Upcoming BL Stuff - 2023

[cheywood]

Looks Imperial Navy focused more than Sisters or Marines. That would fit with Wraight’s last Twitter profile pic before he left the platform. Whatever the subject matter I’m just excited for Dawn of Fire to finally have some quality prose. 

[System Sound]

Martyrs Tomb bored me to tears, so hopefully Wraith can deliver a novel that is not 90% bolter porn filler...

 

I wonder if any characters from Watchers or Vaults will show up.

 

Also calling it now, book 9 is gonna be written by Haley.

[Nagashsnee]

This is so weird, on the one hand the author names speaks of a history of quality writing, deep understanding of the lore and writing with respect for it.

 

On the other it appears that the plot is insane and not the good kind. So with half the imperium missing, and large scathes of the rest on fire the indomitus crusade leadership decided to send an entire indomitus fleet INTO the eye of terror?  To execute specific strike? Its going to take Wraiths absolute A game to make this make sense.  To explain WHY this is a goo idea.  Like indomitus fleets are suppose to be big bussiness, an entire one into the eye? When everyone usually in the eye is already in the imperium burning things? 

 

But i wont lie, this is the first Dawn of Fire book since book 1 i am actively looking forward to. 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by Nagashsnee

[Felix Antipodes]

I’m still fighting my way through Martyr’s Tomb (more on that elsewhere when I finish) but will be straight onto this on release.  Even if it turns out to be the worst thing Wraight ever wrote, it will be like pearls from heaven compared to some of the previous offerings in the series.  Haley will almost certainly write the conclusion.  Who will take the poison  pen of sitting between Wraight and Haley for book eight?

[Dzirhan]

Actually surprised they called time on it now and said nine books, was thinking it would go to a dozen or more, wonder whats afterward then?

[OpossumStrong]

19 minutes ago, Dzirhan said:

Actually surprised they called time on it now and said nine books, was thinking it would go to a dozen or more, wonder whats afterward then?

We discussed it previously here i think, or maybe some other DoF topic, some of us remembered a number between 11 and 13(Dark imperium included), for me the memory comes from their live stream, couldn't find article or the stream to prove it, and as far as i know the end of DoF would be at the start of Dark Imperium.

Edited September 6, 2023 by OpossumStrong

[System Sound]

I think the original Amazon listing for Avenging Son, had it as book 1 out of 9.

[theSpirea]

The number of DoF books was discussed here in multiple places. We weren't able to track down any official announcement, however, multiple retailers, not just Amazon and those affiliated with it, listed Avenging Son as "Book 1 of the brand new 9 part mega-series from Warhammer 40,000". Retailers get this directly from GW/BL, they don't make it up. So semi-officially it was announced but GW/BL likes to play this cheap "oh, so mystery" card way too often and only now officially revealed it.

 

After giving up on The Iron Kingdom (I simply couldn't force myself to finish it) and trying Martyr's Tomb, also giving up on that one because it's incredibly dull, I'm not even excited anymore. I'm going to read it because it's Wraight but his talent is wasted on this series. Give me Bloodlines 2 or Watchers 3.

 

Plus the covers look so cheap. Trying too hard to give that Marvel-ish vibe and the whole copy-paste composition: three characters, one in focus is so lazy.

Edited September 6, 2023 by theSpirea

[darkhorse0607]

6 minutes ago, theSpirea said:

Plus the covers look so cheap. Trying too hard to give that Marvel-ish vibe and the whole copy-paste composition: three characters, one in focus is so lazy.

 

Yeah, I haven't been a fan at all of the DoF covers, I hope this is the last we see of that style

[Dzirhan]

1 hour ago, OpossumStrong said:

We discussed it previously here i think, or maybe some other DoF topic, some of us remembered a number between 11 and 13(Dark imperium included), for me the memory comes from their live stream, couldn't find article or the stream to prove it, and as far as i know the end of DoF would be at the start of Dark Imperium.

Yes on start of Dark Imperium, but my bad in writing   as I actually meant on format, another series of books or just standalone books set around or after events in Dark Imperium?

[Roomsky]

As always, I'll be the odd one out regarding DOF. Very pleased Wraight is getting an entry, and I'm hoping the 3-more-entries announcement brings back some of the (loose though it was) focus that Martyr's Tomb was lacking. Maybe Brooks can take book 8 and follow-up on the Red Corsairs appearance from Iron Kingdom?

 

I've enjoyed all the covers except for frumpy Guilliman on book 1. Other than readability from a distance, I think they're of uniformly higher quality than the Heresy covers and laugh at some of the other recent cover art we've gotten. I'm still mad about the Dark Imperium downgrade and I don't even like that series.

[OpossumStrong]

1 hour ago, Dzirhan said:

Yes on start of Dark Imperium, but my bad in writing   as I actually meant on format, another series of books or just standalone books set around or after events in Dark Imperium?

In terms of post indomitus or alongside, probably they need to connect Guilliman with Dante and Nihilus, then we need some filler about Dante and Lion, post Angron probably, and then we need Guilliman finally meets with Lion, i guess they can make another 3-5 books about this, and maybe the same amount (as a series) about indomitus in Nihilus(the gate at martyrs tomb) after this one got no ideas for series, but there is plenty of room for standalone books or something like twice dead king.

 

I personally hope they will stick to max 3 books for some big events, 5+ only for lore pushing, because such series usually contain a lot of fillers, at some point i find forcing myself to read it(couldn't finish Wolftime) , and i still hoping for some Unification Wars or really early crusade series.

Edited September 6, 2023 by OpossumStrong

[Preliminary Bombardment]

Chris Wraight = instabuy

[Ubiquitous1984]

I read the first four books, but I haven’t been inspired to read books five or six.  Are they worth reading or can I safely skip them?

[LemartestheLost]

8 hours ago, Felix Antipodes said:

 Haley will almost certainly write the conclusion.  Who will take the poison  pen of sitting between Wraight and Haley for book eight?

My bet is on Andy Clark.

[LemartestheLost]

6 hours ago, theSpirea said:

Plus the covers look so cheap. Trying too hard to give that Marvel-ish vibe and the whole copy-paste composition: three characters, one in focus is so lazy.

Might be an unpopular opinion but I actually enjoy the DOF covers. I just wish that there was more variation of the characters shown and the works in general. Most of them are Space Marine, SoB, and then chaos baddies. Again, like was said above somewhere, I think GW/BL missed an opportunity to label this series as a revival of faith story of sorts. At least this cover shows Raven Guard 9th Company instead of Black Templars (thank heavens). 

[Felix Antipodes]

1 hour ago, LemartestheLost said:

My bet is on Andy Clark.

That would be a good choice in my eyes.  I’ve liked most of his stuff that I’ve read and, as one of the senior lore writers at GW, he at least should be able to tie the series back into the current lore.

[OpossumStrong]

6 hours ago, Ubiquitous1984 said:

I read the first four books, but I haven’t been inspired to read books five or six.  Are they worth reading or can I safely skip them?

Book 5 was actually not that bad, there are knights, talons of the emperor, some SM chapters which are non black templars, chaos scheming.

 

Book 6 feels like a filler, something you could easily release as a short story collection, like prelude to Dark Imperium, but if you like bolter porn it would be an ok book, took me almost a month to finish it though.

[Krelious]

8 hours ago, Ubiquitous1984 said:

I read the first four books, but I haven’t been inspired to read books five or six.  Are they worth reading or can I safely skip them?

I think book 5 was alright in that its better than Wolftime, I have not gotten around to reading book 6. I think book 5 is worth reading at least because the bad guys get some major development, there are interesting plot threads, it is most definately important for continueing the story from book 2. I honestly dont know why people dont like it my only gripe about it is that the queen comes off like a political/emotional dunderhead and all of it is kind of just waved off as the influence of chaos can just force people into making stupid decisions which is a big lolwut. Has some exciting action, good character development. I would definitely say 5 is not a skippable book.

The way I would rate the series is 

2>1>4>5

 

3=dog:cuss:

 

Edit: Does anyone else think the guy on the cover of the new book looks like Eddie Murphy?

Edited September 7, 2023 by Krelious

[DarkChaplain]

The Iron Kingdom was very interesting in terms of its politics, showcasing the Imperium eating its own face and the death of symbols for the sake of the grinder. But then, I also really liked The Wolftime for how it handled the wishful thinking and prophecies, and how it played on the inherent impatience of Grimnar to see Russ return in his lifetime, to the point of almost suiciding the Chapter to "force" the Wolftime.

I'd honestly place The Wolftime solidly in my top three of the series with Avenging Son (particularly the parts on Terra and featuring Fabian) and Throne of Light.

[Noserenda]

Yeah... Iron Kingdom is solidly the worst in the series, and its not even close. Despite featuring my favourite faction featuring and getting a pretty solid representation the main antagonists and just so spectacularly stupid and bad at politics that even in the Imperium, an edifice supported by gross stupidity, they look bad.

Its like, if politics were a game of Jenga, two of the characters seem to think you can remove all three of the blocks from a row without collapsing the tower... Just a complete lack of forward planning or strategy that makes you wonder how in the hell these incompetents managed to achieve and sustain their high ranks in the first place. 

[Nagashsnee]

6 hours ago, DarkChaplain said:

The Iron Kingdom was very interesting in terms of its politics, showcasing the Imperium eating its own face and the death of symbols for the sake of the grinder.

I agree its a fantastic premise and could have been a all time BL classic in the hands of capable author/editor. 

4 hours ago, Noserenda said:

Yeah... Iron Kingdom is solidly the worst in the series, and its not even close. Despite featuring my favourite faction featuring and getting a pretty solid representation the main antagonists and just so spectacularly stupid and bad at politics that even in the Imperium, an edifice supported by gross stupidity, they look bad.
 

 

I agree that Nick Kyme was not that man for the job, and while the premise carries the book into the middling ok block of BL novels for me,  it does this DESPITE the way the characters were written. 

 

I like it when we all agree, it is a good feeling . 

 

[Urauloth]

Wolftime kind of shouldn't be in the series, really. I think Gav should have just written it as a separate novella, which is a sentence I've definitely typed before.

[DarkChaplain]

1 hour ago, Urauloth said:

Wolftime kind of shouldn't be in the series, really. I think Gav should have just written it as a separate novella, which is a sentence I've definitely typed before.

 

I disagree there. It stands for the hard-to-convince Chapters when it comes to adopting Primaris, with the Wolves being notoriously anti-Guilliman for the last ten millennia, disagreeing with the Codex Astartes and the sundering of the Legions, and their perspective on the drastically changing galaxy, and having to accept change despite being so deeply rooted in tradition, is an important point in the early Indomitus Crusade.

 

A lot of the books stand as symbols to different aspects, events, conflict types and general messes that result from the Imperium's nature, and that of its institutions. The appendices also point out frequently that similar conflicts to the one described in the novel happened elsewhere, while locating them in the wider tapestry of events.

 

Guilliman had to convince Chapters to not only accept Primaris, but also him and his authority. The Wolves were crucial, seeing how them rebelling against the new Lord Regent could've easily set the course for civil war. We already had the Months of Shame after Armageddon.

 

On top of that, The Wolftime slots right in between the final 7th edition campaign setting before The Gathering Storm, which dealt with the return of Magnus, and sets course for Ragnar's clash with Ghazghkull as well as Njal's odyssey that'd lead to bringing back the 13th Company. As such, The Wolftime fulfills one of the core tasks of the Dawn of Fire series: Establishing a spine for other events and stories to be told around, and connecting previously scattered or at times even contradictory fluff while also making it part of the defining early moments of the Indomitus Crusade.

[DarkChaplain]

On a related note, it looks like the book is once again being discussed more in the News section than the Black Library forum. I love how this works....