Rob P

I thought that might be the source. It's a logical narrative and definitely arguable but I don't see it provides any solid evidence that the UM and the IF were the beneficiaries.

Absolutely. Feels flat in comparison. Just a paint by numbers?

Swords of Calth - About half way in and just not interesting enough at the mo. Just listening to it to finished it

Longshot Presumably a World War 2 clothed novel set as the Imperial machine against the Tau with snipers at the fore. I felt the beginning took too long to get going (scene setting), but it was extremely solid for the middle third. The final third was incredibly confusing as rushed after such a slow and straightforward build up. It explored the lore incredibly adequately. We got a good view of the Imperium and the Tau but I felt the story was paved awkwardly. 3 stars of 5

They're judging your writing and ability to stick to the brief. If it says named characters that have or had models then I would stick to that. If they had a model in second edition but not any more then I wouldn't choose that if I was looking to actually get picked (although could maybe get away with Tycho since he was at Armageddon). Shine on the writing rather than trying to pick the most novel concept i'd say. I'd be inclined to say no heresy since it's: Vigilus, Commorragh, or Armageddon for 40k. Good luck everyone.

Just on the last post point. Completely agree that Omegon could still be alive. Alpharius is emphatically dead. I'm not sure bringing Omegon onto the tabletop or as a legion leader does the game or the Alpha Legion any good.

I couldn't find anything that said that in the story. I think that's a misconstruction of what is actually said. Do you have the exact quote? Edit: the bit I'm thinking of confirms the mindwipe and confirms that Guilliman and Dorn argued for the survival of the legionnaires but I'm not seeing anything that says the IF and UM took them into their legions. I'm happy to be corrected.

Where does it say the IF took in lost legion astartes? Edit: as in the story and the specific quote

Flesh and Steel 4/5 Felt like an episodic detective / buddy cop series that has plenty of stories to tell. 40k tells much more bearable stories when an obligatory big battle scene is absent. I felt the characterisations were good and the back stories aided the plot. The overall framing creates suitable intrigue. E.g.What happens to characters x and y after this book? Minor quibbles. The characters seem to know too much of the wider imperium. The main character knows who the primarchs were and how many. And tiny quibble on consistency,: another character corrects the main character for calling servitors cyborgs and then does the same in a chapter or 2 later Overall good. Gave me a better impression of what Guy Haley can do than the standard 40k novels.

This is just referencing what you say above ... it seems like Valdor is an allegory for masculinity in the modern world.

The Emperor's Legion by Chris Wright Solid 4 stars. Plot was great even if just a prologue to Indomitus era. It set things up nicely, bit of political plotting, gets the characters doing stuff, a few reveals, then the required battle scene or 2 Custodes were the most boring element but still relatively interesting. Grumpy Sister of Silence was something I could dig as I thought they were straight laced. Final, pov being the old bureaucrat complimented the others perfectly. Probs my fave pov. I can't not recommend. It's too important for setting the scene for everything set after. .... Now on to Flesh and Steel. Guy Hayley clearly inspired by The Bridge / The Tunnel getting this one going.

It's a good point. Something similar could be said about Space Marines. And I think it's about novelisation and character. 40k space marines shouldn't (imo) be a bunch of personalities. The hyper indoctrination should leave them almost soulless super soldiers who have been programmed to be beholden to their chapter's weird little rituals. The child should be gone but it doesn't lend itself well to protagonists so the novels fudge it. Same with custodes. They could all be Valdors but if they are going to be prominent in a novel with more than one custodes they need to have character beyond experience of different conflicts. Either the novels impose a personality for difference or the codex is a little drier than reality. I kinda see your point and @Marshal Rohr's separate point about the custodes. I don't feel they serve an interesting purpose in the setting (maybe in 30k) but Marshal is right that there use is often to present internal conflict (often one-note "those space marines were a bad idea"). Is that enough? Not a point to explore here but they have turned up to sell models that people asked for, right? Fundamentally, going back to earlier points, female custodes don't change the setting and do not present much in the way of a new direction in stories. This is because aliens take the role of the target of prejudice for people. Race, gender, sex, and all other points of differences (save perhaps class) are not features of the themes which means female custodes aren't an in-world point for conflict. Having previously discussed how the impact of the inclusion of female custodes is only materially felt outside of the lore, I'll leave that there.

Putting aside your patronising tone, this is a massive reach. Your previous comments about lazy editing are much more plausible. Limited 2018. Mass release 2019. 9th 2020. I'm not aware of any effort to hide any niche plot points using a codex/rulebook but I am aware of many inconsistencies that have cropped up between publications, whether intentional or just lazy (both I guess).

Thank you for entertaining my off topic - no further discussion will be had here on it!

I don't think that's the natural logic of the point being made. It's merely that stuff in the codex that's supposed to be neutral or factual can contradict stuff in previous codexes or index articles. Whether this is an editorial blip or intentional (probably the former) is another matter. Usually the intentional stuff is cheeky and obvious like the dubious primaris successor chapters, rather than an overt contradiction. Out of setting, it does seem to be a get out of jail free card for lore changes. Completely off-topic, but I am curious about the origin of Grey Knights being the parent chapter for the Exorcists. Was that a pre-2021 codex or Index Astartes or from a novel (on a quick Google I could only see the sources as lexicanum and an in-world understanding of an Exorcist in a Black Library story)?