How to Start Reading Warhammer 40,000 Lore: A Black Library Reading Order
You already play Warhammer 40,000.
You know what a Space Marine is. You know the Imperium isn't exactly having a good millennium. Maybe you've painted Ultramarines, Astra Militarum, Black Templars, Tyranids, Necrons, Orks—or some combination of all of them.
Then you decided you wanted to understand the story behind the miniatures.
And you discovered the problem:
There are hundreds of Warhammer 40,000 novels.
Where do you even start?
The good news is that you don't need to read Black Library in publication order. In fact, you probably shouldn't.
Warhammer 40,000 is a massive setting rather than one single story. Different books introduce different corners of the galaxy, different factions, different periods of history, and very different styles of storytelling.
So we've put together a reading order using the Black Library books currently available from Monkey Llama Games.
The goal isn't to read everything.
The goal is to help you understand the universe a little more with every book.
Who it's for:
The player who wants to start reading 40K lore but has no idea which faction or story they want to follow yet.
Why start here:
This is the easiest possible entry point because it gives you three very different views of the setting: Ciaphas Cain, Gaunt's Ghosts, and Eisenhorn. Monkey Llama's collection is specifically built around giving new readers three ways into the 41st Millennium.
The incredibly quick version:
Three very different heroes introduce you to three very different versions of Warhammer 40,000.
If you're completely new to 40K lore, start here.
Who it's for:
The player who wants to understand the Imperium beyond the battlefield.
Why it goes here:
Eisenhorn is one of the best books for learning what everyday life, politics, corruption, aliens, heresy, and the Inquisition look like inside the Imperium.
Instead of following an army, you follow an Inquisitor investigating threats that ordinary Imperial citizens may never even know exist.
The incredibly quick version:
Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn hunts heretics, aliens, daemons, and conspiracies while increasingly questioning just how far he is willing to go to protect humanity.
Read this if you want to understand why the Imperium is so paranoid.
Who it's for:
The reader who finished Eisenhorn and wants to go deeper into the Inquisition.
Why it goes here:
Ravenor expands the Inquisition perspective introduced by Eisenhorn while exploring a very different kind of Inquisitor and an entirely new cast.
It also demonstrates an important part of 40K lore:
The Imperium's greatest battles aren't always fought with armies.
Sometimes they're fought with secrets.
The incredibly quick version:
Inquisitor Gideon Ravenor and his team investigate a sprawling daemonic conspiracy in a war fought through shadows, psychic powers, secrets, and betrayal.
If Eisenhorn made you curious about the darker corners of the Imperium, read Ravenor next.
And if you want both, Monkey Llama Games' Inquisition Collection puts the Eisenhorn and Ravenor omnibuses together.
Who it's for:
Astra Militarum players, Imperial Guard fans, and anyone who wants to understand what the Imperium looks like from the perspective of ordinary human soldiers.
Why it goes here:
You've seen the Imperium through the eyes of an Inquisitor.
Now see it from the trenches.
The Space Marines may be the iconic warriors of Warhammer 40,000, but the Imperium is ultimately held together by billions of ordinary humans carrying lasguns.
The incredibly quick version:
Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt leads the Tanith First and Only—the survivors of a destroyed world—through the brutal Sabbat Worlds Crusade. The omnibus contains the opening trilogy of the series.
This is one of the best books for understanding what it actually means to be a human soldier in 40K.
Who it's for:
The reader who wants to understand the Imperium without spending every chapter staring into the abyss.
Why it goes here:
By now you've seen the grim, brutal version of the Imperium.
Now you get to see the ridiculous version.
Ciaphas Cain is still absolutely a Warhammer 40,000 story—but it's told with considerably more humor.
The incredibly quick version:
Commissar Ciaphas Cain desperately wants an easy life and to avoid danger. Unfortunately, his remarkable talent for surviving deadly situations keeps turning him into the "hero" everyone thinks he is.
If you like your grimdark with a sense of humor, don't skip this one.
Who it's for:
Anyone who discovered through Gaunt, Cain, or Eisenhorn that they're fascinated by ordinary humans fighting impossible wars.
Why it goes here:
This collection broadens your understanding of the Astra Militarum.
It brings together three very different stories about Imperial soldiers:
Gaunt's Ghosts: The Founding
Krieg
The Fall of Cadia
Together, they show you the Imperial Guard at three very different points and scales of warfare.
The incredibly quick version:
Ordinary humans stand between the Imperium and annihilation.
Sometimes they win.
Sometimes they die.
Usually they do both.
A perfect collection for Astra Militarum players.
Who it's for:
Anyone who wants to understand why modern Warhammer 40,000 looks so different from the old setting.
Why it goes here:
This is the major turning point.
Cadia's fall isn't just another battle.
It changes the galaxy.
The destruction of Cadia and the events surrounding the Thirteenth Black Crusade lead directly into the opening of the Great Rift—the event that fundamentally reshapes the 40K setting.
The incredibly quick version:
Abaddon the Despoiler launches the assault that will destroy Cadia and change the galaxy forever.
If you want to understand "modern" Warhammer 40,000, this is essential.
Who it's for:
Space Marine players—especially Ultramarines and Chaos Space Marines players—and anyone ready to understand the galaxy after the Great Rift.
Why it goes here:
You've just watched the old galaxy break.
Now you get to see what happens afterward.
Roboute Guilliman has returned.
The Imperium is divided.
Mortarion and the Death Guard are coming.
And Ultramar is about to become the battlefield.
The incredibly quick version:
Guilliman returns to lead the Imperium while Mortarion and the Death Guard wage the Plague Wars against Ultramar. The trilogy consists of Dark Imperium, Plague War, and Godblight.
If you play Ultramarines or Death Guard, move this much higher on your personal reading list.
Who it's for:
Readers who want to understand the Indomitus Crusade and what the Imperium was actually doing after Guilliman's return.
Why it goes here:
The Dark Imperium trilogy shows you the Plague Wars.
Dawn of Fire shows you the much larger military machine behind the Imperium's attempt to survive the Great Rift.
This is where the setting starts to feel truly enormous.
The incredibly quick version:
The Indomitus Crusade launches across the galaxy, fighting Chaos, Orks, and ancient xenos threats while trying to reclaim worlds for humanity. This omnibus contains the first three Dawn of Fire novels.
Read this if you want to understand what the Indomitus Crusade actually means beyond "Guilliman came back."
10. Master of Rites
Who it's for:
Ultramarines players and readers who want a more focused Space Marine story after experiencing the wider Indomitus Crusade.
Why it goes here:
Ferren Areios first appears in the Dawn of Fire series.
Now he's Captain of the Ultramarines Sixth Company.
So this is a natural next step if you've followed the Indomitus Crusade and want to zoom back in on one Space Marine officer.
The incredibly quick version:
Captain Ferren Areios leads the Ultramarines against the Death Guard in a grinding campaign where duty and the Chapter's creed matter more than glory.
Especially good for Ultramarines players who want their army to have a little more personality behind it.
11. Leviathan
Who it's for:
Tyranid players, Space Marine players, and anyone who wants to experience the sheer scale of a Tyranid invasion.
Why it goes here:
You've now seen the Imperium fighting Chaos.
Now meet another threat that doesn't care about Imperial politics, faith, or ideology.
The Tyranids don't want to rule humanity.
They want to eat it.
The incredibly quick version:
A Tyranid invasion of unprecedented scale descends on the Imperial world of Regium, forcing the Ultramarines into a desperate fight for survival.
If you're a Tyranid player, this belongs near the top of your personal list.
Who it's for:
Dark Angels players, Space Marine fans, and readers interested in the Primarchs.
Why it goes here:
You've now experienced Guilliman's return.
Now meet another Primarch who has returned to a galaxy he barely recognizes.
The difference is fascinating.
Guilliman wakes up and tries to rebuild.
The Lion wakes up and goes hunting.
The incredibly quick version:
After ten thousand years in stasis, Lion El'Jonson awakens to find the Imperium fractured and much of his former home lost within Imperium Nihilus.
If you play Dark Angels, this is mandatory reading.
13. Genefather
Who it's for:
Adeptus Mechanicus players, Chaos Space Marine players, and readers who enjoy mad scientists with absolutely no regard for sensible safety protocols.
Why it goes here:
You've learned about the Imperium's military.
Now look at its technology.
And then look at what happens when two of the galaxy's greatest scientific minds collide.
The incredibly quick version:
Belisarius Cawl and Fabius Bile—genius scientists from opposite sides of the galaxy's ideological divide—finally come face-to-face in a battle of intellect, ambition, and questionable ethics.
If you love the Mechanicus, Emperor's Children, or the weird science of 40K, start here.
Who it's for:
Chaos Space Marine players, Alpha Legion fans, and anyone who thinks they know what the Alpha Legion is doing.
Why it goes here:
By now you've seen the Imperium from several perspectives.
Now you need to spend some time with the people actively trying to destroy it.
The Alpha Legion is particularly useful because "what exactly are they trying to accomplish?" is often the point.
The incredibly quick version:
An Alpha Legion warband encounters the Primaris Space Marines of the Indomitus Crusade and must decide whether to adapt, strike back, or disappear into the shadows.
For Alpha Legion players, this is an obvious choice. For everyone else, it's a great introduction to Chaos from the inside.
Who it's for:
Chaos Space Marine players, Night Lords fans, and readers who want to understand what life looks like on the other side of the Imperium's propaganda.
Why it goes here:
The Imperium calls them monsters.
This book lets you spend time with the monsters.
And that's where things get interesting.
The incredibly quick version:
Talos and his Night Lords warband struggle to survive as renegades, hunted by enemies and haunted by the legacy of their Legion.
Read this if you want Chaos Space Marines to feel like characters rather than targets on a tabletop.
Who it's for:
Black Templars players, Astra Militarum fans, and anyone who likes their Space Marines with a healthy amount of knights, faith, and righteous violence.
Why it goes here:
At this point you've seen the Imperium from almost every direction.
Now meet one of its most uncompromising warriors.
Helbrecht represents something very different from Guilliman's rational administration or the Inquisition's pragmatism.
He believes.
And he fights accordingly.
The incredibly quick version:
High Marshal Helbrecht leads the Black Templars into an uncertain future, forced into an unlikely alliance with the Leagues of Votann while fighting the forces of Chaos.
If you play Black Templars, read this one sooner rather than later.
17. Krieg
Who it's for:
Death Korps of Krieg players, Astra Militarum fans, and readers who want the darkest possible version of "hold the line."
Why it goes here:
You've already learned what the Imperial Guard can do.
Now learn just how far some Imperial soldiers are willing to go.
Krieg is less about individual heroism and more about duty, sacrifice, obedience, and the horrifying cost of endless war.
The incredibly quick version:
The Death Korps of Krieg are thrown into a brutal siege in the Octarius War Zone, where victory may demand a price almost no one should be willing to pay.
If your army is painted in gas masks and trench coats, you already know what you're buying.
Who it's for:
Necron players, xenos fans, and anyone who wants to discover that the Necrons are much more than ancient robots.
Why it goes here:
You've spent most of this reading journey inside the Imperium.
It's time to leave it.
This is one of the best ways to understand that the galaxy contains civilizations with histories that make the Imperium look young.
The incredibly quick version:
Trazyn the Infinite and Orikan the Diviner have been rivals for millennia, and their rivalry becomes tangled with the fate of the Necron race itself.
Necron player? Read this.
Not a Necron player? Read this anyway.
19. Brutal Kunnin'
Who it's for:
Ork players, people who enjoy dark humor, and anyone who wants to understand what happens when you tell a story from the Orks' perspective.
Why it goes here:
At this point you've experienced the Imperium, Chaos, the Inquisition, Space Marines, Guard, Tyranids, and Necrons.
Now experience the galaxy according to Ork logic.
Which is to say:
There is no logic.
Only dakka.
The incredibly quick version:
Ufthak and his Orks attack a forge world, encounter Kaptin Badrukk, and discover that even a good Waaagh! can become complicated when everyone wants the loot.
If you've ever looked at an Ork army and thought, "I wonder what these guys are actually thinking," this is your answer.
So What Order Should YOU Actually Read?
You don't need to read all 19 stops.
Pick the path that matches the army you play.
If you play Space Marines:
Start Here → The Fall of Cadia → Dark Imperium → Dawn of Fire → Leviathan → The Lion → Master of Rites
You'll get the return of Guilliman, the Indomitus era, major Imperial conflicts, Tyranids, Primarchs, and an Ultramarines-focused story.
If you play Ultramarines:
Start Here → The Fall of Cadia → Dark Imperium Trilogy → Dawn of Fire → Master of Rites → Leviathan
This is probably the cleanest route into the modern Imperium through the eyes of the Ultramarines.
If you play Astra Militarum:
Gaunt's Ghosts → Ciaphas Cain → The Fall of Cadia → Krieg
You'll see the Guard from heroic, humorous, historical, and horrifying perspectives.
If you play Chaos Space Marines:
Eisenhorn → Dark Imperium → Night Lords → Renegades: Harrowmaster → Genefather
You'll gradually move from understanding the Imperium to understanding the people trying to tear it apart.
If you play Black Templars:
The Fall of Cadia → Dark Imperium → Dawn of Fire → Helbrecht: Sin of Hope
Start with the galaxy-changing events that created the modern setting, then follow the Imperium into its new era before seeing how Helbrecht handles it.
If you play Necrons:
The Infinite and The Divine
Honestly?
You don't need to wait.
Read it.
If you play Tyranids:
The Fall of Cadia → Dark Imperium → Leviathan
You'll understand what happened to the galaxy before experiencing one of the greatest Tyranid threats of the modern era.
If you play Orks:
Brutal Kunnin'
Just go.
The Waaagh! awaits.
The Most Important Thing to Remember
There isn't one correct way to read Warhammer 40,000.
That's part of what makes the setting so much fun.
You don't have to understand every Primarch.
You don't need to memorize the Horus Heresy.
You don't need to know what happened ten thousand years ago before you can enjoy a story happening today.
Start with a character or faction you already care about.
Then follow the threads.
That Ultramarines novel might lead you to Guilliman.
Guilliman might lead you to the Indomitus Crusade.
The Indomitus Crusade might lead you to the Great Rift.
The Great Rift might lead you to Chaos.
Chaos might lead you to the Horus Heresy.
And suddenly you've been reading Warhammer novels for six months and you're explaining the difference between a Primaris Marine and a Firstborn to someone who absolutely did not ask.
That's how the hobby gets you.
And honestly?
That's the fun part.
Ready to start?
You don't need to read the entire Black Library.
You just need your first book.
At Monkey Llama Games, we've put together collections for readers who want an easier way into the lore—including our Start Here: Warhammer 40,000, Inquisition Collection, Imperial Guard Collection, and Dark Imperium: The Complete Trilogy.
Pick the faction that makes you curious.
Pick the story that sounds like fun.
Then start reading.
The galaxy is waiting.
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