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Hi all,

So I am not a reader, but love the horus heresy series (it's about the only thing I read). I am a sucker for limited edition stuff and saw that all three AOS books at the blacklibrary are still available, so I bought them. I kept an open mind, and so far am a book and a half through the series.

Book 1 - Gates of Azyr:
Book kept my attention throughout, it was full of bloody, violent action. Great for a small novella, and made the whole 'reboot' thing fun and understandable.

Book 2 - War Storm:
I'm about halfway through so far. The first part completes the story from book 1. It is just as action packed and enjoyable. i found myself cheering for both the stromcasts and the heroes of khorne as the book shows things from both sides. I'm about 1/3 of the way through the second story, which is a big harder to read as it's more of a mind maze instead of non stop action (makes sense I guess as the enemy in fateweaver and his colleagues). Still good though.

I have found that both books have little secrets hidden throughout. Like the stormcast lord that was a prince, another was a blacksmith, another was an orc, etc. How the stormcast came to be was great too. How they die and are resurrected? Pretty neat. I am still confused by the hammerhands lord relictor. .. was he a vampire or an undead mage in his previous life? They state his vampire-like name and nagash obviously has a thing for him I have to say the lord relictor is my favorite character so far, he is powerful, mysterious, and just plain awesome.

My biggest criticism? I hate the fold out hardcover on the limited edition stuff. The thicker pages and overall quality is great, but I worry about future cover or binding separation if someone isn't careful when they read them. They should have just made them like a normal hardcover with full color inside cover art and the better quality pages, etc.

All in all I'm glad I purchased them and almost enjoy aos/fantasy reading over horus heresy stuff now! What did you all like, love, hate, or discover from the novels?

Keep with the second part of War Storm - it pays dividends in the second part of Ghal Maraz (presume you picked that up as well)!

I am guessing you don't have a Kindle or similar, but the e-shorts covering the call of Archaon are well worth a look if you are getting on with the Chaos point of view. They add quite a bit to the setting (latest one set in the Realm of Beasts, and previewed the Slaughterpriest and Skullgrinder before they popped up in previews!

That little snippet about the Lord Relictor is really interesting. I'm really hoping it's Vlad Von Carstein, because in the end he was fighting alongside the Empire and was made an Elector Count, as well as fighting side by side with the Emperor (Who was in fact Sigmar himself), it makes sense for the Emperor to have some favour with him and it also explains Nagash knowing him because Vlad was a Mortach as well.

Quest for Ghal Maraz reveals Ionus' indentity as Eonid ven Denst - a prince of the Amethyst underworld who was the only one to speak against Nagash in the Days of Shattered Bone. Also, if the name doesn't reveal him as a vampire enough, there is a paragraph in the first book where his flesh was mentioned as "cold and pale" .

So, while I have both big books for AoS I have not made time to read either yet (I know, I know )

Is it better to read those two first then jump into the Black Library novels? What is your recommended reading order for the 4?

Thanks!!

Well the big books give an overview of fluff, the black library books give the whole story in detail. The black library books also delve into each character, their personal stories and struggles, etc. I wouldn't say there is an order of which to read, except what I'd either read the rule books or novels in their respective orders so the storyline flows.

Yea I don't have a kindle but I do have a smartphone with ebook apps. I was looking at them but wasn't sure how much of a novel one gets for $5. The last one I purchased was a carcharodon quick read that was 3-4 pages for $3, which wasn't really worth $3.

I'll look into them though as Archaon is my favorite gw character

Good to know I don't need to hold off on the big books then, thanks!

I think the lord relictor is Arkhan the black, as at the end of the lord of the end times book he sees what is going to happen and vows to help Sigmar. Plus he created vampires by mistake.

 JamesY wrote:
Plus he created vampires by mistake.

IIRC, according to the Liber Necris, the Liche Priest tat helped Neferata create the potion was in contact with Nagash at the time. It was no mistake. Does "The Quest for Ghal Maraz" lie when giving Ionus' past name?

In the Nagash series, Arkhan and Neferata try to re-create Nagash's elixir whilst he is roaming the waste lands, insane and very alone.

Ah, alright. Either I don't remember correctly from the Liber or there is some discrepancy between it and the novels. I'll take your version for the true one.

The amount of writers these days it's no surprise there are inconsistencies. Might not be him, but I like the idea that it is.