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Renegades: Lord of Excess - Rich McCormick (Audiobook)   Another debut novel! Another very good debut novel.   This is probably the most ambitious first book I've read since Fire Caste, at times to a fault. There's no 3-act structure here; the first third of the book provides some set-up and gets what I assume is the action quota out of the way, and the last two thirds are basically its own novel slightly compacted into a tighter space. This does make the book a bit messy, but has the benefit of being all killer and no filler after a certain point.   While that first third is the least interesting part, I still think it was pretty good. Traitor Astartes vs Genestealer cultists is a rare match-up, and unlike other BL books with similar openings (Wolftime springs to mind) this section still effectively sets up the dynamic of The Adored and gives each character enough development to make sure you're invested in what's to come.   The remainder of the book is basically the pivotal moments in Xantine's reign of his now world. The premise alone makes this worthwhile, and while nothing really has room to "sit" and take a breath, it's constantly interesting. The status quo shifts in basically every chapter as someone is always sowing new consequences to reap later. We get rebellions, shifts in political structure, rival Chaos cults, deals, and betrayals. It's never shallow; the themes and character work are more than adequate throughout, but the lightning-fast pacing may not be to everyone's taste. The unique premise certainly helps things in this regard, if this were a typical war story it wouldn't work nearly as well.   Our protagonist, Xantine, is a real treat. He sees the daemon sharing his body as a lover, which in itself already sets him apart from your typical Chaos marine, and he's the perfect blend of ambition and total lack of self awareness that I like to call "the Emperor's Children special." Xantine is a man deeply affected by Canticle City's destruction (see Talon of Horus) and is desperate to recapture the glory of his legion's past by reshaping his newly "conquered" world into something perfect. This proves difficult for him, since he expects everyone else to be simultaneously in awe of his brilliance but just as ambitious as he is. Like any good Child of the Emperor, being called out on this doesn't faze him. Man talks the talk and walks the walk, all while actually trusting the daemon living in his head.   Speaking of Emperor's Children, I was glad to see a backwater assume they're loyalists because of their name. The story never bothers with the population's grand realization that they're traitors, either - it's a cliché the story doesn't need.   The rest of the Adored receive good characterization, as well as each human POV from the world they're now squatting on. Check the amazon extract for any BL book before purchase to make sure the prose gels with you, but I certainly thought it was good. And honestly, despite how messy the pacing made it at times, it really worked for me. Kind of has that classic sci-fi quality of shoving the interesting bits to the fore at the expense of all else.   Definitely "To Taste," and my critical mind would probably give this a 7 or 8. Personally though, I've gotta give it a 9, the risks McCormick took with this all really worked for me. Man is the heir to Reynolds' III Legion throne far as I'm concerned.   Multiple reviews on Goodreads list "not important to the wider universe" as one of the book's few negatives. I die a little every time I see that sentiment.

@andes I wish! I miss the Geo discipline.    I also dislike everything that isn't Imperial Fists.    I'm going to go be grumpy for an hour and throw yellow paint at something. 

I would hope that they lean into pleasure, but that doesn't necessarily mean leaning into sex. (Space Marines are kind of sexless as it is; though I wouldn't mind the occasional mono-boob-plate.*) But pushing the desire for greater and more bizarre sensations, which then goes into BDSM straps and such, is part of the classic aesthetic that I like. The whole pain for pleasure, joy for suffering, sadomasochism aspect.   (Back in the previous iteration of Kill Team - where Khorne Berzerkers were the only Cult Troop available - I had one amongst my Emperor's Children. My lore was that Brother Tsunderius saw the denial of his worship to Slaanesh as the ultimate act of devotion, and instead dedicated his sacrifices to Khorne so that Slaanesh would punish him.)   //   As to the colour scheme, I always saw Fabius (and his entourage) wearing the Purple + Gold to be a deliberate reference to him being unwilling to move on and embrace what the Legion has become (ie. Slaanesh worshippers). It shows him living in the past, and is like a marine from the True Sons warband - those who kept to their Sons of Horus traditions, and refused to become a part of the Black Legion. Seeing 40k Emperor's Children in Purple + Gold is therefore (to me - I want to stress that I'm not trying to be authoritative on this) like seeing Black Legion in SoH colours. It's cool, and I have painted both the occasional True Sons marine (as I don't particularly like the Black Legion scheme) as well as Purple + Gold members of the 40k Emperor's Children. But it would feel wrong (to me) for that to become the main scheme - like Thousand Sons, Death Guard, and World Eaters being primarily represented by the Brotherhood of Dust, Pallid Hand, and Gladiator Cadre 331.   (I also have Warpcoven and Death Guard kill teams in Brotherhood of Dust and Pallid Hand schemes - so again, I'm not saying these are bad, or that I dislike them. But... they're minority alternatives, warbands harkening back to the Heresy. I feel like the Emperor's Children should be the same. If the codex shows off a "Phoenix Conclavist" 30k-esque scheme, that's cool. But I'd like the cover boys to be in Black + Pink.)   * Mono-boob-plate, straps, chiselled abs, studded codpiece. Not taking away from the body horror, the Noise Marine sensory amplification, or the lithe fighter look. (Does need more pink though.)

Whaoo. I am just speechless. Can´t even say which one is my favourite...

That's not a bad idea. I'd done the blue to match it to the arc weapons and taser goads in the army as "electric" stuff. But I don't need to be that fixed. Might try that on the next lot.

Transfers. The one on the sides are from the Primaris Upgrade sheet and the others from the FW Horus Hersey Decal sheet.