Resurrection: The Horusian Wars

[Mellow]

Ok, so I just finished this book and had a few questions.

 

1. Inquisitor Lord wearing termie armour - how does that work? Don't you need to have a black carapace to interface with the armour so that you can use it properly?

 

2. Can somebody explain what happened at the end with the latent alpha+ psyker? She was referred to as being "one of them"...what exactly is "one of them"?

I've also just finished the book and got the impression that the alpha plus psyker was meant to represent human evolution to the point of being able to survive the effects of the Warp. Basically what The Emperor was waiting for. Evolution to catch up with him so Humanity can survive and prosper ... unfortunately it looks like that is a make or break situation currently ending in being blown to atoms rather than surviving. Please come back in a few hundred years and try again ;)

 

Not sure on the novel though. Lots of words. Lots of descriptions but I didn't get the sense of an actual plot line. This book was no where near as good as Carrion Throne in my opinion.

[HeritorA]

 

Ok, so I just finished this book and had a few questions.

 

1. Inquisitor Lord wearing termie armour - how does that work? Don't you need to have a black carapace to interface with the armour so that you can use it properly?

 

2. Can somebody explain what happened at the end with the latent alpha+ psyker? She was referred to as being "one of them"...what exactly is "one of them"?

I've also just finished the book and got the impression that the alpha plus psyker was meant to represent human evolution to the point of being able to survive the effects of the Warp. Basically what The Emperor was waiting for. Evolution to catch up with him so Humanity can survive and prosper ... unfortunately it looks like that is a make or break situation currently ending in being blown to atoms rather than surviving. Please come back in a few hundred years and try again

 

Not sure on the novel though. Lots of words. Lots of descriptions but I didn't get the sense of an actual plot line. This book was no where near as good as Carrion Throne in my opinion.

 

 

In general terms exactly what I mentioned in review. Good... I;m not alone

[Lucifer216]

I read it while a bit sleep-deprived, so please take my comments  with that disclaimer on board. I did find it a bit difficult to follow. However, for me the worst aspect of the novel was that I didn't feel invested in any of the characters. ADB's First Claw are murderers and torturers, but I very quickly became incredibly interested in them. I think part of the problem is that while the prose is very descriptive, it feels quite cold and clinical, almost as though every character is on Prozium - the drug taken by everyone in the film Equilibrium. I found the same with the Ahriman Omnibus. 

 

There are flashes of great characterisation – I like the parallels between the tech-priest and the disgraced sister of battle and the characters are well described – but the overall effect of the prose means that I don't feel like I care about their fates and neither do they...

[HeritorA]

I read it while a bit sleep-deprived, so please take my comments  with that disclaimer on board. I did find it a bit difficult to follow. However, for me the worst aspect of the novel was that I didn't feel invested in any of the characters. ADB's First Claw are murderers and torturers, but I very quickly became incredibly interested in them. I think part of the problem is that while the prose is very descriptive, it feels quite cold and clinical, almost as though every character is on Prozium - the drug taken by everyone in the film Equilibrium. I found the same with the Ahriman Omnibus. 

 

There are flashes of great characterisation – I like the parallels between the tech-priest and the disgraced sister of battle and the characters are well described – but the overall effect of the prose means that I don't feel like I care about their fates and neither do they...

 

Another brother with the same opinion - welcome on board.

So far we all agree on several key poins about that novel:

1) 'I didn't feel invested in any of the characters...I think part of the problem is that while the prose is very descriptive, it feels quite cold and clinical, almost as though every character is on Prozium'

2) 'Lots of words. Lots of descriptions but I didn't get the sense of an actual plot line'.

3) Boring narrative.

[Lucifer216]

One other thing is that the Inquisition's power and diversity is rammed home in both a "tell don't show" kind of way and in a rather forced and repetitive fashion. There's a bit when a character is musing about this, with very little prompting. I get why it's there, especially as it's the start of a series, but it could have been done in a better way. 

[Mellow]

I just feel these are my thoughts during the book:

"Ooh, more than one Inquisitor, special times"

"Oh noes, disaster!"

"Action is planned (in an Inquisitors head)"

"Nothing is described or spelled out"

"What is going on?"

"Yay, they won ... I think, although what did they win? What's going on"

[HeritorA]

I just feel these are my thoughts during the book:

"Ooh, more than one Inquisitor, special times"

"Oh noes, disaster!"

"Action is planned (in an Inquisitors head)"

"Nothing is described or spelled out"

"What is going on?"

"Yay, they won ... I think, although what did they win? What's going on"

Welcome to the club. It's nice to see constructive critic, instead of it is John French, it's amazing book

[Khornflakes]

Just finished this book after reading The Carrion Throne. I was a bit...well....disappointed by the end. It started off very well but felt kinda rushed towards the end. After the initial chapters i was expecting more expansion on Covenant and his little crew but it felt just sightly skimmed across. 

 

I get the idea that this was a set up for further books, and will definitely read them, but felt a little cold by the end. Maybe a re-reading will make me appreciate it more. I do read very quickly and re-read books a number of times so i may have missed something. 

[Pariah32]

Just finished this, devoured it in like three sittings.

 

I must say this book felt very familiar to me in that I too am a big fan of Ian Watson's inquisitor series and there were definite undertones and influence's from those novels throughout.

 

I really enjoyed this one, I found John French's character building to be very interesting, he describes them well and I knew them very quickly though certain characters really could of done with a bit more fleshing out (Koleg), but maybe we will find out more in the next novel (and yes I have read the shorts about some of them). The story was nothing more than an epilogue with lots of background on the different factions within the inquisition and why some choose to follow different paths. It was very compelling stuff and when the action kicked off I found johns descriptive writing of the fighting and gun battles to be very well executed, I think I fell in love a little with Severita total badass!

 

I'm really glad we have more inquisition books now (Jonh's and Chris's) as they and the Mechanicus are the real reason I got into 40k, so its great we get more of them that simply explore the inner workings of the galaxy in more depth, for example; one of my favourite scenes was at the Navigator house which showed us but a glimpse of the wealth these mutants have gained over the years (I just love these kind of details).

 

Overall a great read, so much so that I went and ordered the limited edition.

 

Can't wait for more of these style of books from Black library and especially John French. 

[Mellow]

Let's face it. If we were all lucky enough to get an actual movie (done with all the grimdark we've always wanted) of 40k. It would be best suited to be from the point of view of an inquisitor or their party as they travelled to all the really grimy parts of the Imperium.

 

... and if they bumped into a single Astartes that was sufficiently enormous and "invincible" from human perspective then that would add to the terror in just the right way.

[HeritorA]

Let's face it. If we were all lucky enough to get an actual movie (done with all the grimdark we've always wanted) of 40k. It would be best suited to be from the point of view of an inquisitor or their party as they travelled to all the really grimy parts of the Imperium.

 

... and if they bumped into a single Astartes that was sufficiently enormous and "invincible" from human perspective then that would add to the terror in just the right way.

which would never happen - cause GW WILL NEVER GIVE REAL 'SUM' of money to make the movie setting deserve

[cheywood]

Finally finished this book. The content was excellent. I especially loved the focus on Covenant through the eyes of his warband instead of his own POV. The sense of mystery was really enhanced by that stylistic choice. French sets up a lot of backstory for the characters that will hopefully be explored in future novels. His exploration of the intricacies of Inquisitorial philosophies, while brief, was fascinating. I've sometimes found French to be a little hard to follow compared to other BL authors, but his prose is generally quite vivid and he builds relatively in depth worlds which more than compensate. I'd say I liked it as much as Carrion Throne. They're very different books despite sharing similar subject matter. Carrion Throne is probably a bit more entertaining as a standalone novel in my opinion, but the overarching plot begun in Resurrection has the potential to be something truly great. It certainly feels as if French has left a lot unsaid for future novels, while Carrion Throne revealed most of its bigger mysteries in the first book.

 

My gripe with the book is that it seems more poorly edited than most BL works. I've long since accepted that the editing on GW products is of a much lower quality than the content itself, but it's almost like no-one except French read this book over. There's the usual typos galore, but there's also a few scenes where French seems to have forgotten characters' relative locations and the scene with Idris and Josef helping the magos had some weird lines of dialogue from a character who was never identified (or I just misunderstood that section I suppose). The biggest issue for me (and it's nitpicky I must admit) is French's use of the same adjective multiple times in a sentence. For example: 'Ropes of burning ectoplasm fell to the torn and burning deck'. That's a bad sentence that could easily be fixed with a simple word change. French's language certainly isn't simplistic so I don't understand why those kind of sentences pop up with such regularity. Maybe it's a stylistic choice? It feels lazy though.

 

Overall a great book. The editing does weaken the experience a little for me, but the character development, world-building, and philosophical undertones more than make up for any editorial shortcomings.

Edited September 20, 2017 by cheywood

[bluntblade]

I know that gripe well. "Power... power that would empower Lucius" makes me grind my teeth to this day

[cheywood]

Wow that is especially bad.

[HeritorA]

I know that gripe well. "Power... power that would empower Lucius" makes me grind my teeth to this day

and you are not alone.

[Zuvassin]

^ Not related to this book, but I feel like every Horus Heresy novel uses the same phrase to describe the Astartes wrist to wrist handshake, like there's always this tagline of "X and Y embraced, gripping each others' wrists like warriors". Always. Even if it's the seventeenth such greeting in the book.

 

Anyways, I actually liked this better than Carrion Throne. I've heard this is the first of a trilogy, so maybe I'm a bit forgiving in the assumption that is setting up some stuff for the rest of the series, but if I had to complain, I'd say that it felt like one of those movies that needs to be 2 hours but was cut down by the studio to 1.5 - maybe over-edited is the best way to put it (spelling errors or such notwithstanding). It also probably helped that the description of Inquisitor Vult reminded me of the classic Terminator Inquisitors from the Rogue Trader / 2nd Edition lines.

 

Also, while Carrion Throne was a very well-written book, I literally don't remember the last 1/3rd of it - I would have to read a summary to jog my memory. Why that is, I can't say - I have that same issue with Stephen King's books, for some reason a lot of the meat to the plot just doesn't stick. Also, and this will only make sense to me, but whenever they were in the female Inquisitor's offices it felt like a late 80s thriller movie about corporate corruption and espionage amongst high power law firms with generous political connections.

[HeritorA]

^ Not related to this book, but I feel like every Horus Heresy novel uses the same phrase to describe the Astartes wrist to wrist handshake, like there's always this tagline of "X and Y embraced, gripping each others' wrists like warriors". Always. Even if it's the seventeenth such greeting in the book.

 

Anyways, I actually liked this better than Carrion Throne. I've heard this is the first of a trilogy, so maybe I'm a bit forgiving in the assumption that is setting up some stuff for the rest of the series, but if I had to complain, I'd say that it felt like one of those movies that needs to be 2 hours but was cut down by the studio to 1.5 - maybe over-edited is the best way to put it (spelling errors or such notwithstanding). It also probably helped that the description of Inquisitor Vult reminded me of the classic Terminator Inquisitors from the Rogue Trader / 2nd Edition lines.

 

Also, while Carrion Throne was a very well-written book, I literally don't remember the last 1/3rd of it - I would have to read a summary to jog my memory. Why that is, I can't say - I have that same issue with Stephen King's books, for some reason a lot of the meat to the plot just doesn't stick. Also, and this will only make sense to me, but whenever they were in the female Inquisitor's offices it felt like a late 80s thriller movie about corporate corruption and espionage amongst high power law firms with generous political connections.

To be honest with you - all the Astartes interactions are flawed even before written - cause nobody could really know 'how they would have behaved. handhskes etc.'

Finished Watchers - too much 'super' custodes, too much daemons now can do whatever, Carrion Throne was more 'believable' sadly

[Zuvassin]

Not sure I understand your first statement - my point was simply the wording itself. It feels like there's always the same or almost exact same phrasing of "like warriors" whenever two Astartes clasp wrists.

 

The greeting itself doesn't bother me - it makes sense there would be a fairly standard greeting across the legions, much like the sign of the Aquila. It's just that phrasing - I try to pretend it's just the HH writers mimicking how the ancients made use of repeated phrases like "wind-dark sea", but still....

[Knockagh]

It's arrived! I feel like part of the crowd again! Now it will take me a fortnight to read it. Nice limited edition once again. Which appears to have sold out already, it seems ADB has competition for the crown. Edited September 22, 2017 by Punishing Pete

[HeritorA]

It's arrived! I feel like part of the crowd again! Now it will take me a fortnight to read it. Nice limited edition once again. Which appears to have sold out already, it seems ADB has competition for the crown.

Not visiting the forums till you get your lovely hardcover? Such patience - you are definitely Tzeentchian and not Slaanesh servant ;)

[Knockagh]

Change and patience are a thing of beauty my friend...

 

I need to be patient with books since my reading time is so limited.

 

Anyhow first two chapters down and it's got me rocking. I love a first person read and this is multiple first person! Pretty good atmosphere so far too....more Terran politics, lovely...

 

And even more Tzenchian I managed to confuse you all by posting this in the wrong thread! Damn I'm crafty or stupid or just tired. Appalling mistake sorry folks I was supposed to be celebrating the throne watchers...

Edited September 25, 2017 by Punishing Pete

[HeritorA]

Change and patience are a thing of beauty my friend...

 

I need to be patient with books since my reading time is so limited.

 

Anyhow first two chapters down and it's got me rocking. I love a first person read and this is multiple first person! Pretty good atmosphere so far too....more Terran politics, lovely...

 

And even more Tzenchian I managed to confuse you all by posting this in the wrong thread! Damn I'm crafty or stupid or just tired. Appalling mistake sorry folks I was supposed to be celebrating the throne watchers...

Nope. I never had patience - I full on Slaanesh.

 

'I need to be patient with books since my reading time is so limited.' - same, in my case I was lucky/unlucky (depends on perspective) to read everything BL produced since it's creation while I was without work in 2014. So in 3 months time I was doing nothing except reading BL.

Lucky - sure.

Unlucky - sure. I read everything they produced and after that to read 1 book was not a challenge - I did not had a queue.

 

Anyhow first two chapters down and it's got me rocking. I love a first person read and this is multiple first person! Pretty good atmosphere so far too....more Terran politics, lovely...

Actually I think politics chapters and Valerian are the only thing that made 'Watchers' really good. Cause structural it was a mess. And SoS part was boring and naive.

[Knockagh]

Politics and intrigue are what make any book good. From Marco to micro politics, power struggles are awesome. Your love of it shows your way more Tzeentchian than you think.

[HeritorA]

Politics and intrigue are what make any book good. From Marco to micro politics, power struggles are awesome. Your love of it shows your way more Tzeentchian than you think.

Exactly - parts with Custodes and SoS were what make it worse.

[Phoebus]

There is a great quote from Mkoll in Armour of Contempt (I think) about Mkvenner's interpretation about Chaos which I think is something along those lines.

It’s Gaunt himself who makes that recollection:

 

“Mkvenner, one of my original team, had a notion. He reckoned Chaos didn’t destroy us. It didn’t taint and infect like a disease. It didn’t work like that at all, which is why there could be no cure.’

‘He believed in force of will, I presume,’ said Welt.

‘Precisely. Chaos isn’t evil. It simply unlocks and lets out our propensities for evil and desecration. That is why it is so pernicious. It brings out our flaws. Force of will, determination, loyalty… these are the qualities that combat Chaos taint. If a man can remain true to the Throne, Chaos can’t touch him. A hatred and rejection of Chaos becomes a weapon against it.’

‘The armour of contempt,’ said Welt. ‘I am familiar with Inquisitor Ravenor’s writings. The idea was not original to him.’

He stepped back from the rope rail. ‘You may be right. It is an enobling notion. We might save mankind by strength of character, rather than by an extracted tincture of moth venom. History will like the former better.’

He looked back at Gaunt. ‘But you’ll forgive me for testing the moth venom.”

 

Excerpt From

The Armour of Contempt

Dan Abnett

This material may be protected by copyright.