Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

WHFB and 40K have been on my peripherals for years, but it was a certain MMO (which broke my heart), the first Gotrek and Felix Omnibus, and my own hunger for fantasy that finally got me into the hobby. I've always been a hardcore fantasy nerd and have considered 40K to be WHFB's slightly doofy brother. Because I knew only the bare bone lore and facts about the universe.

However, after reading about things such as Elysian Drop Troops, Raven Guard, and the Tau (yes, Tau in general) I've become more and more interested in the sci-fi side of Warhammer (as well as sci-fi in general) Lore psyches me up more for a new fictional universe than anything.
So what I want to know is this; If you could point at any two or three 40K books and say "Those! Those right there are the perfect introduction to the grim darkness of the far future!" which ones would it be?

Helsreach by Aaron Demsky Bowden.It has Orks, Imperial nobility, Imperial Guard, Space Marines of two varieties and Titans!

For new readers, I always recommend short story anthologies such as Dark Imperium or Tales from the Dark Millennium. They provide you with a selection of stories about various different factions, written by various different authors, so that you will be able to pick which author suits your own personal preferences the best.

"What book you like most" usually just boils down to "this is what I love" - and needless to say, taste differs between people.

Gaunt's Ghosts are good for getting the idea of the Guard.

Titanicus is great for fans of the Ad Mech and Titans.

Brothers of the Snake is alright for some basic Space Marine knowledge.

If you can find (or download) Slaves to Darkness and Legion of the Damned they're great for Chaos history.

Avoid Eye of Terror at all costs. That... and The Soul Drinkers. Terrible books.

Horus Rising - the first book in the Horus Heresy saga.

Ravenor series

Eisenhorn series

Ravenor and Eisenhorn are inquisitors. Ravenor starts off as one of Eisenhorn's team then ends up running his own team.
I prefer Ravenor myself but both are good.

The single most perfect introductory book to Warhammer 40k is Let the Galaxy Burn. Not the Horus Heresy novel, but the short story anthology edited by Marc Gascoigne and Christian Dunn.

Since it covers such a broad number of topics (including almost every faction) it gives a greater slice of the spectrum than most of the other anthologies. It covers nearly 40 stories, and the authors and topics range the gamut from Lovecraftian suspense stories to hard boiled military action pieces.

The reason this makes such a good starting point is that it enables you to identify the factions, authors, and story types you would like to learn more about. I didn't realize, before I picked it up, that stories about Inquisitors were so interesting to me. I thought I hated the Imperial Guard, and that I loved the Dark Angels. (As it turns out, after reading a couple of stories about each, my opinions on those scores reversed entirely!) Since the 40k franchise is so large, it incorporates a number of styles, which appeal to wholly different tastes. Finding out which factions (and which authors) cater to your tastes will help you narrow down which other books you might want to look into. You might even discover a passion for a faction you'd never heard of, or given much thought to before!

In any event, I hope that helps.

Eisenhorn and Ravenor. Best way to see the imperium away from the battlefield.