Blood Reaver

[Khestra the Unbeheld]

Variel is swiftly becoming my favourite member of First Claw, even surpassing the mighty Xarl (Heresy!). Mainly because he is a Red Corsair-which is self explanatory-but his reasons for the betrayel of his warband and his history with Talos are intriguing. I'm looking forward to seeing his story develop.

Also, without giving too much away (I fail at figuring out how to use the spoiler button), Uzas generally surprised me. I thought we would be seeing his swansong a few chapters in.

 

I'm still something of a Cyrion fanboy, but there's stuff to love about them all

even the Exalted, whose demise I really am put out about

and I think that's the hallmark of a truly gifted writer. When you can actually give a damn about literally everyone in the book, then everything that happens takes on a personal feel. I love that. :D

[Brother Ambroz]

I still don't get why Talos was so suprised at Malcharion's sarcophagus being around. I thought he knew already? I really loved Uzas's character he was my favorite although all of first claw was pretty amazing.

[Dammeron]

What I'm enjoying most about this whole series is how it goes out of its way to detail the variations in perspective and motivation that exist amongst the Traitor Marines, not only within the constraints of a single legion, but even within a single squad. First Claw are, of course, the archetypal example: If it isn't Talos struggling to maintain some semblance of perceived purpose and nobility, it's Uzas fighting with the escelating influenc of Chaos itself. I was also impressed by how it successfully delineates the differences between the more piratical Astral Claws and the more entrenched, elder traitor legions. Even the human characters are interesting in this series rather than being filler to break up the bolter porn; the increasing tensions and complex relationship between OCtavia and Septimus, the issue of the Void Born...all pretty rivetting stuff! Looking forward to seeing how Talos et al handle things from here on out.

[Mykra]

I still don't get why Talos was so suprised at Malcharion's sarcophagus being around. I thought he knew already? I really loved Uzas's character he was my favorite although all of first claw was pretty amazing.

 

 

I will have to go back and re-read a few parts, but I thought the problem he had was that Malcharion was still alive and ticking inside the sarcophagus, when he thought he bit it fighting at the end of the first novel.

 

 

You know, I didn't like Uzas in the first novel; He seemed like a generic Berzerker-to-be.

The shift to him adopting the 'I'm not broken' mindset, along with the scenes showing him completely uncorrupted and how those memories could be used to calm him

gave him a bit of damaged nobility in my eyes, and even a teeny, tiny sliver of humanity.

[Khestra the Unbeheld]

I still don't get why Talos was so suprised at Malcharion's sarcophagus being around. I thought he knew already? I really loved Uzas's character he was my favorite although all of first claw was pretty amazing.

 

 

Because Talos had expressly ordered Deltrian to not try and save Malcharion, saying that he deserved his final rest after this last battle. For this to be countermanded must have come as a brutal shock to Talos, especially given the source of the opposing order, and that it basically amounts to betrayal of Malcharion's wishes since he never wanted to be entombed in the first place. Now Talos has to worry about whether or not Malcharion will resent him for "saving" him after all, in addition to worrying about whether or not Malcharion would support Talos as commander of the Tenth when he's just "an Apothecary with delusions of command". So long as the war-sage lives, it's like every decision ends up having to be run through a filter of "what would Malcharion think?". It would be like having a retired mob boss, one of immense respect and accolades, hanging out in the background of every meeting, with the potential to sway entire underbosses and their respective factions against the current mob boss with just a word.

 

[minigun762]

I just finished reading it today and overall I was very happy and satisfied. I had a few thoughts and questions though for the group. (all hidden in spoilers below)

 

 

I enjoyed the void battle at the end, it seems rare to have a good description of space combat. The combination of audacity and skill the Covenant of Blood had to engage a grossly superior fleet and still give better then it took was enjoyable and just plain fun.

 

 

 

The interactions between the Marines and the various humans are really one of the elements that makes this series stand out from other Chaos series. Its not just a case of having a screaming cultist or tortured slave or something so one-dimensional. Instead you have elements of cooperation and even respect between the two groups even if that cooperation is only born out of mutual need and necessity.

 

 

 

The combat on Vilamus was fairly good I thought. I really liked the description of the Marines Errant Sergeant, it felt honest and fair. Very often the Marines fighting against protagonist end up being cannon fodder and idiots, regardless of whether they are loyalists or traitors but both sides were well represented with the traitors being aware that they only way they could win was through deception and trickery and the Marines Errant forced to fight the only way they could to protect all they had.

 

 

 

Octavia is just an entertaining character. I like the combination of sass and attitude mixed with the insecurities and coming to terms about her current situation.

 

 

 

Huron comes across as the bad ass he should be, in charge of his own not-so-little empire. Its refreshing to see someone who still cares about tearing down the Imperium.

 

 

 

Lastly, one thing that really struck me was the overall lack of respect for the Primarchs. Everything other description from a Marine of a Primarch is filled with awe and a mix of respect and something approaching fear. To see Marines talk to basely about Primarchs, even their own is both disturbing and refreshing because it makes sense to them. In their eyes, the various Primarchs either failed or are too busy playing in the great game to care about the war against the Imperium anymore and you could argue that they are right.

 

[Redbaron997]

Hey, i skipped over most of this threat to avoid spoiling blood reaver for me. I am just now starting it. I am having some trouble remembering the key points of Soul Hunter. Can someone give me a brief synopsis of Soul Hunter so I can enjoy Blood Reaver more? Thank you

[GooseDaMoose]

I thought it was overall really good, but I really wish the 40k books had less sass in them.

 

Nobody is that sassy to each other let alone to the scary 9-foot superhuman who only lets you live because you're kinda useful.

[Vilicate]

I thought it was overall really good, but I really wish the 40k books had less sass in them.

 

Nobody is that sassy to each other let alone to the scary 9-foot superhuman who only lets you live because you're kinda useful.

 

 

I disagree. It's pretty obvious to me that they would be going nowhere fast if they were to lose their navigator. I assume that's who you're speaking of? I don't recall Septimus ever talking back to the masters, only ever being frightened or distressed by their presence.

[Zincite]

I thought it was overall really good, but I really wish the 40k books had less sass in them.

 

Nobody is that sassy to each other let alone to the scary 9-foot superhuman who only lets you live because you're kinda useful.

 

 

I disagree. It's pretty obvious to me that they would be going nowhere fast if they were to lose their navigator. I assume that's who you're speaking of? I don't recall Septimus ever talking back to the masters, only ever being frightened or distressed by their presence.

 

Aren't navigators rather cheeky little people to start off with anyway?

[Pavement Artist]

They are supposed to be a bunch of preening gits at the best of time the Navis Nobilitie

[Yogi]

I was just reading this thread again and read Khestra's sig.

 

Now I could be wrong but Kharsha the Unsworn (2nd Claws leader) is almost like a nod to Khestra the Unbeheld. You possibly should be honored if it is a nod to you handle..

 

ADB the magic of his stuff is all the wonderful details.

 

@Goosedamoose, Are you referring to Talos? Because he practically begs for death every time he speaks. Its part of his charm. No I reread.. Nevermind

[Khestra the Unbeheld]

I was just reading this thread again and read Khestra's sig.

 

Now I could be wrong but Kharsha the Unsworn (2nd Claws leader) is almost like a nod to Khestra the Unbeheld. You possibly should be honored if it is a nod to you handle..

 

I'm notoriously easy to please. He had me at "quote name='Khestra the Unbeheld'". ^_^

[GooseDaMoose]

I thought it was overall really good, but I really wish the 40k books had less sass in them.

 

Nobody is that sassy to each other let alone to the scary 9-foot superhuman who only lets you live because you're kinda useful.

 

 

I disagree. It's pretty obvious to me that they would be going nowhere fast if they were to lose their navigator. I assume that's who you're speaking of? I don't recall Septimus ever talking back to the masters, only ever being frightened or distressed by their presence.

 

Aren't navigators rather cheeky little people to start off with anyway?

 

Realistically, I don't think it matters how much of a prat you are, you shut the hell up when you're abducted by superhuman heretics whose favourite mode of transporting you around is dragging you by the throat. I'm sorry, but ADB does a really good job getting me into the stories and actually believing (for as much as that is possible with 40k) the characters and story but I everytime she makes a sassy comment like that it yanks me right out of my immersion. And it's not that I have a problem with humour in the books, I thought Hound worked.. sorta. But when you're faced with terror incarnate you're just not gonna be thinking bitchily, knowing that you can get away with it cuz you guide the ship. The Exalted litterally cripples his ship just to show off for the Warmaster why would he take that kinda sass from a human slave even if killing her would leave them more or less stranded? And sass between the 1st Claw members for the most part is really well done and not OTT, not so much that they sound like schoolyard boys, but enough to show a bit of camaraderie, even though I can't really imagine it happening if they hate each other so much, but hey what do I know about spending 10,000 years with the same guys everyday :D

 

But as I said, I did like the book a lot and I applaud ADB for being a great writer and still remaining a fan and coming to these boards. I had to chuckle at his acknowledgement of "the mighty Bolter and Chainsword" at the back of Blood Reaver.

[Quixus]

Lastly, one thing that really struck me was the overall lack of respect for the Primarchs. Everything other description from a Marine of a Primarch is filled with awe and a mix of respect and something approaching fear. To see Marines talk to basely about Primarchs, even their own is both disturbing and refreshing because it makes sense to them. In their eyes, the various Primarchs either failed or are too busy playing in the great game to care about the war against the Imperium anymore and you could argue that they are right.

 

This may come from the fact that they actually met some of the primarchs in person. While they are all awe-inspiring, I don't think they would generate that level of mystery and mysticism if you fight eat and drink with them. It kinda reminds me of one of the Space Wolf novels, when Ragnar meets the remnant of the 13th company and confesses that he lost and has to find that prized relic the Spear of Russ, and one of the 13th replies something along the lines of: "oh that old thing, Russ never liked the weapon, rarely used it, lost it all the time and only kept it because it was a gift from his father."

 

[Tranc]

I thoroughly enjoyed Blood Reaver.  I think I liked it even better than Soul Hunter, and that's saying something!  I think the key that sets this series apart from many Black Library novels is that the story is very character driven.

 

Note I'm not going to use the spoiler tag because I'm typing this on my iPhone and won't be able to see my own post if I do (because highlighting text on the iPhone doesn't reveal it). But suffice it to say, the rest of this post contains spoilers, so be warned!

 

 

My favorite part was 3rd Claw's leadership duel, followed by the infighting between 1st & 3rd Claw.

 

If Aaron is still monitoring this thread, I have one question.  I thought the scenes involving Dal Karus made it seem like he was destined to join 1st Claw (maybe because he was better developed, and seemed to care for the good of his squad).  Did it come off this way because you had at one point intended for him to join 1st Claw and then changed your mind, or did you set out from the very beginning to play with our expectations and trick us? :-)

 

I'm bummed the Hound was killed; I really liked his character.

 

A couple nits:

I loved the description of the Marines' Errant, but I am confused about why they didn't seem to act in the defense of their fortress until after the generators were destroyed. I thought First Claw's mission was to distract the Marines' Errant so the Bleeding Eyes could perform their sabatage, but First Claw only encountered chapter serfs until the shields were down, chapter serfs that should have voxed in their location. So what were the Marines Errant doing??

 

I also have to say, as an aerospace engineer working on satellites for ten years that the whole scene about the drop pod possibly being just a crashed satellite was hard for me to swallow :-).  Yes, spacecraft in low orbit have to periodically fire thrusters to counteract atmospheric drag and maintain their altitude, and yes large solar flares can cause electronic upsets that could prevent such orbit maintenance from being performed, but to have a satellite crash after only 3 weeks of not performing orbit raising maneuvers means the spacecraft was on the verge if falling out of the sky before the solar flares even started.  Any half-competent techmarine would not have allowed such a scenario to be remotely possible!!!

 

Still a good story though ;-)

[Redbaron997]

Just finished Blood Reaver, overall I thought it was very good. The very end was optimistically pesimist...or was it pesimistically optimist?

[Trel]

Just finished "Blood Reaver". I feel two ways about it: I enjoyed the story and found it to be very engaging, it was a fun read; but on the other hand, I don't like the character development of the Marines.

 

Septimus and Octavia are developing very nicely (if somewhat predictably) as characters, and would probably make the series worth reading just on them alone.

 

However, the Night Lords as they are presented remind me far too much of the Soul Drinkers: they're the good guys, but they're not so good that they come off like boy scouts, which also isn't cool. (That's why there are no good Imperial Fists books: boy scouts are boring.) They're, by and large, all too awesome. The fun characters: Uzas and Vandred/Exalted? Nope. Total badasses, just with problems that make them seem rad.

 

Talos himself has basically no flaws at this point. I don't know what his last name is (I don't remember if it's been mentioned) but I wouldn't be surprised if it was *word remove* During the Vilamus bit, when he got into Night Lord terror-mode, it really seemed tacked-on, almost as if the author remembered "Oh yeah, these are Chaos Marines, better make them seem at least a little psycho."

 

I would not mind at all if the next book in the series had the focus be primarily on Septimus and Octavia, because I don't think I could take another book of First Claw riffing on one another like they're in a Power Armored buddy-cop movie. (I would not be surprised if there's a "small progenoid gland" joke levelled at Cyrion or something in the future.)

 

But, of course, it's easier to focus on the negative. The positives must be there, because I couldn't put the book down. <_<

 

Edit by Insane Psychopath - Please rememeber we are a family friendly fourm.

[Pavement Artist]

Finished the book today. My, my, my that was an enjoyable ride. Was initially a little concerned that structurally we were heading into similar territory as Soul Hunter (*word remove* Chaos codex luminary, pull a fast one in the middle of a conflict.) but the book really kicked into gear in it's last third so that shut me up good and proper.

 

In terms of characterization, ADB nailed it again. As always, the man seems incapable of crafting a story where even the minor characters dont grab you in some way. He did it in Helsreach. Lord knows how he got me raving about a stormtrooper in a novel based around the Black Templars but he managed. I liked Uzas getting a bit more spotlight in this novel, it put the character in a more favourable light as opposed to being the guy you dont want sitting next to you in the drop pod.

 

Enjoyed Talos' flashbacks to the siege of Terra. Was nice to see First claw in a state of relative normality. (A sanguine Uzas was a bit of a shock to the system.)

 

On a side note- ADB just absolutely gets 40K. Like on a biological level, he just seems to nail every single concept in his novels. The Raptor cult stood out for me in particular. I was a little concerned that they might simply be Night lords with jump packs in that rather lazy 3.5 ed codex way that assumes NL is short hand for raptors ahoy! But no, they were shown exactly how lore hath described them to me, as a pack of feral, screeching nutjobs.

 

In conclusion, it was brilliant. Let's all buy it so we can fund his wedding (or chaos army, im sure one takes precedence)

 

Edit by Insane Psychopath - Please rememeber we are a family friendly fourm

[The Crimson Cartel]

Talos himself has basically no flaws at this point. I don't know what his last name is (I don't remember if it's been mentioned) but I wouldn't be surprised if it was *word remove* During the Vilamus bit, when he got into Night Lord terror-mode, it really seemed tacked-on, almost as if the author remembered "Oh yeah, these are Chaos Marines, better make them seem at least a little psycho."Edit by Insane Psychopath - Please rememeber we are a family friendly fourm.

 

^

The text that i've bolded in the quote above has do to with exactly why I like this series SO MUCH, so far. I think A-D-B does (in my opinion) a fantastic job of presenting the Night Lords, at least 1st claw, as TRAITOR Marines not CHAOS Marines. I think that there is a vast difference between the two designations. If I remember my fluff correctly, the Night Lords don't do the typical chaos thing (Chaos power worship,deamons,etc.) they do their Night Lords thing. Now 10,000 years gone obviously some have fallen (Vandred, Uzas) but, again, if I remember correctly the Night Lords war bands are fighting the long war their way, terror style. Anyone else have thoughts on this? I like 1st claw like this because than can have their flaws, but still have a bit of free will as opposed to being enslaved by X chaos power. Just like it is boring to read about boy scouts, I find it equally boring to read "maim burn kill" "blood for blah blah blah"... These books have balance, which I think is why people enjoy the characters. Anyway, just my thoughts.

 

Bloody Brilliant series thus far! It's in my top 3 (i'm even willing to look past the fact that my Blood Angels got owned in Soul Hunter..) So frustrating that we have to wait sooo long between installments... :P I always find myself acting like that super spoiled child from the Willy Wonka Movie... Ha :rolleyes:

 

-CC

[Walter Payton]

(i'm even willing to look past the fact that my Blood Angels got owned in Soul Hunter..)

 

What are you talking about? The ones that boarded the Covenant of Blood got owned. The rest of them leg-dropped Abaddon's ass back to the Eye!

 

I always find myself acting like that super spoiled child from the Willy Wonka Movie... Ha :tu:

 

Movie??!?!? MOVIE?!?!?! It's a brilliant book by a man called Roald Dahl long before it became a film! :P

 

She's called Veruca Salt, by the way.

[Captain Juan Juarez]

I'd like to use the term good book, but I don't think I really can; it's not bad but it's nowhere near as good as Soul Hunter or the authors other work like Cadian Blood or even the short story At Gaius Point.

[Lexington]

However, the Night Lords as they are presented remind me far too much of the Soul Drinkers: they're the good guys, but they're not so good that they come off like boy scouts, which also isn't cool. (That's why there are no good Imperial Fists books: boy scouts are boring.) They're, by and large, all too awesome. The fun characters: Uzas and Vandred/Exalted? Nope. Total badasses, just with problems that make them seem rad.

I think you're letting the book's perspective get in the way of seeing the characters from an outside angle. Removed from the narrative's drama, the inabitants of The Covenant of Blood are brutal, merciless killers, piratical reavers who sail through the void and commit atrocities in the name of a war that ended thousands of years before their victims were born. They're selfish, petty psychotics, and First Claw is no exception. Sure, the books are about Talos finding the strength and resolve to lead the Eighth Company out of the cycle of self-destruction they've trapped themselves in, but that strength is derived from his delusional quest to try and decode the hidden nobility in the actions of a long-dead, genocidal madman. These aren't flawed anti-heros, they're straight-up monsters. Enormously engrossing, interesting monsters, sure, but monsters just the same.

 

Finally, though I disagree with your analysis, it did remind me of this Penny Arcade comic, which I think we can all agree is wonderful and life-affirming*! :unsure:

 

* Assuming you live your life in a perpetual state of bitterness and resentment. If not, what in God's name is wrong with you? Fix that!

[ninja6fett]

Here's something that's kinda been in the back of my head ever since I finished Soul Hunter. Spoilers for Soul Hunter BTW

 

Raguel is basically as old as Bjorn. The Wolves revere Bjorn so much the don't really let him leave the planet and basically use him to tell stories and maintain their traditions. Raguel was/is one of the few direct links to the Horus Heresy and the primarchs themselves left in ANY chapter. Why would the Blood Angels let him go on a boarding action, or hell, even leave Baal itself?

 

Even past that. Wouldn't the death of Raguel cause the Blood Angels to basically go nuts and pitch an epic hissy fit in order to retrieve his sarcophagus/his remains? I mean he has to be one of the greatest and most venerated relics in the Imperium, a marine who walked with the primarchs and defended Terra itself.

 

I still LOVED the scenes with him and Malcharion. they were fantastic.

[Yogi]

@ninjafett

 

Obviously Space wolves are complete cowards. And Bjorn lets them coddle him. And blood angels are just badasses.