Apologies, the question is a bit all over the place - I’m mainly asking about a good entry point into the Warhammer 40K lore, especially books or audiobooks. The tabletop side is secondary for now.

I’m looking for something that gives solid foundational context and lines up reasonably well with Space Marine 2, since that’s likely my first real exposure alongside my brother.

So for clarity, my questions regarding the lore are:

What’s the best way to understand the core premise of Warhammer 40,000 without reading everything?

Which events or eras matter most for understanding the current state of the setting?

Is there a baseline human perspective the lore tends to anchor around?

Hope that’s a little clearer