Indomitus novel

[aa.logan]

Got the Necron LE and love it; the bright green might not be for everyone, but it totally does it for me. Same sort of feel as the Fabius LE, rather than the others, softer. Dirt magnet, mind.

 

Only read Gav’s introduction so far, and found it surprisingly refreshing that he referred to other BL books, in their different approaches to writing marines.That sort of thing really should feature more in these pieces, I’m not sure why it pleased me so much, but it did.

[Kelborn]

Bought the regular one while.picking up my Siege order.

 

Store manager said that if it continues the mood and theme of those story bits featured in the related box, then it might be quite good. Said bits seemingly have some horror flavour.

 

Gonna read that after finishing the first Gaunts Ghosts novel. Curious how it will turn out to be.

 

Sure, it will most likely be a written presentation of the new models but sometimes, there's more to such novels than meets the eye at first. ;)

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

I'm three chapters in and I will only confirm that several of the new box models are heavily featured so far.

[Umbros]

I'm about a third into this and it isn't bad, just very dull. 

[Knockagh]

This is the first 40k limited ed I haven’t bought in years, excluding mark of faith which I missed the purchase window. I did t but it because of the green / blue covers which weren’t my book look at all. But also because I thought this would be dull as dish water. These tie in releases are always like this (exception Eisenhorn). But they sell, just because. I live Gav Thorpes writing (most of the time) but it wouldn’t matter who it was this book was never going to be good.

I’ve read a couple of reviews so far none of them in any way positive.

[Tyriks]

So far the stupid tropes are much worse than the product placement.

[Shinros]

Going by the comments so far the book just looks like another basic tie in novel. Hoped for something different after soul wars. Oh well.

[kamedake88]

 Speaking as one who bought the Auidobook from Audible, it's crap. The narrator that was chosen made every character sound petulant and the plot was wholly uninteresting. I returned the book.

Edited July 27, 2020 by kamedake88

[Petitioner's City]

I have to say, I'm actually enjoying it so far, about a fifth in. I rather like the different generations of primaris, the trained officer cadre versus the experienced and overlooked veteran lieutenant. I like the rigid hierarchy that seems flawed. I loved the mutants on the chaos ship, and the lieutenant's imaginings of who they were. I like the captain is a nonce (tropic as that is). I do love that Indomitus is no longer the glory crusade it seemed to began as, and the massive losses endured by the fleet suggest the fire nature of its past.

 

It's all very heroic, but there are touches of how broken the imperium is and how awful it is - the strict and quite claustraphobic hierarchy especially (only the nonce captain has "free will"). Honestly, not a bad tie in, and I think Gav's prose is quite efficient and attractive here. It's nice that the two lieutenants are our window into the novel, although I do want some more depth and even a proper description!

[StrangerOrders]

About halfway in.

 

I'm liking the Necron bits, interesting worldbuilding and the peek in the Destroyer psyche is intriguing. Thorpe always seems to have a good hand for creativity with Xenos and I do like the politics there.

 

Now if only they were the only things in this book because the rest strips most of the merit out.

 

I hate the Space Marine part, like really hate it. It isn't that they are arrogant or strict or hierarchical. 

 

Its that is raw incompetence in regards to writing a superhuman. All the cons are there that you can recognize from the more competent writers as I listed above, but at no point do you feel like you are reading Astartes. They dont have that idea of iron will or discipline or training that you associate with Astartes and you never get the sense that they are anything more than an incompetent portrayal of a physical superhuman with the mind of a very uninteresting minor noble with no enhancements beyond the obvious. 

 

Just pure yuck. 

 

The most generous thing I can muster to say is that they remind me vaguely of Haley's take on rush-indoctrinated Iron Warriors from the Pert Primarch novel but without the self-awareness to portray exactly how faulty an example of an Astartes we are dealing with. That they are at all meant to be Ultramarines is more like a slap to the face in characterization to the last decade of building up the Thirteenth and their 40k versions than a faithful portrayal. They are rigid and reference the codex alot, but all of their strengths are just bleached.

 

The audiobook in particular is an abomination, a Necron Overlord should not sound like stereotype of a fop with an extremely irksome high-pitched voice. That can go for alot of characters since for some reason half of them a mumbling through their sentences despite the book claiming it is a speech or a shout.

 

Frankly this reads like old 40k and I mean that in the worst way. Incompetence isn't grim or dark, its just unpleasant to read in most cases.

 

I am rarely this acid but wow, this is something else. 

 

Also, the Judiciar in particular and the Lieutenant trying to suck up to him in particular had me fairly close to just dropping this altogether. 

Edited July 27, 2020 by StrangerOrders

[shandwen]

To me it feels like this novel was dropped on Gav Thorpe with a very short delivery date, so I won't blame him for the rather blandness of the book, and I'll personally blame black library... for what little that's worth.

[b1soul]

I mean...Gav's writing is pretty bland to begin with. "Serviceable" and "utilitarian" are the nicest terms I can think of. So not sure what people were expecting from him.

[Lucerne]

Petulant, drone-like Ultramarines? I might be in the rare position of liking a Thorpe novel.

[StrangerOrders]

I mean...Gav's writing is pretty bland to begin with. "Serviceable" and "utilitarian" are the nicest terms I can think of. So not sure what people were expecting from him.

I will actually stick up for him on one note funnily enough.

 

The Necron stuff is very interesting, the prose aren't great but the sheer amount of worldbuilding (especially in terms of vocabulary) is dense and interesting. 

 

Despite him not being in the book (so far at least), it actually tells you alot about who the Silent King is as a ruler and what the vague term of 'rules with an iron fist' means in this context. It also does alot to expand on Crypteks, building them slightly away from 'court wizard' and more into a sort of extremely powerful guild. 

 

Its interesting enough for me to suffer through the horrible marine writing, but thats the thing. Thorpe is a good Xenos writer and you can TELL that he cares much more in the Xenos segments.

 

Personally? The book would have been better if you sheered out the marines as PoV and had them as a faceless opponent for the Necron cast.

 

 

Petulant, drone-like Ultramarines? I might be in the rare position of liking a Thorpe novel.

Petulant yes, not Drone-Like. 

 

They come across as extremely snippy, argumentative and while the book is obsessive about noting their rigidity they are frequently insubordinate to their superiors and arrogant to their subordinates. Usually in the moments most calculated to make the character look like a moron.

 

Think less 'mean things other Legions/Chapters accuse them of' and more 'Iron Warriors with marginally less fratricide and no tech-savvy-ness'. The Captain comes across more as a particularly incompetent warsmith than even an ineffective or even something inline with the bad UM captains. He gets frightened every two seconds, is obsessed with belittling subordinates, doesn't even understand the specs of his own stuff very well and is more fixated on his career than following orders or the codex. 

 

Its weird... they literally dont resemble any cast of UMs I have ever seen beyond citing the Codex every now and then (and usually not even in clever or helpful ways).

 

I don't like the Smurfs much (ironic, given that I like Roboute himself) but this is bordering on character assassination (parody requires actually resembling the source).

Edited July 28, 2020 by StrangerOrders

[Lucerne]

 

I mean...Gav's writing is pretty bland to begin with. "Serviceable" and "utilitarian" are the nicest terms I can think of. So not sure what people were expecting from him.

I will actually stick up for him on one note funnily enough.

 

The Necron stuff is very interesting, the prose aren't great but the sheer amount of worldbuilding (especially in terms of vocabulary) is dense and interesting. 

 

Despite him not being in the book (so far at least), it actually tells you alot about who the Silent King is as a ruler and what the vague term of 'rules with an iron fist' means in this context. It also does alot to expand on Crypteks, building them slightly away from 'court wizard' and more into a sort of extremely powerful guild. 

 

Its interesting enough for me to suffer through the horrible marine writing, but thats the thing. Thorpe is a good Xenos writer and you can TELL that he cares much more in the Xenos segments.

 

Personally? The book would have been better if you sheered out the marines as PoV and had them as a faceless opponent for the Necron cast.

 

 

Petulant, drone-like Ultramarines? I might be in the rare position of liking a Thorpe novel.

Petulant yes, not Drone-Like. 

 

They come across as extremely snippy, argumentative and while the book is obsessive about noting their rigidity they are frequently insubordinate to their superiors and arrogant to their subordinates. Usually in the moments most calculated to make the character look like a moron.

 

Think less 'mean things other Legions/Chapters accuse them of' and more 'Iron Warriors with marginally less fratricide and no tech-savvy-ness'. The Captain comes across more as a particularly incompetent warsmith than even an ineffective or even something inline with the bad UM captains. He gets frightened every two seconds, is obsessed with belittling subordinates, doesn't even understand the specs of his own stuff very well and is more fixated on his career than following orders or the codex. 

 

Its weird... they literally dont resemble any cast of UMs I have ever seen beyond citing the Codex every now and then (and usually not even in clever or helpful ways).

 

I don't like the Smurfs much (ironic, given that I like Roboute himself) but this is bordering on character assassination (parody requires actually resembling the source).

 

Yeah, I have to get this now- I actually really like this take of Ultramarines as sub-standard Iron Warrior-type paranoids about ten seconds from riddling each other with bolter fire.

 

EDIT: Oh dear god the sheer passive aggressive backstabbing and glory hounding from the Ultramarines is wonderful. I love it. This is the best take on Primaris UM muppets put to text- can't wait to see how they handle the Necrons given they were about two minutes from being on the wrong end of an argument with a ship full of mutants and an obvious trap.

 

 

 

Honours that would have graced nearly any commander’s dorm, Praxa medes realised. Nothing of particular note

 

Meanwhile the Necron Lord is canonically an incompetent bungler who got his command by being related to the silent king, so this is basically the collision of  two Boreales. The captain actually tried to tell a Navigator how to do her own job.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Lucerne

[caladancid]

Its very tough to get through so far.  The Necron stuff is by far the best- and not the writing but the worldbuilding part of it.  The Ultramarines stuff is really subpar.

 

Not a very good novel, unfortunately.

[Medjugorje]

which factions are in?

[Lucerne]

which factions are in?

Ultramarines, Chaos cultists (implied to be the derp Alpha Legion In Name Only warband under Voldorius), and Necrons from the Silent King's dynasty.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Lucerne

[Deadass]

I'm in chapter three of the audiobook version at the moment. I find it to be a drag so far, and can confirm that the narrator is a poor choice for the space marine protagonists. At least the information on the new models/characters is interesting, but not really worth picking up the the book.

[Subtleknife]

Just got to the Crons bit so not far in at all. Not enjoying it as much as I have with other novels. It has failed to capture the Ultramarines as Guy Haley did. It has failed so far to evolve the recent characterisation of Ultramarines and is q step back in that regard imo. They come across as rather pernicious. The voice acting for the Crons is a very odd choice imo too. Edited July 29, 2020 by Subtleknife

[nagashnee]

50% and stopping, its just not fun. Not bad, worse then that, utterly forgettable mediocrity.

[Burni]

Thanks for the reviews. Was going to grab this as I’ve enjoyed the Dark Imperium stuff but will skip it and wait for Guy’s book in August. Edited July 30, 2020 by Burni

[malika666]

So erm...any interesting spoilers?

[DarkChaplain]

At this point, I just want to hear at least somebody giving this a positive review. I'm almost tempted to give it a try myself, just because I'm floored by the poor reception so far and feel an urge to see for myself. But with my schedule as full as it is, that's not a good idea right now, if ever.

[StrangerOrders]

At this point, I just want to hear at least somebody giving this a positive review. I'm almost tempted to give it a try myself, just because I'm floored by the poor reception so far and feel an urge to see for myself. But with my schedule as full as it is, that's not a good idea right now, if ever.

I am sure some folks will like it, especially folks wanting Necron stuff. And frankly its a... well its at least a middling read if you skip past all the Astartes stuff.

 

Granted, if Reddit has taught me anything, alot of Necron fans become furious if other factions present a threat to Necrons so I might be wrong.

 

But I think on this thread alone Penitant and AA both expressed a liking for it, I am sure they will soon post much more positive reviews!