Warhammer 40k

I do think the main problem you'd have is that due to both the influences that go into 40k and indeed its own influences in pop culture(Starcraft, Edge of Tomorrow, etc) a good deal of the lore wouldn't really be THAT fresh.

Grey Knights do seem like they would be more interesting playing up the warrior monk aspect rather than just super soliders in power armor.
Gotta say i disagree with the idea that being new or fresh is essential to 40k. The point of 40k is fan service, it is a Mish mash of all the cool aspects of pop sci fi. Really what a 40k media would need to do is to be fun, hit all the sweet spots. In that sense what 40k would do best is a series along the lines of Spartacus. It dont take itself to serious but it has fun with what it do.

Series wise it should crib a bit from GOT. As in make a sub sector with sepearte factions that have intertwining stories that climax in a single crisis.
Imperials struggling against the harsh realities of the 40k universe, facing chaos cults, genestealers.
Space marines tryin to survive, raidning a space hulk for chapter relics,

Orks fighting it out with a nob emerging to lead a wahh!

Etc...
 
my favorite 40k books
i read the trilogy every year
Talos bless
See these?
vM2NTXezE681kwnf.jpg
 
I like them, like the emo cousin
Depends on how they are written. Sometimes they are the Emo cousins, and Kurze is a loser.
Really only Bowden paints them as being cool. Which is murders and criminals with a twisted code of honor making them Honorable in a twisted way that relates only to them. He really did capture the appeal of what OC is in the 40k universe.
But often times especially in non abnett material they are throw aways and cowardly space pirates.
But i digress
 
Which 40k books are worth reading biys

I'm a fan of the old Dan Abnett ones.

2101640.jpg
This is what I started with as recommended by many. I listened to the audiobooks, they are all excellent.

Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy In Flames, Flight Of The Eisenstein, Fulgrim

They are part of the Horus Heresy, an event that basically split the armies of Mankind. It also introduces us to the Astartes/Space Marines while slowly revealing Chaos to them and us. Setting the Emperor up as the God he's eventually worshipped as is handled well too

It's set almost a millennia before the current timeline in, so a great starting point for noobs to the lore like us.

I'm now onto the Garro short stories/audio dramas, I fucking love him! Outside Fulgrim (think it's a prequel to the Heresy), they all follow each other.

Once I wrap up the Garro books, I'm either going to listen to the Eisenhorn trilogy, or Gaunt's Ghosts.

@Rand M Arthur what follows immediately after Garro's books?
 
@GtehMVP

I haven't actually listened to or read the Garro stories, I haven't even read the Revenor either. Weren't the Garro short stories in the 40K magazine originally? I've copy&pasted this from another forum, and it looks right for GG and Eisenhorn.

Horus Rising
False Gods
Galaxy in Flames
Flight of the Eisenstein
Fulgrim
Descent of Angels
Legion
~015.M39: The Alien Beast Within
~021.M39: Draco (May not have happened - Inquisition War)
~100.M39: Warped Stars
~122.M39: Harlequin (May not have happened - Inquisition War)
~122.M39: Chaos Child (May not have happened - Inquisition War)
~123.M39: Draco – Epilogue
143.M41: Execution Hour
240.M41: Xenos
241.M41: Missing in Action
338.M41: Malleus
355.M41: Backcloth for a Crown Additional
386.M41: Hereticus
402.M41: Ravenor (Thanks Peregrine!)
403.M41: Ravenor Returned (Thanks Peregrine!)
404.M41: Ravenor Rogue (Thanks Irandura!)
(From here onwards, the Gaunts Ghosts series is mixed in, and it is very fragmented with all the short stories. Plus, I've only got The Founding omnibus, and I'm sure some of the short stories are out of place in this list)
735.M41: Manzipor (Fp107)
736.M41: Ignatius Cardinal (Fp85)
~740.M41: Rogue Star
745.M41: Darendara (Fp21, Fp231)
747.M41: Gylatus Decimus (Fp49)
749.M41: Khedd 1173 (Fp159)
765.M41: Ghostmaker (Fp245)
765.M41: A Blooding (Fp265)
765.M41: Nubila Reach (Fp15)
765.M41: First and Only
766.M41: The Angel of Bucelaphon (Fp319)
766.M41: The Hollows of Hell (Fp299)
766.M41: That Hideous Strength (Fp333)
767.M41: Permafrost (Fp349)
767.M41: Blood Oath (Fp365)
767.M41: Sound and Fury (Fp289)
768.M41: A Simple Plan (Fp387)
768.M41: Witch Hunt (Fp411, Fp243, Fp263, Fp285, Fp297, Fp317, Fp331, Fp347, Fp363, Fp385, Fp409)
768.M41: Some Dark and Secret Purpose (Fp429)
769.M41: Necropolis (Fp489)
769.M41: In Remembrance (Fp747)
770.M41: Honour Guard
771.M41: The Guns of Tanith
772.M41: Straight Silver
773.M41: Sabbat Martyr
774.M41: Traitor General
919.M41: Fight or Flight
922.M41: Sector 13
924.M41: Death or Glory
926.M41: The Beguiling
928.M41: Echoes of the Tomb
931.M41: For the Emperor
932.M41: Caves of Ice
937.M41: The Traitors Hand
(From here on out, these are in approximate order - there are very few dates for these besides the Ultramarines saga, which all happens in 999 unfortunately)
~996.M41: Deliverance
~996.M41: 13th Legion
~997.M41: Soul Drinker
~997.M41: Eye of Terror
~997.M41: Liberty
~998.M41: The Bleeding Chalice
~998.M41: Crimson Tears
~998.M41: Kill Team
~998.M41: Deus Encarmine
~998.M41: Deus Sanguinius
~999.M41: Chains of Command
999.M41: Nightbringer
999.M41: Storm of Iron
999.M41: Leviathan
999.M41: Grey Knights (Thanks Peregrine!)
999.M41: Warriors of Ultramar
999.M41: The Enemy of My Enemy
999.M41: Consequences
999.M41: Dead Sky, Black Sun
999.M41: Dark Adeptus
999.M41: Annihilation Squad (It says three years after the Second Ork invasion, but that was in 998, so I'm assuming it was the warp diluting time or something)
 
@GtehMVP

I haven't actually listened to or read the Garro stories, I haven't even read the Revenor either. Weren't the Garro short stories in the 40K magazine originally? I've copy&pasted this from another forum, and it looks right for GG and Eisenhorn.

ELkQSTIW4AAy5kK.jpg

Horus Rising
False Gods
Galaxy in Flames
Flight of the Eisenstein
Fulgrim
Descent of Angels
Legion
~015.M39: The Alien Beast Within
~021.M39: Draco (May not have happened - Inquisition War)
~100.M39: Warped Stars
~122.M39: Harlequin (May not have happened - Inquisition War)
~122.M39: Chaos Child (May not have happened - Inquisition War)
~123.M39: Draco – Epilogue
143.M41: Execution Hour
240.M41: Xenos
241.M41: Missing in Action
338.M41: Malleus
355.M41: Backcloth for a Crown Additional
386.M41: Hereticus
402.M41: Ravenor (Thanks Peregrine!)
403.M41: Ravenor Returned (Thanks Peregrine!)
404.M41: Ravenor Rogue (Thanks Irandura!)
(From here onwards, the Gaunts Ghosts series is mixed in, and it is very fragmented with all the short stories. Plus, I've only got The Founding omnibus, and I'm sure some of the short stories are out of place in this list)
735.M41: Manzipor (Fp107)
736.M41: Ignatius Cardinal (Fp85)
~740.M41: Rogue Star
745.M41: Darendara (Fp21, Fp231)
747.M41: Gylatus Decimus (Fp49)
749.M41: Khedd 1173 (Fp159)
765.M41: Ghostmaker (Fp245)
765.M41: A Blooding (Fp265)
765.M41: Nubila Reach (Fp15)
765.M41: First and Only
766.M41: The Angel of Bucelaphon (Fp319)
766.M41: The Hollows of Hell (Fp299)
766.M41: That Hideous Strength (Fp333)
767.M41: Permafrost (Fp349)
767.M41: Blood Oath (Fp365)
767.M41: Sound and Fury (Fp289)
768.M41: A Simple Plan (Fp387)
768.M41: Witch Hunt (Fp411, Fp243, Fp263, Fp285, Fp297, Fp317, Fp331, Fp347, Fp363, Fp385, Fp409)
768.M41: Some Dark and Secret Purpose (Fp429)
769.M41: Necropolis (Fp489)
769.M41: In Remembrance (Fp747)
770.M41: Honour Guard
771.M41: The Guns of Tanith
772.M41: Straight Silver
773.M41: Sabbat Martyr
774.M41: Traitor General
919.M41: Fight or Flight
922.M41: Sector 13
924.M41: Death or Glory
926.M41: The Beguiling
928.M41: Echoes of the Tomb
931.M41: For the Emperor
932.M41: Caves of Ice
937.M41: The Traitors Hand
(From here on out, these are in approximate order - there are very few dates for these besides the Ultramarines saga, which all happens in 999 unfortunately)
~996.M41: Deliverance
~996.M41: 13th Legion
~997.M41: Soul Drinker
~997.M41: Eye of Terror
~997.M41: Liberty
~998.M41: The Bleeding Chalice
~998.M41: Crimson Tears
~998.M41: Kill Team
~998.M41: Deus Encarmine
~998.M41: Deus Sanguinius
~999.M41: Chains of Command
999.M41: Nightbringer
999.M41: Storm of Iron
999.M41: Leviathan
999.M41: Grey Knights (Thanks Peregrine!)
999.M41: Warriors of Ultramar
999.M41: The Enemy of My Enemy
999.M41: Consequences
999.M41: Dead Sky, Black Sun
999.M41: Dark Adeptus
999.M41: Annihilation Squad (It says three years after the Second Ork invasion, but that was in 998, so I'm assuming it was the warp diluting time or something)

Thanks man! I wanted to continue the story post Flight of the Eisenstein. The Garro stories do that. Apparently it doesn't cover anything essential in the Heresy, but I really love the character and the glimpses into the Emperor's inner circle. They also write Psykers like the reader never heard of them before, so it's good for newer people. I've been a fan of 40k for decades, but never dipped below the surface. It's so crazy good lol

I found another good reading guide too
https://blog.basementofdeath.com/2018/05/01/horus-heresy-reading-guidance/


As a fan of Starcraft, I'm jealous of Warhammer 40K for all the additional novels and lore you guys can enjoy.

From what I know, Warcraft and Starcraft are inspired heavily by Warhammer (which came first). They all borrow from Tolkien and other fantasy tropes that came before of course. There's always that rumour that Blizzard wanted to make Warcraft based on Warhammer, but Games Workshop denied them a license, so they went their own way. I loved those early Warcraft games.

I'm a big Starcraft fan too. What I understand is that one of the main guys behind it (Chris Metzen) is a big 40K and Star Wars/Firefly fan, which is why Starcraft has the feel of all of them, chunky space western.

If you enjoy the Starcraft, you'll love 40K, the lore is ridiculously rich. This is the video that got me hooked. The creators have done a really good job with fragmenting history info, much like our ancient Pyramid builders. There are always old tech/new discoveries to make. They already have an established rich universe, but this leaves it open to be expanded upon, while keeping things deliciously mysterious/intriguing lol
 
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ELkQSTIW4AAy5kK.jpg
I'm a big Starcraft fan too. What I understand is that one of the main guys behind it (Chris Metzen) is a big 40K and Star Wars/Firefly fan, which is why Starcraft has the feel of all of them, chunky space western.
I think you've got your dates scrambled there. Starcraft: 1998. Firefly: 2002.
 
I think you've got your dates scrambled there. Starcraft: 1998. Firefly: 2002.
Starcraft II - 2010
2G4VZH5TIWJF1602720144046.jpg

The story plays like a Space Western. You can clearly see the Firefly influence. There's even an Easter egg ripped from Firefly, but I forget what it is, I think a quote and some music? It's been a while. They reference a lot of sci-fi pop culture, from Fallout to Transformers, but you can clearly see the Firefly/Star Wars space western influences. Regardless, it's pure magic!
 
Starcraft II - 2010
2G4VZH5TIWJF1602720144046.jpg

The story plays like a Space Western. You can clearly see the Firefly influence. There's even an Easter egg ripped from Firefly, but I forget what it is, I think a quote and some music? It's been a while. They reference a lot of sci-fi pop culture, from Fallout to Transformers, but you can clearly see the Firefly/Star Wars space western influences. Regardless, it's pure magic!
Well, I'll take your word for it, never played the sequel. But the first one doesn't have any of that feel to me.
 
As a fan of Starcraft, I'm jealous of Warhammer 40K for all the additional novels and lore you guys can enjoy.

Just imagine all the shit in Starcraft is in some corner of the Imperium.

Warhammer lore is like "Fuck it, entirely possible, I dunno." Even for the creators a lot of the time!!!

I'm currently developing a sequel for Angels in The Outfield that takes place at the heart of Adeptus Mechanicus power, after all.......
 
Women would make inferior space marines due to ... Nature. Male bodies are tougher. Denser bones and muscles, more test, faster muscle reactions.
Also, imagine a space marine with PMS or on her period.
To be fair, female space marines if possible, would be completely different, they would basically be men. The amount of trials and phases regular Astartes go through, they're basically... i don't even know....they're inhuman at that point, as we all know. As the other poster said, its 40k, the amount of tech and genetic engineering done borders on "magic", so getting rid of PMS and other inconveniences wouldn't be an issue. Female space marines would end up looking like guys anyways, not the typical fanart of hot chicks in slender powerarmor.
 
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Well, I'll take your word for it, never played the sequel. But the first one doesn't have any of that feel to me.
You should play it, it's fucking awesome! I think it's free on Battle net, at least the main campaign?

I remember reading the game manual from the first game on the toilet near endless times. Jim Raynor FTW lol
229165-jimraynor_sc1_cncpt1.jpg

Starcraft always gave me a Heavy Metal vibe

 
From what I know, Warcraft and Starcraft are inspired heavily by Warhammer (which came first). They all borrow from Tolkien and other fantasy tropes that came before of course. There's always that rumour that Blizzard wanted to make Warcraft based on Warhammer, but Games Workshop denied them a license, so they went their own way. I loved those early Warcraft games.

I'm a big Starcraft fan too. What I understand is that one of the main guys behind it (Chris Metzen) is a big 40K and Star Wars/Firefly fan, which is why Starcraft has the feel of all of them, chunky space western.

If you enjoy the Starcraft, you'll love 40K, the lore is ridiculously rich. This is the video that got me hooked. The creators have done a really good job with fragmenting history info, much like our ancient Pyramid builders. There are always old tech/new discoveries to make. They already have an established rich universe, but this leaves it open to be expanded upon, while keeping things deliciously mysterious/intriguing lol

I just watched that video, and the 'introduction to 40K' and holy shit.... and I thought the Star Wars EU was deep with 50+ novels set after Ep6 'Return of the Jedi' alone.

This looks like its way too much for me to get into.

I guess what I like about Starcraft and Star Wars is its character driven. With 40K you have to keep up with entire factions at war with eachother, and that's a bit too much for me to get into.
 
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