veterannoob Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Just humor me and my curiosity as I've just wondered something from this forum. Not to focus on the negative--and I appreciate this forum has been fair and opinions supported--but which BL authors do you like, in general or the shining star here and there? I know, we all love ADB *waves to Greece * but who else? Really, this is intended for good natured discussion. Naturally this isn't an exhaustive list because what fun would that be? I'll start with a few: Graham McN for excellent stories and most of the time compelling characters (I'm sure there was one or two I wasn't as into at some point) Steve Parker original, realatable and I wish more often Chris W cuz he kooooool [ADB] maketh all awesome Guy Haley this guy is prolific and engaging and fun Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Servant of Dante Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Can't say I pay much attention to who writes what I read, and I read only a few more than a dozen BL books, but I'll give this a shot. Sandy Mitchell for his work with Ciaphas Cain (although his portrayals of the Sisters of Battle in those books irk me to no end). Graham McNeil for things like Mechanicum, False Gods, "The Wolf of Ash and Fire" and "The Last Church." Not a huge fan of Vengefull Spirit Dan Abnett for Horus Rising Don't have any idea about anything else he's wrote, but David Annandale's Yarrick: Imperial Creed is well done, and a good representation of the Imperial mindset. And the Sisters in that books are awesome (it's what finally got me to take the plunge and start a Sisters army, so I guess that's pretty high praise). And whenever I hear the title Horus Rising . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flint13 Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 ^Will totally back up Sandy Mitchell. I kinda grew up (in the Warhammer world) on Ciaphas Cain and Gaunts Ghosts. Those two will always hold a special lil place in my heart. More recently though, I'm really loving Mr. French's stuff. Child of Night caught my attention hard and Templar is my favorite audio drama to ever come out of BL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathspectersgt7 Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Sanders (Excoriators)Predator Prey and shorts . Abnett (Iron Snakes) I am Slaughter ADB (Celestial Lions&Black Templars) Black Legion. These are my top 3 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quixus Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 McNeill is pretty hit or miss to me. Storm of Iron is so much better than the Smurf Omnibuses despite sharing some characters. Sandy Mitchell does great parody of 40K tropes. Abnett and A D-B are my favorites for "serious" 40K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH79 Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Interesting thread! Quite difficult with so many good authors / stories to choose from. I'll stick with 5 as per your first post veterannoob So in no particular order my 5 faves would have to be: ADB - This guy is a wizard and each book he writes seems to surpass the last! Helsreach, Talon of Horus and First Heretic among my favourate BL titles. Dan Abnett - I really didn't want to post him as i see his moving nearly 100% to comic book super hero works as a real step down from what he was doing for BL... but Horus Rising, Legion, Know No Fear and Prospero Burns with it's dripping, wet leopard growls speak for themselves. Miss his contributions to the Heresy! Graham McNeill - I love this guy, his books are so easy to slip into and jog along at a great pace. I was never really interested in the Iron Warriors until i listened to Angel Exterminatus, great adventure. Hopefully he will continue to contribute to the heresy as and when time allows... c'mon Crimson King!!! Chris Wraight - The man who made me fall in love with the White Scars and Space Wolves, nuff said! John French - Warmaster is still one of the heresy's best Audiodrama shorts... this literally had me needing more, more, more when i first listed to it at Christmas 2012! His Ahriman trilogy is great and The Last Remembrancer is one of the most compelling short stories the heresy has to offer! I thought that list would be an easy one to write but it's taken nearly 30 minutes lol!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1soul Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Abnett, ADB, Wraight, French Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quixus Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Chris Wraight / C Z Dunn - The man who made me fall in love with the White Scars and Space Wolves, nuff said! Are they the same guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roomsky Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Dan and ADB are obvious, so I won't go much into them, other than they are both awesome in their own way. John French- Pretty sure he's just a good author, he doesn't need to lean on the setting to be enjoyable. Athame was barely a 40k story and was still enjoyable, and while I think his works could use a little more humour to break up the grimdark, he's quite skilled.He deserves points for the conversation between Dorn and SIgismund in The Crimson Fist alone. Chris Wraight- A fantastic 40k writer, Scars is one of my series favorites. Haven't read anything bad by him, and I love him all the more for doing clean-up on Mortarion and The White Scars, who were totally shafted until he got his hands on them. Honourable mentions. Guy Haley- Gets points first and foremost for Twisted, one of the best heresy shorts I've ever read. Reading Pharos now, and while it doesn't quite live up to the precedent Twisted set, its still on the high end of the Heresy quality gradient. looking forward to his next works. Rob Sanders- The Serpent Beneath is every bit as good as Legion, though from what I've read I think he works best as a short story/novella author. Still, his works capture the grim and gritty of 40k with a skilled use of short and sweet prose that other authors wish they could match. David Annandale- Unfortunately Dave hasn't really gotten a chance to write something especially cool yet. That being said, Pythos was a very well written, if distractingly blandly plotted, story. I'd love to see him tackle something a little meatier. Graham Mcneill- Somehow managed to produce the masterpiece that is Fulgrim and the stunningly poor Vengeful Spirit. I'd be happy if the Iron Warriors and Emperor's Children remained in his hands indefinitely, he really seems to understand those legions like no other. James Swallow- Poor Jim has a lot of problems, but I've never found him a chore to read. His prose is strong but his plots can suffer, with Eisenstein being his only standout work. That being said, the last few pages of Fear to Tread were the best portrayal of Horus in the entire series, so he gets mad props for that. Matthew Farrer- Would undoubtedly be top-tier if he wrote more than two short stories. After De'shea was a masterpiece, however, and cements my respect for him more than several other authors multiple mediocre entries ever could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1soul Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 I have been very impressed with French The quality of his prose is up there with that of Aaron's, Dan's, Wraight's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH79 Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Abnett, ADB, Wraight, French Haha, nothing quite like getting right to the heart of the matter! Chris Wraight / C Z Dunn - The man who made me fall in love with the White Scars and Space Wolves, nuff said! Are they the same guy? You know what, they're not! I'm not sure how or why i had that in my head that they were! Consider me corrected and my post edited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 I think that "masterpiece" is overly generous with Fulgrim. Though I don't think I've encountered any BL book I'd call a masterpiece. I certainly thought ADB's take on Istvan was more powerful. I prefer the way people like George R R Martin will use individual acts to give you an idea of a wider battle, rather than McNeill's use of sweeping adjectives. Actually, that's another thread for the fanfic subforum - people's go-to references outside of BL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roomsky Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 I think that "masterpiece" is overly generous with Fulgrim. Though I don't think I've encountered any BL book I'd call a masterpiece. I certainly thought ADB's take on Istvan was more powerful. I prefer the way people like George R R Martin will use individual acts to give you an idea of a wider battle, rather than McNeill's use of sweeping adjectives. Actually, that's another thread for the fanfic subforum - people's go-to references outside of BL. Ha, yes, on no particularly objective sense is Fulgrim any great literature. Heck, A Thousand Sons is absolutely a better book, I just have a personal preference for the Emperor's Children. And while the method you described to tell the story of a battle is my preferred manner also, I applaud Fulgrim for understanding that Ferrus v Fulgrim, and the battles in their immediate surroundings, were the appropriate emotional climax, and that the pacing wasn't dragged down by things more important to the setting than they were important to the plot. That said, I read Fulgrim before I actually developed any standards, so my opinion may change on a reread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeritorA Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 Сhris Wraight and John French are the best now in Horus Heresy and W40K. Previously it was Dan Abnett - but i'm tired of waiting for the new Gaunt Ghosts or Heresy novel for 3-4 years. Aaron could write good stuff - for example amazing Betrayer and First Heretic - but EoMankind not interested in, it would have been better for the second book about Abby to be written and released Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcwarhammer Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 I'd like to see more from Steve Parker, but he hasn't released anything in a few years. I've massively enjoyed everything of his that I've read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sete Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 We all know and love Git Aaron. I like Guy Haley. He got given a bittersweet task with the Templars and i like what he has done with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeritorA Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Steve Parker is more involved with bodybuilding, than writing anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apothecary Vaddon Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 BL cancelled the Deathwatch sequel IIRC (hell probably read it from you, Heritor) because it was too grimdark. Which is bull:cuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthMarko Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Dan and McNeill, alfa and omega, there are no others in my reading list... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkChaplain Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Dan and McNeill, alfa and omega, there are no others in my reading list... Missing out on quite a lot of fantastic stuff then, aren't you? Not like either of them has contributed much these past many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathspectersgt7 Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 BL cancelled the Deathwatch sequel IIRC (hell probably read it from you, Heritor) because it was too grimdark. Which is bull:cuss. That sucks . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopkins Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 If Abnett, McNeill and ADB are the top boys, then Wraight, French and Haley have done a fantastic job stepping in I would love to see Josh Reynolds get some HH action, as his work in the other universe/realms is superb! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelborn Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 I started with Kings Space Wolves and Mc'Neills Ultramarines, so they will have a special place in my pov. Though King recently said that Warcrafts Burning Legion is darker than Warhammer Chaos...Heresy! (Though he might have said that for marketing reasons.) Besides them, of course: - Dan Abnett (loved Gaunt's Ghosts and Iron Snakes), Legion and Prosperro Burns are great as well, I was never disappointed by him. - Aaron DB: I mean, c'mon. Helsreach, Night Lords, Betrayer, First Heretic, I can go on and on and won't find anything I'd dislike. - Chris Wraight: A rising star. First book was the War of the Fang. I loved it. Since then I was looking for new stuff done by him. Read Scars and he did the impossible: I'm enjoying the White Scars, one of a few Legions I was not interested in. Even the Iron Hands got my attention in Wraith of Iron. Looking for more stuff to come. Besides them, I'm not really experienced with other authors. Don't have that much time to read and therefore, I need to pick the best ones out of the masses. Heard a lot about Guy Haley being very good. Only read one short story in the Damocles novel. Can't say anything about French as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1soul Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 I'd put French solidly above Haley Haley is solid...but French's prose has a spark, like Wraight's, Abnett's, D-B's In comparison, Haley is a bit flat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeritorA Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 BL cancelled the Deathwatch sequel IIRC (hell probably read it from you, Heritor) because it was too grimdark. Which is bull:cuss. That sucks . Sadly yes - and Steve, being an awesome chap is too busy with sport halls, than Waha nowdays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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