Review: Ravenor Omnibus

I'll preface this with some context.  I love Science Fiction, Asimov, Banks, Herbert, Dick etc. However I've never read any of the 40k expanded universe stuff.  I think I'm inherently suspicious of a sci-fi writer who feels they have to write within a premade framework.  Sounds judgmental I know but that is always the way I have felt.

However I recently picked up The Ravenor Omnibus when I was short of reading material and I was pleasantly surprised.  The story is well enough written and the plot pootles along at the kind of pace you expect from a shortish sci-fi/action story.  It was interesting to read about the other side of the 40k universe, the hives, space ports etc that we don't see in the game. 

Now I'm not saying it had the scope of Asimov's foundation series or the imagination of some of Banks' work, the plots can become a little repetitive in as much as they end up in a very sticky situation that they just manage to scrape their way out of , but it is not a bad read.  From a modelling point of view the books provide some really interesting ideas.  The variety and small size of an inquisitorial warband gives you an opportunity to really lavish some care and attention on a  range of models.  You just have to look at the work of John Blanche et al to see what can be produced.

Below are the models used by Skanwy over at The Ward Save.  He got them from reaper minis but I'm sure you could source some good alternatives from the GW range.

                            

It almost makes you want to have a go at playing Inq28 but having read the rule set that's not for the feint hearted.

So do people have any recommendations for 40k literature and have you used the work you have read to inspire your army selection or modelling/painting?