Black Library fiction The Lion: Son of The Forest - Novel

[Brother Captain Arkley]

 

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2023/03/29/the-hunt-is-on-in-the-lion-son-of-the-forest/

 

PLEASE BE GOOD... PLEASE BE GOOD... PLEASE BE GOOD... PLEASE BE GOOD... PLEASE BE GOOD...

 

:)

Edited March 29, 2023 by Brother Captain Arkley

[Orange Knight]

Haha, you beat me to it! When I started making the topic yours wasn't up yet...

[Angel of Solitude]

First reaction was being glad that this wasn't written by Gav Thorpe!

 

Second reaction was: what has Mike Brooks written? Were they good? He wrote the Alpharius Primarch book, and also Brutal Kunnin' - both of which I enjoyed, so fingers crossed this is a good omen!

 

Also, this massively stokes my intrigue:

 

Quote

He’ll even need to rally his Fallen knights, who have been hunted across the galaxy as they awaited the day their father would return.

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Angel of Solitude

[Matcap86]

That is a gorgeous book!

[Brother Captain Arkley]

Just now, Angel of Solitude said:

First reaction was being glad that this wasn't written by Gav Thorpe!

 

Second reaction was: what has Mike Brooks written? Were they good? He wrote the Alpharius Primarch book, and also Brutal Kunnin' - both of which I enjoyed, so fingers crossed this is a good omen!

 

That was my first reaction... No Gav or Phil. A big sign of relief. :)

[ZeroWolf]

Was wondering if they were going to announce something like this. Hope it's a good read. Haven't read any of the authors other works but have heard good things about Brutal Kunnin

[Mjasghar]

Let’s hope Asmodai and the other scrapshunts get a head punch 

[Nephaston]

"I failed my father. I fear I also failed my brothers. I do not wish to fail my sons."

Good start, can't wait to see some more loyalist primarch grade depression.

[Petitioner's City]

Mike is a fantastic choice - I think the only weak work he has done is his Huron book. However I do wonder how the trolls will cope with his very expanse-progressive approach to the setting :D 

[Orange Knight]

I haven't read anything by Mike Brooks so my scepticism is more pronounced than it would be if Guy Haley was behind this novel.

 

On the positives, I really like how the book looks. The hardback will sit on the shelf proudly next to my Dark Imperium trilogy.

 

And lastly, it would appear the Lion hasn't just been sleeping over the last 10 millennia, but this throws a lot of questions about him and the nature of his absence.

[TheVoidDragon]

Not too fond of the idea of more loyalist primarchs returning beacuse I think that'll have a negative effect on the setting, but i'm still interested in seeing what happens. Sounds like they're going for the idea of him redeeming the Fallen.

 

It is a little annoying that he has a novel already though. The Leagues of Votann have had nothing even announced despite being out for months. Doesn't feel good when an entire new army people have wanted back for over 20 years gets absolutely nothing, but a Primarch has something right away.

[m_r_parker]

I don't know about this, I've been burned before...

 

Phil Kelly's novel at the beginning of 8th Ed around Primaris being 'accepted' by the Dark Angels was bad, I'm still not sure if he even understands a lot of the narrative around the Unforgiven chapters. Gave Thorpe's Luther novel was a solid miss for me, I didn't want to see a novel where half the time is spent on Caliban pre-Lion exploring his largely inconsequential past. 

I'm not sure I've read too much by Mike Brooks; I think he's done some Horus Heresy bits and pieces, I'll have to dig them out and see what they're like.

 

But I kinda have to buy it...

 

There's a metric tonne of explanation that needs to go into bringing the Lion back from a narrative viewpoint, and a lot of it can't / won't be included in the Arks of Omen series. This sounds like it's going to explain a lot, and also tie-up some loose threads in terms of the Fallen too.

Here's my crux; there's some elements of narrative that I don't want to be explained or resolved. I didn't want the Lion to wake (even though I consider myself primarily a Dark Angels player first and foremost), I don't want to know who Cypher is or the reason he's doing what he's doing, and I don't want to see there being a resolution to the Fallen. A lot of that ties directly into why I love the Dark Angels, if it all gets explained away then what do they become? Dark Green Space Marines...

 

Major trepidation here.

[Triszin]

End the fallen storyline.

 

Wrap it up.

 

Please!

[darkhorse0607]

A new book that features some introspection of the Lion? Nice

 

Simultaneous release with the model and all editions of the book? Double nice

 

Written by Mike Brooks instead of Gav Thorpe? Well you just sold me

[Orange Knight]

Just now, Triszin said:

End the fallen storyline.

 

Wrap it up.

 

Please!

 

I agree with this 100%

 

At this point the fallen story is little more than a meme used to disparage the Dark Angels chapter.

 

It's tedious, and in the grand scale of the setting it is also very petty. Half the Imperium has fallen, countless billions are dead, Nids are getting close to Terra but wait - the Dark Angels have diverted the rock because a green Marine was spotted on some backwater planet.

 

The Lion presents an opportunity to move on from that old story and to finally present the Dark Angels with an opportunity to take their rightful place as paragons of the Imperium, who lead, and who don't exist in the shadows, ever shrouded by secrecy and shame.

[Petitioner's City]

If anyone is unsure of Mike's work, check out his Alpharius novel - as well as his wonderful Necromunda work (like Road to Redemption and Wanted: Dead) and his navigators novel (Rites of Passage). Brilliant range :)

[phandaal]

39 minutes ago, Petitioner's City said:

However I do wonder how the trolls will cope with his very expanse-progressive approach to the setting

 

What does this mean? We going to get more Gav Thorpe-esque lore twists?

[Nagashsnee]

8 minutes ago, Orange Knight said:

 

 

 

The Lion presents an opportunity to move on from that old story and to finally present the Dark Angels with an opportunity to take their rightful place as paragons of the Imperium, who lead, and who don't exist in the shadows, ever shrouded by secrecy and shame.

Nothing the Lion can do will undo all the stuff the DA have done over 10k years hunting the lion, the sheer number of loyal souls they put to the pyre is insane. 

 

While i agree that the fallen storyline should close, the only thing the DA are paragons of is team killing. Like i know the memes have made it  a joke, but the DA are bad people FOR THE IMPERIUM STANDARDS.   Its the same situation that Sanguinius faced when he was presented with his legion, only worse in every single way and done for over 9k extra years. 

 

Book after book and edition after edition GW has moved the DA from knights with a dark secret, to paranoid murder psychopaths who dress up as knights.  There are probably chaos chapters/warbands with lower imperial kill counts then any 1 generation of DA marines. 

[Orange Knight]

If Guilliman can usher a new generation of Astartes, re-write the Codex Astartes and pen a new Codex Imperiallis, speak with the Emperor and get appointed as Regent, Remove half the high lords and launch a new great Crusade, then I would be disappointed if the Lion can't resolve an internal grudge within his own Chapter.

[Cyrox]

This bit has me very excited:

 

"... and must call upon every ally he can. He’ll even need to rally his Fallen knights, who have been hunted across the galaxy as they awaited the day their father would return."

 

Potentially massive lore implications there.

 

 

[Akerkoke]

The Lion probably woke up during the last invasion of the Rock (not Vashtorr one) and got scattered somewhere in Nihilus, there he begins this new "quest".
I frankly hope that the hunt for the Fallen comes to an end, because is a 30 year long story, and it seems like an infinite repetition of itself.

Let the DA move on and become some sort of questing knights/hunters of horrors in Nihilus, secretive as always like they were during the Great Crusade

[Nagashsnee]

2 minutes ago, Orange Knight said:

If Guilliman can usher a new generation of Astartes, re-write the Codex Astartes and pen a new Codex Imperiallis, speak with the Emperor and get appointed as Regent, Remove half the high lords and launch a new great Crusade, then I would be disappointed if the Lion can't resolve an internal grudge within his own Chapter.

These are the same people who 

Spoiler

Charge into the Imperial Palace strapped with leave no evidence kamikaze suicide plasma bombs to if needed gun down custodians and anyone else yes? (Cypher Novel). 

 

 

 

[Akerkoke]

4 minutes ago, Nagashsnee said:

These are the same people who 

  Hide contents

Charge into the Imperial Palace strapped with leave no evidence kamikaze suicide plasma bombs to if needed gun down custodians and anyone else yes? (Cypher Novel). 

 

 

 

Exactly and the only one that can stop that madness is the Lion, otherwise better to have the DA going full bananas vs the Fallen and being renegades to the Imperium at the same time.

[Master Ciaphas]

Yep. I want that book. It is written by neither Thorpe nor Kelly, so all is good. 

 

I really liked Brook's Alpharius novel  -  and the Lion cameo in that - so I think he could do very well handling the Returned Son of the Forest!

[Redcomet]

58 minutes ago, m_r_parker said:

I don't know about this, I've been burned before...

 

Phil Kelly's novel at the beginning of 8th Ed around Primaris being 'accepted' by the Dark Angels was bad, I'm still not sure if he even understands a lot of the narrative around the Unforgiven chapters. Gave Thorpe's Luther novel was a solid miss for me, I didn't want to see a novel where half the time is spent on Caliban pre-Lion exploring his largely inconsequential past. 

I'm not sure I've read too much by Mike Brooks; I think he's done some Horus Heresy bits and pieces, I'll have to dig them out and see what they're like.

 

But I kinda have to buy it...

 

There's a metric tonne of explanation that needs to go into bringing the Lion back from a narrative viewpoint, and a lot of it can't / won't be included in the Arks of Omen series. This sounds like it's going to explain a lot, and also tie-up some loose threads in terms of the Fallen too.

Here's my crux; there's some elements of narrative that I don't want to be explained or resolved. I didn't want the Lion to wake (even though I consider myself primarily a Dark Angels player first and foremost), I don't want to know who Cypher is or the reason he's doing what he's doing, and I don't want to see there being a resolution to the Fallen. A lot of that ties directly into why I love the Dark Angels, if it all gets explained away then what do they become? Dark Green Space Marines...

 

Major trepidation here.

The Dark Angles had a well established identity before the Fall. All they have been about since then is hunting the Fallen. They have become one note and a meme. Time to move on from this and forge a new identity.