When I heard about Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide, I was disproportionately excited. I’ve been a Warhammer player since the 1980s, and I have loved DK’s pictorial masterpieces for almost as long. Now, the publisher and game studio have come together in a marriage made in heaven. The idea that Warhammer 40,000 would be mainstream enough to be given the full DK “Ultimate Guide” treatment would have been absurd back when I first played. The last thing I would have admitted to anybody was that I “collected toy soldiers.”
But we live in more enlightened times, so I’m in the thrilling position of being able to review DK’s deep dive into the 41st millennium.
What Is Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide?
The book is written by two big beasts of Warhammer fiction, Guy Haley and Gav Thorpe—writers, in Warhammer terms, as legendary as the characters they have depicted. The book is a hardback with over 300 pages of amazing artwork and information.
This ultimate guide opens with an introduction and an explanation of what the Warhammer hobby is, as well as taking a trip down memory lane with a timeline of Games Workshop history, from the first White Dwarf magazine in 1977 up to the company’s latest collaborations with the Wētā Workshop.
The rest of the book is broken down into three broad sections, “A Dying Empire,” Forces of Chaos,” and “The Xenos Threat.”
The book describes in detail the various factions and sub-factions within the game, all with amazing close-up photography of the models each beautifully painted by the artists of the Warhammer Studio.
The book closes out with a funky scale guide, so you can see the relative sizes of some of the models depicted in the book, and a comprehensive index, making it easy to find which piece of Warhammer 40,000 lore you are looking for.
Why Read Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide?
There is much to love here. As a visual reference for Warhammer 40,000, it is without peer. It’s almost as though you’re holding the Warhammer World exhibition space in your hands. The iconic visuals of Games Workshop and the universe it has painstakingly created are perfectly showcased by DK’s expert publishing layouts. It’s DK’s usual blend of pictures and explanatory text, with every page screaming, “Look at me! Look at me!”
There is nothing here about HOW to play Warhammer 40,000. Instead, this book is all about showcasing the miniatures and the lore of the game. There is nothing about the manufacturing or design process either. This is a guide to the forces of the Warhammer 40,000, not their creation, though there are some shots of some classic miniatures from the history of the game.
This Ultimate Guide is the perfect gift for fans of Warhammer 40,000—not just those who play regularly but also any who have lapsed. At that busy time of life, when you have a young family, finding time to play Warhammer can be tough. Finding energy and space to paint is even tougher. This book can give you a small Warhammer hit to tide you over until the (small “c”) chaos subsides. I’m not by any means an aficionado of the 40k universe, but I found so much to admire in this book.
I’ve been familiar with the quality of the Warhammer painting team for several decades (although the house style has evolved over the years). This book shows off that quality in an unprecedented fashion. The photography alone must have taken many man-hours, let alone the painting itself. The enlarged images used in the Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide allow you to appreciate the details and artistry of the hobby in a whole new way.
Most of us play Warhammer because we love the way it looks on the tabletop. This book channels the visceral thrill one feels when you see a beautifully painted army. This is a book for all fans of the hobby, casual and hardened. Personally, I’ve always been more into the fantasy side of the Warhammer franchise. I do hope that DK and GW team up again next year for the equivalent Age of Sigmar ultimate guide!
If you would like to pick up a copy of Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide, you can do so here in the US (Out 29th October) and here in the UK (out now). (Affiliate Links)
If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews.
I received a copy of this book in order to write this review.
