Greetings everyone. I wanted to learn more about the Warhammer 40.000 Universe and I checked wiki of it. It was so vast and I didn't knew where to start so I started randomly reading about lore and stuff. I wanted to read the books but I don't which one I should start with. So if anyone can give me advice on which one I should start reading first I would appreciate it.
The novels are too varied and target specific audiences. I'd buy the core game if I were you; it is a set of three hard cover, full colour books. Two of those books you'll find very useful. One is full of background information for the universe and the armies. The other full of painted miniature galleries of the same.
Well, if you do want a good starting point for Chaos, and you are looking for a story rather than a general fact book, i'd suggest reading Anthony Reynolds' Word Bearers trilogy. It does require a bit of understanding but it's probably the best point to ease you in as a true introduction to the current universe, and best of all it manages to treat every side with some respect. It's also a lot cheaper than buying a core rulebook or codex. Admittedly, truth be told, you kind of need to approach this franchise with the understanding that you'll likely not be given all the answers at once.
I'll make it simple for you. Read the tabletop game rulebook, most of the book is filled with lore and information. from there there is a codex box with in depth info on each faction. Then if you wish to read the novels I recommend the 'Horus Heresy series'.
New newest edition has now separated the rules, lore and miniature galleries into three smaller books that slide into a single case.
Be selective, read the reviews and make sure its a book you actually want. Black Library has some good authors, but they aren't opposed to produce some crap novels. Not all the lore is something you actually want to read, CS Goto is high on the do not read list. For Chaos, anything ABD is golden. So the Night Lords Omnibus, First Heretic, Betrayer, and Talon of Horus. The Arhiman series is good as well, and Thousand Sons. For a loyalist perspective, I recommend Scars because Space Mongols are awesome.
That's found more or less in the background book that I mentioned: "The history of the 41st Millennium is presented in the second book, Dark Millennium. In 128 pages it describes the crumbling Imperium of man and their many enemies, within and without, which wage war against humanity and each other."
It all comes down to what you want to read about? What interests you the most? If you want to read about Space Marines, and especially a novice like you, I'd say read the Ultramarines novel series, a hexalogy (6 novel series). If you want to read about Chaos, pretty much what De'Tortor says, all the ADB stuff as well as the Worb Bearers omnibus. If you want to read about Imperial Guard, read the long ass Gaunt's Ghosts novel series. Now this series I have not read so I can't give you any information on it, but it's suppose to be like the-everybody's favorite Imperial Guard series. If you want to read about the Inquisition, the Eisenhorn omnibus, the Ravenor omnibus and the on going Bequin series. If you want to read about Eldar, read the Path of the Eldar trilogy by: Gav Thorpe. If you want to read about the Dark Eldar, read the Dark Eldar trilogy by: Andy Chambers. And so many other more stuff, and above all, definitely read the 'Horus Heresy' novel series. A lot of these books I mentioned, I myself haven't even read them all, but it's what I would read if I was new to the universe.
