Rate what you Read, or the fight against Necromancy

[SkimaskMohawk]

I remember reading Cadian blood and really, really enjoying it. Until like, halfway through, and then it just turned into a generic mess. 

 

It doesn't hold up to any of the rest of adbs work, let alone gaunts ghosts or carrion throne.

[Jareddm]

On 10/19/2023 at 1:36 AM, cheywood said:

The Iron Kingdom 

 

5.0/10 - to taste

The Iron Kingdom had the Descent of Angels problem for me. It would be an alright story if it was a standalone, but it's the wrong story at the wrong time of an ongoing series, which makes it so much more frustrating.

[DarkChaplain]

I'll still go to bat for it, because thematically it's precisely the sort of story that fits the Dawn of Fire's intent. It's the Crusade hitting its walls, the Imperium standing in its own way, the lies of fairness and benevolence cast down, the Imperium failing its subjects. It's dispelling the hopefulness Guilliman might have brought to the table - no, the Imperium is still eating its own face, the system is still rotten, and the symbols of the Emperor, the Custodes and Sisters of Silence, are just as vulnerable as everybody else, at the end of the day.

 

It's an exemplary case of the Imperium's worlds being overburdened and the small-scale schisms that arise throughout the realm, of how vital strategic worlds and resources are squandered because of arrogance and oppression. Tonally, it's hitting all the right points for the series, and the appendix also goes into detail on that.

[Noserenda]

Hitting the walls is about right, with their heads, far too often before making important decisions :D 

[byrd9999]

Nate Crowley, Twice Dead King: Reign.

 

Part 1 (Ruin) was a 10/10 for me. Crowley's tone and perspective taking a deep dive into Necron culture was a breath of fresh air in the 40k universe.

 

The novel itself was well constructed, with great humour and twists and turns, and really established Oltyx as a fully fledged character.

 

TDK apparently was a single book that was cut into 2 for editorial (£££?) reasons.

 

Part 1 could stand alone, but Part 2 (Reign) suffers a bit for seeming more like an appendage to Part 1 than another stand-alone novel.

 

The first 200 pages (of 388 pages) follow a similar repeating pattern of Oltyx leading his ships into a seeming dead-end, only for something to get him out of it in the nick of time. The characters feel less "real" than just plot devices (although Zultanekh, who speaks like a rabbinical scholar, was great fun).

 

But the second half of the book starts to take off and feels more like a proper follow up to Part 1. The plot twists once again and Oltyx's character comes to the fore, with genuine emotion at the tragedy of his situation. It also does that great sequel trick of reframing what I'd thought of the events in Part 1.

 

It's been a while since Nate Crowley has published anything for BL so i hope he is still writing for them.

 

8/10 overall (an average of 6 for the first half and 10 for the second).

 

 

 

 

[Urauloth]

Finally got around to Fabius Bile: Primogenitor. 

It's odd knowing that Reynolds didn't find writing WH40k stuff interesting, because he absolutely knocked it out of the park. The attention to detail, continuity with the lore in other author's work, depth of character and level of atmosphere in this book are all impeccable.

 

I revisited Angel Exterminatus before reading this (which I liked better on re-read, probably because I'm a lot more invested in the Shattered Legions elements since reading Meduson and Sons of the Selenar) and it's interesting to see how much Fabius has changed since the Heresy, as well as the ways in which he hasn't. In some ways he's a little like the Lion: Older and wiser, having learned from his impetuous mistakes millennia ago. What he learned, however, couldn't be further from what the Lord of the First took away from his own reflections.

 

Primogenitor is also a terrific companion to The Talon of Horus, which it makes deft references to without leaning on it so heavily as to make it prerequisite reading.

Excellent balance of action and worldbuilding, horror and humour, and the misadventures of the titular character and the gruesomely fascinating supporting cast.

Really one of the best 40k novels there is. I miss this guy writing for GW.

[DarkChaplain]

Before Primogenitor, there was a short audio drama, Repairer of Ruin, which deals a little more directly with Bile's escape from Abaddon in Talon of Horus, too.

 

...and of course, despite it being Josh's story, BL didn't put it into the Fabius Bile Omnibus...

[byrd9999]

Justin D Hill, The Bookkeeper's Skull.

 

It's a Horror novel, so it's going to be short, but I flew through this in 4 days (which is lightning fast for me). Justin Hill has a very smooth way with words, knowing when to balance out the lurking horror of the quotidian with some short, detailed descriptions of gruesome events.

 

None of the Horror books have genuinely scared me, but this book made it easy to suspend my disbelief and go along with the creeping dread of being a pampered city boy stuck out in the sticks with rural locals who aren't telling him the whole story. And the repeated mentions and imagery of Gambol, the servitor made up like a clown as a child's plaything, was disturbing and enjoyable.

 

The only downside was the ending came quite abruptly, and I would have liked 2 or 3 more pages to draw out the tension of the final encounter. I know the protagonist is going to live, because the story is told as a flashback, but there was such a great build up to the scene and it fell a little flat at the final hurdle.

 

Oh, and the other downside (a spoiler for this book and Murder on the Orient Express :) )

Calling the book "The Bookkeeper's Skull does a great disservice to the tension and mystery of the novel. About halfway through I thought "I bet it's the Bookkeeper's skull behind it all" not because of the plot but because of the title. It would be like titling The Murder on the Orient Express "They All Did It"

 

One of the best of the Horror series.

 

8/10

 

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

12 hours ago, byrd9999 said:

Justin D Hill, The Bookkeeper's Skull.

 

And...

 

12 hours ago, byrd9999 said:

I know the protagonist is going to live, because the story is told as a flashback, but there was such a great build up to the scene and it fell a little flat at the final hurdle.

 

Aside from that, the same character had also appeared a couple of years earlier in Hill's Cadian Honour, a story set later in his life. That fact wasn't exactly trumpeted anywhere though, so easy for anyone who hadn't read the earlier book to not know anything about the connection.

[Roomsky]

Battle of the Fang (Audiobook) - Chris Wraight

 

Yeah, this book isn't great. It's got some strong elements, I certainly won't deny it, but Wraight hadn't yet hit his stride when this was published. I tried and gave up on this book twice before now, and it was only John Banks' top-tier narration that got me through it this time.

 

These characters suck, I'm sorry to say. Bjorn and Magnus were good, but they're riding on the coattails of preestablished fluff. Greyloc is cool, and is a nice thematic embodiment of the Wolves' sense of duty in contrast to their more dominant thirst for violence and vengeance. Freija was great, in that she had a definable personality and an arc, but she was generally underused. The only other character's name I remember is Ironhelm, because he's an idiot. I understand he's a thematic foil to Greyloc, and I understand his getting the final bout with Magnus is foreshadowing that the Wolves of tomorrow won't be carrying forward Greyloc's more informed approach, but he's a flat character with no redeeming or interesting qualities. He's memorable because he's obnoxious.

 

That's it. There were character moments I liked from the other cast, usually just a mildly interesting voice given to what makes the Thousand Sons and Space Wolves rivalry so compelling in the setting at large, but I don't know who had them. There were many wolves, they liked to fight, they died at some point, I don’t know. There were two Thousand Sons, one was angrier than the other I believe, I don't recall what happened to either of them. I haven't read the Jarnhammer books yet but this seems to be a recurring issue in Wraight's Space Wolves work; if they aren't already a named character, there's nothing to them. Compare Prospero Burns which had a whole cavalcade of memorable Wolves.

 

Wolfy wolfing wolf wolves.

 

My other big issue is that the whole situation never comes across as dire for the Wolves as the premise would suggest. One company has been left behind with minimal ship presence. The void warfare goes how you would expect, sure, but once they start besieging the Fang it just never feels dire. Characters talk a lot about how hopeless the situation is. Meanwhile, the number of attacking sorcerers seems to be about two, with Magnus only showing up towards the end. We are then treated to a bombardment of heroic last stands, characters expending their fifth last ounce of strength, and the wolves losses "always being outnumbered by the enemy slain." Good thing this wasn't an even playing field, the Tsons would've been annihilated.

 

Normally this doesn't bother me as much, I don't really care if one legion is stronger than another. But much of the praise I've heard about this book is that it gives both sides a respectful showing, and that's just not what I read. Yes, the Wolves are doomed to degenerate into the Wulfen forever, good show. Yes, the TSons weren't cartoonish or flatly evil. But as an engagement, it's Magnus sacrificing all of his ground forces and then getting absolutely mauled in the process of killing 2 Space Wolves and incapacitating Bjorn - all so he could destroy one lab in the Aett.

 

Despite all that, I was enjoying it by the end. Some of the conversations were great even if I have no idea who had them. Daemon primarchs showing up before 8th ed gave us primarch overload was always hype, and I was rooting for Greyloc and Bjorn at the end, despite myself. The pacing is also pretty good if you can get past the nothing characters; for a book where the battle lasts 80% of the pagetime, Wraight had a great balance of fighting and strategizing and philosophizing. It's structurally solid.

 

Ultimately, this was readable and that's about it. I give it a pass, 5/10. I love 40k books and I dislike when they're dismissed wholesale just because they're genre fiction, or tie-ins to a war game. But that also means I'm not giving even a 40k book a pass if I'm 100 pages in, have found almost no memorable characters, and am thus bored out of my skull. Establishing character moments are important, they're what drives my interest into the next chapter. If you want one of the reasons I endlessly praise ADB, it's that he's a master of investing you in a character in less than a chapter's wordcount, he's been so since his first novel. No one would describe First Claw as interchangeable even from just their intro chapters in Soul Hunter. Greyloc is one of this book's only decent characters and his introductory chapter could belong to any wolf in this book.

 

Space Wolves Diehards Only.

[Roomsky]

Blood of Asaheim (audiobook) - Chris Wraight

 

Heard mixed things about this book over the years, which gave me some trepidation considering Battle of the Fang's never impressed me and gets heaps of praise. So I'm very pleased that, despite still not being great, this is a big step up from that book.

 

Yngvar and Gunlaugr between the two of them are more compelling and memorable than every new character in Battle of the Fang combined. Yngvar's struggle to reintegrate after a stint in the Deathwatch, his and Gunlaugr's tension over command, and each of their earnest efforts to accommodate the other make for a wonderful dynamic. I do wish the first instance of things coming to a head wasn't because of such daft behaviour on Gunlaugr's part, but even with that one, framing it as "but can I rely on you to follow orders?" makes it good drama IMO.

 

The rest of the pack are okay, nothing special, probably about on the level of Battle of the Fang, but they come alive more often. They all benefit significantly by the cast being so much smaller than in that book; these aren't going to be my favourite Wolves, but I appreciated what each of them brought to Yngvar and Gunlaugr's stories.

 

No, the Wolves are fine this time. The forces of Nurgle, unfortunately, are pretty lame. They were a more legitimate threat than the Tsons, in that they felt palpably dangerous to both the Wolves and the city they were attacking, but that's about all they have going for them. They're not memorable or unique, have no memorable or unique conversations, and have no real history with the chapter. They're an excuse for battles and they're obfuscation for the conspiracy this book sets up, the latter of which I would rather be reading about.

 

The pacing is pretty decent, there really isn't too much fighting thankfully, but it loses much of the momentum it could have had by the enemy being so bland. Nids and Orks are designed to be a faceless tide of death and work better in that role than the forces of Chaos, which should have actual motivations to latch on to. It's unfortunate this happens even in some books I think are pretty great *cough cough* Gaunt's Ghosts *cough cough*

 

I know this book gets some flack for its portrayal of the Wolves and of Battle Sisters being a bit weak. These Space Wolves are a flawed bunch but it generally serves to make them interesting and compelling underdogs, so I don't care. I can see the Battle Sister issue though, unlike the Wolves this could have been any PDF faction and nothing would have changed. Their piety doesn't really strengthen them, nor does it bite them in the ass. Some attention is given to the fact they're a militant order, but they seem generally incompetent at fighting or organizing a defense. Like, I don't care if you make the Battle Sisters suck (and I say this as someone who loves the Ecclesiarchy as a faction,) but at least make them distinct, you know?

 

That's a lot of negativity but I do still like this book. The two leads are better developed than your average Black Library book, the writing's good as always, there's lots of meaningful introspection, and I'm intrigued by where this conspiracy plot is going. 

 

To Taste I guess. 6.5/10
 

  

[tgcleric]

The End and the Dearh Vol 1 (re-read)

 

Up from an 8 to a 9.  Bring on two more of these.  Won't be able to get into 2 til later this week so gonna avoid spoilers. 

Edited November 4, 2023 by tgcleric

[cheywood]

Pilgrims of Fire - Justin D Hill

 

Hill has always seemed to embrace the bleakness of 40k as much as any author BL has worked with, and it has made for some enjoyable reads. That continues with Pilgrims of Fire. It’s a quality read that’s light on plot but heavy on vibes. I don’t think this book will be for everyone, and it dragged on at times for me towards the end, but the highlights are a wonderfully on point depiction of just how wretched the galaxy is. 
 

The Good: Hill knows how to emphasize the horror of the Imperium, and puts that to good effect here. While most of the POVs are members of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, Hill contrasts them with a band of Savlar Chem Dogs to excellent effect. The Chem Dogs were the highlight of the novel for me, and I think Hill’s best suited to working with the Guard. Miserable men doing an even more miserable duty. Hill’s sparse prose suits the story well, and for all that the plot is lightly sketched I appreciate the beats it hits. 
 

The Bad: The sisters are rather generic. Little effort is given to developing their culture in my opinion, which fits with Hill’s focus on character over world building but makes it an odd choice to start a series that ostensibly should be building the culture of the various orders so as to make them a little more distinctive (unless we’re sticking with the palette-swap sensibilities of the past). There’s maybe a little too much combat towards the end of the book as well, at least for my tastes, hence it dragging on a little.
 

Overall 7.0 - to taste

[Roomsky]

Stormcaller - Chris Wraight (Audiobook)

 

Another fine book. Disappointing, in that I hope for more from Wraight, but solid nonetheless. A byproduct of the Wolves being my least favourite loyalist legion? Probably, but it might also be that, despite all of Wraight's work with the faction, I've never thought he's been able to inject the same spice into them that he's done for Custodes, White Scars, etc. 

 

That's kind of my whole issue with this book - with the exception of a single Death Guard marine, there's not much "digging deeper" going on. The Wolves don't need humanity injected into them, one could argue they're the most human legion, so Wraight really doesn't have much to add. Worse, Njal's arrival dilutes their POVs, so instead of Gunlaugr and Yngvar being rock-solid protagonists with a "good enough" supporting cast, none but Baldr get the attention they deserve in a sequel. The Ministorum this time around is at least acting like the Ministorum, but Delvaux is every negative association one makes with that institution with zero redeeming qualities; Tieron he is not. So, while the prose is good, Wraight's usual character writing skill is mostly absent. He still gets the setting, but he's usually also pretty good about fleshing out why people function within it. Not so much here.

 

The Mycelite is sort of the standout in that regard, both because he's a unique take on the Death Guard baddy with some depth, and because his brothers are all fodder. The forces of Nurgle are really lame in this book - I gave Blood of Asaheim a pass because once an enemy legionary showed up he was really, really dangerous. Here, they kill a bunch of Njal's no-name retinue, but the entire named cast survives, and they're every stock DG force you've ever read. Come on Wraight, you wrote the best Death Guard book ever! At least make them dangerous if you aren't going to flesh them out more. Mr. Mycelite is cool at least, and for all of Delvaux's shallowness, he and this particular Death Guard make for more effective antagonists than most 40k fare. He's chill, he's philosophical, he's dangerous, and he has a perspective that meaningfully challenges his more heroic counterparts. 

 

Meanwhile, like the much more maligned Wolftime, I think this book is quite readable… after the opening action sequence, which I think is just awful. Book 1 started incredibly strong, with Gunlaugr and Yngvar both speaking to a chapter superior about their anxieties regarding Jarnhammer reuniting. It organically introduced the main conflict and our dual-protagonists very effectively. This book starts with a flashback to Baldr's childhood, which is boring because Baldr was a plot accessory more than a character in book 1 (and also because I'm so very tired of "hard mortal living on Fenris" POVs. I have read that same :cuss: 500 times,) and then goes straight into a fight scene against more of the not-Mycelite Nurgle forces. I get it, WARhammer book needs WAR, but the entire back half of this book takes place during an assault on an eviler-than-usual space hulk, could we have skipped the bolter porn filler? That whole first sequence could have been replaced with.

 

"You repelled the invasion of the capitol, but I fear you've only delayed the inevitable. The remaining Death Guard forces are rallying nearby and not even your combined might will be able to repel them."

"Then we shall die with weapons in our hands by your side, arch-canoness."

"My Lords! Urgent vox hales - a huge Ministorum fleet has just entered sensor range - our calls for aid were answered!"

 

Boom, saved you 60 pages. You may now use them to flesh out the Wolves further and make Delvaux a human being.

 

Besides that initial hiccup, the plotting is what saves this book. We've got allies with competing agendas, we have a race against time before an entire world gets the Life Eater (to be deployed by their allies, no less,) we have logical fallout from last book (Baldr's a psyker now, De Chatelain is punished for her completely inept planetary defense, Yngvar's on a warpath to uncover the conspiracy against the Wolves) and while I think the cast is spread too thin, it does make the book a fast-paced, interesting sprint from the moment they step on the Festerax to the conclusion half a book later. But, even then… I would have liked more focus on said conspiracy instead of more Death Guard. Oh well, maybe Helwinter Gate will finally get the most interesting part of this series moving.

 

2 steps forward, 2 steps back, giving it a 6.5 as well.
 

[cheywood]

The Lion: Son of the Forest

 

Between leaks and existing lore the return of The Lion wasn’t exactly a surprise, but Mike Brooks writing the novel tie-in certainly was. Personally I’d call it a pleasant one. In embracing humanity and Arthurian motifs Brooks gives us a welcome change from the drudgery of interrogations and self-justifications Thorpe has brought to the table for so long. It’s not perfect, I still think Brooks is best suited to off-Broadway productions so to speak (is there an English equivalent to that phrase?), but I’d say it’s worth your time. 
 

Good: Brooks prose is largely enjoyable as ever, despite the oft overlong sentences. He flows between first and third person depending on pov but it all blends together rather well. It’s not as funny as his other works, but there’s still a sense of warmth that I think Brooks imbues in all his writing. His space marines are certainly less dour and drab than most, though not unreasonably so.

The plot is pretty small scale. I think others commented on how little it truly has to say about the Lion’s awakening, but with that in mind it tells an engaging tale that mostly manages to justify the relative optimism of its tone. Usually I don’t like BL books that paint humanity in too positive a light because humanity in 40k usually means the Imperium or chaos, two absolutely awful choices. Brooks largely focuses this story on humanity outside the bounds of the Imperium and chaos, which makes a big difference. I wouldn’t want to see this become the dominant tonal approach to the setting, it’s a bit too hopeful, but as a one off it works. I’d love to see The Lion confront the more functional and despotic parts of the Imperium, to see just how deep his newfound idealism runs. 
 

Bad: Nothing about the book particularly wowed me. I don’t have many specific complaints, the book just felt a little lightweight. I’d say it reminded me of a lot of Haley’s Guilliman novels in that way. Good, but a bit on the superficial side. I feel like Brooks has had a lot more to say in some of his other novels.

 

8.0 - to taste

Edited November 22, 2023 by cheywood

[DukeLeto69]

10 hours ago, cheywood said:

The Lion: Son of the Forest

 

Between leaks and existing lore the return of The Lion wasn’t exactly a surprise, but Mike Brooks writing the novel tie-in certainly was. Personally I’d call it a pleasant one. In embracing humanity and Arthurian motifs Brooks gives us a welcome change from the drudgery of interrogations and self-justifications Thorpe has brought to the table for so long. It’s not perfect, I still think Brooks is best suited to off-Broadway productions so to speak (is there an English equivalent to that phrase?), but I’d say it’s worth your time. 
 

Good: Brooks prose is largely enjoyable as ever, despite the oft overlong sentences. He flows between first and third person depending on pov but it all blends together rather well. It’s not as funny as his other works, but there’s still a sense of warmth that I think Brooks imbues in all his writing. His space marines are certainly less dour and drab than most, though not unreasonably so.

The plot is pretty small scale. I think others commented on how little it truly has to say about the Lion’s awakening, but with that in mind it tells an engaging tale that mostly manages to justify the relative optimism of its tone. Usually I don’t like BL books that paint humanity in too positive a light because humanity in 40k usually means the Imperium or chaos, two absolutely awful choices. Brooks largely focuses this story on humanity outside the bounds of the Imperium and chaos, which makes a big difference. I wouldn’t want to see this become the dominant tonal approach to the setting, it’s a bit too hopeful, but as a one off it works. I’d love to see The Lion confront the more functional and despotic parts of the Imperium, to see just how deep his newfound idealism runs. 
 

Bad: Nothing about the book particularly wowed me. I don’t have many specific complaints, the book just felt a little lightweight. I’d say it reminded me of a lot of Haley’s Guilliman novels in that way. Good, but a bit on the superficial side. I feel like Brooks has had a lot more to say in some of his other novels.

 

8.0 - to taste

That’s a shame as Brooks is a great writer but I agree that the return of Primarchs (following 10,000 years of myths, legends, prophecy etc) should/would have a profound impact on the Imperium and humanity in general. 

[cheywood]

7 hours ago, DukeLeto69 said:

That’s a shame as Brooks is a great writer but I agree that the return of Primarchs (following 10,000 years of myths, legends, prophecy etc) should/would have a profound impact on the Imperium and humanity in general. 

Yeah, it is. To be clear I don’t blame Brooks (or Haley really). My intuition is the Primarch reintroduction novels have a relatively high number of editorial mandates attached, with the goal being to make them accessible and action packed, while leaving room for some mystery.

[Noserenda]

I really enjoyed Son of the Forest, its a great lil story but GW had already designated it a prologue to the Lions main return in the 40k campaign books.

That said, he still liberates multiple planets, destroys an enormous Chaos warband (Seriously, that fleet...) and creates a "safe" confederation or a number of planets in Imperium Nihilus. Primarchs gotta primarch :D 

[Nagashsnee]

Siege of Terra Saturnine Dan Abnett

 

The chat about the latest Siege book and its author made me want to go back and re read this. As when it first got release it was my favourite siege book and is still in my top 3 ( tho the number 1 slot is firmly held by Echoes). 

 

This is a FANTASTIC siege of terra book. It does everything the siege should be doing, it gives you breathtaking views of the giant conflict with several key areas being the highlight of the book. It follows a large but not overbearing number of character ( as many of them are at the same areas and thus can carry on the local plot between them) on BOTH sides which has been lacking in the siege at points.  In addition it provides small windows into the reality of the ground during the siege and does not hyper focused on 2-3 main famous characters who we know survive.  I especially like the scenes of each sides respective war councils and how they quickly and nicely frame the current state of the siege for their respective camp. 

 

But the book also does some very very solid character work. Camba Diaz went from being a name to being a legend for me. Likewise many other 'minor' named characters get some solid work put in that makes them feel 'real'. But the true gem was Mortarion and Magnus interaction, no fights, no power ups, not silly no one can die duels. Just two brothers who hate everything the other stands for forced together in misery. One a broken shell held together by hatred and hypocrisy ( the 'i hate this' line from mortarion did more for the character then the entirity of the buried dagger for me) and the other living a hell of his own making (he is deffinetly doing wrong now) surrounded by those who helped him get there. I enjoyed the Ollanious piers mark II re work and would have liked him in the siege from earlier, him and the young historian made a great pair to watch navigate the conflict.  Krole, the custodian, the marines, the army, the general everyone feels like a unique and real person doing their best in the situation. And even the Mornival come off as doing the best in a situation that has ultimately slipped beyond their control. 

 

I only really have two complaints, namely that the Author cannot count and apparently forgot that numbers exist.  8000 men to hold terras second major space port, is a joke. Like the book makes a point of them making the defense look real, just based on the size of the building, forget its layered outer defenses 8000s would not be enough to garrison it during peace time. This is a primary zone of the palace and one of only TWO spaceports AND they reinforce it. Anything less then millions is a joke. Anything less then 100000 is clearly a trap anything less then 10000 should have never left the first draft ( and even then i would question how that number was selected). Now i know from Gaunts ghosts that this is a long time problem of Abnett where hives of 10s/100s of millions are defended by 6 people and their dog. But still this is the SIEGE OF TERRA the editorial team should have caught it and fixed it. 

 

Secondly Erda, this is a character who SHOULD re frame the entirety of the Imperiums early history, directly important/crucial to the Emperor, Primarch and marine project. A perpetual (whose luckily mostly did not appear), scientist, psycker and user of the magic setting changing language of plot convenience. And she just kinda get silently dumped in this book for no real reason, it is way way way too late in the Heresy series (and the siege) to introduced a character like this, and knowing how wasted she will be it makes her existence even more pointless.  Worse she appears for no real reason and changes what is already a over tampered with event (the primarch scattering) again for no real reason. 

 

But these are minor gripes, this book does what all good Heresy books do, sets a central theme/story ( the saturnine flaw) and follows it. Almost every other plot point (Erda aside) is tied to this and used to move the story along on a meta level (like the white scars) in a organic way to this book story.  It follows its story from its beginning to its end and leaves the siege not only further along its overall journey but having provided an excellent, logical and enjoyable step along its way. It is everything I expect from a Abnett siege book minus (mostly) the parts I thought I would have to suffer (perpetuals).  If every siege of terra book was at this level the series would go down as BL crowing moment of glory. 

 

 

9/10 IN THE NAME OF HIS LORD DORN!

Edited November 24, 2023 by Nagashsnee

[Ubiquitous1984]

Saturnine is not only my favourite siege of terra book, but my favourite Black Library book, period.  

 

If you do get the chance, check out the audiobook version narrated by Jonathan Keeble and featuring Emma Gregory as Kroll.  It’s a masterpiece and helps elevate the book even further.  The Camba Diaz scene (you know the one) is the greatest single audio segment in GW/BL history, IMO.  And that’s saying something considering how many thousands of hours of BL narration there is out there. 

[Scribe]

9 minutes ago, Ubiquitous1984 said:

Saturnine is not only my favourite siege of terra book, but my favourite Black Library book, period.  

 

If you do get the chance, check out the audiobook version narrated by Jonathan Keeble and featuring Emma Gregory as Kroll.  It’s a masterpiece and helps elevate the book even further.  The Camba Diaz scene (you know the one) is the greatest single audio segment in GW/BL history, IMO.  And that’s saying something considering how many thousands of hours of BL narration there is out there. 

 

[Ubiquitous1984]

1 hour ago, Scribe said:

 

Haha, I’m that sad I have listened to well over 100 BL audiobooks with another 100 on my audio pile of shame … imagine if I had listened to 100 economic books instead, I could be a billionaire 

[Scribe]

6 minutes ago, Ubiquitous1984 said:

Haha, I’m that sad I have listened to well over 100 BL audiobooks with another 100 on my audio pile of shame … imagine if I had listened to 100 economic books instead, I could be a billionaire 

 

I try to not consider if I had applied myself to knowledge of economics and the market, instead of worrying if the presentation of a fictional toy soldier was accurate to my own personal taste for the last 20+ years...

[Scribe]

Angron - The Red Angel - David Guymer

 

I dont read a lot of 40K anymore. Its just too much of a hassle to get the books, but as I was waiting for EatD v2 to hit the local shops, I saw this and picked it up, and work prevented me from getting into it at all.

 

As a palate cleanser after EatD v2? Its a pretty good, fun little read.

 

As long as fun is looking at the broken remains of a Legion in all its stunted self destruction.

 

For what it is? I think its decent. I think from the perspective of 'how do you want to cover every aspect of Khorne Aligned Marines' it makes an attempt. You have the new renegades, you have the old guard. You have the WE Lord trying to make something of the Legion, you have the WE Lord who really just wants to die, and everyone in between, but what you really have is a great view of the fact they are broken. Not just insane, not just somewhat off (like everyone in 40K is) but really, fundamentally, brain damaged, cursed, and broken.

 

And yes, even Angron. I feel a rant bubbling up...lets see if I care to push it to completion...

 

I dont think I want to get too far into the weeds here, but I think if I was a betting man, I would put money on the concept that WE fans have a higher percentage of guys who...are broken in some way. Maybe I will just get into the weeds, but yeah. Shahka is the end point of Khorne worship. Hes one of the key tropes of the Legion, and always has been. The fact the Renegade is an Angel, is great, because they are ALSO broken.

 

While some people get quite upset if people insinuate that their pet Chapter/Legion is flawed, I think WE fans would read a book like this and just nod, put it down and go 'Well, of course.'

 

(Edit - I didnt care to complete the rant lol)

 

They GK are hypocrisy incarnate in this book, which is always delicious to see, and a great foil here because well, the WE will kill anything and anyone, that is what they are there for, and the GK, will...kill anything and anyone if they have self righteously justified it to themselves. Like, thats peak 40K right there. The conversation within ear shock of the soldier cracked me up a bit.

 

The end is sufficiently grimdark black comedy as well, its actually been awhile since I got one like that I think. Big "Wrath of Iron" feels.

 

7.5-8/10 - A light read (if you are into black comedy grimdark work and if you are not...why are you reading this...) but a fun one.

 

I was put off a bit by all the merging between 30K/40K, I get it kind of, but like...it feels like one setting at this point, I miss the "Whats a Primarch" from the Soul Hunter series.

 

Spoiler

If it was longer, and had some more development I think of Leidis, and Ginevah to really deliver the gut punch, I would probably rate it higher.

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Scribe

[DukeLeto69]

General comment not this book specifically but @Scribe when you say...

 

”I was put off a bit by all the merging between 30K/40K, I get it kind of, but like...it feels like one setting at this point, I miss the "Whats a Primarch" from the Soul Hunter series.”

 

I totally agree. So much. I not only wanted/hoped for 30k and 40k to be more distinct (though seeing proto 40k emerging in 30k would be good) but as you say, 10,000 years later with loss of knowledge a d suppression of knowledge by the Inquisition, the contemporary knowledge of what happened in 30k should be out of whack and full of myths and legends.

 

A great example of this was Chris Wraight’s first Vaults of Terra book where the Inquisitor stumbled into a room with statues of the Primarchs and was totally confused by the number of them.