|
I think the Kriegers look awesome, especially with their under jacket armor. I feel like any strange association someone may have with their aesthetic evaporates once you learn their lore as dead-man-walking penitent soldiers.
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2024 23:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 9, 2024 14:19 |
|
|
orphean posted:My only real beef with Siege of Vraks is how it was positioned as this huge, grinding war of attrition and it's not even a full real life division's worth of Krieg soldiers actually on Vraks. Like, whatever, numbers in black library stuff usually make no sense but even by that standard it's pretty egregious! I just mentally tack on however many zeroes it takes until my nerd annoyance is appeased. Yeah, iirc the death tolls are in the tens of millions over multiple years which... we've already done in real life! Abnett's reclamation of Gereon was much better in that regard, he didn't give numbers but the descriptions made it feel massive and inhuman.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 03:19
|
|
|
The Armour of Contempt has a better depiction of what it's like to be infantry in a titan war than anywhere in Titanicus (which is a great titan book, apart from this one thing).
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 07:43
|
|
|
It's two things for me. The absolute whiff of an ending or the meaningless subplot that contributes to sod all in the end. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 16:13
|
|
|
Which meaningless subplot, aren't there several?
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 16:19
|
|
|
I mean it's dabnett, he had to write a 1700+ page book to get a proper ending in
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 16:34
|
|
|
Gosh, guess I don't remember anything specific from Titanicus either, but the sublots of double eagle were my favorite parts of that particular book
Bohemian Nights fucked around with this message at 17:42 on Mar 30, 2024 |
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 17:04
|
|
|
I remember loving Titanicus, and it's so long ago I can't recall any issues so I'm pretty much set.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 17:36
|
|
|
Black Griffon posted:I remember loving Titanicus, and it's so long ago I can't recall any issues so I'm pretty much set. Yeah I was in high school when it came out so I suppose it might be worth a reread soon
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 18:11
|
|
|
Kylaer posted:Which meaningless subplot, aren't there several? The only subplot I remember was the guardsmen squad whose faith in the Omnissiah led them to where they could die making a difference, albeit a small one. I thought it was pretty 40k.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 18:53
|
|
|
I remember there was a brain-damaged former Titan princeps who just wandered around in a garden and did nothing.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 18:55
|
|
|
Theres a heresy subplot going, but Abnetts subplots are often a window into how the Imperium works on the day to day level.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 20:48
|
|
|
One of Abnett's great strengths is weaving the universe of 40k around the action both in scenes that are important and consequential, and in the more mundane or non-critical scenes. It's brought to an apex in TEATD I think, but in many ways it's more obvious in the scenes where Inquisitors drink strong cups of caffeine in sidewalk cafés, or a princeps wanders a garden. A lot of things matter even if they don't matter, and it's what separates a novel written from a cinematic point of view from a novel written from a more literary point of view. I enjoy both, but I find more sustenance in the latter.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 21:01
|
|
|
Kylaer posted:I remember there was a brain-damaged former Titan princeps who just wandered around in a garden and did nothing. This one and they toy maker who like over-invests in Titan dolls or something and goes out of business because of it in the future iirc? are the best though.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 21:06
|
|
|
Improbable Lobster posted:Yeah I was in high school when it came out so I suppose it might be worth a reread soon Dan Abnett is being interviewed about Titanicus tomorrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3djJvM4yQQ
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 21:15
|
|
|
Preechr posted:The only subplot I remember was the guardsmen squad whose faith in the Omnissiah led them to where they could die making a difference, albeit a small one. I thought it was pretty 40k. I like Titanicus a lot. It can perhaps be argued that there are a number of characters and scenes that contribute nothing to the overall plot – the novel's very namesake has no real bearing on the book's overarching story, i.e. the Chaos assault on Orestes Forge – but they all flesh out the setting in minor but flavourful ways. I feel that is a pretty good thing, maybe even an important one, considering how easy it is to take a perfunctory, by-the-numbers approach to depicting the world of 40k.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 22:14
|
|
|
British authors really do have a physical template they follow at a certain age...Sir Terry Pratchett (  ), Brian Jacques, now Abnett.Who is the primarch whose geneseed they carry 
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 23:12
|
|
|
Kylaer posted:Which meaningless subplot, aren't there several? Fair point, but I always found the PDF one the most egregious. Mostly because it takes up too much page space compared to the Princeps or toymaker ones. Well the PDF and the associated husband bit that just... ends without much to it. The big reason it's there I suspect is just for bit about watching a titan fight on the ground, after that bit it had served its purpose and Abnett just let it run for too long and then came up with an abrupt ending to it. The tank crew one is good, because it does tie into the campaign plot. Problem is of course that it doesn't have a good enough payoff because it gets quickly summarised as "Stuff happens". The AdMech bits are good though, issue is of course it takes up so much page space that a lot of the other things stuffers. Cooked Auto fucked around with this message at 03:00 on Mar 31, 2024 |
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 02:58
|
|
|
Arc Hammer posted:Prefer the follow up: I wish the Steel Legion would get some of their popularity back. But I think that comes down to Armageddon being left mostly in the background. Even Hellsreach basically ignores the fact that they're around and instead just runs with generic PDF infantry rather than actual Mechanized units.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 03:33
|
|
|
Calax posted:I wish the Steel Legion would get some of their popularity back. But I think that comes down to Armageddon being left mostly in the background. Even Hellsreach basically ignores the fact that they're around and instead just runs with generic PDF infantry rather than actual Mechanized units.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 04:12
|
|
|
Cooked Auto posted:Fair point, but I always found the PDF one the most egregious. Mostly because it takes up too much page space compared to the Princeps or toymaker ones. Disagree. For me it showed the everyday brutality of the Imperium and how it screwed even their heroes. Though reading it just this past year made me think that the Imperium was actually more willing to give condolences than US cops would have been in telling the woman that her husband had been shot while fleeing an officer.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 16:42
|
|
|
Fair, but whenever I re-read Titanicus I'm always struck by how uninteresting that subplot is compared to everything is else going on. v vBut then a lot of that book feels undercooked because how much is going on so. Like it has its moments, but overall it feels bloated. https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/03/31/sunday-preview-nightmares-pyres-and-gnomes/ Would you like some books? Of course ya do! Guard fans will be eating decently next weeked, with two books going up for pre-order. First up there's Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward.  Available in all the first wave formats, such as hardback, ebook and audiobook. Pretty sure this one had a Collectors Edition release some months ago. Unless GW's release pipeline for anything but 40k and AOS has been really sluggish. Then there's the softback version of Shadow of the Eighth by Justin D Hill.  And because we can't go too long without Space Marines showing their mug, there is also a series of Space Marines Successor Chapters short stories coming out as ebooks next week.  Wouldn't surprise me if we see at least a couple of the authors here getting a full length novel announced. So keep your eyes open.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 18:21
|
|
|
Just read the funniest 40k short story in existence, it's about Lucius the Eternal Champion stepping on a landmine.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 19:34
|
|
|
So the chaos logic has a difficult time squaring that out with the resurrection rules Lucius follows?
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 19:45
|
|
|
Relevant Tangent posted:Just read the funniest 40k short story in existence, it's about Lucius the Eternal Champion stepping on a landmine. it's good
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 19:55
|
|
|
Lol, where can I find that one?
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 20:29
|
|
|
Arc Hammer posted:So the chaos logic has a difficult time squaring that out with the resurrection rules Lucius follows? No, because he has the worst gimmick the person putting the landmine together takes pride in their work and as a result Lucius gets to take them over. His gimmick is a combination of something a 5 year old would comeup with along with the authors slowly being written into a corner with it because there's ultimately going to be no satisifactory way to end that story, if GW ever kills off named characters again. Like its either going to be some bullshit maguffun or something like "Oh Lucius? He slipped and broke his neck/a megatree randomly fell and killed him" which is also going to annoy people. Anyways ill take a large fry and shake. Telsa Cola fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Mar 31, 2024 |
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 21:45
|
|
|
Eh, Lucius is just one fairly inconsequential dude in a very large galaxy, his story doesn't need to have an ending, imo
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 21:59
|
|
|
Do people really care about Lucius? I feel like he is almost a punchline already because his method of immortality is so silly.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 22:00
|
|
|
Bohemian Nights posted:Eh, Lucius is just one fairly inconsequential dude in a very large galaxy, his story doesn't need to have an ending, imo GWs handling of the Endtimes has traumatized me on the matter.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 22:07
|
|
|
Doomrider is immortal just because so it's not that rare/unlikely. The power of Slaanesh just thinks it's a cool Twilight Zone/Outer Limits thing to happen. Khârn was totally dead before Khorne decided he ought to be too angry to die and gave him a second chance. Celestine will keep on coming back, so it's not like Chaos is alone in its 'my named dudes can't/won't die'.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 22:14
|
|
|
Telsa Cola posted:GWs handling of the Endtimes has traumatized me on the matter. Entirely fair 40k lore has just gotten better over the years imo, fantasy had the problem that they were afraid of advancing the story at all E: if for some reason GW decided to permanently kill Lucius just do it via Tyrannids. Maybe his gimmick works eventually but he's going to burst back into reality inside a bioship and immediately have a very terrible time Relevant Tangent fucked around with this message at 22:19 on Mar 31, 2024 |
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 22:15
|
|
|
mllaneza posted:Dan Abnett is being interviewed about Titanicus tomorrow: This is now up! Mira's interviews with Abnett are always fun
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 22:23
|
|
|
Relevant Tangent posted:Entirely fair Lucius being eaten by a swarm of mindless Rippers that can't even take satisfaction in the meal because they're engineered to be always hungry would be the funniest death possible.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 22:35
|
|
|
Telsa Cola posted:GWs handling of the Endtimes has traumatized me on the matter. Id like to think GW learned their lesson with that episode.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 22:35
|
|
|
Gravitas Shortfall posted:Lucius being eaten by a swarm of mindless Rippers that can't even take satisfaction in the meal because they're engineered to be always hungry would be the funniest death possible. Or he starts taking one over, but it dies because it's life cycle isn't that long.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 22:40
|
|
|
Lucius gets horribly wounded but not killed, and some Dark Mechanicus adepts who don't know his gimmick dreadnought him 
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 22:55
|
|
|
Relevant Tangent posted:Entirely fair There’s something to say about this, I think. WHFB’s plot didn’t advance very far until it did, but the setting filled in a lot over the years with more country analogues and characters and such. Even then, the WHFB world was/is very finite in a way that I don’t believe 40k is. The only thing that ever led to much of a setting advancement in WHFB was a meta concern that the line wasn’t selling well and needed a big shake up. The existence of The Old World tells me that decision was a mixed bag at best. Another vibe difference between the two settings is the strength of humanity. In WHFB, the barbarians are literally at the gates and even with a grand alliance between the existing non-chaos factions, Archaon still leads chaos to destroy the world. In 40k, the imperium is arguably the strongest faction in the setting. They’re beset on all sides and may be declining (we’ll see what happens about that with the primarchs), but they’re still mighty and only restricted by crippling bureaucracy and plot requirements. Guilliman stepped into Nurgle’s garden and burned it half down. No version of that would’ve happened in WHFB since humanity and allies are always very much on their heels in that setting. I guess the one character that could’ve done something like that is Sigmar, but he didn’t. The exception to this is the Vermintide games where a handful of random adventurers do more to fight the Skaven than entire armies. Those games are canon afaik, but they don’t square with the vibe of the setting in my view. Not that this is a bad thing, it’s a dead setting, who cares. I guess my point here is I like WHFB a lot. Chaos dwarves are cool.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 22:55
|
|
|
Blue Raider posted:There’s something to say about this, I think. WHFB’s plot didn’t advance very far until it did... I love it too, but it was advancing just fine the clock was forcibly wound back. Firsk Archaon didn't have all the stuff, then he did and he was still stopped, personally by Grimgor and as a force by the Undead, leaving the next fight wide open. And unlike other beaten Everchosen he was able to leave the field after losing, which made for all kinds of interesting possibilites within Chaos. Alas.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 23:50
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 9, 2024 14:19 |
|
|
Gravitas Shortfall posted:Lucius being eaten by a swarm of mindless Rippers that can't even take satisfaction in the meal because they're engineered to be always hungry would be the funniest death possible. It would just end up being whoever got him into that situation, because Lucius coming back isn't because of an algorithm you can trick. He comes back because Slaanesh is a god who thinks it's funny to watch him get angry about dying.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2024 02:29
|
|
