How good are the Warhammer 40k novels?

[jerryfanfan]

Has anyone read any of the 40k books? How do they compare with other big name sci-fi war novels like Honor Harrington or Starfire? 40k books all got like 5 star ratings on Audible, and I was like wut? really? They are more highly rated than the Honor Harrington books?

[Ysthrall]

Hi, I am qualified to answer this, and have finished editing this.

There are a LOT of 40k books. Dozens around Space Marines chapters alone...
The Gaunts Ghosts series (grim imperial guard stories, about a dozen+)
The Caiphas Caine series (funny Imp G series, ditto)
The Soul Drinkers 6-set, the Night Lords trilogy, the Eisenhorn trilogy....
...and on and on and on....

(there is also the 30k books, the Horus Heresy series)

I've read a good few of those above.

I have also read a lot of sci-fi, including The Saga of Seven Suns, the Honour Harrington series (well, most of it), other stuff by David Weber, John Ringo, Julian May, Anne McCaffrey, Heinlein, and many others.... (admittedly, I prefer epic fantasy)

Now, there's a certain amount of variation in quality, in both sci-fi generally and 40k books.

I think that quite a few of the 40k books get slightly buffed ratings, if read and reviewed by the tabletop players. They may know Honour from the books, but they know, say Marneus Calgar from years of tabletop play and have extra emotional attachment. It's more like meeting an old friend than a new one.

That said, a lot of the 40k books are rather good. I can reccomend the Gaunts Ghosts and Caiphas Caine series' in particular. The 30k books are also variable, but have some stunning pieces (admittedly I'm biased as I know the eventual ending, and the foreshadowing is thus piquant)

I think that the scale of the 40k setting helps add to the epic nature of things. You cannot, in the HH series, lose an entire planet to screaming maniacs and have it written off as a minor loss. Or indeed, lose an entire star system and 20 million soldiers due to a paperwork problem.

Anyway, in comparism....

...it depends. I mean, I like some of the 40k books because I know the setting. I dislike some of the HH books because of the interminable exposition and increasing political shenanigans.

The 40k books have less plot armour, and more action. Anyone can die, the goodies can (and occasionally will) lose, painfully.

I wouldn't say that the Black Library is the best stash of sci-fi I've ever found. But it's good.

I can certainly see rating
The First Heretic (by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, a 30k Horus Heresy Novel)
over
Ashes of Victory (from the HH series, which was a slow one)

But then, I could also find examples the other way round.

Happy to discuss this further. :)

[SpiceMerchant]

The Warhammer 40K books' quality can vary quite a bit depending on the writer/setting, etc. But overall they're quite good. Very well done in terms of characters and a general feel of epicness

[Hangman]

Much better than games :p

[kuromi]

it depends on the author and book in question but over all 40k is my FAVE scifi setting period and in a lot of ways the books do a far better job than 99% of the games at conveying the scale brutality and general feel

I recommend Honour Imperialis as a good starting point if you want to see the perspective of regular humans standing against the horrors of the galaxy

it contains three novels and four short stories by a variety of authors my personal fave being Cadian Blood by Aaron Dembski

[Vile]

listen to them on youtube, they get taken down pretty quick but i've listened to many

[OPFOR]

I can recommend the Eisenhorn books. They show quite a lot of the different civilian livestyles in the Imperium and of the danger of Heresy.

[The Steel Praetor]

the black library has some of the best sci fi books to exist, it also has some of the worst aswell, often in one series. worth it 100%

[DarkKrieg]

Read Gaunt's Ghosts. It's like game of thrones 40k edition. Oh you like this guy? Let's shred him with some Loxatl flechettes.

Seriously though, Dan Abnett is a master of his craft.

[Queco Jones21]

Overall, quite excellent. Problem with the books are their bloody prices. I used to buy them paperback for around $7.99-$8.99. Now those same books are going for $15 or more...damn greed. Havent bought a single book since the price hike.

Anyways, I can recommend:
Eisenhorn series
Ravenor series
Space Wolf Series
Ultramarine (Ventris) series
Soul Drinkers series
Gaunt's Ghosts series
Macharius Trilogy
Imperial Guard books (basically 1 shots of well known regiments, most are pretty fun)
Ciaphus Cain series
There was this one series about the Night Lords, pretty fun.
Of the Horus Heresy line, I read about the first 17-20 books. Most were quite excellent. Then the price hike happened....anyways, must read are the first 3 book about the fall/corruption of Horus and the series about the Drop Site massacre and the relationship between Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim.

@Ysthrall
I am currently reading the Honor Harrington series (currently in Ashes of Victory, very slow paced). Similar to that series, I can recommed:
The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell (highly recommended)
A Galaxy Unkown by Thomas DePrima (somewhat similar to Honor Harrington, with a female protaganist and all. A bit better than the Harrington books though IMO. Less technically jargon. Last couple of books were a bit soso though).
Castle Federation series by Glynn Stewart (read the first 3 books only, but shows promise).

Do you recommend 'The Saga of Seven Suns'?

[PA Medic]

Everyone should check out. The “gap series”.

Starting with “the rest of the story. Very good sci fi- which takes you to a place most authors won’t touch.

The Red Rising series is very good.


“I, Jedi”....because no one else has the balls to write a whole book in first person limited.


And anyone with a kindle should check out “there we’ll be war” short stories. Best of the classic sci fi.

[Androgos]

though some will disagree the ultra marines nook series is quite good, i would recomend the words bearers series to. for single one off novels my favorite is the wrath of iron , shield of baal and the scythes of the emperor.

[Androgos]

id like to follow up on my previous post and say stay away from the tau novels. its not that they are bad or poorly written but the amount of plot armor the tau have would make calgar blush.

[jaxjace]

Varies from Godly to the Goto

[Nirgal]

In general Warhammer novels are terrible: written badly and full of nonesense, they all contradict each other and often they go from complete fanboy of something (goto) to complete ignorance (for ex. in rogue trader novels ships engage at 200-300m distance).
On a technical level 40k novels have poor plots with lots of holes or simplistic structures (abuse of deus ex machina in many plots), often they are written in such a way that it feels like they are amateur writers trying to mimic something between stream of counciousness and gibson: the result is your brain trying to figure out the contex of the action or even who is doing what.

I can raccomend the trilogy of Eisenhorn by Dan Abnett (strangely well written and good plot for a 40k novel) and Ciaphas Cain series.

[Jack Deth]

Like any novels. So that includes the likes of Stephen King and other generally overrated writers you have good books and bad books.

Of the 40K novels I can recommend that are good reads would be...

Path of the Dark Eldar by Andy Chambers is really good.

Carcharodons: Outer Dark and Red Tithe by Robbie MacNiven are solid.

Night Lords by Aaron Dembski-Bowden.