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Novella series


Kelborn

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Hey there,

 

thought that it would be a good time to start a thread dedicated to the coming Novella series.

 

Book 1 - The Bloodied Rose by Danie Ware

Book 2 - Steel Daemon by Ian St. Martin

Book 3 - Auric Gods by Nick Kyme

Book 4 - Spear of Ultramar by David Annandale

Book 5 - Dreadwing by David Guymer

Book 6 - Wanted: Dead by Mike Brooks

 

-------------------------

 

Book 7 - Warqueen by Darius Hinks - AoS stuff

Book 8 - The Red Hours by Evan Dicken - AoS stuff

Book 9 - The Bone Deserty by Robbie MacNiven - AoS stuff

 

Most interesting ones for me are No. 3, 5 and 9.

 

Lots of newer authors in there. Curious to see their take on certain topics like Guymer + Dreadwing. Haven't read his Iron Hands stuff but it seems to be a love or hate thing when I'm looking on Ferrus.

 

Rob is a safe bet for me, thus digging his work might be a good start to get into AoS.

 

Auric Gods mostly as it's about Custodes. Enjoyed Dans, Chris' and Aarons take on them. Let's see what Nick is about to do with them.

 

To cut a long story short: Here ya go, lads! :smile.:

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1, 4, and 5 are basically must-buys for me, I've warmed a bit to Annandale's Guilliman. Super excited for Guymer doing some Dark Angels, I think his grim sensibilities will be a good fit for nuking traitor homeworlds. More sisters is, of course, always welcome.

 

Some interest in 2 as well, looks like a mini-sequel to Cadia Stands, which I liked quite a bit.

Seeing these as cheap paperbacks on launch warms my heart, will have to pick up the interesting ones sooner rather than later.

 

Also of note is that in addition to the pre-advertised 10, a novella from Phil Kelly landed as well. While I've interest in the book itself, I'm wondering if a successful launch here will mean both more series-based and independent novellas in future.

Seeing these as cheap paperbacks on launch warms my heart, will have to pick up the interesting ones sooner rather than later.

 

Also of note is that in addition to the pre-advertised 10, a novella from Phil Kelly landed as well. While I've interest in the book itself, I'm wondering if a successful launch here will mean both more series-based and independent novellas in future.

Black Library have already confirmed there will be more novella series,that’s why this is called series one!

I'm undecided on whether to order these all at once or in halves. Might be better to do it piecemeal to avoid hopping back and forth between half a dozen at once. Better to just hop between five at most :')

 

The synopses are highly interesting, though. They've also given some tidbits at the Weekender so far, judging by various Twitter reporters, and it appears that the Sisters of Battle novella will be receiving follow-up novellas, too. Death Knell by Kelly is supposedly a tie-in to the Space Marine Heroes miniatures they produced for Japan, originally, but frankly.. I don't care enough to order that one, especially with Kelly's name on the tin.

 

Speaking of novellas, I just ordered the Summer of Reading editions of Hammerhal and Sin of Damnation (the Space Hulk tie-in novella; regretted never getting a copy of it back in 2010(?) or thereabouts) via Amazon - same format, I believe, including the red strip at the top, just that it says Summer of Reading or sth. I never saw those appear on BL/GW themselves, though. The range also included City of Secrets, Wolf King and Assault on Black Reach (of which I own the original, mmpb novella release). It's pretty nifty to see these sold at 4€, while the old mass market novellas for Skull Pass, Island of Blood or Black Reach were I believe 5€, for a worse print format.

 

Either way, now I got a week to decide whether to go all in or cherry-pick first. Can't wait to dig into some of them!

I just went to Barns & Noble last night and bought Sin of Damnation and Assault on Black Reach for $5 a piece. Cool cover art and nifty little books. At the top it reads Start Here With Black Library. I plan to pass them down to my son when he’s ready for them.

 

It says on the back they are “classic” novellas.

Now that's interesting.

Fair price for such "classic" novellas. Though I already got Wolf Kind as an ebook, I prefer to have my favorite Legion's stuff in paperback.

 

Gonna give Reynold's novella about non 40K stuff and Crusade by Andy Clark a chance, as well.

 

Is Sin of Damnation a must pick, as well?

I'm happy to see proper paper edition novellas, i dislike ebooks and a lot of full novels are just a bit too big to slip into a coat pocket to read on the train to work.

 

The price feels right for a quick read as well, £3 is not much and I like that BL has a bundle of all 10 for £27.

You can also save more if you shop around, Element games has then for £2.40 each so I dicided to grab all 10 books :)

I’ve just finished Steel Daemon.

 

I might be exaggerating *slightly*, but page-for-page and pound-for-pound it may be one of the best BL stories I’ve read. I’ve just seen on Twitter that Ian St. Martin describes it as ‘Fury but 40k’ and that is pretty accurate- and to my eyes that is a good thing. It still feels very 40k, the guardsmen feel very vulnerable in the face of the Chaos forces, and the new reality of life after the fall of Cadia was conveyed well.

 

I really cared about the characters, believed the location and bought into the tension. He did a lot in a short space. I’m going to add his Lucius book to my shopping list, I think...

 

A good start to the series.

  • 2 weeks later...

Lucius is a great read.

I’ve just finished Steel Daemon.

I might be exaggerating *slightly*, but page-for-page and pound-for-pound it may be one of the best BL stories I’ve read. I’ve just seen on Twitter that Ian St. Martin describes it as ‘Fury but 40k’ and that is pretty accurate- and to my eyes that is a good thing. It still feels very 40k, the guardsmen feel very vulnerable in the face of the Chaos forces, and the new reality of life after the fall of Cadia was conveyed well.

I really cared about the characters, believed the location and bought into the tension. He did a lot in a short space. I’m going to add his Lucius book to my shopping list, I think...

A good start to the series.

Read the necromunda book wanted dead. Found it disappointing. The black library element of the necromunda franchise hasn’t had great coverage since the games re-release, and this pretty much continues that trend. The books ok but not my cup of tea. Would love to see one of the top tier authors knock out a necromunda novel. Another day perhaps
Having read "The Blooded Rose", I enjoyed it a lot. Naturally, I won't spoil it for others, but I will say its better to read "Mercy" first by the same author as it carries on from it. I think its time Dani Ware (the author) got a green light for a full novel...

Spear of Ultramar - David Annandale

 

What an oddity, none of the things I despise about Annandale are present here. No bizarre character beats, no annoyingly florid descriptions of orks/chaos, no excessive length for the thinnest possible story. We see Guilliman where he should be: commanding the strategium, not backflipping through Ork trukks. We see an antagonist who has a goal, and is attempting to outplay Guilliman at his own game. I cannot tell you how much better this makes him than most of Annandale's antagonists, who are either brainless, formless, or have one competent moment before everything falls to pieces. The novella edges on one long action scene, but its length makes every moment feel important, Guilliman needs to rush through this, and the story reflects that. Most important of all: its a masterpiece of restraint, coming from this particular author. It's just a genuinely good read, consider checking it out if Annandale isn't the very anathema to your existence.

 

ANR: 7/10

Spear of Ultramar - David Annandale

 

What an oddity, none of the things I despise about Annandale are present here. No bizarre character beats, no annoyingly florid descriptions of orks/chaos, no excessive length for the thinnest possible story. We see Guilliman where he should be: commanding the strategium, not backflipping through Ork trukks. We see an antagonist who has a goal, and is attempting to outplay Guilliman at his own game. I cannot tell you how much better this makes him than most of Annandale's antagonists, who are either brainless, formless, or have one competent moment before everything falls to pieces. The novella edges on one long action scene, but its length makes every moment feel important, Guilliman needs to rush through this, and the story reflects that. Most important of all: its a masterpiece of restraint, coming from this particular author. It's just a genuinely good read, consider checking it out if Annandale isn't the very anathema to your existence.

 

ANR: 7/10

Haha, you nearly have me convinced! But no matter how good it is I can’t forgive his past! #neverannandale!

I read the prologue and first of the six chapters last night, and have to say I'm intrigued, too. Even the tense he's written it in fits the circumstances of the plot. The first chapter is also mostly setting up the principal characters and the overall course of action they each must take. The Iron Warriors are well-presented so far, and Guilliman's position in the war at this late stage is discussed. It'll certainly tick off a few diehard anti-Guilliman fans, though...

I just finished it last night. I feel folks can be overly hard on Annandale, though he has had some weaker stuff, and this one does make me feel that maybe battles aren't his forte. He's at his best when he's doing character work or something more intricate. Here, the Iron Warriors are the best part (which admittedly is a little unexpected for a book focused on the Ultramarines, though makes more sense when I consider how much I loved Iron Corpses). I love the bleak bitterness of their characters, and the tactics they use against Guilliman, which do well in creating an atmosphere of a strategic game.

 

I feel Annandale also does a good job continually hammering home that this is a race against time, and in contrast to Dreadwing, I really liked the ending in this one.

 

The fighting can drag a little from time to time, and the Ultramarines aren't as interesting here as their opponents, but I still think it's a decent read overall.

 

I'll echo Roomsky's 7/10.

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