So I’ve heard some descriptions of the 40,000 lore from a podcast I watch, and it sounds incredible, but there’s an awful lot of options to start from, with people recommending many different book series and youtube summaries. Is there a simpler approach, like just going into one standalone book to ground yourself before a bigger series? Or from a game to a tie-in book of some kind? Many thanks.
I would recommend starting with the introduction section of one of the rulebooks. The big ass rulebooks lay it all out for beginners, from the history of the imperium to an overview of the various alien factions. From there you can dive into novels and stuff.
The 3rd and 4th edition rulebooks are my personal favorites…
https://mega.nz/folder/MnpwFSKa#VP87K5isWgIYPyQtcTjkVw/folder/Am4DGIxJ
I started a few years ago, got hooked by the novella I got as an extra in the Mechanicus game. So I started to look where to start, just as you, and ended with this Horus Heresy Spoiler-Free reading order (kind of overwhelming, tbh). You could start with the first 3, then choose your own path (or not, no need to push yourself). Iirc the first book tells you how everything started and ended, and all those books are just deep dives in the point of view of a main character/legion/faction.
Fast forward to 40k: Einserhorn novels are great too.
Happy reading!
Horus Heresy. Specifically Horus Rising os a good starting point. From a human point of view.
Not sure beyond that.
Eisenhorn
Appreciate you
Anytime brothuuur.
Another vote for Horus Rising. They’re also in audiobook format. Just keep in mind the Horus Heresy time period is 10k years before current 40k so it’s kinda WH 30k and there is not a lot of xenos/alien content in there.
Almost anything by Dan Abnett is gold. I would put Chris Wraight in a very close second place and Aaron Dempski Bowden (ADB) in a close third. There are other good authors too John French and Graham McNeil.
Good standalone stories set in current 40k are also Armageddon, Dante, Blades of Damocles, And Lords of Silence (Chaos Space Marines)
Gaunt’s Ghosts is a great series about the Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum
Eisenhorn is a good Inquisitor series written like James Bond books.
Ciaphas Cain is for some lighthearted fun in a grimdark universe
