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Eisenhorn is my first recommendation every time. Best 40k series I have ever read by far.

Other than that, I have enjoyed the HH series so far. But I'm only 8 books in. Definitely read the first 3-5, then pick and choose what sounds interesting. In general, I am a fan of Dan Abnett. I have yet to go wrong with him, so any of his books.

I would also recommend picking up collections of short stories. I've personally read Heroes of the Space Marines, Fear the Alien, and Treacheries of the Space Marines. I like the variety they provide, even if you get the occasional bolter porn story.

Voidraven5829 wrote:
Aaron Dempski-Bowden, IMO, writes the best stuff on traitor legions. He really shows how the legions fell and shows the reasons why, rather than simply tell you.
The First Heretic is my buddy's absolute favorite Horus Heresy book. It walks through the fall of the Word Bearers and gives you insight into jusy how manipulative Erebus is.
A good one to follow First Heretic (read calth first though), is Betrayer. This also follows some of the characters from First Heretic as well as Kharn and Angron! This is a close second favorite of mine, and shows how World Eaters are more than just berserk meatheads.
But by far, my favorite (by Dan Abnett) is Angel ecxterminatus. Im a big IW fan, and this book just makes the 4th legion shine. There is so much light on Perturabo and his legion, it really shows that Pert, despite his harshness and relative cold towards everything is just a front to hide his fears about himself.

Those are my favorites, and since reading (and rereading) them, other HH books just don't seem as deep. Could just be bias, lol.

The First Heretic is also my absolute favourite. It goes far beyond what you'd expect from a Warhammer book and the themes it deals with are universal. Of course it's also about the Word Bearers going off the deep end but at its core, the book is about embracing the truth, even if it's a truth you hate and at the cost of cost of your soul. It's pretty heavy stuff.

The part about the Pilgrimage is also really epic. I think it'd make a good story on its own, even outside the 30k/40k setting. There's plenty of demons and daemonic possession in the book but nothing specifically about specific Chaos factions (though a myth with pilgrims with names very similar to the four chaos gods journeying to the Eye are mentioned).

Another book that shouldn't be missed is The Talon of Horus, also by ADB. There's nothing specifically about Tzeentch or Slaanesh but the protagonist is a Thousand Sons sorcerer and one of the main characters is from the Emperor's Children. The Talon of Horus also goes beyond the usual Warhammer fluff and deals with much deeper themes. I still have two chapters left but so far this book is almost as good as The First Heretic and the scope is even more epic, with a pretty diverse cast (since it's about the founding of the Black Legion - there's even a Dark Eldar character, and of course a daemonic familiar, as part of the main character's entourage).

Events take place in the aftermath of the Scouring but the main character is telling the story in 40k - almost ten thousand years later. And there's flashbacks to the heresy, so the scope of the story is pretty huge. It's also oddly inspiring, even if the cast is almost entirely evil. It's about finding renewed purpose in an insane existence and holding on to what's left. Even though the characters acknowledge Chaos, they refuse to become slaves to it and try to hold on to what's left of their sanity. It's quite intriguing.

Overall, I'd say ADB writes the deepest stuff. I haven't gotten around to the Night Lords series yet but I've only ever heard good things about it. Prince of Crows is also excellent and Betrayer is pretty solid. My only gripes about him are that I'm not really a fan of his interpretation of the Dark Angels (ironically, they're my favourite legion ), even though he does make them very capable, and that he fanboys a bit too much about his own characters, making them somewhat OP and bending the rules for them.