Part 3 - The Finale of The Lion Novella - Horus Heresy

[Vazzy]

To each his own, I suppose. I personally have enjoyed it, and all of our other Heresy stuff, especially Savage Weapons.

[Phoebus]

I'll give FerociousBeast this: our showing in the Heresy series has been dreadfully inconsistent. The Lion in "Descent" didn't translate to the Lion in "Fallen", who in turn didn't translate to the Lion in "Savage Weapons". I liked "Savage Weapons", but I have a hard time seeing how that Lion has translated in "The Lion", minus an opening scene that serves as a homage the former... and the use of the newly-established terms and themes.

[FerociousBeast]

Gav fails here where Scanlon, Lee, and ADB have failed before. None of them know what to do with the Lion. Of course, the most absurd thing about this failure is that each author has failed in different ways, leaving the HH series' portrayal of the Lion to be particularly scattered and inconsistent.

I need to dial this back a hair... I thought Mike Lee did a decent job of characterizing the Lion in Fallen Angels, and for all the story's faults, Descent of Angels was a step towards what Lee more fully fleshed out later. However, the Lion in Descent was liberally sprinkled with some Emo undertones. Bleargh. But ADB took it upon himself to completely reinvision the Fallen Angels take on the primarch and his legion.

 

Honestly, Black Library, why can't you force your writers to adopt some consistency?

[Candleshoes]

@ FerociousBeast

 

Found some good past discussions on the matter your talking about from ADB when you originally brought these same items up. Might interest some who don't remember.

 

I'm actually finishing that this week. It's set at the outbreak of the Age of Darkness, when the Night Lords and Dark Angels clash over the Thramas and Heraldor sectors. There're a few things I wanted to mention in it, but it's a short story so space is at a premium. I almost regretted pitching a First Legion story because at this point - and forgive my personal opinion, here - the Dark Angels in the Horus Heresy are something of a poisoned chalice.

 

While they're one of the most popular Chapters in 40K (which comes with guarantees of sales as well as other benefits - even mediocre stories about "beloved" factions in a license are generally seen pretty favourably, unless the writer strictly breaks the faction's themes), they've had two novels now. A lot of their storyline is set in stone, a lot of their interesting development (Caliban, the knightly orders, the primarch's youth) is already done, and Writer X may not necessarily enjoy how Writer Z did all that stuff in the past. Yet he or she will be bound to all that stuff, and their work will be associated with what came before. F'rex, "Oh, another Dark Angels novel, I didn't like the first one/two" or "Oh, who is this tool doing the new Dark Angel novel, I wish X or Y was doing it instead."

 

In this story, I wanted to sneak in a few flashbacks to Caliban, as well as some of the Dark Angel's rituals of knighthood. They're not exactly revelations, but they should be something we've not really seen before.

 

I can also understand the poisoned chalice metaphor. There's very little wiggle room at this point for anything up until the fall of Caliban itself, and its ultimate destruction. Hopefully at some point someone takes up that task, but that'll be quite a task as the main confrontation takes place after the battle of Terra. Sort of a Horus Heresy anti-climax at that point. The only way I could see another DA novel before the battle for Terra is written would be to tackle just the fall of Caliban and the intervening years, but that may be a little bit of greedy thinking. Maybe in the Scouring (or harrowing, or whatever) if you guys still decide to tackle those years, the destruction of Caliban and "death" of the Lion.

 

That would be killer. Some of the best stuff for several Legions and primarchs happens after the Heresy, so a Scouring series would be mega. The Dark Angels still have a lot of heft in the Heresy itself - it's several long years of galactic civil war before the Siege, and the Dark Angels are one of the last loyal Legions actually stuck out there in the void and having to deal with it all. There's a lot of pathos in their situation, and some great stories to tell. I just wonder if and when they'll get told, that's all. Like I said: poisoned chalice, etc.

 

For the record, that's not to disparage Descent of Angels and Fallen Angels. If you have to follow in someone's footsteps, it's all about choosing your battles and treading with care. And it seems that in many ways the Dark Angels' stage is now set, for better or worse. Anything I'd have done would take them in a much different direction, with completely new characters. That's much easier to get away with in a short story, natch - so that's why I'm doing it sneaky-like.

 

But in the Scouring, hell yes, there's a lot that could go on.

 

I think it'd be inappropriate and disrespectful (even by my misbehaving standards) to answer that directly, and although my tastes for the First Legion are different to what came before in Descent of Angels and Fallen Angels, that doesn't mean I think they're unworthy novels at all. I can say what I hope comes across in the short story in Age of Darkness, which is called 'Savage Weapons' as a working title.

 

I'd like to briefly discuss the other subject of this discussion: whether or not there is still room for storytelling with the Dark Angel Legion in the Horus Heresy series. In short, yes there is!

 

Definitely. But it comes with a fair share of drawbacks, too.

 

In fact, there's a very notable episode in the background that has not been dealt with at all yet, and which I have been fully expecting Black Library to address before they're done. The voyage of the Dark Angels and Space Wolves to Terra to reinforce the Emperor's forces. That's a novel that is positively chock-full of possibilities.

 

Couldn't agree more. Especially with the Heresy being revealed in more detail - and the scope and scale of the galactic civil war being shown to be so much larger than the bare bones we've seen in the past - I'm just as interested in what the Dark Angels and Space Wolves were doing in the several long years of all-out warfare between the Dropsite Massacre and the Siege of Terra. At some point, the Lion has to have either been prevented from reaching Terra for a long, long time, or he decided his Legion was better served in battle elsewhere within the devastated Imperium.

 

We know that the Dark Angels and the Night Lords spent a while in a bitter crusade in the Heraldor and Thramas Systems.

 

It appears that, at least initially, the Lion wanted to reach Terra as fast as possible, while Russ was more devoted to winning the civil war on the way. It's also potentially "one of those things" that's become jumbled in the many pre-HH-series info snippets, because at the very outbreak of the Heresy, the Dark Angels were supposedly seen in the Thramas and Heraldor systems (and Horus sent the Night Lords to intercept them), while the Space Wolves were either at Prospero, or just returning from it.

 

But it wouldn't be fun if the history wasn't a mess, I guess.

 

In regards to the "poison chalice" reference, I'm curious if you felt anything like that when writing about the Wordbearers. What I mean is that up until First Heretic, I considered Anthony Reynolds as doing a great job as the steward of Wordbearer fiction. That's not to say that I think that your book took anything away from it (to the contrary, actually) but Reynolds did already place some boundaries that you had to stay within.

 

With the Dark Angels novels (and I'm just guessing here) it strikes me that the same characters are supposed to show up again and again, much like the rest of the series features Loken, Garro, Erebus, etc. and future novels will feature Argel Tal. In brutal honesty, I don't really like those Dark Angel characters. So if it ever came to pitching a DA novel, my guess would be Editorial would say "But where's Zahariel?", to which I'd reply "Y'know what, actually, I'm gonna do the World Eaters. Forget I mentioned it."

 

Please note, that's just a guess. But it seems likely, given that Fallen Angels followed Descent of Angels in that way. With the Word Bearers, there was no pressure to use the same characters as the Dark Noun series. Indeed, I kind of hate those direct links to 40K, especially in the Traitor Legions. The Traitors are supposed to take devastating losses, and lose. If every main Traitor character in the HH shows up in 40K, it sort of defeats the notion that they ever lost. So I was cool to write the Word Bearers with a clean slate, knowing that some of them were gonna croak, and some would go on into the 40K setting we all know, love, and spend a bajillion pounds on. Much less restrictive than the Angels.

 

 

I'd hate to think that our beloved Dark Angels are going to be relegated to secondary treatment because our story gets foisted on authors due to it's previous history. It's not that I think Mike Lee did a bad job on Fallen Angels, it's just that you've given me the impression that if we get a third novel that it will be written by a third author who may or may not tell a decent story.

 

Naw. I mean, just because I regard it as a poisoned chalice doesn't mean I know:

 

1. When there'll be another Dark Angel novel.

2. Who'd be writing it.

3. What it'd be about.

 

I don't know how I came across as giving the impression that it might be written by someone who may not tell a good story with it, but that's not the case, trust me. I just wanted to explain that it's something that I'd be reluctant to touch, for obvious reasons.

 

And remember, "secondary treatment" is a loaded term, dude. The Raven Guard, Iron Hands, White Scars, Ultramarines, Iron Warriors, Night Lords, Imperial Fists, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, World Eaters, and Salamanders have all had a tiny, tiny fraction of the attention that the Dark Angels received so far. Even the Alpha Legion, Thousand Sons, Emperor's Children, Word Bearers and Death Guard have only had one novel each, while the Dark Angels have already had two. That's a lot of fandom crying out for coverage, right there.

[WatchCaptainAzrael]

Well, I'd wager that

soon we'll have another set of fans asking us about another team killing spree we might have had something to do with.

 

Oh, and the Lion does as his namesake would

when faced against a large daemonic bird. :)

 

[Candleshoes]

The Lion Part 2

 

Is now available. My review and thoughts:

 

 

The novella picks up where we left off, the Lion on his way to his arming chamber, while Corswain organizes a counterattack.

 

In the arming chamber are hundreds of weapons for the Lion, some made for him, most taken from the cultures he destroyed, the centerpiece of the collection was a short sword that Luther had given him on acceptance into the Order.

 

Apparently, this was the only affection the Lion allowed himself, the weapons collection.

 

He recollects when he was a boy on Caliban, insubstantial nephilla (daemons) he was able to kill with his bare hands, what no mortal blade or weapon could harm.

 

He chooses to wield 2 hand and a half broadswords from his collection, made by an unknown Caliban craftsman. Their names are Hope and Despair. Edged with a type of crystalline compound, the blades would never need sharpening nor would they break. The Lion had found them being used by one of the Order’s Masters as ceremony blades and had traded for them.

 

“Fight with Pride, Die with Honour.” The Lion says to the wounded.

 

The Lion sees a triangle of buboes on the corpses of his men, and the symbol “struck a chord with his memory”. He orders his dead to be burned.

 

When attacked, he does not wait for an enemy to come to him, but always moves forward to meet them. His swords cut through them like butter – the legionnaires bolt shells have no effect. This gives credence to the fact that the retreat called earlier by Corswain was justified and tactically sound, as there was nothing to be bought in a sacrifice.

 

The Lion moves with 250 men to the main core chamber.

 

Corswain is protecting Lady Fiana the navigator. It mentions that through sheer weight of numbers and heavy energy weapons like lascannons, they are able to fend Daemons off while she recovers from the strain her eye is causing, from using it like a weapon. They take over 50% casualties in the 2 kilometer walk to the engine section.

 

A Keeper of Secrets materializes out of the daemons. No weapon Corswain’s team has can harm it, the navigator’s eye not even causing it to break stride. It turns her energy back on her decimating her physical body. It uses Corswain like a puppet controlling him.

 

This is when, through Corswain, the greater daemon contacts the Lion “It…It wants to speak with you.”

 

Lion breaks through to the engine room and takes in the scene. The Keeper mentally communicates with the Lion, demanding the violence stop, or Corswain will die.

 

The Keeper announces that it has come to the Lion before. The Lion is capable of creating a psychic barrier/shield around himself, think power word shield from WOW. He learned how to do it when fighting in the daemon infested northern wilds of Caliban as a child.

 

“You do not desire power; that much is plain. Your ambition is woefully stunted for one of your abilities. You are happy to let your brothers dwell in the light of your father’s adoration. You even sacrifice your own to stay true to the memory of what once was.”

 

The Keeper speaks of the Emperor in the present tense, which the Lion confirms to himself that the Emperor yet lives – he wasn’t sure due to the warp storms.

 

The Lion, while walking in a circle, manages to take advantage of a line of sight moment and attacks the Keeper. He is able to force energy into his weapons and obliterate the Keeper, who makes the comment “Predictable Fool,” before being taken by surprise with the Lion’s powers.

 

The Invincible Reason translates back into real space. Two days are spent hunting Daemons on the barge.

 

Fiana the navigator survives, but is now aged crone. She has an audience with the primarch, to tell of a theory that the calm surrounding the area in unnatural. She is dismissed.

 

The Lion pushes and pushes the ship to get to Perditus, which they reach 8 days later.

 

The Lion claims that fleet movements were not easy to accomplish through the warp at that time, and that is was this factor alone that they were unable to force a decisive encounter with the Night Lords in Thramas, by the time enough ships could translate to bring sufficient force to bear, the Night Lords would have enough time to flee en masse to escape direct conflict.

 

As his fleet approaches the Mechanicum station on Perditas, the Death Guard and Iron Hands do not receive his hails. It looks like the 2 fleets are dancing in orbit, neither one of them wanting to commit and potentially be decimated. The Lion brings his power to bear and moves his fleet in-between both of them, announcing all hostilities are to cease.

 

The Lion already possesses the intelligence that Manus died at Istvaan and that the Death Guard turned. He won’t take chances with either.

 

The Lion has a conversation with Corsawin, “Whom do you serve?” In it, he brings up the duality for dedication to Primarch and Emperor, some may side with one over the other in this conflict. He begins to speak, then stops, reassuring Corswain to not concern himself with the long view and politics of the earthmovers. “Let the wider burdens sit on my shoulders alone.”

 

Two Iron Hands captains on world see the arrival of the DA as good fortune to break the siege stalemate in the ground war. They use this as a distraction and commit 90% of their forces in a attack against the death guard. They had to make it past a killing field and took heavy losses.

 

It is the Death Guard responsible for the inability to communicate. Typhon attempts to buy time for the Death Guard’s true intentions by counter assaulting the Iron Hands on the ground, and holding up the DA in space. Typhon leads the counter assault with 20 terminators.

 

The Lion transmits a message to every personal com on the planet, cease or die. He stops all in their tracks with his voice.

Both sides retreat from the Dark Angels.

 

It is confirmed that Typhon had been a librarian, before ceasing and only being recognized as first captain. With Nurgle’s help, he casts a cloak over his terminators, to hide them from the gaze of the DA librarians, and then continued to kill the retreating Iron Hands.

 

On the bridge of the Lion’s vessel, 4 Librarians combine their power to communicate the Lion’s voice.

 

The Lion tells Corswain that he warned them (the Death Guard), and let none doubt his authority, that he will destroy the facility they are fighting over.

 

The Lion tells the ships’ captain to launch torpedoes.

 

 

It certainly continues where things seemed to be heading. We get a good glimpse at how chaos affected the young Lion and how he chose to fight it. Interesting items are his "revealed" powers, as well as the information that implies the tactical retreat earlier was done, without a slight on the Seneschal

[The Shadow Guard]

Just finished reading Part 2 of the Lion. I love the direction this story is taking. There are a few areas where depth is lacking or the storyline plunges forward too fast but overall it's damned good. A number of things I gleaned ad liked:

 

 

1. The Lion single handedly kills a Greater Demon of Tzeentch!!!

2. The Lion has psychic potential (some inner strength connects with something in the Greater Demon through his fist and his sword and destroys the Demons) : Sonds like a psychic blast channelled through his sword...

3. The Dark Angels Librarians emply "Weaken Resolve" as the Lion's message is sent to the Death Guard and Iron hands they stop in their tracks. Typhon later realises the psychic work at play and protects his men with a psychic shield/warding and then recommences the attack.

 

 

All in all an excellent read... :) Now have to wait for part three.... :P

 

SG

[Phoebus]

You know, it's interesting looking back at those past conversations.

 

A-D-B mentioned having to use the same characters as a detractor. Gav's take? Address 50% of that problem by just killing one of the main, pre-established characters! :P

 

Good second part to the story, all in all.

 

I think I interpreted a couple of parts differently from Candleshoes, though.

 

 

I don't think they lost 50% of their forces... rather, I think Gav mentions that a significant number of Dark Angels is left behind to guard the areas they've already crossed, since the daemons could appear anywhere, and could cut them off.

 

Also, ...

 

I thought Gav was trying to inject another ruthless moment for the Lion by having him destroy both the Death Guard AND the Iron Hands (and not just the facility), despite the fact that the latter obeyed his directive.

 

 

For the record, though, I hope I'm wrong and he's right on that second one. :)

[Interrogator Stobz]

Just finished reading Part 2 of the Lion. I love the direction this story is taking. There are a few areas where depth is lacking or the storyline plunges forward too fast but overall it's damned good. A number of things I gleaned ad liked:

 

 

1. The Lion single handedly kills a Greater Demon of Tzeentch!!!

2. The Lion has psychic potential (some inner strength connects with something in the Greater Demon through his fist and his sword and destroys the Demons) : Sonds like a psychic blast channelled through his sword...

3. The Dark Angels Librarians emply "Weaken Resolve" as the Lion's message is sent to the Death Guard and Iron hands they stop in their tracks. Typhon later realises the psychic work at play and protects his men with a psychic shield/warding and then recommences the attack.

 

 

All in all an excellent read... :) Now have to wait for part three.... :P

 

SG

number 2. sounds like a

Force Weapon effect

 

I agree the details are great but the style is a little off. It kind of looks like a rough draft anyway due to the occasional grammatical errors etc so when the hard copy hits things might read more smoothly.

 

s

[Marshal Rohr]

Gav is a decent author. FerociousBeast has always been very vocal about GWs inability to please him, so that doesn't surprise me. I'm not a fan of Gav's fantasy elements, all the psychic and supernatural stuff just isn't how I think of 40k but it's a decent short, without a doubt. It's always nice to see the trials and tribulations of the legions who missed out on the Siege, and I especially like the idea of Guilliman building his forces in Ultramar to ride in and save the day, except being Grimdark, they are a few hours short and the shaggy dog gets shot anyway.

[Pavement Artist]

I'm not a fan of Gav's fantasy elements, all the psychic and supernatural stuff just isn't how I think of 40k

 

I would've thought that was one of the elements that makes 40k one of the more unique science fiction properties. It's always worn a fantasy element on it's sleeve.

[Marshal Rohr]

I'm referencing some of Gav and other authors plot elements that seem a little too Wardian. The Feast of Blades being held on a gigantic shifting arena so that it's no longer about pure skill is silly. Having the Genetrch in Deliverance Lost be held in a constantly moving vault. Ideas like these cheapen stories because they seem too much like action movies and less like reality. I prefer realistic stories.

[Brother-Sergeant Bohemond]

what I have heard about this novel makes me hopeful for the outcome of the DA.

 

I love Corswain, like, really love him. I think he will be our version of Sigismund/Abbadon/Jubal etc. One of the best and most famous Marines.

 

What I would like is a book set in the Great Crusade that is all about Corswain and Alajos. That would be a book that would definetly get my money.

[The Shadow Guard]

Just finished reading Part 2 of the Lion. I love the direction this story is taking. There are a few areas where depth is lacking or the storyline plunges forward too fast but overall it's damned good. A number of things I gleaned ad liked:

 

 

1. The Lion single handedly kills a Greater Demon of Tzeentch!!!

2. The Lion has psychic potential (some inner strength connects with something in the Greater Demon through his fist and his sword and destroys the Demons) : Sonds like a psychic blast channelled through his sword...

3. The Dark Angels Librarians emply "Weaken Resolve" as the Lion's message is sent to the Death Guard and Iron hands they stop in their tracks. Typhon later realises the psychic work at play and protects his men with a psychic shield/warding and then recommences the attack.

 

 

All in all an excellent read... :P Now have to wait for part three.... :)

 

SG

number 2. sounds like a

Force Weapon effect

 

I agree the details are great but the style is a little off. It kind of looks like a rough draft anyway due to the occasional grammatical errors etc so when the hard copy hits things might read more smoothly.

 

s

 

 

A number of references to indicate that the Lion does indeed have

latent psychic powers as mentioned by his ability to bring up mental blockade which apparently worked in the mortal realm and also his subsequent unleashing of what appears to be psychic powers through his sword banishing none other than a Greater Demon of Tzeentch... which must have been some mega psychic blast!!!

 

 

SG

[Marshal Rohr]

The Primarchs having latent psychic powers has never really been explored to the extent Gav went here with the Lion. Using a psychic barrier and psychic energy to banish the Daemon seems Librarian-ish. To my knowledge the only Primarch ever mentioned using Psychic powers offensively is Magnus. Kurze and Sanguinius could see the future, yeah, but that doesnt manifest itself tangibly. I guess the whole Corax being invisible is this as well, but thats also by Gav, and also the fantasy element I dont enjoy.

[MadDoc]

I think we need to remember that all the Primarchs are noted as possessing latent psychic ability, part of the Nikaea edict forbade the Primarchs themselves indulging their own psychic talents/abilities (and its fairly evident that the edict wasn't solely directed at Magnus).

 

They've all demonstrated varying degrees of latent/subconscious ability in the series thus far, from Russ' warshout to Corax's "invisibility". The Primarch's aura of authority is also likely an involuntary expression of their psyche (the reaction of the Astra Telepathica members to Dorn in The Outcast Dead is a good indicator of this), and since they're derived from the Emperor's own genetic code its pretty safe to say they're all at least latent psychics.

[Harleqvin]

I have read Angels of Darkness and just finished Descent of Angels and am several chapters into Fallen Angels and before reading Descent or Fallen I had come to this thought

 

That Lion is psychic enabled. It had been more apparent near the end of Descent when they were getting ready to blow the Psyker Bomb they rigged up when Zahariel noticed the Lion looking around at the psychic smoke too. Now from reading the cliffnotes version of part 1 and 2 of The Lion, it's downright slapping people in the face with his ability. :lol:

 

and don't feel bad for me reading it this way. I don't intend on buying an ebook version of something that will eventually be in dead tree form. So it's all cool as I will still buy the Primarchs when it comes out in paperback which should have this whole story in it but I don't mind seeing some of it before hand. Thanks for putting this up, man! Will be looking forward to the third parts cliff notes =D

[Interrogator Stobz]

The Primarchs having latent psychic powers has never really been explored to the extent Gav went here with the Lion.

This to me is one of Gavs strong points, he continually introduces or reinforces the extraordinary.

I like the Chaos pervades the ooniverse in 40000ad much more than now, that seems to indicate the beginning of the end etc. and helps my escapism/doom and gloom fetish.

I do think however his style needs some work. His descriptions are very good and he can bring you into the story well but his plots are too simplistic and predictable for my taste.

 

I'm looking forward to a "dead tree" version too :lol: I'll pay twice for DA reading material any day.

 

s

 

EDIT: BTW have you guys been to The Dark Fortress and seen Belial by Michael? Look down for a snip

[Cactus]

It's possible that

Hope and Despair are force weapons

, or something very similar. If so, I don't think the Lion was aware of this from the description of how he

banishes the demon

.

[FerociousBeast]

Gav is a decent author. FerociousBeast has always been very vocal about GWs inability to please him, so that doesn't surprise me.

I'm vocal about how GW has continually disappointed me the past few years (one reason being, like you, I don't like how much more prevalent swords-n-sorcery fantasy is becoming in the setting). Really since the Black Library and Matt Ward have been shaping our view of the universe and the old guard like Andy Chambers and Rick Priestly faded more and more into the background. But about Gav, I regard his work when he was in the studio very highly. Never forget that he was the one who made the Craftworld Eldar what we know and love today. I just don't think he's a very good novelist.

 

I actually do like his attempts to bring real science or at least a realistic facsimile thereof into his stories. Gav's stories actually feel like sci-fi to me, whereas the stories of writers like McNeill and Abnett feel more like fantasy. So I do appreciate that. It's just that they're so dry. Dull. And I don't care for his take on the Lion in the first part of this story. Haven't yet read part 2.

[Marshal Rohr]

Gav is a decent author. FerociousBeast has always been very vocal about GWs inability to please him, so that doesn't surprise me.

I'm vocal about how GW has continually disappointed me the past few years (one reason being, like you, I don't like how much more prevalent swords-n-sorcery fantasy is becoming in the setting). Really since the Black Library and Matt Ward have been shaping our view of the universe and the old guard like Andy Chambers and Rick Priestly faded more and more into the background. But about Gav, I regard his work when he was in the studio very highly. Never forget that he was the one who made the Craftworld Eldar what we know and love today. I just don't think he's a very good novelist.

 

I actually do like his attempts to bring real science or at least a realistic facsimile thereof into his stories. Gav's stories actually feel like sci-fi to me, whereas the stories of writers like McNeill and Abnett feel more like fantasy. So I do appreciate that. It's just that they're so dry. Dull. And I don't care for his take on the Lion in the first part of this story. Haven't yet read part 2.

 

You and I have always been pretty much entirely in agreement about the overall direction and feel of the chapter, with different opinions on the gritty details and such. I enjoy most of Gav's novel because they entertain me, but the 'transferable sunstance' that can used for online discussions cause more disagreement than they do agreement.

 

For me I enjoy the novels but the Imperial Armor series is what I like most.

[The Shadow Guard]

You guys are truly hard to pelase.. and that is a good thing in terms of maintaining a a high standard of expectation from the 40K and in aprticular Dark Angels community. It can only encourgae writers and games developers to try harder.

 

I got in to 40K in 1998 when the second editionw as in it's sunset years and the thrid about to bloom. There was a tremendous dirth of matrial one could access. Most of the RTB era models were no longer available and so apart from the second edition codexes and any WD you could lay your hands on, as a new comer i was starved of info on the 40K universe.

 

In those days, however, there were a huge number of fan websites that contained all manner of things including history, real and made up, home made codexes etc. That was the main source for me to learn about the 40K universe.

 

Believe it or not a member of this blessed forum mailed out "Dathwing" and "Inquisitor" free of charge to me from the US when he heard how much I was struggling to get info on the dark Angels.!!

 

Now, we have a profusion of novels, novellas and fat codexes as well as forgeworld books to develop the history and the Horus heresy series bringing to life the gods and demigods of the 30th millennium...

 

I for one am glad to have access to any reading material however bad.... and there aren't that many that are abdly written. They may disappoint us individually due to our own expectations of what should be andhow it should be approached.

 

Would I like Abnett and Dembski-Bowden to write all future dark Angel and successor stories? yes! but that doesn't detract from the others. I have really enjoyed every tale by the difeent authors from Angels of Darkness to Descent of Angels to FAllen Angels to Savagae Weapons and now the Lion.... There is a significant amount of time that lapses between each of thsoe books in the 40K universe and the way i see it is that the Liona dn his attitudes and perceptions are changing as time goes by...

 

The storyline in Lion part 2 was great... I would have liked a bit more depth in thed escriptions and character development but that is only a minor weakness, given the limited space for a novella.

 

SG

[FerociousBeast]

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that the Lion clearly uses psychic ability in this story. Now, it wouldn't be unheard of if he did. The primarchs were all psychic in 2nd edition, IIRC. But resisting psychic abilities and killing a daemon does not a psyker make.

[The Shadow Guard]

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that the Lion clearly uses psychic ability in this story. Now, it wouldn't be unheard of if he did. The primarchs were all psychic in 2nd edition, IIRC. But resisting psychic abilities and killing a daemon does not a psyker make.

 

I don't think anyone said that he clearly uses psychic abilities. The key phrase was "latent psychic powers" :)

 

A number of references to indicate that the Lion does indeed have latent psychic powers as mentioned by his ability to bring up mental blockade which apparently worked in the mortal realm and also his subsequent unleashing of what appears to be psychic powers through his sword banishing none other than a Greater Demon of Tzeentch... which must have been some mega psychic blast!!!

 

SG

[WatchCaptainAzrael]

Corteous bump. :)

 

Well,

it seems as if our Primarch may have been manipulated by Chaos to do their bidding unwillingly. He seems to be able to converse with the Watchers, even far from Caliban... And worse still, have an inkling of what exactly is going on with the reserve forces. He also seems content to have a sentient warp device in the bridge of his ship, one that Nurgle had an interest in seeing retrieved no less. And apparently his plan to end the Heresy is to ensure a mutually assured destruction scenario between the Legions; he still believes Horus can be made to repent (not in that sense!), but trusts Guilliman considerably less far than he can throw him. Last time he tried to end the Heresy in one fell swoop he ended up handing over siege tanks to the enemy, and seeing as he may have been manipulated again... We'll have to see how it ends.

 

 

I'll let Candleshoes make cleared, more indepth review, as it's his thread and I just blabbered on to have something more than a bump to occupy database memory.

 

My personal thoughts on the DAs so far... There seem to be a metric ton of storylines emerging faster than the previous ones can be finished. I fear that unless a sizable portion of the HH writings becomes the "saga of the Lion", we'll end up with several half-baked future books.

 

With all these developments though, I'd love it if in the end, the Lion was retconned into being a general for the Watchers and kicking metaphysical Chaos rear between dimensions.. Wanna bet he's disguising himself as Draigo? :)