Fans of Warhammer 40K Fiction - Anyone?

[vandalous]

Any other fans of Warhammer 40K lore and fiction here?  I've never played the tabletop game and got interested in the fiction when I played Dawn of War on my PC and wanted to learn more about these Blood Ravens, Librarians, Inquisitors, etc. 

Many hundreds of dollars later, I'm completely sucked into the Horus Heresy and Ciaphas Cain books and audio dramas, though the Macharian crusade, Bequin trilogy, and Honsou/Uriel story arc also interest me.

[Eothr]

Warhammer 40K is one of those franchises that should come with a "point-of-no-return" waiver, since it is a huge universe to take part in. I know fleeting info about it, and I intend to remain so, since I only recently became a table-top gamer.

For me, the coolest Chapter of the Imperium of Man's Space Marines is the Black Templars, a group whose fanaticism dwarfs that of the Ultramarines, the Machine-God Emperor's chosen. After that, I'm somewhat enamored with the Eldar, if only for the fact that the Orks aren't serious enough for me and the Tau have little that I like.

[Rob, no not that one.]

Orks are my favorite faction on  the rare occasions I play 40k main because they give me an excusse to shout WHAAAGH! At random intervals and then demand MORE DAKKA YA GROTTS! Fun times.

I've not read much of the tie-in fiction can you recomend a good starting point?

[vandalous]

Orks are my favorite faction on  the rare occasions I play 40k main because they give me an excusse to shout WHAAAGH! At random intervals and then demand MORE DAKKA YA GROTTS! Fun times.

I've not read much of the tie-in fiction can you recomend a good starting point?

If you're a fan of orks, the only book still in print that I'm aware of is The Purging of Kallidus.  It tells the same story from orkish and Space Marine points of view so it's an entertaining read. 

If you like intrigue, look for Inquisition books.  The Eisenhorn or Ravenor trilogies by Dan Abnett are great. 

I really enjoyed the stories from a chaos point of view.  The Word Bearers trilogy and Night Lords series have been excellent to see the 40K universe from a different angle.

Finally, for some light-hearted reading that's pretty funny, you can't go wrong with the Ciaphas Cain series of books by Sandy Mitchell.  His adventures against the Tau, Tyrannid, and other sundy opponents are very entertaining.

[vandalous]

If you're not interested in the fiction, may I present the Primarch of the World Eaters, Angron?  He'd like to "follow up" with you. 

[Rob, no not that one.]

Cool, thanks for the recommendations, I will try and check some of them out. Having played a bit of Dark Heresy I'm particularly interested in the inquisition books. Plus Dan Abnett wrote for Warhammer? How did I miss that? This is proving to be a very informative thread.

[vandalous]

You're welcome.  Dan Abnett is one of the more prolific authors in Black Library's stable and has written some of the most beloved series such as the Gaunt's Ghosts series and several of the best Horus Heresy books, IMO. 

If you've played some Dark Heresy, there are a couple of novels from that part of the Imperium as well.

As many of the books are out of print, the best sources are either the various Omnibus releases, eBay, or your local used book store.  I'm lucky enough to have several Half Price Books locations near me and they always have 40K stuff coming in.

Feel free to post any questions and I'll try to help.  Like I said, I'm cuckoo for Chaos Marines and other Warhammer 40K fluff.

[GeorgeDubya]

I absolutely loved Eisenhorn, and I'm planning to snag Ravenor at some point. I've also read the first five or six books of the Horus Heresy. It's interesting to see the backstory of the setting unfolding in the Heresy books.

[vandalous]

I absolutely loved Eisenhorn, and I'm planning to snag Ravenor at some point. I've also read the first five or six books of the Horus Heresy. It's interesting to see the backstory of the setting unfolding in the Heresy books.

If you're a fan of the intrigue of Eisenhorn then I highly recommend Ravenor.  I find myself reading the six books (plus associated short stories) once every couple of years.

I totally agree with your sentiment regarding the Heresy series.  It's so interesting to see where things were headed before Horus turned and how they've been perverted in the 40K timeline.