Elemental Council by Noah Van Nguyen

[LemartestheLost]

Hello fraters, I'm opening this subforum for the discussion surrounding Elemental Council by Noah Van Nguyen. I have not finished this one yet but have found it immensely enjoyable 1/3rd of the way through. I don't profess to being a connoisseur of Tau lore, but I have liked this novel (so far) more than any other Tau centric work that I have read to date. For those Tau-inclined fraters among us, how do you feel about Van Nguyen's showing here?

 

Thoughts? Opinions? Let the people know!

[grailkeeper]

Reading it atm. Itsa bit spoiled by the fact I was on 22hrs of flights. Not the authors fault. I'm enjoying it. Got a bit lost in the middle but I think that's jet lags fault.

 

I think the Air caste pilot is my favourite character.

 

I like most that we do get a rounded view of the T'Au. Its good getting insights beyond "He fired his Blasterfire™ rifle and fired off some pulsefire™ rounds at the enemy. They all fell dead". (Contrast this book with the High Kahl's Oath....)

Edited Monday at 03:43 PM by grailkeeper

[darkhorse0607]

Can anyone speak as to how the Raptors are portrayed? As far as I can recall it's their first time in a novel, just curious if they're done well or are just Astartes placeholders

[TrillionSpiders]

8 hours ago, darkhorse0607 said:

Can anyone speak as to how the Raptors are portrayed? As far as I can recall it's their first time in a novel, just curious if they're done well or are just Astartes placeholders

 

from what i've heard, well they aren't the memetic idea of the "super tatikool" marines, their portrayal overall is fairly solid and part of their rationale for wanting to target the t'au empire specifically is because they recognize the t'au as an empire on the rise with a great deal of potential even comparing them to humanities "golden age". hence a threat.

[grailkeeper]

Theres really only one that's portrayed in detail but he comes across as hyper efficient. He's treated kind of like a bogeyman- think Darth Vader in Rogue one. A scary opposing force that vastly improves the enemy amd sometimes turns up to wreck fools.

[System Sound]

On 12/17/2024 at 3:24 AM, grailkeeper said:

Theres really only one that's portrayed in detail but he comes across as hyper efficient. He's treated kind of like a bogeyman- think Darth Vader in Rogue one. A scary opposing force that vastly improves the enemy amd sometimes turns up to wreck fools.

I think you just sold me on this book!

[grailkeeper]

I'm only half way through (and I lost my kindle so I wont progress further any time soon) but there's a bit where a firewarrior patrol talk about him, that seems like it came directly out of Vietnam. 

[darkhorse0607]

3 hours ago, grailkeeper said:

I'm only half way through (and I lost my kindle so I wont progress further any time soon) but there's a bit where a firewarrior patrol talk about him, that seems like it came directly out of Vietnam. 

 

Excellent, thank you for the update

 

I was hoping for the "professional" aspect for them that they're known for, and their pragmatism

 

But I'll accept scary space Vietnam Darth Vader

[grailkeeper]

2 hours ago, darkhorse0607 said:

 

Excellent, thank you for the update

 

I was hoping for the "professional" aspect for them that they're known for, and their pragmatism

 

But I'll accept scary space Vietnam Darth Vader

 

To be fair, its more like Vietnam for the firewarriors.

[wecanhaveallthree]

THIS ONE'S A BIT OF ALRIGHT

 

I'm glad that the T'au remain the evil globalists of the setting. The bit at the end with the whole 'they're on our side, they just don't realise it yet' spiel from the Ethereal was wonderful. The T'au do the 'good people, evil empire' thing a lot better than the Imperium. Helps that a Space Marine conveniently stands around for a few pages monologuing about You Don't Think It Be Like It Is, But It Do, just in case you missed it.

[cheywood]

Only a fourth of the way through but this is probably going to be my non-Abnett book of the year. It’s an incredible exploration of the Tau, filled with the mix of philosophical and visceral prose that made Godeater’s Son so memorable. Van Nguyen does an excellent job granting each of the principal characters a distinct voice.

Edited 22 hours ago by cheywood