depthcharge12 Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 So I just wanted to lay out this thread for thoughts and musings :) I'm still in the middle of it atm, but I like how Wright is taking a different approach to the EC. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronDrake28 Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 There's a thread in the black library section that's been on this for a while Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374081 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Rohr Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 How are the EC portrayed? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374089 Share on other sites More sharing options...
depthcharge12 Posted April 24, 2016 Author Share Posted April 24, 2016 How are the EC portrayed? The head of the Palatines refuses augmentation until he deems he has done all he can as a warrior to be the best. Also, Eidolon isn't an overbearing douche...he actually sounds jaded and regretful of how the legion has turned out Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374095 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Golem Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 I'm only a little way in but I'm liking the EC portrayal so far a lot. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374202 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliesin Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Is Fulgrim included? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374318 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevatar Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Would it be possible to have spoilers/a synopsis? Thanks. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374319 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Loss Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Is Fulgrim included? No, the main EC character is Eidolon - albeit in a different form to how he has been seen before. Fulgrim is elsewhere and doesn't feature in the novel, but there are numerous other EC supporting characters alongside Eidolon. Overall, awesome book - just finished. Loved the entire thing, Wraight makes me love the White Scars and I enjoyed his portrayal of the III Legion especially. Eidolon is awesome. And that ending...it really feels like the series is going somewhere now. very happy. Wraight is a monster and I hope he keeps pumping out full HH novels. I enjoyed Scars and appreciated Wolf King but this was even better. Lots of fan service and he takes the effort to sort out the mistakes of other authors (amending in particular a lot of McNeil's work on Mortarion/the EC here). Great stuff and worth the purchase for anybody on the fence. EDIT: my phone is screwing up, so if this has double posted or something apologies to the mods EDITV2: I will say also that Wraight's description of my own beloved Primarch, Horus, is jaw-droppingly nerdawesome. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374387 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athrawes Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Posted this in the Black Library subforum discussion of Path of Heaven Wow, great book. SO many characters died, which is how I feel the Heresy should play out, it adds a lot of weight to the conflict and sacrifices. Synopsis: BY my count we lost, Yesugei, Torghun, Xin Qa, Jochi and Cario (was new but awesome) Basically the story takes place 4 years after the second battle of Prospero, the white scars are trapped by the advancing traitor legions as they all try to advance towards earth, the principle forces pursuing the Scars belong to Eidolon and 1/3rd of the whole emperors children Legion, and Mortarion. The scars, desperate to break past the traitors and reach Terra seek out a Navigator house leader who is believed to be on a world near by and who might have the means to guide them through the warp storms. What they find is a path that leads them to a huge warp anomaly with an secret imperial space station in the Center called 'Dark Glass' which turns out to be constructed by the Emperor as a 'prototype' golden throne, less powerful but almost a copy of the one on terra. There is a really cool subplot detailing how the Navigator houses and the Paternova are trying to sabotage the Emperors work on building the Throne and accessing the webway, as they realize that if Humanity doesn't need to travel through the warp, the navigators will lose their use and power within the imperium, they fear that the emperor will then kill all psykers/mutants. Needless to say, all the forces converge on the 'Dark Glass' The scars are badly outnumbered, and so Yesugei, sacrifices himself by sitting on the golden throne, to open a portal into the webway, that the white scars fleet can escape through. Torghun and the Sagyar Mazan sacrifice themselves aboard the white scars flagship delaying mortarion and buying time for the Khan and the rest of the Fleet to escape. Arvida also has a big plot thread through the book where he is dealing with the flesh change, helping the legion and ultimately guides the White scars through the webway to a point close to Terra. At that point he passes out and in begining to meld with his armor as the flesh change takes over. The story ends with the fleet arriving safely a few weeks away from terra, and they are met by Russ who nearly kills the Khan as a traitor, for 'betraying' them at Alexxes. An Agent of Malcador comes to claim Arvida saying that if they hurry, there is a way to help him deal with the Flesh Change.All told it was a great story, and worthy successor to Scars. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374487 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliesin Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Daemon action also satisfying? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374499 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuskRaider Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 How about the Death Guard, how were they portrayed? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374639 Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostMalone Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Well I'm about to start reading but.... proto golden throne storyline is the sort of :cuss I'm over within the heresy just like the Pharos etc. I'm happy for the humanisation ion of Eidolon as he's always portrayed as a git. And I'd rather arvida succumb to the flesh change as it can explain why at a later founding a certain chapter could be founded in his honour, so it's a link but not a direct link to said chapter, yesugei is sad and I feel that he needed to be the loyalist counterpart to ahriman at the siege, imagine the Titanic psychic battle they could have done, legendary herpes clashing In the final real war but nope proto golden toilet appears for reasons creating reasons for a pointless kill off. But shiban lives to fight another day! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374762 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Loss Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 How about the Death Guard, how were they portrayed? Not sure if someone has replied on another thread to you, but in my opinion really, really well - by far their best depiction in the Heresy series, and it goes a long way to undoing the poor work of McNeil (Vengeful Spirit), adding on to Wraight's previous work on Daemonology. Very, very well. They don't feature as much in the novel as the EC - what we see of the DG is mainly from Mortarion's POV with some new characters like their new Siegemaster, the replacement for Durak Rask. Wraight basically spends this time time justifying and explaining the many poor depictions of the DG - Grulgor, etc etc. Mortarion is further along the road to chaos now, as is his Legion, but he maintains they are pure. There are at this point many, many signs of what is to come. Typhon is missing and the novel ends with Mortarion requesting Eidolon use his warp magic to locate him, so Mortarion can reunite his entire Legion before they go to Terra. I really enjoyed it and it was also the first time I've seen their use of phosphex/rad weaponry elaborated on in detail. IN a naval battle, they use phosphex weaponry on enemy ships to devastating effect. It's (horrifically) awesome. The real question is whether Wraight will do a Fall of the DG novel - I really goddamn hope so. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374802 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuskRaider Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Hmmm... I may actually need to pick this up then. Thanks Marshall!! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4374815 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevatar Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Does the Swordstorm/Xin Qa feature, and if so, what do they do? Thanks. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4375152 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Loss Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Does the Swordstorm/Xin Qa feature, and if so, what do they do? Thanks. Swordstorm Is destroyed by the Death Guard after sacrificing itself (as Mortarion thinks the Khan is on it) to allow the White Scars to escape to Terra. The redeemed 'Traitors' die aboard it (Sagyar Mazan) Qin Xa Is slain in single combat by Lord Commander Eidolon, while wearing gear to make him appear like he is the Khan. He dies of his injuries shortly afterwards. He dies quite early on and so doesn't really play a role in the novel Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4375184 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevatar Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Does the Swordstorm/Xin Qa feature, and if so, what do they do? Thanks. Swordstorm Is destroyed by the Death Guard after sacrificing itself (as Mortarion thinks the Khan is on it) to allow the White Scars to escape to Terra. The redeemed 'Traitors' die aboard it (Sagyar Mazan) Qin Xa Is slain in single combat by Lord Commander Eidolon, while wearing gear to make him appear like he is the Khan. He dies of his injuries shortly afterwards. He dies quite early on and so doesn't really play a role in the novel Thanks for the reply. How does the rest of the White Scar fleet fare? It is a shame the Khan doesn't go all Achilles on Eidolon. Do the White Scars savage the EC/DG/Daemons or do they battered? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4375272 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Loss Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Fleet To my knowledge, the Swordstorm is the only major ship that dies in the final engagement. Basically it runs at the DG, with Mortarion thinking the Khan is on it, while the majority of the WS fleet escapes to Terra. Because the DG stop the pursuit (as all Mortarion cares about is the Khan), the fleet is able to extract itself in one piece as the Emperor's Children on their own are unable to stop them. The WS definitely don't get totally battered. They hold their own and the final battle scene is the Khan leading a charge (after a badass speech) against Daemons who storm the bridge of the ship they're on (with a psyker who must be kept alive to get them to Terra). Plenty of EC die so it doesn't feel uneven. Khan and Eidolon never meet face to face. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4375298 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athrawes Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Does the Swordstorm/Xin Qa feature, and if so, what do they do? Thanks. Swordstorm Is destroyed by the Death Guard after sacrificing itself (as Mortarion thinks the Khan is on it) to allow the White Scars to escape to Terra. The redeemed 'Traitors' die aboard it (Sagyar Mazan) Qin Xa Is slain in single combat by Lord Commander Eidolon, while wearing gear to make him appear like he is the Khan. He dies of his injuries shortly afterwards. He dies quite early on and so doesn't really play a role in the novel Thanks for the reply. How does the rest of the White Scar fleet fare? It is a shame the Khan doesn't go all Achilles on Eidolon. Do the White Scars savage the EC/DG/Daemons or do they battered? At the end of the book, Russ remarks that the White Scars fleet seems to be about half as large as it was when he requested their aid 4 years earlier, so they have definitely been ravaged by constant war behind enemy lines, I'm sure some of that loss comes from the battle around Dark Glass.. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4375388 Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus.calvariam Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Well I'm about to start reading but.... proto golden throne storyline is the sort of I'm over within the heresy just like the Pharos etc. I'm happy for the humanisation ion of Eidolon as he's always portrayed as a git. And I'd rather arvida succumb to the flesh change as it can explain why at a later founding a certain chapter could be founded in his honour, so it's a link but not a direct link to said chapter, yesugei is sad and I feel that he needed to be the loyalist counterpart to ahriman at the siege, imagine the Titanic psychic battle they could have done, legendary herpes clashing In the final real war but nope proto golden toilet appears for reasons creating reasons for a pointless kill off. But shiban lives to fight another day! Personally I felt that the plot was very well handled. The White Scars needed a way to reach Terra before the noose tightened around them, and for a time it seemed like there was not going to be a way out. The proto golden throne plot thread was pretty interesting as it dealt with a split between navigator houses, a conflict which to my knowledge has not been covered until now. Yesugei's death was more impactful than it could ever be if he had made it to Terra. With his and Qin Xa's death, all of the old guard of the plains of Chogoris are gone, and Jaghatai is greatly affected by their loss. Gone are the laughing killers of the V legion. By the time they reach Terra, the old legion is dead. Jaghatai made it to home as he had promised, but he had lost everything to get there. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4375536 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plague Angel Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 The change in the Legion between this book and Scars was stark. I reread Scars to get in the mood, so for me it was literally back to back. I can see why it was hard to write. But that made it worth it, I think. It might be my favorite Heresy novel yet. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4375573 Share on other sites More sharing options...
depthcharge12 Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Man that part - When the Sagyar Mazan came back on the flagship and the Khan said, "this is a place of honor, you have a chance to regain yours." - was so fricking manly. My little sister read that line and became a fully bearded navy seal operator after it. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4377389 Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1soul Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 The book is not without a few minor flaws 1. Eidolon is described as only deadly because of his voice early on...later he turns out to be a juiced-to-the-gills thunderhammer-wielding close combat monster in a duel - so just a tad inconsistent 2. The beginning of the novel is very information-dense... In rather quick succession, it introduces three groups of EC: Cario (the Palatine Blade leader) and his ship the Suzerain, Konenos and Erato and their ship the Ravisher, and Eidolon and Von Kalda and their ship the Proudheart. It was a tad bit hard to keep track of these three parties. Also...they attack the Memnos Convoy, anticipating that the EC will treat the attack as a diversion and respond by fortifying the Gate, thus leaving Dark Glass open. All this info is conveyed a bit clunkily. 3. Don't think Konenos was a necesaary character. Don't think he added much 4. As for Qin Xa his death felt a bit premature These are all relatively minor gripes about one of the best HH books to date. Pharos was tolerable. This was veru entertaining, especially toward the end Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4377407 Share on other sites More sharing options...
depthcharge12 Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Did anyone else notice that Wright seems to be obsessed with the word spoor? I saw it mention quite a few times in different contexts...but the word itself grates on me like "moist" does for others lol. Spoor. Spoooooor. Sporz. Spoor. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4377587 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Rohr Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 So DC, you think parts might've been spoorly written or in spoor taste? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321750-path-to-heaven-book-thread/#findComment-4378449 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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