Space Marine Battles/Conquests

[b1soul]

Any recommendations? I've read...

 

Helsreach

 

The Hunt for Voldorius

 

Fall of Damnos

 

Legion of the Damned

 

Any stand-outs worthy of your commendations?

 

I thought Fall of Damnos and Helsreach were good. Fall is also the only Kyme work I like.

 

Hunt and LotD were rather tiresome IMO. Andy Hoare is not a good writer and though Sanders' is OK, LotD's plot failed to intrigue me.

 

EDIT: I've read Wrath of Iron as well. Very good IMO

Edited October 16, 2017 by b1soul

[Kelborn]

Wrath of Iron by Chris Wraight

 

Battle of the Fang by Chris Wraight

 

If you haven't read them, go get them. ;)

[b1soul]

Wrath of Iron by Chris Wraight

 

Battle of the Fang by Chris Wraight

 

If you haven't read them, go get them. ;)

I've actually read Wrath of Iron...simply forgot it's an SMB novel. I liked it quite a lot, especially the Imperial Assassin character. The final battle with Julius Kaesoron was very cool, especially the Iron Hand captain's verbal comeback.

 

I've heard giod things about BotF...but I'm not fond of SW

[JH79]

If you go for War of the Fang you also get the novella The Hunt for Magnus which add's extra context and depth to the story of BOTF. The ebook is the same price as BOTF so maybe a no brainer if you do decide to go for it.

 

While i don't favour the Space Wolves over any other loyalist legion, i do usually enjoy their showings. This book was by contrast to many quite dark in places, the sense of hopelessness and loss of history was palpable at times.

[Sandlemad]

What about Blood and Fire, the follow-on novella to Helsreach? Short but good, tragedy and hope, more exemplary Grimaldus moments and the Celestial Lions are well-fleshed out.

 

The Flesh Tearers anthology was decent. Follows Amit after the Scouring as the new chapter established itself and settles on Cretacia. Amit has strong disagreements with Guilliman and his codex.

[JH79]

What about Blood and Fire, the follow-on novella to Helsreach? Short but good, tragedy and hope, more exemplary Grimaldus moments and the Celestial Lions are well-fleshed out.

Hell yeah, Blood and Fire was awesome! I still felt numb going into that story following the harrowing end to Helsreach!

[mr.crusader]

I would recommend Storm of Damocles and Legion of the Damned

[DarkChaplain]

Death of Integrity, fantastic Space Hulk story with two distinct Chapters being showcased.

 

The Siege of Castellax really hit home with its depiction of the late Iron Warriors and their sheer inhumanity and disregard for mortal men. It also shows the orks as a proper threat.

[Kelborn]

Cursaders of Dorn was decent as well.

Maybe a bit short but still decent and entertaining. Includes a story from the pov of a Dreadnaught, which was really good.

[bluntblade]

I had some issues with Castellax, as it had a few instances of "nothing could go wrong. Suddenly, everything went wrong" but it's a worthwhile read nonetheless. Battle of the Fang is superb.

[DarkChaplain]

Cursaders of Dorn was decent as well.

Maybe a bit short but still decent and entertaining. Includes a story from the pov of a Dreadnaught, which was really good.

 

Still salty about them taking out The Eternal Crusader, even though the placeholder cover was from that novella, and the internal art still is. Most SMB Armageddon stories, including The Eternal Crusader, should be in the upcoming Armageddon omnibus, though.

 

The Dreadnought story, The Glorious Tomb, was originally released as an audio drama, and my god did they nail it. I didn't think I could be this sad about a story like that.

[Sandlemad]

Gotta second Battle of the Fang, it really is very good. The approach Wraight took is also a good one, you get perspectives from almost every branch of the chapter: wolf lord, blood claw, scout, hunter, wolf guard, both types of priest, dreadnought, two different serf characters. Magnus himself and several Thousand Sons also get their POV sections. It's a fantastic 360-degree view of a battle in a way that I haven't really seen done as cleanly or successfully elsewhere. If you were looking for a model of how the siege of Terra could be done, with everyone involved getting good representation, I think this would be a start.

 

Structurally it's wonderful but it also manages to synthesise Abnett's portrayal of 30k wolves with the older depictions of 40k wolves into pretty much the gold standard of writing the SW. The characters are well drawn and there's multiple standout brilliant moments.

 

Now granted you don't like wolves but if nothing else, you do get to see Magnus literally and effortlessly explode them into blood and bone on multiple occasions. So it's got that going for it, I suppose.

Edited October 16, 2017 by Sandlemad

[Jareddm]

Seconding Death of Integrity.  It's a little slow at first but it does such a brilliant job of making space hulk missions feel logical and necessary.

[helterskelter]

The silver skulls one by Sarah cawkwell was superb

[b1soul]

On Wraight's SW, would you guys recommend Blood of Asaheim and Stormcaller?

[G_R_H]

Has anybody got a comprhensive list of all the space marine battle novels? Helsreach is a must read, battle of the Fang was pretty good, I enjoyed the death antagonists too.

[Xisor]

I'm still not quite getting over the idea that someone didn't care much for Legion of the Damned! (Easily the best, in my esteem.)

 

I get a real kick out of Andy Smillie's writing of the Flesh Tearers, so Flesh Tearers is well worth a look.

 

I think others have it covered, mostly, though I'd add that for a wholehearted change of pace and curious tone, Tyrant of the Hollow Worlds has a lot going for it. It's a bit schlocky in its treatment of Huron and the Corsairs themselves, but once I adjusted to that (more action romp than Serious Space Marines story), the human aspects and the overarching scale of what's being done is a sheer delight. Really easy reading too - no purple prose, no laboured plots. All the characters, especially the human ones, really shine through for me.

 

In that same vein of 'a change of pace and tone' - I'd echo sentiments praising The Gildar Rift - a really neat take on Space Marine characters and their personal stories, as well as some pretty intriguing back/forth with the characters. Didn't especially care for the rendition of the Corsairs, but then even Blood Reaver didn't wow me with Huron et al. (Neither did the Uriel Ventris ones that went that way.)

 

Anyway, I digress.

 

I found Death of Integrity to be fascinating and compelling, if a bit dry, and Death of Antagonis to be the reverse - an engaging character story, but with themes/overviews that weren't really deep enough for my tastes. As a run-up to some nice Annandale cosmic horror, however, it's an enjoyable tale!

 

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Blood of Anaheim and Stormcaller I found really interesting, but much more meandering and intimate stories. Very low-key, small-scale affairs (so to speak) compared to the more massive battles you often get.

 

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Finally, I also really enjoyed Slaughter at Giant's Coffin. Some aspects I didn't hugely care for, but on the whole I raced right through it and otherwise really enjoyed it. Then, I've found I really quite enjoy Laurie's writing.

[mr.crusader]

Has anybody got a comprhensive list of all the space marine battle novels? 

 

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Space_Marine_Battles_(Novel_Series)

[G_R_H]

Why thankyou, I just want to check off which ones I have, and it's a nightmare trawling through the BL site or ebay to find all the different ones!

[DarkChaplain]

Keep in mind that a lot of the eNovellas will be in print soon, alongside Helsreach/sequel. If you don't own the former (though you should), waiting for that omnibus wouldn't be a bad idea (although it doesn't have the SMB style).

[G_R_H]

I have in paper/hard back Helsreach, Voldorius, LofD, Rynns world, BotF, purging of kadillus, Gildar rift and the world engine, I've also read in e-book; fall of Damnos, wrath of iron, death of integrity, death of antagonis and blood and fire, though I'm a bit of a completist so I'm after them all for my bookshelf over time.. (maybe if I sell one of the kids....?)

[battle captain corpus]

Any of the Space Wolves books by Chris Wraight are worth looking at to. As is Ragnar Blackmane by ADB.

The Ultramarines novels, whilst creating a "Marmite" feel in the community some would say, are also good solid reads I found.

 

BCC

[b1soul]

I'm gonna give Death of Integrity a shot. I like inter-chapter dynamics...and Blood Drinkers & Novamarines sounds like an interesting pairing. 

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

personally Im not a fan of Wraight's Blood of Asaheim or Stormcaller, but would beg for the chance to shake his hand for Battle of the Fang

 

oh, A D-B's Helreach and it's shorts are worth its weight in gold. When I sorta-evacuated from Hurricane Irma, the only GW book to make it in my bag was Helsreach

[b1soul]

What were your issues with Asaheim and Stormcaller?

 

EDIT: I guess what I'm asking is how come Battle of the Fang is almost universally loved, but Asaheim and Stormcaller seem to rub a lot of SW fans the wrong way?

Edited October 17, 2017 by b1soul