Gav's next Dark Angels novel out in June

[FerociousBeast]

http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/master-of-sanctity.html

 

Master of Sanctity, starring "And They Shall Know No Laughter" himself.

[Dark_Master]

Cool,

 

Although "Interrogator-Chaplain Asmodai sees treachery and deceit everywhere he turns" sounds like a serious case of paranoia.

 

I know he's always been hardcore but with the latest codex/books GW seem to want to turn him into a nutter with serious paranoia issues.

 

Would he really have got so high in the chapters structure? Seems to be a bit of a loose cannon.

 

DM

[Isiah]

Nope - seems made for the job :p

 

Looking forwards to seeing him in print. I wonder if he'll have a power sword?

 

Cheers

I

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail

 

Hmm. Has anyone read the first instalment in the series - "Ravenwing"?

 

I am currently reading Gav Thorpe's "Deliverance Lost", and it is without doubt one of the worst books in the HH series. I am aghast. I have often dished Gav Thorpe's pieces of "litterature", though I do admit to liking his "Eldar Path" series. But everything else I have read from his hand "Deliverance Lost", "Raven's Flight", "Call of the Lion", "Purging of Kadillus"...brr...I shiver with discomfort. So much potential. So much wasted.

 

Regards,

Master Ciaphas

[Brother dean]

While I agree that Gav is less than stellar, he is better than most of the others...  Mitchel Scanlon and Mike Lee are butchers...

 

Graham McNeill, A D-B and Dan Abnett are the only ones who have done us justice..

[Terrahawk]

Hail

 

Hmm. Has anyone read the first instalment in the series - "Ravenwing"?

 

I am currently reading Gav Thorpe's "Deliverance Lost", and it is without doubt one of the worst books in the HH series. I am aghast. I have often dished Gav Thorpe's pieces of "litterature", though I do admit to liking his "Eldar Path" series. But everything else I have read from his hand "Deliverance Lost", "Raven's Flight", "Call of the Lion", "Purging of Kadillus"...brr...I shiver with discomfort. So much potential. So much wasted.

 

Regards,

Master Ciaphas

 

Aside from a few background-related hiccups, I really enjoyed Ravenwing. And I'm also not a very big fan of his work in general, outside of his Warhammer Elven books.

 

In my opinion perhaps his best work to date. So yeah, I'm going to be picking up Master of Sanctity. Rad cover by the way!

[aura_enchanted]

While I agree that Gav is less than stellar, he is better than most of the others... Mitchel Scanlon and Mike Lee are butchers...

 

Graham McNeill, A D-B and Dan Abnett are the only ones who have done us justice..

While we're on topic Ben counter is fos too

[[TA]Typher]

Except for the fact that he didn't spell it out well enough for those people that couldn't read between the lines that Astelan was corrupt, I though Angels of Darkness was pretty good.

But the other poster is right, save for ferrus's neanderthalic protrayal in fulgrim DL was the worst book written for black library

[Cyfax]

Good to hear a date for the second novel, been waiting a while for it now. I can't say I share the dislike of Gav Thorpe, I quite enjoyed Ravenwing, Purging of Kadillus and Angels of Darkness.

I will most definitely be buying Master of Sanctity, looking forward to it

[plasmaspam]

 

Hail

 

Hmm. Has anyone read the first instalment in the series - "Ravenwing"?

 

I am currently reading Gav Thorpe's "Deliverance Lost", and it is without doubt one of the worst books in the HH series. I am aghast. I have often dished Gav Thorpe's pieces of "litterature", though I do admit to liking his "Eldar Path" series. But everything else I have read from his hand "Deliverance Lost", "Raven's Flight", "Call of the Lion", "Purging of Kadillus"...brr...I shiver with discomfort. So much potential. So much wasted.

 

Regards,

Master Ciaphas

 

Aside from a few background-related hiccups, I really enjoyed Ravenwing. And I'm also not a very big fan of his work in general, outside of his Warhammer Elven books.

 

In my opinion perhaps his best work to date. So yeah, I'm going to be picking up Master of Sanctity. Rad cover by the way!

 

i'm the same - Thorpe's Time of Legends books were great.  However, whilst I really enjoyed "Angels of Darkness", for me he never really "gotten" the DA.  I took from "Ravenwing" that your standard Greenwing Astartes has no idea of Chaos at all, which I neither like as idea nor believe stands up as an in-universe idea.  Will still buy the book to see how the story progresses, but will be tuning out on any fluff retcons.

[Brother-Sergeant Bohemond]

Apart from a few background blips, as noted by previous posters, overall Ravenwing was a good read with a decent plot and some good action scenes. I am looking forward to Master of Sanctity. 

 

For those questioning Asmodai's paranoia,....weeeellll...theres a reason Sapphon is GM of the Chaplains :P

[Azoriel]

So the title of the book is Master of Sanctity, a title which goes to the head Chaplain of an entire chapter.  Yet, the story is from Asmodai's PoV.  Does this imply that Sapphon is kaput now?  o.O

[Cyfax]

I had actually hoped this novel would reveal more about the mysterious Sapphon, but we'll just have to wait and see. I guess if Sapphon was to be removed from the fluff they'd have done it in the 6th edition codex already, so couldn't hurt to get some more information about him.

[Reynolds]

Truth be told; Gav has always done a superb job in the field of the High Elves in WHF. Hence I was shocked and pleasantly surprised as he did the original Angels of Darkness back in the day. I was fascinated by his storytelling though as the HH series kicked off, as there was a tick there that did strike a chord in me, that he didn't otherwise show in his Elven stories.
 
In my opinion the Angels of Darkness is one of his most staple pieces of writing in 40k, even to this day. He doesn't explain or spell it out to the reader what goes down behind the lines of the puppet theater; in his novels. He gives the presumption of the truth, but not the real truth. His, in a way, deceitful storytelling appeals to me in a good way. You need to have the skills(and paranoia) of an Interrogator Chaplain in order to scrutinize why everyone is reacting and in which way to what.
 
- But it's not everyone's cup of tea, and he emphasizes this way of storytelling in the novels of the Dark Angels a lot.
 

Having said all that... I am waiting with great eagerness what will come out of Asmodai, in his hands, as he is one of my all-time-favorite characters in our storyline. However...  

 

 

I am more so troubled by the fact that if there are references or quotes towards Boreas in the new book.
- It was... weird to see him in Purging of Kadillus, before the happenings of Angels of Darkness. Cutting out the speculation at this stage, but this "Master of Sanctity", I await with dread(just like I did in the case of Ravenwing, as it was coming out).

 

[Aegnor]

Ravenwing was pretty good, but not without a few issues.

Sammael seemed seriously stupid. Worst moment is when he actually forgets at one point that they are ultimately chasing Cypher and has to be reminded by the Chaplain with him!

[Terrahawk]

Hail

Hmm. Has anyone read the first instalment in the series - "Ravenwing"?

I am currently reading Gav Thorpe's "Deliverance Lost", and it is without doubt one of the worst books in the HH series. I am aghast. I have often dished Gav Thorpe's pieces of "litterature", though I do admit to liking his "Eldar Path" series. But everything else I have read from his hand "Deliverance Lost", "Raven's Flight", "Call of the Lion", "Purging of Kadillus"...brr...I shiver with discomfort. So much potential. So much wasted.

Regards,

Master Ciaphas

Aside from a few background-related hiccups, I really enjoyed Ravenwing. And I'm also not a very big fan of his work in general, outside of his Warhammer Elven books.

In my opinion perhaps his best work to date. So yeah, I'm going to be picking up Master of Sanctity. Rad cover by the way!

i'm the same - Thorpe's Time of Legends books were great. However, whilst I really enjoyed "Angels of Darkness", for me he never really "gotten" the DA. I took from "Ravenwing" that your standard Greenwing Astartes has no idea of Chaos at all, which I neither like as idea nor believe stands up as an in-universe idea. Will still buy the book to see how the story progresses, but will be tuning out on any fluff retcons.

That was actually one of the things that really bugged me too while I was reading the novel, so definitely on the same page here.

Members of the Battle Companies were depicted at times as completely clueless, which in turn made them feel less like Astartes and more like cannon fodder. I think a single Space Marine is always a hero of mythical proportions, and it often didn't feel like this at all. The way I see the background, is that while the secret of the Fallen is kept from those not of the Inner Circle, other stuff is obviously shared between the brethren of the Chapter. Greenwing that is not aware of the Heresy at all, or the Traitor Legions in general, is really not my cup of tea. Your mileage may wary though, and I know some might like the idea that the Battle Companies are kept in the dark about pretty much everything in general.

But despite my preferences and these kind of details not lining up, I did enjoy the novel.

[Chaplain Lucifer]

Even if it's not stellar, it shows that DA still is alive. Many people say we get the shaft, etc, etc. But the truth is we regularly get fiction featuring the DA. Apart from HH I don't think there's a First founding with so much dedicated literature as us.

[Cpt_Reaper]

ahem...

[Brother-Sergeant Bohemond]

Ultras have a large series of books I think Chaplain Lucifer.

 

That said, DA have never got the shaft. We have the best, most detailed minis outside of the Eldar, more dedicated literature than most other Chapters, including the First Founding, our own Codex and the best Terminators and Bikes. We are just a really hard crowd to please, I guess.

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

I really disliked Ravenwing. It read like a shopping list of "what to buy because the new codex is out btw, omg", coupled with names that could come straight from the Ultramarines and grammar structure like Thorpe had been binging on Rome or Spartacus.

Adding to this, the story felt rather weak and really artificial to me.

I'm not holding my breath for the next one, although I enjoyed a few of Thorpe's other works. Still, here's fingers crossed.

[FerociousBeast]

plasmaspam - i'm the same - Thorpe's Time of Legends books were great.  However, whilst I really enjoyed "Angels of Darkness", for me he never really "gotten" the DA.  I took from "Ravenwing" that your standard Greenwing Astartes has no idea of Chaos at all, which I neither like as idea nor believe stands up as an in-universe idea.  Will still buy the book to see how the story progresses, but will be tuning out on any fluff retcons.

 

Actually, as a fan of old skool Rogue Trader and 2nd edition fluff, I prefer this vision of 40k, where ignorance is rampant, Chaos is poorly understood by all but the most experienced Ordo Malleus inquisitors, and those who come too close to it get mind-wiped or summarily executed. 2nd edition fluff is dystopian and Lovecraftian while today's is video game.

 

However, it IS seriously out of step with the approach taken by every other 40k writer these days, so it was jarring in a bad way to read in Ravenwing.

 

So while I would have preferred that the flock of BL writers had kept themselves more closely aligned with the glorious, horrible vision of Rick Priestly, Andy Chambers, and John Blanche, they didn't, and Thorpe should therefore align himself with the much more prosaic, heroic, and frankly boring vision of Abnett, McNeill, et al when writing within their setting.

 

About Thorpe himself, while I've not really enjoyed a single one of his marine novels (and that includes Angels of Darkness, though I agree that it's a must-read for fans of not just the Unforgiven but for 40k), I hate it when people say he's a useless writer or should be fired or something. The Eldar we know and love today are Thorpe's vision. He has done a fantastic job with them.

[Brother-Sergeant Bohemond]

plasmaspam has a point. Astartes not knowing how to fight Chaos is tactically stupid. I don't say they need to understand it that much but the fact they don't even know there are some traitors out there and this is how you kill them doesn't really make sense. The Imperium would have collapsed if they had no knowledge about Chaos in the rank and file.

 

But if they were Guard...it would make loads of sense.

 

All that aside, my biggest concern is that they may delete Sapphon. I'd rather have had a book from his perspective than Asmodai, tbqh, as hes an under-developed character who is, actually, more important than Asmodai in the background. I hope he actually features, though, and gets some buttkicking time (without dying)

[Saphrael]

Even if it's not stellar, it shows that DA still is alive. Many people say we get the shaft, etc, etc. But the truth is we regularly get fiction featuring the DA. Apart from HH I don't think there's a First founding with so much dedicated literature as us.

 

I think that's the thrust of most DA fan's complaints (mine included). We're written about so prolifically and have arguably one of the more evocative legion background/themes, and yet there is so little in our fiction that lives up to its potential. I'd posit that Gav is one of the chief perpetrators of this problem, not just because of his sub-par writing, but because he seems to hog the DA writing agenda.

 

Take a look at how far the Night Lords have come under ADB's direction from a background/character development perspective and you'll see what DA fans would like to see for our legion/chapter. Quality, not quantity.

[Marshal Rohr]

 

Even if it's not stellar, it shows that DA still is alive. Many people say we get the shaft, etc, etc. But the truth is we regularly get fiction featuring the DA. Apart from HH I don't think there's a First founding with so much dedicated literature as us.

 

I think that's the thrust of most DA fan's complaints (mine included). We're written about so prolifically and have arguably one of the more evocative legion background/themes, and yet there is so little in our fiction that lives up to its potential. I'd posit that Gav is one of the chief perpetrators of this problem, not just because of his sub-par writing, but because he seems to hog the DA writing agenda.

Take a look at how far the Night Lords have come under ADB's direction from a background/character development perspective and you'll see what DA fans would like to see for our legion/chapter. Quality, not quantity.

There are a few people who hold Savage Weapons as the best piece of DA lore around. Myself included.

[Saphrael]

 

 



There are a few people who hold Savage Weapons as the best piece of DA lore around. Myself included.

 

I'm confused, are you agreeing with me? The content of your post would suggest you are, but the tone does not.

 

I would agree it's one of the better written pieces of DA lore out there, followed by the Lion's representation in Prince of Crows. In fact, I'd argue that the Prince of Crows prologue is a perfect example of how quality trumps quantity when it comes to building the character and theme of a legion/chapter/character.