bluntblade Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 So here's one for you: which action scenes from Black Library authors have risen above the seas of bolter porn and genuinely inspired awe? I'm going to lead with one that will probably need to be in spoilers - the arrival of the speartip at Luna in Solar War: This scene, for me, is one of the closest we've had to "ramming the Supremacy at lightspeed". The anticipation as the Sons of Horus ride down into the firestorm, Abaddon holding rock steady even as the War Oath begins to come apart around him and you really buy into how utterly confident he is. Teleport flash and... boom.. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagoth Ur Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 For me, it definitely has to be the scene where Khârn meets Erebus in the gladiator pits. No fury, no ire, just cold and methodical wrath as Khârn hammers down upon erebus, repeating "Get up."in that monotone, solemn voice of retribution. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5409774 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 I was thinking more exceptional spectacle than that sort of scene, great as it is. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5409888 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc warhammer Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 I still think about vandred/the exalted in void warfare in the night lord’s book...that gave me chills (good chills ) to read. and i usually find void warfare boring. i think when a battle is tied in with great character moments, rather than just action for its own sake, you can’t lose Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5409895 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH79 Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 Ahriman's re-awakening of power from Ahriman: Exile... i think the entire scene last a handful of seconds but is written over 2 or 3 pages. It is one of my favourite scenes from any BL novel. @ bluntblade... if it's exceptional spectacle... well for me Abnett's Know No Fear is pretty much as big as it gets Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5409898 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinDHill Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 ADB's Black Legion series. I loved the moment Iskandar Khayon tries to stop Ahriman from casting the Rubric of Ahriman. Brilliant, I thought, to witness this seminal moment, and throw in how it was almost prevented from happening. Made my skin tingle. It's an action scene, but not in the obvious way, which is what ADB is really good at. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5409902 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Rohr Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 -‘Recover your sword’ -‘Our Turn’ -When Abaddon is almost happy to see Sigismund -The arrival of the Fireships and Daughter of Woe -‘He was waiting to see what happened’ -When Septimus told Talos to uh... you know Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5409933 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikuEru Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 The End of the Emperor's Spears Novel, the showdown between Anuradha and the Assassin. The way the synthskin and how it works is described. How the Assassin still tries to play its game and trick people. The bitter, pissed, tired, broken, fed-up Anuradha - and how she is still able to kick ass. Amadeus (right? Or was it a Spear? No it was him!?) coming in to save his favorite, his wing(wo)man, his most loyal aide. The Vortex Grenade. It's effect. The look into the deep abyss. The Assassin learning fear. The Warp tearing it apart. The sucking vacuum it creates. And how quickly it disappears again. It was not a big Space Marine Battle. But it was a very tense moment with a quick pace. Which came after a shocking moment, which would be a close second contender for this thread: The horrible atrocity comitted after the Black Templars and Celestial Lions arrived and have been welcomed by the Spears and Amadeus. Again, not a big battle moment, but still an amazing description how Marines can change gears from a "peaceful, save moment between brothers" to an "Immediate Lethal Danger". It's something we all know Marines can do. It was something I would have expected of them. But in most stories and novels 'our' marine characters go into a battle or war knowingly and prepared. Sure they are sometimes surprised by a betrayal or trap, but rarely like this. As others have said, A D-B is really good with such a bit more unusual 'battles'. (Probably due to his research and talks with veterans and their experiences of such sudden dangerous situations) (Third from that book would probably be the arrival of the Pale and their shady warp trickery) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5409982 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 Having finally got round to the Khan's Primarch novel, I totally concur on his Musou Mode rage. The description of how he just disappears into a cyclone of blood is glorious. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5410007 Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1soul Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 I like when Shiban leads his WS against the invaders in Restorer Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5410009 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob P Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 Depends what you consider to be action, but i'd say the Campanile stuff in Know No Fear was fantastic. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5410016 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 That's exactly what I'm thinking of. Think of this as the equivalent of things that have actually wowed you at the movies of late (as similarly to BL, there's a lot of spectacle in blockbusters but it's often done in a rather homogenous way, so I prize the moments that really make me go wow). Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5410128 Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1soul Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 You mean the scene with the ship punching through defence stations and other ships...it was like big-budget disaster movie special effects conveyed through words Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5410145 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 Its got to be 0 Hour in Know no Fear All the Build up then the following chaos. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5410443 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carach Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 know no fear - ships falling out of the sky. the original HH trilogy the collapse of a dream amongst immense bloodshed and planet killing bombardment (dreadnaught holding one of the death guard fellas as they both die amongst the shelling, loken going down etc..) its the kind of scene where you want it to pan up from that calamity on the ground and up into space to the orbiting ships to a quiet and contemplative Horus or some such - if this were a film... with some adequately sorrowful classical music to accompany it. First Heretic's betrayal and battle between the Custodes and newly-demonised buds. Solar War had a bunch of epic scenes. It was pretty much just one huge epic scene. Argel Tal's fate atop a titan as battle goes on below. i mean.. there's literally tonnes.. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5410531 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasmablasts Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 For cinematic adrenaline, the caestus assault in Salvation’s Reach caught my attention. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5415307 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roomsky Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 As many have said, the ship-ramming scenes from Know no Fear and Solar War both stand out, I think because of the cascade of events we get to see happening afterwards. They're cool action pieces that also have large significance for the plot. Any void-battle scene with Aaron tends to hit it out of the park. You can really feel the scale of things. There's a scene in Voice of Mars where an Iron Hands Legionary grabs his enemies weapon with his own chain-teeth, which is so hilariously 40k I can't help but love it. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5415556 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manchu warlord Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Know No Fear - The whole book. Savage Weapons - When the Lion and Curze were brawling on the ground, paladin Corswain ran into them and buried the length of the blade into Curze's back. He then proceed to rip hair of out of Curze's dirty head and tried to strangle him. Titandeath - The scene where Sanguinius and his sons attack the Imperator titan. Devastation of Baal - The fight scene at the end between Dante and the Swarm Lord. Dead Sky, Black Sun - The description of those devilish daemonculaba biologic breeders. Playing Patience shot story - When Ravenor's command vehicle-something was breached by an enemy who was a pariah, he encountered Frauka, who was also a pariah, and chickened out Carl Thonius. The enemy was excited to have encountered another pariah, so he began conversing with Frauka randomly as if they were going to be friends. All the while, Carl Thonius was more-or-less pissing himself. Frauka was suggesting that the enemy go ahead and kill Carl Thonius first, and that he didn't like him anyway. The enemy was like, "alright gents, where would you like me to shoot you?", but this was all just a distraction to buy time for Nayl to come in to rescue them. At the end, Frauka was like "I got your back Thonny", and Thonius cursed at him or something. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5415568 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prot Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 What a cool thread. So many of these I agree with myself. Here’s what I’m going to try..... like you guys I’ve read a shed load of these novels. I honestly have trouble remembering where all my favourite moments belong, novelwise. Maybe some of you will know .... Prewarning you... I may be spoiling something you haven’t read since I feel like the Cawl inferior sometimes....uncertain where I remember stuff from! ( also these are stand out moments for me, not necessarily action) 1. The first scene...Loken (?) talks about killing the Emperor. For paragraphs I read in confusion before realizing the clever tongue in cheek moment shared amongst the Astartes. Perhaps an overwritten period, but it was the end of innocence. A cool way to kick it off. 2. The moment Dorn slaps Garro’s head almost clean from his body when he first speaks of heresy. 3. Loken fighting a very changed Lucius. Oh how I wanted Loken to really win that fight. 4. Guilliman (oh how he has changed since the Heresy), in a bathrobe wanting to meet a whethered veteran back from the war with Word Bearers.... only to nearly lose his life to what would turn out to be Alpha Legion 5. Guilliman fighting alongside the Custodes on the moon. The scene is described with eyes of wonderment in a way I would imagine seeing it. 6. The clash between Magnus and Russ... the epic back snapping moment. 7. This is a weird one... it’s a very old passage I read in an old BL pictorial publication from the Heresy. It depicts the final moments of the Emperor and Horus’ fight. It gave me just enough to wonder.... will the current authors depict the fight as though the Emperor holds back? Would He have been able to vanquish Horus with a mere thought? Was it his feelings for his son that left Him open to a death blow? Or his reluctance to accept failure in losing a son? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5416841 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_Caerolion Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 I'll add the depiction of Jain Zar in Void Stalker. The Phoenix Lords have been sorely underrepresented in fluff, and usually just shown as "an Exarch but Better". This one turned Jain Zars arrival into a real moment of "Oh... ohhh... Yeah, they all gon' die now." Also, the charge of the Grey Knights against Angron in Emperors Gift, and the Breaking of the Blade. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5416864 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliesin Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 4. Guilliman (oh how he has changed since the Heresy), in a bathrobe wanting to meet a whethered veteran back from the war with Word Bearers.... only to nearly lose his life to what would turn out to be Alpha Legion 5. Guilliman fighting alongside the Custodes on the moon. The scene is described with eyes of wonderment in a way I would imagine seeing it. Anyone know what book these two scenes are from? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5416931 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Golem Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 4. Guilliman (oh how he has changed since the Heresy), in a bathrobe wanting to meet a whethered veteran back from the war with Word Bearers.... only to nearly lose his life to what would turn out to be Alpha Legion 5. Guilliman fighting alongside the Custodes on the moon. The scene is described with eyes of wonderment in a way I would imagine seeing it. Anyone know what book these two scenes are from? First one is from Unremembered Empire. Second is (I think?) The Emperors Legion. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5416937 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sons of Horus Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 When the Grey Knights charge Angron in The Emperor's Gift and particularly the moment Hyperion catches the Black Blade. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5416988 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splog Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Not quite aligned with the OP, but: Know No Fear - when it starts raining tanks Know No Fear - the backdrop of starships falling to the ground Know No Fear - After much conflict and daring-do, and all around the planet the defenders are locked in largely hopeless conflict, Server Tawren regains control of her 'beloved's' defence grid: "Server Tawren, addressing the XIII Legion Ultramarines, and all forces allied to their standard. Brace for impact. Repeat, brace for impact". The Emperor's Gift- when Bjorn shows up and tells everyone to calm the flip down. "Now. What brings you into the night sky above Fenris, and why shouldn't I break your little fleet to pieces with this castle's many, many guns?" The Lord Inquisitor straightened his back at that. 'Please name yourself sir, as I have done. Then negotiations can begin in good faith'. "Are you blind, little man? It's written on my coffin" Prince of Crows - when Sevatar 'surfs' on a fighter in a void war to get to another ship Master of Mankind - And in a sunless realm, the sun rose at last. Sigismund versus Abbadon in the Black Legion Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5417894 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxom Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 The Emperor's Gift- when Bjorn shows up and tells everyone to calm the flip down. "Now. What brings you into the night sky above Fenris, and why shouldn't I break your little fleet to pieces with this castle's many, many guns?" The Lord Inquisitor straightened his back at that. 'Please name yourself sir, as I have done. Then negotiations can begin in good faith'. "Are you blind, little man? It's written on my coffin" Every scene with Bjorn in that book made me deliriously happy and everything he says is quotable. I really enjoyed the scene in The Emperor's Legion when the Custodes POV character is comparing and contrasting how the Custodes fight compared to how Grey Knights fight. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/359271-actually-awesome/#findComment-5417904 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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