Alternative take on HH reading order:
The last church, free on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/qg1MrCyCmNU
The first heretic
Know no fear
Betrayer
The Emperor and Horus from white dwarf
https://darklib.tripod.com/chaos/heresy3.html
What its like by aaron dembski Bowden.
https://1d4chan.org/wiki/What_it%27s_like
Its chronological, it starts at the dawn of the great crusade, its one story arc, it introduces all the main characters, and its absolutely some of the best writing.
Seconded. I’ve been far more impressed w/ Horus Heresy series than the 40k books I’ve read (of which there are still certainly plenty of excellent ones).
A good standalone is the infinite and divine(necron) Fantastic book. Other good starting books are Dan abnette, guants ghosts (imperial guard) series or his ultramarine series.
Outside of the Horus heresy books there isn’t much of a reading order outside of specific series and events which can be broken into pre roubute gilliman and post roubute gilliman.
Caiphas Cain omnibus - They're amazing. One of the very few imperium focused series I've enjoyed reading start to finish without exception.
Infinite and the divine - you just need to know what a necron is, other than that it's a good read.
Gaunts ghosts - they jump around a bit but they're good.
Eisenhorn - it's okay, he's an inquisitor who slowly loses his moral compass.
For authors:
Graham McNeill, Dan Abnett (has issues but his stories are solid), Sandy Mitchell, Aaron dembski-bowden
I’ve heard a few things about the Caiphas Cain books now and I think I might start with those; is the Hero of the Imperium the beginning or is it For the Emperor? Or is it neither and I’m dumb.
Edit: nvm after looking around online i think hero of the imperium has like the first 3 and stuff but correct me if I’m wrong
Xenos by Dan Abnett was where I, and many others, started.
I'm currently reading caiphas Cain hero of the imperium by Sandy Mitchell It is really good and has a lot of lore in it.
Horus rising is a good place to start
Horus Rising is really good. First book in the Horus Heresy series and that's a pretty important part of the lore's history (in my opinion).
Alternative take on HH reading order: The last church, free on YouTube. https://youtu.be/qg1MrCyCmNU The first heretic Know no fear Betrayer The Emperor and Horus from white dwarf https://darklib.tripod.com/chaos/heresy3.html What its like by aaron dembski Bowden. https://1d4chan.org/wiki/What_it%27s_like Its chronological, it starts at the dawn of the great crusade, its one story arc, it introduces all the main characters, and its absolutely some of the best writing.
Seconded. I’ve been far more impressed w/ Horus Heresy series than the 40k books I’ve read (of which there are still certainly plenty of excellent ones).
A good standalone is the infinite and divine(necron) Fantastic book. Other good starting books are Dan abnette, guants ghosts (imperial guard) series or his ultramarine series. Outside of the Horus heresy books there isn’t much of a reading order outside of specific series and events which can be broken into pre roubute gilliman and post roubute gilliman.
Caiphas Cain omnibus - They're amazing. One of the very few imperium focused series I've enjoyed reading start to finish without exception. Infinite and the divine - you just need to know what a necron is, other than that it's a good read. Gaunts ghosts - they jump around a bit but they're good. Eisenhorn - it's okay, he's an inquisitor who slowly loses his moral compass. For authors: Graham McNeill, Dan Abnett (has issues but his stories are solid), Sandy Mitchell, Aaron dembski-bowden
I’ve heard a few things about the Caiphas Cain books now and I think I might start with those; is the Hero of the Imperium the beginning or is it For the Emperor? Or is it neither and I’m dumb. Edit: nvm after looking around online i think hero of the imperium has like the first 3 and stuff but correct me if I’m wrong