Red_Shift Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 I've been looking forward to a 40k Imperial Fist book for a long time, one with primaris marines especially so. I'm now about half way through Fist of the Imperium and I can't say I'm overly enjoying it. So far I've not found any of the characters particularly interesting or even competent with the Fists kind of bumbling along and blundering into every obvious trap going. There was an attempt to make a bit of tension in the Fists by having one character disagree with the librarian but said character was so unlikable and one dimensional that the scene felt forced to me. Anyone else giving this a read and how are you finding it? I'm kind of hoping it suddenly picks up in the second half but it seems unlikely. I can't remember having read anything by the author before but I did hear that Gloomspite was well received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rookie40K Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 I’m listening to it on audible. Judging by book Primaris and regular marines seem to have no discipline and have no control over their emotions, which is not very Imperial Fist like. It’s hard to listen to the constant overbearing behavior by both types of marines. Primaris don’t come across as very competent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knockagh Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 Gloomspite is a great read, Celestine was atrocious. I’ve heard his Knight books are supposed to be good but haven’t read them myself. The synopsis on BL and your thoughts make this sound like a typical space marine shelf filler BL seem to be obligated to churn one of these out every so often for no particular reason, they must sell well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caladancid Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 The GSC parts are excellent The marines of all variety seem like they are written for 10 yr olds. It is pretty bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xisor Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 Gloomspite is a great read, Celestine was atrocious. I’ve heard his Knight books are supposed to be good but haven’t read them myself. The synopsis on BL and your thoughts make this sound like a typical space marine shelf filler BL seem to be obligated to churn one of these out every so often for no particular reason, they must sell well. I didn't care for Shroud of Night, myself. The Mechanicus in it were interesting, but it also had the "Marines throwing their weight around, recklessly" problem. Which isn't a problem, per se. In matters not-Battle related, sure they can be inefficient, suboptimal fools. But blundering into traps should be difficult for them, and it'd be interesting to see it explored. It doesn't generate tension for me if I find myself spending my time questioning the author's choices rather than being pulled in by the character's. It'd be like reading about a world class chef whose tension and plot arises from the fact they keep messing up their orders, and being outwitted by the fairly normal culinary desires of their customers. "He wanted a steak well done, but I gave him steak tartar, and the fiend only went and shut down my McDonald's because a Bacon Double Cheeseburger shouldn't be served basically raw. "Fools, what do health inspectors know? I am Sheffield Cook, the world's greatest chef, and the day after I was fired would be my toughest day at work yet... " Tyriks, Lord Marshal, DarkChaplain and 3 others 6 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Lunkhead Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) I haven't read this one yet, but the premise looks interesting. Too bad most are finding it disappointing It did get 4.6 stars on Geedreads, so a few people liked it. Some authors write Space Marines better than others. How did you find his interpretation? From what I'm reading here, Clark's Marines are either lazily written, or he just doesn't get them...… I've seen both...….. or, if you did like it, I'd like to hear why as well. Thoughts? Edited February 13, 2020 by Brother Lunkhead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caladancid Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 I haven't read this one yet, but the premise looks interesting. Too bad most are finding it disappointing It did get 4.6 stars on Geedreads, so a few people liked it. Some authors write Space Marines better than others. How did you find his interpretation? From what I'm reading here, Clark's Marines are either lazily written, or he just doesn't get them...… I've seen both...….. or, if you did like it, I'd like to hear why as well. Thoughts? I am not sure why it was so bad. I thought the chaos marines in Shroud of Night were totally fine. Not amazing, but not bad by any means. Maybe he is just better at writing 'normal' humans because the chaos marines definitely had personalities. I also liked the Knight novels he has written. So I don't think lazy is the right term. But I literally almost deleted this book from my Kindle very early on when the marines began speaking to each other, it was that bad. Saved, like I said, by the GSC scenes. Xisor 1 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apothecary Vaddon Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 (edited) Clark not continuing the story of Luk and Danial is Clark that's mediocre at best. Chain him to his Knights fiction and don't let him get to anything else. Edited February 14, 2020 by Apothecary Vaddon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theSpirea Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 I'm not surprised to hear the book is not what people expected. I've read a few Clark's novels and all were disappointing. Starting the atrocious Celestine novel, over to ridiculously predictable and wanna-be Hollywood-like style Knight series. Shroud of Night was a little bit better but I would still rate it "your average SM" novel. Haven't read Gloomspite yet, that one is getting praised everywhere. IMy backlog is so huge at this point, I don't think I'm going to read this one any time soon. Xisor, DarKnight and Shinros 3 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH79 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 "He wanted a steak well done, but I gave him steak tartar, and the fiend only went and shut down my McDonald's because a Bacon Double Cheeseburger shouldn't be served basically raw. "Fools, what do health inspectors know? I am Sheffield Cook, the world's greatest chef, and the day after I was fired would be my toughest day at work yet... " Genius... i need to hear more! In fact, with a few tweaks here and a few nudges there you could have the premise for a 40k underhive story following the downward spiral into insanity of the one character we never really hear much from, but to whom everyone looks when the clock strikes 12... the cook!!! Xisor 1 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rookie40K Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Finished listening to it today. Last few chapters were much better. Ending was enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinros Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 I haven't read this one yet, but the premise looks interesting. Too bad most are finding it disappointing It did get 4.6 stars on Geedreads, so a few people liked it. Some authors write Space Marines better than others. How did you find his interpretation? From what I'm reading here, Clark's Marines are either lazily written, or he just doesn't get them...… I've seen both...….. or, if you did like it, I'd like to hear why as well. Thoughts? I am not sure why it was so bad. I thought the chaos marines in Shroud of Night were totally fine. Not amazing, but not bad by any means. Maybe he is just better at writing 'normal' humans because the chaos marines definitely had personalities. I also liked the Knight novels he has written. So I don't think lazy is the right term. But I literally almost deleted this book from my Kindle very early on when the marines began speaking to each other, it was that bad. Saved, like I said, by the GSC scenes. Hmm, considering I'm reading Gloomspite at the moment I'm kinda surprised he's written bad books. Maybe he is just better at writing AOS? Considering you gave your stamp of approval on the GSC I think I might pick the book up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinros Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 (edited) So... I read the book, bog standard space marine novel basically. The GSC parts were somewhat interesting but at the end specifically I don't think Andy Clark understood how GSC actually worked. Especially when it comes to how Magus' work, one thing I do like is that the wider imperium don't actually know how to deal with an infestation properly. To discuss the ending further? They decided to just leave the cultists like that? The patriarch dying means nothing, the cult will just bunker down and try again. Also a new patriarch will be born if any of the 4th generation have children. Even in the end the GSC infestation hasn't been dealt with. Plus a Magus' powers shouldn't vanish with the patriarch's death, they're a psyker and the reminder of the cult descending into "it's all a lie!" shtick upon its death isn't right either. Especially with a Magus. If people want a better GSC novel that is far more accurate read Cult of the Spiral dawn. In the end it's kinda weird considering Gloomspite is far more better and then he puts out something like...this. Edited February 18, 2020 by Shinros caladancid and Lord Marshal 2 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caladancid Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 So... I read the book, bog standard space marine novel basically. The GSC parts were somewhat interesting but at the end specifically I don't think Andy Clark understood how GSC actually worked. Especially when it comes to how Magus' work, one thing I do like is that the wider imperium don't actually know how to deal with an infestation properly. To discuss the ending further? They decided to just leave the cultists like that? The patriarch dying means nothing, the cult will just bunker down and try again. Also a new patriarch will be born if any of the 4th generation have children. Even in the end the GSC infestation hasn't been dealt with. Plus a Magus' powers shouldn't vanish with the patriarch's death, they're a psyker and the reminder of the cult descending into "it's all a lie!" shtick upon its death isn't right either. Especially with a Magus. If people want a better GSC novel that is far more accurate read Cult of the Spiral dawn. In the end it's kinda weird considering Gloomspite is far more better and then he puts out something like...this. You know I almost made a post after yours saying that while the GSC saved the book from deletion, it was no Cult of the Spiral Dawn. Not even Cult of the Warmason. The parts I found really interesting were the battle of wills in the beginning and the ending (thought you are right that it isn't standard GSC lore). Shinros 1 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriwolf Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 On one hand not surprised to get another not-good Fists book, the curse lives on On the other one kinda surprised because of the author,i liked his knights books Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Lunkhead Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 (edited) On one hand not surprised to get another not-good Fists book, the curse lives on On the other one kinda surprised because of the author,i liked his knights books I'd like to see a good, strong IF book too. Ian Watson's Space Marine is still my favorite (gonzo true, but a great read) but that was oh so long ago. Andy Clark's Knight books are quite good, so maybe Imperial Fists are not his strong suit. Many good authors have weak points, so he'd be in good company. Graham McNeill's WH fantasy and 40K Iron Warriors stories are excellent, whereas his Ultramarine stories are weaker (good reads mostly, but still weaker). Imo, Nick Kyme's Salamanders stuff (all of it) is not good, but he really kicks it with the Ultramarines. Or... maybe Clark just needs some more time with the subject to get his stride (I hope so). I've just started to read Fist of the Imperium (I do like the title) and I see the problems. Hopefully, he gets better with this. Edited March 2, 2020 by Brother Lunkhead cheywood 1 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheywood Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 (edited) Haven’t read this yet (maybe never will), but I think Clark is better when writing slightly off-kilter factions. I’ve found his ‘meat and potatoes’ 40k to be really boring. Weird, since he’s a studio writer, but that’s been my experience. Even in Shroud of Night his Alpha Legion were quite well-written and his Imperial Fists forgettable. Edited March 2, 2020 by cheywood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriwolf Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 On one hand not surprised to get another not-good Fists book, the curse lives on On the other one kinda surprised because of the author,i liked his knights books I'd like to see a good, strong IF book too. Ian Watson's Space Marine is still my favorite (gonzo true, but a great read) but that was oh so long ago. I honestly liked the "Lysander trilogy" Ben Counter did,but i'm not sure if i'd call them all around stong books Brother Lunkhead 1 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1soul Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Hard to get more uninspired than "Fist of the Imperium" (the title) Lord Marshal 1 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumah Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 To be fair, titles aren't always indicative of the quality of the contents (e.g. Spear of the Emperor). That being said, the spoilers and excerpts of this book killed any interest I had in having a read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xisor Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 (edited) If only there was a proverb or maxim to cover that sort of complaint. Don't cover a book written by a judge? Sadly there is no such quip, so we'll have to have serious evaluation given the title. Edited March 7, 2020 by Xisor DarkChaplain and cheywood 2 Back to top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkChaplain Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 Thank you kindly, Xisor, I really needed that laugh after writing my wall of text on the First Wall thread just now. Just the relief I needed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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