Your 10 Essential Reads

[Roomsky]

I was considering starting a new generic top 10 thread, but I figured that was a little boring. 

 

So, if your Black Library collection was limited to 10 books, what would they be? That said, they can't be just any 10 books, no, there are limitations:

• The story must take place in the Warhammer 40k (or Horus Heresy) Universe.
• Each author is limited to a single book, no series and no multiples - 10 authors, 10 books.
• The story must be a full and singular novel (~200 - whatever pages): no novellas, short stories, or omnibuses. 

There, I think that should make things sufficiently spicy. If you have the time or the want, write a bit about why you chose what you did.

 

This is a thread to share what you enjoy with your fellows, and to draw people's attention to some works they may not have otherwise considered. Please keep things positive and don't criticize other people's choices.

[mc warhammer]

with those limitations (are the primarchs books novellas?):

 

[edited for breaking rules]

horus rising

first heretic

palatine phoenix

perturabo

space marine

Edited April 27, 2020 by mc warhammer

[Bestkeptsecret]

My top 5 [following the rules, as in a strictly 40k non Horus Heresy top 10 is not possible]

 

The Lords of Silence by Chris Wraight [MUST READ!! Best book about the Death Guard: lots of details and lore and not just bolter action. Characters are well fleshed out and the book is one with substance as far as lore goes compared to more action oriented novels]

 

Clonelord by Joshua Reynolds

 

Mark of Faith by Rachel Harrison [best book on the Adepta Sororitas, great plot: more focus on story, character development along with action]

 

Dark Imperium: Plague War by Guy Haley [second book on Guilliman vs Mortarion: better than the first book and has a fascinating build up and a nail-bitting action/story sequence with an exciting cliffhanger ]

 

Storm of Iron by Graham McNeill [ a must read for those interested in 40k Iron Warriors]

 

Those are my top 5 without the same author more than once. Another favorite of mine is: Devastation of Baal by Guy Haley [Tyranids vs Blood Angels].

Edited April 27, 2020 by Bestkeptsecret

[Roomsky]

As for myself:

 

Chris Wraight – The Carrion Throne

A standout Inquisitor story as much for it's plot as its atmosphere.

 

Dan Abnett –Titanicus

All the humanity you'd expect from Gaunt's Ghosts in a stand-alone. All the madness of the Mechanicus in a titan.

 

ADB – The Talon of Horus

A thesis on the warp, and full of character.

 

Josh Reynolds – Fabius Bile: Clonelord

Understandable even without book one, and it explores several factions and characters you might not expect flawlessly.

 

Ian Watson – Space Marine

This book is insane and is everything I love about 40k.

 

David Guymer – The Eye of Medusa

This book is insane and is everything I love about 40k.

 

Peter Fehervari – Fire Caste

A great piece that sums up the futility of 40k warfare, as well as pulling you in with it's trippy presentation.

 

Simon Spurrier – Lord of the Night

The original and definitive traitor legion book, Spurrier's writing is great too

 

Matthew Farrer – Crossfire

The byzantine plotting I love mixed with a corner of the lore rarely explored

 

Rachel Harrison - Honourbound

Black Library's best stand-alone Guard novel

 

 

John French is in my top 5 authors but one of the reasons he's so good are how his series play out. He doesn't have a standalone I can really pick.

 

are the primarchs books novellas?

 

I'd say they count as novels, clarified in the OP. Also you've already broken the rules.

 

EDIT: Sorry for lack of clarity Bestkeptsecret, Horus Heresy is fine.

Edited April 27, 2020 by Roomsky

[mc warhammer]

welp, wfh multi tasking is not my friend. answer edited

[theSpirea]

This is going to be hard and based on the previous posts I'm glad I'm not the only struggling with this.

 

The list is in alphabetical order (by writers) as it's impossible to do otherwise.

 

• Abnett, Dan - Horus Rising
  
• Dembski-Bowden, Aaron - The Talon of Horus
  
• Fehervari, Peter - Requiem Infernal
  
• Reyonlds, Josh - Primogenitor
  
• Wraight, Chris - The Carrion Throne
  

Now, there's only 5 books as I can't do 10 at the moment. My 40K/30K backlog is huge so I haven't read everything. There are books I enjoyed a lot but I wouldn't call them essential reads. There are authors I do like their work but it's either their short stories I love the most or lots of very good books but again, not essential. I do have to mention John French at least. Some of his short stories I can read over and over, and I consider his prose to be one of the best BL can offer. I just haven't read many of his full novels yet.

[SchultzChaos]

I'll try my ten!

 

Dan Abnett - Necropolis

40k madness intermingled with Stalingrad, and when I finally understood the brilliance that is Abnett-verse. 

 

Aaron Dembski-Bowden - Blood Reaver

When one of the most one dimensional npc:s became the most tragic and pathos-filled characters in Black Library fiction. And Hound. 

 

Chris Wraight - Path to Heaven

Because it made the Heresy bigger and its characters formidable. Once again a one dimensional piece of trash became a force to be reckon with.

 

Josh Reynolds - Fabius Bile: Clonelord

Once again a book that suprised me and made for some fantastic scenes. Emperor's Children crying for their sins against humanity? Awesome.

 

Simon Spurrier - Lord of the Night

A book that muddles right and wrong and where characters' philosophies clashes with every confrontation!

 

Peter Fehervari - Fire Caste

The insane military doctrines of the Imperium meets despair and the realities of war.

 

John French - Ahriman: Sorcerer

Such lovely Tzeentchian fiction. So many twist and turns and the introduction of some very memorable characters!

 

Graham McNeill - A Thousand Sons 

The tragedy of Prospero in one mighty tome, and one of the most blood pumping battles in all of the Heresy.

 

 

 

I would have liked to put William King, Guy Haley and Gav Thorpe up there too, but no Fantasy books are welcomed... 

[Marshal Rohr]

Helsreach

Horus Rising

Master of Mankind

Talon of Horus

Carrion Throne

Valdor

The Great Work

Eisenhorn: Xenos

Watchers of the Throne: The Emperor’s Legion

First and Only

[cheywood]

ADB - The Emperor’s Gift. Hard time choosing between all of ADB’s works. I love Gift because of Hyperion’s voice and the little tie-in with Abnett’s work. One of my favorite little details in BL fiction. This could easily have a different answer if you asked me tomorrow though.

 

Guy Haley - Dante. I quite like most of Haley’s writing, but this one hit me emotionally more than I expected. Something about that scene at the end just got me. Dante’s weariness is quite compelling.

 

Chris Wraight - The Emperor’s Legion. I think this just barely beats Carrion Throne because of its exploration of Imperial politics and the sense of lost greatness and rediscovered purpose with which Wraight imbues the Custodes and Sisters.

 

Dan Abnett - Hereticus. just as hard as choosing a favorite with ABD. You could pick randomly between a number of his works and I’d accept the result.

 

Josh Reynolds - Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty (is Necromunda allowed?). Read this recently and I loved it. Serves as a great introduction to Necromunda through the eyes of a (somewhat) lovable rogue and a bunch of other POV characters. Note: I haven’t read his Fabius books yet.

 

John French - Ahriman: Sorcerer. The whole Ahriman series is great but this felt the most vivid to me. The heavy helping of Inquisition didn’t hurt.

 

Peter Fehervari - Fire Caste. 40k Heart of Darkness with some of the most well thought out and unique world-building in the Canon.

 

Gav Thorpe - Armageddon Saint. Read this recently and was very impressed by its meditations on service to the Imperium and progression of Kage’s narrative. Surprised I liked it as much as I did.

 

Rachel Harrison - Honourbound. I saw Roomsky said it’s the best standalone Guard novel. I’d also call it among the best debut novels BL has published.

 

David Annandale - The House of Night and Chain. Even knowing Annandale’s love of horror over other genres I was impressed and surprised by how good this was, especially the beginning and the ending (middle was ever so slightly slow). Great mix of world building and psychological exploration, really shows just what Warhammer Horror can do.

Edited April 27, 2020 by cheywood

[Bobss]

I like how this is formatted as 'top 10 essential reads,' because a 'top 10 best books' wouldn't get the noggin joggin half as much 

 

Horus Rising (Dan Abnett) -

this has always been, and will always be, the 30k book to rule them all. 30k is 30k and 40k is 40k. To me, Horus Rising reads as the best 'anti-40k' book in regards to how it presents different facets of the setting - from mankind's hopes to our species' enlightenment to the rule of science and law and the benevolent guardians that are the Primarchs. Truly wonderful stuff. Scenes like Sindermann's speech on the Imperial Truth, Horus' unarmed charisma with his peers and Loken's Mournival ceremony are all absolute gems. There are also deeper elements such as the darker side of a compliance action, the suppressed but still very real touch of Chaos and the weight of the Great Crusade on the shoulders of anyone other than the Emperor. Horus Rising has been often imitated, but never equalled. The fact Dan Abnett was able to write such a strong novel in 2005/2006 despite a massively reduced amount of Heresy-related materials is also incredible, but I like to believe he simply followed the 'I'm going to present an Imperium the total opposite to 40k.' This book is also a great introduction for people wanting learn more about Space Marines and their relationship with mortals, but I would normally advise people not to jump into the Horus Heresy straight away

 

The Master of Mankind (Aaron Dembski-Bowden) -

if Horus Rising is the 30k book then The Master of Mankind is the 'this is why 40k exists' book. While this book might not be as welcoming to new readers as Horus Rising is, it is arguably the most important and most revealing book regarding the Emperor's modus operandi that has currently (and may ever) be released. The Emperor underpins the Imperium and the Imperium underpins the decades-old Warhammer 40,000 setting after all. This book is the absolute bedrock for everything that will eventually come to pass. I have always read this book not as the Emperor talking to Ra, but instead talking to us, and in affect apologising to us for how the Imperium eventually comes to exist. The lengths to which the Emperor goes to keep his dream alive - stuffing the Imperial Webway full of a staggering amount of resources is breathtaking. The Chaos Gods flood Calastar with their legions in a show of unity rarely ever seen - and why not? This battle is the tipping point for the fate of the galaxy. As the Emperor tells Ra: failure is simply not an option. But, in the end, Drach'nyen, the End of Empires, compounds the major theme of this book: the Emperor is still alive, the Imperium is still standing and Horus is still advancing towards Terra, but with the loss of the Webway Project the only thing that remains is a long decline and there is nothing else to do but wage an ever-losing war. I like to call this book 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams,' because the wraithbone towers and the rune-clad Mechanicum tunnels are the road to the Emperor's ultimate defeat - failing to push humanity to the next evolutionary step. Terrific stuff. If you don't like 'rage, rage against the dying of the light' then you probably won't like this, but I do, therefore I like this a lot. This book was so wonderful I would even go as far as to say that is slightly detracts from the significance of the Emperor's fated clash with Horus on the Vengeful Spirit. I read this book 3 times in 11 months - that's how good it is

 

The Path of Heaven (Chris Wraight) -

my final Horus Heresy entry and a real tearjerker right here. If Horus Rising tackles the 30k setting the best ('what we could've had'), and The Master of Mankind tackles the metaphysics of the IP the best ('why we couldn't have it'), then The Path of Heaven showcases the interpersonal side of the Heresy ('what we lost along the way') the best. This book is an amazing exploration into brotherhood, duty and most importantly: belonging. Jaghatai Khan belongs on Terra. Yesugei belongs at his king's side. Shiban belongs on the fields of Chogoris. Torghun belongs with the Legion he betrayed. Illya belongs with her adopted culture - and so on. In this book we see the White Scars pay for their games as Horus gradually tightens the noose around them, with expertly-portrayed Mortarion and a wonderfully re-imagined Eidolon en toe. The Khan is all out of options: he can't get to Terra, but he knows he must. Does he throw his Legion against Horus in a final, glorious, but ultimately fruitless and unremembered last stand? In the end, the decision is made up for him by his friends - the White Scars quite literally build a bridge to Terra on their own corpses, such is their unshakeable faith that the Khagan must be on Terra for the final hour. Torghun's death is beautiful and represents the apotheosis of his character arc. Arvida's sacrifice is deeply humbling and touching. And the scene where Yesugei, bruised and battered from the explosion in the space station wearily picks himself up... eyes unfocused... focusing... and gazes at last towards the Dark Glass is absolutely soul-crushing. The final act of this book represents the death of Jaghatai, the Chogorian Warlord and the birth of Jaghatai, the Warden of Terra. If you didn't think plastic toy soldiers could be emotional, then The Path of Heaven will completely prove you wrong as it superbly illustrates the emotional toll of the Horus Heresy on all those involved - Primarch, Space Marine and human alike

 

Clonelord (Josh Reynolds) -

this might be the perfect book. It's just that good. Josh Reynolds smashes this book and this series out of the park on every_single_front: his Fabius is a snarky, sassy atheist carving out his own path against the tides of causality in a world swallowed by gods that are very much real. He might be the last adherent of the Imperial Truth and we even catch him navel-gazing about the Emperor in a very human way - something we almost never see in a setting that either hates, deifies or unquestionably obeys the Golden Giant himself. Utterly fascinating. The III Legion themselves are a shattered wreck of their former glory, but nevertheless retain an element of the pride and fragments of the discipline they once possessed. Broken at Skalathrax, smashed at Harmony, abandoned at Iydris and Terra and again and again by their whimsical genefather, they barely cling to an existence in the Eye of Terror in an ironic role-reversal with the Sons of Horus. It is here that Josh Reynolds explores a wide number of Emperor's Children characters to provide us with contrasting angles on what the Legion once was, currently is and could be again. The reclusive Fabius. The proactive Oleander. The embraced Telmar. The lordly Eidolon. The dutiful Alkenex. The uncertain Merrick. The list goes on and on. I like to call the Emperor's Children one of the 'Orphaned Legions' and this book delves right into that. If you thought the Night Lords trilogy was a brilliant look into the existential corrosion of the Traitor Legions then the Fabius Bile trilogy goes one better. Do you want to see the III Legion's efforts to rebuild and the aftershocks of The Talon of Horus? Do you want a book with an absolutely adorable, believable and in-character cast from across the breadth of the Traitor Legions? Do you want a book that regularly references a plethora of previous material and bulldozes nothing itself? Do you want to see the Eldar portrayed in their most captivating, exotic and esoteric way to date? Do you want a rendition of Trayzn the Infinite that is both charming and serious, and removes the goofiness of newer Necron source material? Do you want a hidden Fulgrim Primarchs novel? Do you want two of the most bad-ass ladies in all of Black Library? (Good lord do these girls rock). Do you want the best instance of actually meeting a Chaos God to date? Clonelord has all of that - and it has more

 

Ahriman: Unchanged (John French) -

what makes the Chosen of the Gods such enigmatic heroes villains? Is it their roster of accomplishments during the Great Crusade? Is it what they did and where they were at Terra? No, it's what happened to them after they lost and they failed and they were driven into the depths of hell. Ahriman's story is the story of rebirth - as it Abaddon's, as is Fabius', but what makes Ahriman's even better is the personal sense of failure and the suffocating responsibility that he holds. When we meet Ahriman again, a moribund exile working for lesser men, he has nothing but his self and his past. By the time he returns to Sortiarius he is the Ahriman of old, gilded by his past failures and ready to oppose fate itself. Ahriman's story of rebuilding himself is a wonderful personal journey of making allies and betraying friends, and while John French's prose might not flow effortlessly off the page like some authors, he nevertheless illustrates Ahriman's adventure in three tightly-written, well-paced novels. There are some wonderful lore nuggets at the end as well, and this book not only stands as the definitive rendition of Tzeentch but also develops the Thousand Sons well beyond the Horus Heresy from their fictional debut in A Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns but with more care than the former and more focus than the latter

 

Dark Imperium (Guy Haley) -

I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of Guy Haley's prose. I think it's basic, riven by cliches and reads almost juvenile at times (which is understandable given his background writing in sci-fi magazines coupled with his fast production pace). I'm also not a fan of post-Fall of Cadia lore - I was quite happy with 999.M41 to be perfectly honest. However, for a novel that should be almost impossible to write, I think Guy Haley does a commendable job. Dark Imperium is chock-full of interesting lore delicacies and interesting situations that immediately jump out of this new sandbox, and Guy Haley seizes many of them good and proper. Things like Roboute Guilliman looking for references on old castles and documents to see what happened to his pal Aeonid Thiel is genuinely heartwarming and perfectly relatable. Yes, a Primarch that is actually relatable - a rare creature indeed! Guilliman's stasis-incarceration is an extremely unique situation and one that could only be written about carefully. Altogether, Dark Imperium does a good job of taking the Guilliman of Know No Fear and going places with it in this brave new world. I also want to mention that I believe the Dark Imperium book(s) are a reasonable way to introduce someone to the fluff side of the 40k hobby

 

Asurmen - Hand of Asuryan (Gav Thorpe) -

remember when I criticised Guy Haley's prose? Gav Thorpe makes him look like Chris Wraight by comparison, but what Gav Thorpe does do is use all of his experience with the IP and channels this colossal developer might into some truly unusual and expansive tomes. Asurmen - Hand of Asuryan is one of these. While I am not really a fan of Eldar-perspective stories and prefer to keep knife-ears as this unknowable, repulsive, alien culture, I can appreciate how well this book presents the finer details and mechanics of the Fall, which had only been hinted at or glossed over entirely before, and the beginnings of path system. Not necessarily the highest quality story out there, but a very solid start to an equally solid series of background books that aren't as offensive as other, more popular Black Library series

 

Fifteen Hours (Mitchel Scanlon) -

paid vacation in a foreign land. Uncle Bobby does the best he can, you're in the Guard now. To this day I don't think there is an Imperial Guard book that quite conveys what I expect from the Guard. One minute they're bayoneting Chaos Space Marines, the next minute they're dying in droves to cultists with sharp spades, but Fifteen Hours, while a bit outdated now, still manages to get across life in the Guard pretty well. What's more, this book doesn't pull its punches with 'grimdark' and I have always believed that mood should be right and centre of this setting

 

Legion of the Damned (Rob Sanders) -

I really enjoyed this now-forgotten book. The actual Legion of the Damned portion was pretty forgettable, but the Excoriators were handled well and written with a strong individual culture. Dorn's Darkness is a brilliant addition to the lore in my opinion - and one that is sadly underused and maybe even outright ignored. The psychological effect on the Emperor's maiming at the hands of Horus would surely be enormous - I can quite easily picture the redoubtable, indomitable Rogal Dorn reduced to a gasping, slack-jawed stroke patient as he comes across the Emperor's broken body. Not only does the Emperor's mutilation upset Dorn from a father-son angle, but it is also a simply unbelievable scene to witness such a powerful and near-divine figure reduced to a heap of limbs and armour. More importantly, the creeping realisation that Dorn may live to see, live to lead an Imperium without the Emperor is a completely unthinkable and paralysing feeling. Absolutely great stuff - and I enjoyed the Feast of Blades too. The Khorne warband was also portrayed suitably well in this book - one of the things I enjoyed was how cultists would be thrown at the Imperial defenders first, followed by Khorne-worshipping Renegades and then finally the World Eaters would take to the field to face the strongest opponents and reap the mightiest skulls for their patron. It's a nice change from Khorne's followers killing anything that moves to slake their bloodlust

 

The Killing Ground (Graham McNeill) -

the classic Ultramarines series has been largely supplanted by a slew of more modern (and quite frankly better) books that were spawned from Know No Fear's makeover, but The Killing Ground has always struck me as one of Graham McNeill's better stories - especially after the ridiculous (but fun) Dead Sky, Black Sun. I'm also struggling for another author and another book here let's be honest. Uriel and Pasanius are the main characters of the book but are not necessarily central to the conflict going on here. Instead Graham McNeill presents us with an uncharacteristic, but familiar thousand-shades-of-grey view of the Imperium and how it operates. While the Grey Knights in this book aren't as brutal or realistic as the Inquisition in The Emperor's Gift, it is still a nice and mellow tale that has none of McNeill's usual bombast, goodies-versus-baddies and purple prose. Sadly, the following book and the one after that is a return to form

 

I'm pretty gutted I can't include Primogenitor, The Carrion Throne, The Emperor's Legion, Helsreach, The First Heretic, The Emperor's Gift, Spear of the Emperor, Know No Fear or Praetorian of Dorn - but here we are!

Edited April 27, 2020 by Bobss

[DukeLeto69]

Oh man this is hard (particularly no author repeats). In no order:

 

Dan Abnett - Pariah

Peter Fehervari - Requiem Infernal

Matthew Farrer - Blind

Chris Wraight - The Hollow Mountain

John French - Incarnation

ADB - The Talon of Horus

Gordon Rennie - Execution Hour

Nick Kyme - Sepulturum

Mike Brooks - Road to Redemption

Ian Watson - Inquisitor

 

But this list changes dramatically if you could include sane author and/or books in series.

[JH79]

Roomsky trying to break the Matrix with those rules!! We all love a good challenge though so here goes...

 

Aaron Dembski-Bowden - Helsreach

A better Siege story than the first 3 SOT Novels put together. My favourate Last Stand moment in 40K!

 

Chris Wraight - Scars

How to make a Legion with little to no background exploration awesome, while also giving us a suprise visit from the Space Wolves & Death Guard!

 

C Z Dunn - Pandorax

A little bit silly in places, but my kind of fun from beginning to end.

 

Dan Abnett - Prospero Burns

Kasper Ansbach Hawser.

 

David Annandale - Damnation of Pythos

A great look at the Iron Hands post Istvaan and a taste of Warhammer Horror before Warhammer Horror was a thing.

 

Gav Thorpe - The Emperor Expects

So good it should have been an extended standalone novel separate to TBA.

 

Graham McNeill - Mechanicum

Machine, heal thyself. I would have preferred Mechanicum 2 as opposed to Titandeath.

 

Guy Haley - Dante

Initiate Training to really put hairs on your chest!

 

John French - Praetorian of Dorn

Just, so, damn, good!

 

Mitchel Scanlon - Descent of Angels

This is more of a nostalgia choice, great memories from reading this despite it's flaws.

 

-

 

That was way harder than I expected, thanks for the challenge Roomsky!!

[aa.logan]

Just to check, where do anthologies like Eye of Terra (not that I’d choose that per se) fit under these criteria?

[Roomsky]

Just to check, where do anthologies like Eye of Terra (not that I’d choose that per se) fit under these criteria?

 

Anthologies are disallowed, as with omnibuses.

 

In case any are still curious, Necromunda is also fair game.

[Tarvek Val]

(In no particular order)

 

Horus Rising - Dan Abnett

 

Soul Hunter - ADB

 

Shroud of Night - Andy Clark

 

Exile - John French

 

Path of the Archon - Andy Chambers

 

The Lords of Silence - Chris Wraight

 

Plague War - Guy Haley

 

Storm of Iron - Graham McNeil

 

Fall of Macharius - William King

 

Angels of Caliban - Gav Thorpe

 

To be honest, this list would be 90% ADB novels if not for the rule against more than one book per author... 

[Phoebus]

I won’t pretend that I could have offered an entirely different list. I struggled to narrow down just one essential title for more than one author on this list.

 

The Carrion Throne, by Chris Wraight

Galaxy in Flames, by Ben Counter

Helsreach, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Lord of the Night, by Simon Spurrier

The Lords of Silence, by Hriscay Raightway

Only in Death, by Dan Abnett

Slaves to Darkness, by John French

Space Marine, by Ian Watson

Storm of Iron, by Graham McNeill

The Unforgiven, by Gav Thorpe

Edited April 27, 2020 by Phoebus

[Enosh]

• Carrion Throne
• Dante
• Fabius Bile  Primogenitor
• Carcharodons: Red Tithe
• Lord of the Night
• Kingsblade
• The Flight of the Eisenstein
• Horus Rising
• First Heretic
• Angel Exterminatus

Some were hard to make a choice with under the 1 book per author rule, would have put for example Know No Fear or Watchers of the Throne on that list instead of some of the "weaker" books (edit: don't mean that they are bad, just not quite as good)

Edited April 27, 2020 by Enosh

[Scribe]

Punitive to limit it to one book per author! :D

 

Betrayer - ADB

Wrath of Iron - Wraight

A Thousand Sons - McNeill

Path of the Incubus - Chambers

Atlas Infernal - Sanders

 

The Masters, Bidding - Farrer

The Last Remembrancer - French

 

Those 7 stand out to me as simply great examples of either the setting, or great fun stories regardless.

 

The Last Remembrancer especially is so underrated. The little blurb you get on sites like Lex, have nowhere near the weight of even a short story like this.

[Phoebus]

Scribe,

 

I appreciate you throwing Atlas Infernal in your list. It was an oversight on my part to have omitted it, and I genuinely wish Rob Sanders was still writing for Black Library (or, at least, wrote for them more often).

[Scribe]

I dont read all the fiction BL puts out, and some of that I will correct once the world is reopened (I am intrigued by the Fabius series, and am going to pick up Fehervari's works) but people sleep on some of the stuff like Atlas Infernal and imo, the Path books Chambers wrote.

[Tarvek Val]

 

 

people sleep on some of the stuff like Atlas Infernal and imo, the Path books Chambers wrote.

 

I couldn't agree with this more. Path of the Archon made my list — I haven't read that series in some time but I recall it to be a particularly interesting and "outside the BL norm" set of novels. The perspective given on the dark eldar was fascinating, and the books were a true pleasure to read.

[aa.logan]

Tough choices, made even tougher by the stringent criteria. I’ve tried my best not to skew too heavily to recent titles, but this exercise has confirmed, to me at least, that BL’s output is better than ever.

 

Chaos Child, Ian Watson

 

My first ever 40k book. When read in sequence with the rest of the trilogy it’s still pretty odd, but when read in isolation and one isn’t completely aware of the setting, it’s absolutely mind-blowing. Cemented my love for the setting, the fact that Imperial Fists are masochists, Inquisitors always end up going rogue and that digilasers are an essential use of a wargear slot being both dearly *and* cool. OT, but I bought most of the Dark Future books on the same day, they remain equally formative for me.

 

Eisenhorn Catches a Train, Dan Abnett

 

Can’t remember which part of the trilogy he does this in, but it’s my favourite of the three and I think I prefer this title anyway. Took Inquisitors and 40k away from the frontlines and made me consider what life in the Imperium might actually be like. The mundanity of many of Gregor’s problems in this book and the very real damage his presence does to the lives of those around him, as well as showing the man away from the rosette are what elevates this book from the rest of the series. For my Dan choice, I very nearly chose Saturnine instead though.

 

Lord of the Night, Simon Spurrier

 

This lets me choose a non-ADB Night Lords book for starters, but is totally worth it on it’s own merits. Despite reading this after the Talos trilogy and all of the Heresy to date (in either 2015 or 2016), this book still managed to feel fresh and surprise me with its take on traitor marines. We get gritty underhive too, which is always welcome.

 

Dark Apostle, Antony Reynolds

 

For bleak Chaos stories, I could also have gone for Storm of Iron or Siege of Castellax, but this one really has everything I want from Chaos Marines. Self-destructive politicking, insidious Chaos corruption and horrible architecture. Unlike the other two titles I mention, I’ve not recently reread this, so my memories could be overly nostalgic, but it edges ahead for my memories of the denouement.

 

A Thousand Sons, Graham McNeil

 

It seems that my favourite titles by my favourite authors aren’t their entries in the Heresy. Odd, that. The anthology restrictions hamstring me in the Heresy, I could easily pick Shattered Legions of Mark of Calth, and I’d also argue that Swallow’s Liar’s Due is as good as anything else in the series, short or not. Anyway, this has great early Crusade detail, non-Astartes plotlines, expansion of pivotal events in the form of the Council of Nickea and some dark Legion secrets- what more could one want from the Heresy?

 

Baneblade, Guy Hayley

 

I LIKE TANKS. THIS IS GOOD TANKS.

 

Talon of Horus, Aaron Dembski Bowden

 

This one still feels really special; from the very first page the reader feels like they’re receiving privileged information. It shows the forces in the Eye at their dysfunctional best and is full of so many incredible scenes. Even if (heaven forbid) it remains at just two books, the audacity of this series is to be admired, and as such has got to be considered essential.

 

Rites of Passage, Mike Brooks

 

I’ve banged on at great length why this personally is a significant book for me (TL;DR- yay! Gays in 40k!) elsewhere, but even if I judge it beyond that this is one of my favourite 40k books- again we’ve got scope beyond the battlefield, but we have a refreshingly different protagonist, lovely world building, a distinctive authorial voice and mundane hurdles to be overcome.

 

Valdor, Chris Wraight

 

To be honest, it could be any of his 40k books. But I like how political this one is, both with and without the capital P. Chris’ takes on Terra are always amazing, and he sets the tone for the pre-Crusade Imperium perfectly. So much of 40k is the nature of repeated failures and this book sows these seeds brilliantly.

 

Mark of Faith, Rachel Harrison

 

It’s really well written, has nice grown-up philosophical themes and good action scenes, but more than that has the most emotionally-affecting single line in all of BL’s back catalogue. Every time I think about it, I’m haunted.

 

The First Wall, Konrad Curze, Cadia Stands, Fire Caste, Primogenitor and For the Emperor are all unlucky not to have made the cut...

Edited April 27, 2020 by aa.logan

[Roomsky]

Great lists everyone, and it's nice to see some interesting/unexpected picks from basically every post. I'm glad people are having fun with the premise.

 

I have to say I'm surprised Lord of the Night is getting the recognition I think it deserves. It never struck me as a novel that got an appropriate amount of popularity.

 

As others having been putting some runners-up, here are some of my own:

 

John French - Ahriman Sorcerer (Only didn't make the top 10 because I think it's greatest strengths come from being read in its series)

Anthony Reynolds - Khârn: Eater of Worlds

Mike Brooks - Rites of Passage

Justin D. Hill - Cadia Stands

Ian St. Martin - Lucius: The Faultless Blade

Robbie Macniven - Carcharodons: Outer Dark

Graham Mcneill - A Thousand Sons (breaking my self-imposed no-Heresy rule)

[JH79]

Soooo then... having read everyone's lists and found a boat load of titles I've never heard of, well it's safe to say that my to investigate / read list just increased quite dramatically!!

[Medjugorje]

Guy Haley - Dante (oh man - thats soooo good how Haley describes the Blood Angels)

 

A-D-B - Black Legion ( in both books, Abi at his finest , and the Black Templars are done so perfectly)

 

Graham-McNeill - Fulgrim (what should I say, this tragedy is so awesome to read)

 

Andy Chambers - Path of the incubus (the whole entire trio is so good written and                                 describes the DE perfectly but I enjoyed this book at most, the                                   chemie between the Incubus and the Harlekin was great

 

Steve Parker - Rynns world

 

Legion of the damned - Rob Sanders

 

I didnt finished this list because there is so much to read in the future - I have to read all Primrch books and stil a few others but I can say that there had been a few . My list would include another graham mcneill and x times A-D-B

Edited April 28, 2020 by Medjugorje