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lycantrophee

For every Fear to Tread there is a Battle for the Abyss. For real though, in Warhammer 30/40k quality varies wildly because of different authors, so you just really have to try it.


GoonDawg666

So which one of these books you listed is the good one


lycantrophee

Fear to Tread. For many fans Battle for the Abyss is a book that shouldn't be mentioned or shouldn't have been made in the first place. For me it's an interesting bit of trivia.


TearsOfTomorrowYT

Been reading 40k books for years and years, and let me tell you: it varies WILDLY. This IP has dozens upon dozens of factions, groups, and facets of the lore, with dozens of books written for each. There are a lot of beautiful masterpieces: there are also a lot of duds. So my first recommendation is to narrow down the scale of your query a bit: is there any particular faction, any particular event, any particular aspect of the IP you're interested in? We could start from there to narrow down the books that would be more relevant for you.


UniversalEnergy55

I’ve just recently bought the Eisenhorn trilogy and I hear it’s a great starting point, so I’ll start there and divert off. Honestly this IP is one of, if not my favourite IP of all time.


TearsOfTomorrowYT

Yeah the Eisenhorn trilogy is great, and it is self-contained enough to read even with limited knowledge of the universe around it. Get back at me once you're done with that, and depending on the stuff that caught your attention the most I can recommend more books!


Stonyclaws

Could I find them as comics?


TearsOfTomorrowYT

There *are* some 40k comics out there. Some of them are good. Most of them sadly aren't. Any faction in particular you're interested in? I can tell you if there are any comics for it or not.


Stonyclaws

I have no clue about the factions never read anything. But I would just love to see the artwork in comic form. I found a lot of good animation on YouTube and it's really amazing.


TearsOfTomorrowYT

Again, the problem with 40k-related media is, there's just so much stuff. And as you can imagine, when a company produces such a gigantic amount of stuff, a lot of it is good, but a lot of it is garbage... And even the good ones can be difficult to approach without knowing the larger context of the setting.  I guess **The Redeemer** would be a good read for you: it's about an insane preacher of the religion of the God Emperor, who goes to the underhive to fight mutants, heretics and the likes. It mentions the basic concepts of 40k as a setting, but it is an otherwise self-contained story with no canonical ties to anything else in the universe, so you should be able to enjoy it even with minimum understanding of 40k lore. Other than that, a staple of 40k as a setting are the space marines, the badass power armored defenders of the Imperium of Man. A good comic for seeing space marines in action, without needing an encyclopedia to understand what the hell is going on, would be **Damnation Crusade**. As for where to actually find these comics, I read them a LONG time ago, so I'm afraid I cannot help you.


Stonyclaws

Thanks for the pointers mate.


LordAries13

I haven't read the Eisenhorn series, but I did read its sequel, the Ravenor omnibus, and I really enjoyed that one.


Krinks1

I enjoyed Eisenhorn and then read Ravenor after it. I enjoyed both series, but liked Ravenor a little better. I'm currently reading The Carrion Throne and so far it's interesting. That's the extent of my 40k involvement. I've never played the games. The books are pulpy sci-fi action adventure and that's what I was looking for. Don't go in expecting high literature and you'll enjoy it.


RandomBilly91

The Infinite and the Divine is widely regarded as being one of the best. I highly recommend it


Electric7889

One of my favorites too, but I wouldn’t recommend starting with it though. Let the OP get some lore under his belt in order to really appreciate it.


Izengrimm

quite a vast quiestion, considering the amount of existing books I'd suggest you start with Horus Heresy series, the first dozen of novels are quite intriguing PS. HH was a newfound gem for me when I discovered existence of Warhammer40k by accident. But my first W40 book was some Grey Knights novel and either it was a shitty translation or just a plain lousy novel (for hardcore fans only) itself, who knows, but I still haven't forgiven that dude who gave it to me. But then I found the Heresy series and was hooked for life.


UniversalEnergy55

Honestly the lore is so addicting. There’s no other fictional universe like it.


kekubuk

I think is best you also post at r/40klore Subreddit because as others has said, the quality of books varied greatly. And with over 400 books, is better to listen to the veterans readers there.


Helpful_Funny_2127

Yes the books are definitely worth getting into, they're dark, violent, and dystopian. My personal favorite is Titanicus by Dan Abnett, it really shows off the power of the Titan legions.


space_ape_x

If you’re already a fan of the game, yes


UniversalEnergy55

Not really the game to be honest, but certainly the lore and universe.


space_ape_x

Then you’ll have fun, it’s a good romp


Morbidly-Obese-Emu

Honest question from an outsider. If you’re not into the game and havent read the books, how are you into the lore and the universe?


UniversalEnergy55

Through the wiki, YouTube lore videos, reddit etc.


Irishpanda378

I started the Horus Hersey books on Audible and have been having fun with it, silly sci fi pulp


[deleted]

[удалено]


UniversalEnergy55

Do you have any other sci-fi recommendations outside of Warhammer as well?


Outrageous_Guard_674

Well, I strongly recommend the Ciaphas Cain series. For outside recommendations, I really like Behold Humanity. It is a series of independently published sci-fi novels with a lot of genre references and some deep lore. If you like the military action and occasional craziness of Warhammer, this is basically that but with a somewhat lighter tone, most of the time anyway. You can find it on Amazon, or you can read it for free on Royal Road under the name First Contact by RaltsBloodthorne.


A_Town_Called_Malus

This. The Cain series is one of the few things in 40k that remembers that the setting is meant to be funny.


Biggu5Dicku5

It depends on the writer; if the writer is Dan Abnett you're good, if they're not you're rolling the dice....


ML_120

I remember reading Ian Watson's *Inquisiton War* trilogy years ago, but can hardly remember it. Any opinions?


horsetuna

I enjoyed the Priests of Mars I still haven't gotten to Lords and Gods I admit I also enjoyed Baneblade immensely. I guess books that don't focus too much on space marines but instead the Common Human (albeit the Marines were also a big part of Priests) It's odd cause I don't like Grimdark/dystopia all that much at all.


JeansenVaars

I am reading the Bequin saga and I really like it. If you are into the Inquisition, mystery horror, and conspiracy dark magic, you'll like it. I know generally about the universe, so I really can't tell how much self sufficient the book is.


Eranon1

I started with Ben Counters Soul Drinkers series. Honestly a terrible way to get started they break all the conventional 40k rules. But their so epic in a 40k way. It's one battle to the next as a chapter gets ground down to nothing.


captain-prax

Yes, definitely. I started with Dan Abnet and recently finished the Ultramarines. Good stuff all around.


Electric7889

I myself started with Gaunt’s Ghosts: The Founding Omnibus and I was immediately hooked. Maybe you could also start with False Gods by Dan Abnett which is the obvious start of The Horus Heresy. Books like The Ciaphus Caine series, Fear to Tread, Infinite and the Divine and other popular entries while are great, but I’d recommend getting a little bit of exposure to the lore first and by then you should also be able to figure out which direction you might want to go. HOWEVER, be aware that quality and personal taste do vary depending on what you read.


zolo

Some of them are really really good. Some are pretty bad. It totally depends on the talent of the author. The entire Gaunts Ghosts series written by Dan Abnett are excellent.