The Siege of Terra: The Lost and the Damned

[MegaVolt87]

 

I'd have to agree...this is solid but not great, which has kinda become the hallmark of Haley. But I'd take Haley's solid over Thorpe's stuff any day.

Crom’s hairy armpits, thats two mighty lore masters your dissing right there. If I was a BL author I would butcher those who run me down on forums (by putting screen names in their novels obviously....not actually butchering) I’m awaiting a burning to death in an Annandale some day soon

 

 

If an author did that they would come across as pretty pathetic and only have people further degrade them for being weak/petty. Its much better to ignore that kind of thing, or better yet improve as the response. 

[Marshal Rohr]

Why would any author take criticism from fans? That’s their job that makes them money, they clearly are doing something right or they wouldn’t have that job. There’s an expression that goes ‘don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t go to for advice’ and no internet fan is worthy of going to for advice. Edited August 9, 2019 by Marshal Rohr

[mc warhammer]

i think knockagh is joking

 

as for improving as a result, that's all well and good, assuming the feedback is worth listening to

[Knockagh]

i think knockagh is joking

 

as for improving as a result, that's all well and good, assuming the feedback is worth listening to

Like most of my jokes, I tried and failed

[karden00]

Thorpe cannot he spoken of in terms of top tier Black Library authorship.

I don’t know why this is controversial.

[DarkChaplain]

 

i think knockagh is joking

 

as for improving as a result, that's all well and good, assuming the feedback is worth listening to

Like most of my jokes, I tried and failed

 

 

I gave up on making jokes. I'm too German for that stuff. When I actually joke, it either flies over people's heads or they think I'm serious, despite hyperbole and dripping sarcasm. Basically, I feel you. Comedy online is tough

[Marshal Rohr]

 

 

 

i think knockagh is joking

 

as for improving as a result, that's all well and good, assuming the feedback is worth listening to

Like most of my jokes, I tried and failed

I gave up on making jokes. I'm too German for that stuff. When I actually joke, it either flies over people's heads or they think I'm serious, despite hyperbole and dripping sarcasm. Basically, I feel you. Comedy online is tough

I just flew in from Berlin and now my arms are tired. Edited August 9, 2019 by Marshal Rohr

[mc warhammer]

‘You are joking, my lord?’ said Sicarius.

 

Guilliman looked at Sicarius. He had to turn all the way around to do so. The pauldrons, ornamental wings and large halo mounted on his back made it impossible for him to see over his shoulder. At least he had stopped knocking into things. There was that.

 

‘By the Throne, why am I expected to be serious at all times? Yes, Captain Sicarius, I am making light of my predicament. During the worst of the Great Crusade, I was known to make the occasional jest. Even after Terra fell. I did not spend my entire previous life writing deep thoughts into little notebooks, but sometimes dared to enjoy myself. I suppose that was not recorded in the hagiographies.’

 

‘Humour is not something you are renowned for, my lord.’

 

‘My time in this new age has revealed that to me amply.’

[The_son_of_Dorn]

Even a Primarch can "LoL!"

[DarkChaplain]

‘You are joking, my lord?’ said Sicarius.

 

Guilliman looked at Sicarius. He had to turn all the way around to do so. The pauldrons, ornamental wings and large halo mounted on his back made it impossible for him to see over his shoulder. At least he had stopped knocking into things. There was that.

 

‘By the Throne, why am I expected to be serious at all times? Yes, Captain Sicarius, I am making light of my predicament. During the worst of the Great Crusade, I was known to make the occasional jest. Even after Terra fell. I did not spend my entire previous life writing deep thoughts into little notebooks, but sometimes dared to enjoy myself. I suppose that was not recorded in the hagiographies.’

 

‘Humour is not something you are renowned for, my lord.’

 

‘My time in this new age has revealed that to me amply.’

 

I absolutely loved that scene. Incidentally, a genius bit of writing from Guy Haley right there.

[Knockagh]

 

 

 

 

i think knockagh is joking

 

as for improving as a result, that's all well and good, assuming the feedback is worth listening to

Like most of my jokes, I tried and failed

I gave up on making jokes. I'm too German for that stuff. When I actually joke, it either flies over people's heads or they think I'm serious, despite hyperbole and dripping sarcasm. Basically, I feel you. Comedy online is tough

I just flew in from Berlin and now my arms are tired.

I laughed hard at this at the dinner table. Kids wanted to know what was funny. They didn’t laugh and looked at me funny.... then I got told off for using my phone at the table. So a funny joke ended up causing much pain.

[b1soul]

Internet fans can judge the quality of an authour's writing just fine.

 

 

The writing of Wraight, ADB, and Abnett (mostly) is obviously good. When an "Internet fan" says so, no one tries to undermine his opinion by drawing attention to his own lack of professional writing skills. If people can judge what is good, they can judge what is bad. It cuts both ways.

[Marshal Rohr]

People can judge what they enjoy in a novel and what they don't enjoy. They can point out inconsistencies and logic gaps. What is good and bad is entirely personal. Some people though Titandeath was bad. I thought it was good. Both are right. Neither can say Guy Haley needs to get better. 

[Knockagh]

Thorpe cannot he spoken of in terms of top tier Black Library authorship.

I don’t know why this is controversial.

Thorpe is my favourite BL author so therefore I do regard him as top tier. I’ve loved his Eldar books and consider Jain Zar to be the best Eldar book ever published. Lorgar is far and away the best primarch book so far. All my opinion but that’s as valid as anyone else’s. The guy has won a Gemmell Award, something that not many authors have done, so I’m not on my own.

[b1soul]

Reviewing an authour's quality of work is a semi-subjective affair and yeah, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Some work is objectively worse than other work (extreme example would be something like CS Goto vs. Frank Herbert), whereas other times, it is down to a matter of taste.

 

I personally find it very hard to place Thorpe in the same category as Abnett, ADB, Wraight, Fehevari, or even French. You could place CS Goto in that esteemed category and your opinion would be "valid". That said, I have not read Thorpe's Eldar work, so perhaps it blows his SM/HH work out of the water.

[Marshal Rohr]

Thorpe was instrumental in writing the original Index Astartes articles that defined the Golden Age of 40k. His fiction may not be the best (personally I think he does world building well, it’s just narratives he goes with I don’t like - see the shifting labyrinth people are supposed to walk through to get to work in the morning) but he devotes a lot of time to expanding things out we as readers can use for our own lore and armies. That’s a real skill.

 

For every ‘boy, you Ravens are sneaky’ you also get Harbinger and Castellan bombers, Auxilia in cool tanks, Hover Land Raiders, etc.

Edited August 10, 2019 by Marshal Rohr

[Kelborn]

Back to topic, guys.

The talk about authors and the quality of their writing has been dealt with several times.

 

If there's the need to continue this, I can start a seperate thread or dig out an older but dedicated one.

Edited August 10, 2019 by Kelborn

[b1soul]

"personally I think he does world building well"

 

I agree with this. He's good at coming up with some great fluff ideas. His novel-writing skills are not really the best.

 

As for the Lost and the Damned, I do think Haley does a good job with Scraivok. He's Nostrama gutter trash who was lucky enough to be recruited into the VIIIth Legion and get hold of a powerful Daemonsword. His fear of death after...

 

Raldoron kicks him off the wall was a great counterpoint to "And They Shall Know No Fear"

[SkimaskMohawk]

But he wasn't gutter trash, he was a scion of a noble house.

[b1soul]

I guess he's mansion trash

[Moonreaper666]

Doesn't he become a Daemon Prince and fight the Dark Angels in the 41st Millenium? Edited August 10, 2019 by Moonreaper666

[Roomsky]

Doesn't he become a Daemon Prince and fight the Dark Angels in the 41st Millenium?

 

Possession is probably a better descriptor than ascension (to princehood). The Daemon dragging him to hell at the end of this book, promising he'll return eventually, is essentially character death.

[Knockagh]

Finished this. Loved it. Some great little threads and characters started that hopefully can be successfully built on in the coming books. The alpha legion operatives, Katsuhiro both have great potential for development.

 

That rat Scraivok did indeed get his just rewarded as others mention, a throughly nasty individual with no redeeming characteristics. Another hit for Haley, personally I find his quality outstanding, every author has an off book but this for me isn’t it.

Still shocked we are so far in. But now the gates are shut and perhaps the seige element will begin and the progress could slow up a little. I wonder when we will move to Mars for a little look?

Edited August 11, 2019 by Knockagh

[Subtleknife]

Has anyone with the collectors edition noticed that the gold on the pages is a different shade to the solar war one?

[Knockagh]

Has anyone with the collectors edition noticed that the gold on the pages is a different shade to the solar war one?

Mine was in pretty poor shape tbh. The cover had more than a few scrapes and the gilt on the pages edge was very patchy. The ribbon had stuck to the gold in one place and pulled it away when I pulled the ribbon out to use it. Normally I complain over shoddy limited editions but given my luck in actually getting I copy I kept quiet. Probably shouldn’t have but there it is