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A different book or passage, I'm certain. I just thought it was relevant to the topic at hand.

Sandy Mitchell really is a very talented writer. The Cain series are very funny and readable.

I found the Abnett books boring in comparison.

Knockagh wrote:

 kronk wrote:
Aaron Dembski-Bowden (sp?). All of his books have a gritty, visceral tone that I like in my 40k.

Graham McNeille doesn't completely suck, either. But I hated his Priests of Mars book. You're on notice, Graham! You hear me!?!?!

I am loving the mechanics books form mcneill, preceding them to his more standard ultra marine stuff which is fairly tedious.

Agree on ADB (can't be bothered attempting to spell!) he has written some cool stuff, but his most recent HH stuff has sucked bigstyle. Think all the hype over him went to his head and he went bad and boring. Hope he hides away for a while clams down and starts again because his night lords trilogy was outstanding.

I disagree on that last point. I thought HH: Betrayer was as good as First Heretic.

There are several good BL authors. My personal favorite is Dan Abnett, but his style can get a little predictable after you've read several of his books. The action is nonstop, which is what I like.

I dunno, I am reading through Ravenor (finally), and was aghast at how often the storyline grinds to a halt so Dan Abnett can fill my eyes with some exposition I don't give a feth about (Like mutant cow farming).

The mutant cow-farming bit is actually pertinent, keep reading.

Also, this sort of stuff is what is generally called "detailed fluff". Now we know how, in some parts of the Imperium, grox are bred, herded, handled and sold to other planets. This is the sort of stuff that fluff-fiends love.

 Psienesis wrote:
The mutant cow-farming bit is actually pertinent, keep reading.

Also, this sort of stuff is what is generally called "detailed fluff". Now we know how, in some parts of the Imperium, grox are bred, herded, handled and sold to other planets. This is the sort of stuff that fluff-fiends love.

I concur. The expansive, epic scope of 40k is one of the aspects of the setting I find most appealing. The little, fiddly details like that are just the sort of thing I love. I understand that not everyone feels that way, obviously. Fortunately, the Black Library employs some writers who cater to a wide variety of tastes. There are some more hard-boiled military action writers, if that is the sort of thing you are into.

ADB is far and away the best writer in terms of character depth, compelling plots, creating a living environment, and everything else you could want in a writer.

That being said, Gav Thorpe is the only author who appears to have complete knowledge of the the previous 25 years of background material. And that's far more important to me as a fan during that time.

 Jimsolo wrote:

 Void__Dragon wrote:

 Lynata wrote:
Dan "Abnettverse" Abnett and his emotional, feeling servitors

And what book featured these now?

Ravenor showed the Inquisitor of the same name making telepathic contact with a servitor. I wouldn't call the being 'feeling' or 'emotional' in that scene, but it was certainly one of the most heart-wrenching passages I've ever read in 40k fluff. Certainly hammered home the living nightmare that is the servitor.

For those who haven't read the series yet, I have put the answer in spoiler tags:

 ClassicCarraway wrote:
I find that my enjoyment of 40K novels hinges on who the antagonist is. If its one of the armies/races I enjoyed playing (Orks for example), then I typically hate any novels involving them, because I can't help myself from getting annoyed at how pathetic all of the writers make them.

Seriously, if the books are anything to go by, Orks are a minor annoyance at best.

Try baneblade.They are kunnin,Well armed and dey have a stompa squadron.Deys blood axes though which is sad.

 Psienesis wrote:
The mutant cow-farming bit is actually pertinent, keep reading.

No it isn't, I'm done with the book lol.

Then you missed the part of why the guys herding the grox were the way that they were, why they cut off Thronius' arm, which lead to... a whole lot of other stuff. Really, that might be considered the beginning of all the Real Serious Gak right then and there.


But, also, as I said before, that is the kind of stuff that fluff-fiends are really after. We could give a gak about yet another bolter-porn story, but details of things that happen off the battlefield? That's gold.

I like Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill but I think Steven Parker and Aaron Dembski-Bowden are very good as well. Parkers Rynn's World is actually my favourite novel featuring SM as protagonists.

 Psienesis wrote:
Then you missed the part of why the guys herding the grox were the way that they were, why they cut off Thronius' arm, which lead to... a whole lot of other stuff. Really, that might be considered the beginning of all the Real Serious Gak right then and there.


But, also, as I said before, that is the kind of stuff that fluff-fiends are really after. We could give a gak about yet another bolter-porn story, but details of things that happen off the battlefield? That's gold.

Or maybe I merely recognize that the main event of significance, aka, Thonius' arm being severed , did not technically require several chapters of mutant cow farming. Sure, you can say that it was all relevant, but that is sort of misleading. Something relevant happened there, but technically speaking it did not have to occur there nor in as much detail to have furthered the story, and for someone who isn't interested in mutant cow farming, it reads off as padding.

Really, Thonius' character arc in particular is a little grating. He has been flanderized from "Foppish and fashionable possibly gay intellectual who prefers the more tactical and technical aspects of Inquisitorial life and disdains the barbarism of personal combat yet is still a competent soldier when the issue arises" to "Hysterical fop who is cowardly and wholly detrimental to his team". Now, you could argue that the loss of his arm unnerved him, and his brush with death has left him doubting himself, and this would be normally fine. But when we get scenes like the one in the short story after the first book (Which was fething awesome by the way, omg Gregor's back squeeeeeeee!) where, during a firefight, he is literally complaining about the mud on his boots and the rain messing up his clothes while hostiles are trying to kill him and his team, it stretches my belief that Ravenor would really tolerate his presence on the team. I just find it hard to believe that the Inquisition would tolerate uselessness that a Walmart unloading team wouldn't hesitate to can an employee over (Not hyperbole). He does make up for it somewhat with him being the only one who damaged a dreadnought (Why did these cultists have a dreadnought lol?) with a hand grenade, and hopefully Thonius has more moments of awesome to justify his placement on Ravenor's team, but as it stands right now Thonius' "development" has been unsatisfactory in the context of the setting, IMHO.

Anyway, back to the mutant cow farming, I wouldn't be so butt-blasted of it were it not for the fact that it got seemingly more coverage than the IMHO more interesting Firetide event. I would have been more interested reading details about that, but the only details we really get are the ones that impact Ravenor's team specifically, IIRC. I am sorry, but I just found a once every few years moot between dozens, maybe hundreds, of Rogue Traders and the intricacies surrounding that far more interesting than mutant cow farming.

Guy Haley is very good.Read Skarsnik.He's da best writer of gobbos ever!

Da krimson barun wrote:
Guy Haley is very good.Read Skarsnik.He's da best writer of gobbos ever!

I agree with you.
I haven't read that many Bl books but out of what I have read I found guy Haley da best.