Watchers of the Throne 2: The Regent's Shadow

[Bobss]

@ Bobss

 

"The Emperor's Legion is a highly unique book in that it starts off with the typical foundations and themes of 'old 40k' such as the Cadian meatgrinder, the Imperium barely holding back its myriad foes, the Imperial peoples drowning in parchment and heretical pyres and so on; but at the end we're firmly set in 'new 40k' with the events on Terra and Luna having occurred and the Indomitus Crusade preparing itself. Wraight managed to sew together these two settings in a way that I didn't think was possible and deserves every credit."

 

Great way of putting it. We're lucky Wraight is the guy tackling the transition from old to new

 

I shudder at some of the other possibilties

 

Yep, The Lords of Silence also does this  - from a Chaos perspective

Edited April 2, 2020 by Bobss

[Phoebus]

The Lords of Silence was such a beautifully-written story!

[Bobss]

Just finished The Regent's Shadow and thought it was excellent. Love the investigative, plans within plans and machinations that go on. Makes me very confident for the Bloodlines in the WH Crime series.

 

Really loving how Chris Wraight has carved a little niche for himself on Terra at the dawn of the Dark Imperium with the Vaults and Watchers books. Chris confirmed on Twitter there is at least one more book in each series and at least one character will crossover.

 

I'm very interested by this

 

I mean there's already been a bunch of crossovers. The most obvious is Navradaran, but several of the High Lords also count and then most recently the Imperial Fists character who was present in both The Hollow Mountain and The Regent's Shadow(I think?). Is Chris Wraight more specifically referring to Crowl, Spinoza, Revus, Valerian, Aleya and Tieron/Jek? Because that would be sick, but I'm unsure if the timelines check out. The Carrion Throne takes place before The Emperor's Legion, however The Hollow Mountain seems to take place during the immense unrest on Terra, but still before Khorne pops out of the woodwork wholesale, which is also covered by The Emperor's Legion once again. The Regent's Shadow meanwhile seems to go well beyond The Hollow Mountain and probably even Vaults of Terra III. I feel like I should draw this on a chart, but despite occurring concurrently they cover different lengths of time respectively. I hope I'm wrong though because a genuine crossover that feels natural would be supreme

[DukeLeto69]

 

 

Just finished The Regent's Shadow and thought it was excellent. Love the investigative, plans within plans and machinations that go on. Makes me very confident for the Bloodlines in the WH Crime series.

 

Really loving how Chris Wraight has carved a little niche for himself on Terra at the dawn of the Dark Imperium with the Vaults and Watchers books. Chris confirmed on Twitter there is at least one more book in each series and at least one character will crossover.

I'm very interested by this

 

I mean there's already been a bunch of crossovers. The most obvious is Navradaran, but several of the High Lords also count and then most recently the Imperial Fists character who was present in both The Hollow Mountain and The Regent's Shadow(I think?). Is Chris Wraight more specifically referring to Crowl, Spinoza, Revus, Valerian, Aleya and Tieron/Jek? Because that would be sick, but I'm unsure if the timelines check out. The Carrion Throne takes place before The Emperor's Legion, however The Hollow Mountain seems to take place during the immense unrest on Terra, but still before Khorne pops out of the woodwork wholesale, which is also covered by The Emperor's Legion once again. The Regent's Shadow meanwhile seems to go well beyond The Hollow Mountain and probably even Vaults of Terra III. I feel like I should draw this on a chart, but despite occurring concurrently they cover different lengths of time respectively. I hope I'm wrong though because a genuine crossover that feels natural would be supreme

I “chatted” with Chris on Twitter about this and we both agreed that while crossover characters are fun there is a balance to be struck otherwise you risk making the universe seem “smaller” (ie same ppl always popping up).

 

It is safer to use major “NPCs” across the books to root them into a timeframe.

[SkimaskMohawk]

 

 

Just finished The Regent's Shadow and thought it was excellent. Love the investigative, plans within plans and machinations that go on. Makes me very confident for the Bloodlines in the WH Crime series.

 

Really loving how Chris Wraight has carved a little niche for himself on Terra at the dawn of the Dark Imperium with the Vaults and Watchers books. Chris confirmed on Twitter there is at least one more book in each series and at least one character will crossover.

I'm very interested by this

 

I mean there's already been a bunch of crossovers. The most obvious is Navradaran, but several of the High Lords also count and then most recently the Imperial Fists character who was present in both The Hollow Mountain and The Regent's Shadow(I think?). Is Chris Wraight more specifically referring to Crowl, Spinoza, Revus, Valerian, Aleya and Tieron/Jek? Because that would be sick, but I'm unsure if the timelines check out. The Carrion Throne takes place before The Emperor's Legion, however The Hollow Mountain seems to take place during the immense unrest on Terra, but still before Khorne pops out of the woodwork wholesale, which is also covered by The Emperor's Legion once again. The Regent's Shadow meanwhile seems to go well beyond The Hollow Mountain and probably even Vaults of Terra III. I feel like I should draw this on a chart, but despite occurring concurrently they cover different lengths of time respectively. I hope I'm wrong though because a genuine crossover that feels natural would be supreme

the climax of Hollow Mountain has the high lord return from the session that got interrupted by the news of cadia falling. So while carrion throne takes place before, mountain takes place during emperor's legion.

Edited April 3, 2020 by SkimaskMohawk

[Sothalor]

Haessler is definitely a crossover, although not one of the central characters.

[Noserenda]

Just started the Audiobook for this but its a nice touch that they have 3 different readers for it, and Aleyas is soooo spot on.

[Sothalor]

I loved The Emperor’s Legion, and The Regent’s Shadow continues that legacy. This was so damn good. Much has already been said about Wraight’s qualities: he is the definitive master of Terra as a setting, practically a character, in the 41^st millennium. His characterizations are excellent, and his work with the High Lords and the top echelons of the Imperium is unparalleled for the worldbuilding it accomplishes – not just in its own little corner of the galaxy, but for some of the central locations and institutions of the setting. Please don’t misunderstand me here; I am in no way denigrating the likes of the Sabbat Worlds or Subsector Scarus, rather that Wraight has had the unenviable task of bringing to life iconic fixtures of the Imperium like the Senatorum of the High Lords, the inner chambers of the Imperial Palace, the halls of the Astronomican – and he nails it. Modern 40k literature would be poorer without his contributions.

 

Perhaps what I love most about The Regent’s Shadow is how it functions as a continuation from The Emperor’s Legion. In a way, The Regent’s Shadow is the most grimdark 40k novel I’ve read in a while, but it’s not because of violence or gore or screaming demon tentacles. It’s because of the themes and character arcs, of the reversals and developments from the first book. The darkness here is very human and oh-so relatable: of coming down from emotional highs to discover that those around you just don’t care that your world has changed, of finding out you should be careful of what you wish for, of going into something sure that you can handle it only to learn No, no you really can’t. Of being caught in processes and systems that will grind you down without notice, and of the lengths that people who’ve tasted power will go to in trying to hold onto it.

 

The Emperor’s Legion was one of the most… heroically triumphalist 40k novels in a while. It had great characters struggling and eventually succeeding at changing the world and circumstances around them. The ending was a sort of metaphorical victory parade, celebrating and showcasing the hard-earned victories and promises of better things to come. Like a Triumph of ancient Rome, celebrating a victorious  general’s success in a campaign. The Regent’s Shadow is the naysmith standing right behind the general saying, “Yes, but…”

 

Wraight accomplishes this not by undoing or ignoring the journeys of the characters from the first book, but by actually following through and showing the consequences in the aftermath of the greatest upheaval to hit the Imperium in nearly ten millennia. Valerian has finally come into his own as a proactive warrior, only to be starkly reminded that he is part of an order that has spent the last ten thousand years engaging as little as possible with the broader galaxy. Where it took the desperation of battling a daemonic invasion for things to click into place for him in the first book, here he runs headlong into the reality that institutional inertia is not a foe he can stab with his spear.

 

Aleya, meanwhile, after having spent The Emperor’s Legion bitter about the extent to which the Silent Sisterhood has been forgotten by the greater Imperium, finds herself and her brethren thrust into the limelight as part of Roboute Guilliman’s ongoing reforms, and it turns out maybe being forgotten is preferable to malicious attention. Her ongoing dynamic with Valerian and the tension of whether or not to trust individuals in the face of power struggles and bureaucratic churn is probably the core of her ongoing arc, and the writing here is top-notch when it comes to making an abrasive, combative character likeable.

 

Jek takes over Tieron’s part of the narrative, inheriting his mantle as both Cancellarius and narrator. This thread is the most juxtaposed/subservice in contrast to the first book, which makes sense when the two characters themselves are so different. Young and headstrong to Tieron’s old and weary, Jek’s plot thread took me through the biggest emotional roller coaster. I was actually a bit annoyed with Jek as a character for the first two-thirds of the novel or so. She came off as a mean-spirited replacement for Tieron, contemptuously dismissive of her old teacher and sure that she’ll do a much better job. But, without getting into too many spoilers, the twist and payoff with her plot works all the better for that.

 

It’s been noted that in this book the characters display less agency than in the prior one, and that’s fair. However, I think it works well here. While the protagonists have less overall agency when it comes to how things ultimately play out, they are all active, pursuing their goals and driving events forward the best they can. It’s part of the ongoing theme that they’re caught up in machinations and events far beyond their control and ability. This is the reversal from the first book, where the vast gears of power begin to turn and grind.

 

What else? I love the way Wraight does lore snippets – in-universe knowledge and tales distorted by time, fanaticism, lost sources, or misinformation. None of them feel out of place or disrupt the story either. They’re placed as pleasant little morsels for those who understand the reference to piece together on their own, not self-indulgence shoehorned in to the point of high-jacking the narrative.

It’s the same with the sort of interconnected nature of Wraight’s Terra-focused series. There’s certainly crossover of some characters and co-running events, but they stand on their own as complete, independent stories. The cross-references enrich the experience for those familiar with both, but aren’t necessary to understand and appreciate the core narratives. This is some top-notch shared universe worldbuilding.

 

All-in-all, exemplary character work and worldbuilding in a solid political thriller plot. Doubly impressive for how it builds upon the threads and themes from the first book and subverting them while continuing to draw them onwards. Do not miss this one.

 

[Red_Shift]

Just finished it and loved it. Like others, I re-read Emperors Legion before reading it. I really liked seeing Tor Garadon making an appearance.

[Noserenda]

Also just finished and loved, though i do think he missed a smaaaall trick by not having Phalanx by "this fully operational battlestation" at the end ;) 

[Izlude]

Just got the ebook and recently reread The Emperor's Legion to refresh my memory (and also a damn good book). I definitely love the Tieron stuff best as it is Terra politics at its finest. The Aleya stuff was okay and probably my least favorite arc but Chris did a gret job merging her arc with Valerian's arc. I definitely enjoyed Valerian's view being a Custodian and their interaction with the Grey Knights. Of course as a XIII whore the Guilliman's stuff was awesome.

 

So far read the first two chapters for this one and obviously quite strong. Early but Jek seems okay, definitely prefer Tieron but we'll see.  Looking forward to the rest!

Just finished it yesterday and echo what others have said. Overall it is an excellent book and does justice to the first one. I will say (probably with most books in this world) the first one was amazing and couldn't put it down. This one, I would say the beginning was great with Guilliman still on Terra and his interaction with each character. You get to see that Guilliman is a the statesman that he is. The middle was little slow and I will admit dragged on little but the new high lord stuff was good and it did set up the ending well. I thought the ending parts were quite good and throwing in that SM chapter as a unknown variable was fun and made things more interesting. The last page of the book in Valerian's section was very sweet to me and just shows that even though Guilliman is out crusading...he is more than aware of what is going on in his own way in terms of plans and whatnot. 

 

In general, I would say the book is a fantastic follow-up to the first. Jek is not nearly as engaging as her predecessor but was more likable in the end. Aleya was little less bitter and her relationship with Valerion was touching and was well written. While I think the first was better (isn't that always the case) this is still a damn good book and really puts Wraight in the forefront of the new age of the Imperium. His world-building on Terra is absolutely amazing and I can't think of anyone who has done it better. As a whole, the rift stuff is mostly exciting to me as I love Guilliman and in general he has been well written by both Guy and Wraight with their respective books. I look forward to new Primarchs to hit the scene...Lion anyone? I don't think Dorn is dead either! (the skeletal hand means nothing to me!).

 

I do think the Primaris stuff is silly and clearly more for marketing and also am I the only one who thinks the UM primaris belong on a 40k Bloodbowl team with their rather silly painting scheme? 

Edited April 13, 2020 by Izlude

[Phoebus]

If I have one complaint about Wraight’s Watchers of the Throne series, it’s this:

 

I was a huge fan of the tiny lore blurbs and the more grimdark artwork in the core rulebooks: things like “Only the insane have strength enough to prosper; only those that prosper truly judge what is sane,” depictions of the High Lords as barely human tyrants wrapped in bionic augmentations, and utterly dystopian vistas. I feel like The Vaults of Terra series captures these facets of the setting better; by contrast, the Watchers of the Throne entries, while very enjoyable, hinge on supporting characters (the High Lords, etc.) who are if not exactly relatable then at least... conventional? Not inhuman enough?

Edited April 13, 2020 by Phoebus

[Phoebus]

I’d like to expand on my last post, and I hope this isn’t too out of topic. Consider the quote I offered above, and the way the Imperium of Man wages war:

 

The kind of anachronistic, inhumanly wasteful tactics the Astra Militarum upholds as doctrine with religious fervor aren’t the product of mere ignorance. In the real world, when technological developments were introduced in the battlefield, tactics and strategy adapted to incorporate them within relatively short spans. The reason why the Imperium of Man has continued to field horse-mounted cavalry and marching infantry in mass formations to fire in volleys for more than ten thousand years isn’t because its various colonels, generals, and Lords Commander Militant are intellectually incapable of re-discovering tactics from the 20th century. Warmaster Slaydo and his protege, Lord Militant General Ibram Gaunt, of Gaunt’s Ghosts fame, are proof that officers of the Astra Militarum can recognize the problems of how they fight wars and are willing to take corrective courses. In the short story “Of Their Lives in the Ruins of Their Cities,” however, it is shown that Slaydo’s desire to reform the Imperial Guard was stymied by the High Lords of Terra. That same short story presents the problems of the Guard as being a result of them being too busy fighting wars to review its doctrine... but I would offer something different: the real problem is that the most powerful people in the Imperium are psychopathic religious fanatics with delusions regarding what they believe to be mankind’s manifest destiny. They don’t see the devastating losses the Astra Militarum routinely incurs as a result of its archaic tactics as inhumanly wasteful, but as laudable examples of the Imperium’s strength and willingness to sacrifice everything for victory. They drive a culture and ideology that ignores logic, rewards insanity, and simply doesn’t care to recognize the effect technology has on the battlefield. It’s Czarist marshals ordering conscripts to charge German machine-guns and artillery with bayonets on broomsticks. It’s Tom Cruise’s Samurai friend ordering a cavalry charge against blocks of infantrymen, cannon, and battling guns. The only difference, the people running the Imperium think those examples are good, and that their (seemingly) unending resources and religious mandate justify them running their armies thusly.

 

In short, I kind of wish we’d gotten some insight into Guilliman’s struggle to find a Slaydo in a galaxy full of the madmen described above. I wish we would’ve seen that ...

 

... Mar Av Ashariel turning on Guilliman was far more than a political setback that Guilliman could anticipate and prepare for; that not being able to find a Lord Commander Militant wiling and able to reform the Astra Militarum was one of those defeats that ultimately dooms the Imperium of Man. I wish Ashariel and his cohorts came off as something from the big rulebooks than merely Machiavellian schemers.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Phoebus

[Sandlemad]

If I have one complaint about Wraight’s Watchers of the Throne series, it’s this:

 

I was a huge fan of the tiny lore blurbs and the more grimdark artwork in the core rulebooks: things like “Only the insane have strength enough to prosper; only those that prosper truly judge what is sane,” depictions of the High Lords as barely human tyrants wrapped in bionic augmentations, and utterly dystopian vistas. I feel like The Vaults of Terra series captures these facets of the setting better; by contrast, the Watchers of the Throne entries, while very enjoyable, hinge on supporting characters (the High Lords, etc.) who are if not exactly relatable then at least... conventional? Not inhuman enough?

 

Yeah, there is a bit of a tonal difference in that regard. One has vellum-processing manufactoria and the other has Tieron explaining how the high lords are largely sane.

 

Some of it is subject matter, the astronomicon and the depths and the tunnels below the palace, but I think a lot of this can be put to the views of the protagonists. Aleya, Jek, Tieron and Valerian are all looking at things from above, even when they're looking at Terran squalor. They're not in it in the same way as Crowl and Spinoza.

[Sothalor]

Allow me to disagree with you slightly, Phoebus. I think the grimdark comes partially because the High Lords come across as reasonable in Watchers of the Throne. This is because the narrative POVs that deal most directly with them are characters immersed and inured to their methods. They're part of the system, working to perpetuate it.

 

Tieron dismisses views of the High Lords as monstrous and inhumane because of the sheer scale of what they're trying to juggle, and maybe he has a point. Tieron also makes people to fly through literal hell to bring him grapes for dinner parties.

 

In fact, you can make the case that the bulk of The Regent's Shadow plot occurs because the High Lords are irrational petty :cusss.

 

A significant chunk of the High Lords' reaction to the Indomitus Crusade is ":cuss the galaxy, I want my palace secured."

Several of them launch a straight-up coup to try to prevent reforms.

Those who aren't part of the coup nevertheless empower and manipulate cults to draw out the conspirators, condemning whole swathes of the planet to horrific violence and instability, culminating in what is essentially a false flag attack and destruction of one of the most sacred temples of the Imperial Cult. This would be like... at the risk of brushing the real world politics event horizon - if all the most extreme 9/11 truther conspiracies were true. I WILL LEAVE IT AT THAT, no other commentary is intended here one way or the other.

My point is, if you look at their actions, the High Lords are a bunch of deranged narcissists who only appear reasonable because everybody involved exists in a ludicrously over-the-top gothic space fantasy dystopia.

[Lord_Caerolion]

Just remember, we don't see too much of the High Lords in action, and the one person calling them sane has spent his entire life on Terra, acting as their functionary. He's not exactly an unbiased source, when his judgement for sane/insane has developed from a life lived within those very halls.

[b1soul]

I don't think the Imperium could survive for ten thousand years under completely maniacal and irrational leadership.

 

The sweet spot of Grimdark, lying somewhere between Grimderp and Noblebright, is, to me, a mixture of...

 

1. highly practical and rational utilitarianism (from the perspective of species survival)

2. genuine religious fanatacism

3. religious cynicism, i.e. exploiting religion as a tool of controlling the unsophisticated masses

4. personal/institutional corruption and selfishness and egotism

5. incompetence of certain leaders who did not earn their positions through merit

 

The humourous trope that the Imperium's MO is to blindly throw around and waste massive resources is just that...a humourous, satirical theme more present during the early days of 40K, when 40K took itself a lot less seriously and read more like a full-blown satire. The tone was very different back then.

[Phoebus]

Allow me to disagree with you slightly, Phoebus. I think the grimdark comes partially because the High Lords come across as reasonable in Watchers of the Throne. This is because the narrative POVs that deal most directly with them are characters immersed and inured to their methods. They're part of the system, working to perpetuate it.

 

Tieron dismisses views of the High Lords as monstrous and inhumane because of the sheer scale of what they're trying to juggle, and maybe he has a point. Tieron also makes people to fly through literal hell to bring him grapes for dinner parties.

 

In fact, you can make the case that the bulk of The Regent's Shadow plot occurs because the High Lords are irrational petty :cusss.

 

A significant chunk of the High Lords' reaction to the Indomitus Crusade is ":cuss the galaxy, I want my palace secured."

 

Several of them launch a straight-up coup to try to prevent reforms.

 

Those who aren't part of the coup nevertheless empower and manipulate cults to draw out the conspirators, condemning whole swathes of the planet to horrific violence and instability, culminating in what is essentially a false flag attack and destruction of one of the most sacred temples of the Imperial Cult. This would be like... at the risk of brushing the real world politics event horizon - if all the most extreme 9/11 truther conspiracies were true. I WILL LEAVE IT AT THAT, no other commentary is intended here one way or the other.

 

My point is, if you look at their actions, the High Lords are a bunch of deranged narcissists who only appear reasonable because everybody involved exists in a ludicrously over-the-top gothic space fantasy dystopia.

Just remember, we don't see too much of the High Lords in action, and the one person calling them sane has spent his entire life on Terra, acting as their functionary. He's not exactly an unbiased source, when his judgement for sane/insane has developed from a life lived within those very halls.

I understand the points the two of you are making, but I’m talking about something different. My complaint isn’t that the High Lords aren’t depicted as ruthless enough. It’s that the way they are shown to be ruthless (and selfish, short-sighted, callous, cynical, etc.) is not discernibly different from overlords in any other setting. The scale of their cruelty is apropos but their approach is — in my humble opinion — not reflective of the “signature themes” of the 42nd Millennium.

 

I don't think the Imperium could survive for ten thousand years under completely maniacal and irrational leadership.

The sweet spot of Grimdark, lying somewhere between Grimderp and Noblebright, is, to me, a mixture of...

...

The humourous trope that the Imperium's MO is to blindly throw around and waste massive resources is just that...a humourous, satirical theme more present during the early days of 40K, when 40K took itself a lot less seriously and read more like a full-blown satire. The tone was very different back then.

Everyone is of course entitled to their own view.

 

My perspective is that the dystopian, fanatical, irrational, self-destructive Imperium of Man survives because — as some authors have offered in their stories — of sheer inertia and the state of the dying galaxy it exists in. An all-powerful Emperor led armies of unmatchable might to conquer a galaxy that had been fractured and thrown into darkness. The Horus Heresy had crippled his Imperium in every way that mattered, but the war machine that made galactic conquest possible still existed, and so did the will to use it. I agree that the way the Imperium post-Emperor was described in a satirical manner 30 years ago, but I don’t think that’s the intent now. Now, I think it’s meant to be a horrible tragedy wherein a million worlds bleed to maintain a dying empire whose lords simply do not care about minutiae like “technological shortcomings” in the numberless armies that are tithed to them, whose endless deaths in unending conflicts is seen as a virtuous sacrifice to an omnipotent deity.

 

Again, I get that this isn’t represented in every Black Library author’s works, or even every reader’s cup of tea. It’s nonetheless something I wish Wraight had drawn more from.

[Noserenda]

I think you may be looking at the "Imperial Guard" as a monolithic block when its anything but, its a million militaries welded together with every conceivable military organisation within its ranks, just like everything in 40k. Which is why its so fractional and wasteful, what does a General who spent his entire career leading feral world savages know about armour warfare? Similarly a Colonel from an Artillery regiment based on 20th century Swedish artillery doctrine is going to have problems with one based on ancient Korea even if they are both serving Basilisks. The whole things is roughly held together by the Scholam officers, munitorium and Commisariat but even they are about as unified as a game of pass the parcel :D 

All of which is arguably Guillimans fault ofc when he broke down the Imperial army to stop anyone having too much power he inherently made combined arms harder even as he made the munitoriums job easier, which over 10k years gives us an army that kind of uses men like bullets as literally the only thing that works on a galactic scale even before you get the inherent problems with bad, mad, political or simply out of touch staff officers that are inevitable in any large organisation. 

So yeah, id actually be interested to see what Guilliman makes of the modern Astra Militarum, we know he regrets his reforms of the Marines to some extent at least.

[Phoebus]

We’re talking about two different things, though. You’re describing something a problem that occurs within the Imperium: armies from a million different planets with varying levels of technology coming together in an awkward mashup that inevitably suffers from tactical and strategic problems. I’m focused on how the leaders of said Imperium view this problem.

[Noserenda]

The Leaders are part of the problem though, theyve spent their whole lives doing things their (planets) way, have seen success and been heavily promoted because of it all while not being heroic enough to die on the front lines or unlucky enough to get caught up with basically any of the major enemies of the Imperium where you would either die or get mindwiped. 

That system is inherently going to self select folks who are primarily conservative types and who are generally convinced their way of doing things is right and highly successful, all butting heads with their peers from other planets/doctrines/branches which makes meaningful reform basically impossible at an Imperial level, even before you get into the madness of implementing it. 

I mean this book is a great example of that in the greater Imperium, even a Primarch who pulled a legion out of his contingency pocket is having struggles and major rebellions. let alone any human :) 

[StrangerOrders]

Well, just look at real life politics. Especially medieval politics.

 

Differing command chains tend to look for any and every opportunity to assert their independence, tear down other institutions and influence them. Consider Church and State in Europe, the armed monks in Sengoku Japan, the bureaucracies of imperial china. These systems tend to breed suicidally poor cooperation.

 

The Imperium has had that for ten millennia with only a conveniently absent head of state to answer to. Heck, the book literally calls them 'fiefs.'

 

Its no wonder they behave poorly when some guy turns up out of myth and isnt conveniently dead to use as a sock-puppet.

 

Moreso when he is armed, certified, your own base is in shambles and he pulls a legion out of his butt while commanding the auto loyalty of the bulk of your ultra-murder monastaries (Chapters).

 

Imagine if Jesus suddenly burst into the Holy Roman Empire in the 1500s? The Religious War might come to a halt within a few minutes as every king and religious leader turns their attention to knifing him, only for him to pull an angelic host out of his rear. They'd likely be a touch irked.

[Phoebus]

The Leaders are part of the problem though, ...

Again, I’m not saying the leaders are not part of the problem. I’m talking about the stylistic representation of said leaders in prose.

 

Well, just look at real life politics. Especially medieval politics.

I understand your point, but — with respect — it’s not relevant to mine. I’m not opposed to the actions Wraight had his High Lords take in this novel, or of them being opposed to Guilliman in general. I simply want it to read more like people from this environment staged said coup than this guy or that guy.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Phoebus

[Roomsky]

Watchers of the Throne: The Regent's Shadow

 

Holy :cuss. Holy :cuss.

 

I'm a fan of Wraight as much as the next guy, but this blows most of his body of work away. The characters? Excellent. The plotting? Flawless. The quality of Wraighting? write's usual high standard. This is a home run in all categories.

 

I'll keep sounding like a broken record until I stop being astounded at how much legwork Black Library has done for the 8th edition lore. A badly connected series of marketing gimmicks that arguably completely misunderstand what makes the setting special have been warped into a proper step forward that feels right at home. Case and point, Wraight expands barely present lipservice to dissent under Guilliman's rule into an excellent political thriller featuring all the doom and gloom endemic to 40k.

 

As I have said, the plotting is magnificent. From start to finish Wraight keeps you on your toes; twists abound and the stakes feel real because the goal won't necessarily overturn anything already established in canon. The conspirators aren't out to murder Guilliman, they're simply enemies of the progress he represents. This serves the dual purpose of keeping the setting firmly full of the hidebound monsters it is so known for, while at the same time making the antagonists normal Imperial officials you still want to see taken down a peg. I'm not at all a fan of bringing Guilliman back, but if focus continues to be on his going against the grain and the Imperium murderously opposing him every step of the way, its far more enjoyable. 

 

The cast is great, even better than in The Emperor's Legion. Jek is just as enjoyable as Teiron, adding a new dynamic of someone who knows the job but isn't nearly as adept. Aleya is much more likable here, as the focus of her POV focuses more on constructive personal challenge rather than how much she hates everything and everyone. I didn't realize how much I had grown to like her until the attack on the Somnus Citadel, where I found myself surprisingly offended. Valerion is a treat as ever, with Wraight being the current champion of Custodes fiction. He did strike me as a bit more oblivious this time round, which I'm not complaining about as it makes him stand out all the more. That said, I'm not sure if it was intentional or accidental flanderization.

 

There is only as much action here as there needs to be, and that is such a breath of fresh air for Black Library. In a sea of good stories held back by obligatory fightan, and novels that have completely forgone story for the sake of fightan. It's all machinations and plots, investigations and reflection. When the action does pop up, it's always meaningful; the threat of violence actually builds tension here, rather than being a simple inevitability. 

 

Speaking of violence, as an aside I love the Minotaurs. The High Lords' personal chapter and hit-squad is beautifully 40k, and I'm always here for more loyalists that border on the insane. For all that marines get variously described as bordering on explosive violence, it was at its most believable here.

 

It's honestly difficult for me to give the detail I want to this review, or to give it a proper structure. Everything about this book is great, and you should honestly just go read it. As always, we aren't quite at total perfection: I agree with Phoebus' point that the High Lords are perhaps too reasonable, and the lack of agency in the protagonists will rub some the wrong way. That said, I don't believe either of these points are a true negative, and most media have the potential to be done better in some way. With that in mind, this book borders on the flawless.

 

TL:DR - Read this book

10/10

[bluntblade]

Well, I know what I'll be reading in the garden as soon as it warms up enough. Edited April 19, 2020 by bluntblade