Xenos

It's generally considered one of the best 40k novels here and elsewhere so you aren't alone in thinking that, no.

>>53160140
I just started on 40k novels recently, still not in the loop when it comes to the most popular and critically acclaimed etc, but I'm not surprised

>>53160179
If you've just started, read Gaunts Ghosts.

Admittedly, I've only read the starter stuff; Gaunts Ghosts, Ciaphas Cain, Ravenor, Eisenhorn and a few of the HH novels, and they've all been great.

But GG is fucking brilliant.

>>53160203
Thanks for the recommendations. I've heard of Gaunts Ghosts actually, sounds good.

>>53160084
Absolutely, the complete Eisenhorn Series is awesome and great for getting into the Civil Side of 40k. I anyone here is interest in the Admech and Titans, I can recommend Titanicus, first 40k book I read, absolutely fantastic.

>>53160084
Eisenhorn is generally over hyped.
Personally I think it's trash.

>>53160084
I often pass by the book in my shelves, stop and go re-read the conversations Eisenhorn had with Pontius Glaw. They are amazing.

>>53160084

It's hard to imagine now but while Inquisition war started the Inquisition craze, Abnett and eisenhorn cemented the tone of Inquisition stories and the whole "an inquisitors warband is one grim unsmiling boss + the 40k equivalent of the guardians of the galaxy"

Also the guardians of the galaxy 40k edition is more apt than you'd think, as after eisenhorn Dan Abnett wrote the GotG comics that the movies are mostly based on

>>53160768
I think it's pretty good in terms of the characters, how they develop and the overall arc of Eisenhorn, but man does the series mangle the setting. It was early days in terms of Black Library, but the religious elements often felt way too distant and there were lots of small details that don't feel quite right compared to the 40k of today (or even 10 years ago). Like, Eisenhorn discovers a high grade unsanctioned psyker in a position of power and doesn't immediately drop the hammer.

I like the part where he discovers USSR containers in space hulk

>>53161649

Because the /tg/ "Le heresy blam xD" fan canon didn't exist in the 90's, the 40k religious stuff came more from the Inquisition stuff that followed eisenhorn.

About the same time fantasy went overboard on its grimdark too, now that I think about it

>>53160179
>I just started on 40k novels recently
You picked an excellent one to start with. I've turned a few friends onto 40K by giving them a copy of Eisenhorn trilogy. And you'll be happy to know that the stories of Eisenhorn and his compatriots does not end with his trilogy

>>53161383
>while Inquisition war started the Inquisition craze, Abnett and eisenhorn cemented the tone of Inquisition stories
Very much so, and it all began when Abnett saw the guy in the old Inquisitor table-top game book, and basically said "he looks cool, let me write a story about him".

>>53160210
Fair warning, the first 2 books of the series kinda show Abnett's unfamiliarity with the setting. Let's just say that even the Tanith First and Only shouldn't do THAT well against a bunch of Khorne Berzerkers.

>>53160084
They're pretty good times. Works well as a character study of people in positions of power, how they justify it, what happens to their networks, etc.

I'm mixed on the Ravenor series after it. I like the group more, but the arc less. Its a revenge story, but it doesn't really have much emotional weight.

Waiting for him to finish Priah until we all die is kind of annoying.

>>53161606
Plucky band of misfits is for sure a trope. Inquisitor warbands of weirdos uncovering conspiracies since Ian Watson's Inquistion war. Not saying Abnett didn't do well with it though. It gets interesting with all his 2000AD stuff and how they basically blend together.

>>53161649
It was better before people started needing unified canonical absolutes to meme about. More room for interesting story telling. But doods in huge armour yelling about purity sell, and its hard to have teams of spies work on the tabletop.

>>53162099
>Waiting for him to finish Priah until we all die is kind of annoying.

This. I really liked Pariah, and really, really want more, but from what little info I can find it's probably not happening this year, or even the next.

>>53160084
It was the basis of the Inquisiton tabletop game and such the inspiration for Dark Heresy.
If you have an interest in the Inquisition or the civil side of the Imperium it is THE book to read.

>>53162099
>It was better before people started needing unified canonical absolutes to meme about.

Yeah, I feel like a looser/more varied canon is better these days myself. The Imperium is huge and varied, and has 10,000 years of history. Even the difference of a couple of hundred years and a few sectors of distance can lead to some big differences.

>>53162400
I tend to agree. Like, you're playing games and whatever with your friends, feel free to make it work for you. More into settings that encourage that approach, and 40k basically did this but seems to have shifted in tone over the last decade. Could easily be nostalgia goggles though. Haven't encountered people getting anal about cannon anywhere except on the internet really.

>>53162738
>>53162400

I even think a well done version of the typical grimdark 40k atmosphere can be fun in a large scale setting, the battlefleet gothic game absolutely nailed the 2000AD influences of 40k while appeasing the /tg/ lore autists.

That being said I actually think Abnetts works are a breath of fresh air because he introduces new and exotic human cultures into the Imperium instead of everywhere being either a clone of Cadia, Krieg or Armageddon.