Mechanicum

[Lord Commander Vespasian]

Also, was all of Legio Mortis destroyed during the seige of the Magma City? Did they participate in the Seige of Terra?

 

Not all of Legio Mortis was on Mars.

 

The remainder of Legio Mortis were in the Warmaster's Fleet and fought at Istvaan III and V. The Legio had also fought on Davin's Moon, at Ullanor, and also on Murder.

 

They do take part in the Siege of the Emperor's palace.

[Grand Master Tyrak]

Same deal with Legio Tempestus - some are elsewhere.

[masterseth]

I don't think that Dorn's comments about 15 legions over 13 had anything to do with the 2 unnamed legions.

 

Sorry, Cap'n but the conversation between Dorn and Malcador explictly states this...perhaps you should re-read those pages.

[AbyssKnight]

As an avid fan of the Imperial Fists, I would have thought that Malcador and Dorn would have wanted to fight harder to bring Mars back into the fold.

 

They do want to fight harder, but they are dealing with limited resources. Most of the Legions and Army are being mustered to strike back a Horus, and the rest are needed to safeguard all the worlds the Imperium has been fighting to bring back into the fold. They really only have the defensive troops of the Sol system available.

 

I was hoping for more Astartes action...not just a brief over view. I mean Captain Camba-Diaz could have had a couple of chapters talking about how his landing and holding the drop site was overly difficult for the Astartes of Dorn.

 

Well, in fairness, the title is Mechanicum. Not "Imperial Fists." I felt the novel did well to stay focused on the topic instead of getting lost on the tangent of how awesome Marines are.

 

I mean, did he survive the ordeal or did his 'company' buy the farm so that the precious ordnance and armor could be airlifted up to orbit? Why did Sigismund take that one Adept with him instead of leaving him to rot?

 

Camba-Diaz's survival is left in question, but they did secure much of the needed supplies. And Sigismund took the Fabricator Locus with him to lead the loyalist Mechanicum. The Imperium cannot do without the Mechanicum, they are vital to each other's survival. This was the highest ranked (second only to the Fabricator General who turned traitor) loyal Adept left.

 

I think the book also left alot of questions about the Titans on Terra during the defense of the Imperial Palace. Didn't they come from Mars? Which Legio were they from? Also, was all of Legio Mortis destroyed during the seige of the Magma City? Did they participate in the Seige of Terra?

 

Remember that the majority of the strength of the Legios would have been off world, assigned to different parts of the Crusade. So I doubt any Legio was entirely destroyed.

 

The Titans that defended the Palace were probably originally from Mars, but already stationed on Terra before the Mech Civil War. Lexicanum lists the Legio Ignatum (the Fire Wasps) as taking part in the defence, though I am not sure if they were alone or other Legio were also present.

 

Mortis was definately not destroyed. The Dies Irae is noted as being Legio Mortis, being part of the attack on the Imperial Palace, and surviving until the 41st millenium, for example. See Storm of Iron for more.

 

I don't think that Dorn's comments about 15 legions over 13 had anything to do with the 2 unnamed legions.

 

You are entitled to your opinion, but I (and most others) would disagree with you.

 

To the question of the Book of the Dragon, I think Zouche is really the only one who could have taken it. Caxton was incapacitated while the group was near it until well after they left the area. Dahlia obviously did not take it, nor her Protector. The last member of their group committed suicide. Zouche was the only conscious, living person near the book to leave.

[Captain Antonius]

I guess I'll go back and re-read the Sigilite and Dorn conversation.

 

Thanks for the answers to my questions you guys. I should have guessed that not all of Legio Mortis was there. I knew that Legio Tempestus was spread out from the book so I should have figured as much from the other Legios.

 

Here's another question: Are there Knight class titans out with the crusade fleets or are they just a Mars thing?

[Razrhaghul]

i still have mixed interests in how the book went, it was an enjoyable read.

 

the two mentioned legions, i thought was more in reference to the fact that it wasn't just one legion at Istvaan that rebelled (sons of Horus), but the world eaters and emperor's children as well. further insult to injury in my opinion.

 

i was honestly expecting more people to know about Arkhan Land,the adept who discovered the STC patterns for "land" raiders and speeders, who eventually disappeared along with the rest of his party down in the noctis labrynthus, i assumed it had already happened much earlier, but you think he and the region would be more famous for that...

 

however what i did like was the inclusion that mars and Terra had been at war before, and that Mars had had held some power of areas of Terra before the Emperor rose and pushed them back to mars (i have some personal fluff i wrote about this a long time ago, but that;'s off topic).

 

the last thing that has only partially bugged me was the inclusion of knight titans. at first i bugged me incredibly as the older fluff i remember reading some 10 years ago, was that knights were the product of the expedition fleets that left Mars during old Night to try and re-establish some contact with lost human colonies (very difficult at the time with all the warp storms that engulfed the galaxy). later these ships would found the forgeworlds, and some were settled on eldar maiden worlds, where they mimicked eldar technology to create the knights...granted some things get retconned and the older fluff was open enough to allow Knights on mars.

 

i too thought it was Zouche that took the book.

[Hound's Tooth]

Same deal with Legio Tempestus - some are elsewhere.

 

True, if Im not mistaken, wasn't Legio Tempestus mention in titanicus?

[Weiss]

I read that fluff section written by Andy Chambers (on the Knights, that is) a while ago. It's feel is completely different to the current tone of the background and doesn't really fit the current fluff anyway - imitating alien technology, to most Mechanicum adepts, would be heresy.

 

On top of that, it is ridiculous: they're nine-metre-tall cattle herders...

 

I much prefer Graham's revision of them - it makes them feel far more "30k" to me.

[Gurni]

Just wanted to throw in my two cents on the dragon on Mars:

 

 

The Dragon was imprisoned on Mars by the Emperor for the sole reason of inspiring the Mechanicum. The Void Dragon would send out ideas and thoughts throughout the noosphere or aether that would trickle down into inspiration for the machines and titans the mechanicus would build. The aspiration to encase themselves into steel paralells the necrons quest for perfection and immortality.

Additionally, the book points out that the Emperor seeded the prophecy of his arrival into the Martian culture.

The Necrons realizing that the Void Dragon was on Mars made an attempt on the planet in order to slay the Void Dragon.

Also, I would like to point out that this clearly makes Mars not a Tomb World since the Emperor put the Dragon there.

 

[Weiss]

I'd have thought they would be trying to rescue their ancient master. What intrigues me more is how the hell it ended up on Earth...

[Gurni]

According to the text he was hiding from his enemies who had seriously wounded him. Here it is important to note that the Void Dragon is one of the four surviving Necrons ( the others being the Deceiver, the Nightbringer, and the Outsider ) out of the multitude that existed previously. The Nightbringer hunted the other C'tan and consumed them. Therefore, the necrons could have been obeying the Nightbringer in an attempt to locate one of its last rivals or they could have been the Void Dragon's supporters or they could have been agents of the Deceiver attempting to spread chaos and confusion. Or the Void Dragon could have been still trying to recover from fighting the Old Ones or the Eldar.

[Brother Captain Andrecus]

I'm about halfway through it... I like it, kinda cool. So many charaters, hard to keep track though, lol.

 

And he introduces people just to kill them off!!! I liked the scrap hauler guy, why did he have to get crunched??? And why on earth did he have Cavalerio's Titan die from over exhaustion!?!?!?

 

[Lucifer Fellblade]

I'm about halfway through it... I like it, kinda cool. So many charaters, hard to keep track though, lol.

 

And he introduces people just to kill them off!!! I liked the scrap hauler guy, why did he have to get crunched??? And why on earth did he have Cavalerio's Titan die from over exhaustion!?!?!?

 

 

It's called dramatic effect, introduce a character you start to feel sorry for and emphasize with and then kill him off straight away to give extra impact to the evilness of the bad guys.

 

 

I wouldn't read the next bit if you're only halfway through aswell, deals with the ending of the book and your second question.

 

 

As for the Titan dying from over-exhaustion he needed a reason for him to transfer into the Deus Tempestus and have a glorious last stand, and for why he wasn't in it in the first place was to give it an aura of awe and prestige, making the final sacrifice all the more inspiring.

 

 

 

[Gorlak]

Finished Mechanicum last night and thought it was really good, seemed to add some layers of info on the Mechanicus that made them feel 'advanced' technologically. Alot of the fluff descirbes the technology, understandibly, in a way that makes it seem quite basic, mostly I thought to convey the superstition and gothic atmosphere. The clever part here was that mood was still achieved while also making it seem seriously advanced technology - the vast data networks and computer code based culture of Mars as a small example.

 

As to the last two pages,

it has to have been Zouche or Caxton who took the book - part of me wants to say Caxton, due to the potential feelings of betrayal and loss of his love to the Dragon (as Guardian), so he'd be looking to hit back. Maybe.

 

But crucially, I do remember a short story, I believe to be around the time of the Eye of Terror campaign, that described Abbaddon receiving a book or some such that revealed some information about what lay beneath Mars. The story, I think, described the Dark Mech adept walking away from Abbaddon and being terrified by the laughter of Abbadon after he learnt what the book revealed. The short story was heavily intended to suggest the Dragon was beneath Mars, confirmed now in Mechanicum. I assumed this, or rather the fact that the knowledge of the Dragon and the Emperor was no longer secret, is the bad news 10k years in the future referred to in those last two pages.

 

Edit: I found the story and I was mistaken, the information came from no book, it was from a summoned deamon - page 26 of the Necron Codex. A shame, as I think that would have been kinda cool! I can theorise that the information etc could have orginally stemmed from that books release, but I doubt it!

[Stargazer]

I just have to say awesome book but I really want to find out about

who took the book, why and what its significance is.

 

btw what is the book in Titanicus haven't read it but would be good to know

 

[Amit]

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I really enjoyed this book but I did leave some questions that I still have not worked out yet:

 

If Zouche took the book, where is it 'now' what is its relevance to 40K fluff as it stands now after the heresy?

 

The Akashic Reader is it a version of the Golden Throne? Is anything salvageable?

 

How did the mechanicum and loyalists purge the Dark Mechanicum from Mars? When did they flee Mars?

 

Also it is nice to see a technological link between Mechanicum and Titanicus, in the form of the noospheric interface; link to DOW with the Hellstorm Cannon; confirming what many 40K fans have suspected all along i.e. that the Void Dragon is on Mars and is the true omnissiah

 

Also there seems to be some confusion between the two books (Mechanicum and Titanicus), the legios are Tempestus and Invicta respectively NOT the same legio.

 

Amit

 

Ps. apologies - nott sure how to black out the text, I can change text colour but nought else....

 

 

 

 

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[JekCromium]

I was surprised that nobody mentioned the refference to "Magos Cantore" on page 223, and his studies into weather patterns. Sounds to me like Mr. McNeill is a fan of one of The Weather Channels' leading meteorologists, Jim Cantore ;)

[Rob_Loken]

I gotta say, I put off reading this for a while because it wasn't about Space Marines. That was a mistake because I think it's one of the stronger of the later books. And I never thought I'd like members of the mechanicum after Storm of Iron and Souldrinkers but McNeill made me change my mind. Good book.

[wildeyedjester]

I felt like this book was okay at best. It was not my favorite of the series, for certain, though I was hoping it would be. I have always had a fascination with the tech priests in the 40k universe, so I really had my hopes up.

 

I personally did not think that the tech priests seemed alien enough in their desires and motivations. Yes, sure they were physically described well, and on par with what i expected. I can't really put my finger on where the story misses this, but I think it may be that the main character was not a tech priest, which leads to us missing much of the underlying driving forces and thought processes of those whom she interacts with.......

 

I guess it was just me expecting more of the tech priest angle.

 

My only other complaint was that the inner workings of the titans were not as well described as they were when we visited the dies arae. The titan fights are well done, but I think much of the scope of the Titans just wasnt described.

[Free Spirit]

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!

 

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i just have to add my two cents!

 

I finished it today in the train home from school and wow! I was just burning paper in the final few chapters detailling the final fight and the conclusion. I have no problem with a story having 'too little' action, as long as the action pieces are nailbiting... and Mechanicum delivers. Big time.

 

I loved the whole buildup from the 'uneasy' start on Mars, through Dalia's eyes to the epic conclusion. Mars is already in political turmoil so i didn't think the 'change' came too fast. The different parties just started acting on their personal feelings and motivations instead of talking about them for the past 200 years.

 

Besides that, the titan battle... I was getting goosebumps when reading about Cavelerio and his inspiring speeches. Also, the battle itself was written very clear. I could just see the warhounds darting from one side to another. I think my favorite part was about the 2 warhounds who hid in the rubble of the city and work together to take down that Reaver.

 

About the ending. The whole time i was feeling kind of mixed up about the 2 knights who followed the Kaban machine and the rest of their order. I mean, Maven did get to destroy his nemesis but he and the other guy (haven't got the book by hand atm) basically abandoned their order and left them with 2 knights less in the magma city. Their presence would've undoubtedly ended in their own death, but i feel kind of split up because of this. He got personal revenge, but i could imagine how Maven and his buddy would feel when getting back to the city and seeing everything just gone. All i can say is, if a story can make me think and feel about subplots like that... then that's the handiwork of a great writer! :devil:

 

And last... the book. I think Zouche probably took it. Zouche was always a bit odd. He has a troubled history and praises the Emperor for unifying all the races and regions. He also got a bit more attention then the other 'party-characters'. He probably took the book to either destroy it, or make it public knowledge. Probably the former... Another thought that came up was that Severine took it. Yes she commited suicide... but was it before or after Dalia read the book? Maybe she took it and then jumped down to kill her and the truth, so no-one has to face it again. By the way... was i the only one that started wondering when reading the line about a new guardian coming to the Noctis Labrynthus around the year 40.000 and finding the situation to be 'too late'? Who could that be?

 

Well that was it. It became a rather lengthy post i'm afraid but i'm pretty psyched about this book! It's one of the best in the series in my opinion. So sorry about the rambling. When typing about one thing i already thought about the next part i wanted to talk about! B)

 

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[Brother Captain Andrecus]

It was a good book, finished it a while back. I loved the battle at the end.

 

But there was one thing that kind of ruined it for me.

At the end, when the Knights of Taranis are fighting off the Dark Mechanicum and trying to get to Melgator, I think it would have been really cool to have Maven and What's-his-name (I forget, lol...) arrive at the last minute and smite the nasties from the rear, saving the Knights. But that didn't happen, and they all died.

I was bummed.

 

 

Plus, Dalia should have reformed the Kaban Machine, not just tricked it... But I guess then Maven wouldn't have been able to get his revenge on it... Hrmm...

 

 

It was a pretty good book, all in all. I liked it. Graham Mcneill is one of my favorite authors.

[JekCromium]

I really liked it, but I thought it was missing a bit. I mean, this isn't some throw-away world here: This is MARS! I really felt this should have been covered in a 2 to 3 book setup. If not that, then at the least, a little more personal connection. I know, they're the mechanicus and don't need human emotions or connections, but I mean more of the smaller skirmish battles. Named foes fighting each other on the ground.

 

I always pictured the fall of Mars as complexes full of tech-priests forming up and fighting each other. Tech-priest on tech-priest action! Who doesn't want that?!? Yeah, they've all got buzzsaw mechadendrites, but nobody ever uses em! Even with thousands of Skitarii fighting apocalyptic battles around the feet of titans we get no on-hand accounts of what vicious battles those must have been. It seemed like as soon as the titans started at it(which was masterfully written, by the way), fighting with anything smaller than a Knight was unimportant.

 

And what made the Dark Mechanicus so "dark" anyway? They made creepy looking warp-guardians and screemed into their mics all the time? I wanted evil tech-priests tearing the mechadendrites off their foes and fusing them onto their own bodies in the middle of a brawl! Crook-backed Skitarii skinning their less evil brothers and wearing them as ponchos!! Mortis Warhounds ripping off the heads of enemy titans and feasting on the crews inside!!!

 

Nor was the fighting cold and calculated either. These weren't killers dispatching their foes with the least amount of effort possible to conserve power while ensuring their enemies were dead. They liked killing the loyalists, but they weren't craving it. Melgator wanted heads to roll, but I didn't get the feeling he wanted to do anything creative like turn the heads into chamber pots when they were done rolling. The traitors just didn't seem that into it(and "being into it" is kind of what you expect with chaos).

 

Despite what might have sounded like a terrible review, I still liked it. The ending reveals were nice and the titan battles were done very will, but I just wanted a little bit more. Mechanicus certainly showed the heights of nobility, but lacked the depths of depravity.

[Free Spirit]

Tech-priest on tech-priest action! Who doesn't want that?!?

 

I might be childish, but i laughed. care if i sig it?

 

Anyway, i see the point of your review, and you are spot on concerning things during the HH. We know about stuff that happened, but almost never how and why. If the author pictures the fall (and rise of the DM) differently then you initially thought, you will feel a bit leftout after reading the book. I didn't have any story in mind when thinking about the war on mars, so i wasn't in any way dissapointed. On the other hand... i do have quite a bit of knowledge about the destruction of Prospero... we'll just have to wait and see how that plays out. :)

[Sons of Horus]

one of my fave HH novels especially after fulgrim since descent, legion, and BftA weren't really any good. great book with many new facts revealed.

i absolutely love how the emperor is not really the omnissiah! it just confirms how much of "just human" he really is. although the only thing i had that didn't leave me satisfied was they never really mentioned what was inside the vault of Moravec.

 

anyway the Akashic reader is not in any way at all similar to the golden throne. i really liked Rho-mu 31 and i wonder who stole the book and for what reason :)

[JekCromium]

Sig Away, Free Spirit :huh: