Is there room in the far future for a "love story"?

[Ovidius Incertus]

Neither silly romance nor weird Slaneeshi fan-fic, or Space Marine/SoB weirdness, but a story about two human protagonists and their relationship in the face of the "grim darkness of the far future".

 

Is there any room for that within the 30k/40k universe?

 

Certainly relationships factor into various novels like Octavia and Septimus in their odd way in the Night Lords series; certainly the love for family members, wife, kids, etc. in glimpses of human side characters.

 

Do you think facet of the human experience could serve as the centerpiece, albeit surely tragic or dark, of a novel(la) or short story set in the 30k or 40k universe?

[Olis]

A successful love story in the 40k universe would be a curious beast indeed. But I don't see why it wouldn't be possible, sure. 

[Polux]

Romeo & Juliet, with boltguns. 

 

Seriously. Some tragic story, star-crossed lovers, heretics and chaos against them, both fight together against the darkness. 

Their candle flickers and dies. Their loyalty never dies. For the Emperor.

[D3L]

Love in a time of Pox

 

Withering Hives

 

Anne of Green Gudrun

[Sothalor]

There are plenty of examples in the Black Library publications: Eisenhorn, Ravenor, the Night Lords series, Cain, subplots in Gaunt's Ghosts, the Horus Heresy, Helsreach, and so on.

[KhorneHunter57x]

There are plenty of examples in the Black Library publications: Eisenhorn, Ravenor, the Night Lords series, Cain, subplots in Gaunt's Ghosts, the Horus Heresy, Helsreach, and so on.

A Templar and his Crozius: A Romance Novel by Aaron Dembski-Bowden.

[plastic_slug]

One of the plot threads running through Dan Abnett's Titanicus is what happens to a husband and wife when she's called up into the defense forces, and he stays behind in their hive.

[Kastor Krieg]

 

There are plenty of examples in the Black Library publications: Eisenhorn, Ravenor, the Night Lords series, Cain, subplots in Gaunt's Ghosts, the Horus Heresy, Helsreach, and so on.

A Templar and his Crozius: A Romance Novel by Aaron Dembski-Bowden.

http://i.imgur.com/L6YpgEa.jpg

[Marshal Rohr]

40k is a setting. There is room for romance and comedy and anything else.

[Joe]

As far as I remember, Fulgrim hinted heavily at a brewing romantic relationship between two of the human characters, until they were, y'know... Fulgrim'd.

[Olis]

There are plenty of examples in the Black Library publications: Eisenhorn, Ravenor, the Night Lords series, Cain, subplots in Gaunt's Ghosts, the Horus Heresy, Helsreach, and so on.

 

Ah, yes, but those are all subplots. Not the actual story in and of itself. 

[Sete]

Greyfax and Celestine

[RikuEru]

Extract from The Carrion Throne: "...A few pict-books - The Authorised History of Astra Militarum Auxiliary Regiments in the Geres Subsector Vol. XXIIA, a disease symptom primer from the spire's Departmento Contagio, and a romance set on the reputed paradise world Krieg with the convoluted title My Wish to Generate Children with You is only Exceeded by My Devotion to Him..."

 

So there are KLISHEE Romance Novels for lonely housewives and guardsmen far from their homeplanets WITHIN the Universe itself.

...so I don't see why a proper novel about a romantic partnership couldn't turn out quite interesting. Especially as it would demand a huge amount of world-building for civilian Life in the Imperium.

[wamphiry]

There is also a case between 2 Mechanicum members in a HH novel. But it was had a tragic end ofc.

[Ishagu]

100% yes

[Doghouse]

I expect even in the grim dark future people can live happily every after.

[Old-Four-Arms]

The 1990 edition of the Deathwing anthology included "Lacrymata", a story about a romantic relation between an astropath and a Navigator.

 

Didn't end well though...

 

 

Old-Four-Arms

[deathspectersgt7]

Why would you want one? Love Stinks : J. Geils

[Ishagu]

Guilliman and Yvraine fanfic? :-P

[Sete]

Guilliman and Ishagu. Edited August 26, 2017 by Sete

[Ishagu]

Lol no thank you

[Yodhrin]

 

There are plenty of examples in the Black Library publications: Eisenhorn, Ravenor, the Night Lords series, Cain, subplots in Gaunt's Ghosts, the Horus Heresy, Helsreach, and so on.

 

Ah, yes, but those are all subplots. Not the actual story in and of itself. 

 

 

That's because stories about *only* romance are as boring as any other story that focuses exclusively on one aspect of the human condition to the exclusion of all others. I don't want to read bargain-bin doe-eyed "romance" stories set in 40K any more than I want to read vacuous 'splosionfest bolterporn set in 40K - there's a reason many of the books in that list there are widely considered to be among BL's best output, and it's exactly because the best of them use the broader framework of the plot to tell *many* stories(or, as you say, "subplots", a phrase I've always found odd in that it seeks to diminish some of the most important aspects of a good story).

 

More female characters is great, more female *perspectives* is great, and more complex stories that take in the whole of the human condition are great. Fraught, weepy, tortuous drrrrRRRAAAAHMMmah romance stories though are rubbish no matter what setting they use as a backdrop.

[Semper Fortis]

I expect even in the grim dark future people can live happily every after.

Especially if the "after" is an immediate implementation of exterminatus. Doesn't leave room for all that messy 40k grimdark. :)

[Polux]

LOVE BATTLESHIP

Love, exciting and new

Come aboard, were expecting you

Love, lifes sweetest reward

Let it flow, it floats back to you

Love Boat soon will be making another run

The Love Boat promises something for everyone

Set a course for adventure

Your mind on a new romance

Love wont hurt anymore

Its an open smile on a friendly shore

Yes love...

Its love...

[Slave to Darkness]

There is also a case between 2 Mechanicum members in a HH novel. But it was had a tragic end ofc.

Know no Fear? Yea that kinda bummed me out a bit, made a nice change from bolterporn and raining super heavy tanks and spaceships. 

Guilliman and Ishagu.

Im sure I seen the film of that lol