Vulkan Lord of Drakes

[Indefragable]

The audio book versions of the Primarchs series has been the one reliable way to my butt stuck in a seat and painting, so Imma have to find a substitute until Corax's audio book comes out.

[Knockagh]

 

 

I think you guys mean Guy Haley.

 

Cynical as I am, I'm also a giant sucker, so I'll still be checking this book out. Whatever you may argue, it cannot be worse than what the Salamanders have gotten so far in the HH.

 

Good thing I'm waiting for the inevitable omnibuses for these, or I might even regret that purchase.

Omg your right, I assumed it was Gav for this one. Hmmm definitely more interested but would have bought the ebook anyways.

I’m blaming Izulde for this one! He got me rather excited over a Thorpe Corax tie up. Guy Haley isn’t too shoddy either so it’s not a massive disappointment but it would have been great to see Gav write this.

[mc warhammer]

 

i'm weird...i'm really enjoying the ferrus novel so far (50% in) so maybe i'll be that freak who likes this too?

I liked it too!

 

 

i'm finding every character is fleshed out and real, even the gardinaals and i get a strong insight into ferrus' mindset at the time.  i just finished the part where they attempt to

assassinate the primarch

so maybe it's downhill from here? 

 

annandale's work doesn't seem popular around these parts, but again, i thought his guilliman was serviceable. i got a good feel for the primarch and legion culture, even if the plot wasn't mind blowing

[b1soul]

Annandale generally compares favourably to the likes of Kyme, Thorpe, Swallow...folks just get spoiled by Wraight, French, Abnett

[Izlude]

Agree wtih B1soul, the top tier authors plus ADB is what makes this series. If it were not for them I would have stopped reading HH along time ago. The others do write decent stuff but nothing exciting. The fact I have read some entries over and over (KNF, betrayer etc) speaks to how great (IMO) some of the books have been.

 

Of course if all books were wrtten by these 4-5 authors then I am probably on a different planet, but I think others like Gav and Kyme have defintely put out some very good stuff. For example I really reaaly enjoyed Old Earth and thought it was well done which speaks to Kyme uping his game (again IMO).

[Indefragable]

Without devolving into another favorite-author-pissing-match, I will say that I think the writers that stand out are the ones that can take any idea and make it plausible. And we're talking about the most fantastical of settings. Some add that plausibility by bringing over-the-top concepts back down to as (relatively speaking) realistic level, while others bring up the other parts of the setting to normalize some of the over-the-top aspects. Either way it adds credence to characters' actions and reactions, especially if we're supposed to be reacting a certain way alongside the characters.

 

**************

 

Still no audio book version of this. <grumble grumble>

[Enosh]

there has to be (or been) some issue with audio production, be it some equipment issues, voice actor scheduling issues or just simply bit off more than they can chew and had too much stuff going on at once, would make no sense that they would suddenly stop audiobook versions of this and the HH

 

well I guess if they became unprofitable but I remember reading in an interview awhile back that their audio stuff is one of their biggest profit makers

[JH79]

This certainly is an odd occurrence re the lack of Audio despite the banner advertising as such, however not the first. A few weeks back when Shadespire: The Mirrored City was released the front page advertising banner did list MP3 Audiobook alongside ebook & Hardback despite there not being one available to purchase from BL or Audible.

 

More worrying is the lack of Audiobook for the Heralds of the Siege, though it's not clear from the website if it's even a numbered book in the HH series as this isn't mentioned in the title or description unlike all other numbered HH entries. It's only on pre-order so hopefully will be "fixed" or updated before the end of the month.

 

-

 

Back to Vulkan, has anyone else actually read this cover to cover? The overriding consensus following Pete's post is that this release is a piece of sh1t & not worth reading. That may very well be the case, but can someone else who's read it give their two pennies worth?

[Indefragable]

Update:

 

I had reached out BL customer service directly and this morning they sent me an email saying that there will indeed be an audio book version and while they can't provide an exact date, it should be out "within the next month."

[Grey Angel]

Update:

 

I had reached out BL customer service directly and this morning they sent me an email saying that there will indeed be an audio book version and while they can't provide an exact date, it should be out "within the next month."

Great news can’t wait

[carlisimo]

Ferrus Manus’s novel is different. It’s a well-written and interesting story, it just doesn’t satisfy everybody as being a good look at the character. Kind of like Legion, which was great... if you didn’t mind the limited focus on the XXth.

 

It sounds like Vulkan’s novel is failing in the same way, but without the consolation of being good from any other perspective. Dunno. I liked Annandale’s The Binary Succession but it was more about pacing and structure than characterization.

[caladancid]

Agree wtih B1soul, the top tier authors plus ADB is what makes this series. If it were not for them I would have stopped reading HH along time ago. The others do write decent stuff but nothing exciting. The fact I have read some entries over and over (KNF, betrayer etc) speaks to how great (IMO) some of the books have been.

 

Of course if all books were wrtten by these 4-5 authors then I am probably on a different planet, but I think others like Gav and Kyme have defintely put out some very good stuff. For example I really reaaly enjoyed Old Earth and thought it was well done which speaks to Kyme uping his game (again IMO).

 

I agree completely. Old Earth was the best of Kyme's HH novels.

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

So -  I finished the novel yesterday, and thought I would chip in as well.

 

I agree that a large (the vast majority, actually) of the novel is basically one long fight/bolter-porn scene, which is a pity. It would have been great to have had a greater exposition of Vulkan and his motives. And yes, it is a pity that there is an Ork Attack Moon in it; the story would have been better served if the author had omitted that.

 

That said,  I do not agree that it is as horrible as suggested in earlier posts; it is -  IMHO - a far better book than the first in the series (Roboute Guilliman), but a far cry from such wonders as Perturabo, Fulgrim and Russ... I did enjoy the descriptions of Cassian Vaughn and Artellus Numeon, and also the doubts harboured by Igniax No'mus, which served their purpose of telling the story of "what is this legion about". However, it could have been better served, if there was also a mortal, human perspective present, so that the "compassion" of the Salamanders could be explored better. 

 

So, in sum - a flawed book to be sure, but not as horrible as suggested.

 

Regards,

Master Ciaphas

[DarkChaplain]

Looks like there was another audiobook that was held up from release alongside ebook and paperback. Sacrosanct and Other Stories is now listed on Audible for the 10th. Here's hoping that they'll add Vulkan and Heralds of the Siege for the same Saturday, or at least the following weekend. Seems more and more likely that they simply overdid it for the past week or two, and the following have audios coming as well. Not sure why the Horus Heresy would take a backseat, though...

[rookie40K]

I’m currently listening to Promethean Sun. It’s basically what you would expect from a Primarch book about Vulkan. Vulkan meeting emperor first time, interacting with some of his brothers, and fighting during the Great Crusade. I have yet to read Vulkan, but Kymes book didn’t leave a lot for Annandale to cover. I’m definitely interested in audio for Vulkan to come out though.

[Tymell]

I'll echo Ciaphas' thoughts on this one, I think he's got it right. The book is mostly one long war against Orks, both on the surface of a world and in the space around it. While the self-sacrificial nature of the legion is looked at, I would've liked more exploration of Vulkan tempering that and changing the attitude of his sons. The Terran legionaries would have more experience in this kind of warfare, but the Nocturnean ones have their strong culture and ties to Vulkan. That's something else I would've enjoyed seeing explored more.

 

I did like the early parts of the book most. Vulkan, T'kell and Rhy'tan's doubts and concerns early on, when they're being kept on Nocturne, and

the sacrifice of the Klostzatz

, I really enjoyed both of these. And to be fair, I don't think the action in this was bad, I've certainly read worse, though it wasn't especially engaging either.

 

In short, I don't find this one as bad as Pete did, though I do feel it's among the weaker entries into the Primarchs series, alongside Guilliman and Ferrus Manus (poor loyalists )

Edited November 2, 2018 by Tymell

[Knockagh]

The loyalists have had it rough, only Russ really has been any good. Hopefully Corax will be good although my favourites are origin stories and I would have loved one about Russ. Johnston won’t get an origin as it’s already been done and sang is unlikely to be that great under swallow. That only leaves Dorn... and who knows what will happen with him.

[mc warhammer]

ferrus was a well written book. there, i said it

[Slan Drakkos]

ferrus was a well written book.

Only if you're a fan of the emperor's children.

[mc warhammer]

or maybe if you don’t care about favourites at all?

[Roomsky]

Annandale is such a strange author. I generally find a re-read gives me a much more favorable outlook on his works, he has a lot more going on than it seems at first glance because he seems content to smother his themes in ultraviolence. He makes the mundane border on surreal, which I actually don't mind in the case of orks, but I find it makes his descriptions of chaos usually border on the unbearable. 

 

When he deals with faith or self-doubt he's golden, and has a weird talent with entwining the "grand reveal" point of a story into the entire preceding work.

 

I kind of wish he would never write large-scale setpieces or daemons ever again. Nothing seems to have rules when those things are involved.

Edited November 3, 2018 by Roomsky

[DarkChaplain]

Vulkan: Lord of Drakes and Heralds of the Siege are now both listed for Preorder on Audible, coming on the 17th!

[rookie40K]

Vulkan: Lord of Drakes and Heralds of the Siege are now both listed for Preorder on Audible, coming on the 17th!

Nice! Despite the negative reviews I am curious on a different author’s take on Vulkan.

 

I actually enjoyed Guilliman’s Primarch book as an audio.

[bluntblade]

Is there at least an abatement of fire this, forge that, hammer and anvil the other?

 

I know it's snide of me, but just imagine how different our image of the Scars would be if Kyne had handled them.

Edited November 4, 2018 by bluntblade

[Tymell]

Is there at least an abatement of fire this, forge that, hammer and anvil the other?

 

I know it's snide of me, but just imagine how different our image of the Scars would be if Kyne had handled them.

 

I'd say it depends on how you look at it. There -is- a lot of fire involved, for example, but then it's a battle taking place on a volcanic death world. There is certainly talk of forging the Salamanders into a new alloy on the anvil of war, but that is kind of the point of this book.

 

There is quite a bit of those terms in the book, but for me, it kind of justifies it, so didn't feel as forced and overdone as it has in some other stories.