Well, although I disagree with some of the choices Gav made for the novels, I find it hard to dismiss an entire book as "meh" because of them. Part of reviewing a book is also remembering the bits that were enjoyable and well done. Allow me a moment to sing some praises Gav's way from my readings of Deliverance Lost and Corax
- Amazing descriptions/inventions of Khiavaran stealth-tech (reflex shields, whispercutters, etc). If FW ever make a whispercutter I'm auto-buying it right away.
- That moment when Corax times the warp jump out of the Istvann system precisely so that it tears apart an enemy ship in the most horrific way possible.
- I loved the moments of tension when RG ships are conducting ambushes in stealth mode and wait in silence for long periods of time while running their ships on minimal systems before launching the perfect strike.
- Void combat is generally something Gav handled very well in these books IMO.
- I loved everything about the moments in the emperor's maze. From Corax's genius to the action scenes to how he described the working of the maze.
- The descriptions of Corax's childhood, his moments with the Emperor and the liberation of Lycaeus. Satisfying to read as a RG fan and kept enough mystery to explore in the future.
- The bet between Branne and Noriz is one of my favorite moments in the Heresy.
- Branne is a great character and throughout both books he remains sympathetic and relatable.
- I studied biology and was impressed by how Gav handled Corax's work on the primarch genetics. I was looking for them, but I couldn't find any fundamental science mistakes that broke my immersion.
- The descriptions of the Raptors and their transformation were great. The story of Navar Hef was suitably heartbreaking.
- The bits where alpha legion infiltrators were experiencing the challenges of posing as raven guard were nice. "Where did you learn to use a dagger like that?" and "Wait, one of us is a captain?" were memorable scenes.
- Although Agapito's behavior in Deliverance Lost was annoying at times, his character was redeemed in Soulforge and Weregeld where he was actually pretty badass and showed some real character growth.
- Action scenes with Corax were well done. They had enough awesomeness, but never made him feel invincible or over the top. As much as I enjoy Angron bench-pressing warhounds, there is a real risk of that stuff becoming silly if you overuse it, which Gav luckily never did with Corax.
- Although the ending of Raptor was a let-down, it was partially redeemed by Navar Hef's wrap-up in Weregeld.
- The novellas do a pretty good job of showing the Raven Guard's guerilla war against the traitors in a number of interesting scenario's. Gav did a good job of choosing interesting topics for them IMO.
- Although I really disliked the events that transpired in The Grey Raven, I begrudgingly respect Gav's ability to make me feel emotionally invested in the characters and going to certain lengths to illustrate his point.
- Corax is shown well. I get the feeling that Gav wanted to show that yes, Corax is a primarch and suitably intimidating, majestic, powerful and genius, but even a primarch is fallible and needs a little help from his marines sometimes. Also that even primarchs have a breaking point and that the Heresy really threatens Corax to reach his. That's a pretty poweful statement that I'm glad I got to see from my favourite primarch.
All in all I'd rate Gav as a pretty damn good writer and he has my utmost respect and gratitude for handling my favourite legion so well. Don't know if another BL writer could've done it better tbh.
DaanofWar reacted to a post in a topic:
Gav Thorpe as a BL Writer - Honest Review Please?
Well, although I disagree with some of the choices Gav made for the novels, I find it hard to dismiss an entire book as "meh" because of them. Part of reviewing a book is also remembering the bits that were enjoyable and well done. Allow me a moment to sing some praises Gav's way from my readings of Deliverance Lost and Corax - Amazing descriptions/inventions of Khiavaran stealth-tech (reflex shields, whispercutters, etc). If FW ever make a whispercutter I'm auto-buying it right away. - That moment when Corax times the warp jump out of the Istvann system precisely so that it tears apart an enemy ship in the most horrific way possible. - I loved the moments of tension when RG ships are conducting ambushes in stealth mode and wait in silence for long periods of time while running their ships on minimal systems before launching the perfect strike. - Void combat is generally something Gav handled very well in these books IMO. - I loved everything about the moments in the emperor's maze. From Corax's genius to the action scenes to how he described the working of the maze. - The descriptions of Corax's childhood, his moments with the Emperor and the liberation of Lycaeus. Satisfying to read as a RG fan and kept enough mystery to explore in the future. - The bet between Branne and Noriz is one of my favorite moments in the Heresy. - Branne is a great character and throughout both books he remains sympathetic and relatable. - I studied biology and was impressed by how Gav handled Corax's work on the primarch genetics. I was looking for them, but I couldn't find any fundamental science mistakes that broke my immersion. - The descriptions of the Raptors and their transformation were great. The story of Navar Hef was suitably heartbreaking. - The bits where alpha legion infiltrators were experiencing the challenges of posing as raven guard were nice. "Where did you learn to use a dagger like that?" and "Wait, one of us is a captain?" were memorable scenes. - Although Agapito's behavior in Deliverance Lost was annoying at times, his character was redeemed in Soulforge and Weregeld where he was actually pretty badass and showed some real character growth. - Action scenes with Corax were well done. They had enough awesomeness, but never made him feel invincible or over the top. As much as I enjoy Angron bench-pressing warhounds, there is a real risk of that stuff becoming silly if you overuse it, which Gav luckily never did with Corax. - Although the ending of Raptor was a let-down, it was partially redeemed by Navar Hef's wrap-up in Weregeld. - The novellas do a pretty good job of showing the Raven Guard's guerilla war against the traitors in a number of interesting scenario's. Gav did a good job of choosing interesting topics for them IMO. - Although I really disliked the events that transpired in The Grey Raven, I begrudgingly respect Gav's ability to make me feel emotionally invested in the characters and going to certain lengths to illustrate his point. - Corax is shown well. I get the feeling that Gav wanted to show that yes, Corax is a primarch and suitably intimidating, majestic, powerful and genius, but even a primarch is fallible and needs a little help from his marines sometimes. Also that even primarchs have a breaking point and that the Heresy really threatens Corax to reach his. That's a pretty poweful statement that I'm glad I got to see from my favourite primarch. All in all I'd rate Gav as a pretty damn good writer and he has my utmost respect and gratitude for handling my favourite legion so well. Don't know if another BL writer could've done it better tbh.