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Know No Fear - revisiting with appreciation


Aegnor

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  • 2 weeks later...

The freighter crashing into the space docking yard would be the right spot to open. Then cut back to the start of the book "136 hours earlier"...

 

That section of Know No Fear, starting with the Campanile's acceleration and going all the way through the realization that it's "raining main battle tanks" is such a great read, and an even better listen.

  • 2 weeks later...

I'm currently listening to it and it's a great read ! It's actually my first read of the Horus Heresy and I'm pleasantly surprised about how Astartes are depicted...

 

While in 40k most Chapters seem to have stuck up ritualistic Marines that speak grandiloquently, the Astartes of 30k seem more down to earth, more business oriented and overall humanish ! They feel like soldiers to me. Is this a trend for all the HH series, or is it specific to this book ?

I see ! In any case, I way prefer that chatter over the "Brothers ! we shalt smite the enemy in the glorious name of the glorious emperor and we go where we wilt and slay who we wilt" stuff we see around. They feel more believable to me, or at least more relatable !

 

It gave me newfound appreciation of Roboute Guilliman as well... He really feels like a smart general rather than lawmaker. And his dialogs with Lorgar are priceless !

I see ! In any case, I way prefer that chatter over the "Brothers ! we shalt smite the enemy in the glorious name of the glorious emperor and we go where we wilt and slay who we wilt" stuff we see around. They feel more believable to me, or at least more relatable !

 

It gave me newfound appreciation of Roboute Guilliman as well... He really feels like a smart general rather than lawmaker. And his dialogs with Lorgar are priceless !

It's the setting. 30K is the "enlightenment age", think "Classical Greek and Rome". The speech patterns where in completely different languages so we replaced them with the modern tongue. But 40K? That's the Dark Ages. So it gets written how we view the Dark Ages, with grandiose speeches, religious genocide, and science being viewed as witchcraft.

I've loved know no fear. So far one of my two favourites in the HH, with The First Heretic. However then there's Prospero Burns and the wet-leopard growls. Can't say Abnett is my favourite author :)

 

I hadn't realised both books belonged to the same author (KNF and Prospero Burns), but now I can see the similarities. Both books develop the story over most of the book with a lot of detail, and when you start to think that he won't have time to finish it and he'll need an extra book, suddenly it's all over. I liked them both, but the endings felt like he was running out of pages. The rest of the book felt like some stuff was great, and other stuff led nowhere and the pages could've been spent beefing up the end.

I'll agree that Know No Fear starts a lot stronger than it finishes. The last instant of the Campanile is an amazing read, along with things like beginning of Oll's story, and Roboute's conversation with Thiel, and then the climax of the story is just kind of there.

 

On the other hand, PB lives on the constant repeated tease of wondering how the memory ends and when the reveal comes, everything in Kasper's life comes unravelled in an instant, along with everything everyone thought they knew about what was happening.

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