The High Kâhl's Oath

[Kelborn]

Hey there,

 

we've been waiting for two years until we finally got a long desired novel about the "recently" introduced "new" faction that is the Leagues of Votann.

 

It was rather quickly sold out (both version) but to my surprise, it hasn't been talked about in here. Is the interest simply non existing or what happened?

I, for one, wasn't able to get a copy due to my missing the release but still. Someone should/ might've read or started it by now, right?

 

Very curious about your thoughts about this one. Please, don't turn this into another "Oh god it's Gav" threads. We had our very share of such posts in the past.

Imho, his worldbuiling in Luther was superb (and the novel itself) so that's probably what I'm most intrigued of.

 

Cheers,

Kel

[cheywood]

I’m about a third of the way in and very much enjoying it. It’s just dwarves in space, nothing particularly ground-breaking, but it doesn’t need to be anything more than that. The characters are fun, the tone relatively upbeat but not jarringly so. Might be my favorite Gav novel, definitely up there with his Last Chancers works. One of the better books in a year decidedly lacking in sublime stories.

[Indy Techwisp]

I'd be interested to know if there's any real "new" Lore for the LoV, so to speak.

It's all been very thin on the ground so far, so this book might need to do some heavy lifting.

[Kelborn]

I think the codex did a very good job in introducing the Votann and laying the foundations of their culture, society and so on. Currently rereading it and it's on par with the T'au codex, which gave us even more like language, actual sept examples and whatnot.

 

Nonetheless, I agree. More lore would be appreciated. ;)

[DarkChaplain]

I checked out the audio sample for this one and I can't help but feel this has possibly the worst narration in the stable. People were complaining about Elstob in Dawn of Fire and Fall of Cadia? Well...

[grailkeeper]

Gave Thorpe is overhated.

[Kelborn]

Was able to get a copy for the original prize plus shipping costs.

 

Arrived today and I'm eager to jump at it. The cover looks better than in the preview, imho. I kinda dig the colours. The motif itself could've been a better choice but I won't complain. Happy to finally have something Votann related at all! Rereading their codex, I'm quite hyped to read more about them.

 

Along with Broken Crusade and Valdor (thanks GW for the 12 € voucher haha), I should be more than fine for the coming cold evenings. ;)

[grailkeeper]

Reading this now. I do wish they'd given ADB the chance to be the first to breathe life into this faction. When he mentions a thing it let's you see it from a fresh angle that deepens what you already new, and adds an air of realism.

 

When Gav mentions a thing it feels a bit

[grailkeeper]

So the Kin's anthem is called "Call of the Hearth"

 

The lyrics seem pretty similar to  "Ireland's call", a song which is used in place of the Anthem at Ireland's Rugby games.  Here it is here

 

 

It goes on a bit longer but you get the idea. Its Just a little bit  similar. 

 

Edited December 3, 2024 by grailkeeper

[wecanhaveallthree]

I look forward to reading the wholly original, anti-encroachment ditty 'Come Out Ye Imperium of Man' in their next outing. 

[grailkeeper]

In the Inquisition war books the Eldar spoke Irish. 

 

I guess squats are now the Irish 40k race. Little leprechaun men, great.

Edited December 3, 2024 by grailkeeper

[INKS]

ok, so I've been trying to get my hands on The High Kahl's Oath - in hard back, can't find a copy for a reasonable price. Should have snagged it when it came out I know, but it sold out fast. 

-- A quick complaint on price. I am not paying 200+ for the special edition, it's not that special.

 

ok now that, that is out of that way. lol 

Does anyone have a good website or place to pick up books? I was checking thrift books but they don't even have it list.

There is a paper back version coming out supposedly 2025 - Aug. 12.  So I guess I'll wait for that? I can get the audio version but I have heard it's pretty poorly narrated, and if that is true, I just can't bare to listen to poorly narrated books. plus I like to own the hard copy even if I listen to it on audio.

 

ALL of that being said:

I am still trying to get my hands on white dwarf 503, this had some lore in it. sold out locally sadly. And shipping is a bear, so not much luck there. I can get it from GW themselves but then I have to order 80 dollars worth of stuff. lol I know, I know, 1st world problems.

 

Q: Has there been any other lore or books where they are mentioned? I am trying to sort of collect the lore for them as I go, and even if they are side characters, a short story or anything like that then I would like to collect that as well.

 

I need to get my hands on a 9th ed codex, but that should not be too hard.

[DarkChaplain]

The only way to really get those hardbacks is straight from GW's online store, or at best a partnered retailer, if they ever actually get stock. Unless it's something Heresy-related, those hardbacks rarely get pushed to general retail like Amazon. They're actively trying to push you towards ebooks that way, because those got much better margins than print, unless we're talking about those silly overpriced limited editions.

[INKS]

3 hours ago, DarkChaplain said:

The only way to really get those hardbacks is straight from GW's online store, or at best a partnered retailer, if they ever actually get stock. Unless it's something Heresy-related, those hardbacks rarely get pushed to general retail like Amazon. They're actively trying to push you towards ebooks that way, because those got much better margins than print, unless we're talking about those silly overpriced limited editions.

Thanks, this makes sense on why it's hard to find then

[cheywood]

We finally have a Leagues of Votann novel, but do we have a great Leagues of Votann novel? I think the answer is: close but not quite. It’s not a bad read, at times it’s pretty fun, but it never really outright impressed me.

 

Like his Eldar novels (and most of his work) Thorpe is coming at this from a moderately character-centric point of view. Thorpe takes a half dozen or so povs and tosses them into a sample of Kin societal traditions and battles to give variety. It makes for an entertaining but not particularly deep story. I’d like to see future novels develop their culture a little more than ‘dwarves in space’. 
 

The characters themselves are probably the highlight of the book (outside of the novelty of exploring a new faction) being both relatable and generally entertaining. There’s a mildly young adult vibe to them, which I normally don’t like but here it works well. You get to see a variety of societal roles and conflicts within Kin society. The book could’ve used a proper antagonist to bounce off of though.

 

Thorpe’s prose isn’t anything special, he’s using a bit of technobabble here but it never really got in the way of clarity. 
 

This whole thing got me wondering who I really want to write a Leagues novel (outside of the obvious choices) and Crowley/Guymer would both do an excellent job I think.

 

Overall: 7.5 out of 10.

Edited Thursday at 04:28 PM by cheywood