Battle scenes you like

[bluntblade]

We're all familiar with the issue of bolter-porn and action that serves little purpose. However, just as I'll sometimes YouTube an especially good fight from a film I like, there are some literary battles I find myself returning to time and again.

 

So I'm sticking this here, where people can discuss the combat scenes that stick with them and why. To kick things off:

- Kalium in Path of Heaven . The shape of the battle is nicely constructed, the character of both sides in evidence. It's also nice to see an author remembering air power as a factor, and the combat itself is suitably ferocious.

- Specifically, the Impossible City scenes in Master of Mankind where the daemon is our PoV. It really gives a sense of what a nightmarish sort of enemy daemons are, far more effectively than simply showing us the hordes swarming the Custodes.

- Both bookend battles in Betrayer.

[IronDrake28]

I love the scene in PoD where one of the headhunters splits off to assassinate the noble that had been screwing with the shipping to Terra for the AL.

 

The parallel attacks of the IF and the lone headhunter is really awesome.

[hopkins]

Storm Of Iron

 

Showing the escalation and stages of siege warfare, but so cinematic

[helterskelter]

There's a few moments, not necessarily battle scenes more like fights for me.

 

The world eater sergeant toward the end of battle for the Abyss

Khârn vs Erebus in betrayer

The more bar brawl esque fight between the lion and Curze in the short

 

Battle scenes:

When lucius (I think, it's been ages) got trapped and had to dive out the way of the tactical squad.

The iron hands getting stuck in during wrath of iron

[Grotsmasha]

There's this one scene int he second of Gav Thorpe's Last Chancers' novel, and it REALLY drives home the one-man army that an Adeptus Astartes can be. The Last Chancers' have infiltrated a Tau Expansion force, and when :cuss hit the fan, the Inquisitor hits the SOS button, calling in a single Deathwatch Marine, who proceeds to wreck face.

There are many great moments in many of BL's books (like, "I was there the day The Emperor died" from the Horus Heresy), but for me this scene breathes EVERYTHING a Space Marine is made for, is meant to be.

[R_F_D]

Does the whole of Necropolis count? 

 

Brotherhood of the Storm - the section contrasting Terran and Chogorian fighting styles.

 

Russ Primarch novella - the duel in the aftermath of the siege at Dulan.

 

I forget which one it is but I think Sins of the Father has Azkaellon and Amit duelling other HH characters?

[m_r_parker]

I would throw Helsreach into the ring, as it shows the siege of the hive-city at various levels and really gives you an appreciation of how it all develops. In particular I like the way it's separated into two very distinct halves, the first being more of a preparatory element and initial skirmishes just outside the city walls before the main invasion force arrives at the city's front doors, and the second half which is mid-way through the siege and shows an increasing worn down resistance being bolstered by Black Templar forces that are trying to continuously bolster defences all over the city. The section directly splitting those two parts, where its a list of the various Templars that have fallen, what day of the siege they fell, how they were killed and whether or not the gene seed was recovered is a very potent reminder that Astartes do die, and their numbers are limited. The battle of the dock in particular, and how Grimaldus reacts to the Salamander reinforcements is also spectacularly well done.

[Kelborn]

The first void battle in Soul Hunter.

Just lovin' it.

 

Besides that...

 

The 300-ish scene including Orks and Iron Snakes in Brotherhood of the Snake, simply because of 300 in SPAAAAAACE!

 

Though some dislike it, I'm still satisfied with the BoP version in A Thousand Sons.

 

Have to think about more as there are about 5 battles per book. ^^

 

*edit*

 

M_R_Parker is right: Helsreach is entirely a huge battle scene of it's own. Still one of my favorites.

[HeritorA]

We're all familiar with the issue of bolter-porn and action that serves little purpose. However, just as I'll sometimes YouTube an especially good fight from a film I like, there are some literary battles I find myself returning to time and again.

 

So I'm sticking this here, where people can discuss the combat scenes that stick with them and why. To kick things off:

- Kalium in Path of Heaven . The shape of the battle is nicely constructed, the character of both sides in evidence. It's also nice to see an author remembering air power as a factor, and the combat itself is suitably ferocious.

- Specifically, the Impossible City scenes in Master of Mankind where the daemon is our PoV. It really gives a sense of what a nightmarish sort of enemy daemons are, far more effectively than simply showing us the hordes swarming the Custodes.

- Both bookend battles in Betrayer.

Kalium was very well done. Probably one of the best depicted HH engagements ever in HH novels. It's like reading a chronological report from it:

1) Goes background for the place and it's history. 2) Then description of the forces involved. 3) Amazing void warfare (sad that rare authors include depiction of ship classes names and how each ship died in shame or glory). 4) Battle from both point of view. 5) Post battle results.

 

As for Betrayer - Armatura was not done from the point of view of bolter-porn. We almost didn't see void warfare over war world (it was taken while Lorgar and Magnus had a chat). Battle on the surface was done 99% from the view of only traitor forces, so it was their opinion on how it went.

Nuceria - was better. It has really amazing void warfare and prevent orbital dominance scenes. But battle on the surface was too focused only on Primarchs and Titans. All the brotherly stuff between Tal and Khârn by that point was repetitive.

 

I agree with Kelborn

Helscreach would have been an amazing cinematic sequence.

 

Probably the best cinematic battle in my humble opinion would have been a battle from the ending of 'The Seventh Serpent'. All that blowing station all around you and squad vs squad and duelist vs duelist scenes. It's movie material plain and simple.

 

A 'dream' movie of course is a Battle at Phall'. I adorne void warfare - but I do understand to create sooo much CGI would cost a lot. So it's almost unreal with the nowdays budgets etc.

[Roomsky]

All of the void warfare in Betrayer: This novel made me actually care about ship v ship combat, and while no one has been able to match its quality, the imagery it conjured still springs to mind if ever I have to imagine a void battle. What's better is that there was just the right amount of it, never overstaying its welcome. Having a character as awesome as Lotarra at the helm certainly didn't hurt either.

 

Jaghatai vs Mortarion is Scars: Not only an exciting battle, but a very interesting match-up as well. For the first time, we get to see Mortarion as he should be, irritated by the ease of which his brothers have fallen in with the ruinous powers, equal parts desperate and arrogant. The banter between the two is excellent, as is the description of the battle; the strange mix of awe and futility in primarch v primarch combat.

 

Dorn vs Alpharius in Praetorian of Dorn: The primarch v primarch combat, as far as I'm concerned. It was fast and brutal, no cartoonishly long punching matches here. It was great to see a subversion of the usual "and now I shall monologue at you" attitude of antagonists, with Dorn simply having none of it. 

 

The Word Bearer's attack begins in Know no Fear: Behold, the only successful battle-report in the entire series. Others have tried to imitate it, all have failed. It benefits too from having that report supplemented by interesting pov moments, seeing the Ultramarines panic as they are fired on, the Campanile's long crash into the space-docks, and the raining of main battle tanks. You can feel the desperation and the grandeur of the situation all in one sweep, and it was great.

 

There are more, of course, but those are my standouts.

[Indefragable]

 

Jaghatai vs Mortarion is Scars: Not only an exciting battle, but a very interesting match-up as well. For the first time, we get to see Mortarion as he should be, irritated by the ease of which his brothers have fallen in with the ruinous powers, equal parts desperate and arrogant. The banter between the two is excellent, as is the description of the battle; the strange mix of awe and futility in primarch v primarch combat.

 

 

I second that ^. It was a matchup that no one ever really thought about, but came off as such a perfect showdown: the unstoppable force meets the immovable object kind of duel (the characters actually quip about this themselves).....

 

 

Khan gets multiple cuts and jabs in on Morty, but Morty is completely unphased by them....even my Primarch standards they simply have no effect on him as he is utterly unstoppable. Khan, on the other hand, actually grows tired from the effort and wonders if he'll be able to keep up the effort to keep going toe-to-toe with Mortarion....even his super-human endurance is running out through the exertion of the stalemate. 

 

 

 

I also really liked the whole bit about the Astartes' style of battle vs the Custodes' in The First Heretic. It was a such as simple yet brilliant description: "Astartes fight like packs of wolves, while Custodes fight like lions." That sort of thing that puts things in perspective in a fictional universe where everything is constantly one-upping each other. 

[veterannoob]

It's Warhammer Fantasy, but screw it: Boneripper (the 5th, 7th, 8th?) vs. giant serpent in Lizardmen temple. by CL Werner

 

Angron vs. Titan (Betrayer)

Erebus vs. lucius (Horus Rising)

Big fight with Dorn at end of Praetorian of Dorn

of course... Russ v Magnus (A Thousand Sons) ...also Ahriman v Othar Wyrdmake

[Xisor]

In the novel "Legacy", there is a ... moment of tension... between two senior techpriests.

 

It's the best action scene in 40k, I'd contend.

 

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Some of the actions towards the end of the third Ahriman book utterly dazzled me.

 

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Helsreach is ostensibly a massive action scene, but it is *shockingly* talky start to end. Huge fight scenes that have little to no chatacter interest (either insight or development) are just bluntly skipped over without lengthy description. It's brilliant.

 

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"Skitarius" has some tremendous sequences within it, the sheer visceral weirdness of the Skitarii of the Mechanicus as a fighting force is front and centre, so makes for a very enjoyable set of scenes.

 

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"Legion of the Damned" takes a very strong "Children of Men" feel at one relatively early point in the book that barely stops until the end. The whole thing became a terrible and harrowing, desoerate running battle. If you want an action heavy story that doesn't (ever, if memory serves) lose its way into tedious bolter porn, then that is a book for you beyond most of what BL have ever done. Very excellent.

 

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Honorable mention to "Battle for the Abyss" (a better Odyssey than Deathfire), for whilst a lot of the action sequences are tedious nonsense (the UM/WB heavy ones), a lot more are achingly good. (Which just adds to the frustrations I have with that book.)

 

The void-combat descriptions, too, are something really excellent. Perhaps my favourites shy of "The Gothic War" duo by Gordon Rennie.

 

Those with Brynngar, Mhotep & Skraal show what dear characters can do in the midst of futility.

 

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Finalist mention goes to Richard Williams. His "Relentless" and "Imperial Glory" are improbably good. They switch from "personal trials" to "strategic difficulties", acknowledging logistics in a way few other BL novels do, without any sense of "this is just random TV violence" that gets into the middle ground (too big to get good character stuff, too small to be awesome [emphasis on awe] in scale).

 

His characters being put through the grinder is really quite affecting too, so the action is overwhelmingly more desperate or tedious (for the characters) than titillating (for the readers), which feels... correct.

 

I suppose that's where Bolter porn comes in - paragraph on paragraph of Marines wading through cultists/daemons/Marines.

 

Still, if the imagery/spectacle is really well done it can at least become Bolter Erotica.

[Marshal Loss]

Off the top of my head -

 

The Luna Wolves & Horus fighting the Interex at the end of Horus Rising.

 

Khan v. Mortarion in Scars, mainly for the dialogue.

 

Kalium in Path of Heaven - as said above, just an awesome battle that showcases both sides well. Also, the Kakophoni and Eidolon make their appearance in awe inspiring fashion. And Eidolon's line before he teleports in - 'we live for this' - aww yeah.

 

Lorgar v Guilliman & Angron v Guilliman in Betrayer - Angron's speech ('You know nothing of courage. You know nothing of honour') is one of the most spine chilling moments in the Horus Heresy, and Lorgar cannonballing his maul into Guilliman's head ('There's your mark of Calth) wins the award for sassiest move in a duel. Honourable shout out to ADB's description of Lorgar pulling a Thunderhawk out of the sky - 'a prophet clawing wisdom from the heavens'. Awesome.

 

Forrix fighting in the tunnels and nearly dying in Storm of Iron - small and contained but epic, very tense. The final 'Iron Within' being responded to as his brothers rush into the tunnels is great. I have to admit though that most of the battle scenes I appreciate the most are ones with memorable dialogue.

[b1soul]

Regarding personal duels, the final showdown between Cario and Tachseer was very memorable

 

A poignant death for a very interesting character

[Tymell]

Two that come to mind for me are the Siege of the Schadenhold in The Iron Within, and the entirety of Know No Fear, which I found utterly gripping start to finish.

[veterannoob]

I thought I responded but maybe it didn't send or I closed the window. 

Primarch fights, in short.

[DarKnight]

I forget the exact Gaunt's Ghosts book, but the scene where their crusade finally begins the invasion of the Chaos planet that the Ghosts infiltrated. The description of the amassment of forces in orbit and their descent into planetfall. The description of monsoon rains with all the ships in orbit has particularly stuck with me. The masses of soldiers rushing from the landing areas against the entrenchments (and that Chaos dread!!! And the sorcerer!!!) I prefer my Warhammer on the Space Marine side, but that scene was incredible.

[bluntblade]

Istvan V in Fulgrim bugs me, but I love it in The First Heretic. Especially when the change hits the Gal Vorbak. It's strange to see the winners in such a one-sided battle find it so nightmarish.

[Ranwulf]

The first battle of Horus Rising. Because of the awesome set up ("I was there when Horus killed the Emperor") that got me hooked, the first time that I got to see how the Legions went to war, and that was as a tide, not in the way the Astartes in 40k fight, but as a full blown assault. And of course, the first time I read and see in my mind's eye a Primarch in the flesh. 

 

Ran

[DarKnight]

How could I forget, Corax VS Lorgar in the First Heretic was INSANE. One of my favorite things to randomly go back and read.

[HeritorA]

I forget the exact Gaunt's Ghosts book, but the scene where their crusade finally begins the invasion of the Chaos planet that the Ghosts infiltrated. The description of the amassment of forces in orbit and their descent into planetfall. The description of monsoon rains with all the ships in orbit has particularly stuck with me. The masses of soldiers rushing from the landing areas against the entrenchments (and that Chaos dread!!! And the sorcerer!!!) I prefer my Warhammer on the Space Marine side, but that scene was incredible.

True. In case of GG it should be awesome to have all 13 books as a high budget TV show (Like GOT or Expanse).

But 'Salvation Reach' would be nice as a 'standalone' movie :)

 

How could I forget, Corax VS Lorgar in the First Heretic was INSANE. One of my favorite things to randomly go back and read.

Yeap. Can't see the actor for Corax role through :)

 

To continue the case of Primarchs vs SM vs Primarchs battles - last chapters from Praetorian of Dorn are truly cinematic experience

[Carach]

There's this one scene int he second of Gav Thorpe's Last Chancers' novel, and it REALLY drives home the one-man army that an Adeptus Astartes can be. The Last Chancers' have infiltrated a Tau Expansion force, and when hit the fan, the Inquisitor hits the SOS button, calling in a single Deathwatch Marine, who proceeds to wreck face.

There are many great moments in many of BL's books (like, "I was there the day The Emperor died" from the Horus Heresy), but for me this scene breathes EVERYTHING a Space Marine is made for, is meant to be.

Yea that is a hell of a scene in that book. That's the way the marines should be portrayed.

From the Bequin trilogy (eventhough the trilogy doesn't exist and may never do so) there is the scene in the Church where we meet a well known character. And also in that novel when our little missy gets saved in a forbidden part of town by a big brutish chap and his dog.

HH-wise its hard to remember scenes from so many books now but going in reverse order (havent read all of MoM yet so cannot comment entirely on that one yet) -

PoD - The fleet fight at the end and the noble assassination. Both would make pretty good cinematic look. The latter as a black hawk down style.

TPoH - So many good scenes in this. It's part of the reason why it's such a good book - everything going on is cinematic. The end fleet fight (coming out of the mist, the big sacrifice, the battle for the Gate midway, all stand out.

Scars - Prospero. The entire description of it and the battle that ensues was fantastic.

Betrayer - Probably the climactic battle with the Imperator titan and clash of Primarchs.

Know No Fear - The opening scenes; Spaceships falling from the skies!

The First Heretic - Not necessarily a battle scene but an entire legion kneeling. And probably the end mini-chase.

Legion - The intrigue of the very end.

Galaxy in Flames and Flight of the Eisenstein - Istvaan 3.

[mactire]

The Wolves attacking the orbital station in Prospero Burns.

 

The attack on Shrike in A Thousand Sons, particularly the Gunship attack and the descriptions of the three Legions as they attack the final mountain fortress.

 

Little Horus versus Tarik, heartbreaking.

 

The madness of the World Eaters throughout Betrayer in every battle scene. 

 

And not a battle scene, but the reversal of the countdown clock in Know No Fear as the UltraMarine survivors regroup and converge on Ventanus's position.

[bluntblade]

I have to admit the action in Galaxy in Flames rather left me cold.