IG/AM Fiction

[Fire Golem]

Can people recommend me some good Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum novels? Itching to read about them atm.

[R_F_D]

Gaunts Ghosts.

[E_50_Panzer]

I loved Gunheads, and Gaunt's Ghosts is a great series. Yarrick : Imperial Creed was nice, and Dead Men Walking is supposed to be great.

[Lord Marshal]

Gaunt's Ghosts.

 

Cadian Blood.

 

I've heard Baneblade and it's sequel are pretty good but I can't say I've read them myself.

 

Cadia Stands is the newest book coming out this week, which I'm looking forward to given the criminal lack of Cadian focus in Fall of CADIA.

[LJF]

Last Chancers series, it focuses on a penal IG regiment. Definitely try the first book 13th legion, the other were not that great IIRC.

[Qkhitai]

And the Ciaphas Cain series of course.

[Chaeron]

I've heard Baneblade and it's sequel are pretty good but I can't say I've read them myself.

 

Baneblade was very good! I've not read Shadowsword just yet though.

 

A couple of other suggestions would be Mark Clapham's Iron Guard and Richard Williams' Imperial Glory -  as they haven't yet been mentioned, and I'd rate them both very highly!

 

For one about the Death Korps of Kreig, is Dead Men Walking by Steve Lyons, but I'm struggling to remember if I've read this (although it is on my shelf, so probably have!). Straken was very enjoyable too (Toby Frost), especially if you're interested in Catachans specifically.

 

Plenty of recommendations!

[Brother Captain Kezef]

Double Eagle is good, Imperial Guard aircraft regiment.

[Xisor]

Got to echo the sentiments here - the whole IG line was very good: Dead Men Walking, Death World, Imperial Glory, Cadian Blood, Last Chancers all excellent.

 

I'd add to the list:

- Fire Caste

- Genestealer Cults

 

Both by Peter Fehervari, both utterly excellent. The latter isn't *quite* an IG novel, but they're so prominent it might as well be!

 

More, I'd add a personal point: "Imperial Glory" is an amazing novel. It's low-key in scope, but all the better for it: amazing cast of characters, sequences, tension etc. It's a brilliant novel.

[HeritorA]

Can people recommend me some good Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum novels? Itching to read about them atm.

 

Gaunt Ghosts and all attending to the setting (like Double Eagle) from Abnett without doubt.

Awesome Fire caste and Genestealer Cults from Fehervari. True grimdark and amazing storytelling.

Gunheads and Rebel Winter (if I spelled the name correctly)  - both amazing stories from Parker (sad he stop writing for BL  due to the bodybuilding preferences).

Guy Haley tankers stuff with 'Baneblade' and awesome 'Shadowsword'.

Good old standalone novel '15 hours'.

Last Chancers good old tome from Gav Thorpe. Though outdated - some of the stories are amazing.

Justin D Hill shorts for Creed - which is beyond good (especially battle for the Tyrok fields). Sadly his newest 'Cadia Stand' is a mess.

[Qkhitai]

Did anyone read William King's Macharian series?  They went totally under my radar, so can't recommend them per se, but they're out there as well. 

 

This thread also inspired me to go and pick up Dead Men Walking, enjoying it so far, so thanks guys.

Edited September 27, 2017 by Qkhitai

[HeritorA]

Did anyone read William King's Macharian series?  They went totally under my radar, so can't recommend them per se, but they're out there as well. 

 

This thread also inspired me to go and pick up Dead Men Walking, enjoying it so far, so thanks guys.

Well - they are strange novels. In parts they are really good, even amazing. But then the story flops.

[Fire Golem]

Cheers guys. I have Double Eagle somewhere I think, and Fire Caste is on my reading list. Gaunts Ghosts is highly recommended, but they don’t seem to do the early ones in paperback atm, only ebook (not necessarily and issue but I prefer paperbacks) so I’ll have to track them down somewhere.

[Phoebus]

I found that elements of the Macharius series were ambitious, but the whole enterprise could've been better executed.

 

The primary characters... are just an odd fit. The concept of the Lord Solar recruiting a number of "unlikely hero" Guardsmen into his personal bodyguard is a neat idea. I could never get over the fact that you essentially had the crew of a destroyed Baneblade running around as part of an elite infantry unit, though. The protagonist, the Baneblade's driver, henceforth runs around totting a shotgun; he is accompanied by a goofball gunner finding a second career as a sniper, a young officer whose near-death experience turned him into the grim and fearless "Undertaker," and a stock gruff gunner who rounds out the cast.

 

The campaigns the heroes find themselves are, broadly speaking, interesting and engaging. The political intrigue that increasingly informs Macharius' Crusade is the real meat of the story. Sadly, this is one of these series where you want your characters to be close enough to the Lord Solar's confidence for those hooks to have a real impact on the plot - and not be this peripheral, shadowy threat. You have to wait until the third novel to really appreciate the intrigue and betrayals, and by that point, the series is coming to an end. To someone familiar with the old lore, the whole endeavor thus might feel rushed; the Macharian Crusade was a colossal undertaking that brought a thousand planets to their knees - conquest on a scale unheard of since the Great Crusade. By only focusing on three planetary campaigns as vignettes of a sort, it might not feel as grand an affair.

 

Ultimately, I admire King for trying to tackle this tale. I do think, however, that his cast of characters could've been better conceptually and closer to the actual action. If his story had to be limited to three novels, the focus probably should've been more on the deadly rivalries and political intrigue that led to Macharius's downfall. In the end, the series tries to be too many things without being good enough at what actually matters. It's entertaining and worth reading, but with collaborative efforts like The Beast Arises now being possible, I wonder if the Macharian Crusade will be remembered more as a missed opportunity to really show what it was about.

[mr.crusader]

Gaunts Ghosts is highly recommended, but they don’t seem to do the early ones in paperback atm, only ebook (not necessarily and issue but I prefer paperbacks) so I’ll have to track them down somewhere.

 

The first omnibus The Founding should will be re-printed pretty soon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Founding-Gaunts-Ghosts-Omnibus/dp/1784966177/ 

[Fire Golem]

 

Gaunts Ghosts is highly recommended, but they don’t seem to do the early ones in paperback atm, only ebook (not necessarily and issue but I prefer paperbacks) so I’ll have to track them down somewhere.

 

 

The first omnibus The Founding should will be re-printed pretty soon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Founding-Gaunts-Ghosts-Omnibus/dp/1784966177/ 

That’s great news!

[Fire Golem]

 

Gaunts Ghosts is highly recommended, but they don’t seem to do the early ones in paperback atm, only ebook (not necessarily and issue but I prefer paperbacks) so I’ll have to track them down somewhere.

 

 

The first omnibus The Founding should will be re-printed pretty soon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Founding-Gaunts-Ghosts-Omnibus/dp/1784966177/ 

That’s great news!

[rendingon1+]

Commisar by Andy Hoare is definitely one of my favorites.

[A D-B]

Desert Raiders. That book is absolutely legit.

[Angel_of_Blood]

I'd go so far as to say Gaunts Ghosts is mandatory reading for BL in general. But if you want to read Guard stories, you'd be hard pressed to find better. Just be ready for what can often be a fething roller coaster of emotions and gut punches along the way. But full of solid action sequences, great dialogue, immensely likeable characters(and a few deplorable ones too).

 

The only question is. Do you want to live forever?

[HeritorA]

Desert Raiders. That book is absolutely legit.

In your humble opinion :)

Some of us does not particularly liked it.

 

Commisar by Andy Hoare is definitely one of my favorites.

Well on this one a lot of us have doubts. Without any disrespect - Hoare is not a good writer. His bolter porn is second rate and stories are dull.

[Phoebus]

HeritorA,

 

I'm sure you realize this deep down, but "in your humble opinion" is appended not on account of this forum being automatically opposed to personal, subjective opinion, but because your critique is so consistently bluntly negative.

 

I mean, look. I don't want to come off as a hypocrite. I acknowledge that I come off as cynical and disappointed in most of my reviews and commentary about, e.g., Dark Angels fiction and certain Heresy novels. And yes, I sometimes do find myself nodding in agreement when you actually qualify what you find wrong with a specific story (as opposed to just saying something like "[Author X] is poor"). But... dude. Even I walk away from a day's worth of your posts and find myself wondering what drives you to read most of the Black Library fiction - or at least to keep going back to authors you don't like - given how disappointed you are by so much of it.

 

And look, if you want to come back at Mellow (or whoever else) in a tongue-in-cheek way for giving unqualified praise on behalf of a novel after their critique of your own posts, fair play! I mean, I'm not telling you that A D-B's opinion is sacrosanct, but you chose to apply that zinger on the ONE GUY in this forum whose personal, subjective literary opinion is backed by a perhaps unblemished streak of writing in this setting?

[R_F_D]

I found that elements of the Macharius series were ambitious, but the whole enterprise could've been better executed.......

 

Ultimately, I admire King for trying to tackle this tale. I do think, however, that his cast of characters could've been better conceptually and closer to the actual action. If his story had to be limited to three novels, the focus probably should've been more on the deadly rivalries and political intrigue that led to Macharius's downfall. In the end, the series tries to be too many things without being good enough at what actually matters. It's entertaining and worth reading, but with collaborative efforts like The Beast Arises now being possible, I wonder if the Macharian Crusade will be remembered more as a missed opportunity to really show what it was about.

 

Could not have put this better myself.  I wonder whether they could create a series which expands on the crusade whilst circling round what's been written?

[Sandlemad]

Gonna second Fehervari's Fire Caste, it's brilliant. Very weird, in the Mieville/Vandermeer 'weird fiction' sense: creepy overgrown environments, bizarre fungus, oppressive humid heat, paranoia, hallucinations, that sort of thing. Minimal tau presence despite the title and they're just as affected by all the horror.

 

It's also one of the only 40k books that ever truly sold me on the whole 'war is hell' idea. Most BL books only ever get close to this with the occasional moment of self-reflection from a space marine or some bleak humour. This is much more of a Vietnam kind of book, with several pretty explicit nods to Apocalypse Now! and Heart of Darkness. No moments of glory and no good deaths, not done in the usual grimdark manner* but in a much more mundane 'realistic' military manner.

 

* Thinking of Fifteen Hours here, which is decent but overeggs the brutality of IG life to meme-y levels. Kind of surprised it hasn't been mentioned here yet, thought it was a fan favourite.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Sandlemad

[HeritorA]

HeritorA,

 

I'm sure you realize this deep down, but "in your humble opinion" is appended not on account of this forum being automatically opposed to personal, subjective opinion, but because your critique is so consistently bluntly negative.

 

I mean, look. I don't want to come off as a hypocrite. I acknowledge that I come off as cynical and disappointed in most of my reviews and commentary about, e.g., Dark Angels fiction and certain Heresy novels. And yes, I sometimes do find myself nodding in agreement when you actually qualify what you find wrong with a specific story (as opposed to just saying something like "[Author X] is poor"). But... dude. Even I walk away from a day's worth of your posts and find myself wondering what drives you to read most of the Black Library fiction - or at least to keep going back to authors you don't like - given how disappointed you are by so much of it.

 

And look, if you want to come back at Mellow (or whoever else) in a tongue-in-cheek way for giving unqualified praise on behalf of a novel after their critique of your own posts, fair play! I mean, I'm not telling you that A D-B's opinion is sacrosanct, but you chose to apply that zinger on the ONE GUY in this forum whose personal, subjective literary opinion is backed by a perhaps unblemished streak of writing in this setting?

In general - quality of BL novels wit exception of Wraight, French and A D-B get worse in the past 3 years.

 

Sandlemad

Fifteen Hours and Fehervari brutality of Astra Militarum existence is actually how things 'would have' been if W40K existed. They feel real. And that's much more than what could be said about 50 % of BL production.