Izlude

I just finished this one as well. I was pretty stocked that John French was doing another book. While I am not a diehard titan fan (even though I bought Adeptus Titanincus for the models) this was the highlight of the book. Wanted to give my impressions for those who have not read it yet although I am sure those will get it when it is general release. General theme: So this book is sort of a nexus book (which I think French mentions in his afterword) which brings in many plots together to set up the last few books in the series. So with that you really jump from one plot to the next in a brisk manner. No chapter was too long and just when some stuff was getting good it moves to the other plot for better or worse. In that manner French has done a fantastic job in that regard. It was clear he did his homework and I think there were some good easter eggs for those who have followed the series from the beginning. I am sure I missed some special appearances and will have to go via the spoilers later. Strengths: Obviously with the title Mortis, it was always going to be a stand off with the main titan legions. I have to say French did really well here. It was clearly my favorite parts of the book. I really liked Solaria from Titandeath and glad they featured heavily here. The main knight house was also really well done and I enjoyed the drama within that knight house and the ending related to that was really good and satisfying. The unrevealing of the secret titan was well done but I have to say I am not entirely clear what the special powers were and in the overall grand scheme they didn't seem to do much to justify all the drama surrounding said secret titans. The emperor/horus warp encounter was really good while super short and sprinkled here and there. I love how it follows the overall progression of the war on Terra and the book ends with this warp encounter which is also well done. The other strength of this book was the relevant DA stuff. You get good Corswain action and French weaved in their "super secret" trait well as well. Also I know some people were not a fan of how the IW were handled but I actually thought it fit very well with Perturabo's character, sort of a big baby personality that he always has had. Weaknesses: I do have to say in general this book took me longer than usual to get through. I would read a few chapters, take a few day break and go back to it. I think it being a nexus book of sorts, you get alot of arcs that honestly I was sort of neutral on. I think French used alot of view points, however small, to give it a big feel to the siege which I think largely accomplished that but honestly it was ALOT of hummie POV. I do appreciate some hummie perspectives but I do feel we had like 90% hummies and 10% SM...I am here for SM! Although not all the SM stuff was strong...for instance the Shiban thing had me yawning and I sort of skipped via it and when I read the last parts of it I don't think I missed anything. I am sure there was some White Scar symbolism thing there. Also the perpetual arc...this one was little painful and I also skipped via it. The perpetual stuff from the last book was great but I know French was setting up this arc for the final showdown. Also that little surprise in the end...still not sure what it was suppose to mean, I'll have to read the spoilers for that one. Conclusion: As a nexus book for the last few books, I think it accomplished it well. French is a very capable writer (a top 3 for me) and were this type of book in someone else's hands I don't think it would have been done as well. I just think there were way too many arcs and would have benefited with more SM stuff although at like 550 pages or whatever it is a big book! In any case Saturine and his first book to start the series are my favorite. I actually enjoyed the Last Wall more that this one as well. Perhaps this one is better than Lost and the Damn which is still a decent book.

I am too very excited that John French is doing book two. I swore when I read his afterword in the first book he was not doing any other books with the siege finale so happy that is not the case. I am not a big fan titan centered book (much like void wars) and hope that it will be more focused on the characters which I am sure it will be. I didn't see but when does pre-order go up?

Just finished the book last night with some thoughts LE: It is a nicely presented LE book with a cool profile pic of Luther in the front. The use of "Caliban" green on the hard cover as well as the side of the pages gives it a nice theme that is well thought out. The only "art work" is a picture of Luther holding his sword with the tip resting on the ground with the creepy forests of Caliban in the back ground. Overall, I feel this is a solid LE book. Story: I think I mentioned in the a previous post I am not particularly crazy about the DAs given the variable quality of their storyline in the HH series which may have been related to the different authors. I know Gav as written many but not all of the main DA stuff. I have always been interested in the Luther arc from second edition with his imprisonment on the Rock so the premise of this book got me excited. In general, the story was excellent to outstanding. Gav does Luther as a first person perspective alternating with Luther's timeline as a prisoner on the rock with various DA chapter masters or grandmasters (or whatever title they use) through the ages and flashbacks of his past with some well-known HH events sprinkled in there for good measure. Gav hit it on the nail, the writing was just top form and I was engaged the the whole time. I don't think there were any "revelations" in the book and I really liked how Gav balanced the DA stuff and didn't make them particularly super secretive or this legion with all the cool tech etc. As far as side stories go, this is definitely one of my favorites and in terms of Gav's book it is up there with his Lorgar Primarch book. His earlier books on RG and DA were fine (nothing amazing but readable) but I strongly recommend this book. I really liked the ending as well which wasn't anything new but left the door open for a continuation.

I also just pre-ordered my copy. While I am not a huge DA fan, the whole Luther arc was always an interest to me since like second edition. His whole being locked up deep in the catacombs and mumbling stuff. I think this one will be good. I do think Gav has really hit a stride the past couple of years. I was never a fan of his early DA and RG stuff but I think in general his writing has vastly improved. His later works like Lorgar was easily a top 3 Primarch book for me. I think this one will be very solid. I wish I can say the same for Guymer's stuff...his DA stuff is pretty bad as well as his IH stuff...like easily the worse I have read. Also that cover art of him holding the sword is very Azrael-like from the older (second edition?) pose. Love it!

Yeah I saw it for 4 bucks. Even though I already own the LE, hard to pass up a 4 dollar buck book. I am maybe about 5 chapters in and really loving it so far. Guy's world building is quite good. I would say Wraight does it best in the New Imperium world but honestly Guy is not that far behind. His Guilliman is very very good, much like Dark Imperium. There is alot of depth to him and this coming from someone who tends to be overly critical how my fav primarch is handled. I am not a void battle person but the first one in chapter 3 or 4 is actually very well done and kept me engaged. Of course my favorite parts so far are seeing the wayTerra is through the eyes of the "common" person. He really captures the feeling of just being some tiny cog in a huge machine...easily replaceable and sort of depressing! The LE copy is quite lavish so glad to have this ebook for a bargain price. Like almost no reason for people not to get for a very good book.

So I was talking with a friend about Sons of the Selenar with regard to Sharrowkyn and wasn't sure if this book shed any light on what the deal with Magnus and Sharrowkyn was? I recall that in the Seventh Serpent (A pretty good book) that in the end there was an interaction with Sharrowkyn and Alpharius. Alpharius basically says to Sharrowkyn "I'd kick you arse but magnus wants you alive." I thought there would be some more about this later but I don't recall seeinh much about this in Sons of the Selenar. Not sure if this book mentions this or if anyone know?

Was curious to see what people thought about the stories. I forgot I pre-ordered this one and as I start to read Avenging Son (about 3 chapters in and excellent) I figured this one would be a fast and easy read since it is just a collection of short stories. Overall a good read and can't beat the ~20 dollars or whatever it was on Amazon. Here are my thoughts without giving spoilers (not that there was anything profound). 1. Canticle by David Guymer This one is about Ferrus in his youth on Medusa exploring the area. Honestly I have not enjoyed anything written by Guymer. I thought his Ferrus Primarch book was downright awful. This short really didn't change my opinion. IMO there was not point to this short and dry. I would say easily the worse short in this collection. 2. The Verdict of the Scythe by David Annandale A story of Morty bringing a planet to compliance in his earlier days in the Great Crusade. It is fairly straight forward with no twists or anything. It centers around his hypocritical view on sorcery which is the main point of the short. Again Annandale isn't a particular favorite author but marginal better than Guymer. I would say this one was average but readable. 3. A Game of Opposites by Guy Haley This one takes place around the time the Lion, Sangy and Guilliman are racing off to Terra. It centers around a group of IW building up defenses on a planet to stall the three Primarchs with the White Scars trying to disrupt their defenses. A particular IW captain has made it his thing to predict their tactics to stop them. Overall a really good read, I like how Guy doesn't do the whole "we are the misunderstood barbarians so people underestimate us" thing. It is well written and would say top 3 short in this collection. 4. Better Angels by Ian St Martin I am not as familiar with St Martin but I recall reading some World Eater stuff which I thought was very good. I have to say this one is my favorite out of the 8 shorts in this collection. It is straight forward and really just follows a BA legionnaire through different phases of the time period from the Great Crusade, their betrayal and the siege. We see Sangy taking an interest in said legionnaire and through his eyes we also see the change in Sangy. It was very well written and I thought that St Martin captured the BA really well. 5. The Conqueror’s Truth by Gav Thorpe Focuses on a remembrancer and her trip to see Curze and a compliance. It takes place early crusade and first hand witnesses Curze's methods and his "justification." It is fairly straight forward with no twists. Otherwise it is well written and I enjoyed this one. 6. The Sinew of War by Darius Hinks As the XIII is my favorite I had high expectations coming into this one. For those familiar with Guilliman's childhood with Konor via the various codexes over the years the story "twist" will not surprise you. Not familiar with Hinks but I think the story was well written and I like how he makes Guilliman much more human with anger as opposed to how he is now. While it is obvious the XIII has a strong Roman influence, in this short, Hinks basically makes the society pure Roman with cohorts, the two consuls, senate, etc. Not a major complaint just seems little lazy. Anyways, maybe I am being critical but it was okay. 7. The Chamber at the End of Memory by James Swallow A total tease with no outcome for two legions we would all love to know about. It centers around Dorn looking in the deaths of group of people in the palace. Dorn activates one of his librarians to investigate the deaths. Swallow is hit or miss for me. I have to say this story seemed little odd and out of character for Dorn. Did he even use his librarians during the siege? I see what Swallow was trying to do with said legions but just came across as trite. One of the weaker shorts here. 8. First Legion by Chris Wraight Saving the best for last Wraight did good here. I have generally not liked the DA stuff. I think they suffer from the whole "we are super mysterious" and the Lion vying for Primarch of the EMOs with Curze. This is centered around a compliance in the early crusade where we see the XX coming onto the scene (presumable before Alpharius was found or took over....or at least that is what is seems...you never know with them). Mostly just dialogue with a alternative future where there could have been a new Warmaster and the Lion is faced with a choice. Not surprisingly, Wraight does the Lion good with this one. The Lion does not karate chop anyone's head off for disagreeing with him (yeah that scene was super lame).

Finally received my LE copy in the mail yesterday. I am about 3 chapters in and really enjoying it. I read his interview and what this new series will be and very excited about this. It wasn’t clear to me if this new series is going to be like the HH (50+ books) or a more focused like The Beast Arises with their 10 books or so? In general, not a big fan of the primaris stuff but as someone who has been into the lore and gaming here and there with 40k (mostly lore and occ painting) having guilliman come back has been something I have looked forward to since when the second edition came out. I thought his Dark Imperium was excellent (Book 1 more than 2 but looking forward to Book 3). He does humans really well, I would say on the same level as Abnett. I still remember the ones he did in Pharos which really stood out to me and the priest in DI. His Guilliman is amazing and has portrayed both why he is the primarch with foresight but also makes it very clear he is weary and disappointed with the current state. Also as someone has mentioned, “trying really hard not to punch their head off.” I definitely like the character list and the book itself is beautiful. I do like the Siege of Terra LE look so glad they decided to follow this trend. Look forward to reading this one and hope the big names like French, ADB, Wraight and maybe even Abnett have a hand in this. I have a lot of confidence in Haley. His production to quality ratio is unmatched

I just finished the book and managed to read without hitting up this thread. Of course being an Abnett book I expect a lot of chatter on this one. So in a nut shell I love this book, I love Abnett and in general he has put out really home runs (KNF being my favorite…I know being a UM whore KNF is THE book). Some thoughts and comments: General: First off the book has the largest cast and page count in the SoT and perhaps all of the HH series clocking in well over 500 pages. While the cast is massive, obviously some names are there for like a page but I will have to say the thing that stuck out to me was how awesome he did to balance character appearances. Unlike First Wall (a very good book to me) we don’t spend 100+ pages on a single arc. There were some really sweet moments involving Diaz, the task force sent to Saturnine wall, etc. Dan does an amazing job to show the shear scale of this conflict in a way that never felt overwhelming and transitions well between scenes. Primarchs: He nailed this plain and simple. Dorn was awesome and more humane…forced to make the tough choices and clearly seemed to regret these choices but knowing it must be done. Also as I mentioned the book starts off with what is basically Lightning Tower Part 2 (perhaps top 3 short for me). Khan is awesome and the Khan. Perturabo was brilliant and not the Horus a** kisser that he has been portrayed as. Sangy wasn’t Mr. Emo…all in all awesome. Human POV: I think many have commented that Abnett is one of the few authors who gets the human-astartes interaction right (not overly awed or scared). This is no different and I really enjoyed the human POV and how he rolls in some key ones we know from other stories. I thought the Angron part in the end was a nice touch. My favorite human-astartes scene was with Niborran and Caldawar (IF). It was a nice evolution from beginning to end, was very touching as well. Perpetual: I am indifferent to this stuff. I don’t mind reading it but don’t gush over it as well. If the perpetuals are your thing, they provide nice context to the book…probably the whole HH series. Dan handled this one well, I felt they were there to shed some “ah ha” moments but was not the thrust of the book. Obviously John is here and his role is minor except to introduce Erda and the giving more context to the Emperor. Emperor: Yeah to me this is what MoM should have been. This has to be the most controversial part of the book with Erda and the whole Primarch project. I am sure it will generate some conversation like Wriaght’s Valdor book with the Thunder Warriors. Much like MoM, you get the perspective of a perpetual on how the Emperor is like. I think in general it does make his actions make much more sense to be honest. I am not sure if this was drawn from old lore that we know about him but I felt fit in well. If anything just gives another perspective on the big E. I did enjoy ABD's MoM although it was little depressing but Abnett is another author who could have done a killer MoM type book. Saturnine Wall: So the whole premise of the book is based on this section of the Eternity Gate (I think this is part of the gate yes?). The whole book is driven by this wall and Dorn’s whole plan is centered around this as well as the implications for the traitors on how they approach this. IMO I went gush on how this all played out. Very believable and made from some crazy battles! All I have to say about Marr and this…payback is a b@(TCH! Without getting into spoilers, the main battles as well as the action surrounding the actual Saturnine wall is worthy of a movie. I think more grade B characters died in this one chapter then the entire series…crazy! The end of the book: The book ended strongly as it started. Abaddon's arc was satisfying and he gave as good as he got so I think fans of him will be pleased. I loved his thoughts towards the end of the book, in particular with his interactions of Perturabo which made me smile. Lesson is don't F with the Lord of Iron...he will get you one way or another. Just another example of how brilliant he is with sieges. Nice touch that Abnett did to highlight this fact. The Krole arc was also done well via the book and I really like Abnett's take on the sisters. Also the conclusion of her arc was so 40k and fit in very well with the whole scale of this siege. Conclusion: There is no question Abnett did his homework here, there was really no editorial oversight like TLatD. He even (IMO) addresses the Dorn/Vulkan thing in the LatD where it was clear to me Dorn forgot he met Vulkan alive. From a technically standpoint, I think the book flowed very very well and the prose was just easy to read. The characters I have grown to like such as Land got some good limelight. The whole Fulgrim and III was also a highlight of the book and also loved how it all played out...typical Fulgrim responses to things which is always good for a laugh on how arrogant he is. I don't it is a spoiler to say that Fulgrim trying to cram himself and the entire Legion on some section of the wall is funny to imagine...like some sick orgy...EC style of course. He no doubt set-ups for the future books like the Khan re-taking the Lion Port, Sangy-Angron face-off, etc. At this point, John’s Solar Wars has been my favorite in the SoT thus far and this one is up there for the reasons above. They are both different books and do a great job to close out some minor characters’ arc and advance the big story lines for the remaining book. I am confident the last book (which sounds like he will do) will be gushy and will be like his first book in the series (closing it down with a nice bow). I think with all great authors, this will generate some love hate stuff and one could easily nit pick small things but from my end, I absolutely loved this one. It combined great action which he thought about carefully where to place in the book, awesome light shedding (which some would not agree with), and some nice grim dark deaths that just shows that in the warhammer world, no one cares who you are (maybe except Abaddon ha ha). Can't recommend enough when it comes out for general release. Now to read some spoilers, I certainly have some questions like Fo’s secret weapon…

Guys....This was settled like a day ago.... https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/04/29/part-3-grand-finale/ The Lion is number 1!!! His model is pretty awesome BTW. I have Guilliman and Dorn, if i was a better painter and/or have more time would get them all and make some crazy chess board with this

Just finished Watchers in the Throne 2 (moved up my pace to hit this one) and started Saturnine. Have been avoiding the spoilers but can tell there is alot of chatter and opinions which tells me this will be quite the book. Looking at the cast in the book....like wow...I don't think I have seen such as extensive cast (yes I know many will get like a page at the most) but if there is one person who can weave these all in it is Abnett. Also 500+ pages...will savor this one. The art is awesome as has been the LE theme. Love the marble busts and Horus and Magnus in the back looks sweet. I do like the Magnus one better but Horus looks cool but sort of different what I envisioned the most charismatic Primarch to look like. Just read the opening chapter...and all I have to say is wow. Lightning tower has to be my a top HH short in my book and of course Abnett has to basically give us Lightning tower part 2 and hit it out of the park with this one. An awesome set-up and can't wait to read more. Abnett basically turned Dorn (who many write as a stone-faced heartless bastard) into someone more relatable. I do say that as Dorn is my second favorite Primarch so I tend to scrutinize his writing little more. I may have to reread this section a few times just to savor it (it was that good to me).

Just finished it yesterday and echo what others have said. Overall it is an excellent book and does justice to the first one. I will say (probably with most books in this world) the first one was amazing and couldn't put it down. This one, I would say the beginning was great with Guilliman still on Terra and his interaction with each character. You get to see that Guilliman is a the statesman that he is. The middle was little slow and I will admit dragged on little but the new high lord stuff was good and it did set up the ending well. I thought the ending parts were quite good and throwing in that SM chapter as a unknown variable was fun and made things more interesting. The last page of the book in Valerian's section was very sweet to me and just shows that even though Guilliman is out crusading...he is more than aware of what is going on in his own way in terms of plans and whatnot. In general, I would say the book is a fantastic follow-up to the first. Jek is not nearly as engaging as her predecessor but was more likable in the end. Aleya was little less bitter and her relationship with Valerion was touching and was well written. While I think the first was better (isn't that always the case) this is still a damn good book and really puts Wraight in the forefront of the new age of the Imperium. His world-building on Terra is absolutely amazing and I can't think of anyone who has done it better. As a whole, the rift stuff is mostly exciting to me as I love Guilliman and in general he has been well written by both Guy and Wraight with their respective books. I look forward to new Primarchs to hit the scene...Lion anyone? I don't think Dorn is dead either! (the skeletal hand means nothing to me!). I do think the Primaris stuff is silly and clearly more for marketing and also am I the only one who thinks the UM primaris belong on a 40k Bloodbowl team with their rather silly painting scheme?

Just got the ebook and recently reread The Emperor's Legion to refresh my memory (and also a damn good book). I definitely love the Tieron stuff best as it is Terra politics at its finest. The Aleya stuff was okay and probably my least favorite arc but Chris did a gret job merging her arc with Valerian's arc. I definitely enjoyed Valerian's view being a Custodian and their interaction with the Grey Knights. Of course as a XIII whore the Guilliman's stuff was awesome. So far read the first two chapters for this one and obviously quite strong. Early but Jek seems okay, definitely prefer Tieron but we'll see. Looking forward to the rest!

Luckily pre-ordered mine. It didn’t seem to sell out any faster than the others. I got mine right at that the 5 mins before the hour and it was still available for longer than what I thought. Clearly psyched for this. It has been awhile since he has written for HH? Wonder of that will be an issue. Solar wars was a home run, book 2 by Haley was okay with Gav’s book 3 being quite strong (and his best in the HH series).

Sorry what is the reference timezone and time? EST which i think has been either noon or 1pm. I have gotten the last three times without much issue, I am sure this one will be hot...let the ebay craziness begin!