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Hey Dakka, some of my friends have expressed interest in the fluff surrounding 40K which I think is a good way to shoehorn them into playing.

Anyways, I was wondering which Black Library book would be the best one for an uninitiated to read. Preferably a self contained one because I don't want them to commit to a series as that may be too much too soon. Probably something staring the Space marines or something showing off the Imperial guard. The Cain books are good - great even - but it might not set the right tone for an intro.

Cheers in advance.

I would advise against the all to common bolter porn, it gives a really bad image of space marines as undefeatable bad asses, which in my opinion, is responsible for half the space marine whiners...ever. Cain books would be good, and they do set a good tone in my view. The humour is enough to be funny, but its still 'grimdark' and says that everything can be beaten. I would advise against eldar fluff, while good, needs a bit of back ground knowledge. Eisenhorn is a great book, very enjoyable, and I could only recommend them.

The Last Chancers Omnibus.

In the end only one person survives.

Places to start... hmm.

I'd definitely say First and Only or Eisenhorn ('Xenos' if you can find one of the now-rare individual publishings).

Titanicus or Priests of Mars are good places to get a wider view of the Imperium. Both have a slight AdMech tint, but include characters from across the spectrum - Priests of Mars especially includes AdMech, Imperial Civilian, Space Marine, Imperial Guard and Rogue Trader characters (about the only forces not represented are the Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition). Titanicus has titans, which is always awesome, heh.

I'd recommend a short story anthology, or a trilogy of self contained novels, like Hammer of the Emperor (Gunheads, Desert Raiders, Ice Guard). This gives a taste of the setting without committing to a long series like Gaunt, Cain, etc.

I would suggest the Eisenhorn trilogy. It includes snapshots of the daily life of regular folks in the Imperium, from Hive Worlds to quiet backwaters, Xenos, Space Marines, Chaos Cultists, bits of the AdMech, bits of the Ecclesiarchy and, of course, the Inquisition.

It's also a pretty damn good noir detective story, too.

Thanks for the info guys

 Happyjew wrote:
The Last Chancers Omnibus.

In the end only one person survives.

This was going to be my suggestion. It involves a few different races (Eldar, Tau, Nids are mentioned, Orks) and as it is about Imperial Guard the characters are easier to get to grips with and relate to on some level at least. It also introduces a few key areas/planets in the setting, such as Armageddon. And it involves some key themes such as the Inquisition, Daemons, Psykers and possession too.

Neat. Thanks again

ALEXisAWESOME wrote:Cain books would be good, and they do set a good tone in my view. The humour is enough to be funny, but its still 'grimdark' and says that everything can be beaten.

It's also a satire that features a pretty misleading portrayal of several factions when compared to the original material.

Anfauglir wrote:I'd recommend a short story anthology, or a trilogy of self contained novels, like Hammer of the Emperor (Gunheads, Desert Raiders, Ice Guard). This gives a taste of the setting without committing to a long series like Gaunt, Cain, etc.

Short story anthology has my vote! Seriously, this is what I recommend to anyone delving into the stories bit of 40k. Especially as the anthologies tend to feature stories of different factions and from different authors, all of whom have their own writing style and ideas of how stuff in 40k works. This should give you the opportunity to find a writer and/or a type of character you want to read more about, thus basically providing an excellent starting point for further book purchases.

Check out one of these, maybe. One or two may be out of print, but should still be available somewhere on the web:
Dark Imperium
Tales from the Dark Millennium
Let the Galaxy Burn

A codex, some d6, and an offer of 'free pizza'

^ That too. The big 6th edition rulebook actually has a pretty good fluff section that (unlike the codices) talks a bit about everything. Maybe just lend 'em that?

The Gaunt's ghosts series has the dark tone down, but it is an extremely lengthy series by now that's spawned it's own heavily self referential mini-continuity.

Short story anthologies like Fear the Alien are in my opinion a great place to start as they help you get a feel for the setting without the time sink that a novel or an omnibus can be.

Id Reccomend Storm of Iron probably one of my Favourite books. I love the swapping between multiple Characters and Enjoying every single side story in the Novel.

I'd recommend both the first and second volumes of Hammer and Bolter, they give you a good taste of every race (and every author as well) so you can use them as a good starting point. There is quite a bit of WHFB stuff in there, but it's all pretty good if they are at all into fantasy stories anyway.

They're good as an intro because you can get a good idea of everything without becoming too bogged down in endless character or sub-plots to follow. Of course, a good number of the shorts are tie-ins to other stuff, so the links are there for further reading.

Flesh and Iron. good story, plenty of grimdark.

Blood Gorgons. awesome book that isnt just Space marines killing everything, but also is.

i would suggest the flight of the eisenstein or storm of iron
both stories of good vs evil 1 from the good side 1 from the bad side ^^

Helsreach is a good choice if you want space marines being space marines.

I love me some Titanicus... other than the really annoying "author rear end pull" ending that is.

If bringing someone new to 40k for the first time. I would suggest the novella which ties in with the GW starter sets. "assualt on black reach" is a great short novella that gives names and backgrounds to the models in the starter set.

For a first book, I'd jump in the deep end. Go straight for Fear to Tread, in the middle of the HH series. Why bother with the introductory books?


For stand alone options: Helsreach, dealing with PDF and Black Templars against Orks. Good stuff.