Basic WH40K Reading List

[Imperial Overlord]

I keep hearing from various people that Cadian Blood is supposedly really good; is it like that, or different, more Ghosts or Last Chancers style with characters with actual personality?

I haven't read it, but it's written by Aaron Dembski-Bowden and everything I have read by him has been great.

[Stravo]

I keep hearing from various people that Cadian Blood is supposedly really good; is it like that, or different, more Ghosts or Last Chancers style with characters with actual personality?

I haven't read it, but it's written by Aaron Dembski-Bowden and everything I have read by him has been great.

Seconded. His book First Heretic is one of the best in the Horus Heresy novels so far. Excellent stuff. I hear his Night Lords novels are also excellent and they are on my list to read next.

[Jaevric]

I'd definitely agree that Cadian Blood was a well-done novel. The characters do have personality, though within the confines you'd reasonably expect of the kind of soldiers who make it into an elite Cadian regiment; no Mad Larkins or Major Rawnes, but competent professionals.

I'd also second the recommendation of his Night Lords novels; I've enjoyed both of them so far. The novels are a heartwarming tale of an incredibly dysfunctional family held together by the simple fact that they hate the rest of the galaxy even more than they hate each other. The Night Lords definitely have more personality than the generic Chaos Space Marine, and since they're the focus of the novels they aren't forced into plot-induced stupidity so the "good guys" can win.

[Imperial Overlord]

Both of his Night Lords novels are excellent.

[Nuts!]

DEMBSKI-BOWDEN! MIGHTY IS HE!

...less fanboy-worship, less fanboy-worship, OK I'm better now. More seriously, Cadian Blood is a well-written, well-constructed piece of literature. It's a little Cadian-wankish (see title, after all), but doesn't get too bad overall and doesn't get ridiculous about it either. Chaos is depicted well as a horrific, frightening, and above all capable enemy, the protagonists are fairly simple but are still compelling, and the sheer amount of FUCK YEAH! Awesomeness in the story can break an unprepared mind. Three tentacles up.

[Kuja]

I guess I'm going to be the iconoclast here, then. I thought Cadian Blood was mostly average. It started off strong, and I thought the characters were competantly written, but it felt like it lost a lot of momentum when it abruptly shifted to a naval battle in the middle of a "boots on the ground" guardsman story. And I'm sorry, you can't build dramatic tension with a ship that struggling to fire a killshot at Typhus the Traveller. We know that fucker's not going to die, let alone in some standalone Guard novel. Just kill the damn ship and be done with it. I thought the ending was weak as well.

And sorry, but I still maintain that First Heretic was mediocre at best, boring and frustrating at worst.

[Zinegata]

+1 to Eisenhorn as the best introduction to 40K. Unfortunately, like typical Abnett the story does tend to end abruptly.

Also, always get the Omnibuses. It's cheaper that way.

If you're into the AdMech though, I would also recommend "Titanicus". Same problem as a typical Abnett, but it does let you glimpse how a Titan legion works and fights.

[Nuts!]

I guess I'm going to be the iconoclast here, then. I thought Cadian Blood was mostly average. It started off strong, and I thought the characters were competantly written, but it felt like it lost a lot of momentum when it abruptly shifted to a naval battle in the middle of a "boots on the ground" guardsman story. And I'm sorry, you can't build dramatic tension with a ship that struggling to fire a killshot at Typhus the Traveller. We know that fucker's not going to die, let alone in some standalone Guard novel. Just kill the damn ship and be done with it. I thought the ending was weak as well.

And sorry, but I still maintain that First Heretic was mediocre at best, boring and frustrating at worst.

Fair enough, although I remember the naval section being pretty damn good the first time around. *re-reads naval section* Yeah, still good. You know the Imperials are screwed, they know they're screwed, and the enemy damn well knows it too, but they don't stop fighting. They're resourceful, smart, and balls-of-titanium brave - and they're still going to die. If you can't see something awesome in that, then try re-reading it. Plus which, it does build dramatic tension for the ground fight: the navy's fought and died, so what do you think will happen to the Guardsmen on the ground?