# Starting point novel wise?



## Osp88 (Aug 29, 2010)

What are the best novels to start reading space marine /chaos space marine wise. I have no specific chapters in mind. just would like to start from beginning if possible. Saw a book called the founding, maybe that's where to go? any suggestions will help. ty


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

The wrong section, but I'll help.

If you want to start from the beginning, then I would recommend the Horus Heresy Novels, for even though _The Founding_ is a beginning of sorts, it's a beginning of an Imperial Guard regiment and written by Dan Abnett. Seeing as you're more interested in Space Marines, the Horus Heresy series will be fine for you I reckon.

Here's the order:

Horus Rising – Dan Abnett – April 2006
False Gods – Graham McNeill – June 2006
Galaxy in Flames – Ben Counter – October 2006
The Flight of the Eisenstein – James Swallow – March 2007
Fulgrim – Graham McNeill – July 2007
Descent of Angels – Mitchel Scanlon – October 2007
Legion – Dan Abnett – March 2008
Battle for the Abyss – Ben Counter – August 2008
Mechanicum – Graham McNeill – December 2008
Tales of Heresy – Compilation. Nick Kyme & Lindsey Priestley, editors – April 2009
Fallen Angels – Mike Lee – July 2009
A Thousand Sons – Graham McNeill – March 2010
Nemesis – James Swallow – August 2010
The First Heretic – Aaron Dembski-Bowden – November 2010
Prospero Burns – Dan Abnett – January 2011
Age of Darkness – Compilation. Christian Dunn, editor – April 2011

This book is available for order:

The Outcast Dead – Graham McNeill – November 2011

All of the below books haven't been released yet: 
Deliverance Lost – Gav Thorpe – January 2012
Know No Fear – Dan Abnett – March 2012
The Primarchs – Compilation. Christian Dunn, editor – June 2012
Fear to Tread – James Swallow – September 2012

Most of them are good books. In future, I'd recommend posting BL related works in the Black Library Forums. Also, if you haven't checked it out yet, check out Black Library's website here: http://www.blacklibrary.com/.


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## Coldshrike (Sep 9, 2011)

Yeah, absolutely start with the horus herasy.


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## Osp88 (Aug 29, 2010)

Sweet, most appreciated. Wasn't sure where to post. What about chaos space marines? or is that part of the horus heresy set? And also is the order you gave the timeline in which events take place as well?


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## Apfeljunge (May 1, 2011)

If you want 40k Chaos Marines i would recommend starting with Storm of Iron.
Lord of the Night is also excellent. It gives you a good impression of the Night Lord's mindset.
If you liked that you could read the Night Lords trilogy by Aaron Dembski-Bowden:
- Shadow Knight (short story)
*- Soul Hunter (novel)*
- Throne of Lies (audiobook)
*- Blood Reaver (novel)*
- The Core (short story)
*- Void Stalker (novel, 2012)*

Personally, I enjoyed the Word Bearers Trilogy (Dark Apostle, Dark Disciple, Dark Creed) as well but opinions are mixed on them. Expect lots of bolter porn and the Word Bearers really enjoy being evil.


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

The Horus Heresy focuses on how the chaos legions turned to chaos. For example, the first three opening novels focuses on the Luna Wolves / Sons of Horus / Black Legion's fall, and the fourth focuses on the Death Guard. The fifth focuses on Fulgrim's Emperor's Children, and so on.

Also, this is set before there were any Chaos Space Marines, so you may be a bit confused at first when the Black Legion are called the Luna Wolves and Abaddon is a loyalist, but the books are good nonethless, with a few exceptions.


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## Osp88 (Aug 29, 2010)

Sweet. THanks a million.


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## Xisor (Oct 1, 2011)

There's three older but pretty decent CSM books to start with: "Angels of Darkness", "Storm of Iron" and, now Print on Demand, "Lord of the Night".

I highly recommend them, each pretty damn interesting and easy to get in to; you don't need to know that much of the setting or things like that.

Well, anyway. They're good.

The Word Bearers trilogy start off well, I'm looking forward to reading the last two.

The SMB books are hit and miss and largely see no Chaos Marines in 'em. Only "Battle of the Fang" and "Hunt for Voldemort" feature 'em; and "Battle of the Fang" is certainly the strongest of them. Worth a look.

Of course, Aaron D-B's _Soul Hunter_ stories are quite delightful too. Though I'd keep them for once you're a bit further on with the reading, they're really good, but it'd feel like a bit of a step down moving on from them to other books. 

The HH novels are tremendous fun, but a lot of their impact might well be lost/weakened if you haven't caught more of the details of the setting. They're really enjoyable though, even the weaker ones.


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## Lubacca (Sep 4, 2011)

If you want to know that the Chaos Marines were like before they became so...then it would be HH. 

The Word Bearer trilogy is loved by many CSM fans but can be a bit of a stomach turner at time lol 

On the whole you've got a great variety to chose from.


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## Osp88 (Aug 29, 2010)

lots to keep me busy for awhile


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## Wusword77 (Aug 11, 2008)

If you want books that are more how the Space Marines currently are in the 40k Universe, compared to the HH books which are set 10k years prior to the game, I would go with the Space Marine Battle Novels. There are also many other books set in/near the current time period:

Ultramarines Omnibus I and II

The Nocturne Trilogy (About the Salamanders):
Salamander
Firedrake
Nocturne

Space Marines Battles:
Battle of the Fang
Fall Of Damnos
The Purging of Kadillus
Rynns World
The Hunt for Voldorius
HELSREACH

Space Wolf Omnibus I and II

Blood Angels Omnibus

and others

You also have several books which are a collection of short stories about different chapters by many different authors:

Hero's of the Space Marines
Victories of the Space Marines
Legends of the Space Marines

Best bet is really to head down to your local book store and see what Space Marine books they got in stock.

Or go here.


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## Osp88 (Aug 29, 2010)

Alot of them are ebooks it seems. What would I need in order to put them to use? an Ipod or something of the like?


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## Xisor (Oct 1, 2011)

At best, an eBook reader. You can download the Kindle software from Amazon so you can read them on-screen on whatever PC/Laptop you might be using.

Having an actual Kindle or eReader-something would help too, but it's not really needed.


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## Apfeljunge (May 1, 2011)

most should be available as paperbacks as well, but some are out of stock so you have to buy them somewhere else and probably used if you don't want ebooks.
If you're ok with ebooks you can read them on many devices. I personally have read some of the short stories on my iPod touch but thats probably not the most enjoyable way to read them.


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## Xisor (Oct 1, 2011)

Aye, like Apfel, I'm inclined to suggest avoiding reading on smaller devices like iPods or smartphones. It's doable, but a proper eReader or slightly larger tablet device makes for a better experience.

*As an Aside*

Print on Demand books are really nice. I've got a wee bundle upstairs, _Space Marine_, _Iron Hands_ and _Necromunda Omnibus 1_. They're a tad more expensive, but they're good value considering their nature (out of print, low demand, rare). Also, NO1 is a treasure trove. Absolutely massive, three novels and a bundle of shorts, all excellent (well, the novels are, I haven't read the shorts yet)!

Worth a look if you see any of the PoD books which catch your eye.


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