Nazguire

Yeah, generally agreed. 40K isn't DragonBall Z, but it should not be controversial that one-on-one a Daemon Primarch will typically stomp a non-Daemon Primarch. Otherwise, what's the point? What's the advantage? There must be a significant increase in power and ability to take on Daemonhood. Not saying that Khan could not beat Fulgrim or that Dorn could not out-tank Mortarion at times, but it should be the exception not the rule. In respect of Moonreaper666's query about Abaddon - I think with Drachn'yen, yes, he would be able to fight with Guilliman - the sword is more than just a sword. However, without it, I still think Guiliman would kill him rather easily. Which winds back to the issue I have with Primarchs returning in 40K - it takes the focus away from the "mortals" who are trying to survive in a universe wrecked by the Gods before them.

Using your numbering: 1. I would generally agree, but we still received a lot of information about the Emperor's Spears, including what drives and motivates them. The information concerning the culture on Nemeton and how the tribals were afraid of the Space Marines (viewing them as ghosts) was particularly enlightening. 2. I tend to agree to a point. It did lack a certain kind of direction that a strong antagonist can drive. The Pure's origins as the Star Scorpions wasn't particularly difficult to work out and while the Battle of the Hex (and subsequent events) was well written, that plot point was relatively wrapped up quite quickly. I disagree that the action being "minimal" is a bad thing - too often Black Library novel rely on "bolter porn" in order to drive a plot forward, rather than genuine character and plot development. I think the action scenes were well placed and used to good effect. I do agree that the conclusion veered left all of a sudden and it lacked a kind of coherency. I can gather what ADB was trying to do but it lacked some of the oomf that otherwise would have gained from a strong driving antagonist. 3. The novel explains that Anuradha is a genetically and cybernetically enhanced human. She may not be enhanced to the same degree as a Space Marine, but she is far from a "mere human". I never really felt that she had overt plot armour, only what was necessary to push the plot forward. I believe that this novel was heavy on "lore" because it is supposed to set up a trilogy (I think) of novels.

I really enjoyed this novel. ADB is just a great writer, plain and simple, and his love for the source material is obvious. It makes it easy to become immersed in his novels and thoroughly enjoy them. The book ended in a way I didn't expect:

Right lads, I read Buried Dagger over the weekend.

Is this indicating that Ravenor will kill Eisenhorn? Or something more nuanced? King's City of Dust referring to Prospero?

Some of the ridiculous combinations you could make with the 3.5 Chaos Codex. If you had the points, you could make some baller units that were absurd. Slaaneshi Daemon Prince just scratches the surface. Terminator armoured Khorne Chosen with Feel No Pain etc. were epitome of cheese.

I find the Emperor's Children sorta boring now. Haven't read anything that goes beyond an obsession for being the best at everything. Cool, I mean, every Space Marine presumably wanted to be the best of the best. Fulgrim has been written so as to be so preening, stupid and one dimension that it beggars belief. Raven Guard feel so bland at the moment. The FW and BL background hasn't really done much to change that perception. Stealthy ninja Space Marines who were almost all wiped out. Corax having PTSD is pretty interesting, but other than that they currently feel like sneaky Ultramarines. The super-Astartes genetic material thing is also dumb.

Anyone gonna chuck us a solid and post some spoilers?????

It must be so frustrating for a HH author to read some of the dribble being spouted on here - a series that has made Black Library an absolute motza and undoubtedly shone the spotlight on the careers of some BL authors that may otherwise likely not get that exposure is being wished to end by some fans for no real valid reason other than 'give me Terra already' and/or 'some of the stories I didn't personally like so the whole thing must be over the shark'. If you don't like them, just don't read them and let the people who do enjoy them be able to do so in peace.

It did feel at a certain point that the Death Guard were no threat whatsoever - as stated earlier in the thread, you can tell Hayley was writing to a brief which is expected. That brief most definitely contained a phrase to the following effect: promote the Primaris. The dragon thing had me puzzled - it definitely felt like we were meant to recognise that dragon, or at the very least keep his name stowed away for future memory. Perhaps he is going to be a recurring character? Ultimately, I feel like your main issue is that the book tried to cram too many things into it to be an effective plot. I can agree somewhat. It did have some nice parallels with the Horus Heresy - there was a Triumph at Ullanor, there was a Luthor moment, the uncertainty facing the Primaris as they come to the end of the Great Crusade, etc. I think this is what it was trying to achieve too.

No more loyalist Primarchs. I'd prefer no more Daemon Primarchs either. It just undermines the setting.

I enjoyed the book for the most part. - Definitely some parallels between Marneus Calgary and Luthor now. You can see tiny seeds of resentment and fear of being made obsolete start to germinate within Calgar. Being left behind on Macragge to govern the central system of the 500 Worlds is a great honour but, just like Luthor, he sees it as punishment and that he will never be able to live up to the Primarch's expectations. - Cawl, to me, verges between a very interesting character with huge scope for development and a giant plot hole. On the one hand, it is not hard to grasp that one of the main reasons no one has worked out the Space Marine gene work is because of the ritual and dogma within the Imperium. On the other, it seems like he just fixes everything. Cawl Inferior was great - Guiliman's thoughts about how it is most likely AI but the timing isn't right to call Cawl out on it were well done. Would like to see a Cawl based faction start to cause ructions within the Mechanicus, and Cawl continue to be the crazy scientist he is, without venturing down the 'oh so done before' Chaos Dark Mechanicus route. - Primaris marines didn't come across as these OP monsters like I thought they would. Just the right amount of youthful optimism, inexperience, thoughts about the future, etc that we read in the early Horus Heresy books sprinkled throughout the Primaris characters. At times, this book really felt like Horus Rising all over again, just in 42k. - Daemon scenes irritated me. I can't take them serious when the daemons are portrayed as cartoon characters. Abnett and French understand the horror of 40K daemons - I haven't read a BL author yet who writes them as well as either of those two, in my opinion. I think part of this is due to GW's rebranding of Chaos a few years back away from an unknowable horror to something more Saturday cartoon. - Death Guard suffer from a similar problem in parts, but are also really well done in others. When they're portrayed as this inescapable, indefatigable force of zombie Space Marines, I am all about it. When they start to revert back to more of the Saturday cartoon, not so much. Mortarion capturing his adopted father's soul from the Warp to torture was an awesome touch. - While I understand how Typhus and Mortarion are not best buds anymore, the dialogue felt forced and a bit over done. Mortarion's power is through the roof and while Typhus is clearly a favoured champion of Nurgle, he's not a Daemon Primarch. This is why I'm fairly against the Primarchs coming back - it undermines (on both sides) the gravitas of many of the established 40k characters. In my mind, the moment that Typhus starts opening his mouth, Mortarion would have squashed him, no different than if Khârn went at Angron. These guys were created so as to be the Big 4's champions and now they're being pushed into the background and losing their impact. This isn't Hayley's fault - it's GW drive to dilute the core essence of 40K: that in a universe of daemons, monsters, giant bugs and inescapable horror, it is the average Joe Blow who holds it all back, with some help from the Space Marines. - Guiliman's constant internal turmoil over how to reconcile his beliefs with how the Imperium has turned out and the true nature of The Emperor was great. You can see his bitterness rising and his more autocratic elements coming to play: Guiliman even acknowledges at one point that he is becoming a tyrant and how he is doing it, just like The Emperor, because he is forced to. How much longer until the difference between himself and what he despises is no more?

Yeah see, I was never a fan of Fulgrim being possessed, especially by an evil sword but I could see the appeal of a Primarch being possessed and no one knowing of his plight. I definitely was not a fan of Fulgrim pushing the daemon out of his body through sheer will (at least, that was how it was portrayed) and then deciding, yeah nah I'm keen on Slaanesh anyway. It felt like McNeill was just caving in to fan backlash about the possession but still was trapped in having Fulgrim as a bad guy.

Lol. Turn it up son. It wasn't a bad book by any means. It was fun to read. Magnus wasn't messed up by any means - the entire thing was relatively good and apart from a few plot holes or misteps that every book has, was otherwise a pleasant read.