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MisterFuzzles posted:Whats the consensus on James Swallows Blood Angel books and Flesh of Cretacia by Andy Smillie? Are they passable at the least? The Blood Angel books are some loving terrible books that clearly would like to be an anime, what with all the goddamn tedious angst involved. The Blood Angels according to James Swallow are, in fact, the least metal of anything in 40k. But yeah they're bad. Real bad. Sorry I can't be more productive than that but I kind of blanked that I'd read them.
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Jan 27, 2013 10:58
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Rapey Joe Stalin posted:Deliverance Lost is classic Gav Thorpe. A tour de force of Thorpiness. Most of the Legions have some pretty cool features and themes about them. Only a few chapters into Angel Exterminatus, and I'm actually enjoying it, and the Iron Warriors have quite a bit of character so far. However, whenever Raven Guard are written about, they just turn into awful gravel voiced grim Solid Snake ripoffs who are so super awesome at sneaking and incredibly sardonic and cool and ugh.
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Jan 30, 2013 23:42
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UberJumper posted:Wait since when is Loken Alive? What the hell? This is my problem with the audio books, they're establishing major plot details to the minority of Heresy readers. I barely know anyone who buys the audio dramas. Eventually they'll probably be compiled into an anthology of books, but it's really irritating for the time being.
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Feb 10, 2013 11:37
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Cream_Filling posted:I get that, but his decision to make the setting this way is distinct from the standard fluff portrayal of Chaos, which is usually some mix of Heresy Marines, cultists/mutants, and imperial renegades (both guard/marines) - all individuals linked closely to the Imperium culturally (I left daemons off that list). They've been getting away from this a bit with the unique Chaos Dark Mechanicum units like the weird looking flyers and giant evil animal robots, but in general Chaos seems to be considered as a threat to the Imperium that originated from within the Imperium, even though this link might be millenia distant in the case of the original heresy marines. Whenever any of the good authors like Abnett and ADB are confronted with questions about how 'fluffy' a given choice is, they just say that it's a goddamn entire galaxy of things to play around in, there is no real standardised way of portraying something. Infinite variety in all its forms and all that. Basically, 'suck it spergs'.
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Feb 14, 2013 10:21
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Pyrolocutus posted:Has anyone read The Death of Antagonis yet? Worth picking up? The gently caress. I thought names like Angron were bad, but that? Let me guess, Antagonis is the bad guy? gently caress BL, step up your game.
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Mar 1, 2013 11:10
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Schneider Heim posted:According to ADB's blog, he's working on a Helsreach sequel, Master of Mankind (HH), and some Black Legion novel. He's also said that his Black Legion series might very well be his own Gaunt's Ghosts, as it begins straight after the Heresy but has the potential to carry on through the Black Crusades. poo poo's gonna be tight.
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Mar 4, 2013 16:15
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So ADB recently mentioned things he was having a conversation with Abnett about, which included potentially Night Lords, and more interestingly something called Imperium Secundus. BL's been hinting at something big coming for a while now, and I'm wondering whether this is it. Could it be that the fluff is going to move forward slightly? Or will this be covering a part of history untold? Potentially the time after the Heresy, but when the Primarch's were still about? If so, that'd be a ways off, as I'd imagine they don't want to give too much away as to where the Heresy will go (obviously we all know the ultimate ending, but it's in the details that it's still mysterious).
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Mar 13, 2013 11:13
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So I've just finished Betrayer, it's great, naturally, but I noticed that the last few Heresy books have all involved Erebus showing up, doing his moustache twirling thing, before someone gets sick of his poo poo and kicks his rear end.
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Mar 15, 2013 13:18
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Sephyr posted:True, but remember that the big plan keeps moving even so. Erebus likely gets such treatment because there is no solid plan yet to give him a good plot of his own, but he's still too big a fgure in the Heresy to leave aside. As long as Anthony Reynolds doesn't touch that poo poo I'm happy. He's even shoe-horning his lovely characters into the next Heresy anthology, goddamnit. Basically ADB should do all the Chaos books, forever.
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Mar 15, 2013 19:19
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In the Emperor's Gift, a character remarks that it's a shame the main Grey Knight character doesn't feel any urges of that kind, after seeing him naked. Marine footlongs confirmed canon.
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Mar 18, 2013 12:30
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Fried Chicken posted:It is heavily implied, but never outright said that when the former night lord arranges for the navigator to be kidnapped the prisoners gangrape her for hours until Talos rescues her In the First Heretic it happens to Cyrene too after her city is bombed.
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Mar 18, 2013 19:39
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Nephilm posted:That's entirely different and irrelevant. Uh what? I wasn't directing that at anyone, no need to be a dick for no reason.
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Mar 18, 2013 22:56
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Cream_Filling posted:I think it was in there second hand, like one of the dudes is on the radio and he's like "and now he's late again because he was busy eating the enemy. Yeah great, boss, real mature." Betrayer spoiler: Nah, after he's possessed he scarfs down some Librarians he kills. It's right there.
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Mar 19, 2013 19:43
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Mechafunkzilla posted:Finally got around to finishing Angel Exterminatus. It's definitely "good" McNeill, though Fulgrim was a bit too Snidely Whiplash-y for my taste and all the Storm of Iron tie-ins at the end felt really forced. It did really make me want to see what happens next with Perturabo. That's pretty much exactly what I thought of it too. Which was a shame since I enjoyed the Iron Warrior's characters in this, and I enjoyed them in Storm of Iron, but when one character is mildly tempted by a daemon, then he's the Warsmith! I thought that was pretty lame. I did surprisingly enjoy the Raven Guard and Iron Hands that show up in it, as well as one of the first Salamander characters in the series (the novels, that is.)
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Apr 3, 2013 20:45
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UberJumper posted:Just finished Sabbat Martyr which was probably one of the better books in Gaunts Ghosts. Magic? It's a miracle that can't be explained, that's kind of the point. I guess she passed her Psychic Test or something if that's more of an explanation.
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Jun 29, 2013 00:17
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UberJumper posted:Finished Salvation's Reach, and i felt that Abnett spent so long building everything up only to realize he had to meet a deadline, and crammed everything he possibly could into the last quarter of the book. Which was kind of disappointing. Don't debate reading it, just do. Arguably contains the best Chaos marine characterisations in the BL. The short stories are quality reads, though they only loosely tie in. There is a moment in the third book when characters go 'ah we have this thing' and it kinda comes out of nowhere but it's in a short story. Read them if you can find them without getting the anthologies they're in though, they might be available individually as ebooks on BL's site.
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Jul 7, 2013 09:56
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I picked up the new Heresy book, Mark of Calth the other day and I was pleasantly surprised. It had to be the most consistently decent Heresy anthology there's been, for my money. There's only eight stories, two are pretty short and one is novella, all themed around the Battle of Calth's aftermath and the underground war that followed. Not gonna spoil anything particularly but I'll put it in tags anyway. The first story, The Shards of Erebus is probably one of the weaker ones, essentially being more of the 'Everybody Hates Erebus' stuff. A bit pointless overall, some neat development and backstory on Erebus himself and the other Word Bearer commanders, but nothing to write home about. The second, Calth That Was is a novella length story by Graham McNeil where he basically cribs the style and the characters of Know No Fear from Abnett. He pulls it off fine and it's a pretty engaging story, including an actual well written Word Bearer not written by ADB! But I'd say the success of this story is more down to Abnett than McNeil, as everything decent is just ripped from Know No Fear. Anthony Reynold's Dark Heart is laughable. You know how in Betrayer ADB's Word Bearers refer to the Battle for the Abyss Word Bearers as just being the morons they packed into a prototype ship to die 'gloriously'? Reynold's still doesn't realise his Word Bearers are basically the same. It's an origin story, essentially, about his Apostle character Marduk, and Marduk is so badass and evil and oh my god Kor Phaeron loves him, man what a cool character. Ugh. Now that there are actual well written Marine characters out there these guys feel so hollow. David Annandale's The Traveller is where the anthology really picks up, and this and all the stories that follow are quality stuff. A pretty simple story about a small underground colony trying to survive and the Navy survivor in their midst, it foreshadows the religous fervour of the current Imperium, telling the tale in microcosm of the Imperium's descent after the Heresy. A very well done atmospheric piece, that also cribs some things from Abnett, though everything does in this book to an extent. Next was A Deeper Darkness by Rob Sanders, which is a first person account of an Ultramarine a little too close to the quarry he hunts. It's basically a 40k retelling of Perseus and Medusa, but hints at the slightly more interesting direction BL's taken recently. The Underworld War by everyone's favourite ADB is a drat good story about a Gal Vorbak wandering the scorched surface of Calth, rejecting his daemon and questioning his own beliefs. As usual, ADB gives us some of the best Space Marine characterisation in the Black Library, though the short suffers from a twist that made it all a bit annoying and pointless for me. There ends up being more characterisation for Argel Tal, and he's not the main character of this story. Athame by John French marked him out as one to watch. A story told from the perspective of a Athame dagger that is forged on Earth and is passed from owner to owner til it comes to Calth, it's a really interesting take on events, told in a unique and compelling way. Lastly was Abnett's Unmarked, which continues the story of Ollanious Pious and his ragtag group as they journey through the Warp. Pretty much a 'lost' chapter of Know No Fear, it focuses on the overarching Heresy story of the Perpetuals like Pious and Grammaticus. Some interesting peeks at Pre-Imperium Earth too. This has sounded a bit like a marketing document but this is one of the most solid anthologies BL has put out in a long time.
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Jul 16, 2013 13:54
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The Mark of Calth anthology has a two page teaser of Vulkan Lives. There might be some misdirection going on, but by the looks of things it's gonna be first person from Vulkan's perspective.
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Jul 19, 2013 12:54
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I still don't understand why they've relegated the continuation of the Loken storyline to the lovely audiobooks. I know they probably think it'll make them more money but is it really? I imagine there'll be a compilation book out sometime, but it'll be immensely frustrating if we get to the Siege of Terra and he just shows up or something.
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Jul 25, 2013 12:38
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Dravs posted:Did you just compare Nick Kyme to Kafka? Turning into a giant bug is pretty grimdark.
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Aug 10, 2013 17:58
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I hated Nemesis purely for the fact that when I heard about a Horus Heresy book about the Assassinorium temples I was excited, how did the Heresy affect the temples? Was there a secret civil war on Terra between the loyalist assassins and heretic ones? What about Assassins in the field with Horus's followers? But no we just got a crappy Dirty Dozen type mess.
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Aug 12, 2013 10:24
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They talk about regular ole trucks in the Gaunts Ghosts series. I always just pictured pretty utilitarian half-tracks, trucks, stuff like that.
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Oct 10, 2013 21:31
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Pretty sure Erebus and Kor Phaeron, though allies, despise each other utterly. I think in 40k they have a huge rivalry in the legion, openly clashing with each other. Which is annoying that it's a foregone conclusion that both of them survive the Heresy. Though I am looking forward to what else will happen to Erebus before it's over, as he seems to be a favourite whipping boy for the authors. I guess they think if they can't kill him they'll do other nasty poo poo to him.
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Nov 1, 2013 09:58
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mllaneza posted: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. When I first heard about what Nemesis would be about I imagined a book dealing with the assassin clade temples and their own loyalties. Taking place on Terra. Basically like a good Outcast Dead, about assassins and their own schism during the heresy. What actually happened. Yeesh.
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Nov 21, 2013 10:31
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Yo stop talking about your lame fantasy books in here. This is a thread for real literature.
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Sep 19, 2014 21:12
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Hot Dog Day #82 posted:I enjoyed Baneblade too, for the most part! I wasn't wild about the side plot, but I thought the portions involving the Imperial Guard and life as a tanker were worth the price of admission! Baneblade is Guy Haley I think.
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Oct 22, 2014 16:02
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Reading Angel Exterminatus. Just got past the bit where the Iron Warriors show off their sick wargaming club. lmao.
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Oct 26, 2014 19:10
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McNeill is actually very cleverly satirising the wargaming community's view on normal people. The wargaming lodge is awesome and sweet and pits noble warriors against one another, and the Emperor's Children lodge is full of guys getting as hosed up as possible. It all makes sense now. "Heh, I've got better things to do than get drunk, stupid jocks" McNeill, you genius.
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Oct 26, 2014 22:08
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HerpicleOmnicron5 posted:I've finished the first three Horus Heresy books, and I'm left thoroughly confused and disoriented. I expected Loken to fall to Chaos, not just get stomped by the Titan after getting wrecked by Abaddon. You should read Battle for the Abyss, it's probably the best entry in the series. A plot that compellingly adds to the chaos of the heresy while fleshing out sympathetic, three-dimensional characters from both loyal and traitor legions. The prose is also beyond tie-in fiction levels and reaches up to the heights of actual literature.
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Jan 25, 2015 13:47
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Nemesis really should have just been about the assassin clades dealing with their own loyalties and divides during the heresy. A more clandestine split on Terra between groups would have been great to read and write about!
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Jan 26, 2015 23:32
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HerpicleOmnicron5 posted:Who was the target? Currently I have in my mind a crazy rear end plan to kill the Emperor, Malcador, Leman Russ, Sanguinius and Guilliman all at the same time. I'll be pretty disappointed if it's anything less. It's Horus.
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Jan 27, 2015 17:00
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It's a toss-up for me what's more dumb, the Perpetuals or the Knights Errant. The Perpetuals are super overplayed ever since Abnett introduced them in Legion but it seems like only he can actually write them well. But at least they are sometimes compelling and decently written, even if their concept is silly and too 'big plot arc'. The Knights Errant are just a dumb group of the best marines from all the legions (oooh, even the traitor ones) who are cool and spec-ops. They're also dunked into Vengeful Spirit like they've been around the whole time, when BL know drat well barely anyone gets all the audio books that have actually told their story up til now. Stupid. I haven't read anything about Loken for nearly 10 years and they expect me to suddenly care about him again?
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Feb 26, 2015 23:15
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UberJumper posted:Has there been any mention of anything new by abnett recently? New Gaunt's Ghosts at some point this year I think, though it has been pushed back a couple of times. No word on the next Bequin book, or any others from what I can see. I'm inclined to think he's mainly been doing comics recently, as his involvement with Guardians of the Galaxy might have raised his stock in the comics world.
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Mar 3, 2015 15:13
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PantsOptional posted:Picked up Betrayer yesterday, digging it so far aside from a couple of "oh come on" moments ("I built three," Angron pulling a Superman on the Titan), it's overall quite good. Though, maybe it's just me, but I don't remember anyone making a big deal about the Word Bearers having a massive ship in Know No Fear? The first massive ship mentioned was featured in the masterpiece Battle For The Abyss, and Betrayer spends a fair bit of time retroactively meta-making GBS threads on that terrible book by having Lorgar say 'yeah, that ship didn't matter at all because I have more, plus everyone on the Abyss was a big rear end in a top hat dummy. Suck it Ben Counter' [citation needed].
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Mar 10, 2015 14:46
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PantsOptional posted:Almost every Chapter has some sort of world that they go to in order to select candidates for recruitment, and these worlds are often Death or Feral Worlds (which are exactly as pleasant as they sound). The "test" is usually some sort of nightmarish hell-crawl through an actively hostile landscape filled with terrifying creatures and absurd hazards, or a series of brutal gladiatorial matches against your fellow candidates, or some similarly ridiculous test of a warrior's strength/endurance/cunning. Scars had an interesting take on this that I hadn't seen before. As many legions still recruit from Terra they have a much more traditional I guess structure. Kids train but also are earmarked for certain legions. So the character we follow loves the Luna Wolves and angles toward that, but ends up simply being assigned to the white scars through bureaucratic jiggery-pokery. Kind of a unique angle on Marine recruitment I hadn't seen before.
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Mar 11, 2015 20:44
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Hiro Protagonist posted:Are any Age of Sigmar books worth reading? I'm considering getting into it and I wanted to know the setting. No and the setting and models are a garbage fire. Spend your money on nice things like a meal for a loved one, home insurance or literally anything else.
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Jan 15, 2016 09:26
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Age of Sigmar and everything involved is poop from a butt. Except for this: [quote] Ur-gold Always believe in Ur-self Ur-indestructable [\quote]
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Jan 15, 2016 17:51
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Baron Porkface posted:I was just about to ask about stories that justify the "battle brothers" ally rating between Eldar and Dark Eldar, are there others? I can't think of any examples offhand but the reasoning is that Eldar hate and think everyone else is dumb more than they hate each other. The 4 Eldar factions tend to be more neutral toward each rather than actively hostile, despite the 'dark' and non-dark distinctions. I think the battle brothers ally rating is probably just down to them being the same species, and therefore better than every other species in the galaxy I'll have you know, you young Mon-Keigh whippersnappers.
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Jan 26, 2016 15:41
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Pistol_Pete posted:I've just read this and can't decide whether the best bit is the failed Rogue Trader and his Red Dwarfesque mess of a ship or the chaos space marine who lives in a giant tree in a magical forest on a demon world shaped like a rose. God I wish I hadn't given that book to a charity shop. I never realised how much I'd miss humour in 40k.
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Apr 5, 2016 19:09
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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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