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Idea shamelessly reverse stolen from >here<. This thread was also probably reverse stolen, but oh well.

My nomination is any of the books in the Eisenhorn trilogy, by Dan Abnett (Ravenor was also an epic trilogy but some of the situations just seemed a little more improbable).

I love BL but have never gotten round to either of those trilogys.

"Empire" was particularly good, as was Horus Rising, Legion and Flight of the Eisenstein.

Oddly one of the best I have read was by the much maligned C.S. Goto - Salvation. Its almost Hitchhikers Guide in places.

I read a Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns back to back and they will forever have a place in my memory as epic.

Just started Fulgrim. What HH book should I read next?

Thats tough.

For HH I like First Heratic, but the earlier ones were just as good.

The Gaunt's Ghost's series is the best written. I joke with my fiancee that the 40k novels are like harlequin romance novels for guys, but Abnett's writting is better than any of the other BL novels I have read

I'm blanking on the name currently... but the new Raven Guard book was really really good. It picks up right after the drop site massacre, and the inclusion of the Alpha Legion was excellent.

The first BL book I ever read still is embedded in my mind: Storm of Iron. I liked the tale told from the Chaos point of view, having a CSM who has the "pure" ideal of chaos embedded in Honsou, then having the drifting veteran in Forrix, followed by the Iron Warrior Bezerker champion.

It had a good plot, a epic battle, and even the outside looking in perspective from a regular old Imperial Guard Grunt or 2.

To me it would have to be Storm of Iron, Lord of the Night, or Fifteen Hours.

njpc wrote:I'm blanking on the name currently... but the new Raven Guard book was really really good. It picks up right after the drop site massacre, and the inclusion of the Alpha Legion was excellent.

Deliverance lost

Titanicus
Mechanicum
A 1000 Sons

Prospero Burns and the latest Gaunt's Ghost novel... Salvation's Reach I think it's called.

Abnett figured out how to do Space Marines, and it makes a world of difference to the fiction. These two books are just above and beyond the others.

Honorable mentions of Titanicus, Lord of Night, and the first book in the Word Bearers trilogy make my list.

I second Eisenhorn. It *so* needs to be a movie.

The Night Lords novels by Aaron Dembski Bowden have my vote. Soul Hunter and Blood Reaver, and Void Stalker this spring. For me they went above and beyond the usual pulp sci-fi that most 40k books are and into some genuinely solid sci-fi territory. They're very good, especially for licensed fiction.

I'd have to go for the second "Sundering" book: Shadow King.
Considering how enthralled I am with the Chaos lore, and how little I care for Elves that probably saying something!

I'm in the middle of Deliverance Lost and it feels like a return to form for the HH series. They series started well, but then ran into what felt like an editorial problem: Everybody can see the end in sight, but how long can they draw it out? Feels a bit like things are moving forward again.

Also, the Ciaphas Cain books are a lot of fun. (Even if they tend to say "had I known what was to come I'd never have gone there/done x" every other chapter).

The Malus Darkblade books.

The books I have read and enjoyed the most?

Broken Honour by Robert Earl
Trollslayer by William King
Zombieslayer by Nathan Long
Grimblades by Nick Kyme
Fallen Angels by Mike Lee

Though, the book and series I take EVERYWHERE with me and have read about 30 times each are

Helsreach by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
and
"The Soul Drinkers" books by Ben Counter

For me, it has got to be the gotrek and Felix books, especially the second anthology where they're up against grey seer thanquol in Nuln.

I'm also pretty fond of the old Kal Jerico comics they used to do

The Ciaphas Cain omnibus'?

I also like Eisenhorn Trilogy.

The Ciaphas Cain series

I like A Thousand Sons and Fulgrim. Both had very indepth, well developed characters and creative but not ridiculous plot lines.

Mechanicum and Ciahphas Cain.

From what I've read so far, Storm of Iron or Eisenhorn.

I personally loved "Status: Deadzone" from the really old Black Library days. It was a collection of Necromunda short stories from places like "Inferno!" magazine (anybody remember that?) and it really tickled my fancy. Shame I lost my copy.

...Of course I'm a Necromunda junkie, so I may be a bit biased.

Besides Eisenhorn, which always shows up automatically in threads like these because it's in its own league, I have to mention the Matthias Thulmann: Witch Hunter omnibus. It seems like a lot of people overlook this trilogy, but I find it absolutely fantastic.

winterdyne wrote:I second Eisenhorn. It *so* needs to be a movie.

I'd rather each book become a 10-part series ala Game of Thrones.

That said, 'The Triumph' would be amazing to see on the big screen.

If hey count (and thEy do because BL reprinted them) I'll pitch in withe the original inquisitor series by Ian Watson. They where so much more Grim Dark than the current books and a bit less up to 11 on everything.

+ Grimm the squat engineer for the win!

Oh no. You mentioned the Inquisitor series. That's like a beacon for Kyoto to come in here and start quoting Watson's weirder lines of prose...

I like either Legion or First Heretic. We are ALL Alpharius.

Some of the early ones (that really didn't care about canon) were pretty decent, like Drachenfels and the short story collections (Ignorant Armies etc). It is early work by folks like Baxter (who got much better) and Newman/"Yeovil" (who got a little better) but, again, that could be because it is nearly 20 years since I read them. Everything I have read afterwards have either been amusing pulp, like the Eisenhorn/Inquisitor books, or middling to bad pulp, like the Horus Heresy novels. I do not think this is because 40k/WHFB novels necessarily need to be bad, but because canon-straightjacketed novels almost always fall by the wayside - this applies equally to Battletech novels, Black Library novels, all of the Star Wars expanded universe series I have read, and will, in all likelihood, apply to PP's upcoming novel project. The problem, I think, is that burgeoning writers who are not allowed to freely visualize and change their own setting always will have problems writing to the best of their abilities, and the people that can write good fiction in fixed settings (like the good historical novels out there) are not attracted to these kinds of fictional universes. It might change, but I do not think any of the current franchises will be the ones to experience it.

I always link to Stephen Baxter's article in matters like these, so why not do so again: http://www.vectormagazine.co.uk/article.asp?articleID=42

I will personaly go with "only in death" by Dann abnett, its one of only 2 books to keep me up until 4am to finish it. I don't think I have to say anything else about it.

I will also throw "Rynn's world" by steve Parker, althought this one is a very biase opinion. Its a simple, straight forward and no brainer book with plenty going against it. What I enjoyed so much about it, is that unlike many other Space marine book, it gives the superhuman there humanity back. The simple conflict between Kantor and Cortez throught the story simply gives me that simple feel that althought they are no longer an other human in the IoM, they represent everything it means to be one. IMHO

I just love the books Sword of justice, Sword of Vengance.
ive also read most of the horus heresy books but i would still go with those to as my favorites