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I read Legends of the Age of Sigmar, a collection of short fiction about the non-Stormcast factions of AoS I hate to say it, but there were actually a couple neat things in it. It presents the FyreSlayers in a really interesting way. They're Ur-Gold addicts. It opens with a profoundly homo-erotic BD/SM scene of a Slayer getting Ur-Gold runes pounded into his flesh. It describes the exquisite pain of the burning runes, the pleasure of the power of the Ur-Gold bleeding into his body, and the sweat running down their muscled bodies in pornographic detail. As the story goes on, their Runemaker gets killed, and there's literally a part where they're all grumbling about how the runes their new rune guy makes are weak poo poo. It ends with them pledging to fight for a Khorne guy in order to get more Ur-Gold. I actually liked it a lot based on that premise alone, but then the other three stories completely ignored it so who gives a poo poo, I guess The other interesting thing is the novella Skaven Pestilens. The Skaven haven't changed much in AoS, so I was kinda expecting it to be some old unpublished fantasy thing with the nouns changed. It was not. Skaven Pestilens takes place in a city that was made by carving structures out of the petrified hairs on the back of an enormous worm. This is a city made for and by regular humans, not Chaos or Skaven. They just live on the worm and eat the dog sized parasites that infest it. The Skaven burrowed up through the bottom of the worm to the city and took it over from the unsuspecting humans. Their plan is to kill the worm and use it's rotting carcass as a base from which to spread disease through the realm. There's also a scheme afoot to find an ancient book that is believed to be in one of the lost civilizations built on the archipelagos in the worm's ocean sized digestive system. All of that is fantastic. Not only is it great, it's something that wouldn't fit in the Old World. This novella is the first thing I've seen that actually gives reason for the Age of Sigmar universe to exist. All that being said, none of the stories are actually good. Most of them follow the basic AoS fiction outline; good guys fight some chaos guys, good guys fight chaos guys, good guys fight a big chaos guy, story over. Add lots of tree metaphors if it's a Sylvaneth story. Skaven Pestilens comes closest to being decent, but the characters are completely bland nothings. The writer tries to make Stromcast interesting by giving them names like Far-Killer(an archer) and Bear Slayer(killed a bear) but somehow it's just not enough.
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Mar 13, 2017 06:41
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They're just Ground Marines from the multiverse
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Mar 13, 2017 06:50
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Also, I still don't know what Realms are. I've read two AoS books, collecting thirteen pieces of fiction, from the point of view of four different races. One of the books had a big number 1 on the spine, and was the first AoS book available in book stores. All of them about armies fighting over Realms. And I still don't know what they're actually fighting over. Are Realms planets? Universes? Pieces of the Old World floating in the aether? How big are they? Do they have edges? I have no loving idea.
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Mar 13, 2017 07:00
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I was under the assumption that Realms are essentially different Planes of existence and as such are essentially kinda like parallel worlds
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Mar 13, 2017 08:36
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Telsa Cola posted:I was under the assumption that Realms are essentially different Planes of existence and as such are essentially kinda like parallel worlds This is about right, if you're familiar to Magic the Gathering's planes then the mortal realms are rather similar.
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Mar 13, 2017 14:02
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You know the way 40K is basically totally up its own rear end now (No sense of humour/Matt Ward) and over the last few years its all just space marines all the time, is this why I don't have any new Eisenhorn/GG novels? Abnetts health issues notwithstanding.
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Mar 13, 2017 19:10
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Southpaugh posted:You know the way 40K is basically totally up its own rear end now (No sense of humour/Matt Ward) and over the last few years its all just space marines all the time, is this why I don't have any new Eisenhorn/GG novels? Abnetts health issues notwithstanding. Some other posters on previous pages linked to an interview with a recently quit BL editor Laurie Goulding who said that most of the lovely output was due to management trying to sync product releases with new novels/short stories featuring on big kits and product bundles. That's why you had a throwaway novel/novella for each new space marine tank or unit, and a whole raft of dour, bland special character filler and fewer of the tent pole pieces. The same interview series basically said that the company realized it was a terrible idea to have an accountancy drive IP and have since reverted control of Black Library and stuff to independent business lines. Additionally, Abnett is one big(ger) writers for certain Marvel properties and is working on that stuff for the time being.
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Mar 13, 2017 19:22
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Southpaugh posted:You know the way 40K is basically totally up its own rear end now (No sense of humour/Matt Ward) and over the last few years its all just space marines all the time, is this why I don't have any new Eisenhorn/GG novels? Abnetts health issues notwithstanding. They did the Eldar and Dark Eldar trilogies, the Macharian Crusade trilogy, some Eldar books, Straken, the Commisar Yarrick books, Baneblade and the other tank book, etc.
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Mar 13, 2017 19:22
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Southpaugh posted:You know the way 40K is basically totally up its own rear end now (No sense of humour/Matt Ward) and over the last few years its all just space marines all the time, is this why I don't have any new Eisenhorn/GG novels? Abnetts health issues notwithstanding. I think BL would be thrilled if DA wrote more books, especially if they were Eisenhorn/Ravenor/GG based, because they sell like crazy. Aside from DA's health, he's likely making more money writing comics. Also, since BL went off the deep end, maybe he didn't like working for them?
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Mar 13, 2017 19:23
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Got an email from BL with a link to a list of all their Titanic literature and it reminded me that somegoon somepages ago asked about BL books and stories that include Titans and Knights. Click here for hot Titan on Titan Action
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Mar 13, 2017 19:26
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I'm sure Abnett took a look at his own situation and decided that the stress of working for BL during this lovely time period was only going to contribute more to declining his health so he made the choice walk out. The fact we're getting Warmaster this year in December is probably the new BL management giving him free reign and the time he needs to do it without over stressing himself. It's probably also going to be some of his last work for them since Warmaster is supposed to be the last Gaunt's Ghosts novel anyway, and he's probably doing it mainly as fan service.
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Mar 13, 2017 19:30
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AndyElusive posted:Got an email from BL with a link to a list of all their Titanic literature and it reminded me that somegoon somepages ago asked about BL books and stories that include Titans and Knights. And the plot summary for Warlord: Fury of the God Machine makes it sound almost exactly like a Titanicus retread. "When the battered and bloodied [legio] of the Adeptus Titanicus is assigned to defend a forge world from Chaos, they find their battle made more difficult by the allies they must fight alongside…" Yeah, I think I've heard that one before. 
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Mar 13, 2017 19:35
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I'm pretty sure Abnett hasn't been writing that much stuff for comics since his run on Nova in the late 2000s, which was when he was involved heavily with a bunch of huge crossovers. The only recent thing (last couple years) that I think he's done was a spin off miniseries for the civil war 2 event, and a guardians of the galaxy spinoff, and those were both early-ish last year. He just isn't nearly as prolific as he used to be, I mean poo poo he was writing a bunch of warhammer stuff while he was the main writer on a couple enormous marvel events (war/realm of kings, thanos imperative, etc), so I think his health is the biggest factor here.
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Mar 13, 2017 19:40
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MMAgCh posted:How many of those are actually worth reading though, other than Titanicus and (I think) the graphic novel?  Ya, I've only read two of the books listed (MoM and Mechanicum) but they were good. The only other books on that list that I have planned to get to eventually is Tallarn: Ironclad and Vengeful Spirit.
AndyElusive fucked around with this message at 19:46 on Mar 13, 2017 |
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Mar 13, 2017 19:44
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MMAgCh posted:How many of those are actually worth reading though, other than Titanicus and (I think) the graphic novel?
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Mar 13, 2017 20:04
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Southpaugh posted:You know the way 40K is basically totally up its own rear end now (No sense of humour/Matt Ward) and over the last few years its all just space marines all the time, is this why I don't have any new Eisenhorn/GG novels? Abnetts health issues notwithstanding. Matt Ward hasn't worked at GW for a few years now.
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Mar 13, 2017 22:35
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Abnett can write his own checks at this point. Given the drama at GW, saying "gently caress this noise" makes perfect sense. I don't know about the health stuff people are talking about, but if I was getting money and respect from Marvel while some accountant at GW was telling me I needed to completely rewrite a novel to incorporate a new model (like what happened with the Grey Knights -- and it sounds like it got worse from there) I'd tell them to stuff it. Add some health issues and, why the gently caress would you sweat that garbage?
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Mar 14, 2017 06:08
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lite_sleepr posted:Matt Ward hasn't worked at GW for a few years now.  He got hired as a freelancer a while ago. But that was only temporarily to help FW with Inferno and some Black Library stuff as far as I understand it. Southpaugh posted:You know the way 40K is basically totally up its own rear end now (No sense of humour/Matt Ward) and over the last few years its all just space marines all the time, is this why I don't have any new Eisenhorn/GG novels? Abnetts health issues notwithstanding. The Regimental Standard is a nice return to the more dark humour period of 40k. Props on whoever writes that stuff because it more often than not hits the mark.
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Mar 14, 2017 13:21
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Matt Ward to me is emblematic of the "fans that grow up to be writers" problem that seems to infest GW, where they allow their personal biases to become the main narrative thrust, when I was a kid ultramarines were the starter SM faction because blue was easy to paint and they had no nuance to their backstory which made them easy for kids to consume. Now they are pushed as faction number one (and are the best??). For no reason than having been Wards favourite. I know Ward bashing is old news, I'm really just using him as an example of how 40K lost any kind of self awareness over time. The 40K in Eisenhorn, where its not actually only war and people live normal lives and the peril is personal and interesting. Who gives a poo poo about Ultramarine #50000 and his personal quest to kill a million nids? I basically just want to get the ending of the series I started reading years ago so I can finally, you know, move on with my life  GW do seem, since the abysmal launch of AOS to be pulling back a bit and improving standards generally and Regimental Standard seems to be indicative of some fresh blood somewhere in the business. Also, is Warmaster the last GG book? I thought it was the first book in the last trilogy?
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Mar 14, 2017 14:53
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I'm pretty sure it's just the second book in the trilogy, but maybe it's going to be super extra long? He won't truncate the whole final book into a single chapter, right? 
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Mar 14, 2017 16:34
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I'm going back and re-reading/finishing a lot of the series I enjoyed in the past: Eisenhorn/Ravenor, Gaunt's Ghosts, Ciaphas Cain, Horus Heresey, Blood Angels. I get the feeling that I'm going to hate a lot of the bullshit they've put out in the past three years, especially since a lot of you guys are saying that they're just putting novels out to match the release of a GW unit. Feels really forced to me.
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Mar 14, 2017 16:39
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pubic works project posted:I'm going back and re-reading/finishing a lot of the series I enjoyed in the past: Eisenhorn/Ravenor, Gaunt's Ghosts, Ciaphas Cain, Horus Heresey, Blood Angels. I get the feeling that I'm going to hate a lot of the bullshit they've put out in the past three years, especially since a lot of you guys are saying that they're just putting novels out to match the release of a GW unit. Feels really forced to me. You can avoid those books easily enough. Basically if it has a picture on the cover that is super obviously based on an existing model (see the Skitarii guy above) you're safe.
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Mar 14, 2017 18:09
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Are all the really large format books bad? It's not like I want to proudly display Hams on my bookshelf or be seen reading schlock. I'll read schlock but I'm appropriately ashamed of it. Someone who would want to advertise that seems like a bad audience.
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Mar 14, 2017 18:25
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Shbobdb posted:Are all the really large format books bad? It's not like I want to proudly display Hams on my bookshelf or be seen reading schlock. I'll read schlock but I'm appropriately ashamed of it. Someone who would want to advertise that seems like a bad audience. Yes, being weary of people who put whatever science fiction books they've read on their bookshelf instead of under their beds or hiding them away in their closet is a completely normal reaction.
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Mar 14, 2017 21:08
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AndyElusive posted:Yes, being weary of people who put whatever science fiction books they've read on their bookshelf instead of under their beds or hiding them away in their closet is a completely normal reaction. Whoa now. I keep nothing but awful sci-fi and fantasy on my bookshelf.
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Mar 14, 2017 21:10
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Shbobdb posted:Are all the really large format books bad? It's not like I want to proudly display Hams on my bookshelf or be seen reading schlock. I'll read schlock but I'm appropriately ashamed of it. Someone who would want to advertise that seems like a bad audience. Yeah obviously a person who has those kinds of books in open display is subhuman garbage that should be purged
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Mar 14, 2017 21:26
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Kharn_The_Betrayer posted:Yeah obviously a person who has those kinds of books in open display is subhuman garbage that should be purged Suffer not the heretic to live.
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Mar 14, 2017 22:01
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I still have a shelf filled with terrible Star Wars novels on display in my loungeroom. It is me. I am the subhuman garbage.
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Mar 14, 2017 23:37
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pubic works project posted:I get the feeling that I'm going to hate a lot of the bullshit they've put out in the past three years, especially since a lot of you guys are saying that they're just putting novels out to match the release of a GW unit. Feels really forced to me. Not so much. The newer HH books are mostly good (Path of Heaven, Praetorians of Dorn anyway) and, as I get to the end of the Beast Arises series... you know, this is good, old fashioned bolter porn. Big battles, noble heroes,terrible dangers, gore-soaked battlefields, and some interesting new lore. It's all orks though, so it gets a bit repetitive. And I don't think they introduced any new models !
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Mar 15, 2017 00:01
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I am definitely in the closet with my love for 40k genre fiction so I can completely emphasize with not putting those books on the shelves
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Mar 15, 2017 01:46
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It's almost time for my annual re-read of the Night Lords trilogy. I'll make an effortpost about Talos and company every few days when I do.
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Mar 15, 2017 02:06
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VanSandman posted:It's almost time for my annual re-read of the Night Lords trilogy. I'll make an effortpost about Talos and company every few days when I do. Still my favorite depiction of traitor marines.
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Mar 15, 2017 02:21
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Iron Warriors are my personal favorite traitor legion, but there aren't really many stories that do them justice. Best marines of all are the Red corsairs though. gently caress the gods, steal the ships, bang the bitches, and get paid while doing it.
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Mar 15, 2017 02:50
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VanSandman posted:It's almost time for my annual re-read of the Night Lords trilogy. I'll make an effortpost about Talos and company every few days when I do. I really wish they brought back the Talonmaster for that trilogy.
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Mar 15, 2017 03:14
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Sorry I phrased the question wrong. Are any of the weird big books worth reading? It seems like the last year-or-twos output from BL has been bad so I'm not looking to waste money.
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Mar 15, 2017 07:18
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Arcsquad12 posted:Iron Warriors are my personal favorite traitor legion, but there aren't really many stories that do them justice. They show up well in the Beast Arises. TL;dr An Imperial Fist has a reasonable moment, and poo poo gets hosed up over several books.
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Mar 15, 2017 08:07
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Arcsquad12 posted:Iron Warriors are my personal favorite traitor legion, but there aren't really many stories that do them justice. What is it about the IW that you like? Perturabo seemed like a whiny angsty baby and I couldn't ever figure out why he traded teams.
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Mar 15, 2017 13:02
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pubic works project posted:I really wish they brought back the Talonmaster for that trilogy. Hoping Zso Sahaal gets rules in 30k one of these days. Lord of the Night was one of the first 40k books I ever read and did a lot to sell me on the setting.
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Mar 15, 2017 13:54
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Shbobdb posted:Sorry I phrased the question wrong. By weird big books do you mean the 800+ page omnibuses? If so, yes buy Night Lords
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Mar 15, 2017 14:16
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lite_sleepr posted:What is it about the IW that you like? Perturabo seemed like a whiny angsty baby and I couldn't ever figure out why he traded teams. Their resentment of their role as the workhorse legion is what I like. For decades they were the backbone of the crusades, going in to secure and mop up resistance and then fortify positions. But as time progresses their inability and inflexibility with their combat doctrine earns them scorn from other legions. They never achieved recognition for their victories, always overshadowed by the dynamic actions of the more daring legions. Resentment builds up. Fast forward ten thousand years and their resentment and anger extends to everything and everyone. Their method of warfare is the worst nightmare version of world War 1 attrition, a slow grinder ending in a flash of horrific violence once the siege breaks through. I don't cared too much for perturabo because ad you say, he's written as a petulant child. But that goes back to my initial point that iron warriors are rarely written well
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Mar 15, 2017 14:45
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