We must buy a lot of Black Library books...

[FerociousBeast]

Two new Dark Angels stories coming from Black Library soon, Pandorax and Trials of Azrael (Khârn v. Azrael fan service!). This on top of the strangely high number of stories we have in the Horus Heresy series (the Dark Angels have had to be shoehorned into the Heresy narrative due to the sparsity of canon regarding DA involvement in the Heresy and its key events), Gav's recent trilogy, and the Piscina book.

 

We really have no room for complaint! I'm thinking DA books must sell really well for the BL to spend so much time on us.

[marvmoogy]

To be honest, I don't really care why they do it, just so long as they keep it up!!!

[Captain Semper]

I beleive the Pandorax is an Apocalypse Warzone book, similar to Damnos. So not only the Warzone book will be centered on DAs (among others) but it will also be accompanied by a novel by CZ Dunn by the same name AND Trials of Azrael - and Audio Drama themed around the same events - as FerociousBeast pointed out.

Royal treatment, no?

[Master Avoghai]

Well, mr Dunn is the one who wrote the Dark Vengeance short story... Maybe the worst text I've read in 40k universe...

 

Don't know if it's good news but maybe it's good to have something bad rather than nothing :/

[FerociousBeast]

I've never read any of Dunn's stuff, and I've also never bought an audio drama. I don't plan to start either, really. It's been a long time since I was willing to pay $16 for a CD (hi Pandora/Zune/Spotify!), which I feel is the analogy they're trying to draw with the audio drama pricing.

 

Still, though, Azrael v. Khârn is enticing... I know it's an obvious ploy, but it's working!

[Cod]

I admit I've never purchased an audio book before, and am seriously thinking bout getting this one due to Azreal and Khârn being included. Can anyone simply say if they are good quality/value?

[Bryan Blaire]

If they keep printing them, I'll keep buying and reading them! I've never gotten an audio book, but I might have to if there aren't any print versions coming out at any point. :( Either way, woot First Legion!

[Bulweih]

Hey there cousins,

as I own some audiobooks, I thought I'd share my thoughts with you.

 

Value/ cost: It depends really.

The story I like the least is "Thunder from Fenris", due to several reasons -none of those are audio related, mind- , but still I listened to it around 8 times. So I don't feel like having paid too high a price on it.

But I recommend listening to an excerpt when possible. I love the "Prospero Burns" CD and would have liked nothing more than to own "A Thousand Sons", but ultimately found I couldn't stand the readers voice.

 

I'd recommend to give it a try, you do get to hear Azreal and Khârn after all.

 

Hope that helps some.

[Pbenner]

I am excited for the new Apoc Supplement titled Pandorax -  I wonder if this is where the Ares will resurface?  IT's supposed to have some good data sheets for DA players.  *fingers crossed*

 

Paul

[Polythemus]

These look like they could be fun. Ive generally felt that the Historical exploits of d angels havnt been celebrated in sourcebooks to the extent of other chapters, and maybe these books will go some way to correcting that. Beating a bunch of orks is tough to get excited about and seems to be our principal achievement.

Additionally the pandorax warzone was originally released as a part of collectors ed apoc book. Does anyone have any insights about interesting details of this book? The forge world ia campaigns always seemed to look fun in the past but just required so many army types it becomes hard for two people with access to just one army to play out.

 

Additionally there are several audiobooks ive gotten from audible.com as bulweih suggests often the quality of the reader can turn a medium tale into a great one. While a poor reader can simply be a turn off. Based on the amount of kitch likely to be present in the azreal v. Karn story, im not sure if i would get that one, but as i said the quality of the reader makes a difference.

[Larhendiel]

I for one love DA books, when I first picked up RAVENWING title I thought its gonna be so boring and dum but I was nicely suprised, so I soon got Angels of Darkness, The Book Of The Lion and both books from our horus heresy times.

 

I never got a single audiobook or ebook though

[Dark Bjoern]

I admit I've never purchased an audio book before, and am seriously thinking bout getting this one due to Azreal and Khârn being included. Can anyone simply say if they are good quality/value?

I´ve nearly every 40k audiobook BL published. Some are not worth mentioned again (f.e. Bloodquest) others are really fantastic like Labyrith of Sorrow. The DA audiobooks are ok. The Ascention of Balthasar was ok. Malediction was good.

In General the audiobooks are worth listening. And i look Forward to Trails of Azrael.

[EPK]

So do you suppose they will make a paperback of Pandorax (will it go through the trade paperback and than mass market... taking months)? I'm not keen on a $30 hardback and I'm torn even on a $12 ebook. Is there additional content like images and what not that call for the price?

[Augustus]

I wasn't sold on audio dramas. But man..Warmaster...was...so...awesome. Ill be getting these

[Dark Bjoern]

Listen to Veritas Ferrum. That´s awesome. Or the Crimson Fist. Believe me, they´s some of the best.

[Phoebus]

Quantity is not the same as quality, though.  Case in point, while the Heresy-era material and 'Ravenwing' ranged from good to excellent, the 'Dark Vengeance' and 'Pandorax' stuff has been mediocre at best.  I try to be fair and objective in my critique, but in all honesty they're like weak-hearted attempts at a Space Marine Battles novel.  Story decidedly takes a back seat to ham-fisted attempts at inserting whatever model the company its trying to push.  Characterization is limited to some of the shallowest stereotypes I've seen yet.  Dialogue is cliche and trite.  Past events affecting current action are addressed with off-handed single sentences.

 

Frankly, I'd much rather the folks at Black Library and Games Workshop give authors the proper amount of time to write decent stories.  Lest anyone think I have an axe to grind with C.Z. Dunn, his stories show evidence that he's more than capable of writing well.  I simply don't think he's really given much more than a rushed deadline that has nothing to do with a writer's needs and everything to do with meeting an upcoming product release.

 

It's as if the bosses are not willing to consider that marketing and a good story aren't mutually exclusive!

[Captain Semper]

I just ordered Pandorax novel and downloading the Trials of Azrael as I type... Have you already read Pandorax Phoebus?

[Augustus]

Pandorax is no good, Phoebus?

[Phoebus]

I'm more than halfway through it.  It's been a struggle.  I can't really elaborate beyond what I offered above without going into a pointless rant!  :D

I hope 'The Trials of Azrael' is better.  Honestly, it would be a horrific shame if something like a showdown between Khârn and Azrael is done a disservice.

[shintuhadoken]

Having just finished listening to the Trails of Azreal, I would say it is better than the average audio dramas but just seems to miss the point of having three named characters in a book, you epecpt this massive battle that just doesn't happen.

 

Having said that there is some cool insight to Azreal / Supreme Grand Masters roll that I just did even think about, and Khârn does what he does bet,  it was a alright listen.

[FerociousBeast]

Can you provide a spoiler-tagged summary for those who don't intend to buy it?

[shintuhadoken]

I think I can do that for you:

During the Parorax crusade the Imperial ship Revenge is damaged heavily by a chaos ship launching an asteroid at it, then a contingent black legion marines board its floating remains . A fellowship of Gray Knight (led by Caldor Draigo no less) board the ship to fight back, then once Azreal finished the task he was doing asks if they can be of any assistance. He goes to teleport aboard the craft with half of the deathwing when a plague zombie interferes and causes problems with teleport.

Azreal is taken to the ship, far from where he was expected to land and unable to contact ally forces, face to face with Khârn, neither knowing why they had teleported here. A fight breaks out where Azreal is able to land a few good blows before Khârn really starts going to town on him and destroying the room. Azreal is given a chance to end Khârn (in exchange that is will cost him his life), which he doesn’t take instead smashing the floor to try and find the cause of the interference and the reason why he was teleported to help the imperial forces.

After the pair is split by the fall we have a cat and mouse situation where Azreal is searching for the cause of the interference whilst Khârn is searching for Azreal to take his head (just killing everything that he finds along the way).

Putting this in a second spoiler tag as it will spoil the ending of the drama for you if you read it.

The interference is caused by a daemon that was there when Luthor fell, boldly claiming responsibility for his fall. As the daemon is about to attack Azreal, he speaks the daemons true name freezing him to the spot and clearing up the interference.

After revealing that Luthor has told the names of all the daemons to supreme grand masters over the years and they have been preparing to fight them for some time, he teleports away help save a crewman and clear other areas of the ship, whilst leaving the daemon frozen in place for Khârn to deal with.

What I really liked in the story is how they have depicted Khârn, as it just seems spot on to how I’ve pictured him in my mind and how that plays during his hunt. I wasn’t too sure I liked how Azreal was depicted, that is until right at the end where they show a more cunning side and that his combat skills are more than enough to make him the supreme grand master.

[ShadowMaster]

I stand here screaming out my defiance at the end of Pandorax. I really really want the entire book retconned. Maybe I am a :cuss but holy crap of all the vile things WH has put forward that was the worst I've seen. So abrupt, brutal and horrific. golly gee Mr Dunn???

[FerociousBeast]

Details please! Remember spoiler tags for those who will read it.

[Phoebus]

Call this what it is... an extended synopsis.  I've abstained from criticism, because I already voiced my opinion on another forum and I don't want people to think I have some agenda against C.Z. Dunn (I really don't). Click on the spoilers at your own peril. 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The story begins with Junior Interrogator Tzula Digriiz, of the Ordo Malleus, absconding with an athame that had been held in a Tau museum - its keepers being ignorant of the weapon's true nature. The weapon is needed by her master, Inquisitor Mikhail Dinalt, who is searching for the Hellfire Stone - the same artifact that featured in 'Dark Vengeance'. Using lore found in the Hellfire Tome and testimony extracted under torture from a captured Alpha Legionnaire, Inquisitor Dinalt and his retinue arrive on Pythos to find - and destroy, once and for all - the Hellfire Stone, which appears on the Materium only once every forty years.

 

Stranded on the highly dangerous (think 'Jurassic Park') world of Pythos due to logistical constraints is the Catachan 183rd - an armoured regiment. Dinalt requisitions a small party of Catachans to escort him and his followers through the deadly jungles, to where he believes the Hellfire Stone is located.

 

RISING ACTION

 

Unfortunately, Dinalt is not alone in seeking out the Hellfire Stone. Corpulax, a powerful Plague Marine and formerly of the Consecrators Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, is also looking for the unholy artifact. Aided by a traitor within Dinalt's retinue, Corpulax and his fellow Plague Marines get the drop on the Inquisitor and his allies. Corpulax slays the Inquisitor and all but three of his followers, but not before revealing that Dinalt's quest was a fool's errand: the Hellfire Tome and the Alpha Legionnaire's confession were nothing but lures to get Dinalt to do Corpulax's dirty work for him. The Hellfire Stone, he says, is a means to unlock something on Pythos.

 

Aided by the remaining Catachans, Tzula, Liall - an Astropath, and K'cee - a Jokaero, flee back to Atika Hive, where the 183rd is quartered. By the time they've arrived, though, Abaddon and the Black Legion have begun an all-out assault on the planet. The battle for Pythos is already underway.

 

Tzula reveals to the Catachan commander - a Colonel “Death" Strike - of what she has learned from her dead master and Corpulax. With no other hope for reinforcements, it is decided that Liall and a squad of Catachans will fight their way through the hive (it has already been captured by the Black Legion) and gain access to the Astropathic Choir. There, Liall will send out a message for help. The party accepts this task, even though they know (Liall, especially, thanks to his psychic powers) that they're on a suicide mission.

 

The gambit succeeds, but the Catachans ultimately cannot stand against the might of the Chaos Space Marines and their daemonic allies at Atika. Abaddon's arrival signals the Catachan retreat. Strike orders his regiment's tanks aboard sea-going vessels, which are to take them far from Atika.

 

Less than half of the Catachans make it to Olympax. Happily, in the process of doing so the Catachans recover an ancient, abandoned Hellhammer (a Baneblade variant) from the swampy jungles. The good times do not last, though. The traitor in Dinalt's retinue arrives, in disguise, and infiltrates the new Catachan headquarters, which incidentally sat on top of the last of the seven seals that needed to be unlocked before the Black Legion could attain their prize.

 

Tzula fails to stop the infiltrators, who slay the thirteen psykers who had sustained the last seal. They unwittingly release the guardian of that seal, though - a Grey Knight, and not just any Grey Knight:  Epimitheus, one of the original eight Grand Masters of the Grey Knights. With the psykers slain, though, the Damnation Cache - a Warp rift through which a seemingly endless army of daemons can enter the Materium - has been unlocked.

 

Soon after, said army of daemons arrives at Olympax. Epimetheus bests a Lord of Change, but not before the creature hints that the Grey Knight was, in fact, a Fallen Dark Angel prior to being recruited. The theory floating around the internet at this point is that Epimetheus is, in fact, Zahariel from 'Descent of Angels' and 'Fallen Angels'. The idea being that only one Librarian is shown being on Caliban during 'Fallen Angels' - that is, Zahariel - and thus only one Dark Angel Librarian could plausibly qualify as being Fallen; C.Z. Dunn's dedication to Mitch Scanlon and Mike Lee at the end of his novel is used as further evidence of this.

 

The Catachan second-in-command to Strike sacrifices himself (and a Valkyrie) to take out a Bloodthirster.  Nonetheless, victory seems inevitable for the daemons. As such, Strike orders the Catachans to flee to the four corners of the world.

 

It is at this point that Supreme Grand Master Draigo receives word that Pythos is under attack and the Damnation Cache is in danger of being opened.

 

Next, we are shown the situation Battlefleet Demeter is in. Admiral Kranswar is not in a good state. He and his fleet had been fighting a see-saw battle against Abaddon's fleet, when Huron Blackheart arrived at the eleventh hour and forced the Imperials into retreat. Kranswar announces an unimaginative plan for their next battle, one that is anticipated not just by his own subordinates... but by the Black Legionnaires as well. The Imperials are decidedly defeated due to this, and due to the entry of an mined asteroid concealing a cabal of sorcerers who allow daemons to invade Kranswar's flagship.

 

During this time we're introduced to the fourth point of view character, Imperial pilot Shira Hagen. Following some daring attack runs, Shira is engaged by a Helldrake, which eventually forces her to crash-land her fighter on Pythos.

 

Just when all seems lost, the Dark Angels fleet - to include the Rock - arrives and completely routes the Black Legion's fleet. The Deathwing deploy on the enemy asteroid and slaughter the sorcerers aiding the daemons.  At the same time, Space Marines from both Chapters board Kranswar's flagship and re-take it from the daemons infesting it - too late to save the hapless Admiral, though.

 

 

We now discover that Draigo didn't have the manpower available to tackle Pythos, his various Brotherhoods scattered throughout the Galaxy.  ;He calls in an ancient debt the Dark Angels owed to the Grey Knights, but Azrael initially refuses to come to his aid.  It's then implied that Draigo has gained some compromising information about the Dark Angels from a nameless "Traitor Astartes prisoner", and this information is leveraged against Azrael to get him to commit the entire Chapter to this mission. Azrael submits, but demands operational command... which Draigo cedes to him.

 

We also see some interesting tidbits.  The most important one to this forum - and thus why I'm temporarily ceasing spoilers - is that  Interrogator Chaplains carry  redactors. The reason for this - quite a good one, if you ask me, is that they take the Geneseed from every Chaos Space Marine the Dark Angels kill, as able. That way, they can determine if any traitor they kill is actually a Dark Angel - that is, a Fallen.

 

Additionally, Ezekiel and Gabriel (the Grand Master of the Deathwing during this time) seem to know of Kaldor Draigo. This would appear to go contrary to the ongoing theme of secrecy that surrounds the Grey Knights. For his part, Draigo is by no means disturbed that a (for all intents and purposes) Captain and a Chief Librarian know his identity and station.

 

 

Back in Pythos, Colonel Strike and the remnants of the 183rd, with their Hellhammer as their spearhead, wage a guerrilla war against the Black Legion. They join forces with Azrael and Draigo after the Space Marines and their forces come to their rescue during a harrying battle. Not before long, though, the rift between the Dark Angels and the Grey Knights is revealed. Azrael and Draigo cannot agree to a common strategy, and the former will not agree to attack Atika Hive directly while there's a chance that loyal Imperial subjects could be prisoner there. They do agree to place Strike in command of all the reinforcing Imperial Guard regiments.

 

This allegiance, however, means that any doubts Epimetheus had about rejoining with his modern-day brethren are done with:  he can in no way risk coming in close proximity of the Dark Angels.

 

 

THE PLOT THICKENS...

 

Thankfully, during that time Epimetheus finds himself on a mission away from all said parties. He, Tzula, and Shira - whom they rescued from the jungle after her crash - infiltrate Atika Hive and discover exactly what the Black Legion and their Plague Marine allies want there. They learn that there are no loyal citizens left there; all have been turned into Plague Zombies. Additionally, they learn that Huron plans to use a sorcerously concealed ship he hijacked from Battlefleet Demeter to deliver poisoned supplies to the Imperial reinforcements. 

 

Epimetheus sends Tzula back to Strike to inform him of what they have discovered. He and Shira (who acts as his pilot) take the Inquisition team's shuttle and fly to the captured Imperial ship. Epimetheus slaughters enough sorcerers to break the concealing spell, and later duels Huron Blackheart, whom he forces to retreat. The enemy's plot foiled, Epimetheus and Shira return to Pythos and begin an ongoing tag-team campaign against the isolated remnants of the Black legion.

 

Tzula makes her way back to Strike, but on the way there links up with a Catachan squad, which in turn links up with the armored elements of the 183rd, which had last been seen fleeing aboard naval transports to Pythos' ocean. They all arrive in time to rescue the Dark Angels and the Grey Knights, who had been trapped by a massive daemonic attack orchestrated by Abaddon. 

 

Following the battle, Tzula reveals what she knows to the two Supreme Grand Masters. Huron, in turn, reveals to Abaddon that he has found the Grey Knight Grand Master.

 

 

Over the course of two successive battles, the Dark Angels, Grey Knights, and Imperial Guard gain access to the massive (as large as "small nations") caverns below Atika Hive, where the Damnation Cache is located and the Prisoner is kept - a titanic greater daemon of Nurgle that had been entrapped there by the Grey Knights ten millennia ago, to seal the Damnation Cache. Not knowing his name and thus unable to banish him or destroy him, this was the best the Grey Knights could do. Azrael is able to destroy him using an interesting method: he has Tzula open a wound in the daemon's seemingly impregnable hide using the athame, and then fires into the wound a bolt shell tipped with the fragment of the Emperor's armour that was in Gabriel's Crux Terminatus. Draigo is instantly suspicious of Azrael's intents, and warns him that, should he make a play for the athame or cause Tzula to die somehow, he will go to the High Lords of Terra and reveal to them what the Dark Angels keep in the dungeons beneath the Rock.

 

Following the battle, Corpulax is brought before Azrael. The turncoat Concecrator, who has been literally disarmed after battling Balthasar (from 'Balthasar's Ascension' and 'Dark Vengeance'), lays his scorn on the Dark Angels and challenges them to do their worst to him on the Rock. He apparently learned of the Inner Circle and the Hunt from other Fallen, who (surprise surprise) apparently aren't shy about sharing the Dark Angels' secrets with any Chaos Space Marines. He is stunned, though, when Azrael, Gabriel, and Asmodai casually dismiss him and sarcastically query why he considers himself a Fallen. They point out that a turncoat such as himself can never be a Fallen. In their eyes, the Fallen are where they are because they were corrupted by a man they trusted - Luther. By contrast, Corpulax sold out for selfish reasons. The Dark Angels truly want the Fallen to be redeemed in the eyes of the Emperor, and thus will not do Corpulax the honour of listing him among the Fallen.  An interesting insight, to say the least! Corpulax is summarily executed.

 

After this, Azrael and Draigo meet. For once, the two share a comradely moment and shake hands. Draigo announces that the Dark Angels' debt has been paid in full.

 

 

CLIMAX

 

During all this, though, Epimetheus has been lured into an ambush.  The Grey Knight is ambushed by Black Legionnaires aided by Pariahs. Epimetheus becomes the prisoner of Abaddon, who reveals that the Damnation Cache was never his primary objective. What he wanted was the Grey Knight's Geneseed, which he will turn over to Fabius in anticipation of his next Black Crusade. To ensure Epimetheus never escapes, he keeps him in a cell with two Pariahs... and grafts a third one unto his back.

           

 

FALLING ACTION

 

Near the end of the novel, Draigo confronts Azrael. The Grey Knight believes the Dark Angels figured out who Epimetheus was and took him prisoner aboard the Rock (something that obviously never happened). Draigo makes it clear he knows about the Dark Angels capturing the Fallen at this point, and threatens that if he ever finds out Azrael has Epimetheus, that he will hit them with the might of the entire Grey Knights Chapter.

 

At the end, we find out that Tzula has been given governorship over Pythos, to ensure the Damnation Cache is never threatened again. Imperial forces are also stationed there. The 183rd are mindwiped so they won't remember the Grey Knights (ironic, given that when Azrael gave his pre-battle speech and mentioned the Grey Knights, the assembled regiments of the Guard sure seemed to be familiar with them...).

 

 

And there you have it!