Abaddon, on A D-B's blog

[Kol Saresk]

But the archive could have been made by the editors or anyone else who is intimately familiar with the 40K background. It doesn't necessarily have to be an author, just someone who knows how to articulate words and has an understanding of the material to the point that he/she can put themselves into Abaddon's shoes and write out his viewpoint in a general medium-form.

[Xenith]

...someone who knows how to articulate words and has an understanding of the material to the point that he/she can put themselves into Abaddon's shoes and write out his viewpoint in a general medium-form.

 

The very definition of an author, no? ;)

[Kol Saresk]

Huh. Maybe I should get a paycheck from BL then or something.

[Xenith]

Huh. Maybe I should get a paycheck from BL then or something.

 

Why not? They accept submissions, occasionally:

 

http://www.blacklibrary.com/Getting-Started/FAQ-Working-For-Black-Library.html#guidelines

[Pavement Artist]

I imagine it's from Alan Merrett, he of the eternal IP

[lokkorex]

Mat Ward

 

Thats why he needed the cup of tea

*shivers*

 

some things you shouldn't joke about M2C, damnit!

[A D-B]

By the gods. A thread.

 

But the archive could have been made by the editors or anyone else who is intimately familiar with the 40K background. It doesn't necessarily have to be an author, just someone who knows how to articulate words and has an understanding of the material to the point that he/she can put themselves into Abaddon's shoes and write out his viewpoint in a general medium-form.

 

Naw, it's my archive rather than one that was made for me. It's made up of Chaos-related discussion between over the last two years, from emails between me, Gav, John (French), Alan Merrett, and Alan Bligh. I've talked to other people (you honestly think I'd jump into a project like this without cornering the redoubtable Phil Kelly, beer in hand, at least once?) but those are the people whose emails-back-and-forth have gone into the mighty Word.doc.

 

Not counting published work, etc.

[Kol Saresk]

Ah, fair enough. Thanks for the explanation.

[Greyall]

Is this view on Abby "old"? If so, how come has it been kept buried for so long? Lack of opportunity doesn't cut, since there have been numerous codici. And it's not like 40K is shy of making their characters complex, most of them have some sort of trait or irony-fueled flaw.

 

Not criticizing, it's just a real pity since those few paragraphs make a tremendous difference on the way Abaddon is perceived. For instance, applying the ebb and flow of Chaos to his humours and self-confidence so that one can't tell who's controlling who is genius.

 

On that matter, and though it might not make for such an easy-selling book, I'd really like for a story of the Black Legion series to cover one of those downer-phases, Abaddon seeing the rise of other champions who come really close to taking his place. Something that left us wondering what made a god of battle like Abby lose his edge - was it him, all the pressure of succeeding his father, leading so many different crazies, etc. Or was it just a matter of the Gods taking away their blessings?

[Vesper]

 

(...) and Alan Bligh.

 

 

 

Tell him I dream about Forge World making an IA book about one of Abaddon's Black Crusades. TELL HIM !

[Sception]

 

 

(...) and Alan Bligh.

 

 

 

Tell him I dream about Forge World making an IA book about one of Abaddon's Black Crusade. TELL HIM !

 

I know, right?  I would buy the hell out of that.

[Ace Debonair]

Holy on a , that stuff in the first post was incredible.

[daveNYC]

Is this view on Abby "old"? If so, how come has it been kept buried for so long? Lack of opportunity doesn't cut, since there have been numerous codici. And it's not like 40K is shy of making their characters complex, most of them have some sort of trait or irony-fueled flaw.

 

Not criticizing, it's just a real pity since those few paragraphs make a tremendous difference on the way Abaddon is perceived. For instance, applying the ebb and flow of Chaos to his humours and self-confidence so that one can't tell who's controlling who is genius.

 

On that matter, and though it might not make for such an easy-selling book, I'd really like for a story of the Black Legion series to cover one of those downer-phases, Abaddon seeing the rise of other champions who come really close to taking his place. Something that left us wondering what made a god of battle like Abby lose his edge - was it him, all the pressure of succeeding his father, leading so many different crazies, etc. Or was it just a matter of the Gods taking away their blessings?

 

I believe that Ahriman: Exile (AKA: How Ahriman Got His Groove Back) had a somewhat similar thing going on.  I'd be more than happy to pay cash money for a Game of Thrones type plot.

[Wade Garrett]

Guys, this is ABD writing an Abaddon/Black Legion trilogy.

Consider what Talos and the Night Lords went through, or Lorgar and the Word Bearers, even Hyperion and the Grey Knights.

I highly doubt things will be as cut and dried as the Sons of Horus retreating to the Eye, Abaddon waltzing around pimp slapping all the other Legions until they knowledge his awesomeness, and then strutting off into the sunset as his theme music plays.

Who is the man, burning Terra just the way we planned?
Abaddon!
Abaddon the Despoiler.

Who is the man, Talon of Horus on his slapping hand?
Abaddon!
Abaddon the Despoiler.

Some people say Abaddon is the new Warma...hush yo mouth!
I'm just talking about Abaddon.

Sorry. Got distracted there for a second.
My gut tells me we'll see Abby in both victory and defeat, triumph and tragedy, king of the world and so low worms have to step over him.

[Vesper]

Of course. That's the reason it's going to be great.

[Brother Captain Andrew]

Well that just happened. i am in no way a fan of chaos but great bad guys are essential to a great universe and i can honestly say that this is the first concise portrayal that made me think of abbadon as anything other than a monster angry at the failure of his father. I've always found it difficult to follow the bad guys as the protagonist of a book, however I think this novel will be my first attempt to do so in quite some time. 

[bloodhound23]

This is amazing. A D-B, glad to hear your personal explanation. Totally makes Abbadon's character fit into the character of the 40k universe (as it has been shaped by the Heresy/30k novels)

 

Edit: Intoxicated and did not read the full post. A D-B did not write. I feel dumb.

[Xenith]

Who is the man, burning Terra just the way we planned?

Abaddon!

Abaddon the Despoiler.

 

Who is the man, Talon of Horus on his slapping hand?

Abaddon!

Abaddon the Despoiler.

 

Some people say Abaddon is the new Warma...hush yo mouth!

I'm just talking about Abaddon.

 

That would be a good opening chorus for a Abby book.

 

This is amazing. A D-B, glad to hear your personal explanation. Totally makes Abbadon's character fit into the character of the 40k universe (as it has been shaped by the Heresy/30k novels)

 

Ack, he didn't write it! Read the rest of the words in the post for context.

[Kol Saresk]

 

 

But the archive could have been made by the editors or anyone else who is intimately familiar with the 40K background. It doesn't necessarily have to be an author, just someone who knows how to articulate words and has an understanding of the material to the point that he/she can put themselves into Abaddon's shoes and write out his viewpoint in a general medium-form.

Naw, it's my archive rather than one that was made for me. It's made up of Chaos-related discussion between over the last two years, from emails between me, Gav, John (French), Alan Merrett, and Alan Bligh. I've talked to other people (you honestly think I'd jump into a project like this without cornering the redoubtable Phil Kelly, beer in hand, at least once?) but those are the people whose emails-back-and-forth have gone into the mighty Word.doc.

 

Not counting published work, etc.

And it doesn't get more explicit than that. Even if this is just a summation of all the parts, then A D-B is a coauthor rather than the author.

[Xenith]

I swear by the gods old and the new, read the full post, and not just the passage:

 

 So, here. These aren’t my words – they’re from The Archive to End All Archives. 

 

I've underlined, bolded, made cyan and put into comic sans (just to offend all sensibilities) the relevant few words.

 

An archive is a collection of references relating to a specific topic. ADB made the archive, as in he collated and digested the individual archive entries, but he did not write every single one.

 

That's like saying the guy that owns wikipedia wrote the whole thing himself.

 

Anyway, enough on that. I'm just a fan of proper citation.

 

I wouldn't like my work accredited to someone else, and I'm sure others wouldn't like my work accredited to them.

[Kol Saresk]

Yes, and if the thing written in question is not a sourceable material, then it is most likely a profile based on what is in the archive. If the profile is made by the archive and the archive is made by A D-B, then the profile is made by the person who created the archive: A D-B. Otherwise, wouldn't he have said "This is just one of those e-mails"?

[Sception]

"These aren't my words". Doesn't get more explicit than that.

[Wade Garrett]

The real questions are:

 

Were Archive Priests banned by the edict of Nikea?

 

Could the Archive have cut Russ's head off before the Wolf Guard opened fire?

 

Did the Archive tell Lorgar to stop worshipping and get to conquering before Monarchia?

[Xenith]

 

 

That is stated in the blog post, which I would thoroughly encourage you to read:

 

Otherwise, wouldn't he have said "This is just one of those e-mails"?

 
When you combine that sentence with:

 

here’s something from one of the longer back-and-forth barrages,

 
One can surmise that  (unless ADB has acute schizophrenia/split personality syndrome and has actually been emailing his alter ego) someone other than ADB was at the other end of that email conversation.
 
The email is between two people. The extract was one of those emails in a conversation ABD explicitly stated that he did not write it, therefore someone else did.
 
Q.E.D.

These aren't my words

 

 

 
Actually discussing the prose, it's a very good insight into how fine the line Abaddon treads is. Admittedly, it's nothing new: the path that a champion of Chaos treads is littered with the spawn of those who have failed.

 

Some with the ultimate goal of daemon prince-dom are still bound to slavery by their patron, even though they retain some measure of independance. For example, Be'Lakor became a prince, but his big head saw Tzeentch take them from under him when he grew too arrogant.

 

Becoming a daemon, even a prince, renders you as a shard of a greater power's will, and you damn yourself to eternal servitude.

 

 

An analogy that has just come to me is Jafaar at the end of Aladdin [spoilers :P] :

 

He dreams of ultimate power, and is ultimately granted it by a genie, but then is constrained by the shakles of the genie.

 

What he should have wished for is the power to make and control other genies. To be above them, beyond them. Or simply to be master of the corporeal realm.

 

Abaddon is playing a game of cosmic deal or no-deal. He could cash in his chips and accept the Bankers' offer of daemonhood at any time, and take himself out of the game for a certain amount, or go on to play for bigger money.

 

He is prepared to risk everything, crossing out the low value boxes of his destiny as he goes, hoping, praying that when it comes down to it, either he or the Emperor have the £250,000 box, and he makes the right decision, and walks away with the prize.