I’ve seen a bit of it around but know nothing about it. I do love large world building with extensive story lines (I really enjoyed the entire Dune series, even the prequels his son wrote). So if I wanted to start reading WH books, where should I start?
Emperor Text to Speech :D
Eisenhorn
40k can seem overwhelming because of the sheer amount of lore, but keep in mind this is a universe that’s been added to but by bit over many years, and that you don’t need to be an expert in every recessed detail of it. You can jump in from pretty much any angle, and you’ll learn bits and pieces. The universe was designed in a way where not knowing certain deep rabbit holes is itself part of the universe, which is full of ignorance, garbled retellings of events, and outright myth.
Novels aren’t the only way to dive into the 40k universe. It is a universe that really works when presented with a combination of art, tabletop photos, short stories, lore snippets, and the occasional longer form.
3rd through 5th edition codexes and the main rulebook are a gateway into the universe even if you don’t plan on using any of the rules. All codexes and books have lore, but I personally love this era of 40k and the rulebooks for it can be found relatively cheaply.
The Infinite and the Divine. Follows two Necrons, but you don’t need to know anything at all about them or 40K beforehand. It’s standalone, but connects with another set of books should you want more. It eases you into the density of the lore, while having the over the top charm we love about 40K.
Having read I don’t know how many warhammer books at this point I disagree with the Eisenhorn starting point. It’s good, but if you’ve read any sci/fi fantasy novel in the last 20 years then you’ve basically read Eisenhorn, but now it has a 40K paint job. Follows humans, which granted are interesting in the universe, but we’ve read enough about humans check out some immortal space robot mummies instead!
Helsreach was my introduction to the universe
I will warn you, as a Dune and SW fan myself, the lore and books probably are equal or surpass them. I’ve been a fan of the storyline since the 90s and with the advent of the Horus Heresy series back in the early 2000s it made my day.
That being said. A lot of people will suggest that as a starting point. It actually takes place 10k before the current events and follows everything that leads up to the downfall of the Imperium and how it ends up being basically the Grimdark setting it is today. It’s about 60+ books and some heavy reading.
The last few of that series (which JUST ended) is sort of considered a separate series called the Siege of Terra and follows the end of the Horus Heresy and the final battle between Horus and the Emperor and explains how he ended up on the Golden Throne.
If you would like something more current and a little shorter read there is the Eisenhorn series. It’s a fantastic series about an Inquisitor and his retinue. It’s a very popular 40k series.
I started my journy this summer. I found some websites talking about where to start and so I followed them. Books vary in quality quite a bit. Eisenhorn was too dry, but the Nightlords trilogy was excelent. Start by watching a YT video about the lore, just a simple rundown in 15 min and pick up any book about a faction that catches your eye. My suggestion is to skip the Path of Eldar books. They are just bad.