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Black Library Advent Calendar 2018


DarkChaplain

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I've bought 4, still to read, Son of Sorrows , Last Council, Old Wounds new scars ( only McNeill contribution in 2018 and Heresy so I want to give it a try) and Prologue to Nikaea which is from Summer event. Last Council probably the one I am most interested in.

I read Atonement of Fire and was quite pleased with it. A bit brief, but it's a natural extension of Ruinstorm, reaching back to the Guilliman Primarchs novel, and forward to Spear of Ultramar. It once again highlights Roboute's need to cling to some form of idealism and the righteousness of the Crusade, and the costs of it all.

 

I've yet to listen to the Necromunda audios, but I was quite happy with the 2 out of 3 AoS dramas I listened to so far. Can't tell you why on here, outside of the generally high audio production values. Sadly, I have little relation to Necromunda, so the audios are pretty low priority for me.

Only purchased the four HH entries, and only read theee of them (still to read Abyssal).

A Rose Watered with Blood was very good. Lotara was always one of my favourite human characters serving on a Legion flagship, and she doesn’t dissapoint.

The Last Council was alright, some good insight into the underlying power and history of Malcador, and setting up some future conflict between him and Horus.

Old Wounds New Scars was alright, but if you’re not really invested in the perpetual side-story then it’s not going to hold your interest.

Overall thoughts across the whole Advent Calendar? Thinking about getting for holiday reading - or perhaps waiting until the various parts are collected in due course.

I've got reviews of the whole lot linked out from here, if you're interested:

 

https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/12/01/black-library-advent-calendar-2018/

 

Overall I'd say it's been a pretty good selection if you're interested in the broad sweep of BL stories across multiple settings. There was only one which I thought was a bit disappointing, although unlike previous years there also weren't too many which really shone as standout stories.

 

I'm not sure how likely it is that all of these will be collected in print any time soon - if you're interested in reading all of them then I think this is probably your best bet. The subscription is good value, although it's worth pointing out that five of the stories in this collection were included in last year's BL Events Anthology, if you managed to get hold of a copy of that.

 

Cheers,

 

NB.

 

Overall thoughts across the whole Advent Calendar? Thinking about getting for holiday reading - or perhaps waiting until the various parts are collected in due course.

 

I've got reviews of the whole lot linked out from here, if you're interested:

 

https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/12/01/black-library-advent-calendar-2018/

 

Overall I'd say it's been a pretty good selection if you're interested in the broad sweep of BL stories across multiple settings. There was only one which I thought was a bit disappointing, although unlike previous years there also weren't too many which really shone as standout stories.

 

I'm not sure how likely it is that all of these will be collected in print any time soon - if you're interested in reading all of them then I think this is probably your best bet. The subscription is good value, although it's worth pointing out that five of the stories in this collection were included in last year's BL Events Anthology, if you managed to get hold of a copy of that.

 

Cheers,

 

NB.

Thanks NB, didn’t realise it had a few in from the Anthology (which I do have), so very grateful. Will give the reviews a gander!

 

Cheers all for thoughts - much obliged.

 

"Reads A Rose Watered With Blood."

Sigh. I liked Lotara Sarrin in Betrayer. Shame to see her turn into just another piece of Chaos garbage.

How so?

 

She betrays and blows up a number of crew, both mortals and Space Marines, who have come to the entirely sensible conclusion that it's stupid beyond words to continue staying on a ship that's got a Daemon Primarch stuck in the basement. The story goes into great lengths to describe how untenable the situation is, how the World Eaters are deteriorating and how the crewnumbers are dropping due to the hilariously lethal work environment. Not even highly ranked bridge crew are safe from getting randomly savaged, and the Chaos taint continues to seep deeper and deeper into the Conqueror's bones. 

Hell, one of the deserters is a Destroyer whose mind is nearly gone from a combination of the Nails and a career of exposure to the most horrific weapons in the Legion's arsenal, and even he recognises that it's time to leave. 

Maybe Mr. Dembski-Bowden intends for her narrative arc to end elsewhere, but the impression I got was that Lotara will end up mainlining the Khorne-juice something fierce.

Re; Rose Watered With Blood

 

I hope Lotara dies tbh - more traitors need to die so it's less "loyalists getting whomped".  However, I see her fusing with the Conqueror itself or something similar - one of the scenes in the story sorta hint at the Conqueror looking after her and trying to please her.  The ship isn't actively trying to kill her, or at the least, Angron (who is influencing the ship's mutation) is not actively trying to kill her.  

so, i haven't bought any of these but i have read excerpts (thanks to reddit and the conversation on the last council there is nothing short of hilarious) and while i'm no LG hater...i have to admit...the bit i read wasn't great. i have no problem with any of his choices...but the execution is clunky. he didn't sell it.

 

loved what i read of Rose Watered With Blood though

lotara

Goes down in a fantastic fashion during the siege (the original material has Khârn dying in the palace right? And Angron among the last to leave?) Could she do something traitor-heroic dying to get them back on board before leaving? Considering other lore that has the Conqueror changing hands a bunch this could be the way to go rather than having to answer/leave unanswered why she loses track of her BFF Khârn and her bro Angron

 

But as mentioned above; she's pretty hardcore dedicated to the ship and the warp/its favoured servants seem to have time for her so perhaps she may well end up in some kind of daemonic fusing with the ship.

 

 

"Reads A Rose Watered With Blood."

Sigh. I liked Lotara Sarrin in Betrayer. Shame to see her turn into just another piece of Chaos garbage.

How so?

 

She betrays and blows up a number of crew, both mortals and Space Marines, who have come to the entirely sensible conclusion that it's stupid beyond words to continue staying on a ship that's got a Daemon Primarch stuck in the basement. The story goes into great lengths to describe how untenable the situation is, how the World Eaters are deteriorating and how the crewnumbers are dropping due to the hilariously lethal work environment. Not even highly ranked bridge crew are safe from getting randomly savaged, and the Chaos taint continues to seep deeper and deeper into the Conqueror's bones. 

Hell, one of the deserters is a Destroyer whose mind is nearly gone from a combination of the Nails and a career of exposure to the most horrific weapons in the Legion's arsenal, and even he recognises that it's time to leave. 

Maybe Mr. Dembski-Bowden intends for her narrative arc to end elsewhere, but the impression I got was that Lotara will end up mainlining the Khorne-juice something fierce.

 

 

I didn't read anything in there that made me feel she was turning to Chaos (any more than the existing fact that she commands Angron's flagship). The ship as a whole is changing, and you could maybe say that her approach is having to change with it, but even then, there aren't really any overtly Chaos-y tones to her behaviour, and nor does she act out of character.

 

Even the suggestion that she's betraying anyone is debatable. She's the captain and has just been informed of a plot to abandon ship. Executing the mutineers would honestly be a pretty acceptable response even on a loyalist ship, never mind the Conqeuror.

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