Omnis Arcanum: A Literary Guide to the 41st Millennium

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One of the most common questions every newcomer to the 40k fold asks is "What should I read first?" It's a fair question. Since 1989, Games Workshop (as The Black Library since 1997) has published over 200 novels to tie in with Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, as well as their various spin-offs and specialist games.

As usual, that question of what to read can only be answered by another question: "What do you want to read?"

Canon, Continuity, and Chronology in a Shared Universe
Asking what to read first assumes that there is a set chronology in the 40k novels. It's an assumption I made when I first got into the hobby, and set myself on the fruitless task of finding a list of novels in chronological order.

At its heart, Warhammer 40,000 inhabits a shared universe. Several authors fill the various corners of the galaxy with their own creations, all building on a core set of fictional events and factions. In some rare cases these creations will overlap, but most of the stories told about the 41st millennium stand on their own.

Obviously, that means some works will contradict others at times. Different authors might have different ideas about how certain things work. This is something Aaron Dembski-Bowden explains in his article Loose Canon with the phrase "It's all real, and none of it's real."

Understanding how the stories of Warhammer 40,000 interact with each other -- and how they don't -- is the first step in deciding where to start your adventure in the grim dark future.

Stay tuned for the next installment, where we'll take a look at the first place every newcomer should go for their introduction to fluff.

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A great deal of the fluff in Warhammer 40,000 doesn't come from any novels or short stories, but from the games rulebooks and codices. With detailed information on every race and faction, the core products in the 40k range reveal a ton of background information that you just won't find in the novels, which are mostly written with a very Imperial bias.

Time Marches On
With each updated rulebook and codex, the core fluff of a particular army or the entire 40k universe changes. Sometimes it's a subtle change, like with the progression of Ghazghkull Thraka from a monomaniacal Warboss who liked to dress up as a samurai (2nd Edition), to the mega-armoured Prophet of Da Waaagh! we have today. Sometimes the change is much more drastic, such as the history of the Necrons in the current 5th Edition codex when compared to the previous 3rd Edition book.

In this progression, old heroes die off (Lord Solar Macharius), and new ones are born (Imotekh the Stormlord). So just having the most recent rulebooks and codices available doesn't always mean you're getting the full story. If you really want to dive into the background of a particular army, warts and all, it's worth looking for outdated codices. Much of the information you find there may conflict with current accepted fluff, but such is the way of progress.

Expanding Horizons
Besides the standard rulebooks and codices for Warhammer 40,000, there are several expansions and spin-offs that add even more to the history of the galaxy. The official expansions of Planetstrike and Apocalypse detail planetary invasions and epic struggles of massive armies and warmachines. Battlefleet Gothica shows the inner workings of ship to ship combat in the 41st millennium, while Epic Armaggeddon focuses on one of the largest war's in the Imperium's history.

Ever more popular are the Imperial Armour books from Forgeworld, where each new book in the series expands the game with new rules and models, built around different apocalyptic battles between three or more factions. Some of the more popular offerings from Imperial Armour include the Siege of Vraks, which details the epic struggle between the Dark Angels and Death Korps of Krieg against the Chaos-tainted renegades and heretics; Raid on Kastorel-Novem, pitting the Raven Guard and the Imperial Guard's Elysian Drop Troops against a massive Ork Waaagh! that has taken over an Imperial forge world; and the more recent Badab War, pitting several chapters of Space Marines against one another in a bloody civil war.

Even beyond that, there are the pen and paper RPG games from Fantasy Flight Games that are based in the 40k universe. Dark Heresy follows the enforcers of the Imperial Inquisiton across the galaxy, while Rogue Trader tells the stories of thieves and pirates in the 41st millennium. For more Space Marine flavor, Deathwatch focuses on the militant arm of the Ordos Xenos (alien hunters), while the latest Black Crusade puts you in the shoes of a Chaos Space Marine.

While the novels of Warhammer 40,000 open a small window into a particular time and place, the core source material is the place to step back from the trees and see the forest as a whole.

Stay tuned for the next installment, where we'll take a look at the most popular offerings from The Black Library in the 41st (and 31st) millennium.