Gav Thorpes 10k Twitter Tweet

[Sete]

I'm sad ADB won't be writing the fight.

Good he would probably kill sigismund a second time just to hype a chaos dude.

Yes it's an unpopular opinion.

 

Thorpe is not my fav writer to tackle this but it's the hand we were dealt. A shame that Siggy legendary feats will be a dry drivel prose apparently.

[Mechanicus Tech-Support]

No, he probably wouldn't  

[Marshal Rohr]

Yeah, Sigismund and Abaddon was hands down the best addition to Sigismund and the Black Templars lore since the original Index Astartes article. It was superbly done, respectful to both characters, and evocative. It's disappointing that all the build up in Betrayer and Black Legion won't pan out to an ADB rumble. 

[Fedor]

I thought it was a pretty typical example of what BL do when writing a big fight between two famous or well loved characters. Solid and appropriate enough, but with the amount of praise it got i ended up expecting something more unique/unorthodox. It's just the "old master now not physically up to it anymore so gambles on one big strike...but doesn't quite make it" fight scene trope that has been around for ages.

[mc warhammer]

it’s funny...i haven’t seen that particular trope that much

[1ncarnadine]

So do we actually know if this is the big moment where Khârn "dies," or is this just some other encounter during the siege?

If this is book 3 or 4 of 8 or something, my money's on the latter.

Khârn vs. _____ can be the new Konrad vs. ______

[Marshal Loss]

We can't say for certain, but it does seem pretty likely to me that this is Khârn fake death #2. They have so many character arcs to wrap up that Khârn's "death" being around the middle of the series doesn't seem too unlikely to me, and this solves the whole "who to feed to Sigismund" problem that people bicker over so often. Could be totally wrong though

[Medjugorje]

Sigismund is going to go round slaughtering chaos champions and he will totally lose it when the gods resurrect them all

 

maybe he will alive if his god will awake his first champion;P

If Gav writes the death of Khârn, I'll be pissed...

 

i can confirm that this wont happen^^

[Nazguire]

Eh - the prose is average.  I am sure that it will improve after a few drafts but, so far, I'm not as pumped as I would like.

 

In respect to the statement of "makes the battle feel quite small" - Sigismund would be right on the front lines and the World Eaters were first in the breach.  Abaddon wouldn't be too far behind.  I can deal with if if it is written properly.

[DarkChaplain]

I am sure that it will improve after a few drafts

 

That's the point most people seem to ignore over their eager condemnations of Thorpe's tiny snippet - this is the rough draft, which has not seen an editor or revisions yet. It's one short glimpse of what he's working on, while still in the process of writing.

 

I know it's kind of a tradition at this point to bemoan authors x or y being assigned to a project, or declaring a book utter garbage the moment it gets added to the coming soon section, but this is pretty damn early to get out the pitchforks.

[Kelborn]

What DC and Naz said.

 

Seriously guys, you're already ranting on a snippet of a freaking first draft!

 

Ever wondered why authors, who were a constant part on this board stopped posting here?

 

If you got nothing else to care about, so be it. But honestly, the way this thread already went down, is purely ridiculous.

Next step: An author announces his next project via social media -> community goes nuts just for the sake of it...

[Marshal Rohr]

To clarify, I’m not mad Gav is writing it. You can’t make the argument Gav doesn’t understand Sigismund and the Templars (he literally invented them in their current form). I’m just disappointed because I really like ADBs take on Khârn and the way he portrayed Sig in the Black Legion. He’d also mentioned for a while he’d wanted to tackle the Imperial Fists a certain way we hadn’t seen before, and I was hoping the Siege might be an opportunity to see ADB Fist and Angels.

[Phoebus]

If that’s how I’m coming off, then I apologize. I’m not so much reacting to Thorpe’s draft, however, as I am to my impression that it doesn’t differ greatly from final products of his that I’ve read. Gav has a mind for incredible plots and twists, but I’m not sure it’s even a priority of his — stylistically — to craft evocative scenes.

 

Speaking purely for myself, I expect The Siege of Terra to be packed with moments that feel like the encounter between Eidolon and Qin Xa in Chris Wraight’s Path of Heaven. Thorpe is certainly capable of this; his introduction of Typhus in The Unforgiven captures the foul majesty of the Grave Wardens and their leader, as well as the noxious nature of their flagship... before shifting to a dry (and, frankly, pointless) recounting of the various weapons they carry. The battle that follows is a combination of cool tidbits (such as the special panoply of the Chapter Master of the Concecrators) and stock 40k combat tropes. That’s what I’m worried we’ll see here, and not monumental battles that capture the absolutely absurd scale of everything that surrounds them.

[Wulfburk]

And besides its not like ADB wont get his chance to tackle the Imperial Fists. I imagine every single of the 8 books will portray them with some focus, more or less.

[Marshal Loss]

and I was hoping the Siege might be an opportunity to see ADB Fist and Angels.

 

We should definitely get to see some ADB Angels (now including Zephon and the cast of MoM) at least. MoM was brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed Bringer of Sorrow, so we're in for a real treat

[DarkChaplain]

I think Gav definitely has the ability to craft evocative scenes - hells, his work on The Sundering for Time of Legends had a wealth of moments that still stick out to me today, nearly 10 years later, and the same can be said for Angels of Darkness and even, yes, his Raven Guard novels for the Heresy, or Lorgar: Bearer of the Word for Primarchs. His style is distinct from some of the other authors for sure, and I can see that being an issue for some. For me, personally, it's a treat, especially when he gets to write elves or eldar, as his sense of scope and perspective lend themselves wonderfully to them.

 

What I can say, though, is that I don't much care for action heavy pieces in his works - that's not his strong suit, although on the flipside, they're also the least interesting part to me in general, even with folks like AD-B. I may be repeating what I said on another thread regarding Sigismund, but frankly, Sigismund slaughtering traitors left and right during the Siege is probably among the things that interest me the least about the series finale to begin with. His interactions with other characters, including his opponents, are of more value than the action setpieces, and I feel Gav's going to handle it well.

[Biscuittzz]

 

I'm sad ADB won't be writing the fight.

Good he would probably kill sigismund a second time just to hype a chaos dude.

Yes it's an unpopular opinion.

 

Thorpe is not my fav writer to tackle this but it's the hand we were dealt. A shame that Siggy legendary feats will be a dry drivel prose apparently.

 

 

Plot twist: Sigismund is killed and then resurrected by Khorne. Can't let the greatest warrior in the galazy go to waste.

[Phoebus]

I think Gav definitely has the ability to craft evocative scenes - hells, his work on The Sundering for Time of Legends had a wealth of moments that still stick out to me today, nearly 10 years later, and the same can be said for Angels of Darkness and even, yes, his Raven Guard novels for the Heresy, or Lorgar: Bearer of the Word for Primarchs. His style is distinct from some of the other authors for sure, and I can see that being an issue for some. For me, personally, it's a treat, especially when he gets to write elves or eldar, as his sense of scope and perspective lend themselves wonderfully to them.

I haven’t read any of Thorpe’s fiction outside of 40k or the Heresy. That said, I don’t doubt his ability to write the material in question. This isn’t a “Gav sucks” rant. I’m just saying, he has a style that he favors, and there’s a body of work that indicates the scene he shared won’t likely be substantially different when the book is published.

 

What I can say, though, is that I don't much care for action heavy pieces in his works - that's not his strong suit, although on the flipside, they're also the least interesting part to me in general, even with folks like AD-B. I may be repeating what I said on another thread regarding Sigismund, but frankly, Sigismund slaughtering traitors left and right during the Siege is probably among the things that interest me the least about the series finale to begin with.

Agreed. That’s why I cited Wraight’s Path of Heaven as a counterexample. Eidolon and Qin Xa “square off” in the midst of a titanic battle, but as with the other signature combat scenes — Ravasch Cario’s duels against Shiban Khan, the last charge of the Sagyar Kazan, Jaghatai’s stand at the end — Wraight’s effort is primarily directed toward building the atmosphere surrounding the characters.

 

(As an aside, that last scene I listed? Shivers. Every time.)

 

His interactions with other characters, including his opponents, are of more value than the action setpieces, and I feel Gav's going to handle it well.

My humble opinion is that Thorpe’s work has been hit or miss in that regard — even within the same book. To stick with The Unforgiven, it’s vacillating from the genuinely interesting, introspective scenes involving Telemenus coping with Dreadnaught internment to Annael coping with barracks cleaning detail. It’s slogging through depressingly telegraphed dialogue between the Ravenwing characters only to be pleasantly surprised by the powerful scene between a panicked Asmodai and an incensed Belial. Again, it’s not because Thorpe is a poor writer; it’s a conscious choice he’s making, to focus on certain things in a certain manner.

[Scribe]

 

 

I'm sad ADB won't be writing the fight.

Good he would probably kill sigismund a second time just to hype a chaos dude.

Yes it's an unpopular opinion.

 

Thorpe is not my fav writer to tackle this but it's the hand we were dealt. A shame that Siggy legendary feats will be a dry drivel prose apparently.

 

 

Plot twist: Sigismund is killed and then resurrected by Khorne. Can't let the greatest warrior in the galazy go to waste.

 

 

I would be howling in laughter over that for AT LEAST a decade.

[Manchu warlord]

I'd like to see him fight and kill a dozen or more traitor Astartes with relative ease in a single encounter, and then a Gal Vorbak comes at him.