Brother_Marius Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I have never read any warhammer 40K novels, in fact, I didn't really know they existed. Well, I saw a couple of them somewhere, but honestly I believed it was just 2 or 3 obscure books, maybe even fanfiction, but now it turns out, there are dozens of books about this fantasy world we all love so much! My question is... where do I start? I don't really know much about the universe yet, other than the general background of some of the armies. The stuff they put into the rulebooks and such. So now I don't really know where i should start, I don't even know if there is like a chronological order to it or anything. I like Imperial Fists and Chaos Marines mostly, well, mostly human stuff that is. So maybe I should start there. I just dont know where. Any advice? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosco Toppings Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Perhaps it would be best to start at the beginning and work your way through the Horus Heresy novels. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3697612 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jareddm Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Dozens is an understatement. Try hundreds. The way it tends to work is you've got various series of books that tie together within a series, but can be considered independent from another series. For instance, there's the Gaunt's Ghost series by Dan Abnett, which follows an Imperial Guard regiment, there's the Night Lords series by Aaron Dembski-Bowden that follows a chaos space marine warband, there's the Priests of Mars series by Graham McNeil which follows a explorator fleet of the Machine Cult. There's no real chronology between series, or at least not in any meaningful way. The largest series, and the only one being written by multiple authors, is the Horus Heresy. It's a full prequel series that tells of the events 10,000 years earlier that started the ball rolling on the current state of 40k. And in between all of these series there's various standalone novels, audio shorts, and short stories to fill in gaps or give alternative viewpoints. As for a starting position, my recommendation is the Eisenhorn series of books. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3697629 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormborn Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Personally as your not fully up on canon/fluff/lore I'd steer clear of the HH and stay in 40K for now, not that the HH is bad some it is awesome some less so. But it comes in so many formats is quite large and a pain to follow alos the pricing is high as they have abandoned mass market paper backs (you can still get them but it is usually 2 years after the hard back specail edition early release has come out, ebooks aren't a bad idea and if you have the cash they do bundle them all up periodically not sure if it saves you any money but at least it is easy to fond them. Other than Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn, Ravenor & Bequin books which are good if you like Inquisitors I'd say his Guants Ghost series is probably the best representation of Imeprial Guard your going to find. you might also try his stand alone novel Titanicus which was very good. For Chaos Space Marines I'd say ADB's Night Lords (just out as an omnibus) is definately a good bet. The other series never really did much for me Bit more difficult for space marines as much of what is written is pure bolter porn and I can't honestly say any of it springs to mind. The Space Marine Battles series has some good moments and Black Library has a sub page for them so you could check them out or try some of the quick reads. Generally I'd say your fairly safe with anything by Dan Abnett, ADB, Chris Wraight or Andy Chambers (his Dark Eldar series is in my opinion the best thing Black Library have released for at least a decade). graham mcneill writes a lot of books for Black Library unfortunately he be can very hit or miss as is gav thrope, if you like the subject of their books you should be ok. I'd definately avoid nick kyme and cs goto. I seem to recall that BL has a collection of essential 40K novels at the moment i don't agree with that description for all of them but it does provide a good overview. If you can find them Ian Watson's Draco Serieis -The Inquistion War and Space Marine and Barrington J Bailey's Eye of Terror are well worth the read, admittedly they are now massively out of date but these are some of the first novels Games Workshop released for 40K and were written when authors had much more freedom than they now do. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3698354 Share on other sites More sharing options...
malorn24 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 If you like Imperial Fist there are a couple. Sons of Dorn- Decent read. Some cameos of famous characters more of a "from the eyes of a marine" book. And to be honest it is the only book ever that I can read a second time all the way through. 7th Retribution- I liked it alot. It has Lysander as one of the main characters. I liked the plot for the most part. Not all that easy to guess where it is going. Maladrax- I haven't read this one yet but its out there. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3698383 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gripharius Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I always recommend Storm of Iron by Graham McNeill. It has one of the better stories and it has some good characterization, plus the plot moves pretty well. There are some inconsistencies with fluff/canon, but they are fairly easy to gloss over. It also has Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors, too. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3698442 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelPaladin Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Definitely Storm of Iron. Especially since you like the Imperial Fists. It was the first Black Library book I read, and I was hooked instantly. Besides that, I would absolutely recommend either the Eisenhorn or Gaunts Ghosts series. Both series are written by Dan Abnett, and are some of the best books ever released by the BL. However, if you are more into filthy xenos, the Dark Eldar series by Andy Chambers are some of the best novels released by Black Library in years. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3698473 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grotsmasha Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I second the Eisenhorn trillogy. For some Guard action, I really liked Gav Thorpes' Last Chancers trillogy about Colonal Schafers' Penal Legion (the second book has my all-time favourite BL scene in it). Cheers, Jono Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3698721 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Father Ferrum Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 In terms of "just starting," I'd distill it down to a few books/omnibuses (omnibi?) 1. The Eisenhorn Trilogy Omnibus by Dan Abnett. You get snapshots of everything in here: a look at Imperial society from the ground level, the Guard, the Inquisition, Rogue Traders, Space Marines (both good and bad), Chaos worshipers of several stripes, daemons, xenos in a couple of flavors. . . it really is a primer for the 40K universe. 2. Space Marine Battles: Helsreach by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. Or, substitute for Space Marine Battles: Rynn's Wolrd, if you want more action and less characterization. Both books focus on Space Marines fighting against powerful ork invasions, and both are decent depictions of Space Marines in action while still getting across the scale of warfare in 40K as well as the organization and power of your average ork waaaaaagh! The difference is that Helsreach is generally considered the better novel, since the prose is a bit better and it has a somewhat greater focus on the mindset of a Space Marine and how it differs from how normal humans in 40K think and see the world around them. Rynn's World, on the other hand, is more "bolter porn" with less of the depth you get from ADB's work. I'd still recommend both, though. 3. The Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett. This is available as individual volumes, though they have been grouped in various omnibuses along the way (the first arc of novels is called "The Founding," for example). The first couple of novels were a little rough in terms of prose and organization as Dan really found his style and footing, but the rest of the series and most especially most of the latest batch are simply great (Straight Silver was something awesome, and I really enjoyed The Armor of Contempt and Blood Pact). They provide an excellent look at the minutiae of the Imperial Guard, both on the battlefield and as an organization, including inter-regimental "office politics." And an honorably mention goes to the Night Lords Trilogy (recently released as an omnibus) by ADB. It provides a great insight into Chaos Marine warbands and their means and methods. It is extremely well written and, as I pointed with Helsreach, one of ADB's specialties is showing the dichotomy between humans and Astartes in their interactions. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3698787 Share on other sites More sharing options...
battle captain corpus Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 The main rule books can be a great place to get general info on all the races etc to begin with. Black Library wise: Chaos Marines - The Word Bearers omnibus by Anthony Reynolds is worth a look. It has some very dark and back stabbing storylines with, in my opinion, one of the best main characters BL have, Marduk. If you want to know more about the workings of the legion this is great. - The Night Lords trilogy. Aaron Dembski Bowden, lovely chap and great author, explores the concept of the Night Lords fighting the Long War, what this means and what sacrifices need to be made. - The Iron Warriors omnibus by Graham McNeil. Again, a founding Legion story line. Looking at the inter warband fighting that can occur as well as a peek into true siege warfare in the 41st millennium. Loyalists - Helsreach by Aaron Dembski Bowden. A great read, especially if you are keen on learning what it takes to assume the mantle of your mentor, the responsibility of it and again what the mission actually means to a marine. - Blood of Asaheim by Chris Wraight. Great if you are keen to see what its like for a Grey Hunter to return from Deathwatch service to find his pack has moved on. How will he establish his place back with them? Also good for background on Sisters of Battle. - Horus Rising by Dan Abnett. Whilst not his greatest work, it does establish the core characters that will form the arc of the Horus Heresy. Superb reading if you want to see Horus as a pure and just character. Imperial Guard - Gaunts Ghosts by Dan Abnett. The big boy, the god slaying series of gungho action from the grunts on the ground. You may possibly be disappointed if you've ever read any of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels as they are marginally better as a series though. BCC Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3699097 Share on other sites More sharing options...
malorn24 Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Caiphus Cain series was fun. Another novel I completely enjoyed was "Gunheads" IG Tanks and lots of them! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3699564 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilofix Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I have never read any warhammer 40K novels, in fact, I didn't really know they existed. Well, I saw a couple of them somewhere, but honestly I believed it was just 2 or 3 obscure books, maybe even fanfiction, but now it turns out, there are dozens of books about this fantasy world we all love so much! My question is... where do I start? I don't really know much about the universe yet, other than the general background of some of the armies. The stuff they put into the rulebooks and such. So now I don't really know where i should start, I don't even know if there is like a chronological order to it or anything. I like Imperial Fists and Chaos Marines mostly, well, mostly human stuff that is. So maybe I should start there. I just dont know where. Any advice? Do you prefer more plot or more action? Action wise, with some minimal 40K background, you could still technically start right in the middle and still catch on. Like even start with HH - Know No Fear for example. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3699583 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother_Marius Posted May 29, 2014 Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 Wow, so many replies. AWESOME! Thanks a LOT guys, I can really start looking for some good books now. I will start with those titles/series which have been recommended by multiple persons. So it looks like Eisenhorn, Gaunt's Ghosts, Storm of Iron... I have never read any warhammer 40K novels, in fact, I didn't really know they existed. Well, I saw a couple of them somewhere, but honestly I believed it was just 2 or 3 obscure books, maybe even fanfiction, but now it turns out, there are dozens of books about this fantasy world we all love so much! My question is... where do I start? I don't really know much about the universe yet, other than the general background of some of the armies. The stuff they put into the rulebooks and such. So now I don't really know where i should start, I don't even know if there is like a chronological order to it or anything. I like Imperial Fists and Chaos Marines mostly, well, mostly human stuff that is. So maybe I should start there. I just dont know where. Any advice? Do you prefer more plot or more action? Action wise, with some minimal 40K background, you could still technically start right in the middle and still catch on. Like even start with HH - Know No Fear for example. I think i'd prefer a mix, i wouldnt really like action-only though. I can imagine it's only as much fun to read 200 pages of "and the <insert enemy> were horribly killed by <insert weapon>" Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/291477-where-to-start/#findComment-3701072 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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