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Sandy Mitchell needs to hurry the gently caress up and write his Caine vs Dark Eldar novel already.
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Aug 29, 2013 01:11
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Ullanor is easy, just get everyone with Epic scale minis in your country to show up.
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Sep 16, 2013 19:43
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I just discovered that Ian Watson wrote the screen story (an adaption of an existing property that makes major changes) for the movie A.I. This explains why that movie makes me so loving angry in one part: the part sandwiched between the opening and closing credits. He tinkered with a Kubrik story and produced... that. How the gently caress did a GW author even get considered for the job ? Oh, and the Inquisition War series is bloody awful. I'm just starting book 2 of the trilogy, and it just took a nose dive from mediocre but charming early 40k fluff into an ocean of awful. The AI credit is displayed prominently on the cover of book 2. mllaneza fucked around with this message at 08:01 on Sep 21, 2013 |
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Sep 21, 2013 07:58
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lenoon posted:Most of the poo poo in AI was Kubrick, I thought? 1. The movie is infuriatingly bad. 2. A GW author has screen story credit on the movie, which you only get if you make major changes to an existing work. 3. Have you read anything by Ian Watson ? Mediocre is is his ceiling. I won't deny that the series a lot of early 40k charm and insanity, and the plots are really solid. I will insist that much of the prose is godawful. I will try and get through it. If anyone else wants to pick it up, this series needs a Let's Read. I'll do it when I can stand to read the first half of it again. This may be a while.
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Sep 21, 2013 09:00
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I have to credit Inquisition War with a lot of influence on Dan Abnett. Inquisitors in conflict with each other, a private code used by the inquisitor and his warband, sexual tension between a key operative and the Inquisitor, and heretics after the secret of the Emperor's true name. Needless to say, Abnett pulls it off better, most notably actually writing out the Glossia instead of just referencing it and then giving the cleartext. mllaneza fucked around with this message at 10:00 on Sep 21, 2013 |
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Sep 21, 2013 09:58
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That's a good start at the list, Ian Watson is writing prose that's past purple and well into the ultraviolet. I've decided that that's because he's deliberately writing the way john Blanche draws. That's perfectly in genre. I'm actually sad that some of his bits of fluff aren't recurring throughout later fiction. Ordo Malleus I quisitors should be tattooing their successful demon kills on themselves works well. Eisenhorn wouldn't do it, but every sector's Ordos are practically unique in custom and tradition. The animal-based servitors never show up again; this I'm less sure about. Using an animal is borderline cool, but on the other hand it waste a perfectly good opportunity to really, really gently caress over an enemy of the Cult Mechanicus. Like I said, it has its charm. It's still the sort of thing I consider rewriting as an exercise, but he really is into it. The worst curse of an author is to be gifted an inspiration that you can't pull off as well as you want to. May the Emperor spare me such torment. As to an LR thread... There are 40k books we insist you read; those by Abnett and ADB mostly. We recommend James Swallow and Sandy Mitchell with very few reservations. Then there are the books we warn people about with that special intensity. Those last books are what the LR should cover, along with anything controversial. Candidate titles: Soul Drinkers inquisition War The Eye of Chaos Everything CS Goto wrote after Dawn of War, especially his Eldar stuff We should probably cover the bad Horus Heresy novels just so that they can be laid to rest in an organized fashion with an excuse to quote extensively. With a few more suggestions, and some volunteers, someone can start knocking together an OP (possibly me).
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Sep 21, 2013 10:55
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Guilliman combined the traits of the consummate Colonel or Brigadier with the consummate mIlitary strategist and theoretician. Remember that during the Heresy a first draft of the Codex, when followed faithfully, produced strategic combinations that even veteran Astartes officers were unable to discern. He created a doctrine that would inexorably produce victory if only you could follow it. We've had military geniuses. They couldn't do that. Guilliman did and that's his genius. What he doesn't have is the big picture. He's no Ernie King (head of the US Navy in WW2) , no Frederick the Great. He can hold a hundred or so worlds together, and his psyche is clean enough that he'll naturally build an relatively enlightened society. Guilliman was also methodical to a point past flaw and Into virtue. He would have organized the galaxy that Horus conquered. Horus was the consummate warlord. People skills. Strategic genius. The whole package for someone given the job of conquering the (rest of) the galaxy. His flaw was trust. He trusted his advisors. He trusted loving Erebus. He trusted the warp-things that showed him visions and whispered into his unconscious mind. And because of that, the galaxy burned.
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Sep 21, 2013 11:23
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Arquinsiel posted:They actually do. There's a few minis with "psyber" eagles and there's at least one Cybermastiff in the Inquisitor game's mini range. I had forgotten the cyber eagles ! I gotta squeeze on into a story (I decided I can beat the Black Library quality average and started some short 40k fiction). The mastiffs seemed... so ordinary by 40k standards that they didn't really register. Edit: right ! Needs more cyber, but the face guns are an easy conversion. mllaneza fucked around with this message at 02:36 on Sep 23, 2013 |
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Sep 23, 2013 02:21
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my dad posted:(who is armed with a So is Eisenhorn at the start of the series. His force sword is a bladeless weapon, just a 20cm hilt to project the usual force sword field without the usual blade. The Space Wolf is actually decent. Ragnar is a decent character with a lively internal dialogue who gets into interesting situations. Book 4, Wolfblade, is a good ripoff of dune that could have stood to be a lot longer and more focused on inter-House rivalries between the Navigators. And more Holy Terra. The prose is solid if unexceptional, and I actually found myself wanting more along the way, especially in book 4.
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Oct 3, 2013 10:50
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So the Space Wolves series is actually pretty solid. The prose is workmanlike and straightforward, but after The Inquisition War that's rather refreshing. Oddly, I didn't notice that they changed authors at book 5. I was really hoping for more out of book 4, Wolfblade, but I suppose in a space marine book you want more shooty and less plots and conspiracies. I say read 'em.
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Oct 4, 2013 18:37
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So I actually finished the Space Wolves series. That series ends well. I like it. Catharsis, loss, hope for the future... it's a good ending to a solid set of novels.
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Oct 5, 2013 09:53
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Cream_Filling posted:It's okay but not great. Definitely not one of Abnett's better works. The whole thing is kind of scattered and plot-centric, the language isn't as fun as Abnett's other books, and the characterization is pretty flat, even for previously well-done characters like Guilliman. Also there's lots of dumbness carried over from other HH authors. It really feels a little like an overproduced Hollywood sequel that's been through development hell and like 10 different screenwriters. It doesn't stand well on its own and almost requires you to have read a bunch of previous HH books to even understand the plot and even then there's a ton of characters and references from previous books all milling around doing mostly nothing. well, it is a sequel to 3 or 4 HH books, so it's mired in existing plot.
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Oct 7, 2013 21:32
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Cream_Filling posted:And the whole debate over allowing the emperor to die so he can be reborn was a thing in the Inquisitor skirmish game manual and a lot of older fluff. The problem is that humanity is so utterly dependent on the emperor, so little is understood about the emperor (especially since Malcador also dies around the same time), and the risk is so insanely high in case something does go wrong that supposedly the lords of terra decided not to do so back at the beginning, though this also sowed the seed of massive factional disagreements within the future inquisition. If the Astronomican so much as blinks the entire Imperium dissolves into small-c chaos overnight. I'm currently working up a plot by something like the Cognitae to sneak a major demon through the Black Ship system and into the palace. Even if it can't open the webway gate just killing the Astronomican choir would be a lethal blow to the Imperium.
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Oct 9, 2013 19:05
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VanSandman posted:Plus the thought of a major demon actually getting anywhere close to the black ships is laughable. There are blanks and pariahs on those things. I'm still hashing out the mechanics, but it's a big enough goal that some cultist would try it, even with only a miniscule chance of success. My current thinking is using Dark Eldar psychic torture/surgery tools to try and hide the demonic payload deep within a psyker's mind. I don't want it to actually succeed, that'd end the setting and BL wouldn't buy my story.
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Oct 9, 2013 19:48
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Nephilm posted:You'd have better luck bribing a Custodes. So long as the worst case scenario is bad enough to give the Inquisition conniptions when they hear about it.
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Oct 9, 2013 19:58
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Nephilm posted:A greater daemon coming loose on an important waystation on the process to Terra would be pretty damaging. Really, it's not so much about getting to the Palace (which it won't), but at which step of the way a daemon would be detected or otherwise break free and the damage it would cause before contained. Even a partial success would be a win for the cultists, even taking out a single Black Ship would be big. VanSandman posted:If you aren't a published sci-fi author, you won't win BL's writing contest. Sad but all too likely true. I'll keep writing though.
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Oct 9, 2013 21:48
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That's easily fixed by just ignoring The Outcast Dead.
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Oct 21, 2013 05:16
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VanSandman posted:Raise your hand if you've written 40k fanfiction. *raises hand* Guilty. Of course, MY stuff is gonna be so good they actually will take a previously unpublished fiction writer. I'll pop into #acolyte some time and beg for people to read my fanfic.
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Nov 13, 2013 05:45
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I have decided that Nemesis would be much better received if the target had been Curze. Instead of existing only to show off all the Assassin temples it would be a case of throwing one of everything at a primarch and hoping one gets through.
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Nov 21, 2013 04:38
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Libluini posted:So I read Innocence Proves Nothing from Sandy Mitchell and I'm appalled. Everybody wants another Cain novel. I want him to write about whatever he thinks is cool at the time, like finishing his Inquisitor series. Or anything else, I like his stuff and he's proved he can handle different styles.
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Dec 5, 2013 23:23
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Angry Lobster posted:I believe it was being developed by Slitherine, so it will be pretty grognardy. Also, that picture reminds me so much of Rites of War, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's going to be Panzer General > Rites of War > runs ok on Win7. This is a huge loving win, the PG style games are all about tactical wargaming and building up a unit over multiple battles. It was perfect for 40k when RoW came out and it's perfect now.
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Jan 21, 2014 07:24
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VanSandman posted:I will, PM me. Me too, but I'll make you read mine too.
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Feb 14, 2014 06:56
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VanSandman posted:Sorry, Titans already got their soundtrack covered. Clicky. What the hell is that from ?
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Mar 28, 2014 10:56
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Cream_Filling posted:Historically, of course, in real life the term "computer" itself once referred to a person and not a device. A slide rule and a table of logarithms would be a step up for most Imperial data processing facilities. Also you should all read some EE Smith. Go for the Lensman series, it's equally batshit as 40k, just in different ways.
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May 22, 2014 05:13
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Improbable Lobster posted:IIRC the Fear The Alien short story collection has some pretty good stuff in it. I remember particularly liking a story about a Dark Eldar Archon trying to court another DE. That and the more recent one about, no really, a jet bike race are the only readable DE POV stories so far.
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Jun 15, 2014 23:02
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bunnyofdoom posted:gently caress me, even as a collectable it would be great. Hell, with the power of words, and possibly true names, being able to read Big E's signature would have interesting implications if it was written by Abnett or ADB Or if he'd, y'know, signed it in blood or anything like that.
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Jun 30, 2014 02:15
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Sramaker posted:I meant why should i avoid it? It features some of the very worst writing BL has ever published. The plot is boring and slow, the characters are cardboard cutouts who spout incomprehensible Eldar bullshit, and there's nothing cool in it at all.
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Aug 3, 2014 03:17
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Anomandaris posted:And second unrelated question, is The Damnation of Pythos worth picking up? As in, does it contribute to the Heresy overall or is it just a minor side story that can safely be ignored (like Nemesis)? I was quite dissapointed by Vengeful Spirit lately (predictable, boring and ultimately pointless) and I don't want to repeat the experience. Damnation is a side story. It does however deal with the Iron Hands (and a couple of Salamanders and Raven Guard) fighting back against the Word Bearers. It's also the story of a Legion dealign with its first daemonic incursion. There's basically nothing on the main plot, but it's good read.
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Aug 5, 2014 19:50
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I've been sampling the short stories recently. There have been some good ones over the summer. Unbroken by Chris Wraight. A very solid story about one Space Wold and just how much impact even a single Astartes can have on the battlefield. Yarrick: Sarcophagus by David Annendale. The second most famous commissar in the Guard has a brush with death. Yes, again, but it's a good read with some excellent internal dialogue. Maledictus. Also by Annendale. A good story about Grey Knights and a conflict between Inquisitors. The radical causes all sorts of trouble. Only Blood by Guy Haley. A solid Black Templars story with an overwrought ending. Still good, if only the senior Sororitas sister sassing a sergeant. Malediction by CZ Dunn. A Dark Angels returns to honor an Imperial Hero and ends up proving why that chapter are all dicks. Yarrick: The Gallows Saint. Ok, this is really good. This one threatens to turn into a Cain story, then turns deep and tragic. David Annendale is turning into a real bright spot in the BL. I thought Overfiend dragged through the first two parts, but it finished strong. The short stories are getting very good. I'm putting him on the "expect a good read" list. Chris Wraight is also showing some promise. I read Stormcaller last week, and it was really exactly what you want from a Space Marine novel. Solid characterizations drawn from the chapter involved, lots of bolter porn, a few twists, and a big fight at the end with great power unleashed on both sides. Space Wolves, the Ecclesiarchy, and a whole lotta irks is a good combination, especially with a plague hulk thrown in. Annendale is a better writer, but Wraight has a solid outing with this one.
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Aug 14, 2014 03:48
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Jerkface posted:Sick, thats what I'm talkin about. I feel like BL has gotten really stagnant on releases lately, how is the HH ever going to finish? Or Gaunts Ghosts Stormcaller is exactly what you want, classic bolter porn, good twists with the characters, the Ecclesiarchy being bastards, and Space Wolves being Space Wolves.
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Aug 21, 2014 09:04
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Wax Dynasty posted:I'd say that after the Night Lords trilogy, they're the best Chapter-specific set of books out there. And, the new Space Wolves books by Chris Wraight are also very good. I'm in the middle of Blood of Asaheim now, and I read Stormcaller outré of order. It's a really solid series, good Vlka Fenryka stuff, Mortarion's boys are bastards and the Eccelsiarchy is somehow worse. It manages to have good character stuff and good bolted porn, so it's win-win for 40k fiction.
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Aug 24, 2014 05:13
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Schneider Heim posted:I read it when I was relatively new to BL, and it was just okay. Then I started reading Abnett and ADB and it became bad in comparison. And those were its good points. Following up on the first novel is a mistake, the series quality goes off a cliff after that one.
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Sep 26, 2014 04:41
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Kharn_The_Betrayer posted:The civies probably got the ax even then i bet. Which strikes me as ironic, considering what the wolves would do to preserve the lives of "chaos tainted" guardsmen that fought in the 1st Armageddon war. I'm guessing they protected the guardsmen because the sanction came from the Inquisition. An organization the wolves dont really get along with. The short story Last Blood is about something like that. It's pretty good, that Scout poor Scout didn't have any good options. Surprisingly, Nick Kyme's Rebirth is decent. His prose needs more work, and there's too much going on, but it's interesting stuff going on. I give him a lot of credit for having his pet chapter gently caress up and lose a battle.
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Oct 3, 2014 03:33
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edit: wrong thread <rant about BL short story quality goes here> mllaneza fucked around with this message at 04:35 on Oct 20, 2014 |
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Oct 20, 2014 04:26
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VanSandman posted:Warhams playing warhams. I admit I laughed heartily. On the plus side, nobody cheats. On the down side, you need a tech priest to referee and a transhuman brain to learn the rules.
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Oct 26, 2014 20:26
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We're posting our own stuff ? http://pastebin.com/RftTCMvU (paragraphs set off by // should be in italics) This grew out as a character sketch for another story. That story grew out of a scene I wanted to happen in a Dark Heresy game before i realized that was railroading and I should just write the drat story, not make people act it out with dice. mllaneza fucked around with this message at 07:56 on Nov 11, 2014 |
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Nov 11, 2014 07:54
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SRM posted:I still love the short story where Kharn is fighting a Slaaneshi cult and he has a kill counter built into his helmet. I think it reaches 1000 for the battle before he resets it at the end. That's a really solid short story. And it was in an anthology I read recently. When it comes back to me, I'll post which. The 40K Role-play thread touched on Astartes out of the armor and how they'd interact being, y'know, huge. I've started, but not finished another short featuring a Marine on his way to, but not actually indoctrinated in, the Deathwatch. He stops off to help an Order Xenos team. The short I posted previously was a character study to work on the character who emerged from writing this: http://pastebin.com/MJxwt2x3 I'm saving writing the titular scene, the one I started the whole thing on, for when I've gotten all the rest of it done. I'm deathly afraid I'll lose all creative momentum when the most important scene is written. And I need to re-watch Blade Runner for some visual inspiration on the nicer parts of the underhive. And some Hong Kong, never enough John Woo in 40k.
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Nov 13, 2014 07:10
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Since I'm dying for feedback, I'll just mention I've got a competent female order Xenos operative in One Throne. http://pastebin.com/MJxwt2x3
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Nov 15, 2014 14:32
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PantsOptional posted:
Time to pick a part of "One Throne" and polish the warp out of it !
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Dec 9, 2014 03:28
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Are you tired of reading books that turn out to be bolter porn? Do you think you can do better? Now's your chance. Black Library has an
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Arquinsiel posted:It is such a loving shame that it ruled out being able to enter Doc Eldar Sure you can, put him up against a Deathwatch kill team. They never said the Deathwatch had to be the protagonists or even win.
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Dec 9, 2014 15:29
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