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Hi there,

I am fairly new to WHFB. I've been very interested in all things Warhammer since I was 12 but just recently started collecting and painting, couldn't afford it when I was younger. But better late then never!
I'm a big fan of the High Elves and would love to read some books about them, but I don't know where to start.

As someone who isn't very familiar with the world of Warhammer, and barely know the story behind it all, where should I begin reading?
Would The Sundering be a good start, or do I need to know more about the world to understand it?

I'd prefer starting with something that focuses on the high elves, but if needed I could go with just about anything that gives me a good introduction to the Warhammer world.

Your suggestions is much appreciated!

The Time of Legends series is pretty good for getting some background info.

For High Elves I would recommend Defenders of Ulthuan and Sons of Ellyrion as I feel they did a pretty good job telling of a High Elf vs Dark Elf battle.

I haven't read these ones but there are about high elves as well: Sword of Caledor, Blood of Aenarion, The Sundering (is a 3 in 1 book. I've read Shadow King and greatly enjoyed it), and The Great Betrayal.

Overall I enjoy most of the Fantasy Novels I have read so far.

The Sigmar omnibus is pretty good. That being said, the Gotrek and Felix saga is some of the best stuff the Black Library has produced for Fantasy. They fight all sorts of different enemies, so it will give you plenty of insight into the forces of destruction. That or it will make you want to make a dwarf army. Either way, good stuff.

The only fantasy novels i've read are WoC ones, Sigvald and Valkia both of which i thought were excellent. The Sigvald book inspired me to start a WoC army and i have yet to regret it. Very fun army to play with.

Gotrek and Felix novels by William King are quite fun.

I personally enjoy the collection of short stories. The books give you an insight into multiple areas of the Warhammer world. Plus, some of the best stories I've ever read have been short stories for both Fantasy and 40k.

I have a few of the Slayer novels (Troll, Skaven and another) by Bill King from years ago. They're nice little collections, and quite amusing in places.

Not HE specific, granted, but still worth picking up.

I'd also reccommend the main rule book, to be honest. That has a few pages devoted to each army and has a massive timeline.

Brunner is one of the best black library books i have ever read. Its about an empire bounty hunter.

I'll second the suggestion for Defenders of Ulthuan/Sons of Ellyrion, as they do a pretty good job of introducing High Elf culture, their enmity with the Dark Elves, and have a decent plot. They also feature a fair few of the HE characters, Tyrion, Teclis, Finubar, Korhil, Allarielle and Eltharion I believe, and for the DE you get a few chapters from Morathi and Malekith. Pretty good series, to be honest, and with some great characters and A LOT of awesome fight scenes.

From the bits I have read, Blood Of Anaerion by Bill King looks pretty good, as does the Sundering. If you want a more general introduction to warhammer fiction, and don't mind a bit of 40k, check out volumes 1&2 of 'The best of hammer and bolter'. They feature tie-ins with most of the major series, and cover every race, with some real gems in there as well.

The Sundering is a great place to start. High Elves are kinda tragic (imo) like the Dwarves are and this trilogy really sets that up well.