im new to the Warhammer 40k universe, last year when Vinny was talking about the Horus Heresy i thought the world and the fiction sounded really cool. then this last week i bought space Marine and am now at the tipping point. im ready to give myself to the  Emperor. my question is, should i start with Horus Rising, is there another book i should start with? according to the Black Library the first book they have listed is Assault on Black Reach. further more, if i do start with Horus Rising how far should i go into the Heresy series seeing as how its on going and their are a lot of books it seems on that subject alone.  
 
Thank You in advance for the help.

i should also clarify i need something to maybe set up the lore and back drop of the 40k universe. 

You really can read the books anyway you want. The Horus Heresy stuff is in no way important when reading other novels set in the universe. I would suggest simply reading what ever interests you. The Horus Heresy is an unimportant series of books as far as understanding the universe, however it does give further back story to anything you may read. And quite frankly, That series is new compared to the other books out there. Seeing as that series of books started printing in 2006, and the universe has been around since 1987. You may find the lore interesting but like I said totally unimportant in appreciating and understanding the other novels out there.

good to know. im enjoying the Horus Heresy so far. i feel a bit lost, but as soon as im done im going to go spend some time in a wiki and begin to familiarize my self with the concepts of this world. i have already read a little into the Primarch

I got into the universe by actually playing the tabletop game for a few years so the lore comes easy for me. I would suggest going to a store that has the tabletops or just a GamesWorkshop Bunker if there are any in your area and shooting the shit with some guys.

sounds good. me and a friend have been looking into the table top game, but it is a rather expensive hobby, but then again so is video games. 

I would recommend reading Horus Heresy, even if it isn't the first you read I really enjoy those books.

@Jackel2072 said:

sounds good. me and a friend have been looking into the table top game, but it is a rather expensive hobby, but then again so is video games.

Also just so you know, if things are still the way when were when I played Warhammer you can get into table top gaming with Warmachines/Hordes for a little less.

@Jackel2072: In the same position myself after playing Space Marine and DOW II. Picked up Horus Heresy and as a relative newbie to the world it seems like as good a place as any to start. Looked into the tabletop myself believe it's £60 for the starter kit!

Yeah the table top sucks more money out of you than 15 hookers and enough blow to kill a blue whale.

I would recommend reading Horus Heresy, even if it isn't the first you read I really enjoy those books.

@Jackel2072 said:

sounds good. me and a friend have been looking into the table top game, but it is a rather expensive hobby, but then again so is video games.

Also just so you know, if things are still the way when were when I played Warhammer you can get into table top gaming with Warmachines/Hordes for a little less.

I just finished Horus Rising and just started False Gods. I haven't read any other warhammer books and my only knowledge is from the Dawn of War games, so minimal. But I'm not finding it too confusing. Horus Rising was a great book.

If you want a good, 40k lore-establishing book, pick up the Eisenhorn Omnibus.

It's 3 novels in 1 with linking short stories, and takes a ground level view at life in 40K as it follows the adventures of Inquisitor Eisenhorn and his retinue of followers.

It is written by the author of Horus Rising (Dan Abnett, one of BL's most successful authors), and is considered a seminal work of 40K fiction.

If you want to get into the game and get a great backgrounder on the lore the new rulebook which rolled out today is the best way to go. So many pretty (grim and dark) pictures too!

@Capt_Ventris: Bit of a necropost, but I do have a question about the Horus Heresy series. So I'm on the second book, false gods. Bout at the part where Horus is throwing a hissy fit because his self-appointed leader of a planet turned traitor. The problem I'm running into is that this is the fifth mission so far in one and a half books, and the missions don't totally feel all that pertinent to the overarching storyline. Does this general filler-ish nature continue throughout the series? Cuz with the constant references to the last book without much in the way of explanation, it doesn't seem like they intended to work as standalone books. With the series going strong with twenty(?) novels, one story broken up into volumes implies a hefty amount of bloating going on.

@Vonocourt: The beginning of the Horus Heresy series starts at a very small scope, focusing on the slow turn of Horus himself and those Legions around him. It takes a few books to get through, but it ascribes an important shift in thinking that, otherwise missing, would make Horus' turn seem like a snap judgement without any real purpose behind it. At least for those books, the action is fairly good so it contains the building tension while being in general a handful of good 40k novella. Later on the stories become much more individual in nature, focusing on very specific aspects of the Heresy as it unfolds, and touching on events happening throughout that are common for all of the books. It's a long story to be told, with many individual facets that each have their part to play in the bigger picture. If you feel like the story is bloated at this point, I'd partly agree with you, but also say that you are probably missing some of the finer details that may only come to light with further insight into the Heresy itself, which can mostly be acquired through further reading of the series.

Anyway, to chip in my two cents to an old-ass thread, if you are going to start with the Warhammer 40,000 books, I would recommend either reading the Gaunt's Ghosts series (from the beginning!), or picking up any of the Ciaphas Cain books. Most will say the Horus Heresy or Eisenhorn, but those can be both dense and perhaps too specific for a newcomer. The magic of the Cain series is that Commissar Ciaphas Cain is, first and foremost, a human being with all of the selfish and conceited traits that you'd expect. The Cain books contain great characterization and are a good way to slowly ease into things, as they involve much of the 40k universe without burying you in terminology and story that you have neither a connection to nor understanding of. Hope this helps.

@Dyram: Yeah pretty much my thoughts too.

" The first three Heresy books are the opening "arch" of the Hersey and it's purpose is to set up the context for the events that follow. The other books in the all have different styles and flavors. They do not become so referential that you need to read them in a certain order, however a few of the books are sequels or paired with others. An example of this is Prospero Burns(Space Wolves) and Thousand Son's being the same event told from the different sides. While The Dark Angel books follow an order. Cool part about the Heresy books is that there are so many different styles of story being told, from the all out warfare of "Know No Fear"(Ultramarines) to the mind bender of "Legion"(Alpha Legion). I personally think that having the Hersey books as your first foray into 40k(or 30k in this case) is not the right way to go as the significance of the events unfolding and what is to come is lessened without the knowledge of how bad things are going to get."

@Dyram: @Capt_Ventris: Bit of an old thread, but I am thinking about jumping into the 40k stuff so I wanted to ask... I've read some conflicting stuff on Gaunt's Ghosts. A lot of people seem to very much like the series, while I've heard several people say that it's repetitive (battle, then another battle, then another, ad infinitum) with very little actual development. Whatcha think?

I have jumped into the dark world of 40K fiction as a crutch for my recent desire to get back into these silly games (which I so enjoyed in my teens). Figured picking up a handful of books 2nd hand was cheaper than buying an entire 500 point army (And when I say figured I mean I have a piece of paper with a Tyranid horde with what I'd have if money was no object in increments of 500 points up to 1500 points. It'd have somehow cost £120+ for a Hive Tyrant, 10 Genestealers, a Brood Lord & 18 Termagents. Which doesn't sound like a particularly large force to me. Although I bet if I went looking I could find my old stuff around my parents house & I'm sure I'd have nearly all of those except the Brood Lord. But the new Hive Tyrant looks so cool...)

I've so far read the first 2 books in the series, Horus Rising & False Gods & am firing into Galaxy In Flames the past couple of days, really enjoying them. I've become quite attached to Garviel Loken, though I do have a lingering feeling of doom when he pops up now. So I'm wondering which book to seek out next. Thinking about the Eisenhorn books as I've seen them cheap second hand, but anything else I should be looking at, doesn't have to be Horus Heresy related

@Laurentech: Sorry to take so long to respond. I haven't been logged in for weeks!

Anyway, as for your question, the series of the Ghosts is a long one. The series as a whole has starts and stops, small series of books that are battle after battle, but then another that has battles on a different scale with much greater emphasis on characterization. The first five or so books are pretty heavy on the combat, but a story narrative is threaded throughout, following different characters within the regiment, as well as the regiment as a whole across their opening salvo of battles, establishing who the Ghosts are and what they are so skilled at doing. The quiet moments in between the larger battles (up to books in size) can be a little dull if you get a thrill from the combat, and the battles are quite constant... however, Dan Abnett is a fantastic writer and keeps each encounter unique even in visual setting, something quite difficult to establish in a book.

Overall, the series flows fairly well and has been picking up steam again more recently, but even the duller of the individual stories are still really good reads. Plus, it's a book series about a regiment of Imperial Guard soldiers. What would it be if not full of battle sequences? Some of them are even specifically defining to the Ghosts, themselves, and leave a real, lasting impact on both the characters and narrative. If you're looking to read the battles, stick to some of the earlier titles, and perhaps the more recent couple. The character development does still happen even while the bullets are flying, but the majority of it is in (what is currently) the middle of the series in much longer and more drawn out sequences.

The 40k books are a good way to relax and enjoy some fiction without the classical fantasy tropes (though their analogues do exist). Hope this helped.

@Dyram: Thanks for the response! Capt_Ventris was kind enough to PM me some helpful suggestions, but this is great too. It sounds like some people probably just read one or two books and assumed the rest of the (very long) series is the same exact thing.

Interesting fiction that's not traditional fantasy is kinda what I'm looking for. Something dark but with a more sci-fi/futuristic edge.

Eisenhorn and Ravenor are seminal books. I love the Horus Heresy Books, but note that there are 17 major novels in that series to this point! I read pretty much anything by Dan Abnett. Highly recommend the Gaunt's Ghost series and also the Commissar Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell, which is very funny. Graham McNeill also does a solid job as a writer. Like someone else said, pick a subject or Marine Chapter that you like: Space Wolves, Ultramarines, et al and read those

@bayushi: I've just been re-reading the Ciaphas Cain books, those are great. I do think though that Black Library charging double for the e-book version of the most recent one in the series is some straight up bullcrap. That's super shady.

@thesoutherndandy I just finished reading the first Ciaphas Cain omnibus! Love it take on the Imperium, reminds me of the more tongue in cheek era

@jackel2072: Well, it is an option, and it will work, but it may end up being a little over your head at first, the Horus heresy is a huge litany of stories, starting way back, they wouldn't really set into place the current universe at all.

I think that Storm of Iron is a great book to start with, it's fairly simple but is really awesome, it is in the current universe, and it does a great job of giving you an idea of what Chaos Space marine, and Space Marines are like from the respective of a normal man.

Opps, someone resurrected a year old post, sorry.

@capt_ventris: Yeah it's great having a good dose of humor injected in all that grimdarkgrimdarkgrimdark. And having the character who's always trying to figure out how he can run in the opposite direction of a battle be a Commissar is great.

Not sure if I am crazy to revive this yet again... Just started with the Warhammer 40k books - starting with Eisenhorn (also got Ravenor up next). But I'm really not sure what to pick up next afterwards...

I'm no expert about the lore or anything - had a period in my early teenage-years with Warhammer, but nothing much. Figured I'd pick up a few books as I enjoyed the universe some as a kid :P

Any suggestion on what to go for next - Horus or some other series/individual work?

The issue with Black Library is that it's basically all Imperials with any other faction as murderable window dressing.

40k is so much more interesting than space marines and for that reason I say read the codicies for all the factions.

Those are my favorite 40k books. Love the lore, but can't stand the tabletop game. A good way to get a fantastic overview is to read the core rulebook. Lots of high level fluff in there. If you aren't interested in playing the game, get an older edition used for super cheap.

This article from Forbes suggests reading the Horus HERESY LAST: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferbosier/2013/04/03/getting-to-know-warhammer-40000-beginners-guide/#63434c2321ca

I love Warhammer and am getting into it for the first time. I've read the first two books of the Horus Heresy (which are awesome) but should I hold off on the series until I read these other books?

Thanks everyone!