Overcoming space

How and why read books on the Universe Warhammer

Hundreds of books, more than a thousand stories, millions of fan fiction, board game, role -playing game, computer games, memes. All this makes up the game and book universe "Varhammer". “Gorky” loves books and reading in all its manifestations, so we asked the welder Mikhail K., who has long been fond of “waja”, to tell why people like the most helpless stories about space marines and their countless enemies.

Disclaimer: This article was written primarily for those who do not know anything about the Varhammer universe at all. Raid fans can follow, since they will not recognize anything new.

To begin with, all printed materials on Vahe are not unique. All texts from this universe exist for the sake of a single purely utilitarian goal-to create a background (hereinafter BEK) for desktop wargaim or under the role-playing (a la Dungeons & Dragons). In fact, they have no other value. But why do these books love so much and why are they still stamped dozens?

“Warhammer” is thousands of existing stories converted to one specific universe. On this, in principle, it was possible to finish, but ...

At the beginning of all there is a code. Codes of fractions are books with the rules for a specific faction of a board game, generously diluted by arts of varying degrees of coolness and backing. Everything originates from there, and if you love some fraction, you must have its code. There are many fractions, there are fewer codes, they go one or two per year. For lovers of watching pictures, there are separate books - artbooks showing important moments of background, army, equipment and so on.

In the "Warhammer" there is no specific entry point. Everyone comes to this universe in their own way. Someone from other board Vargams, one of the role-playing games, someone through computer games, someone accidentally saw some kind of meme, hit the wahape and drowned in Back. And someone just loves fighting science fiction.

All books on the Warhammer are exclusively combat fiction. Even rather cosmofentesis. Initially, the books on the “Warhammer” and the sweatshirt were exclusively fantasy, but then everything grew into a grimace in the surroundings of the distant future. The Grimard is the basis of Wahi. The most brutal, dark, vile, sometimes even excitingly terrible, but all this in one form or another has already appeared in the literature. You can also recall books on the universities of Warcraft, Starcraft (here they just took a lot from the “Varhammer”, and therefore their artistic value, in my opinion, is even lower, even the quality of the material is sometimes higher), Diablo or even Stalker

The Warhammer library has another feature: 99% of the books that are included in it are unbearably bad . Have you read Nick Perumov? If you liked it, the book "Warhammer" will come in. The illogical actions of the characters, overcoming, describing the flight of a bullet and its contact with the enemy. All this is the book “Waha”, which is held on three pillars: 1) bolter-porn; 2) pathos, megapafos; 3) idiocy.

The term “Bolter-Porhpno” that arose to describe the art world “Varhammer” refers to the name of the basic weapon of infantry in the game universe. Bolter-porn is when there is shooting around, space marines overcome, chaplains read prayers, bullets fly in all directions, sorcerers conjure and all this is described in the most detail. The speeches of the main characters are oozing pathos, as if they were the gods who have gone to the ground (there is almost that). Moreover, most often the main characters behave like teenagers, showing one and a half emotions. There are “right” boys, there are “bad” boys, only to boys these thousands of years and they are huge three -meter pitching.

Since there are a lot of books of books, and specific chronologies make up fans, the question "where to start?" Very complicated. You need to start from where you are used to. Since in the Warhammer 40k there are a lot of fractions and all unique in its own way, there is a difficult path of choice. To get acquainted with all the fractions and read a little descriptions and background, it is enough to open an article on Wikipedia-be sure to find someone to your taste. Since the Warhammer was originally the fantasy world, there are classic gnomes classic for the genre (although they are, as it were), various alien races with which humanity fights, there are chaos from among people who worship ancient deities and carry death, decomposition, war, sadism, and deceivers to the galaxy. There is a race that surprisingly resembles all Asians at once (let the readers with a socially conducive position be forgiven for me), preaching something like communism. There are mechanicuses for technology lovers. For fans of skeletons - necrons, soulless cyborgs who overslept millions of years and have lost all their “humanity”. The fractions of the Imperium also cannot be counted on the fingers of two hands. There are various legions and orders of the cosmodesant, the Imperial Guard, sending millions of soldiers to certain death with a live shield. There are political fractions with your armies, you can list for a long time.

But you can follow the usual road and read books written in your favorite genre. Do you like adventure books in the spirit of Indiana Jones? You should first read Sandy Mitchell's books about commissar Kayafas Kain. In my opinion, this series is the best for Randing. There are practically no pathos and cosmodesant in it, but there are jokes, there are a lot of imperial guard (despite the loud name, these are the most ordinary soldiers in this universe), a little overcoming and pretty good descriptions of most enemy factions.

If you like megapafos so that bjjzhzhzhzhlshlzhzhzh and blood from the eyes and icons and huge space marines , you have a direct road to the huge cycle “Horus heresy”, numbering more than 50 books. There, about the primarchs, and about the emperor, and about all kinds of enemies. There are not very many good books there, mostly Bolter-Porno, but I can recommend the book “First heretic”. And if you want to read about 50 shades of the elf and their history, read the cycles about Eldar.

“His body rose, the pulse has become more frequent, the muscles tensed. He licked his lips, feeling how for the first time in ten years, his mouth was moistened with saliva. Something rolled on him with an unexpected wave-a kind of feeling that had disappeared from his life for so long that he was even shocked, as if it had struck. And then, without a single drop of doubt, he realized that he had to possess this woman, should impress her and establish undivided power over her. ” (Braden Campbell, "Gift for Mrs. Baeda")

Love orcs? Orcs - the soul of "Varhammer". Funny fights on choppas, with Biggan and VAAAAAGH !!!! All this is in the 12-button cycle "The coming of the Beast." It is also mostly bolter-porn, but there are a lot of orcs and they bend. Unfortunately, the books about the green -skinned are written mainly on behalf of people, for more immersion it is better to look for comics and stories in English.

Want to know the tragic story of the Necrontire race and their 40k-film? Grace up the grains of Laura from the code of necrons and numerous stories or books, where they are present as opponents. For completely stubborn, I can advise the novel “separated”, written on behalf of the necrons, and she is only about them. Aristocrats that have gone from 60 million years of hibernation are attached.

“In reality, Zandreh himself, as well as an abundance and every soldier below were exactly the same soulless cars. And so long ago that in their century the mountains scattered into dust. But Nemesor either could not, or did not want to notice it. The Wargarad once again weighed on a bowl of Libra a sharp desire to correct his master and the confidence that he would ignore him again, and therefore decided to keep silent. Then he again began to look for the opportunity to express his disappointment through the blade. ” (Nate Crowley, "separated")

If you are a lover or lover of truly strong women, look for stories and books where the battle sisters are described. They are pathos and very cool:

“She kneeling, raising her eyes to the bronze bas-relief of the Imperor God, in front of which everything else was in the chambers. On this mystical relic, the torment of the endless, it was depicted in the center of constellations, stained with thorns. Their spikes pierced the flesh of the emperor, and a silent cry escaped from his wide open mouth. On the face of the deity, drawn with straight lines of scars, glowed, like living, varnished eyes. A cruel image for worship, but the woman felt a rare sincerity in him. ” (Peter Fehervari, "Cults of the Genocles")

If you like bald gopniks in the industrial hell - take up the cycle of books about necromund. And the recently released game Hird Gun to help you.

“In order to understand what the barren world of necromunda is, first you need to understand what the holo cities are. These artificial mountains from plastered, ceramite and stone concrete, which for centuries grew and widened to protect their inhabitants from a hostile environment, and which are now very reminiscent of the Termenites. The population of the Nekromund cities is calculated by billions, and at the same time they are incredibly industrially developed, each on an area of several hundred square kilometers has the production potential of the whole planet or colonial system ” (Will McDermatot“ Bager Cardinal ”)

If you are an old grave and want to learn more about your primary sources Tiranid, then you ... a code and books about the Imperial Guard. The books are boring, but the code is definitely worth it.

“True, for one of the hunters - that the first to find the victim - this was not entirely true. The creature has changed, the manner of his hunt has changed. It only vaguely realized what was happening, but with every hour thought acquired clarity, and from simple dogmas necessary for survival, seeds of new opportunities sprouted. So the Cold turned into a seeker. ” (Peter Fehervari "Cults of Genopraments")

If you are a space communist and fan of anime-mechanes, you will have to scour in search of books about Tau, since they are in Russian, but in their artistic value it is worth doubt in advance:

“Being a diligent Tau'va, I go to where the highest good tells me,” Shas'o answered. “If the command believes that I will be more useful here, it means that it is so, and I will not regret missed combat glory.” (Andy Chambers, from the collection "Shas'o")

Want to read about chaos? Look for books about chaos. You can try to read the "Black Legion" of Aaron Dembski-Bowden. Bolter-Porusno As is, but on behalf of the "bad guys".

“Millions of contagious creatures left their victims and stuck it. The creatures rummaged around Typhon, setting his flesh. Soon they all went under the armor of his armor. Now there was an incredibly giant figure on the team bridge. It was no longer a Typhon. From now on, his name was - the bearer of the destructive swarm, the best of the sons of Mortarion. Now his name was Tifus . ” (David Ennenteil "Tifus: Bulletin of the Plague God")

If you want a lot of pathos and idiocy, then the cycle about ultramarins will help you enjoy the shooting and movements of military equipment.

“Only at a distance of a few kilometers the ultra -experts gave free rein to their anger. The volume of dazzling outbreaks of thousands of batteries of the Lans and Macropushki has not yet subsided, and hundreds of assault ships and rams have already flown out of landing decks, rushing to the target. The nomadic ships of the psychiatrists beat the whips of spontaneous energy blindly, the ships flashed everywhere and the hulls were split, but the strangers could not stop the impending furious tide. ” (Alan Blya "Ultradesantics")

Separately, I want to advise the truly good author of Black Library , a gem in a wrapper from ruble chewing gum. His name is Peter Fehervari. I myself started from him and was surprised as books that are obviously bad can be so cool. “Infernal Requiem”, “Caste of Fire”, “Cults of Genopraments” and the rest of the books of Fehervarvari show us the world of the distant future as it is. With abominance, with heresy, with death, not giving reassurance. Here you have all the horrors of the life of the imperial guard, tyranids with their genocultors, Tau and human rebels, who sided with cosmic communism, strong women with their faith in torture and their traitors, chaos, real fears of cosmessions, blood, guts, and there is almost no bolter-porn. Unambiguous Vin and Mast Reed.

I also must mention the book of Ien Watson Space Marine (in Russian translation it is called “Inquisitors of the Cosmos”), which came out throughout 1993 and is very different from modern ones. For example, they clearly show how space marines during training eat feces, engage in sadomasochism, humiliate each other, smoke cigars and look more like criminals than the demigods. Everything is bad in this book. Starting from a stupid linear plot to the translation. It is worth reading only because of its status of the book-meme.

“Of course, all these creatures, which were contained in cells, live pantries, have long disappeared in the sips of boys and de-nickname Necromonda, delicious lovers. Maybe, however, at the highest levels, things were different. Today, to determine the degree of pollution, there are all sorts of litmus papers there, of course, if you manage to find one, exchange or steal ...

Well, the proverb has remained from those times: “Do you need to swallow air? Write out the canary!” ” (Translation by T. Zamilova)

Religious fanatics, palace intrigues, searches for traitors? Books about the Inquisition. You can try to start with books about Eisenhorn, you can read the "rotten throne", there is also full of everything.

“Erasmus Crowl, the inquisitor of Ordo Eracycus, correctly and tirelessly carries his service in an unimaginably terrible city, which occupies the entire surface of Terra, because even the throne world is not protected from the intrigues of the treacherous enemies of mankind. Fulfilling its duties, Crowl is falling apart into a mysterious conspiracy, the threads of which are drawn into the imperial palace itself. The investigation makes Erasmus down lower and lower in the dungeon of the Holy Citadel and attracts the attention of many hidden forces. Crowl and his acolite Spinoza discover that heretics, xenos, servants of the Dark Gods and even, possibly, other inquisitors are hunting for them. Soon they will recognize the terrible truth that can jeopardize the existence of the whole Imperium. ” (Chris Wright, "The rotten Throne")

Detective stories are in the Warhammer Crime novels cycle , and if you are a connoisseur of Horror, that is, the Warhammer Horror novel cycle , very good, but sometimes abusing obvious references to the classic of the genre.

It is extremely difficult to use such a volume of literature, given that most of the books are not translated into Russian. There is a way out. You can listen to the retelling of books on YouTube, the benefit of channels on the theme of the Warhammer is enough.

So what is the phenomenon after all? Why do everyone read Bolter Porno? Yes, because otherwise we will never know how everything was actually there. Trite? Yes, absolutely. Does this universe make it worse? No, does not. We repeat that this is generally a set of existing stories, mixed and rewritten under a particularly taken huge and contradictory universe. Books on the Warhammer are needed so that fans can discuss among themselves and argue about the interpretations of certain points. And this is the most interesting.

Did Magnus betray? Why is Russ Hoposhnik? What kind of soup did ultramarins weld? Why is there so much blood to the bloody God?

There are answers to these questions in books, and there are explanations of these questions on many Internet resources, forums, blogs and so on. Try to roll up, and then you will not notice how you have already become a fan and buy boxes with plastic soldiers.