Of Mars trilogy

[Brother Hadafix]

Anyone elese read the "of Mars" trilogy?

 

To put it in a nut shell, it has Black Templars, Imperial Guard and Machanicum forces all going on an aventure into unknown space in search of a long lost Magos.

 

It has a look at the rites on how an Emperors Champion is chosen, and a good look at the workings of the Mancanicus.

 

On some levels the books have the feel of  well written campaign results written with a compelling narative, but it does take a little something from the story, but is good in the main. (this is my own opinion).

 

The first book, Preists of Mars, effectively sets up the main characters and brings in some of the brutality of life in the 40K universe.

There are some battles, but it is mainly explorative.

 

The second book, Lords of Mars, has them set on the path of the missing magos, experiencing strange techonology, and getting into many more battles.

It also exposes much more of the moral  dilemas that exist in the 40K universe. while a moral compass can be a dangerous thing.

 

The third and last book, Gods of Mars, has them fiding the lost magos (hurah) experience terriffingly powerful heretic and xeno technology (boo hiss) and ends up with an alliance of conveniance.

[Machine God]

Thanks for that non-use of Spoileer Alerts for the final book!!!

 

I'm still waiting for it in Paperback.

 

They are good books so far.

[Brother Hadafix]

Thanks for that non-use of Spoileer Alerts for the final book!!!

 

I'm still waiting for it in Paperback.

 

They are good books so far.

 

I haven't given much away, believe me, it gets very interesting.

[Veteran Sergeant]

I think the consensus is Books 1 and 2, entertaining. Book 3, pretty mediocre and unsatisfying.

 

The whole series felt like it was rushed, as it's full of continuity errors and the third book is just a rather bland and poorly written mess of battle scenes mashed together.

 

 

But that's really not surprising. McNeill is good at storytelling and characterization, terrible at battle narratives.

[Chaeron]

I think the consensus is Books 1 and 2, entertaining. Book 3, pretty mediocre and unsatisfying.

 

A sad truth.

 

I still enjoyed the third - because I had looked forward to it for ages, and it filled off a good trilogy - but it definitely felt rushed sadly, and without enough exploration of so many of the other brilliant things that were built up within it.

[Cerelius]

I reviewed two of the books on my website, with the third coming up soon. Unfortunately I can't tell you my websites name as Mods will blast me to atoms. 

[Deamon Wolf]

I have just finished book 1 would you recommend books 2 and 3 or should i save £20?

[Nazguire]

Yeah so.

 

The first book I thought was delightful romp and relatively smoothly written, apart from the direly written Black Templars. The Rogue Trader was great, the Ark Explorator well described and the dreadfully terrible life of working on a ship, especially one run by the Mechanics, was creepily well done. The Eldar felt forced in there because we need some type of alien.

 

It really elaborated the workings of the Mechanicus. The cliched duel between the Space Marine and the Magos to prove who was better should have been deleted in editing. It just felt there for its own sake, rather than any enhancement of the story.

 

But it was a fun ambitious story that is relatively unique in Black Library. I actually quite enjoyed it.

 

The second book follows pretty much those points. As it was just a continuation of the first book's plot, not much changed in my eyes. The orks that appeared were cool and sinister. Loved it. The cliffhanger was bull:cuss and I wanted to hurl it across the room but that was only cause I was so into the story.

 

There was no third book. That's not how I pictured the series ending.

[Battybattybats]

Actually the book is not the series ending. It has not reached a full final resolution.

Telok isn't dead, and is returning with them to Mars inside the body of Blaylock. The extreme threat of the most powerful of the Tindalosi is also remaining and also on board heading straight for Mars. An extreme threat transported right to the 2nd heart of the Imperium right next door to Terra!.

Graham on his blog has even dropped a possible title if book 4 gets the greenlight.

Masters

of Mars

I really enjoyed the whole series thus far even if i was disappointed by the outcome for some of my favourite characters and i'm hoping book 4 won't be too far away. Besides

i won't be satisfied till Telok is completely dead!

 

[Chaeron]

I think a fourth book would make the third seem better in all too. Even if only to drive the narrative further.

 

 

And Hawke!

 

[Gripharius]

I really enjoyed the first book. Some really great characters and so much potential.

 

The second book was good up until the battle with the crystal robot things. They were terrible and that battle drug on and on.

 

The third book was mostly pretty bad but it had a few good things... McNeill did finally start fleshing out his previously flat Eldar and Black Templar characters. Although he always seemed to start writing something unique or interesting about a particular Eldar or Black Templar, and then kill them off in the next paragraph.

 

The battle and climax in that one was so convoluted and repetitive, it was just a mess.

[*Furyou Miko]

The first book was good. The second book was mediocre and suffered from Matrix Reloaded syndrome, it was basically just speech, battle, speech, battle, speech, cliffhanger.

 

The third book took the other two, shoved all the plot points in a blender, backtracked on all the good karma they had won regarding positive representation, provided a twisted aesop about the true role of women in 40k as mothers and secretaries even if they're total badasses, and went off into cloud cuckoo land with the matrix ending.

 

In fact, down to the "epic psyker battle inside a computer so it doesn't matter that the characters aren't psykers" and the "Locke is mecha jesus" bit, the Matrix Revolutions analogies are so thick I can barely push them out of the way.

[Chaeron]

The first book was good. The second book was mediocre and suffered from Matrix Reloaded syndrome, it was basically just speech, battle, speech, battle, speech, cliffhanger.

 

The third book took the other two, shoved all the plot points in a blender, backtracked on all the good karma they had won regarding positive representation, provided a twisted aesop about the true role of women in 40k as mothers and secretaries even if they're total badasses, and went off into cloud cuckoo land with the matrix ending.

 

In fact, down to the "epic psyker battle inside a computer so it doesn't matter that the characters aren't psykers" and the "Locke is mecha jesus" bit, the Matrix Revolutions analogies are so thick I can barely push them out of the way.

 

I can definitely agree re: Matrix comparisons - sometimes the book spiralled into the bizarre with how quickly the narrative would simply flit between those two modes with what felt like little in between. 

 

I know you've written about the role of women (particularly in the third) before: I didn't necessarily see as much of that (although perhaps that's just how I perceived it within the text) - but the general parallels with the Matrix do really appear on point. As I've stated elsewhere too, I do really enjoy it as a trilogy - but I really feel that a fourth novel to tie up many ends and perhaps bring it back on course could work wonders for future too.

[JimmyJ]

Enjoyed the hell out of the first one. The lower level characters and the guys on the Rogue Trader ships were very well written and engaging. I was a bit cynical to see that as per, the Mechanicum types are all shifty, emotionless, lying, manipulators, apart from the ones who are more human and don't look like some sort of walking robo-squid.
Started the second this morning.

 

 

Anybody else notice the Ark Mechanicum identify itself as "Grammaticus" when the main main magos was communing with it? The final resting place of the mysterious John Grammaticus

 

 

Thought: Does the Dark Mechanicus have any of these Arks? And if so are they Dark Ark Mechanicus?

[Redrandy93]

I hope there is a fourth book to tie up the lose ends.  At times it was rough going reading the third book.    I did enjoy the series.   

[Battybattybats]

I hope everyone has now read Knights of the Imperium and Zero Day Exploit.
;)

[callmeMrBadger]

Gods of Mars was just a bit of a let down - and we can't forget about the mutant Sgt Tanna (the three armed space marine).

[Perrin]

Bit late to the party here but finished Gods of Mars last night. Spoilers below!

 

Priests and Lords of Mars were good, but I think Gods was the weakest of the trilogy. Not a bad book by any means, just not as good as 1 and 2.

 

 

 

 

The Eldar Farseer's motivation confused me for the entire thing, until the end and she realised that she had been placed there by another Farseer. From what I understood, the entire mission was to stop the humans because something they did meant she wouldn't have kids. So she sacrifices a ton of Eldar warriors, including a Wraith Lord, just so she can have two children?! Those numbers don't add up, especially for a conservative dying race which is all about preserving their numbers.

 

Also bit disappointed about what happened to Blaylock at the end. Why can't the bad guys just die? The rumoured Masters of Mars I'm guessing won't be in the works now as GM has left BL.

[Chaeron]

The rumoured Masters of Mars I'm guessing won't be in the works now as GM has left BL.

 

McNeill announced with his new role for Riot that he's just handed in a draft of his next Heresy novel, "and will continue to write for the Black Library." His blog basically concludes with: "In short, I’m still going to keep you entertained with grim tales from the 41st Millennium, the Horus Heresy and beyond." You can view that on his website: http://graham-mcneill.com/#!/la-times/

 

I wouldn't discount that just yet...

[Perrin]

 

The rumoured Masters of Mars I'm guessing won't be in the works now as GM has left BL.

 

McNeill announced with his new role for Riot that he's just handed in a draft of his next Heresy novel, "and will continue to write for the Black Library." His blog basically concludes with: "In short, I’m still going to keep you entertained with grim tales from the 41st Millennium, the Horus Heresy and beyond." You can view that on his website: http://graham-mcneill.com/#!/la-times/

 

I wouldn't discount that just yet...

 

 

Continue to write in the same way that Dan Abnett does? I know DA hasn't really said the same thing, but I can't imagine McNeill will be writing many more full novels in the coming years.

 

Am I the only person who wished the Titans and their Princeps had been used way way more? They hardly appear in Gods but were some of the best parts of the first two.