Watchers of the Throne 2: The Regent's Shadow

[b1soul]

I'd give this a solid 9.0/10 or an A-

 

Some parts in the middle with Jek and Aleya did drag just a touch for me (speechifying to some disgruntled Imperials and investigating the soul-night respectively)

 

...and I found the Reformist counter-scheme to be a bit over-the-top in its choreography, i.e. Jek being the one to relay the last-minute order to Valerian from the Excelsis Cruor

 

I think the Minotaurs were lavished with a bit too much "these guys are so violent and exude so much violence and, by the way, was it mentioned how hyper-violent they are...in case you didn't get the memo, they are really violent, possibly even more violent than some of these other guys in yellow, who are also quite violent", it got a bit tedious for me.

 

I do love most of the book and especially the ending though. How much of this all was jointly planned between Valoris and Guilliman? How "passive" is Valoris really? Valerian may have been totally misreading his Captain-General's inclinations (based on the final sentence, Valoris may be one of Guilliman's staunchest allies without revealing his cards). Also leaves a few loose ends to be used in the future. I especially look forward to Valerian's quest for the Lachrymosa in the future.

Edited April 26, 2020 by b1soul

[Ishagu]

In Conclusion:

 

 

*Spoilers, obviously* (I'm typing on a phone)

 

 

So Guilliman planned the whole thing in advance, put the people likely to rebel in positions of power so the events that transpired could take place, culminating in their elimination for sedition whilst he keeps his reputation as a noble, generous, humanitarian who wouldn't chose to execute them without significant reason. A master of political games 12 moves ahead of his rivals.

 

He facilitated their treachery to create a strong case for eliminating people who might be a problem down the line.

 

He's done similar things to this before, as an example he nominated a Custodes commander who was in strict opposition to the returned Primarch as his 2nd during the Indomnitus Crusade and beyond.

Edited April 27, 2020 by Kelborn

[Kelborn]

Well, it's not that difficult to type [ Spoiler ] etc. via phone but I'm glad that I was able to help. ;)

[Moonreaper666]

In Conclusion:

 

 

*Spoilers, obviously* (I'm typing on a phone)

 

 

So Guilliman planned the whole thing in advance, put the people likely to rebel in positions of power so the events that transpired could take place, culminating in their elimination for sedition whilst he keeps his reputation as a noble, generous, humanitarian who wouldn't chose to execute them without significant reason. A master of political games 12 moves ahead of his rivals.

 

He facilitated their treachery to create a strong case for eliminating people who might be a problem down the line.

 

He's done similar things to this before, as an example he nominated a Custodes commander who was in strict opposition to the returned Primarch as his 2nd during the Indomnitus Crusade and beyond.

I guess that shows what Guilliman inherited from the Emperor...

 

...and the Chaos Gods as they all co-created the Primarchs. It also contrast him from another organizing Primarch like Dorn or Perturabo. I think Guilliman like his father prefers Custodes over Marines

[Lucerne]

Frankly any opposition to Guilliman is welcome and sympathetic in its own right.

[Lord_Caerolion]

I mean, it almost feels like that's partly why this book was written the way it was, to show that just because Guilliman's back it doesn't mean that it's all sunshine and rainbows for the Imperium. If anything, it's just heightened the political intrigue going on within the Imperium. I imagine there's plenty of worlds out there that have Planetary Governors upset that their tithe has suddenly increased to fuel the Indomitus Crusade, a war that they don't see affecting them, so why should they help contribute?

[Carach]

fuel the Indomitus Crusade, a war that they don't see affecting them, so why should they help contribute?

 

My bro G would tell them the galaxy is literally split in two with daemons appearing at random and orks flooding through space en masse. At what point do you think a tax raise *may* be necessary?

 

god bless them its like the anti-healthcare folk in the US...

Edited April 28, 2020 by Carach

[Ascanius]

I finished listening to the audiobook today. A genuine pleasure, as always with Chris Wraight.

 

I was surprised that Tieron was replaced as a viewpoint character, but it did make sense for him to retire after the tumultuous events of The Emperor's Legion and I would think it's necessary for the narrative for the chancellor to be someone less likely, if only through relative lack of experience and connections, to have worked out the mystery.

 

I liked the performances. All the actors sounded really well suited to their respective roles. Obviously it's harder for any female actor to voice a Custodian or Space Marine, and a woman with a higher-pitched voice like the one playing Jek has more trouble, but I thought they did well. The only thing I'd like to see in future, if possible, is some agreement between the actors on how to voice the characters they share - I felt like some didn't sound the same, accent and cadence-wise, across multiple actors.

 

Really interesting plot, and I also appreciated:

 

that Chris Wraight hung a lampshade on the fact that Grand Masters of Assassins are over-represented in historical coup attempts, only to subvert that by having him indeed be of the static tendency, but convinced that the Hexarchy's approach was worse than letting Guilliman be worn down into conformity with the Imperium.

[b1soul]

I think his conclusion was that

The Hexarchy's exploitation of the Splintered was even more illegal than Guilliman's reforms.

[Knockagh]

Took me a lot longer than I would have liked to get round to reading this. Another great bit of work from CW. Again his world building and descriptions of life and the worlds of 40k are just superb. I throughly enjoyed the journey around Luna; from the shanty towns, to the hab units at the main port and the sisters mysterious headquarters I loved it all. That along with the politics of the council from Jeks standpoint are my favourite threads in the book. I hope at some stage we get separate novels focusing on Luna culture and the mysterious history of the sisters. CW does a great job showing the cracks at the heart of the imperium but the strength and weight of history and tradition. The ending feels a little rushed but I’m not complaining, great book.

[Bobss]

I'm currently rereading this book now I've got my hands on the paperback, and while this might have been mentioned before:

 

In Valerian's first chapter he mentions how Navradaran has gone missing after dropping the girls off at Terra. So that means he's basically guaranteed to show up in Vaults of Terra III to aid Crowl, right?

[b1soul]

It could mean that, dunno about guaranteed