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So I i'm trying to get a couple novels (IG) and am wondering if there is any particular order they should be read in or if they are self-sustained stories?

love me some good fluffing

go imperial guard omnibus volume one, its good for those new to IG

The GG books are a series. The rest of the IG novels, IIRC, are standalone.

Alright thanks for the help, i'll be grabbing that from amazon asap

I've heard good stuff about Gaunt's Ghosts, but I've also heard most of the others suck quite a bit. Haven't read any, though.

'15 Hours' by Mitchel Scanlon is a great Guard book. It's short, well written, and best of all, equally accessible to 40k noobs and veterans alike. I've got an old dogeared paperback that I lend to friends to make new 40k players, and it's still my favorite 40k book.

*EDIT* it also appears to be included in 'Imperial Guard Omnibus Volume 1.

If you're interested in the Horus Heresy times, the novel Legion, while telling the story of the fall of Alpha Legion, is set from the point of view of the Imperial Army. Other than that, as has been said before, Gaunt's Ghosts is a great Imperial Guard novel series.

I haven't read any of the Imperial Guard novels that aren't Gaunt's Ghosts are novels. The first one in the series is the Founding and its a great read. I'm currently on the 3rd book in that omnibus and so far its amazing. I think you should start by reading that. Its a good read.

Try Cadian Blood if your up for some IG vs zombies. Its written by AARON DEMSKI BROWDEN THE BEST WRITER EVER!

KnightOfTheRaven wrote:Try Cadian Blood if your up for some IG vs zombies. Its written by AARON DEMSKI BROWDEN THE BEST WRITER EVER!

Bowden is fantastic; I actually enjoy his books more than Dan Abnett's.

The Caiphas Cain novels are alright if your looking for a more human perspective on the big bad 41st Millenium (indeed it involves its protagonist running away quite a lot), though it can be quite fun reading the writer's intentional knocks at other 40l writer's work- ie Cain shooting "Do you want to live forever?!" (the key line of Commissar Gaunt from Gaunt's Ghosts) at one point then remarking to himself only a complete tool would scream such a line. Other than those the novel "Imperial Glory" is a good read and presents what happens to Imperial Guard regiments when they're near the end of their career. Battered, made up from the remains of countless other regiments, the men of the Brimlock 11th only have one more fight before they can live out their lives in a simple garrison duty, but reality's nowhere near as kind as that (que Feral Ork horde on the horizone ^^).

Gaunts Ghost's series, first IG omnibus, Cadian Blood.

Oh and if you want a good IG tank book, Gunheads is a really good read.

The Caiphas Cain novels are alright if your looking for a more human perspective on the big bad 41st Millennium

Make sure you are ready for a bit of humor when you go into them. After one of my friends finished the first Ghosts omnibus he practically chucked the first Ciaphas Cain book I gave him at me because he was expecting the same thing. It's much less front-line storytelling and more of Cain's musings on how everything is going, though the action is there (they are supposed to be Cain's memoirs, after all). Personally I believe Dan Abnett is the better writer, but I like the Ciaphas Cain novels for the bit of departure from the blood, sweat and tears of the IG life. It's fun to occasionally look at some of the more personal and sometimes zany thoughts that probably go through every soldier's head more than they are given credit for. My friends and I got a good laugh making a list of all the women Cain has (or at least been heavily implied to) taken to bed somewhere in the midst of a planetary or galactic crisis.

It all depends on how 'accurate' you like your books to stay to the setting - there are some that take a lot of liberties with the studio material, such as the Cain books.

I've heard good things about Gaunt's Ghosts, though, and even though Dan Abnett too is known for occasionally deviation from GW's material, he is said to be an excellent writer. I still have that omnibus lying around here ... will probably get to it after having finished Enforcer.

GG books are great if not repetative. If you want to check them out don't forget Titanicus. It's not guard but it helps fill you in on the reason titans are delayed in the Gaunt series.

The Imperial Gaurdmens Uplifting Primier is great but not acctually a novel.

Cain books are comedy-hammer.

The first IG novel i read was the "Hammer of the emporer" omnibus, not sure where that fits in with the order of how the fluff is organized, but it was a good read. I recommend it.

DeffDred wrote:GG books are great if not repetative.

This is the problem with almost every long running series. I love the Ciaphas Cain books but I actually got about halfway through one of them before realizing I'd already read it! They're not straight up comedy novels but they've got more of a swashbuckling sense of humor about them that most grimdark blood and guts novels don't have.