Taliesin Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 This new one looks great. Angron, former gladiator and slave, and now leader of a rebellion against the High-riders of Nuceria, prepares to sell his life dearly in the name of freeing his people from torture. But fate has other plans… READ IT BECAUSE Angron's time after being plucked from Nuceria has been explored, as has the scars it left with him, both physical and emotional. Now, for the first time, witness the day his life changed forever. THE STORY On the world of Nuceria, the last day of the slave rebellion is nigh. From the hundreds freed by Angron, barely more than fifty remain, hiding in the mountains, feeding on the rich blood of their saviour in lieu of real food. As the High-riders, the so-called nobles who tortured the slaves and made them fight for their own amusement, gather their forces to bring the rebellion down once and for all, Angron prepares to sell his life dearly. But other forces are moving. In the skies about Nuceria, the Emperor of Mankind is preparing to meet one of his long-lost sons. And that meeting will be a fateful one… Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apothecary Vaddon Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Decent enough, didn't really add anything much to the already known story of Angron. He and his buddies about to die, Emps teleports him out, done. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5262516 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoebus Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 So basically this and “After Desh’ea” serve as bookends to the still-unseen disastrous reunification of Angron with the Emperor? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5262572 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apothecary Vaddon Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 No, Ghost of Nuceria does have the meeting itself, but it's exactly what everyone already knew. He gets teleported out, Emps says his bit (largely boils down to 'sucks bro') and then he's teleported to a Legion ship/the Legion Flagship. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5262586 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karthak Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Seriously, if someone told me to devise a plan to make Angron hate the Emperor for all time, it'd pretty much be what happened here. My mind is full of Wat after reading this. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5262605 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Is there any indication of the margin of time for the actual extraction? Like, time enough to beam Angron up, but not enough to get the Emperor down there with Custodians? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5262614 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkChaplain Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Just read it as my bedtime lecture. Actually rather fond of it. It's shorter than I would have liked, especially the Emperor's meeting with Angron, but it is pretty powerful. Angron is well-depicted, both in terms of raw brutality but also a surprising amount of warmth for his brothers and sisters. There were a few details that gave me a new appreciation for the noble spirit that Angron held deep down, and how the Emperor's intervention ruined him forever. Betrayer already did a fantastic job setting up Angron as a tragic figure, but by that point, he's already gone too far off the deep end, and is also nearing his end, to really showcase the same degree of purity. Strangely, Angron's rendition here, before the Emperor snatches him away, almost feels optimistic. He knows he's walking to his doom, that his companions will invariably die - as do they - but they made the decision for the sake of personal freedom from oppression, and they greet their end with good cheer and gallows humor, without being shown as if they Know No Fear. Angron's fight against the high-riders doesn't just come as a show of vengeance against their oppressors, but as a statement of liberty and highly valued comradeship. He's fully willing to die for it with no regrets. Whatever made the Emperor decide to handle things this way is obviously still up to debate. But he does appear rather pressured and hasty. Whether there is a more pressing war to wage, or even if this could be a real moment of dismay and human failing upon being confronted with his broken son, who can tell. While he does come across as callous, there's a case to be made that even He is not above feelings of shock, disbelief and speechlessness. The Emperor clearly believes that there's cause to hurry, and tells Angron there is no time to deal with things properly. It's another case of him handling things on a vast, macro-scale while neglecting the details in front of him. But I also think that he is clearly disgusted with what has been done to Angron, and struggles to fully comprehend or even accept it, and as a result is trying to pass the responsibility on to Angron's new Legion. I actually liked how seemlessly it connects to After Desh'ea, too. In fact, I'm going to turn on the audiobook version of the short story right now, to re-experience it with this story in mind. It's a good one, although I wish it had been a tad longer. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5262617 Share on other sites More sharing options...
karden00 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 I don’t mean to be ... that guy but ... Is there any explanation given as to how teleportation can work without teleportation systems built within armour? I never had a problem with the old lore about The Big E beaming Angry Ronald up at the last moment, but this is, to my knowledge, a first (and only?) instance where a being is teleported? Full disclosure, I haven’t read the story. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5262793 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkChaplain Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 There's no technical explanation, or even much of an acknowledgement of the teleport itself. Angron is displaced in location, with a short moment of feeling like the world around him (and his body's movement) were frozen, while his mind was not. This is accompanied by the Emperor's mental communication / words of disbelief at Angron's state. Frankly, one could make the point that it actually wasn't teleportation as we know it at all, but the Emperor meddling psychically. Seeing how personal teleport-powers aren't something that hasn't popped up via Librarians or similar in the setting, it would stand to reason that the most powerful psyker of the species could have emergency-teleported him at his own expense. Which might again factor into his curt treatment of Angron. I think overall there could be a few hooks here for a flipside story about the Emperor's perspective of events... Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5262813 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedor Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 One thing regarding Angron i've not seen mentioned much is that the Emperor did eventually go out of his way to meet and try to fix him as we see in MoM, but when that scene is discussed it's usually from the perspective of dbeating about the Emperor being cold towards the primarchs. I've not seen any wonder about when it took place in relation to this or what might have passed between them before it. Be interesting if we ever find out why the Emperor seemed so pressed for time. Maybe an Eldar fleet had just appeared to have a second go at Angron and make sure the Nucerians finished the job, not expecting the imperials to be there, only to unwittingly put the final nail in the coffin for Angron through making the Emperor rush the meeting. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5262882 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkChaplain Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 My first idea was that maybe Angron was found close to the point when the Emperor took back Molech along with Horus, Fulgrim and Jaghatai, but Molech's timeline placement is bonkers, with sources conflicting left and right between Jaghatai's discovery even in the most recent publications, and Molech's supposed 869 placement. A bit of a gap until ~905, when this is roughly set. Sifting through the timelines (thank you again, Tymell!), no event around that point jumps out as remotely relevant. Maybe the Siege will shed some light on some of the Emperor's actions, or there may even be some hints in the actual Primarchs novel for Angron. Either way, if St. Martin's work here is anything to go by, I'm looking forward to Slave of Nuceria. The synopsis places it somewhat right after After Desh'ea, with the adoption of the Butcher's Nails being a key element. So judging by that, we'll probably see more of Angron's remaining nobility yet, and have him explore his relation to the Emperor more. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5262898 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliesin Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 Story has me tempted to shell out for the Limited Edition. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5262997 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tymell Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 I just read this one and, got to be honest, I felt it was terrible. The main issue I had is that it's FAR too short for what it tries to do. In the span of a few pages we have Angron taking down one of the Nucerian scouts, speaking with his fellow gladiators, starting up the final battle, teleported up to the Emperor's ship, then teleported over to his legion. That's too much, and consequently feels horribly rushed. Everything comes and goes so suddenly: the Emperor instantly whisks him up, Angron instantly comes to the conclusion that the Emperor is another High Rider master (not saying that conclusion is wrong, but it's a pretty thoughtful insight to come to so immedately), instantly accepts that the Emperor is his creator (which he never even explicitly says), instantly accepts that he can't go back without once asking to, instantly declares that he died down there, instantly gets teleported over to the War Hounds. It feels like 5 second movie on youtube, a story so super-condensed that it feels nonsensical. Even beyond this, I didn't like how the core story was handled. Too many of Angron's thoughts/statements felt more like the author directly talking rather than Angron in-character and in-universe. "Emperor or no, creator or no, all you will ever get of me is a shell, the ghost of Angron, who never left Nuceria." To me, that sounds very forced and too thought-out for the situation he's in (and, again, for how quickly it happens). It sounds like someone in the real world describing the setting. And as happens all too often in this series, a character brings up a perfectly valid question, one the author no doubt knows the reader will have, but the response is so feeble. Angron asks the Emperor why he didn't simply intervene in the fight himself, and the Emperor just says he has bigger things to consider, which feels absurd: the entire point of the Crusade is to re-claim worlds, and a world having a primarch on it should only make that -more- of a priority. I don't mind making the Emperor flawed in this, but this doesn't work. The one aspect I did like was seeing Angron more lucid and even showing warmth to his fellow gladiators. It was nicely done and set up a good contrast for how he later is. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5263134 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoebus Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 It’s frustrating for me to read some of this. Matthew Ferrer hit a good balance, I thought, in implying that Angron and the Emperor’s initial meeting went horrible wrong precisely because of the Butcher’s Nails. In “After Desh’ea”, Angron alludes to the fact that he reacted violently to the Emperor’s intervention, killing a Custodian before being knocked out (psychically) by the his father. Given his murderous reaction to everyone who, you know, just went to talk to him aboard the Conqueror, there’s every indication that the Emperor simply couldn’t make any headway with him. It’s still a plot hole, in the sense that you probably don’t entrust a Space Marine Legion to a berserk killer who won’t reason with anyone, but it’s better than “I had better things to do.” Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5263162 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkChaplain Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 Well, that's still the case. One of the first things Angron does is tear a Custodian apart. He can barely look upon the Emperor, and struggles even just to recognize him as a human being, due to the Nails and the Emperor's psychic radiance. It drives him into a frenzy. Just as described in After Desh'ea, the Emperor's psychic communion hit Angron hard. Khârn also realizes that the Emperor basically dumped Angron onto the War Hounds through teleportation. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5263277 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliesin Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 Glowing review for St Martin's primarchs book: https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/02/25/angron-slave-of-nuceria-ian-st-martin/ Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5264105 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilofix Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 I take pride in my real life job. I personally attend to things. I pay attention to detail. I go above and beyond. But on some days, in some particular situations, I’m like - dang, I really can’t deal with this one. And I have my team address it. I feel like - that’s what the Emperor did with Angron. I don’t know the exact sequence but maybe he had just come off dealing with Curze and he was like - seriously? You guys take this one. Edit - I read this and then I reread after Desh’ea. Poor Hounds. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5265042 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelborn Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Quick question: If I'm interested in the War Hounds, what would you recommend to read? Or do they only have a very small role in certain stories and FW provided more about them in their black books? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5265058 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc warhammer Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 yeah, i have off days as well...but if i had to meet 20 demigods over the course of a few hundred years, i think i could manage my a game on each occasion . i mean, the fate of humanity is at stake i feel like it was a severe sense of loathing and disappointment and rejection on the emperor’s part in this case. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5265059 Share on other sites More sharing options...
godking Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Angron is the only traitor primarch who had a valid reason to rebel and a legitimate beef with the emperor. Each of the other traitor primarchs was brought down by their own flaws and hubris. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5265432 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkChaplain Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 He's also the only Primarch (we know of) who actually failed on his homeworld. Everybody else rose to a position of power within their society. Angron did, too, but only among slaves. Unlike his brothers, he was irreversably compromised, the only one among them who suffered damage he could never recover from. Seeing how Angron was one of the last to be found, it's a pretty massive PR disaster to have a Primarch that utterly failed before his discovery. With the Great Crusade being past the midway point, and Primarchs being heralded as infallible demigods, to the point where their actual failures or even missteps are hushed up (see: Corax: Lord of Shadows), having one who is objective damaged and unstable, proving the entire line's vulnerability, is something that might cast doubt on the entire endeavour, the Emperor's workings and the leadership of the Crusade itself. Angron got the short end of the stick, to no fault of his own, but as terrible as his individual fate was, it could have very well destabilized the Great Crusade's achievements and shaken up compliances if widely known. And this discovery happened before the 2nd Lost Primarch was found, and most likely before the first was excommunicated. While some of the Primarchs were difficult to handle, the Emperor hadn't had to consider actually getting rid of one yet. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5265444 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tymell Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Quick question: If I'm interested in the War Hounds, what would you recommend to read? Or do they only have a very small role in certain stories and FW provided more about them in their black books? Pretty much that latter one. Angron's new Primarchs book might cover some of that, but that aside I think After Desh'ea and the first FW black book are likely your only real sources. Unless there are post-Heresy stories that flash back to the War Hounds? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5265459 Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_son_of_Dorn Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Angron (or angry-ron as I like to call him) is by far the most tragic primarch to me. A life of anger filled rage without end. Really the emperor quite buggered this up. Could of put the whole "noble" council to the sword and instigated a new recruitment regime on Rons planet. But I find it very hard to believe the nails in his head couldn't of been removed. I find them a weak plot point/narrative into "justifying" the world eaters fall. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5265460 Share on other sites More sharing options...
godking Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 He's also the only Primarch (we know of) who actually failed on his homeworld. Everybody else rose to a position of power within their society. Angron did, too, but only among slaves. Unlike his brothers, he was irreversably compromised, the only one among them who suffered damage he could never recover from. Seeing how Angron was one of the last to be found, it's a pretty massive PR disaster to have a Primarch that utterly failed before his discovery. With the Great Crusade being past the midway point, and Primarchs being heralded as infallible demigods, to the point where their actual failures or even missteps are hushed up (see: Corax: Lord of Shadows), having one who is objective damaged and unstable, proving the entire line's vulnerability, is something that might cast doubt on the entire endeavour, the Emperor's workings and the leadership of the Crusade itself. Angron got the short end of the stick, to no fault of his own, but as terrible as his individual fate was, it could have very well destabilized the Great Crusade's achievements and shaken up compliances if widely known. And this discovery happened before the 2nd Lost Primarch was found, and most likely before the first was excommunicated. While some of the Primarchs were difficult to handle, the Emperor hadn't had to consider actually getting rid of one yet. Good points which makes the Emperor's handling of the situation all the more mystifying. There where only two realistic realistically correct ways the Emperor could have handled it. 1 Let Angron die and claim that he was lost 2 Let the warhounds deploy and help Angron. The way the emperor handled he guaranteed that Angron would rebel. I am suprised that it took more then a century for Angron to rebel Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5265464 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilofix Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Wouldn’t Mortarion have failed too? In that Necare would have killed him? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/354064-ghost-of-nuceria-horus-heresyprimarch-short-story/#findComment-5265482 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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