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Just looking for a good read. Need something to do on the train to and from school.

I really enjoyed the first for Horus Heresy Novels (Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy in Flames, and Flight of the Eisenstein). I think it's fair to say that most people would agree on this.

Rynn's World was a good book, though there are a couple of things in there which seem a bit convenient or extremely unlikely to happen. Nevertheless, it's a well-written book and a solid read.

The 1st Gaunt's Ghosts Book - First and Only - was really good. The next two were still good books, but I didn't enjoy them as much, especially considering small bits of the third book read more like a concise report rather than a novel (but that might just be me). Beyond that, I don't know, but considering people generally seem to like them, the fact that there's 13 or so of them, and they're written by Dan Abnett, you can't really go wrong with them.

Other than that, I'm out. Haven't ever done much reading and only just finding my rhythm with the 40K books. Hope this helps.

 IllumiNini wrote:
I really enjoyed the first for Horus Heresy Novels (Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy in Flames, and Flight of the Eisenstein). I think it's fair to say that most people would agree on this.

Rynn's World was a good book, though there are a couple of things in there which seem a bit convenient or extremely unlikely to happen. Nevertheless, it's a well-written book and a solid read.

The 1st Gaunt's Ghosts Book - First and Only - was really good. The next two were still good books, but I didn't enjoy them as much, especially considering small bits of the third book read more like a concise report rather than a novel (but that might just be me). Beyond that, I don't know, but considering people generally seem to like them, the fact that there's 13 or so of them, and they're written by Dan Abnett, you can't really go wrong with them.

Other than that, I'm out. Haven't ever done much reading and only just finding my rhythm with the 40K books. Hope this helps.

Thanks for that. Would you say the books written by Dan Abnett are generally good?

 SixT4Pixels wrote:
Thanks for that. Would you say the books written by Dan Abnett are generally good?

No worries. And yes. In my (limited) experience with what he's written (as well as the apparent general consensus of the wider community), any short comings Dan Abnett has in terms of the content he has written in any given novel tends to be more than made up for by the content and quality of everything else in the novel.

I didn't used to rate Abnett but he's matured into possibly the BL's finest writer. His characters are generally nowhere near as annoying these days. He sticks to the fluff a bit more than he did in the utterly broken Gaunts Ghosts days. However all his novels start so heavily couched in their own jargon you'll be 50 pages in before some of them start to make sense.

His Heresy novels are by far the best IMO.

Everyone seems to love Graham McNeill but I find he takes forever to get anywhere. He spends five pages introducing each character, there is very little dynamism to his writing and he seems to veer between being bland and uninspired to being suddenly superlative, so I think some of his work is being ghost written or edited by someone else. That said, he does have vision, and while his writing is usually a chore to read, Fulgrim and The Last Church are excellent and I'd say mandatory reading.

The best 40k novels imo are the Night Lords books. Brilliantly written, albeit plotless and meandering, it's more like a year in the life of traitors who hate each other yet rely on each other for survival and purpose in a galaxy where they don't belong.

As you can tell, I kind of have a love hate relationship with the BL books. I don't think most of their writers show the quality the BL demands of newbies, but there are shining stars amidst the dross!

Storm of Iron. That is all.

Serpent Beneath, while a short story, is good. I often find the short story anthologies better, as the authors are forced to be less verbose.

Otherwise, I enjoyed Fallen Angels by Mike Lee. Pity you have to read Descent of Angels to fully enjoy it, because it has maybe the worst character portrayals I've ever read.

The Eisenhorn/Ravenor books by Dan Abnett.

The Rogue Trader books and Commissar by Andy Hoare.

I'm a big fan of anything that isn't totally Astartes orientated.

The Salamanders trilogy was a great read and what got me into building them as an army to play.

 NoPoet wrote:
I didn't used to rate Abnett but he's matured into possibly the BL's finest writer. His characters are generally nowhere near as annoying these days. He sticks to the fluff a bit more than he did in the utterly broken Gaunts Ghosts days. However all his novels start so heavily couched in their own jargon you'll be 50 pages in before some of them start to make sense.

His Heresy novels are by far the best IMO.

By Abnett I'd recommend the Inqusitors series, the third Gaunt book anything he's written for the HH.

I'm also a fan of Swallow, especially his SOB books.

Crusade for Armageddon by Jonathan Greene. It's got Black Templars, Orks, Guard, and just a ton of fun.

Betrayer is probably one of the better books I've read in the 40k setting: Made me feel for the World Eaters, all the while humanizing (and making me hate the bastards) Word Bearers a lot more. (Damn Erebus)

I very much enjoyed the Eisenhorn books. It's the only 40k series I've finished. It focuses on the non-Space Marine parts of 40k and shows how common people get by in the grim dark.

Sons of Dorn.

A book about Imperial Fists scouts and how they were recruited and their first scout mission. It goes in to some good detail regarding how new recruits are brought on board and what their first years in the Adeptus Astartes are like. And has some good action making you wonder if any of them will live long enough to wear Power Armor

 SixT4Pixels wrote:
Just looking for a good read. Need something to do on the train to and from school.

40k: Titanicus, Forge of Mars and some chaosstuff are pretty good.
Horus Heresy: Betrayer, Angel Exterminatus, The first Heretic, Mechanicum and some of the shortstorys are especially good.
Comics: Damnation Crusade and Demonifuge.

My opinion:
ADB, Abnett, McNeill and Lee are probably the best authors they have. That doesn`t mean, the others like Swallow or Reynolds are bad, they are somtimes good too.
The only ones I don`t like are Counter, Annadale and especially Goto .

Good read? I recommend Gaunts Ghosts. I love the story

Probably Necropolis (Gaunt's Ghosts book 3).

I don't read novels of 40k, but I can recommend Codex: Orks to anyone.

A Thousands Sons and the The First Heretic from the HH series are personal favourites. The Ahriman series is enjoyable enough and the Siege of Castellax, bunch I'm forgetting now...

Pretty much everything mentioned in the HH series, in this thread, I can back up wholeheartedly. Also, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Talon of Horus, that is literally the best novel I have ever read that wasn't in the HH series (I haven't read GG or the Inquisitor books, yet, sadly).

As far as authors go: Graham Mcneill can be very hit-and-miss, and, if you know absolutely anything about technical mumbo jumbo, avoid his Mechanicum series like the plague, I've only been in CTE classes for a few years, and it gave me cancer to read his sad excuse for pseudo-technical talk. Just about anything by ADB is going to be good, in my experience, James Swallow's stuff is overly verbose, but still makes for a good quick read, but never a re-read. Dan Abnett is fairly good, as well, from what I've read.

I'm a big fan of the Path of the Dark Eldar trilogy. It explores a bit of the 40k universe that's utterly fascinating but never gets much elaboration and every character is very entertaining, despite there being precisely two characters in the entire trilogy who aren't horrendous awful evil people.

 Robin5t wrote:
I'm a big fan of the Path of the Dark Eldar trilogy. It explores a bit of the 40k universe that's utterly fascinating but never gets much elaboration and every character is very entertaining, despite there being precisely two characters in the entire trilogy who aren't horrendous awful evil people.

Evil people often make the most interesting characters.

Blood Gorgons is probably my favorite, so I would definitely reccomend that.
After that, Legion is great, and the Grey Knights trilogy is wonderful. Same with Gav Thorpes dark angels series

Ben Counter has thrown enough gak at the wall for at least two good novels to come out, Galaxy in Flames and DaemonWorld.

The Iron Warriors Omnibus is a great read and I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the Gaunt's Ghosts series.

If you like books bout the IG, I got a few good books.

I love books about I. They aren"t super humans. You never know what"s going to happen to that sergeant you started liking while reading. He might get his head blown of or pull a heroic feat to save his commissar. You just don"t know. So heres the one I have read and enjoyed :

1. Hammer of the Emperor : it is an omnibus containing 3 stories by 3 different authors.

2. Honour Imperialis : Another omnibus containing 3 more stories by 3 different authors.

Books that actually make the guard look like what they are supposed to be. A force spread out across many planets made up of many different types of people but all in all, they all fight and die for the emperor. And they get gak done in the books.

Predator Prey was very good!

Deathwatch by Steve Parker.

I'm fond of that book more than the other 40K novels (there's none of the repetition of phrases or the bizzare 'mystical descriptions' that you get bogged down like in the Ahriman books (Yes, I LOVE the Thousand Sons but the whole 'meaning in everything so I'm going to describe everything without actually adding any meaning just *because*....... gets on my warp-tainted nipples)

 SixT4Pixels wrote:

 IllumiNini wrote:
I really enjoyed the first for Horus Heresy Novels (Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy in Flames, and Flight of the Eisenstein). I think it's fair to say that most people would agree on this.

Rynn's World was a good book, though there are a couple of things in there which seem a bit convenient or extremely unlikely to happen. Nevertheless, it's a well-written book and a solid read.

The 1st Gaunt's Ghosts Book - First and Only - was really good. The next two were still good books, but I didn't enjoy them as much, especially considering small bits of the third book read more like a concise report rather than a novel (but that might just be me). Beyond that, I don't know, but considering people generally seem to like them, the fact that there's 13 or so of them, and they're written by Dan Abnett, you can't really go wrong with them.

Other than that, I'm out. Haven't ever done much reading and only just finding my rhythm with the 40K books. Hope this helps.

Thanks for that. Would you say the books written by Dan Abnett are generally good?

The earlier ones are. Eisenhorn is the best place to start. The Gaunt's Ghosts books are great through to Sabbat Martyr. Traitor General is when it all starts to go hnnngh.

Execution Hour was a joy, and the Ciaphas Cain novels are the ones I reread the most.

The Ahriman trilogy by John French, especially the first book, impressed the hell out of me.

Most overlooked, and I feel the current best and most consistent author working for Black Library is Guy Haley. See in particular Baneblade for 40K. What could have been a simple 'crank out a novel for this kit we sell' turned into a whole lot more.

Most overrated - Aaron Dembski Bowden - Fanboys like to slobber over his stuff, as he is more active on the internet than many BL authors, Bolter & Chainsword in particular. I have never found any of his stuff more than of passing interest, then forgotten.