Warhammer 40,000 Novels

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Gavinmad

Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
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ADB is amazing. I really have trouble choosing between him, Abnett, and McNeill. Abnett's contributions to HH have been mediocre but obviously his other 40K books speak for themselves. Aside from Mechanicum, McNeill's HH books are most of the best novels in the series. Bowden's The First Heretic really blew me away though, and I consider it the best book in the series. I also really liked The Emperor's Gift, it was much better than Grey Knights and Dark Adeptus, and I really loved the Ravenor easter egg.
 
Arch

Arch

Lord Nagafen Raider
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The Chapter's due is good, it was nice to wrap that story up. I haven't kept up with these in about a year or so as well, I'll go pick up the Night Lords series this weekend. Also need to pick up the new Eisenhorn book (still only 1 out?).
 
Gavinmad

Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
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Well the dude I need to DL Scars and Legacies of Betrayal from hasn't been in the irc channel for a week. Vengeful Spirit was pretty good, Damnation of Pythos was fucking terrible.
 
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orcmauler

Golden Squire
171
24
Arch_sl said:
The Chapter's due is good, it was nice to wrap that story up. I haven't kept up with these in about a year or so as well, I'll go pick up the Night Lords series this weekend. Also need to pick up the new Eisenhorn book (still only 1 out?).
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Still only one, Abnett isverryfar behind right now. On the bright side they just released a new Ghosts' anthology a few weeks back with 2-3 short stories by Abnett that are set (mostly) between Salvation's Reach and the upcoming book. As usual it is (barring one or two stories) good for 40k.
 
OU Ariakas

OU Ariakas

Diet Dr. Pepper Enjoyer
<Silver Donator>
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Gav, I have both of those. PM me your email address.

Arch, I cannot even find a release date for the second in the Bequin Trilogy. There is a thread at Heresy Online from March that says this November...but who knows.

Has anyone read the Eldar series? Is it any good?
 
Gavinmad

Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
43,738
52,289
The dude I needed was actually on undernet last night so I downloaded a whole bunch of shit. Including a couple short story collections that were only released at 40k events or whatever. Got through Scars last night, was quite pleased with it. The Imperial Truth is next.
 
Arch

Arch

Lord Nagafen Raider
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I feel like I need to get in on this torrent business for some of these books heh.
 
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PosterOfStuff_sl

shitlord
139
0
My interest in this series has fluctuated over the years. I can't believe this series started in 2006/2007 !

Of the more semi-recent books...

Betrayer (I have not read this is it a good one?)

Angel Exterminatus I found was ok-ish.

Vulkan lives. I made it through the first 50 pages I think and thought this was crap (does it get better ?)

The Unremembered Empire. I have tried this twice and just can't get into it (again does it get better ?).

Scars. I really enjoyed this, was a real gem.

Vengeful Spirit. This was ok.

The Damnation of Pythos. Again just ok.
 
Gavinmad

Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
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52,289
Prospero Burns sucked. GTFO.

Maybe you meant A Thousand Sons was one of the diamonds of the series, cause then you'd be right. But the Prospero Burns perspective of all that was garbage.
 
OU Ariakas

OU Ariakas

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I dare someone to say First Heretic wasn't the best book in the series so far
 
Gavinmad

Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
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First Heretic wasn'tjustthe best book in the series so farit's one of the best 40K books ever written
 
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PosterOfStuff_sl

shitlord
139
0
Gavinmad_sl said:
Prospero Burns sucked. GTFO.

Maybe you meant A Thousand Sons was one of the diamonds of the series, cause then you'd be right. But the Prospero Burns perspective of all that was garbage.
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Yeah A Thousand Sons was great, I didn't mind Prospero Burns. Needed more time for the Author to develop it, but it was not the typical Wolves book which is so predictable. (This is the one with the Skald yeah ?)

I feel our relationship ended before it even begun
frown.png
 
Gavinmad

Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
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52,289
I enjoyed getting Space Wolf stuff that was based on actual ancient nordic/germanic traditions instead of them being romanticized space vikings. The story itself, however, meandered all over the place, had little to do with the Heresy, and had almost nothing to do with Prospero either. The only really cool part of Prospero Burns was the way they introduced Bjorn.
 
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PosterOfStuff_sl

shitlord
139
0
Been a while since I read Prospero Burns. But now that you mentioned it I do remember it jumping around a fair bit.

My understanding is that the Authors get limited time to pump these novels out, and that really can impact the story telling as it did for this book. Maybe I have fonder memories of what this book of been as opposed to what it was.

That was 5 years ago I read that as well, I am going to be 120 years old by the time they finish this series if I am lucky.
 
Gavinmad

Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
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Despite being one of the better 40K authors they have, Dan Abnett's contributions to the Horus Heresy series haven't been very good. Horus Rising to kick it all off was fine, but Legion was dumb because it not only turned the Alpha Legion primarch into twins, it made their motivations for siding with Horus retarded and it established this stupid precedent for 'we are such badass infiltrators we can do anything we want' that has continued in every single mention of the Alpha Legion since. I've voiced my complaints about Prospero Burns, and Know No Fear was just a disappointing collection of barely connected short stories set during the Battle for Calth. Unremembered Empire was an ok story, except that it radically changes the established canon of the end of the Heresy on Terra.

Originally, Sanguinius and the Blood Angels are on Terra while Horus had arranged for the Ultramarines to be too far away and delayed by the Word Bearer attack on Calth. Finding out the Ultramarines were almost to Terra is what prompted Horus to lower the shields on the Vengeful Spirit, leading to the final showdown with the Emperor, because he knew he couldn't resist the forces still on Terra + the Ultramarines. Now, how the hell does Sanguinius get to Terra in time to take part in the defense without Guilliman basically being a traitor for not leaving with him?
 
PatrickStar

PatrickStar

Trakanon Raider
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558
Dues Ex Machina? They will use that other warp travel they found and it will magically whisk them there? Painted themselves in a corner there.
 
cyrusreij

cyrusreij

Trakanon Raider
1,722
687
Gavinmad_sl said:
Despite being one of the better 40K authors they have, Dan Abnett's contributions to the Horus Heresy series haven't been very good. Horus Rising to kick it all off was fine, but Legion was dumb because it not only turned the Alpha Legion primarch into twins, it made their motivations for siding with Horus retarded and it established this stupid precedent for 'we are such badass infiltrators we can do anything we want' that has continued in every single mention of the Alpha Legion since. I've voiced my complaints about Prospero Burns, and Know No Fear was just a disappointing collection of barely connected short stories set during the Battle for Calth. Unremembered Empire was an ok story, except that it radically changes the established canon of the end of the Heresy on Terra.

Originally, Sanguinius and the Blood Angels are on Terra while Horus had arranged for the Ultramarines to be too far away and delayed by the Word Bearer attack on Calth. Finding out the Ultramarines were almost to Terra is what prompted Horus to lower the shields on the Vengeful Spirit, leading to the final showdown with the Emperor, because he knew he couldn't resist the forces still on Terra + the Ultramarines. Now, how the hell does Sanguinius get to Terra in time to take part in the defense without Guilliman basically being a traitor for not leaving with him?
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I actually liked the Twins and the Cabal and all that nonsense. I also find the ninjaspy legion to be nice and it differentiates them from everyone else. Also their motivation of stopping Chaos once and for all by letting mankind destroy itself seems a noble enough one to me. Alpha Legion sees the big picture and shit yo. Way more interesting than Angron-Smash! at any rate.
 
Azrayne

Azrayne

Irenicus did nothing wrong
2,161
786
Is there a list anywhere which rates the Horus Heresy books in terms of readability? I've really enjoyed some of them, but others have been either boring or completely nonsensical (Descent of Angels in particular made me really 'wtf,' they obviously skimped on the editing for that one).
 
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