Iron Father Ferrum Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Atlas Infernal and Ahriman exile are good Eh. Atlas Infernal kind of dragged on; it definitely had some pacing issues. Ahriman: Exile, on the other hand, was a great character study of how the conscientious Librarian from A Thousand Sons became the obsessed, ruthless son of a :cuss that almost breaks into the Black Library during the 13th Black Crusade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyaenidae Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I liked Atlas Infernal quite a bit. Finding out a bit more about the Relictors fate was pretty cool. Also, after three attempted restarts, and making it no farther than a quarter way through the book, I'm going to have to file Siege of Castellax as utterly unreadable. For me, this is stunning, as I can usually truck through even the worst books, in an attempt to dig up even the tiniest bits of fluff. Avoid at all costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaeron Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Atlas Infernal and Ahriman exile are good Eh. Atlas Infernal kind of dragged on; it definitely had some pacing issues. Ahriman: Exile, on the other hand, was a great character study of how the conscientious Librarian from A Thousand Sons became the obsessed, ruthless son of a that almost breaks into the Black Library during the 13th Black Crusade. I thought Exile was a slow burner, and only probably 150+ pages in did it start to pick up. It was enjoyable overall, but clearly pacing was a problem imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jareddm Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Atlas Infernal and Ahriman exile are good Eh. Atlas Infernal kind of dragged on; it definitely had some pacing issues. Ahriman: Exile, on the other hand, was a great character study of how the conscientious Librarian from A Thousand Sons became the obsessed, ruthless son of a that almost breaks into the Black Library during the 13th Black Crusade. I thought Exile was a slow burner, and only probably 150+ pages in did it start to pick up. It was enjoyable overall, but clearly pacing was a problem imho. I agree. I had a lot of difficulty getting through the the early part of the book. Mainly because it kept bugging me that I couldn't even figure out what millennium it was even supposed to take place in. But once Ahriman started getting himself together, I really started to enjoy it more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormborn Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Filthy zenos I know but have to say really like Andy Chambers Dark Eldar series and would recommend it to anyone looking for a 40K novel, although I do now feel the desire to start a Dark Eldar army. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelPaladin Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I've been impatiently waiting for my copy of Path of the Archon to get here all month. Actually I'm starting to get worried, it was shipped March 25th, and still isn't here yet. Hmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plague Angel Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I've seen different opinions around in my time, but this thread's proceeding nicely, so I'll ask here: Nick Kyme's Salamanders novels. Pick them up or pass them by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flint13 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 @ Plague Angel - Depends... They start out pretty darn good. I believe (though don't quote me on it) the first in the Tome of Fire trilogy was one of Kyme's first books. I was a big fan. The second isn't bad, but the third just drags and drags. It's a tad upsetting to see a series with such promise kinda nosedive at the very end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Father Ferrum Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I've seen different opinions around in my time, but this thread's proceeding nicely, so I'll ask here: Nick Kyme's Salamanders novels. Pick them up or pass them by? I didn't like them, for one reason: racism between members of a Chapter. Space Marines have emotions (except mine) and they have personalities, which mean things will get heated between battle brothers and sometimes they clash. But the members of a Chapter are battle brothers; they may squabble a bit, but blood is thicker than water. Gag me for saying this, but McNeill did this concept right in his Ventris novels. Ventris and Learchus don't like each other and barely get along, but they will operate together because duty and honor demand it. Meanwhile, in the Tome of Fire Trilogy, you've got a Veteran Sergeant who despises and has nothing but contempt for the main character because of where on Nocturne he was born, and a weaselly, conniving toad of a Salamander who reminded me intensely of Grima Wormtongue. Which is most certainly not the kind of person who should make it through screening to become a Space Marine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Garrett Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I've seen different opinions around in my time, but this thread's proceeding nicely, so I'll ask here: Nick Kyme's Salamanders novels. Pick them up or pass them by? I didn't like them, for one reason: racism between members of a Chapter. Space Marines have emotions (except mine) and they have personalities, which mean things will get heated between battle brothers and sometimes they clash. But the members of a Chapter are battle brothers; they may squabble a bit, but blood is thicker than water. Gag me for saying this, but McNeill did this concept right in his Ventris novels. Ventris and Learchus don't like each other and barely get along, but they will operate together because duty and honor demand it. Meanwhile, in the Tome of Fire Trilogy, you've got a Veteran Sergeant who despises and has nothing but contempt for the main character because of where on Nocturne he was born, and a weaselly, conniving toad of a Salamander who reminded me intensely of Grima Wormtongue. Which is most certainly not the kind of person who should make it through screening to become a Space Marine. The Alpha Legion, the Night Lords, and Erebus beg to differ. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Father Ferrum Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 There's a difference, Wade, between "Quick, Mr. Primarch! Round up your best 100,000 friends so we can build an army!" and "You're going to be a scout for about fifty years before we let you even touch power armor, boy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sothalor Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I've seen different opinions around in my time, but this thread's proceeding nicely, so I'll ask here: Nick Kyme's Salamanders novels. Pick them up or pass them by? I have to say pass. The first book was acceptable: the action scenes were decent, the pacing was alright. I wasn't entirely convinced by the characters, and a lot of the dialogue fell flat for me, but I thought "Okay, it wasn't phenomenal, but I'll see where it goes." I horribly regretted spending money on the second book. Horrible pacing, utterly forgettable characters, unconvincing motivations, terrible dialogue. I've never bothered with the third book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plague Angel Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Did he do better with the Heresy-era stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Garrett Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Did he do better with the Heresy-era stuff? That depends. Would you define "Vulkan, allegedly the most humane and compassionate Primarch, learns the human inhabitants of the planet his Legion is trying to bring into Compliance were defended from Dark eldar raids by Craftworld eldar...so he kills them all." as better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quixus Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 "You're going to be a scout for about fifty years before we let you even touch power armor, boy."50 years as a scout? Isn't the black carapace which enables the use of power armor implanted at age 16-18? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Father Ferrum Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 "You're going to be a scout for about fifty years before we let you even touch power armor, boy."50 years as a scout? Isn't the black carapace which enables the use of power armor implanted at age 16-18? I had the mental capacity and coordination needed to drive a car by the time I was ten or twelve. Doesn't mean they'd let me drive one, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plague Angel Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Did he do better with the Heresy-era stuff? That depends. Would you define "Vulkan, allegedly the most humane and compassionate Primarch, learns the human inhabitants of the planet his Legion is trying to bring into Compliance were defended from Dark eldar raids by Craftworld eldar...so he kills them all." as better? In a "wow I have to see this" Plan 9 From Outer Space sort of way, sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Garrett Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Then you want Mr. Kyme's novella Promethean Sun . I wish I was being sarcasticly misleading about why the Drake has the planet torched, but nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sothalor Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Vulkan Lives has Curze carving up Vulkan's heart with a spork, if that makes you feel any better. Because who needs nuanced character elements or subtlety when you can go full-on comic supervillainy? And loads of narrative exposition telling you about character motivations instead of showing them through action and dialogue and all that craft of writing bunk. *Sigh* In my opinion Kyme, incredibly, seems to be getting worse at writing the more he does it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quixus Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I had the mental capacity and coordination needed to drive a car by the time I was ten or twelve. Doesn't mean they'd let me drive one, though.Besides Scout sergeants, which are full space marines, I have never heard about 50+ year old scouts. Please, enlighten me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Father Ferrum Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 It's hyperbole for the sake of argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight of the Raven Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I don't remember whether it's the second or third book, or even if it's both, but I got a theme overdose from the Tome of Fire trilogy. LIKE THE VOLCANO, BROTHERS!LIKE THE HAMMER!UPON THE ANVIL!HARD AS A MOUNTAIN, BRETHREN!HOT AS LAVA!BURN HOTTER THAN FIRE!VOLCANOHAMMERMOUNTAINANVILLAVAROCKHAMMERANVILFIREFIRE! Including the narration. Firedrake did have an awesome line though. Elysius' "Are you done?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jareddm Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Unfortunately, Kyme is one of the authors that I avoid whenever possible, and I shudder when I know he's covering a HH book. I have yet to read one piece from him that I could judge above 'fair' or not consider as almost completely forgettable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormborn Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Unfortunately, ADB, Dan Abnett & Andy Chambers can't write everything for BL. But a lot of big franchise spin off novels have that problem Timothy Zahn wrote some awesome Star Wars novels unfortunately Del Ray also chose some horrendous authors. The sheer amount of stuff that gets put out does mean that the likes of BL & Del Ray aren't able to use the next shakespear just someone who can turnout 300 pages of words that keep vaguely within credibility and fluff/canon. Ideally I wouldn't pick up a novel by Nick Kyme, Graham McNeil or Gav Thorpe but sometimes you have to just so you can stay on top of a story arc, the good thing about this is that when ADB, Dan Abnett, Andy Chambers or Timothy Zahn release a novel I appreciate it that little bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plague Angel Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Guy Haley's moving fast up my list as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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