Recommended reading.

[Hotsauceman]

Im looking over books to read over the winter break. So i would like some suggestions.
Im thinking the "Tome Of fire" trilogy and "Hunt For Voldarious(i love myself the white scare)
Can anyone else reccomend those or other books to try?::D

[LordGrise]

Anything with Colonel-Commissar Gaunt or Commissar Ciaphas Cain in it - or better, a bit of each for the juxtaposition of it

[gwensdad]

I liked Hunt for Voldarious. Don't know if you've caught up on the heresy era yet so can't say there. Titanicus I liked. Also, I'll second anything Commissar Ciaphus Cain HERO OF THE IMPERIUM. (all caps at the end is the proper way to refer to him according to tvtropes) All depends on what you're favorite parts are-Marine tales, the Guard, Xenos (PURGE THE HERETIC!), chaos, etc. (The various ____ of the Space Marines books can be good too and the first contains loyalist and chaos)

[Hotsauceman]

I liked Hunt for Voldarious. Don't know if you've caught up on the heresy era yet so can't say there. Titanicus I liked. Also, I'll second anything Commissar Ciaphus Cain HERO OF THE IMPERIUM. (all caps at the end is the proper way to refer to him according to tvtropes) All depends on what you're favorite parts are-Marine tales, the Guard, Xenos (PURGE THE HERETIC!), chaos, etc. (The various ____ of the Space Marines books can be good too and the first contains loyalist and chaos)
No I havent read Anything heresy, The only 40k book i have ever read is Savage Scars.(i want to make a sarik model so bad)
Cain sounds good.
But i prefer imperium. While i like all the xenos lore im not interested in reading about the,

[Hive Mind]

Ditch the Black Library crap and read a proper book.

I personally recommend anything by Orwell, except Coming Up For Air which is gash, anything by Dawkins, anything by Friedman, anything by Flann o'Brien, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, anything by Chomsky, Critique of Reason by Kant, anything by H.L.A Hart, anything by Gerald Dworkin, anything by either Gramsci or Marx (but not both), A Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn and just for a laugh you should read some Andrea Dworkin, Diane Russell and Catherine MacKinnon. They'll have you in stitches.

Oh, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. That one is very important; it's the best book ever written.

[Hotsauceman]

Ditch the Black Library crap and read a proper book.

I personally recommend anything by Orwell, except Coming Up For Air which is gash, anything by Dawkins, anything by Friedman, anything by Flann o'Brien, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, anything by Chomsky, Critique of Reason by Kant, anything by H.L.A Hart, anything by Gerald Dworkin, anything by either Gramsci or Marx (but not both), A Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn and just for a laugh you should read some Andrea Dworkin, Diane Russell and Catherine MacKinnon. They'll have you in stitches.

Oh, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. That one is very important; it's the best book ever written.
I have read Enough of H.P lovecraft, Intellectual Essays,Books on the effects of money and class in child care, Law Books this semester to last a long time.
For the winter break i just want to guilty please sci-fi media tie-in.

[eldargal]

Pfft, P.G. Woodhouse > them.


Ditch the Black Library crap and read a proper book.

I personally recommend anything by Orwell, except Coming Up For Air which is gash, anything by Dawkins, anything by Friedman, anything by Flann o'Brien, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, anything by Chomsky, Critique of Reason by Kant, anything by H.L.A Hart, anything by Gerald Dworkin, anything by either Gramsci or Marx (but not both), A Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn and just for a laugh you should read some Andrea Dworkin, Diane Russell and Catherine MacKinnon. They'll have you in stitches.

Oh, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. That one is very important; it's the best book ever written.

^Tongue in cheek. Slightly. Woodhouse is the greatest English comic writer ever.

[energongoodie]

Read the Heresy books. Start at the beginning and enjoy. I have really enjoyed the series.
I also thought battle for the Fang was the best space marine battles book.

[fuzzbuket]

anything by dan abnett,. EVERYTHING.

[Psychosplodge]

Read this (http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?t=17907) thread.

[Thornblood]

Battle for the Fang was brilliant, but maybe that was only off the back of Prospero Burns. I think theres alot of references and words that only get in Prospero burns that never get explained in Battle of the Fang. Also that it is set in M32, a thousand years after the heresy.

Ciaphas Cain is brilliant, but maybe leave reading him until you have read a bit more 40k literature. Whilst the story's are great there's a fair bit of tongue-in-cheek humour as to the 40k background that you might need to have read a few more books to pick up on (I like the song "The tracks on the Landraider crush the heretics, the heretics, the heretics").

I really enjoyed the Ultramrines series (although im not up to date with my reading there- havn't read the newest ones) and Eisenhorn. Really engages with 40k universe.

Gaunts Ghosts were brilliant, but its gone on for so long I lost track and dropped out :( They are kinda like war novels crossed with 40k.

[Hotsauceman]

Read the Heresy books. Start at the beginning and enjoy. I have really enjoyed the series.
I also thought battle for the Fang was the best space marine battles book.
Where does the heresy series start. I realised with some series you need a flow chart to figure out how to read some series.

[Wolfshade]

anything by dan abnett,. EVERYTHING.

Yes, yes a thousand times yes.

[Hotsauceman]

Ciaphas Cain is brilliant, but maybe leave reading him until you have read a bit more 40k literature. Whilst the story's are great there's a fair bit of tongue-in-cheek humour as to the 40k background that you might need to have read a few more books to pick up on (I like the song "The tracks on the Landraider crush the heretics, the heretics, the heretics").
You sold me. Cain it is then.
Also is that supposed to be a refrence to the wheels on the bus?
Or maybe horus. That sounds good.

[Demonus]

I hear good things about Twilight.

[Hotsauceman]

I hear good things about Twilight.
Yeah, Twilight sparkle is my favorite pony.:D
But on topic.
Im going to read The Cain series. Do i have to read them in order to understand them because i would prefer ot use my nook only and not keep my dwindling shelf space occupied.

[fuzzbuket]

I hear good things about Twilight.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO dear god i hope thats sarcasm!

[MaltonNecromancer]

anything by dan abnett,. EVERYTHING.

Hmmm. The Panini "Action Force" ("GI Joe" to my esteemed American cousins) annuals he did in '89, '90, and '91 are pretty shocking. I wouldn't recommend those.


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO dear god i hope thats sarcasm!

But Dan Abnett is good? Granted, he doesn't write weird BDSM relationships for teenage girls (creepy masochist Bella Swan and her total sub mentality is the scariest thing in those books), but the quality of writing is honestly not much better.

As for the books I recommend?

If you're after something that will make you think:

1984 (George Orwell)
The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
Unwind (Neal Shusterman - scariest book for kids I've read; "retroactive abortion" at the age of 15 is a profoundly horrific idea: "Try to think of it this way: you'll still be alive... just... separated." *shiver*)
Haunted (Chuck Palahniuk - "Guts" is officially the most horrific story ever written by any human being. If you can read it and not feel sick, there's just something very wrong with you).

If you're after something more brain-switchy off/dumb action, then as I wrote elsewhere:


Warren Ellis ("Planetary", "Fell", "Transmetropolitan", "Black Summer", "Supergod"), Alan Moore ("The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", "Neonomicon"), Neil Gaiman ("Sandman", "Coraline", "American Gods", "Smoke and Mirrors"), Bryan K. Vaughan ("Runaways", "Y: The Last Man", "Mystique", "Ex Machina"), Mark Waid ("Empire", "Irredeemable"), Terry Moore ("Strangers in Paradise"), Gail Simone ("Secret Six"), or Grant Morrison ("We3", "The Filth", "The Invisibles", "New X Men").

I would suggest that reading 40K fiction isn't actually a great way to get new ideas for 40K. All the best stuff I've seen comes from when people take ideas from outside 40K, and bring them in.

If I was going to choose one of them to recommend, I'd go with "Black Summer". It's disturbing in all the right ways, Superman murders George W. Bush on page 2, and it's not played for laughs.

[Thornblood]

Def read Cain in order. You can out of order, but much better in order. It starts with the omnibus which is a huuuuge three books plus maybe a short story or two.

Yes I believe it is supposed to be the wheels on the bus

The Heresy series starts with Horus rising.

And yes, a flowchart would be helpful. Maybe we should lobby the Black Library.

[Hotsauceman]

I got some of the cain series. Ty for all the help.
I also go Ebook. Want t was easy.

[Wolfshade]

The tracks on the Land Raider crush the heretics, crush the heretics, crush the heretics. The tracks on the Land Raider crush the heretics all day long...
There are two omnibus available in Cain, the 2nd is better than the first, but you should read the first first.

[Kurze]

You want a good series? Pick up the Night Lords Series starting with Soul Hunter by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. Make sure you have a good 5-8 hours straight available you wont drop the books.

- Ave Dominus Nox

[wittdooley]

Ditch the Black Library crap and read a proper book.

I personally recommend anything by Orwell, except Coming Up For Air which is gash, anything by Dawkins, anything by Friedman, anything by Flann o'Brien, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, anything by Chomsky, Critique of Reason by Kant, anything by H.L.A Hart, anything by Gerald Dworkin, anything by either Gramsci or Marx (but not both), A Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn and just for a laugh you should read some Andrea Dworkin, Diane Russell and Catherine MacKinnon. They'll have you in stitches.

Oh, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. That one is very important; it's the best book ever written.

Yes. Because that's what everyone wants to read on their vacation.

Oh wait. No it isnt.

[DarkLink]

No, I gotta agree with Hive Mind. Pulp fiction like the black library just doesn't cut it for me. Though I don't regularly read too many of the 'classics' like 1984, the books that I keep on my shelf are all on a different level from the 40k fiction I've read. Intricate plots, character development, engaging characters and conflict, philosophical questions and themes aren't just features of a good book, they're a minimum requirement. There might be some 40k books that exceed all those requirements, I just haven't read them. What 40k stuff I've read has been fun but forgettable, unlike some of my favorite books like Mistborn, Heroes Die, A Game of Thrones, Name of the Wind, etc.

[Hotsauceman]

No, I gotta agree with Hive Mind. Pulp fiction like the black library just doesn't cut it for me. Though I don't regularly read too many of the 'classics' like 1984, the books that I keep on my shelf are all on a different level from the 40k fiction I've read. Intricate plots, character development, engaging characters and conflict, philosophical questions and themes aren't just features of a good book, they're a minimum requirement. There might be some 40k books that exceed all those requirements, I just haven't read them. What 40k stuff I've read has been fun but forgettable, unlike some of my favorite books like Mistborn, Heroes Die, A Game of Thrones, Name of the Wind, etc.
I agree. The Black library inst exactly on par with Lovecraft or Wells. Or rand. But i have read so much of stuff like that i just need a break.
Also Cain is awesome. Im reading Caves of ices and i laugh allot.

[DarkLink]

Lately it seems that I've become a big fan of works that are apparently too confusing for most people to understand. Though it's an anime rather than literature, I loved Darker than Black which basically never explains anything but the absolute basics to the viewer. You have to put all the pieces together yourself. The pieces are all there if you look really carefully, but if you miss any of those details then the plot resolution and ending twists will leave you thinking "WTF just happened!?" The sheer audacity of the plot is awesome, and the fact that the main character Hei is basically an Asian Batman who has electric powers and kills people just makes it even better.

I think this is part of why I don't read a lot of classic literature. They have lots of deep themes and stuff like that, but a lot of them have pretty straightforward plots that I don't find that engaging. The Stranger, for example, is a very interesting philosophical book on existentialism, but the whole plot is simply "a guy seemingly randomly commits a murder, then goes to jail and gets executed". That's the whole plot. The themes of the book are interesting, as are the characters, but some of the other elements I enjoy are missing.

American Gods, on the other hand, feels like a surreal dream centering around the question 'are you still a god if no one believes in you?', while simultaneously having a main plot focused on a massive con. It has everything to keep me engaged, a clever plot, varied and interesting characters, deep themes and character development, etc.

I also love it when a book gives you just enough hints to figure out the next plot twist just before it happens, but only if you're smart enough to figure it out. I just read Mistborn: Alloy of Law (which is an awesome book), and the characters and plot are so well written that you can get into their heads and think 'wait a second, somethings not right here', and if you're clever you can figure out a couple of the big plot twists before they happen. It's so well done that you aren't bummed about spoilers (because there's just enough doubt that you could be wrong), and you feel like a genius when you turn out to be correct. Brandon Sanderson is awesome.