I read Unremembered Empire, it's pretty dire. A lot worse than his last HH (Fear to Tread?), worse than the last Ravenors, and even GG (they're still bad right? Stopped reading after 5 or 6). It was good he apologised at the end, that was new. I hope we get his good stuff next time, the last =][= was fine with any luck he's moving back to that, I've a feeling that's the end of quality Abnett HH, and therefore the end for the HH series altogether for me. Is there somewhere else to write this? I don't have any more to say just wondered if this was the appropriate thread.
JWBS wrote: I read Unremembered Empire, it's pretty dire. A lot worse than his last HH (Fear to Tread?), worse than the last Ravenors, and even GG (they're still bad right? Stopped reading after 5 or 6). It was good he apologised at the end, that was new. I hope we get his good stuff next time, the last =][= was fine with any luck he's moving back to that, I've a feeling that's the end of quality Abnett HH, and therefore the end for the HH series altogether for me. Is there somewhere else to write this? I don't have any more to say just wondered if this was the appropriate thread.
JWBS wrote: I read Unremembered Empire, it's pretty dire. A lot worse than his last HH (Fear to Tread?), worse than the last Ravenors, and even GG (they're still bad right? Stopped reading after 5 or 6). It was good he apologised at the end, that was new. I hope we get his good stuff next time, the last =][= was fine with any luck he's moving back to that, I've a feeling that's the end of quality Abnett HH, and therefore the end for the HH series altogether for me. Is there somewhere else to write this? I don't have any more to say just wondered if this was the appropriate thread.
Couldn't disagree with THAT more.
Yeah that's a nice list of books that I would consider the only reasons to still care about BL.
JWBS wrote: I read Unremembered Empire, it's pretty dire. A lot worse than his last HH (Fear to Tread?), worse than the last Ravenors, and even GG (they're still bad right? Stopped reading after 5 or 6). It was good he apologised at the end, that was new. I hope we get his good stuff next time, the last =][= was fine with any luck he's moving back to that, I've a feeling that's the end of quality Abnett HH, and therefore the end for the HH series altogether for me. Is there somewhere else to write this? I don't have any more to say just wondered if this was the appropriate thread.
I personally did not like the Ravenor series, and I feel that every Ghosts novel after Sabbat Martyr was extremely subpar. However, Know No Fear is one of my favorite HH novels. While they have a lot of great authors writing for them, Black Library is pumping out a lot more content right now, so there will be a larger number of failures corresponding to that.
I'm not sure there's been a "bad" Horus Heresy book in a while. Deliverance Lost or Fear to Tread were the last two that I didn't think were very good. Betrayer, Angel Exterminatus, Vulkan Lives? All very good.
Know No Fear is fantastic. One of my top 3 in the series.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Additionally, Fear to Tread was written by James Swallow.
There's some interesting snippets from said event, presumably some pictures of things as well eventually.
Once "Scars" -- the recently serialised White Scars book -- is "Vengeful Spirit" which swings the lens onto Horus and shows us what he's been up to.
Mr. Abnett will be touching upon the Dark Angels with "Dreadwing" and some considerable time after that ( so I'm guessing at best late 2014, maybe even 2015) he'll be doing a pre-great crusade/Unification era novel or novella.
Mr. Sanders has 3 books written and ready to be rolled out as/when.
There's more Flesh Tearer books/stories coming from Mr. Smilie, whilst Mr. Swallow will be writing more BA stuff.
There's been some discussion about perhaps Primarch origin stories, perhaps in a collection format -- like The Primarchs book.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh, and given some of the things it reveals then
Just finished Unremembered Empire, I thought it was really good, perked up my interest a little bit more and even gave me a liking for Robute, totally unexpected !
I am now looking forward to the next release and upset with myself for not buying any of the LEHH stuff now.
Rayvon wrote: Just finished Unremembered Empire, I thought it was really good, perked up my interest a little bit more and even gave me a liking for Robute, totally unexpected !
I am now looking forward to the next release and upset with myself for not buying any of the LEHH stuff now.
I'm still at MMPB rate, so not up there yet, but I know what you mean about RG, when he loses his temper in the battle towards the end of Betrayer, he instantly seemed a more interesting and complex character than all the way through Know No Fear.
At the moment he is danger of going up in my estimation even further than Lorgar did between the First Heretic and the end of Aurelian.
Rayvon wrote: Just finished Unremembered Empire, I thought it was really good, perked up my interest a little bit more and even gave me a liking for Robute, totally unexpected !
I am now looking forward to the next release and upset with myself for not buying any of the LEHH stuff now.
I'm still at MMPB rate, so not up there yet, but I know what you mean about RG, when he loses his temper in the battle towards the end of Betrayer, he instantly seemed a more interesting and complex character than all the way through Know No Fear.
At the moment he is danger of going up in my estimation even further than Lorgar did between the First Heretic and the end of Aurelian.
I guess I just like how ADB writes Primarchs!
Likewise.
Guilliman was so-so for me in Know No Fear; tactical genius and fatherly figure to his Marines blah blah. I read Betrayer last week, boy did that change my perception of the Papa Smurf and even the Ultramarines themselves.
You digital fethers can feth off! I like my small, flimsy dead tree Heresy books and no amount of your taunting about prior knowledge is going to convince me otherwise, ya hear???!!!
JWBS wrote: I read Unremembered Empire, it's pretty dire. A lot worse than his last HH (Fear to Tread?), worse than the last Ravenors, and even GG (they're still bad right? Stopped reading after 5 or 6). It was good he apologised at the end, that was new. I hope we get his good stuff next time, the last =][= was fine with any luck he's moving back to that, I've a feeling that's the end of quality Abnett HH, and therefore the end for the HH series altogether for me. Is there somewhere else to write this? I don't have any more to say just wondered if this was the appropriate thread.
I have to agree.
Unremembered Novel is so blatantly just filler material designed to sell us a book with nothing happening in it, it's shocking.
I mean, the HH series has been mostly "filler" for a while, but UE, quite literally, takes hundreds of pages to tell a novella's worth of story. Even worse, it seems like it is literally only a vehicle to give the reader base some fan service with extra primarch battles. Primarch battles have become the Japanese Anime Schoolgirl Panty Shot of the Horus Heresy series.
The problem with that? The primarch battles have no resolution, and are ridiculously cartoony. Curze has been irrevocably ruined, and he was once one of the more intriguing primarchs. Think about the battle between Horus and Sanguinius. Between Russ and Magnus. Between Guilliman and Alpharius. These were battles with consequences.
It started in Betrayer (which was another pointless filler novel better suited as a short story). Guilliman, Angron and Lorgar in an epic three way confrontation, only to have a neat little wrap up where Angron goes all daemony and Guilliman gets dragged off so that everyone can live to fight another day. Battles with no consequences, and not even any threatpf consequences are boring. These are literally only being included to give the fanboys something to titter about.
Can somebody explain a single significant event that occurred in Unremembered Novel? Because I can't remember any.
Spoiler:
Guilliman finds a new beacon. Lionel shows up, they talk. Vulkan shows up as a pile of burned bones and magically heals. Curze shows up because Lionel has allowed him to run loose on his ship... Curze, Lionel and Guilliman fight. Nobody dies. Vulkan dies, then heals (in a mattter of seconds, since his healing time seems to be exactly as long as is convenient for the story), then dies again, then heals, then dies. Then Sanguinius shows up,
and the story has moved forward exactly... nowhere.
JWBS wrote: I read Unremembered Empire, it's pretty dire. A lot worse than his last HH (Fear to Tread?), worse than the last Ravenors, and even GG (they're still bad right? Stopped reading after 5 or 6). It was good he apologised at the end, that was new. I hope we get his good stuff next time, the last =][= was fine with any luck he's moving back to that, I've a feeling that's the end of quality Abnett HH, and therefore the end for the HH series altogether for me. Is there somewhere else to write this? I don't have any more to say just wondered if this was the appropriate thread.
I have to agree.
Unremembered Novel is so blatantly just filler material designed to sell us a book with nothing happening in it, it's shocking.
I mean, the HH series has been mostly "filler" for a while, but UE, quite literally, takes hundreds of pages to tell a novella's worth of story. Even worse, it seems like it is literally only a vehicle to give the reader base some fan service with extra primarch battles. Primarch battles have become the Japanese Anime Schoolgirl Panty Shot of the Horus Heresy series.
The problem with that? The primarch battles have no resolution, and are ridiculously cartoony. Curze has been irrevocably ruined, and he was once one of the more intriguing primarchs. Think about the battle between Horus and Sanguinius. Between Russ and Magnus. Between Guilliman and Alpharius. These were battles with consequences.
It started in Betrayer (which was another pointless filler novel better suited as a short story). Guilliman, Angron and Lorgar in an epic three way confrontation, only to have a neat little wrap up where Angron goes all daemony and Guilliman gets dragged off so that everyone can live to fight another day. Battles with no consequences, and not even any threatpf consequences are boring. These are literally only being included to give the fanboys something to titter about.
Can somebody explain a single significant event that occurred in Unremembered Novel? Because I can't remember any.
Spoiler:
Guilliman finds a new beacon. Lionel shows up, they talk. Vulkan shows up as a pile of burned bones and magically heals. Curze shows up because Lionel has allowed him to run loose on his ship... Curze, Lionel and Guilliman fight. Nobody dies. Vulkan dies, then heals (in a mattter of seconds, since his healing time seems to be exactly as long as is convenient for the story), then dies again, then heals, then dies. Then Sanguinius shows up,
and the story has moved forward exactly... nowhere.
It's your opinion but I find it to be at odds with mine. First off did you read Vulkan Lives? Just checking as it's kinda important to Vulkan in Unremembered Empire. Oh and what I saw happen was:
Spoiler:
1. For the first time since the Heresy began Loyal Primarchs gathered to discuss the future of the Imperium. And not just any loyal primarchs, arguably the most brilliant. One is the elder brother and greatest tactician amongst the Primarchs (Johnson), One is the Heir to the Imperium by the standards of even the eldest brother (Sanguinius), and finally the greatest paper pusher and organizer of the Primarchs and one who understands ruling and not just conquering (Gulliman), and the craftsman, if he regains his sanity, who understand the normal people of the Imperium.
2. Final putting to rest of loyalties regarding Johnson.
3. Wrapped up several different plot lines including those left open in Vulkan Lives, The Iron Warrior Short story, All the DA/NL novellas, Betrayer/UM novellas, and I'm sure I'm missing some.
4. Finally a deeper look at Gulliman's psyche and to a lesser extent the Lion's.
And those are off the top of my head since it's been a few weeks and things start to blur since I've been re-reading all of Ringo's Posleen series.
That said, I hated, absolutely loathed, Curze and his portrayal in this. I've said it before in this thread that I'm just plain tired of him now. Supposedly he's not that talented of a fighter but he has now beaten the face in of Dorn, Vulkan, The Lion, and Gulliman and managed to fight off Corax. Honestly, he's apparently a friggin ninja. I wouldn't be sad if I didn't read a single thing about Curze for the rest of the HH. But outside of that godawful character I enjoyed the book. For the actual running primarch fight I was ok with it more because of the interaction of the other primarchs with each other, not the actually fighting.
Vulkan Lives was also awful. So knowing what happened in it was like knowing you have cancer. I mean, it's probably better than not knowing, but it's still bad news.
Veteran Sergeant wrote: Can somebody explain a single significant event that occurred in Unremembered Novel? Because I can't remember any.
I didn't think UN was horrific but I do agree that it felt 'insignificant' I think that's a problem HH novels will always have because as fans of 40k we know how the story ends. For me the significance of UM was that it drew a line under the utterly crap timeline BL let loose on everyone so that it can properly move on post Isstvan. I have to say I also get annoyed by these Primarch battles as they read little better than a WWE "script".
nels1031 wrote: Just read the first of the Legion of the Damned short stories to be released on Itunes.
Brother Sergeant Centurius makes an appearance, old timers may remember him as the limited edition LotD special character. The Legion actually interacts with fellow space marines in this story and we see how they recruit. Still plenty of mystery and menace surround them though. Pretty cool.
I'll be picking all of them as they are released. Love me some Legion of the Damned.
Edit: I liked it so much I'm just gonna download the whole collection of 6 from BL.
Would you be so good as to give us a review of them when you're finished? I was really thrilled to see the release but they're all battles battles battles. I was hoping for some more background and depth but I wonder if that's interwoven with the stories.
JWBS wrote: I read Unremembered Empire, it's pretty dire. A lot worse than his last HH (Fear to Tread?), worse than the last Ravenors, and even GG (they're still bad right? Stopped reading after 5 or 6). It was good he apologised at the end, that was new. I hope we get his good stuff next time, the last =][= was fine with any luck he's moving back to that, I've a feeling that's the end of quality Abnett HH, and therefore the end for the HH series altogether for me. Is there somewhere else to write this? I don't have any more to say just wondered if this was the appropriate thread.
I have to agree.
Primarch battles have become the Japanese Anime Schoolgirl Panty Shot of the Horus Heresy series.
The problem with that? The primarch battles have no resolution, and are ridiculously cartoony. Curze has been irrevocably ruined, and he was once one of the more intriguing primarchs. Think about the battle between Horus and Sanguinius. Between Russ and Magnus. Between Guilliman and Alpharius. These were battles with consequences.
It started in Betrayer (which was another pointless filler novel better suited as a short story). Guilliman, Angron and Lorgar in an epic three way confrontation, only to have a neat little wrap up where Angron goes all daemony and Guilliman gets dragged off so that everyone can live to fight another day. Battles with no consequences, and not even any threatpf consequences are boring. These are literally only being included to give the fanboys something to titter about.
Haha yeah
Spoiler:
at one point a thunderhawk shows up to track Curze and I thought to myself "will he end up clinging to the side of this thing?" :s wasn't disappointed.
I haven't read any non-Abnett HH but I can imagine they're mostly like UE (pointless, meandering, trashy cliche ) and to be fair I'd expect that from any BL novel aside from Abnett and a few old-schoolers (Brian Craig springs to mind). The sad thing is that Abnett's first few (HR, Legion, that SW one) were quality reads but he appears to have reached that point where he doesn't have any more interest in a series that he's seemingly obliged to continue, which is why I'm not holding out any hope for new HH stuff and looking forward to new Eisenhorn or something different entirely.
Manga Primarch battles, spot on there. I much prefer to look fondly on memories of HH snippets from 40k / RT books where the characters and events maintained an integrity, albeit fuzzy and undefined. No vivid moments where Robute and Lion'el share meaningful stares, or Kurze asking "Why won't you just stay dead?" of Vulkan before they both
Rayvon wrote: Just finished Unremembered Empire, I thought it was really good, perked up my interest a little bit more and even gave me a liking for Robute, totally unexpected !
I am now looking forward to the next release and upset with myself for not buying any of the LEHH stuff now.
I'm still at MMPB rate, so not up there yet, but I know what you mean about RG, when he loses his temper in the battle towards the end of Betrayer, he instantly seemed a more interesting and complex character than all the way through Know No Fear.
At the moment he is danger of going up in my estimation even further than Lorgar did between the First Heretic and the end of Aurelian.
So, which one are you? I know you aren't my erstwhile brother because I watched him die.
Scars, the print version of the serialised story is the next book to the best of my knowledge.
Wow, the Epithemeus thing is dark, even by 40K standards!
Well to be honest I am on MMPB as well, well I was until betrayer, I though I would buy the audio book and see what it was like, and bam I was hooked again, I thought betrayer was really good so I thought why not get the next one too, then wait for the Book for my shelf at a later date.
I thought that the last couple were that good that I would probably read them as well when the MMPB came out.
Contrary to a lot of other chaps opinions, I am really enjoying how the Heresy is being portrayed in these books, before we only had snippets and it was never enough to satisfy me, I like that after all these years it is being fleshed out and other events, twists and turns are being revealed to us, if that makes me a fan boy then fair enough, I dont care.
nels1031 wrote: Just read the first of the Legion of the Damned short stories to be released on Itunes.
Brother Sergeant Centurius makes an appearance, old timers may remember him as the limited edition LotD special character. The Legion actually interacts with fellow space marines in this story and we see how they recruit. Still plenty of mystery and menace surround them though. Pretty cool.
I'll be picking all of them as they are released. Love me some Legion of the Damned.
Edit: I liked it so much I'm just gonna download the whole collection of 6 from BL.
Would you be so good as to give us a review of them when you're finished? I was really thrilled to see the release but they're all battles battles battles. I was hoping for some more background and depth but I wonder if that's interwoven with the stories.
Certainly, although I'm at work, I'll get you some spoilery summaries later tonight hopefully.
Just a quick heads up to anyone who wanted and missed out on a copy Visions of Heresy collectors edition. Its back up on sale on the Black Library site (no need to waste money on eBay).
Just finished reading Betrayer now that it's on Legacy edition:
Spoiler:
I have to say that i enjoyed most of it, Lorgar's balls have grown a wee bit, still think Corax would kick his ass in a rematch not matter what he/ADB thinks . I enjoyed Lorgar's pulling of Angron's strings, trying to "save" him etc etc. Kharn's progression to crazy Kharn is almost there.
How does Gulliman and the boys in blue come back? I'm sure it'll be talked about in Unremembered Empire which i'll wait for the Legacy edition once again.
Stuff i didn't like: how many Marines died in all the battle scenes? Good grief, it sounds like there are basically no World Eaters nor any Ultramarines left in the galaxy at times the way some of the battle scenes went.
How did the ultramarines get off of Nuceria? It sounded like their entire fleet got wiped out?
The next black library author that writes about an Imperator going to battle on it's lonesome with it's meters thick armoured doors at the bottom of it's feet apparently wide open or only needing a couple of marines using crowbars to open them, i'm going to throw the bloody book away.
In this instance, i can understand that it didn't have support from other titans because the captain of the World eaters ship is a some sort of freaking genius and that 18 warhounds can keep the Imperator from firing it's guns with their harpoons, but apparently that's enough leverage to stop it from continuing from walking? The continued stupidity of the Mechanicus/Titan Legions of putting their dumbest princeps in control of their largest titans? Allowing the titan to be captured? Hello? Self destruct? I'm pretty sure the Princeps and the Titan machine spirit wouldn't want it to be captured? Have i been reading all of this wrong when it comes to Titans and their Princeps?
The only treatments i've really enjoyed of an Imperator Titan going down is from Titanicus by Abnett.
Just finished reading Betrayer now that it's on Legacy edition:
Spoiler:
I have to say that i enjoyed most of it, Lorgar's balls have grown a wee bit, still think Corax would kick his ass in a rematch not matter what he/ADB thinks . I enjoyed Lorgar's pulling of Angron's strings, trying to "save" him etc etc. Kharn's progression to crazy Kharn is almost there.
How does Gulliman and the boys in blue come back? I'm sure it'll be talked about in Unremembered Empire which i'll wait for the Legacy edition once again.
Stuff i didn't like: how many Marines died in all the battle scenes? Good grief, it sounds like there are basically no World Eaters nor any Ultramarines left in the galaxy at times the way some of the battle scenes went.
How did the ultramarines get off of Nuceria? It sounded like their entire fleet got wiped out?
The next black library author that writes about an Imperator going to battle on it's lonesome with it's meters thick armoured doors at the bottom of it's feet apparently wide open or only needing a couple of marines using crowbars to open them, i'm going to throw the bloody book away.
In this instance, i can understand that it didn't have support from other titans because the captain of the World eaters ship is a some sort of freaking genius and that 18 warhounds can keep the Imperator from firing it's guns with their harpoons, but apparently that's enough leverage to stop it from continuing from walking? The continued stupidity of the Mechanicus/Titan Legions of putting their dumbest princeps in control of their largest titans? Allowing the titan to be captured? Hello? Self destruct? I'm pretty sure the Princeps and the Titan machine spirit wouldn't want it to be captured? Have i been reading all of this wrong when it comes to Titans and their Princeps?
Did you read know no fear or mark of Calth? That has a lot of info regarding the ultramarines, as does unremembered empire.
The only treatments i've really enjoyed of an Imperator Titan going down is from Titanicus by Abnett.
And you've no idea how hard that was to do without reading what was supposed to be spoilered because I've still got a 10 hour flight to China, a week in China and the some 20-ish hours on a plane to get back home to go...
...where I plan to be reading all of the books mentioned!!!
I've read Know no Fear, and i understand the current state of the Ultramarines, i was just commenting on how they "got back into the game" so to speak, which should be interesting.
Spoiler:
The way i'm seeing it, pre Unremembered Empire, is that the Ultramarines have lost what 50%? 60%? 70%? of their legion strength. Which is a freaking lot of marines and it's not quite as bad as the 3 legions at Isstvaan, but still.
Alpharius proofed.
Don't spoil Unremembered Empire!! The legacy edition isn't out yet, lol....
nels1031 wrote: Just read the first of the Legion of the Damned short stories to be released on Itunes.
Brother Sergeant Centurius makes an appearance, old timers may remember him as the limited edition LotD special character. The Legion actually interacts with fellow space marines in this story and we see how they recruit. Still plenty of mystery and menace surround them though. Pretty cool.
I'll be picking all of them as they are released. Love me some Legion of the Damned.
Edit: I liked it so much I'm just gonna download the whole collection of 6 from BL.
Would you be so good as to give us a review of them when you're finished? I was really thrilled to see the release but they're all battles battles battles. I was hoping for some more background and depth but I wonder if that's interwoven with the stories.
I'd love to hear what you think of the legion of the damned books. Black library is putting out some amazing stuff, but the short stories can be a bit hit and miss. Feel a bit like a 5 minute job to earn easy cash some times.
on the other hand, who wouldn't be excited about more stuff about the legion of the damned?
For the few that requested it here is the review/summary of the Legion of the Damned short stories that BL released for Halloween. Sorry for the delay.
Animus Malorum, Dark Hollows of Memory are great stories and really add to the LotD mythos. More is revealed in those two stories about the Legion then in pretty much all of the fluff regarding them since there appearance. Those are the absolute must haves for any LotD fan, in my opinion.
The rest are just standard Deus Ex Machina stories that offer nothing else about the Legion. The Ship of the Damned was neat in that it revealed how a sub-warp ship works, as it travels across the galaxy. Remorseless was pretty cool in that it showcased a brutal gene-enhanced Human traitor in the service of the Iron Warriors. From the Flames... Meh. Votum Infernus had some nice Dark Eldar dialogue and combat.
The good shorts from this gave me so many new theories about the Legion of the Damned.
Animus Malorum:
Spoiler:
A company of Astartes that isn't named is fighting a losing war against an Ork horde on an important relic world. Standard fight to the last Space Marine stuff. The Captain of the company seems to despise his Chapter for leaving the relic world to its fate. He stays behind to sacrifice himself and his company to protect the relics and the few people left. A Techmarine is about to blow the giant chapel down, so as to deny the enemy the satisfaction of looting the tombs, should the others fall. The Legion shows up before he can do it. The Captain is mortally wounded killing an Ork Nob. He witnesses the Orks start to apparently turn on themselves, but then he notices the Legion is fighting them back, against all odds. He focuses on one Legion member in particular. A helmetless Marine(Sgt. Centurius) leading the new arrivals. His face is deathly pale, his eyes glow and every sweep of his chainsword is a banshees wail. The captain blacks out from his injuries.
He wakes up to the face of his apothecary and his civilian assistant. The Techmarine that first encountered the Legion is also there, its also revealed that Sergeant Centurius is in the room and he communicates to the captain through the Techmarine, telling him of the price that must be paid to the Legion for their assistance. The price being that the Legion wants someone like him in their ranks. The captain agrees and submits his life to the Legion. Before he is taken, and sees the truth of the bargain,you get the sense that he immediately regretted it.
Cut to the Techmarine supervising repairs and such, when combat breaks out. The Legion, who maintained vigil over the battefield while their Sergeant got his new recruit, turn on the Marines. The civilians who are around the battefield are impossibly spared the flames, apparently they aren't the target. Its the surviving Marines who are burning. Before the Techmarine is killed, Sgt. Centurius tells him that the rest of the Astartes at the battle were not worthy of the Legion, as their service wasn't as selfless as the recently departed Captain. They just followed orders, did as commanded and what was expected of them, nothing more, and apparently the Legion doesn't care for that type of Space Marine. Centurius uses the Animus Malorum on the Techmarine and steals his soul. End.
From the Flames:
Spoiler:
Two page short story... ffs.
Invaders Chapter in the midst of destroying the Idharae Craftworld. Eldar Avatar is wrecking the Marines, when the Legion shows up. Their flaming ammo is no use against the fiery demon, so they turn their fire in perfect unison onto the glass dome above them. It breaks and sucks friend and foe out into the void. The survivor, narrating the tale, turns on his distress beacon and watches his Chapter destroy the Craftworld.
This summary is about as long as the story itself.
Remorseless:
Spoiler:
This story is from the perspective of a Iron Warrior "gene-hound". He's an enhanced traitor human who is almost a match for an Astartes, but not in a fair fight. He uses his traitor guardsmen as fodder and kills an Imperial Fist, after a lengthy battle. He then lives up to his name sake and takes the Imperial Fists gene-seed, as that seems to be what he's made for. Then spectral marines start to appear and begin picking off the traitors. Eventually only the genehound is left. He fights off one Legion marine, with the help of combat stims. More Legion show up and give chase, not shooting him down, instead trying to capture him(but really they want the geneseed). During the chase the Legion are always right behind, in the corner of his eye. He takes a moment to look around and notices the tide of battle has turned the Iron Warriors are fleeing the planet. He gives up the chase and tries to hand the geneseed back to a Legion member who is walking towards him. The Legionnaire is also reverently holding the relics that were on the Imperial Fists armour, like they are also precious to him. The genehound notices that his vial storing the geneseed is broken and its contents destroyed. The Legion also notice and a mournful wail comes from the Legion. The traitor burns for a long time.
Votum Infernus:
Spoiler:
A squad of Vostroyan guardsmen are being hunted across a battlefield by a brother and sister duo of Dark Eldar. Eventually only one pious guardsman is left, and he prays for the Emperor to save him. Unsurprisingly, a Legionnaire shows up and kills the attacking Dark Eldar. The surviving brother tries to avenge the death of his sister but is also killed. The Vostroyan looks upon his savior and his memory comes back.
Twist #1 : Its not an actual battlefield. Its a Dark Eldar arena set up to look like one. The Archon asks his slavemaster where he got that amazing slave in black armor that just killed the two Dark Eldar. Slavemaster is dumbfounded and confused and is promptly killed by the Archon.
Twist #2 : The recreated battlefield was too well recreated, since it took actual Imperial buildings and placed them in the arena, regardless of its contents. Turns out at the base of one tower was the reliquary of a Space Marine, the same one who just saved the Vostroyan. More Legion show up and clean out the arena of its occupants Archon and all.
The Vostroyan is mercy killed by the Legion.
The Dark Hollows of Memory:
Spoiler:
Setting is an archive world for an entire sector. A custodian of the gigantic library finds himself compelled by some supernatural force to look for one book. He gets to it, but before he can check its contents, he's summoned to the Cathedral for services. At the end of the services, the Company of Misery attacks. They are traitor Astartes who live to spread fear and uh... Misery to the Imperium they onced served. They are somewhat Word Bearerish in their conduct. They start to torture and kill the scribes and acolytes, but their mission is to destroy the vaults that house all of the sectors knowledge.
The Legion appear and begin to combat the traitors. This story is unique in that parts of it are from an actual Legionnaire's perspective. They view the world and battles as I always imagined how a Thousand Son Rubric Marine would. His mind seems to be driven towards one purpose and thats the elimination of the traitors, who glow bright red amongst the fog that they view the material world in. Distractions pop up, such as dark shapes in the smoke (mortals, who they ignore) and they instinctively know that there is knowledge in the vast library that shouldn't be there. "A scar. A memory of the past that shouldn't be here." Or some such. They ignore it and focus on the task at hand: the traitors.
Suffice to say, the Legion defeats the Company of Misery and disappear. The custodian who was drawn to some secret at the beginning of the story, searches for it and finds it again. But now its nothing but ash, its contents unknown.
Ship of the Damned:
Spoiler:
A sister from the Order Dialogus is the main character, who I believe was a minor character in an older Black Templar novel. She attends to the spiritual needs of a pilgrim ship as it travels its route to Terra. During a class with children, a scuffle breaks out between two boys and a black sphere is dropped. The sister asks where he got the sphere and he says a Space Marine gave it to him, on his other ship, which miraculously survived a Xenos raid before it was rescued by this ship. Before she can press further, officers from the deck barge in and request the sisters presence upon the bridge. Its revealed that another ship is sending out a distress signal, but they can't understand it. While the sister tries to translate the message, the captain tries to dock with it. Right before they breach the doors, the sister realizes its a 7000 year old ship, from the Plague of Unbelief. That equals plague zombies. They get aboard the ship and do what zombies do. The sister retreats to the chapel where her class is held up and barricades the doors. She realizes that the child who dropped the black sphere is nowhere to be found, he went to search for his momma. She goes out in search of him and they find his now zombified mother and kill it. The gunfire attracts more zombies and they corner the pair, shes about to turn the last shot on the boy, but the black sphere, still in her pocket, begins to emit warmth. Then a Legion member appears and kills the zombies. He takes back the sphere and disappears. The ship is cleared in minutes and all is well. The exhausted sister goes to rest and finds the sphere on her pillow.
I liked Angel Exterminatus well enough, and I'm enjoying Betrayer, but...
..can the Good Guys get some love soon?
I can only take so much of the Emperor's Side getting their heads staved in, over and over...
Though maybe that's is meant to be a representation of 'How Things Went" until the Siege...
I do too, but you know as well as me that whenever the loyalists get an upper hand, the twirling mustache's of the XX Legion will show up. I swear they are like the freaking inquisition!!
Here's hoping that Mark of Calth is one for the underdogs!
Formosa wrote: Mark of calth is hit and miss, one of the stories in there is amazing,
I enjoyed all of the stories, especially the last one. The story about the athame from the athame's perspective was a little weird, but still cool in the switch of perspective.
I liked Angel Exterminatus well enough, and I'm enjoying Betrayer, but...
..can the Good Guys get some love soon?
I can only take so much of the Emperor's Side getting their heads staved in, over and over...
Though maybe that's is meant to be a representation of 'How Things Went" until the Siege...
I do too, but you know as well as me that whenever the loyalists get an upper hand, the twirling mustache's of the XX Legion will show up. I swear they are like the freaking inquisition!!
Here's hoping that Mark of Calth is one for the underdogs!
You know I'm not looking for that!
I was really hoping that the 'twist' was that the Alpha Legion really WAS loyal to the Emperor, but the stories since LEGION have drifted away from that concept...and into something terribly predictable and...mundane.
I always assumed after the twin primarches was introduced, the direction they were going was. 1 of the twins and his followers were loyal, the other was evil.
Gulliman ends up killing the loyal one, which is what drives the rest of them into the pure chaos for the Lula they are in the 41st millennium.
nels1031 wrote: For the few that requested it here is the review/summary of the Legion of the Damned short stories that BL released for Halloween. Sorry for the delay.
Animus Malorum, Dark Hollows of Memory are great stories and really add to the LotD mythos. More is revealed in those two stories about the Legion then in pretty much all of the fluff regarding them since there appearance. Those are the absolute must haves for any LotD fan, in my opinion.
The rest are just standard Deus Ex Machina stories that offer nothing else about the Legion. The Ship of the Damned was neat in that it revealed how a sub-warp ship works, as it travels across the galaxy. Remorseless was pretty cool in that it showcased a brutal gene-enhanced Human traitor in the service of the Iron Warriors. From the Flames... Meh. Votum Infernus had some nice Dark Eldar dialogue and combat.
The good shorts from this gave me so many new theories about the Legion of the Damned.
[/spoiler]
Thanks for the report, I'll pick up malorum and memory
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Compel wrote: I always assumed after the twin primarches was introduced, the direction they were going was. 1 of the twins and his followers were loyal, the other was evil.
Gulliman ends up killing the loyal one, which is what drives the rest of them into the pure chaos for the Lula they are in the 41st millennium.
Well, I've not read the most recent stories (Angel Exterminatus, Unremembered, Vulkan Lives). However, the story in The Primarches certainly seemed to be confirming my theory.
Incidentally, that should have been 'chaos for the lulz' - Apparently my computer autocorrected...
Oh, there could be an even bigger twist working off that one:
Spoiler:
theory, alpharius and omegon have started out on the cabal's plan to destroy humanity. one of them eventually turns to chaos, guilliman kills the one which has not turned to chaos and the cabal's plans to save the galaxy by wiping out humanity are left in ruins.
I'm thinking that Guilliman confronts the twins and the evil twin's true colors are revealed. The twins grapple with each other and fall behind a rock out of sight. When they emerge Guilliman draws his bolter to kill the evil twin.
"He is Omegon, I am Alpharius - shoot him!" cries Omegon (Alpharius?).
"I am Alpharius!"
"I am Alpharius!"
"I am Alpharius!"
"I am Alpharius!"
"I am Alpharius!"
"I am Alpharius!"
"By the alabaster columns of the Temple of Hera, I'm seeing double! Take this traitor - FOR THE EMPEROR!!!" Guilliman's bolter barks and Omegon falls dead.
And thus did Guilliman rid the galaxy of the scourge of Omegon. Or has he...? Dunn dunn DUNN!
Coming soon to space marine battles book near you.
I see the latest Tyrion and Teclis novel, Bane of Malekith is up on itunes. I'm usually all over WHF novels like white on rice, but feel I've been reading that particular story in 2 separate army books, of varying editions, for like 20 years. Is anyone reading it? If so, are there any new twists or revelations in that series?
So my limited edition Visions of Heresy turned up today and I'm rather pleased with it. It is an exact match for the FWHH rule books, although it comes in a slip case that I will be storing separate as it breaks the flow of books on my shelf. Lots of new art, most from the HH series that we have already seen, bits of the story have been updated and some new (small) sections added.
Is it worth £150? Of course not, but then the rule books aren't worth £75 either, this game isn't a rational purchase.
I have the collected visions book, so the previous version. The new version has all the art from the previous version, pretty much all the covers from the BLHH books (nice big prints), and a small amount of what looks to be old stuff not in the previous version.
Pardon for the threadjack; wasn't sure where a better location for this would be.
Found I'm moving soon - and need to switch the email address associated with my Black Library account.
(The site doesn't seem to offer that option within the Account Settings)
I've emailed them twice in the last week and a half, with no response...
You can call us on +44(0)115 9004069, we are open 10am to 4pm UK local time, Monday to Friday but it can get busy in the office so we might not able to answer you!
I have called before and they're quite nice and helpful.
Clunker wrote: Hm, I'm in the US, and have never attempted to call internationally before...
Thanks, I'll see what I can do with this.
If your phone does not do international calls, get a phone card and make the call using that as it will probably save you some cash in the long run, especially if you get put on hold.
Clunker wrote: Pardon for the threadjack; wasn't sure where a better location for this would be.
Found I'm moving soon - and need to switch the email address associated with my Black Library account.
(The site doesn't seem to offer that option within the Account Settings)
I've emailed them twice in the last week and a half, with no response...
Any ideas?
If you're still stuck shoot me a PM and I'll call them from over here.
What a mighty tome the Black Library has unleashed upon an unsuspecting world! Written by the cream of Black Library’s talent, this anthology contains 41 short stories, is 992 pages long, and weighs over half a kilo.
And how about this for a contents list:
One Hate – Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Kraken – Chris Wraight
The Iron Without – Graham McNeill
Deus ex Mechanicus – Andy Chambers
Pestilence – Dan Abnett
Torment – Anthony Reynolds
Cold Trade – Andy Hoare
The Relic – Jonathan Green
Faces – Matthew Farrer
Beneath the Flesh – Andy Smillie
Even Unto Death – Mike Lee
Orphans of the Kraken – Richard Williams
Black Dawn – C L Werner
Unforgiven – Graham McNeill
Shadow Knight – Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Survivor – Steve Parker
Emperor’s Deliverance – Nick Kyme
The Last Detail – Paul Kearney
Master Imus’s Transgression – Dan Abnett
The Long Games at Carcharias – Rob Sanders
Helion Rain – George Mann
Echoes of the Tomb – Sandy Mitchell
Voidsong – Henry Zou
We Are One – John French
Bitter End – S P Cawkwell
Mistress Baeda’s Gift – Braden Campbell
Flesh – Chris Wraight
Twelve Wolves – Ben Counter
Suffer not the Unclean to Live – Gav Thorpe
The Lives of Ferag Lion-Wolf – Barrington J Bayley
Snares and Delusions – Matthew Farrer
Gate of Souls – Mike Lee
The Wrath of Khârn – William King
The Returned – James Swallow
A Good Man – Sandy Mitchell
Hell Night – Nick Kyme
At Gaius Point – Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Midnight on the Street of Knives – Andy Chambers
The Carrion Anthem – David Annandale
Playing Patience – Dan Abnett
Apostle’s Creed – Graham McNeill
With so much great content, There is Only War is perfect for Black Library fans new and old. If you’ve never experienced tales from the grim darkness of the Warhammer 40,000 universe before, this is a great starting point.
Containing short stories from many of Black Library’s best authors, including Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill, Aaron Dembski-Bowden and Chris Wraight, it offers a great introduction to the heroes and villains of the far future. For those of you already familiar with Warhammer 40,000, this is the first chance to own many of these stories in printed form. Whether its short stories by your favourite author, or a chance to discover something new, this is a great addition to your Black Library collection.
There is Only War will be in stores in December, and makes a wonderful Christmas gift. You can find other great Christmas ideas on our gift list, all of which give you the opportunity to take advantage of our free shipping offer which runs until Christmas.
- Mal and Phil, Black Library cheerful chappies
Some of those are very old, some are very new. Seems a nice enough mix to me.
Begel Dverl wrote: Out of all of those, to be honest, Survivor would be the one of the best.
Which one's that again? Sounds familiar. Some sort of horribly ironic twist at the end is it?
Pestilence by Abnett is good. I think all his shorts are good, I think it's cos when he's at his best he's excellent, and he can't really go far wrong with a short story so it's pretty much guaranteed to be good.
Begel Dverl wrote: Out of all of those, to be honest, Survivor would be the one of the best.
Which one's that again? Sounds familiar. Some sort of horribly ironic twist at the end is it?
Pestilence by Abnett is good. I think all his shorts are good, I think it's cos when he's at his best he's excellent, and he can't really go far wrong with a short story so it's pretty much guaranteed to be good.
The story, in a summary, is...
Spoiler:
A little boy left behind after a WAAAGH! comes in is trying to survive without being killed by Orks and Grots. After a while, an Ork convoy comes into town carrying a bunch of people, which he hasn't seen in, like, a month or so. And all the while, it's flashing back and forth to sequences in the past, revealing that the boy was given to his grandfather to be taken care of. The grandpa toughens him up gradually and now here he is. He sees another child in the slaves and he makes a plan to get him. While these two Warbosses are fighting outside a chapel, he sneaks in to free the slaves, who all want out. He manages to save the friend even as the rest are slaughtered because of the Orks who heard the clamoring. Just when he was about to make it to safety, IMPERIAL BOMBARDMENT OUTTA NOWHERE. The Guard retake the city and the two children try to get to them. They think they're Orks and they open fire, killing the boy's friend he just rescued.
Today’s Digital Mondays offering is Duty and Honour from Chris Wraight. This story originally featured in Swords of the Emperor, the collection of Sword of Justice, featuring Ludwig Schwarzhelm and Sword of Vengeance, featuring Kurt Helborg. And we enjoyed it so much we thought we’d release it separately as an ebook for you to download.
Talking of duty, our next Space Marine Battles book, Malodrax, features a captain who is the very embodiment of the term “duty”. Lysander has served his Chapter for many hundreds of years and Ben Counter’s latest novel featuring the Imperial Fists facing off against their arch enemy, the Iron Warriors, compounds this even further.
Ben joined us to talk about his experience whilst writing Malodrax:
“Malodrax is the story of Lysander – it's an origin story of sorts, taking him from a relatively new Imperial Fists captain to the utterly uncompromising man of the character's current iteration. The very basics of this story were laid down in Lysander's background as it exists in Warhammer 40,000, but the details were up to me.
For me, Lysander has evolved from a miniature and special character in the game to a character who lets me make a big statement about the Warhammer 40,000 universe. His defining feature is that he will do anything for victory. Malodrax let me explore that further as Lysander is ripped away from his Chapter and thrown onto a hostile world where every decision has consequences well beyond the immediate need to survive. In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, mankind must do abhorrent things to survive – Lysander, similarly, must decide how much to sacrifice for victory, and the question of how far is too far in the pursuit of his goal was a great central theme to work with.
The biggest challenge was taking a recognisable character, especially someone who is very emblematic of what a Space Marine is, completely out of context. At the start of Malodrax, Lysander doesn't have any fellow Imperial Fists around and he's stripped of all the resources a Space Marine officer can usually call upon, yet he still has to remain recognisably the same character. Fortunately the structure of the book, which switches between Lysander's adventures alone on Malodrax and his return in the company of an Imperial Fists strike team, let me show Lysander both on his own and as a part of a Space Marine force.
The difficulties were secondary to the opportunities Lysander afforded me. I love to take one tiny corner of the universe, in this case Lysander's backstory, and use it to explore a theme that is central to the whole Warhammer 40,000 background. Malodrax let me do that, while at the same time perhaps packing in a few surprises about a character it's easy to assume we know everything about.
One of my major aims in the book was to show that Lysander is a lot more complicated than his miniature or rules suggest.”
Space Marine Battles: Malodrax hits the stores on Saturday 14th December and is available to pre-order now.
Don’t forget that you can take advantage of our free shipping offer and place your order for Malodrax today.
-Adam,
Copies of "Tallarn" -- the last limited edition book -- have been sent out.
Got and read mine yesterday.
It is, as ever, a gorgeously designed/looking book.
Once again I do feel the plates in the centre don't really add anything especially worthwhile, although the foldout version of the cover certainly helps one appreciate the ( predictably) lovely cover art .
Story is.. well... is alright I guess. Well told and written but I'm not quite sure it deserves " the hype" ( so to speak) that this format would seem to suggest.
It's really no different than any of the short stories from any of the previous anthologies IMO.
THE STORY
After the destruction of Monarchia and the Emperor’s reprimanding of the Word Bearers Legion, the primarch Lorgar spent many long years searching the stars for the universal truths of the cosmos – when he finally came to gaze deep into the Eye of Terror, with grim inevitability he found that the Eye stared back. Now, guided by the daemon Ingethel, he undertakes a spiritual journey into the heart of Chaos itself and sees that the entire destiny of mankind and the Imperium could rest upon just a few nexus events. As the Great Crusade burns itself out in treachery and deceit, Lorgar weighs the cost of his ambitions, and sets his course for eternal damnation.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Available for the first time since its Limited Edition release, Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Horus Heresy novella is presented in a stunning hardback format.
If you liked First Heretic at all then you should pick this up IMO.
THE STORY
The Thousand Sons – a Legion whose destiny was irrevocably altered at Prospero, and yet who now seem to dance only to fate’s tune. Ahzek Ahriman and Magnus the Red cast their psychic sight over the galaxy, seeking any clue as to what the future might hold and where their true allegiance should ultimately be placed.
ABOUT THE AUDIO
A Horus Heresy audio drama written by Graham McNeill.Running time approx 35 mins.
I've got to be honest, I'm about topped up with Word Bearers in the HH now.
I could do with the next few books not even mentioning them.
Additionally, the entire HH series is getting to be a bit too much in terms of The Bad Guys - it is reminding me of the Walking Dead comics - looooooong on torture porn and How Evil and Awful Man is to Man, As They Are The True Monsters Here Now.
We get it.
Time to get us to Terra and then the Scouring already!
Nice, I am glad to see Aurelian back out as I missed out last time around, I have heard only good things and I cant get enough of Lorgar and the World Bearers !
Tempted to get Promethean Sun as well.
Rayvon wrote: Nice, I am glad to see Aurelian back out as I missed out last time around, I have heard only good things and I cant get enough of Lorgar and the World Bearers !
Seriously?
They are one of the most f'ed up parts of the HH - and it is really hard to see how anyone willingly signs up for 'more of that' in terms of "Chaos" when you see where they end up!
Which is the story where you read about what the first WB going into the Eye actually saw, was that Aurelian?
I know it was on ltd edition first of all, and therefore out of my price bracket, but it really didn't bother me that much - always loved the super-mysterious aspect of that, they saw something too terrible to possibly describe!!!, in the way that it kind of tied into the old conceptions of Chaos being a sort of Pandora's box, before it became all spikes and murder,.. and leaving it at that, rather than having to unweave the rainbow as it were.
Anyway! Finding myself picking and choosing bits of the Heresy series - Fulgrim, Thousand Sons, Legion; Yes! Reflection Cracked, that other story where the Alpha Legion reverted to moustache-twirling- No!
FIRST HERETIC is where you first read about that, but I think we get the expanded version in AURELIAN where presumably Lorgar tells us why he f's over the entire human race as it was on the cusp of truly dominating the galaxy...?!?
I've been reading Corax: Soulforge recently. I'm 3/4's of the way through it and it's the best GW Novella I've read so far.
Space Hulk was bleh.
Dark Vengeance was god awful, terribad. The guy couldn't even tell the difference between a 'Chapter Master' and a 'Company Master.' - This book is supposed to be the introduction to 40k?!
Brotherhood of The Storm was pretty much pointless babble except for maybe 4 lines. The twist is also done later as the exact same plot twist later on in The Sword of Truth.
Corax: Soulforge, I'm really enjoying. Giant mechanicus city-ships on an ocean world, the viewpoint is mostly from Corax, - You'll be glad to know, he's a proper heroic-type primarch.
I also listened to 'Honour To The Dead' last night, which was great fun. The audiodramas have moved on leaps and bounds after their early efforts, now. Multiple actors (and Actresses!), there's a constant soundtrack, you've got titans walking, turbolasers firing, buildings collapsing. - Great stuff!
Alpharius wrote: FIRST HERETIC is where you first read about that, but I think we get the expanded version in AURELIAN where presumably Lorgar tells us why he f's over the entire human race as it was on the cusp of truly dominating the galaxy...?!?
Aurelian is the story of what Lorgar saw in the warp to convince him to turn. And its the first time he gets to actually be hard.
The first heretic is about how the word bearers turned.
KamikazeCanuck wrote: Word Bearers are jerks, just saying. Sounds like you finally OD'd on the grimdark Alpharius.
You know, I think you're right!
The downward spiral began with the introduction of 40K 6th... and ended with an OD of Grimdark from BL?!?
With some Walking Dead in between apparently. That happened to me back in the day and then Mass Effect was a breath of fresh air but then ironically that series became even more grimdark than 40k. I'm sure there's some brightnoble sci-fi out there for you somewhere.
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BobtheInquisitor wrote: Read some Star Trek Corps of Engineers. It's...definitely not grimdark.
I was actually going to say Star Trek too but I'm reading the Legacy Trilogy now....looks like it's gonna be pretty grimdark.
I have no trouble with the grimdark, but BL are going to be flogging the HH horse for some time yet I fear...it will literally be years before we get the Siege of Terra...so don't hold your breath.
Would love to read about the Unification era! And about how the Emperor offered a completely reasonable retirement plan complete with dental & health for the thunder warriors, but they rejected it on the advice of their union, forcing him to kill them.. or something
It’s day three of the Black Library Advent Calendar, and today we have Torias Telion: The Eye of Vengeance, a new story from the Master of the Ultramarines himself… no, not Marneus Calgar (though keep an eye out for more about him later in the month), but Graham McNeill, author of the long-running Ultramarines series.
As the name suggests, Graham has returned to expert marksman Torias Telion, to tell a tale that follows on from the events of the novel The Chapter’s Due and the audio drama Eye of Vengeance.
It won’t have escaped your attention that both this and yesterday’s Ahriman: Hand of Dust are badged as part of the Lords of the Space Marines series. The more astute amongst you may have figured out that this is the theme of this year’s Advent Calendar – the mighty heroes of the Adeptus Astartes, and their treacherous Chaos Space Marine foes.
Last year’s Advent Calendar was great, a fantastic mix of Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and The Horus Heresy, but when we sat down to plan this year’s stories, we decided that we wanted a theme. We considered stories about an ogre Santa sneaking down Old World chimneys and eating children, or tales of the presents that dark eldar find in their stockings (I still have nightmares about that), but then we realised that what we all wanted was to explore a few of the named Space Marine characters from the background. Many of them have appeared in novels, novellas and short stories past, but some we are seeing for the first time.
Who are you hoping will get a tale over the course of the month? Let us know on our Facebook page and join us tomorrow for more.
– Graeme, King of Advent (I wish)
BL producing a glut of marine stories !? Who'd a thunk !?
Have to say that the titling of the short story seems somewhat confusing and/or poorly thought out.
It’s day three of the Black Library Advent Calendar, and today we have Torias Telion: The Eye of Vengeance, a new story from the Master of the Ultramarines himself… no, not Marneus Calgar (though keep an eye out for more about him later in the month), but Graham McNeill, author of the long-running Ultramarines series.
As the name suggests, Graham has returned to expert marksman Torias Telion, to tell a tale that follows on from the events of the novel The Chapter’s Due and the audio drama Eye of Vengeance.
It won’t have escaped your attention that both this and yesterday’s Ahriman: Hand of Dust are badged as part of the Lords of the Space Marines series. The more astute amongst you may have figured out that this is the theme of this year’s Advent Calendar – the mighty heroes of the Adeptus Astartes, and their treacherous Chaos Space Marine foes.
Last year’s Advent Calendar was great, a fantastic mix of Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and The Horus Heresy, but when we sat down to plan this year’s stories, we decided that we wanted a theme. We considered stories about an ogre Santa sneaking down Old World chimneys and eating children, or tales of the presents that dark eldar find in their stockings (I still have nightmares about that), but then we realised that what we all wanted was to explore a few of the named Space Marine characters from the background. Many of them have appeared in novels, novellas and short stories past, but some we are seeing for the first time.
Who are you hoping will get a tale over the course of the month? Let us know on our Facebook page and join us tomorrow for more.
– Graeme, King of Advent (I wish)
BL producing a glut of marine stories !? Who'd a thunk !?
Have to say that the titling of the short story seems somewhat confusing and/or poorly thought out.
Well, I personally wouldn't have minded a story about Ogre Santa or Dark Eldar presents...
I finished "Master of Death" by Josh Reynolds. It was a pretty good read. As I read it, I got the feeling that this novel is to Time of Legends, what "Legion" was to the Horus Heresy, in that its all about conspiracies, double crosses and treachery.
The brief insights into the mindset of the Warhammer Vampires was neat, Melkhior(W'sorans apprentice) was comedically devious, in that any sort of rival to him had a way of meeting a bad end. Some of the minor characters were pretty cool, I particularly liked the Draesca, human servants of W'soran that served him willingly and fought alongside their dead brethren and former rulers. The crown their king wears was created by W'soran and according to the current Vampire Counts book, still exist.
Nothing really relevatory for the larger warhammer universe in this novel except for the twist at the end:
Spoiler:
Anyone familiar with Warhammer Vampire lore knows that Melkhior betrayed his master and killed him. Turns out that it was actually a trap, W'soran merely transferred his soul into Melkhiors body(sort of like the old one-off Black Library novel "Necromancer") to cease the constant attempts on his life from Ushoran and Neferata. With them thinking him dead at the hands of Melkhior, he is free to plan his schemes anew. It makes me wonder if perhaps history repeats itself with "Melkhior" and Zacarias the Everliving (a former special character in the Vampire Counts book) and W'soran is still at large amongst the Warhammer World.
I hope the next part of this series deals with Abhorash, he's only in the novel briefly, but he oozes badass and menace every scene he is in. Looking forward to the conclusion of this trilogy, as the timeframe is quickly approaching the birth of Sigmar, or at least the birth of the Empire.
i haven't read Master of Death yet, but i really enjoyed Neferata (just read it for the second time, actually)...
i'll have to give the new one a read, but i'm like you Nels1031, i really, really, want an Abhorash novel...
Blood Dragons need some backstory...
If yesterday’s Imperial Fists Advent Calendar tale was a gold bauble on our Christmas tree of stories, today’s is definitely a silver one. What am I talking about? A tale of the Imperium’s elite silver-clad daemon hunters, of course, the Grey Knights. Author L J Goulding has a lot to say about Kaldor Draigo: Knight of Titan, so here he is (L J, not Draigo):
The Warhammer 40,000 universe is full of great characters. Most of them are larger than life. Almost all of them are taller than you. Especially the Space Marines.
For me, one of the most intriguing just has to be Kaldor Draigo. Throughout Codex: Grey Knights (not to mention the rest of the background!) the legendary deeds and feats of psychic prowess credited to him are almost beyond belief. But where some people perceive only the seemingly impossible, I see fantastic potential for an interesting narrative – where there’s a conflict or a contradiction, there’s usually a reason or an explanation for it in there, somewhere.
And where there’s an explanation, there’s a story waiting to be told.
I know a lot of you are anxiously waiting to find out just how the Supreme Grand Master managed to best a certain daemon primarch on the plains of Kornovin, but that’s a tale for another time. For this special Advent Calendar short, I decided instead to look at Draigo as he exists ‘now’: lost in the warp, a tragic and reluctant hero, a soul adrift in the nightmare of unreality. How exactly does one fight a war, all alone and with no idea of how long it will last or how many foes will be faced?
I can neither confirm nor deny whether there might be some nifty little hints in there about any possible future releases, but hopefully Kaldor Draigo: Knight of Titan will show that he’s not some uber-beatstick who exists only to knock your opponent’s entire army off the table on a roll of 3+… He’s actually a fairly well rounded individual, all things considered.
Thank you Mr Goulding. As was, er, strongly implied there, you might want to keep an eye out for more Grey Knights from him in the near future (tides of the warp permitting). If you want your fill of silver-armoured daemon hunters now, there’s always The Emperor’s Gift by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, or Ben Counter’s trilogy of novels, Grey Knights, Dark Adeptus and Hammer of Daemons.
Before I go, here’s some great news for all UK customers reading. The last order date for guaranteed Christmas delivery has now been extended to Monday 16th December! We are employing short range servo-skull delivery probes to reach addresses in the UK a lot faster than our sovereign mail system...
Tomorrow, we delve into the caverns beneath Nocturne with Nick Kyme… See you then.
THE STORY
The green-skinned hordes of the Overfiend of the Octavius system have long been a thorn in the Imperium’s side – and now, with human worlds caught in the crossfire between the orks and eldar, that thorn will be removed. Temur Khan and his brotherhood descend upon Lepidus Prime to cleanse it of the green taint. The swift and brutal hammer to the Imperial Guard’s anvil, the White Scars strike hard and fast – but when the orks reveal a super-weapon, it may take more than just power to win the day.?
ABOUT THE BOOK
An ePremiere of the Warhammer 40,000 novella by David Annandale.
Malodrax, by Ben Counter, a Space Marine Battles novel, is up on iBooks...
this is the book that i was hoping for with Seventh Retribution, Lysander's capture, and escape, from the clutches of the Iron Warriors...
i'm really looking forward to this bit of backstory, and not a bad deal at $7.99...
Stormseer is up as well, but i'm not as excited by novellas as i am full length novels...
There is Only War is up, too...
over 1,000 pages of short stories collected together for $11.99...
hard to tell which stories i already have, though, with all the ways to get eShorts these days...
the £75 collector's edition of Macragge's Honour is up for order.
NOTE
ORDERING AND SHIPPING INFORMATION Macragge's Honour is available to order for nineteen days only from the 20th of December 2013 to the 8th January 2014. All orders within this period will guarantee you a copy.
As we're printing and binding Macragge's Honour to order you won't receive your graphic novel until approximately ten weeks after the order date. By placing your order, you hereby consent to us delivering in this time. Rest assured, we'll keep you informed of your book's journey through the process via regular emails, and we'll even send you an extra surprise or two to keep you entertained while you wait. Please ensure that you add contact@blacklibrary.com to your email contact list to
IIRC the regular version goes up for sale on Xmas day.
Disregard, I believe this was the one that was going to go up on Xmas day. Apologies.
Reds8n
Seems that with every copy of the special edition graphic novel one also receives a free e-book " The Wolf of Ash and Fire" which delves into the past, prior to the HH, and concerns a time when Horus and the Emperor fought side by side on the ork held planetoid of Gorro.
I've a few of the absolute comic books that aren't exactly cheap and if this is the same standard (the collected visions was) then I don't mind paying a premium.
I never said there wasn't a market of buyers for it.
TBL enjoys a very captive and easy target audience, which is why they can publish garbage for two years and still get away with new limited editions at inflated prices.
Here it is, held by what I believe is known as "A Gav Thorpe"
Assuming he isn't some sort of freakish midget, looks to be on a par with the FWHH books as mentioned.
Lol.. he's not a midget unless you're referring to the parody farseer version of him converted back in 3rd edition after the too cheesey for it's tie eldar codex came out. The hate for him back in the day rivals that of Matt Ward currently.
Plucked from a catastrophic war against the monstrous tyranids, Colonel ‘Iron Hand’ Straken and his Catachan Jungle Fighters are sent to the cavern world of Dulma’lin to clear it of an ork infestation. Ranged against an overwhelming force of greenskins, and with the hostile attentions of Commissar Morrell upon them, the Catachans must overcome internal divisions and hold the line against the alien menace.
Read an extract here
ABOUT THE BOOK
An ePremiere of the Warhammer 40,000 novel by Toby Frost.
Supposed to be about 1 year before this sees any physical release.
Read the Straken synopsis, looks interesting, but then I saw the on-site blurb and really? It's just like the other novels: Evil commissar who doesn't agree with how a regiment rolls, regimental rivalry, a fight against all odds, yadda yadda.
A Great Hunt has been called, and Kor’sarro Khan, Master of the Hunt, gathers the White Scars for war. They shall track their prey across the galaxy, never resting until his head is taken to be displayed in the Chapter’s fortress-monastery on distant Chogoris. But this prey will be a challenge, for he is as fast and as cunning as the sons of Jaghatai, and as deadly a foe as the khan has ever faced. For on this Great Hunt, the White Scars seek the daemon prince known only as Doomrider.
About this Edition
A Space Marines Battle Audio Drama by Josh Reynolds
.. Doomrider ?!?! Good grief never saw that one coming !
I can state with 100% confidence that many of the authors and a fair few of the BL editorial/publishing team are well aware of the existence of such.
.. Probably best to wait until payday -- which is a mere 3 thousand and thirty seven years away... alas.... -- to purchase this, been digging Mr Reynolds work a lot.....
reds8n wrote: I can state with 100% confidence that many of the authors and a fair few of the BL editorial/publishing team are well aware of the existence of such.
.. Probably best to wait until payday -- which is a mere 3 thousand and thirty seven years away... alas.... -- to purchase this, been digging Mr Reynolds work a lot.....
As word of Horus’s treachery spreads to fully half of the Legiones Astartes, Terra looks to the remaining loyalist Space Marines to defend the Imperium. One group, however, remains curiously silent in spite of apparent efforts from both sides to contact them – the noble Vth Legion, Jaghatai Khan’s fearsome White Scars. In the ork-held territory of Chondax, a bitter war has been raging since the Triumph at Ullanor, and only now do the sons of Chogoris return their gaze to the heavens...
ABOUT THE BOOK
Available for the first time since its Limited Edition release, Chris Wraight's Horus Heresy novella is presented in a stunning hardback format.
Orders for this book will commence shipping from Monday 6th January.
January 2014 • ISBN 9781849706377
Chris Wraight
£15 hardback novella, £9.50 for the e-book.
This is very much a precursor to the recently serialised "Scars" -- same chapter & author -- some of the characters therein are introed here.
It's so sad to see BL fall like this, with the overpriced hardcover for this time only limited edition bullcrap. I remember the good old days of the paperbacks being released monthly. There was always something new to read each month. Now I haven't read a BL book in months because there's just nothing.
Harriticus wrote: It's so sad to see BL fall like this, with the overpriced hardcover for this time only limited edition bullcrap. I remember the good old days of the paperbacks being released monthly. There was always something new to read each month. Now I haven't read a BL book in months because there's just nothing.
Harriticus wrote: It's so sad to see BL fall like this, with the overpriced hardcover for this time only limited edition bullcrap. I remember the good old days of the paperbacks being released monthly. There was always something new to read each month. Now I haven't read a BL book in months because there's just nothing.
There's new releases all the time. All the time.
Yes, we know, inthe iPad or overpriced oversized. I have an iPad, but don't like reading off of it, and I dislike paying extra for the oversized books or limited edition novellas. I have just picked up and read angel exterminated and betrayer after waiting for the paperback small version though.
A Great Hunt has been called, and Kor’sarro Khan, Master of the Hunt, gathers the White Scars for war. They shall track their prey across the galaxy, never resting until his head is taken to be displayed in the Chapter’s fortress-monastery on distant Chogoris. But this prey will be a challenge, for he is as fast and as cunning as the sons of Jaghatai, and as deadly a foe as the khan has ever faced. For on this Great Hunt, the White Scars seek the daemon prince known only as Doomrider.
About this Edition
A Space Marines Battle Audio Drama by Josh Reynolds
.. Doomrider ?!?! Good grief never saw that one coming !
Will this ever be printed in some form, you people think? White Scars vs Doomrider sounds too cool, but I can not stand audio dramas.
cincydooley wrote: So let's not disingenuously say they don't release anything new, Kay pumpkin?
Wow. Does that attitude cover up your inability to understand the very simple concept of what he was saying? Is it really so hard to put together that he is referring to a lack of regular MMPBs that appeal to a lot of more casual readers?
If I said Black Library was shooting themselves in the foot by eliminating their book store shelf presence, would I need to explain that the bullet is metaphorical? This discussion pops up all the time...because there are so many people who pop into this thread for the first time to discuss how disappointed they are in Black Library, and how they have stopped buying. So, ebooks or not, there is an identifiable problem. But just go one claiming that the existence of fan-trolling new product negates the impact of wave after wave of lost customers.
kitch102 wrote: I'm curious, how many of us went in for Macragge's Honour?
I did, though feel shameful for admitting spending that much on a book.
I did but I'm a huge ultramarines fan and I already collect the absolute editions of comics anyway so the price isn't that bad compared to what I'm used to.
I've read Dan's comic stuff before, not impressed, so giving it a pass until whenever we're allowed to get a more normal version of this one. I'm curious about this, but not that curious in all honesty, as I'm not a big comic fan to begin with.
Compel wrote: Is anyone else getting a real sense of... desparation from Black Library about Macragges Honour?
Yep, they are reminding us too oftern to pick it up before its gone while if it did sell like a super limited whatever is supposed to them they should be gloating about how quickly it sold out.
GW are doing the same thing with those chaos collections from a month ago, all over Christmas and just aftet they were reminding us they still existed when something like that should have sold out well before then.
In other news any idea when the next ghosts book is due?
I started reading first and only again last night and for the first time in like 6+ months I'm enjoying BL stuff again.
Compel wrote: Is anyone else getting a real sense of... desparation from Black Library about Macragges Honour?
Yep, they are reminding us too oftern to pick it up before its gone while if it did sell like a super limited whatever is supposed to them they should be gloating about how quickly it sold out.
GW are doing the same thing with those chaos collections from a month ago, all over Christmas and just aftet they were reminding us they still existed when something like that should have sold out well before then.
In other news any idea when the next ghosts book is due?
I started reading first and only again last night and for the first time in like 6+ months I'm enjoying BL stuff again.
Amazon has The Warmaster down for a July 2014 release. That's the hardback version (£13.81 advance). However depending on your choice of format how long will it take to transit via Trade to Mass Market paperback?
Blurb from the site:
After the success of their desperate mission to Salvation's Reach, Colonel-Commisar Gaunt and the Tanith First race to the strategically vital forge world of Urdesh, besieged by the brutal armies of Anarch Sek. However, there may be more at stake than just a planet. The Imperial forces have made an attempt to divide and conquer their enemy, but with Warmaster Macaroth himself commanding the Urdesh campaign, it is possible that the Archenemy assault has a different purpose - to decapitate the Imperial command structure with a single blow. Has the Warmaster allowed himself to become an unwitting target? And can Gaunt's Ghosts possibly defend him against the assembled killers and war machines of Chaos?
As for Macragge's Honour, could it actually sell out? Too expensive for my tastes (however I did pay the full price for 2000AD's Zenith collection) so I didn't look too closely. Was it limited numbers or a limited time to order...then they print that many?
As for First and Only, SFX consider it a classic as they have given a retrospective review and comments in this months magazine (written by Guy Haley)
I think with Macragge's Honour they are trying to bank on the popularity of the series and hoping that it, like every other super-limited Horus Heresy release, will strike gold.
I think BL is maintaining something of a print on demand for these, with an extra lot printed for events and whatnot (Cleared out the stock room and we found a box of these, let the fighting commence!)
BrookM wrote: I think with Macragge's Honour they are trying to bank on the popularity of the series and hoping that it, like every other super-limited Horus Heresy release, will strike gold.
I think BL is maintaining something of a print on demand for these, with an extra lot printed for events and whatnot (Cleared out the stock room and we found a box of these, let the fighting commence!)
I look forward to seeing the price of the standard version. The previewed art looks good, I took advantage of the "rarer than rocking horse poo" free wallpaper they produced, I'm an Ultramarines player and I am interested, just not at that price.
The limited to 10 000 Zenith collection was something I paid £100 pre-order for but that story was a known quantity and I WANTED it. Not as much as the people who have been paying £500 for it on eBay mind you!
2000AD though has proven itself and I can most certainly see why people would gladly pay that much for a collection or anthology from them.
BL on the other hand isn't exactly known to a lot these days for comics, this despite having run their own bi-monthly comic series about a decade ago which spawned several okay series before quitting and handing it over to BOOM! for a while. So, forking over cash for this, nope, not for me. I love the Horus Heresy series, I really do, but for them to hop back into an abandoned medium, looks iffy to me.
I don't know, will this be a reboot of BL doing comics again or just a one off? Red, help?
Seems to me it's a medium they'd be interested in doing stuff in -- graphic novels one means here. I can't see them going back to a monthly publishing release any time soon.
.. Long term -- and I mean LONG term here --- guess maybe they could do something digitally but that's pie in the sky speculation.
Dang it, nostalgia hits again. While I was more of an Inferno! fan myself, I do picked up the odd issue of Warhammer Monthly here and there, I do miss the old grimy black and white serials they did.
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