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Damnation of Pythos


HaSY

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's a review from talkwargaming - it contains a brief overview of the setting

 

http://www.talkwargaming.com/2014/05/black-library-advance-review-horus.html

 

I really hesitate to place much stock in that Lord of the Night's reviews. I think he's a sincere reviewer (well, I hope)...but one of his favourite HH novels is Fear to Tread (a perfect 10 stars out of 10 according to him). His taste is way too different from mine. 

 

Most of his glowing reviews are of novels I've found to be mediocre at best and terrible at worst

 

EDIT: Here's the review I'm talking about (http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/07/horus-heresy-fear-tread-james-swallow-dual-advance-review-lord-night-bane-kings/)

 

For a fantastic story that continues the great epic that is the Horus Heresy, titanic battle scenes between the Angels of Death and the Neverborn that really show the darkness on both sides, and for revealing so much more about the Signus Massacre that was unknown to us before, I give Fear to Tread a grand score of 10/10, the Heresy series has gained another jewel and I hope to see this book on future favourite lists and the New York Times Best-Seller List.

 

...like really?!

Number based grading in reviews is poor reviewing by default. What matters is the actual review itself. And Know No Fear was an enjoyable read. That's all it boils down to, is the book an enjoyable read for the person reading it. But this thread is about the Damnation of Pythos, not Know No Fear.

 

 

I actually really liked the characterization of Atticus, the Iron Hands Captain, throughout the novel. Despite being the least human character ( or one of the least human ) he was, for me, the most enjoyable to read about. Especially towards the end. "The flesh is weak" indeed.

Out of interest, does it incorporate the cannon laid down in FW's Massacre - as in, they don't implant cybernetics because of some ideological standpoint, they just use them instead of the cloned organic replacements other Legions use because it gets them out on the field faster? Or is it still claiming the 'Flesh is Weak' ideology was in place before the Heresy?

 

Because I read they're the 111th Clan Company, which doesn't necessarily fit with Forge World's organization. Is it actually a company or a chapter-sized Clan formation as Massacre suggests?

Number based grading in reviews is poor reviewing by default. 

 

Not really...better reviewers tend to give more accurate numerical ratings 

 

Reviewing isn't entirely subjective. Neither is it entirely objective. However, reviews should have some degree of objectivity.

 

Fear to Tread, while enjoyable to some, is far from great literature, even by Black Library standards. 10/10 is a silly score.

 

 

Out of interest, does it incorporate the cannon laid down in FW's Massacre - as in, they don't implant cybernetics because of some ideological standpoint, they just use them instead of the cloned organic replacements other Legions use because it gets them out on the field faster? Or is it still claiming the 'Flesh is Weak' ideology was in place before the Heresy?

 

Because I read they're the 111th Clan Company, which doesn't necessarily fit with Forge World's organization. Is it actually a company or a chapter-sized Clan formation as Massacre suggests?

 

Back to the topic...yes, that's good question. 

 

What does 111th Clan Company mean. I'm pretty sure there's only around a dozen clans or so...

 

I'm guessing the 111th Clan Company simply means the 111th company of a large clan. Or it means the 111th company of the Legion and the "Clan" simply means the company is part of a clan 

I'm not sure that there is anywhere in Massacre where it states that there is only 10 Clan Companies. The illustration of the Clan Company symbols only shows nine, but doesn't say that they are the be-all and end-all of the Iron Hands Clan Companies. All Massacre says on the subject is that the Iron Hands Clan Companies were structured using the old Medusan Clans as a basis.

 

This is why I made up my own Clan Company in the Heresy Era - Clan Burrakis. I would not have been able to do that with a 41st Millennium Iron Hands force as we know full well what the ten remaining Clan Companies are, and also what Clan Companies broke off to become the Sons of Medusa and the Brazen Claws.

The 111th, in the book, is around two or three hundred Marines strong by the time of Pythos. There's little mention of FW's order of battle sadly, which leads me to suspect it was being written in a vacuum from the FW projects ( perhaps before Massacre became available? ). The 'flesh is weak' ideology comes off as being an after-effect of the Dropsite Massacre more than being an established thing during Ferrus's lordship of the Legion.

 

As for the choice of 111th, it could just be a generic designation, similiar to how the Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus were shown as in the first 3 novels. Something for everyone to grasp, in that a "Company" is an obvious military grouping compared to Clan Vurgaan, Order Primarii, Tactical Company, as an example.

 

It could be said that Atticus's company is the 111th Company of the Legion as well, there's nothing saying that the Iron Hands Legion didn't number their companies overall for logistical reasons. But that's just me spouting fan theory.

 

 

The 111th, and Atticus in particular, really strike me as some kind of proto-40k version of the Iron Hands though. Not -quite- there, but the signs are there of what will affect the remainder of the Legion as a whole. It ties neatly though with the little box in Massacre that describes that some Iron Hands went violently insane. The 'Flesh is Weak' mantra could be seen as an aspect of that madness. There's certainly a massive undercurrent of self loathing for their own weakness present in the Iron Hands who get speaking roles, and blatant distrust for the Salamander and Raven Guard contingents. Atticus in particular outright refuses to speak to them.

 

 

I would've posted this earlier but I'm currently scrubbing paint off models!

I'm not sure that there is anywhere in Massacre where it states that there is only 10 Clan Companies. The illustration of the Clan Company symbols only shows nine, but doesn't say that they are the be-all and end-all of the Iron Hands Clan Companies. All Massacre says on the subject is that the Iron Hands Clan Companies were structured using the old Medusan Clans as a basis.

 

This is why I made up my own Clan Company in the Heresy Era - Clan Burrakis. I would not have been able to do that with a 41st Millennium Iron Hands force as we know full well what the ten remaining Clan Companies are, and also what Clan Companies broke off to become the Sons of Medusa and the Brazen Claws.

 

Massacre does say Clans are approximately equivalent to chapters. However, Extermination mentions that the IV Legion's Grand Batallions are also approx chapter sized formations, but really varied between 500-4000 Legionaries.

 

I like to think that there were around 50 Clans, and each had a variable size - we know these Clans were very individualistic and recruited from different population sources - plus, Massacre shows a vehicle from Clan Avernii's 8th Order - with Orders being approx 500 marines, Avernii is at least 4000 Legionaries strong - although I'd imagine as the foremost Clan, it might have around 8000 Marines within its ranks.

I am still waiting for my copy soon. But if some of you guys dont mind, can I have the spoilers even though I think the Pythos is like stand alone story in Horus Heresy?

I would like to know the fate of Veritas Ferrum and the truly machine captain Atticus. Really love him and his voice in the audio drama.

I heard despite the name of the same planet in Pandorax, it did not really touch a lot on the later novel.

Hope David can write. I love his stories althought I know most enjoyed his Yarrick, his HH short Traveller but loathed Death of Antagonis.

I can't wait to get my hands on this book. I was hoping to hear more about Atticus after the wonderful audio Veritas Ferrum, I'm excited to see how this turns out.

 

Also, Atticus had the perfect voice in Veritas Ferrum. I mean, seriously, his voice was freakin awesome.

 

"So, the individual is unimportant is at Alpharius? Then what we're about to do won't hurt you at all."

 

I'm not sure that there is anywhere in Massacre where it states that there is only 10 Clan Companies. The illustration of the Clan Company symbols only shows nine, but doesn't say that they are the be-all and end-all of the Iron Hands Clan Companies. All Massacre says on the subject is that the Iron Hands Clan Companies were structured using the old Medusan Clans as a basis.

 

This is why I made up my own Clan Company in the Heresy Era - Clan Burrakis. I would not have been able to do that with a 41st Millennium Iron Hands force as we know full well what the ten remaining Clan Companies are, and also what Clan Companies broke off to become the Sons of Medusa and the Brazen Claws.

 

Massacre does say Clans are approximately equivalent to chapters. However, Extermination mentions that the IV Legion's Grand Batallions are also approx chapter sized formations, but really varied between 500-4000 Legionaries.

 

I like to think that there were around 50 Clans, and each had a variable size - we know these Clans were very individualistic and recruited from different population sources - plus, Massacre shows a vehicle from Clan Avernii's 8th Order - with Orders being approx 500 marines, Avernii is at least 4000 Legionaries strong - although I'd imagine as the foremost Clan, it might have around 8000 Marines within its ranks.

 

 

Sounds about right to me. Although I wouldn't use the size of any particular Order as the basis of a calculation for the size of a Clan Company. Each Order is temporarily assembled with a very specific task in mind, so numbers from Order to Order would vary massively. For example an Order assembled for a recon sweep of a mountain range would be much, much smaller than an Order assembled for an armoured assault on a heavily defended Hive.

  • 1 year later...

"Push on brothers" Atticus said "There will be no defeat for us here. There can be no defeat, because we battle the flesh, and the flesh is weak. Behold the flesh at its most base. This is what we have risen above forever. The machine cannot be brought low by this vile excess. Let the monsters come. Let them fill this chasm to the top. They cannot stop us, because they are that which is past, and we are on the journey to the pure strength of the mechanical."

 

Favorite line by Atticus

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