# What to choose :O



## Viciator (Jul 12, 2012)

So I have finished Nick Kyme's Fall of Damnos (my first Black Library book) and it was amazing! I'm happy I started off on the right foot! 

Only problem is that now my expectations are high so I really want to read a good book next.

I've started with a list of 15 and dropped to the following 5:

Helsreach by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Storm of Iron by Graham McNeill (I really want to read Priests of Mars but I read that it's better to read Storm of Iron first since there are some similar characters).

Space Marine by Ian Watson

Salamander by Nick Kyme

or Path of the Warrior by Gav Thorpe 

All sound very interesting but I want to know which one you can recommend!
I really have no idea which one I can choose and with my funds I can imagine I can buy maybe 2 out of the 5.

Cheers,
Viciator :grin:


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

I would recommend going for _Salamander_ and _Helsreach_. The former is an enjoyable first novel in a great trilogy, and the latter is an amazing siege novel and a brilliant study of the the Black Templars chapter.


LotN


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## Garrak (Jun 18, 2012)

Definitely follow up with Helsreach (or the Night Lord Trilogy by ADB if you have that). Space Marine by Ian Watson is ... old and and as far as I know, it doesn't match up with the current fluff all that well. I've also heard that brain bleach may be needed afterwards.


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## phantom40k (Jul 24, 2012)

I agree with Lord of the Night Helsreach is a good one.


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## Viciator (Jul 12, 2012)

Garrak said:


> Definitely follow up with Helsreach (or the Night Lord Trilogy by ADB if you have that). Space Marine by Ian Watson is ... old and and as far as I know, it doesn't match up with the current fluff all that well. I've also heard that brain bleach may be needed afterwards.


Is Space Marine that dark and twisted? :shok::shok:

Thanks for the quick response! I'll definitely get Helsreach and now I have a budget for one more book


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

"Space Marine" is a fine novel. That it doesn't match up with current fluff doesn't make it bad. It just sets up some contradictions with current material.

I would recommend "Storm of Iron". It's a great story, and it features the "bad guys" of the setting. This should work nicely since you read a novel featuring the "good guys". Following this, I'd recommend "Helsreach" (since the author does a very good job of exploring the inhuman side of Space Marine heroes), and then I would *seriously* recommend the Night Lords Trilogy, also by Aaron Dembski-Bowden.

Cheers,
P.


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## Roninman (Jul 23, 2010)

Space Marine is a great book if you can look aside for some of fluff issues. Mostly recommended for mature readers like all Watson's material.

I can recommend everything on your list except Salamander. I just dont think Nick is good writer.


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## Hachiko (Jan 26, 2011)

IMO, I really don't want to touch anything by Kyme.
I just recently finished Space Marine myself, and loved it. Lent it to another 40K fan, he's loving it too. 
It's very lyrical, poetic, very 80's feel (duh, it was written around then). But Watson is a damn fine writer. Sort of akin to watching the Simpsons as they appeared on the Tracey Ullman show vs. their own incarnation (not that I'm a Simpsons fan, but you get my point).
I agree to go with Helsreach; it is masterful. The best Space Marine Battles book (although you should get Legion of the Damned), and a damn fine book on its' own. I recommend it to a lot of friends that don't touch W40K.
Storm of Iron, like Helsrach, is about a siege. Except in Storm of Iron, it is from the POV of Chaos. Graham handled it very well, this is a great book.
Graham writes the siege mechanics better, Helsreach is a more emotional book. It had strong resonations of Gemmell's Legend.
Happy Reading!


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## Freakytah (Nov 20, 2009)

Lots of people hate on Kyme, but I enjoyed the Salamander trilogy. Maybe because I have a Salamander army? 

From your list I would probably go with Helsreach, but as others have said the Night Lords trilogy would be an excellent choice above all those you listed!


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## Apfeljunge (May 1, 2011)

from the list: Helsreach and Storm of Iron (Just buy the Iron Warriors Omnibus, you get more for your $, even if some short stories don't make sense if you didn't read the Ultramarine series)

Others: Lord of the Night, Horus Heresy, Titanicus, Dead Men Walking, Ciaphas Cain, Eisenhorn & Ravenor, The Emperor
If you like Helsreach: Anything by the same author


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## World Eater XII (Dec 12, 2008)

I recommend Storm of iron, fantastic book!


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## Diatribe1974 (Jul 15, 2010)

Here's what you do (to keep it fair). As long as you have these books already, just assign a number to each and then write it each down on a slip of paper, drop them into a hat and draw one at random. Let the randomness of fate decide for you.


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## Viciator (Jul 12, 2012)

Diatribe1974 said:


> Here's what you do (to keep it fair). As long as you have these books already, just assign a number to each and then write it each down on a slip of paper, drop them into a hat and draw one at random. Let the randomness of fate decide for you.


I'm not a big Chaos supporter  Fate.. pft! 

And well I don't have those books - I gotta buy them. I'm gonna order Helsreach and Storm of Iron today


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## Lupe (Jan 3, 2011)

I would recommend _Storm of Iron_ first, and _Helsreach_ immediately after that.

Other books I'd strongly recommend are _Legion of the Damned_ by Rob Sanders and _Battle of The Fang_ by Chris Wraight.

I would also suggest picking up all of Aaron Dembski Bowden's books (_Cadian Blood_, _The Emperor's Gift_ and the Night Lords trilogy: _Soul Hunter_, _Blood Reaver_ and _Void Stalker_).


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

Viciator said:


> I'm not a big Chaos supporter  Fate.. pft!
> 
> And well I don't have those books - I gotta buy them. I'm gonna order Helsreach and Storm of Iron today


Imperial scum! :laugh:

If you want an expanded list of books here is what i'd suggest;

_The Tome of Fire Trilogy: Salamander; Firedrake; Nocturne.
The Blood Angels Series
The Ultramarines Series
Ciaphas Cain
Eisenhorn
Helsreach
Battle of the Fang
Rynn's World
Legion of the Damned
Wrath of Iron_

There are more but they are Chaos oriented. Those are most of the novels I would suggest to anyone wanting to get a good start in Black Library.


LotN


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## Rems (Jun 20, 2011)

_Storm of Iron_ is a great book for a newcommer to 40k. _Fall of Damnos_ showed you what the good guys are like, Storm of Iron will show you the bad guys. It's one of McNiels better 40k era books.

After that it's a question of where your interests lie. 

If you like the Imperial Guard, normal humans standing up to the horrors of the galaxy then i would recommend _Cadian Blood_, _Gunheads_, _Double Eagle_ and _Ciaphas Cain_. Each offers something different; Cadian Blood features infantry against the forces of chaos, gunheads is about tankers agaisnt orks, Double Eagle fighter pilots and Ciaphas Cain about a commissar and is a more light hearted and comedic look at 40k. You may also look in Gaunts Ghosts, a long running series of books. I personally dislike them, finding the protagonists far too 'mary sueish'. 

If you like Space Marines than _Helsreach _is a great read, ADB really nails the Astartes mindset. Most Space Marine are 'bolter-porn' unfortunately, meaningless battle scene after battle scene. 

If you want fallen heroes, the chaos space marines then you can do no better than ADB's _Night Lord's_ trilogy (Soul Hunter, Blood Reaver, Void Stalker). They are truly some of (if not the) finest 40k books written. Not only do they posses evocative action scenes but actual character development. Proper character development in a 40k book! ADB also really nails the 40k setting and atmosphere. 

If space ships are your thing there's _Execution Hour_ and _Shadow Point_ by Gordon Rennie, two books detailing a Captain of the Imperial Navy's experiences in the Gothic War. 

If you like giant warmachines then look into _Titanicus _by Dan Abnett. 

One of the seminal pieces of 40k 'literature' would be the _Eisenhorn_ series again by Abnett. It follows the Inquisitor Eisenhorn in his investigation and descent into radicalisation. It's a great read again featuring that elusive character development and is far more than just action scenes, giving you a taste of life in the 41st millenium. 

If you'd like to know how 40k became 40k then pick up the (in progress) _Horus Heresy_ series. Some of these have featured on the New York Times best sellers list and they're generally a cut above the standard Black Library fare. 

In terms of authers Dan Abnett and Aaron Dembski Bowden are popularly recognised as the two best (Aaron exploding onto the scene). Graham McNiel is a common third.


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## tabbytomo (Aug 12, 2008)

Helsreach is excellent, you can't go wrong with too many, I personally really enjoy the Ultramarines series by Graham McNiell and the Iron Warriors series (go hand in hand), The Night lords series is fantastic, The start of the HH series is g-g-g-g-god like, reading up to fulgrim wont take too long, and those first few are excellent (bar maybe flight of the Eiesenstein ::sarcastichand some awesome short stories in heroes of the space marines, and thats just of the top of my head.....

Edit: also don't forget Ravenor, I might get hunted and killed for saying this but I think I prefer Ravenor over Eisenhorn...


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Helsreach, The Emperor's Gift, the First 3 Horus Heresy Books/Fulgrim/Know No Fear/The First Heretic, Gaunt's Ghosts (particularly the First books).

By far the best book (although no space marines) I've read in the entire black libraries list of publications is Double Eagle.


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## Viciator (Jul 12, 2012)

Lord of the Night said:


> Imperial scum! :laugh:


Imperial? :suicide: 
I'm an avid supporter of the Great Devourer and servant of the Hive Mind 

Eisenhorn sounds really interesting so I might check that after I'm done with Helsreach and Storm of Iron! 

Are there any Tyranid books? (That is books with Tyranids in them?)

Also, Gav Thorpe's Path of the Eldar series sounds really interesting - would nice to see and think what an Eldar sees and thinks! Did anyone read them? How are they?


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## Gret79 (May 11, 2012)

I read them, I enjoyed them overall. It's a nice change of perspective. Path of the renegade was the best so far. But the books listed above like the start of the heresy are better.


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## Garrak (Jun 18, 2012)

Storm of Iron was my gateway into 40k so you can't go wrong with it.


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## Viciator (Jul 12, 2012)

Gret79 said:


> I read them, I enjoyed them overall. It's a nice change of perspective. Path of the renegade was the best so far. But the books listed above like the start of the heresy are better.


Path of the Renegade is the Dark Eldar one right? 

As for the Heresy books, do I have to read them in chronological order? I can't buy all 20 :/

The ones that sounded the most interesting to me are:
Deliverance Lost 
Descent of Angels
Fallen Angels (I love the DA!)
Nemesis
and Mechanicum

Are any of these good?


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## Gret79 (May 11, 2012)

If I was starting out I'd either start from the front and go through all of them or get one's I liked the look of. So if you like Dark Angels get them and see how you go. If you want more after that, go for the books people have mentioned earlier - they are seriously that good.

Path of the renegade is dark eldar. I also really enjoyed atlas infernal.


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## Freakytah (Nov 20, 2009)

Viciator said:


> Imperial? :suicide:
> 
> 
> Eisenhorn sounds really interesting so I might check that after I'm done with Helsreach and Storm of Iron!
> ...


Eisenhorn is an excellent choice, I often recommend them to people who have no idea what 40k is.

The Ciaphas Cain series has a few books with 'nids in em. They are entertaining to read but are definitely in a category of their own as far as mood goes. There is more humor used than in other standard grimdark stories. If you're looking for 'nid books though, definitely a good choice.


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## Diatribe1974 (Jul 15, 2010)

Viciator said:


> I'm not a big Chaos supporter  Fate.. pft!
> 
> And well I don't have those books - I gotta buy them. I'm gonna order Helsreach and Storm of Iron today


Both are great reads. I read those several months ago. I own roughly 85% of all BL's novels now (perhaps more), but am only about 1/2 read due to the slowness in how I read (there are folks here with more complete collections as well), so if you've questions, most of us will probably have the novels in question to answer for you.


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## Apfeljunge (May 1, 2011)

Viciator said:


> Path of the Renegade is the Dark Eldar one right?


Yes. 



Viciator said:


> for the Heresy books, do I have to read them in chronological order? I can't buy all 20 :/


i recommend reading them in publication order. If you can't buy all of them, try to read at least the first 3-5 books first, after that you can pretty much pick and choose. There are some which should be read in a certain order to better understand them though: Legion before Deliverance Lost. Decent of Angels before Fallen Angels. The First Heretic before Know no Fear.



Viciator said:


> The ones that sounded the most interesting to me are:
> Deliverance Lost
> Descent of Angels
> Fallen Angels (I love the DA!)
> ...


You will find very mixed opinions on those books on this forum (and others). 
Personally I liked all of them except Fallen Angels. 

Horus Rising, A Thousand Sons and The First Heretic get almost no negative reviews at all on the other hand, so you should be safe with those.


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## Viciator (Jul 12, 2012)

Thanks so much for the detailed response! 

I'll definitely put these last three books on my reading list!


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## Designation P-90 (Feb 24, 2012)

I started with the Ultramarines Omnibus with no prior 40k knowledge and I was instantly sucked in. I did have to google a few creatures/vehicles to get a sense of what things were supposed to look though.


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## Apostle (Jun 29, 2012)

Well your first book was a Space Marine Battle Novel. IMO Helsreach is the best of any of them. It's a highly addictive read.

As for HHeresy I do recommend you read books 1-3 before starting to skip around. I did plenty of jumping (though ive now read all the HH books.) For instance I read The First Heretic before either of the Dark Angels offerings. They are pretty much not that necessary IMO. They were literally my last read HH books.


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

Storm of Iron.

Classic.


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## Vitarus (Apr 9, 2012)

Just adding another vote for Eisenhorn and Ravenor. Still my favorite 40K books. Tied is The First Heretic. It's the 14th Horus Heresy book, but it's set before any of them (I think?), and sheds light on some stuff from the first few. 

I also liked Atlas Infernal, Gret.


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## Lupe (Jan 3, 2011)

Since I saw a lot of suggestions for it, I'd like to bring up the Horus Heresy series.

DO NOT, under any circumstances, cherry pick the best books (The First Heretic, Thousand Sons, Know No Fear, etc) first. It's far preferable to read them in the order they appeared, otherwise you might end up with a bitter taste from books who aren't bad, but just happened to be written earlier than the ones you just read. 

Not to mention that sometimes the earlier books are referenced by the later ones, and you might completely miss some nice touches. 

I'll just use the First Heretic for examples here. Beware of potential spoilers!


How much more predictable would Horus Rising or False Gods be if you knew from the very start that Erebus was into Chaos worship, from reading The First Heretic first?

Or, would you know that Argel Tal is in the same vision Horus has on Davin, 50 years in the future?


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