Top 10 Warhammer Books - The Best Black Library Books

[@LeftHandEats]

The moment I saw Eisenhorn & Infinite/Divine on the list I knew this man’s opinion could be trusted wholeheartedly. This man Warhammers.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Ha Thanks so much! I have been known to Warhammer from time to time.

[@MidnightHozz]

Have not read nearly as many of these as you but I have read enough to know that ADB is the best 40K author.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

He is just brilliant!

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

It is certainly arguable! Chris Wraight is a contender too, and Dan Abnett of course.

[@blakemyers643]

Second best Dan abnett is the best. Adb puts to many of his daddy issues into his work to be number 1

[@MidnightHozz]

@ Haven’t noticed daddy issues. I think Abnett is good, but some of his work is overrated

[@sebastiaanboonstra7471]

Nonsense. It’s Dan Abnett.

[@abillington8759]

Know No Fear is one of the few Heresy books I reread a lot. Genuinely an outstanding book.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I've only read it twice, but I am considering giving the Audiobook a go for a third read!

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

A disaster movie that becomes a war story

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

​@@HistoritorJimaldusgreat tagline for it!

[@Eschrich13]

I need to give it another shot, I read it sandwiched between First Heretic and Betrayer and it felt so flat compared to how great those other 2 are. Everyone loves it though so I must be missing something.

[@james87367]

I’m so happy that I’ve read 70% of your top 10. I’ve listened to them all on audiobook countless times. Literally.

[@kJD3.14]

I just find myself watching your videos and switching back and forth between KZbin and my audible account. Some great videos!

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

:D ha that's amazing, I should get an audible sponsorship one day haha, Ive had an account for like over a decade so I'm sure I'd still be in the negatives :D Thanks so much :)

[@thneakythniper]

I've only read a handful of Warhammer 40k books so far, but I can already tell that Aaron Dembski-Bowden will be one of my favorite authors. I'm reading his Night Lords Omnibus rn. Talos is such a fun character to read about

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

He is just fantastic, the only things of his I havnt read Ive avoided because he keeps making me buy new armies by making them interesting, black Templars, black Legion, emperors spears, word eaters.....

[@thneakythniper]

@BenjaminsBookclub lol I got ahead of that. Before I fully got into the lore of Warhammer 40k, i told my wife to never let me get into army building no matter what. That way I don't financially cripple my family 😂

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@@thneakythniper Ha, I got the little plastic space man bug back when I was like, 12, there was never any hope for me. 😅

[@nadeeml9276]

Excellent video. Kinda wish there was a 'special mentions' section for Ciaphas Cain and Gaunt's Ghosts. Perhaps not in the top 11, but they come close. Looking forward to your future videos

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

If a Ghosts book were on the list I'd probably pick Guns of Tanith, which is as far as I have got in the series so far. Necropolis was also great.

[@joesheridan9451]

Chris Wraight lords of silence. I think it gives abds night lords a real run for its money in terms of traitor stuff and it’s just a single book

[@chrishughes8102]

Know no Fear, the First Heretic and Betrayer made me love Wordbearers. The white scars books were my biggest surprise in the heresy, also fantastic!

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Oh my gosh yes! Scars and Path to Heaven, two books I really didn't think would be great, but are some of the finest in the entire series I think. I just picked up the Word Bearers Omnibus, so keen to see if the 40k Word Bearers are as interesting as the 30k ones.

[@ryanexsus]

I had the exact opposite fuck the Word Bearers for real.

[@orlix666]

Great video. You really feel your passion for the material in it. Keep releasing content 👍🏻

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Thanks so much! Means a lot

[@VerdeSocks]

Oh, this is great. I had picked up a few of your other warhammer recommendations from previous videos, great to have a video to come back to for the next one :)

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Woo awesome! Thanks for checking it out! Let me know what you think of anything you've grabbed!! My favourite thing is when people come back and update me!

[@buddy-2575]

It is a great list you have their. I red over 150 books in the Warhammer Universe and i totaly agree with you. Greetings from Germany

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Awesome! It's good to have someone well read agree with my choices, I will admit I was worried people would argue more with me :D Howdy from Australia! Thanks so much for watching! (Hey if you have the time, I'd love to know if my Amazon links below redirect to the proper german amazon when clicked, not trying to trick you into buying anything just interested if I set up the redirects correctly :D)

[@buddy-2575]

@@BenjaminsBookclub no problem. it redirects just fine 🙂

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

​@@buddy-2575thanks so much!

[@Pawguinius]

I just finished the Night Lords omnibus. Was excellent 👍

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Awesome! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!

[@blakearius]

I'm about half way through Xenos atm based off your recommendation. Kinda gives me batman vibes, stern badass plays detective. Would probably be the perfect series for amazon to adapt for a TV series.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Batman is a good call for an inquisitor. I think when recording was the first time I realized I may have to describe what an inquisitor is, without just saying the word "inquisitor" it's odd, having been involved with warhammer lore or like 2 decades, the idea of not knowing what an inquisitor was didn't cross my mind. I think Eisenhorn would be the perfect TV show!

[@Sercotani]

getting right into it made me instantly like the video, although at 1:00 there's an error where you referred to Dante as a "primarch" when he's actually a Chapter Master..

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Ah damnit, I did that a few times when recording😔 thought I'd caught them all. Oh well thanks for finding it 😄

[@S1mpski]

Another great one from the Horus heresy series, for me, is Angel Exterminatus. I really enjoyed the look into Perturabo's mind and his pretty pragmatic and human dream of a perfect world when Fulgrim looked into his mind, ("You don't know the things I dream. No one does, no one ever cared enough to find out" It was a powerful line for me personally.) I did not expect that from him and gained a lot more respect towards him and his legion also becoming one of my favorite legions :D. That also rose, for me, the question of what could have been, if he wasn't so neglected and turned traitor. Also, thanks for the Brothers of the Snake suggestion, it was awesome.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

That's great to hear! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I also loved Angel Exterminatis, and also I loved Perturabo The Hammer of Olympus, made me fall in love with the Iron Warriors, my main Heresy army now :D

[@schaaf9637]

It's ridiculous how expensive Warhammer books are... glad we have Audiobooks as an alternative for nearly all books

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Absolutely agreed, the ebooks are a bit pricey for my tastes, but most of my audible credits go to black library books. I refuse to buy Warhammer books on eBay, and only pick them up second hand from local sales or used bookstores where they are usually more reasonably priced.

[@snowmanschneemann5443]

Good review, and I quite agree. Although, I need to look into Titanicus and Helsreach. With that said, I’ve just finished the Ahriman omnibus and have to say I was captivated from page 1.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I think Ahriman is my next big omnibus/series. I've had it on the shelf for years

[@blakemyers643]

​@@BenjaminsBookclubI'm working through the audiobooks right now and it has some of the strongest narration I've heard from there audiobooks so far

[@charactergeneric1885]

Although you've got a very solid top list, I'd argue with a huge amount of The Horus Heresy books. I'd recommend to add some Warhammer Crime novels, Bloodlines is just amazing. Then I'd add The Vaults of Terra trilogy. It reveals life of usual imperial citizens. Chris Wraight is so masterful in WH40k worldbuiling. Then let's talk about "recent" events. Dark Imperium trilogy is just gorgeous. Check it out, you'll definitely love it. The Avenging Son, the first book of "Dawn of Fire" series is a solid novel with so many POVs. Again, that's something that I think is worth reading even without checking my library, :) Thanks for the video, we need more booktubers who talk about cyberpunk and Warhammer 40000. Cheers!

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I've picked up a few of the Warhammer crime books now, havnt got to them yet though. I read the first vaults of terra book, but it didn't grip me, and I was listening to the audio book in short bursts, if I can find a paperback of it I think I'd give it another go. I also just picked up dark imperium to give that one a go! Thanks so much for watching!

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Watchers of the Throne > Vaults of Terra - both by Chris Wraight, both happening on Terra at the same time :)

[@syncarn]

Assasinorum: Kingmaker is an amazing book that is worthy of your list! I've read 40+ Black Library books and it is my favorite.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I have heard a few people recommending it now, I would never of checked it out as I've never been super interested in the assasornorium much, but I think I'll add it to my TBR pile and try to find a copy! Thanks so much!

[@sanguinius01z]

Great video man! Definitely going to try some of these.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Awesome! Make sure to come back and let me know what you picked and what you thought!

[@alexandergilhespie5295]

I've just finished spear of the emporer and wow the ending was so good I had to flick to previous chapters with my new gifted hindsight. Hats off to ADB

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Yeah it was one of those books where it just clicks at the end and made me flip back as well! I also started an Emperors Spears little force right after finishing it :D

[@laurenbastin8849]

So thing is, A Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns were originally meant to be published directly alongside each other, but Abnett got sick whilst working on Prospero Burns so it got delayed quite a bit. They were both written with very close collaboration between authors, in fact according to Graham McNeil they were initially supposed to writing the opposite books to one another! You can see why superficially, Dan loves his magic esoterica and works a lot of those concepts into his writing of the warp, while McNeil is passionately a Scottish Highlander and would no doubt have enjoyed writing a norse reiver themed legion, but apparently as they discussed the concepts between each other they realised that they were each more interested in writing about the other, almost compounded by the fact that neither of them would have gravitated towards those options individually. It’s a sign of what can be truly amazing about Black Library, two fantastic authors bouncing off of each other and being driven to make something truly special

[@stoyanpanchev664]

Definitely read some fantasy Warhammer. Looking forward

[@SciFiFinds]

I'm somebody who's been casually interested in Warhammer for years, mostly through the video games, art and general aesthetic. Feels like an impossible task to get into this universe without dedicating hundreds of hours so this video is really useful in case I want to jump in and get a hit of this dark universe. Great video as always

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I genuinely think a lot of these books are just solid books, without needing to buy in to the entire shebang. That being said I have been 100% bought in for like, 2 decades so I may not be unbiased 😂 Thanks so much!

[@sidewinder3694]

Just read a book Holy shit dude

[@ideal9544]

I felt the same until starting with the books. Horus Rising is a fantastic start.

[@padanfain7466]

Start with Horus rising or Eisenhorn.

[@toothpicktomo9964]

Good to see a bit of Pierce Brown in the background. Great series.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Agreed! Read the first three, waiting for the next book to be a bit closer before I continue the series! I think I reviewed all three on the channel too :)

[@DJchrismiller1]

I just ordered “Horus Rising” as it’s listed as book 1. Should I not start there? Do you recommend I start with “Night Lords” instead?

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I have a whole video with 8 different books I would suggest as starting points. A lot of people start with the Horus Heresy, which Horus Rising is the first book of, and love it, I personally think that, because it's essentially a prequel taking place 10k years before the current timeline, some knowledge of the universe as it stands now makes the tragedy and emotional impact of the Horus Heresy books work better, but a lot of people disagree with me. If you have already ordered it I'd say it's perfectly fine to start there, you won't be confused or missing information for the story it's telling.

[@DJchrismiller1]

@@BenjaminsBookclubTy! I’ll look for that vid too.

[@sog242]

I am all with you onthe Dembski Bowden hype train. Not a fan of number 5 but a big thanks for the number 1. I'll take a look.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Aw no love for Helsreach? That's fair :) If you didn't love the book, you might like the fan animation that was made based on it, I'd say check it out, I loved it as well :D Let me know what you think!

[@joemillward4711]

Glad to see Betrayer/The First Heretic so high up read most of the traitor perspective books and the duel at the end of betrayer is iconic. I'm a big fan of the Erebus short story Child of Chaos he's such a unapologetic character love to hate him

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Some of the bits of Betrayer, left me speechless, I won't say what for spoilers but I had to put the book down and go for a walk after one reveal.

[@padanfain7466]

Talon of Horus is so epic. All ADBs books are fantastic tbh. First Heretic, Master of Mankind, Betrayer, Helsreach....feel like Ciaphas Cain needed to be on there.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I did really like Ciaphas Cain, for me humour in books doesn't often land, I'm not big on comedy. The comedy in Cain is fantastic though, and maybe if it was fresher in my mind (Last read Cain years ago) it might of made it on the list.

[@preben555]

A lot of great books here! If you like stories about blood angels in 40k era I highly recommend "Death of Integrity" by Guy Haley. It's got blood drinkers, novamarines, machanicum and genestealers. And the plot twist in that book is awesome.

[@Questpeace]

The one Warhammer-related purchase I haven't made since becoming a fan during the pandemic-- an ereader. At this point, they should offer one. I wish the Black Library had the money (???) to keep their books in print after a certain date (until the next date, years and years later). Got me a well-loved Flight of the Eisenstein for [redacted]. Got the hardback of Titanicus in great condition for [redacted, except this time it was a steal]. As a lifelong lover of novels and a more recent lover of Warhammer-- greatly enjoying the Infinite and the Divine is natural and appropriate. It's the most unique book I've read from the Black Library, and one of the most accomplished literarily.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Agreed, The Infinite and The Divine was great, I really hope it starts a push for more interesting Xeno fronted BL books. I'm not sure I would want a Games Workshop e-reader, unless it came on a sprue and you had to put it together yourself :D. My go to format for the books I can't get is Audiobook, the narrators they get are almost always fantastic.

[@Questpeace]

@BenjaminsBookclub I'm bad at audiobooks, personally, but I'm more down to assemble my own eReader than you could fathom haha! Thanks again for the video!

[@hehmda672]

Damn, bro, if I would create the top-10 warhammer books list, I would do it of the same books! Our tastes are the same. These books are really good. Btw, I’ve read eisenhorn when I was a teenager, like 16yo, and I’ve reread it few month ago, when I’m 34 and books is still very good. And I’m generally a classic literature person, like Somerset Moem, Turgenev or Anton Chekhov. And extra respect for adding The First Heretic, I think this is the best HH story. For some reason it is often overshadowed by books like Galaxy Burns

[@davidk6269]

My top Warhammer books include the following (in no particular order): Inquisitor trilogy ("Inquisitor", "Harlequin" and "Chaos Child") by Ian Watson Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett Ravenor trilogy by Dan Abnett "Lord of the Night" by Simon Spurrier Word Bearers trilogy ("Dark Apostle", "Dark Creed", "Dark Disciple") by Anthony Reynolds "Shadow Point" by Gordon Rennie "Execution Hour" by Gordon Rennie Ciaphas Cain novels by Sandy Mitchell Gaunt's Ghosts novels by Dan Abnett "Horus Rising" by Dan Abnett

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

God I have been trying to find extraction point and the other battlefleet gothic book for years, always hideously expensive. One day I'll break down and source the ebook. I have just picked up that word bearers omnibus! Keen to get into it!

[@davidk6269]

@@BenjaminsBookclub Thanks for you reply! I hope that you enjoy the Word Bearers novels as much as I did! Sadly, the third novel has (in my opinion) some minor continuity problems and typographical errors towards the end--the book must have been rushed out, I assume. Regarding "Extraction Point" and "Shadow Point", if you do not want to splurge for the out-of-print books, ABorder Prince on his YT channel has done a dramatic reading of both. You might want to check it out. ; )

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@davidk6269 oh really!? I didn't know that I will be checking that out immediately! Thanks so much!

[@davidk6269]

@@BenjaminsBookclub You're welcome! Execution Hour and Shadow Point were uploaded about 2 years ago. I truly hope that you enjoy them!!! ; )

[@Pergattori]

Great video, but really jealous of those Wheel of Time books in the background

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Would it make you angrier, to know, I have read none of them?

[@Pergattori]

@@BenjaminsBookclub haha, not at all, please just dont start with that abortion of a series on prime , but if you like LOTR, give it a go....if you can find the time that is

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@@Pergattori It is going to be book 10 in my Fantasy Reading Challenge this year, so it's up next! I purchased the whole box set, because I'd had my eye on the books for years, and then one day in the book store I noticed that book 1 had been replaced with a TV show tie in cover and book 2 & 3 had the awful fake stickers on them. So I had a gift card from a friend that was the exact amount for the full collection of box sets, and the covers on those hadn't been, molested, yet, so I just pulled the trigger, can't stand TV Show/Movie covers/"stickers"

[@skulver]

I never realised old Warhammer 40k books were so expensive. I might have to dig through the archives here lol.

[@paulcremin42]

I dont agree with all of these, but numbers 1 and 2 are absolutely spot on. 🤘🔥

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Rock on! I don't think I've ever seen a top 10 list Ive agreed with 100% ha. I so badly want to read more Night lords stuff by ADB, come on Black Library.

[@mrn7900]

Interesting list, and with so much to choose from, it's really hard to narrow things down to a top ten. But uh... no love for the Imperial Guard? Gaunts Ghosts? That was the series that got me interested in WH40K novels again after a few years of following other interests. Non Astartes characters are more relatable, and there are several scenes in the Gaunts Ghosts series which brilliantly show just how different the average guardsman is to a Marine. Having said that, I enjoyed your breakdowns of this top ten. Nice stuff. :)

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I'm very new to Gaunts ghosts, only started them a few months ago, just finished Guns of Tanith. Necropolis has been my favourite so far.

[@mrn7900]

@@BenjaminsBookclub I couldn't pick a favourite book from Gaunts Ghosts, but I can remember plenty of favourite characters and scenes. Marines don't appear very often in this series, but when they do, they are clearly a different breed than the Guardsmen. Don't want to give away too much, but there's a scene in one of the later books where the Ghosts are hard pressed trying to repulse a boarding party trying to take their transport ship. Three Astartes arrive at the breach point and the tide of battle completely turns. Just three Marines. If you ever review this series, I'd love to hear your thoughts. :)

[@serarthurdayne9490]

This is a good list. Shame Master of Mankind couldn’t find a spot on there somewhere. Maybe you need to do a top 50!

[@squashedhobbit6049]

When ibe finished my current warhammer book ive got night lords on my shelf waiting to be read next, really looking forward to it

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I really hope you enjoy it! I loved it (clearly) make sure to come back and let me know what you thought! What is your current read?

[@squashedhobbit6049]

@@BenjaminsBookclub I'm currently reading The last Whiteshield omnibus, it's an ok read, but really it's my love of the Astra Millitarum and Cadia that's carrying it

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@squashedhobbit6049 I own a good dozen Leman Russ's and a couple Baneblade Variants, I have been eyeing more guard books, I think I want to read Baneblade by Guy Haley next.

[@squashedhobbit6049]

@@BenjaminsBookclub I've dabbled in 40k books for years but only recently really getting into it, I've recently started collected the Mini's and it was a toss up between the Astra Millitarum or Death guard, I went with Death Guard as they are my favourite chaos and I like the lore of nurgle.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@squashedhobbit6049 they are also an absolute joy to paint, Ive painted about a dozen plague marines in like 6 different schemes, so much fun.

[@wyoguy9720]

I know these are stand alones, or trilogies… but Gaunts Ghosts by Dan Abnett is absolutely amazing. Sooooo many great books.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Absolutely agreed, Ive read up to find if Tanith so far and am really enjoying myself! If one of the books I've read so far were to be on the list it'd be Necropolis for sure.

[@wyoguy9720]

@ I really loved Traitor General. Super grimdark.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@@wyoguy9720 I havn't got to that one yet, but maybe before the end of the year!

[@BIGPAPADILF]

No Chris Wraight or Sandy Mitchell? Phenomenal recommendations but keep grinding out that Horus heresy because Chris Wraight really starts standing out as one of the best black library authors in the novels close to the end of the HH. Also Dan Abnett really out does himself in the siege of terra series, absolutely gripping. Dude... How in the world did the Ciaphas Cain series not make it anywhere on the list? I've started recommending it as the best beginner book over Eisenhorn. P.S. lovely commentary, you did a great job, keep reading!

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Thanks so much! I suspect Cain didn't make it just due to how long ago I read any of it. I think I read the first four books like 10 years ago. And while I definitely loved them, comedy doesn't often hit me quite right, and it rarely stays with me over time. I think if I read it again, which I am tempted too, it might raise up the list again. As for a beginner book, when I was putting my list of beginner books together I stayed away from it, just because I think having a good understanding of the universe and the major players, either from the game, wiki, KZbin, books etc, will help the jokes land a bit better. Especially knowledge about inquisitors and comissars, but it has been a long time so I may be wrong there.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

As for Chris Wraight, Scars and The Path of Heaven were outstanding, completely blew me away, I expected them to be okay at best, and only really grabbed them cause I got them at MSRP at my local store but they were phenomenal. The only other Wraight I've "read" is The Carrion Throne, which I have to admit I didn't give a good chance to, I listened to it on Audiobook as moving houses, so it was short 5-10 minute stretches, often while I was distracted, I didn't pay enough attention to it, and have vowed to find a physical copy for a reread

[@BIGPAPADILF]

@@BenjaminsBookclub your reasoning makes total sense. Comedy in the grimdark setting is difficult to pull off and feels a bit off when not done the right way. My experience on recommending books for beginners is probably quite a bit smaller than yours. For me, after recommending Eisenhorn to a handful of the guys in my friend group they all seemed to hit me with the same response, that Dan Abnetts writing is phenomenal yet they got lost in or intimidated by his vivid imagery. Not quite getting around to seeing the brilliance of his character development. But after recommending Ciaphas Cain they were able to relate a bit more and throughout his series were introduced to a handful of the factions in the series. My small experience. I totally love the whole series and regularly reread it.

[@BIGPAPADILF]

@@BenjaminsBookclub for Chris Wraight, my favorite books of his are Warhawk, Scars, then Path of Heaven, and the outlier book Valdor. Warhawk and Scars being a couple of my favorite books in the HH. You're well versed in your 30k/40k and I look forward to catching up on some of your videos and seeing what more is to come. Have a blessed day boss!

[@hehmda672]

Damn, bro, if I would create the top-10 warhammer books list, I would do it of the same books! Our tastes are the same. These books are really good. Btw, I’ve read eisenhorn when I was a teenager, like 16yo, and I’ve reread it few month ago, when I’m 34 and trilogy is still very good. And I’m generally a classic literature person, like Somerset Moem, Turgenev or Anton Chekhov.

[@larsickenroth7169]

Very much recommend 'The Lords of Silence' (Death Guard), it's gruesome, terrifying but also pretty funny and tragic.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Added to the TBR!

[@OptimusPasche]

My absolute favourite 40K novel that you didn’t mention; Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah by Gav Thorpe Two more that I rate; Double Eagle by Dan Abnett and Skitarius/Tech-Priest by Rob Sanders

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I love titanicus so much, I need to check out Imperator! Double Eagle is a masterpiece as well, it should probably be on this list somewhere but I couldn't fit it in, one of my favourites though for sure.

[@OptimusPasche]

@ I read Imperator as an adventure novel. I can’t explain why but it gave me Robinson Crusoe vibes. I like Gave Thorpe in general, but I think this is his best book.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@@OptimusPasche Ive liked quite a few of Gav Thorpes books. I think I even have this one on Audible.

[@Nvrmnd667]

I've read 10 books of the Heresy so far (skipped some based on an essential reading list) and I agree The first Heretic and Betrayer are my absolute favourite Heresy books so far and Argel Tal one of my favourite 40k characters overall. And the Nightlords Omnibus is just godlike. ADB is so good in writing those evil characters I mean at the beginning of the book I never thought I would feel sympathy for someone like Uzas but in the end...😢 Also I hope ADB will continue the Story of Decimus. The Black Legion books might be the weakest of those 3 series for me but they're still a solid 8/10.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

How he just makes me care for these awful villains, it's crazy, and then the way he writes Erebus proves he can also make villains that are just atteocious and I despise them, he can do both sides of the coin, I really hope he starts releasing books again soon!

[@Nvrmnd667]

@BenjaminsBookclub yeah I fully agree

[@scottschofield5000]

Legion of The Damned by Rob Sanders. Not the best Black Library book but, it is one of my favorites. I think people were initially discouraged and dissed the book because of it's title, it's actually about The Excoriators Space Marine chapter, the LOTD are just a maguffin that shows up at the end to 'save' the day (Or do they?) It's weapons grade Grimdark. Imagine Helsreach, but even bleaker odds and the thing they are going to die protecting is completely insignificant. Imagine a dozen of the hardest, toughest special forces sent to protect the Worlds Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas from a force of 100,000 coked up spetsnaz (and a couple 100 zombies thrown in). Good grimdark stuff.

[@gareth0412]

It's a good list. My 30k List would be: ⭐The End and the Death 1+2 1. Master of Mankind 2. Know no Fear 3. Valdor: Birth of the imperium 4. Horus Rising 5. Lemun Russ: The great Wolf 6. Saturnine 7. Unremembered Empire 8. Sigismund: The eternal crusader 9. 10. 40k is harder but I'd swap Bequin for Eisenhorn in terms of Abnetts great espionage and intrigue work. Fabious Bile and Cawl are also amazing and give you a broader view of the human faction, they also dip their toes in other races.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Great list, I havnt got to Master of Mankind yet, I think I have like 4 booksish in my TBR list of HH before Master of Mankind, but I'm pretty sure I'll adore it. I also really liked I remembered empire, I saw a lot of people saying to skip it online but I'm not sure why, I loved it.

[@gareth0412]

@@BenjaminsBookclub 4 primarchs, alpha legion, necron teleportation family drama and a wolf pack fighting Curze. A fantastic book

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@@gareth0412 100% Agreed, I have Pharos up next, which I believe is the sort of follow up, how did you find that one?

[@bagmuk6]

Great video thanks

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Thanks so much! Means the world getting comments like this :)

[@Cal12517]

like your list! read a few of them will check out titanicus and infinite and divine as i was always hesitant with those two if they would be good or not. I would also recommend lords of silence (not as top 10) but its a good read! I DO have a question. Have you read any age of Sigmar books? I have been trying to get into it more as the tabletop game is fun and i want to get more into the books but really have no idea where to start or whats good.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Thanks so much! Yeah Titanicus and I&D are great, A friend of mine recently read Lords of Silence and really liked it too, he was a death guard player though so I didn't know how much Bias there was there, but I have been recomeneded it several times now, I think I'll try to find a copy! I havn't read any Age of Sigmar, I havn't even read the rulebook/lore for it yet. The game looks awesome though.

[@Cal12517]

@@BenjaminsBookclub i honestly bought a kindle just for black library books as i found it easier to buy ebooks for them, including Lords of Silence. That makes sense though, if you do get into AoS I would love to one day see a list of most recommended!

[@Nygaard2]

Completely agree that Aaron D-Bowden is the strongest writer currently working for Black Library.

[@mrgoodkat8567]

Helsreach makes you feel a certain way. Grimaldus keeps bringing up his gut feeling that his death is near. The gloom and depression you mentioned is almost palpable

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Absolutely, the melancholy of a book that is otherwise just a Warhammer bolter porn story is so well done.

[@Cripplerzeist]

Good list! Looking over your shoulder, I wonder, is Red Rising the most warhammeresque non-warhammer series out there? ( i just finished Iron Gold)

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

It definitely has some of that feeling doesn't it! I've only read the first 3 so far.

[@hamburger512]

Are you able to help a brother out finding copies of Horus Heresy books? Any extra copies I could buy from you 😅? I actually have a copy of Warhawk that wasn’t cut properly during printing. It’s not perfectly rectangular, but all the words are still readable (just barely! Cut goes right to the edge of the lettering). I’m holding on to it as an interesting trade piece

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I wish, I am always hunting for the main Horus heresy books I'm missing, black library is useless at printing books really.

[@ketaminejones3981]

The Emperor’s Gift is a great one if anyone’s looking for another recommendation

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

So I had a Grey Knights army in high school, and every ADB book has made me buy the army he focuses on, the only reason I havnt read Emperors Gift, which I do have on my shelf, is I'm not sure my wallet can handle ADB forcing me to buy some Grey Knights.

[@thomasjgamble3865]

Ok having all the Banks Culture books behind you gives this vid immediate credibility

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

If you had asked me from like. 2010 to 2022, who my favourite Author was I would of snap answered Banks, now the answer is more complicated, but he would still be in the conversation and may still win the top spot. I may do videos on them one day, I adore that series and that universe.

[@g-shockfan6149]

For 1000 sons n P, read the related short stories as they will explain further about the lore about this battle. Cheers 🍻 they are not essential but highly recommended.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I need to read more of the heresy short story collections overall for sure! Which book are the Prospero ones in do you know?

[@fran_akron]

Sorry the question, but im at work right now..... Which books of those are stand alone books?

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

The Infinite and the Divine, Helsreach and Titanicus are all stand alone. Night lords is a trilogy sold in one omnibus,

[@fran_akron]

@@BenjaminsBookclub thank u mate

[@Omegon]

My favourite series is The Last Chancers.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I need to check that one out, I have heard good things, I think when picking a long running guard series to read I just went with the easy choice of Gaunts Ghosts, but I have room for more Guard books, I can put them next to my 15 Leman Russ models and 2 Baneblades :D

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

Have you seen Mira Manga’s interviews with some of these authors? :) she has one with Abnett on Titanicus

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Ohh I havnt I'll check them out thanks!!

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

@@BenjaminsBookclub ADB coming soon hopefully, if GW allow it :)

[@atomickrispies]

If I can advocate for a series (that i can only assume you haven’t started) - Gaunts Ghosts. Controversial take; I think it’s Abnetts best work imho. I’m on book 12 right now, and my GOD do I truly care about each and every one of these characters.

[@atomickrispies]

Side note - Love the Infinite & Divine + Betrayer picks. Those are two of my favorites in the whole setting.

[@joharhernandez-carr8504]

Amazing list. Just wanted to know why you left our Horus Rising. Not mad or anything. Just genuinely curious.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

The first 3 books were all on and off this list a lot during its like, 15 iterations haha. I think it comes down to my feeling that the first three, and First Heretic, tell a similar story, in the corruption of a primarch and the legion, and for my money I think First Heretic does it slightly better? Its 100% subjective. The first 3 books, and Fulgrim would probably be #11 and #12 though.

[@playcebovision5319]

I wasn't that into Know no Fear. I'm not sure why. I felt like most of the characters weren't really characters, and that the book was more of a "this big battle happened" sorta deal. GRANTED, I read First Heretic before KnF, and then Betrayer after. I felt both those were sooo much better than Know no fear, much more character focused. They made me like and sympathize with the Word Bearers and World Eaters, but Know no Fear didn't really move the needle for me on the UMs. I don't think the UMs are a bad chapter, just that this book didn't really do anything to make me like them, or feel believable. Now, I did have KnF spoiled to me beforehand, so that might be the reason >.> but regardless, I still think FH and Betrayer are just better. However, I still think people should read those 3 books in that order.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I also read First Heretic - Know no Fear - Betrayer, I think it's the best order for a good mini trilogy. Know no Fear made me interested in the Ultramarines a lot more, it was really my first experience with them outside of the rulebooks, where they come off as boring generic eveymans, but now with Know no Fear and a few other books I really like the Legion/chapter.

[@loganmunoz5373]

New to 40k and it’s incredibly frustrating how hard it is to get like 80% of the books physically. I’ve read dozens of Star Wars novels and they’re so readily available. It’s kinda discouraging since I prefer physical books and have only bought the first 5 Horus heresy books and the rest are insanely expensive. Luckily I’ve bought most other 40k titles available right now on paperback.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I was shocked at how bad Black Library is at keeping books in stock, if I can get an indie authors book on Amazon with a "printed by Amazon in Sydney NSW" label in the back, surely black library can print on demand some of their best books, there is clearly a market for them if people are willing to pay the, frankly insulting, eBay prices.

[@hamburger512]

Are there books that lead up to the Horus Heresy? I feel like there’s something out there with Hastur getting killed but I don’t know what book/series that would be

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Some of the Horus heresy books take place before the real start of the heresy, but as for a series that leads into it I don't believe so. I know hastur is mentioned in a few heresy books here and there, but I don't believe (I could very well be wrong) there is a book about him, I think he's in the prequel of Fear to Tread, but other than that I can't remember any sorry!

[@hamburger512]

@ really? Damn. The way Horus Rising starts off it feels like I missed a lot leading up to it. I wasn’t sure if there was something out there that fleshed out the Luna Wolves a little better pre-Heresy

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@@hamburger512 The Horus Heresy follows on the backend of the Emperors Great Crusade, his reconquering of the galaxy after the Dark Age of Technology. I suspect it is supposed to feel as though something is missing, it is telling the story of the end of something great. A few books deal with parts of the Great Crusade, including the first parts of Fulgrim. A lot of the Primarch books do take place before the Horus Heresy and might help fill some of those gaps.

[@michaelgreen6215]

Not a Gaunts Ghosts novel I sight. I question this man's judgement.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

If I were to have on on the list I'd probably say Guns of Tanith, which is as far as I've got so far in the series. I had trouble though really seperating the books from the narrative as a whole, I didn't mind saying "night lords trilogy" but like I couldn't recommend Guns of Tanith without Honour guard, which I wouldn't recommend without necropolis, which I wouldn't recommend without... Etc, I think it got too hard for me to find an in road there for this sort of list. I plan to keep reading the series and maybe reviewing them as like 4-5 book arcs?

[@michaelgreen6215]

Fair enough, thanks for the reply 👍🏻

[@kJD3.14]

Out of curiosity and this question could be for anyone. With so many many books being in The Horus Heresy story arc should they be read in order as they are numbered or is there a reading order that maybe connects the different books in the series better? Much like in this video where you mention a couple books that talk about the same events but aren’t numbered one after the other in the series. This may be a more complicated answer than I realize since I’m new to this universe if so I apologize.

[@Jock-jb4no]

The first three books should be read first 1. Horus Rising, 2. False Gods & 3. Galaxy In Flames. as these books marks the very beginnings of the heresy Book 4 The Flight Of The Eisenstein takes places straight after the events of book 3 but can be skipped The rest of the books can be read in any order as the time line skipps all over the place after book 3. The Siege Of Terra books mark the very end of the heresy, so should be read last or after you've read all the books from the heresy series that your interested in

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I'd say read the first three, I would say read book 4 just because it's really good, after that you can mostly just pick and choose from which storylines interest you, lots of big scary graphs you can check out too.

[@kJD3.14]

Awesome thanks for the info. I’ll definitely be looking more into it.

[@atlanta_greg_7612]

I agree that Infinite and Divine is not a good beginner book. It is good though.

[@scwidthezombiesslayer]

I recommend every blood angels player listen to “Dante” and “the devastation of Baal”

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Agreed, took my small army of blood angels to nearly company strength after those two books. Have you read Darkness in the blood?

[@atlanta_greg_7612]

Do an honorable mention list!

[@tra779]

I'm a fan of The Rout and I think A Thousand Sons is a great book, I don't like Prospero Burns. I'm not a big fan of Dan Abnett or his writing style, he did a lot of damage that it took some great writers to fix, thank god for Chris Wraight and Guy Hayley! Love ADB too I would've put The Emperors Gift on my list, along with Scars and Wolfsbane

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I have The Emperor's Gift on my shelf, the reason I havnt read it is my wallet can't take it! Black Legion made me buy a black Legion army. Night lords, night lords army, Spear of the Emperor, emperors spears army... I don't need another army, and I know it'll tip me over the edge and I'll be drowning in silver power armour in no time :D

[@tra779]

@@BenjaminsBookclub That book made me love Logan Grimnar 🤣

[@blakemyers643]

Think my top in no order would be the eisenhorn ravenor series. Horus rising. Fulgrim. Night lords trilogy. The dante trilogy. Helsreach. the william king ragnar books.the macneil mechanicus books where also fun. Worst book is basically anything by cs goto.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I havnt read anything by Goto, but I think I'll stick to avoiding them. I need to read Darkness in the Blood, I adored Dante and Detestation of Baal.

[@blakemyers643]

@@BenjaminsBookclub devastation I think is the strongest. Blood is much lighter on action but I do enjoy the character dynamics.

[@WormWagh]

Hell yeah dude solid list, glad to see night lords getting the love it deserves

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Thanks!! I would love more ADB night lords books

[@Thmspdrsn]

No Fabius Bile Trilogy?

[@BarelyBuddha]

The situation surrounding physical copies of the all the books is so sad. Around two years ago a buddy gave me The Founding omnibus of gaunts ghosts and I have been hooked ever since. All I want to do is finish the series but they are books online for over 800 dollars, I WANT to give you my money black library lmao

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

It's crazy. There is like $700 of books I want, at MSSRP, if Black Library just made them available. If Indie authors can get amazon to print books for them on demand, I'm sure Black Library can sort something out, it's awful.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

The second and third Gaunt’s omnibus editions are rarer and expensive ($50+) but the individual books and later collected editions are still going for reasonable amounts

[@lukefreeman4281]

‘Fulgrim’ is the best Heresy book…..for it to not even be on this list is madness. And ‘know no fear’ higher on the list than ‘A thousand sons’? …..🤦🏻‍♂️

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Fulgrim is excellent. It ended up landing at #11 in the end, but it was close.

[@pedramalizade8702]

Why some of these books are so expensive?

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Because they go out of print rather quickly, so they become scarce, and I think the fact that Warhammer players/fans have already shown they are willing to pay scalpers quite a markup on limited edition models/out of print box sets, drives the price of the books up really high. I'd say it's never worth paying over MSRP for any of these, just grab the audiobook or e-book, and that's coming from someone who adores having the book on my shelf and would much rather a physical book than electronic, the books just arn't worth the 10x markup scalpers are selling em for.

[@usmansabir3897]

I still wonder why the night lords never got subsequent books

[@cvampaul]

I think Night Lords story is done as is.

[@SerVanzu]

ADB wants to write more but GW wont give the greenlight (He talked about writing another NL trilogy on his twitter a couple of years ago). Or he might be writing something right now and we dont even know

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

ADB has been very public about mental health issues that kept him from writing for a long time. I believe (and this is 100% from memory and could very well be wrong) that he is currently working on Emperors Spears book 2? I think GW is trying to push books in factions they offer models for, I suspect we would see another Night Lords trilogy from him if GW ever makes them a proper 40k supported army unfortunately.

[@usmansabir3897]

@@BenjaminsBookclub it's probably because night lords miniatures don't sell much. Just unfortunate, they are probably the only real renegade legion and therefore more interesting because most of them usually hate both sides

[@blakemyers643]

​@@usmansabir3897the night lords kill team was a huge success so maybe that will spur them to do more

[@TalonBray]

Wish Chaos Knights had a book from their POV :/

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

That would be super cool. I've got the Knights blade book but I havnt read it yet.

[@mattroxursoul]

You are missing all da Ork books! Imperium is too dull, Da boyz are just out having a good time krumpin and lootin

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

They're having da best time. The only Ork book I've read really is Brutal Kunnin which I thought was alright. Other than that it was just the beast arises series which I really didn't like. What Ork book would you suggest I check out?

[@henlix1]

No ciaphus hero of the imperium? What kind of vile warp sorcery is this?

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

It was so hard cutting this list back to 10, Jurgen forgive my heresy.

[@knifefreak1234]

How has any Warhammer 40K fan not read Storm of Iron by Graham McNeil and not put it in a top 10 list?

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I have read it, and it was always floating on and off the list as I was making it, it has been many years since I read it thought, it deserves a reread, I do love that book.

[@knifefreak1234]

Thank you, sir. I did enjoy the video.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@knifefreak1234 thanks so much! Have you read any of the other Iron Warriors books? I seem to remember hearing that there were other books with the same charecter

[@knifefreak1234]

​@BenjaminsBookclub yes, I read the Uriel Ventris Trilogy that features Honsou and the Iron Warriors Omnibus that contains the UV Trilogy, S.of I. and several short stories. Graham McNeill and Aaron Dembski-Bowden are probably my favorite 40k authors.

[@knifefreak1234]

I completely agree with your top pick of the Night Lords Trilogy by ADB. I was sincerely hoping for some kind of redemption ark for Uzas, the Khorne worshiping berserker, and was legitimately upset with how he died. I genuinely liked Talos and his cohorts.

[@bryanwalsh1107]

I struggle with ADB. His action is clunky, his dialogue lacks any degree of naturalism to it. Abnett is head and shoulders above him, and it's not even remotely close.

[@davidferns3584]

Having recently finished the night lord trilogy, holy hell, what a series. I’ve dived into the black legion books but they don’t quite stack up. The only book/books that I’d possibly put into my top 10 that’s different from yours are: Legion (love a spy novel, turns out spy novel with bolters is dope) And the Abnett’s Gaunts Ghosts series, with Necropolis being the standout within that series. Have you dove into any of the Warhammer Horror series, I’ve heard some good things?

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I have just finished Guns of Tanith in the Ghost books, agreed that Necropolis is the best so far, but Guns of Tanith was close for me, keen to continue the series. I did love Legion, I bounced off it when I first tried reading it many years ago, not sure why, I think I was looking for more of the standard heresy stories with space marines and battles. But when I came back to it a few years ago I fell in love with it. I haven't read any of the Warhammer Horror books, but I have been considering them, also been eyeing the Warhammer Crime books.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

@@BenjaminsBookclubthe ending to Guns of Tanith stays with you… sure as sure 😅

[@davidferns3584]

@@BenjaminsBookclub yeah the guns of tanith ends with a real punch.

[@lonelygrazioso6677]

I very highly recommend the audio dramas from the warhammer horror line (those being perditions flame, watcher in the rain, and the way out). They are so god damn good, and I’ve also found that the audio drama format REALLY helps sell the horror aspect of that line

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@@lonelygrazioso6677 I think I'm in the minority where I highly prefer single narrator, no audio production stuff sort of audio books, I find it easier to get immersed when it's just one person, reading the content, rather than doing lots of voices or with music and sound effects. But for horror you may be right, I will check atleast one of them out, any suggestions for a good place to start?

[@ketaminejones3981]

Bro, have a like for just getting right in to it and not spending 3 minutes setting up the list.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Thanks so much!

[@dimitriosmacris9688]

No alpha legion novels or iron warrior novels??? 🗿🗿

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Storm of Iron almost made the list, apart from that I havnt read much from either Legion, any suggestions? I've only read that for IW and for AL Ive read Legion

[@dimitriosmacris9688]

@ alpharius: head of the hydra actually made the alpha legion my favorite legion. Pertuabos primarch novel and angel exterminatus. Both really good novels on iron warriors

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

There’s no pa-pow links coming up 😅

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Oh no! Haha I'll try to fix it! Thanks!

[@sefell]

Ave Dominus Nox

[@stormy7722]

lol..seems GW is shooting themselves in the foot. If newbies, like me, cant purchase any of their past titles, unless we are willing to be morons and spend 200+ dollars, it thwarts us from being immersed in their lore.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

I couldn't agree more, I am shocked at how easily I can get indie books in print, and black library can't keep even the Horus heresy books available, what was their flag ship book series for years is not almost completely unavailable. Disgusting.

[@Dr.PatrickC.Bailey]

They make these books collectors items on purpose. Its part of the business model. Like magic the gathering cards, baseball cards, comic books, etc. etc. It is what it is. You can always just buy an e-book. Having a physical copy is a collector thing.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@@Dr.PatrickC.Bailey Games Workshop isnt making the inflated second hand market prices however, and they already release collectors versions of the books before the hardcover/paperback releases.

[@Dr.PatrickC.Bailey]

@BenjaminsBookclub the prices for collector's items are never inflated. They go for what the market is willing to pay. If the price is too high, no one will buy it. If someone buys it, the price is not too high. Maybe too high for what you or I are willing to pay, but as long as e books are available, I cant cry.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

@Dr.PatrickC.Bailey I get that, but it's not like GW makes any money off the $400 Fulgrim book sale, they get the same MSRP price that the reseller paid if the regular person pays it. I'm not smart enough to understand economics but seems like there are enough people complaining about the high price of these books that it's money on the table. Obviously printing isn't free. I don't mind the ebooks, but atleast here, the ebook is $13.99 and the MSRP of the paperback is $19.99, a bit steeper than I'm willing to go for an ebook. But I keep an eye for when they go on humble etc.

[@charlesnunya2347]

How you don't have "Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work" on this list can only mean that you have not read it... you really need to read it.

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

You are absolutely correct, it is on my TBR pile, I think I might get to it in November :D

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

It’s good but wouldn’t make my top ten

[@charlesnunya2347]

@@HistoritorJimaldus Do you dislike the primaris and Cawl for his heresy or something? lol I came in after primaris so I personally don't care about that and just love him as a character. If you haven't read it, you should check out "Genefather" by Guy Haley. It follows up the great work and I feel like the two are really a set. I just counted, and I have only read 40 warhammer books so far but the great work is definitely in my top 10, heresy or not.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

@@charlesnunya2347 I do like Cawl, I’ve read about 110 now I think 🤔 it would sneak into my top 30 (if not combining omnibuses). I have the Bile trilogy to finish then I’ll tackle Genefather :)

[@sidewinder3694]

How to spot kids that just joined the fucking hobby two weeks ago. Primaris killed the setting just like you mindless reddit goobers are. Fuck off back yo starwars