Inconsistency in James swallows writing

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**Backspacehacker**

Is James Swallow know for inconsistencies in his writing or are all of the GW writers known for this?

I would expect some differences between varying writers, but i noticed it more frequently with Swallows book.

I just finished Flight of the Esinstine, and the one i noticed the most was the back and forth over the functioning of a suit of power armor

On ishtvan III they were not air tight, and he talked about the flesh eater getting in through the respirator, on the Eisenstein, Garro had to seal his suit to prevent contamination when visiting Desious, on the moon his virus became air born and he could not go into the chamber, also on the moon he was ejected into space and was still able to survive in his power armor, and talked about loosing air.

So the inconsistency was bothering me, is he personally know for this? or does this happen a lot in a single writers books/series i just have not noticed it as much.

**Lord Damocles**

1. James Swallow is awful. ref: his Blood Angels series.

2. It's possible that a) different marks or even individual suits of power armour have different degrees of atmospheric filtering/sealing, and/or b) the life-eater virus is really bad news - it might just be capable of eating through respiration filters which are otherwise proof against airborne contaminants.

**Vojcek**

If I remember correctly, on Istvaan III power armors were not air tight because of combat damage. After all, if those suits were not air tight they could hardly use them in vacuum of space which they did in many books.

**oldravenman3025**

Backspacehacker wrote:
Is James Swallow know for inconsistencies in his writing or are all of the GW writers known for this?

I would expect some differences between varying writers, but i noticed it more frequently with Swallows book.

I just finished Flight of the Esinstine, and the one i noticed the most was the back and forth over the functioning of a suit of power armor

On ishtvan III they were not air tight, and he talked about the flesh eater getting in through the respirator, on the Eisenstein, Garro had to seal his suit to prevent contamination when visiting Desious, on the moon his virus became air born and he could not go into the chamber, also on the moon he was ejected into space and was still able to survive in his power armor, and talked about loosing air.

So the inconsistency was bothering me, is he personally know for this? or does this happen a lot in a single writers books/series i just have not noticed it as much.

At least Swallow isn't C.S. Goto. Swallow isn't that great. But Goto is worlds apart, being further down the crapper than Swallow.

**SomeRandomEvilGuy**

Lord Damocles wrote:
1. James Swallow is awful. ref: his Blood Angels series.

2. It's possible that a) different marks or even individual suits of power armour have different degrees of atmospheric filtering/sealing, and/or b) the life-eater virus is really bad news - it might just be capable of eating through respiration filters which are otherwise proof against airborne contaminants.

If I recall correctly it's explicitly stated in Galaxy in Flames that the life-eater virus eats through the Space Marine respirators. A fully intact Dreadnought is fine though.

**Wayniac**

SomeRandomEvilGuy wrote:
Lord Damocles wrote:
1. James Swallow is awful. ref: his Blood Angels series.

2. It's possible that a) different marks or even individual suits of power armour have different degrees of atmospheric filtering/sealing, and/or b) the life-eater virus is really bad news - it might just be capable of eating through respiration filters which are otherwise proof against airborne contaminants.

If I recall correctly it's explicitly stated in Galaxy in Flames that the life-eater virus eats through the Space Marine respirators. A fully intact Dreadnought is fine though.

I recall this too. The virus was specifically able to defeat power armor respirators, but the Dreadnought was not affected. It's not an inconsistency. The flesh-eater virus was specifically used because it would not be stopped by the power armor.

**godardc**

In Fulgrim (or was it one of the three books ?), it is stated that the virus eats the seals (gaskets ?) of the power armors (like at the elbows and knees ).

**Ankhalagon**

Yeah, Lifeeater and Phosphex are veeery, very nasty. They eat just trough most materials....

**Backspacehacker**

Still does not explain the inconsistency for the armor being able to survive in space, but can't go into a room with an air born none flesh eater virus

**Psienesis**

Explains it all:

http://www.boomtron.com/2011/03/grimdark-ii-loose-canon/

**Xathrodox86**

James Swallow isn't that great, but then again even Abnett makes the occassional screw up. I've lost count how many times different BL authors wrote about normal people teleporting without special suits or how human captains stared into the Warp from the bridges of their ships...

And Goto is an altogether different case of incompetence. Still, his books have a funny, comedic feel to them in that "so bad that it's good" kind of way.

**SomeRandomEvilGuy**

Backspacehacker wrote:
Still does not explain the inconsistency for the armor being able to survive in space, but can't go into a room with an air born none flesh eater virus

What sort of virus was it?

**Ankhalagon**

SomeRandomEvilGuy wrote:
Backspacehacker wrote:
Still does not explain the inconsistency for the armor being able to survive in space, but can't go into a room with an air born none flesh eater virus

What sort of virus was it?

Virus Bombs

Imperial Virus Bombs release a special virus known as the Life-eater Virus that was genetically designed to quickly spread and destroy all organic cellular structures it infects, reducing all planetary life, whether flora or fauna, to an undifferentiated organic sludge of biochemicals and organic gasses as a by-product, both of which are highly flammable. Exterminatus protocols dictate that a lance strike or an incendiary device be deployed to ignite the byproducts and turn the atmosphere into a firestorm that usually takes out whatever life may be left. Only those who may have escaped into especially-deep underground shelters can survive a Virus Bomb attack. The population of Tallarn managed to escape complete destruction this way, but their once-verdant world was forever transformed into a desert. Virus bombs are known for their extreme speed; in the fiction surrounding the Horus Heresy, they completely wiped out Istvaan III's entire population of 16 billion people in only minutes, leaving the planet barren but habitable, if only just; Space Marines on the ground had to act quickly to create desperately improvised air-proof shelters. While many Marines survived, the toll, even on many of those who had thought they were safe, had been catastrophic.

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Exterminatus

**Backspacehacker**

Ankhalagon wrote:
SomeRandomEvilGuy wrote:
Backspacehacker wrote:
Still does not explain the inconsistency for the armor being able to survive in space, but can't go into a room with an air born none flesh eater virus

What sort of virus was it?

Virus Bombs

Imperial Virus Bombs release a special virus known as the Life-eater Virus that was genetically designed to quickly spread and destroy all organic cellular structures it infects, reducing all planetary life, whether flora or fauna, to an undifferentiated organic sludge of biochemicals and organic gasses as a by-product, both of which are highly flammable. Exterminatus protocols dictate that a lance strike or an incendiary device be deployed to ignite the byproducts and turn the atmosphere into a firestorm that usually takes out whatever life may be left. Only those who may have escaped into especially-deep underground shelters can survive a Virus Bomb attack. The population of Tallarn managed to escape complete destruction this way, but their once-verdant world was forever transformed into a desert. Virus bombs are known for their extreme speed; in the fiction surrounding the Horus Heresy, they completely wiped out Istvaan III's entire population of 16 billion people in only minutes, leaving the planet barren but habitable, if only just; Space Marines on the ground had to act quickly to create desperately improvised air-proof shelters. While many Marines survived, the toll, even on many of those who had thought they were safe, had been catastrophic.

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Exterminatus

No im referring to the virus that infected desious after being hit by a plague knife in the hand. So a nurgal plague.

I dont get how he cant enter a room because that virus has become air born, but he can survive the vacuum of space.

**SomeRandomEvilGuy**

Backspacehacker wrote:

No im referring to the virus that infected desious after being hit by a plague knife in the hand. So a nurgal plague.

I dont get how he cant enter a room because that virus has become air born, but he can survive the vacuum of space.

Nurglite plague would be warp-based so it's possible it could eat through\move through the respirators as well. I can't see many Nurgle plagues being stopped by standard respirators.

**Backspacehacker**

SomeRandomEvilGuy wrote:
Backspacehacker wrote:

No im referring to the virus that infected desious after being hit by a plague knife in the hand. So a nurgal plague.

I dont get how he cant enter a room because that virus has become air born, but he can survive the vacuum of space.

Nurglite plague would be warp-based so it's possible it could eat through\move through the respirators as well. I can't see many Nurgle plagues being stopped by standard respirators.

I get that, but what bothers me, is the same suit is also environmentally sealed which it comes to the vacuum of space. If it was "Eating through the respirator" that should not matter because the respirator should not even be being used if the suit can seal itself for the vaccume of space as well.

I can get the life eater one, eating through the plastics or flex steel.

**SomeRandomEvilGuy**

Backspacehacker wrote:

I get that, but what bothers me, is the same suit is also environmentally sealed which it comes to the vacuum of space. If it was "Eating through the respirator" that should not matter because the respirator should not even be being used if the suit can seal itself for the vaccume of space as well.

I can get the life eater one, eating through the plastics or flex steel.

Just assume it can eat through whatever the weakest part of the armour is.

When it comes to the Warp it's better to just roll with it.

**BobtheInquisitor**

I'm pretty sure one of the books mentions that Space Marine armor usually filters the air in the atmosphere, with Space Marine super lungs providing another level of defense against toxins and pathogens, but that they switch to bottled air in a vacuum. I'm pretty sure Space Marines have a limited supply of bottled air and even with some air scrubbing and recycling, their suits' vacuum-worthy duration is far shorter than the indefinite amount of time a Space Marine can spend in his armor in the field on a planet.