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March books, including the first couple of warhammer horrors releases.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
Yodhrin wrote: Right, but, err, that doesn't explain why it's not an option to just print 15000 C-format books and send them out sold and accounted as Trade on sale or return. Except that they don't want to because Trade can be sold at a much, much larger markup than the actual increase in cost of production justifies.
I don't buy this "they might rip the covers off" thing at all, that would happen approximately once in an entire retail chain before the person who did it was fired and the company bombarded every store with multiple "don't do this or we fire you" memos.
To be honest, I'm more likely to take Charlie's word on it than yours. Especially as plenty of other people who work in the publishing trade also commented, and while quite a few of his points were questioned, that one wasn't, which suggests it's not controversial.
Also, I'm not sure I understand why Black Library are at fault for the staggered release date of hardbacks, TPBs and MMPBs when that's been the industry standard as long as I remember. "not wanting to be spoiled" is no worse a problem for 40k fans than it is for Harry Potter, Discworld or Rebus fans.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
BobtheInquisitor wrote: Charles Stross is talking about the British book industry. The US is very different, and US consumers have different expectations. Besides that, his explanation doesn't explain why the price needs to be doubled instead of just adjusted 10-25%. The expression springs to mind: "Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining."
That particular quote I posted was specifically about the US industry, as he points out that it doesn't apply to the USA, and most of his books are sold in the USA.
Granted, it might be out of date, but the reason they're sold at that high a price is probably "because they sell at that price".
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/12/01 17:28:53
I must have misread him. While I am embarrassed for my mistake, I strongly feel that the book industry, like so many consolidating industries in the US now, is using the flimsiest excuses to justify what is obviously naked greed and anti-competitive practices.
Not sure if he said it in that post, or reply later on. He did say elsewhere that 75% of his sales (and income) comes from the USA.
I think the business practises of the fiction-publishing industry are a combination of 100 years of tradition and trying to fend off Amazon's attempt to monopolise retail.
Yodhrin wrote: Right, but, err, that doesn't explain why it's not an option to just print 15000 C-format books and send them out sold and accounted as Trade on sale or return. Except that they don't want to because Trade can be sold at a much, much larger markup than the actual increase in cost of production justifies.
I don't buy this "they might rip the covers off" thing at all, that would happen approximately once in an entire retail chain before the person who did it was fired and the company bombarded every store with multiple "don't do this or we fire you" memos.
To be honest, I'm more likely to take Charlie's word on it than yours. Especially as plenty of other people who work in the publishing trade also commented, and while quite a few of his points were questioned, that one wasn't, which suggests it's not controversial.
To be honest, I'm not sure why you're trying to cast this as a contest of credibility. I'm not challenging any of the factual statements he's making, I just don't understand in what way those statements justify the end policy. The guy says, right there, that in the UK there is no "mass market" distro any more, but people didn't notice because many publishers just started shipping C-format "MMPB" books through Trade instead on Trade terms.
There's nothing there that would explain why BL are not one of those publishers, but instead are using the shift to Trade as an excuse to kill off the C-format entirely, just a vague aside about the American market apparently being incapable of employing people who can follow simple instructions like "don't tear off the covers on those BL C-formats, they're Trade not Mass Market". OK, well, even assuming that's true - how does that impact markets other than America? There's nothing stopping them continuing to print C-formats in smaller numbers for non-American markets, they're choosing not to, and the only feasible explanation as to why is simple corporate greed - they make more money from Trade format, so they want to stop making C-format.
Also, I'm not sure I understand why Black Library are at fault for the staggered release date of hardbacks, TPBs and MMPBs when that's been the industry standard as long as I remember. "not wanting to be spoiled" is no worse a problem for 40k fans than it is for Harry Potter, Discworld or Rebus fans.
Well lets see. Firstly, "everyone does it" is not a justification or an excuse. Nobody is makingBL follow "industry standards", and if everyone used your argument in relation to the status quo then nothing would ever change for anything. Second, "everyone" doesn't sometimes insert an additional super-duper-snowflake edition hardback into the first "slot" in the schedule, and "everyone" don't publish into their own exclusive sales channels months before putting things out on general release. For example, I can buy the new Chronicles anthology next week from GW, but not until next sodding March from Amazon or a normal book shop.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/12/01 17:50:43
"Your society's broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No, lets blame the people with no power and no money and those immigrants who don't even have the vote. Yea, it must be their fething fault." - Iain M Banks
-----
"The language of modern British politics is meant to sound benign. But words do not mean what they seem to mean. 'Reform' actually means 'cut' or 'end'. 'Flexibility' really means 'exploit'. 'Prudence' really means 'don't invest'. And 'efficient'? That means whatever you want it to mean, usually 'cut'. All really mean 'keep wages low for the masses, taxes low for the rich, profits high for the corporations, and accept the decline in public services and amenities this will cause'." - Robin McAlpine from Common Weal
All I meant was that the post I quoted explained why the small-format book wasn't sold to booksellers under TPB terms, and you expressed a disbelief in that statement. One comment came from someone who has spent years dealing with the publishing industry and one comes from someone who doesn't, to my knowledge.
As for the other "everyone does it" may not be an excuse, but on the other hand, it doesn't explain why you pick on one particular publisher for doing it. I read your post as condemning Black Library in particular for doing something that no-one else does. I found going "cold turkey" rather difficult when I weaned myself off Discworld hardbacks, as it happens. I wasn't aware of the additional editions or the fact that BL sell books from their website before other outlets, which is somewhat annoying, I grant you. Although apparently not annoying enough, or they wouldn't be selling books.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/12/01 18:02:12
Trapped in an enemy-infested city and hunted by their foes, Commissar Severina Raine and the 11th Antari Rifles must survive by any means if they are to strike back…
READ IT BECAUSE
It's a tense and claustrophobic story set in the ruins of a shattered city and following a few brave women and men as they fight to survive.
THE STORY
Severina Raine and the 11th Antari Rifles battle in the labyrinthine streets of Balfar, beneath the twin stars known as the Eyes of the Emperor. With the cathedral city of Whend under the control of the Chaos-corrupted Sighted, and the Astra Militarum being pushed back, the situation is desperate. When their fall-back route is destroyed, Raine and her troopers find themselves trapped in the city and desperate to survive – is this the end for them, or can they seize the day and claim victory?
Written by Rachel Harrison
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
Prisoner on a Black Ship, surrounded by dangerous psykers and the terrifying Sisters of Silence, Aveth Vairon is hopeful… because this is the moment he has been guided to. But what awaits him?
READ IT BECAUSE
It's a dark and horrific tale set in the depths of a Black Ship in the midst of battle and shows how destiny and death intertwine as Chaos grips the galaxy.
THE STORY
On one of the feared Black Ships, Aveth Vairon, a humble Administratum scribe cowers in a cell. Imprisoned by the Silent Sisters, cowed by their mind-numbing aura and terrified by their situation, he nevertheless feels hope. For Aveth was guided to where he is now by a greater power. For years, he has followed a twisting rune in his mind, guiding him to this moment… and to another prisoner, a faceless woman of great power who he knows will put him on the path to his destiny. But as the Black Ship comes under attack, will that destiny come to pass, or be thwarted by the whims of fate?
Written by David Annandale
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
Finished Heralds of the Siege last night. One of the better collection of short stories, all mostly set in the final handful of hours before Horus arrives in the Sol system. I particularly liked the Malcador/Emperor story as it gave good insight into their relationship. Also nice to see the Thunder Warriors get another story.
is the only advent story I've bought so far...
.. would you like a taste...
Spoiler:
We here, we lords and ladies of Terra, have given the matter adequate deliberation, and decided that a tribute to a fallen and disgraced primarch is not a monument worthy of the Investiary. The statue will be removed, the marble pulverised and used to line the paths of the state gardens in the Inner Palace.’
Even the Khan stiffened at that.
Horus stood absolutely motionless, save for the twitching of his fingers. Doubtless he was imagining all the ways he might tear the Sigillite limb from limb.
‘Not worthy?’ he growled.
Malcador leaned against the throne’s carven back. ‘If you cannot see the reasoning behind this decision, then you only convince me further that it is the right one, and that there is nothing more to discuss. Pray, return to your Legions. The Imperium needs victories more than ever. Let these past failures lie.’
Quite unexpectedly, Horus laughed, loud and long.
‘You can’t even say it, can you,’ he said, incredulously. ‘You can’t even say his name.’
‘Do not speak it,’ Malcador thundered, loading the words with psychic force that struck the primarch’s mind like a hammer to the forehead.
Horus reeled, blinking away the pain. His brothers, too, seemed to feel the blow, along with every mortal still in the chamber. Even the Sigillite’s own ears rang, but he kept his voice firm and unwavering.
‘This was your father’s command, boy, and you all agreed to it. To disobey now is to break faith with the Emperor Himself.’
The primarch gave a wry, defiant grin. ‘My brother’s name was–’+
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
Heart of Winter by Nick Horth is fantastic for those who haven’t picked up this novella. A real gem of a classic fantasy book. You could read it (nearly) and forget there were even sigmarines out there. As a sword and sorcery fan this was perfect
When a child goes missing from Hammerhal Ghyra, Gotrek Gurnisson, recovering from an epic drinking binge (and some nasty poisoning) volunteers to enter the nearby catacombs and find him – especially since his mother claims he was taken by a ghost. Venturing into the darkness with his reluctant aelven companion Maleneth. But even the vaunted Stormcast Eternals were unable to cleanse this labyrinth of the taint that infects it, and what awaits the adventurers below will test them to their limits.
Knockagh wrote: Heart of Winter by Nick Horth is fantastic for those who haven’t picked up this novella. A real gem of a classic fantasy book. You could read it (nearly) and forget there were even sigmarines out there. As a sword and sorcery fan this was perfect
War Queen is equally as good!
Honestly the AoS novellas are all pretty darn good, though The Red Hours felt a bit "off". I think it was a case where the author pushed characters a little too much to get them where he wanted them rather than where characters felt they would naturally be. The overall premise of the story is great; the execution just feels a little lacking in my view.
... I concur with the coolness of the AOS stories.
Heart of Winter I especially enjoyed.
I think the Red Hours was a good story-- but it was a wee bit rushed and would have benefited from having a longer word count to play up the mystery aspect a bit more.
Loved the ...bad guy.... concept however -- be nicking that for an RPG sooner rather than later.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
I think the Red Hours was a good story-- but it was a wee bit rushed and would have benefited from having a longer word count to play up the mystery aspect a bit more.
Agreed - a longer word count would have helped a lot and likely dealt with the forced nature of some parts of it.
All in all I'm eagerly looking forward to the next Novella series!
Knockagh wrote: Heart of Winter by Nick Horth is fantastic for those who haven’t picked up this novella. A real gem of a classic fantasy book. You could read it (nearly) and forget there were even sigmarines out there. As a sword and sorcery fan this was perfect
War Queen is equally as good!
Honestly the AoS novellas are all pretty darn good, though The Red Hours felt a bit "off". I think it was a case where the author pushed characters a little too much to get them where he wanted them rather than where characters felt they would naturally be. The overall premise of the story is great; the execution just feels a little lacking in my view.
I will order war queen and maybe red hours. Nick Horth has really opened up AoS for me. I had tried quite a few of the early books and absolutely hated them. Definitely willing to give more of them a go now.
I think some of the earlier Realmgate books suffer by being focused almost purely upon battles and the build up and not much aftermath of them. To be fair its the sweeping saga of the retaking of the Realm Gates, but the characters don't often get much chance for personality inbetween all the non-stop fighting.
Whilst some others -eg the early Fryeslayers - are almost like a long series of lightly connected diary entries. Again its trying to be more history than story as such.
Although saying that I found the Skaven Pestilens book very enjoyable!
The Novella take a totally different direction and are far more adventure and story!
Hamilcar Bear-Eater, Lord-Castellan of the Astral Templars Stormhost, was warned not to venture into the twisted shadeglass labyrinth of Shadespire. Naturally, he headed there right away, because no one tells Hamilcar what he can't do… Now he's trapped, lost, alone, and haunted – both by the ghosts that inhabit the City of Mirrors and by the spectres of his own past, doubts and fears. Can he overcome these obstacles and escape to fight again? Probably – he is Hamilcar, mightiest of all the Stormcast Eternals, after all!
Finished Titan Death last night. It was mostly good, but I felt a little let down as it mostly focused on Maniple on Maniple action in little skimishes not the hundreds of titans vs. hundreds of titans we were lead to believe for actual PoV scenes. While the scope of the warzone itself is massive involving thousands of Titans none of the actual PoV is at that scale.
Also I found it a little funny that in Guy's afterword he clearly stated that he wanted to focus on a woman only Legio as the HH is very male dominated, he then makes then a one off special legio, they are all clones/actual daughters, who "lie" with each other, calls the Grand Master of the order Old Mother, has her utter this gem:
<Query: Where is my strength and beauty?> She asked a question every old woman who had once been a girl asked herself.
Just strikes me as a hamfisted way of addressing the majority male focus of the universe. It would have been far better to just normalise women or men only legios rather than what we ended up with, particularly:
Spoiler:
That the legio is decimated after Titan Death, has to admit men to its ranks, and then has them saying this will ruin the legio, so they don't even exist anymore as they were after that.
A little heads up. Audible is having a sale with 40% off everything right now. It is only for members, but for all the short audio dramas, which aren’t worth spending a credit on, it is pretty good. It also applies to preorders so you can get the warhammer adventures books for about £5 each.
Looky Likey wrote: Finished Titan Death last night. It was mostly good, but I felt a little let down as it mostly focused on Maniple on Maniple action in little skimishes not the hundreds of titans vs. hundreds of titans we were lead to believe for actual PoV scenes. While the scope of the warzone itself is massive involving thousands of Titans none of the actual PoV is at that scale.
Also I found it a little funny that in Guy's afterword he clearly stated that he wanted to focus on a woman only Legio as the HH is very male dominated, he then makes then a one off special legio, they are all clones/actual daughters, who "lie" with each other, calls the Grand Master of the order Old Mother, has her utter this gem:
<Query: Where is my strength and beauty?> She asked a question every old woman who had once been a girl asked herself.
Just strikes me as a hamfisted way of addressing the majority male focus of the universe. It would have been far better to just normalise women or men only legios rather than what we ended up with, particularly:
Spoiler:
That the legio is decimated after Titan Death, has to admit men to its ranks, and then has them saying this will ruin the legio, so they don't even exist anymore as they were after that.
Le sigh. I don't know why if they think HH is too "male dominated" they can't just include more female PoV characters. You don't need to make a super-special-snowflake Legio of incest-lesbians to just write a book where the majority of Princeps are women.
"Your society's broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No, lets blame the people with no power and no money and those immigrants who don't even have the vote. Yea, it must be their fething fault." - Iain M Banks
-----
"The language of modern British politics is meant to sound benign. But words do not mean what they seem to mean. 'Reform' actually means 'cut' or 'end'. 'Flexibility' really means 'exploit'. 'Prudence' really means 'don't invest'. And 'efficient'? That means whatever you want it to mean, usually 'cut'. All really mean 'keep wages low for the masses, taxes low for the rich, profits high for the corporations, and accept the decline in public services and amenities this will cause'." - Robin McAlpine from Common Weal
When a child goes missing from Hammerhal Ghyra, Gotrek Gurnisson, recovering from an epic drinking binge (and some nasty poisoning) volunteers to enter the nearby catacombs and find him – especially since his mother claims he was taken by a ghost. Venturing into the darkness with his reluctant aelven companion Maleneth. But even the vaunted Stormcast Eternals were unable to cleanse this labyrinth of the taint that infects it, and what awaits the adventurers below will test them to their limits.
Its an interesting story - thought Malaneth in this and the Bone Desert seemed quite different people? Maybe becuase different authors
Also I found it a little funny that in Guy's afterword he clearly stated that he wanted to focus on a woman only Legio as the HH is very male dominated, he then makes then a one off special legio, they are all clones/actual daughters, who "lie" with each other, calls the Grand Master of the order Old Mother, has her utter this gem:
The idea seems sound - although why they would all lie with each other is slightly more dubious - I assume its not a goup thing!?
I AM A MARINE PLAYER
"Unimaginably ancient xenos artefact somewhere on the planet, hive fleet poised above our heads, hidden 'stealer broods making an early start....and now a bloody Chaos cult crawling out of the woodwork just in case we were bored. Welcome to my world, Ciaphas."
Inquisitor Amberley Vail, Ordo Xenos
"I will admit that some Primachs like Russ or Horus could have a chance against an unarmed 12 year old novice but, a full Battle Sister??!! One to one? In close combat? Perhaps three Primarchs fighting together... but just one Primarch?" da001
Especially as plenty of other people who work in the publishing trade also commented, and while quite a few of his points were questioned, that one wasn't, which suggests it's not controversial.
EAT - SLEEP - FARM - REPEAT 
