Have BL's business practices actually boosted profit?

[HaSY]

Aside from the 4 covers, we are going to have Angels of Caliban, Crimson King, Master of Mankind and more. What is year 2016? BL is steamrolling ala Scouring. The warp is overtaking me!
 

[Prot]

I can't wait for MoM. Actually I think my expectations might be unrealistic. But still basically I 2016 is about that book and the one with the Ultramarines and imperial fists being attacked by night lords.

[HamsterExAstris]

I've actually stopped buying any novellas,short stories or any variant. They will be collected and released in a future anthology for a fraction of the price.

I don't even mind if they do that. I just mind if they number said anthology as part of the series. I've given up collecting the HH hardcovers because I refuse to pay $35 for two new-to-me stories.

(Speaking of which - any suggestions for where I can unload my other volumes so I can replace them with ebooks? )

Do we think the rest of the HH novellas are going to be reprinted, though? Or was i]Brotherhood of the Storm[/i] an exception and not the rule? I know the policy is "everything in every format", but these are already in print in standalone form...

[b1soul]

A lot of this (IMHO) is because the slowdown in the publishing schedule has created the same feeling of stagnation as W40K. Hopefully this will abate as the schedule picks up in the new year.

Only a trickle of novels recently coupled with the fact that 2 of those novels were by Nick Kyme and 1 of them could have easily been a 40K story

[veterannoob]

Just be prepared of the four books revealed by GW a couple months back for HH, two are anthologies. To be fair, the BL and GW sites are good now about telling you what's in the books so you don't rebuy. Usually turns out I have every story in anthology anyway or the audio dramas so that saves me more dough to toss them. ;)

[A D-B]

I can't wait for MoM. Actually I think my expectations might be unrealistic. 

 

I'm scared now. What are you expecting?

 

I HAVE THE FEAR.

[Prot]

 

I can't wait for MoM. Actually I think my expectations might be unrealistic. 

 

I'm scared now. What are you expecting?

 

I HAVE THE FEAR.

 

 

 

I thought you Knew No Fear?! But preferred to dish it out instead?

 

I had questions of the Emperor since I started getting into the background and playing this game so long ago. I'm one of those people that loves the flashes of lightsaber duels and cool force lightning tricks but always wanted to know the nitty gritty behind the force curtain.

 

I see this as one of those exceptionally rare opportunities (which quite honestly I doubt we'll ever, ever see again) to peek behind the wizard's curtain. (Better not see a troll sitting on a box with a bunch of levers! lol )

 

You have already tempered my expectations by (understandably) not answering any of my questions but instead throwing out the blanket " I won't / can't reveal everything about the Emperor". (paraphrasing)

 

The emperor is one of those very rare fictional characters that I have tried very hard to not come to my own conclusions. Is he a god? Is he also a thing of the Warp? That sort of stuff. The original 40K fluff bible leaked out on torrents way, way back when Napster was a thing. I read that thing and my mouth dropped at the ideas presented. Should he die? Would he be re-born? What is this Illuminati group? Are they trying to kill us (mankind) or hit the reset button? Some fascinating concepts in there. So many hidden gems of ideas, and bread crumbs to so many things I wanted to know. :)

 

Then you drop MoM on us. So I revisit these ideas because one of the things I always credit you with is giving Primarch's a voice. They were always whispered about in the novels, perhaps a shadow in the background leaning over a tactical display, but no one really gave them a voice. Now I see the same pattern with the Emperor. No one really knows what he truly looks like? We know absolutely nothing about perhaps the most interesting character in the universe. Does he even eat? What kind of tea would he drink? Does he talk with his hands? Can he play the piano? We know nothing other than glimpses mostly brought by Graham McNeil.... the burning church might be the most humbling interpretation I've seen of him.( sorry can't remember the story name.)

 

So here we are... on the door step of MoM. I could easily make a top 50 list but it would be unfair of me. I'm trying once again, to remain as open as possible. That being said, I draw the line at a pony tail. If he has a pony tail Emperor help me I'm going to have fit.

 

But what I "Hope" to know is:

 

- His personality. One series I really enjoyed was the Hannibal Lector series by Thomas. And I always remember him saying the biggest challenge was writing about someone that is far smarter than you, in IQ and just intellectually on a level far above you. How he respected that and tried to handle it was interesting. How does the personality of a 'deity' turn out? That level of knowledge, and the function of 'stuff' must be mind blowing.

 

- His power. We know his genius, but when did he actually become "Neo"? (I remember a scene where there is an injured war machine/walker on Mars. And I think he walks by it. Understands it is 'broken' and through contact, he manipulates the structure in question and repairs it.)

 

- His beginning. Does he have a clue? Or is he one of those universal chicken and egg things?  Why walk the earth for so long as a 'witness' to it all before taking the mantel? Has he ever died before? Is he Neo number 7? Or 1? Does he aspire to Intergalactic dominance or just mild suppression of Tau? (Please be a Tau hater... please be a Tau hater..)

 

That would be the top 2 things I want to know about Him. BUT.... I have no idea how you could cover it in one piece. It would have to be a novel of intergalactic proportions.

 

There's so much stuff around him we haven't explored, like:

 

- What's the deal with him and Malcador? How gifted is Malcador?

 

- I MUST know why he didn't tell his kids about Chaos. IMHO their ignorance of it was a huge part of them succumbing to it. What is his relationship with his kids really? How many test tube space giants are floating out there we -don't know about-? Did he have a favorite kid, and then with someone like Mort it was like... man kid, take a bath you're killing me here.

 

- There's all sorts of fun stuff too.... like did he one shot a massive C'tan in the junk and bury him under Mars? That would be a cool fight.

 

 

 

I'm sorry I went off again.... I'll stop but obviously it's not easy for me. Whether you like it or not, MoM is something we all feel very passionate about. One day if this all broke out of our little 40K microcosm, it would hit the big screen (I have no doubts). This would be a huge reference point for that.

[veterannoob]

I've actually stopped buying any novellas,short stories or any variant. They will be collected and released in a future anthology for a fraction of the price.

 

WLK

18 months has been the norm these past 2-3 years. Limited ed. novella, then 18 months comes cheaper hardbook paired with audio. 

[HeritorA]

A D-B - you can't even fathom how high are my expectations, lol. If it will not have AL, tons of dead sisters of Silence and big void battle inside the webway + some sector (you do know what i mean ) - I would be totally disappointed

Plus we all know that Abnett is busy - but it is too much comics now

[Half Goat]

I'm of the mind it is better to keep the emperor as that legendary myth hidden in his lab. I don't want to know any more about him, because it would ruin it (much like what happened to some of the primarch due to being handled by poor authors).

 

What is going to interest me more, is the people surrounding the emperor. We know he tucked himself away and has Custodes etc on terra. But who really has his confidence? Who does HE really trust, and perhaps rather than what is he like, how do they perceive him. I think that is what ADB is going to capture best rather than trying to fathom the unfathomable big E

 

Betrayer was great not just because of the insight into Angron, but because of all those deep characters around him that ADB captures so well. Give us this, but scaled up to HIM on terra and his current confidants

[Praetor of Calth]

For me personally I don't want MoM to give us a singular idea of just what makes the Emperor tick. I want to see the differing perspectives of those around him and how they view him. Each perspective should be exactly that, a perspective, but there should be an element in truth in each one that adds up to a fuller, albeit incomplete, picture.

 

 

The best way to explore the Emperor, in my eyes, is through his dialogue and relationship with other characters. The relationship he has with Dorn will be vastly different to the one he has with Malcador, which will be vastly different to that of Valdor or even the Mechanicum.

 

I'd also like to see how different primarchs, or even their legions view him. You have two primarchs on Terra right now A.D-B, you know you want too.

[Jareddm]

What is going to interest me more, is the people surrounding the emperor. We know he tucked himself away and has Custodes etc on terra. But who really has his confidence? Who does HE really trust, and perhaps rather than what is he like, how do they perceive him. I think that is what ADB is going to capture best rather than trying to fathom the unfathomable big E

But then everyone will complain about ADB doing another, "Self-Insert Best Friend to the Important Characters." Because we really need more of that idiotic complaint.

[b1soul]

Aaron...are the Custodes goint to get a lot of attention?

[A D-B]

What is going to interest me more, is the people surrounding the emperor. We know he tucked himself away and has Custodes etc on terra. But who really has his confidence? Who does HE really trust, and perhaps rather than what is he like, how do they perceive him. I think that is what ADB is going to capture best rather than trying to fathom the unfathomable big E

But then everyone will complain about ADB doing another, "Self-Insert Best Friend to the Important Characters." Because we really need more of that idiotic complaint.

Ha! In fairness (and this is from someone who collects well-written negative feedback to muse over later) I've not seen that one, but it sounds funny. I'll happily live in ignorance of it, though.

Aaron...are the Custodes goint to get a lot of attention?

As you can see from my sparse replies, I'm trying to avoid saying what will and won't be in the book, but it's fair to say it's massively Custodian-heavy.

[b1soul]

 

 

Aaron...are the Custodes goint to get a lot of attention?

 

 

As you can see from my sparse replies, I'm trying to avoid saying what will and won't be in the book, but it's fair to say it's massively Custodian-heavy.

:)

[Taliesin]

Aside from the 4 covers, we are going to have Angels of Caliban, Crimson King, Master of Mankind and more. What is year 2016? BL is steamrolling ala Scouring. The warp is overtaking me!

 

 

The Chris Wraight sequel should really come out next year, it will surely be done in time if it isn't already.

[Bulwyf]

I can only speak for myself but I will not buy anything other than full length novels. The decision to end Hammer and Bolter was a bad one. You just could not beat how great of a deal it was to get those stories and serialized novels for an affordable lump sum a month. Now they are charging half of what H&B was for just a SINGLE short story. No thanks to that.

 

I have been a fan of this mythos since the start in the 80's with both Warhammer and 40k. When GW decided to nuke Warhammer it completely killed any interest I have in any fantasy from GW until they bring back the Old World. Reading 40k material for the last two  years or so has been more a chore than a joy. You have the rare, truly excellent material from ADB and whatever works Abnett and McNeil had left over...and then the dross. The 40k setting seems to have been abandoned. You get random Imperial Guard stories or a throwaway Space Marine Chapter but where's the staples?

 

We need another Night Lord trilogy, more Gaunt's Ghosts, more Ultramarines, more Ciaphas Cain...more series set in 40k and not in the Heresy or 32k. How invested as a reader can you possibly get about a throwaway Imperial Guard regiment or some random Tau story? Readers want to read the ongoing adventures of someone, heck anyone as long as it is well done. Are there any current 40k series that is still on going?

[Captain Tezdal]

I just wish Wraight would write a Death Guard novel, but besides that I'm happy with whatever BL puts out, then again I started reading 40k novels with Gotos books so I'm pretty easy to please.

[veterannoob]

I just wish Wraight would write a Death Guard novel, but besides that I'm happy with whatever BL puts out, then again I started reading 40k novels with Gotos books so I'm pretty easy to please.

THIS! is what I'm waiting for since the series started. And I do hope it's Chris. :)

[Aqui]

I realise why BL and GW are focusing on the Heresy. It's what fans want and it makes sense from a business point of view, but it would be nice to see a few 40K novels that aren't Marine-centric. I could be wrong (it's not unknown ), but I could have sworn that AD-B said that he was going to write a Sisters novel (or wanted to).

I'd love to see that (apologies, if that puts him on the spot. It's not my intention and I realise that plans change dramatically)

[Bulwyf]

Yes, I'd like to see the Sisters more in the novels. I'm afraid they are going to get squatted which IMO would be a terrible decision.

[veterannoob]

Yes, I'd like to see the Sisters more in the novels. I'm afraid they are going to get squatted which IMO would be a terrible decision.

Testify and Amen! Those poor squats:( my poor squats:(

 

I posted an intervie w/James Swallow Sunday on how he approaches and writes Sisters in his fiction / audio and got some great insight into the Sisters 30k-40k. Inspired now to pick out any work w/Sisters. :) he talks briefly about his next works in the coming anthologies and a character from his HH novels, shorts.

 

And it would be amazing if ADB released some Sister fic as well.

 

If you want to hear the interview with James it's on iTunes Combat Phase Ep 124 or direct link below.

 

tp://traffic.libsyn.com/combatphase/ep_124_-_women_in_wargaming.mp3

 

Women in Wargaming!

We talk news and games played very briefly but are eager to jump right into our topic of the week: Women and Wargaming! This is reflecting the characters and units, not the sex of the player his/herself. We have added more interviews so we will follow this episode up in January or February 2016.

 

As so many wargames have female characters we highlight some games, the role of female characters in the fluff, and some model choices for your female characters or conversions. We are joined by BL author James Swallow talking Sisters of Battle in 30K - 40K, as well as Garro (now with model!) and his upcoming works. Ronnie Renton of Mantic games joins us next for a great discussion about the wonderful worlds of Mantic Games for female characters in these properties. He's a fantastic guest:)