullanor campaign of the Great Crusade. It’s a story that largely exists in two halves, the first being a look into the relationship between Horus and the Mournival as well as Horus and the Emperor. In the second half, we follow Horus and the Emperor as they fight against the Orcs on the planet below. It's an interesting short story, but it lacks any sort of compelling action and the more interesting first half doesn’t stick around long enough.
It was great to see Horus interact with Hastur Sejanus, his inclusion helped add context to the sadness Horus felt after his death as well as why Erebus disguised himself as Sejanus in the visions the Warmaster had while he was healing on Davin. Outside of this specific relationship, the reader also gets to see how Horus interacted with the Mournival before Loken arrived, which was interesting to compare with the dynamic in False Gods as the Mournival ceases to exist. I could have done with a lot more of this aspect to the story but Mr. McNeill swiftly moves on to the Emperor and the conflict with Orcs.
There is a palpable warmth to the relationship between Horus and his father that I appreciated seeing. Readers of the lore are constantly told that Horus and the Emperor had a particularly close relationship, but we almost never actually get to see what that looked like. Mr. McNeill, in the short time he has, depicts the closeness that they’re supposed to have very well and their dynamic is convincingly like that of a father and son. What follows after their short conversation is an action scene where Horus saves the Emperor. This is fine, but it’s far from compelling writing, especially when compared to the battle scenes in the novels.
I don’t get the sense that the Horus Heresy storylines really work in the short story format, the themes and ideas that the first two novels deal with can’t really be condensed into such a short work and still feel relevant. Additionally, I don’t think that Mr. McNeill’s writing really works when he’s given this small of a space to work with. What he really excels at is character writing, and there’s no way his talents are going to be properly used when he’s writing something under fifty pages. The Wolf of Ash and Fire is a fine story, but removed from the other novels that establish the characters it leaves the reader completely lost as to the importance of anything going on.
It was great to see Horus interact with Hastur Sejanus, his inclusion helped add context to the sadness Horus felt after his death as well as why Erebus disguised himself as Sejanus in the visions the Warmaster had while he was healing on Davin. Outside of this specific relationship, the reader also gets to see how Horus interacted with the Mournival before Loken arrived, which was interesting to compare with the dynamic in False Gods as the Mournival ceases to exist. I could have done with a lot more of this aspect to the story but Mr. McNeill swiftly moves on to the Emperor and the conflict with Orcs.
There is a palpable warmth to the relationship between Horus and his father that I appreciated seeing. Readers of the lore are constantly told that Horus and the Emperor had a particularly close relationship, but we almost never actually get to see what that looked like. Mr. McNeill, in the short time he has, depicts the closeness that they’re supposed to have very well and their dynamic is convincingly like that of a father and son. What follows after their short conversation is an action scene where Horus saves the Emperor. This is fine, but it’s far from compelling writing, especially when compared to the battle scenes in the novels.
I don’t get the sense that the Horus Heresy storylines really work in the short story format, the themes and ideas that the first two novels deal with can’t really be condensed into such a short work and still feel relevant. Additionally, I don’t think that Mr. McNeill’s writing really works when he’s given this small of a space to work with. What he really excels at is character writing, and there’s no way his talents are going to be properly used when he’s writing something under fifty pages. The Wolf of Ash and Fire is a fine story, but removed from the other novels that establish the characters it leaves the reader completely lost as to the importance of anything going on.
July 31, 2025
‘The stars are our birthright,’ said Horus. ‘Wasn’t that what you said? Make no mistakes and they will be ours.’ ‘I said that?’ ‘You did. On Cthonia, when I was but a foundling.’ The Emperor stood and put a mailed gauntlet upon Lupercal’s shoulder, the gesture of a proud father. ‘Then I must prove worthy of your trust,’ said the Emperor.
The story is set during the Gret Crusade before Ullanor and long before the poisoned dagger on the moon of Davin. Horus is still the loyal son, his Legion sworn to the Emperor’s vision.
The Heresy particularly the opening trilogy, plays out like an operatic tragedy. Despite not appearing in the flesh in the first three books, the Emperor looms over the narrative, ever present even when he is not mentioned, almost as if his absence is a character. He has left the Crusade, and it will never be the same again.
This story gives us a chance to see the relationship between father and son. To see what it was like when they waged war together. McNeill captures not only Horus’ more admirable attributes, but also that which would drag him down.
An interesting bit of lore was mentioned in the story, that being the betrayal of Vatale Gerron Terentius. In the Horus Heresy Black Books, Terentius was an Imperial General who was respected by many Primarchs as well as the SIgillite. However, he turned on the Imperum, seizing territory of his own. He would be slain by none other than Horus. In this story, Terentius’ betrayal seems to have had a profound impact on the Mournival, Horus’ advisors we first met in “Horus Rising”. It was an interesting little allusion to the history of the Great Crusade, and the symmetry of Horus slaying the traitor, only to become one himself many years later.
The story is set during the Gret Crusade before Ullanor and long before the poisoned dagger on the moon of Davin. Horus is still the loyal son, his Legion sworn to the Emperor’s vision.
The Heresy particularly the opening trilogy, plays out like an operatic tragedy. Despite not appearing in the flesh in the first three books, the Emperor looms over the narrative, ever present even when he is not mentioned, almost as if his absence is a character. He has left the Crusade, and it will never be the same again.
This story gives us a chance to see the relationship between father and son. To see what it was like when they waged war together. McNeill captures not only Horus’ more admirable attributes, but also that which would drag him down.
An interesting bit of lore was mentioned in the story, that being the betrayal of Vatale Gerron Terentius. In the Horus Heresy Black Books, Terentius was an Imperial General who was respected by many Primarchs as well as the SIgillite. However, he turned on the Imperum, seizing territory of his own. He would be slain by none other than Horus. In this story, Terentius’ betrayal seems to have had a profound impact on the Mournival, Horus’ advisors we first met in “Horus Rising”. It was an interesting little allusion to the history of the Great Crusade, and the symmetry of Horus slaying the traitor, only to become one himself many years later.
December 4, 2018
Having only read the first two books in the 50+ HH books a couple of years ago, I decided to give it a go at reading the entire HH series in chronological order. Starting with the "Last Church" audiobook set in 30,800. I am using https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Tymell... as a guide on which books to read in chronological order.
This audiobook takes place around 30,990 before Ullanor. The story revolves around Horus leading the Luna Wolves along side the emperor against the massive ork planetoid of Gorro. Gorro is a massive asteroid expanded by space debris and scraps from powerful Mekboyz. The story makes mention of the mournival and in particular Hastur Sejanus. Whilst the audiobook was only about an hour and a quarter in length it was pretty crammed with action.
I would recommend this audiobook to anyone looking to explore the relationship between the Emperor and Horus.
This audiobook takes place around 30,990 before Ullanor. The story revolves around Horus leading the Luna Wolves along side the emperor against the massive ork planetoid of Gorro. Gorro is a massive asteroid expanded by space debris and scraps from powerful Mekboyz. The story makes mention of the mournival and in particular Hastur Sejanus. Whilst the audiobook was only about an hour and a quarter in length it was pretty crammed with action.
I would recommend this audiobook to anyone looking to explore the relationship between the Emperor and Horus.
December 30, 2021
40 páginas de absoluta locura para mi.
Este relato narra los acontecimientos previos a la batalla de Ullanor, esta es la batalla que libró el emperador de la humanidad con su hijo favorito en Gorro, contra una enorme fuerza de pielesverdes.
No me esperaba nada encontrarme con esto, el emperador con el architraidor en persona, sabiendo lo que se y en el punto que nos encontramos en el presente, suena raro ver a esto dos juntos. El antiguo Mournival con Sejanus, con Torgadon vivo y Abbadon... bueno con Abaddon siendo un monstruo como siempre.
Este relato narra los acontecimientos previos a la batalla de Ullanor, esta es la batalla que libró el emperador de la humanidad con su hijo favorito en Gorro, contra una enorme fuerza de pielesverdes.
No me esperaba nada encontrarme con esto, el emperador con el architraidor en persona, sabiendo lo que se y en el punto que nos encontramos en el presente, suena raro ver a esto dos juntos. El antiguo Mournival con Sejanus, con Torgadon vivo y Abbadon... bueno con Abaddon siendo un monstruo como siempre.
March 9, 2019
This was a very entertaining short that was filled with action from the get go. It also provided a great build up to the inevitable beginning of the Horus Heresy.
I enjoyed being able to read another story that featured the Emperor heavily and it was good to learn more about Horus, the Luna Wolves and the Glory Squad.
Looking forward to jumping further into the series, and I would recommend this as something worth at least a read once.
I enjoyed being able to read another story that featured the Emperor heavily and it was good to learn more about Horus, the Luna Wolves and the Glory Squad.
Looking forward to jumping further into the series, and I would recommend this as something worth at least a read once.
July 12, 2025
My first 40K story. After checking out some Horus Heresy suggested reading orders I was intrigued by the idea of a ‘part 0’ short story to kick things off. This was fun. Everything is MASSIVE. Didn’t really have much of a clue as to what was happening most of the time but it was still an enjoyable read with plenty of ludicrous action.
November 8, 2025
Pretty cool short story. I like the way it ties into the Ullanor, and the foreshadowing of the Emperor's soul-shattering abilities. Nothing incredibly special, but pretty well written.
The extra context on the Mournival characters is probably the best part. Hastur Sejanus is definitely one of the cooler Luna Wolves, so I love to see more of him here.
The extra context on the Mournival characters is probably the best part. Hastur Sejanus is definitely one of the cooler Luna Wolves, so I love to see more of him here.
December 18, 2025
3.5 Stars
I always enjoy a pre-heresy read. While this was just a longer gratuitous battle sequence, it's rare to get a glimpse of the pre-heresy interactions with the Emperor and the other primarches. This being a framing to for what would eventually lead to the attack on Ullanor was a cool quick read and enjoyed it as part of this exhaustive HH chart
I always enjoy a pre-heresy read. While this was just a longer gratuitous battle sequence, it's rare to get a glimpse of the pre-heresy interactions with the Emperor and the other primarches. This being a framing to for what would eventually lead to the attack on Ullanor was a cool quick read and enjoyed it as part of this exhaustive HH chart
March 30, 2025
Man, the idea of an Ork empire that's existed for so long it's produced monsters capable of going up against the Emperor is sick as hell.
Also having Sejanus give the same type of speech as Loken is a really good way to show how similar they are and why Loken is so important to the Mournival.
Also having Sejanus give the same type of speech as Loken is a really good way to show how similar they are and why Loken is so important to the Mournival.
April 5, 2025
Horus leads the Luna Wolves to defeat the Ork planetoid of Gorro. The Emperor joins to fight at his side. Fun characterizaon of the Mourneval and the Horus's relationship with the Emperor. A little foreshadowing of things to come.
February 2, 2026
nothing too special, although i would recommend reading it for some nice Horus + Emperor before, uh... everything
the power scaling with the Emperor is so weird tho like why can this man psychically command a whole legion of space marines to kneel, yet a big ork nearly kills him like???
the power scaling with the Emperor is so weird tho like why can this man psychically command a whole legion of space marines to kneel, yet a big ork nearly kills him like???
March 21, 2017
I'm not much of a fan of self-consciously sparse, tight writing - no thanks - but this was a bit too elaborate in style for me.
May 3, 2019
Mostly bolter porn but kinda fun.
May 23, 2024
Some intense combat scenes involving Horus and the Emperor fighting alongside each other, overall pretty great
March 23, 2025
Pretty much a battle where the emperor along with horus and his legion fight a swarm of orcs. One of the few times we see the emperor in a fight and unleashing his power.
April 5, 2025
I don't particularly enjoy short stories but this was very nice just to see the personality of a now God and showing off the orcs as being very cool.
Lupercal.
Lupercal.
July 15, 2025
awesome book, horus gets to see the true power of the Emperor as never before seen
September 8, 2025
Book 2 of the Horus Heresy Omnibus.
September 30, 2025
Big E and Horus running it. doesn't get any better
October 25, 2025
قصة قصيرة لهورس مع الامبراطور وبالنسبة لي عجبتني جدا كانت حماسية طوال الوقت وفوقها رهيبة حاليا بصنفها كأفضل قصة قصيرة ونشوف مستقبلا وش يصير
November 5, 2025
Short and sweat. Weird warp shenanigans at the end - but a good reasonable start to the Horus Heresy.
January 2, 2026
It was cool to go back in time and see Horus fighting alongside his father, not particularly deep and moving though, eh narration, certainly skippable
January 14, 2026
Actually a good read, enjoyed the fact that this is as close as "father bonding" Horus and The Emperor came (ish..)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews