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Talon of Horus


Sulemain

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Ah the old story of abby vs siggy.

I just heard Templar yesterday, my first audio book.

And while the content is good, I rather read tbh.

It really brought up a bit of siggys character and I recommend it. He wasn't owning everyone left and right, and gets into some rough spots.

Now about this duel. After the ignobile fate of Argen Tal, my second favourite, I do hope that Siggys demise is epic. I grudgingly accept his death.

  • 2 weeks later...

You know, when I think of Abaddon versus Sigismund, I hear this song in my head:

 

Conquistador there is no time

I must pay my respect
And though I came to jeer at you

I leave now with regret

And as the gloom begins to fall

I see there is no only all

And though you came with sword held high

You did not conquer, only die.

 

To my mind, what it takes for Sigismund to have a worthy death is not so trivial as him losing due to being outnumbered or something tilting the balance in Abaddons favor in their showdown so that 'he didn't really win' the fight. In fact to my mind it somewhat dishonors the character to do so, rather then find a truly worthy opponent he dies this unmatched mythical figure that dies not how a warrior should die...in being bested in combat...but rather dies to the unfair whims of an uncaring universe. It's so detached from humanity and history that in my eyes it makes him a lesser hero, not a greater one. Rather, a worthy death is one by the hands of Abaddon that impacts Abaddon greatly, a death that leaves a lasting impact on the one who slew him beyond mere scar tissue, the greatest thing Sigismund could do is fight the man who would bring down the Imperium and...in some small way....change him.
 

  • 3 weeks later...

You know, I was rereading the end of Talon last night and I think it cemented it as a very good book to me.

 

Very plainly I am an Emperors Children fan, and as such this was a strange book because it takes place during the Legion Wars when my faction is the main antagonist. Yet at no point from start to finish do I feel humiliated or denigrated as I might with another author, every victory comes with a high price in blood and souls, especially that very last one at the end of the book comes at an extremely steep cost. The books about the Black Legions ascendance and the Emperors Childrens ultimate defeat, but I still feel like I got my licks in, at no point in the book do we just get completely steamrolled without bloodying the main characters nose in some way.

 

Hopefully the fight with Sigismund is written in the same way.

I'm an extreme fan of ADB's work, but I made a silly mistake I am now rectifying. I hadn't read this book at all! I decided I'd either buy it or borrow it from the library. Moments after my decision I was going through one of my cupboards in my bedroom and came across a boxed package that I had lying around from 2014. I opened it up... and I had the original, special hardback release of it in there!

 

I don't remember ordering it, but I do recall opening the package, cooing over how beautiful it looked and felt to the touch, and then reverently putting it away to read it later.

 

It's now been over a year, but I've gotten started!

  • 3 weeks later...

I think if there's one thing I like Abaddon it's that.....Abaddon reminds me a lot of Lucius.

 

That sounds insane doesn't it? but what makes Abaddon strong is that he doesn't totally embrace the Chaos Gods, he finds a careful balance and uses their power to his own end in the Long War. Similarly Lucius is strong because he didn't fall completely into the mindless debauchery and hedonism he could have, he actually cleaves very close to the Third Legions original ideal(Despite apparently scorning it.) and focuses on the perfection of technique with Slaanesh only being an added boon to achieve that goal, and in a way being that master swordsman is as appealing to Slaanesh as any other devotion he could throw at the Youngest Gods feet, Lucius craves control and to fall completely into Slaanesh would be to become no better then the mindless bezerkers of the World Eaters and it's for this same reason Chaos favors him. The most powerful, fearsome, and intelligent Slaaneshi don't go chasing waterfalls, they resist temptation and stick to the rivers and the lakes they are used to.

 

...Or maybe i'm crazy and just drawing connections where there are none, it's been a long new years. :p

I think if there's one thing I like Abaddon it's that.....Abaddon reminds me a lot of Lucius.

That sounds insane doesn't it? but what makes Abaddon strong is that he doesn't totally embrace the Chaos Gods, he finds a careful balance and uses their power to his own end in the Long War. Similarly Lucius is strong because he didn't fall completely into the mindless debauchery and hedonism he could have, he actually cleaves very close to the Third Legions original ideal(Despite apparently scorning it.) and focuses on the perfection of technique with Slaanesh only being an added boon to achieve that goal, and in a way being that master swordsman is as appealing to Slaanesh as any other devotion he could throw at the Youngest Gods feet, Lucius craves control and to fall completely into Slaanesh would be to become no better then the mindless bezerkers of the World Eaters and it's for this same reason Chaos favors him. The most powerful, fearsome, and intelligent Slaaneshi don't go chasing waterfalls, they resist temptation and stick to the rivers and the lakes they are used to.

...Or maybe i'm crazy and just drawing connections where there are none, it's been a long new years. tongue.png

Yeah, I don't agree with this. We're yet to actually see Lucius properly fall. All the novels/shorts with Lucius in currently have him as still being more legionnaire than chaos marine at this point. I think by the time we get to 40k Lucius will be a slavering, depraved mad man.

I think if there's one thing I like Abaddon it's that.....Abaddon reminds me a lot of Lucius.

That sounds insane doesn't it? but what makes Abaddon strong is that he doesn't totally embrace the Chaos Gods, he finds a careful balance and uses their power to his own end in the Long War. Similarly Lucius is strong because he didn't fall completely into the mindless debauchery and hedonism he could have, he actually cleaves very close to the Third Legions original ideal(Despite apparently scorning it.) and focuses on the perfection of technique with Slaanesh only being an added boon to achieve that goal, and in a way being that master swordsman is as appealing to Slaanesh as any other devotion he could throw at the Youngest Gods feet, Lucius craves control and to fall completely into Slaanesh would be to become no better then the mindless bezerkers of the World Eaters and it's for this same reason Chaos favors him. The most powerful, fearsome, and intelligent Slaaneshi don't go chasing waterfalls, they resist temptation and stick to the rivers and the lakes they are used to.

...Or maybe i'm crazy and just drawing connections where there are none, it's been a long new years. tongue.png

Yeah, I don't agree with this. We're yet to actually see Lucius properly fall. All the novels/shorts with Lucius in currently have him as still being more legionnaire than chaos marine at this point. I think by the time we get to 40k Lucius will be a slavering, depraved mad man.

You sure about that? He's already pretty depraved and crazy, everyone is by now actually. He just doesn't tip all the way over the edge.

And why would he? he'd hardly be a master swordsman if he did.

I think if there's one thing I like Abaddon it's that.....Abaddon reminds me a lot of Lucius.

That sounds insane doesn't it? but what makes Abaddon strong is that he doesn't totally embrace the Chaos Gods, he finds a careful balance and uses their power to his own end in the Long War. Similarly Lucius is strong because he didn't fall completely into the mindless debauchery and hedonism he could have, he actually cleaves very close to the Third Legions original ideal(Despite apparently scorning it.) and focuses on the perfection of technique with Slaanesh only being an added boon to achieve that goal, and in a way being that master swordsman is as appealing to Slaanesh as any other devotion he could throw at the Youngest Gods feet, Lucius craves control and to fall completely into Slaanesh would be to become no better then the mindless bezerkers of the World Eaters and it's for this same reason Chaos favors him. The most powerful, fearsome, and intelligent Slaaneshi don't go chasing waterfalls, they resist temptation and stick to the rivers and the lakes they are used to.

...Or maybe i'm crazy and just drawing connections where there are none, it's been a long new years. tongue.png

Yeah, I don't agree with this. We're yet to actually see Lucius properly fall. All the novels/shorts with Lucius in currently have him as still being more legionnaire than chaos marine at this point. I think by the time we get to 40k Lucius will be a slavering, depraved mad man.

You sure about that? He's already pretty depraved and crazy, everyone is by now actually. He just doesn't tip all the way over the edge.

And why would he? he'd hardly be a master swordsman if he did.

Compared to some of his other 'brothers' (the truly demented Kaeroson, the 'stitched open my own eyes and mouth' Marius Vairosean and the twice born Eidolon, to name a few), he's still just about hanging on.

Not quite at the corpse defiling (emphasis on the word defiling), flesh eating Lucius we know and love in 40k. Which is a good thing, as it gives authors the chance to do a series on how he reaches those depths of total depravity.

After all the good comments about this book i thought I'd grab an eBook copy of TTOH and I'm very glad I did. I found it very enjoyable although there were some scenes I found not 100% (like being able to psychically pull a starship behind another one for months on end and then hurling it like a spear). The rest was good, even the part of Abaddon getting golden eyes after staring at the Astronomicon for too long. It was certainly interesting that it produces "Fire Angels" which attach "Eye space" to the point of burning Daemon planets. Making it seem more like a long term anti-Chaos device than just a light house.

 

It does also hint about future plot development regarding The EoM's final demise which if written correctly could be a good source for a further 12 novel series to set the scene (like the Beast series that seems to have a definitive release date).

 

Looking forward to part 2 should it come out.

 

Also looking forward to Master of Mankind whenever that is due.

 

Regarding Horus' destruction. I believe the Chaos Gods withdrawal from Horus happened the moment they felt the buildup of the Emperors lance. Thus allowing him to suddenly realise the errors of his ways whilst still giving The Emperor a moment to obliterate him as he was too corrupted.

With the actual formation of the Black Legion in the next books, i'm eager to see if Eidolon shows up and how that might work with the grudges of the first book.

 

I know he becomes a lieutenant ito the black crusades n the gothic war at least, and i'd like to see what the character is like as 'The Risen'.

  • 2 weeks later...

Finally finished reading the book last night. Was a great read. Lheor is becoming my favourite character. ALso can't wait to read more of Abaddon.

I liked the scene where Telemachon is comparing Anemnesis to the Naiads from Greek Mythology and talking about oceans on Chemos. Even better was Lheor responding saying along the lines "That's the most stupid thing I ever heard!" laugh.png

Can't wait for the second book. Hop to it ADB! tongue.png

 Loesh - Eidolon is a peacock. Abyy would never work with him. 

And knowing Aaron's writing speed - we would be very lucky to have anything except 'Master of Mankind' this year. Plus add to that the cool 'Road to Jove' that he is writing 

 

I think if Abaddon never worked with someone he didn't like then he probably wouldn't of ever made anything bigger then a small warband of ten or twelve people.

I'm sure Abaddon could find a use for most any chaos warrior, wouldn't come close to being in his inner circle though.

 

Wouldn't they? I could see Abaddon putting people he hates in his inner circle, maybe even a lot of people he hates. They don't even get along with each other but they all have useful talents. I mean really what's the worry? that they'll try to kill him for his power? them and a not insignificant chunk of the black legion already.

 

You don't get to be Warmaster of the biggest Legion in the Eye by turning away good talent because of personality quirks.

Posted · Hidden by Iron-Daemon Forge, July 19, 2016 - No reason given
Hidden by Iron-Daemon Forge, July 19, 2016 - No reason given

Loesh is right. It is wise to keep friends close, but it is even wiser to keep enemies closer. Especially as a Chaos Lord, as a master of a legion of monsters and broken things and as a lord of a host united in hatred. In fact, I think it is the most sensible policy.

More like I think his Ezekerion are a group of people with a specific goal in mind, the end of the Imperium of Man and the institution of a new Imperium with Abaddon as Emperor. Various warlords like a Lucious, Khârn, etc. might just want slaves to torture and skulls to take, and therefore wouldn't have as much use in the inner circle, but if he needed to occupy the flank of the Catachan 115th so the flank of the Cadian Shock will be exposed for a warband of Plague Marines to drive into? Then they have their uses without having to account for their "eccentricities" posing a threat to his greater plans. 

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