DukeLeto69

EDIT - just read what you said properly and yes, SMB/SMC could have relieved pressure on other novels to be less shooty death kill and more rich in atmosphere and IP detail. Sorry reading on the move! +++ I don’t agree. SMB and SMC were generally (or supposed to be) focused on a single battle/war/event picked out of the timeline entries. Most were out and out bolterporn with exceptions like Wraight’s Battle for the Fang (think that was the name). There are plenty of other Space Marine books that are not focused on a single battle and would not have fitted the brief. However, depending on the author, these still focus on war and show little of life in the Imperium.

Not sure if your tongue is firmly in your cheek but… THAT misses the point. The reason *I* really like Crime and Horror was specifically because it had stories set AWAY from the battlefield. They gave us an insight into what life in the Imperium is actually like. That expands the IP/setting and actually gives meaning to the wars and sacrifice taking place to protect it. Some authors, Abnett in particular, tend to sprinkle his war based stories with domestic scenes and insight, Titanicus and Double Eagle are good examples, but it is, rightly, never the focus of a military sci fi story. The setting is/was richer for these “domestic” stories. IMO it is a real shame.

Did the Crime and Horror titles get audiobooks?

I still think (despite the lack of transparency on print volumes/sales etc) that we should not limit success to physical book sales. I’d hazard a guess that ebooks generally have higher sales figures nowadays. If sales had been strong then the beancounters (oops Finance Team) would be encouraging more of the same (hence HH bloat). The inverse will also be true. Beancounters will be like “why flog a dead squig, focus on something else!” No way the beancounters would kill a golden goose and Crime/Horror have no link to the TT and models so can’t even be sold as loss leaders and marketing.

Totally agree on the marketing. GW as a whole is pretty crap. Agree also on the limited print runs (does anyone even know what their physical print runs are?) But (marketing point aside) there are ebooks. I think most GW customers are not buying the novels. When they do it is for the big events like HH or for tabletop factions. BL loyal customers like us are a niche within a niche. And many of us (if not all) are more discerning and, dare I say this, have more (ahem) mature tastes. Likely we are all avid readers anyway? I do wonder whether the inevitable wider mainstream exposure the Amazon shows/films will generate, whether it opens the door again to expand the IP and return to Crime & Horror?

I believe there are quite a few of us disappointed by the apparent dissolving of the Crime and Horror imprints. I for one really enjoyed these, particularly the Crime series. I have always been a big fan of “domestic 40k” as I love the setting and want to see more of it. I wanted to see more away from the battlefield. That is why my favourite books/series have been Inquisitor based such as Wraight’s Vaults of Terra, Mitchell’s criminally unfinished Dark Heresy trilogy, and of course Abnett’s Eisenhorn/Ravenor/Bequin books. When Crime launched I loved them. It was a refreshing change from the warzones (ironically I have never been a huge fan of Space Marine books, HH and ADB being exceptions). I do wonder though…whether the fault lies with consumers rather than BL. They did seem committed and with Crime particularly were working up an overarching narrative/strategy. But did enough people buy them? Were they hits? Did they justify the effort? I suspect they are/were a harder sell as I bet most people want to read about tabletop faction X in a military sci fi setting. Now with the latest Fehervari announced (only been five years) but not labelled as Horror, I can only conclude both Horror and Crime are definitely dead. Shame (to me). Big shame.

THE MOST EXCITING NEWS FROM BL IN YEARS! The only thing that would come close (but would still be 2nd place to this Fehervari news) would be a confirmed release date for Abnett’s Pandaemonium. WE NEED THE RELEASE DATE NOW!!!

I’ll belatedly (not been able to get onto this site for a while, was it just me?) add to the chorus of excitement about a new Fehervari novel. Excellent exciting exquisite news. In fact, while I have not read a 40k novel since Interceptor City was released in hardback (Siege of Terra burned me out after reading the last five books back-to-back) I am going to read ALL the Fehervari stories starting this week! Guess no indication on release date? I messed up with Abnett’s Hive but won’t this time!

More than that, Marc was “one of us”, an active fan on the forums before getting a BL gig. In particular he was an alumni from the good old days of thebolthole site.

Attracting new customers and concurrently retaining existing customers are not mutually exclusive!

It never ceases to amaze me how many companies treat existing loyal customers with (pretty much) contempt, while simultaneously always chasing after new customers. It’s so much easier (and cheaper) to retain a loyal customer than win a new customer!

And THEN they gave the third book to Ben Counter

Nice theories but I am sticking to the one I have been saying since Pariah came out. The Yellow King is actually The God Emperor Himself! He is a ruler who wears gold AND this persona of TGE is the antithesis of The Dark King that He nearly became. It *could* be the shard of himself that he cast off? In fact TYK by another name may now be an updated Star Child concept! The identity of TYK in Penitent is, IMO, a bait and switch by Abnett. The BIG REVEAL is that the Emperor is alive and well and operating in the psychic realm / Warp and still very much steering things albeit esoterically. Why? Because Abnett is harking back to the 1st edition lore and the books by Ian Watson. Because the Star Child idea has been revived (and Haley has been peppering hints in his Dark Imperium trilogy and entries in the Dawn of Fire series).

Sorry to be THAT GUY but Abnett’s third Bequin novel is called Pandaemonium not Pandemonium. Subtle but different and more unique to the W40k setting, ie they call them Daemons and it means the city of daemons.

Have to say this… READ EVERYTHING BY PETER FEHERVARI…EVERYTHING! If you want mature sophisticated fiction set in the 40k universe.