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Wax Dynasty posted:Common consensus in the Dresden Files thread is that you need to slog through the first two books before it really gets good. If you do and still don't like the third book, just stop because it sets the tone and narrative for many of the remaining books. If you like competent urban fantasy, then there's not much else out there that's better. I have the second book on my kindle as the the first two were on offer for 99p. I might try again with the second and see how I go, atleast they're relatively short reads, unlike GOTM.
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May 25, 2016 09:54
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ed balls balls man posted:I have the second book on my kindle as the the first two were on offer for 99p. I might try again with the second and see how I go, atleast they're relatively short reads, unlike GOTM. The second book is some dire poo poo really. Solid action with a lot of boring stuff in between.
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May 25, 2016 14:42
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My entry for the short story contest finally was rejected today. Which might be for the best because I'm not sure I'd've been ready to deal with all the legal and editorial stuff that comes with getting accepted. I'm kind of curious now as to which stories are going to end up in those anthologies, though.
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May 25, 2016 18:45
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Theyll be poo poo compared to your guys
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May 25, 2016 19:08
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Considering my pitch got rejected I might as well tell you guys. A very young marine scout is sent to a recruiting world investigating the rumors surrounding a legendary marksmen within the ranks of the PDF. As part of his initiation he intends to find the man and bring him to the Chapter, believing that if the reports about his skills are true, he could be a valuable training asset. When he finds the guy, however, the mental image he'd built up in his head based on the anecdotes he's told throughout the short story are shattered when the man is nothing like he'd imagined. Then they fight off Orks and defend a PDF convoy while the scout's sergeant watches from afar. The sniper proves to be every bit as skilled as the stories made him out to be, and the scout learns that looks can be deceiving, but merit always shines through. I based the sniper off of Simo Hayha, the deadliest marksman in history.
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May 25, 2016 19:49
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Mine was about a squad of guardsmen investigating a mining complex at the requisition of an Inquisitor.(one of many small squads searching this massive mining asteroid) Essentially, the output suddenly stopped, and the local teams sent in never returned. Essentially it is a Chaos plot, and the squad faces an entity that slowly picks off the team one by one by playing on their fears, and insecurities driving them insane. They also have to go deeper into the mine in order to find an alternative exit after the first member of their squad to lose it collapses the main tunnel by grenading himself out of despair for a tragedy that he has always blamed himself for. (Brought to the surface by the chaos entity)
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May 25, 2016 20:04
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I wrote about the amnesiac survivor of an Archenemy assault trying to escape from a ruined city. After a number of increasingly unsettling encounters with other survivors and Chaos soldiery alike, he eventually realises that he is a Warlord princeps, trapped in the engine's dream/nightmare of a city it failed to save from the Ruinous Powers hundreds of years before. By that point he is so far gone that he opts to join with the Titan's spirit; the story's final scene consists of the princeps' casket being ceremonially disconnected in the "real world" after he has quite literally lost his mind to the engine – far from the first princeps so claimed by the Titan, it is implied. It's probably a fairly weak take on the "Imperium of Man" theme, or at least that's what I think got it rejected. But who knows!
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May 25, 2016 21:51
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MMAgCh posted:I wrote about the amnesiac survivor of an Archenemy assault trying to escape from a ruined city. After a number of increasingly unsettling encounters with other survivors and Chaos soldiery alike, he eventually realises that he is a Warlord princeps, trapped in the engine's dream/nightmare of a city it failed to save from the Ruinous Powers hundreds of years before. By that point he is so far gone that he opts to join with the Titan's spirit; the story's final scene consists of the princeps' casket being ceremonially disconnected in the "real world" after he has quite literally lost his mind to the engine – far from the first princeps so claimed by the Titan, it is implied. That sounds pretty drat cool. If they do a Mechanicus or specifically a titan theme you should send it again because titans are great and machine spirit stuff is great.
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May 25, 2016 22:01
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jadebullet posted:Mine was about a squad of guardsmen investigating a mining complex at the requisition of an Inquisitor.(one of many small squads searching this massive mining asteroid) Essentially, the output suddenly stopped, and the local teams sent in never returned. This sounds cool, but I think it's more a novel-scale story idea. I feel like you'd need more time with the troopers for this to really click together.
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May 25, 2016 22:36
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The depictions of the Chaos Invasion and the brief Chaos POV's were fun.
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May 26, 2016 04:50
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I'm about a quarter (? - I hate the way the Kindle manages pages) of the way into Predator, Prey, and am tentatively liking it. I've said Rob Sanders hasn't written anything I've really liked (other than Czevak,) but this book may make me change my mind with his portrayal of the Mechanicus. The whole book isn't about them, unfortunately, but hopefully he can keep it up. A really cool section was where a senior Magos went into a conclave to discuss the Ork incursion. Immediately after, he came back and committed suicide by uploading a nano-virus into himself. In addition, "They lack your flesh wisdom" is a pretty cool line. As a side note, Sanders' Fists Exemplar Space Marines leave their armor unpainted, thus justifying the legions of unpainted 40K minis on tabletop battlefields across the world. Also, that apothecary is a real dick to his human serfs.
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May 27, 2016 20:34
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Khizan posted:This sounds cool, but I think it's more a novel-scale story idea. I feel like you'd need more time with the troopers for this to really click together. Thanks. Yeah, I am tempted to just write it anyway and see where it goes. I will probably scale down the mine size and make it in the 1800s or something. If you want to read the excerpt, I can PM it to you or post it in the thread since it didn't go anywhere.
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May 28, 2016 00:11
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Blitzed through Ravenor omnibus, such a great trilogy. Taking a small Abnett break with Treacheries of the Space Marines before diving into Pariah and possibly Titanicus.
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May 28, 2016 04:06
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Abyss posted:Blitzed through Ravenor omnibus, such a great trilogy. Taking a small Abnett break with Treacheries of the Space Marines before diving into Pariah and possibly Titanicus. I'd say to read Titanicus first, as there is not a sequel to Pariah out yet. Hold off on the misery associated with waiting as long as you can.
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May 28, 2016 15:40
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gently caress Know No Fear is good. Just makes me sad how the series declined from there.
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May 28, 2016 23:50
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There was a lot of poo poo before Know No Fear as well. The HH series has been a few gems in a mountain of turds since the beginning.
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May 29, 2016 19:14
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Hustlin Floh posted:There was a lot of poo poo before Know No Fear as well. The HH series has been a few gems in a mountain of turds since the beginning. I dunno, before Know No Fear you could rely on every 3rd book or so being pretty good but it's been wall to wall turds ever since.
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May 29, 2016 19:36
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The thing with HH is that they have reached the point where they should start wrapping this poo poo up and go into the Siege of Terra, but they don't want to kill off a storyline while people will still buy the books. What they should do is wrap it up and then start the Age of Apostasy.
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May 29, 2016 21:10
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They're delaying HH stuff so that we all buy the Beast series.
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May 29, 2016 22:16
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I enjoyed the poo poo out of Know No Fear, Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns. Those are the three that stand out the most. The first book was pretty good too but it was also Abnett so that stands to reason, I also enjoyed Fulgrim on the first read but it was pretty meh on a subsequent read. I don't think I've actually read anything since Know No Fear. I'm still waiting on Pariah and the Warmaster.
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May 30, 2016 01:20
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Demiurge4 posted:I don't think I've actually read anything since Know No Fear. Then you need to go read The First Heretic and Betrayer.
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May 30, 2016 01:24
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Khizan posted:Then you need to go read The First Heretic and Betrayer. Oh yeah I read those, the portrayal of Angron is probably my favorite tragic fall in the series so far.
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May 30, 2016 01:27
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Helsreach and war of the fang are really good if your hankerin for dat ham
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May 30, 2016 19:53
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Re-read 'Betrayer' after 2 years, and it feels even better. I just love how it ties up storylines, manages to make no one look like a chump in victory nor defeat, humanizes Angron into a broken Spartacus figure, elevates Lorgar into a brilliant mastermind that is still fallible and somewhat relatable....and crowns it all by having Archmagos Vel Kheredar and Flag Captain Lotara duel to be the coolest non-astartes character in the whole Heresy. Noticed some plot holes this time around, though. Kharn is mentioned as 'not having worn the butcher's nails as long as some', then is referred to as being the very first world eater to undergo implantation. Small things, but noticeable.
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May 31, 2016 03:42
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Sephyr posted:and crowns it all by having Archmagos Vel Kheredar and Flag Captain Lotara duel to be the coolest non-astartes character in the whole Heresy. Lotara is definitely one of those rarities: a really good female character in 40k. The lady shoots a World Eater captain in the face with a laspistol and lives to tell the tale.
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Jun 1, 2016 15:14
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The Night Lords series is also really good for anyone who enjoyed the HH series. It's more steeped in the Heresy and the fallout of it than 99% of other non-HH 40k (maybe with the exception of Ahriman, but the Night Lords series is imo better) because the disconnect between the current fallen state of the legion(s), and the current state of loyalist marine chapters who weren't there, and the fact that the heresy is now just myth and superstition, is constantly highlighted. That said, man, every time I check this thread or GW's websites I can't help but be struck by how much Games Workshop is just the worst. I shouldn't be surprised, but literally every decision they make is like some hilarious parody of a short-term greed mentality of squeeze squeeze squeeze over the long-term sustainability of a decent business. E.g., limited edition, high-priced books that do nothing with stories we didn't care about in the first place (Meduson the "ultimate edition" yeah okay) and the noted absence of quality, trusted authors who can command better pay. Also I still don't understand their desire to squeeze more out of the Heresy before ending it. "Ending" the series doesn't mean you can't fill in more gaps later on, tell side stories, blah blah. I've mentioned it before, but imagine the Star Wars EU (already terrible) and even Star Wars' toy lines without the original trilogy driving people to the EU and the toys because fans just wanted "more" and would eat up anything. The EU would have made them some money, sure, but it wouldn't have been as much of a ridiculous cash cow if they'd just spend 20 years filling in the origin stories of nameless Mos Eisley aliens without ever progressing the story started in A New Hope.
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Jun 1, 2016 15:43
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I like the Ahriman books (getting started on Unchanged), but it suffers the same issue most stories that have an truly powerful character have; he's so strong there are few stories you can write about him unless you have a lot of time to set the stage. Either you have to contrive a reason for him to be weaker so there are actual stakes, or you pull an equally uberpowerful enemy out of your rear end (which usually feels cheap). I mean, going back to Betrayer, let's take a look at Lorgar. He's a primarch, now also a ridiculously powerful psyker and has access to the dark lore and powers of the chaos gods, with a large loyal Legion and two Abyss-class kingships ships behind him. BUT he's also facing half the Imperium and the Big E himself, trying to hold together a fraying alliance between feuding legions led by warlords not lacking in ego, personally harnessing untold amounts of warp power for his Shadow Crusade in Ultramar, being chased by the ultramarines during said crusade, dealing with Erebus being a sly poo poo and trying to secure Argel Tal's future, not to mention Angron's. We know the result, of course, but it still feels like a proper challenge, with enough things at risk that it's not a foregone conclusion.
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Jun 1, 2016 16:32
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Cythereal posted:Lotara is definitely one of those rarities: a really good female character in 40k. The lady shoots a World Eater captain in the face with a laspistol and lives to tell the tale. Say what you will about Sandy Mitchell's writing, he is very good at writing distinct female characters who actually have some character. Abnett too but that's a given.
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Jun 1, 2016 16:45
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The White Scars' stories have been the best thing to come out of the elongated Heresy. Talk about creating something from nothing.
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Jun 2, 2016 10:28
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Any opinions on the Sabbat Crusade anthology? I've read Sabbat Worlds and thought it was OK.
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Jun 3, 2016 02:33
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MMAgCh posted:Any opinions on the Sabbat Crusade anthology? I've read Sabbat Worlds and thought it was OK. I liked it. The longest story in the book is probably the best one and it's a sequel to the Hammerstone Kings from the previous book. Otherwise the rest of the stories are petty solid all around.
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Jun 3, 2016 12:42
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MMAgCh posted:Any opinions on the Sabbat Crusade anthology? I've read Sabbat Worlds and thought it was OK. It's pretty solid. Poor ghosts can't catch a break though.
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Jun 3, 2016 14:59
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berzerkmonkey posted:I'd say to read Titanicus first, as there is not a sequel to Pariah out yet. Hold off on the misery associated with waiting as long as you can. Unfortunately, I did not take this advice and forged ahead on Pariah. Now I join those who have been waiting, since 2012, for the next installment.
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Jun 3, 2016 15:42
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I honestly don't know what you guys see in The Headstone and the Hammerstone Kings. I didn't like it at all.
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Jun 3, 2016 17:45
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Arcsquad12 posted:I honestly don't know what you guys see in The Headstone and the Hammerstone Kings. I didn't like it at all. You and me both. Abyss posted:Unfortunately, I did not take this advice and forged ahead on Pariah. Now I join those who have been waiting, since 2012, for the next installment. berzerkmonkey fucked around with this message at 18:14 on Jun 3, 2016 |
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Jun 3, 2016 18:08
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berzerkmonkey posted:Feel the burn! To be honest, I'm starting to question if we will ever see the second book. I'm thinking other gigs are paying waaay better than BL. Abnett would be a fool to go back to BL.... but I want him too so badly.
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Jun 3, 2016 18:19
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He tweeted last year he was still writing Warmaster at least. No word on Pariah though, could be he just loves the Ghosts too much but yeah I don't blame him.
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Jun 3, 2016 19:47
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I have lots to read, so it'll be ok for now. Still have the GG series to get through, but have decided to go with ADB's The Emperor's Gift and continue on with the Grey Knight Omnibus before I dive back into Dan Abnett.
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Jun 4, 2016 00:56
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Demiurge4 posted:He tweeted last year he was still writing Warmaster at least. No word on Pariah though, could be he just loves the Ghosts too much but yeah I don't blame him. I thought Warmaster was ADB?
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Jun 4, 2016 16:39
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Gaunts Ghosts: The Warmaster.
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Jun 4, 2016 16:42
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