Awesome! Thanks so much for watching! I can't wait for space marine 2, although I am super sad the Orks arnt in it, whenever I think of space marine I just think "Spaaaccshh marrinnneee"
This was a great list I need to get back into reading Warhammer 40k. The first book I read was Death World by Steve Lyons and that book was weird as hell considering what was going on with the planet but also the Catachan Jungle Fighters are an interesting group for sure. Good one off book I think because it's just about this one squad of Jungle Fighters trying to complete their mission and deal with a strange planet.
I havnt read death world, but I have painted quite a few catachan in my day, the old metal ones mostly :D. I should read it, I'll see if I can find a copy, gosh old (and new sometimes) black library books are crazy expensive.
a lot of contemporary 40k book consumption is the audiobook format it feels like as the access to these titles is so much wider... also- LOVE the inclusion of Double Eagle. It is so great
I really should of mentioned audiobooks. It's how I read a lot of my Warhammer books! The narrators are usually amazing too. I used to love Warhammer books for cheap novels though, pre COVID it felt like you could find almost any black library novel for around $18 AUD, now most of them are out of print and 3 figures on eBay, crazy! Double Eagle is one of my favourite military sci fi books!
I'm glad i stumbled into this video. I started listening to Horus Rising. Its good, but good lawd, the Horus Heresy is a long series. Most likely, i'll be skipping around lol. Chatgpt made a list of books with the characters that im looking to read about.
Yup that's the way to go about it for sure! There are some great books in the heresy, but there are a few duda and a lot of chaff as well, so just focusing on the bits you think are interesting is perfect, and while reading those you may come across other interesting characters, then you can check their books out too :)
Cool video and list mate. Gaunts Ghosts is absolute gold from book 3 onwards i felt. Great action, varied war zones, amazing characters and the further you go it packs an incredible emotional punch that you just wouldnt expect from "pulpy space war " novels 😂
I'm just about to finish #5 now, and book 4 was fantastic, 5 has been great so far too. Really connecting with the characters and yeah some great emotional moments.
You've got so much awesome stuff to come. Enjoy it mate. Would also recommend Titanicus if you haven't read it. Set in the Sabbat Worlds also and by Abnett. Huge Titan battles and great depiction of the Mechanicus but intertwined with the same ground level chatacter work as Gaunts Ghosts.
Thanks for the kind words! It's always a struggle giving away enough information to make the book seem exciting, without giving away too much! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Great selection of key black library tomes with sufficient diversity to help the new initiates become accustomed to the broader Warhammer 40k universe. Would also add in Valdor: Birth of the Imperium, and Horus Rising to introduce the 30k Horus Heresy arc too. If I were to suggest where the new reader should start their journey, I would also suggest Eisenhorn, Ciaphas Cain & Night Lords trilogies for mix of “serious”, hilarious and grim dark proper, respectively. Look forward to your upcoming book reviews! 🤘🏼
Thanks for watching! I havnt read valdor I will have to pick it up! Reading about Thunder Warriors sounds interesting, I hope it's the part of their story I'm thinking it will be! As for Horus rising. I had it in the video and pulled it out a few times, I'm just not sure if it's the best place to start, I think the heresy hits harder and is more meaningful if you have knowledge of the 40k setting first, so you can see how different they are.
@@BenjaminsBookclub I reckon you'll love Valdor - then watch Luetin09's recent Adeptus Custodes video for added fluff! (NOTE: contains spoilers). Agree on the Horus Rising call, spot on!
I'd definitely recommend The Infinite And The Divine for anyone interested in Xenos and obviously especially Necrons. The Imperium has tons of good books, good Xenos books are rarer and should always be mentioned
Yeah I have to pick it up for sure. It's been on my mind whenever I've passed a Games Workshop store, but I hadn't pulled the trigger. I think I only have one book from the Xeno perspective, Brutal Kunnin'. Which I've yet to read :$
I just got back into reading books in general after 15 years and I started with the twice dead king ruin and loved it!! Just picked up a copy of twice dead king reign very keen. Great video btw
Great list! All of these are amazing books/series (at least the ones of them I've read, I haven't read Double Eagle or Brothers of the Snake). Maybe I'll check them out after I finish Kingmaker. My first Warhammer book was The Infinite and the Divine, and while fantastic I think having a good amount of prior knowledge on the setting was really helpful. Any reason you didn't choose the Dark Imperium trilogy? When I think of an introduction to "modern" Warhammer, that's the first series that comes to mind.
A very simple reason, I havn't read them. I was playing heavily at the release of 8th and around that time, but wasn't super interested in that part of the lore, I should try to pick them up and see how they are though. I really need to get around to reading The Infinite and the Divine don't I.
Amazing rundown. I've got friends who play Warhammer. I won't be going down that road. For obvious reasons. But have add most of your list to my kindle shopping list. Night Lords and the taking of armor. Sounds like the start of Genesis of the Daleks.
@@BenjaminsBookclub I played with a board game group. And a few were Warhammer players. Which got another interest. Till he found out he had to build, paint and the cost. I was like I told you it's insane. I did play some with their setups.
Thanks for this video Benjamin! Since I have come back to the fold of reading, I've been tempted to pick up some Warhammer but just felt overwhelmed and intimated. Thanks for breaking it down for a novice like myself!
The fact that you already read Star wars means you won't have that voice that many people have in their head that licensed sci fi isn't real sci fi books. So I think you will really like some of the Warhammer books!
One of my favourite 40k books is The Death of Antagonis, by David Annandale. It's the Space Marine Battles book for one of my favourite and, IMO, one of the most compelling Chapters, the Black Dragons, and it shows their struggles for acceptance, from both the wider Imperium and from their own self-doubts. A really fantastic standalone novel that showcases the lengths to which people will stoop to in order to prove their cause is just, and the lengths to which it takes us to truly value ourselves for what we are beyond how other people see us.
Awesome! I hadn't heard of this one, I do like David Annandale, and I have enjoyed the Space Marine Battle Books I've read so far, Rynn's World and Helsreach. You know I don't know much, if anything, about the Black Dragons either, I will have to add it to my (Ever expanding) TBR list! Thanks so much Great suggestion!
I just started reading my first WH book the other day. I decided to go with Valdor, Birth of the Imperium. Really enjoying it so far. Think I might go with Forges of Mars next. Thanks for the tips!
I have added that one to my TBR list as well! Someone in another comment suggested it actually. I really enjoyed Forges of Mars, seeing the sort of, dark side, of the labour it takes to get mechanicum things running was great. Let me know what you think!
I think Dante, and later the Devastation of Baal buy Guy Haley are pretty good introductory books also. Dante is mainly about the trials Dante had to undergo to become a space marine, so it's a pretty good way of learning about the space marines from a human perspective, and the Devastation of Baal is a maybe a little overstuffed for a new reader, but it's got good action and introduces some of the more recent plot developments that are still being explored in the current story arcs of the game.
You know I considered Detestation of Baal, but as you said I thought it might be a bit overstuffed, and it's been a very long time since I read it but I don't remember much in the way of describing what the Nids are and who the blood angels are, it's probably there but I forgot it. Dante however is a fantastic suggestion! I don't know why I didn't consider it! Blood angels is my biggest army on the tabletop too so I am a disgrace to my chapter master.
I did think Double Eagle was a bit silly in how much it was a WW2 novel with a coat of paint, and the idea of some campaign hinging on an air war when in most other stories every battle begins with the fragile, expensive air assets getting virtually wiped out to signify "shit's getting real."
I love that we can have different views on it. I adore that it's just a WW2 novel with a Warhammer theme haha. And I think the fact that the air assets are so often left out, mistreated or missing in a lot of other books are part of why I love this one so much.
Good call! I believe all of them are available on Audible! Which is how I read a few of them, I should of mentioned in the video that the Warhammer books have some fantastic narrators!
With only a few days remaining, I'm curious what your thoughts are of the Humble Bundle bundle "Stories from the worlds of warhammer 2024." Worth picking up as someone who enjoys the video games, but has yet to read a book?
The Black Legion books by Aaron Dempski Bowdan are fantastic, and you can get the first one, Talon of Horus in the cheapest option, along with Avenging Son, which I have not read but I have seen suggested as a good into to the current storylines. Bumping up to the next tier gets you Titanicus, which is one of my absolute favourite books. Looks like good value, I havnt read most of the books, and I havnt read any of the Sigmar ones. But there are a few 40k ones that I'd be keen to read, Lucius, Fire Caste, Lords of Silence, Ice Guard. I'd say it looks worth grabbing.
The first 40k books I read were Space Marine, Inquisitor and the Death Wing omnibus None of these would be appropriate for new readers today, given much of them are no longer canon
Thanks for the video! At a used book store I found forges of mars, the 2 space wolf omnibus' and the first space marine omnibus. How'd i do? Atleast one was on the list😅
@@josiahsterling7308 as someone who's been in and out (mostly in) of the game for almost 2 decades... You're not wrong... Make sure to come back and let me know what you read and what you thought!
@BenjaminsBookclub yeah space marine books are full of convenience and plot armor. Where there are the serious dude, the fat funny guy, the dumb guy, and the gun guy. I've read the ultra marine, space wolf, etc omnibus. The guard novels feel grounded.
Abnett is sooo overated. Night Lords is great though as is everything by ADB. Forges of mars seems to be the best entry point as it shows of so many of the different factions. All the Necron books are also great especially the infinite and the divine.
ADB is my faveorite black library author for sure, I am just so angry that I'm stuck waiting on Book 3 of Black Legion for so long :( I really need to read infinite adn the diving
Some of the stuff in the older novels may get contradicted in the future, but I don't think that takes away from the enjoyment of the older novels at all. Storm of Iron was published 22 years ago (Holy shit) and it's still as good today.
