OT-Warhammer 40k Books

[Spectarofdeath]

Just wondering if anybody else has read the Warhammer books and if so where is a good place to start? I've tried looking around and it seems as if the books dont follow any particular order.

[Randallw]

Well judging by your avatar have yoe tried "Lords of Night"?. In that books case, though it wasn't bad, I'm not very fond of the "misunderstood" traitor legion stories.

Here's the Black Library site

http://www.blacklibrary.com/default.asp

The various books range widely in quality. I haven't read them all but I do hang out at a GW forum so I have gathered information on most of them. Let's start with the page I gave you. Let's see....

Souldrinkers. Well I bought the first 2. I wouldn't call the quality bad, however I personally dislike the chapter (As I said I don't have much sympathy for traitors)

Deathworld. A friend at the store showed it to me...for about 2 seconds. I'm not interested in Catachans (self styled Rambo, or should that be Sly Marbo, ripoffs)

I don't read Necromunda, and not much fantasy either, though Felix and Gotrek books are considered worthwhile.

DO read Horus Heresy books. The first three are by BL's top writers. The next one I intend to get, hopefully it will be good, though as it's written by the guy who wrote the Blood Angels pair I have my doubts. The bloke in question is from what I consider the "D and D" school of churning out books. Hackneyed novels with little basis in the background as if they don't read the manual.

Ask me about any of the books and I can probbaly explain it. Ravenor is highly praised. I've never read it myself.

Warriors of Ultramar is my favourite, not so much for the whole book, which is good enough, as for the fact I collect Mortifactors so I'm a bit biased. Off the top of my head "Deamon World" was a great book. Stay well away from "15 Hours" DandD hack crap that goes nowhere. Guants ghosts are good. More like ww2 stuff moved into M40, but not bad. Abnett came up with a new way for representing Chaos.

I have a few original Inqusition trilogy books and a rare "Space Marine" paperback. They however are horribly out of date Background wise, but highly prized. The Inquisition Trilogy was released awhile back as an omnibus.

[Spectarofdeath]

Well, to get a good grasp on the universe and everything, what would be a good one to start with? Is there any that kinda explain how everything started to happen? I'm not too familiar with the universe, I mainly know basic, alot of what I do know is from playing Warhammer 40k Dawn of War.

[Randallw]

Ahh Dawn of War, well the novels for that are basically just cheap tie ins as far as I know. What you want to read is the Fluff bible (235 pages. Come one it's been growing for 20 years )

www.electric-rain.net/w40kRPG/Warhammer%2040k%20FluffBible.pdf

It uses a lot of version 1 and 2 stuff but it's mostly up to date, well except for perhaps the Orks and Tyranids, oh and it won't mention the Tau or Necrons.

The closest you'll find to a "How it started" book will be Horus Heresy books, but keep in mind the Imperium of 10,000 years later is extremely different.

I shall endeavour to explain recent stuff, though one of the criticisms is that nothing really changes.

let's see. 13th Black Crusade. Abaddon (head of the Chaos Marines) invaded the Cadian gate which is sort of an area of space with ancient ruins that control the entrance/exit to the Eye of Terror, which is where the Warp (psychic hell/void/dimension) intersects the real universe. They sort of won and so are supposed to be stronger, not that it means much.

Tau. Thousands of years ago an explorer fleet from the Human Imperium discovered a planet with some primitive natives not considered worth anything, but then being aliens that's not much of a surprising decision. The fleet sent to basically exterminate them got lost in the warp and so the natives developed and 3000 years later meet the Imperium by which time they have space flight. They are weak compared to the Imperium but although the Imperium could exterminate them if they could spare the fleets the Imperium is too busy elsewhere.

Necrons. Think the Undead, but robots. After millions of years of sleep they have woken up and plan to exterminate all life in the galaxy.

Look it's extremely long and complex. Tell you what I'll ask my friends at the GW forums for ideas on what might be helpful and get back to you.

[Spectarofdeath]

No no, its fine, I mean, I understand the basics, I'm just wanting to start from book 1 is what I mean. I hate to read a book then go and read a new one that happened before the first book. (Yes I hate prequels, odd since I love history).

[Randallw]

Ah big problem. 40K books aren't in series as such. Mostly they are in the 41st millenium, but that's like saying all Indiana Jones movies are in the 30's. One series might be on the brink of the 42nd Millenium only for someone elses books to be 500-1000 years before. Things don't progress enough for there to be any social or technological difference. One series (Gaunts Ghosts) which is in sequence but only during the history of the Sabbat Crusade, started by trying to find a treasure beyond price, which was a machine that could supply plans for technology from 10,000 years ago. I think the fluff bible is the closest you're going to get and then perhaps dive into a book with a basic knowledge of how things are set up.

[Atrocities]

About once a year someone will bring up the book series. There are a lot of people here that do read them. I am, however, not one of them.

[Randallw]

Well I guess they're hard to find. Here at least I get them from the local GW supplier. I also occasionally see them in other bookstores if perhaps they are going mainstream, such as Gotrek and Felix which can pass as standard pulp fantasy.

[Tim_Ward]

Spectarofdeath said:
Just wondering if anybody else has read the Warhammer books and if so where is a good place to start?

No where. They suck, badly. 40k short stories are pretty good and therefore Let the Galaxy Burn, which is an short story anthology, might be a worthwhile investment. I've not read it, though.