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.

Yours thoughts on the books?

I about a third the way through the first one and absolutely love it. Very interesting story-line, I and want to see (or read) how it plays out.

I disliked them. Now quite as much as Counter's Grey Knights but i still stoped reading after a while.
Tbh, Kymes writing style turns battle hardened supermen into squabling teenagers in the futile attempt to humanise them.
Sadly he fails in that regard and what are suposed to be interesting, three dimensional characters become little more than a bunch of annoying and quite shallow teenage boys.

They would be good if there wasn't so much infighting.

It was one of my favorite series of books. One annoying thing is the amount of short stories and audio books you have to buy separate to the series, which the stories seem to constantly elude to, such as the hero of the space marines book having the story of captain kadai's death. But overall one of my favorite reads.

I enjoyed the first book, the second book turned into a giant sales pitch for the then upcoming DE codex and it just turned me off. I finished after ignoring the "new DE unit here, buy it soon" billboards throughout the book. I understand the books are written about the 40k universe, I get that. But it seemd several times throughout the book as if the unit mentioned was added after a GW salesman said dont forget to add "said unit" to the fight.

I just finished the second one recently, so I didnt notice any of that kinda stuff. But in hindsight it does kinda make sense. Havent bought the 3rd one yet but will soon.

I got only part way through the first book, put it down, and never picked it back up again. I don't know why, but the story just didn't grab me, whatsoever. And there's just something about Kyme's writing style that annoyed me, and didn't allow me to properly 'get into' the story. Maybe I'll try it again, sometime. Probably not, though.

I really enjoyed all three of the novels and the audio drama I have thus far heard.

I liked the additional and intersting fluff about the Salamanders, their organisation, their homeworld etc.
The infighting was fine by me

I enjoyed the Dark Eldar elements and thought they were done well, giving a bit more on an insight into the way their culture works and the interactions between them were good - epsecially the backstabbing.

all in all one of the better Space Marine stories in my view - now we just need a Codex to match it

Alot of buildup, but not much to deliver on the promise. I think the main problem is that they tend to be too broadly focused, so they lack in depth. too much going on with too many people. Kyme's Ultramarines/Sicarius stuff has a bit of this going on as well, but it was better in Assault on Black Reach/Fall of Damnos because it kept it to relatively few characters.

Kyme also has something of a peculiar writing style compared to other 40K authors, but I don't really mind this as I think 40K can stand to get a little more absurd and silly in it.

I disliked the first book, enough that I almost threw it away. However a few plot points drew me in, along with the fact that I have a salamanders army. The main thing I disliked was all of the sobbing over a few dead marines. Pages and pages of it. After all a marines highest calling is to die in the emperors service; that should be celebrated.

The second book was better. However in several places some of the marines devolved back to being sissies. Ignoring that, the action was better and the plot moved along nicely.

The third book I have mixed feelings on. The writing was of a much higher quality overall and the poor me crap was gone. However a few things just didn't sit well. First, guys being flash frozen when exposed to space is just wrong. Those scenes were straight out of bad sci fi and it's obvious the author never bothered to research what really happens to a human exposed to a hard vacuum. I know, just one detail. But when it's thrown in your face about a dozen times you just want to scream. Second, the ending... or lack thereof. The central plot line wasn't resolved. I was left with the feeling that the salamanders were a total failure. Also, he seemed to borrow a little too much from the ending of Armor.

Overall I'd rate the series a B minus.

The end of Nocturne was a bit of a let down, but I won't put any spoilers up.