Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.
2008/02/27 17:09:54
Subject: Finished Ravenor Rogue a couple of weeks ago.
I finished Ravenor Rogue a couple of weeks ago and have to say that overall, I'm pretty pleased with the conclusion of the series. The Ravenor series always seemed to be on a smaller scale than the Eisenhorn books, and Rogue was no exception. The book was good, but it didn't feel like it covered quite as much as it should have. It really left a huge question unanswered.
SPOLER WARNING.
For those of you who have read it, I had a couple questions to throw out there.
Spoiler:
First deals with Zael and his seemingly unimportant role in the book. I guess the point was that he was reflecting the Demon inside Thonius and that's why the ship got Haunted. It's also why Frauka got broken down, because the demon's reflection was so powerful. Still, I always thought Frauka and Zael were interesting characters and I rather missed them in this book. Did anyone else miss their usual roles?
The second question I had was what do you think happens to Ravenor at the end? Am I the only one who wishes that the book had told us the outcome of his trial? I think the evidence seems to point to him being finished. His band of henchmen is broken and will probably never be reformed and I can't see Kara getting off so easy for not telling Ravenor about the demon. Still, do you think Abnett left it open incase he ever decides to bring the man back?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2008/02/27 17:11:02
I gotta say, Ravenor Rogue was something of a dissapointment for me. I don't have time to write much now, but I at least wanted to throw that out there. I'll come back and discuss further!
Bernard, float over here so I can punch you.
2008/02/29 22:00:09
Subject: Re:Finished Ravenor Rogue a couple of weeks ago.
Agreed, Ravenor, as a whole, was much less.. 'epic' than Eisenhorn. As a book it was not as exciting (though just as interesting, truth be told), as a man, he was much smaller scale than Gregor. Gregor was BIG time, he had facilities, he had a network, he had connections, he had field agents, he had hook-ups, he had respect and renown, he had an operation going. Ravenor was 2-bit by comparison. He had a rag-tag bunch of agents and some notoriety for his scholarly work, and that's as far as his reach extended.
Spoiler:
Seriously, what was up with Zael and Frauka? That was quite possibly the most interesting twist right up until they both went all batty and took over the ship. Then they just kinda dissappeared! Did I miss an entire chapter? Did they ever explain what happened to these two? Last I understood they mutinied and taken over the ship, and were just absent for the rest of the book. I MUST'VE missed something!
And I did not appreciate the effect Abnett was trying to achieve with telling the story of the mutiny through Patience Kys' eyes. Yes, I get it, you were trying to create a sense of bewilderment and confusion at the events, and lack of knowledge of what occurred. This does not instill a feeling of suspense and mystery. It instills a feeling of bewilderment and confusion!
I did like how it ended, a bit sad, but very 'open-ended', alot like Eisenhorn. The story has concluded, but that doesn't mean Ravenor's life had. The sense of closure's not supposed to be THAT complete. It'd be a bit of a stretch of the imagination to just kind of end it with a result, one way or another (Unless of course they just execute him, and where's the fun in that?). Because more than likely what happens to him is another series of events that leads him down a path of another adventure of some kind, ala Eisenhorn's escape from Cadia.
And I found it off-putting that they don't at least give a little bit more detail about Eisenhorn (namely whether he's actually dead). They mention him in very vague, third-party reports, and that's it. I don't expect him to make a cameo appearance or anything, but give us SOMETHING!
All in all, though, a damn fine piece of literature. Think I liked the first two better though.
Iorek on Zombie Dong wrote:I know you'll all keep thinking about it. Admit it. Some of you may even make it your avatar
Yup.
2008/03/05 15:33:24
Subject: Re:Finished Ravenor Rogue a couple of weeks ago.
Well, to me it seemed too disjointed, and the ending was far too nebulous. I don't mind it when you're left deliberately in suspense about something at the end of a book, but this was too broad: Everything just kinda scattered, and for no real reason. The first two books were kept very tight, and Rouge just...well, it felt rushed and disorganized.
I REALLY loved the first two, and there was so much that could have been explored further. There were a ton of little things introduced in them that just got flat-out dumped without a word in the third (final?) volume. Like Alizebeth (sp?), for example. Not one single word about her since Ravenor, and there I was thinking that Zael would be able to do something about/with/to her...
Bernard, float over here so I can punch you.
2008/03/05 15:56:46
Subject: Re:Finished Ravenor Rogue a couple of weeks ago.
I finished it a few weeks ago as well. It was okay - not bad but not amazing - certainly not the worst BL novel I've read.
Spoiler:
I have to say I really enjoyed the "fleshing out" of Molotch's character. It was nice to finally have a cold, calculating Chaos follower who wasn't completely nuts. I enjoyed it when he was cracking jokes about Magus' chanting over old dusty daemon-summoning scrolls.
The mutiny chapter was utterly pointless to the storyline and I think Abnett just included it to increase the page count.
I actually enjoyed the ending. If you re-read it, there's a vague allusion that Ravenor will be excused and re-instated as an Inquisitor (although w/o his old retinue) and that this (the trial) is just a formality.
My biggest question is, when they step through the Door and enter the Tyranid world, how one of them (can't recall who) makes a vague allusion to the coming of the Hive Fleets but, if you look at the dates on the chapter headings, it occurs after the Hive Fleets have already arrived.....WTF!?
2008/03/05 19:50:54
Subject: Finished Ravenor Rogue a couple of weeks ago.
I'd wondered about that meself (though I didn't bother to check the dates.) The only thing I can think about is that Gideon and his people simply hadn't heard about them. It's a big galaxy, and I remember reading that the Imperium's making a point of not spreading the word about them very much.
