Poll: Warhammer 40k Books, which one to go for next?

[Zantos]

Over the past month I've been getting into 40k books. I started with Ultramarines, and Have Grey Knights next on the list. I keep getting recommendations for others to read, and will probably read them all eventually, but for now I think straight out majority is the best way to go for what to read in the near future. Due to there being too many to list, I'm just going to categorise the poll options, so please post on specific series/books.

So yeah, providing the poll works, voting in that is good. Posting specific books/series, with some explanation as to what's good is better. Although I've only read stuff about Space Marines, I'm not taking that as a sign I should stick to Space Marines, and as long as it's a good book I'm not too fussed about if there's no combat in it. Though it is 40k, so I'd imagine it only goes from lots of combat to wiping out entire planets anyway.

EDIT: The last option should read "Something that doesn't appear in this list but is totally awesome"

 

[repeating integers]

Eisenhorn. It really is quite brilliant.

 

[Mathak]

The Inquisition, but for the love of the Emperor, avoid the Inquisition War trilogy. It's by Ian Watson, and it's from a time when Warhammer books were still a little...weird. Lots of rather...fetishy moments.

Both the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies are excellent though.

 

[senordesol]

Commissar Cain novels. They're not as tedious in their Emperor loving.

 

[Zantos]

Thanks guys, I've still got a while before I finish Grey Knights, but I'm thinking Eisenhorn then Ciaphas Cain next, they sound pretty good.

Commissar Cain novels. They're not as tedious in their Emperor loving.

From what I can tell, if someone in the 41st millenium doesn't proclaim his love for the Emperor at least 12 times a day, some twat turns up in a battle barge and blows his planet to fiery hell.

 

[coolbeans21]

Ciaphas cain, for the love of god yes
I'd then try Eisenhorn then ravenor.

Then if I'm successful during this years black library open submissions, you can read my very own Inquisition series.

What? a man can dream.

 

[Luke3184]

Ciaphas Cain then Ravenor... Not read Eisenhorn yet

The Horus Heresy books are okay, but they get really tedious towards Battle for the Abyss and I gave up on them. Space Marines, on the whole, make rather dull point of view characters.

 

[Daffy F]

I've been reading 'Atlas infernal, and Inquisitor Czevak novel' which is pretty good. I don't think it's been released yet, though. I won an in-store tournament and it was the prize.

 

[flaming_squirrel]

Horus Heresy! Followed closely by the inquisitor books.

I've read roughly a third of the Heresy books so far, overall very well written. Some of the later ones by lesser known authors are a bit sketchy in places, but the quality never drops far.

Avoid the space marine ones like the plague, from what I hear there are horrors lurking amongst their number.

 

[Zen Toombs]

"If I had only known what was waiting for me, I would've [insert cowardly and/or self-deprecating action here]."
- Our hero, ladies and gentlemen.

COMMISSAR CIAPHAS CAIN, HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!!! is the protagonist of a series of novels by Sandy Mitchell, set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Where Gaunt's Ghosts is Sharpe meets 40K, Ciaphas Cain is something between Blackadder and Flashman in the gothic SF world of Warhammer 40K. Taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to the normally absurdly Grim And Dark 40K universe, the series follows the exploits of a cowardly, self-hating Commissar, in charge of morale and discipline in the Imperium's army, who has managed to not only survive the front lines of the ultimate World Half Empty, but prosper. Over the course of the series, Cain becomes a massively acclaimed Hero of the Imperium, partly through opportunism, skill and minor heroism, but mostly through sheer blind luck. Sent to progressively more insanely dangerous warzones as his reputation grows, Cain actually wants nothing more than to find a quiet place to hide from the fighting.

In short, he's the type of person guys in his profession are supposed to shoot.

That is, if you believe him. The author himself has stated that he doesn't know whether Cain is the Dirty Coward he presents himself as, or doesn't give himself enough credit.

The novels are presented as sections of Cain's private memoirs, organized, edited, and footnoted by Inquisitor Amberley Vail, Cain's occasional liaison both professionally[footnote]he and his regiment occasionally help the Inquisition, either as cat's-paw or heavily armed backup, and she's who he calls when he finds something that falls under the heading of "the Inqusition's problem"[/footnote] and personally.

Note: This was totally stolen from the TvTropes page on the series. There, I totally cited it.

Seriously, this is an insanely good series. You should check it out.

Captcha - moot point
... that's depressing

 

[ironkex]

definatly space wolfz

 

[Martin Weston]

I vote for Horus Heresy.

 

[Necron_warrior]

Eisenhorn,
I've read all the things mentioned in the poll and, I have to say, Eisenhorn still leaves me with warm memories of the engaging plot and interesting characters. Aaaaah.

Its also the most read book I have in my little library (well, maybe besides the necronomicon). God I need to rebind it, It's literally falling to pieces D:

 

[Ordinaryundone]

Gaunt's Ghosts: Dan Abnett's flagship series, it follows the adventures of Colonel-Commisar Ibram Gaunt and his lovable mob of a regiment, the Tanith "First and Only" following the destruction of their world to Chaos. They've got a great cast of characters, and Abnett manages to come up with some genuinely compelling, if somewhat cliche, battles and scenarios for the Ghosts to get in. The books start out pretty pulpy but get progressively darker, and more action movie-esque, as the series goes on.

Ciaphas Cain: As said above, it's Blackadder IN SPACE. The books are a great send up of the various tropes and cliches that make the 40k setting tick and have some loveable characters, but they are considerably silly for the setting. Also, Sandy Mitchell repeats himself a lot, which makes them a little tiresome to read in a row.

Horus Heresy: At the very least, read the first 4 (up through Flight of the Eisenstein). After that, the series branches out and becomes somewhat unfocused, but those first 4 books are remarkably tight and dynamic for a 40k series, which is refreshing in a setting that thrives on the status quo.

Eisenhorn: My personal favorite 40k series, just above Gaunt's Ghosts. It's short (only 3 books), but this really works in it's favor. Eisenhorn is a wonderfully tragic figure, and the story is bleak in a way only the 40k setting can do. Its also a good introduction to the setting if you are unfamiliar with it, especially the world of the Inquisition which doesn't get a lot of love in supplemental material.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Avoid anything written by CS Goto... that's all I can add to this discussion...

Other than that... Dan Abnett writes consistently good shit, so Gaunt's Ghosts is up there to recommend. That, Eisenhorn and Ravenor were both really good, though you may find Ravenor's character to be a tad... flat... and the secondary characters to Eisenhorn are better written, especially Bequin. Haven't read them, but I've heard nothing but praise for Ciaphas Cain, so I'll have to pick up a few books about him.

As for Horus Heresy, I think it's pretty fascinating, if only for a documentary perspective. They have their moments, but depending on how you are, it may seem a bit samey... especially the ones that revolve around the Legions. Nemesis is my favourite so far (primarily because, no SM main characters, only the six assassins), though we'll see after I read The Outcast Dead.

 

[NCP Commissar]

Horus Heresy is pretty good, but then again, I myself like the Imperial Guard Novels, especially Ciaphas Cain and Gaunt's Ghosts... I recommend those too.

 

[thiosk]

I'll parrot the others and say Ciaphas.

Both Ciaphas and gaunt are long running series in the franchise. The books are, I must say, a bit formulaic at times. Ciaphas in particular-- some variation of "And if I only knew what would happen next, I would have simply emptied my bowels in terror on the spot and hopped on the next shuttle out of the system." occurs three or four times per book. It fits the annotated memoir model, but there is a clear recipe for these books. Which is fine, you know, it just warrants mention

However, the entire series is great fun, and I like that you can get a little wider picture of the world of 40k beyond what we see in some of the videogames (space marine only picks up after most of the world is devastated, for instance, and despite being on a forge world, not a single enginenseer is in sight, and not one skitarrii unit is holding even a single plot of territory.)

Gaunt is a great series as well, but my criticism there is that "the man" is always keeping gaunt down. Every book, you're like, promote this guy already? really? and every book 'the man' has put him squarely back in his place and he's got to claw through endless chaos cultists to get back out again. Every time.

 

[Sam Warrior]

Simply put anything by Dan Abnett he is amazing! Eisenhorn, Ravenor and Gaunts ghosts are some of my favourite books ever. Highly recommend them.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Personally, I've found books about the Imperial Guard to be far more interesting than Space Marines, simply because they're much easier to relate to.

The Ciaphas Cain books are enjoyable reads. Hell, I'm currently reading the Hero of the Imperium omnibus for the fourth time. It's a welcome diversion from the oppressively grimdark tone of most other Warhammer 40k novels with its more lighthearted take on the universe (it's actually made me laugh out loud on several occasions). The one major complaint I have is that once you've read one story involving Cain you've basically read them all, as every one of his adventures pretty much unfolds the same way.

It's hard to go wrong with just about anything by Dan Abnett. His Gaunt's Ghosts series is one of the best 40k series out there, and books like Double Eagle and Titanicus are great for stories about air combat and titan warfare respectively.

I'd also suggest checking out volumes 1 and 2 of The Imperial Guard Omnibus. Most of the stories it contains are fairly enjoyable reads, and it provides newcomers a glimpse into just how varied of an organization the Imperial Guard really is.

Finally there's the book simply entitled Space Marine, by Ian Watson. It was one of the first Warhammer 40k novels ever written back in the early days of the franchise. It was a very different setting back then, when such things as Squats (essentially space dwarfs) and Zoats were still running around. The reason why I recommend this book is because it really drives home just how dystopian of a hellhole Warhammer 40,000 really is. The Space Marines in the book are depicted not as noble space knights like in newer publications, but as barely restrained psychopaths, raised from adolescence in an unforgiving and twisted environment that has effectively brainwashed them into subservience through ritualized torture and relentless indoctrination. It helps demonstrate how there are no "good guys" in the 41st millennium. I feel I must issue this recommendation with a caveat, though: the book is written in a somewhat poetic structure that can be hard to read at times, and there's a few instances of scatological humor that seems out of place with the rest of the narrative. It's also worth mentioning that the book isn't considered canonical anymore. It's been out of print for years, but you can order a reprint from the Black Library website:

http://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/Space-Marine.html