JH79

So Brotherhood of the Storm get's a re-recording? Interesting. A shame to see redactions to Audiobooks like this as Keeble (in my opinion) is a great narrator... though Penelope Rawlins just completely butchered the White Scars in that one so maybe not the worst news. But what interests me is the why. Path of Heaven was actually voiced by John Banks and his accent for the White Scars isn't even remotely "Asian". I didn't like the change from Keeble to Banks all those years ago as I really enjoyed his White Scars softly spoken approach, where as Banks was rough and Abrasive, BUT repeat listens (because the book is THAT good) really allowed it to grow on me. Nothing, and I mean nothing can beat Bank's proclamation of "To the end of Time; We defy the dark!" toward the end of Chapter 25. Great stuff & as Tymell put it, that scene is SO METAL!!!!! But it's all just voice acting... - voice acting noun [ U ] UK /ˈvɔɪs ˌæk.tɪŋ/ US /ˈvɔɪs ˌæk.tɪŋ/ using the voice in acting in different ways, for example, acting in a radio play, speaking in a filmed advertisement, speaking the part of a character in an animated film (= one created from drawings, models, etc.), or speaking the part of another actor in a film that has been dubbed (= the spoken parts have been changed into a different language). - ...nothing more, nothing less, and that's how I've always seen it. I hate to see businesses band the knee as it were, and that is what this feels like. But for some people here it matters and so maybe they will buy the new versions and appreciate the lengths BL have gone to? If that's the case then I hope the new releases are awesome and that BL makes their money back! Having listened to the samples on the BL site Windson Liong sounds great... but I've still got to wonder, why now BL? The Heresy is almost over, how about you use him for a legacy trilogy release or newer novels? I'm not sure how much retail value there will be in re-releases of old Audiobooks like this, just seems like false economy to me. I also wonder how Windson will handle (or be directed to handle) the Terran White Scars accents? Keeble switched between "English" & "Asian" accents (as would have been the ADR directors prerogative / direction at Heavy Entertainment) to help us keep track and identify the two factions in Brotherhood & Scars alike. Banks also altered his somewhat. And obviously BL want to stick with projecting a pseudo Asian accent base for the White Scars due to the hiring of Windson. Given there seems to be a % of listeners who did find it offensive having an English Voice Actor portray an Asian accent, will the same will be true for those listeners if Windson uses an "English" (or an approximation of one) accent for the Terran White Scars? What if he sounds inaccurate? What if he uses Brummy twang, but doesn't get it quite right? Will people take issue with that or the fact that it's a non English Voice Actor portraying an English accent? Will people return the book and be just as put out by this as apparently has been the case with others of the White Scars books? Who knows. I would have hoped that the door swings both ways, though a part of me doubt's that is the case. Personally if I had my way Saul Reichlin would have kept the Salamanders; David Timson the Iron Warriors & the Emps Children; Gareth Armstrong the Ultramarines, Space Wolves & Blood Angels; Toby Longworth the Sons of Horus & Mechanicum; Martyn Ellis the Thousand Sons and give the rest to Keeble. Buuuuut sh1t happens, I didn't get my own way after BL ditched Heavy Entertainment and I just had to suck it up, crazy accents n all. Didn't stop me enjoying most of it though. Who knows, maybe in future audiobooks BL will actually engineer REAL Transhuman Astartes to perform their respective roles so as not to offend anyone and we can make all Voice Actors redundant? How cool would that be! The mind, she boggles.

Ugh, nightmare when they bugger around with different alignment styles... the left (or top depending on how you look at it) alignment here could be to allow room for the subtitles of the other two volumes to fall below with no need for scaling, but it wont stop em looking out of place if the rest of your collection is centre aligned. Quick mock up of how it could look when complete... obviously excuse the order in which I've presented em here lol

Any chance of a non spoiler review for those of us resisting the temptation? Its a long book and slow at the start, but well worth the read. The titan stuff is ace, nicely written titan battling in there. It also expands key background details on certain characters and certain topics that most heresy fans will want to now. Gives a good look into the effects of the war on the non-astartes. Essential reading for Dark Angels fans. Also, and will put this in tags because its could be considered mildy spoilerific: Awesome, thank you! I read the first line of your spoiler but no further, happy to hear there's some Emperor's Children love as thus far it feel's like we haven't seen much of anything from them. Really looking forward to this book, having just re-read Solar War for the first time since it's initial release, I found myself enjoying it far more the second time around and pretty hyped for more John French goodness!

Any chance of a non spoiler review for those of us resisting the temptation?

Must resist the hurge to click!! I've never quite forgiven myself for going 3 Spoiler Tags deep back when Praetorian of Dorn released and having THAT ending ruined by my own stupidity

You would hope that there'd be some focus on this... I can't help but worry that it'll be lost in the mix similar to the outcome of Sig vs Little Horus, all subsequent novels seemed to carry on with his character as if nothing had happened when he faced off with the king of all Templars. This! Mechanicum 1.5 please. I really want to know what Dalia Cythera & her two guardian knights have been up to! The lighting hall novella kind of tells you a bit, though the knights have separated from Dalia. Wow, when was that little title released?! I cannot see it as part of an anthology on the BL website, just a standalone ebook... thanks for the heads up, I deffo need to pick this up!

This! Mechanicum 1.5 please. I really want to know what Dalia Cythera & her two guardian knights have been up to!

I will more often than not listen to the audiobook first (if there's one available of course), and followup with a physical read through if the book is so good that it warrents a second purchase. I do have a few books that are simply collectors pieces and largly remain untouched, but every now and then I'll get em down and bask in their glory / read a few pages here and there... most likely when the kids are in bed and can do no harm!! I find doing both results in a very different experience. Listening is much easier as I have very little free time just to myself, however tends to be somewhat superfecial and some of the more subtle nuance of some novels can be missed. An actual physical read through I find is way more personal. It's dedicated time spread over multiple nights of the week to properly consume every morsal of page detail and reflect on just what is going on... that's if I don't fall asleep first lol

You know what, I was way too hasty at trusting the Amazon listing for Saturnine & Mortis... both must be a ways off with Saturnine listed at 464 (quickly flicking through my Std HB it's about 557) and Mortis at 560 but looking a ways shorter than that thanks to Furioso's photo edit above! Gotta love a big ol Hardback on shelf!!

Just put in my pre-order of the regular Hardback on Amazon and noticed the page count is 560!! Looks like this sucker is going to dwarf it's brother volumes on shelf!

Who doesn't love a thread about lists! So I have to admit right off the bat that I've not read as many new releases as I usually would this year, a handful at most. My hands down favourite has to be The Infinite and the Divine. Close Runners up: Bloodlines, Manflayer & Valedor. My biggest disappointment would have to be Saturnine*. Close Runner up: The First Wall**. - *I should point out that Saturnine taking this spot is largely due to my feelings of nostalgic let-down. The book is brilliantly written, to such a degree that it alienates itself further from the rest of the Siege series. The language, the more human realism with how some characters talk, the last stand action, it was all just so bloody fantastic; hell Abnett even made me enjoy and get behind the biggest Plot Armor weapon of them all, Abaddon! The let down all revolves around the spear tip strike. Loken, Garro, Little Horus, Tybalt Marr... too much happening too quickly. It was somehow like experiencing GOT Season 8 all over again... SHOCK... AWE... *pause*... WOW... *pause*... WAIT... WHAT... *pause*... oh... right...*pause*... these feelings really didn't sink in properly until a few days after I had dwelt on all that had happened. I'd gone into the book having re-read the opening trilogy, the short Little Horus and the Meduson / Marr plot threads following that... it somehow made the disconnect all the more apparent. Maybe if it hadn't of taken so long to get here I would feel differently, but after so many years of speculation, anticipation and build up, the conclusion of certain character arc's, especially Little Horus, just left me feeling empty. **I actually quite enjoyed The First Wall, however half the book about the African Troop regiment should have been removed and given it's own release as a Human Siege Story Novella or something to that effect. An interesting group of characters with an interesting perspective on events, but completely unworthy of being in a main entry novel and did nothing but distract from the actual Siege goings on which needed extra work and development. The same could easily be said for The Lost and the Damned's Human distraction too, and by god did that novel need some help!

This, on both counts!

Yes!! Re your spoiler tag, that really was quite the moment! I really do think I'm bang on the money re just WHO he is... it is a lesser known character from the Heresy, one from quite the divisive author amongst the community so maybe those with enough knowledge to put most Tech Priests to shame just haven't caught onto it yet There were plenty of little nuggets like this within though, which makes it all the more frustrating knowing that GW / BL put Josh under such pressure literally just to fill a release slot... $$$$. It's their loss at the end of the day, and to a lesser extent ours too, though I'll always be thankful for the Bile trilogy! In all honesty this novel reminds me of the Siege more than anything else, it's something I really want to love, but fundamentally can't as it's bogged down by the sheer number of character, chapters, plotlines etc that it's trying to squeeze into a tight space. Your review really did hit the nail on the head re the Word Bearers characters who were such a welcome surprise, especially Amatnim. I'd argue that this could have been better marketed as a Word Bearers novel as their characters were way more memorable after the fact, and I actually quite warmed to Amatnim before the end. I will have to revisit it again at some point in the coming months, maybe knowing what I'm getting into will help me enjoy it more second time round

Great review Kelborn! I really wanted to enjoy this novel, but it just felt like a meandering mess that really needed extra work and refinement, it's certainly no Helsreach... BUT, given the 4 week turnaround that Reynolds achieved, I'd happily classify this as a literary masterpiece! Out of curiosity what was your take on the