Reddit reviews The Ultramarines Omnibus

The Ultramarines Omnibus by Graham McNeill has a section that involves them defending Tarsis Ultra from a splinter force from Tyranids hive fleet Leviathan.

I considered whole book to be a good read

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultramarines-Omnibus-Warhammer-000/dp/1844164039

Believe it or not, there are scrubnut Space Marines, just like there are shitty superheroes. If Iron Man and War Machine are up against nameless, cannon fodder Space Marines, then they'll get a win, easily.

I've read The Ultramarine Omnibus, Heroes of the Space Marines, Victories of the Space Marines, and probably a couple of other books that I'm forgetting. One of the things that you'll find in each of those collections are examples of Space Marines getting their asses kicked as easily as regular soldiers. It's a little odd that these relatively rare, extremely disciplined, well-trained, power armor-wearing super soldiers can die easily at times, but it happens.

For example, in the novel Nightbringer, a company of Ultramarines traveled to the planet Pavonis to deal with a civil uprising. They were in a governor's mansion when (if I remember correctly) a Chaos portal opened up and some dog-like Chaos creatures emerged. These Chaos dogs raced through the mansion until they found a door guarded by two Ultramarines, who they promply eviscerated.

These Chaos dogs weren't particularly powerful, either. Minutes after the Ultramarine guards were killed, a lone Inquisitor wearing street clothes and armed with a plasma pistol killed one of these beasts pretty easily. Those two Ultramarines just sucked.

Another example: the opening cinematic to Warharmmer 40K: Dawn of War II. Look how easily the faceless Blood Ravens died. The captain was a badass, but the men under his command were kinda lame.

If Iron Man and War Marchine fight a single, lameass Space Marine, then the fight's theirs.

Personally, if you're just starting out, I'd go with the Ultramarines Omnibus by Graham McNeill.

He's considered one of GW's top authors, and the whole trilogy is fantastic.

It scales up really well too, and will teach you a lot from a basic start.

It's also mega cheap on amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Nightbringer-Ultramarines-Novel-Warhammer-000/dp/0743442997

^ This book, which is Book two in this book v

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultramarines-Omnibus-Warhammer-000/dp/1844164039/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1

Eisenhorn is probably the best possible place to start in 40k. You get every possible angle of 40k explored in this omnibus as well as a some fantastic characters. Add Ravenor for flavor.

After that, dive into the military side of things with Gaunt's Ghosts. This covers primarily the Imperium vs Chaos side of the conflict, but also the internal conflicts the Imperium suffers from.

Now that you're thoroughly acquainted with the human side, view the universe through the eyes of the super-human Space Marines in The Ultramarines Omnibus. This series shows the strengths (and weaknesses) of the Space Marines as well as introducing the terrifying Chaos Space Marines more thoroughly.

Cry for death to the False Emperor with Soul Hunter. Follow up with the sequels in Void Stalker and Blood Reaver to get a very interesting perspectives from the Renegades.

Finally, finish your introductory odyssey with The Horus Heresy. You'll be reading how the modern universe came to be.

This is a "fuck-ton" of reading and will keep you busy for 6 months to a year or more before you finish. These series are the best of the best in the novel side of things. There are huge amounts more in the Army Codexes ^^that ^^you ^^should ^^be ^^able ^^to ^^find ^^for ^^$0 ^^on ^^"sharing" ^^sites and other excellent novels. PM me anytime and I'll happily answer questions/suggestions.

Salamanders Omnibus

Ultramarines Omnibus

Sons of Dorn (novel)

Soul Drinkers Omnibus