Rate what you Read, or the fight against Necromancy

[gaurdian31]

I really wish that Sandy Mitchell's inquisition story reached the conclusion. Both books are fun reads.

[Felix Antipodes]

Memories.  I picked up both Scourge and Innocence when they first came out, mainly on the strength of Mitchell’s Cain stories, and was pleasantly surprised by the storyline, world building, and characterisation.  Good stuff all round.

I felt this was Mitchell trying to break out of the Ciaphas Cain straightjacket he was already stuck in by that point.  When the trilogy/series fell victim to corporate policy shifts and was canned after the second book he seems to have retreated to the tried and successful formula that worked for him in the past.

A great loss for BL and its readers from my point of view.  I would love for BL to republish these books under their WH Crime imprint, where they would fit thematically and, in a perfect world, commission the concluding volume to finish it off.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Felix Antipodes

[Roomsky]

Ephrael Stern: The Heretic Saint - David Annandale (Audiobook)

A pleasant surprise! When I see a psyker going ham on the cover of an Annandale book, I sort of assume it's going to be front-to-back Dragon Ball Z fighting, but there was mercifully little action here.

Every Annandale book has 2 key ingredients: intriguing setup and played-out resolution. Whether or not a book of his is good is how those 2 ingredients are balanced: His Warhammer Horror is 90% intriguing setup, and thus quite good. Warden of the Blade is about 20% intriguing setup, and sucks.  This is probably at a 60-70% intriguing setup, and thus earns the prestigious title of "not bad."

The Imperium Nihilus stuff was definitely the highlight. Stern wondering if perhaps all of Imperium Sanctus wasn't cut off by the Cicatrix Maledictum but was instead destroyed is a really interesting headspace for a character to be, and I wish more books were set in Nihilus to explore this. The second half of the book is okay, but I wish Stern didn't fight a building. Warden of the Blade left such a sour taste in my mouth that any similar setpiece annoys me by association.

I haven't read the comics, but as long as you know this isn't Stern's first adventure it doesn't feel like you're missing anything.

To Taste, probably. If you've ever enjoyed an Annandale book you'll likely enjoy this too.

[SkimaskMohawk]

4 hours ago, Roomsky said:

Ephrael Stern: The Heretic Saint - David Annandale (Audiobook)

A pleasant surprise! When I see a psyker going ham on the cover of an Annandale book, I sort of assume it's going to be front-to-back Dragon Ball Z fighting, but there was mercifully little action here.

Every Annandale book has 2 key ingredients: intriguing setup and played-out resolution. Whether or not a book of his is good is how those 2 ingredients are balanced: His Warhammer Horror is 90% intriguing setup, and thus quite good. Warden of the Blade is about 20% intriguing setup, and sucks.  This is probably at a 60-70% intriguing setup, and thus earns the prestigious title of "not bad."

The Imperium Nihilus stuff was definitely the highlight. Stern wondering if perhaps all of Imperium Sanctus wasn't cut off by the Cicatrix Maledictum but was instead destroyed is a really interesting headspace for a character to be, and I wish more books were set in Nihilus to explore this. The second half of the book is okay, but I wish Stern didn't fight a building. Warden of the Blade left such a sour taste in my mouth that any similar setpiece annoys me by association.

I haven't read the comics, but as long as you know this isn't Stern's first adventure it doesn't feel like you're missing anything.

To Taste, probably. If you've ever enjoyed an Annandale book you'll likely enjoy this too.

The problem with the book is that she already had that exact same arc in the comic. There should be no conflict about being a psyker vs. being blessed by the emperor, because she was confident in the latter after draining a culexus. 

And the book literally opened with a Dragon Ball Z fight lol.

[Roomsky]

16 minutes ago, SkimaskMohawk said:

The problem with the book is that she already had that exact same arc in the comic. There should be no conflict about being a psyker vs. being blessed by the emperor, because she was confident in the latter after draining a culexus. 

And the book literally opened with a Dragon Ball Z fight lol.

Ah but the ENTIRE book was not Dragon Ball Z fights - vastly outdoing my expectations.

Disappointing to hear it's just a retread of the source material though. 

[byrd9999]

Iron Resolve (novella) by Steve Lyons.

 

Steve Lyons isn't an author that would have me reaching for my wallet, but over the years I've accumulated, through inclusion in anthologies, several short stories and this novella, and I've enjoyed each one.

He has an excellent grasp of how to tell a story. The pages turn easily, there is never any clunky prose or confusion over what is happening, the characters are well-sketched.

The story is nominally about Mordian Iron Guard defending a jungle encampment against a feral ork invasion, but the orks are devolutionarily inept as individual foes, and function as more of a generic Threat presence. I guess the real story is that of Guardsman Lucius Myer, a 16 year old boy thrust into a man's world, and how he copes with the fear of being a frontline Guardsman.

There is a kind-of "twist" perhaps

 

at the start of the story, Myer is out of action with a battle wound, but is accused of doing it to himself to get out of fighting. He protests his innocence, but the jaded command don't believe him and he is due to face a commissarial court.  The "twist" that emerges is that he really did injure himself.

Myer grows into a man within the space of the story's 24 hours, and it ends on a fatalistically hopeful note that the life of a Guardsman is worth something in the grand scheme of things.

While this might not sound the most riveting story, it was enjoyable and Steve Lyons' skill with pacing meant that the 120 pages flew by.

As with everything I've read by Steve Lyons, this was Good (solidly Good) without being Great.

7/10

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by byrd9999

[Sothalor]

Neat; never heard of this story, but the premise sounds interesting in that self-inflicted wounds have historically been an issue for armed forces, even for nominally well-trained, well-disciplined bodies of men. It's also rarely touched upon in 40k literature.

[Kelborn]

It has truly been a while since I read or listened to anything 40K related. But I snatched up some recent jewels and I have to admit....the "new kids" in the author block are truly smashing it! You know me, I'm not someone who writes pages long reviews and such. As I've listened to them, I'm not 100% sure about how the respective names are spelled so bare with me. ;)

 

Nate Crowley - The Twice Dead King - Ruin & Reign

I'm listing both at once because (imho) the best way to enjoy these two is in a row. The Infinite & the Devine was a masterfully tale of two certain and iconic Necron characters, something I didn't bothered previously or was never interested in (Necrons that is). But with TDK, we got a very VERY good display of both, relatable characters and Necron society as a whole. Oltyx is an arrogant outcast with more common sense than most of his entire race. His development paired with the way Nate gaves us the modern Necron society on the brink of madness and destruction (something one would not imagine given the fact that they're still in a waky waky process which [if succeded] will turn the tables for all) was well done. The confrontation between his past, the sins of his family and the modern horrors he has to face, all under the threat of an approaching crusade of the Imperium, was tensed and immersive.

And that's just Ruin.

Reign (without spoiling to much) is the next step for Oltyx and his dynasty. He has to prove himself to be either the leader his people deserve or the leader they need. Along with new allies and foes (from his perspective, of course), Oltyx has both to deal with the still existing threat of the imperial Crusade as well as the internal machinations of his Dynasties society and power structure. A beautiful continuation of what happened in Ruin with some twists which are on par with those happening in Ruin and the end was a chef's kiss. I don't know if we'll ever see Oltyx again but if we do, I'm 100% onboard.

 

Nate Crowley - Ghazgkhull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh!

After Mike Brooks Ork storries, I thought that it couldn't get any better. And I was partially right. Brutal Kunnin' is still the more entertaining and funny slapsticky story one would suggest a greenskin tale to be. Of this novel, I way more enjoyed the Ork parts than the Mechanicum ones and I think that was on intention.

BUT then came Nate

Turns out that there are other ways to display Orks in a more character focused way. Ghazghkull is of that kind. We follow Makari as they're (and boy did I NEVER considered the correct pronunciation of an greenskin before but it makes so much more sense now) interrogated by the Inquisition. He delivers his experiences with the great Ghazghkull, from being chosen by Gork and/ or Mork, depending on who you might ask, his ascendance to leadership and some key moments of their life. Again, the Ork pov bits of the story were my personal highlight. It's goofy, it's fun, it's awesome. 

Extra highlight: the audiobook is narrated by three voice actors instead of one, which made it way more enjoyable as each actor covered a different pov of the story

 

Robert Rath - Assassinorum: Kingmaker

You know, I'm not into all factions of the Imperium. Sororitas, Inquistion, Assassins and especially Ecclisiarchy were never my steam (especially the latter - fething atheist that I am :P). I only picked that one up because of the high praise AND because it also features Knights. I love Knights. Same reason I love T'au. And Pacific Rim. And Godzilla. You get the point. 

What can I say after finishing it a couple of days ago? Dude, get that novel! In any format you prefer. It's such a great one. The characters are great, the machinations and modus operandi of the different assassins is intriguing and I definitely want more of Roberts work on them. But the best part (you might guess it) is the Knight-World of Dominion. Holy Emperor, the world-building is amazing! Exactly what I was hoping for from a Knight centered novel. I read almost every story focusing on Knights but non of them managed to catch the atmosphere, the house internal intrigues, their society and way of life, etc. as good as Robert did. For that reason alone will I get myself a paperback version to place several post-its for future reference for working on a DIY Household! After listening to both Twice Dead Kings by Richard Reed and Ghazghkull by three different ones (whose names are slipping me, sorry), I was a bit cautious about Gareth Armstrong but man, did he proof me wrong. He nailed the royal arrogance of the Houses, the cold demeanor of the assassins and elevated himself up to my personal top five voice actors. 

 

Long story short, my recommendation: (enter Pokemon theme) Gonna catch 'em all!

But probably start with Robert. ;) I demand a sequel (for both, assassins and Knights, cause there's stuff for both to follow up [just write a direct sequel including both again, yes? kkthxbye :D]) and that's unfortunately based on sales. 

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

Yeah, Kingmaker was a great read. I really hope that book ends up selling well enough to merit a sequel or expansion into a full trilogy. And Rath deserves credit for NOT going with a predictable "Execution Force" of each type of assassin available as a miniature, instead including one Vindicare, one Callidus, and one non-model type, along with a couple of "civilians."

All in all, it was a good addition to the pantheon of gritty, "small team of specialists who don't get along" like The Guns of Navarone or Ice Station Zebra (both of which Rath mentioned in an interview as direct influences) or even The Fourteen Fists of McCluskey (which for some reason he didn't).

[Paceyjg]

On 7/13/2022 at 10:24 PM, gaurdian31 said:

I really wish that Sandy Mitchell's inquisition story reached the conclusion. Both books are fun reads.

They were really good reads!

The Lost and the Damned 8/10

The First Wall 9/10

Still really enjoying the Siege of Terra series.

 

[Roomsky]

Farsight: Crisis of Faith (Audiobook) - Phil Kelly

Kelly's not exactly well-regarded for his portrayal of the Tau, but I never hated what I read in Farsight or The Book of Martyrs, so I decided to give this a go. I'll give it this - I finished it! War of Secrets never got that honour.

This book is mediocrity marred repeatedly with terrible decisions on Kelly's part. Overall it's readable I suppose, Kelly does a few things here and there I really liked, it's just too ambitious a story by an author who doesn't understand how to build the foundations necessary. It's basically a Star Wars prequel: We got prophetic visions! We got everyone being an idiot because plot! We got the subtlety of a power maul! And it's all marring what might otherwise be a decent yarn.

 

The Good: I'm probably most frustrated with this because of the amount of content I did enjoy. Something I always have to praise is when a Black Library book doesn't feel like it was meeting a fight scene quota - there's a very lengthy setpiece in the middle of this book, but all things considered it's pretty well paced. None of the battles seem out of place or perfunctory.

While I do think Kelly fails to paint the Tau as a culture overall, there are flashes of brilliance here. I love the Tau classifying daemons flying through space as some kind of technology, as it's the only way such things would fit their frame of reference. I also like how the Imperium is framed through the Tau POV, a fair few things that are cool or "heroic" in an Imperium-centric book have all the glamour stripped away and I think it's done effectively. The Tau commenting on the stupidity of a marine champion not wearing a helmet and capitalizing on it is something we don't see enough of in astartes-focussed books. The Scar Lords chapter are also a good choice to reinforce how weird and unnecessarily masochistic the Imperium is.

Really, much as I come to 40k for soul-crushing darkness and over-the-top metal horror, an underdog faction fighting to improve the lives of other species is hard to not have fun reading about. Much like I can't help but root for the monstrous Imperium when they take on daemons hell-bent on inflicting system-spanning suffering, I can't help but root for the Tau empire when they dismantle Imperial oppression, even when they'd be the villains of a lighter setting.

 

The Bad: Everyone in this book is very stupid. I often criticize McNeill for a lack of subtlety, but at least his is due to an obvious excitement and energy while writing. Kelly doesn't even provide some wacky fun while the characters run around shouting about how flat their archetypes are.

For instance, while I liked the Tau as a faction, I don't think I enjoyed reading about a single one of them. Farsight had the beginnings of a good character early on when he was conversing with Puretide's hologram, but everything thereafter is him being suicidally belligerent or being strung along by the Water Spider. Everyone else is flat, or a humorously unsubtle daemon. I liked the content of some conversations, but anyone could have been having them. Any book with such nothing characters all the way through gets a fat F from me. The human Inquisitor tagging along was the only one I really enjoyed, and she's barely in it.

Also, do Tau really not have any kind of proper surveillance? They're run by every conspiracy-theorist's wet dream yet they don't seem to have a single camera anywhere. Sure is convenient for every instance of subterfuge going on here.

 

The Ethereals: Oh man, this stuff rubbed me in quite the wrong direction. So Kelly wants to write about the sinister undercurrent of the Ethereals; mind control is after all one of the most inherently evil abilities in a fantasy setting. And it could be really unsettling if only he didn't approach it so lamely. If the Ethereals were really charismatic and intelligent, it would be so uncomfortable watching them steer their pawns exactly where they want them with an impossible level of "understanding." Alternatively, they could be completely inept and we the readers watch on in horror as the allegedly competent Farsight nods and praises their "immense wisdom."

Instead we have this crappy middle ground where they're your average government functionary who can force your obedience if they get annoyed. And that's fine, I guess, if you want the crux of Farsight's rebellion to be his irritation at what is essentially opaque governmental middle-management. And if we MUST be this banal, the worst scene in the book makes it even more laughable by its absurdity.

So, Aun'va. Aun'va is essentially second-in-command to a government spanning entire worlds, and encompassing the lives of hundreds of billions. In this book, to show us what a baddy he is, he invites a member Water Caste who has displeased him into his office. He then provides a long-winded speech about the importance of unity and collectivism in the Tau Empire. Then he mind-controls her to kill herself.

Really?

I'm fine with Aun'va being an evil :cuss:. But if you want to have someone quietly disposed of, you make it look like an accident, or you assign them to an out-of-the-way warzone that's destined for annihilation, or your martyr them for your own cause by having "dissidents" assassinate them - these things and many more reinforce the idea of "the Tau appear more pleasant on the surface, but they have a dark undercurrent to all that they do." At least skip the speech man, you're having her killed! What Kelly wrote is comical. Can you imagine Hitler or Stalin asking an ambassador that annoyed them into their presence, giving them a speech, then having them shot? No, because that would be ridiculous, and their domains were far, far smaller than Aun'va's. Later in the book, other characters even acknowledge that said water caste disappeared. He didn't even bother to come up with a cover story after the fact? I'm surprised it took so many years in-universe for him to die, and he didn't pratfall off a cliff while trying to kick a puppy. This is acceptable when it's the Imperium doing it, their entire culture is insane. The Tau in this book alone, despite all their poor decisions, demonstrate their culture is still far too logical for evil that stupid.

Tau Diehards Only - and probably not many of them.

Edited August 24, 2022 by Roomsky

[Noserenda]

So continuing my sporadic reviews of the Beast saga...

Book 6 Echoes of the Long War
A book of two halves for me, the first half, includes the mind numbingly poor space battle that made me literally toss the book aside in disgust a few chapters later and give up on the series for months. Just... So bad on a huge number of levels to the extent that id rather not talk about it really :D 

That said, when i found the book when tidying and gave it another try (From my bookmark, im not a fool) the second half was actually quite interesting, if a bit bolter porn-y. The Exemplars and Iron Warriors uneasy alliance and fights behind enemy lines were actually good! 

Anyway, i cant recommend the book obviously, but it does get better if you persevere. 


Book 7 The Quest for Vulkan
This one i charged through a bit, partially due to a bit of time sat around but it kept me turning pages, though the Chapters are weirdly long and unwieldy, in pace if maybe not in actual size, they often felt like 3 chapters welded together which is a bit awkward.

The plot is nothing special, though i suspect if one didnt know the outline of the war, finding a lost Primarch would be more thrilling. Vulkan is just randomly guarding one planet and thats never particularly well explained, especially as its not John Rambo Vulkan, hes in what sounds like his full armoured regalia, albeit a new big hammer, not subtle... Plus his wargear is apparently immortal now too. Odd.

But yeah, the Imperials blunder into yet more (sometimes painfully obvious) traps like half the fights in this series, fortunately the marines remembered to bring some plot armour this time. At least the guard and navy get some good pathos. 

Gah, i forgot the opening standoff which was kinda painful rather than tense. 

Overall not terrible but there are some forehead slapping moments, i sure hope we get some drama with Vulkan v the Imperium and he doesn't immediately "nope" out of the series :D   


So back on the train and the first few chapters of "The Beast must die" have been promising! 
 

[Noserenda]

Oh, checking back, i forgot Book 5: Throneworld! 

This may not be fair as i read it months ago but all i remember from this book now is how monumentally stupid and pointless the Eldar "attack" is at the start of the book, like i guess they wanted some Eldar in the series and chose the worst way to do it unfortunately.

Sorry to the rest of the book, i think you were good? But thats your legacy.

[DarkChaplain]

Just a quick hint re: Vulkan on Caldera: It's the world from Promethean Sun (and Feat of Iron iirc, since they were split perspective as far as I remember). In that book, he basically swore he'd defend that one world.

I don't think it's ever really been explained why he's returned there post-Heresy, but then, as good a place to go into exile as any?

[Noserenda]

1 hour ago, DarkChaplain said:

Just a quick hint re: Vulkan on Caldera: It's the world from Promethean Sun (and Feat of Iron iirc, since they were split perspective as far as I remember). In that book, he basically swore he'd defend that one world.

I don't think it's ever really been explained why he's returned there post-Heresy, but then, as good a place to go into exile as any?

Yeah i recognised it once they got to the big gorge as its obviously changed a bit since, it still felt a bit arbitrary, but then i suppose Vulkan isnt one to declare eternal oaths lightly? 

One tidbit i noticed in book 8 is that Vulkan claims to have been with Dorn at the end of the siege where he picked his wall name, so i guess thats coming in Abnett's siege finale as he originated Wall names in "I am slaughter" i think? 

Echoes of Eternity spoilers

Though honestly Vulkan is a literal walking skeleton at the end of echoes, i figured that might be his exit from the series, lost in the webway, but i guess he does make it back to the Throne room somehow! 

[Pacific81]

The Burden of Loyalty (Horus Heresy anthology, book 48)

Did enjoy this one although found it to be a bit of a mixed bag, and especially as some of the more enjoyable stories were the shortest! A quick run-through with my thoughts/scores for each. 

The Thirteenth Wolf (Gav Thorpe) - This one was definitely imaginative (and quite cool to reference the 13th Company) but when the Wolves are chasing the Thousand Sons I couldn't help but think about this old Scooby Do clip (perhaps combined with an Escher painting).  7/10

Perpetual (Dan Abnett) - I really like the Perpetual story arc that has run through the series, being a grognard I like that it references some of the old 'Star Child' fluff and does things a bit differently. Again a really interesting story with some good characters, its just a shame it is quite short. 9/10

The Binary Succession (David Annandale) - It made a nice change to have a story that is dealing with some political background (and a segue into the 40k universe), and not have heads being blown off by bolt shells for once. That being said, although I found some of the characters interesting it was lacking any 'zip' and wasn't really a page turner (perhaps it worked better as an audio drama?) I kept thinking of some of the thrillers or even courtroom dramas I have read (John Grisham, Jeffrey Archer etc.) so it felt like a bit of a lost opportunity. 6/10

Into Exile (Aaron Dembski-Bowden) - For Aaron's wonderful writing and the interesting narrative method (a 'Memento' style revealing of events in reverse order) I will give this an extra 2 points. But Arkhan Land is just one of the crappiest pieces of 40k lore, I keep thinking it was a poor joke made by an intern on a Friday afternoon (that the 'Land' in the vehicles referred to someone's name, rather than what the vehicle is actually doing) that someone printed and they have since been forced to run with. Most subjective review ever but there is only so much even a master can polish a turd 3/10

Ordo Sinister (John French) - Some quite cool fresh ideas about the Psi-Titan, and well written, enjoyed this one 7/10

The Heart of the Pharos (Laurie Goulding) - Again enjoyed this one. Liked the scope of the story (referencing events that I thought might otherwise have been forgotten about in the series!) 7/10

Cybernetica (Rob Sanders) - This one just kept going and going! (Although that isn't a complaint). I kept expecting the story to end as I hadn't checked it's length, and then was pleasantly surprised when it continued. I actually wonder why this wasn't made into a full-length novel as it probably just needed a little padding to make it the appropriate length. Some interesting characters, the opening sequences were great and again some inventive ideas relating to the main character's past on the planet and the 'heretic'. My only criticisms would be (and I suspect the author was limited with their options) is that you know whether they are going to succeed or not based on the gravity of what they are trying to accomplish. So you end up, as with the Damnation of Pythos, of the lines of some character arcs ending all of a sudden, to no appreciable effect. 8/10

Wolf King (Chris Wraight) - Always enjoy reading about the Wolves, although suffers a bit (as Alpha Legion always seem to) about being lost in double-think about what their intentions are actually meant to be. But the space battles are well written, and that helps it stand out in the anthology. 7/10

[DarkChaplain]

Gotta say, I still despise Cybernetica for being so utterly video-gamey in all the wrong ways. And I say this as a gamer with far too much time and money invested into the hobby.

I'll say though: The Binary Succession in audio drama format was fantastic stuff!

[Pacific81]

I know what you mean @DarkChaplain - the ending did remind me of a video game boss, or perhaps the showdown at the end of Iron Man 3!

[Ubiquitous1984]

9 hours ago, DarkChaplain said:

I'll say though: The Binary Succession in audio drama format was fantastic stuff!

Fully agreed - many of the excellent BL audio dramas sadly suffer when translated to print.  

[byrd9999]

15 hours ago, DarkChaplain said:

Gotta say, I still despise Cybernetica for being so utterly video-gamey in all the wrong ways. And I say this as a gamer with far too much time and money invested into the hobby.

I'll say though: The Binary Succession in audio drama format was fantastic stuff!

I'll third this opinion. The Binary Succession works so well as an audio drama. Hearing the different Mechanicum voices really adds something. David Annandale's thoughtful, ponderous style is ideally suited for this.

The voice acting and Sound FX are also top notch.

Probably my favourite BL audio drama. I know Covid slowed it right down, and WH+ is probably a better use of everyone's time, but I do miss the 60-min audio drama format. I like radio plays.

[Jareddm]

19 hours ago, Pacific81 said:

The Heart of the Pharos (Laurie Goulding) - Again enjoyed this one. Liked the scope of the story (referencing events that I thought might otherwise have been forgotten about in the series!) 7/10

Interesting wording for this, as originally, the Pharos novel and "The Heart of the Pharos" were released with one another almost simultaneously.

[Noserenda]

I think Heart of the Pharos came slightly after? It was certainly odd at the time that Pharos certainly felt like it was missing a prelude, which it turns out it kinda was :D 

[DarkChaplain]

I think that's due to Pharos releasing ~3 months early digitally, for that year's christmas release

[Pacific81]

On 9/6/2022 at 6:38 PM, Jareddm said:

Interesting wording for this, as originally, the Pharos novel and "The Heart of the Pharos" were released with one another almost simultaneously.

Ah I'm coming to these many years late and catching up with the series. I read Pharos probably about a year ago and have just got to this anthology, so my mistake!

[DarkChaplain]

A lot of the anthologies have the problem of coming waaaay too late; most of the contents, or rather all of them for the vast majority of anthologies, particularly from the 20+ era on, were originally published as e-shorts or audio dramas, often many years earlier, or even worse, as part of event-only anthologies. War Without End, for instance, is collecting no less than four event anthologies iirc. The contents of those were more closely related to recent or upcoming novels originally, but War Without End came way late.

There's a lot of stories that are better appreciated when read as a companion piece, so this anthology strategy is great for long-term collectors who want everything in print and not pay out the wazoo for ebooks, but they mess up the reading order real badly.