Best introductory 40k book

Hi Veeky Forums. What would you consider the BEST Warhammer 40k book to get someone started with?

I haven't read them all, so I want to turn to the experts.

My friend is in his 40s, likes military historical fiction a lot, and dabbles in sci-fi, and is also the most fedora-tipping atheist you'll ever see (which I know matches up with Emprah a bit), so I want to give him something for his birthday to ease him into 40k.

To give you an idea, he likes Bernard Cornwell and Ready Player One (yeah i know)

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Either the Eisenhorn trilogy or Gaunt's Ghosts.

Ciaphas Cain is pretty good and easy to digest.

And this short comic is actually a great intro to what the 40k universe is like for the average person. It can help set the tone for your friend.

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Yea these Abnett series are good intro to the series. An omnibus would be a great present

Got all the introduction you need right here.

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Gaunt's Ghost is literally Bernard Cornwell in space on crack so go down that route.

Fifteen Hours by Mitchel Scanlon is a good starter, it doesn't go into anything complex and in introduces the reader to the grim dark universe

amazon.com/Fifteen-Hours-Warhammer-40-000/dp/1844162311

thanks guys very good responses

ciaphas cain
dead men walking
eisenhorn
first 3 books of horus heresy

And if you finished eisenhorn: ravenor

The Enforcer Trilogy is good intro to the setting as well.

Can I start with Ahriman?

i reckon the horus rising trilogy is a good starting point.
you can show someone the 40k universe and 40k books, but all the shit that actually made 40k what it is happened during the heresy.
horus rising will explain to the new reader about the universe, the great crusade, what primarchs and chaos gods are, and how they shaped the universe.
then, if they want more, they can read 40k books.

>Hi Veeky Forums. What would you consider the BEST Warhammer 40k book to get someone started with?
Guardians of the Galaxy

i bought this book for fifty cents from a furniture shop years before i ever even heard of 40k.
if you just want to show something thats just all about the guardsman, this is a good book.
its just like ww1 crossed with starship troopers

>dead men walking

I disagree. Start with 40k then go HH if you are the kind of person who hates mystery. The first three books were decent but HH should have stayed a time of legend and myth.

This is the only 40k book I've finished, is there any other Guardsman-focused stuff that isn't like Gaunt's Ghosts or whatever where no one dies.

>like Gaunt's Ghosts or whatever where no one dies

>only 40k book I've finished

It shows.

Eisenhorn, Gaunt, Cain. Any one of those three, but I'd start with Cain. It's the "least" grim story, also the least self-aggrandizing. Cain constantly downplays his own courage, capabilities, and importance. Makes him a bit more relatable for someone with no familiarity.