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I'm not a massive reader of the fluff in 40k. But, I've read a few, and I've got a few that I like/dislike.
In my Happy camp;
-->Baneblade; this one is one of those I've read over and over. So much so that my IG army is a Paragon regiment (it's somewhere in P+M blogs)
-->Fire Caste; I only bought this one recently, but I fell in love with the intrigue and everything else
-->First and Only; discovered in my school library, and simply sublime IMO, set the tone for the rest of Gaunts Ghosts

In the not-so-happy camp;
-->Battle of the Fang; extreme plot armour, and a Primarch forgetting he's a Primarch
-->Seventh Retribution; it doesn't make any sense to me. The plot wasn't bad, but it seemed unrealistic even by 40k standards

Of course that's just me, my opinions are likely different to many others. So what does Dakka think? What are you guys best and worst 40k novels/books?

Best
Dark Eldar Path series (Including Masque the Vyle), great characters, great plot, great pace and really captures the essence of Commarragh. It'd be like describing inception.

Worst
Eldar Path series, very slow paced in one (Farseer), far to fast paced in another (warrior) and all in all very repetitive in the first and final scenes. Which I guess is the point, but they handled it poorly. Add that to ganky character development for ''Hey, I'm the main character. I am dead now, here is a new guy. I am dead now, highscore, you unlock Karandras!'' or ''Hey, I am a craftworld elder, because I like a girl. Hey, I'm now a ranger because I like a girl. Hey, I'm now a Corsair because I like a girl (This is more understandable, she was a Dark Eldar, they be CRAZY!)'' makes for a pretty disappointing series.

I haven't read those, too much IoM influence thus far. Maybe if they get stocked in my local bookstore I'll see

Mitranekh the Omniscient wrote: So much so that my IG army is a Paragon regiment (it's somewhere in P+M blogs)

You can find your own threads by clicking on your name at the top of the forum menu.

I can't really say I have a favorite. 40K novels are something of an anomaly for me, in terms of the kind of novels I'd be willing to dedicate time to. I listen to most of the Horus Heresy novels on audiobook because I apparently hate myself, since they're pretty mediocre most of the time, sometimes just spanning into outright bad.

I'd pick one of the old school books like the uDeathwing Anthology. Or maybe the original Eisenhorn series. 40K was a much darker and more forbidding universe back then. Much gloomier stories with much better atmosphere. The modern fluff is a little too cartoony sometimes. So while the stories might seem darker, they go OTT and become less engaging.

My personal top 5 at the moment would be;

1/Gaunts ghosts -Necropolis (my undisputed favorite 40k book ever)
2/ Storm of iron
3/ cain - 1st omnibus (always read it as one so cant distinguish storys as read as one story arc. but the ork story is my favorite of them)
4/ gaunts ghosts - traitor general
5/ fire caste (only recently finished it loved it)


Books ive not liked
Legion of the damned -
Ultramarines killing ground
Dead men walking

There are others that have been just meh like the valhallan and voystron guard books, but thats all I can think of at the moment.

Can't think of a favourite though my 3 worst reads (only in the 40k universe, they're god sent compared to what else I've read!)

- legion of the damned
- death of antagonis (SO disappointed here)
- blood angels omnibus (only read the first)

I really did enjoy the first de book they did thinking about it, looking forward to the rest.

Best:
- Inquisition War
-For The Emperor
-Scourge the Heretic


Worst:
-The Ultramarine books by McNeill
-Path of the Eldar books
-Space Wolf books

Best for me is Dead Sky, Black Sun.

It is the perfect 40k setting. A super powerful human warrior finds himself in a hopeless situation, caught between a demon prince and the most eeeeeeeeeevil bastard you've ever met, who spawns new creations by forced pregnancy. Such a brutal book, great writing.

Best:
Warriors of Ultramar
Dead Sky, Black Sun
Courage and Honour
Chapter's Due
Priests of Mars
Titanicus
Desert Raiders
For the Emperor

Satisfactory:
Caves of Ice
Dead Men Walking
The Greater Good
Fear the Alien

Bad:
The Killing Grounds
Nightbringer
Heroes of the Space Marines (most of them, anyway)

That's all I can think of at the minute. I try not to read novels hailed as bad in the first place, so my bad list is fairly short.

The first two books in the Salamanders omnibus are pretty good. I will agree with a couple of people and say The Killing Ground is probably the worst I've read.