Dark Imperium Spoilers/Plot Summary (Read Along)

[Guest Triszin]

I'm used to seeing the same hate against Ultramarines, the 500, and Guilliman, but the very high acceptance of this novel and enjoyment the majority have shown for it speaks volumes.

 

As soon as I read it without seeing reviews I really liked it. I often don't really enjoy loyalist based novels, but as much as I enjoyed this I waited for the typical backlash which really didn't come as furious as I anticipated.

 

This is perhaps one of my favourite depictions of Guilliman. But know many hate it but I found the self doubting, the codex questions, and the decision to hide his library were all new sides to Guilliman.

 

We all know that Macragge won't fall but the attrition is very high. The Primaris are shown as a much needed asset just to keep the Imperium's head above water.

 

The Cawl Inferior is, in my opinion, a brilliant story mechanism that leaves a large thread dangling that can be tugged at in the future.

 

- is the Cawl Inferior sentient? Guilliman thinks so, so do I. It desires to live, and fears for its demise.

 

- if the Cawl Inferior has anywhere near the knowledge it claims, is Cawl expendable?

 

- does Cawl truly have political aspirations or is this a ploy by the Inferior? It obviously makes Guilliman uneasy.

 

- is the relationship between Cawl and Guilliman walking a thin line? What happens if/when Mars finds out?

 

I liked the background touch on the poor Guardsmen destined for Club Poxwalker.

 

I know there was some Bolter porn but I liked it. I consider the audience and it was fine.

 

Felix was a good character...as Guilliman seems to enjoy Felix, we get the feeling Guilliman still relishes the past given Felix's age.

 

I just may read it again. I feel sometimes when I read other reviews I may have missed some stuff. I really do hope there's a sequel.

and what if Cawl the inferior is in actuality the real cawl. and the one running around is the construct

[plastic_slug]

Baneblade was my introduction to Guy Haley. If you have not read that and its companion Shadowsword, you are definitely missing out. 

[DarkChaplain]

I've not read anything by Haley that hasn't been worth reading. His world building is fantastic, so having him write what is basically the pilot to 8th was the best choice they could've made.

[Mellow]

 

 

I'm used to seeing the same hate against Ultramarines, the 500, and Guilliman, but the very high acceptance of this novel and enjoyment the majority have shown for it speaks volumes.

 

As soon as I read it without seeing reviews I really liked it. I often don't really enjoy loyalist based novels, but as much as I enjoyed this I waited for the typical backlash which really didn't come as furious as I anticipated.

 

This is perhaps one of my favourite depictions of Guilliman. But know many hate it but I found the self doubting, the codex questions, and the decision to hide his library were all new sides to Guilliman.

 

We all know that Macragge won't fall but the attrition is very high. The Primaris are shown as a much needed asset just to keep the Imperium's head above water.

 

The Cawl Inferior is, in my opinion, a brilliant story mechanism that leaves a large thread dangling that can be tugged at in the future.

 

- is the Cawl Inferior sentient? Guilliman thinks so, so do I. It desires to live, and fears for its demise.

 

- if the Cawl Inferior has anywhere near the knowledge it claims, is Cawl expendable?

 

- does Cawl truly have political aspirations or is this a ploy by the Inferior? It obviously makes Guilliman uneasy.

 

- is the relationship between Cawl and Guilliman walking a thin line? What happens if/when Mars finds out?

 

I liked the background touch on the poor Guardsmen destined for Club Poxwalker.

 

I know there was some Bolter porn but I liked it. I consider the audience and it was fine.

 

Felix was a good character...as Guilliman seems to enjoy Felix, we get the feeling Guilliman still relishes the past given Felix's age.

 

I just may read it again. I feel sometimes when I read other reviews I may have missed some stuff. I really do hope there's a sequel.

and what if Cawl the inferior is in actuality the real cawl. and the one running around is the construct

What if Cawl is an AI intelligence from the DAoT that was the only one working for Humanity and helped devise the way of defeating the Iron Men? Secretly put in deepest darkest Mars to help develop Primaris and bring the Imperium back from the brink?

[Xisor]

 

 

 

I'm used to seeing the same hate against Ultramarines, the 500, and Guilliman, but the very high acceptance of this novel and enjoyment the majority have shown for it speaks volumes.

 

As soon as I read it without seeing reviews I really liked it. I often don't really enjoy loyalist based novels, but as much as I enjoyed this I waited for the typical backlash which really didn't come as furious as I anticipated.

 

This is perhaps one of my favourite depictions of Guilliman. But know many hate it but I found the self doubting, the codex questions, and the decision to hide his library were all new sides to Guilliman.

 

We all know that Macragge won't fall but the attrition is very high. The Primaris are shown as a much needed asset just to keep the Imperium's head above water.

 

The Cawl Inferior is, in my opinion, a brilliant story mechanism that leaves a large thread dangling that can be tugged at in the future.

 

- is the Cawl Inferior sentient? Guilliman thinks so, so do I. It desires to live, and fears for its demise.

 

- if the Cawl Inferior has anywhere near the knowledge it claims, is Cawl expendable?

 

- does Cawl truly have political aspirations or is this a ploy by the Inferior? It obviously makes Guilliman uneasy.

 

- is the relationship between Cawl and Guilliman walking a thin line? What happens if/when Mars finds out?

 

I liked the background touch on the poor Guardsmen destined for Club Poxwalker.

 

I know there was some Bolter porn but I liked it. I consider the audience and it was fine.

 

Felix was a good character...as Guilliman seems to enjoy Felix, we get the feeling Guilliman still relishes the past given Felix's age.

 

I just may read it again. I feel sometimes when I read other reviews I may have missed some stuff. I really do hope there's a sequel.

and what if Cawl the inferior is in actuality the real cawl. and the one running around is the construct

What if Cawl is an AI intelligence from the DAoT that was the only one working for Humanity and helped devise the way of defeating the Iron Men? Secretly put in deepest darkest Mars to help develop Primaris and bring the Imperium back from the brink?

What if Carl's an abominable intellect in the trappings of a Magos (e.g. hang some bits of flesh and brain off of some machine parts), working entirely to its agenda?

 

----

 

My good colleague on the Bolthole, MajorRawne, has *highly* praised Guy's Dante yesterday too - it sounds terrific. Thrilled that Devastation of Baal is just around the corner (so to speak)!

[b1soul]

@ Xisor

 

I thought Pharos was solid but not amazing

 

Dark Imperium was very good IMO

[HeritorA]

@ Xisor

 

I thought Pharos was solid but not amazing

 

Dark Imperium was very good IMO

Strange how different we all can see good/bad stuff.

[Xisor]

@ Xisor

 

I thought Pharos was solid but not amazing

 

Dark Imperium was very good IMO

Ooh, agreed. I liked many elements of Pharos, but wasn't too fussed about it in general. (Damning with faint praise!)

 

The "Novamarine" guy in it was my fav. bit by far, though there was lots to enjoy. If I'd thought about it before, that element should have illuminated for me how good having Guy do the DI story would be!

 

---

 

Have picked up "Baneblade" on the strength of folks recommendation too. I'm excited to get to it!

[Mellow]

 

 

@ Xisor

 

I thought Pharos was solid but not amazing

 

Dark Imperium was very good IMO

Strange how different we all can see good/bad stuff.

I agree with b1soul

 

I find it odd that HeritorA finds it strange that people have different opinions. :)

[HeritorA]

 

 

@ Xisor

 

I thought Pharos was solid but not amazing

 

Dark Imperium was very good IMO

Strange how different we all can see good/bad stuff.

I agree with b1soul

 

I find it odd that HeritorA finds it strange that people have different opinions.

 

Good/bad stuff is not 'strange that people have different opinion'. Again you see something where there is nothing, geeze.

 

 

@ Xisor

 

I thought Pharos was solid but not amazing

 

Dark Imperium was very good IMO

Ooh, agreed. I liked many elements of Pharos, but wasn't too fussed about it in general. (Damning with faint praise!)

 

The "Novamarine" guy in it was my fav. bit by far, though there was lots to enjoy. If I'd thought about it before, that element should have illuminated for me how good having Guy do the DI story would be!

 

---

 

Have picked up "Baneblade" on the strength of folks recommendation too. I'm excited to get to it!

 

 

Corvo was fantastic and Haley made a nice easter egg for Dishonored.

Baneblade is good - but 'Shadowsword' is amazing. In Baneblade Haley checked the earth under his feats. In Shadowsword he is a master ;)

[plastic_slug]

 

 

 

@ Xisor

 

I thought Pharos was solid but not amazing

 

Dark Imperium was very good IMO

Strange how different we all can see good/bad stuff.

I agree with b1soul

 

I find it odd that HeritorA finds it strange that people have different opinions.

 

Good/bad stuff is not 'strange that people have different opinion'. Again you see something where there is nothing, geeze.

 

 

@ Xisor

 

I thought Pharos was solid but not amazing

 

Dark Imperium was very good IMO

Ooh, agreed. I liked many elements of Pharos, but wasn't too fussed about it in general. (Damning with faint praise!)

 

The "Novamarine" guy in it was my fav. bit by far, though there was lots to enjoy. If I'd thought about it before, that element should have illuminated for me how good having Guy do the DI story would be!

 

---

 

Have picked up "Baneblade" on the strength of folks recommendation too. I'm excited to get to it!

 

 

Corvo was fantastic and Haley made a nice easter egg for Dishonored.

Baneblade is good - but 'Shadowsword' is amazing. In Baneblade Haley checked the earth under his feats. In Shadowsword he is a master

 

 

 

One thing I found especially well written in Shadowsword was the sense of fear the regular Guardsmen had when they knew they were going to have to face Chaos Marines, without any real backup, or heavy support.  I know I'd find that a scary proposition, and Haley conveyed it well in that part of the book. 

[Augustus]

I got tired of Ultramar reading about it during the Imperium Secundus storyline only to see them basically come back to it in 40k with the required power creep. Talk about full circle.

[Mellow]

Power creep/empire building is Guilliman 101.

 

I'm OK with it for the moment, with the Galaxy essentially being a free house for Chaos at the moment it's nice to have a small piece of order somewhere.

 

I just hope every story doesn't always include something to do with Guilliman, his Astartes or Celestine. Not everything has to be huge Galactic impacting events.

[Xisor]

One of the best bits of DI for me was the two Guardsmen ay the hospital. It's a good recipe. Worked well in Legion too!

 

That and the discourse on whether washing the landing pad was important.

 

About as far from galactically significant as it gets, and delicious on its own, but it serves as a lovely counterpoint too.

[HeritorA]

totalfailure

Exactly. Haley shown what a lot of BL books should have shown before. Dug in guardsmen position vs Space Marine on attack

 

 

One of the best bits of DI for me was the two Guardsmen ay the hospital. It's a good recipe. Worked well in Legion too!

 

That and the discourse on whether washing the landing pad was important.

 

About as far from galactically significant as it gets, and delicious on its own, but it serves as a lovely counterpoint too.

Not even close. That story is bad. Two guardsmen in a hospital written poorly.

Again - Haley did awesome 'guardsmen' in 'Shadowsword' but 'bad' ones in 'DI'

[Ascanius]

I have a suggestion: maybe it's not that polite to reply to people's opinions just to tell them they're wrong.

 

There's a difference between posting in a thread to say "I didn't care for X in Y", even if it's right after someone else's post praising X in Y, and posting a quote of what they said and saying, "No. X was bad in Y."

[HeritorA]

I have a suggestion: maybe it's not that polite to reply to people's opinions just to tell them they're wrong.

 

There's a difference between posting in a thread to say "I didn't care for X in Y", even if it's right after someone else's post praising X in Y, and posting a quote of what they said and saying, "No. X was bad in Y."

It was ment to be 'not even close' in my humble opinion. I thought it's understandable by default. My bad

[Ascanius]

I figured, but when you directly quote someone and say "No, you're wrong," in essence, it comes across pretty hostile!

[HeritorA]

I figured, but when you directly quote someone and say "No, you're wrong," in essence, it comes across pretty hostile!

sometimes I can't stand society of 'tender' feelings of the 21st centuries lol

 

Especially if all the tender feelings are reading grimdark

[Mellow]

When you don't speak English as a first language, you're allowed to be hostile/rude/abrupt (delete as applicable)

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

If anybody has an issue with how another frater responds to them or their manner of posting, please use the report function.

 

Simply calling them out never works, and gets yourself covered in mud as well.

 

Jarl Kjaran Coldheart

B&C Moderating Team

[HeritorA]

Jarl Kjaran Coldheart

Yes, you are rigth. But again  - you misunderstood me. But I already get used to people totally miscomprehending me

 

AS for the DI - from the podcast veteranonoob id (ep. 208) if I'm right Haley told us that continuation of DI will explain a lot of questions. And would be more storydriven than setting explaining and bolter-porn which DI is

[b1soul]

Overall a very enjoyable novel. I read the whole thing back to back in three sittings.

 

That said...I think its weakness is the Ardium and Espandor battle scenes featuring Primaris SM. Those weren't interesting to me, as they felt phoned in to sell Primaris models. I think Plague Marines also get a bit tedious. They're all rather faceless and lacking personality. The Nurgle daemons were rather adorable. While it's fun to read and a bit of comedy relief is welcome, I would have liked more horror.

 

The book really shines when delving into Guilliman's thoughts and those of Calgar, Felix, and Ventris. I was fascinated by all scenes with Guilliman especially. I guess I like reading about politics and administration more than about guys shooting monsters.

[Jareddm]

Overall a very enjoyable novel. I read the whole thing back to back in three sittings.

 

That said...I think its weakness is the Ardium and Espandor battle scenes featuring Primaris SM. Those weren't interesting to me, as they felt phoned in to sell Primaris models. I think Plague Marines also get a bit tedious. They're all rather faceless and lacking personality. The Nurgle daemons were rather adorable. While it's fun to read and a bit of comedy relief is welcome, I would have liked more horror.

 

The book really shines when delving into Guilliman's thoughts and those of Calgar, Felix, and Ventris. I was fascinated by all scenes with Guilliman especially. I guess I like reading about politics and administration more than about guys shooting monsters.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. The Primaris stuff was a haze for me, though I loved seeing the three-way frenemy relationship between Mortarion, Typhus, and Ku'Gath. I could just picture Nurgle's wagging finger coming out of a warp storm during it, followed by, "Now you three play nice!"

[Blindhamster]

I really liked the non combat primaris marine scenes. Especially those with Felix.

 

The combat was no worse than any other bolter porn imo.

Edited October 24, 2017 by Blindhamster