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Made in au
Road-Raging Blood Angel Biker







'lo there

As I become more immersed in the 40k hobby I become more interested in reading the novels. I want to start reading proper sets of the books and don't have heaps of money so I was wondering who people thought was the best writer to begin with?

The only one I have read so far is Ahriman and I was actually quite surprised at how decent it was, as I was a bit sceptical coming into it.

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Dan Abnett's stuff is generally regarded as good quality and he's written novels for a lot of different factions. I'd give him the gold overall.

Sandy Mitchell does the only humorous 40k novels so I guess she's the best writer of those?

C.S. Goto is generally regarded as the best writer of multilasers. If you want to read novels about multilasers, he's your choice there.

   
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Elsewhere

I would recommend you to search for good books instead of good writers.

I refuse to pick a single writer. I´d give you four in alphabetic order
1: Abnett, Dan. Classic.
2: Counter, Ben: warning, quite irregular.
3: Dembski-Bowden, Aaron. New star rising.
4: McNeill, Graham . Classic.

A suggestion: read a compilation. This way, you will get a feeling on how good are the writers.

Last thing: here are some threads that may interest you:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/556672.page
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/478224.page
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/517434.page#5557897

‘Your warriors will stand down and withdraw, Curze. That is an order, not a request. (…) When this campaign is won, you and I will have words’
Rogal Dorn, just before taking the beating of his life.
from The Dark King, by Graham McNeill.
 
   
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Inside Yvraine

Does ADB really count as a new star when he's been writing for the BL for 4 years, and has been critically acclaimed for 3?

Anyhoo, I can't really pick one writer because they all have flaws that have gotten increasingly annoying over the years.

1. ADB: Recycles characters (Hyperion is Talos is Argel Tal is Kharne), plays favoritism with certain factions and lets his personal beliefs for how 40K works or should be bleed too much into his writing.

2. Dan Abnett: Went from being my favorite author, with fantastic writing in Eisenhorn and some of the Ghost novels, to being the least interesting on my list. Relies on plot armor and action movie cliches too much (even for a BL author), can't write an ending to save his life.

Graham McNeil: Philosophical diarrhea. The man can't stfu when he gets on a roll with his warrior-poet characters. Storylines tend to basically be soap-operas but with hulking super-soldiers instead of white women. His actions scenes are rather bland and uninspired compared to the often times more visceral scenes (from ADB) or epic, blockbuster-esque set-pieces Abnett describes.

Those are the big three of the BL, really. Sure, you've got William King, John French, Gav Thorpe etc etc. But I would argue that their appeal to the fanbase is much more niche compared to the Big Three.

Of those three, McNeil is actually the highest on my list atm, only because of Angel Exterminatus, which was pretty damn good. The last three things I've read from Abnett- Legion, Know No Fear, and Salvation's Reach were all very disappointing to me, and I wanted to strangle ADB after reading Betrayer and watching him spend half a page describing how much better the Utlramarines were than the World Eaters at basically everything only for them to get their asses kicked anyway because "lol they had something to live for and the World Eaters dun't".

This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2013/11/13 12:40:01


 
   
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 Badablack wrote:


Sandy Mitchell does the only humorous 40k novels so I guess she's the best writer of those?

C.S. Goto is generally regarded as the best writer of multilasers. If you want to read novels about multilasers, he's your choice there.



Sandy Mitchell is actually a dude named Alex Stewart.

Do not spend your monies on C.S. Goto books, unless you like severe disappointment and regret.

As for the writers, Dan Abnett is good but likes to make his own impression of the game world which is very different from what the "company writers" (Codex, rulebooks, etc) do. Not a bad thing but can be jarring if you are versed in the GW "official" universe.

Ben Counter is good, recently has also started to make his own mark on the fluff (Seventh Retribution, wtf?), earlier stuff is more formulaic 40k warporn.

Dembski-Bowden is good, but after reading most of his Marine books you get the nagging feeling the layout is all the same just with different characters. Also, do all marines really have to be snarky, really?

Graham McNeill is good, not really any pros or cons other than that.

Nick Kyme is good, mostly Salamanders with a few side books though.

Steve Parker in my opinion is the real rising star, other than Rynn's World his stuff is solid and has a lot of character. Looking forward to more of the Deathwatch stuff.

   
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 BlaxicanX wrote:

Anyhoo, I can't really pick one writer because they all have flaws that have gotten increasingly annoying over the years.

^This.
That´s why I recommended to search for good books instead of good writers.

‘Your warriors will stand down and withdraw, Curze. That is an order, not a request. (…) When this campaign is won, you and I will have words’
Rogal Dorn, just before taking the beating of his life.
from The Dark King, by Graham McNeill.
 
   
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Reading, UK

I think the ones I have complained about the least are Chris Wraight, Dan Abnett and ADB

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First off ... C.S. Goto is amazing. Back flipping terminators .... BACK FLIPPING TERMINATORS! I'm sorry, but if you can't have fun with that then you might be dead inside. lol/jk


McNeill:
Storm of Iron was my first McNeill book and it was amazing. "Chapter's Due" was also a good read imo. Everything else I've read of his tends to bleed together into a sort of bland, colorless verbal gruel that really doesn't have me itching to read more.

ADB:
Three fantastic Nightlords books that may be some of the best books BL has put out so far. He (again, imo) tends to do the best job of any of them in terms of making super-human killers interesting and relatable and I've found him to be the most consistent of the BL authors I've read so far. He CAN get a little formulaic though.

Adnett:
Not a fan.

Werner:
The only book of his that I've read was siege of Castellax but I really enjoyed it.

Reynolds:
His Word Bearer's trilogy was great!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/11/13 14:02:59


Edit: I just googled ablutions and apparently it does not including dropping a duece. I should have looked it up early sorry for any confusion. - Baldsmug

Psiensis on the "good old days":
"Kids these days...
... I invented the 6th Ed meta back in 3rd ed.
Wait, what were we talking about again? Did I ever tell you about the time I gave you five bees for a quarter? That's what you'd say in those days, "give me five bees for a quarter", is what you'd say in those days. And you'd go down to the D&D shop, with an onion in your belt, 'cause that was the style of the time. So there I was in the D&D shop..." 
   
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 BlaxicanX wrote:
The last three things I've read from Abnett- Legion, Know No Fear, and Salvation's Reach were all very disappointing to me


Wat

I know it's a matter of opinion, but I -loved- Legion...

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 BrotherHaraldus wrote:

I know it's a matter of opinion, but I -loved- Legion...


It is a lovely book... until that final twist in the last 15 pages.
Spoiler:
- OK filthy xeno, we are totally loyal to the Emperor. Why shouldn´t we kill you right now?
- Because we have this completely wild theory that says that you must become traitors to save mankind. No wait, to destroy mankind so the rest of the galaxy survives.
- So I am to destroy humanity to save you?
- Totally. Humanity is doomed no matter what happens. (Quote: page 393: "the races of the galaxy would be spared, through the sacrifice of the human race"
- Have you got any proof?
- Nope. Sorry. But you can get your head into this xeno machine and you will see things our way.
- Well I don´t see the reason not to... (inserts head in machine)... oh my! You were right! We are turning traitors right now!

What was that?

When I think of Abnett I think of Eisenhorn (highly recommended) and the Gaunt´s Ghosts.

‘Your warriors will stand down and withdraw, Curze. That is an order, not a request. (…) When this campaign is won, you and I will have words’
Rogal Dorn, just before taking the beating of his life.
from The Dark King, by Graham McNeill.
 
   
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What was that?


EXACTLY! 3/4 of the book is about how careful, cunning, and paranoid the Alpha Legion is. Right up until, for no apparent reason, they're NOT. lol

Been eyeing Eisenhorn btw but I haven't liked any of Abnett's stuff so far. Is it really that much better then his usual fare?

Edit: I just googled ablutions and apparently it does not including dropping a duece. I should have looked it up early sorry for any confusion. - Baldsmug

Psiensis on the "good old days":
"Kids these days...
... I invented the 6th Ed meta back in 3rd ed.
Wait, what were we talking about again? Did I ever tell you about the time I gave you five bees for a quarter? That's what you'd say in those days, "give me five bees for a quarter", is what you'd say in those days. And you'd go down to the D&D shop, with an onion in your belt, 'cause that was the style of the time. So there I was in the D&D shop..." 
   
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The burning pits of Hades, also known as Sweden in summer

Tycho wrote:
What was that?


EXACTLY! 3/4 of the book is about how careful, cunning, and paranoid the Alpha Legion is. Right up until, for no apparent reason, they're NOT. lol

Been eyeing Eisenhorn btw but I haven't liked any of Abnett's stuff so far. Is it really that much better then his usual fare?


Well... Selective memory ftw? /shrug

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/11/13 14:48:28


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Well... Selective memory ftw? /shrug


+1! You've convinced me. I'm picking it up today.

Edit: I just googled ablutions and apparently it does not including dropping a duece. I should have looked it up early sorry for any confusion. - Baldsmug

Psiensis on the "good old days":
"Kids these days...
... I invented the 6th Ed meta back in 3rd ed.
Wait, what were we talking about again? Did I ever tell you about the time I gave you five bees for a quarter? That's what you'd say in those days, "give me five bees for a quarter", is what you'd say in those days. And you'd go down to the D&D shop, with an onion in your belt, 'cause that was the style of the time. So there I was in the D&D shop..." 
   
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I find that my enjoyment of 40K novels hinges on who the antagonist is. If its one of the armies/races I enjoyed playing (Orks for example), then I typically hate any novels involving them, because I can't help myself from getting annoyed at how pathetic all of the writers make them.

Seriously, if the books are anything to go by, Orks are a minor annoyance at best.
   
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 ClassicCarraway wrote:
I find that my enjoyment of 40K novels hinges on who the antagonist is. If its one of the armies/races I enjoyed playing (Orks for example), then I typically hate any novels involving them, because I can't help myself from getting annoyed at how pathetic all of the writers make them.

Seriously, if the books are anything to go by, Orks are a minor annoyance at best.


Try Helsreach. A lot of people are dead at the end, and it's all due to those dastardly Orks!

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Inside Yvraine

 BrotherHaraldus wrote:
 BlaxicanX wrote:
The last three things I've read from Abnett- Legion, Know No Fear, and Salvation's Reach were all very disappointing to me


Wat

I know it's a matter of opinion, but I -loved- Legion...


The first quarter of the book was about some no-name Imperial Army characters and their melodrama. For some dumb reason, Abnett thought it was a good idea to make a cast where literally every single woman in the book (they were the commanding officers, for those who don't remember) were whores who's latent psychic powers made them super promiscuous. The two main characters spend most of the book dealing with their "love affairs" with these women, and other nonsense.

The last quarter of the book detailed the Alpha Legion being a bunch of gullible idiots who turn against the Emperor and slaughter the Imperial Army because "lol Xenos told me too." Fantastic.

The middle of the book details the human characters having soap opera shenanigans while the Alpha Legion mostly stands around ominously, which we're supposed to interpret as being "Oooohh, mysterious".

Not to mention, it presented the worst sub-plot in the Horus Heresy series: the Perpetual crap.

So yeah, I kind of hate that book.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/11/13 21:26:03


 
   
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I love Graham MacNeil and Dan Abnett. Great authors, both of them.

 
   
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Dan Abnett, Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Chris Wraight, Guy Haley are all top notch writers imho. In fact there is quite a good stable of writers in Black Library now including....

John French has one novel out which I enjoyed (Ahriman: Exile) and is working on the sequel now. He also has several short stories I have loved.

Rob Sanders should also do more 40k as he is really good at it. I enjoyed Legion of The Damned quite a bit.

Steve Parker has written some fantastic stuff with in his Deathwatch novel and short stories as well as Rynn's World. Very exciting stuff.

   
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 Badablack wrote:
Dan Abnett's stuff is generally regarded as good quality and he's written novels for a lot of different factions. I'd give him the gold overall.

Sandy Mitchell does the only humorous 40k novels so I guess she's the best writer of those?

C.S. Goto is generally regarded as the best writer of multilasers. If you want to read novels about multilasers, he's your choice there.



Pretty much this, only for me, Dan's tied with Aaron. They both have good and bad books, but they're still of good quality as apposed to some other authors of the Black Library. I think it's pretty definite however that Dan writes Primarchs better than ADB.

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Abnett, hands down for me. His non-warhammer stuff is excellent also.

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I better question is first asking you what faction you're most interested in. If you want guard, Abnett is awesome, he's my personal favorite. Eisenhorn, Double Eagle, and Gaunts Ghosts are all good reads of his.

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While I was really disappointed with Gav Thorpes Eldar Path series, being quite boring (With a small exception for path of the outcast) but I can sing nothing but praises for the Dark Eldar Path series. Interesting Characters, quick storyline and great action scenes as well as find a way to make you root for the 'bad' guys, Andy Chambers has to be my favourite. With hounerable mentions going to Dan Abnett for Eisenhorn and to Sandy Mitchel for being what brought me to black library (Young teen who doesn't want bolter porn? Bring me cowardly commissars!).

 
   
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There is no such thing as a "best writer". Every author has their own personal style, and their own interpretation of 40k as a setting - just like every fan.

Which is why, for example, I disagree with a good number of the abovementioned names.

My recommendation, instead, would be to get a short story anthology from Black Library. They tend to feature a dozen or more nice little stories from a variety of different authors, allowing you to get an idea of their take on the setting and their style of narration.

- Dark Imperium
- Tales From the Dark Millennium
- Let the Galaxy Burn

There's probably some more, but the above feature a nice mix of both authors as well as factions.

It's kind of like a trial version of 40k fiction! Find an author you like, then buy their "full" books.
   
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 Lynata wrote:

My recommendation, instead, would be to get a short story anthology from Black Library. They tend to feature a dozen or more nice little stories from a variety of different authors, allowing you to get an idea of their take on the setting and their style of narration.

- Dark Imperium
- Tales From the Dark Millennium
- Let the Galaxy Burn

Seconded.

I would add some more recent compilations, but the concept is neat.

‘Your warriors will stand down and withdraw, Curze. That is an order, not a request. (…) When this campaign is won, you and I will have words’
Rogal Dorn, just before taking the beating of his life.
from The Dark King, by Graham McNeill.
 
   
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UK

 da001 wrote:
 Lynata wrote:

My recommendation, instead, would be to get a short story anthology from Black Library. They tend to feature a dozen or more nice little stories from a variety of different authors, allowing you to get an idea of their take on the setting and their style of narration.

- Dark Imperium
- Tales From the Dark Millennium
- Let the Galaxy Burn

Seconded.

I would add some more recent compilations, but the concept is neat.


Thirded, and if you're looking for a bit of everything (40k, HH, Fantasy) then I'd strongly recommend the Hammer and Bolter compilation, there's some great stuff in there whatever your taste, and loads of it ties in to series so it's a good starting point if you find something you really like.

 
   
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Dan Abnett writes great Warhammer stories and his original fiction is also very good (I enjoyed Embedded immensely).

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I really like ADB and McNeill.

I was shocked to find that I really didn't like Abnett, though. The Eisenhorn books have great flow and interesting stuff (easily the best introduction to the 40k universe), but it grates on me how utterly stupid all antagonists are, and how easy it is to resist corruption on his stories.
Spoiler:
He and his barely pay any price for their unorthodox slide. He gets some bad rep, but none of his entourage are corrupted no matter how many hellscapes they visit and forbidden artifefacts they use. Even when Glaw strikes back, pretty much everyone with a name survives the 'onslaught'. It's as if in Star Wars the Empire killed Uncle Ben and Aunt Beru only in the last movie after never showing them onscreen.


After that, Know No Fear was pretty much bolter porn. It's literally 100 pages of underhanded treachery and death followed by 130 pages of ultramarines killing 3 heretics per swing of the sword, being saved in the nick of time by allies 4 times in a row, Word Bearers making saturday morning cartoon villains facepalm and so on. It doesn't bring that many new insights into Gulliman and all Ultramarines characters are interchangeable.

It actually made me laugh out loud, how at one point the characters are all worried about how they have no weapons to fight this terrible daemon menace when the total Ultramarine character death toll against daemons is
Spoiler:
a big goose egg.

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I would suggest picking up something like:

Space Marine Omnibus by Christian Dunn
ISBN13: 9781849704854
ISBN10: 1849704856

This way you get a sampling of the plethora of authors in the Black Library stable.
   
 
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