Black Library: Where to start?

[evil_bryan]

Count me in as another Abnett fanboy.

I would echo the suggestions of the Horus Heresy and Gaunt's Ghosts books. I would also add the Eisenhorn and Ravenor books as well.

[Jearden]

Here is another Abnett fanboy! Anything by Abnett is good to me.

Dear lord I was beginning to think no one would mention Eisenhorn! I have really enjoyed Ravenor, but for my money, Eisenhorn is great!

Ive heard that the next triology is going to be Ravenor being sent by the Inquisition to chase down the radical, rebel Eisenhorn. Oh man will that be great! I do believe I will be buying those in hardback.

When I first dove in I read the Guants Ghost's 1st Omnibus, and I wasnt disappointed.

[lauran]

I havn't read eisenhorn and ravenor, so I don't know much about them.
Eisenhorn was a loyal inquisitor and turned traitor?
If the next book is about ravenor hunting eisenhorn down, it would be a great story.

[Schnitzel]

I just got my copies of the Eisenhorn and Ravenor Omnibus' the other day. Needless to say, I'm stoked.

"Hello, little thing. I am Cherubael"
I absolutely love that line. Haha. It just reeks of foreboding darkness to me. I dunno why.

[Kozemp]

Okay, so I'm going to start with the Gaunt's Ghosts omnibus and Horus Rising for 40K, and the Witch Hunter omnibus and Heldenhammer for Fantasy. Unless those are really terrible choices.

I'll try and find my way around after that - anything that is totally awful that I should avoid?

[RealGenius]

Despite being an avid reader and big 40k fan, my first BL book was Brothers of the Snake, that I got in my goodie bag at BoLSCon. It is a great read, and while I don't have any other BL titles to compare it against, I'd recommend it as a starter since it is a stand-alone, so you don't have to get stuck in a big trilogy or larger and it is by Abnett, one of the better BL writers.

Oh, wait, I take that back, I did read Eldar Prophecy by CS Goto about a year ago. But I'm trying to block it out; it was terrible.

[Aldramelech]

Okay, so I'm going to start with the Gaunt's Ghosts omnibus and Horus Rising for 40K, and the Witch Hunter omnibus and Heldenhammer for Fantasy. Unless those are really terrible choices.

I'll try and find my way around after that - anything that is totally awful that I should avoid?

To be honest, Ive yet to read a bad one. Those choices sound good to me. Enjoy!

[Nabterayl]

Can I ask a related question? What do people actually like about the BL novels? I too am a big fan of the fluff, but I've always been worried that the novels would adhere too closely to fluff, and in so doing not take the universe seriously enough.

What do I mean by that? Bolters are a good example. If you go with the fluff that states that bolters are .75 caliber rocket-propelled shells, then they aren't the size of Coke cans, and they would have less kick, and exert less pressure on the barrel, than the same projectile without rocket propulsion. That's just a fact of ballistics (well, and in the case of the Coke cans, a fact of definitions - Coke cans are 1.50 caliber, if you want to phrase it that way). If you go with the fluff that states or implies that bolters are larger than .75 caliber, then you run into [even more] serious ammunition capacity implications.

Same thing goes for chain weapons (the technique of cutting with a chainsaw is materially different than the technique of cutting with an edged weapon), and some of the more propagandistic statements. It's always bothered me when people describe space marines as heroic, for example. To be certain, they're enormously competent fighting men, and from a certain point of view selfless. From another point of view, they're self-centered conceited gits :P The behavior of the Dark Angels at Vraks, the Blood Angels at Tempestora, and the Red Scorpions at Beta Anphelion IV seems typical to me of space marines. One of the things I've appreciated about the Dawn of War games and Imperial Armour is that they seem to understand that there's plenty to hate about space marines, as well as plenty to admire.

So I guess my question is ... how seriously do Black Library authors take the implications of the fluff they're working from, in terms of character as well as the physical aspects of the setting?

[ThePov]

Well, they do Tend to take a lot of liberties with the fluff, I've noticed. I mean, nothing that couldn't be explained by the vastness of the 40K galaxy, but not every weapon I've seen used adheres strictly to the fluff specs. I haven't read any novels focussing on Space Marines outside of the Heresy yet, but so far in the Heresy, even loyal Marines are not always upstanding individuals. Slightly more honorable than their traitor brethern, but they're still motivated as much by vengance and ambition as the traitors.

[wittdooley]

Well, this is an update, but Amazon just told me they shipped my copy of Nick Kyme's Salamander. I'm stoked. I'll give you guys a review about 2 days after I get it. Yay!