Mechanicum - GREAT OMNISSEAH THAT WAS BAD!

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**Kid_Kyoto**

I just finished Graham McNiell's Mechanicum and wow that was awful. Here's my one star Amazon review:

http://www.amazon.com/Horus-Heresy-Mechanicum-Graham-McNeill/dp/1844166066/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251077235&sr=1-1

1.0 out of 5 stars
Profoundly disappointing, August 23, 2009
By Kid Kyoto (Beijing) - See all my reviews

In Games Workshop's Warhammer 40k universe the Adeptus Mechanicus is a mysterious organization of tech priests who worship knowledge and consider technology the divine creations of the Machine God. Mechanicum is supposed to give the history of this organization and reveal its secrets.

It's not worth reading.

The book has two main plots, the first is a young Adept named Dalia's quest for the Dragon of Mars, the second is the brewing civil war among the various forge cities and warrior orders of Mars.

The first two hundred pages of this book are spent trying to bore the reader to death as mysterious tech priest and mighty Titan pilots argue the finer points of Machine God theology and parliamentary procedure. Meanwhile Dalia quickly becomes an irritating Mary Sue character with ill-defined magical powers and a great destiny. Somewhere around page 200 forbidden vaults are opened, the forces of Chaos are unleashed and the action picks up. For a couple of pages. Then we're back to hearing about Dalia's romantic crushes, the proper way to wire a psychic chair and the difficulties of securing a wireless network from demonic computer viruses. It's not until page 300 or so that Dalia gets around to starting her quest, an epic struggle that involves not only a long boring train ride, but also a long boring car ride. There's also a giant robot attack but Dalia's magic powers deal with that before anyone can get too interested.

The civil war, when it finally does come is a confusing mess of Latin names and obscure references to long out of print GW games. If you don't know the difference between a Reaver Titan and a Warlord don't even bother trying to follow it.

Some of GW's writers like Ian Watson, Dan Abnett and Kim (Jack Yeovil) Newman have tremendous skills in using the English language to make the mundane seem mysterious, McNeill does the opposite. His references to maglev trains, wireless networks and fiber optics makes the ancient tech priests of Mars seem about as exciting as my cable company.

Even for fans of the Horus Heresy series there just isn't much here. Mars falls to chaos is about all you need to know if you're following the larger story.

Obviously I'm writing more for the non-GW fan but even as a fan who can tell you more than you ever wanted to know about Warlord Titans vs Reavers I foud it dull, annoying and insulting to my intelligence. "OH NOES! A giant robot is attacking! Maybe I have a previously-unseen magical power that can save us! Oh yeses! I do!" Well that was exciting. Briefly.

But people are giving it 5 stars on Amazon, I just don't get it.

**Fifty**

I am reading it now, and while I will finish it (Once I resume after a deaprture to the far more important Dust of Dreams from Steven Erikson), I largely agree with what you have written. I might give 2 stars, but only if I was in a good mood. Still, it is better than The Wheel of Time, which is one of only a very few books I have given up on, and people (weird people) rave about that, so I guess they'll like anything.

Sadly, in this book, the GW fluff bits seem badly understood, and the "original" bits seem naff and unimaginitive. Oooh, a psychic chair! Oooh, a big robot on tracks.

Oh, and in addition to the long train journey and long car journey that I have yet to get to, you forgot Dalia's long space shuttle journey from Earth to Mars. And yes, she IS annoying. Like every fantasy cliche rolled into one. Belgarion eat your heart out.

**Octavius Widowmaker**

It is your opinion the book was bad others that it was good. The only good that will come of this thread is alot of arguing and insulting. Then again i could be wrong and some decent discussion could occur. My opinion of the book was that it was good not the best so far but decently written at least. Finding out the Emperor has been around for at least 30,000 years was pretty nice as well. Who else could wrestle a C'tan and imprison it on Mars?

**Lord-Loss**

I liked it. The titan battle's were epic.

**Kid_Kyoto**

THre's like one titan battle and it happens in the last 50 pages!

Unless you're thinking of the time around page 200 when a bunch of titans ALMOST fought but decide not to.

**Belphegor**

Don't forget the Tin-Man with the heart of gold, aiding Dorthy on her quest.
Oh, and the Scooby Gang.
Oh and evil emotionally-involved Mechanicum and progressive emotionally-involved Mechanicum... but a strange lack of frightfully logical and disciplined Mechanicum.
Oh and gun-ho Starfighters... er.. Knight Pilots!

I was really hoping for a book full of characters that would make my skin crawl with their meticulous scheming and callous actions carried out with methodical precision.
A battle of wills, clockwork sociopath versus clockwork sociopath, across the surface of a desolate red world with furnace cities and grinding servitude.
I wanted alien characters in an alien culture on an alien world.
A nightmare place stripped of all 'humanity' but tied to Imperium through necessity.
The Mechanics is suppose to be one of the darkest aspects of the Imperium.
That didn't come across.
I wanted the Mechanicum to be a GIANT skeleton in the Imperium's closest. (not the big boo-dark that was this books 'secret')

I'm just glad there wasn't a scrappy comic relief servitor...

The visual descriptions of the dark Mechaincus were very good though. (but not their personalities)

**Lord-Loss**

Belphegor wrote:Don't forget the Tin-Man with the heart of gold, aiding Dorthy on her quest.
Oh, and the Scooby Gang.
Oh and evil emotionally-involved Mechanicum and progressive emotionally-involved Mechanicum... but a strange lack of frightfully logical and disciplined Mechanicum.
Oh and gun-ho Starfighters... er.. Knight Pilots!

I was really hoping for a book full of characters that would make my skin crawl with their meticulous scheming and callous actions carried out with methodical precision.
A battle of wills, clockwork sociopath versus clockwork sociopath, across the surface of a desolate red world with furnace cities and grinding servitude.
I wanted alien characters in an alien culture on an alien world.
A nightmare place stripped of all 'humanity' but tied to Imperium through necessity.
The Mechanics is suppose to be one of the darkest aspects of the Imperium.
That didn't come across.
I wanted the Mechanicum to be a GIANT skeleton in the Imperium's closest. (not the big boo-dark that was this books 'secret')

I'm just glad there wasn't a scrappy comic relief servitor...

The visual descriptions of the dark Mechaincus were very good though. (but not their personalities)

That would have been nice, but I am pleased with the way it turned out, It could have been much much worse...Ben Counter could have wrote it!

**chromedog**

I thought it was one of the better HH novels I've read - but it was also the only one (of that series) I finished, and one of only 12 or so 40k novels I've ever read.

**children of filth**

i have yet to read it, i'm only up to 'legion'. but i will read it anyway, to form my own opinion.

**Alpharius**

I rather liked it myself.

Pacing issues?

Sure.

Enjoyable?

Well, for me, yes.

It did give us a window into an area that we haven't seen much of previously...

**Doombot001**

Mechanicum isn't the worst book I've read. I'm on Tales of Heresy and while I ploughed through all the other books, Tales is taking me FOREVER. I pick it up, read a few pages, then put it down. I just can't get into it.

It's like that slow car in front of you on the streets. Everything is all good and your driving at a pace you enjoy then.....WHAM!!!!....you're stuck behind some guy who can barely see over the steering wheel going 5 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Rrrrg. My Thousand Sons book will probably be out before I get finished with this Tales of Heresy book...

**40kenthusiast**

quote

Once I resume after a deaprture to the far more important Dust of Dreams from Steven Erikson

unquote

Wait, that's out? Why doesn't my B&N have it?

**Fifty**

Octavius Widowmaker wrote:It is your opinion the book was bad...

Well, yes, opinion is what it is all about, surely?

**Kid_Kyoto**

It might have scored higher it I hadn't just read 3 Guants Ghosts books in a row.

**Fifty**

40kenthusiast wrote:quote

Once I resume after a deaprture to the far more important Dust of Dreams from Steven Erikson

unquote

Wait, that's out? Why doesn't my B&N have it?

Because you are American. Order it from the UK Amazon and you might be able to get it imported. Erikson is famously slow at getting into print in the US. He was originally published in the UK and the US has never caught up.

**robertsjf**

Dunno, it was heck of better than Star Marine Wars, I mean Battle for the Abyss.....

**Tyron**

The piece on the Emperor was pretty neat though.

**Lord-Loss**

Tyron wrote:The piece on the Emperor was pretty neat though.

"Machine Heal Thyself" I nearly fainted at the awesomeness of that line.

**Shelegelah**

Ugh, Battle For The Abyss was awful, I can sympathize with that completley. Took me three months to finish because I kept throwing it down in disgust. SO BLAND.

**HiddenPower**

I rather liked the book but i do agree the huge titan battle that almost happened was a put down :-( it did have me at the edge of my seat.

Go last chancers!!! best series in black library history!!!!!

**Lint**

Lord-Loss wrote:It could have been much much worse...Ben Counter could have wrote it!

Nah, his box of crayons got stolen so he couldn't write this one.

Personally I liked this book. Especially coming on the heels of the previous crap, i.e. descent of angels and battle ft abyss. The best parts were about the Emprah though. I like that they finally admitted the void dragon being on mars.

**penut the butter**

Your speaking to the choir mate. I read it and I just thought it was just the beggining that was crap.But as i read on I just wantewd to throw it in the fire which is what I did. We NEED threads like this to warn newbies about terrible books and sets. I'm behind you 100%

**Eldarranger**

im the same as sir peanut the butter, but it could have been worse..............C.S. Goto could have written it. Btw, does any one know who retakes mars after the heresy?

**Sinister Brain**

Belphegor wrote: It could have been much much worse...Ben Counter could have wrote it!

QFT

I didn't think Mechanicum was bad exactly, but it sure wasn't what I was expecting or hoping for.

I'm hoping they pick of the pace though overall. Not in releases so much as the actual pace of the plots in the books.

I'm looking forward to Thousand Suns and Prospero Burns, though they are a ways off I'm hoping Abnett will actually have the SWs in the book for more than 20 pages ( *cough*Legion*cough* ) and I'm interested to see how he writes them.

Looking at the list of upcoming Black Library books I don't see any more Mechanicum books in the pipeline. I was hoping for more, perhaps one with like actual war happening.

**IronChaos**

Don't try to understand Imperium's technology: in my opinion, it's more complicated than Tau, Eldar or Necron ones.
Of course, Iron Warriors can steal that technology... AND MAKE A CHAOS ARMOURED COMPANY!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!! LOL

**cadian512**

personaly, i feel that anyone who did not love this book needs to see a psychiatrist

battle for the abyss was terrible, but mechanicum was not

**Platuan4th**

Lint wrote:I like that they finally admitted the void dragon being on mars.

They, uh, kind of confirmed that in the Necron Codex...

**karimabuseer**

HiddenPower wrote:I rather liked the book but i do agree the huge titan battle that almost happened was a put down :-( it did have me at the edge of my seat.

Go last chancers!!! best series in black library history!!!!!

Agreed. That and the Honsou series...I remember finding the Last Chancers Omnibus at a 99p shop in wales, when I was with some mates. I bought it.
And overall mechanicum wasn't that bad. There was some really awesome bits...."Machine, Heal Thyself"

**Shaman**

You know how bad that book is..

I never finished it..

Its behind me in my room I have nothing to read and I still wont read it.

Then I read belphegor idea and I am even more sad.. That would be worth reading.

Mechanicum its broke, can't fix it.

**Skinnattittar**

The very beginning wasn't so bad, slow but well written and I kind of actually cared what was happening. That was the first twenty pages. Then the Emperor showed up, which was interesting to read how he just sort of landed and was like "Yo, guys. What's up?" But I actually thought the "Machine, heal thyself," part was a load of crap and rather boring.

I haven't even gotten a quarter way through the book yet, and I'm not sure I'm going to bother finishing. When I read, I tend to read a bunch of books are once. As in, at the same time. At the moment I am reading four, Ravenor Omnibus, Lord of the Rings : Two Towers, about to start the Eisenhorn Omnibus, and Mechanicum. Of the four, Mechanicum is the one I chose to sit in my day-pack and be ignored most of the time. It's just too boring to actually sit and read. I won't even read it on the can, where I usually do a lot of reading, because I know it will just bore me! So when I get a couple minutes I'll pull it out and wade through the bore looking for the good parts.

To bad that already I can predict the plot of the novel, and from what I've read here, it seems I will be correct. It is sad when an author makes everything that obvious, playing into oh-so many cliches and formulaic over-dones.

When I first heard they were going to write this novel, I hoped so badly that Abnett would be the author.