BL authors you like

[HeritorA]

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

Indeed - his blue meth is da best ;)

[Phoebus]

This is a tricky topic, because in a shared, "sandbox universe" the line between praising someone's work and denigrating another's by omission or comparison can sometimes be very fine.

That having been said...

 

I enjoy Dan Abnett's work because he makes the Warhammer 40k universe feel alive to me. Whatever you might think of his stories (and I like them very much), he populates them with nuanced, believable societies and cultures. That's half the fun of the Gaunt's Ghosts series, I think.

 

I enjoy Aaron Dembski-Bowden's work because of his characters. Even on those few times when I felt the story itself may not have been up to the standards I've come to expect from him, I felt the dynamic and interaction between his protagonists, antagonists, and, hell, even his supporting cast was nothing less than excellent.

 

For a very long time, if asked, I would have offered that, for my money, it was a matter of Abnett, Dembski-Bowden, and then everyone else. With everyone else not being as consistent or simply not utilizing this setting to its full strengths. As time passed, this changed and new names were added to my list.

 

I really want to like John French's work. I recognize its strengths and why people enjoy what he writes. I... don't get into it as much as I'd like for the same reason that some people might not appreciate, I don't know, a really good medium-rare filet. I can't give you an objective reason. I can only say that I've never regretted reading any work of French's, but I don't actively seek it out. I was happy when he announced he'd write an Ahriman Trilogy, but not as thrilled as I was for, e.g., the Black Legion series.

 

Rob Sanders. Rob Sanders. I started reading his works after I became a father, at a time when my reading rituals have become more limited than ever before. I wish I could've read Legion of the Damned or The Serpent Beneath when I was able to give my full attention to a book. I think his approach to this setting is very thoughtful, very good, and perhaps receives less credit than it merits. I think he has suffered for tackling the Alpha Legion after Legion and from poor marketing for a novel that, ultimately, was more so about a not-so-well-known Chapter and less so about the legendary phantom Space Marines most people thought they were going to read about.

 

After reading Scars, I felt Chris Wraight was capable of very good writing. After reading just a hundred pages of The Path of Heaven, I found myself wishing Wraight, like Dembski-Bowden, had either been born a decade earlier or developed his writing skill at a pace accelerated enough for him to have played a role in the Horus Heresy series in its opening and middle phases.

[HeritorA]

The most expected novels for me is 'Warmaster' by Dan Abnett, second Abaddon book from Aaron, Death Guard novel from Wraight and full AL novel from Rob Sanders