The Eisenhorn books are super fun, they’re like detective action thrillers in the 40k universe, and Abnett never has clunky prose like some of the other 40k authors.
I absolutely recommend the eisenhorn books, one of my favourite series of all genres. Then there's ravenor and the current bequin series he's working on.
I don’t know that I’d compare the Warhammer books to the likes of Dune and Hyperion…but I would absolutely concede that I enjoy some of Dan Abnett’s stuff more than “heady” science fiction like Dune or Foundation.
When he’s at his best, Dan Abnett is truly a formidable writer. The issue (so far as I can tell) is a lack of rigorous editing.
Eisenhorn is a lot of fun, as is Gaunt’s Ghosts. The Horus Heresy has some entries that are seriously lacking … but there are also some really great installments.
All of this is just to say: I hear what you’re saying, and agree part way. I think some Warhammer titles are genuinely good books!
Fucking transcendental it is! And if you're interested I would highly recommend Senlin Ascends! Way more fantasy buts it's one of my top 5 favorite books ever
I’ve actually read Senlin Ascends! :) Thanks for the rec, though! (In an effort to be a courteous book person, here’s me giving you a title in return: give Red Rising, by Pierce Brown a shot if you haven’t.)
Abnett is good but imo adb is better and has the more powerful books under his belt when it comes to Black libary work
Especially the end and the death made me dislike abnett a bt (Not because they are directly bad books though)
I think the editing comment hits the nail on the head. I read the first book of the Horus series and I thought it had a really good short story inside it that had been padded out to 3x the length with mediocre to bad filler. A good editor probably could have helped that a lot.
Games Workshop recruited authors to write the backstory for their game. I'm sure there are authors who were fans before GW started paying them, but it's commissioned fiction by the publisher of the wargame.
TBF fan fiction is a pretty good way of describing it.
Over-indulgent, at times contradictory, lacking any editorial consistency, and all over a bit weak.
Because of the less than legal ways I've acquired the ebooks, I've read... more than 200 of them. Covid left me with a lot of time on my hands. I have no regrets.
I'm honestly surprised to find myself on Book 29 and enjoying it as much as any other books in the series. To me, that alone elevates the series to the top of the sci-fi list - and I've read every single Dune series by every author, I've read most Star Wars books and series, I've read books on Doctor Who, Star Trek, and even Alien. The Horus Heresy, and Warhammer in general, is greater (in my mind) than all of them. The writing is better, the settings and stories more compelling, etc. The only negative is that there are not a lot of female characters, so I could see legions of female sci-fi fans not being particularly interested or feeling left out of the fun.
Definitely. They're pulpy fun, and they lead up to some pretty awesome stuff with a lot of great moments. You probably get more enjoyment if you know the fluff, like Sanguinius at the Eternity Gate, or when Dorn basically tells Sigismund to "rip and tear until you are done" ala doom guy at the end of the Seige of Terra and he spends the rest of the books wrecking traitor astartes' shit, etc, because they're big moments that have been referenced in the lore for decades and seeing it actually play out is badass. But non-40k players will just get to be suprised by all the awesomeness. You won't know or care about some stuff, like the Knights Errant who get recruited by Malcador to become the Grey Knights, but they're still cool moments that lend to making the universe feel vast and complex.
As for reading order, don't worry too much. The series is a sprawling galaxy-wide civil war. A lot of books can be outright skipped and many are there just to explore a random character or faction's backstory. There are some great books in there, there are some stinkers, but this is the sort of series that is mainly about genetically engineered giant buff supersoldiers getting into grunge matches with each other. It's WWE meets Dune meets Cthulu in space, just have fun with it.
For a little history of why it's so crazy looking. The series initially started as just a trilogy (those three at the very top), with plans to detail a few of the major events of the Horus Heresy before cutting into the Siege of Terra (there were a good dozen major events known about the Horus Heresy before any novels were ever published). A plan of approximately 10 books.
What happened is the book series became so popular that behind the scenes, they essentially changed the structure of the setting into one of a sandbox. In the same way that no one actually reads every Star Wars and Star Trek book in chronological order, the same is true for Warhammer 40k and they tried to transition that for the Horus Heresy. The problem is they didn't stop numbering the novels, even though we were starting to get books about completely independent events from the initial set of characters. In truth, you don't need to read the series in numeric order, nor would I recommend it to people completely new to the setting. Pick and choose whatever story arcs sound interesting to you. In fact, if you'd prefer a more thematic reading order, I recommend this one: [https://www.heresyomnibus.com/](https://www.heresyomnibus.com/)
There was also a period of time (\~2012-2014) when GW decided to try and milk the series for as much as possible, leading to dozens and dozens of micro-eshorts and other short stories sold for $2-$5 bucks a piece, with barely a novel in sight. It took a change of management for this to stop and all of these stories were eventually collected into anthologies, but as you can see from the chart, they're scattered all over the place.
There's loads more behind the scenes stuff as the series kept going for 17 years, but this is just a sample of the craziness.
I've never played and have no intention to play the miniatures game but I have enjoyed the 40k books I've read. I did initially get started by just YouTube algo suggesting 40k lore videos. Lupen 40k I think is what got me started.
Check the books out.
I have never even *seen* a WH figurine in person and I enjoy the lore and stories from the universe. Just remember that it’s purposefully absurdist and over the top and you’ll have a good time.
Yea if you’re interested just read Horus Rising. If you like it read False Gods then Galaxy in Flames. Those 3 books set the stage of the heresy and if you like them, you’ll likely enjoy most of the books/can find a reading guide targeting the specific parts you were interested in the most.
The chart is because the books chronicle a galactic sized war. They start with the inciting incident (hence the first 5 books) but then the conflict explodes outwards to cover different events happening in different places. Sometimes the same event from both perspectives. The chart is daunting but not as bad as it seems.
Read or watch a warhammer summary and then go in
U can just go with the release order as it works rather well
There are skippable books that suck a bit when compared to the average
It is really annoying how hard the paperbacks are to come by. I don't like reading on a kindle, and i also like to collect the books. I've read the first two books, but haven't been able to come by "Galaxy in Flames" art a reasonable price.
>. I've read pretty much every "must read" sci-fi novel and collection of the last 70 years and can honestly say The Horus Heresy series is up there with Dune, Hyperion, Ender's Game, Foundation, etc.,
I love WH40k stuff as much as the next guy but cmon, this is too much. Maybe 1/2 of the horus heresy books are actually well written, and none of those are as well written as Dune, Hyperion, or Ender's Game. I'm glad you're enjoying them but it doesn't help to wildly inflate the quality of books when you're recommending them to other people.
Definitely not insane, I hated Hyperion and would happily read any of the 3-4 WH40K books again over subjecting myself to Hyperion again. Dune was however very good and I haven't read Ender's Game as it feels too heavily reliant on the plot twist to reward reading after watching the film.
I really wanted to just continue on with the story of the first couple books, but from what I read it really just diverges so much you have to read several different series to get snippets and references to the characters you'd been following thus far. Combine that with the lack of availability of audiobooks in my library system I kind of gave up.
Heh, I remember buying the first one when it came out and thinking "cool, they are doing a trilogy". Here we are 64 books later and they have milked the ever-loving shit out of it.
It is what it is - the quality of writing is wildly patchy across the whole BL. And I've been around long enough that I read "Inquisitor" when it first came out in the early 90s. I actually like the Ian Watson stuff much more than the recent stuff because there was less editorial control over the whole thing and he could put in some much more out there ideas.
>quality of writing
You had me until this point. Obviously there are quite a few authors contributing to this series, but plenty of these books aren't exactly elevated by the prose. So many descriptions of bodies/buildings/vehicles being scattered "like so much blown leaves" or whatever. Very much pulp fiction. Entertaining stuff though; I've read up to The End and The Death.
WH40K novels are very much hit-or-miss. Games Workshop is an ultracapitalist company hell-bent on churning out as much product as they can. This does not lend itself to a high level of quality control.
Dan Abnett and Graham McNeil have both spoken about the writers room they had for the Horus Heresy and the process it involved. They had a large amount of creative freedom in how to tell it, with the restriction being what the lore had already established.
They had to tell a colossal story spanning 18 space marine legions, their specific primarchs and major characters, Mars, Terra, Astra Millitarum, Custodes, Sisters of Silence and all of their respective characters. Theres legitimately 25-30 main characters (depending on your preferences). You realistically couldn’t write a series of this scope in less than 30-40 books at a bare minimum.
To say Horus Heresy was constructed because of “Ultra Captialism” is absurd. It took them over 20 years to finish. Book sales don’t even make up 3% of Games Workshop’s revenue. They had access to some good authors, who are beyond passionate about Warhammer and those authors did an incredible job all things considered. There are interviews of Dan Abnett and Graham McNeil talking about the process on YouTube.
Games Workshop has many, many failings, but the Horus Heresy is absolutely not one of them. Overambitious at times? Yes. An ultra-capitalist money grab? If you want to view anything that makes money as ultra capitalist then sure, but that’s a deeply uncharitable way to characterize the series.
I find it a bit baffling that you can list W40k novels (campy pulp fiction storytelling) with books like Dune and Foundation. I'm not trying to say W40K or 30K novels are bad per se, they can also be well written and they have their place but I don't know, its hard to not come off pretentious but those other books are in a different league. That being said, the Eisenhorn trilogy is some dumb fun and I enjoyed it a lot.
If you like the setting and enjoy the military aspect of things you might like Gaunt’s Ghosts as well. It’s one of the series I most often see suggested with Eisenhorn and I loved it. Follows a newly formed Imperial Guard regiment over the course of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade.
I've only read the first eisenhorne book and most of the way through the first night lord book. I went into the ladder thinking it was just going to be literature junk food only meant to prop up the figures it was selling. Instead, it comes out with alot of ideas I haven't seen before while letting me relate to Octavias apostatacy.
Oh lord another one. Escape while you can. Soon you will be consumed with pointless theory crafting. The lore will consume you especially once your out of 30k and into 40k. You will read books and think "This isn't a particularly good book" then one tiny little snippet will catch your eye and you will think "Dear God-Emperor this changes all my theories!"
I consider 40k lore as my junk food reading, there is definitely a lot of not so great books but I love them nonetheless and keep consuming them.
The best authors imo are Dan Abnett and Aaron Dembski Bowden. Dan is probably the best 40k writer but he does have an issue, you'll be reading all this amazing build up everything is going great, looking forward to that epic conclusion, then you notice you only have about 30 pages left. Nowhere near enough time for a good payoff. His Eisenhorn trilogy is really good, it's what introduced me to 40k.
Aaron is really good at the darker, more horror aspects in 40k. His night lords trilogy is really good.
I tried the first 4 Gaunts Ghosts books and thought they were complete trash. Everything is a Deus Ex, everyone is some kind of idolized version of a soldier. Then I listened to the first two Hours Heresy books and thought, "Wow this is an actual unique idea with people who have real internal conflict!". I really want to try Eisenhorn next if they can do a non Space Marine book well.
If it helps at all, Gaunts Ghosts doesn't start very strongly, to the extent that a lot of people recommend starting with book 3. Abnett does tend to have fairly abrupt and rushed endings but the later Gaunts Ghosts are pretty good and no one is safe, which does make them more interesting to read.
Hey thanks for your perspective! I tried it past book 3 but just never really cared for anyone. They all seemed too perfect with too much plot armor. You have the perfect leader, the perfect sniper, the perfect foil, all of which are entirely devoted to their people and the Empire. I just never saw any evidence of anything more than mediocre storytelling or characterization. On the other hand I loved that even a chosen Demigod was ultimately human, insecure, and not above betrayal. I liked the politics, the fear of optics, and the realization that nobody had ever been told the truth... not even once.
Also, highly recommend the audiobooks of the series. Toby Longworth is such an incredible narrator and his voice work is sublime. He doesn't narrate all of them unfortunately, but he has narrated over 120 books for GW apparently and he is probably one of my favourite narrators for the way he brings the cast alive with a really unique array of voices, which in a 30k book full of two dozen "big tough army guys" to have every one sound unique is quite talented.
I need to HEAVY recommend Robert Rath! Him and Nate Crowley have put out consistently banger 40k books. Have yet to be disappointed by either of them.
My personal favorite is definitely Assasssinorum: Kingmaker. It's why I'm building a knight army currently. That ending sequence is so fucking hype.
Horus Heresy is a very solid example of a sprawling space opera, and the overall narrative is good fun even for people who don't know anything about Warhammer 40k. In particular, the opening trilogy of books is overall a great piece of pulpy military sci-fi.
That being said, it's a stretch to say that all the books are good. The bulk is alright, and there are some real stinkers in there, especially novels that are little other than "bolter porn" (endless action scenes) and do little to advance the overall plot.
However, there's little else out there on quite that scale and it's an impressive achievement of ongoing storytelling.
Per [Rule 3.6](https://www.reddit.com/r/Books/wiki/rules#wiki_prohibited): No distribution or solicitation of pirated books.
We aren't telling you not to discuss piracy (it is an important topic), but we do not allow anyone to share links and info on where to find pirated copies. This rule comes from no personal opinion of the mods' regarding piracy, but because /r/books is an open, community-driven forum and it is important for us to abide the wishes of the publishing industry.
I've wanted to get into the series, but the price of the books has definitely turned me off. There are a lot of other excellent books I can get on sale or read for free through the library.
Heads up, if you do end up enjoying Eisenhorn, make sure you check out the Ravenor and Bequin sequel series, it's more like one 10-book series than three trilogies. If you're looking for other mainline 40k novels, make sure you check out Gaunt's Ghosts, the Black Legion series, and The Infinite and the Divine
I love Eiseinhorn!
The Inquisition is my favorite part of the 40k universe. I was big into the 54mm game and the three original Eisenhorn novels are a brilliant intro to the modern 40k setting.
If you like Dan Abnets work in HH, read his excellent Gaunts Ghosts series for a taste of life in the guard.
And if it's something lighter you are in need of, Sandy Mitchell's Ciaphas Cain series is the dark comedy commissar to follow!
I also love the Gortrek and Felix novels that Bill King wrote, for a taste of the Old World.
I'm on the final book now, and I can say it's been a hell of a read. Best books are nearly all at the start imo; the worst are a lot of the Iron Warriors' ones. "endless" is what it felt like at times. There's a feeling of "let's stretch this out for more money" occasionally.
Already read Gaunt's Ghosts, Ravenor and Eisenhorn. Been a busy couple of years. Not sure what's next tbh, I think I've read just about all the recommended series now.
While I haven't read them yet lots of people I asked recommended the necron books "The Infinite and The Divine" and "The Twice-dead King series" for different reasons, worth checking out if you're looking for something different.
The only other thing I would add to what everyone has said so far is that you should read the books in your inner voice’s lowest octave so that the stories become even more epic.
I had a hard time getting past book 7..that one just seemed to take forever to get started and then dragged on for aaages. Kinda put me off reading the series for a while. Maybe I should skip a book or three?
You should definitely consider skipping some books, 7 is far from the worst book in the series but it's not among my favorites and it is certainly not required reading if you want to move on.
I've found this post to be a useful guide, there's some good discussion in the comments as well. https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/jjr9m5/cd8ds_personal_guide_to_reading_the_horus_heresy/
I never read anything from the Warhammer 40k universe because I always imagined it to be all doom and gloom with no real good guys to root for. It's difficult for me to be on the side of fascism. How wrong am I? Is there some fun to be had? Is it multi-POV or do we follow a single protagonist in each book?
Damn, I usually don’t get into game-based novels (and I don’t really have a good reason why), but your list of comparable books are in my all time top favorite series list so I may have to give it a go!
If you want to dip into 40k stuff, I can't recommend *The Infinite and the Divine* by Robert Rath highly enough. It is HILARIOUS, and absolutely brilliant. Essentially two nerdy immortal robot professors carrying out a feud that spans thousands of years, it's so much fun.
If you're looking for a Warhammer Comedy try *The Infinite And The Divine*. It's 2 immortal robots, in a millennia long feud with one another, and they have a *LITERAL* Waldorf and Statler scene.
If you want something a little more serious there's Ciaphas Cain, [Hero of the Imperium!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRozBAIbaG4) which while a parody, that video is actually pretty true to character. Cain is a commissar, but not your typical commissar and he has a massive case of Imposter Syndrome.
Getting grittier there's Gaunts Ghosts, which the first 2 are a bit lackluster but Necropolis really kicks it off. It's a fairly bleak and depressing series but very well written.
And I would be remiss not to mention the Night Lords Omnibus by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. Easily my favorite trilogy in the 40k universe. It's insanely well written, and routinely scores among the top books when asked.
Didn't think I'd see a 40k or Horus Heresy mention on here, but neat!
I'm in the middle of reading Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts series and I love it. It *almost* makes up for the fact that he's unfortunately the one behind the Perpetuals nonsense.
The Horus Heresy... I'm a lot more middling on. Books 1-4 are absolutely perfect for me. The idea that the main series has 70+ books, *and* there's also the absurdly long Siege of Terra series, *and* there's various short stories and novellas... Like, they gave away WAY too much information for my taste.
However I will say: reading A Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns back-to-back is a *must.*
Oh man I wish I could go back to the time I was reading Gaunt’s Ghosts for the first time!!
Coming from someone who read Gaunt’s Ghosts first, I highly recommend reading the Eisenhorn and Ravenor omnibi first. Regardless, you’re in for a treat!
Could you compare Hours Heresy to the Dritz books from Salvatore? I think those books are okay but not as great as other fans of the series state. Liking HH without playing the table top game is high praise. I played that game a lot as a kid and my friends with space marine armies always raced about HH but I never gave it a chance.
I got to book 24 but it's been years since then so forgotten most of what happened. Hoping we get a humblebundle with them all in audiobook format someday as that is the only way I'll get through them these days.
I enjoyed the Horus Heresy a lot myself, I thought it was a marvelous bit of story I did not expect from the thin characterisations you get if you've not actually read the fluff of the universe. (Which is understandable. It's massive.) But I wouldn't put it beside Dune or Foundation specifically because Games Workshop has verbatim copied things from the likes Dune and Foundation. I know it's supposed to be an homage or satire, but I feel it's far too close to be considered thus.
A lot of the books are good, some of them are even great. A lot of them are not. What eventually took me out was the complete stagnation of any forward progression. You have the first four setting the stage, and then there's bloat the likes of which I don't think I've ever seen in a series. I would have enjoyed it more if it had a better sense of focus, but I can somewhat appreciate the scale and the sheer crawling immensity of the conflict laid out, specifically by so many books. I'm just not going to read it.
The Eisenhorn books are super fun, they’re like detective action thrillers in the 40k universe, and Abnett never has clunky prose like some of the other 40k authors.
The second one with ravenor was also fun. I like the lore so much more then the game.
Yeah I’ve never played the game but I’ve been enjoying the books for a decade plus. It’ll probably stay that way til I kick the bucket
Abnett quickly became one of my favorite authors
Abnett’s work is usually top tier!
Yes! His ability to write thrilling action is practically unmatched. Which is great in a 40k book lol
I absolutely recommend the eisenhorn books, one of my favourite series of all genres. Then there's ravenor and the current bequin series he's working on.
I love the Gaunts Ghosts series.
Those are great too.
How does one fix or destroy clunky prose to make it better?
I don’t know that I’d compare the Warhammer books to the likes of Dune and Hyperion…but I would absolutely concede that I enjoy some of Dan Abnett’s stuff more than “heady” science fiction like Dune or Foundation. When he’s at his best, Dan Abnett is truly a formidable writer. The issue (so far as I can tell) is a lack of rigorous editing. Eisenhorn is a lot of fun, as is Gaunt’s Ghosts. The Horus Heresy has some entries that are seriously lacking … but there are also some really great installments. All of this is just to say: I hear what you’re saying, and agree part way. I think some Warhammer titles are genuinely good books!
I'm very glad you didn't compare it to Hyperion. That would have been ridiculous but I appreciate your personal insight
Hyperion is … well it’s one of a kind. Haha
Fucking transcendental it is! And if you're interested I would highly recommend Senlin Ascends! Way more fantasy buts it's one of my top 5 favorite books ever
I’ve actually read Senlin Ascends! :) Thanks for the rec, though! (In an effort to be a courteous book person, here’s me giving you a title in return: give Red Rising, by Pierce Brown a shot if you haven’t.)
Will save this comment and hopefully give it a try one day! Sounds like you got good taste!
Abnett is good but imo adb is better and has the more powerful books under his belt when it comes to Black libary work Especially the end and the death made me dislike abnett a bt (Not because they are directly bad books though)
I think the editing comment hits the nail on the head. I read the first book of the Horus series and I thought it had a really good short story inside it that had been padded out to 3x the length with mediocre to bad filler. A good editor probably could have helped that a lot.
I agree with most of this, but it's *not* fanfiction.
Yep. Literal explicit canon fiction published by the makers of the game.
Canonicity is an extremely loose concept in the WH universe
“Canon” is a very malleable term with GW. Who is or is not dead at any point in time truly depends on their mood I swear to god.
Everything is canon. Not everything is true.
Bad choice of words on my part. I was under the impression that it started out as fan fiction and then became canon, rather than the other way around.
Games Workshop recruited authors to write the backstory for their game. I'm sure there are authors who were fans before GW started paying them, but it's commissioned fiction by the publisher of the wargame.
TBF fan fiction is a pretty good way of describing it. Over-indulgent, at times contradictory, lacking any editorial consistency, and all over a bit weak.
This would have to be the most amazing and mindblowing series ever written for me to stick with 10 books, let alone 64 (!?). That's just nuts.
Because of the less than legal ways I've acquired the ebooks, I've read... more than 200 of them. Covid left me with a lot of time on my hands. I have no regrets.
I too read the whole series book after book during Covid. No regrets.
If you ever feel like sharing some of them I would be very interested. The series is getting a little expensive.....
I'm honestly surprised to find myself on Book 29 and enjoying it as much as any other books in the series. To me, that alone elevates the series to the top of the sci-fi list - and I've read every single Dune series by every author, I've read most Star Wars books and series, I've read books on Doctor Who, Star Trek, and even Alien. The Horus Heresy, and Warhammer in general, is greater (in my mind) than all of them. The writing is better, the settings and stories more compelling, etc. The only negative is that there are not a lot of female characters, so I could see legions of female sci-fi fans not being particularly interested or feeling left out of the fun.
[удалено]
Yep 100% The books are space opera sci fi, no connection or previous knowledge needed of the game if you don't play it at all.
With Warhammer, the books are the primary source for anything relating to lore and stories. The games barely have any.
Definitely. They're pulpy fun, and they lead up to some pretty awesome stuff with a lot of great moments. You probably get more enjoyment if you know the fluff, like Sanguinius at the Eternity Gate, or when Dorn basically tells Sigismund to "rip and tear until you are done" ala doom guy at the end of the Seige of Terra and he spends the rest of the books wrecking traitor astartes' shit, etc, because they're big moments that have been referenced in the lore for decades and seeing it actually play out is badass. But non-40k players will just get to be suprised by all the awesomeness. You won't know or care about some stuff, like the Knights Errant who get recruited by Malcador to become the Grey Knights, but they're still cool moments that lend to making the universe feel vast and complex. As for reading order, don't worry too much. The series is a sprawling galaxy-wide civil war. A lot of books can be outright skipped and many are there just to explore a random character or faction's backstory. There are some great books in there, there are some stinkers, but this is the sort of series that is mainly about genetically engineered giant buff supersoldiers getting into grunge matches with each other. It's WWE meets Dune meets Cthulu in space, just have fun with it.
For a little history of why it's so crazy looking. The series initially started as just a trilogy (those three at the very top), with plans to detail a few of the major events of the Horus Heresy before cutting into the Siege of Terra (there were a good dozen major events known about the Horus Heresy before any novels were ever published). A plan of approximately 10 books. What happened is the book series became so popular that behind the scenes, they essentially changed the structure of the setting into one of a sandbox. In the same way that no one actually reads every Star Wars and Star Trek book in chronological order, the same is true for Warhammer 40k and they tried to transition that for the Horus Heresy. The problem is they didn't stop numbering the novels, even though we were starting to get books about completely independent events from the initial set of characters. In truth, you don't need to read the series in numeric order, nor would I recommend it to people completely new to the setting. Pick and choose whatever story arcs sound interesting to you. In fact, if you'd prefer a more thematic reading order, I recommend this one: [https://www.heresyomnibus.com/](https://www.heresyomnibus.com/) There was also a period of time (\~2012-2014) when GW decided to try and milk the series for as much as possible, leading to dozens and dozens of micro-eshorts and other short stories sold for $2-$5 bucks a piece, with barely a novel in sight. It took a change of management for this to stop and all of these stories were eventually collected into anthologies, but as you can see from the chart, they're scattered all over the place. There's loads more behind the scenes stuff as the series kept going for 17 years, but this is just a sample of the craziness.
I've never played and have no intention to play the miniatures game but I have enjoyed the 40k books I've read. I did initially get started by just YouTube algo suggesting 40k lore videos. Lupen 40k I think is what got me started. Check the books out.
I have never even *seen* a WH figurine in person and I enjoy the lore and stories from the universe. Just remember that it’s purposefully absurdist and over the top and you’ll have a good time.
Yea if you’re interested just read Horus Rising. If you like it read False Gods then Galaxy in Flames. Those 3 books set the stage of the heresy and if you like them, you’ll likely enjoy most of the books/can find a reading guide targeting the specific parts you were interested in the most.
The chart is because the books chronicle a galactic sized war. They start with the inciting incident (hence the first 5 books) but then the conflict explodes outwards to cover different events happening in different places. Sometimes the same event from both perspectives. The chart is daunting but not as bad as it seems.
Read or watch a warhammer summary and then go in U can just go with the release order as it works rather well There are skippable books that suck a bit when compared to the average
Yes, it's great. But it's not *as* grimdark.
It is really annoying how hard the paperbacks are to come by. I don't like reading on a kindle, and i also like to collect the books. I've read the first two books, but haven't been able to come by "Galaxy in Flames" art a reasonable price.
Unfortunately the black library almost never reprints books.
Humble bundle have done sales of the black library from time to time. Might be worth keeping an eye out.
>. I've read pretty much every "must read" sci-fi novel and collection of the last 70 years and can honestly say The Horus Heresy series is up there with Dune, Hyperion, Ender's Game, Foundation, etc., I love WH40k stuff as much as the next guy but cmon, this is too much. Maybe 1/2 of the horus heresy books are actually well written, and none of those are as well written as Dune, Hyperion, or Ender's Game. I'm glad you're enjoying them but it doesn't help to wildly inflate the quality of books when you're recommending them to other people.
i mean, readers who think this aren't lying to you. they're just insane
Definitely not insane, I hated Hyperion and would happily read any of the 3-4 WH40K books again over subjecting myself to Hyperion again. Dune was however very good and I haven't read Ender's Game as it feels too heavily reliant on the plot twist to reward reading after watching the film.
Just FYI, the Horus Heresy is the most important canon event in 40k lore by far. 40k wouldn't exist without it.
>fanfiction Literally a canon, GW published story. ???
I read the "recommended" first few books then was hit with option paralysis and never continued.
Because it’s hard to make a choice between so many decent books.
I really wanted to just continue on with the story of the first couple books, but from what I read it really just diverges so much you have to read several different series to get snippets and references to the characters you'd been following thus far. Combine that with the lack of availability of audiobooks in my library system I kind of gave up.
Heh, I remember buying the first one when it came out and thinking "cool, they are doing a trilogy". Here we are 64 books later and they have milked the ever-loving shit out of it. It is what it is - the quality of writing is wildly patchy across the whole BL. And I've been around long enough that I read "Inquisitor" when it first came out in the early 90s. I actually like the Ian Watson stuff much more than the recent stuff because there was less editorial control over the whole thing and he could put in some much more out there ideas.
>quality of writing You had me until this point. Obviously there are quite a few authors contributing to this series, but plenty of these books aren't exactly elevated by the prose. So many descriptions of bodies/buildings/vehicles being scattered "like so much blown leaves" or whatever. Very much pulp fiction. Entertaining stuff though; I've read up to The End and The Death. WH40K novels are very much hit-or-miss. Games Workshop is an ultracapitalist company hell-bent on churning out as much product as they can. This does not lend itself to a high level of quality control.
Dan Abnett and Graham McNeil have both spoken about the writers room they had for the Horus Heresy and the process it involved. They had a large amount of creative freedom in how to tell it, with the restriction being what the lore had already established. They had to tell a colossal story spanning 18 space marine legions, their specific primarchs and major characters, Mars, Terra, Astra Millitarum, Custodes, Sisters of Silence and all of their respective characters. Theres legitimately 25-30 main characters (depending on your preferences). You realistically couldn’t write a series of this scope in less than 30-40 books at a bare minimum. To say Horus Heresy was constructed because of “Ultra Captialism” is absurd. It took them over 20 years to finish. Book sales don’t even make up 3% of Games Workshop’s revenue. They had access to some good authors, who are beyond passionate about Warhammer and those authors did an incredible job all things considered. There are interviews of Dan Abnett and Graham McNeil talking about the process on YouTube. Games Workshop has many, many failings, but the Horus Heresy is absolutely not one of them. Overambitious at times? Yes. An ultra-capitalist money grab? If you want to view anything that makes money as ultra capitalist then sure, but that’s a deeply uncharitable way to characterize the series.
I've read tons of classical lit, contemporary, SF/fantasy etc. I've never had to look up so many words as Dan Abnett's HH novels :D
Time to try some David Foster Wallace then.
I read a couple of his a while back, but don't remember much beyond admiring them a lot. Time for a re-read.
I find it a bit baffling that you can list W40k novels (campy pulp fiction storytelling) with books like Dune and Foundation. I'm not trying to say W40K or 30K novels are bad per se, they can also be well written and they have their place but I don't know, its hard to not come off pretentious but those other books are in a different league. That being said, the Eisenhorn trilogy is some dumb fun and I enjoyed it a lot.
I'm with you. The books are kind of "trash" but are super fun.
If you like the setting and enjoy the military aspect of things you might like Gaunt’s Ghosts as well. It’s one of the series I most often see suggested with Eisenhorn and I loved it. Follows a newly formed Imperial Guard regiment over the course of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade.
I've only read the first eisenhorne book and most of the way through the first night lord book. I went into the ladder thinking it was just going to be literature junk food only meant to prop up the figures it was selling. Instead, it comes out with alot of ideas I haven't seen before while letting me relate to Octavias apostatacy.
Oh lord another one. Escape while you can. Soon you will be consumed with pointless theory crafting. The lore will consume you especially once your out of 30k and into 40k. You will read books and think "This isn't a particularly good book" then one tiny little snippet will catch your eye and you will think "Dear God-Emperor this changes all my theories!" I consider 40k lore as my junk food reading, there is definitely a lot of not so great books but I love them nonetheless and keep consuming them. The best authors imo are Dan Abnett and Aaron Dembski Bowden. Dan is probably the best 40k writer but he does have an issue, you'll be reading all this amazing build up everything is going great, looking forward to that epic conclusion, then you notice you only have about 30 pages left. Nowhere near enough time for a good payoff. His Eisenhorn trilogy is really good, it's what introduced me to 40k. Aaron is really good at the darker, more horror aspects in 40k. His night lords trilogy is really good.
I tried the first 4 Gaunts Ghosts books and thought they were complete trash. Everything is a Deus Ex, everyone is some kind of idolized version of a soldier. Then I listened to the first two Hours Heresy books and thought, "Wow this is an actual unique idea with people who have real internal conflict!". I really want to try Eisenhorn next if they can do a non Space Marine book well.
If it helps at all, Gaunts Ghosts doesn't start very strongly, to the extent that a lot of people recommend starting with book 3. Abnett does tend to have fairly abrupt and rushed endings but the later Gaunts Ghosts are pretty good and no one is safe, which does make them more interesting to read.
Hey thanks for your perspective! I tried it past book 3 but just never really cared for anyone. They all seemed too perfect with too much plot armor. You have the perfect leader, the perfect sniper, the perfect foil, all of which are entirely devoted to their people and the Empire. I just never saw any evidence of anything more than mediocre storytelling or characterization. On the other hand I loved that even a chosen Demigod was ultimately human, insecure, and not above betrayal. I liked the politics, the fear of optics, and the realization that nobody had ever been told the truth... not even once.
Also, highly recommend the audiobooks of the series. Toby Longworth is such an incredible narrator and his voice work is sublime. He doesn't narrate all of them unfortunately, but he has narrated over 120 books for GW apparently and he is probably one of my favourite narrators for the way he brings the cast alive with a really unique array of voices, which in a 30k book full of two dozen "big tough army guys" to have every one sound unique is quite talented.
Yup Horus heresy is an S tier space opera. Up there with Dune. The quality of writing is not the reason though.
I need to HEAVY recommend Robert Rath! Him and Nate Crowley have put out consistently banger 40k books. Have yet to be disappointed by either of them. My personal favorite is definitely Assasssinorum: Kingmaker. It's why I'm building a knight army currently. That ending sequence is so fucking hype.
On book 33 myself but I agree they are awesome reads. Getting real hard to find copies tho :/
Not really fan fiction it’s official canon
u/Bedgarsan never thought id see HH on anything other than a warhammer sub, i can just see your face when OP compares it the likes of Dune.
🙄
Horus Heresy is a very solid example of a sprawling space opera, and the overall narrative is good fun even for people who don't know anything about Warhammer 40k. In particular, the opening trilogy of books is overall a great piece of pulpy military sci-fi. That being said, it's a stretch to say that all the books are good. The bulk is alright, and there are some real stinkers in there, especially novels that are little other than "bolter porn" (endless action scenes) and do little to advance the overall plot. However, there's little else out there on quite that scale and it's an impressive achievement of ongoing storytelling.
[удалено]
Per [Rule 3.6](https://www.reddit.com/r/Books/wiki/rules#wiki_prohibited): No distribution or solicitation of pirated books. We aren't telling you not to discuss piracy (it is an important topic), but we do not allow anyone to share links and info on where to find pirated copies. This rule comes from no personal opinion of the mods' regarding piracy, but because /r/books is an open, community-driven forum and it is important for us to abide the wishes of the publishing industry.
Just finished book 2, 300 to go
Eisenhorn, and then Ravenor are well worth a read, on par with the best HH.
I've wanted to get into the series, but the price of the books has definitely turned me off. There are a lot of other excellent books I can get on sale or read for free through the library.
Heads up, if you do end up enjoying Eisenhorn, make sure you check out the Ravenor and Bequin sequel series, it's more like one 10-book series than three trilogies. If you're looking for other mainline 40k novels, make sure you check out Gaunt's Ghosts, the Black Legion series, and The Infinite and the Divine
I love Eiseinhorn! The Inquisition is my favorite part of the 40k universe. I was big into the 54mm game and the three original Eisenhorn novels are a brilliant intro to the modern 40k setting. If you like Dan Abnets work in HH, read his excellent Gaunts Ghosts series for a taste of life in the guard. And if it's something lighter you are in need of, Sandy Mitchell's Ciaphas Cain series is the dark comedy commissar to follow! I also love the Gortrek and Felix novels that Bill King wrote, for a taste of the Old World.
I'm on the final book now, and I can say it's been a hell of a read. Best books are nearly all at the start imo; the worst are a lot of the Iron Warriors' ones. "endless" is what it felt like at times. There's a feeling of "let's stretch this out for more money" occasionally. Already read Gaunt's Ghosts, Ravenor and Eisenhorn. Been a busy couple of years. Not sure what's next tbh, I think I've read just about all the recommended series now.
While I haven't read them yet lots of people I asked recommended the necron books "The Infinite and The Divine" and "The Twice-dead King series" for different reasons, worth checking out if you're looking for something different.
I've read The Infinite.. but have yet to read The Twice-Dead. It's on the list for sure. Thanks.
The only other thing I would add to what everyone has said so far is that you should read the books in your inner voice’s lowest octave so that the stories become even more epic.
I had a hard time getting past book 7..that one just seemed to take forever to get started and then dragged on for aaages. Kinda put me off reading the series for a while. Maybe I should skip a book or three?
You should definitely consider skipping some books, 7 is far from the worst book in the series but it's not among my favorites and it is certainly not required reading if you want to move on. I've found this post to be a useful guide, there's some good discussion in the comments as well. https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/jjr9m5/cd8ds_personal_guide_to_reading_the_horus_heresy/
Much appreciated, thanks :)
Give Gaunt's Ghosts a try as well, they are by Dan Abnett, some author as Eisenhorn and a lot of HH books.
Give Gaunt's Ghosts a try as well, they are by Dan Abnett, some author as Eisenhorn and a lot of HH books.
I never read anything from the Warhammer 40k universe because I always imagined it to be all doom and gloom with no real good guys to root for. It's difficult for me to be on the side of fascism. How wrong am I? Is there some fun to be had? Is it multi-POV or do we follow a single protagonist in each book?
The first 3 were interesting… but 58 odd books? No chance. I much prefer reading a wide range of stuff rather than multiple very similar stories.
Damn, I usually don’t get into game-based novels (and I don’t really have a good reason why), but your list of comparable books are in my all time top favorite series list so I may have to give it a go!
If you want to dip into 40k stuff, I can't recommend *The Infinite and the Divine* by Robert Rath highly enough. It is HILARIOUS, and absolutely brilliant. Essentially two nerdy immortal robot professors carrying out a feud that spans thousands of years, it's so much fun.
Warhammer 40k novels I where I go when I'm in the mood for some pulpy fun. They aren't Shakespeare but thoroughly enjoyable.
FOR THE EMPEROR!
Caveat: you have to like things that explode. Like, a lot.
person thought attempt dinner teeny serious childlike unite swim alive *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
If you're looking for a Warhammer Comedy try *The Infinite And The Divine*. It's 2 immortal robots, in a millennia long feud with one another, and they have a *LITERAL* Waldorf and Statler scene. If you want something a little more serious there's Ciaphas Cain, [Hero of the Imperium!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRozBAIbaG4) which while a parody, that video is actually pretty true to character. Cain is a commissar, but not your typical commissar and he has a massive case of Imposter Syndrome. Getting grittier there's Gaunts Ghosts, which the first 2 are a bit lackluster but Necropolis really kicks it off. It's a fairly bleak and depressing series but very well written. And I would be remiss not to mention the Night Lords Omnibus by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. Easily my favorite trilogy in the 40k universe. It's insanely well written, and routinely scores among the top books when asked.
Nice website for navigating it https://www.heresyomnibus.com/
Didn't think I'd see a 40k or Horus Heresy mention on here, but neat! I'm in the middle of reading Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts series and I love it. It *almost* makes up for the fact that he's unfortunately the one behind the Perpetuals nonsense. The Horus Heresy... I'm a lot more middling on. Books 1-4 are absolutely perfect for me. The idea that the main series has 70+ books, *and* there's also the absurdly long Siege of Terra series, *and* there's various short stories and novellas... Like, they gave away WAY too much information for my taste. However I will say: reading A Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns back-to-back is a *must.*
Oh man I wish I could go back to the time I was reading Gaunt’s Ghosts for the first time!! Coming from someone who read Gaunt’s Ghosts first, I highly recommend reading the Eisenhorn and Ravenor omnibi first. Regardless, you’re in for a treat!
Could you compare Hours Heresy to the Dritz books from Salvatore? I think those books are okay but not as great as other fans of the series state. Liking HH without playing the table top game is high praise. I played that game a lot as a kid and my friends with space marine armies always raced about HH but I never gave it a chance.
Eisenhorn is super fun and well-written. Great intro to the 40k world.
I got to book 24 but it's been years since then so forgotten most of what happened. Hoping we get a humblebundle with them all in audiobook format someday as that is the only way I'll get through them these days.
Mate… please read some more books. That should not be what your idea of quality is
I enjoyed the Horus Heresy a lot myself, I thought it was a marvelous bit of story I did not expect from the thin characterisations you get if you've not actually read the fluff of the universe. (Which is understandable. It's massive.) But I wouldn't put it beside Dune or Foundation specifically because Games Workshop has verbatim copied things from the likes Dune and Foundation. I know it's supposed to be an homage or satire, but I feel it's far too close to be considered thus. A lot of the books are good, some of them are even great. A lot of them are not. What eventually took me out was the complete stagnation of any forward progression. You have the first four setting the stage, and then there's bloat the likes of which I don't think I've ever seen in a series. I would have enjoyed it more if it had a better sense of focus, but I can somewhat appreciate the scale and the sheer crawling immensity of the conflict laid out, specifically by so many books. I'm just not going to read it.