Sanguis Irae

[The Red Thirst]

http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/sanguis-irae-ebook.html

 

Anyone read this yet? I'm hesitant seeing as its written by Gav Thorpe.

[Blood Angel Scout]

First thoughts were it was okay, then after a few more minutes thinking on it, felt like there was too much packed in- mainly on the basis that the story relies heavily on the Black Rage...for whatever reason, not letting me put in spoiler tags so.....

 

 

LOOK AWAY TO AVOID SPOILERS

 

Calistarius boards the hulk, meets up with scouting party. Find a Blood Angel terminator in sus-an/last moments of life, Squad Sargent ask him to sift the marine's mind. Flashbacks to Sanguinius on the Vengeful Spirit facing off against Horus (including a brief account of the fight which is my main issue about the whole story, as this particular moment needs far far more than a couple of paragraphs) then jumps forward into the marine's mind before the Rage took effect. Calistarius goes through the marine's mind to find out what happened to leve him in said condition, which turns out to be the hulk is being controlled by a patriarch that is pretty much the off-spring of an implanted navigator who hooked up with/to a tech-priest or ship's captain fused to the command pulpit.

 

Two moments where characters look into the warp-eye and not only survive, inflict/infect the patriarch with the Rage.....as I'm typing this, actually thinking worse of it.....and final moments have Calistarius having a vision of being entombed, gripped by the Thirst while full of Rage.....

 

Far too much going on 

 

 

 

 

[Lucien Eilam]

I liked it. I think you missed the point of the Black Rage visions.

 

 

There's no "jump forward". Vespesario was using them as an allegory to communicate what happened aboard the Space Hulk. For example. "Sanguinius" is accompanied by 9 Sanguinary Guard - there were 10 Terminators teleported onto the Omen of Despair - in both cases, they're killed one by one until only "Sanguinius"/Vespesario remains to confront "Horus"/the Patriarch.

 

Note that in his version, the story diverges after he puts the chink in the "Warmaster's" armour. "Sanguinius" stops fighting "Horus" rather than dying - he had to retreat so he would live to warn anyone else who arrived.

 

All the memories Calistarius retrieves are the same story.

 

I don't think the Warp eye is a big deal - it's not a true Navigator, it's the inbred hybrid result of Genestealers trying to create one from assimilated genetic material and mundane human stock, so who knows how it would behave.

 

[The Red Thirst]

Ok, wont be buying that one then

Firstly dont like the idea of a Sergeant ordering an Epistolary to do something (minor detail)

Secondly, really Thorpe, writing about the epic battle between our Father and the Arch-Traitor.... HERESY!!!

[Blood Angel Scout]

Lucien,

 

Appreciate a better explanation of my late night ramble,- can see how you perceive I missed the point of the allegory by use of term "jump forward", however you're overlooking the fact that the Rage is only triggered by the confrontation on the bridge as Calistarius sees both sides in tandem but has to go past the Rage thoughts to get to what actually happened on the first boarding- irrespective of the reveal that its allegory...or that Sanguinius holding back from unleashing his fury after the piercing blow as being the moment he stopped....the key point is that a marine in the Black Rage was portrayed as still being able to able to make a rational tactical decision while in the Rage, more in line with previous fluff accounts of BA characters dealing with the Thirst.

 

Same goes with staring into a Navigator's 3rd eye though concede the possibility of this bit being due to the weaker genes/cross-breeding.

 

Now nothing wrong with an author's take on events, arguably a nod to Lemartes's handling of the Rage or indeed Mephiston overcoming it, but my issue was there was too much packed into a short story, maybe more pages would have made an improvement or maybe I was too tired to reflect objectively.

 

Thirst,

 

To be fair, fight scenes were actually ok, lack of detail but still conveyed the fight well and the point about the Sgt giving orders is referred to as he is Strike Leader but Calistarius goes around chain of command for good reason

[Lucien Eilam]

the key point is that a marine in the Black Rage was portrayed as still being able to able to make a rational tactical decision while in the Rage, more in line with previous fluff accounts of BA characters dealing with the Thirst.

 

Practically every account of the Black Rage describes a gradual onset, from the codex description to Death of Integrity. And it explicitly describes him putting his plan into operation knowing that he doesn't have long before he succumbs.

 

This is a slightly pointless argument: if you didn't enjoy it, I'm not going to try to persuade you otherwise. But there's really nothing in that story that's out of line with previously established background.

[The Red Thirst]

That may be so Brother but dont we also know that before any deployment the chaplains sit the astartes down for the 'Mass of Doom' to determine who is to be inducted into the Death Company?

If the Sergeant was so close do succumbing to the Rage, wouldnt he simply have been detained or at the very least undertake the mission with a Chaplain present?

[Orblivion]

Ok, wont be buying that one then

 

Firstly dont like the idea of a Sergeant ordering an Epistolary to do something (minor detail)

 

Secondly, really Thorpe, writing about the epic battle between our Father and the Arch-Traitor.... HERESY!!!

 

Calistarius certainly isn't an epistolary in Sanguis Irae.  He was a lexicanium during the Sin of Damnation incident, and he makes a point of mentioning that it was just a "few years earlier".  At best he is now a Codicier.

 

Regardless, Librarians hold a great amount of respect but they are a part of a separate command structure and are rarely in overall command of any contingent of marines.  In this specific case, it is not just a sergeant, it is a veteran sergeant.  We are also told that the 1st company captain has explicitly stated that the sergeant in question has command.

[The Red Thirst]

That the point im getting at Brother, all librarians are part of a separate command structure and act as advisors to the chaper command.

The earlier post by Scout alluded that he was ordering him around, not sure if this is the case as I havent read it, and if i am wrong then ive wasted a few posts haha

 

But still, not keen on Thorpe writing about our Fathers final moments, but id imagine any author who writes about the event will come under fire regardless 

[Orblivion]

That the point im getting at Brother, all librarians are part of a separate command structure and act as advisors to the chaper command.

 

The earlier post by Scout alluded that he was ordering him around, not sure if this is the case as I havent read it, and if i am wrong then ive wasted a few posts haha

 

But still, not keen on Thorpe writing about our Fathers final moments, but id imagine any author who writes about the event will come under fire regardless 

 

Yes the sergeant was giving Calistarius orders, but like I said in this scenario it is perfectly acceptable.  It is the 1st company veterans that are undertaking this mission, the sergeant is the highest ranking Astartes currently on the hulk, and more than that the 1st company captain explicitly told Calistarius that the sergeant is in command.

[The Red Thirst]

ok now that makes sense, wasnt aware they were Terminators, carry on

[Xenith]

ok now that makes sense, wasnt aware they were Terminators, carry on

You know this is about Space Hulk, right?