helwinters gate: new space wolf novel announced

[Knockagh]

I bought this for my wife to give me at Christmas! But honestly the books are probably my least favourite of Wraights. Reading his interview on track of words doesn’t make me think this will be any different. However CW is a master of his art so he can do better than the first two so who knows this could be a belter. Sadly I split coffee on my new Ravenor while hitting refresh. Furious

[Grey Angel]

And it’s gone! Was able to get my copy!

[aa.logan]

Though speaking of Twitter, Chris has posted a link to Stormcaller from BL

 

[link]https://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/stormcaller-ebook.html?basket_add=1&basket_item=7866[/link]

[Nineswords]

I think I'll wait until next year. I'm hoping BL release all three as a trilogy in hardback and I'll get all three then.

[cheywood]

Though speaking of Twitter, Chris has posted a link to Stormcaller from BL

 

[link]https://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/novels/stormcaller-ebook.html?basket_add=1&basket_item=7866[/link]

I went through the same thing a month or two back. Book’s impossible to find on the BL site but pops right up on google.

[Bobss]

I think I'll wait until next year. I'm hoping BL release all three as a trilogy in hardback and I'll get all three then.

 

There will inevitably be a paperback omnibus edition at some point, but given BL's publication style, I fully expect a hardback for each title to drop with the regular hardback release sometime next year

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

It's up now for the US.

[Iron Sapper]

I have one in my cart but I'm having a hard time justifying $150.00. 

 

Sold out in US now and already on Ebay for $250.00.

Edited December 12, 2020 by Iron Sapper

[HvitrValdyr]

Just finished re-reading Blood of Asaheim and Stormcaller in preparation for this set. This time around I recognized that Ingvar’s sword Dausvjer appeared in Battle of the Fang. I’m quite excited to see the data sheet for Jarnhamar pack, mostly because I’m going to make models for them. Edited December 17, 2020 by HvitrValdyr

[aa.logan]

I too re-read them in anticipation of the release, and thourghly enjoyed the experience- I’d forgotten how much *fun* they were.

 

Was super stoked to receive the dispatch notification, only to have my hopes cruelly dashed to see that I’m not getting it until Tuesday.

[Knockagh]

Mine came today. Intercepted by the kids so I’ve not seen it

[HvitrValdyr]

Mine hasn’t even shipped yet. Not expecting it til after Christmas.

[Guest Triszin]

Mine hasn’t even shipped yet. Not expecting it til after Christmas.

Same boat here

[DarkChaplain]

I'm honestly baffled that after all these years, BL is still consistently screwing up limited edition dispatch schedules so badly. Even boardgame kickstarters have been more organized about shipping much larger quantities globally from various transport hubs. You can't tell me that BL/GW can't manage to properly ship products on time. And this ain't a covid-issue either - this has been happening for years.

[aa.logan]

I have my copy now, which, in their defence, is the latest I’ve received a BL special edition, and I’ve ordered a fair few in my time...

 

It’s as lovely as we’ve come to expect- the book itself is hefty- 300+ pages with a short at the end (don’t recall hearing about that), the forward is ok but doesn’t really reveal all that much- the book is set pre-rift as Wraight feels that’s where the characters belong, but doesn’t rule out revisiting them; he felt he didn’t really ‘get’ marines in the first two, but now has a better handle on writing 40k.

 

Shamefully, it was maybe the dice and coaster that really pushed me to this edition- the dice are printed rather than engraved, but the bag for them is pretty nice. The coaster is beefy- heavy pewter and a really nice object. The bookmark is meh, the badge lovely.

 

Flicking through the saga, it seems to be a really nice book, not quite the LE quality in terms of paper, but the illustrations are absolutely GORGEOUS, not going to read until I’ve finished for fear of spoilers.

 

As with the previous mega editions, the box is bigger than it needs to be, but is nice enough- no printed quote on the outside, unlike previous years though.

 

The prelude is good, and seems to be

Sisters attacking Fenris

[aa.logan]

In the introduction, Wraight talks about the limits of his writing in the earlier parts of his career. Chain-Reading the trilogy really highlights how he’s come on- whilst not *bad*, Blood of Asaheim is clearly written by a less confident and developed author than The Helwinter Gate. It’s hard for me to quantify, but in this he is writing from more viewpoints and has a more developed authorial voice. There’s the details thrown into text that subtly build the depth of the universe that we’ve come to expect from Wraight, but that are absent or less frequent in his earlier works. Having established the key characters, he’s happy to have them hang back- it’s not until fifty or so pages in that we get a wall of ‘Previously in Jarnhammar...’ exposition, and based on what I’ve read so far having read the previous instalments isn’t as essential as it was for Stormcaller.

[b1soul]

I think Wraight has been pretty stellar since Battle of the Fang and Wrath of Iron...and has only gotten even better since

[aa.logan]

I think Wraight has been pretty stellar since Battle of the Fang and Wrath of Iron...and has only gotten even better since

Totally agree, but reading these early and most recent works in quick succession has thrown his progress in very sharp relief.

 

Anyway, 2/3 of the way in, and can confirm that The Helwinter Gate is

“Cadia, the fortress at the world’s end”

[Taliesin]

Eager to ready your full review with some info on what the story is about :)

[aa.logan]

This isn’t one of those 40k books that explores a long-neglected faction, breathing life into them in ways one didn’t see coming, nor is it one of the almost philosophical treatises on the nature of power and humanity that BL throws up occasionally. Wraight has been responsible for more than his share of both of these books, but The Helwinter Gate is about Space Wolves- perhaps the Space Marines who feature in more books than any others. Instead, we have an always very capable author who has grown in ability and confidence returning to one of his earliest characters taking them on a very enjoyable and rewarding ride. There are no massive lore revelations, though plenty of tidbits are scattered to flesh out even the most fleeting of background characters, and it didn’t drive me to reflect on the nature of life, though it did pack some emotional heft.

Though the conclusion of a trilogy, The Helwinter Gate works well enough as a stand-alone novel. It’s narrative is pretty straightforward, the Wolves are on a mission of vengeance and are also seeking to clear their names and the action scenes are frequent and well-written. The location-hopping helps keep things fresh and ensures it is a pacy book. Wraight adds his now-customary details that add a disproportionate depth to the story, and does some interesting things retelling the same events from different perspectives.

If you own one of the other 1,249 mega-editions of this, well done- it’s a lovely object. If you didn’t/couldn’t get one, don’t feel too bad- you’ve waited this long for the series to end, and while this is good, it’s not *that* good.

So the spoilers. Not the whole book, but basic broad strokes-

• It begins a couple of years after Stormcaller
• The first ⅔ of the book are the pack hunting the Fulcrum. They stage non-lethal raids on ships to gather information but are very much operating outside of the chapter- they’ve had to steal a ship off of a pirate and, like First Claw, are operating with a minimum of arms and armaments.
• They feed the information they gather to Klaive, the Confessor who they’re still holding captive. I was expecting him, to be a mastermind and the power behind the Cardinal from book 2. Turns out he wasn’t.
• But they do manage to locate the Fulcrum to a mining world. On the way there their astropath has troubles. im assuming these are Great Rift Related.
• We find out that the Fulcrum is just one man, a Cardinal who has been appropriating forces to wage war on the Wolves- the Ecclesiarchy have sent forces to kill him.
• He grandstands and gloats, explaining his diabolical scheme- he led the War of Fools on Fenris. Short-lived attempt to impose stricter standards on Fenris. Quickly defeated, but the names of all pack-leaders were collected and eventually assassinated in revenge, often with his own private army. The bad Cardinal dies.
• The pack assume that the next (and last) target of the Fulcrum is going to be Ragnar, even though he wasn’t involved.
• They set off to find him, on Cadia. The warp Passage is surprisingly east dues to the vast number of vessels on their way there- travelling in their wake is smooth, apparently. Jarhamar land, and then fight their way to him, losing the Old Dog, and make it just as he’s attacked by turncoat super-soldiers. They save him. Huzzah!
• Baldr. Lots happens to him. He’s attacked by a passing Chaos marine who tells him about Magnus’ attack of Fenris. Warp visions direct him to the fact that Ragnar is on Cadia. The pylons initially suppress his psychic powers but they diminish as he moves from them. Eldrad sends an Eldar to release him from his suppressing collar. It’s only with his powers that they make it to Ragnar. Rather than face Njal and whatever he has in store for him, he chooses to stay and fight on Cadia after the evacuation.
• 2020 was obviously the year for squeezing marines on desperate rescue missions into Tauroxes, for this happens again here.
• The pack are welcomed back into the chapter, kind of- Ragnar gives them a new ship, but suggests they avoid Njall.

Edited December 22, 2020 by aa.logan

[aa.logan]

Ok, so I’ve just read the exclusive(?) short story, Cargo.

 

I know I’m prone to hyperbole, but it may be worth (some of) the price of admission alone.

 

It’s one of those excellent shorts that completely nail the feel of 40k, conveying more about the setting in 20-odd pages than some fulllength novels.

 

If/when it gets released as an e-short, everyone must buy it...

 

it’s the story of how Jorundur’s body is recovered from behind enemy lines. Such a simple concept, and considering the importance of gene seed recovery, one that I’m astounded I’ve not read before.

 

We see the various Cadian soldiers involved in it's rescue, and the sacrifices they make. Perhaps more than anything else I’ve read before it conveys the importance of Astartes, their scarcity and the mentality required of their fighting forces. It’s great.

 

[Kelborn]

So did I get it right that

Both Jorundur and Baldr die?

[aa.logan]

Baldr dies off-screen as it were. He might have survived Cadia exploding. So possibly not.

[Knockagh]

Got this today. Lovely set but the foiling on the book itself is terrible. The crest which isn’t in foil is lovely but the foiled border at the top and bottom just looks like a silver line. The detail is lost in poor printing. Also got crusade, man it’s small and folio society Dune (beautiful)

[aa.logan]

Got this today. Lovely set but the foiling on the book itself is terrible. The crest which isn’t in foil is lovely but the foiled border at the top and bottom just looks like a silver line. The detail is lost in poor printing. Also got crusade, man it’s small and folio society Dune (beautiful)

The foil print is often a weak part of BL printing, My copy of Corax has none at all. Shelving The Helwinter Gate I also noticed that the box isn’t quite as ‘deluxe’ as previous ones- no flap opening, just a hinge, and not quite as thick, but it’s still nice.

 

The saga book is a lovely object- presumably it’ll become a WD article in the future. The illustrations are perhaps the best part, the depictions of daemons in particular. The text itself is a pleasant curio, but nothing groundbreaking.

 

I’ve been musing further on some things in the book, notably the role of the Wolves in the wider Imperium...

 

Ingvar, when reflecting on his time in the Deathwatch, considers what the Wolves and Russ himself are for. He doesn’t go down the ‘executioner’ route, instead explores their potential as morale-boosters, more relatable than other chapters and the sort to encourage mortals to fight harder and follow the example of; in the fighting for Cadia later in the book, this is put into practice.

 

Did the Emperor intend them to inspire his forces as much as cow his enemies?