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I haven't read much Dark Angels stuff until recently when I read Pandorax (which I really enjoyed). It's made me think about reading Gav Thorpe's "Legacies of Caliban" series (starting with "Ravenwing.")

What is the best place to start reading Dark Angels? And in what order?

Thanks,
-RD

PS - I'd read more Imperial Fists.....if someone would WRITE SOME.

Pick up the Space Marine Omnibus if you like Fists, it has a comic by Dan Abnett and either one or two Imp short stories, along with other good short stories.

Also, irregardless of what you or others think of Descent and Fall of Angels, you should read both to start. Descent of Angels takes place before the Great Crusade and features life on Caliban, the Order, the Lion and Luther's relationship, and the coming of the Imperium to Caliban. Fall of Angels is less mandatory, but still gives some backstory to the Fallen, who Cypher probably is, and the Lion at war.

I'd heavily recommend the Legacy of Caliban series, which fleshes out the modern chapter to an extreme degree, and really is a must-have for any Dark Angels fan. Currently two of the three books have been release.

And if you can find a copy, Angels of Darkness is a prequel-ish to the events of Ravenwing from Legacy of Caliban.

this one
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2596527-deathwing

Tells the origin of the bone color of the Dark angel terminator squad

I think the fluflf about Ezekiel TwoHeadsTalking is absolete now, is it not?

 Jehan-reznor wrote:
this one
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2596527-deathwing

Tells the origin of the bone color of the Dark angel terminator squad

That book is retconned/irrelevant. The Native American part of the Dark Angels is dead (which is good as it never made any sense) and long, long gone.

There are also small novels about Sammael and Azrael. But I don't like them. Venerable Lion's Wrath misfiring, really?

Also there is Pandorax series about Abbadon, Kharn and other Chaos biggies versus Dark Angels, Grey Knights and Imperial Guards. There a book, audio book and some small novels I think.

 Reinokarite wrote:
There are also small novels about Sammael and Azrael. But I don't like them. Venerable Lion's Wrath misfiring, really?

Also there is Pandorax series about Abbadon, Kharn and other Chaos biggies versus Dark Angels, Grey Knights and Imperial Guards. There a book, audio book and some small novels I think.

The audio book is worth buying alone to hear Kharn speak with an angry russian accent.

I always knew Putin was Kharn.

Yeah, Putin the Terrible, the scariest president in the world.

BTW there also good peace of fluff about DA during Heresy in Unremembered Empire.

The Descent of Angels and Fallen Angels. The Descent is awful, but a lot of the references and build up helps with Fallen Angels, which imho, is the best wh40k novel and an okay read.

The main characters in Descent, Zahariel and Nemiel, are booooooooring, but they are portrayed differently in Fallen, where they are actually interesting.

 ChazSexington wrote:
The Descent of Angels and Fallen Angels. The Descent is awful, but a lot of the references and build up helps with Fallen Angels, which imho, is the best wh40k novel and an okay read.

The main characters in Descent, Zahariel and Nemiel, are booooooooring, but they are portrayed differently in Fallen, where they are actually interesting.

Even in books, children are always bloody annoying and boring.

 Wyzilla wrote:

 ChazSexington wrote:
The Descent of Angels and Fallen Angels. The Descent is awful, but a lot of the references and build up helps with Fallen Angels, which imho, is the best wh40k novel and an okay read.

The main characters in Descent, Zahariel and Nemiel, are booooooooring, but they are portrayed differently in Fallen, where they are actually interesting.

Even in books, children are always bloody annoying and boring.

Eh, I like it but I'm beginning to sound like a broken record repeating myself

Descent is like the reviews say - a lot of people hate it because it doesn't follow the storyline set up in the first few books and takes place before the Heresy. Others really like it because it lovingly sets up a believable and immersive world and slowly builds up from that.

After the Horus Heresy books, Pandorax, Purging of Kadillus, Angels of Darkness, Ravenwing, and Master of Sanctity seems to be the chronological order of things. The Unforgiven comes out in June and could answer a lot of the questions regarding the fallen and the destruction of Caliban, judging from the way Master of Sanctity ends.

I thought that the Horus Heresy books were OK. Almost all the first book is background, but the second one is not bad at all, except for not actually ending the story of the destruction of Caliban.

 Wyzilla wrote:

 Jehan-reznor wrote:
this one
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2596527-deathwing

Tells the origin of the bone color of the Dark angel terminator squad

That book is retconned/irrelevant. The Native American part of the Dark Angels is dead (which is good as it never made any sense) and long, long gone.

Still a cool story though

Ascension of Balthazar and Trials of Azrael deserve a mention. Neither are spectacular and both are very short audio dramas, and I swear I want to tear my ears off when I hear the 'roar of a plasma gun' go 'tsew', but they're nice little bits of Bolter Porn starring some popular characters.

What is the best place to start reading Dark Angels?

Short answer, don't.. the Dark Angels are devious.. period

 EngulfedObject wrote:

 Wyzilla wrote:

 ChazSexington wrote:
The Descent of Angels and Fallen Angels. The Descent is awful, but a lot of the references and build up helps with Fallen Angels, which imho, is the best wh40k novel and an okay read.

The main characters in Descent, Zahariel and Nemiel, are booooooooring, but they are portrayed differently in Fallen, where they are actually interesting.

Even in books, children are always bloody annoying and boring.

Eh, I like it but I'm beginning to sound like a broken record repeating myself

Descent is like the reviews say - a lot of people hate it because it doesn't follow the storyline set up in the first few books and takes place before the Heresy. Others really like it because it lovingly sets up a believable and immersive world and slowly builds up from that.

I don't mind the storyline or that it takes place before the Heresy; I dislike it because the writing's sub-par, badly paced, and uninteresting characters. Authors trying to jam "OMG THIS CHARACTER IS AWESOME AND PERFECT AND EVERYONE AROUND HIM ARE BAD AND SHOULD JUST LISTEN TO HIM BECAUSE HE'S SO AWESOME ERHMAGERD!!!" down the reader's throat is also pretty bad.

I dislike it because the writing's sub-par, badly paced, and uninteresting characters.

This.. unfortunately.

 ChazSexington wrote:
I don't mind the storyline or that it takes place before the Heresy; I dislike it because the writing's sub-par, badly paced, and uninteresting characters. Authors trying to jam "OMG THIS CHARACTER IS AWESOME AND PERFECT AND EVERYONE AROUND HIM ARE BAD AND SHOULD JUST LISTEN TO HIM BECAUSE HE'S SO AWESOME ERHMAGERD!!!" down the reader's throat is also pretty bad.

I think we've had this conversation before in another thread but again, isn't it implied that the narrator is Zahariel/Cypher? The point of making him a nice guy is to emphasize his fall - and how the Fallen were somewhat unjustly sent back to Caliban and abandoned by the Lion. It's also somewhat ironic that his cousin is the one who gets to stay at the Lion's side instead of Zahariel. And he's also the Dark Angel's chance at redemption, depending on how things play out.

Also, it could be argued that Luther is the real star of the novel. Even the intro says Luther is the key.

Myliel wrote:

I dislike it because the writing's sub-par, badly paced, and uninteresting characters.

This.. unfortunately.

Have you read Fulgrim? That novel is sub-par, badly spaced, and has uninteresting characters. Descent is actually descent. It's main flaw is that it is seemingly unrelated to the Heresy, though it's vital for understanding the Dark Angels.

I say give it a try while keeping an open mind about it. Just don't go in expecting stuff about the Thramas Crusade and marines slaughtering each other. Action-wise it's got plenty of monster slaying, techno-knights fighting each other (yea I know how that sounds, more in this sense: http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Techno-barbarian), with an actual siege battle, and a Great Crusade compliance. But it's really more about the Order and how it shaped the Dark Angels.

Seeing as most of the DA stuff was written by Gav Thorpe, don't bother.
No one can write, or know's where to take the DA's. Not so much the author's fault, just the way DA are. That's why they get multiple author's, i think.
Though they were well on the way to trucking with Khaos at the time. They didn't get excommunicated.

If you want FIst's, You can't not read Space Marine, by Ian Watson. Laid a lot of the ground work for what the fluff has become, Or the Soul Drinker's set, (probably Ben Counter's best set) they don't seem to be Dorn's son's, but at the end, on the Phalanx they stand shoulder to shoulder with Pugh and his fist's.