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So, I got it, 9:01am on release day down here in Australia. I finished it on the same day, and let me tell you, it was not what I was expecting.
Don't get me wrong. It is still worth the read; it is still a cut above the majority of the warhammer 40k fiction that gets published, it is just not quite on the level of the original two trilogies. I want to say more, but I don't want to make any spoilers at all. Expect to be left scratching your head. Expect to be teased, with "wait, is that..." and then have the book go elsewhere and be left going AWWWWW COME OOOOOON. I should also note; with Ravenor, you saw all the sides of the plot, and with Eisenhorn, things were generally more... clear cut? This book is purely from the perspective of the new lead character. I think it has been written this way to be deliberately confusing.
Personally, I kinda feel as if it was cut short. This might be the choice of Dan Abnett, meaning he's got something good up his sleeve, but I've got this horrible feeling that it's the choice of Games Workshop. You should probably wait until the full trilogy is completed. I can tell that the three books together are still going to be very good. I just felt so... empty after reading this one.
Thanks for the review, I've been looking forward to reading it, but I want to wait until the omnibus comes out... For completeness' sake, I have Eisenhorn and Ravenor both in omnibus form...
Pretty sure that as the start of a new trilogy, you are almost meant to be like that, left on a cliffhanger as it were (and with various plotlines not being finished), very much looking forward to reading it though, thanks for the mini review
inmygravenimage wrote:Have courage, faith and beer, my friend - it will be done!
Just finished the book, having only heard of its existence two days ago.
Part of me wants to say 'it was cut too short' too, but that's a whine generated by the fact it is a cliffhanger and I was on the edge of my seat pretty much the whole time. I am just happy to have Abnett writing about Eisenhorn and Ravenor again.
Spoiler:
My God, Eisenhorn is a badass. What a way to make an entrance. And I spotted Patience Kys immediately (although it was about half a page until it was spelled out) but I wasn't expecting Medea. Also, Alpharius?! I can't wait to see where he's going with that. Possible Alpha Legion loyalist? Or a clever bluff?
Regardless whose call it was to end the book where it does, I'm really excited about the next and am pretty happy that I got my money's worth. Which I guess is all one can ask for.
"Hello? You'll have to speak up, I'm wearing a towel."
Hints at a 4th? Did I miss that? Word Bearers and Emperor's Children, yes, and Deathrow would seem to be Alpha Legion (or at least linked to them). Where was the 4th?
"Hello? You'll have to speak up, I'm wearing a towel."
Personally I started to feel like I'd been bait-and-switched almost as soon as I started reading, and that feeling intensified as the book went on and more was made clear. Overall, I'd say it was a big letdown after the wait, definitely not on par with Eisenhorn or Ravenor.
Spoiler:
While I suppose it was not technically inaccurate to say that the protagonist is "Alizebeth Bequin", at the same time, it's certainly not what I'd expected from a sequel billed as such. And while I suppose the "Eisenhorn vs. Ravenor" subtitle could arguably apply to this book, we hardly see either for more than a dozen paragraphs in the course of the story. Instead, we get several hundred pages of watching a protagonist I don't really have any attachment to stumble around half-discovering things the reader already knows from the last six books. Bleh.
Worse, after such an unnecessarily long, drawn-out and meandering introduction, the story abruptly and (to my eye) somewhat disjointedly rushes to an end right when it starts to get interesting.
Maybe it will work better when part of a complete trilogy, but as it stands alone I wouldn't recommend it, except to completionists who have to read absolutely everything from the setting.
"Some people did not like this ceremonious style. But after all when you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite." - Winston Churchill "My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world." - George Bernard Shaw
Finished it in one day.
Loved it. It makes me want to reread the whole series again!
This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
9/10
Theres quite a few things in it that boggles my mind
Spoiler:
for one, the killgangs in the city, the facedown between "deathrow" and Teke, the moment where Teke realizes he's fighting an alpha legion astartes, deathrows reply to the cloned bequin;
How it's implied that the king in yellow -- awesome reference to poe, dunstany and lovecraft, my hat is tipped -- is searching for our favorite SABDFL real anatolian name, which if found has some serious consequences for the canon, we've already seen the HH line of books beginning to provide some retcon canonicity.
The revelation that there are still sagas told of the 9 sons who stood loyal to their father when his other 9 sons revolted.
Again with the plot armor and badassery by marines.
Eisenhorn facing down a marine? really? Really?
And for the love of jove, two operatives, cherubael AND an alpha legionnaire!?
Anyone else get a fething GRIMDARK salute from reading it?!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/11/07 01:28:01
the parts concerning Eisenhorn and Ravenor were great for the insight and i loved reading it from anothers point of view. their internal struggle was great in the previous trilogies but they are so much more badass from a 3rd person view even if some exploits are a little unlikely and unexplained
a protagonist im not really attached to discovering things we know from the last 6 books? - yup but he has to lay it all down for the rest of the trilogy.
the protagonist wasnt so great and made the book feel like a letdown but Abnett most likely played it that way to begin the trilogy on an even footing with small footsteps to establish the plot especially as some things had changed around (like certain operatives loyalties). i have no doubt the next two books will blow this one away as it all develops and gets deeper and abnett really gets into his own territory
An inquisitor armed with a power legion killing a traitor astartes (whose rank we don't know but it's safe to say probably not a lord) is fluff-wise not that inacurate. Inquisitors are pretty badass, and Eisenhorn is very experienced.
Unnessesarily extravegant word of the week award goes to jcress410 for this:
jcress wrote:Seem super off topic to complain about epistemology on a thread about tactics.
I finished this within a few days of the US release. If anyone is interested, a precursor short story is available from http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/perihelion-ebook.html for all of $3. It helps gives a bit of insight on Eisenhorn and Ravenor in the leadup to this.
Full spoilers below. You've been warned.
Spoiler:
I think the pacing was much different from Abnett's other books. Perhaps I've been spoiled by reading the omnibuses for Eisenhorn and Ravenor, instead of getting the books individually. We spent the first 3rd of the book following Beta around, and between her nickname and the fairly obvious (if you had read Ravenor) cognitae training, I was hoping to get into the meat of the story much quicker. I'm sure there's a setup in there for later, but we'll have to wait for that. Once Beta was in the cathedral, the story got on track. Things moved and characters were (re)introduced in good order. I like the potential setup for Kara Swole and Harlan Nayl on opposite sides, that can lead to some interesting moments.
I just hope that Beta rises above being an object that the various parties desire to possess.
As far as Eisenhorn facing down a Traitor Astartes, that's not a big deal for me. The man one-hit a wounded Dreadnought in Thorn wishes Talon. Eisenhorn wears plot armor, and carries a plot sword. He's supposed to be a physical badass, and it works well to differentiate him from Ravenor who is-by necessity-a cerebral character.
So at last count we have the following groups:
Ordos Calixis (Ravenor and Co.)
Team Eisenhorn(tm)
Cognitae
Word Bearers
Emperor's Children
Alpha Legion (I don't believe for a moment that Eisenhorn has him on lockdown.)
Ravenor's old enemies from his trilogy (See Perihelion, linked above.)
Eisenhorn's old enemies (See Perihelion, linked above.)
I read Perihelion and thought it was a great lead in to Pariah. I am also figure out some of the key points early on but still enjoyed the story and will read the other ones.
chaos girl wrote: I read Perihelion and thought it was a great lead in to Pariah. I am also figure out some of the key points early on but still enjoyed the story and will read the other ones.
Agreed. If I sounded rather down in my post, it was unintentional (note to self: post after drinking coffee!). It's enjoyable, and the following books should be amazing with all the groundwork Abnett's laid in here.
An inquisitor armed with a power legion killing a traitor astartes (whose rank we don't know but it's safe to say probably not a lord) is fluff-wise not that inacurate. Inquisitors are pretty badass, and Eisenhorn is very experienced.
An inquisitor armed with a power legion killing a traitor astartes (whose rank we don't know but it's safe to say probably not a lord) is fluff-wise not that inacurate. Inquisitors are pretty badass, and Eisenhorn is very experienced.
An inquisitor armed with a power legion killing a traitor astartes (whose rank we don't know but it's safe to say probably not a lord) is fluff-wise not that inacurate. Inquisitors are pretty badass, and Eisenhorn is very experienced.
Armed with a what?
as i recall, a powersword.
Yeah but the first power sword was made of pure energy and destroyed in his battle with Cherubael. He then had a force staff made with a crystal skull ( which was based off his own skull) and the sword that was his warrior woman retainer that he had inscribed with pentagrammic wards. He has some bad ass weapons compared to others.
An inquisitor armed with a power legion killing a traitor astartes (whose rank we don't know but it's safe to say probably not a lord) is fluff-wise not that inacurate. Inquisitors are pretty badass, and Eisenhorn is very experienced.
Armed with a what?
I was more curious as to what Testify was talking about...
Mandragore the EC champion in the original series clearly outclasses Eisenhorn. Eisenhorn wins with a lot of luck. I'm curious how he beats a CSM in Pariah...does he pull off a win despite the odds or does he simply outfight the CSM?
b1soul wrote: Mandragore the EC champion in the original series clearly outclasses Eisenhorn. Eisenhorn wins with a lot of luck. I'm curious how he beats a CSM in Pariah...does he pull off a win despite the odds or does he simply outfight the CSM?
He...
Spoiler:
effectively stuns the CSM with a psychic attack, then jumps down the stairs at him, cutting him down with his power sword, IIRC. The baddie isn't named, and isn't around for more than a handful of pages. Perfectly reasonable for Eisenhorn, considering the other stuff he's taken down in his career.
Keep in mind, Eisenhorn and Ravenor are exceptions in every way, and aside from the Dark Heresy: Ascension book, precious little of humanity (Astartes excluded) comes close to either of them in terms of power and/or ability
Agreed with most of what was said already - on my second read to catch all the small details I missed. But to make things easier... I was wondering a couple of things. Perhaps the Dakka community could enlighten me?
Spoiler:
1) Is Beta's 'programme', in and of itself, heretical in nature? Her teacher facing off against one of the "true" agents of the Inquisition (and killing him with Beta's help) leans towards this? Or was it, as they put in in the end, due to the blurred lines of alliance and the programme actually used for the Inquisition, like Eisenhorn's Distaff group? The Secretary did have that funky "looking glass" as well...
2) Was Deathrow-Alpharius truly one of Eisenhorn's team? Or just a different player in the game, bluffing to Beta and trying to take advantage of the situation? And if he isn't, who's the 5th and final member of Eisenhorn's team?
Overall, I really liked the book the first time, and actually enjoyed seeing it through Beta's eyes. I feel Eisenhorn and Ravenor, the reader gets more of an omniscient point-of-view, but the sheltered life and view-with-blinders all going down the rabbit hole for Beta is very interesting and fresh.
HF Izanagi wrote: Agreed with most of what was said already - on my second read to catch all the small details I missed. But to make things easier... I was wondering a couple of things. Perhaps the Dakka community could enlighten me?
Spoiler:
1) Is Beta's 'programme', in and of itself, heretical in nature? Her teacher facing off against one of the "true" agents of the Inquisition (and killing him with Beta's help) leans towards this? Or was it, as they put in in the end, due to the blurred lines of alliance and the programme actually used for the Inquisition, like Eisenhorn's Distaff group? The Secretary did have that funky "looking glass" as well...
2) Was Deathrow-Alpharius truly one of Eisenhorn's team? Or just a different player in the game, bluffing to Beta and trying to take advantage of the situation? And if he isn't, who's the 5th and final member of Eisenhorn's team?
Overall, I really liked the book the first time, and actually enjoyed seeing it through Beta's eyes. I feel Eisenhorn and Ravenor, the reader gets more of an omniscient point-of-view, but the sheltered life and view-with-blinders all going down the rabbit hole for Beta is very interesting and fresh.
-Remi
Spoiler:
1) I think so. I'm pretty sure the program was training them as Inquisitorial agents, but was secretly infecting them with Chaos. Or, it could have been funded/controlled by Eisenhorn, who has already been shown to be going in a downward spiral after binding a Daemonhost and being declared as a traitor for his actions. It was Ravenor that assaulted the school, so it's very likely that he knew Eisenhorn was in charge and was going in to break up the slow corruption of the blanks.
2) I'm going to say that Deathrow/Alpharius was one of Eisenhorn's agents. Or, maybe Eisenhorn is one of the Alpha Legion's agents, as they're well known for using special non-Astartes agents in their work and I can assure you that whatever their hunting, the Alpha Legion will have their interests in it as well.
I liked the book as well. It was a bit slow to start with, but get really intense towards the end. Since it's only the first book in the trilogy, it's probably safe to assume that things are going to get a lot more Abnett in the next one. I can't wait until there's more direct confrontation between Ravenor and Eisenhorn.
Just finished it and loved it. I'm actually pretty critical of Abnett's stuff, but I'd put this up there as his second best novel outside of Gaunt's Ghosts, and certainly best in the Inquisiton series. I'm a little surprised at his portrayal of Ravenor, and that's the one big downside I see.
DO:70S++G++M+B++I+Pw40k93/f#++D++++A++++/eWD-R++++T(D)DM+ Note: Records since 2010, lists kept current (W-D-L) Blue DP Crusade 126-11-6 Biel-Tan Aspect Waves 2-0-2 Looted Green Horde smash your face in 32-7-8 Broadside/Shield Drone/Kroot blitz goodness 23-3-4 Grey Hunters galore 17-5-5 Khan Bikes Win 63-1-1 Tanith with Pardus Armor 11-0-0 Crimson Tide 59-4-0 Green/Raven/Deathwing 18-0-0 Jumping GK force with Inq. 4-0-0 BTemplars w LRs 7-1-2 IH Legion with Automata 8-0-0 RG Legion w Adepticon medal 6-0-0 Primaris and Little Buddies 7-0-0
QM Templates here, HH army builder app for both v1 and v2 One Page 40k Ruleset for Game Beginners
"Some people did not like this ceremonious style. But after all when you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite." - Winston Churchill 
"My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world." - George Bernard Shaw 
Blue DP Crusade 126-11-6 
Biel-Tan Aspect Waves 2-0-2 
Looted Green Horde smash your face in 32-7-8 
Broadside/Shield Drone/Kroot blitz goodness 23-3-4 
Grey Hunters galore 17-5-5 
Khan Bikes Win 63-1-1 
Tanith with Pardus Armor 11-0-0 
Crimson Tide 59-4-0 
Green/Raven/Deathwing 18-0-0 
Jumping GK force with Inq. 4-0-0 
BTemplars w LRs 7-1-2 
IH Legion with Automata 8-0-0 
RG Legion w Adepticon medal 6-0-0