Ideally...how many HH books to cover the Siege?

[b1soul]

What do you guys think? What's your ideal mini-series? What structure would you prefer? This is all wish-listing of course.

 

Mine would be...

 

Book 1: Penetrating Sol's defenses, making planetfall, consolidating a beach head

 

Could read something like Know No Fear

 

Book 2: Blood Angels focused, Sanguinius at the Eternity Gate

 

Book 3: White Scars focused, the Khan at the Lion's Gate Spaceport

 

These wouldn't have to be chronological...they could cover overlapping parts of the Siege

 

Book 4: Imperial Fists focused...Sigismund's rampage

 

Book 5: Wrap-up...show Lion and Russ racing for Terra, final showdown aboard the Vengeful Spirit

[Felix Antipodes]

Would add a sixth book, which would act as an epilogue covering the aftermath, the loss of the Emperor sinking in, before sequencing into the Scouring.

[HeritorA]

What do you guys think? What's your ideal mini-series? What structure would you prefer? This is all wish-listing of course.

 

Mine would be...

 

Book 1: Penetrating Sol's defenses, making planetfall, consolidating a beach head

 

Could read something like Know No Fear

 

Book 2: Blood Angels focused, Sanguinius at the Eternity Gate

 

Book 3: White Scars focused, the Khan at the Lion's Gate Spaceport

 

These wouldn't have to be chronological...they could cover overlapping parts of the Siege

 

Book 4: Imperial Fists focused...Sigismund's rampage

 

Book 5: Wrap-up...show Lion and Russ racing for Terra, final showdown aboard the Vengeful Spirit

Solid plan.

In my thoughts it should be 1 being 2 books. First book should cover all the void war through Pluto, Mercury, Saturn and directly to Luna shipyards and bases. Capturing of Luna bases by Horus should end book 1.

 

Book 2 should start from that and work with battle over Earth for void and achieving orbital dominance.

End with Horus begininning the drop assault.

 

Book 3 then focuses on WS and DG - cause Lion Spaceport actions goes before Eternity gate and Sangy.

Then after that exactly as you said.

[m0nolith]

5 black library books and 2 FW books :p

[Kelborn]

FW mentioned that they are planning a series consisting of 20 black books. I suggest a trilogy, covering the siege of Terra.

 

Back to topic: decent list, mate. :)

[Tymell]

What do you guys think? What's your ideal mini-series? What structure would you prefer? This is all wish-listing of course.

 

Mine would be...

 

Book 1: Penetrating Sol's defenses, making planetfall, consolidating a beach head

 

Could read something like Know No Fear

 

Book 2: Blood Angels focused, Sanguinius at the Eternity Gate

 

Book 3: White Scars focused, the Khan at the Lion's Gate Spaceport

 

These wouldn't have to be chronological...they could cover overlapping parts of the Siege

 

Book 4: Imperial Fists focused...Sigismund's rampage

 

Book 5: Wrap-up...show Lion and Russ racing for Terra, final showdown aboard the Vengeful Spirit

 

5 sounds like a good number to me, I'd expect at least a trilogy, and a bit more makes sense since this is such a big thing. I like the above, though I don't know if BL would want to divide it up like that, but we'll see.

 

There's also the question of who gets to write it. I guess my own dream team would be Abnett, ADB, Wraight, Haley and French, based on past quality within the HH series.

[R_F_D]

 

There's also the question of who gets to write it. I guess my own dream team would be Abnett, ADB, Wraight, Haley and French, based on past quality within the HH series.

 

 

From Twitter is looks like 3 of the 5 above are in Nottingham for one weekend in September along with McNeil and Laurie Goulding.  Now 2+2 could very well make 5 in this instance buuutttttt...............

[HeritorA]

 

 

There's also the question of who gets to write it. I guess my own dream team would be Abnett, ADB, Wraight, Haley and French, based on past quality within the HH series.

 

 

From Twitter is looks like 3 of the 5 above are in Nottingham for one weekend in September along with McNeil and Laurie Goulding.  Now 2+2 could very well make 5 in this instance buuutttttt...............

 

Laurie and Graham - in Nottingham. So they do have an influence on HH even after they left?

[DarkChaplain]

I want at least one anthology for the Siege, maybe two if we go with some novellas. This is such a big event, I'd love seeing little snippets from all over the world and the defences to draw a full picture.

[HeritorA]

I want at least one anthology for the Siege, maybe two if we go with some novellas. This is such a big event, I'd love seeing little snippets from all over the world and the defences to draw a full picture.

True - in case of the Siege - we definitely need several anthologies to cover all the angles and adventures possible etc.

But later on - after the 'main event' would be finished.

[Roomsky]

3 books, a closing trilogy to match the opening, one for each loyalist legion. It is a massive affair, but this is still a single battle we're talking about.

 

1 for the Khan, by Wraight of course. 1 for Sanguinius, hopefully ADB. 1 For Dorn and the final battle, fingers crossed for Abnett.

 

Various traitor legions can be sprinkled throughout, with several warcouncils with both Horus and Daddy E to give an idea of the wider battle. Sons of Horus could share the last book focus with the Fists, with Abaddon leading Siggy on a merry chase.

 

I agree an epilogue and an anthology would also be warranted.

[b1soul]

Abnett has been out of the loop for so long...I'm a little nervous about him handling the final book.

 

I would prefer Wraight and ADB to co-authour if possible

[Black Cohort]

I don't want to directly see the Emperor vs Horus in print, no author can possibly match expectations on that scene. In my mind the best way to show it would be to have Dorn hit by the psychic weight/ echoes of events as he arrives and seeing brief flashes of the fight. His brother challenging Horus alone, Horus standing over his brother's body, etc.

[Mellow]

Well we already have the scene between Oll and Horus with the Emperor on his way with the The Emperors light being ... tired.

[DukeLeto69]

All solid ideas above and would be happy with either a trilogy or quintology with some additional anthology for loose ends.

 

There would be something poetic about Abnett writing the last novel. He started it all, he set up various plot threads so he can be the one to resolve them rather than leaving it to some other poor schmuck LOL

[DarkChaplain]

Abnett has been out of the loop for so long...I'm a little nervous about him handling the final book.

 

I would prefer Wraight and ADB to co-authour if possible

 

That. Abnett's last wasn't particularly good either. I said it before, I'll say it again: Abnett is great to set the stage, to start a fire, but he's not particularly good at tying into other authors' works later on. He can establish things early on exceptionally well, but he's about the worst pick for writing a satisfying ending. I can't remember a book written by him that didn't have a rushed ending, which is especially disappointing considering how much time he spends crafting the rest. He's also not good at writing to the brief (Prospero Burns, The Unremembered Empire most notably).

 

Honestly, I don't see why the finale even has to be a novel written by any one author. Really, it shouldn't be. It has been a massive collaborative effort.

 

Rather, I'd be playing with an anthology approach, with an ongoing meta plotline about the Siege, and inserting short stories or novella-length pieces throughout. An easy way to go about it would be Dorn and the Emperor observing the events on Terra and the Palace specifically, monitoring situations left and right before deciding to take the possible bait and facing Horus personally, with the last section being about the boarding of the Vengeful Spirit for the final confrontation.

 

That way, the book could cover a lot more ground while allowing individual authors to put their final strokes on their creations while binding them right into an ongoing narrative rather than disparate pieces that have to re-establish the current setting over and over.

[bluntblade]

Which Primarchs were you thinking of? I'm hoping AD-B gives Sanguinius that extra dimension in a full portrayal.

 

I'm still trying to find that user who declared that Wraight ruined Jaghatai and the Scars in general.

[Roomsky]

 

Abnett has been out of the loop for so long...I'm a little nervous about him handling the final book.

 

I would prefer Wraight and ADB to co-authour if possible

 

That. Abnett's last wasn't particularly good either. I said it before, I'll say it again: Abnett is great to set the stage, to start a fire, but he's not particularly good at tying into other authors' works later on. He can establish things early on exceptionally well, but he's about the worst pick for writing a satisfying ending. I can't remember a book written by him that didn't have a rushed ending, which is especially disappointing considering how much time he spends crafting the rest. He's also not good at writing to the brief (Prospero Burns, The Unremembered Empire most notably).

 

Honestly, I don't see why the finale even has to be a novel written by any one author. Really, it shouldn't be. It has been a massive collaborative effort.

 

Rather, I'd be playing with an anthology approach, with an ongoing meta plotline about the Siege, and inserting short stories or novella-length pieces throughout. An easy way to go about it would be Dorn and the Emperor observing the events on Terra and the Palace specifically, monitoring situations left and right before deciding to take the possible bait and facing Horus personally, with the last section being about the boarding of the Vengeful Spirit for the final confrontation.

 

That way, the book could cover a lot more ground while allowing individual authors to put their final strokes on their creations while binding them right into an ongoing narrative rather than disparate pieces that have to re-establish the current setting over and over.

 

 

You make a strong argument, but I can't say I agree. 

 

To me, Abnett is the strongest writer in the BL stable. His prose, character work, and world building are all excellent. How many times has a character defined by Abnett been gutted by another author in their next appearance? Torgaddon became a caricature of himself after Horus Rising. John Grammaticus was a shallow imitation of himself in Vulkan Lives. No author has yet made Guilliman more likable or intelligent. He's not a good 40k writer, he's just a good writer.

 

I also disagree on the team-based approach. The scouring will have plenty of opportunities to wrap up plot threads for those out of focus. Its the defeat for the traitors, but its hardly the end of their arc, we don't need to know much about Perturabo during the siege more than how much he's enjoying it. Same goes for many of the loyalists, hell, the Dark Angels arc doesn't finish until after Terra and its been going on since book 6. Pardon me for being candid, but I think the story will be pulled down by a mentality that everyone should get to contribute purely in the interest of fairness. I'm more concerned about getting a good, actual story, not a collection of pieces.

[karden00]

Speaking of Emperors Children and Night Lords terror campaigns...

How cool would it be to see those two legions doing their terror campaigns on Terra only to find themselves up against the full, unleashed fury of The Khan and his Scars? I know that PoH dealt with Scars and Emps Children, but that story didn't seem to want explore a full scale legion vs legion as much as it did show what a legion being nullified looked like.

To see the Scars turning the tables on a legion (possibly two?) who had opted to focus on culling and enslaving Terra's mortals would be a really cool thing to see.

[b1soul]

WS vs. EC/NL would definitely be a clash I'd like to see

[Mellow]

If there's an opportunity to make money you can bet said money that the Siege will be strung out and flogged like a flogged thing being dragged through flogged-ville by a flogger.

[A D-B]

If there's an opportunity to make money you can bet said money that the Siege will be strung out and flogged like a flogged thing being dragged through flogged-ville by a flogger.

 

Naw. This is coming to an end a lot faster than many people think. 

[Silentz]

 

If there's an opportunity to make money you can bet said money that the Siege will be strung out and flogged like a flogged thing being dragged through flogged-ville by a flogger.

 

Naw. This is coming to an end a lot faster than many people think. 

 

Yeah, yeah how do you kn...   oh. 

[Corswain]

I actually like the idea of a series of novellas. One main novel, lots of short stories and novellas. It's about the only part of the Heresy where I think that's the way to go.

[Indefragable]

While the HH series has been excellent for giving us vignettes about less remembered characters or forces, I think the casualties have been the main players.

 

I.e. Think about how much screen time Horus has had yet can anyone say he's been properly fleshed out?*

 

So as much as I am interested in the exploits of others, I want the Siege book(s) to be about Horus, Sanguinius, the Emperor, Dorn, Khan, daemon prince Angron, Ollianus Pious, and their respective forces.

 

*A. Horus Rising, while good in almost every way, I'm not sure it counts since it was so early in the series and served as the jumping off point for better and worse

 

B. There is an argument to be made for someone as significant to the setting as Horus never getting fleshed out so as to maintain a certain air of mystery. Kind of the Emper--....oh, never mind.

Edited September 7, 2017 by Indefragable