Space Marine Battles: Damocles

[Kelborn]

Hey guys,

just finished Damocles and I must admit: it's cool.

Was a bit skeptic when I read the authors Phil Kelly, Ben Counter, Josh Reynolds and Guy Haley

as I'm not familiar with their work (besides Ben Counter).

But, I'm very surprised.

As I've read it in German, I actually don't know the English titles of these four stories, sorry. Keep in mind that the following might contain spoilers. I'm trying to avoid them.

Phil Kelly:

Kind of cool. Liked the way he gave an overview of both sides (with Kor'sarro + Shrike, etc. vs. Shadowsun).

The battles were enjoyable although I've read better ones but they are diversified. Loved the scene when the Obsidian Knights owned the Riptides. ^^

What I liked the most of this story: his depiction of Shadowsun and her multi tasking skills. Even gave her a darker tone when she nearly interacted with the voices of Agrellan.

Guy Haley:

The story I'm the most surprised of. I really liked the point of view from a Gue'vesa member. I definitely hit the spot. I like the Tau. Would there be a sub forum for them on this board, I would stay there the whole day. This story really gave the feeling of what the Codex, etc. started: The Tau being the rising "good" guys, who only wants to do what is best for all. BUT they still have their dark side. In this story as well and this little twist at the end of the story let's the reader asking himself: Well yeah....that's creepy. But would I accept this to live a better life in peace?

Ben Counter:

Well....the Souldrinker novels where amongst the first 40k novels I've read. And I like his Grey Knight novels. But this one...meh. It's about a Squad of Ultramarines, a squad of Jade Dragons (did he created them?) against Tau loyalists. Although I like the concept of the Jade Dragons, the whole story did not convince me at all. The bottom line is: Imperium = fools, Tau = superior

kk thx bye

Josh Reynolds:

That is a short story!

Love it! It's only about White Scars fighting against Tau but it has so much information, hints and insights in the White Scars culture that after finishing this book, I started to read White Scars from Chris Wraight a second time (the first HH book I'm reading the second time). Got nearly nothing to speak against this one. Loved the humor, the characters, the insights about their culture / combat doctrines, liked the battle descriptions.... The only thing I found a bit confusing is that I did not know, if he was talking about Crisis or Riptide battlesuits. He's just saying, Jebe jumped on the battlesuit.... Thurst climbed on the back of a battlesuit.... the battlesuit was ripped apart.

Yeah ok...I got it but which type? Did they climbed on a Riptide? If so, why is it vulnerable to normal bolter fire?

I don't know if there was a thread already written here but I wanted to share that with you.

So, what is your opinion about it? Did you enjoyed it as well?

Kelborn

PS:

Sorry for my bad English. If there are huge mistakes, etc. just let me know, ok?

[HeritorA]

Except for the Haley's story - the anthology was bad

[Jareddm]

You shouldn't be surprised by Guy Haley. His stories are good. Really good. I've yet to be disappointed in any of them.

[Rob P]

Kelborn, I think my view of this anthology was very similar to yours.

 

Really enjoyed it except Black Leviathan, but even that had some good bits (like the final bit).

 

I can't agree with Jareddm about Guy Haley. I generally find his stories to be a hard slog with longwinded descriptive prose that dozes me off (Pharos is a prime example of this), but I really liked his story here. The less words he has to play with the better the story.

[DarkChaplain]

The Kelly story almost made me delete the ebook off my reader, it was that infuriating. Thankfully the other stories were solid to great, especially Haley's.

 

@Rob P That's probably because he writes harder scifi than pretty much anybody in BL's stable. He goes into detail about technical things, like Terminator plate, tank machinery or highly detailed original settings in his own novels. That's part of his appeal - he doesn't just slap around bolters and chainswords, he actually creates an immersive setting.

I found Pharos to be a highlight of the series, and nowhere did I feel that his prose was bogged down. If anything, it had less in-depth looks on tech and environment than his other works, like Death of Integrity or Skarsnik.

[Rob P]

The Kelly story almost made me delete the ebook off my reader, it was that infuriating. Thankfully the other stories were solid to great, especially Haley's.

 

@Rob P That's probably because he writes harder scifi than pretty much anybody in BL's stable. He goes into detail about technical things, like Terminator plate, tank machinery or highly detailed original settings in his own novels. That's part of his appeal - he doesn't just slap around bolters and chainswords, he actually creates an immersive setting.

I found Pharos to be a highlight of the series, and nowhere did I feel that his prose was bogged down. If anything, it had less in-depth looks on tech and environment than his other works, like Death of Integrity or Skarsnik.

 

I don't want to de-rail the thread so i'll keep it short.

 

I know a lot of people like Guy Haley's stories. I read three on the run of which Pharos and Death of Integrity were two. I liked a lot of the ideas in the novels but I did find the prose a hard slog to the point I was just skipping over lots of it. I personally find his style to be the opposite of immersive; in fact it takes me out of the story because I have to read some paragraphs 2-3 times over to take it in. His style is definitely for those like to put some effort in to get the most out of the novel (a lot like some of Matt Farrer's stuff).

 

I suppose the point I am making (which is off topic) is that I would have enjoyed Pharos more if it had been a lot shorter and a lot of the unnecessary detail cut out.

 

I prefer the authors that focus on the characters and plot and who generally place both the details and the action in the background. Also my threshold for silliness to faciliate plot advancement is very high too (but not quite backflipping terminator high).

 

Like a lot of BL stuff YMMV.

[HeritorA]

The Kelly story almost made me delete the ebook off my reader, it was that infuriating. Thankfully the other stories were solid to great, especially Haley's.

 

@Rob P That's probably because he writes harder scifi than pretty much anybody in BL's stable. He goes into detail about technical things, like Terminator plate, tank machinery or highly detailed original settings in his own novels. That's part of his appeal - he doesn't just slap around bolters and chainswords, he actually creates an immersive setting.

I found Pharos to be a highlight of the series, and nowhere did I feel that his prose was bogged down. If anything, it had less in-depth looks on tech and environment than his other works, like Death of Integrity or Skarsnik.

Exactly why Guy Haley is an amazing author. But I can't stand Kelly stuff