Faction Paradox intro books?

I've always felt that the best thing to do with somebody new to the series is to emphasize the standalone nature of most Faction Paradox stories. All of the Mad Norwegian Press novels are very much designed to be viable starting points (pretty much all the novels can be read without prior knowledge though, it was just emphasized in the Mad Norwegian era). I personally first read Of the City of the Saved, but which particular story is gonna hook somebody depends on their own taste, and so I think the best thing to do is to make it clear that the series mostly isn't very continuity-heavy and let them pick whichever story sounds most interesting to them.

Also worth mentioning is that books aren't the only viable intro to the series! The audios work just as well to somebody new to the series, and they're great. The format can turn away some people who aren't used to audio dramas, but then again, some people will be more interested in listening to an audio drama than they are reading a book, so I think they're also a good starting place to recommend.

For years my Tumblr has recommended The Book of the War, with Alien Bodies and Interference as prereqs for Dr Who fans. But I think going forward I'm going to recommend the MNP Dead Romance. It sets up the audios by introducing Eliza; it sets up Cwej's story in The Book of the War; and all that aside, it's a really good book that plays with a lot of Faction Paradox themes.