Advice on newer books to get

[welshrat]

Hi,

Ive posted before about black library books but I am looking to get back into them. Ive read every horus heresy book, some twice and all the siege of terror books, with the exception of the ned and the death vol 2 and 3.

Not sure why is stopped but I suppose I didn't want it to end. With news that the scouring is coming I want to get back into the lore.

Ive tried the Dawn of Fire books but they didn't grip me. Ive also tried Age of sigmar but just cant get into it, I used to live the original setting.

In addition ive read a few 40k novels I enjoyed the vagabond squadron books. Im hoping someone can suggest books that are worth reading and let me know if the ones below are worth picking up.

Archmagos, I enjoyed the Belisarius cawl book but haven't read anything else related to him, is this the next one?

Dropsite Massacre - Does this add much to the original heresy series.

Eidolon - I enjoyed him in the hersy books but wasn't sure about this one

Ghazghul - I like orks but just couldn't get into Brutal Kunin, is this more of the same?

Infinite and divine - I really like Trazyn as a character but no very little about Necrons. Is this good and what follows it?

These are the main ones im thinking about along with possibly starting over with the Heresy but that feels like a big undertaking. I also have a couple of others but again I know very little about the authors and if their worth picking up. Thanks

 

The Remnant Blade

 

Tomb World

 

Voidscarred

 

Elemental Council

 

The High Kâhl's Oath

Thanks

[grailkeeper]

Infinite and the Divine might be the best GW book full stop, its very different to most other ones. The sequel is due out very soon.

 

 

[darkhorse0607]

57 minutes ago, grailkeeper said:

Infinite and the Divine might be the best GW book full stop, its very different to most other ones. The sequel is due out very soon.

 

 

 

Preach my friend 

 

OP,

 

Now would be a good time for Infinite and the Divine, as the sequel goes up for order this weekend. You dont need to know anything about Necrons, it does a decent job about explaining things 

 

I'll try to hit your list (at least what I have read) but I am on my phone so might circle back later and edit. 

 

-Dropsite Massacre doesnt really add anything new, but it is excellent (imo) and would be worth the read. It does give more background to why the loyalists attacked so quickly, and does a good job about at least showing most legions (some get more attention than others, but even the Alpha Legion/Raven Guard get some love) as well as the Imperial Army and Titans. 

 

-It depends which Ghazghkull book you mean, as there's two (Prophet of the Waaagh by Nate Crowley and Warlord of Warlords by Denny Flowers). They're both good, but I would recommend the Denny Flowers one more (again, imo). Its more recent, it does link up to current events better (i.e. what Ghaz was doing prior to Armaggedon, you see some familiar names, etc), and I just found it a more pleasant read (especially if you like dark humor)

 

-have said my piece on Infinite and the Divine already. Wicked and the Warped is the sequel 

 

-havent read Eidelon

 

-the only other one from your list that I actually finished was Elemental Council. Easily one of my top Black Library novels ever written. The Farsight books are more "current" as to what is going on with the Tau (kind of, GW puts a lot of emphasis on him), but I think Elemental Council is far better and actually shows you the Castes, Kroot, etc. It shows you the Empire, rather than just the Enclave. Also the antagonist is a Raptor which you dont see every day

Edited Wednesday at 10:59 AM by darkhorse0607

[Tolmeus]

Belisarius Cawl story line is as follows:

1) Belisarius Cawl - The Great Work

2) Genefather

3) Archmagos

 

Dropsite Massacre is awesome, even if you know already how the whole atrocity acts out. John French has given great new insights as well as some cool overlooked characters. Also, it is kind of nostalgic to revisit the early stages of the Heresy and all the cast of Primarchs in their prime before Chaos corrupts them.

 

Eidolon was in my opinion a mid story. Doesn't really add much to the character. Sure, it is stelled in the Heresy shortly before the Siege of Terra, but there are many better books to fill your time.

 

The Remnant Blade is a simple but good standalone stroy. Its got action (but not to the point it is bolter porn), its got a solid plot line, a big load of treacheries and some nice new settings. Good as an filler.

 

Some other great books for the 40k setting: 

- The Devastation of Baal

- Spear of the Emperor 

- The Lion - Son of the Forest

[welshrat]

Great thank you, ill add Dropsite massacre and the Cawl books to the list along with Inifite and Divine. Ill then be ready for the sequel, im always tempted to start the horus heresy again but this will give me something to be getting on with. Any other stand out novels in the last couple of years? I love everything by ADB , not sure what happened but i havent seen anything new from him for awhile.

[grailkeeper]

ADB is great.

 

Robert Rath's stuff is great too. 

 

Dan Abnett can usually be relied upon to be great. He's GW's no 1 author. He's produced by far the most books. They're mostly hits but just as a matter of statistics there's the odd miss in there. 

[Tawnis]

For another really solid Necron book that gets more into their culture and belief system, The Twice Dead King series (two books) is really good for that. Though it is a more serious story without the wacky spy vs spy hijinks of Infinite and the Divine. 

 

Both the Gaunts Ghosts and Caiphas Cain series are classics. Gaunts Ghosts is like 40k's version of Band of Brothers, and Ciaphas Cain is probably as close as you'll get in another series to the humour found in Infinite and the Divine. Both are great series.  

 

I've heard great things about both Elemental Council (T'au) and Day of Ascension (Genestealer Cults), though I haven't read them yet. Elemental Council is on my shelf and the next book I'm reading, while I'm still trying to track down a copy of Day of Ascension. 

 

Also if you can ever find it on it's own without having to get it as part of a collection, the short story Honour Among Fiends by Dylan Owen is one of my all time favourites and one of the only Chaos stories outside of a few HH books (First Heretic / Betrayer) that I really got into. 

Edited Wednesday at 02:16 PM by Tawnis

[Roomsky]

Chiming in:
 

Dropsite Massacre - Does this add much to the original heresy series?

Yes, if you're already familiar with the book's huge cast. It reads like a missing puzzle piece; it feels like Isstvan V is finally covered in full, but it very much reads as something written with hindsight for the series as a whole. There's a lot of "what was this guy doing at Isstvan V?" without establishing them for new readers. It's a good read within that context, though.

 

Eidolon - I enjoyed him in the hersy books but wasn't sure about this one

Non-essential, but fun in a bolter-porny sort of way. ECs are all self-obsessed so it doesn't devolve into being bland, impersonal violence.

 

Ghazghul - I like orks but just couldn't get into Brutal Kunnin, is this more of the same?

Ghazghkull's Character Series book is usually regarded as much better than Brooks' writing, though it also dials back a lot of the comedy. If you want Orks well-written and taken mostly seriously, it's great.

 

Infinite and divine - I really like Trazyn as a character but no very little about Necrons. 

Based on the internet's reaction, it's worth the read and an easy starting place with Necrons. I'm a little lukewarm on it and prefer Twice-Dead King.

 

Tomb World

Not great, probably the worst Necron-focused novel out ATM. Don't write off the author for it though, The King of the Spoil and Dominion Genesis are both very good.

 

Voidscarred

The only honest-to-god romance in the Black Library catalogue. It's also Elf Yaoi. Read it if you think you'd enjoy that. Might make you want to play Corsairs.

 

Elemental Council

The best Tau book, bar none. Highly recommended.

 

[LemartesTheLost]

I’m of the opinion that Elemental Council should be up next on your list should you choose not to start The Infinite and the Divine to prepare for the sequel. I’m not even a huge T’au fan, but this novel hits on just about every mark you could ask for. It’s definitely a top 5 BL book of the past couple of years in my opinion.
 

As for The Remnant Blade, as other fraters have said, it’s a nice, fun standalone read with plenty of action and deception. Is it as good as ADB’s Night Lords trilogy? No, but many consider that trilogy to be the pinnacle of Black Library fiction so it’s not surprising most folks have chosen not to gush about anything that ISN’T ADB’s writing as far as Night Lords go.

[sitnam]

Of the books you called out and I have read, I would say:

 

• Tomb World: It's okay. It's the worst Necron book, but that's not a mark against it. I&D and Twice Dead King are part of why I own a Necron army. It has neat parts, but some of the plot seems superfluos
• Elemental Council: Phenomanal. T'au desperately need more books like this. It's a great way to introduce the Caste system of the T'au, and both their noble and grimdark aspects. The Kroot character is my personal favorite.
• Infinite and Divine: As said above, I started collecting Necrons because of this book. Both my wife and best friend, not 40k people, have read it and they loved it. It has minor elements of horror to it, but also comedy and action. 

A few recommendations outside of your list:

• Twice-Dead King: Like I&D, this inspired me to collect an army. Thats the highest form of praise I can give a 40k book. Great drama and horror, and still a bit of comedy.
• Lord of Excess: I don't think this book gets enough attention. Very funny book in many ways, the main character is an absolute goober. 
• Day of Ascension: Short book, but a great look into both the GSC and AdMech. 

  Adrian Tchaikovsky is a serious author outside Black library, and it really showed. (Go read Starseers Ruin!)

• Death Rider: I'm not a big Krieg guy, but they have a fair bit of decent books and this one kind of stands out to me. One of my favorite commissars in Black library, and a great look in the political bickering within the Imperial military.

• Chem-Dog: My most recent book(right after Death Rider), so this might be recency bias, but I really liked this book. Always liked the Savlar, and seeing them contrasted with other Imperial Guard is a great part of this book. Another great Commissar character

 

[Termalatur_Timmy]

On 7/29/2026 at 1:45 PM, Tolmeus said:

Belisarius Cawl story line is as follows:

1) Belisarius Cawl - The Great Work

2) Genefather

3) Archmagos

I'd say it's missing To Speak as One (Short story). It isn't great by itself, but it is short and introduces characters that are very important in Genefather and Archmagos and explains their relationship with Cawl. Read before Genefather, and maybe once more before Archmagos.

 

---

 

I'm going to use this as an excuse to write out a list for people who really like the Cawl storyline: 

 

What's going on, why are there new Space Marines and a Primarch around, why is the sky made of nightmares, and what does Cawl have to do with it. Honestly not that much Cawl, not great books, consider reading a wiki instead:

• Gathering Storm III: Rise of the Primarch - Strange little booklet for table top gamers. You'll have to search for it.
• Dark Imperium (Redux)
• Dark Imperium: Plague War (Redux)
• Dark Imperium: Godblight (Redux)

Bridge from Dark Imperium to the Indomitus Crusade storyline (again, consider wiki):

• Avenging Son (Dawn of Fire book 1)

Actual Cawl meat:

• Wolfsbane - the b-plot about Belisarius Cawl and his friend Friedisch Adum Silip Qvo makes up around a third of the chapters of this Horus heresy book. The plot is directly continued in a series of flashbacks in The Great Work.
• Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work
• The Silent King (Dawn of Fire book 9) - I think this might be a bit spolier-y for the DoF series, but it's really not that great anyway. The book fleshes out Cawl and Guiliman's relationship, but can be skipped.
• To Speak as One (short)
• Genefather - Fabius Bile vs Cawl. Consider reading the Fabius Bile trilogy before Genefather (and To Speak as One). If you like Cawl, I think you'll like Bile. He's like the chaos-warped mirror version of Cawl.
• Belisarius Cawl: Archmagos - Consider skimming To Speak as One again before this one.

[darkhorse0607]

I would just add to the Frater above me, that I would second the Bile trilogy.

 

I'm no Emperors Children fan, but the Bile trilogy is excellent and gives you a more rounded view of Genefather

[DukeLeto69]

Have to say this…

 

READ EVERYTHING BY PETER FEHERVARI…EVERYTHING!

 

If you want mature sophisticated fiction set in the 40k universe.

[Krelious]

The Silent King Dawn of Fire 9 seems to be another Cawl book and in general a lot of the Dawn of Fire novels have almost nothing to do with each other and feels like random stories thrown into a series like this is some stuff that happened and then there some Mcguffin return of the Anathame blade in the 2nd last book.  I've been reading Silent King and half way through it and it seems structurally very interesting as each section seems to be like 2-3 chapters that flow into each other and have a pay off rather than the style of randomly jumping around from different things going on that seems to happen a lot in these books I found it very enjoyable to read. 

 

If i had to say best 40k novels that are must read would be ADBs Night Lords trilogy, the two black legion novels and Spear of the Emperor. 

 

For older novels Storm of Iron, Night Bringer, Daemon World, and and Lord of Night are pretty good. Even say the Word Bearers trilogy is kinda good but honestly i probably read it so many times now that I find only the first novel is really good, the 2nd is kinda whatever and the third is fun but ultimately pointless as it basically resets the entire setting to square 1 because in that era nothing was really allowed to ever happen in 40k and still kinda is like that besides from the great rift opening. Some of the characters from The Word Bearers trilogy show up in Heresy short stories so its interesting to see who they were although its basically cameo appearances. 

 

Anything by Chris Wraight is pretty solid as well.