Indefragable Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 What would you say are the best writings about Blood Angels that BL has put out? Can be 40k, HH, whatever, although HH is reaaaaaally limited with just Fear to Tread and a smattering of short stories. I have the Second Omnibus that I keep meaning to get through, but I have to be honest, I am having trouble getting started. I know James Swallow has written quite a bit of the BA stuff out there as well and, TBH, I have not been too impressed with his work. He's a good writer in the classic sense: he knows story arc and his descriptions are pretty good....it just never seems inspired. But that's just me. Anyways, I'm looking to get a pulse on what's considered must reads. Grazi! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkangilos Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Blood Quest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkangilos Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 There's also an audio drama that is like an "in between" Blood Quest, too. And that's pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaplain Gunzhard Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 I think Swallow is garbage personally. Since the old codex and Index Astartes stuff I haven't read much 'good' BA lit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son of Carnelian Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Fear to Tread. I also hear good things about Master of Mankind. But I haven't read that yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warsmith Uveron Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I have been enjoying the space hulk novel by Gav Thorpe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helias_Tancred Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 The short stories Sins of the Father and Virtue of the Sons are the best representation of our Primarch and his two favorite sons, Azkaellon and Amit. Fear to Tread is good. The two omnibuses are garbage and should not be included, but .... they are :( ..... the audio drama/short story Herald of Sanguinius is very good. There were a handful of short stories that came out such as The Chalice, Honour and Wrath, The Blooding, Blood of Sanguinus, the Eternal, Blood Debt etc. They were all decent to good. Eclipse of Hope is decent. James Swallow, while his omnibuses are complete turds he did write a couple short stories that were decent, I REALLY liked Honours, which is about a Blood Angel Captain, very good :), also Reflection in Blood isn't bad, same for Dante, Lord of the Host. Sanguis Irae by Gav Thorpe is good, and his Sin of Damnation is straight forward but classic! I think I own everything that has been written about our glorious chapter? In summary the short stories tend to be good, the omnibuses are dog poop, our one Horus Heresy novel, Fear to Tread, is decent, and our depiction is several other novels such as the Horus Heresy novel Vengeful Spirit, is atrocious. We need a dedicated author, who is good, and who can write about our chapter and depict us in a meaningful way deserving of our legacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyriks Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Eclipse of Hope is the only BA fiction I've read so far that didn't repulse me. It was pretty good, but I felt it was too short to really get into anything so it wasn't great either. Good prose, just not enough meat to the story. I got the sense it was a prequel to something but I couldn't figure out what... As said, the Swallow series isn't good. His prose is fine, if a little bland at times, but it just doesn't make you want to play BA, like a good story should (I have to take breaks from reading HH or I'd end up playing 4 or 5 more armies!). It makes BA look bad, it doesn't seem to "get" what BA are beyond the curse (and even that isn't very inspired) and it doesn't flesh us out as a corporate entity, so I just don't think it's worth the time it takes to read. I don't hate it as much as some people seem to, but I hate that it's about the Blood Angels, if that makes sense. The Blood Angels as a chapter are just presented as extremely one dimensional. Those books were my first 40k novels and it took me eight months to bother picking up another because I assumed they were all a waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Master of Mankind is really good but don't read it if you want specifically a BA story. The Blood Angel in Master of Mankind doesn't do much himself (even tho he is a pretty interesting character and has some nice interactions with others like Custodes and AdMech etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spikedhalo Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Let me add my word to the discussion. Well, my Number One of books I've already read is - Lemartes, guardian of the Lost. This book is really Grim and Dark... Many deaths, Oceans of blood + it's very introspective, and is focused on Lemartes Vision of things and the way death company sees the reality. That was a very cool reading... like diving into the Black Rage itself. Book really inspires to play for Blood Angels, especially LBSF!!! Number two is traditional Fear th thread. Swallow... Struggling through second book - well, it goes Very slow. Can't give an advice to add these books to reading list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenith Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Andy Smillie's Flesh Tearers stuff is great. Swallow is from the age where BL authors could take a chapter and do what the hell they want with them. Now things are more controlled, plot arcs decided by committee to an extent. It doesn't sit well with some authors, which is why you don't see them writing for BL much anymore, in particular the HH series. Swallow's Blood Angels Omnibuses exist in the same universe as C.S. Goto's backflipping terminators with Multilasers. Stories set within the 40k Universe, but not in line with the current timeline or writing practice...and mostly indirectly retconned/never spoken of again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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