Black library news and rumours (including Horus Heresy stuff)...

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**Generalstoner**

HAving the same problems with Redemption Corps. It gets interesting in some places then just falls on its face. The Guard books seem to be really hit or miss. Flesh and Iron was all but unreadable but books like 13 Hours and Ice Guard were not that bad.

I have to say though, I just finished reading the Chapter's Due and it is totally worth picking up. IMHO I think it is one of the best books written yet, up there with Necropolis from the Gaunt series.

**BrookM**

I'll hang tight with Chapter's Due until it's a softback. I like the McNeill marine novels a lot and I can't wait to see what happens next, having just finished Courage and Honour, but I'm that big a fan of the hardbacks.

I think I'll drop Redemption Corps and just try Rynn's World.

**Generalstoner**

Rynn's World was a great book. Really makes you get a good feel for just who the Crimson Fists are. My problem with Redemption Corps is right now I've got nothing better to read so I am stuck.

**lords2001**

Read Brunner - great book - liked it a lot.

About to embark upon the first of the Ulrika series - hope its good.

**Generalstoner**

Not a big Fantasy reader. The last series I read was the Gotrek and Felix novels which I lost about halfway through. I think though I am gonna pick up The Sundering series and start reading.

**lords2001**

Generalstoner wrote:Not a big Fantasy reader. The last series I read was the Gotrek and Felix novels which I lost about halfway through. I think though I am gonna pick up The Sundering series and start reading.

The fantasy series sometimes are a bit more solid in terms of character development and style than the 40k universe, without getting as tired - possibly due to the fact that in the majority of the Fantasy series out there there are only a few main characters to follow/develop a POV for, allowing the author to both give them greater depth and spend more time on the story (Gaunts Ghosts suffers badly from too many POV's, for example).

The one thing I will give 40k is that the Horus Heresy series is far, far better than the Time of Legends series overall in terms of writing style, fun and suspense.

**BrookM**

Brunner is a great series, I'd really like for Werner to pick it up again and continue that one. Same with his Witch Hunter series, that one was solid as well, with some very interesting characters.

**reds8n**

lords2001 wrote:Read Brunner - great book - liked it a lot.

I thought it was a very solid series, preferred the earlier, grimmer tales to the later ones however.

About to embark upon the first of the Ulrika series - hope its good.

It is, i was very impressed by it, I think Mr. Long is a fine writer. His action scenes are clear and vivid.

**CaptainLoken**

I really enjoyed the Bretonnian books. And, I thought the first Nagash book wasn't that bad.

I'm a hard core 40K player and fan, but I started playing Fantasy in 1991. Rogue Trader was still a "new thing". It's nice to be able to pick up a fantasy book every now and then for a break from the Grim Future. Kind of like visiting an old friend...

**Captain Roderick**

I read all the old-school WHFB novels, they were pretty good. Can't remember the name of the series, but it came out about the same time as the original Ian Watson Inquisitor series.

The only other WHFB book I've enjoyed reading is Riders of the Dead. Utterly phenomenal, I got well weepy and I don't mind admitting it

**Abadabadoobaddon**

Melissia wrote:It's basically just SM vs SM almost all the way through.

So it's basically just like 40k?

**Melissia**

Abadabadoobaddon wrote:
Melissia wrote:It's basically just SM vs SM almost all the way through.

So it's basically just like 40k?

Nope. The vast majority of 40k has nothing to do with Marines at all. The most common battle would likely be PDF/Guard versus Orks, for example.

**Abadabadoobaddon**

Melissia wrote:
Abadabadoobaddon wrote:
Melissia wrote:It's basically just SM vs SM almost all the way through.

So it's basically just like 40k?
Nope. The vast majority of 40k has nothing to do with Marines at all. The most common battle would likely be PDF/Guard versus Orks, for example.

Really? Could've fooled me...

**Captain Roderick**

Abadabadoobaddon wrote:
Really? Could've fooled me...

There's a really good point handed down from on hight by Dan Abnett in the above conversation... neither the tabletop game nor the fluff nor the fiction is the actual 'true' version of 40k. Har har yes the game is full of lots of space marines, but it's also full of dice, and little toy soldiers.

Sorry, my GF's making me watch Big Brother, I've become extremely sarcastic and bitter.

**jah-joshua**

i can't believe that Flesh and Iron and Redemption Corps are getting slagged here...
OK, i can believe it, but i liked both books...

the Vietnam War/Mekong Delta operations aspect of Flesh and Iron was fun...

the Black Hawk Down section in Redemption Corps was cool...

i don't have a problem with real world inspiration showing up in 40K novels, but then i'm just happy that we have fluff to read...
i need something to get me inspired before my daily 8 hour paint session, and then help me wind down for sleep after...

i have read every single GW novel at least twice, since the very first books back in the day before BL, even the Dark Future novels...
some have been better than others...
some have been slight torture for a fluff junkie (i'm looking at you Mr. Goto)...
i'm just happy that we have novels, and i get to immerse myself in the settings...

some of you guys have very critical opinions, which is fair as it's your money, but would you be happier if we didn't have any novels???

inquiring minds want to know...

cheers
jah

**Generalstoner**

Ahhh, Mr C.S. Goto. I am unsure which writer I despise more, Goto or Swallow. I find both of them near impossible to read.

**Simonbarsinistr**

Swallow's blood angel books can be a bit tough to read, but his HH stuff is way better.

**Flachzange**

jah-joshua wrote:
i have read every single GW novel at least twice, since the very first books back in the day before BL, even the Dark Future novels...
some have been better than others...
some have been slight torture for a fluff junkie (i'm looking at you Mr. Goto)...
i'm just happy that we have novels, and i get to immerse myself in the settings...

some of you guys have very critical opinions, which is fair as it's your money, but would you be happier if we didn't have any novels???

I absolutely agree with you on this. I think some people here are overly critical and expect some sort of new york times bestseller. This is after all, a Scifi boardgame first and foremost. The fluff is the only thing that keeps me in the universe to begin with. I havent played a game in years and I actually dont intend to. But the universe is pretty diverse and colorful and it keeps me interested.

**BrookM**

Don't forget Lucien Soulban, he's alongside Goto some of the worst talent that BL has contracted, turning Necromunda into generic cyberpunk and the Tallarn into something completely stupid.

**Lord of battles**

Flachzange wrote:
jah-joshua wrote:
i have read every single GW novel at least twice, since the very first books back in the day before BL, even the Dark Future novels...
some have been better than others...
some have been slight torture for a fluff junkie (i'm looking at you Mr. Goto)...
i'm just happy that we have novels, and i get to immerse myself in the settings...

some of you guys have very critical opinions, which is fair as it's your money, but would you be happier if we didn't have any novels???

I absolutely agree with you on this. I think some people here are overly critical and expect some sort of new york times bestseller. This is after all, a Scifi boardgame first and foremost. The fluff is the only thing that keeps me in the universe to begin with. I havent played a game in years and I actually dont intend to. But the universe is pretty diverse and colorful and it keeps me interested.

I agree too! i havent played a game in years (but i still like to build a model every now and then) the fluff is my own designer drug versin of plastic crack!

**Alpharius**

Simonbarsinistr wrote:Swallow's blood angel books can be a bit tough to read, but his HH stuff is way better.

This is 100% spot on.

The difference is so vast, it is almost as if there are two different Swallows.

Nah, couldn't be, right?

Probably just a bit more 'mentoring' and/or editing going on in the Flagship series...

**Lord of battles**

I just noticed that Aaron Dembski-Bowden got another Night Lords book coming out in may of 2011: Blood Reaver

A UNION OF CHAOS
Driven on by their hatred of the False Emperor, the Night Lords stalk the shadows of the galaxy, eternally seeking revenge for the death of their primarch. Their dark quest leads them to a fractious alliance with the Red Corsairs, united only by a common enemy. Together with this piratical band of renegades, they bring their ways of destruction to the fortress-monastery of the Marines Errant.
THEY SEEK ONLY TO BRING DEATH

No picture but it sounds awesome!

**dietrich**

Sweet, I really liked Soul Hunter.

**Generalstoner**

Soul Hunter was a good read till the last 20 pages which I felt rushed the story to conclusion, but still a great book. I will agree with you that the Swalloe HH book was very unlike what he normally wirtes. My guess is that the head honchos at BL probably proof-read as much drek from the story as they could. Hopefully he can stay in the same mold of writing when it comes to Nemesis.

**Alpharius**

Generalstoner wrote:Hopefully he can stay in the same mold of writing when it comes to Nemesis.

I'd say odds are good that will be the case...

**Simonbarsinistr**

Alpharius wrote:
Generalstoner wrote:Hopefully he can stay in the same mold of writing when it comes to Nemesis.

I'd say odds are good that will be the case...

I sure hope so, I appreciate the level of writing they seem to have reserved for the HH series of books. Now in the double digits it would be natural for some deterioration in the quality, but I haven't been disappointed by any book yet.

**reds8n**

So as you can read Graham McNeill won the award he was up for, good for him, Empire was a cracking read, I enjoyed the Blood thirster immensely.

And from the BL site

What’s the best, most exciting thing about writing for BL? Getting hold of some of the most iconic and recognisable figures in the Warhammer mythos and bringing them to life. What’s the worst, most terrifying thing about writing for BL? Getting hold of some of the most iconic and recognisable figures in the Warhammer mythos and bringing them to life. People care about these guys. In some cases, they’ve been reading about them in codexes and army books for decades. It’s a massive challenge - and a privilege - to put them into a novel.

When I started work on Sword of Justice, I was acutely aware of this. Ludwig Schwarzhelm is the protagonist for this project. The brief from the editorial team was to produce a story for the new Warhammer Heroes series, so he wouldn’t just be a cameo - he’d be the focus. That meant getting behind the short descriptions of him in the Empire army book and elsewhere, and fleshing them out to create a believable figure - the essence of the Emperor’s Champion.

The starting point was simple. Schwarzhelm is famously unsmiling, a grim bulwark against which the Emperor’s foes break like water. He’s an impassive and implacable dispenser of justice, capable of bringing even an Elector Count to heel (as he did to Marius Leitdorf). The miniatures and fantastic illustrations in the army book yielded a little more - he’s a massive figure, clad in heavy plate armour. He’s going to be able to go toe-to-toe with pretty much any mortal unit in the Old World. He’s deadly, dominating, and, most importantly, he’s got a Very Big Sword.

It’s all very cool stuff. But it’s not a character. I wanted to try and show the more nuanced side of Schwarzhelm, so in the story I deliberately placed him in some situations that he’s not so good at handling. He’s not a silver-tongued diplomat, even though he’s required to get involved in the dirty business of Averland’s politics. As a straightforward man, and only really happy on the battlefield, he can be mystified by the machinations of subtler minds. Perhaps most damaging, he’s capable of sullen rages, and can alienate those closest to him. Schwarzhelm is a titan, a true hero, but he’s not perfect, and some of his enemies know of his flaws.

To bring this out in the book, I tried to draw contrasts with some of the other characters in the Warhammer mythos. Most of these are original creations: there’s Pieter Verstohlen, a highly cultured spy; Markus Bloch, a tavern-brawler turned halberdier captain; and Dagobert Tochfel, the officious Steward of Averheim. Most importantly, though, I wanted to highlight the differences between Schwarzhelm and the other great commander of the Empire’s armies, Kurt Helborg. To my mind, these two are like chalk and cheese. Schwarzhelm fights almost like a dwarf - stubborn, unmoveable, utterly committed. Helborg, as the leader of the elite Reiksguard, is a flamboyant and devastating master of lightning cavalry charges. He’s arrogant, charming, and as at home in a noble’s ballroom as he is on the battlefront.

Of course, two characters with such different styles aren’t always going to get on. There’s a nice snippet in the Empire army book about their rivalry, and how they keep a tally of duels (in which, incidentally, Helborg’s currently ahead). That detail is what I love about the Warhammer setting - there’s so much scope to explore the flawed human relations between the major players, and the tensions and rivalries that get in the way of the noble things they really should be doing in unison. In Sword of Justice, I’ve tried to bring that out, to set Schwarzhelm firmly in a web of interwoven ambitions and objectives that make up the Empire of Karl Franz.

Obviously, it’s possible not everyone will like what I’ve done with him, especially those who’ve been Empire players for a long time and have very clear ideas of what he’s like. But I’ve enjoyed working on the character concept enormously, and I hope many long-time fans will find the result both familiar and surprising. Warhammer is all about gritty, flawed individuals fighting the long war in a bleak and compromised world. Schwarzhelm is a hero alright, but he’s a Warhammer hero. That’s what I’ve tried to make him, and that’s how I hope he’ll come across.

Lovely cover on Sword of Justice, Gav Thorpe's "Path of the warrior" is also very good and well worth picking up.

**BrookM**

Neither were at my FLGS sadly, I was looking forward to reading proper Eldar and another good Empire story. As consolation read I got Call to Arms instead.

**Generalstoner**

Tell me some about Path of the warrior? Does it follow only the striking scorpion aspect? Does it follow a specific craftworld? Who do they fight?

My interest in peaked but after reading 2 horrible stand alone books from BL (Redemption Corps and Flesh & Iron) I am a little leary of not picking up many of the one off books till I hear about them.

**reds8n**

Generalstoner wrote:Tell me some about Path of the warrior? Does it follow only the striking scorpion aspect? Does it follow a specific craftworld? Who do they fight?

We follow 1 Eldar -- a sculptor initially -- as he moves onto the Path of the Warrior. It is set on Alaitoc. They fight .. humans... there's not really that much out and out warfare in the book. It's still quiet violent, of course, but we get more of a chance to see and learn about the Eldar and their way of life. "Memedreams", the past tense form of sarcasm, views on suicide and the like. There's also some interesting little samples and tales from Eldar myth at the start of each chapter and some new and.. well... not confirmed but strongly hinted at fluff..

Spoiler:

I've tried and failed to finish Redmption Corp twice now, something about it throws me off. I dug Flesh and Iron though, especially the stuff right at the end.