The Beast Arises

[Sete]

Oh I like it.

[Arkangilos]

I think some people misinterpret what chamber militant means in this context in regards to the inquisition and the DW and GK. There really hasn't been a retcon in 40k regarding the DW, they are still the chamber militant of Ordo Xenos, and they still wear the inquisitorial badge. They just have their own command structure, just like the GK.

 

The holy knightly orders were the chamber militants of the church, but didn't report to the inquisitors. It's the same concept.

[HeritorA]

 

To be fair, why click on a discussion thread about the book then?

 

What do you think is going to be discussed here, other than the book contents?

It's actually a thread about a series of books that are in progress, but you're quite right - I've been avoiding this thread like the plague since it was released. (And still managed to have it spoiled.)

 

My return to the thread is only because I've since read the book. But my good cheer at the top-notch quality of the book's prose aside, I happen to think it's a sufficiently good book that *other people* would enjoy more if it weren't comprehensively, carelessly spoiled by everyone and anyone at the drop of a hat.

 

 

Mankind deserves better.

 

 

---

 

As it is, I loved the book. Pace is excellent, topics and characters all neatly done.

 

I think I agree on principle that this sort of thing 'deserves' a deeper treatment - my only reservation is: BL have been at this for over a decade. It's also a product at the end of GW's "loot everything and sell your gran"period.

 

My hope is two-fold:

- BL feel emboldened by this, and see the worth of going off piste more often.

- they do more of this sort of thing.

 

Great experiment; not 100% successful, but as said before: I'm ecstatic they're even trying. (And mostly succeeding.)

 

---

 

My bet (and I've believed it since book 2 [?]) for the series' ultimate ending - DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT A DISTRACTING/SPECULATIVE THOUGHT IN YOUR HEAD FOR THE NEXT TWO BOOKS:

 

Vangorich executes the High Lords, as per. Krule finishes the job and executes the last existing High Lord of Terra: Vangorich.

 

Krule becomes one of the new high lords, or at least the Master of Assassins.

 

The Beast Krule, arisen.

 

Very probable, or it could be Wienand who will do it.

What we need is a truly big impact - but by that point events from the 'cleansing' of High Lords are almost pointless. After all the novels and their faults - they are nothing. Their deaths are meaningless. All of them are already destroyed in spirit and influence. So it's more like mop up of the dead

[Brother Dougal]

So, everyone reading this, I have a question/request: does anyone know of artwork depicting the Beast? Given all we've seen about him, he definitely comes across as the kind of character deserving of a portrait. I've looked at all the covers, and none of them seem to be the Beast himself. And if there is no artwork of him (request part here) anyone know of an artist that could do justice for such a force of nature?

[Brother Dougal]

 

 

I both love and hate that there are now in fact Six Beasts of Ullanor. That this faction now finally has a class of warrior equal in legend and power with the Primarchs and Daemon Primarchs makes me very happy. The fact they they're all probably gonna be vaporized in the next book slightly less so. As I said before, I really want to know more about these creatures.

 

Well, if GW isn't going to give us anything about them, I'll just have to do it myself.

 

Ahem, with the revealing of 5 new Beasts of Ullanor, we have now come across a slight problem. Though visually distinct from one another, we have no verbal form of expressing the different Beasts, as even the first Beast's name was nearly untranslatable. Therefore, until we know of some other way to refer to these creatures, the individual Beasts of Ullanor shall be given the following designations: Blacky, Blu, Redd, Sparky, Spooky, and Stinky.

 

That is all for today. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[veterannoob]

So...book 11, Grey Knights? Yes?

[mc warhammer]

Mechanicus dudes. They will cook up something.

I'm amazed how the BT High Marshall is still alive.

That's plot armour - to get that blast and have all appendages still attached to his body - REALLY? He is more powerful than the God Empra lol

Tech priests will cook something good for sure

Isn't Thanes name scribbled on Dorn fist?

It is.

Where?

the left pinky

[Xisor]

Deary me, that's an interesting point.

 

All these Imperial Fists and Successors, and no-one has scrimshawed anything!

[no I'm alpharius]

 

 

I both love and hate that there are now in fact Six Beasts of Ullanor. That this faction now finally has a class of warrior equal in legend and power with the Primarchs and Daemon Primarchs makes me very happy. The fact they they're all probably gonna be vaporized in the next book slightly less so. As I said before, I really want to know more about these creatures.

 

Well, if GW isn't going to give us anything about them, I'll just have to do it myself.

 

Ahem, with the revealing of 5 new Beasts of Ullanor, we have now come across a slight problem. Though visually distinct from one another, we have no verbal form of expressing the different Beasts, as even the first Beast's name was nearly untranslatable. Therefore, until we know of some other way to refer to these creatures, the individual Beasts of Ullanor shall be given the following designations: Blacky, Blu, Redd, Sparky, Spooky, and Stinky.

 

That is all for today. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

 

 

Dear BL,

 

Make their names a pun on

 

Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub

 

please

 

[Xisor]

 

 

 

 

I both love and hate that there are now in fact Six Beasts of Ullanor. That this faction now finally has a class of warrior equal in legend and power with the Primarchs and Daemon Primarchs makes me very happy. The fact they they're all probably gonna be vaporized in the next book slightly less so. As I said before, I really want to know more about these creatures.

 

Well, if GW isn't going to give us anything about them, I'll just have to do it myself.

 

Ahem, with the revealing of 5 new Beasts of Ullanor, we have now come across a slight problem. Though visually distinct from one another, we have no verbal form of expressing the different Beasts, as even the first Beast's name was nearly untranslatable. Therefore, until we know of some other way to refer to these creatures, the individual Beasts of Ullanor shall be given the following designations: Blacky, Blu, Redd, Sparky, Spooky, and Stinky.

 

That is all for today. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

 

Dear BL,

 

Make their names a pun on

 

Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub

 

please

 

 

Taking GW's lead for Primarchs, I imagine it'll be something like this:

 

Goffs: Orky Orkborne

Evil Sunz: Crapstarz

Bad Moons: Da Loony Git

Snakebites: Deffnoodlejaw

Blood Axes: Mindy (...nanoo nanoo)

Deathskulls: Skullcrusha Bone'ead

 

Or somesuch.

 

[DukeLeto69]

Loooong time lurker but first time poster here (active on other forums)...

 

 

Where is everyone getting the idea that there are six beasts? I have literally just finished Last Son of Dorn and it is quite clear that there are six thrones but one is bigger and more decorated than the others. The original BIG Ork Koorland first fights is not THE Beast and certainly not the same creature Vulkan fought, he says so. THAT Beast arrives second and kills him! The other five are referred to as Prime Orks...

 

Get it?

 

Primarchs = Prime Orks

 

[Xisor]

Loooong time lurker but first time poster here (active on other forums)...

 

Where is everyone getting the idea that there are six beasts? I have literally just finished Last Son of Dorn and it is quite clear that there are six thrones but one is bigger and more decorated than the others. The original BIG Ork Koorland first fights is not THE Beast and certainly not the same creature Vulkan fought, he says so. THAT Beast arrives second and kills him! The other five are referred to as Prime Orks...

Get it?

Primarchs = Prime Orks

 

I was reading it thus:

 

They're all Primeorks, with the one that was on the larger throne not necessarily The Beast - we know the two we've met - but which is which? Which one was 'in charge'?

 

I hadn't clocked the larger throne, however. I'd assume whoever that one belonged to is in charge, but is that the Beast? Is that Slaughter? Is that the Orkmaster? The Emperork?

 

Malcadork?

 

That said, I do like the idea of a council of Orks without an Emperor - just a first amongst equals.

 

...

 

What the

 

What if we haven't seen any of the Beast yet.

 

He's busy.

 

Secret.

 

.

.

.

.

.

.

BUSY TRY'N TO GET INTO THE WEBWAY, WHOLESALE!

 

 

[Knight of the Raven]

What the

What if we haven't seen any of the Beast yet.

He's busy.

Secret.

.

.

.

.

.

.

BUSY TRY'N TO GET INTO THE WEBWAY, WHOLESALE!

Because that worked so well for the Emperor.

COMING SOON TO A GALAXY YOU KNOW, THE ORKUS 'ERESY

[veterannoob]

Yes indeed is plot armour. I was expecting him to be dead tbh.

I've made it a point not to read this thread once a new book comes out until I've read it. I get emails for this thread and delete but one slipped through my bleary sleepy eyes Saturday morning on release day and I accidently saw the spoiler. Now I know to turn those off as well until ready. 

[Brother Dougal]

 

Loooong time lurker but first time poster here (active on other forums)...

 

Where is everyone getting the idea that there are six beasts? I have literally just finished Last Son of Dorn and it is quite clear that there are six thrones but one is bigger and more decorated than the others. The original BIG Ork Koorland first fights is not THE Beast and certainly not the same creature Vulkan fought, he says so. THAT Beast arrives second and kills him! The other five are referred to as Prime Orks...

Get it?

Primarchs = Prime Orks

 

I was reading it thus:

 

They're all Primeorks, with the one that was on the larger throne not necessarily The Beast - we know the two we've met - but which is which? Which one was 'in charge'?

I hadn't clocked the larger throne, however. I'd assume whoever that one belonged to is in charge, but is that the Beast? Is that Slaughter? Is that the Orkmaster? The Emperork?

Malcadork?

That said, I do like the idea of a council of Orks without an Emperor - just a first amongst equals.

...

What the

What if we haven't seen any of the Beast yet.

He's busy.

Secret.

.

.

.

.

.

.

BUSY TRY'N TO GET INTO THE WEBWAY, WHOLESALE!

 

 

Personally I believe that Blacky's throne is bigger simply because He is bigger. Blacky is the Prime-Ork of the Goffs, who are known for being the biggest, meanest, and greenest of greenskins. He might very well be the leader of the Prime-Orks if they do (most likely) follow the Ork rule if bigger is better, but I also like the idea of their council. That their six thrones are in a circle at all, as opposed to one being raised up higher than the others on a pedestal or something, is telling that the Beasts of Ullanor have truly evolved. I'm really tempted to believe that the Emperor's first assault on the planet, bringing with him several Primarchs, is the catalyst that caused the Orks to develop a society with 6 ruling Beasts instead of just one ultimate warboss.

 

Oh, and as a final note, I have my suspicions that there were more than two Beasts at work in that novel. If you remember, while leading the assault on the palace Thane notices that the Orks he is fighting display a particular affinity for feints and counter-maneuvers. He also hears an Ork's voice that he assumes is the Beast's. What do you think are the odds that Spooky of Da Blood Axes was the one orchestrating the defense of the palace while Blacky and Blu were waiting inside?

 

[DarkChaplain]

Finally got around to writing up a full review of The Last Son of Dorn. That book's my series favorite, that's how much it got right. It improved on the sense of scale that got missing, had plenty of impact and variety, and was overall just very well done. No idea how they'll wrap it up though.

[HeritorA]

Finally got around to writing up a full review of The Last Son of Dorn. That book's my series favorite, that's how much it got right. It improved on the sense of scale that got missing, had plenty of impact and variety, and was overall just very well done. No idea how they'll wrap it up though.

And comparing to a previous 9 books it's the worst to date, sadly. The best books still are the second and the third Predator, Prey and Emperor Expects

[HeritorA]

Mechanicus dudes. They will cook up something.

I'm amazed how the BT High Marshall is still alive.

That's plot armour - to get that blast and have all appendages still attached to his body - REALLY? He is more powerful than the God Empra lol

Tech priests will cook something good for sure

Isn't Thanes name scribbled on Dorn fist?

It is.

Where?

the left pinky

Ty - by the way - which 'Beast' did he killed - from Evil Sunz?

[HeritorA]

So, everyone reading this, I have a question/request: does anyone know of artwork depicting the Beast? Given all we've seen about him, he definitely comes across as the kind of character deserving of a portrait. I've looked at all the covers, and none of them seem to be the Beast himself. And if there is no artwork of him (request part here) anyone know of an artist that could do justice for such a force of nature?

That's one

 

https://www.google.com.ua/search?q=beast+arises&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSlQEJYGzXVioLB5waiQELEKjU2AQaAggKDAsQsIynCBpiCmAIAxIo2xz9CfwJhQqTFNIe4BfRHuoX8wOxLbQtsy2wLbIt6inpKa8tnj_1vORowXWVWmEBFm8pt3V_1oysyNlJgC_1GHWGAVASiRO9CnclxF6edsLHZQhkTRS9gDngQ9LIAQMCxCOrv4IGgoKCAgBEgS4qjVMDA,isz:l&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwir_ob86aXPAhVMDZoKHQ4PAUoQ2A4IHSgE&biw=1917&bih=916#imgrc=k8b4bKjW3zUdSM%3A

[Felix Antipodes]

I just want to echo DarkChaplain with regard to David Guymer's work on this series. I was impressed with his previous book in the series (Echoes of The Long War) but he really outdid himself with The Last Son of Dorn. Definitely the best book in the series to date. Now I will have to investigate his previous output.

 

Don't know how they are going to end this in the space remaining though. Because of what needs to happen in The Beheading I was expecting that to be a coda to the main story, but that would mean TBA would wrap up next book. Good luck to Rob Sanders and Guy Haley with that.

[DarkChaplain]

That's exactly what I'm worried about: How to finish it with 2 more books, just after raising the challenge so much further. According to the Amazon blurbs, The Beheading is the "we've succeeded, the Beast is dead, but wait, there's more" book. But then, the blurbs have been revised for the last few books too and the one for Shadow of Ullanor is already invalidated with TLSoD.

 

David's mostly been writing WHFB before GW canned that, but if you're fine with that and want to read a relatively one-off novel, I'd recommend Headtaker. He really nailed the Skaven.

 

 

 

Finally got around to writing up a full review of The Last Son of Dorn. That book's my series favorite, that's how much it got right. It improved on the sense of scale that got missing, had plenty of impact and variety, and was overall just very well done. No idea how they'll wrap it up though.

And comparing to a previous 9 books it's the worst to date, sadly. The best books still are the second and the third Predator, Prey and Emperor Expects

 

 

I couldn't possibly disagree more with you on that. The Last Son of Dorn had the impact, emotional payoff, solid action of various degrees and character development all around to stand out as one of the series best. Predator, Prey doesn't hold up to that, and while I enjoyed The Emperor Expects a great deal, it lacked the benefit of being able to weave so many parts of the series plot into one very solid novel.

[Mellow]

The largest of the prime Orks is the one that killed Vulkan and also that killed Koorland.

 

The story itself was a bit lacking compared to others. It was mostly just bolt rounds and explosions followed by deaths.

[Xisor]

:cuss, DC & Mellow! For one: Don't list the blurb from the last book. Certainly not outside spoiler tags. For two: don't just outright post f****** spoilers, generally.

 

Have about a milligram of consideration.

 

That's quite possibly 11 spoiled now. :@

 

You so-called (by me, even) decent, stimulating people. You're bloody hopeless at preserving any hint of suspense.

 

My despair is real.

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

Well, not reading a thread about a book you haven't read yet is always an option.

 

Considering this whole subforum discusses BL novels, it's a little naive to read threads and not expect spoilers

[DarkChaplain]

To be fair, I just pointed out the preliminary Amazon blurbs they put up half a year ago. Didn't quote anything, and commented on them being in flux and not final yet anyway. We always knew that The Beheading refers to events that have been part of the background for generations, too, and the blurbs made it appear like it'd be more of an epilogue book. With TLSoD, I really am not sure this will hold up anymore.

 

Right now, the only way I can see the whole story on Ullanor being wrapped up effectively would be

 

something the story has avoided touching on since Predator, Prey: Life Eater Virus. Seeing that Sanders writes the next one and his story on Undine featured one, I wouldn't put it past them to use it as the final solution for their ork holocaust, but... I'd be oddly dissatisfied with that, personally. It'd be "too easy" and too obvious at this stage. They could've done that from the start and be done with it. I can think of some ways to make it a bit more surprising, but still.