Dawn of Fire - the series

[Lucerne]

Great, so much for Guilliman's nonsense being handled as it deserves in narrative.

 

Well, at least it can't be less coherent than the Siege or Beast.

Edited May 23, 2020 by Lucerne

[Noserenda]

I like that they're going back to fill in gaps. Space Marine Conquests was supposedly doing that, but in my opinion, beyond The Devastation of Baal, it failed doing that. And that was a Haley novel, too. Having a proper series to cover the Indomitus timeline with its century of events is a good thing, especially considering how much stuff was relegated to Codex and rulebook footnotes since 8th launched. There are too many unused hooks for stories there to just skip ahead.

 

Then, it also makes sense to me to do it now, rather than up til now. I'd wager that 9th will be bumping the timeline forwards again, so authors also know which parts to explore and feed into the new advancements, campaigns and upcoming Codex revisions. This could easily lead to new trilogies starting with Indomitus-era openers, Psychic Awakening middle pieces and finishers firmly set in contemporary 9th/Codex timeframes.

Thinking about it that also makes a lot of sense for scheduling too, they dont have to tell BL authors anything ground breaking and theres a growing wealth of fluff for them to draw on rather than some sketchy outlines and hope the studio doesn't switch direction or the author miss ten deadlines and delay the book outside its tie in window. 

 

Which is also why i guess they have Haley on board, worst case and one of his authors flakes and he can do the book instead :D 

[cheywood]

I'll just add here that I like Nick Kyme's writing. He has a clear and readable style. I've only read his 30k work, so I can't comment on everything he has written, but I like Vulkan Lives, his Aeonid Thiel audiodramas, and I am currently enjoying Deathfire. He linked up well with Dan Abnett in writing them.

 

He is also a highly regarded editor at BL, so his involvement is a plus. Hopefully BL have learned lessons from TBA and DoF will be a lot smoother.

 

I can't see Dan Abnett, ADB or Chris Wraight being involved, and I guess Josh Reynolds is out, but BL has a growing stable of highly competent authors for Haley and Kyme to call on (Justin D Hill, Mike Brooks, Rachel Harrison, David Annandale, Alec Worley, Ian St Martin, Nick Horth, Gav Thorpe). There are also some of the newer Inferno! authors I have enjoyed too, like Thomas Parrott and Robert Rath.

I don’t know about ADB given his writing speed and extant projects, but I’d say Wraight and Abnett both have a decent chance of being involved. They write quickly enough that a book or two from each of them seems plausible depending on how long the series ends up being.

 

Edit: on the other hand this might just be wishful thinking on my part, imagining hopes as likelihoods.

Edited May 24, 2020 by cheywood

[b1soul]

I think French, Wraight, and Abnett will have a chance to get involved or I am not going to be very interested in this. ADB might not want to get involved.

 

Still want a Dark Imperium III, though some series have stalled at two entries (not because they wouldn't sell)...

 

Wraight's SW

ADB's Black Legion

Horusian Wars

 

Eisenhorn vs. Ravenor has stalled at one

[Roomsky]

I recall Guymer mentioning he's interested in Indomitus and beyond for the Iron Hands, he should finish bloody Sapphire King first, but I wouldn't complain if he pitched in. I'm just pretending Lord of the First didn't happen.

 

I wasn't thrilled with Of Honour and Iron, but given a more interesting subject matter I'm sure St. Martin could bring some good stuff to the table. Even if we don't get the usual suspects for quality work, who knows what Harrison, Hill, Brooks, etc. might produce if they pitch in. 

 

I maintain it's going to be bizarre, at least from Haley, as far as timelines go. I have a feeling the debate over whether you should recommend someone read Dawn of Fire or Dark Imperium first will rage forever.

 

I would spit my drink if Fehervari is even remotely involved.

[DukeLeto69]

Interesting...

 

1) Glad they are doing a series to fill in the huge lore gap.

2) Hope this isn’t a return to the dark days of GW studio exerting too much direct control over BL (there is room for direct game tie in AND stories in the wider setting)

3) Seeing noise ppl don’t like the new 40k logo. I quite like it. Feels more militaristic.

4) That book cover is dreadful and doesn’t feel like 40k to me. Star Wars maybe?

5) Guy Haley feels the right author as he has done a lot in the “new” setting.

6) Personally I do NOT want Abnett, ADB, Wraight or French involved:

- Abnett needs to write Penitent, Pandemonium, Interceptor City, Titanicus follow on, next GG arc and last SoT book!

- ADB needs to write Black Legion books 3-n, Spear of the Emperor book 2, SoT book n.

- Wraight should focus efforts on Vaults 3, Watchers 3, SoT book n, WH Crime.

- French should write third Horusian Wars book! Would like to see him do some WH Crime too.

7) There is NO WAY on this God Emperor’s earth that Fehervari will get involved. He is THE LEAST “tie in” of all these tie in fiction authors. He wants to plough his own furrow and I cannot see him wanting, let alone being asked, to get involved!

8) I reckon the authors we will see involved are (in no order) Hill, Brooks, Guymer, Harrison, Clark, possibly Thorpe and some of the newer crop like Parrott, Stearns etc

9) I doubt Annandale will get involved as he will want to focus on WH Horror (if this line continues - hopefully)

Edited May 24, 2020 by DukeLeto69

[Perry]

Guy Haley is the right man for the job. He produces good solid books at a reasonable pace. Notice the number on the spine? I expect a Beast style series for this project.

 

I'm hoping for a new adventure with each book tied up in some wider narrative, giving each author the chance to introduce new foes and challenges to keep the series fresh.

[b1soul]

Guy is fine as the authour handling the opener

 

I hope others get involved too. Good chance they do, other than ADB, due to his personal preferences (I don't think he likes macro story arcs of this sort) and slower pace at writing (he takes very long to produce one excellent novel as opposed to churning out multiple OK ones)

[Felix Antipodes]

Don't know why, but I have a feeling Haley's DI novels will return to catalogue as part of this series.

[DukeLeto69]

Don't know why, but I have a feeling Haley's DI novels will return to catalogue as part of this series.

I think you are right.

 

As DI and PW are set at the end/immediately after the Indomitus Crusade then I too expect them to be packaged and book 3 added as the climax to the Dawn of Fire series.

 

Both books have been removed from website/to order and when asked why Guy Haley said the reason was cool/exciting.

[Kelborn]

I mean, it does make sense to end the series with the DI trilogy but...

 

It still got a touch of laziness, imho.

[Fedor]

Hopefully this is the start of a long journey to the destination we all want to see....guilliman rejecting the Emperor and eventually going renegade with Ultramar.

Edited May 24, 2020 by Fedor

[Bobss]

So this sounds like another Beast Arises-type project, but part of me is hoping this is Guy Haley turning Guilliman's Return into his own sandbox (ooga sandbox good; linear multi-author series bad booga), then proceeding to let a bunch of other authors play in it. Sort of like Dan Abnett did with the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, or how ADB has fleshed out the Legion Wars so well in the space of two novels that a bunch of authors could quite easily write a few short stories in it

 

From a meta perspective this is clearly going to be a companion series acting as the backdrop for the newest edition of the game, but from my own perspective this is either going to be the same dross we've seen before or something actually pretty new and interesting

 

Buuut I probably won't pick it up. I don't like Biglymarines at the best of times, and prefer the more nuanced take on post-Fall of Cadia lore in things like The Regent's Shadow and Spear of the Emperor. So if it's your kind of thing, then gobble it up and enjoy it, but I'll be sat here waiting for other things

Edited May 24, 2020 by Bobss

[b1soul]

So if DoF is a long-running series leading to DI, the finale of DI and DI: PW will probably be released...five to ten years from now?

[Bobss]

I'm actually pretty impressed by that Warhammer Community article, really. It's well presented, there's a great sense of energy and forward-thinking from the design team(s) and all of this stuff seems pretty organised and will definitely appeal to a big swathe of the audience, from hobbyists to those who gobble up anything Guy Haley and Dark Imperium

 

Like, I'm not remotely interested in any of it or the direction 40k has been going in for a number of years now, and I'm pretty sure my interest in 40k won't live out this decade, but it's very refreshing to see this kind of thing compared to how the company was operating in and around the introduction of Age of Sigmar/Anthologies Without End. So well done 

[Knockagh]

Like, I'm not remotely interested in any of it or the direction 40k has been going in for a number of years now, and I'm pretty sure my interest in 40k won't live out this decade, but it's very refreshing to see this kind of thing compared to how the company was operating in and around the introduction of Age of Sigmar/Anthologies Without End. So well done

But you joined a 40k forum in the last few weeks and comment on BL stuff all the time??? I’m, like, confused?

[Bobss]

 

Like, I'm not remotely interested in any of it or the direction 40k has been going in for a number of years now, and I'm pretty sure my interest in 40k won't live out this decade, but it's very refreshing to see this kind of thing compared to how the company was operating in and around the introduction of Age of Sigmar/Anthologies Without End. So well done

But you joined a 40k forum in the last few weeks and comment on BL stuff all the time??? I’m, like, confused?

 

 

Don't see the confusion here mate, BL are still pumping out stuff here and there that I enjoy, and I've absolutely adored this hobby since 2003, but things have been going in a direction that I'm uninterested in for years now, and I know eventually I will be at a point where I'm reading Black Legion book #7 and that's about it. I'm not hating the changes or begrudging people for enjoying the new stuff, in fact I'm sort of happy that people find enjoyment in things I don't, but I know what I like and what I don't like

 

As for the forum thing, I was on Warseer 2006-2008, Heresy Online 2008-2014, took a break, did the /tg/ and Reddit wombo combo in 2018-2020, then came here after seeing some strong discussion from the active community of fraters

Edited May 25, 2020 by Bobss

[DarkChaplain]

 

I know eventually I will be at a point where I'm reading Black Legion book #7

 

 

Pretty optimistic there, aren't you? I'm not sure ADB will want to still be writing tie-in fiction by the time 2050 rolls about and he has grandkids.

[Bobss]

 

 

I know eventually I will be at a point where I'm reading Black Legion book #7

 

 

Pretty optimistic there, aren't you? I'm not sure ADB will want to still be writing tie-in fiction by the time 2050 rolls about and he has grandkids.

 

 

Yeah, but the invasion of Commorragh in 2039 was lit. Who would've seen that Cyrene/Lady Malys twist coming...?

[byrd9999]

Interesting...

 

7) There is NO WAY on this God Emperor’s earth that Fehervari will get involved. He is THE LEAST “tie in” of all these tie in fiction authors. He wants to plough his own furrow and I cannot see him wanting, let alone being asked, to get involved!

 

Actually, the only way I would want Peter Fehervari to be involved is if BL said to him, "do whatever it is you do, that Dark Coil thingy, but in the post-Cicatrix Maledictum era, yeah?"

 

And then he could write more of his stuff, but it's just nominally tied-in to the Dawn of Fire series for the sales boost.

 

As someone else said earlier, he is too good at writing what he wants to write, to waste his time and release schedule slot doing something else :)

[cheywood]

There’s a shot of half of the back of the book on the new 40k website. It’s extremely blurry, but one can glean a few plot details. It’s the start of the Indomitus Crusade, humanity’s going to take back what they’ve lost, it’s for the salvation of mankind. Boilerplate stuff for the start of a series billed as similar to the heresy in scope. More specifically it seems Guilliman is headed to fight chaos at a place called the Macharia Sound [sic?] and there’s a desperate mission, possibly lead by a Primaris lieutenant named Metanus, Meitnus, Meianus or Mbtabus involved (likely the dude on the cover?) Whatever his name is it starts with m and ends with s.

 

I assume most everyone here has seen the website but if not: https://warhammer40000.com/

Edited May 26, 2020 by cheywood

[Red_Shift]

I'm a little bit nervous of a new series as I feel like they can be a big investment as a reader and I'm not immediately hooked by the concept. New novels by Haley set in the current era I am a fan of though, I am eagerly awaiting the conclusion to his Dark Imperium trilogy and I really enjoyed The Great Work.

 

I think the cover is pretty poor, it looks like a romance novel to me and I'm fairly sure some of my wife's Poldark books have the same kind of composition.

 

I'm slightly more worried that with the heresy conclusion on going this is a push from GW marketing and will quietly be forgotten once the new edition of 40k is old news.

 

It might have been better to conclude plague wars and then sell this series with a new hook, examples that spring to mind are Cawl investigating rumours of the Men or Iron or Guilliman looking for his primarch brothers. Not necessarily a plot device that will result in a ground breaking conclusion but something that would draw me in more than 'idea for a for a novel. Primaris space marines go to a planet and... fight there'.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Red_Shift

[DarkChaplain]

But.... all of those things are possible under Dawn of Fire? It's an Indomitus series, and I doubt it'll remain solely with the Ultramarines and Guilliman either. It's a Crusade, it's going places, meeting people.

[Knockagh]

I think the cover is pretty poor, it looks like a romance novel to me and I'm fairly sure some of my wife's Poldark books have the same kind of composition.

 

.

I knew it was familiar! Are we thinking that this will get a limited cover to go along with the big release?

[b1soul]

Composed like Poldark book covers? You be the judge!