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I finished up on Grim Repast last night, and I guess having a chest/gut scar is just how the entire Bastion staff are these days? Seems like every protagonist in Warhammer Crime has one so far anyway. A couple of interesting things happened in the book anyway, and I kind of saw where it was going from about a quarter of the way in. Still, some hilights: One of the primary suspects screaming about blood and getting shot in the face riiiight as he's going to say "Blood for the blood god!" was  .The timeline of events is super suspect what with Araceli Vranx being the captain of a pre-Imperial colony ship. The maths of it just does not add up at all. Drask getting interrogated in the debrief section by an Adeptus Arbites officer really points to my gut feel of "this is too big for you" having been right all along. The veiled euphemisms along the lines of "investigated by a.... higher authority" were pretty lol too. The blatant corruption in the Bastion chain of command made it real weird that nobody got  'd by the Arbites OR the "higher authority" TBH.The whole ending trope of "you've saved the city and shown the system to be corrupt but the commissioner is still mad at you" is going to get real tiresome, especially given the above. I feel like I should have read No Good Men first, but TBH with the way protagonists seem to be vac-formed stereotypes with one or two different details only I'd probably have forgotten which was which.
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Nov 14, 2022 19:48
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Gravitas Shortfall posted:What else have you been recommended in the past that you bounced off? That'll save people suggesting the things you already hate I can read it all one day. The problem was that people recommended me the "best" stuff, but not necessarily the best introductory stuff.
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Nov 15, 2022 07:41
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Pennsylvanian posted:I can read it all one day. The problem was that people recommended me the "best" stuff, but not necessarily the best introductory stuff. Okay well honestly I would start with Necropolis because it's a fast paced novel with the premise "what if Stalingrad included giant crab tanks" and starts from the POV of multiple Imperial citizens going about their days just as the poo poo kicks off
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Nov 15, 2022 08:31
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Necropolis is incredibly good, it's the third book in the first omnibus but you should absolutely start there and then go back and read the first two.
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Nov 15, 2022 09:05
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It depends on what you consider too much introduction. Necropolis owns and I'd recommend it too, but it starts with, like, nine different POVs (though each is only a paragraph or two) for people who become characters later on and it's like fifty or so pages before the actual main characters of the series even show up. I really can't think of too much that just jumps straight into it without taking time (as it should imo) to at least give some broadstrokes of the five Ws. Horus Rising I guess? Maybe Honour Guard too, though that's book 4 in a 13 book series so dunno how that'd work going in blind. I get it though, diving into this endless genre fiction void and trying to find something that doesn't rely on you knowing enough lore to have been bullied in high school is tough.
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Nov 15, 2022 14:03
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I think Soul Hunter is a good intro book. Small scope that broadens, a human POV character that is being dropped into a radically new environment and adjusts along with the reader.
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Nov 15, 2022 14:41
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My only real complaint about Necropolis is that Abnett tries to give detailed numbers about casualties and troop numbers and it does not work since that's an issue that's been pointed out repeatedly in the past. But looking past that it's still a very solid book that a re-read a couple of months back as prep for a Only War campaign that didn't happen due to real life. Otherwise that series was pretty much my first real gateway into the setting as before that I had only been exposed to the hobby as a whole from an old 3rd edition advertisement pamphlet picked up at a toy store.
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Nov 15, 2022 15:49
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Gaunt's Ghosts is my favorite series and my first foray into Imperial Guard stuff. There's a bit of weirdness down the line and Abnett messing up his notes, but it's a strong as hell and top tier series.
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Nov 15, 2022 16:00
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Finding a print edition of Necropolis is a pain in the rear end. 
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Nov 15, 2022 16:01
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DaysBefore posted:Necropolis owns and I'd recommend it too, but it starts with, like, nine different POVs (though each is only a paragraph or two) for people who become characters later on and it's like fifty or so pages before the actual main characters of the series even show up. This is why I think it's a good introductory book - you need to know anything about the 40K setting to read Necropolis, those first few paragraphs tell you about the setting from the POV of easily understandable character archetypes, immediately lead with "the city is being attacked", and show the reactions to that through every social strata. There's a lot of little details and 40K jargon , but a new reader could just shrug off as the usual sci-fi technobabble because the immediate hook is there. But then again I like books that just dump me into a setting without much hand holding.
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Nov 15, 2022 16:04
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Siivola posted:Finding a print edition of Necropolis is a pain in the rear end. I think they re-released the full series omnibusses very recently.
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Nov 15, 2022 16:05
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Demiurge4 posted:I think they re-released the full series omnibusses very recently. 
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Nov 15, 2022 16:07
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Gravitas Shortfall posted:This is why I think it's a good introductory book - you need to know anything about the 40K setting to read Necropolis, those first few paragraphs tell you about the setting from the POV of easily understandable character archetypes, immediately lead with "the city is being attacked", and show the reactions to that through every social strata. There's a lot of little details and 40K jargon , but a new reader could just shrug off as the usual sci-fi technobabble because the immediate hook is there. True, and it's probably better to go eith an older Warhammer book rather than the more recent ones that have to incorporate all of GWs silly little copyright-friendly renaming
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Nov 15, 2022 16:10
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Have a drink for every time Abnett uses the word "sheer" in Necropolis and you'll die of alcohol poisoning. Weren't the official numbers for the siege of Vervunhive something ridiculous like only 15,000 guardsmen, a few hundred thousand PDF troopers and then over 20 million attacking cultists?
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Nov 15, 2022 16:19
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In First and Only the Guard sends half a million men to deal with.... I wanna say a literal billion cultists on Fortis Binary. Maybe just like ten million but either way.... lmao
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Nov 15, 2022 17:30
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Pennsylvanian posted:I can read it all one day. The problem was that people recommended me the "best" stuff, but not necessarily the best introductory stuff. For 'modern' space marine, Spears of the Emperor would probably be good
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Nov 15, 2022 18:01
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Arc Hammer posted:Have a drink for every time Abnett uses the word "sheer" in Necropolis and you'll die of alcohol poisoning. Guard are elite okay
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Nov 15, 2022 18:34
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It was like 20 million nerve stapled civilians but yeah it was essentially an entire hive.
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Nov 15, 2022 18:41
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DaysBefore posted:True, and it's probably better to go eith an older Warhammer book rather than the more recent ones that have to incorporate all of GWs silly little copyright-friendly renaming Eh, there have been a lot of recent books that I've really enjoyed. The good ones are better about the Verbnoun Nounverber problem
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Nov 15, 2022 19:09
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Improbable Lobster posted:Eh, there have been a lot of recent books that I've really enjoyed. The good ones are better about the Verbnoun Nounverber problem
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Nov 15, 2022 19:16
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Cooked Auto posted:My only real complaint about Necropolis is that Abnett tries to give detailed numbers about casualties and troop numbers and it does not work since that's an issue that's been pointed out repeatedly in the past. Same I remember my babby 12 or 13 year old mind being blown out of my skull reading Ghostmaker and First and Only in the wrong order and then I think i also read Eye of Terror and at that point I was doomed forever.
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Nov 15, 2022 19:34
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Listened to most of The Carrion Throne. Crowl seems like a such a chill, reasonable guy for an inquisitor. I’m guessing he’s going to show how harsh he can be in a big way, in this book or the sequel.
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Nov 15, 2022 20:36
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Siivola posted:I wonder what possessed the Age of Sigmar writers to do that. There must be less awful ways to search engine optimise your game. age of sigmar had a bunch of naked SEO-optimizing name changes at launch (seraphon, orruks, ogors, aelves) and those are baked in at this point so why not just go all out on it
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Nov 15, 2022 20:57
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Should have just added Sp(ace) as a prefix for the 40k stuff, so you could read about the Sporks fighting the Speldar, while a Spyarannid Hive Fleet attacks etc And for your Fantasy Land add FL so your Flwarfs form an alliance with the Flelfs to fight the Forces of Flaos. You're welcome GW, I'll take cash or a cheque.
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Nov 15, 2022 21:57
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Deptfordx posted:Should have just added Sp(ace) as a prefix for the 40k stuff, so you could read about the Sporks fighting the Speldar, while a Spyarannid Hive Fleet attacks etc
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Nov 16, 2022 02:26
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Do Titan void shields operate on Dune logic where slow moving objects don't raise the shield?
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Nov 16, 2022 02:40
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Arc Hammer posted:Do Titan void shields operate on Dune logic where slow moving objects don't raise the shield? I'm pretty sure that's how void shields work in space in 40k, so I would imagine that's how they work on land. Also explains how infantry can move around/though it, right?
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Nov 16, 2022 02:47
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Inspector_666 posted:I'm pretty sure that's how void shields work in space in 40k, so I would imagine that's how they work on land. Also explains how infantry can move around/though it, right? I'm guessing so since I remember in Helsreach when Grimaldus parks a thunderhawk in front of Storm Herald and threatens to blow the Titan to bits knowing that it won't be able to raise its shields in time. Would a void shield be capable of being projected at variable distances in that case?
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Nov 16, 2022 02:53
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Arc Hammer posted:I'm guessing so since I remember in Helsreach when Grimaldus parks a thunderhawk in front of Storm Herald and threatens to blow the Titan to bits knowing that it won't be able to raise its shields in time. Would a void shield be capable of being projected at variable distances in that case? Perhaps, but it isn't an instantaneous on/off button. Transferring power to appropriate systems takes time, and that's assuming the reactor is already up to operating capacity instead of having been brought partially down for repairs and upkeep etc
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Nov 16, 2022 03:10
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S.J. posted:Perhaps, but it isn't an instantaneous on/off button. Transferring power to appropriate systems takes time, and that's assuming the reactor is already up to operating capacity instead of having been brought partially down for repairs and upkeep etc So Titans engaging beyond visual range would have more time to react to incoming shots and Titans getting into knife fighting range where melee comes out becomes extremely hazardous since the power drain of a shield would make it difficult to maintain for the amount of close range firepower being brought to bear on multiple sections of the machine.
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Nov 16, 2022 03:42
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I recall in a Gaunt's Ghosts novel, The Guns of Tanith, that void shields prevented people from passing through them.
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Nov 16, 2022 04:01
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Arc Hammer posted:So Titans engaging beyond visual range would have more time to react to incoming shots and Titans getting into knife fighting range where melee comes out becomes extremely hazardous since the power drain of a shield would make it difficult to maintain for the amount of close range firepower being brought to bear on multiple sections of the machine. I believe so, yeah. I'm not super familiar with the rules for Titanicus but I believe you do have to worry about shield facing for your big boys. Plus, long range firepower is more rare at that scale so it's easier to predict rather than being in the middle of a city and having a bunch of units in hiding all alpha striking your defenses away in unison
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Nov 16, 2022 04:04
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habeasdorkus posted:I recall in a Gaunt's Ghosts novel, The Guns of Tanith, that void shields prevented people from passing through them. They can, but i don't think it's the regular way to operate them. i think they mention that the bloodpact had put in a bunch of jury-rigged generators and put that at high blast, but it's not maintainable for long periods.
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Nov 16, 2022 06:11
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They're also permeable but still provide resistance, so you get weird weather and condensation buildup inside them if they're large enough and left on for long enough.
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Nov 16, 2022 08:29
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actually, i just was reminded of an even better example, in the ork book at one point the mechanicus have a voidshield set to a setting that doesn't let anything through, but they mention they are unable to maintain it forever, even though the settlement in question is built on a volcano and has practically limitless energy. ends up not really mattering but you can read the book to find out why.
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Nov 16, 2022 08:34
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Yeah they seem to have a big dial on them that goes from "Plot" to "PLOT?!?!?!" and it's as permeable as required.
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Nov 16, 2022 12:12
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Siivola posted:Finding a print edition of Necropolis is a pain in the rear end. I will part with my signed paperback copy of the first printing when I'm dead thankyouverymuch.  Arc Hammer posted:Weren't the official numbers for the siege of Vervunhive something ridiculous like only 15,000 guardsmen, a few hundred thousand PDF troopers and then over 20 million attacking cultists? Probably something like that. The casualty count for like the first major assault was so low it was a bit of an eyebrow raiser. Biplane posted:Same I remember my babby 12 or 13 year old mind being blown out of my skull reading Ghostmaker and First and Only in the wrong order and then I think i also read Eye of Terror and at that point I was doomed forever. I barely remember much of First and Only or Ghostmaker, but Necropolis definitely left an impression on me, and then it just kinda got better. And then Straight Silver was a bit of a disappointment for me and so was His Last Command. But drat if the ones afterwards didn't recover that. habeasdorkus posted:I recall in a Gaunt's Ghosts novel, The Guns of Tanith, that void shields prevented people from passing through them. That I remember because it also has a scene of a stormtrooper lieutenant or sergeant get cut in half as it turned on. Edit: This weeks Black Library reveal is all about one very angry man. https://www.warhammer-community.com/2022/11/16/black-library-gets-really-angry-with-a-new-angron-novel/ quote:Angron has returned to the mortal plane* and the World Eaters will heed his call to slaughter – whether they like it or not. Aboard the World Eaters’ malevolent flagship, the Conqueror, Kossolax the Foresworn, self-appointed lord regent of the XII, fights to keep his old dreams of the Legion alive. Will the return of his hated father prove to be an opportunity or a threat to the fragile unity he’s forged amongst his warriors? Also featuring a really pointless subplot. quote:Meanwhile, half a galaxy away, the Grey Knights are setting plans that have been centuries in the making into motion. Can they finally eradicate the Emperor’s greatest mistake once and for all? Yes, because they're totally going to kill a named character that is getting his own model very soon.  But at least the CE cover is good. 
Cooked Auto fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Nov 16, 2022 |
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Nov 16, 2022 15:48
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I actually really enjoy Straight Silver and His Last Command for being so inconclusive. It lends more to the notion that the Ghosts are only one small cog in the crusade and they get rotated in and out of operations as the strategy demands, rather than them always being the deciding factor in a given campaign. Granted the Gereon team did provide critical information that saved the assault during His Last Command but it only let them stave off a complete operational failure rather than achieve an astounding victory. And Straight Silver is just a fun horrifying Western Front story.
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Nov 16, 2022 16:38
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Straight Silver is one of my favourites because it's an entertaining read, and it's pretty much just the Battle of the Bulge. A highly specialised light infantry unit is thrown into a gap in the line to plug it against an assault and then gets rotated back out when the situation stabilises.
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Nov 16, 2022 16:59
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The books where the Ghosts don't win the planet-wide war in a single stroke are also good because it means Abnett can get away with a sloppier ending imo. Too many cases of the regiment going through an arduous slog with tight, interesting stakes only for Trooper MkGuffyn to hit the 'Chaos soldiers kill themselves' button and it all ends nicely. The Ghosts showing up, doing some war, and then leaving is fine by me.
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Nov 16, 2022 17:07
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