22 books14 my picksEvery card says who recommends it
Black Library has published hundreds of Warhammer novels, and most readers ask the same question first: where do I even start? Every 40K book below was recommended as a starting point by the author of this site, Instagram book creators, YouTube channels or readers on Reddit, and each card says who. Each card also says how much you need to know about the setting. The last section covers Warhammer Fantasy. The list is spoiler-free.
Start here
The three books recommended most often. You can start any of them without knowing the setting.
Dan AbnettStart with Xenos, or Eisenhorn: The Omnibus
My pick
What it is
Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn hunts daemons, aliens and heretics, and over the series goes from a zealous servant of the truth to working with the powers he swore to destroy. The publisher calls it "part detective story, part interplanetary epic." The omnibus collects Xenos, Malleus, Hereticus and The Magos, plus four short stories.
Good to know
an investigation more than a war story, with few Space Marines or space battles.
Dan AbnettStart with First and Only, or The Founding omnibus (First and Only, Ghostmaker, Necropolis)
My pick
What it is
Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt leads the Tanith First and Only, a light infantry regiment of survivors from a destroyed world, through the Sabbat Worlds crusade.
Good to know
military science fiction about ordinary soldiers in one regiment: infantry warfare, rival regiments and treachery in the command. One reviewer says it "works extremely well for readers unfamiliar with the Warhammer 40,000 universe." The series runs to more than sixteen novels.
Sandy MitchellOmnibus of the first three novels: For the Emperor, Caves of Ice, The Traitor's Hand
My pick
What it is
Commissar Ciaphas Cain is celebrated as a hero, but all he wants is an easy life away from danger, and he survives on luck, bluff and self-preservation. The books are presented as his memoirs, edited and footnoted by Amberley Vail.
Good to know
a comedy with a straight face, and lighter on lore than most Warhammer fiction. Some running jokes repeat across the novels.
Dan AbnettLinked short stories ending in a novella
What it is
one Space Marine of the Iron Snakes chapter, followed from early in his career. It shows how Space Marines think and fight, and how few of them there are for the wars they are needed in.
Good to know
stories rather than one novel; a good reference point for Space Marines in other books.
on the hive world Sacramentus, the planetary governor has been deposed in a scandal and the city slides toward chaos. An outsider is installed as governor while the Adeptus Arbites hunt traitors, gangs grab territory and forbidden cults grow bolder.
Good to know
law enforcers and city politics rather than soldiers; new in 2026.
two Necrons, Trazyn the Infinite, a collector of history, and Orikan the Diviner, an astromancer, have been rivals since they were alive. When Orikan steals an artifact from Trazyn's galleries, their feud runs for thousands of years.
Good to know
often laugh-out-loud funny, with more dialogue than action. HoodGuard calls it a must-read but not a first book: it helps to know the Necrons first.
Abaddon the Despoiler launches the 13th Black Crusade against Cadia, the fortress world that guards the Imperium against Chaos. Viewpoints include Lord Castellan Creed, Abaddon himself and a soldier thrust into command.
Good to know
one reviewer says it "is definitely not a good novel for beginners." Read it once you know the setting.
Horus and his Luna Wolves, still loyal to the Emperor, in the years before the civil war that shaped the Imperium.
Good to know
both creators say it means more if you know the setting. The first three books, Horus Rising, False Gods and Galaxy in Flames, are essentially one story; the full series is very long.
No creator we follow has recommended these yet, so they are our own picks. They are set in the Old World, the setting of Warhammer Fantasy, not in the 41st millennium.
Nathan LongStart with Blackhearts, book 1, also in Blackhearts: The Omnibus
My pick
What it is
nine convicts and their keeper choose a suicide mission over the noose and are sent deep into enemy territory to recover a relic that could turn the war.
Magnus Ironblood, a broke, hard-drinking former Imperial engineer, is hired to bring down the walls of a rebel mountain fortress with a small, under-equipped force after an earlier army vanished.
Good to know
engineers, artillery and a siege in Warhammer's gunpowder Empire; some Old World familiarity helps.
Nick KymePart of Black Library's series on the Empire's armies, later in The Empire omnibus
My pick
What it is
rank-and-file soldiers defend the Reikland against an orc and goblin invasion while the Elector Counts quarrel and a plot against their prince unfolds.
Chris WraightStart with book 1 of a duology, collected in Swords of the Emperor
My pick
What it is
Ludwig Schwarzhelm, the Emperor's Champion, is sent to Averland to oversee a new Elector Count and must hold the province together against greenskins and rival princes.
Good to know
commanders and politics rather than rank-and-file soldiers.
Recommended by
My pick: Sandro has read it and recommends it
FAQ
Where should I start with Warhammer 40K books?
Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn or Gaunt's Ghosts. They are recommended as starting points more often than any other books, and neither needs any knowledge of the setting. For comedy, start with Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium.
What is the Gaunt's Ghosts reading order?
Start with First and Only, then Ghostmaker and Necropolis. The omnibus The Founding collects all three.
Where does the Horus Heresy start?
With Horus Rising by Dan Abnett (2006). The Horus Heresy is a civil war set about 10,000 years before Warhammer 40,000. Fifty-four books carry the Horus Heresy name, some of them anthologies, and ten Siege of Terra books follow. The last, The End and the Death, came out in three volumes and ended the series in 2024.
Do I need to play the game to read the books?
No. Gaunt's Ghosts, Eisenhorn and Ciaphas Cain are all recommended to readers new to the setting. Leave The Fall of Cadia, The Infinite and the Divine and the Night Lords books for later.
Sources
Recommendations: the Instagram posts and YouTube videos linked on each card; readers on Reddit.
Descriptions of Brothers of the Snake, Helsreach, Cadia Stands, Fire Caste, Double Eagle, Titanicus, Priests of Mars, Storm of Iron, Night Lords and Horus Rising: the YouTube videos linked on those cards.