The Scouring (Series)

[Scribe]

1 minute ago, phandaal said:

 

Keep in mind that this is politics as written by Black Library. We are not talking about high art here. Being worldly and experienced for a Black Library author nowadays means they occasionally close Bluesky and hold their nose to check Twitter.

 

The sanctimony over femstodes wrongthink may well end up being the most interesting thing about this series. 

 

All that :cuss:, I'm over it man. Too old. The world lost its mind for a few years, cool story, lets move on and talk about the actual 30K/40K again and drop this nonsense.

 

There is zero chance (factually) that this custode change will matter in any way. There is no deeper story here, at least not one tied to sex. Its pointless. Completely. Its a performative move. Over it and all it will do is derail and lock threads.

[darkhorse0607]

9 minutes ago, Scribe said:

 

All that :cuss:, I'm over it man. Too old. The world lost its mind for a few years, cool story, lets move on and talk about the actual 30K/40K again and drop this nonsense.

 

There is zero chance (factually) that this custode change will matter in any way. There is no deeper story here, at least not one tied to sex. Its pointless. Completely. Its a performative move. Over it and all it will do is derail and lock threads.

 

No, no, no

 

We have to derail yet another thread because Black Library hurt people by talking about cooties

 

I'm about to petition the mods for two threads when this thing actually comes out. One for actual book discussion, one for airing grievances 

[Scribe]

1 minute ago, darkhorse0607 said:

I'm about to petition the mods for two threads when this thing actually comes out. One for actual book discussion, one for airing grievances 

 

This probably would be for the best. At this point I'm down to just a few places left for tolerable online discussion, and this one is best because of its overly strict moderation.

 

Real life trash, can stick to twitter or tiktok, or whatever stupid social media platform people have moved to. The amount of energy wasted on stuff that literally doesnt matter, is just way too high.

 

Give us a place to talk about the politics of an empire in ruins, and lets hope BL actually sticks to the setting tone, its all we can ask for at this point!

 

All that oh so very important (right!) real life crap? Take it to reddit or whatever. It has no place here.

[phandaal]

31 minutes ago, Scribe said:

 

All that :cuss:, I'm over it man. Too old. The world lost its mind for a few years, cool story, lets move on and talk about the actual 30K/40K again and drop this nonsense.

 

There is zero chance (factually) that this custode change will matter in any way. There is no deeper story here, at least not one tied to sex. Its pointless. Completely. Its a performative move. Over it and all it will do is derail and lock threads.

 

Femstodes are the actual 30k/40k now. They are canon. And yes, the inclusion is performative, like many other things that started showing up in books/lore over the last five or six years.

 

(Edit: actually, it is even worse than I thought. People just preemptively started complaining about the wrongthink in this thread because it was mentioned elsewhere. )

 

This need to reply is what that gets threads locked, not one or two guys expressing an opinion. The former creates arguments, and latter is just an opinion that can be moved on from without any obligation to engage and eradicate the wrongthink.

Edited Tuesday at 08:42 PM by phandaal

[Scribe]

15 minutes ago, phandaal said:

Femstodes are the actual 30k/40k now.

 

That's fine. The Emperor also told Mortarion he could be forgiven.

 

Guess which one of this I easily ignore, and one that actually threatens to ruin the IP? ;)

[phandaal]

13 minutes ago, Scribe said:

 

That's fine. The Emperor also told Mortarion he could be forgiven.

 

Guess which one of this I easily ignore, and one that actually threatens to ruin the IP? ;)

 

Big E probably just looks at Mortarion like we look at Pigpen from Peanuts. He is a little grimy but overall a good kid. 

 

And yes, I will be following your advice on this. Your approach to the matter here seems like the wisest, all things considered.

[MoriyaSchism]

I'm going to pass on this series. The quality of Black Library books in the last few years has been inconsistent. The type of stuff I saw high praise for like Voidscarred and Harrowmaster burned me so I'm wary of recommendations from people claiming every new book is the best thing in the world. I really disliked the Carrion Lord of the Imperium part of Era of Ruin too. Made the Custodes look like petulant children more than usual. 

 

"I COULD KILL GUILLIMAN RIGHT NOW, I AM SO MAD. EVEN THOUGH HE'S HELPING ME SURVEY THIS WRECKAGE AND KEEP IT TOGETHER, OH I HATE HIM SO BECAUSE HE IS NOT MY DADDY, HE'S JUST LIKE HORUS. HE COULD BE HORUS!" 

Yeah, I think Diocletian should be Lord Regent of the Imperium. He sounds like a sensible guy. 

I also like the moral condemnation heaped upon the Emperor for "stealing" from the Chaos Gods by using the warp in the creation of the Primarchs. In terms of author's intent that's like reading the story of Prometheus and deciding he's the bad guy for stealing fire from the gods. I think I will be fine without reading any more of this stuff. 

[Scribe]

10 minutes ago, MoriyaSchism said:

I also like the moral condemnation heaped upon the Emperor for "stealing" from the Chaos Gods by using the warp in the creation of the Primarchs.

 

So, this was actually on my list of 'must have in the HH/SoT' as a data point.

 

Anyone have the text of this?

[Scribe]

1 hour ago, The Praetorian of Inwit said:

Read it. Wraight is a fantastic author. 

 

The whole book is leaked?

[wecanhaveallthree]

The vast majority of it is, yeah.

 

There's a lot in there, a lot, I'm simmering hot takes on. It requires digestion and, ultimately, I think it's somewhat irresponsible to just go off scans (even if they are accurate and comprehensive) before people have a chance to even touch 'spoilers'. Initial discussion tends to set a tone. I think it's a very well-written book and the structure is perfect. Wraight was the premium pick to do post-Heresy politics and he's done a great job. But what the book lays out in terms of retcons and for the future of the setting is, well, a lot. A lot. Like I said elsewhere, we're gonna be knives out on this one and it'll have nothing at all to do with the Custodes.

 

E: 

 

Quote

(Edit: actually, it is even worse than I thought. People just preemptively started complaining about the wrongthink in this thread because it was mentioned elsewhere. )

 

While it's on my mind - perhaps it's just a coincidence! - after we had that excellent discussion about informing consumers about the opinions/actions of authors, I've had a slew of bot comments on my work over on AO3 informing readers about what they imagine my views to be. It's been quite fascinating, actually.

Edited Wednesday at 05:15 AM by wecanhaveallthree
remember when i said i'd edit you last? i lied

[Scribe]

4 minutes ago, wecanhaveallthree said:

But what the book lays out in terms of retcons and for the future of the setting is, well, a lot. A lot. Like I said elsewhere, we're gonna be knives out on this one and it'll have nothing at all to do with the Custodes.

 

If you would do me the kindness of a DM, I'll take the spoilers on this.

 

The setting survived TEATD, and I don't know if I can handle it if GW/BL and WRAIGHT of all people fails me now.

[Scribe]

You laugh @Roomsky but reading that warning?

 

Makes me ill.

[DukeLeto69]

You see NOW I am intrigued by…

 

2 hours ago, wecanhaveallthree said:

But what the book lays out in terms of retcons and for the future of the setting is, well, a lot. A lot. Like I said elsewhere, we're gonna be knives out on this one and it'll have nothing at all to do with the Custodes.

And I am perfectly capable of ignoring what i don’t like and sticking to my head canon anyway!

Edited Wednesday at 07:17 AM by DukeLeto69

[Karhedron]

11 hours ago, MoriyaSchism said:

I'm going to pass on this series. The quality of Black Library books in the last few years has been inconsistent.

 

It always has been. For every First Heretic there is a Battle for the Abyss. I took a similar stance with the Dawn of Fire series. Wait for the reviews and then pick up the MMP editions of any that sound worth reading or cover your favourite Legion. 

[63-19]

Is there a leaked pdf or something? Or someone on reddit posted spoilers after getting it early?

[Deus_Ex_Machina]

On 10/28/2025 at 6:11 PM, Roomsky said:

Cooking and cleaning is just an OP skill set. Please nerf, Gee-Dubbs!

[1ncarnadine]

1 hour ago, 63-19 said:

Is there a leaked pdf or something? Or someone on reddit posted spoilers after getting it early?

 

Yes and no. It's mostly random smatterings of scanned pages in English on 4chan. Someone else got a German copy and posted a few spoilers on reddit. Maybe the scans have been compiled into a pdf by now, or will be, but I think I'll wait for a physical copy. Maybe the hot takes will cool off by then too.

[Fedor]

Maybe I just didn't pay enough attention, but I didn't see anything too "out there" in the spoilers on tg. It seemed all quite safe and generally about what I'd expect a book picking up on Terra right after TEATD to be like.

 

I've a feeling this won't be too long a series. They surely must have learned from the way the HH went out of control. I'm betting 10-15 books at most...so still big by any normal standard. A shame really. The madness of the siege reinvigorated me.

 

Edited Thursday at 08:01 AM by Fedor

[DukeLeto69]

3 hours ago, Fedor said:

Maybe I just didn't pay enough attention, but I didn't see anything too "out there" in the spoilers on tg. It seemed all quite safe and generally about what I'd expect a book picking up on Terra right after TEATD to be like.

 

I've a feeling this won't be too long a series. They surely must have learned from the way the HH went out of control. I'm betting 10-15 books at most...so still big by any normal standard. A shame really. The madness of the siege reinvigorated me.

 

I suspect the length of the series will be totally dictated by how popular it is and whether there are milking opportunities.

 

The Scouring “era” lasted far longer than the HH itself. Personally I’d rather they had the Scouring as a “setting” rather than a sequential series but that allows us to more easily opt out or pick n choose the books to buy!

[The Praetorian of Inwit]

I think the series probably has been planned to a degree but this being GW they are probably happy to extend it if it generates a lot of dough. 

 

The question is whether the BL team have anticipated that in some way or if they just start pumping out filler.

 

Yeah the entire thing has leaked if you know where to look. 

 

Chris Wraight is an excellent author. I'd love to see him write for Imperial Fists and Night Lords. 

[Scribe]

1 hour ago, The Praetorian of Inwit said:

if they just start pumping out filler.

 

If it is successful, and BL actually prints enough that people can buy it off a shelf, there will be filler. :D

[Felix Antipodes]

18 hours ago, Scribe said:

 

If it is successful, and BL actually prints enough that people can buy it off a shelf, there will be filler. :D

 

This is exactly the point I was thinking about.  No books/series GW/BL put out now will ever reach the sales of the HH.  All their output is of such a low print run that, no matter how well written or popular with their audience, it will only be small potatoes in the big picture.  They know they will sell all copies they make and have their own idea of what constitutes a successful print run (whether it sells out in 5 minutes or still available next day?).

 

So if they begin to milk it (ie push out dozens of novels and/or shorts) I would put it down to the enthusiasm for the subject amongst their writers?

[Karhedron]

The HH series has the same problem as phases 1-3 of the MCU. They kinda hit narrative gold but could not sustain it forever. Both series had weak entries (Battle for the Abyss, Thor 2 etc) but built up to a definitive climax. Whatever comes after will struggle to capture that sense of epic grandeur.

 

The Dawn of Fire series is another one that started well and then fell apart due to poor execution. The Scouring series has some potential hits such as the Iron Cage but without a clear climax to build up to, will it sustain interest in the long run? Will it deal with the disappearances of the remaining loyalist Primarchs, and perhaps sow the seeds of their return in the process?

[Felix Antipodes]

They will (almost certainly) have a series narrative climax in mind.  I’m just not sure what that would, or should, be.  The Second Founding would probably make as good a stopping point as any, but the Scouring went on long after that.  Maybe Guilliman’s fight with Fulgrim where he is put into statis?  Time will tell what they have in mind…

 

At this point we don’t even know if they will attempt a linear approach or just use it as a setting and jump around until the second book points the way.

 

[DukeLeto69]

8 hours ago, Felix Antipodes said:

Maybe Guilliman’s fight with Fulgrim where he is put into statis? 

 

You may have hit that nail on the head!

 

This makes sense (within BL/GW) because it pretty much (yes exceptions) finishes the “story of the Primarchs) started in the HH books and leaves the “cliffhanger” ready to be picked up with Era Indomitus and Robbie G’s revival. Hmmmmm?