Blood Reaver

[Cleanse And Purify]

The characters have made personal progress. But what has the warband achieved over the course of two novels? In both books they have survived for another short period of time, and they had secured resourced to keep going. What was the specific plot achievement at the end of Soul Hunter? The warband got a new navigator. What was the plot achievement at the end of Blood Reaver? The warband changed to another ship, and Talos has now succeeded the Exalted. The novels are very atmospheric, and it is interesting enough to read about the day to day troubles of a warband trying to get by. But so far I feel there isn't more to the story than the warband getting by. The novels' greatest contribution is certainly the insight into the Night Lords Legion, and that there are varying points of view about the Legion and their Primarch within their ranks, even if that had not really been adressed in the first book and was adressed perhaps a bit too subtly in the second. And I fear this contribution may be offset a bit by the novels describing the life of a Chaos Marine slave as entirely bearable, and Chaos Marines occasionally having a soft spot underneath their hard shell.

 

 

And what's the issue with that? Not every book can be or even should be about galaxy-shaping events. I think a great point of the Night Lords trilogy is that it is so seemingly futile. The protagonists are fighting a war out of spite and hatred and because they literally know nothing else. The warband does just get by. That's the point. They aren't square-jawed heroes, blasting away at the foes of Mankind and saving the damsel (or planet or relic or whatever) in distress. They aren't moustache-twirling villains that are impossible to relate to as well. They are bitter warriors from a broken Legion scrounging and scavenging in an attempt to just survive a millennia long conflict with no end in sight. It's tragic.

 

I feel your assertion that the novel's greatest contribution is insight into a Legion does the writing and the writer a great disservice. The novel shows the mindsets of a certain group of Traitors and does it very well. It takes them away from the often lame, one-dimensional portrayals in the Codex and Index Astartes and actually makes them compelling (if still very disturbing) characters. The insight into the background is important and useful I feel, but the real gold to be found here is in the characters themselves. It captures 40k incredibly well for me: the galaxy cares nothing for these characters. They don't make history, it simply unfolds around them. Even Vilamus, a monumental victory for Huron and his Corsairs, is only a minor event in the lives of Talos and 10th Company. It takes the incomparable scale of 40k and allows the reader to glimpse a very compelling and tragic story at a very human level.

 

[Legatus]

I don't really want to continue debating this issue, because that would make it look like I was vehemently criticising and taking position against the books, which I am not. "Soul Hunter" is my favourite Space Marine novel for a reason. But I dare say you could take any BL novel and describe in two or three sentences what the storyline of that book is. You would be hard pressed to describe the storyline of these Night Lord books in that manner.

[Lexington]

Understood there, and I don't mean to prod or anything, but just a couple of points, because I'm feeling like a pedantic SOB tonight...

 

And I fear this contribution may be offset a bit by the novels describing the life of a Chaos Marine slave as entirely bearable, and Chaos Marines occasionally having a soft spot underneath their hard shell.

I really think this is meant to show something about Talos, rather than a statement of how a Traitor Legion slave lives generally. We don't see much of it, but we're given to believe that the other members of 10th Company - even some amongst First Claw - regard their slaves as sub-human wretches that are only allow to live out of base necessity. In keeping with his character, however, Talos takes the more noble view of the Night Haunter's philosophy. In his mind, he's the sovereign in a bleak, Hobbesian social contract where the vassal is held on the threat of immediate, painful death. They can be killed at any time, and, indeed, should be put down if they in any way disobey their master. However, Talos seems to think of himself as ethically obligated to the well-being of slaves who properly observe and respect the bounds of that contract (which I think comes up in Hobbes, but it's been like a decade since my last poli-sci class), and even sees them as under his protection.

In Talos' dream-recollection from Blood Reaver, he and his mother talk about those who go to join the Legion as 'heroes,' and there's an implication that this twisted sense of 'nobility' is part of that. In fact, when Talos gets all Batman on the prisoners who kidnap Octavia, it's like he remembers something ferocious and pure from his past - he's doing what is, in his mind, the right thing, morally, by rescuing someone under his protection and leaving their attackers in a state of vivid disassembly.

 

 

But I dare say you could take any BL novel and describe in two or three sentences what the storyline of that book is. You would be hard pressed to describe the storyline of these Night Lord books in that manner.

See, I totally dig this about the Night Lords novels, and A D-B's work overall. The character journey is inseparable from the other elements of the novel, and you can't explain the books without talking about these things. You can't summarize Helsreach without

Grimaldus' slow acceptance of a threadbare humanism.

The First Heretic is about

Argel Tal, and Lorgar's, dark spiritual rebirth first, and the beginning of the Heresy second.

Etcetera, etcetera. I really hope that A D-B's success encourages more authors at the BL to take this sort of abstract, literary approach to their novels.

[Brother Ambroz]

I agree with you there, I wish more authors would take the approach ADB's done and not just show space marines pummeling the "bad guys".