Board Thread:Warhammer 40k Novels/@comment-26231440-20150322005131/@comment-8881468-20150323074732

There is no such thing as an early human days series. that would involve tons of retconning and warhammer has 2 big "timeframes" for stories already, with 30k and the HH series and 40k and the end times.

The novels were written later than the first fluff. Warhammer 40k was not really about books for over a decade if I am not really getting things out of order here.

The first edition of the rules (and the first fluff) is mid to late 80s, the first novel is (as far as I know) the inquisition war series and then you get stuff like "space marine" which is no canon anymore.

Imo: start with any series and the more you progress, the more backround you get. Imo the Horus Heresy series will actually tell you a lot more early on than let's say the adeptus arbites series. Actually most novel series will give you a basic introduction into the factions, it is even done sometimes when you merely read short stories ( f.e.  if you read "red and black" you get the basic introduciton to the sororitas, ecclesiarchy and mechanicum).

However: the books are normally written for the games workshop customers. the authors have a target audience that is mostly familiar with the "grimdarkness" yet they explain  certain things in short sentences for outsiders, so that basic motivations and modus operandi are mentioned.

@ Superhumans:

Horus Heresy series explains it but so do all other books that deral with the Space Marines, albeit in small bits and pieces.

@ Emperor: basic information exists in novels but it does not explain his origins and backround, those are only mentioned in 2 codexes.

@ Early human days: not really mentioned anywhere, you only see remnants of the former empire appearing as different human cultures in the HH series, Archeotech throughout W40k and that is about it.

imo : pick a seriers and dig in, there are many, though for starters I suggest either Ciaphas Cain novels, Eisenhorn/Ravenor, Gaunt's Ghosts or the giant in w40k literature, the horus heresy series.