The Monthly 40k Book Club!

[KOS-MOS]

Finished Death World a while ago. Was a great read. The jungle could be a very dangerous place indeed

[MadLarkin]

Descent of angels was good until they turned into space marines in my opinion. after that it got boring. Then again i started reading with low expectations, i don't like the dark angels. i don't like their fluff or their colors or their stupid robes. The only thing i liked about them is the Lion himself.

Alpha legion was an amazing book. the HH series is awesome because its so tragic, like the fact that the thousand sons and alpha legions weren't traitors to begin with is so epic. Also seeing the slow contamination of the legions like described in Fulgrim is awesome. Fulgrim is my favorite HH novel, followed closely by flight of the eisenstein. Fulgrim just had so much in it, it covered so much and the stuff about Ferrus Manus was so awesome.

[Zeewulf]

Okay, so, I've never read any fluff, outside of that found in the rulebooks and codices. I've never looked at stories, nothin'. I'm not even much more than marginally aware of who the 40k authors are.
That being said, I'm interested in finally reading in the universe, and I'm looking for a good start-point, being a big fan for the Guard. Of course, my tastes for reading tend to run toward John Ringo, Eric Flint, Doc Taylor, David Weber and soforth....so, that all being said...

What would be a good place to get my feet wet?

[Da Mighty Camel]

Anything by Dan Abnett is a great start. I, like many others, recommend the Eisenhorn trilogy since it is seen by a lot as the best 40k literature out there and I agree with that. If you like the Guard then Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts-series is a good choice as well.

[MadLarkin]

Aye the Gaunt's Ghosts series were what started me on guard in the first place (before that I played xenos filth) and now I have nearly 12k worth of guard (5K of them are tanith )

That or the last chancers series is pretty good. Only read the first one though. I hear fifteen hours is great but I personally haven't gotten around to it.

[KOS-MOS]

Death world and desert raiders are both a good read. I always liked the Cain books over Gaunt's Ghosts, amusing writing style.

[AlbinoAlien]

If i were you i would go out and purchase me the them two new shiny triliogies that were published on the gaunts ghoss. it's 6 novels + 2 short stories!! for 22 dollars total! DO IT! then get the last chaners omnibus

[NiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by Zeewulf

John Ringo

OH, JOHN RINGO, NO!

Sorry, just had to sneak that in there. As far as Black Library authors go, Dan Abnett is widely agreed to be the greatest, although even his stories have a few hiccups every now and then (wait 'til you read the part about the Ghosts ambushing...you'll know it when you see it). Other authors who are not as good but I would still recommend are Graham McNeill and Ben Counter. Other authors haven't really been as prolific and/or good, but I would also suggest Relentless and Lord of the Night, if you can find them. Gav Thorpe's Angels of Darkness is good too, but I wouldn't take it too seriously if I were you; its narrator is unreliable at best.

[AlbinoAlien]

you watch your mouth! all TRUEEE fluff heads pay grand homage to Astelan the all Dark Angels knowing. through him, we learn much! (lol)

[Zeewulf]

Nite, that's full of win right there.

I settled on ordering three books, and we'll see how it goes.
What books, you might ask?
All three are anthologies: Caphias Cain (because the glint of humor mentioned is irresistable), the first Tanith book anthology, The Foundation and then the Eisenhorn anthology.
I figure that will represent a pretty good spot to work from. This way, if I enjoy the books, I don't have to wait for the other ones in the set, and if I don't, well, I've got a full set I can donate to the library.