SoT book 7: Echoes of Eternity - Aaron Dembski-Bowden

[Ubiquitous1984]

With the official announcement yesterday of the title for book 7, what are your thoughts about what we can expect in the book?

 

The front cover is a bit of a give away of course for at least one major encounter, but with the new FW Ka'bandha model due to be released I wonder if we'll see a model tie-in with the book?  FW and BL used to do Primarch character models/Primarch LE novels collaborations IIRC.

 

It will be interesting to see whether ADB's writing style has changed since his last full length novel Spears of the Emperor back in ... 2019?  It's no secret that a lot has happened in his personal life since then, so it will be interesting to see whether this has impacted on his style or tone.  ADB if you read this, please know that the community is rooting for you and we are all wishing you every success with this book and your health.  But goddamn this must be an incredibly difficult novel to have to write, with all the open storylines and lore constraints to contend with, plus having the duty to setup the final Siege novel (and if this book is hyped, what will the hype levels for that one be?!)

 

Is this the most anticipated BL book since Penitent?  ADB's return + one of the most infamous encounters in the lore's entire history at the Eternity Gate + nearing the very end of the Siege ... the hype (and expectations) for this one are huge!

 

Shall we guess at a release date?  I'm going for April 9th!  It can't come soon enough!!

[Marshal Loss]

This is the one I've been waiting for. So excited!

Edited February 15, 2022 by Marshal Loss

[Taliesin]

 

 

Is this the most anticipated BL book since Penitent?  ADB's return + one of the most infamous encounters in the lore's entire history at the Eternity Gate + nearing the very end of the Siege ... the hype (and expectations) for this one are huge!

 

 

 

Since Penitent or further back. Since Solar War, also hugely anticipated? Or maybe even the most anticipated book since Spear of the Emperor in 2018?

 

Very excited for this one.

[DarkChaplain]

Well, WarCom certainly seemed to think Ka'Bandha was still a thing during the Siege. On the flipside, they also thought he fought Sanguinius in Saturnine, which he didn't; Sanguinius merely had telepathy stuff with Angron going on.

 

Guess I should get around to reading Warhawk sometime soon.

[Scribe]

Is this the most anticipated BL book since Penitent?

Since the last greatest Heresy book.

 

Master of Mankind.

[USNCenturion]

I can’t describe how excited this book has me. Sanguinius holding the gates and breaking Ka’bandha has been been with me since I read the blurb in one of the old white dwarf magazines (90s? Early 00s?). That ADB got the keys to this is even better. I have full confidence in him to deliver. Can’t wait to see what he created. Really, really excited.

 

I’m even looking forward to reading whatever it was he needed geologists, artillery experts, etc for lol. Pandemonium on Terra and Sanguinius v Ka’Bandha is a heck of an undercard to Horus and the Emperor.

[Taliesin]

And a big question is whats he done with Angron. Do we get more than just a staredown between him and Sanguinius. Will Angron's final actions in the Siege be in this book, or will it be carried over into book 8..

[Ubiquitous1984]

And a big question is whats he done with Angron. Do we get more than just a staredown between him and Sanguinius. Will Angron's final actions in the Siege be in this book, or will it be carried over into book 8..

Someone will have to eliminate him from the attack on the inner sanctum.  He is too big of a threat to leave alive.  I wonder if Ka'banda will eliminate Angron for God-related shenanigans,  weakening Ka'banda enough in the process to be broken by Sanguinius?  

 

What was the old lore for Angron at the siege?

[Taliesin]

Well I just thumbed through my copy of Visions of Heresy and it seems as if Alan Merrett just forgot about him at some point.

He doesnt...really do anything after a mention of him and his legion berserking. Its basically just assumed that he is there and in the aftermath retreats with the rest.

 

Obviously for the much more detailed book series where his character is way more established, they need to give him something to do and some sort of send off in either of these last 2 books.

Edited February 16, 2022 by Taliesin

[Ubiquitous1984]

Well I just thumbed through my copy of Visions of Heresy and it seems as if Alan Merrett just forgot about him at some point.

He doesnt...really do anything after a mention of him and his legion berserking. Its basically just assumed that he is there and in the aftermath retreats with the rest.

 

Obviously for the much more detailed book series where his character is way more established, they need to give him something to do and some sort of send off in either of these last 2 books.

Thanks for checking - IMO this is good news!  Having his story untold leaves so many fun possibilities for ABD to explore.  

 

How many people have asked the question how Valdor would fare in a fight against a Primarch?  I have a feeling we are going to find out… :D

[cheywood]

Here’s the back cover blurb for Echoes of Eternity, courtesy of Simon and Schuster. They list is as releasing June 7th, but their release dates are always wrong.

 

‘The walls have fallen. The defenders’ unity is broken. The Inner Palace lies in ruins. The Warmaster’s horde advances through the fire and ash of Terra’s dying breaths, forcing the loyalists back to the Delphic Battlement, the very walls of the Sanctum Imperialis. Angron, Herald of Horus, has achieved immortality through annihilation – now he leads the armies of the damned in a wrathful tide, destroying all before them as the warp begins its poisonous corruption of Terra. For the Emperor’s beleaguered forces, the end has come. The Khan lies on the edge of death. Rogal Dorn is encircled, fighting his own war at Bhab Bastion. Guilliman will not reach Terra in time. Without his brothers, Sanguinius – the Angel of the Ninth Legion – waits on the final battlements, hoping to rally a desperate band of defenders and refugees for one last stand.’

Edited February 17, 2022 by cheywood

[Ubiquitous1984]

Here’s the back cover blurb for Echoes of Eternity, courtesy of Simon and Schuster. They list is as releasing June 7th, but their release dates are always wrong.

 

‘The walls have fallen. The defenders’ unity is broken. The Inner Palace lies in ruins. The Warmaster’s horde advances through the fire and ash of Terra’s dying breaths, forcing the loyalists back to the Delphic Battlement, the very walls of the Sanctum Imperialis. Angron, Herald of Horus, has achieved immortality through annihilation – now he leads the armies of the damned in a wrathful tide, destroying all before them as the warp begins its poisonous corruption of Terra. For the Emperor’s beleaguered forces, the end has come. The Khan lies on the edge of death. Rogal Dorn is encircled, fighting his own war at Bhab Bastion. Guilliman will not reach Terra in time. Without his brothers, Sanguinius – the Angel of the Ninth Legion – waits on the final battlements, hoping to rally a desperate band of defenders and refugees for one last stand.’

Good lord … I need this book today.  

[Taliesin]

That gave me goosebumps.

 

Also a shoutout to the " Angron, Herald of Horus" I like that naming a lot.

 

This definitely sounds like a major clash between Angron and Sanguinius is happening somehow.

[Triszin]

Plot sounds rad

[Karhedron]

What was the old lore for Angron at the siege?

The oldest fluff had Angron retreating from the Siege after the death of Horus. He was still outside the Palace at the time.

 

The psychic shock wave of the Warmaster's passing rippled outward through the warp. On Earth, daemons screamed and vanished, and the rebel Primarchs stood dumbfounded. It was their leader, not their enemy's, who was dead and they knew it. With the one who had raised the banner of rebellion dead, there was nothing to hold the rebels together. They were demoralised and dismayed. When word of the oncoming Imperial fleet reached them they knew that they must flee.

 

Within the perimeter of Lions Gate Space Port. Jhagatai Khan and the handful of unwounded Whitescars watched in amazement as the horde halted in confusion then retreated. Angron, Fulgrim, Magnus the Red and Mortarion led their men to their ships and departed, leaving the deluded, traitorous followers of Chaos to their fate. As he stepped aboard his ship Angron turned and shook his fist at the glittering dome of the Imperial palace that had proved just out of his taloned reach. Then he shrugged; he and his fellow rebels had all eternity to seek revenge. The Battle for Earth was effectively over. The Horus Heresy was ended.

[Bobss]

Will be interesting if ADB is allowed to make the Sangy v Angron fight conclusive, like how Chris Wraight didn't pull his punches regarding demon Morty being significantly stronger than the Khan, because nothing grinds my gears more than inconclusive big-armour-dude I'll get you next time! primarch-daddy fights. Should be cool to compare this beatdown to the beatdown he's given in The Emperor's Gift as for how desperate and phrryic and squanderous the Imperium has become at turning back Chaos in M41 compared to M31 when they had these legendary beings capable of going 1v1

 

Looking forward to a demon primarch being written again by someone who actually jams with them. When demon Angron is on the field I want mortals chewing their fingers off half a continent away and the battlefield temporarily shifting into the Realm of Khorne, not characters thinking about their shopping lists while shooting at him with a lasgun

 

Elephant in the room here, but no matter how much Eternity Gate goodness ADB drops, there's still going to be whatever the cringevenger tarot squad is up to, just saiyan 

[Rob P]

This sounds a touch exciting!

 

Is this the penultimate book in SoT?

[Jareddm]

This sounds a touch exciting!

 

Is this the penultimate book in SoT?

There's rumors that Abnett may split his last book into two, but it's not confirmed. So yes, this is the penultimate Siege book.

[Ubiquitous1984]

I must say I’m surprised we never got any more novellas or an anthology, unless they have something up their selves in the rest of 2022.  

[Felix Antipodes]

I expect (at least) one of each, possibly between parts one and two of the final volume - if they do indeed split it as rumoured.

[Moonreaper666]

Who do you think is going to duel whom?

 

My guess is Angron vs Sanginius, Valdor vs Ka'Bandha and Garro vs Lucius

[USNCenturion]

Who do you think is going to duel whom?

 

My guess is Angron vs Sanginius, Valdor vs Ka'Bandha and Garro vs Lucius

Sanguinius fights Ka’Bandha. They could always change that of course, but WarCom hyped the match up too when they previewed the new Ka’Bandha model. Angron is the wild card as he has a blank canvas to work with pretty much, like Mortarion did.

[DarkChaplain]

Who do you think is going to duel whom?

 

My guess is Angron vs Sanginius, Valdor vs Ka'Bandha and Garro vs Lucius

Lucius isn't even on Terra at this point. He hasn't featured in more years than I can be bothered to count.

 

 

 

Sanguinius fights Ka’Bandha. They could always change that of course, but WarCom hyped the match up too when they previewed the new Ka’Bandha model. Angron is the wild card as he has a blank canvas to work with pretty much, like Mortarion did.

 

 

And they also cited that fight as happening in Saturnine, which it didn't. Can't really go by WarCom, I'm afraid. They don't read the books they talk about.

Edited February 20, 2022 by DarkChaplain

[Aramis K]

Valdor v Angron makes sense.

 

I imagine Valdor looks forward to the need to put down a Primarch, and Angron has fallen the hardest. Could also be a combo effort with some psyker support, a proto grey knight. Or involve Fo somehow.

[Taliesin]

I dont see that as either likely or viable a confrontation, Daemon Angron should overwhelm Valdor even with assistance.

I think Sanguinius is the only reasonable opponent for him at this point, the question is just if ADB has written that. Something has to stop Angron in his path at some point.