Black Library fiction Dawn of Fire: Hand of Abaddon [Nick Kyme]

[Joe]

 

WarCom Article.

 

Quote

As the Indomitus Crusade rages on, Inquisitor Rostov discovers vital intelligence that could reveal the plan of the notorious Hand of Abaddon, and hastily gathers together those loyal to his cause. Defending the Anaxian Line, Ultramarines Lieutenant Ferren Areios uncovers a dread vision that has ties to the mission of an old ally. Meanwhile, Magda Kesh campaigns alongside the 84th Mordian. Though she refutes her fate as something more than a mere soldier, is she truly touched by the Emperor?

 

Despite a fractious alliance, the Hand’s scheme is reaching culmination. Amidst the infighting, Tharador Yheng yearns to be free of her master Tenebrus’ shadow and claim her destiny. But another acolyte has embarked on his own path, the Red Corsair Graeyl Herek. Both vie for the favour of the Dark Gods, and the means to harness an ancient evil that could reshape the war between the Imperium and Chaos.

 

Oh hey, a votann appearance at least.

[sitnam]

1 minute ago, Joe said:

 

Oh hey, a votann appearance at least.

Don’t get your hopes up. I think the third book had a Sister of Silence on the cover that had minimal page time.

 

I think I’m passing on this. The series had some highlights, but Iron Kingdom just killed my enthusiasm to continue. 

[aa.logan]

No mention of the special edition being numbered, or signed but one shouldn’t put great stock in the accuracy of WarCom articles 

[grailkeeper]

Nick Kyme.

 

[phandaal]

13 minutes ago, Joe said:

 

WarCom Article.

 

 

Oh hey, a votann appearance at least.

 

With that blue armor, I hope the story is they thought she was an Ultramarine and no one has figured it out yet.

 

"Brother, remind me what company you are assigned to again."

 

"Uhh... The one with all of the guns?"

 

"Excellent, Brother. The Codex supports this action."

[Noserenda]

Oh ho! Not after Iron Kingdom... I might give Kyme another shot down the line but not in this series!

EDIT

And im still annoyed the Dawn of Fire audiobooks have been missing content the whole time

Edited February 14 by Noserenda

[Remain_Indoors]

Well that’s disappointing, especially after the abysmally pointless Iron Kingdom. And he’s using his position to waste special edition money on it. 

[MoriyaSchism]

Would you look at that, I didn't know Sontarans came in the non-bald variety.

[Nephaston]

Thank the stars it's not Gav again. Much rather have kyme, even if iron kingdom was a load of "eh". instead of risking another wolftime.

[Emperor Ming]

Hand of Abaddon, the only thing left of him after a legacy of failure?

[Orange Knight]

Is this the last book In the DoF series?

 

Edit:

 

Ignore me. It's the 2nd from last.

Edited February 14 by Orange Knight

[beefeb]

Nope, not for me.  To the Votann fans, dont get too excited....they called a book Wolftime, and it was nothing whatsoever about wolftime.  I gave up after that.  From what ive heard from friends who persevered, it was a good decision.  This has been a series that started very strong, and quickly became utter dross, with "purchase-bait" titles and advertising....very disappointing offerings from the Black Library.

[Doctor Perils]

19 hours ago, Noserenda said:

And im still annoyed the Dawn of Fire audiobooks have been missing content the whole time

Wait, the audiobooks are abridged?!

[Master Ciaphas]

Well. "Sea of Souls" by Wraight was AMAZING! I read Kyme's "War of Secrets" some time ago. I will never forgive him for that atrocity. For that literary crime, he ought to be indicted at the Hague...

[firestorm40k]

I've only 'read' (well, listened to ) the first two books in this series (Gate of Bones was pretty good), seeing as the others following aren't well regarded, would I still be able to follow the plot if I just jump to Sea of Souls? 

[Morovir]

52 minutes ago, Master Ciaphas said:

Well. "Sea of Souls" by Wraight was AMAZING! I read Kyme's "War of Secrets" some time ago. I will never forgive him for that atrocity. For that literary crime, he ought to be indicted at the Hague...

Well put - other than the fact that it was Phil Kelly, not Nick Kyme, who wrote that particular atrocity.

 

Looking forward to this one - guessing failure must have had it's consequences given that Areios was a Captain in Throne of Light.

[Nagashsnee]

2 to last, they need to tie the plot together, establish actual overarching villain's and goals while also bringing together the 'cast' of the various book into some sort of coherent group that. Tough sell but not impossible who was chosen for the job? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 

 

At least i wont need to spend any money, the reddit recaps for Iron Kingdom were better then the book.

 

 

[ChapterMasterGodfrey]

23 hours ago, Noserenda said:

And im still annoyed the Dawn of Fire audiobooks have been missing content the whole time

They have??? What have I been missing?

[ChapterMasterGodfrey]

Again I have to say how dissapointd I have been with Dawn of Fire. Avenging Son was a strong start and I was excited to see where it was going but it turned out to be a false start. Throne of Light and Sea of Souls have been enjoyable but as a series it has just left so much to be desired. At the start, I was expecting at least 20 books with strong overarching plot threads; it was advertised as the HH of the Era Indomitus after all. In reality, they're just nine loosely connected books that have little in the way of actual plot or interesting characters.

 

I was excited to see the Plague Wars books get a reprint, bringing them in line with Dawn of Fire. I half expected them to be retitled "Dawn of Fire: Dark Imperium" etc. and for the Dawn of Fire books to then go beyond Plague Wars. To see a novel about Vigilus, to see Guiliman race to Baal...

 

So much wasted potential.

[Orange Knight]

I agree. Too much wasted potential.

 

The story is all over the place. There are a few really good characters, but they might not appear for two/three books at a time.

Also, there is no coherent end goal or plot. Now we come to the final two books, and quite frankly, it's very hard to care about anyone or anything.

 

This was very disappointing after the great series that came before - Dark Imperium Trilogy, Dante Trilogy, Vaults of Terra, etc

[Marshal Rohr]

Expecting the Indomitus Crusade lore to ever amount to anything was a mistake. 

[Jareddm]

1 hour ago, ChapterMasterGodfrey said:

They have??? What have I been missing?

 

5 hours ago, Doctor Perils said:

Wait, the audiobooks are abridged?!

The audiobooks do not include the appendices from the back of the book. Which if your interest is in how the broader Indomitus Crusade operates and is organized then they are absolutely not to be missed. Personally, I found them to be some of the best parts of the series and it is a tragedy the audiobooks don't include them. 

 

As for the cover, my only complaint is that tiny little bolt rifle barrel! No bolt shell is going to fit through that!

[Noserenda]

Yes exactly as @Jareddm said the audio books are missing the Appendices which i obviously havent seen but apparently add a lot of context.

To be fair to Wolftime, it was a major theme of the book and driving the thoughts of a few of the characters, it just didnt actually happen to happen, its fine as a title for a notoriously hyperbolic franchise :D 

[ChapterMasterGodfrey]

18 hours ago, Marshal Rohr said:

Expecting the Indomitus Crusade lore to ever amount to anything was a mistake

Why? It could have been really cool? The first bits of lore we got on it were Dark IMperium and a cameo in Devastation of Baal, both appearences of the Crusade were great in my opinion which is why i was so hyped and ultimately so let down by Dawn of Fire.

[phandaal]

3 hours ago, ChapterMasterGodfrey said:

Why? It could have been really cool? The first bits of lore we got on it were Dark IMperium and a cameo in Devastation of Baal, both appearences of the Crusade were great in my opinion which is why i was so hyped and ultimately so let down by Dawn of Fire.

 

The cameo in Devastation of Baal was very much a deus ex machina moment. Maybe cool in the same way that a CGI scene in a Marvel movie can be cool when you turn your brain off and just receive the flashing lights, but it was not a good story beat. It was totally random and disconnected from the overall story.

 

Setting that aside, I think it was a mistake to set these books up as the modern 40k equivalent to the Horus Heresy or Great Crusade. When people are already playing games with their Primaris Marines spread out to every nook and cranny of the galaxy, it is harder to get interested in the story of how they got there. The "Era Indomitus" is not really something people spend a lot of time talking about. Some people are really interested in it but for most it seems to have already passed.

 

These books work better as an anthology series, like the old Space Marine battles books. Then you can just pick up and read as you like to add color to the universe.