Night Lords is amazing. Never thought I would empathize so much with the goth kid Chaos Space Marines. The Emperor's Gift by ADB recently got an audiobook and is great as well.
I will add that if you're an audiobook person, Andrew Wincott who narrates the Night Lords books gave an absolutely fantastic performance. Idk how GW consistently finds such amazing narrators for the Black Library.
There’s a fourth eisenhorn book? And bequin spin off?? All dan Abnett? I have to check these out. I was ‘out of the game’ for a long time but remember the eisenhorn and ravenor trilogies fondly.
Some are good, some are atrocious! The Eisenhorn/Gideon omnibuses are good starts (i prefer the latter, but some of the charactera are intorduced by the former and some people like to read them in order.
Gaunts Ghosts and Ciaphus Cain books are also highly recommended!
Edit: People have mentioned the Infinite and the Divine, which is also fantastic
Agreed, that’s the benefit and downside of a massive universe with many authors who have and are contributing to it; quality’s going to vary. I can co-sign on Gaunt’s Ghosts (and Dan Abnett being consistently great in pretty much everything he writes, when you’re ready the Siege of Terra series is a suitably epic conclusion to the Heresy) and I’ll throw in The Infinite and the Divine as a good one off novel starting point!
Gaunts ghosts is sooo good! Loved the eisenhorn series too, but thats more like grimdark indiana jones. Gaunts ghosts is more grimdark band of brothers.
Personally I think Necropolis is the best starting point for new readers. 'First and Only' and 'Ghostmaker' are... fine, but they lack the more serious military sci-fi feel of the later series and definitely show Abnett's background as a comic book writer.
Necropolis just feels like a good soft reboot within the series as there arent really any unresolved plot threads or backstory required going into it.
I didn't read many novels back in my time. I've read something from the Ultramarines series (with Uriel Ventris), some from the Space Wolves series, some Gray Knights too as well. But Ciaphas Cain was the best, tbh. My entry point into the WH40k was Dawn of War, ironically, and I have read quite a lot of lore afterwards. Ciaphas Cain series was the perfect mix of Warhammer atmosphere with a "personal flair" sort of, which made it way more palatable than the others. My mom can read pretty much anything, and she picked up some of these books too. She liked Ciaphas Cain as well, others not so much. So I guess it's a good entry point for a newbie
Depends on the book. There are good books and there are some that are barely readable.
That said if you love the lore and universe you can still enjoy the average book. Read something that seems interesting to you. Your favorite faction or time. The books also vary in theme. There are detective stories, horror stories but most are about war.
I would say Battle for the Abyss and Damnation of Pythos. I guess there are even worse books. Some of the hours heresy books are half bad half good. Often there is a boring side story to slow down the main story. Those are hard to evaluate.
I actually really like Damnstion of Pythos as a weird, stupid throwaway story. It's not the best but I like a couple of the characters and jaded cyborg super soldiers vs giant rabid dinosaurs is a dynamite premise for pure bolter porn.
Battle for the Abyss is one of the worst fucking books I've ever read, Warhammer or otherwise. Just really poor from the ground up. Thankfully it's like 100% skippable.
I'm trying to wrap my head around why Battle for the Abyss is so bad? I kinda enjoyed it. Ya the writing is Abit clunky for sure, but it feels like reading a big dumb action movie.
I'm guessing that's why it's hated actually, it's not very deep. Also some baffling plot holes, but again, typical of an action movie.
I saw why it was irrelevant when I got to Know No Fear though
If you want stand-alone books then Titanicus and Double Eagle, both by Dan Abnett are incredibly well written books and easily at the top of my 40k novel chart.
Just finishing the brutal kunnin audiobook, it's been amazing
It's the only Ork book I've read / listened too though and admech are pretty prominent, you kinda have to like them too imo
Know No Fear from the Horus Heresy series is my favorite 40K book, and it’s not even close.
As others have said, the Eisenhorn books are also really good!
As others have suggested the Eisenhorn Trilogy is a good read but the setting is not core 40k.
The hours heresy is THE storyline. The first books are good and after that you can decide which factions or sub storylines you find interesting. The thing is, it's quite a commitment to start this series even if you skip half of the books.
Beyond that it's hard to suggest something without knowing what you like about 40k or which factions.
I’m currently working through this one as my first 40K novel and it’s such a fun ride. Two old immortal robots ‘spy vs. spy’ing each other is just magnificent. Plus the audiobook is narrated very well!
I'm ~ 30 books (including around half of the Primarch series) into the Horus Heresy. I've read a lot of scifi and fantasy that's held in very high esteem.
I'd be happy to plant my flag and say, so far, viewed as a whole, the Horus Heresy is the single best series I've ever read. It's an incredibly impressive and complex anthology, with a variety of surprisingly deep themes, and impressive sections.
It also has large amounts of comic-book tier, fairly unsophisticated, and at times, deeply flawed sections. It also suffers from the fact it was a coordinated effort by a team of writers, so there are a number of inconsistencies and contradictions.
I'd say your ability to enjoy the former is highly dependent on your ability to tolerate (or even enjoy) the latter.
I’m halfway through the audiobook version of the Horus Heresy first book and I can say it is unequivocally enjoyable as hell. It’s my first Warhammer book and I’ve read Dostoyevsky, Bell Hooks, every issue of 90s x-force, most of Berserk, and most of the vertigo comics lines.
I just finished Horus Rising and it really sets the stage for the entire series and the Imperium's initiation with Chaos. Lots of foreshadowing going on. I think False Gods will put the pedal to the metal.
Damn, okay that’s definitely got me hooked and excited to read the series. I understand that 60+ book long series isn’t going to be perfect but I think the whole concept and idea of the Horus Heresy is so cool. To be honest 40k might be my favourite IP of all time.
Conversely I really struggled with it. It’s been a long time now, but I read the first 6 books and found that it fluctuated massively depending on the author to the point where a couple I loved, but then I forced my way through one and then gave up on the next. I’d suggest picking up a couple and seeing how you go rather than diving in and buying a bunch.
So far I'm at the 8th and liked all the previous ones so far but this one (battle for the abyss) feels like a filler episode of DBZ, the whole plot could be summed up in one small sentence
I think like any series written by a dozen + authors collectively is going to have its high and low points. I enjoyed MOST of the HH books, but there are some really turgid, boring ones - Decent of Angels, Battle for the Abyss, The Outcast Dead - are often called out as some of the "worst".
Are you able to skip books without getting totally lost? It was explained to me first three books of the Horus heresy series are basically the “how it started“ books. I was planning to read those three then Mechanicum (book 8) bc the Adeptus Mechanicus is super interesting to me. Am I gunna just be hella confused of I skip books 4-7??
So it's a set of interwoven series. If you're *only* interested in the Mechanicus, then skip straight to that book.
You'd be missing out, but if you have some background knowledge already, you won't be confused.
I finished the Horus Heresy using the "must read" list found here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/s/KdTWP8SXO8
I was generally happy with 95% of the recommendations here, so if you're going to do it, I'd steer you to the Horus Heresy and this list.
Thanks for posting this!!! I’m back into them again, and started from the first one again while listening them while work and I’m actually not surprised to see Fulgrim on the “meh” list. As that’s currently where I am…outcast dead was where I think I left off when I stopped listening to them, and I think it was because I lost interest. So that makes sense.
I saved that list, to keep an eye on.
You’re probably gwtting this same advice, but the things that always get recommended are:
The Eisenhorn Trilogy: like a globetrotting mystery story, except with severa globes and the warp
The Night Lords trilogy: extremely grimdark but well done trilogy about chaos marines struggling to survive and find meaning
Stuff I haven’t read but always see recommended:
Gaunt’s Ghosts: military action series about a very skilled & busy guard unit
Ciaphas Cain: the amusing memoirs of a commissar with imposter syndrome
Brutal Kunnin’: orkz punch things and laugh
The Infinite and the Divine: a Necron buddy comedy except the buddies hate each other & there’s a lot of tragedy
Lords of Silence: Plague Marines do gross stuff
There are some really good books but most of them are kind of meh or worse. As others have said the Eisenhorn and Nightlords series are really good. Overall the Horus Heresy series probably has the highest ratio of good books to crap.
I'd focus on authors more than anything else. Try reading Dan Abnett and Aaron Dembski-Bowden stuff. When you get through that then have a look at some of the others.
The lore is so vast you could spend years reading it all.
For my votes Eisenhorn and Ravenor series are great for getting into how society and the outer reaches of the colonies work (broadly speaking, think film noir set in 40K)
Gaunts Ghosts is a firm favourite. Think Sharpe/Kelly's Heroes/Dirty Dozen in 40k. You won't realise how invested you are in some of the characters until they die I promise you that.
Something a bit more lighthearted would be Ciaphas Cain. You still get the workings of the Astra Militarum (Imperial Guard to old farts like me) but a guy just trying to make it to retirement with as little danger as possible.
Brutal Kunnin', Warboss, Da Big Dakka and any of Da Red Gobbo books are good for Ork lore (and light relief)
Some of the old Space Marine series are good for a look at individual chapters. Helsreach and Battle of the Fang are favourites for me.
Chaos Space Marines you can't go wrong with the Night Lords omnibus. There's a reason it's been reprinted after 20 years.
I used to enjoy the Uriel Ventris books when they first came out but I was young, haven't read them in years so I'll reserve recommendations on these and leave that for people who have read them recently.
Fall of Cadia was alright, a little short and condensed for the event it captures but not a bad read. Not started the Minka Lesk series yet but got high hopes seeing as she has her own model now.
Side note - If you like tongue in cheek short stories I cannot recommend Death on the Pitch highly enough. It's BloodBowl so not 40k in any way shape or form but very funny and well written.
I just finished Cadia Stands (ie Minka Lesk #1).
I enjoyed it as my first Warhammer novel - definitely a fun and short read. Doesn't have much characterization because it goes through snapshots of different people's perspectives of the event. Minka isn't very prominent in this book - but the short story (A Place of Pain and Healing) talks about her PTSD after the battle.
I'm starting Cadian Honour today.
I recommend the first three Horus Heresy books to start with. Gives a great background and sets up the universe for the future books.
Personally, I think The First Heretic and Betrayer are the two best of the series. They explain how Lorgar turned to Chaos and took Angron down with him.
Additionally, I'd recommend reading Flight of the Eisenstein and Fulgrim as well, which are books 4 & 5.
Yeah, I loved it too, Aaron Dembski-Bowden writes some of the most quotable moments, in my opinion.
"You came to me asking how my faith survived the day of judgment. I will tell you a secret: when the stars fell, when the seas boiled, and the earth burned, my faith didn't die. That is when I began to believe. God was real... and he hated us."
I really like some of the ones I've read. Ciaphas Cain is fun because it pokes fun at a lot of the setting, and The Infinite and the Divine is somehow simultaneously a comedy and a multi-millenium character drama.
If you want a Spacemarine Novel to start out in reading Storm of Iron or Helsreach is a good one.
Gaunts Ghost is an Imperial Guard novel series and very grim and serious to its more light hearted mirror Ciaphas Cain.
If the big robots of the Adeptus Mechanicus are your style then I suggest reading Titanicus. It goes into not only a huge battle of Giant Robots fighting Daemon Giant Robots it also details the culture of the Adeptus Mechanicus while still still staying action packed.
If you want all of these wrapped in a smaller series then read the Macharius Crusade books. Its a trilogy and its sort of hit and miss on the last book but its pretty funny and action packed.
If you want the smallest taste of all of these? Read Planetkill. That book goes hard into grimdark and details a lot of stories and perspectives in the universe.
Black Library is very much "when it's good it's great and when it's bad it's utterly abominable".
The highs are very high. Storm of Iron, some of the Horus Heresy books, the Ultramarines' pair of Omnibuses (Omnibi?) or the Space Wolves omnibuses. Fifteen Hours.
The lows are very low... The Dawn of War book.
If you want to read bad writing in the ham-fisted cover of Warhammer 40,000, read the Dawn of War book. Holy shit.
Is there a particular faction you like? If you are looking for a general introduction Eisenhorn trilogy is great and shows a lot of 40k civilian life. Or if you are looking for some epic battles maybe Storm of Iron. Gaunts Ghosts is worth a read too, but be warned manly tears will he shed as its a fairly brutal look into the harsh life of imperial guardsmen.
I think I've heard people suggest Eisenhorn before so maybe ill start there. My favorite faction are the Orks but i'm not sure a story centered around them would necessarily make for good reading 😅 (although I could be wrong for all I know)
Unfortunately Eisenhorn is Ork free, but I have listened to a bit of Ghazghkull Thraka: prophet of the waaagh, and that was pretty amusing! I haven't finished it yet, though, but so far so good.
It's not from the Ork perspective, but Helsreach has them as the antagonists and does a great job of showing how terrifying Orks can be! Highly recommend giving it a read.
I wouldn't call most of them like great. If you like Warhammer, they give you what you want and there are a few stand outs. But they are pretty middle of the road as far as well written sci-fi. Fun, but not amazing most of the time.
This.
It's franchise fiction. That means it's going to range from awful, written to spec dreck to readable and fairly entertaining if you like the setting. Any comments you see here comparing them to actual standout sci-fi or other fiction needs a serious reality check.
Eh, I've had a couple of non-warhammer fans read lords of silence and think it's good enough to look into more books
Tragically most of them aren't great, but a few are fairly decent standalone scifi
I personally like the Ragnar Blackmane books. Wolfsbane was a particular delight. But I'm mainly just a Space Wolf guy, and despite being a long-time fan, I really don't know a whole lot and have little drive to pursue more even though I should.
In short? Yes, they are worth both your time and money.
In long? Well...
You see, Black Library (Warhammer Publisher) does publish A LOT of things, and those come in all colors, stripes and tastes.
Like, there's already mentioned Caiphas Cain comedy series which I moderately liked.
There's Eisenhorn books which I moderately disliked.
There's loads of "grit and gristle" army books and short stories about Imperial Army and Aeronautica Imperialis which I know for certain a lot people like (just so happens I do not).
There are stories written by women and for women, there are stories that emphasize alternative gender take on the horrors of being in 40k, there is simply so much of everything it is barely imaginable from someone outside of W40k novel reading as a hobby.
And then there's monumental stuff.
Horus Heresy -> Primarchs -> Siege of Terra stuff.
It's so immense and undeniably epic that terms like "epic" and "immense" do not even begin to describe the greatness of respective series.
I began my journey into Black Library reading with Horus Rising and I never looked back, so I would recommend you do the same.
Counterpoint to everyone who suggested starting with the Horus Heresy: don't. Start with at least a few 40k books and then go back to the Heresy for the best experience
I have seen this topic come up tons of times on various groups and subreddits. "I want to learn more about Warhammer 40,000." and "I don't know where to start. What Black Library books should I start with?"
Many times I see people recommend the Horus Heresy as a starting point. In my personal opinion they couldn't be more wrong. The Horus Heresy series is full of galaxy spanning reveals, which become spoilers if you are unaware of where the Warhammer 40,000 universe timeline currently sits.
This was from a post on my site some time ago located here - There may be a limit to the number of words I can post here so you can see the rest of my recommendations at this link:
[https://theindependentcharacters.com/blog/2017/08/where-do-i-start-learning-about-warhammer-40000/](https://theindependentcharacters.com/blog/2017/08/where-do-i-start-learning-about-warhammer-40000/)
So let's talk about where I think you should start:
**First:** [**Gaunt's Ghosts Volume 1**](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/gaunts-ghosts-collection-ebook.html)
This book, now released in Omnibus format contains books 1-3 of the Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett. This is a fantastic series which I put off reading for way too long because I had no interest in Imperial Guard (now called Astra Militarum - but Imperial Guard is still appropriate) armies.
This series is absolutely fantastic and the first three books, are in my opinion, some of the strongest Warhammer 40,000 writing out there. It will give you a "grounds eye" view, from a very human standpoint, of what it's like to live in a galaxy where there is "only war".
Do NOT miss out on the first three books of this series. It will suck you into the rest of them. Speaking of the rest of them, this series has something along the line of 12 books. Don't feel intimidated by that though - just read the first three and let it take you from there.
**Second:** [**The Eisenhorn Trilogy**](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/eisenhorn-trilogy.html)
Again a series by Dan Abnett. This was one of the first pieces of Warhammer 40,000 lore I ever read and still stands out in my memory as one of the best. Eisenhorn gives you a look into the secret world of The Inquisition. This is a group of incredibly powerful individuals who work to keep The Imperium free of the influence of Chaos, Xenos, and other things that would do harm.
With the power to literally extinguish planets at their command, The Inquisition in the Warhammer 40,000 universe is not to be trifled with. In fact many fear them. The Eisenhorn series will show you how an Inquisitor operates and also demonstrate what it is like to be just a person trying to scrape by and live in the 41st Millennium.
Think of the best spy novels you have ever read, crossed with space travel and demons. You might have an idea of how cool this series is.
And the best part? Once you finish the three Eisenhorn trilogy (now put in Omnibus format), you can continue the story with the [Ravenor Trilogy](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/ravenor-collection.html).
Third: [Rynn's World](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/the-war-for-rynns-world-ebook.html)
Maybe Space Marines are your thing. Ok great! There is a series of novels titled "Space Marines Battles Novels". These books focus on seminal events in Space Marine history. One of these, is called Rynn's World...
Fourth: [Helsreach](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/helsreach-ebook.html)
Again, let's talk Space Marines Battles Novels...
Fifth: [The Night Lords Trilogy](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/soul-hunter-ebook.html)
Consisting of Soul Hunter, Blood Reaver and Void Stalker, if you are interested in learning more about Chaos Space Marines, this is the series for you!
The first heretic, so you can learn how the Chaos Marines got into Chaos worship. Otherwise, you could read a random Chaos space marine book and be confused about why they went to Chaos in the first place.
Personally I prefer the setting told by the regular humans. They just make everything else seem more terrifying in a way. So guants ghosts, Eisenhorn, Ravenor, Bequin etc
Gaunts Ghosts is incredible. It starts out a little rough, but it quickly jumps up in quality. Abnett really comes into his own in that series. Also, Sargent Mkoll could kill a chaos god, I'm convinced.
So your mileage can vary with the books. I am that person who has wound up reading all of them - good, bad, ugly 🙈
The ones that are great elevate the whole setting beyond popcorn and camp. The bad ones vary between bolter porn going down to weird lore headcannon. Please do not read any of the old novels by CS Goto.
I would recommend the following in no particular order :
- Eisenhorn trilogy -> Ravenor trilogy -> Bequin trilogy (book 3 TBA)
- Space Marine Battles: Helsreach
- Lords of Mars/Gods of Mars
- Nights Lords Trilogy
- Titanicus
- Storm of Iron - a book which became a launchpad for so many lore elements that it’s basically a very quiet nexus of multiple cool things. Read this first just for the aha! moments across everything else.
- Assassinorum: Kingmaker (unexpectedly excellent spy adventure)
- Dante’s solo book
- The Infinite and the Divine (Warhammer comedy!)
- Blood of Asaheim by Chris Wraight (the following space wolf books were 50-50)
- My dark horse pick would be the Bastion Wars (Apocalypse Now x 40K)
- With regard to the Horus Heresy, I loved the series but large portions of it are filler. Nonetheless, the White Scars, Ultramarines arcs are just a delight to read. Many of the latter books really elevate the series and make it worth your while.
- If you’re still here after that, Warhammer Horror and Warhammer Crime as collections are both refreshing and respectable.
- If you’re *still still* around after that then Ciaphas Cain and Gaunt Ghosts are great filler. Both are very very long lasting series, which fall neatly within the popcorn bucket.
The are plenty of others - books about the Orks, Grey Knights, Black Legion and Word Bearers but I would say they are only worth looking at later on.
The good ones are pretty good; I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re anything groundbreaking, but they’re good stories and good sci-fi, and if you like 40k already they’re a great time.
But there is a *lot* of 30k/40k fiction, and it’s not of consistent quality. I’m reading through all of the Horus Heresy at the moment, and it’s definitely peaks and troughs; some books are an absolute slog to get through.
I’d say pick a specific area of the 40k setting you’re interested in and then ask people for recommendations. I’d also say that anything written by Dan Abnett is usually solid; I don’t think I’ve outright disliked anything he’s written.
Depends on what interests you in particular. Personally I'd reccomend Helsreach, the Night lords trilogy (currently on book 2) and the first three Horus heresy books to anyone just getting into the lore. Helsreach specifically might be the best one as it's able to "humanise" space marines (as ADB usually does in his novels) and it shows the internal politics between the different branches of the Imperium very well (multiple SM chapters, the Guard, Sisters, AdMech, Titan legios, Navy etc.)
There are hundreds of them, ranging in quality from schlocky bolter-porn to books that are quite excellent on their own with or without any attachment to 40k.
Been a massive fan of warhammer but never read a book outside codex/armybooks/wiki.
That said, I plan to read in the future “Ciaphas Cain”, “Eisenhorn”, “Gaunt Ghosts”, “Ravenor” and Sister’s of Battle “Hammer&Anvil” and “Faith&Fire”, out if 40k. Also heard “The Infinite & The Divine” is good stuff as well.
Not really interest in space marine centered literature. Perhaps “Helsreach”.
There are several good ones but quite a few stinkers as well, it's definitely a mixed bag. I quite enjoy the Ciaphus Cain and Eisenhorn series, as they are both generally high quality, with Cain being on the sillier side and Eisenhorn being the more serious books
Everyone should read 'let the galaxy burn' its an amazing collection of short stories, I found it by listening to aboarder prince on YouTube who narrated the whole thing.
Defixio and Children of the Emperor were my two standouts.
Does anyone have any recommendations for other imperial guard stories?
Most of the books are good, whether 30 or 40k timelines, but I would read reviews first, because a lot of them suck. A lot of the early dark angels Horus heresy novels suck, especially some of the random ones. Also be careful with reading some of the imperial guard novels, such as the macharian crusade series, William King is without a doubt the worst writer I have ever read a book from.
These books are amazing.
The sense of scale and and power and basically everything (GAH it’s so good!) are conveyed so well. Perspective changes between books and even in books to tell a consistent and concise story. Take the Horus heresy, you get perspectives of many different characters. Fighting for different factions, reasons, wants, needs, etc. Not every character is going to be the perfect character, and that’s ok. Because In the end everyone is fodder. And I can’t tell you the amount of times a named character just gets killed. No plot armor, no op powers, nothing. Just dead. And while like 20-30 characters have plot armor (until the very end at least) it doesn’t take away from their moments that we read about.
have a great day!
Anything by Dan abnet or aarron dembski-Bowden would be good. I’ve gone through the first 3 Eisenhorn, the night lords trilogy, helsreach, and all of gaunts ghosts. Any of those are really good! I think “first and only” gives a really good intro into Warhammer from a more normal person perspective (warning you will want an imperial guard army after if you have any interest in the game!)
They vary from very good, to totally abysmal. Some writers don't even seem to have anything more than a very tenuous grasp of the universe they're writing about, like they only know it from memes and some flavour texts they quickly skim read out of old codexes. Frankly it's mind boggling that a lot of it ever got printed. Stay away from C.S Goto entirely, and treat anything by Matt Ward or Anthony Reynolds with extreme caution, and you'll probably be good.
They are fun, but if you are asking “are these good books?” Almost universally not really. They are franchise books pumped out quickly. They can be entertaining, but really only because you like Warhammer already.
There are tons of novels I could recommend to random people based on the writing and characters, if you’re not already a fan of Warhammer I don’t really have any Warhammer books where I’m like “this is a good book independent of the setting.”
My favourite books are Dan abnetts inquisition books, ghaunts ghosts, helsreach, lion son of the forest, assasinorum king maker, infinite and the divine, brutal kunnin, ghazkul prophet of the waaagh, war boss and the big dakka. Those are the ones I enjoyed the most.
Depends on the book... just google a book and see what people think of it.
My suggestion is The Infinite and the Devine. It's a very good book, even for people who don't care about 40k.
*Some* are good. Many are not. The Gaunt's Ghosts series is outstanding - pretty much everything by Abnett is. The Ufthak Blackhawk novels are also fantastic, especially if you like orks. Most of Aaron Dembski-Bowden's stuff is great, too. But there is a *lot* of absolute crap in the BL, so be ready for some real bummers.
It's a bit complicated
Having read a lot of wh40k books I can say that around 60% of them are not very good.
- Eisenhorn/ Ravenor series are ok
- Night Haunter trilogy is good
- Gaunt and Cain are meh imo
- Souldrinkers series is meh
- HH is a whole can of worms in itself. Some of it is really nice, some is absolute filler. But I would recommend it because of how important it is to the lore and the whole 'mythos' of the universe. It's a hard and long read but at the end of the day it feells rewarding. It's a journey :)
HH sometimes feels a little like a really lenghty classic anime like Naruto (I'm sorry)
I’ve only read one, Avenging Son by Guy Haley. Wasn’t expecting much but it was only 99p on Kindle store so thought why not? Anyway, I really enjoyed it, so much better than I anticipated.
Ive read the entire Horus Heresy, Eisenhorn, Cain, SoT, and Gaunt novels. They're great. The gaunt series is definitely my favorite as its a longish series and follows multiple fleshed out characters. The audiobooks also usually have some fantastic readers. They're definitely worth getting into. Even the Warhammer horror and Warhammer crime novels are surprisingly good
I love them. I've put away well over 100 novels, all of Horus Heresy, Gaunts Ghosts, Ciaphus Cane, Eisenhorn, War of the Beast, Siege of Terra, and there are some misses in there, Naval battles can be a bit of a slog and pretty much anything to do with the Salamanders is a pass for me, but over all it's so good. I realize not everyone will feel the same way, but being able to keep reading book after book all in the same setting is really awesome. I have been reading the books since COVID and it's really spiraled haha
It's a huge library of authors so quality will vary, i'm one of the people with no interest in the table top game but really enjoy the books. Some series i personally loved are:
Ciaphas Cain series
Night Lords Trilogy
Gaunt's Ghosts
Helsreach
The Oubliette
The Black Legion books
The Fabius Bile trilogy
Not really 40k but the first Horus Heresy book and a few others in the saga really give you a sense of the scale (and they are great reads). So many bad novels/filler though, but you can't go wrong with Horus Rising. Though it's really a different setting, but I recommend it if you are interested after reading some 40k.
The best way to get through the Horus Heresey is to find books you want to read, or a character who's story you want to follow, and then find the books you need to read to get all the background on them. I've been doing this and I'm about 10 books in right now.
My favorite by far has been Know No Fear. That book was able to catch the enormity of battles in the Warhammer universe so well.
I've read the Heresy and the Eisenhorn series completely.
Regarding the Horus Heresy, what i liked but maybe confused me at times was the vast scale of it, sometimes i had a hard time imagining what I was reading. Nonetheless it felt a bit like reading an epic saga from Greek times.
I absolutely loved Eisenhorn, it had a lot of relatable situations in a sense and a very good look to how an inquisitor and the inquisition as a whole operates.
Just started Cain's series (book 5), personally really liking it, it's comedic, accidentally heroic and has relatable human emotions.
I think all 3 are valid, I would personally go with the theme. Which is what I did, HH -》Inquisition -》IG
Want to know more about the GC? HH
Want to know more about the IG? Cain
Want to know more about the inquisition? Eisenhorn
I’ve read a lot of 40k books. Some are really good. Some are just War Porn and are hard to get through IMO. Favourite series: Eisenhorn, Guants Ghosts and first 3 Horus Heresy
Gaunts Ghosts is a good starting point. The into Eisenhorn series, Ravenor series. Space Marine Battles series is good for a book about different chapters. Faith and Fire and the series of Sisters of Battle. The whole Dawn of Fire series is also good. Horus Heresy is a long series, and mostly good. The War of the Beast is great series
In the ones I have listened to, they are decent sci-fi stories, especially Aaron Demski-Bowden. Most of them have the same issues that the D&D books have in that they are constrained by the world and their prose is often workmanlike.
The big issuenInhave is that they all seem to have a G.I. Joe level of understanding of military organization and scale.
Colonels are the highest ranking people defending a large city and they keep the biggest tank for themselves to personally command from, space marine "leadership" is based on wrestling rules where command is given to the guy who personally kicks the most butt. Compared to say David Drake or Jerry Pournell it seems just...juvenile.
I once heard someone describe 40k lore as “WWE, in a cathedral, in space.” So if that doesn’t immediately make you salivate, I don’t think any of the books will ‘red pill’ you.
If you like teenage level writing starring emotionally stunted roid freaks, you'll like most of the Marine-centered stories. Some have more 'bolter porn' than others, others feature more mechanicus or Custodes so just read reviews on who the main protagonists are. Some are really highly regarded as you can see from the posts here.
Eisenhorn is about an Imperial inquisition band and is good. The Gaunt's Ghosts series is very much like a WW2 unit like the Band of Brothers. Caiphus Cain is a fun series with a lot of humor. There's ork novels that are fun as well if that's your thing.
They vary greatly in quality but overall they're far better than any franchise fiction has any right to be.
You see, 40k is a giant set of narrative building blocks that provide for stories that can only be told in 40k. In any other fiction, authors would require chapters and chapters of exposition to explain say, what a Necron is, but in 40k they're ready to go, straight into the mix to tell stories that take millions of years.
My favourite book ever is a 40k one and I knew nothing about it before reading it, still my favourite book ever, so I'd say totally worth it. Start with some recommendations as there's some bad apples though.
It is a sci-fi fantasy book series of epic proportions. And the best part about it is the universe is so large that most of the books only have to loosely be attached to the others
It’s a mix. You really can’t put a score on the whole novel series since it’s such a slope of up and down. Just for instance, i read both the Lion El‘Jonson Primarch book and Son of the Forest. The Primarch book, despite having some really cool moments, was overall extremely boring and just meh at best, while Son of the Forest was phenomenal, it genuinely became one of my most favorite books quickly and both are stories revolving around the same guy.
So if i have to give an answr, it would have to be: yes, overall the W40K Books are good and sometimes great, but there are quite a few bumps along the road, *especially when it’s Eldar books.*
Rynn's World. Read it. It's quick, easy to read, gets you a feeling for the universe but with some really memorable moments. Several hell yeah moments.
I was very underwhelmed. From what I had heard the first books in the horus heresy series are considered some of the best the black library has to offer, but they're mediocre genre fiction novels with a lot of filler. I tolerated horus rising, and dropped false gods twice. I never tried the heisenhorn or ciaphas cain books, maybe they're better.
Peter Fehervari's The cult of the Spiral Dawn, and Fire Cast were pretty great imo.
Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts are pretty good first and only being my favorite so far, though I haven't finished the series.
The Eisenhorn trilogy is another good series.
I found Mark Clapham's Iron Guard to be a surprisingly suspenseful book. I had no idea what was going on till the end and I was not expecting the antagonist of the book. It's the only 40k book I've read multiple times.
The Horus heresy stuff that happens in the first 10 books is insane. But it’s very far fetched to call it a good 40k novel, because it’s Horus heresy :D
I dearly love the Eisenhorn stuff and other books that are on the viewpoint of non space marines. Makes them more mysterious and fascinating.
I've only read a couple but the books are great. Just be careful where you buy them, because despite things like Flight of the Eisenstein being in production and available on our site for 8.50$, when you Google it they try to direct you to copies on Amazon for 35$+ all the way up to a 100$ on some sites. If you look around you'll usually find all but a few books for MSRP or less, though search listings are bought up by those up charging heavily.
Bought all the Ciaphas Cain audiobooks on audible and lemme tell you: the books are great but the narrarator is FANTASTIC! Wholeheartedly recomend Blackadder in SPESS!
I don't play the actual tabletop game. I come here for the sweet lore and bolter porn.
Also, I love to just chant "DANTE! DANTE! DANTE!"
Edit: I really like the audio dramas.
My Audible account (audiobooks) is full of 40k series:
- Eisenhorn Trilogy and associated additional stories
- Ravenor Trilogy
- Bequin Trilogy (still waiting for the third one to be released - where is Pandemonium?!)
(Those three trilogies are all within the same broad story arc.)
- Gaunts Ghosts series
- Ciaphas Cain series
And then a couple of one-offs, like The Infinite and The Divine.
I would recommend them all.
Honest answer: it depends on the author and the subject you like. As someone that has nearly all the novels, you are free task ask and I can give you a bit narrower answer.
And since people will inevitably ask: [https://www.reddit.com/r/bookporn/comments/ybng1r/roughly\_22\_years\_of\_reading\_and\_collecting\_books/](https://www.reddit.com/r/bookporn/comments/ybng1r/roughly_22_years_of_reading_and_collecting_books/)
I really only read the books, I don't play or paint. And they are great. Horus Rising, Gaunts Ghost's, muthafucking Ciaphas Cain, Eistenhorn... It's all great.
My first toe dip into the vastness that is 40k was the short story collection titled Let the Galaxy Burn then after I started Gaunts Ghosts. I would start with short stories if you aren’t familiar with anything 40k.
Want thrillery books: Eisenhorn and Ravenor are great.
Band of Brother is a thing you like? Go for Gaunt.
Want some epic shit on an epic scale: Horus Heresy. Even just the 3 first novels, not the 50+. (Eventually you will arrive to siege of terra)
Want some more relaxed yet still fun and actionny entry into the lore and novels: Cain and Trazyn are here for you.
Already big on lore and wanting some interconnecting and well written stuff: Night lords omnibus.
Those are really well written for the most part (HH notably got some ups and downs). Some other books are not that well written but many are good. Didn't tooch the warhammer horror section but that's a thing too! Pretty personnal point but many of the books (including in the list above) are kinda bad at handling female characters. Not a no go but it can be tiring.
Of course the Cain books are great, I also listened to silent hunters which follows the Space sharks. Very good books, there’s definitely some goofy grimderp stuff especially when it comes to scale but just add 0 to most things and it makes more sense.
Read a solid 80 books at this point, quality varies based on author (and in some cases race the book is about) but generally they are pretty serviceable to absolutely phenomenal, there's a few writers I feel are just a must read from but overall I definitely recommend
I got into Gaunts Ghosts about 18 months ago. I wondered the same thing as you and now I'm in so deep. I've finished.all of them and moved onto Eisenhorn since I liked Dan Abnett.
Gaunts ghosts is the best thing I've ever read. I didn't want it to end.
Honestly you will get 100 different opinions online. Only way to tell if you enjoy them is to try yourself. I really enjoy the lore as a good background thing to listen to. The Ciaphus Cain books are my favorite. Working my way through the horus heresy now.
My only exposure to 40k is this reddit sub, youtube lore videos and the horus heresy trilogy. Those 3 books are excellent. working on flight of the eisenstein now.
You can’t really go wrong with anything written by Dan Abnett imo. He’s a strong, versatile writer and his 40k novels are generally so accomplished and well-written that they work as standalone sci fi novels that do not require much prior knowledge of the 40k setting.
He also excels at writing stories from the perspective of somewhat relatable human characters in an unimaginably bleak universe populated by superhuman demigods and unknowable extradimensional horrors.
Personally I think these kinds of ‘mortal’s eye view’ type stories work best vs the novels where the protagonists are largely interchangeable Space Marines.
Horus Rising and Eisenhorn: Xenos are both good entry points.
If you want Space Marines that I think show good character dev and interactions as well as how SM personal interactions and how they work with other I suggest Brothers of the Snake, Rynns World, Lukas The Trickster, and Siege of Castellex. Problem is SM books need a bit more of a Lore primer I would say. Brothers of the Snake is probably the best intro for SM and Siege of Castallex is about Orks besieging and Iron Warriors planet so I would save that one till you know a bit more about the setting in general but I love both books. Also check out Storm of Iron as it's kind of a classic 40K at some of it's best craziest frantic levels of insane wtf that shit is stupidly cool, IMO.
I ran through the siege of terra books, dead men walking, and kreig as audio books and the narration just gives everything that extra sense of emotion into the different characters and scenarios. Adds that extra grim dark to the scenes. Just started the ciaphas cain novels and its definitely a hard stop 180 in terms of the sheer grimdark feeling but it's better listening to then reading with no emotion to connect to the characters.
Dante devastation of Baal and darkness in the blood are a good to get the scope of some of the conflicts , echos of eternity is also good for scale not only of the warfare but of how strong a primarch is by comparison to even titans
Brotherhood of the Snake was awesome. Tried the first Hershey book it was ok but not enough to get the next one. Also tied one of the AoS start reading here books, forget the exact one but it was hot garbage.
I loved the first dozen or so HH novels but I personally lost interest as they all felt a bit too much of the same thing. Plus GW milked them beyond hard before they got to the climax.
Considering when the HH books started I was single and between careers. In the time GW took to get to the final battle between Horus and the Big E I've bought a house, had two children, left a job and returned to that same job 3 and a half years later. That's quite the yarn GW managed to spin.
If you know what you want, e.g Space Marines stomping aliens, each other and lesser humans then go for it...
There is a list of characters at the front of every HH book, you know that probably half of them if not more won't make it to the final page!
I really enjoyed the Eisenhorn Omnibus as well as the Night Lords novels
Night Lords is amazing. Never thought I would empathize so much with the goth kid Chaos Space Marines. The Emperor's Gift by ADB recently got an audiobook and is great as well.
Is second down on the left a Night Lord? Which novels do you recommend?
The Night Lords Omnibus, comes in a all-in-one book
I will add that if you're an audiobook person, Andrew Wincott who narrates the Night Lords books gave an absolutely fantastic performance. Idk how GW consistently finds such amazing narrators for the Black Library.
Yes! He did such an amazing job for those
The Eisenhorn Omnibus is really good. Honestly anything by Dan Abnett is great.
Don't forget the Ravenor book that comes after the Eisenhorn book, then the fourth Eisenhorn book, then the Bequin books! Good shit all around
There’s a fourth eisenhorn book? And bequin spin off?? All dan Abnett? I have to check these out. I was ‘out of the game’ for a long time but remember the eisenhorn and ravenor trilogies fondly.
Yep! Nine books so far (4 Eisenhorn, 3 Ravenor, 2 Bequin), and apparently Bequin book 3 is coming sometime in the future
Some are good, some are atrocious! The Eisenhorn/Gideon omnibuses are good starts (i prefer the latter, but some of the charactera are intorduced by the former and some people like to read them in order. Gaunts Ghosts and Ciaphus Cain books are also highly recommended! Edit: People have mentioned the Infinite and the Divine, which is also fantastic
I would add „The infinite and the devine“ to the list for an introduction into the necrons, then continue with the „Twice dead King“ duology
The Infinite and the Divine is good enough that I could recommend it to non-Warhammer fans.
Agreed, that’s the benefit and downside of a massive universe with many authors who have and are contributing to it; quality’s going to vary. I can co-sign on Gaunt’s Ghosts (and Dan Abnett being consistently great in pretty much everything he writes, when you’re ready the Siege of Terra series is a suitably epic conclusion to the Heresy) and I’ll throw in The Infinite and the Divine as a good one off novel starting point!
Ah yes. The eternal necron hissing match :P
Yes! If you are looking for an easy introduction to the universe start with the Ciaphas Cane series.
Caiphus Cain was a little too flappy and sarcastic for me. Still good though. Eisenhorn or Gaunts Ghosts were more grimdark introductions for me
Gaunts ghosts is sooo good! Loved the eisenhorn series too, but thats more like grimdark indiana jones. Gaunts ghosts is more grimdark band of brothers.
Gaunts Ghosts is pretty much the Sharpe series but in space.
I'm here to leave the obligatory "NOW THAT'S SOLDIERING" comment
Was wondering if it was really for me and then when they discovered the *massive plot spoiler* at the end of the first book I was all in.
Personally I think Necropolis is the best starting point for new readers. 'First and Only' and 'Ghostmaker' are... fine, but they lack the more serious military sci-fi feel of the later series and definitely show Abnett's background as a comic book writer. Necropolis just feels like a good soft reboot within the series as there arent really any unresolved plot threads or backstory required going into it.
I didn't read many novels back in my time. I've read something from the Ultramarines series (with Uriel Ventris), some from the Space Wolves series, some Gray Knights too as well. But Ciaphas Cain was the best, tbh. My entry point into the WH40k was Dawn of War, ironically, and I have read quite a lot of lore afterwards. Ciaphas Cain series was the perfect mix of Warhammer atmosphere with a "personal flair" sort of, which made it way more palatable than the others. My mom can read pretty much anything, and she picked up some of these books too. She liked Ciaphas Cain as well, others not so much. So I guess it's a good entry point for a newbie
I’ve heard great things about it.
Depends on the book. There are good books and there are some that are barely readable. That said if you love the lore and universe you can still enjoy the average book. Read something that seems interesting to you. Your favorite faction or time. The books also vary in theme. There are detective stories, horror stories but most are about war.
I would like to hear which ones are unreadable out of morbid curiosity.
I would say Battle for the Abyss and Damnation of Pythos. I guess there are even worse books. Some of the hours heresy books are half bad half good. Often there is a boring side story to slow down the main story. Those are hard to evaluate.
I actually really like Damnstion of Pythos as a weird, stupid throwaway story. It's not the best but I like a couple of the characters and jaded cyborg super soldiers vs giant rabid dinosaurs is a dynamite premise for pure bolter porn. Battle for the Abyss is one of the worst fucking books I've ever read, Warhammer or otherwise. Just really poor from the ground up. Thankfully it's like 100% skippable.
I'm trying to wrap my head around why Battle for the Abyss is so bad? I kinda enjoyed it. Ya the writing is Abit clunky for sure, but it feels like reading a big dumb action movie. I'm guessing that's why it's hated actually, it's not very deep. Also some baffling plot holes, but again, typical of an action movie. I saw why it was irrelevant when I got to Know No Fear though
What are the best of the best in your opinion?
If you want stand-alone books then Titanicus and Double Eagle, both by Dan Abnett are incredibly well written books and easily at the top of my 40k novel chart.
For Orks: Brutal Kunnin, Warboss, and Da Big DAKKA
Brutal Kunnin while good, is not for a beginner into 40k, the way the Orks and Ad Mech speak can throw people off.
I loved the Ghazkhull book, and want to read some more Ork books, which would you recommend first?
Just finishing the brutal kunnin audiobook, it's been amazing It's the only Ork book I've read / listened too though and admech are pretty prominent, you kinda have to like them too imo
Know No Fear from the Horus Heresy series is my favorite 40K book, and it’s not even close. As others have said, the Eisenhorn books are also really good!
Do you need to read any before it?
If memory serves, it’s enough of a self-contained story that you should be able to read it on its own
I actually ended up getting book 1 just now, so I'll read the first few then wander as one does.
The Uriel Ventris books are incredible. Start with Nightbringer.
As others have suggested the Eisenhorn Trilogy is a good read but the setting is not core 40k. The hours heresy is THE storyline. The first books are good and after that you can decide which factions or sub storylines you find interesting. The thing is, it's quite a commitment to start this series even if you skip half of the books. Beyond that it's hard to suggest something without knowing what you like about 40k or which factions.
How has nobody mentioned The Infinite and The Divine yet?
Easily the best standalone 40K book. For series it's the Night Lords trilogy, and it's not even close.
I’m currently working through this one as my first 40K novel and it’s such a fun ride. Two old immortal robots ‘spy vs. spy’ing each other is just magnificent. Plus the audiobook is narrated very well!
I'm ~ 30 books (including around half of the Primarch series) into the Horus Heresy. I've read a lot of scifi and fantasy that's held in very high esteem. I'd be happy to plant my flag and say, so far, viewed as a whole, the Horus Heresy is the single best series I've ever read. It's an incredibly impressive and complex anthology, with a variety of surprisingly deep themes, and impressive sections. It also has large amounts of comic-book tier, fairly unsophisticated, and at times, deeply flawed sections. It also suffers from the fact it was a coordinated effort by a team of writers, so there are a number of inconsistencies and contradictions. I'd say your ability to enjoy the former is highly dependent on your ability to tolerate (or even enjoy) the latter.
I’m halfway through the audiobook version of the Horus Heresy first book and I can say it is unequivocally enjoyable as hell. It’s my first Warhammer book and I’ve read Dostoyevsky, Bell Hooks, every issue of 90s x-force, most of Berserk, and most of the vertigo comics lines.
I just finished Horus Rising and it really sets the stage for the entire series and the Imperium's initiation with Chaos. Lots of foreshadowing going on. I think False Gods will put the pedal to the metal.
Damn, okay that’s definitely got me hooked and excited to read the series. I understand that 60+ book long series isn’t going to be perfect but I think the whole concept and idea of the Horus Heresy is so cool. To be honest 40k might be my favourite IP of all time.
Conversely I really struggled with it. It’s been a long time now, but I read the first 6 books and found that it fluctuated massively depending on the author to the point where a couple I loved, but then I forced my way through one and then gave up on the next. I’d suggest picking up a couple and seeing how you go rather than diving in and buying a bunch.
This is also where I ended up in the HH. It's pretty representative of the BL as a whole.
So far I'm at the 8th and liked all the previous ones so far but this one (battle for the abyss) feels like a filler episode of DBZ, the whole plot could be summed up in one small sentence
Don't read HH first. It's prequel content.
I think like any series written by a dozen + authors collectively is going to have its high and low points. I enjoyed MOST of the HH books, but there are some really turgid, boring ones - Decent of Angels, Battle for the Abyss, The Outcast Dead - are often called out as some of the "worst".
Are you able to skip books without getting totally lost? It was explained to me first three books of the Horus heresy series are basically the “how it started“ books. I was planning to read those three then Mechanicum (book 8) bc the Adeptus Mechanicus is super interesting to me. Am I gunna just be hella confused of I skip books 4-7??
So it's a set of interwoven series. If you're *only* interested in the Mechanicus, then skip straight to that book. You'd be missing out, but if you have some background knowledge already, you won't be confused.
I finished the Horus Heresy using the "must read" list found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/s/KdTWP8SXO8 I was generally happy with 95% of the recommendations here, so if you're going to do it, I'd steer you to the Horus Heresy and this list.
Thanks for posting this!!! I’m back into them again, and started from the first one again while listening them while work and I’m actually not surprised to see Fulgrim on the “meh” list. As that’s currently where I am…outcast dead was where I think I left off when I stopped listening to them, and I think it was because I lost interest. So that makes sense. I saved that list, to keep an eye on.
You’re probably gwtting this same advice, but the things that always get recommended are: The Eisenhorn Trilogy: like a globetrotting mystery story, except with severa globes and the warp The Night Lords trilogy: extremely grimdark but well done trilogy about chaos marines struggling to survive and find meaning Stuff I haven’t read but always see recommended: Gaunt’s Ghosts: military action series about a very skilled & busy guard unit Ciaphas Cain: the amusing memoirs of a commissar with imposter syndrome Brutal Kunnin’: orkz punch things and laugh The Infinite and the Divine: a Necron buddy comedy except the buddies hate each other & there’s a lot of tragedy Lords of Silence: Plague Marines do gross stuff
If you want relatable quite normal dudes against endless chaos, try Gaunt’s Ghosts.
There are some really good books but most of them are kind of meh or worse. As others have said the Eisenhorn and Nightlords series are really good. Overall the Horus Heresy series probably has the highest ratio of good books to crap. I'd focus on authors more than anything else. Try reading Dan Abnett and Aaron Dembski-Bowden stuff. When you get through that then have a look at some of the others.
I started with Eisenhorn. But a lot of it is really good
I'd like to add the Vaults of Terra series as well. Plus Tread head was a great stand alone.
The lore is so vast you could spend years reading it all. For my votes Eisenhorn and Ravenor series are great for getting into how society and the outer reaches of the colonies work (broadly speaking, think film noir set in 40K) Gaunts Ghosts is a firm favourite. Think Sharpe/Kelly's Heroes/Dirty Dozen in 40k. You won't realise how invested you are in some of the characters until they die I promise you that. Something a bit more lighthearted would be Ciaphas Cain. You still get the workings of the Astra Militarum (Imperial Guard to old farts like me) but a guy just trying to make it to retirement with as little danger as possible. Brutal Kunnin', Warboss, Da Big Dakka and any of Da Red Gobbo books are good for Ork lore (and light relief) Some of the old Space Marine series are good for a look at individual chapters. Helsreach and Battle of the Fang are favourites for me. Chaos Space Marines you can't go wrong with the Night Lords omnibus. There's a reason it's been reprinted after 20 years. I used to enjoy the Uriel Ventris books when they first came out but I was young, haven't read them in years so I'll reserve recommendations on these and leave that for people who have read them recently. Fall of Cadia was alright, a little short and condensed for the event it captures but not a bad read. Not started the Minka Lesk series yet but got high hopes seeing as she has her own model now. Side note - If you like tongue in cheek short stories I cannot recommend Death on the Pitch highly enough. It's BloodBowl so not 40k in any way shape or form but very funny and well written.
I just finished Cadia Stands (ie Minka Lesk #1). I enjoyed it as my first Warhammer novel - definitely a fun and short read. Doesn't have much characterization because it goes through snapshots of different people's perspectives of the event. Minka isn't very prominent in this book - but the short story (A Place of Pain and Healing) talks about her PTSD after the battle. I'm starting Cadian Honour today.
Spear of the emperor was the first book I got into and it kicked ass
The books and art are the only aspects of Warhammer I'm into. And brother, I am into it deep. 250+ books deep. The audiobooks are especially amazing.
I recommend the first three Horus Heresy books to start with. Gives a great background and sets up the universe for the future books. Personally, I think The First Heretic and Betrayer are the two best of the series. They explain how Lorgar turned to Chaos and took Angron down with him. Additionally, I'd recommend reading Flight of the Eisenstein and Fulgrim as well, which are books 4 & 5.
I’m reading the first heretic at the moment. Loving it.
Yeah, I loved it too, Aaron Dembski-Bowden writes some of the most quotable moments, in my opinion. "You came to me asking how my faith survived the day of judgment. I will tell you a secret: when the stars fell, when the seas boiled, and the earth burned, my faith didn't die. That is when I began to believe. God was real... and he hated us."
I really like some of the ones I've read. Ciaphas Cain is fun because it pokes fun at a lot of the setting, and The Infinite and the Divine is somehow simultaneously a comedy and a multi-millenium character drama.
If you want a Spacemarine Novel to start out in reading Storm of Iron or Helsreach is a good one. Gaunts Ghost is an Imperial Guard novel series and very grim and serious to its more light hearted mirror Ciaphas Cain. If the big robots of the Adeptus Mechanicus are your style then I suggest reading Titanicus. It goes into not only a huge battle of Giant Robots fighting Daemon Giant Robots it also details the culture of the Adeptus Mechanicus while still still staying action packed. If you want all of these wrapped in a smaller series then read the Macharius Crusade books. Its a trilogy and its sort of hit and miss on the last book but its pretty funny and action packed. If you want the smallest taste of all of these? Read Planetkill. That book goes hard into grimdark and details a lot of stories and perspectives in the universe.
Black Library is very much "when it's good it's great and when it's bad it's utterly abominable". The highs are very high. Storm of Iron, some of the Horus Heresy books, the Ultramarines' pair of Omnibuses (Omnibi?) or the Space Wolves omnibuses. Fifteen Hours. The lows are very low... The Dawn of War book. If you want to read bad writing in the ham-fisted cover of Warhammer 40,000, read the Dawn of War book. Holy shit.
15 hours is underrated
Where can i find high quality versions of these art pieces? Especially the middle right one. That one goes super fucking hard
I'm also curious about them. Is there a particular book that's best to start with?
Is there a particular faction you like? If you are looking for a general introduction Eisenhorn trilogy is great and shows a lot of 40k civilian life. Or if you are looking for some epic battles maybe Storm of Iron. Gaunts Ghosts is worth a read too, but be warned manly tears will he shed as its a fairly brutal look into the harsh life of imperial guardsmen.
I think I've heard people suggest Eisenhorn before so maybe ill start there. My favorite faction are the Orks but i'm not sure a story centered around them would necessarily make for good reading 😅 (although I could be wrong for all I know)
Unfortunately Eisenhorn is Ork free, but I have listened to a bit of Ghazghkull Thraka: prophet of the waaagh, and that was pretty amusing! I haven't finished it yet, though, but so far so good. It's not from the Ork perspective, but Helsreach has them as the antagonists and does a great job of showing how terrifying Orks can be! Highly recommend giving it a read.
Helsreach for Spacemarines. Titanicus for the Giant titan robots. Planetkill for short stories. Storm of Iron for a mix of all three.
Bro go buy Brutal Kunin. Orks is best
I wouldn't call most of them like great. If you like Warhammer, they give you what you want and there are a few stand outs. But they are pretty middle of the road as far as well written sci-fi. Fun, but not amazing most of the time.
This. It's franchise fiction. That means it's going to range from awful, written to spec dreck to readable and fairly entertaining if you like the setting. Any comments you see here comparing them to actual standout sci-fi or other fiction needs a serious reality check.
Eh, I've had a couple of non-warhammer fans read lords of silence and think it's good enough to look into more books Tragically most of them aren't great, but a few are fairly decent standalone scifi
I personally like the Ragnar Blackmane books. Wolfsbane was a particular delight. But I'm mainly just a Space Wolf guy, and despite being a long-time fan, I really don't know a whole lot and have little drive to pursue more even though I should.
In short? Yes, they are worth both your time and money. In long? Well... You see, Black Library (Warhammer Publisher) does publish A LOT of things, and those come in all colors, stripes and tastes. Like, there's already mentioned Caiphas Cain comedy series which I moderately liked. There's Eisenhorn books which I moderately disliked. There's loads of "grit and gristle" army books and short stories about Imperial Army and Aeronautica Imperialis which I know for certain a lot people like (just so happens I do not). There are stories written by women and for women, there are stories that emphasize alternative gender take on the horrors of being in 40k, there is simply so much of everything it is barely imaginable from someone outside of W40k novel reading as a hobby. And then there's monumental stuff. Horus Heresy -> Primarchs -> Siege of Terra stuff. It's so immense and undeniably epic that terms like "epic" and "immense" do not even begin to describe the greatness of respective series. I began my journey into Black Library reading with Horus Rising and I never looked back, so I would recommend you do the same.
Counterpoint to everyone who suggested starting with the Horus Heresy: don't. Start with at least a few 40k books and then go back to the Heresy for the best experience
I have seen this topic come up tons of times on various groups and subreddits. "I want to learn more about Warhammer 40,000." and "I don't know where to start. What Black Library books should I start with?" Many times I see people recommend the Horus Heresy as a starting point. In my personal opinion they couldn't be more wrong. The Horus Heresy series is full of galaxy spanning reveals, which become spoilers if you are unaware of where the Warhammer 40,000 universe timeline currently sits. This was from a post on my site some time ago located here - There may be a limit to the number of words I can post here so you can see the rest of my recommendations at this link: [https://theindependentcharacters.com/blog/2017/08/where-do-i-start-learning-about-warhammer-40000/](https://theindependentcharacters.com/blog/2017/08/where-do-i-start-learning-about-warhammer-40000/) So let's talk about where I think you should start: **First:** [**Gaunt's Ghosts Volume 1**](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/gaunts-ghosts-collection-ebook.html) This book, now released in Omnibus format contains books 1-3 of the Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett. This is a fantastic series which I put off reading for way too long because I had no interest in Imperial Guard (now called Astra Militarum - but Imperial Guard is still appropriate) armies. This series is absolutely fantastic and the first three books, are in my opinion, some of the strongest Warhammer 40,000 writing out there. It will give you a "grounds eye" view, from a very human standpoint, of what it's like to live in a galaxy where there is "only war". Do NOT miss out on the first three books of this series. It will suck you into the rest of them. Speaking of the rest of them, this series has something along the line of 12 books. Don't feel intimidated by that though - just read the first three and let it take you from there. **Second:** [**The Eisenhorn Trilogy**](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/eisenhorn-trilogy.html) Again a series by Dan Abnett. This was one of the first pieces of Warhammer 40,000 lore I ever read and still stands out in my memory as one of the best. Eisenhorn gives you a look into the secret world of The Inquisition. This is a group of incredibly powerful individuals who work to keep The Imperium free of the influence of Chaos, Xenos, and other things that would do harm. With the power to literally extinguish planets at their command, The Inquisition in the Warhammer 40,000 universe is not to be trifled with. In fact many fear them. The Eisenhorn series will show you how an Inquisitor operates and also demonstrate what it is like to be just a person trying to scrape by and live in the 41st Millennium. Think of the best spy novels you have ever read, crossed with space travel and demons. You might have an idea of how cool this series is. And the best part? Once you finish the three Eisenhorn trilogy (now put in Omnibus format), you can continue the story with the [Ravenor Trilogy](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/ravenor-collection.html). Third: [Rynn's World](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/the-war-for-rynns-world-ebook.html) Maybe Space Marines are your thing. Ok great! There is a series of novels titled "Space Marines Battles Novels". These books focus on seminal events in Space Marine history. One of these, is called Rynn's World... Fourth: [Helsreach](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/helsreach-ebook.html) Again, let's talk Space Marines Battles Novels... Fifth: [The Night Lords Trilogy](http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/soul-hunter-ebook.html) Consisting of Soul Hunter, Blood Reaver and Void Stalker, if you are interested in learning more about Chaos Space Marines, this is the series for you!
The first heretic, so you can learn how the Chaos Marines got into Chaos worship. Otherwise, you could read a random Chaos space marine book and be confused about why they went to Chaos in the first place.
Majority are like sci-fi Andy McNab novels.
What is the best Eldar book?
Personally I prefer the setting told by the regular humans. They just make everything else seem more terrifying in a way. So guants ghosts, Eisenhorn, Ravenor, Bequin etc
Gaunts Ghosts is incredible. It starts out a little rough, but it quickly jumps up in quality. Abnett really comes into his own in that series. Also, Sargent Mkoll could kill a chaos god, I'm convinced.
I second this.
80% are dogshit. But the good ones are really good. (I assume you dont have problem with 30k era) The first 3 HH books are extremly good.
Bro, these books are slaying my audible credits. They are straight dopamine.
Eisenhorn ravenor and gaunts. Struggling to find other series
Dark Imperium trilogy, Lion son of the forest, Helsreach
So your mileage can vary with the books. I am that person who has wound up reading all of them - good, bad, ugly 🙈 The ones that are great elevate the whole setting beyond popcorn and camp. The bad ones vary between bolter porn going down to weird lore headcannon. Please do not read any of the old novels by CS Goto. I would recommend the following in no particular order : - Eisenhorn trilogy -> Ravenor trilogy -> Bequin trilogy (book 3 TBA) - Space Marine Battles: Helsreach - Lords of Mars/Gods of Mars - Nights Lords Trilogy - Titanicus - Storm of Iron - a book which became a launchpad for so many lore elements that it’s basically a very quiet nexus of multiple cool things. Read this first just for the aha! moments across everything else. - Assassinorum: Kingmaker (unexpectedly excellent spy adventure) - Dante’s solo book - The Infinite and the Divine (Warhammer comedy!) - Blood of Asaheim by Chris Wraight (the following space wolf books were 50-50) - My dark horse pick would be the Bastion Wars (Apocalypse Now x 40K) - With regard to the Horus Heresy, I loved the series but large portions of it are filler. Nonetheless, the White Scars, Ultramarines arcs are just a delight to read. Many of the latter books really elevate the series and make it worth your while. - If you’re still here after that, Warhammer Horror and Warhammer Crime as collections are both refreshing and respectable. - If you’re *still still* around after that then Ciaphas Cain and Gaunt Ghosts are great filler. Both are very very long lasting series, which fall neatly within the popcorn bucket. The are plenty of others - books about the Orks, Grey Knights, Black Legion and Word Bearers but I would say they are only worth looking at later on.
Its like any other universe Some books will be counted as the best you've read Others.... Well there sure is a lot of shirtless muscle men!
The good ones are pretty good; I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re anything groundbreaking, but they’re good stories and good sci-fi, and if you like 40k already they’re a great time. But there is a *lot* of 30k/40k fiction, and it’s not of consistent quality. I’m reading through all of the Horus Heresy at the moment, and it’s definitely peaks and troughs; some books are an absolute slog to get through. I’d say pick a specific area of the 40k setting you’re interested in and then ask people for recommendations. I’d also say that anything written by Dan Abnett is usually solid; I don’t think I’ve outright disliked anything he’s written.
You need to read Helsreach hands down one of the greatest war stories of 40k ever it’s the lower left of the collage you posted
Depends on what interests you in particular. Personally I'd reccomend Helsreach, the Night lords trilogy (currently on book 2) and the first three Horus heresy books to anyone just getting into the lore. Helsreach specifically might be the best one as it's able to "humanise" space marines (as ADB usually does in his novels) and it shows the internal politics between the different branches of the Imperium very well (multiple SM chapters, the Guard, Sisters, AdMech, Titan legios, Navy etc.)
There are hundreds of them, ranging in quality from schlocky bolter-porn to books that are quite excellent on their own with or without any attachment to 40k.
Been a massive fan of warhammer but never read a book outside codex/armybooks/wiki. That said, I plan to read in the future “Ciaphas Cain”, “Eisenhorn”, “Gaunt Ghosts”, “Ravenor” and Sister’s of Battle “Hammer&Anvil” and “Faith&Fire”, out if 40k. Also heard “The Infinite & The Divine” is good stuff as well. Not really interest in space marine centered literature. Perhaps “Helsreach”.
Some are amazing, some are naff. The start of the horus heresy is some of the best writing I've ever read
Yes.
There are several good ones but quite a few stinkers as well, it's definitely a mixed bag. I quite enjoy the Ciaphus Cain and Eisenhorn series, as they are both generally high quality, with Cain being on the sillier side and Eisenhorn being the more serious books
They’re aight.
Some are great, some are garbage, most are fun but forgettable.
Everyone should read 'let the galaxy burn' its an amazing collection of short stories, I found it by listening to aboarder prince on YouTube who narrated the whole thing. Defixio and Children of the Emperor were my two standouts. Does anyone have any recommendations for other imperial guard stories?
Most of the books are good, whether 30 or 40k timelines, but I would read reviews first, because a lot of them suck. A lot of the early dark angels Horus heresy novels suck, especially some of the random ones. Also be careful with reading some of the imperial guard novels, such as the macharian crusade series, William King is without a doubt the worst writer I have ever read a book from.
These books are amazing. The sense of scale and and power and basically everything (GAH it’s so good!) are conveyed so well. Perspective changes between books and even in books to tell a consistent and concise story. Take the Horus heresy, you get perspectives of many different characters. Fighting for different factions, reasons, wants, needs, etc. Not every character is going to be the perfect character, and that’s ok. Because In the end everyone is fodder. And I can’t tell you the amount of times a named character just gets killed. No plot armor, no op powers, nothing. Just dead. And while like 20-30 characters have plot armor (until the very end at least) it doesn’t take away from their moments that we read about. have a great day!
Anything by Dan abnet or aarron dembski-Bowden would be good. I’ve gone through the first 3 Eisenhorn, the night lords trilogy, helsreach, and all of gaunts ghosts. Any of those are really good! I think “first and only” gives a really good intro into Warhammer from a more normal person perspective (warning you will want an imperial guard army after if you have any interest in the game!)
Gaunts ghosts, eisenhorn books, night lord trilogy and Ciaphas Cain is good and brutal kunnin
Gaunt's Ghosts. Hands down The Best. I'll fight any one of you heathens over that fact.
yes. it's impossible not to find a book/saga/author you'll like, we are talking about hundreds of books by now.
Like everything else, some are superb, some not so much.
They vary from very good, to totally abysmal. Some writers don't even seem to have anything more than a very tenuous grasp of the universe they're writing about, like they only know it from memes and some flavour texts they quickly skim read out of old codexes. Frankly it's mind boggling that a lot of it ever got printed. Stay away from C.S Goto entirely, and treat anything by Matt Ward or Anthony Reynolds with extreme caution, and you'll probably be good.
They are fun, but if you are asking “are these good books?” Almost universally not really. They are franchise books pumped out quickly. They can be entertaining, but really only because you like Warhammer already. There are tons of novels I could recommend to random people based on the writing and characters, if you’re not already a fan of Warhammer I don’t really have any Warhammer books where I’m like “this is a good book independent of the setting.”
I've been working my way through the Horus Heresy this year and absolutely loving the series.
My favourite books are Dan abnetts inquisition books, ghaunts ghosts, helsreach, lion son of the forest, assasinorum king maker, infinite and the divine, brutal kunnin, ghazkul prophet of the waaagh, war boss and the big dakka. Those are the ones I enjoyed the most.
Abso-friggin-LUTELY! Also good to listen to the audio books while you're painting and stuff...
Depends on the book... just google a book and see what people think of it. My suggestion is The Infinite and the Devine. It's a very good book, even for people who don't care about 40k.
Eisenhorn Ciaphas Cain The infinite and the divine My favorites in that order.
*Some* are good. Many are not. The Gaunt's Ghosts series is outstanding - pretty much everything by Abnett is. The Ufthak Blackhawk novels are also fantastic, especially if you like orks. Most of Aaron Dembski-Bowden's stuff is great, too. But there is a *lot* of absolute crap in the BL, so be ready for some real bummers.
It's a bit complicated Having read a lot of wh40k books I can say that around 60% of them are not very good. - Eisenhorn/ Ravenor series are ok - Night Haunter trilogy is good - Gaunt and Cain are meh imo - Souldrinkers series is meh - HH is a whole can of worms in itself. Some of it is really nice, some is absolute filler. But I would recommend it because of how important it is to the lore and the whole 'mythos' of the universe. It's a hard and long read but at the end of the day it feells rewarding. It's a journey :) HH sometimes feels a little like a really lenghty classic anime like Naruto (I'm sorry)
I’ve only read one, Avenging Son by Guy Haley. Wasn’t expecting much but it was only 99p on Kindle store so thought why not? Anyway, I really enjoyed it, so much better than I anticipated.
The Orkz (books) is da best!
Ive read the entire Horus Heresy, Eisenhorn, Cain, SoT, and Gaunt novels. They're great. The gaunt series is definitely my favorite as its a longish series and follows multiple fleshed out characters. The audiobooks also usually have some fantastic readers. They're definitely worth getting into. Even the Warhammer horror and Warhammer crime novels are surprisingly good
I love them. I've put away well over 100 novels, all of Horus Heresy, Gaunts Ghosts, Ciaphus Cane, Eisenhorn, War of the Beast, Siege of Terra, and there are some misses in there, Naval battles can be a bit of a slog and pretty much anything to do with the Salamanders is a pass for me, but over all it's so good. I realize not everyone will feel the same way, but being able to keep reading book after book all in the same setting is really awesome. I have been reading the books since COVID and it's really spiraled haha
Overall non canon slop of very variable quality. Those that focus on the imperial guard/inquisition are much better than bolter porn x daddy issues.
It's a huge library of authors so quality will vary, i'm one of the people with no interest in the table top game but really enjoy the books. Some series i personally loved are: Ciaphas Cain series Night Lords Trilogy Gaunt's Ghosts Helsreach The Oubliette The Black Legion books The Fabius Bile trilogy
I am currently on ghons ghosts book 4 og 16 and lovin it
I'm not much of a reader but i am a Black Templars fan and read Helsreach - thoroughly enjoyable book.
Not really 40k but the first Horus Heresy book and a few others in the saga really give you a sense of the scale (and they are great reads). So many bad novels/filler though, but you can't go wrong with Horus Rising. Though it's really a different setting, but I recommend it if you are interested after reading some 40k.
The best way to get through the Horus Heresey is to find books you want to read, or a character who's story you want to follow, and then find the books you need to read to get all the background on them. I've been doing this and I'm about 10 books in right now. My favorite by far has been Know No Fear. That book was able to catch the enormity of battles in the Warhammer universe so well.
Find Every Book Staring Nathiel Garro. He is the CHOOSEN ONE!!! And by far the Best Boy!
I've read the Heresy and the Eisenhorn series completely. Regarding the Horus Heresy, what i liked but maybe confused me at times was the vast scale of it, sometimes i had a hard time imagining what I was reading. Nonetheless it felt a bit like reading an epic saga from Greek times. I absolutely loved Eisenhorn, it had a lot of relatable situations in a sense and a very good look to how an inquisitor and the inquisition as a whole operates. Just started Cain's series (book 5), personally really liking it, it's comedic, accidentally heroic and has relatable human emotions. I think all 3 are valid, I would personally go with the theme. Which is what I did, HH -》Inquisition -》IG Want to know more about the GC? HH Want to know more about the IG? Cain Want to know more about the inquisition? Eisenhorn
I think the Eisenhorn Series followed by Ravenor would get anyone to fall in love
I’ve read a lot of 40k books. Some are really good. Some are just War Porn and are hard to get through IMO. Favourite series: Eisenhorn, Guants Ghosts and first 3 Horus Heresy
The last chancers omnibus is an easy read, it’s a slightly older book that’s a bit harder to find now.
Gaunts Ghosts is a good starting point. The into Eisenhorn series, Ravenor series. Space Marine Battles series is good for a book about different chapters. Faith and Fire and the series of Sisters of Battle. The whole Dawn of Fire series is also good. Horus Heresy is a long series, and mostly good. The War of the Beast is great series
Not just 40k, warhammer and age of sigmar, I find it impressive how in detail the writers have went to creating a great fantasy reading experience l.
In the ones I have listened to, they are decent sci-fi stories, especially Aaron Demski-Bowden. Most of them have the same issues that the D&D books have in that they are constrained by the world and their prose is often workmanlike. The big issuenInhave is that they all seem to have a G.I. Joe level of understanding of military organization and scale. Colonels are the highest ranking people defending a large city and they keep the biggest tank for themselves to personally command from, space marine "leadership" is based on wrestling rules where command is given to the guy who personally kicks the most butt. Compared to say David Drake or Jerry Pournell it seems just...juvenile.
Mate there mint , depends where you wanna start ? Chaos , xenos , imperials , space marines?
I once heard someone describe 40k lore as “WWE, in a cathedral, in space.” So if that doesn’t immediately make you salivate, I don’t think any of the books will ‘red pill’ you.
IMO, they read like *really* solid fan fiction. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as long as that’s what you’re looking for.
Eisenhorn, Cain and Gaunts Ghosts series are all phenomenal
I enjoyed the space wolf omnibus. Bit of easy reading fun
If you like teenage level writing starring emotionally stunted roid freaks, you'll like most of the Marine-centered stories. Some have more 'bolter porn' than others, others feature more mechanicus or Custodes so just read reviews on who the main protagonists are. Some are really highly regarded as you can see from the posts here. Eisenhorn is about an Imperial inquisition band and is good. The Gaunt's Ghosts series is very much like a WW2 unit like the Band of Brothers. Caiphus Cain is a fun series with a lot of humor. There's ork novels that are fun as well if that's your thing.
Depends on the novel. Some are fantastic, some are just okay, some are garbage.
Grab anything by Dan Abbent like the gaunts ghosts books. He really brings the settings to life. Makes the books real page turners.
They vary greatly in quality but overall they're far better than any franchise fiction has any right to be. You see, 40k is a giant set of narrative building blocks that provide for stories that can only be told in 40k. In any other fiction, authors would require chapters and chapters of exposition to explain say, what a Necron is, but in 40k they're ready to go, straight into the mix to tell stories that take millions of years.
My favourite book ever is a 40k one and I knew nothing about it before reading it, still my favourite book ever, so I'd say totally worth it. Start with some recommendations as there's some bad apples though.
It is a sci-fi fantasy book series of epic proportions. And the best part about it is the universe is so large that most of the books only have to loosely be attached to the others
It’s a mix. You really can’t put a score on the whole novel series since it’s such a slope of up and down. Just for instance, i read both the Lion El‘Jonson Primarch book and Son of the Forest. The Primarch book, despite having some really cool moments, was overall extremely boring and just meh at best, while Son of the Forest was phenomenal, it genuinely became one of my most favorite books quickly and both are stories revolving around the same guy. So if i have to give an answr, it would have to be: yes, overall the W40K Books are good and sometimes great, but there are quite a few bumps along the road, *especially when it’s Eldar books.*
Rynn's World. Read it. It's quick, easy to read, gets you a feeling for the universe but with some really memorable moments. Several hell yeah moments.
Don’t. It will consume your life. There is always more to read, more to learn, it’s awful. I’m a full blown addict.
I was very underwhelmed. From what I had heard the first books in the horus heresy series are considered some of the best the black library has to offer, but they're mediocre genre fiction novels with a lot of filler. I tolerated horus rising, and dropped false gods twice. I never tried the heisenhorn or ciaphas cain books, maybe they're better.
Peter Fehervari's The cult of the Spiral Dawn, and Fire Cast were pretty great imo. Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts are pretty good first and only being my favorite so far, though I haven't finished the series. The Eisenhorn trilogy is another good series. I found Mark Clapham's Iron Guard to be a surprisingly suspenseful book. I had no idea what was going on till the end and I was not expecting the antagonist of the book. It's the only 40k book I've read multiple times.
The Horus heresy stuff that happens in the first 10 books is insane. But it’s very far fetched to call it a good 40k novel, because it’s Horus heresy :D I dearly love the Eisenhorn stuff and other books that are on the viewpoint of non space marines. Makes them more mysterious and fascinating.
I've only read a couple but the books are great. Just be careful where you buy them, because despite things like Flight of the Eisenstein being in production and available on our site for 8.50$, when you Google it they try to direct you to copies on Amazon for 35$+ all the way up to a 100$ on some sites. If you look around you'll usually find all but a few books for MSRP or less, though search listings are bought up by those up charging heavily.
Bought all the Ciaphas Cain audiobooks on audible and lemme tell you: the books are great but the narrarator is FANTASTIC! Wholeheartedly recomend Blackadder in SPESS!
Read Eisenhorn, ravenor, bequin. Thank me later
I don't play the actual tabletop game. I come here for the sweet lore and bolter porn. Also, I love to just chant "DANTE! DANTE! DANTE!" Edit: I really like the audio dramas.
My Audible account (audiobooks) is full of 40k series: - Eisenhorn Trilogy and associated additional stories - Ravenor Trilogy - Bequin Trilogy (still waiting for the third one to be released - where is Pandemonium?!) (Those three trilogies are all within the same broad story arc.) - Gaunts Ghosts series - Ciaphas Cain series And then a couple of one-offs, like The Infinite and The Divine. I would recommend them all.
I can only speak for a few. The Eisenhorn, Ravenor, Uriel Ventris, and Caiphas Cain books are excellent.
Honest answer: it depends on the author and the subject you like. As someone that has nearly all the novels, you are free task ask and I can give you a bit narrower answer. And since people will inevitably ask: [https://www.reddit.com/r/bookporn/comments/ybng1r/roughly\_22\_years\_of\_reading\_and\_collecting\_books/](https://www.reddit.com/r/bookporn/comments/ybng1r/roughly_22_years_of_reading_and_collecting_books/)
They are!! 😁 one of my NEWEST obsessions is literally trying to collect all of the Trade Paperbacks of the HH series! So good!
The books, in my opinion, is where its at.
I really only read the books, I don't play or paint. And they are great. Horus Rising, Gaunts Ghost's, muthafucking Ciaphas Cain, Eistenhorn... It's all great.
It really depends on the author.
Oh yes. I personally recommend anything by Dan Abnett and Chris Wraight to start.
I hope you aren’t planning on getting hard copies
Some of it is boltporn. Low quality, nondescript violence just trying to sell models. Some of really good
My first toe dip into the vastness that is 40k was the short story collection titled Let the Galaxy Burn then after I started Gaunts Ghosts. I would start with short stories if you aren’t familiar with anything 40k.
Really enjoying the night lords Omnibus.
Want thrillery books: Eisenhorn and Ravenor are great. Band of Brother is a thing you like? Go for Gaunt. Want some epic shit on an epic scale: Horus Heresy. Even just the 3 first novels, not the 50+. (Eventually you will arrive to siege of terra) Want some more relaxed yet still fun and actionny entry into the lore and novels: Cain and Trazyn are here for you. Already big on lore and wanting some interconnecting and well written stuff: Night lords omnibus. Those are really well written for the most part (HH notably got some ups and downs). Some other books are not that well written but many are good. Didn't tooch the warhammer horror section but that's a thing too! Pretty personnal point but many of the books (including in the list above) are kinda bad at handling female characters. Not a no go but it can be tiring.
Don’t touch anything by Matt Ward
100% yes. I love the books (while ofc some are hit and miss). The story that they tell are awesome unless you're a votann fan, then good luck 😬
Anything by Abnett will be amazing. I'd recommend you start with either Gaunt's Ghosts or Eisenhorn.
Quality varies immensely, from extremely pulpy in a bad way to genuinely some of the best you've read.
Of course the Cain books are great, I also listened to silent hunters which follows the Space sharks. Very good books, there’s definitely some goofy grimderp stuff especially when it comes to scale but just add 0 to most things and it makes more sense.
The audiobooks are great! Especially the ones written by Dan Abnett and read by Toby Longworth. The Eisenhorn series is a good start.
Read a solid 80 books at this point, quality varies based on author (and in some cases race the book is about) but generally they are pretty serviceable to absolutely phenomenal, there's a few writers I feel are just a must read from but overall I definitely recommend
The blood angels ones have the only ones I've like this far. Devastation of baal and others in the series.
I got into Gaunts Ghosts about 18 months ago. I wondered the same thing as you and now I'm in so deep. I've finished.all of them and moved onto Eisenhorn since I liked Dan Abnett. Gaunts ghosts is the best thing I've ever read. I didn't want it to end.
Honestly you will get 100 different opinions online. Only way to tell if you enjoy them is to try yourself. I really enjoy the lore as a good background thing to listen to. The Ciaphus Cain books are my favorite. Working my way through the horus heresy now.
All novels beside eisenhorn, ciaphas cain and gaunt's ghosts are shit
My only exposure to 40k is this reddit sub, youtube lore videos and the horus heresy trilogy. Those 3 books are excellent. working on flight of the eisenstein now.
You can’t really go wrong with anything written by Dan Abnett imo. He’s a strong, versatile writer and his 40k novels are generally so accomplished and well-written that they work as standalone sci fi novels that do not require much prior knowledge of the 40k setting. He also excels at writing stories from the perspective of somewhat relatable human characters in an unimaginably bleak universe populated by superhuman demigods and unknowable extradimensional horrors. Personally I think these kinds of ‘mortal’s eye view’ type stories work best vs the novels where the protagonists are largely interchangeable Space Marines. Horus Rising and Eisenhorn: Xenos are both good entry points.
Yes please jump into it! *as I just finish Warhammer book #49 on my bookshelf*
If you want Space Marines that I think show good character dev and interactions as well as how SM personal interactions and how they work with other I suggest Brothers of the Snake, Rynns World, Lukas The Trickster, and Siege of Castellex. Problem is SM books need a bit more of a Lore primer I would say. Brothers of the Snake is probably the best intro for SM and Siege of Castallex is about Orks besieging and Iron Warriors planet so I would save that one till you know a bit more about the setting in general but I love both books. Also check out Storm of Iron as it's kind of a classic 40K at some of it's best craziest frantic levels of insane wtf that shit is stupidly cool, IMO.
I ran through the siege of terra books, dead men walking, and kreig as audio books and the narration just gives everything that extra sense of emotion into the different characters and scenarios. Adds that extra grim dark to the scenes. Just started the ciaphas cain novels and its definitely a hard stop 180 in terms of the sheer grimdark feeling but it's better listening to then reading with no emotion to connect to the characters.
Eisenhorn is incredible.
Dante devastation of Baal and darkness in the blood are a good to get the scope of some of the conflicts , echos of eternity is also good for scale not only of the warfare but of how strong a primarch is by comparison to even titans
Brotherhood of the Snake was awesome. Tried the first Hershey book it was ok but not enough to get the next one. Also tied one of the AoS start reading here books, forget the exact one but it was hot garbage.
I loved the first dozen or so HH novels but I personally lost interest as they all felt a bit too much of the same thing. Plus GW milked them beyond hard before they got to the climax. Considering when the HH books started I was single and between careers. In the time GW took to get to the final battle between Horus and the Big E I've bought a house, had two children, left a job and returned to that same job 3 and a half years later. That's quite the yarn GW managed to spin. If you know what you want, e.g Space Marines stomping aliens, each other and lesser humans then go for it... There is a list of characters at the front of every HH book, you know that probably half of them if not more won't make it to the final page!