Your favorite works, by author

[Roomsky]

I'm making an effort to promote some all-around positivity here, so let's have a thread that's only about the good stuff. There's plenty of BL stuff that deserves ones' ire, but even ones least-favorite author can sometimes produce something enjoyable. Here is the thread for such things.

 

A few rules:

 

You need to have read more than one piece by the author

Novels and Novellas only, short stories deserve a thread to themselves

No taking the piss out of other peoples' choices

 

Give your favorites of both the creators you love and those you hate, though I personally encourage trying to dig up those rare good feelings about the fellows who usually make you want to tear your hair out. Lists are fine, but elaborate if you have the time.

 

I'll start with a few:

 

Nick Kyme: Old Earth

To put this in perspective, I think Vulkan Lives and Deathfire are the worst full-length entries in the Heresy Series. With that in mind, Old Earth basically blew my mind. Far from perfect, it nonetheless featured several artful descriptions, a memorable cast of characters, and some genuinely interesting conversations. I enjoyed the Iron Hands story most of all, as my favorite heresy-era theme is the degredation of the legions into something monstrous, and while the fight with the Great Unclean One was perhaps a tad superfluous, I was pleased to see something Nurgly portrayed as genuinely disgusting. 

 

David Annandale: The Last Wall

A great use of hysteria to drive the plot, the story was one big spiral into madness fueled by the advent of the unthinkable. The desperation and fervor were genuine, the climax was metal as hell, and Annandales' frequent penchant for bolter porn was near-absent. One of my favorite entries in that series, by far.

 

Gav Thorpe: Angels of Caliban

There are serious problems with this book, but I'd be lying if I said I had anything other than a good time reading it. Again, the focus is on character and the clashes of personality that end up unraveling Imperium Secundus over the flying of bolter shells. The pacing was strong and the violence (not necessarely to be confused with action) was brutal. Curze's trial was also an excellent finale, a great example of how BL stories don;t always need to end with one big fight. 

 

Bring that good will, peoples.

[Qkhitai]

Brian Craig: Pawns of Chaos

Cheating a bit here, because this was the only 40k novel he wrote. But it was awesome! One of my absolute favourites. Delves into the feudal backwater of the Warhammer universe, keeping true to its gothic roots, but without any cartoonish 'bolter porn' shenanigans. It shows a wonderful other dimension to the galaxy, as well as the potential of what can be achieved just by thinking out side the box a bit more. I wish more books would take this approach.

 

Ben Counter: Daemon World

Similar to the above, focussed on a very peculiar corner of the canon. There are no good guys or bad guys, just chaos vs chaos, with very interesting dynamics between tradition and 'modernity', magic and technology, and feudalism and civilisation. It also had some wonderfully unique and memorable characters. Another 'breath of fresh air' kind of book that really stood out to me. A lot better than his Soul Drinker stuff (although I enjoyed Galaxy in Flames).

 

Aaron Dembski-Bowden: Betrayer

Tough call, since First Heretic and Helsreach were stunning books, but Betrayer takes the cake. Aside from a bit of Perpetual weirdness, everything about it was great and I could sing its praises all day. But to keep it short and sweet, it was one of the few books to really influenced me to go out, buy some miniatures and play the game. And for World Eaters and Dark Mechanicum too; two factions I had never even given a second thought to before reading Betrayer. I think that says quite a lot.

 

Graham McNeil: Storm of Iron

I do like much of what he has written for the Horus Heresy series, notably Fulgrim and False Gods, but I don't think there would be any argument that Storm of Iron is his greatest work. Seems like he really ruined it with the sequels, so I've avoided them. It's a fantastic stand alone book though and it doesn't particularly need explaining; I'm sure most of us count it in our top 10 at the very least.

 

Mitchel Scanlon: Descent of Angels

It had its moments, though it was quite slow and nothing even happened at the end. The actual prose was decent enough though, the characters were quite good and I enjoyed some of the pre-Imperial Caliban lore. Not a bad book by any means - it probably gets more flak than it deserves sometimes.

 

Simon Spurrier: Lord of the Night

Definitely in my top 5 Black Library books - maybe my top 3. Another book that takes us away from the front lines and puts us in a forgotten corner of the galaxy. Some unforgettable characters that have stayed with me a decade on; probably the single best action scene in any Warhammer book, that still sends a shiver down my spine just thinking about it; and a real sense of pathos to wrap it all up. Fantastic novel.

 

Dan Abnett: Riders of the Dead Double Eagle

Hard to choose, if we're sticking with 40k (grumble). His Gaunts Ghosts books have been hit and miss at times, as have his Heresy works, but Double Eagle still stands out as my favourite. Great characters, a lot of dimension to the story, and a really interesting niche topic that appeals to me as a wargamer who collects toy planes (I miss Aeronautica Imperialis...).

 

In the interests of keeping things positive I cut out some of the 'best of a bad bunch' books from other authors 

[Manchu warlord]

Dan Abnett:  Know No Fear.

 

Graham McNeill:  A Thousand Sons.

 

Gav Thorpe:  (A tie between) Angels of Caliban or Jain Zar

 

C Z Dunn:  Pandorax

 

Guy Haley:  Dark Imperium.

 

Chris Wraight:  Watchers of the Throne: The Emperor's Legion.

 

Forgive me, but I am lazy to provide a description as to why these are my favorite work of the specific authors.

[Manchu warlord]

Oh snap, I totally forgot about Steve parker's "Deathwatch". Yeah, definitely gonna add that to my list.

[grailkeeper]

I found this harder to answer than I first expected. In most cases I have read a lot of the authors work and none particularly stands out- either because I enjoyed most of their work(Sandy Mitchell, Dan Abnett and Guy Hayley) or because I thought it was so bad I can't even pick a least worst (Nick Kyme, James Swallow, Ben Counter).

 

Graham McNeil: Storm of Iron.

His first and best book and one that for me defined early on how good BL can be. Well plotted with great action and characters. I'm open to correction but its the first BL book where the "good guys" lose. I'd read a few BL books before and dozens since but this is one of the few that stuck with me. It might not be objectively the best BL book, but it is my favorite. 

 

ADB: Soul Hunter.

This is the book which sold me on ADB. Previously I'd been a bit nonplussed with his work, now I'm one of his biggest fans. I'd read Helsreach and Cadian Blood before and neither stood out for me despite the hype(I've since revised my opinion on Helsreach following a re-read).  This for once lived up to the hype. This was one of the first books that was genuinely believable as a story. Seeing the everyday life and operation of life in the 40k universe and believing its a real place is hard to do, but doing it for chaos space marines and making them into relatable protagonists is something else.

 

Gav Thorpe: Last Chancers.

 I don't like a lot of Mr Thorpe's work, although he seems like a nice guy so I feel a bit bad saying it. I'd heard bad things about last chancers but really enjoyed it myself- it reminded me a lot of the commando comics I read as a kid and was very exciting. I'm probably not going to reread this one in case I see the flaws but its stuck with me and was pure fun. Also there was a character called Erasmus Spooge.

 

William King: Angel of Fire

Again this one falls under the pure fun category. Its never going to be mistaken for serious literature in the Way Abnett or ADB might be, but Willam King made arguably most the biggest contribution to the world of 40k-mostly by being one of the first authors. It could be argued that without him and Dan Abnett there would be no black library. He went away for a while but his return was much better than I expected it to be.

[DukeLeto69]

Pretty tough challenge you set there Roomsky but will give it a go.

 

First off though I will give myself a "pass" when it comes to Dan Abnett because he is by far my favourite BL author (if not my favourite author of all) and he has IMO written a long list of amazing first class books including; Titanicus, Double Eagle, Necropolis, Traitor General, Only In Death, Blood Pact, Xenos, Ravenor, Pariah, Horus Rising and Know No Fear. For my money ALL of those are amazing and I couldn't choose between them. My preference depends on my mood and what I fancy reading about.

 

But as to the rest...

 

Aaron Dembski-Bowden - Betrayer. Now we all know ADB is a fan favourite and without doubt he has written some sublime books (Soul Hunter, Talon of Horus, First Heretic, Helsreach). However, generally I confess to finding some of his books (or perhaps writing style) a bit, well, dull! Blasphemy for some to hear that I am sure. I am not saying his books aren't generally really good and some downright great (BTW I have not yet read Master of Mankind). Apart from his very generous engagement with the fanbase I think part of the love for ADB comes from the obvious fact that he genuinely loves the HH/40k setting as much as we all do and as such he tends to delve into the lore and explore often neglected areas. Saying all that Betrayer is a corker of a book (although I may have a slight bit of rose coloured spectacles on this one as I read it in Santorini during my best holiday ever!) I would also say my view of ADB is also clouded by the fact that he has generally focused on Space Marines as protagonists whereas my favourite BL books are more likely to be about "normal" humans (Inquisitors, Arbites, Guardsmen).

 

Matthew Farrer - Blind. I really really liked all three Calpurnia books and think it is a total crime we do not have more novels from Mr Farrer (Junction was probably the best Necromunda novel as well - and just where is Urdesh please, pretty please). For some reason a lot of people say Blind is their least liked Calpurnia book but I just love the gothic dark nature of it. The detective story elements. Most of all though I like the insight into the workings of the Adeptus Astratelepathica. First class world building without compare.

 

Peter Fehervari - Cult of the Spiral Dawn (aka Genestealer Cults). THIS book is the most in line with my dark, sinister, twisted view of what 40k is about (or should be IMO). It combines the storytelling quality of Abnett with the bizarre and alien feel of Ian Watson. Sheer joy to read and in my top three of all time. EDIT- everyone else is saying Firecaste which I totally get. That is indeed a wonderful book. However, for me CotSD pips it as FC suffers in one regard IMO = way too many characters.

 

Andy Hoare - Rogue Star. IMO Mr Hoare's books are very much lower tier amongst the various authors but this book was great. It explored part of the universe rarely seen and had quite adult themes that are also rarely seen. The book was a bit of a "trip" (no pun intended). The biggest shame was that he couldn't follow it up as the books that linked in and followed just were not in the same league.

 

Graham McNeil - I know I should probably say Storm of Iron which is a fabulous book but actually the GM book I enjoyed the most was Thousand Sons. GM brought his A Game for that book and it is a delicious and insightful look into that Legion and Magnus that lifted the lid on a "mystery" in the HH setting.

 

Sandy Mitchell - Scourge the Heretic. Now I know a lot of people love the Cain books and while they are funny and provide a totally different flavour to everything else BL ever publishes, for me they are just a weird aside from the universe. It is a total shame that Sandy Mitchell hasn't written more "serious" books in the setting based on Scourge the Heretic and Innocence Proves Nothing. These were the tie in books to the Dark Heresy RPG and they were absolutely brilliant. The first one pips the second but boy oh boy what a book. A crying shame Sandy never wrote the third book in the trilogy!

 

Gordon Rennie - Execution Hour. Quite simply this book is, to date, the definitive BL release on void warfare that has not yet been topped. Awesome book and far superior to the sequel.

 

Rob Sanders - Redemption Corps. I have a real marmite "relationship" with Mr Sanders. I think RC is a wonderful book full of interesting characters and a really great plot. His entries in the TBA series were also solid. However, I loathed with a passion Atlas Infernal (a book I know many enjoyed) because for me it read like a Dr Who story.

 

James Swallow - Faith and Fire. A really great book about Sororitas and workings of the Ecclesiarchy set away from the battlefield/front line. Great characters and plot. SW is another mixed bag though I think unfairly dismissed by some as Flight of the Eisenstein and Fear to Tread are really solid. His BA books are ok. The Garro stories are mixed (though I have a bit of a dislike for the whole Knights Errant arc so clouds my judgement).

 

Gav Thorpe - The Emperor Expects. Mr Thorpe is another mixed bag and many accuse him of being quite dry with his writing. For me he totally hit his stride with both his entries in The Beast Arises series with both being amongst the top five. However, TEE tips it because, well void war. Need I say more. Really good book.

 

Ian Watson - Inquisitor. What a mad and incoherent author Ian Watson is. Both Inquisitor and Space Marine were the first W40k novels and both totally captured that 2nd edition madness of the time (complete with fart jokes and squats). The sheer madness of Inqusitor and Jaq Draco carries it along despite the extremes and then...he totally ruined it with the two sequels that were virtually NOTHING to do with the original book. Those two books were simply awful. Clearly not cannon or fitting to the setting and IP any longer but would still recommend Inqusitor/Draco to anyone (but just where was that "Inquisition War" huh?)

 

Chris Wraight - Watchers of the Throne: The Emperor's Legion (apart from having the longest book title ever) was a delicious look at something we have not seen much of before, namely Terra and behind the scenes. Also the first book I have read set in the "new era" of the great rift. A real page turner that never once dragged. Also commended for not letting any of the battle/fight scenes overstay their welcome.

 

I have read books by others but mostly just a single volume or else nothing stands out enabling me to write Anything about them! However, based on what I have read by them so far I have high hopes for Guy Haley and David Guymer to become some of my favourites. John French I so want to love but found Resurrection hard going and yet to read Tallarn and the Ahriman books (on the shelf waiting). Annandale, hmmmm I just don't know as very hit and miss. Nick Kyme, hmmmm his writing makes him hard to love though Deathfire was better than many people said! Steve Parker - only read and LOVED Gunheads but nothing else so far.

 

Doing this exercise it is clear to me that what I like most is great world building and characters that are generally away from the front line. The "domestic 40k" type stories that do not focus on Space Marines and bolter porn.

 

It is also clear that my top three BL authors are: Abnett, Farrer, Fehervari. Interesting (to me) that both Farrer and Fehervari have not written a lot for BL possibly indicating that their style and types of stories are not something that really fits with the majority of the fanbase or what BL want to publish (or possibly do not sell as well either).

[Roomsky]

Great responses, all. And damn Leto, that's one impressive list, kudos for taking the time to flesh out your thoughts on so many authors. @Qkhitai, I just found a copy of Pawns of Chaos at my local used book store, picked it up thanks to your post, sounds a fun ride.

 

Here's a few more:

 

David Guymer: The Last Son of Dorn

Generally what I'd consider a flawed gem of an author, Guymer fires on all cylinders to deliver probably the best of TBA's three attempts at a climax. The action is strong and easy to follow, the Terran intrigue is in full force beside it, and his gritty narrative style all work to deliver an entry that encapsulates everything I loved about that series. Special props for resolving the Mesring plotline, stalled for so long, in an exceptionally memorable way.

 

John French: Tallarn: Executioner

French has been on a hot streak for me lately, but Executioner really takes the cake. Not just a good 40k book, but a good war book, period. The characters are memorable and relatable, the battles tense, and the horrors of war described surprisingly soberly for all the strangeness of the far future. It stands out especially for bucking French's usual trend of aloof, detached casts in favor of a very relatable crew.

 

Chris Wraight: Scars

You'd think it would be hard to pick out the best for an author I consider consistently great, but only Scars had the impact it did. I can;t stress enough how impressed I was with his turning a "literally who" legion into one of the Heresy's most memorable, and most consistently great. The pacing is excellent, hopping from rumination to warfare with startling alacrity. No scene overstays its welcome, and the amount of memorable set pieces outstrips most of its peers. 

[Scribe]

Wraight: Wrath of Iron.

 

If you want to see what Imperial victory looks like in 40K it's this.

[Marshal Rohr]

ADB- Master of Mankind

Abnett- Horus Rising

Thorpe- Angels of Darkness

French- Ahriman: Exile

Wraight- Carrion Throne

Haley- Pharos

McNeill- Thousand Sons

Reynolds- The Purge

Sanders- Legion of the Damned

Counter- Grey Knights

 

Guymer, haven’t read any of. Apologies to RobMac, need to finish the semester before I can read something that isn’t about Python or Cisco.

[DarkChaplain]

Peter Fehervari: Fire Caste. I love everything he writes, but Fire Caste is simply the longest of his works to date, didn't have the same restrictions put on him as later stuff, and let him go all-out on the psychological aspects. It also has one of the thickest displays of atmosphere in all of BL fiction

 

Phil Kelly: All those novels I have decided not to read. They're my favorites, because those I did read had me annoyed to the brim.

 

Dan Abnett: Tough. I love the Eisenhorn trilogy, obviously. But I also adore Master Imus's Transgression and The Strange Demise of Titus Endor was a pleasure to re-read recently. Probably Xenos, though.

 

Aaron Dembski-Bowden: For the Fallen. A little short story from the 15th anniversary of BL (holy cow, that was 5 years ago already?) that just strikes the right chords to get me invested.

 

John French: Tallarn Executioner. Excellent fiction in and out of BL.

 

Nick Kyme: Chirurgeon. Not as good a Fabius Bile as Josh Reynolds', but simply because Josh nailed his eccentricity best in the franchise so far. Chirurgeon gives great insights and makes Fabius out to be a somewhat tragic figure who also happens to be.... well, insane, in a way.

 

C.Z. Dunn: Malediction.

 

Enough for now, I've got things to take care of.

[Roomsky]

Good stuff

 

Great post DC, though you broke the no shorts rule. I've only just started on the WHFB stuff but your list only makes me more eager to dive in.

[WarriorFish]

The B&C is for 40k only; this is very clear in the rules. You are not required to like the rules, but we do expect people to keep to them as they promised when creating their account. Please respect the rules when posting so content does not have to be removed. Thanks.

[Xisor]

Dan Abnett - Prospero Burns. Vivid, memorable,mind boggling and shockingly intimate. An utterly sublime piece.

Rob Sanders - I'm distraught at not picking "Archaon: Everchosen" (which is perhaps one of the finest books going), but will settle on "Legion of the Damned" - I think I personally got more from "Atlas Infernal", but I was knocked away by how unexpectedly brilliant LotD was. Tightly plotted, simple, elegant and hugely characterful, it still had only a tiny cast of characters and possibly one of the most absurdly simple stories going (Khorne invades a graveyard planet - the are overwhelmingly powerful but there is a Deus Ex Machina that, spoilers, famously might save the day). At that: he spins a brilliantly creative, compelling story.

Literally the only bad words I've heard about it are from people who are, again literally, judging the book by its cover.

Seriously, Legion of the Damned is amazing.

But I need to feed prior to thinking, so I'll likely post again further down the line.

(Ideally not double posting, or several years down the line threadomancing, imagine what sort of diabolical transgression against human decency that might be.)

[DarkChaplain]

I guess I don't like anything of these removed authors best, then.

 

Not wanting to start a tussle here, but the most important thing I've learned moderating and administrating forums over the past 10 years has been that it is important to strike a balance between keeping discussion from going overboard and making sure not to curbstomp it needlessly. A moderator's job has more to with cultivating constructive discussions on the boards than iron-fisted enforcement of arbitrary rules. Moderation should deal with problems as they arise, not create some where there are none and nobody in a thread, least of all the thread's creator, takes issue with the discussion. Nevermind that this thread was created with the stated intention of fostering positivity about the authors. And to be frank, this kind of moderation has turned me off from even bothering to post multiple times in recent history.

 

At least it's a plus that nowadays we are even allowed to discuss all of 40k Black Library fiction here instead of just Space Marine books, like before...

[Marshal Rohr]

I guess I don't like anything of these removed authors best, then.

 

Not wanting to start a tussle here, but the most important thing I've learned moderating and administrating forums over the past 10 years has been that it is important to strike a balance between keeping discussion from going overboard and making sure not to curbstomp it needlessly. A moderator's job has more to with cultivating constructive discussions on the boards than iron-fisted enforcement of arbitrary rules. Moderation should deal with problems as they arise, not create some where there are none and nobody in a thread, least of all the thread's creator, takes issue with the discussion. Nevermind that this thread was created with the stated intention of fostering positivity about the authors. And to be frank, this kind of moderation has turned me off from even bothering to post multiple times in recent history.

 

At least it's a plus that nowadays we are even allowed to discuss all of 40k Black Library fiction here instead of just Space Marine books, like before...

Someone reported your post for its non-40k content, more than likely.

[Jareddm]

Made me really dig deep to make sure I wasn't missing anything great.

 

Dan Abnett- Titanicus.  It was a toss up between this and Only in Death, which brought me closer to tears than any other 40k book I can remember.  For me, the presentation of a forge world, pre-AdMech/Skitarii codex is just so vivid and conveyed such a strong presentation of the uniqueness of the Machine Cult, while still feeling genuinely human.  I still enjoy AdMech work post-Codex, it just feels a bit more, sterile.

 

Graham McNeil- A Thousand Sons.  Pretty typical choice.  He definitely nailed the Thousand Sons's character.  I felt they were put to better use in John French's Ahriman series, but McNeil formed a great base for it to develop from.

 

John French- Ahriman: Sorcerer.  What a wonderful and colossal mind- this one was!  I enjoyed both Exile and Unchanged, but seeing Ahriman completely in his element amongst other Thousand Sons was really phenomenal, and imagining his interactions among the new warbands presented in the Thousand Sons codex has really gotten my gears turning well.

 

Chirs Wraight- Path of Heaven.  I want to cheat and just say the entire White Scars arc, because I would never think of recommending just one book in it without recommending the whole set of novels, novellas, and short stories.  The White Scars are, in my opinion, the single most well-developed legion in the entire Horus Heresy.  Maybe that's too much of a stretch, but they just feel so...complete.

 

Guy Haley- Evil Sun Rising.  There are a lot of Guy Haley stories I love, but the simple fact that the entire novella really makes you root for a team of horrific, human-eating mekboyz is really something special to me.

 

Peter Fehervari- Fire Caste.  A genuinely unique take on the Imperial Guard and the horrors that they (and their enemies) face.  Left me breathless from start to finish and a must-read for any lovers of the IG.

 

Gav Thorpe- The Emperor Expects.  The Imperial Navy is always an interesing topic to cover and I feel Thorpe handled them, and the associated Imperial politics beautifully.  I'd love to see him do more Imperial Navy work.  i wanted to put Angels of Caliban, as I adored all of the politicking and detail of the First Legion on Caliban, but the Imperium Secundus elements just fell flat for me.

 

Rob Sanders- Legion of the Damned.  I can't think of a time when an author has been given a completely blank chapter to develop and they haven't hit a home run (eh...maybe Iron Snakes), and the Excoriators were no exception.  Dishonored and just plain unliked chapters are a particular love of mine, and pretty much everything about Legion of the Damned worked well for me.

 

Aaron Dembski-Bowden- Ragnar Blackmane.  Last on the list because I needed the most time to think about it.  I wanted to put any of the NL or BL books but it's actually his "Life of a Chaos Space Marine" essay that I really love.  I wanted to put The First Heretic or Betrayer because of the depth they gave to each and every one of their characters, but I couldn't decide between the two.  I wanted to put Master of Mankind because it made me fall in love with the Custodes-Sisters of Silence dynamic so much (though strangely, not really when they're separate).  But I realized that those are all fancy steaks made by high-end chefs in five-star kitchens.  But sometimes, that just can't beat the french fries from the place down the street.  Where they've been boiling and salting fries for years and they're always just...perfect.  For me, Ragnar Blackmane are those fries.  It tells a fantastic, tight story, that's both simple and gives hints of greater depth without weighing them on the reader.

 

As a final note, I hope we can get another one of those started, but specifically for short stories.  I've met way too many people who skip over HH anthologies or who never get around to reading, what they call "filler shorts".  Yet some of my absolute favorite stories in all of 40k lore barely cross 10-25 pages.

[Indefragable]

I've really only read the Horus Heresy era novels, but I would put forth the following:

 

Path of Heaven by Chris Wraight

If I had to choose a single best book in all of the HH series/setting, this would have to be it. It's a classic technique of writing to "start in the middle." As such, I almost think someone might find even more enjoyment in this book if it's the first/only one they read. A master class of pacing, intrigue, characterization, and giving every perspective it's due. Many of us who play TableTop 40k say we have more fun losing a hard-fought, close game, then winning one handily by Turn 2. This novel takes that sentiment to the Nth degree. Going to make a powerful claim here, but this is the Empire Strikes Back of BL literature.

 

Prospero Burns by Dan Abnett

This one has become controversial, but I had no idea at the time because of just how fascinating a read it is. This used to be THE HH tale for me until PoH came out. It is a truly engrossing tale that wonderfully showcases Abnett's ability to build worlds (part of the controversy is what he's building over). Also keeps you turning pages until the very end to make sense of the intricacies and dynamics of the plot. It'd be like if we got a season of Game of Thrones locked into only The Hound's perspective of what's going on. Like PoH, this is one I would hand to someone who wasn't into 40k with confidence they would enjoy it and want to know more.

 

Fulgrim: the Palantine Phoenix by Joshua Reynolds

In contrast to my comment about handing PB to someone who is not into 40k, I would have to say that this is the "post-doc" class of 40k writing. To fully appreciate it, you have to be well versed in the lore and background of the setting. Most especially the almost-trope characteristics of some of the big names. That is what makes this one special. You truly mourn the outcome of a character once you see with your own eyes what he was once capable of. The best prequel backstory expose since Better Call Saul expanded on Breaking Bad.

[Sandlemad]

Good idea for a thread, nice to have something both positive and far-ranging. Alright, let's go. I think I broadly favour structural inventiveness and experimentation, which are usually fairly thin on the ground in BL books. Weirdness is to be valued, feverishness is a high virtue. This is looking long so I'll do a few other authors another day.

 

Dan Abnett - Prospero Burns

My favourite BL novel. Abnett has more than a few great books to his name but this one felt like he was pushing himself with certain writing techniques: rhythmic repetition, shifts from 1st to a very limited 3rd person, some of the best dramatic irony in BL, sections written in a sort of narrated skaldic prose, unreliable altered flashbacks, dreams and ambiguous visions, unanswered riddles, a protagonist actively tucked away from some of the big name moments you expect. It's more 'literary' in that regard, for a book so heavily reliant on the continuity of other novels and old lore.

The action is good and benefits from being told by Hawser. The Wolves are made unfamiliar, other, alien, frightening. Characters only slowly reveal themselves over the course of the novel. The non-astartes sections are some of the best in the heresy series. Like a lot of folks I was originally frustrated that we didn't get a simple, neat, straight retelling of the battle of Prospero from the blue team's POV but now I am bloody glad we got this vastly stranger book instead.

 

Ben Counter - Daemon World

Good, insane, pulpy fun. Highlights the strong possibility of weirdness the science-fantasy of 40k offers; I don't think there's even half a dozen characters/actors in the book that are recognisably connected to a GW model. More of a novel-sized short story with a sharp, brutal resolution.

 

Aaron Dempski-Bowden - Master of Mankind

A very thoughtful book. The Big E depicted with suitable inhumanity and gravitas. Clever use of unreliability, ambiguity and limited perspectives to, well, kind of reaffirm some of the big central themes of the heresy and 40k. Great characters, good bits of horror, may be a bit homogenous in its action until the final battle, when it absolutely delivers. The best portrayal of the Emperor. Like a mission statement on the tragedy of the heresy. 

 

Peter Fehervari - Fire Caste

Apocalypse Now!/Heart of Darkness in 40k, one of the only BL books that ever sold me on the idea of 'war is hell' or at least 'war is not-cool'. Takes the line about 'only the insane have strength enough to prosper' and sadistically tests it on a host of well-defined characters. A daring circular narrative for a first novel. Closer to weird fiction a la Jeff Vandermeer in its disturbing overgrown environments, bizarre fungus, oppressive humid heat, paranoia, hallucinations. This should be a better known book and not just a cult classic type thing.

 

John French - Ahriman: Unchanged

Maybe the twistiest book of a twisty series, and that's coming after the wonderful time-nonsense of Ahriman: Sorceror. French understands how to make the warp weird and even ekes creepiness out of fairly mundane 40k things: the bit where the sorceror thinks a rubricae's name while inspecting the massed legions on a landing deck and then, out of thousands, that one rubricae's head turns to look at him. Chills. Tulpas and schizophrenic mind-forms abound, this is the shards thing done far better than other BL examples. Almost triumphant in Ahriman finally arriving at the apex of his power, returning to Sortiarius with a brilliant chaotic battle to wrap the series up.

 

David Guymer - Eye of Medusa

Fascinating formal structural tricks with the protagonist's inner thoughts. Falls down on action and some character but goddamn it's worth it, can't think of another BL author who has literalised this kind of unreliable memory/found document stuff into the actual meat of the plot. Interested in seeing where it will go.

[Manchu warlord]

 

 

Dan Abnett: Tough. I love the Eisenhorn trilogy, obviously. But I also adore Master Imus's Transgression and The Strange Demise of Titus Endor was a pleasure to re-read recently. Probably Xenos, though.

 

 

Oh my goodness, yes, I absolutely loved Master Imus's Transgression.  I don't know if its because the POV was based on someone other than Eisenhorn, or because Eisenhorn was not yet an inquisitor.  Overall, probably my favorite short story of the Inquisitor series.  

[Fire Golem]

Aaron Dembski-Bowden: this is obviously a really tough one, I haven’t read an ADB book I haven’t loved, but I think I’m gonna have to go with Talon of Horus. Fantastic book, I remember getting in from college one day and reading the last 2/3rds or so in one go, just absolutely gripped. Abaddon is so well written and feels powerful and dangerous, but also charismatic. Khayon is awesome, as is the supporting cast. Almost went with: First Heretic, first ADB book I read, Argal Tal is still one of the best characters in the entire heresy. The Cadia/Eye of Terra sequence is fantastic.

 

Chris Wraight: Path of Heaven. Scars was where the White Scars love started, but Path of Heaven just pipped it I think. The Emperors Children were portrayed excellently, Eidolon went from just being an arrogant arse to being an actual dangerous feeling competent character, Mortarion gets a good showing. The first heresy book that made me cry proper tears too. Like the little interaction between Russ and the Khan towards the end. Love this book. Almost went with: Scars. As I said before, Scars really transformed (as I think it did for a lot of people) the WS from a Legion I didn’t know a lot about and didn’t care about, to one of my favourites from all 18. Also really interesting to read about a Primarch who had every reason to follow Horus and rebel, but stayed loyal.

 

Dan Abnett: possibly a bit of a controversial choice, but I’m gonna go with The Magos. I adored the Magos. Drusher is a great character in my opinion, I loved the story (I didn’t feel it was too long or padded out as some seem to), and I know short stories aren’t allowed but the shorts in the Magos and how they all tie together just makes the experience all the better. Almost went with: Prospero Burns. Another controvesial choice, I love this book. Rereading it atm, I love Kasper, love the flashbacks/dreams, love the Space Wolves and their really dangerous feel, love the tinges of weirdness, even love the wet leopard growls.

 

Peter Fehervari: Fire Caste. This is one messed up, dark story. It’s grim at times, the atmosphere is oppressive, it gets weird, it’s great.

 

Josh Reynolds: Fulgrim, the Palantine Phoenix. Really great story, shows Fulgrims positive traits as well as his negatives (which hasn’t been done that well before). Shows his good intentions which lead to his fall, a lot better than Fulgrim does in my opinion.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Ben Counter - Daemon World

 

This is my favorite novel and IMO the author's best work for BL. I liked it so much I read it several times and the more you read it the more you learn what is really going on. There are some truly epic battles and I love how everything plays out.

 

Dan Abnett - all of his Eisenhorn novels

 

Eisenhorn is my favorite 40k character... he starts off a idealistic puritan and slowly turns into something quite close to a hertik but will always be one of the good guys.

[Qkhitai]

Ben Counter - Daemon World

 

This is my favorite novel and IMO the author's best work for BL. I liked it so much I read it several times and the more you read it the more you learn what is really going on. There are some truly epic battles and I love how everything plays out.

 

Oh totally  Everytime I read it I always notice something new that I missed before. It's got so many layers to it.

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

ADB's Black Legion for it's mindblowingly awesome sequence between Sigismund and Abaddon. 

 

This was one of the things that drew me further into 40k, and to see both sides handled so respectfully and still allowed to be the utter heroes and monsters they are still leaves me in awe. When Im in a Warhammer rut, I re-read that section to remind me why I love the setting so much.

[Sandlemad]

Round 2 on some other authors' best 30k/40k works.

 

Guy Haley - Dark Imperium
Half a novel, really, but did a good job under what was surely a lot of pressure to do everything. Doesn't resolve as such but has a wonderfully bitter, jaded portrayal of Guilliman and excellent comic depictions of Nurgle's daemons. Neat space is made for mortals through the guardsmen hospital horror subplot, more than you'd get in some other SM-focused books. And this in a book ostensibly meant to sell primaris marines. One of the only good 'release tie-in' novels.

Graham McNeill - A Thousand Sons
Not as big a fan of his as most but when he's on, he's on. Maybe doesn't hold up quite as well on re-read but I really his like his gregarious Magnus. Certainly arrogant but generally likable, with a lot of beaming Oxford don bonhomie. The friendship between Ahriman and Wyrdmake is well done, showing subtlety and a convincing back-and-forth over disagreements they had earlier tried to pass over. The non-astartes characters are well-written and show a wider range of the human experience (love, sexuality, marriage, grief, non-military careers) than many other 'mortal' BL characters.

Josh Reynolds - Fabius Bile: Clonelord
Reynolds is probably the best comic writer working for BL as well as someone with a knack for expanding the background (factions, subfactions, locations) in a thoughtful, unshowy way; only McNeill's Forges of Mars books gave the same feeling of expansive possibility, of opening so many doors. Bile is well-developed and continues to grow and change throughout, veering between stage villain, aristocratic genius, and galaxy-striding visionary, with some genuine moments of pathos. The rest of the cast are appropriately fleshed out and the book feels tighter and more focused than its predecessor.

Rob Sanders - Legion of the Damned
There's a line from a review of Cormac McCarthy's Sutree, calling it 'a good long scream in the ear'. I feel this applied pretty well to Legion of the Damned. This book is near-hysterical madness, heaping on the grotesqueness even with names: Stigmartyr, Cholerchaust. Gore, seething bitterness and masochism abound, tying back to Ian Watson's Space Marine. It's more like bizarro fiction than conventional scifi/fantasy, which is characteristic of Sanders' better work (Xizor mentioned Archaon: Everchosen, another good example where you have a simple plot and seething stuff careening away madly) and a good example of 40k at its most nihilistic. The Legion themselves are used with appropriate restraint and mystery.

Gav Thorpe - Lorgar: Bearer of the Word
I've talked about it before but this a remarkably daring book for a entry in the primarchs series. Gav completely avoiding any literal depiction of a demigod's interiority was a clever move, both to avoid doubling up on what had already been done brilliantly by ADB and to maintain that distance, that otherness that primarchs haven't really had since Horus Rising. It actually made me care about the boring old hero's journey that typifies most primarch's origin stories.

Ian Watson - Space Marine
Hell yeah.

Chris Wraight - Brotherhood of the Storm
A priceless introduction to the Vth legion. Almost everyone seems to agree (in this thread and elsewhere) that Wraight did something shockingly good in fleshing out the Scars and to my mind this is where he did it best. Scars and Path of Heaven expounded on it but all the seeds are present in this short, exquisite novella. Freed from the burden of the main heresy plot, it is entirely about character and ambience. Got a nice three-character structure separated in space and time, and even manages to slyly, metatextually address the real-life paucity of background on the Scars.

[Manchu warlord]

Round 2 on some other authors' best 30k/40k works.

 

Gav Thorpe - Lorgar: Bearer of the Word

I've talked about it before but this a remarkably daring book for a entry in the primarchs series. Gav completely avoiding any literal depiction of a demigod's interiority was a clever move, both to avoid doubling up on what had already been done brilliantly by ADB and to maintain that distance, that otherness that primarchs haven't really had since Horus Rising. It actually made me care about the boring old hero's journey that typifies most primarch's origin stories.

 

I could see that being a good way to handle Alpharius on his Primarch book.  Similar to the HH book Legion, but could perhaps use more involvement of the Primarch(s) him(them)elves, rather then being mostly Imperial Guard based.