Black Library News & Rumours Thread IV, in obligatory unwanted 3-D!

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**farmersboy**

I would quite happily pay the extra cost of a Trade format paperback in a MMPB format - the one thing I hate the most is the actual physical size of the damn things. There is no good reason why they should be any bigger, ands it now means that when I make my regular pilgrimage to Guys hospital I can't just slip a book in my pocket, beacuse they now don't fit! When I lay in the bath enjoying a long soak and something alcofrolic it's now quite awkward to hold the book open in one hand - again, because it's too big.

**cincydooley**

farmersboy wrote:
I would quite happily pay the extra cost of a Trade format paperback in a MMPB format - the one thing I hate the most is the actual physical size of the damn things. There is no good reason why they should be any bigger, ands it now means that when I make my regular pilgrimage to Guys hospital I can't just slip a book in my pocket, beacuse they now don't fit! When I lay in the bath enjoying a long soak and something alcofrolic it's now quite awkward to hold the book open in one hand - again, because it's too big.

There are obvious solutions to this that I won't belabour because I know hearing it from me is becoming tiresome for many.

I don't personally think the HH has become stale at all. Angel Exterminatus was great. Betrayer was fantastic. And I enjoyed most of Mark of Calth. Hell, even the new limited novella is pretty good so far.

Seconded that the first Mecharius book is a solid read.

**Manchu**

cincydooley wrote:
So presumably you'd buy the HH books digitally at $8-10 then?

Yeah, I guess if the digital copies were half as much as the print ones I would indeed buy digital. Not sure though -- for example, I only buy print RPG books.

**Just Dave**

cincydooley wrote:
farmersboy wrote:
I would quite happily pay the extra cost of a Trade format paperback in a MMPB format - the one thing I hate the most is the actual physical size of the damn things. There is no good reason why they should be any bigger, ands it now means that when I make my regular pilgrimage to Guys hospital I can't just slip a book in my pocket, beacuse they now don't fit! When I lay in the bath enjoying a long soak and something alcofrolic it's now quite awkward to hold the book open in one hand - again, because it's too big.

There are obvious solutions to this that I won't belabour because I know hearing it from me is becoming tiresome for many.

I don't personally think the HH has become stale at all. Angel Exterminatus was great. Betrayer was fantastic. And I enjoyed most of Mark of Calth. Hell, even the new limited novella is pretty good so far.

Seconded that the first Mecharius book is a solid read.

I'm of quite the opposite opinion: I found Angel Exterminatus and Betrayer very disappointing. For me, the last HH book I could call 'great' was Prospero Burns, and that was a long time ago within the series.

Similarly, like farmersboy, I'd rather have the MMPB at TPB prices.

Strokes for folks...

**Manchu**

Wasn't First Heretic after Prospero Burns? I'd call both of them great entries in the HH series.

**jah-joshua**

Manchu wrote:
cincydooley wrote:
So presumably you'd buy the HH books digitally at $8-10 then?
Yeah, I guess if the digital copies were half as much as the print ones I would indeed buy digital. Not sure though -- for example, I only buy print RPG books.

i hear you on this one, man...
i cannot bring myself to buy any kind of sourcebook digitally...
i want the large-format hardback in my hands, with big beautiful artwork...

coffeetable style books always feel like more of an investment than novels, though...
they have a certain gravitas that a novel lacks, to me...
i don't feel like i've lost much of the tactile experience with the switch to digital novels, but there is no way i would give up my full size BL artbooks...
having a tome in your hands beats an iPad, for sure...

cheers
jah

**kronk**

First Heretic was excellent. Reread that one recently.

**Manchu**

jah-joshua wrote:
coffeetable style books always feel like more of an investment than novels, though...

Exactly my thoughts. Cheap digital editions also encourage me to try books I would not otherwise -- for example, Star Trek novels that I would probably never buy in any print format. I think of the digital format as more "disposable" because they don't take up space. Just goes to show this digital market is challenging the way we unconsciously look at books.

**Just Dave**

Manchu wrote:Wasn't First Heretic after Prospero Burns? I'd call both of them great entries in the HH series.

kronk wrote:First Heretic was excellent. Reread that one recently.

I agree. It was a brilliant book, but no, it was the novel before Prospero Burns.

**Manchu**

I'm probably getting confused because Prospero Burns was delayed. Know No Fear was certainly after that, however, and I enjoyed the first half of it (yep, still haven't finished it).

**kronk**

One thing about waiting on the MMPBs to come out is that I've had time to go back and read most of the HH books that I liked. I picked up a ton of things on second reading that I missed the first time or had forgotten. Like Mortarion in action (was it Flight of the Einstein or the Galaxie Burns). Forgot again already.

**Alfndrate**

kronk wrote:
One thing about waiting on the MMPBs to come out is that I've had time to go back and read most of the HH books that I liked. I picked up a ton of things on second reading that I missed the first time or had forgotten. Like Mortarion in action (was it Flight of the Einstein or the Galaxie Burns). Forgot again already.

I don't remember Mortarion fighting in Galaxy in Flames, and I've never read Flight of the Eisenstein.... so probably that one.

**Just Dave**

Alfndrate wrote:
kronk wrote:
One thing about waiting on the MMPBs to come out is that I've had time to go back and read most of the HH books that I liked. I picked up a ton of things on second reading that I missed the first time or had forgotten. Like Mortarion in action (was it Flight of the Einstein or the Galaxie Burns). Forgot again already.

I don't remember Mortarion fighting in Galaxy in Flames, and I've never read Flight of the Eisenstein.... so probably that one.

IIRC he fights in Fulgrim (Istvaan V; loved the imagery of him scything down any who came near) and Eisenstein (In the bottle thing).

**reds8n**

Score another one in the HELL YEAH column for Mr. Roberts & Chambers here then !
And a pic from Index astartes:fortress monasteries, from the BL digital line.

**BrookM**

That's a ship that crashed into a mountain and has been converted into a fortress just to hide the humilitating crash yes?

**Manchu**

So that's Mancora ... Looks a bit like Fenris.

**cincydooley**

Mancora = Howling Griffons?

That Path of the Archon cover looks incredible.

**Manchu**

Yep, according to Mr. Bligh, the HG recruit mostly from Mancora so it stands to reason that if that's their fortress monastery then it's on Mancora. I do wonder what the deal is with the ship's prow. Wish GW would release this stuff in print ...

**KamikazeCanuck**

BrookM wrote:
That's a ship that crashed into a mountain and has been converted into a fortress just to hide the humilitating crash yes?

Definately.

**Malika2**

Mancora? Seriously? That beach resort in Peru? :O

**Alfndrate**

Malika2 wrote:
Mancora? Seriously? That beach resort in Peru? :O

I don't see any of those fine Peruvian senoritas

.

I know that there is that new Njal book coming out by Chris Wraight, can anyone give me the rundown on some of his other Space Wolf works? I'm thinking that I might try and pick some of them up.

Wait he wrote Battle for the Fang right? Hrm... I think I know what I'm getting Friday!

**Just Dave**

Yeah, he wrote Battle of the Fang and Blood of Asenheim(?) I think.

Not read the latter, but the former was very good.

**cincydooley**

Alf--

Here's my review of Battle of the Fang from a while back:

Spoiler:

It's no secret that Prospero Burns is probably my favorite Warhammer 40k book to date, that I have an unabashed man-crush on Dan Abnett, and that the Space Wolves are my army of choice on the tabletop. With all of that in mind, one could probably expect that I'd enjoy Battle of the Fang, the newest Space Marines Battles novel by Chris Wraight, particularly considering his Iron Company has been my favorite Empire Army novel. They'd be right of course, as I found Battle of the Fang to be the strongest entry in the Space Marine Battles series to date, both for its strong prose and characterization, but also due to the timeline in which the story takes place.

So far, the Space Marine Battles books span the entirety of the post-Heresy timeframe, with no set time period in which they fall. Consequently, Battle of the Fang enters as the earliest of the post-Heresy novels, taking place a mere 1000 years after the fall of Horus and, more specifically to this instance, the Razing of Prospero. Baited by a feint from Thousand Sons Primarch Magnus the Red, Great Wolf Harek Ironhelm is led away from Fenris, leaving the Fang, home of the Space Wolves, attended by a single great company. What ensues is the siege of Fenris by a fleet of Thousand Sons, an attempt to revenge their own home world and inflict the same amount of pain on the wolves of Russ.

Wraight's narrative is clean and concise, but what is most impressive is the manner in which he retains much of the history Abnett created in Prospero Burns. The history and culture of the Vlka Fenryka is ably retained; in fact, Wraight's Battle of the Fang reads much like an extension of Abnett's previous work, down to the customs and vocabulary used by characters, both human and Astartes alike. It is this sense of depth that elevates Battle of the Fang above some of the previous entries in the Space Marines Battles series: Wraight took a brilliant template established by Dan Abnett, added his own nuances, and further developed that history.

The history of the Space Wolves is on full display in Battle of the Fang, highlighted by a nominal role by Bjorn, the Fell-Handed. As the last remnants of the XIII legion that walked with Leman Russ, Bjorn offers a great perspective when contrasted with the newer Wolves. There is a particularly poignant scene in which Bjorn laments his relegation to a Revered Fallen which gives some nice insight both on his relationship with Russ and his entombment in the Dreadnought armour.

Finally, Wraight abstractly addresses the much debated "There are no wolves on Fenris," statement Graham McNeill introduced in A Thousand Sons. While his answers are vague, they are no less satisfying; it continues to become less ambiguous what exactly the wolves of Fenris are. Though I doubt that the Black Library will ever give us a definitive answer to that question, it's an ambiguity I'm okay with as a reader.

Battle of the Fang is a great addition to the Black Library. It stands as the best example of what the Space Marine Battles series can be, and Chris Wraight does a superb job creating an extension to Dan Abnett's brilliant Prospero Burns, while allowing Battles of the Fang to stand proudly on its own merit.

Highly Recommended.

I really loved it, and I think his writing as a whole is really quite fantastic.

Are you looking for info about his Wolf stuff, or his other work as well?

**Just Dave**

Great, very well written, review: I fully agree with it. Although you did make a mistake in calling them the XIII, rather than VI, Legion.

My personal favourite parts were two of the big twists (spoilers ahoy, don't look, Alf):

Spoiler:

**cincydooley**

Couldn't agree more Just Dave. They were great.

I'm actually a really big fan of Wraights writing in general. Like I said in that review, his Iron Company book in the fantasy setting was really well done.

Addtionally, he wrote the Sigillite Audiodrama, which is fantastic, and the Kraken and Flesh Short stories which were also really fantastic. Kraken, if you like the Space Wolves, is, IMO, a must read.

I sincerely hope both he and John French get the opportunity to write full HH novels, as I think both are well deserving.

**Alfndrate**

Well, I've dusted off my Space Puppies, and I tend to like to read fluff about the armies I play, so I was looking at Iron Warriors stuff for awhile, lots of UM stuff (though never the omnibuses

), and if Wraight is right for Space Wolves, then I'll read that too. I've heard damn good things about Battle of the Fang, and Prospero Burns was probably one of my favorite HH books simply because I loved the whole cultural aspect we got to see with the wolves through Hawser, not to mention the whole

Spoiler:

Besides Njal, Battle of the Fang and Blood of Asaheim, BL has several short stories he's penned about the wolves, I can pick up all the ebook versions of Kraken (a SM Battles Short Story from the Sons of Russ compliation), Wulfven (a short story from something), and Blood of Asaheim for less than 20 bucks. Which if he's as good as people are saying, might be worth the price of admission.

**Just Dave**

cincydooley wrote:
Couldn't agree more Just Dave. They were great.

I'm actually a really big fan of Wraights writing in general. Like I said in that review, his Iron Company book in the fantasy setting was really well done.

Addtionally, he wrote the Sigillite Audiodrama, which is fantastic, and the Kraken and Flesh Short stories which were also really fantastic. Kraken, if you like the Space Wolves, is, IMO, a must read.

I'm a Space Wolves fan, but the product description for Kraken doesn't make it sound particularly special tbh...

His Iron hands SM Battles book is supposed to be good too, if you haven't read it.

I sincerely hope both he and John French get the opportunity to write full HH novels, as I think both are well deserving.

Agreed, Rob Sanders too.

**Alfndrate**

Just Dave wrote:
I'm a Space Wolves fan, but the product description for Kraken doesn't make it sound particularly special tbh...

Eh, for 3 bucks I think I can afford to buy a mediocre short story, I know I've payed far more for worse

**warboss**

Manchu wrote:
Yep, according to Mr. Bligh, the HG recruit mostly from Mancora so it stands to reason that if that's their fortress monastery then it's on Mancora. I do wonder what the deal is with the ship's prow. Wish GW would release this stuff in print ...

I remember reading in another novel (maybe the Crimson Fist one where their fortress monestary is destroyed?) that it's possible to create a fortress monestary by simply landing a capital ship like a battlecruiser/barge/battleship and then building around it. If there is a ship's prow really sticking out there, I'd suspect something like that was added to the monestary at some point.

**kronk**

warboss wrote:

I remember reading in another novel (maybe the Crimson Fist one where their fortress monestary is destroyed?) that it's possible to create a fortress monestary by simply landing a capital ship like a battlecruiser/barge/battleship and then building around it.

Yep. Rynn's World.