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Space Marine Legends: Azrael by Gav Thorpe

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DarkChaplain Veteran

DarkChaplain

Posted
Posted

http://www.blacklibrary.com/Images/Product/DefaultBL/xlarge/BLPROCESSED-Azrael-Artwork_800x1228%20copy.jpg

 

 

The Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Angels must ally with treacherous aliens to save his Chapter – but he walks a fine line, as the secrets of the Unforgiven must stay buried.

 

The Dark Angels Chapter sprang from the First Legion of Space Marines to fight and die at the Emperor's side. But over ten thousand years, even the most staunchly loyal warriors of the Imperium can fall from grace, and the Dark Angels guard their own murky secrets most carefully - only Supreme Grand Master Azrael knows them all. A legend among Space Marines, he has fought for centuries and ever at the forefront of battle. Now, with the enigmatically alien eldar as his uneasy and unlikely allies, he must tread the fine line once more between the pursuit of victory, and keeping the Chapter's past safely buried...

 

Gav Thorpe, without a doubt the Supreme Grand Master of Dark Angels fiction, returns to Azrael in a tale that delves deep into the character's psyche and motivations.

 

http://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles/new-novs/sml-azrael-ebook.html

Extract: Epub - Mobi

 

I hope this ties somehow into The Last Guardian from the Deathwatch stuff. Might have to fast-forward to read this, to see what revelations we'll get this time.

HeritorA

HeritorA

Posted
Posted

http://www.blacklibrary.com/Images/Product/DefaultBL/xlarge/BLPROCESSED-Azrael-Artwork_800x1228%20copy.jpg

The Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Angels must ally with treacherous aliens to save his Chapter – but he walks a fine line, as the secrets of the Unforgiven must stay buried.

The Dark Angels Chapter sprang from the First Legion of Space Marines to fight and die at the Emperor's side. But over ten thousand years, even the most staunchly loyal warriors of the Imperium can fall from grace, and the Dark Angels guard their own murky secrets most carefully - only Supreme Grand Master Azrael knows them all. A legend among Space Marines, he has fought for centuries and ever at the forefront of battle. Now, with the enigmatically alien eldar as his uneasy and unlikely allies, he must tread the fine line once more between the pursuit of victory, and keeping the Chapter's past safely buried...

Gav Thorpe, without a doubt the Supreme Grand Master of Dark Angels fiction, returns to Azrael in a tale that delves deep into the character's psyche and motivations.

http://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles/new-novs/sml-azrael-ebook.html

Extract: Epub - Mobi

I hope this ties somehow into The Last Guardian from the Deathwatch stuff. Might have to fast-forward to read this, to see what revelations we'll get this time.

As a prequel story of a character builder it is so-so. But one guest star

Painted Count Skraivok

made it good msn-wink.gif

Master Ciaphas Veteran

Master Ciaphas

Posted
Posted

I have ordered it, primarily because the Dark Angels were what got me into Warhammer 40k back in 1992. Being a huge fan of the Dark Angels, I just had to get it...even if it is written by Gav Thorpe. I have very little love for his handling of the 1st Legion, so my expectations are very low. His "Purging of Kadillus" Space Marine Battles is f.x. a horrible, horrible affair.

 

I hope that it is good...but hope is, as we all know, the first step on the road to disappointment!

 

Regards,

Master Ciaphas

SchultzChaos Veteran

SchultzChaos

Posted
Posted

http://www.blacklibrary.com/Images/Product/DefaultBL/xlarge/BLPROCESSED-Azrael-Artwork_800x1228%20copy.jpg

The Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Angels must ally with treacherous aliens to save his Chapter – but he walks a fine line, as the secrets of the Unforgiven must stay buried.

The Dark Angels Chapter sprang from the First Legion of Space Marines to fight and die at the Emperor's side. But over ten thousand years, even the most staunchly loyal warriors of the Imperium can fall from grace, and the Dark Angels guard their own murky secrets most carefully - only Supreme Grand Master Azrael knows them all. A legend among Space Marines, he has fought for centuries and ever at the forefront of battle. Now, with the enigmatically alien eldar as his uneasy and unlikely allies, he must tread the fine line once more between the pursuit of victory, and keeping the Chapter's past safely buried...

Gav Thorpe, without a doubt the Supreme Grand Master of Dark Angels fiction, returns to Azrael in a tale that delves deep into the character's psyche and motivations.

http://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles/new-novs/sml-azrael-ebook.html

Extract: Epub - Mobi

I hope this ties somehow into The Last Guardian from the Deathwatch stuff. Might have to fast-forward to read this, to see what revelations we'll get this time.

As a prequel story of a character builder it is so-so. But one guest star

Painted Count Skraivok

made it good msn-wink.gif

Aaaaargh!

Please HeritorA! Could you spoil his involvement and fate?

HeritorA

HeritorA

Posted
Posted

http://www.blacklibrary.com/Images/Product/DefaultBL/xlarge/BLPROCESSED-Azrael-Artwork_800x1228%20copy.jpg

The Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Angels must ally with treacherous aliens to save his Chapter – but he walks a fine line, as the secrets of the Unforgiven must stay buried.

The Dark Angels Chapter sprang from the First Legion of Space Marines to fight and die at the Emperor's side. But over ten thousand years, even the most staunchly loyal warriors of the Imperium can fall from grace, and the Dark Angels guard their own murky secrets most carefully - only Supreme Grand Master Azrael knows them all. A legend among Space Marines, he has fought for centuries and ever at the forefront of battle. Now, with the enigmatically alien eldar as his uneasy and unlikely allies, he must tread the fine line once more between the pursuit of victory, and keeping the Chapter's past safely buried...

Gav Thorpe, without a doubt the Supreme Grand Master of Dark Angels fiction, returns to Azrael in a tale that delves deep into the character's psyche and motivations.

http://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles/new-novs/sml-azrael-ebook.html

Extract: Epub - Mobi

I hope this ties somehow into The Last Guardian from the Deathwatch stuff. Might have to fast-forward to read this, to see what revelations we'll get this time.

As a prequel story of a character builder it is so-so. But one guest star

Painted Count Skraivok

made it good msn-wink.gif

Aaaaargh!

Please HeritorA! Could you spoil his involvement and fate?

Painted Count became a Daemon Prince. He has a lovely Chaos Cthulchish spawn on a leash :) His warband with the help of 'Dark Sorcerer' invades a world - almost slaughter DA under Azrael, but banished by eldar. He has 5 dialog strings, appear on 2 pages, lol. Laugh to be compared to Nostramo and failure of Curze. Eventually he could return but Dark Summoner could bring him back quickly - in scope of one day. Azrael unite with eldar travel to dark summoner Location and kills the sorcerer. So Skraivok left banished.

In general - sadly not the Gav's best work. And definitely not even close to Fabius quality.

  • 1 month later...
Phoebus Venerable Brother

Phoebus

Posted
Posted

Is a month and change since the last post too late to offer an opinion? Does the fact that just ten people bothered to post about this before me mean that a review, especially one expressing disappointment, is unnecessary?

 

Azrael is... not special. I hate to say this, because, as someone biased toward the Dark Angels, I really, really, really wanted this story to be great.

 

The concept is interesting. Who wouldn't want to get a look at the past of one of the most famous (infamous?) Chapter Masters of the Dark Millennium? This goes double for a Chapter defined by secrets that march them ever closer to damnation. A "tale that delves deep into [Azrael's] psyche and motivations"? Yes, please!

 

Sadly, the story itself is just not that good.

 

We get a look at Azrael's past, but a good portion of that involves revisiting his digital Lords of the Dark Millennium release (also by Thorpe) - still fun for someone who never bought that, though. Frankly, the tale being told in 939-940.M41 left me wishing for more of younger Azrael. Indeed, moments in his life such as the lure of Chaplaincy might have been more interesting than the action on Rhamiel.

 

The campaign that serves as backdrop for this tale, on the other hand, is relayed in a manner best described as "straightforward." It's nothing exciting or unexpected (a cameo of a relatively well-known antagonist from the 31st Millennium being the exception). It's a classic case of "world rebels, requires the Adeptus Astartes to deliver justice." We know next to nothing about the enemy and their motivations, other than that they are suspected of being led by a Fallen Dark Angel and that they enjoy the dubious assistance of the Night Lords. One turns out to be a red herring, though, and the other remains a largely faceless faction until the very end. It was a disappointing arrangement in The Unforgiven, and it continues to be so here.

 

Where the characters are concerned, and as has been the case with a couple of Gav's more recent novels, they don't necessarily do what makes sense given their situation and their capabilities. Rather, they do what is necessary to advance the plot. Supreme Grand Master Naberius, for example, thinks the fastest way to end the rebellion of Rhamiel is to fly a lone Thunderhawk in the middle of an enemy-held fortress. Predictably, he dies. His successor, Azrael, decides that teleporting nigh-indestructible Deathwing Terminators there, to knock open the gates of the fortress for the rest of the Chapter to assault before proceeding inside is a better way to go. The obvious question arises: why didn't Naberius think of that? I suppose there's always the possibility that Naberius was ruled by hubris, madness, or just plain-old tactical short-sightedness, but you kind of expect someone to bring that up.

 

Where the action is concerned, some interesting things happen in the initial battles within the fortress (including some sensor-dampening fields that recall the Dark Angels' own Ravenwing Darkshrouds), but from there on it becomes more predictable fare. I get that this setting is based on a game, but the stories written about it don't have to read as a battle report. Sadly, that's how most of the battle scenes in Azrael are delivered.

 

Nor are the revelations about the Chapter necessarily that exciting - and this is honestly what I put my money out for. To be sure, there are some much-anticipated rituals of initiation, but... again... if you read Sammael's Lords of the Dark Millennium article (also by Thorpe), much of what you read here will be very familiar.

 

The real pleasure to be had in this book are the interactions between the prominent characters of the Chapter. The dialogue between Azrael and Ezekiel reveals much, both about them as individuals and about the Chapter and its structures. Similarly, scenes such as the council that sees Lanval promoted to command of the Deathwing add to the understanding of this Chapter's character and culture. They make the setting feel more real and enjoyable.

 

Azrael's own introspection and observations also make for better reading. Some of it does feel a bit too directed to the reader, to be sure, but it nonetheless provides good insight. Azrael's self-questioning, for example, fits neatly his Chapter's character: the Dark Angels wish to be noble and loyal, but are sworn to do awful things to protect each other and their secrets. We thus get to see some of the inevitable doubts and concerns even the senior-most officers of the Inner Circlr must feel. Unfortunately, this short-lived journey has no real parallel in the war he is prosecuting. Azrael ponders the difficult choices he has faced and will continue to face, but he never really encounters any on Rhamiel.

 

And, unfortunately, all of these good aspects decisively take a backseat to the ongoing battle for the renegade planet. Flashbacks and interactions during pauses from the battle only last so long. Inevitably, we must return planet-side and no number of bolt guns or exotically-named weapon platforms and monstrous war-machines can make a lifeless sequence feel exciting. The battlefield feels arranged, little different from what an Apocalypse tabletop game must look. The action feels telegraphed. When things happen, it's not because one side had a better commander, a better plan, better forces at their disposal, or what have you. It's a series of one-upmanship sequences, where the rule of cool and/or name recognition prevails until finally Azrael and Ezekiel do battle with ...

 

 

... the Painted Count, now a Daemon Prince.

 

 

In the end, Azrael is indeed a collector's item, first and foremost. It will suit the completionist, who wants the whole of the Space Marine Legends series. It will suit the avid Dark Angels fan, who longs for every insight possible into this Chapter and its mysteries. As a stand-alone story, however, it's not a particularly good one.

HeritorA

HeritorA

Posted
Posted

Is a month and change since the last post too late to offer an opinion? Does the fact that just ten people bothered to post about this before me mean that a review, especially one expressing disappointment, is unnecessary?

 

Azrael is... not special. I hate to say this, because, as someone biased toward the Dark Angels, I really, really, really wanted this story to be great.

 

The concept is interesting. Who wouldn't want to get a look at the past of one of the most famous (infamous?) Chapter Masters of the Dark Millennium? This goes double for a Chapter defined by secrets that march them ever closer to damnation. A "tale that delves deep into [Azrael's] psyche and motivations"? Yes, please!

 

Sadly, the story itself is just not that good.

 

We get some look at Azrael's past, but a good portion of that is a revisit to his digital Lords of the Dark Millennium release (also by Thorpe) - still fun for someone who never bought that, though. Frankly, the tale being told in 939-940.M41 left me wishing for more of younger Azrael. Indeed, moments in his life such as the lure of Chaplaincy might have been more interesting than the action on Rhamiel.

 

The campaign that serves as backdrop for this tale, on the other hand, is relayed in a manner best described as "straightforward." It's nothing exciting or unexpected (a cameo of a relatively well-known antagonist from the 31st Millennium being the exception). It's a classic case of "world rebels, requires the Adeptus Astartes to deliver justice." We know next to nothing about the and his motivations, other than that they are suspected of being led by a Fallen Dark Angel and that they enjoy the dubious assistance of the Night Lords. One turns out to be a red herring, though, and the other remains a largely faceless faction until the very end. It was a disappointing arrangement in The Unforgives, and it continues to be so here.

 

Where the characters are concerned, and as has been the case with a couple of Gav's more recent novels, they don't necessarily do what makes sense given their situation and their capabilities. Rather, they do what is necessary to advance the plot. Supreme Grand Master Naberius, for example, thinks the fastest way to end the rebellion of Rhamiel is to fly a lone Thunderhawk in the middle of an enemy-held fortress. Predictably, he dies. His successor, Azrael, decides that teleporting nigh-indestructible Deathwing Terminators there, to knock open the gates of the fortress for the rest of the Chapter to assault before proceeding inside is the way to go. The obvious question arises: why didn't Naberius think of that? I suppose there's always the possibility that Naberius was ruled by hubris, madness, or just plain-old tactical short-sightedness, but you kind of expect someone to bring that up.

 

Where the action is concerned, some interesting things happen in the initial battles within the fortress (including some sensor-dampening fields that recall the Dark Angels' own Ravenwing Darkshrouds), but from there on it becomes more predictable fare. I get that this setting is based on a game, but the stories written about it don't have to read as a battle report. Sadly, that's how most of the battle scenes are delivered.

 

Neither are the revelations about the Chapter necessarily that exciting - and this is honestly what I put my money out for. To be sure, there are some much-expected rituals of initiation, but... again... if you read Sammael's Lords of the Dark Millennium article (also by Thorpe), much of what you saw was very familiar.

 

The real pleasure to be had in this book are the interactions between the prominent characters of the Chapter. The dialogue between Azrael and Ezekiel reveals much, both about them as individuals and about the Chapter and its structures. Similarly, scenes such as the council that sees Lanval promoted to command of the Deathwing add to the understanding of this Chapter's character and culture. They make the setting feel more real and enjoyable.

 

Likewise, Azrael's own introspection and observations make for much better reading. Some of it does feel a bit too directed to the reader, to be sure, but it nonetheless provides insight. One of Azrael's hallmarks in recent fiction is that he - and, by extension, most of his Chapter - wants to be noble and loyal but is sworn to do awful things to protect his brethren and their secrets. His self-questioning plays well into that theme. Unfortunately, this short-lived journey has no real parallel in the war he is prosecuting. Azrael ponders the difficult choices he has faced and will continue to face, but he never really encounters any on Rhamiel.

 

And, unfortunately, all of these good aspects decisively take a backseat to the ongoing battle for Rhamiel. Flashbacks and interactions during pauses from the battle only last so long. Inevitably, we must return planet-side and no number of bolt guns or exotically-named weapon platforms and monstrous war-machines can make a lifeless sequence feel exciting. The battlefield feels arranged, little different from what an Apocalypse tabletop game must look. The action feels telegraphed. When things happen, it's not because one side had a better commander, a better plan, better forces at their disposal, or what have you. It's a series of one-upmanship sequences, where the rule of cool and/or name recognition prevails until finally Azrael and Ezekiel do battle with ...

 

 

... the Painted Count, now a Daemon Prince.

 

 

In the end, Azrael is indeed a collector's item, first and foremost. It will suit the completionist, who wants the whole of the Space Marine Legends series. It will suit the avid Dark Angels fan, who longs for every insight possible into this Chapter and its mysteries. As a stand-alone story, however, it's not a particularly good one.

Totally agree with you, my review is almost the same. The story and characters are really not the good side here. Both could have been done better. As it stand right now, sadly - it is one of the worst books Gav has ever written

Saphrael Battle-Brother

Saphrael

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the review Phoebus, you've cemented my decision to avoid this book. As an avid DA fan this is the first DA focused book I won't be buying simply because Gav wrote it. I have immense respect for the man as a loremaster, but I've been burned too many times by his flat characters, nonsensical character choices and 'tell instead of show' style. It's really sad because he undoubtedly understands what makes DA compelling and has had a hand in shaping that over the years, but his DA writing is just moving from bad to worse it seems.

 

The fact that one of my favourite (and I'd argue most interesting) GW factions continues to suffer under his ownership is one of the more depressing parts of the hobby. In the meantime I'll continue to fork out money for Wraight's Leman Russ, ADB's Savage Weapons and Prince of Crows or anyone else writing DA and I'll pray to all the gods that someone other than Gav writes the Lion's primarch series story.

b1soul Venerable Brother

b1soul

Posted
Posted

I've been burned too many times by his flat characters, nonsensical character choices and 'tell instead of show' style.

Some authour's make you feel like you're hovering right over the shoulder of the PoV character, seeing what he sees, smelling what he smells, feeling what he feels...all with vivid clarity and strong imagery evoking the senses

 

With Thorpe, you feel like you're reading a really long codex entry with wooden dialogue

 

No opinion on Gav personally...but his writing skills are subpar

HeritorA

HeritorA

Posted
Posted

I've been burned too many times by his flat characters, nonsensical character choices and 'tell instead of show' style.

Some authour's make you feel like you're hovering right over the shoulder of the PoV character, seeing what he sees, smelling what he smells, feeling what he feels...all with vivid clarity and strong imagery evoking the senses

With Thorpe, you feel like you're reading a really long codex entry with wooden dialogue

No opinion on Gav personally...but his writing skills are subpar

True - but at the same time he could surprise you, like he did with 'The Emperor Expects' and 'Angels of Caliban'.

On the other hand I use Azrael as a sleeping pill - while reading it I fall asleep after just 1 page each time, lol biggrin.png

b1soul Venerable Brother

b1soul

Posted
Posted

He didn't surprise me with Angels of Caliban, though. It was very "Thorpe."

I didn't mind reading about Curze being utterly dominated by the Lion again...but Thorpe's writing was unimpressive.

 

In terms of quality, Thorpe is, on his best days, about as good as solid fan fiction writer

HeritorA

HeritorA

Posted
Posted

 

He didn't surprise me with Angels of Caliban, though. It was very "Thorpe."

I didn't mind reading about Curze being utterly dominated by the Lion again...but Thorpe's writing was unimpressive.

 

In terms of quality, Thorpe is, on his best days, about as good as solid fan fiction writer

 

true. Just some narrative crossroads given to them by the 'ploting' team is very silly and repetitive. Usually then authors work without additional control they are more free to create much better stories.

All the Curze stuff by nowdays in HH is repetitive and plainly stupid. BL should simply release him in the next book and forget about his existence till Scouring

Corswain Veteran

Corswain

Posted
Posted

They've really gotta change the Lion helm to something other than Mark 7. It's the worst of any armor mark.

Agreed. But what really bugs me is - how does it fit? Does Azrael have an enourmous, Primarch-sized head? Or did the Lion have a tiny pin-head.

It's a petty thing, but it's always annoyed me.

 

On the subject of the book - is it a full blown novel, or just another novella? I'm getting a little tired of novellas.

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