Books to read for Lore?

[Uther]

I wanted to get into 40k back in the 90's but never got around to it. I'm pretty happy with this title so far and want to get background.

Is there a lineage of Books I should read or should I focus on a faction that I am interested in?

Being a US Marine I find the Space Marines the most fascinating so far.

[Cursed Hawkins]

Pretty sure everyone would say to start with the Horus Heresy books and go from there.

[WarMage]

Hey,

This might be off target but just in case you find it useful I'm sharing it. If you enjoy Youtube, you could go and check out the youtuber "Wolf Lord Rho". He mostly covers W40K lore. He's really really good and get things right. It's super interesting and enjoyable to listen to. As for the books, he usually review them so if you watch those episodes you can have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Finally, last but not least, he has his own opinion on where to start. You can go watch his video titled "WHERE TO START WITH THE NOVELS?" and get a good idea of what to do.

Again, I really enjjoy that youtuber. I believe he's one of the very best in regard to W40K. Hope this helps.

[Stardustfire]

dont bother with lore, with there last rule editions they bend and broke so much of the lore for the sake of new unit sales you can say the actual lore is a wreckage.

[Uther]

WarMage eredeti hozzászólása:

Hey,

This might be off target but just in case you find it useful I'm sharing it. If you enjoy Youtube, you could go and check out the youtuber "Wolf Lord Rho". He mostly covers W40K lore. He's really really good and get things right. It's super interesting and enjoyable to listen to. As for the books, he usually review them so if you watch those episodes you can have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Finally, last but not least, he has his own opinion on where to start. You can go watch his video titled "WHERE TO START WITH THE NOVELS?" and get a good idea of what to do.

Again, I really enjjoy that youtuber. I believe he's one of the very best in regard to W40K. Hope this helps.

Thanks for this I will check him out. I'm finding the Horus Heresy books hard to find and very expensive!

[Smiling Jack]

I'd usually recommend starting with a classic Imperial Guard book/series and seeing things from the "relatable" human side. This will help put the absurd scale 40k runs on into perspective. Some good titles are "Yarrick", "Last Chancers", "Giant's Ghosts" and "Ciaphas Cain". (You can find these in cheap bundles on Humble Bundle regularly)

Also, learn the general time line of major events in the 40k universe, this can be done in a single sitting and they will constantly be referred to and will make learning the lore much smoother.

As WarMage suggested, there's some awesome 40k lore channels on YouTube. Here's a few more:

https://youtube.com/c/Luetin09

https://youtube.com/channel/UCdpGd0jls7VQh6LvcZT_p1A

https://youtube.com/c/OculusImperia

[WarMage]

I can't disagree with what Stardustfire said though. GamesWorkshop, the company behind W40K, is pretty rotten. Thus, they've done a lot of harm to their intellectual property (W40K). Questionnable decisions and stuff. So yes, W40K and it's lore has suffered in recent years.

In the end, W40K setting's amazing, deep and interesting. So it's still totally worth exploring. Just be careful to avoid the many GamesWorkshop pitfalls.

[Uther]

Thanks for the links and locking me on to the change in lore.

By the looks of things I would be reading an awful long time before the suits screw the pooch.

PS I'm starting with The Uriel Ventris Chronicles: Volume One for reading and watching the channels you guys linked.

[WarMage]

Have fun ! Glad we could help.

[Ashardalon]

"let the galaxy burn" is a very good collection of short stories, an older book but one of the best and it covers a little of everything
another is "fear the alien" it has some great storys about xeno psychology, both the ork story and mistres beadas gift are a great way to learn more about how they think diffrent from humans, it also has faces so you can really understand how screwed up in the head eldar are

cant advise starting with the gaunts ghost stories as they are very loose with the lore, they are closer to ww2 in spaaaaaace then really 40k
but the ciaphas cain books are great as they take a lighter tone while still in the grimdark universe without breaking lore and are very well written too

[Uther]

I just want to add on this in case anyone else reads on this later.

The links provided are an excellent fast track and are great for deep dives once you know what you're looking for.

Within a day I went from knowing nothing to several hours of material on the Salamanders of the Royal Marines.

I would like to add from a complete ignorant start I found this 2 part series good to give a general overview of what was going on overall. It's enough to get you crawling at least.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCGKPRiJp84

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6jnsX77TCU

Excellent resources.

[WarMage]

W40K lore's both deep and wide, you can spend a lot of time merely trying to get the big picture.

[Rancid Rod]

Coming back to a dead post to ask, how's the reading coming along?

[Vony256]

Horus Heresy in reading order.

Horus Rising by Dan Abnett (2006)
False Gods by Graham McNeill (2006)
Galaxy in Flames by Ben Counter (2006)
The Flight of the Eisenstein by James Swallow (2007)
Fulgrim by Graham McNeill (2007)
Descent of Angels by Mitchel Scanlon (2007)
Legion by Dan Abnett (2000)
Battle for the Abyss by Ben Counter (2008)
Mechanicum by Graham McNeill (2008)
Tales of Heresy by Various Authors (2009)
Fallen Angels by Mike Lee (2009)
A Thousand Sons by Graham McNeill (2010)
Nemesis by James Swallow (2010)
The First Heretic by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (2010)
Prospero Burns by Dan Abnett (2010)
Age of Darkness by Various Authors (2011) [Anthology]
The Outcast Dead by Graham McNeill (2011)
Deliverance Lost by Gav Thorpe (2011)
Know No Fear by Dan Abnett (2012)
The Primarchs by Various Authors (2012) [Anthology]
Fear to Tread by James Swallow (2012)
Shadows of Treachery by Various Authors (2012) [Anthology]
Angel Exterminatus by Graham McNeill (2013)
Betrayer by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (2013)
Mark of Calth by Various Authors (2017) [Anthology]
Vulkan Lives by Nick Kyme (2013)
The Unremembered Empire by Dan Abnett (2013)
Scars by Chris Wraight (2014)
Vengeful Spirit by Graham McNeill (2014)
The Damnation of Pythos by David Annandale (2014)
Legacies of Betrayal (2015) by Various Authors [Anthology]
Deathfire by Nick Kyme (2015)
War Without End by Various Authors (2016) [Anthology]
Pharos by Guy Haley (2016)
Eye of Terra by Various Authors (2017) [Anthology]
The Path of Heaven by Chris Wraight (2016)
The Silent War by Various Authors (2016) [Anthology]
Angels of Caliban by Gav Thorpe (2016)
Praetorian of Dorn by John French (2017)
Corax by Gav Thorpe (2017) [Anthology]
The Master of Mankind by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (2017)
Garro: Weapons of Fate by James Swallow (2017) [Anthology]
Shattered Legions by Various Authors (2017) [Anthology]
The Crimson King by Graham McNeill (2017)
Tallarn by John French (2017) [Anthology]
Ruinstorm by David Annandale (2017)
Old Earth by Nick Kyme (2017)
The Burden of Loyalty by Various Authors (2018) [Anthology]
Wolfsbane by Guy Haley (2018)
Born of Flame by Nick Kyme (2018) [Anthology]
Slaves to Darkness by John French (2018)
Heralds of the Siege by Various Authors (2018) [Anthology]
Titandeath by Guy Haley (2018)
The Buried Dagger by James Swallow (2019)

[Still River]

Horus Heresy is actually for more veteran readers. Newcomers should read some standalone 40k novels first.

[Cursed Hawkins]

Still River eredeti hozzászólása:

Horus Heresy is actually for more veteran readers. Newcomers should read some standalone 40k novels first.

When it comes to understand the timeline of events, that's where people outta start.