Rate what you Read, or the fight against Necromancy

[DarkChaplain]

Yeah, but cross-author, with specific characters. McNeill has forgotten where he left the Sysypheum crew the last time he wrote them (iirc), and he's been the exclusive author as far as I remember. There's not been any meddling with what he set up for them, unlike the various character relays across the series.

 

You'd THINK he had talked those plans for the characters and their relevance to the ONE Primarch he'd taken main "ownership" of (to the point where he wasn't even properly touched for years while he had a novel about him stalled during his departure from BL to work at Riot Games full-time, and when he finally wrote the thing he didn't account for the John French Ahriman trilogy...) over with the editors, or left some sticky notes, or had some drafts on his PC, considering he made the ONLY REASON THESE CHARACTERS SURVIVED a specific plan for them by another Primarch than the one who would've otherwise killed them.

 

Like, this is the stuff you go into having an idea already for their future use. It's not something you'd just establish and think to yourself "I wonder what I'm gonna do with them when this comes back around". Even just thinking about it, you'd probably come up with multiple scenarios during the brainstorming stage already, let alone the writing, rewriting, editing and getting it signed off by your editor. This would inevitably come up during their discussions, considering its the climax of The Seventh Serpent.

 

That being said, I'm still upset that the Sysypheum crew was used as a crutch to enable future Primaris, when WE HAD A PERFECTLY VIABLE WAY TO GET TO PRIMARIS ALREADY in another forgotten plotline from book 18, which never satisfactorily got picked up again or made a real impact.

[Sothalor]

Fabius Bile: The Omnibus – Josh Reynolds

 

As a latecomer to the series, this makes me sad we’ve lost Josh Reynolds as a BL author. This trilogy manages to make Fabius Bile, a one-dimensional mad scientist figure, into a nuanced, complex, and compelling character. Combine that with a great cast of supporting characters, solid prose that delivers some evocative, esoteric worldbuilding, and you’ve got one of the best character explorations of a 40k named character.

 

Highly recommend.

[Nagashsnee]

Bile trilogy is one of the greats.

[neOh (AV)]

Fear The Alien: Xenos is No Friend to Man

 

Gardens of Tycho – Dan Abnett

Sequel to Curiosity and the story of magos Drusher, leading up to The Magos. In a post-war city, something is brutally killing people, and Dan Abnett tells the story of the hunt for this "something" in his signature Eisenhorn-style detective narrative. Of course, compared to Crime or even Abnett’s later works, the investigation here – especially its conclusion – seems somewhat simplistic. But is that really a downside? Of course not!

 

Fear Itself – Juliet E. McKenna

Under the relentless Tyranid assault, a field surgeon struggles day by day to save his comrades – not just their bodies but their minds as well. As a depiction of the horror Tyranids bring, it's quite effective.

 

Mistress Baeda's Gift – Braden Campbell

An aging Dark Eldar Archon suddenly… Falls in love! With a mysterious lady, a widow who has just arrived in the Dark City and whose hand he's determined to win. Feeling young again, he embarks on the difficult romantic quest of finding the perfect gift for the lady of his heart (even consulting mon-keigh for advice). His attempts to understand his emotions and win his beloved’s favor were both amusing and managed to achieve something rare truly showcasing the alien nature of the xenos and how fundamentally different they are from humans.

 

Iron Inferno – C. L. Werner

Never underestimate xenos – especially if they’re Orks. A Japanese-inspired general tries to play 4D chess with them, but Ork kommandoz are hardly the kind to be so easily outwitted. It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.

 

Sanctified – Mark Clapham

Home Alone, but instead of a house, it’s a damaged voidship, instead of Kevin, it’s a regular engineseer, and instead of burglars, it’s Corsairs. Since the story is told from the tech-priest’s perspective, it offers interesting insights into his perception of xenos in general and Dark Eldar in particular.

 

Faces – Matthew Farrer

One of the rare stories about Harlequins and another brilliant work by Farrer, whose uniquely crafted narratives remain impressive even today. A few mortals accidentally touch something they shouldn’t, and their fates intertwine with the Rillietann in a mad phantasmagoria that must be stopped – lest even the Masque itself be put at risk.

 

Unity – James Gilmer

A mortal soldier and a Raven Guard marine, furious over defeat, retreat after losing a battle against the T’au, planning to strike back again. But the Fire Warriors are not the only warriors of the Empire – auxiliaries and traitors who have joined its ranks are sometimes even more ruthless foes. While the son of Corax here feels more like a raging psychopath, I enjoyed Gilmer’s depiction of Kroot tactics and Gue’vesa betrayal – though, of course, not as detailed as in Nguyen’s or Fehervari’s works.

 

Prometheus Requiem – Nick Kyme

Part of the Tome of Fire series. If you've read anything from this cycle, you already know what to expect – Salamanders boarding Space Hulk and, in oldy fashion, fighting against Genestealers, visions, and, surprise, Night Lords, who by accident are assaulting Hulk at the same time. All of this is, of course, spiced up with "brother!" shouts and fire. In short, a typical Salamanders story by Nick Kyme, really.

 

The Core – Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Sequel to The Blood Reaver, retelling the previous story’s events from the perspective of Talos and his mates – the ones responsible for all the mayhem. However, seeing the boarding action through their eyes turns out to be much more entertaining than the ever-serious Salamanders. Especially since Lucoryphus is here, and that guy can make an enjoyable read even from a battle with Genestealers hordes.

 

Ambition Knows No Bounds – Andy Hoare

Part of the Rogue Trader series. Daughter of the Gerit family enters a Necron tomb to loot its treasures, but things go wrong in the most predictable way possible. A typical filler story that you forget the moment you start the next one.

Edited March 22 by neOh (AV)

[Rain]

On 3/19/2025 at 7:25 PM, Sothalor said:

Fabius Bile: The Omnibus – Josh Reynolds

 

As a latecomer to the series, this makes me sad we’ve lost Josh Reynolds as a BL author. This trilogy manages to make Fabius Bile, a one-dimensional mad scientist figure, into a nuanced, complex, and compelling character. Combine that with a great cast of supporting characters, solid prose that delivers some evocative, esoteric worldbuilding, and you’ve got one of the best character explorations of a 40k named character.

 

Highly recommend.

The Bile Trilogy is my favorite collective work of BL fiction. The fact that Josh Reynolds pitched a Skalathrax book that got shot down, and will never happen is really sad for me, as a fan of both WE and EC.

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

Oaths of Damnation (Robbie MacNiven) - Rating: PASS

 

Enjoyed this one, although it took a while for me to get through due to outside factors.

 

The novel-length format doesn't always work for BL - some stories would have made good novellas but get stretched into dull novels. Others wind up feeling rushed at the end to the point that you feel an editorial edict was made late in the game to compress a two- or three-book series into a single novel.

 

Not the case here. We didn't really have any false starts or false finishes.

 

At its core, you could certainly summarize this story into a sentence or two, but the journey from setup to resolution was still worthwhile simply for the very different nature of the Exorcists compared to other chapters and MacNiven's characterization of the cast. The impact of the Orison sub-cults on what is already a very unique chapter was a mechanic I found interesting and potentially something that MacNiven could do a further story based on.

 

Because otherwise, there's not much call for a sequel to this particular story. Again, not that the characters or events weren't compelling, but simply that things were wrapped up effectively enough that the next story would best be a journey down another path.

 

Early candidate for "Bolter Corn of the Year."

[neOh (AV)]

Bringers of Death: Classic and Deadly

 

Even Unto Death – Mike Lee

Mike's very first 40k story is a fast-paced tale about Space Wolves Scouts whose stealth mission to eliminate Orks goes horribly wrong – meaning it’s time for vengeance! A bolter-action story fitting for its era, where nearly all the Wolves come across as incompetent and crazy, but with some interesting details—like one Scout who keeps chewing poisonous Fenrisian berries, seemingly pulling them from nowhere.

 

Red Reward – Mitchel Scanlon

Spin-off to Fifteen Hours. In the ruins of Brusharok, city shattered by a decade-long war, a Guardsman sergeant faces judgment and tells his story – about a man who seemed mad, about heroism long abandoned by the battlefield, only to return in an unexpected form. This short is almost Fifteen Hours in miniature: though told from the perspective of a more experienced guardsman, it remains just as merciless, somber, and tinged with a faint glimmer of hope.

 

Menshad Korum – C.S. Goto

An early take on Eldar lore by the infamous Goto. The story revolves around the concept of Menshad Korum, an empty-hearted Exarch who walks multiple Aspects. Here, the Exarch in question is from Saim-Hann, but there’s a problem – he's dead, smoked by his own kin, and his spirit stone stolen. Over the course of the story, buried under endless, tedious descriptions, we slowly uncover why he had to die and what Chaos-aligned (yes, really!) Lelith Hesperax has to do with it. The concept is somewhat intriguing, but the execution is exactly what you’d expect from the author. Nothing more to add.

 

Xenocide – Simon Jowett

More of a novella than a short story. The pastoral life of Brael, a simple farmer and family man, along with the feudal world he calls home – long cut off from the Imperium’s light – comes to an end when an Ork invasion begins. Alongside other untrained farmers, armed with primitive weapons and led by incompetent commanders, Brael, driven by sheer determination, fights through the entire war, all the way to the final battle for the last remaining city. Astartes, despite expectations, never show up until the very end – an undeniable plus. This is a story of ordinary people, bloodthirsty Orks, and an equally ruthless Imperium, to which the ends always justify the means. I’m almost certain Simon took inspiration from Helm’s Deep, as a significant portion of the novella feels like a grimdark version of that battle – and after the previous story, this is a breath of fresh air.

 

Sector 13 – Sandy Mitchell

Ciaphas Cain story. Back when he was still serving with the 12th artillery, Cain, in an attempt to dodge a potentially dangerous mission under the guise of “Commissarial duties,” accidentally (as always) exposes gene cultists and saves the day.

[Nagashsnee]

On 3/22/2025 at 8:59 PM, neOh (AV) said:

Fear The Alien: Xenos is No Friend to Man

Mistress Baeda's Gift – Braden Campbell

An aging Dark Eldar Archon suddenly… Falls in love! With a mysterious lady, a widow who has just arrived in the Dark City and whose hand he's determined to win. Feeling young again, he embarks on the difficult romantic quest of finding the perfect gift for the lady of his heart (even consulting mon-keigh for advice). His attempts to understand his emotions and win his beloved’s favor were both amusing and managed to achieve something rare truly showcasing the alien nature of the xenos and how fundamentally different they are from humans.

 

This story for me is one of those forgotten BL gems. It explores the faction, adds  some depth, but is also a fun read that can be enjoyed by anyone. It does the dark eldar as i most enjoy them dark dark comedy. Evil and horrendous, but also deeply funny.  While newer lore changes shake it foundations it remains one of the better dark eldar works BL has ever put out.  I always hoped for a full scale book from the author on Dark Eldar but it never came about.

Edited March 27 by Nagashsnee

[theSpirea]

Wasn't sure where else to post it, McNeill posted some map drafts on twitter

Managed to find the maps I drew for Storm of Iron, both of which were integral to planning & writing the novel. The 1st shows the initial setup of the Iron Warriors siege-lines, the 2nd shows the progression of the battle, together with my scribbles. I'll see if I can find more.

https://x.com/GrahamMcNeill/status/1906025056821465183

 

[The Scorpion]

On 3/27/2025 at 3:25 AM, Nagashsnee said:

This story for me is one of those forgotten BL gems. It explores the faction, adds  some depth, but is also a fun read that can be enjoyed by anyone. It does the dark eldar as i most enjoy them dark dark comedy. Evil and horrendous, but also deeply funny.  While newer lore changes shake it foundations it remains one of the better dark eldar works BL has ever put out.  I always hoped for a full scale book from the author on Dark Eldar but it never came about.

Just read the story, and it is indeed GOATed.

Dark Eldar romance is so cringe for all the best reasons

 

Between this story, the enemies to lovers subplot in Da Big Daka, and Lelith in her new novel, I think it is safe to say that these mofos suck at it so badly

 

No wonder most of them are vatborn. Which creates the darkly comedic situation where the 'parental' figures of most Deldar are the Homonculi that keep them in baby cattle pens as seen in Lelith's book

 

[LemartesTheLost]

Confession of Pain by Jon Flindall

 

Bought Cold Vigil for the BL Celebration and figured I would go ahead and check out Confession of Pain beforehand since I really enjoyed Flindall's previous Iron Lords short, Death's Toll. 

 

Starting off, Confession of Pain features the White Scars, in particular a Firstborn Lieutenant (A rare specimen in 40k, indeed!) and a Dreadnought. This is a cautionary tale of rage and vengeance. The author's prose is easy-reading and enjoyable, while not particularly stand out in any way. It's clear that homework was completed and turned in, as the Chapter culture AND history bleeds nicely onto the page. Hell, we even get a look at post-invasion Chogoris! The antagonist, a Red Corsair named Vask, was about as by-the-numbers CSM villain as they come, although the forces of Chaos are no slouches in this story. The combat scenes were nicely paced enough, although I wish we got to see more.

 

This was a really solid short, my main gripe (it's medium sized) is that I wish that the fate of the Dreadnought, Khaijav was made more explicit within another paragraph or sentence. The ending would've been made MUCH more impactful by such. As it stands, an assumption, while easy enough to make, has to be made as to his fate. This is both an authorial and editorial mistake, methinks. I hate to be a stickler, but it actually matters here as the entire story builds to the last paragraph. 

 

Are his Scars better than MacNiven's? I couldn't tell without a full novel to compare the two, but it's possible! After this showing, I would trust Mr. Flindall to write a White Scars novel if he got a pitch accepted by BL. Excited to read Cold Vigil next! 

 

Final Rating: 7.5/10 One sentence (or lack thereof) cost this short a half point. Overall, a well written short that shows what at least some of the Scars are up to in the Post-Rift era. Not required reading, but fun 40k that really respects previous lore.

[Roomsky]

Angel of Fire - William King

 

I have issues with this. They are biased and unfair, but I think I can link them to legit criticism. The book, overall, is fine though. I'll give a brief review of it outside my personal issues.

 

This is basically just a middle of the road Guardsmen book with Macharius taped onto the side of it. Our heroes are quashing a rebellious world that, shock of shocks, is being influenced by Chaos. We begin with some tank sections I rather enjoyed, but that terminates at about the 1/3 mark and turns into fairly typical "outnumbered behind enemy lines" fare in the back half. I dislike this premise for any story allegedly about a prolific general, but if said general's characterization is strong enough it can make up for it (spoilers, it is not.)  Still, the pacing is fine and the Angel of Fire cult is at least memorable.

 

The characters are all very stock, but I'll give King credit for capturing those little human moments that make them all feel real nonetheless. The standout for me was Inquisitor Drake, who I actually believed views the cost of his work as a human one rather than an abstraction relating to "what must be done." Characters have pretty natural conversations that happen to build the world rather than putting a human veneer on blatant exposition, so that's nice. King's writing is otherwise pretty bland, though, and undermines itself here and there with weirdly juvenile choices of phrasing. A major issue is that the character if Anton is repeatedly called a moron for re-stating the obvious, which is unintentionally funny, because the narration frequently re-states the obvious for no value I can discern. Like so many 40k books, it also has no real denouement. Also also "Ha bloody ha" is a phrase that, like "New Fish," should live in greater infamy than "wet leopard growl."

 

It's an alright Guard book. 6/10 To Taste on my normal rating scale.

 

-

 

So, I may have picked a bad time to read about Macharius. He is described as "40k Alexander the Great," and I only just read Fire from Heaven and The Persian Boy for the first time. Is it fair to compare a Bill King 40k tie-in novel to one of the great pillars of historical fiction? No, but I'm going to.

 

Let's start with what Macharius shares with Alexander the Great / Alexandros of Makedonia. He's a charismatic general who loves to fight, isn't afraid to mingle with his troops, and who conquered a lot during a relatively short amount of time, all while having little interest in the actual running of these conquered territories. He's a military genius who's too into the idea of glorious victory. He brings his fiercely loyal army, including a close retinue of bodyguard companions, to the edge of the known "world" before his men convince him to turn back. He dies shortly afterwards of some kind of illness, maybe, and the places he conquered promptly splinter into factions. (I gather the High Lords start thinking he's carving out a personal empire at some point, despite doing nothing of the sort, but that seems to be taken from Belisarius instead.)

 

So we just have Alexander the military figure transposed into 40k, and don't spend too much time paralleling Alexandros the man. Here's the problem with that: Alexander the military figure is like, the default template of a good general in fiction, and especially 40k. "Brilliant strategist, overzealous for victory, fights with and knows the men" describes so many Imperial characters that Macharius here comes across as another stock archetype instead of someone unique or interesting. It's so generic that even I, who is generally a supporter of "title character defined by the views of those around him" approach, think this falls flat because the title character simply isn't unique enough to justify it. Yes yes, the characters are all very awed by him, but why is that noteworthy?

 

And I'm not saying that Sejanus needs to be a 1:1 to Hephaestion, or that Macharius should have a lover whose slanted and romanticized POV we follow throughout. But we needed someone with a uniquely intimate view of the man to define him in any meaningful way. Khayon's not in love with Abaddon in any human way, but he's in an "intimate" position that speaks to Abaddon in a way no one else does (Khayon's even got Alexander's name, I see your influences ADB.) Macharius needs that, and maybe Leo becomes that in later books, but he certainly isn't that here. Sejanus didn't need to be Hephaestion, but the book would have been better if he was.

 

Yes, my view of Alexander is slanted by the fictional version I've just consumed, but that version was very interesting. Alexandros had a grand funeral for his horse, cosplayed Achilles and cast his best friend as Patroklos, embraced (to his detriment?) the cultures he conquered, had what bordered on a child's idea of honour and greatness, made his closest circle of adolescent friends his honour guard, was tutored by one of history's most famous philosophers, was a consummate drunk, was physically the opposite of what his people imagined a great warrior to look like, was raised by somewhere between 1 and 2 insane people (depending on who you ask,) etc etc etc.

 

Macharius didn't even seem to give a that his honour guard died. Hello typical Imperial general, nice to meet you. Oh, you looked at the bodies of the slain? That definitely sounds feasible and not like ill-thought lip-service to a kind of leadership that shouldn't be possible at this scale.

 

Please advise if Macharius gets more meat to his character in the next 2 books.

Edited April 10 by Roomsky

[Sothalor]

He does not.

 

 

You pretty much hit the nail in terms of my issues with King's books; the writing style and prose is just so juvenile and bland that it's actively detrimental to the story for me.

[wecanhaveallthree]

Quote

turns into fairly typical "outnumbered behind enemy lines" fare in the back half

 

But Roomsky, I thought you loved Straight Silver?

 

But. This is outrageous. Thinking you could get away with slandering BILLY KING? Thinking you could praise Straight Silver and then give this kind of milquetoast review to the MAN HIMSELF? We'll soon see about that.

 

Quote

I'll give King credit for capturing those little human moments that make them all feel real nonetheless.

 

This is, I think, what makes King's writing work so well (and why it often catches 'juvenile' or 'bland' strays). This is not a bad thing. You can pick up a lot of King's work with absolutely no lead-in and you'll 'get it'. The barrier for entry is essentially flat. So you're cheek-to-cheek with King's character work which is exceptional: I think my favourite scene in Angel of Fire is when Lemuel and friends sit down in that cafe and just chat to the locals. It's a little awkward, a little weird, but everyone is more or less an Imperial so they more or less have a common cultural base and they're more or less... human. King captures those little frictions of everyday life, of people making the best of things, of the little changes, the little differences. The cult came to power because people just... kinda got used to it. The characters accept crazy stuff because they... just get used to it. They make allowances. They 'go along to get along'. And that's how we got to 40K in the first place, I suppose.

 

I do think it's important to defend King's choice of prose specifically in these books, however, and I'd point to something like Gotrek and Felix (or hell, just his Space Wolves) to show that King can be as expansive as anyone else. I think - or at least it's my distinct impression - that Lemuel and friends are coded as Eastern Europeans IN SPACE. I mean, Ivan and Anton, duh, but the way they speak, the clipped tones, the short-and-sharp: it's a stylistic choice and it works for me.

 

Quote

A major issue is that the character if Anton is repeatedly called a moron for re-stating the obvious, which is unintentionally funny...

 

Anton can't shut up. He chatters on and on when he's nervous, or excited, or... - it's a character trait. He is a moron and I don't believe it's unintentional at all, particularly given who the narrative is from the perspective of. The trio are friends through thick and thin. Of course Lemuel is calling Anton a moron (and then doing the exact same thing). 

 

On the subject of Macharius, 'Alexander in Space' was his entire branding until this trilogy. I know it's somewhat cliche to say 'oh it's all just Imperial propaganda', but in this case, perhaps ESPECIALLY in this case, the 'true story' of Macharius differs massively from the 'true history (as sanctioned by the Imperium'. You are absolutely right to be like 'oh he's just a typical Imperial general' here, because that's exactly what Lemuel is seeing. Yes, he walks amongst the men, he looks at the bodies, and you're told - and shown - that he's very inspiring, that the men will die for him en masse, that they'll literally wade into hand-to-hand with daemons alongside him, but that's the open question of this book: why? What makes him special (and there's no question about that 'speciality', because he does go hand-to-hand with daemons: he is absolutely not a normal guy)? 

 

Angel of Fire shows us the legend, the myth - the next two books spend their time destroying it. 

 

On the subject of 'scale', I think these three books are the best representation of it in canon. I seem to be in a somewhat weird group who thought Warmaster and Anarch were the absolute bee's knees of the Gaunt's Ghosts series (Gaunt finally getting to do what we got a taste of in Necropolis). The portrayal of complex, interwoven politics amongst the arms of the Imperium and how much diplomatic and tactical skill it takes to get anything done is honestly beyond compare. The war council scenes are some of my favourite in the setting because they put a bunch of people who have risen to their levels through genius, cunning and ambition in the same room together and show how adeptly Macharius wrangles them (and why he got as far as he did - and why the Imperium was so terrified of him). 

 

I'd also just like to signpost what Macharius' best skill is. It's not being super awesome at swords or some kind of tactical genius rivalled only by the Creed family. I mean, yeah, he is that, but look at what he does with Lemuel and friends. Macharius is inspiring, he says all the right words, yadda yadda, but his most powerful ability is to identify potential.

[Roomsky]

I was hoping you'd arrive quickly to illuminate me, ma meilleure ennemie. I cannot resist a deconstruction so, for better or worse, I will wade on. As mentioned, I recognized I picked perhaps the worst possible time to read about 40k Alexander and hopefully a break between this and Demetrius will help me appreciate it more - and hopefully it shows me the man behind the myth (the title of Fall of Macharius alone draws me in.) Those little character moments were, after all, something special - surely there's more to appreciate here. The lack of barrier to entry is interesting, but it tracks with both Gotrek and Ragnar being such famous entry points for new readers. Something I should have mentioned is that, despite my issues with the guy on the cover, this book did not read like absolute trash after the masterpiece that is The Persian Boy. That's gotta count for something.

 

Warmaster and Anarch are definitely among the pinnacle of GG; r/40klore is on crack.

Edited April 11 by Roomsky

[wecanhaveallthree]

Now that Lemuel is more directly attached to Macharius, yes, you'll see much more of the 'man behind the myth' and, I think, understand why these books were written. They seem to almost directly address the 'Alexander IN SPACE' concept and deconstruct it masterfully. I'd genuinely call big swatches of the next two books political thrillers, and almost a counterpoint to Badab (which was reasonably fresh to when these books were written). 

 

The presentation of the Space Wolves in Fist and how they operate is - again, without exaggeration - the best and perhaps truest representation of how the Adeptus Astartes do things. Their value system, their sense of time and scale, their grasp of history are so staggeringly different to base 'humans'. How even Macharius at, perhaps, the apex of his authority both temporal and personal has to deal with them is just wonderful.

[DarkChaplain]

I for one am really quite fond of Bill King's writing. I've only read Angel of Fire (which I actually got for 7€ back on release, in hardcover, due to an error at bookdepository, woop) to date, so I'll instead have to illustrate my perspective with another trilogy of his.

 

His Tyrion & Teclis trilogy for WHFB started out fairly, how to put it, young adult-ish? with a (relatively) "teenage" elven twins, but explored their characters, hangups, doubts and fears rather interestingly. We all know that Tyrion & Teclis were THE heroes - the most amazing mage since Caledor Dragontamer and the most amazing dude since Aenarion himself? They're glorious! They're heroes of legend! They even do great things (with caveats) during the End Times! We've seen them in King's G&F novels, too, being at a point of power and relative comfort.

 

....but the T&T trilogy dials that back. They are talented and strong, yes, but they're also naive, unsure, insecure, conflicted, and do very juvenile stuff at times. They're new to all this high society stuff. Teclis struggles with his body. Tyrion gets into stupid fights. And then that fool... falls in love with the Everqueen, all while Malekith's forces are invading Ulthuan and trying to kidnap her. He breaks one of the biggest taboos there is in high elf society, all while his twin brother has nightmares of doom, of chaos coming over the world, and gets into the weeds about Chaos and desire for Hoeth's artifacts. And Malekith? He wants his rightful throne!

 

It throws those "young" characters into a lot of turmoil and personal drama while shaping them to what they must become down the line, what we know them to be from armybooks and novel appearances way down the timeline. But it also provides context, conflict, and growth as well as deconstructing their oh-so-glorious legends into something tangible and relatable. The imperfections beneath the legend, the sometimes stumbling into great things, before they're really aware of their own responsibilities. The arrogance, the secrecy, the temptations, the initial social barriers are all on display. They can be jerks at times, even as they aspire to greatness.

 

And Bill King's writing lends itself to that very well, I'd say. I don't think, say, Rob Sanders would have done nearly as good a job at this; comparing this "coming of age" trilogy so to say to one novel Sanders wrote in Archaon: Everchosen, the focus is entirely different even as we see Archaon growing up with turmoil and prophetic force. The prose is just too thick to capture his character in a similar way to how King handles Tyrion or Teclis. It's too "high brow" for that.

 

That being said, Archaon: Everchosen is a far, far more "involved" novel as far as the wider IP is concerned. It requires a greater depth of understanding to fully get the most out of. But I'd have no problems giving the T&T omnibus to whosoever is interested in fantasy novels. They're approachable, easy to digest (especially compared to Sanders! Some parts of Everchosen really felt like a fever dream, exhausting to get through) and makes for a great jumping off point to get deeper into the subject matter later, be it with the Sundering trilogy or the End Times versions of the characters. Or Malus Darkblade, even. It's very much focused on interpersonal drama, over the usual big action setpieces, which the prose supports - and that makes Bill King a very comfortable author to have a good time with.

 

So yes, I concur with wecanhaveallthree - King's barrier to entry is very low. It's why Gotrek & Felix worked so well to begin with. He's approachable and not obviously writing with a thesaurus next to his keyboard. He writes in a straightforward way instead of drowning his works in overly flowery prose. That might seem lazy or boring to some, and is not an actual criticism against books like, again, Sanders', but it makes his books feel grounded and uncomplicated despite their deep roots in lore and generall warhammer craziness. The excitement and stress you feel when reading his books comes from the characters, not the density of the telling - which I appreciate a lot!

[DukeLeto69]

Blood Pact, Warmaster, and Anarch are THE BEST Gaunt’s Ghosts books with Necropolis and Traitor General filling out the top five.

 

I will die on my hill defending that and will challenge anyone who disagrees to a pencil sharpener fight to prove my divine truth!

 

Oh and IMHO William King’s writing style is from a different and sillier Black Library era. I didn’t care of the Macharius  trilogy and wished someone else had got that commission. But that is subjective.

[Nagashsnee]

Horus Heresy Siege of Terra Saturnine Book 4

 

Well after our detor on Luna we are back on terra and the siege proper. Going over Saturnine again with the complete End and the Death Vol 1-3 done and dusted is a stange experience.  This book for me marks the entry into the 'golden arc'of the siege books, from here (yes i include mortis fight me) untill we peak at echoes of eternity we enter the Siege of Terra story my teenage self use to dream of when reading white dwarf.  And hot damn if this book (which i have reviewed before in this very thread and so wont go into details on the book itself)  holds up great.

 

After books 1 -3 this book is very much the song from Prince of Egypt 'Your playing with the big bois now". It does everything a siege book should do, micro and macro sacale conflict, tight focus on a central storyline that futher progresses the overall story of the siege, while also focussing on a wide range (yet all tied to said story) of characters. It doesnt srink from showing the array of forces invloved and doesnt overally focus on any one of them (Marine, Custodes, Mech, Army, etc). It also casts its eyes on the HH on the whole and try to fix/appease some past decisions, namely in this case Olanius Pius being a normal dude and his story. It raises characters who have existed in the backround for a while into memorable and important positions (Camba Diaz, Jenetia Crole), etc. 

 

While this may ruffle a few feathers, going over Saturnine again had me thinking ''where was THIS author during tEatD', this guys is on top of stuff and could have written a tight, focussed and well written ending to the series.  There is no fat to trim, no endless regurgitation of themes untill i am sick of seeing them (THE CLOCKS HAVE STOPED I GET IT), no c plot after c plot. Or if there is its so minimal that it fails to irate, the story FLOWS, naturally from 1-2-3-4 untill it reaches a climax. The themes are present but not overbearing. And while not a perfect book or even the best book ( i rate this the third best siege book) its a fantastic read, and really not the best is not critisism but praise. But it was a conteder for the title, it may have lost (for me) but it was there. Despite knowing its true its hard to accept this and the 3 Vol ending was the same author. 

 

 

Saturnine 8/10 Great Siege book. Onto Mortis (yes i am skipping fury of magnus since latter books make it utterly pointless) which i honestly dont remember being as bad as some people make out, if anything i remember...enjoying it?

Edited Wednesday at 07:42 AM by Nagashsnee

[grailkeeper]

Just started on Space Marine by Ian Watson. The original 40k book- black library before there was a black library.

 

I'm enjoying it. It's very imaginative. 

 

One of Black libraries strengths is that it's relatively easy to write a 40k story. There's so many building blocks out there already. People will know what a character looks like, what his motivations and personality are, what the world's look like, already. Watson had far less of that. Its a double edges sword- an author will also have a long list of things they can't do. Watson has a had a few things that a modern author wouldn't get away with. It makes the book seem surprisingly fresh.

[Felix Antipodes]

Stumbling across some battered, secondhand copies of those early Boxtree editions of Watson’s Space Marine & Inquisition Wars trilogy was one of the things that started me off into this crazy hobby.  I think kindly of them to his day.  Maybe time for a re-read…

[Roomsky]

6 hours ago, Nagashsnee said:

(yes i am skipping fury of magnus since latter books make it utterly pointless) which i honestly dont remember being as bad as some people make out, if anything i remember...enjoying it?

 

Hard disagree, especially if you enjoyed it (you re-read the train book, don't skip something you liked!) McNeill's Siege books are in many ways what I wanted the Siege to be for everyone - a chance to wrap up their dangling plotlines against the backdrop of humanity's greatest cataclysm. For anyone who enjoyed McNeill's Thousand Sons work, this is the climax and definitely shouldn't be ignored. 

 

Plus, ADB is the king of unreliable narrator in Black Library, his books' statements shouldn't be taken as over-writing what came before just because they released later. What many take as spitting on Fury of Magnus I take as the Emperor lying to Vulkan so he'll go through with ernestly trying to kill his brother.

 

Now if they'd just get around to releasing McNeill's third Siege book...

[DarkChaplain]

Is it even confirmed that McNeill wrote or is writing a third book? Because it wouldn't be the first book of his that got dropped

[Felix Antipodes]

Isn’t he also supposed to be writing the Horus Primarch book as well?  I have a feeling we will see them in rapid succession after the Era of Ruin anthology or they will never see the light of day.

[Lord_Caerolion]

Yeah, in regards to Fury of Magnus, the fandom has a constant habit of taking statements in novels as 100% gospel truth unless it outright states they lied, and sometimes not even then. 
 

edit: I mean, the whole “the Dark Angels are traitors” meme started because people took the word of a Fallen as 100% truth. 

Edited Thursday at 05:36 AM by Lord_Caerolion