# I Want To Start Reading Warhammer Fiction, But Don't Know Where To Start



## xxJoshxx (Jul 21, 2009)

Pretty much as the title reads. I've been reading 40k Fiction for a while now and I want to get in to the other side of the Black Library but I'm not sure where to start. The new Elf novel, The Curse of Khaine, looks interesting but as I understand it is sort of the ending of a series. Where does it start and in what order does in follow?

Or should I start somewhere else? To give me a better background of a universe I truly know little of.


----------



## Vitarus (Apr 9, 2012)

I'd think the Sigmar trilogy would be a good place. I haven't read enough WF to know how they rate, but it would seem to be a good beginning point.


----------



## xxJoshxx (Jul 21, 2009)

Vitarus said:


> I'd think the Sigmar trilogy would be a good place. I haven't read enough WF to know how they rate, but it would seem to be a good beginning point.


Is that the guy that back in the day, people thought was the Emperor? Or are the two universes not connected at all? (Shows how much I know about the WH F universe haha.)


----------



## Mossy Toes (Jun 8, 2009)

WHF is not connected to 40k. There are all sorts of "Sigmar was a Primarch" conspiracy theories floating around (protip: he was not), and GW used to have more, firmer connections between the two (for instance, some rewards during a summer campaign in WHF that were similar to 40k weapons), but they are very firmly and distinctly their own things, these days.

Sigmar was the first Emperor of the Empire, and is worshipped by the people of the Empire as a god. He is _not_ the God-Emperor of 40k, however. I've heard that his origin trilogy is actually... quite mediocre, honestly.

A good series for starting out in the Warhammer world would probably be the Gotrek and Felix books: they're a very characterful pair whose series was, for a long time, as much the "flagship series" of Fantasy like Gaunt's Ghosts are for 40k. They've... lost their way, more recently, to some degree, but the first Omnibus or two gives you an excellent view into much of how the Empire and its dwarf neighbors operate.

Well, _operated_ until about the time that the End Times series started coming out, blowing things up wholesale, killing off named characters by the dozen, and scribbling out whole nations in the margins.

The Sword of Vengeance/Sword of Justice duology by Chris Wraight is a good look into the Empire, too. Some of the better WHF books published in recent years, to my mind.


----------



## Vitarus (Apr 9, 2012)

I found the Sigmar books to be pretty mediocre. But then, I find most BL books to be mediocre. Lots of people say G&F are good, though. Maybe I'll try them some day.


----------



## xxJoshxx (Jul 21, 2009)

Mossy Toes said:


> A good series for starting out in the Warhammer world would probably be the Gotrek and Felix books


The only problem is I don't want to buy the eBook, I want a hard copy and I can only find the 2nd, 3rd and fourth Omnibus in physical copies.


----------



## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gotrek-Felix-First-Omnibus-Warhammer/dp/1844163741

Quick google says otherwise...


----------



## xxJoshxx (Jul 21, 2009)

Vaz said:


> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gotrek-Felix-First-Omnibus-Warhammer/dp/1844163741
> 
> Quick google says otherwise...


I'm rather hesitant about buying from Amazon. I've had a few, unsavoury experiences. Though as it seems I'll have to. I've managed to find a large Wikipedia page that features a great deal of the WF Novels in order of, well I can only guess Chronology. It however doesn't have The End Times series is not up there. It certainly sounds awesome, I just wanted to know if anyone could provide a list of the order the novels in this series have been released. 

Would it be a bad idea to start reading there? Or is The End Times series a sequel of sorts to another series?


----------



## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

The end times doesn't follow on from any books whatsoever, apart from who is who. It doesn't do characterisation at all, many are simply meaningless names, but most are notable characters. A quick google/read of the wikis gives you an idea of who they are if you aren't sure, but in short Nagash plan = extinguish life to stop chaos having his soul, chaos don't want that so try to kill him. Everyone else are noobs in the crossfire.


----------



## xxJoshxx (Jul 21, 2009)

Ah, so there are no references throughout the series as to what the characters have done in previous novels, no important plot points that come into play that are featured before The End Times?


----------



## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Not especially. This has been such a radical departure from the standard Warhammer Lore that it's a massive shock - only a few advances to the fluff, such as Vampire Counts Army book making mention of catching a High Elf Princess, and it being continued on in a few other army books were really mentioned. But there's no need to do that. There is more stuff that goes on in the End Times that's not contained within the novels - that stuff is contained within the army books and the End Times companion campaign books instead, but they get expensive quickly, and the information is little more than background fluff for characters.

And no - the series doesn't make a point of referencing other books (other than hinted at things, but nothing major), and actually outright changes the events or ignores them (such as many of the original novels which came out during the 2004 summer campaign for Storm of Chaos which was "End Times", before they fucked it all up and retconned it to never have happened).


----------



## kujwa (Dec 19, 2012)

i was in a similar point earlier this year. i've read the first Gotrek omnibus and that's it. decided to pick up The Great Betrayal and it kicked my ass. Master of Dragons, it's sequel was good as well. It's fantasy's version of HH, it takes place in the past and explains why the dwarves hate the elves so much. both books were easy enough to follow with a limited understanding of the fantasy universe.


----------

