Table of Contents
Dorling Kindersley has teamed up with Games Workshop to give Warhammer 40,000 (40k) the publisher’s popular reference book treatment, resulting in a big (330+ pages), heavy book consolidating the brand’s decades of lore and current miniature range.
The DK style is great for browsing, with small paragraphs of text supporting hundreds of photos. Possibly a bit of a slog to read through from start to finish, but great to dip in and out of as the mood strikes, with every faction having a clearly delineated section.
More accessible than the lore-stuffed rulebooks of the game’s boxed sets, it summarises the whole universe, and is thus a much better introduction to newcomers, while also being a very impressive addition for existing fans. It has the benefit of input as co-author by Gavin Thorpe, who designed numerous versions of the game, has written books in the universe, and clearly knows his stuff front to back. Guy Haley is a novelist who has also written a number of 40k books.
I do miss the more colourful, unpolished and inconsistent tone of the old 40k, but there’s no denying the modern product is the pinnacle of miniature design worldwide, if a little self-serious. The detail and creativity is really impressive, and the book shows this off to great effect, with stunningly painted miniatures comprising the entirety of the imagery aside from a handful of painted artworks on the faction introduction pages.
It also shows off the absolutely insane size of the range, which doesn’t even include all models in squads, or even most of the miniatures from the same universe in sister games like Kill Team and Necromunda.
For fans of recent 40k video games, especially Space Marine 2, this book will be of significant interest, with detailed sections on the Ultramarines (including a double-page spread on Marneus Calgar), Tyranids and Chaos, making for an ideal reference for Space Marine 2 fans.
Of wider interest to science fiction fans, the technology, vehicles, aliens and weaponry are really very creative, and what started as “Lord of the Rings in space” is now one of the most comprehensive and distinctive speculative universes around.
It’s clear that a lot of thought and care has been put into the making of The Ultimate Guide, and we can wholeheartedly recommend it as a comprehensive reference for fans old and new.
