LemartestheLost Posted August 29 Share Posted August 29 Hello fraters, just thought I would create this thread for the discussion surrounding Oaths of Damnation. The Scorpion 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorpion Posted August 29 Share Posted August 29 It's Space Marines BUT not First Founding, so I'm very interested. Haven't started it yet, but I have the book. Plus, this fella did the Space Sharks books. Decent track record imho Dalmyth 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6060762 Share on other sites More sharing options...
byrd9999 Posted August 29 Share Posted August 29 Does anyone know when this was written? Is Robbie writing for BL again or have BL been sitting on this for a while? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6061051 Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemartestheLost Posted August 29 Author Share Posted August 29 Does anyone know when this was written? Is Robbie writing for BL again or have BL been sitting on this for a while? No idea on whether this is a new piece, or something BL have had their clutches on, but the prologue has gripped me! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6061064 Share on other sites More sharing options...
grailkeeper Posted August 29 Share Posted August 29 Just started it. Literally just on the dramatis personae. The characters have mesopotamian names. There's a Marduk and an Akkad. There was a word bearers character called Marduk. If it turns out or is implied that the exorcist are a loyal word bearers successor chapter, it wouldn't be totally weird. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6061089 Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorpion Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Just started it. Literally just on the dramatis personae. The characters have mesopotamian names. There's a Marduk and an Akkad. There was a word bearers character called Marduk. If it turns out or is implied that the exorcist are a loyal word bearers successor chapter, it wouldn't be totally weird. White dwarf has them as Imperial Fists successors, which I think is good. The Excorcists used to be a regular ass Chapter before the Inquisitors discovered the demonic gimmick. I wonder where does GeeDubs get their mesopotamian names. I was very impressed with the consistency of the Tome Keepers names. Anyways, as soon as I finish Demonhammer and Daemonbreaker, I'll read about this Deamonchapter. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6061121 Share on other sites More sharing options...
grailkeeper Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Little bit into it. The prose feels fairly tell dont show. A lot of exposition about the chapter and its traditions. The Word Bearer angle is being lent into. LemartestheLost and System Sound 2 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6061154 Share on other sites More sharing options...
grailkeeper Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 About halfway through. I'm not sure how much I can say without spoiling things but the plot revolves around the Exorcists chasing something. So far I think it's ok. It gets better as it goes along. The"show don't tell" issue is one I've had with a few BL books, including ones that other people have loved. I'm not crazy about this book but others may like it more than me. For a long time it felt like there was going to be a twist coming. The twist is so obvious that it may be subverted by having the twist being that there is no twist. The Scorpion and Roomsky 1 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6061587 Share on other sites More sharing options...
grailkeeper Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 (edited) Without giving too much away all the exorcist are soulless. The author does a good job of capturing this. The downside of that is that they're somewhat unlikeable and it's hard to read a book where everyone is like that. I find myself unable to sympathise with them. Perhaps it might have been better had the book been written from the perspective of a human. This has been done by plenty of other author's to highlight how inhuman space marines are. This chapter is particularly inhuman, even by the standards of space marines. They don't have the same bonds of brotherhood from example. The author specialises in history of the American revolutionary war, and what that was like for the soldiers. Perhaps he might be better suited to a guard novel as a result. Edited September 1 by grailkeeper Taliesin and Roomsky 2 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6061591 Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhorse0607 Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 Without giving too much away all the exorcist are soulless. The author does a good job of capturing this. The downside of that is that they're somewhat unlikeable and it's hard to read a book where everyone is like that. I find myself unable to sympathise with them. Perhaps it might have been better had the book been written from the perspective of a human. This has been done by plenty of other author's to highlight how inhuman space marines are. This chapter is particularly inhuman, even by the standards of space marines. They don't have the same bonds of brotherhood from example. The author specialises in history of the American revolutionary war, and what that was like for the soldiers. Perhaps he might be better suited to a guard novel as a result. Just for comparisons sake have you read his Carcharadons novels? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6061611 Share on other sites More sharing options...
grailkeeper Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 (edited) Just for comparisons sake have you read his Carcharadons novels? I have but it was quite a while ago and I dont remember much about them tbh. I couldnt say if this is better or worse or if I had the same "Show don't tell" problem then. I do remember that other people liked them a bit more than me. I dont remember hating or loving them, and I tend to only remember the books I felt strongly about. Edit: The Characardon books came out about 7 years ago. Having thought about it a bit, if you ask me what I think of this book in 7 years time I'll probably remember about the same level of details as I do about them, so maybe on a par? Edited September 1 by grailkeeper byrd9999 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6061612 Share on other sites More sharing options...
grailkeeper Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Finished it. The end battle is the best bit. Tbh I mostly thought it was bolter porn. Many people here disagree with me though so others may like it a lot more than me. I did think it was building to something at the start which it ultimately did not. It does have some interesting stuff about the chapter. For example there's some stuff there that strongly echoes the warrior lodges of the heresy. If you are Exorcist fan or want to know more about the chapter then it's a must read. If you are just looking for a book it's unremarkable. But as I said before, I've been unimpressed by books that have blown others away. That's my €.02 anyway. The Scorpion, Roomsky, Taliesin and 1 other 1 3 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6061910 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaosRaptor Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 It does have some interesting stuff about the chapter. For example there's some stuff there that strongly echoes the warrior lodges of the heresy. If you are Exorcist fan or want to know more about the chapter then it's a must read. If you are just looking for a book it's unremarkable. But as I said before, I've been unimpressed by books that have blown others away. As someone who collects Exorcists, I have to agree with this. I'm only a third of the way through the book so far and while the bits about how possession affects the marines, and the inner workings of the chapter (e.g. the Orison cults) are interesting, nothing about the story or characters has grabbed me. It's taking me a while to get through the book as a result. grailkeeper, Petitioner's City and The Scorpion 1 2 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6062671 Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheywood Posted September 29 Share Posted September 29 (edited) About 2/3rds of the way through this. It’s a decent read and probably the best depiction of Vanguard Marines we’ve gotten, but I can’t help but feel it’s missing something. I believe the best way to examine a strange chapter like the Exorcists is to look at it from the outside in. Show me an inquisitor or another space marine chapter coming to terms with their very arguably heretical methods. Show me terrified guardsmen dealing with them in the field. The Carcharodon novels benefited greatly from such outside povs, but this has almost none of them, and it leaves me wanting as a result. Probably going to be a 7/10. Edited September 29 by cheywood Roomsky, darkhorse0607, Lord Marshal and 2 others 4 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6067408 Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemartestheLost Posted September 30 Author Share Posted September 30 Took me a while to finish this because of real life, but I enjoyed it! As much his previous works? Probably not. Macniven's Scars and Carcharodons are great. The Exorcists were just good. Mostly for reasons aforementioned by fraters in the posts above. However, I bought this book because I was hoping to get a ton of Chapter exposition, and boy was that delivered in spades! The prose wasn't anything special, but it appeared to get very good towards the end of chapters imo, almost like the author hit a flow state at some point. The plot was engaging if simple, and though the ending was sort of telegraphed, the epilogue was suitably grim. Final Rating: 7/10 -To Taste Maybe don't buy if you loathe Phobos marines. darkhorse0607, cheywood, Dalmyth and 1 other 2 2 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6067620 Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemartestheLost Posted September 30 Author Share Posted September 30 I should also add, Artax's POV was fabulous! A doubting Word Bearer, HAH! Dalmyth 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6067656 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalmyth Posted October 1 Share Posted October 1 (edited) I should also add, Artax's POV was fabulous! A doubting Word Bearer, HAH! Agreed! His parts were some of my favorite, but overall I thought the Word Bearers subplot was pretty interesting and a fun read Edited October 1 by Dalmyth LemartestheLost 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6067780 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casual Heresy Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 I finished the other day and I think its my BL book of the year so far. Great deep dive into an obscure chapter with a story that kept me engaged. Kind have the itch to paint some Exocists now, which to me is a sign of a good BL book . LemartestheLost and Felix Antipodes 2 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6068068 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix Antipodes Posted October 12 Share Posted October 12 Really liked this one. It provided everything I want in an Astartes story. Semi-obscure Chapter, rather than being the 863rd UM saga or one of the other big ten. Interlacing new facts and background for said Chapter (without contradicting any existing lore - that I noticed, anyway ). An enemy that aren’t moustache twirling pastiche. All told in an entertaining way. Still don’t know if this is new work or one BL found in the back of a cupboard. If the former, welcome back Robbie! If the latter, go back and see if there is anything else hidden in there (maybe that final Carcharodons novel we all want) LemartestheLost and Dalmyth 1 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/383785-oaths-of-damnation-by-robbie-macniven/#findComment-6070289 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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