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The Beast Arises


Vorenus

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All right, I'm kind of annoyed by this, but at the same time I am kind of excited.  In case you haven't seen it, Black Library's website says that they are launching a one-year book series (one book per month) about THE BEAST ARISES, the war against the Orks in the 32nd Millenium. 

 

http://www.blacklibrary.com/the-beast-arises.html

 

What kind of annoys me is that I am on book 28 of the Horus Heresy and I am hoping that they will someday finish that series, and by someday I mean within the next couple of years please, so I can read it before I die (hey, you never know). 

 

But I am kind of excited because I would like to read more books set in the time between the HH and the 41st Millenium.  And I am also kind of excited because the first book in the series is entitled I AM SLAUGHTER and it happens to be written by Dan Abnett, my favorite BL author.

 

So, yeah, I'm deeply conflicted about all of this.  What are y'all's thoughts?

 

v/r

 

--Vorenus

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Orks again....honestly sick of reading about them. It's armageddon all over again.  If the HH gets tied up soon,  I want to read about the scouring. I think BL have touched upon this with ADBs work with Abaddon which has some overlap. But there is a much richer tapestry there that I'm sure we would all like to see explored.

1) That's not 'Warmaster' - then you say Abnett, i think of Gaunt Ghosts, Eisenhorn and Double Eagle and not about some orcs. Disappointment.

 

2) SM vs Orcs - HM, I HAVE SEEN THIS SOMEWHERE? OOOOOHH - WAIT - ARMAGEDDON?

 

3) Orcs with a deathstar - after the stolen stupid scene from Avatar in deathfire I expect to see Darth Vader character in the Beast Arises.

 

4) Beast Arises - not interested, give me a new HH NOVEL please instead of this

FINALLY I have been waiting for this kind of fluff. Ever since I read the little blurb about the beast I always wanted to know more about the events here. A whole years worth of books is fun, and they set a limit on how many there will be so we at least know. Plus, I am a Raven guard and mechanicus fanboy and there hasn't been that many novels about them yet...

 

Basically, I hope this is more of a rynns world or Helsreach kind of story. Great combat against a limitless enemy.

This is nice. If gives BL more incentive to make interconnected books from diferente authors and therefore creating an interesting series, I am all for it.

 

Biggest problem? Orks. One of the main reasons why people are so into the HH series is due to how the 'villains' are portrayed. ADB for instance gave Angron, of ALL primarchs, a great deal of depth. Lorgar is tragic because of his desire for the truth and the communion with greater powers. So chances are, we will only get that part from the Astartes...IF that. We don't really know how much will they invest in that part of the story.

 

There is one possibility that since the Beast is the MOST powerful Ork that ever tread the stars, then there is a great chance that he is far more than a simple minded creature of instinct. Ghazkull was, after all, the Prophet of Gork and Mork, and even Kaptn Bludflagg had capable of thinking strategically (with humor and love for hats).

 

Ran

The Ork that almost killed the Emperor, as seen in The Wolf of Ash and Fire, was far more and beyond any Ork we have ever seen so far.

 

And that was a lesser boss of the Ullanor Orks. Their main Warboss is never seen, only that Horus killed it, it and its retinue nearly slaughtered the Justaerin to a man, three powerful Legions were needed just for the one system, and the victory was seen as the greatest achievement of the Great Crusade.

 

And the Beast was an even greater threat.

I agree with Tiger9Gamer that one of the best things about this series I have seen so far is that we know going into it that there will be only 12 books.  I can stomach that, my wallet can survive it.  I am already on book 28 of the HORUS HERESY, I already bought books 29 and 30--and there is NO END IN SIGHT.  (I am reading lots of other stuff, too, by the way, so don't judge please if it takes me a couple of months to get to book 29...I read a lot, but I don't always read books from the same series back to back.)  I am enjoying the HH series, but I would like to know that there is an end, a "light at the end of the tunnel," etc.--and that it will happen within (a) my lifetime, (b) the lifetimes of the current HH authors (please, Black Library, please don't just start adding new authors to pad out the series!  I am really concerned this might happen), and © the series will maintain its quality and not just sort of fall apart like the Star Wars expanded universe did after a few years.  (In my opinion.  I know others may have a different opinion on that.  I did really like the Timothy Zahn books, though.  Still great reads after all these years.)

things I'm looking forward to in this series:

It is finite, with (from what I've read elsewhere) most novels already in the drawer. So no drag out or delays.

The promise of a large chunk of Imperial history detailed, including the fate of many Chapters (if they follow the existing fluff)

The chance of finally seeing a decent portrayal of Orks beyond the "ere we go" cartoon caricature, and

That it sells well so that BL are encouraged to do similar for other important periods and/or incidents. With a beginning, middle and end sorted they can return anytime an author feels the need to expand on a character or incident without the overall story slipping into a never ending saga. One can only hope.

The best part about this is the definitive release date of all 12 books being done in a year.

 

The HH should have been done the same. Then I believe readers would have been a lot happier.

I think what this comes down to is that The Beast Arises is a far shorter, more contained storyline. It may very well be a dynamic, exciting tale, but it will ultimately be a footnote in the annals of the Imperium. The Horus Heresy, on the other hand, is as big as it gets. Could it have benefited from a long-term planning approach, defining  the overarching storyline, and working to ensure specific release dates? Yeah... but, on the other hand, you have to remember that with a story of such grand scale, it is inevitable that better ideas will arise over time.

 

Had the authors of the series not been given the opportunity to experiment with the storyline and introduce new concepts over time, you would have almost certainly been denied some of the best entries - such as Legion and Betrayer.

 

The best part about this is the definitive release date of all 12 books being done in a year.

 

The HH should have been done the same. Then I believe readers would have been a lot happier.

I think what this comes down to is that The Beast Arises is a far shorter, more contained storyline. It may very well be a dynamic, exciting tale, but it will ultimately be a footnote in the annals of the Imperium. The Horus Heresy, on the other hand, is as big as it gets. Could it have benefited from a long-term planning approach, defining  the overarching storyline, and working to ensure specific release dates? Yeah... but, on the other hand, you have to remember that with a story of such grand scale, it is inevitable that better ideas will arise over time.

 

Had the authors of the series not been given the opportunity to experiment with the storyline and introduce new concepts over time, you would have almost certainly been denied some of the best entries - such as Legion and Betrayer.

 

 

I think the Horus Heresy is big in the minds of the fanbase but not the Imperium honestly, it's what got the ball rolling but ultimately it's just the first in a circle of rises and falls.

 

The beast seems at least as much of a big deal, he nearly accomplishes galactic conquest.

Are any loyalist primarchs still around the time of the Beast?

 

I don't think so. Only loyalist primarchs that come close are Rogal Dorn (presumably died during 1st black crusade 781.M31 but there seems to be conflicting information) and Vulkan (he left some time after the heresy but I don't think it has been disclosed when exactly).

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