UK Games Day 2013 : Pt II Forge World Seminar

Lagging even further behind the rest of my fellow Bloggers reporting the Games Day news, the Forge World seminar has been pretty comprehensively covered; but I hate not completing a mission and lets face it posts have been a rare thing on the 'Edge this year. So for what it's worth here is what I scribbled down during the very entertaining briefing by Tony Cottrell & Alan Bligh, along with some more pictures from the Battle of Phall diorama (The taking of the Contrador), oh and some miniature provisionally called Primarch Number 5, wonder who that could be?

UK Games Day 2013 : Pt I Forge World

So in the vast desert of my Hobby time an Oasis appeared on the horizon (probably the first and only time Birmingham has been described as such) and I was able to bask in it's bounty of 40k goodness. 

That's right, I'm pleased to report that yours truly managed to successfully navigate Spaghetti Junction to attend this years UK Games Day; enabling me to top up my rather frayed Hobby Karma and continue what has been a very popular series of posts from the event, every year since this Blogs creation back in 2010.

Books in Brief : Fear to Tread by James Swallow

As promised , I'm back (can't quite believe it took three months but that, it seems is parenthood for you) with a not so brief  Books in Brief review of the Horus Heresy novel Fear to Tread by James Swallow.

In the past I have been, deservedly I think, quite harsh in my criticism of Swallow's handling of the Blood Angels in his 40k period books (here are links to my reviews for Blood Angels Omnibus and Red Fury). Perhaps I have an overly critical eye and fanboy bias due to the Chapter being the primogenitors of my own beloved Blood Drinkers; but the fact remains those books were by any stretch sub-par and the author can and has delivered much better.

It was with some consternation then that I found Swallow was still at the helm when it came to the first Heresy novel dedicated to the Primarch Sanguinius and his Legion.

So should fans of the Heresy series and the Blood Angels 'Fear to Tread' the pages of this novel?

Well with some reservation the answer is no but caution is still advised; Mr Swallow has pulled up his literary britches and while not delivering a classic, he has risen above his previous lamentable Blood Angel works, producing an adequate addition to the series.

UK Games Day 2012 : Pt V Final Thoughts

So as the afterglow of Games Day fades over the horizon of the passing week, one last post with my final thoughts on the event, accompanied by some photos of Forge Worlds grand Horus Heresy diorama.

UK Games Day 2012 : Pt II Forge World 'The Heresy'

The next few posts will primarily be picture ones, featuring the shots I managed to take during the usual eager scrum around the Forge World displays at this years Games Day. A lot more shots than I expected came out half decent so a Mega City Fats sized warning of heavy picture content!

UK Games Day 2012 : Pt I Forge World Seminar

Wall Art definitely not by Neil Roberts!

Just a rough and ready post tonight as I'm on my chin straps following a very long but fruitful excursion to this years Games Day and what a great day it was. I'm very glad to report that the GW renaissance continues, they once again appear to have listened and taken note, the whole event was a big improvement.

But more of that in another post, my buddy Will and I took a whole ton of Pics which I plan to start posting tomorrow once they've gone through the quality control of slightly less tired eyes; for today I bring you news from the Forge World Seminar that we attended, hosted by Tony Cotrell & Alan Bligh.

Breaking Net : The Heresy, Chaos & More!

I hadn't planned to post any more pre-release product news for a while, there are sites that do it far better, having lots of sources, getting news fast and posting much more frequently than mine.

Also I never intended this kind of post to be much of a focus for the Blog, unless of course it was something I was buying; but with such a deluge of awesomeness coming from Games Workshop and Forge World right now I just couldn't resist the alteration to the planned schedule.

Besides I reasoned that being so far out on the fringe of the Imperium's Blogosphere, some regular visitors to The Veil's Edge may not pass by some of the more congested trade lanes to pick up the news. Not you Danny, I know you consort with all manner of Blogs be they sanctioned or not, you Rogue Trader! ;o)

So without further preamble, we break Net to take you live to a host of shininess.

Books in Brief : The Primarchs (Anthology)

The third anthology of the Heresy series with Black Library appearing to be turning up the frequency of these short story outings; Shadows of Treachery is due out next month (although that will mostly contain tales previously released only as limited editions or audio books).

These novellas increasingly tend towards tying into the plot lines of the main novels rather than being stand alone works, although I'm finding it to be a double edged sword. On the plus side I enjoy the increased relevance of a story as each acts to fill in a piece of the Heresy puzzle, bringing clarity and continuity to the overall picture; but on the minus side, if these stories cross over with limited edition novels (as two in this book do) then there's a good chance of the reader, myself included, not having read those novels and thus missing the adjoining puzzle piece.

This book contains far fewer stories than the previous two anthologies, just four, giving the authors a bit more room to breathe, which would seem wise, after all we are talking Primarchs here and these guys only play stadium gigs!

Resistance is Futile : Dark Vengeance Pre Ordered

Update post this evening in relation to Dark Vengeance (Limited Edition) being up for pre-order on GW's site and other independents.

I tried to fight it, I really did; I watched as the Midnight opening ticked by, wrestling with my doubts until the wee small hours. By Daybreak I still hadn't given in, even after my White Dwarf arrived with page after page of tempting propaganda and as orders were snapped up I felt that if I just held out long enough there would be no more left to tempt me. After all, I have no plans to start another Marine Army and despite the awesomeness of the Chaos miniatures I don't think I could ever march under the banner of the Ruinous Powers, so I didn't really need it...or did I?

Books in Brief : Know No Fear by Dan Abnett

Long overdue a review, Dan Abnetts latest addition to the Heresy Series had to wait for me to catch up due to a backlog of unread books; I managed to dodge any spoilers during this time and was very glad that I did, Know No Fear quite simply blew me away.

Dan's account of the legendary Battle of Calth was everything I had been anticipating and so much more. As regular readers will be aware I'm a self confessed 'Danboy', he's without doubt my favourite 40k author; his work is almost consistently without peer and once again he astounded me by upping his game.

Returning with a Vengeance

As a scruffy looking Nerf Herder once said "Jeez, I'm out of it for a little while, everyone gets delusions of grandeur!"

Well a lot has been happening whilst I've been away, but first my absence...

You may be aware that our green and pleasant land has just hosted a bit of a shindig for a fairly well known sporting event and as duty required I worked a lot of hours doing my bit to ensure no one spoiled the party.

Books in Brief : Deliverance Lost by Gav Thorpe

Gav Thorpe has been steadily building his vision of the Heresy era Raven Guard with the audio drama Ravens Flight and short story The Face of Treachery (featured in Age of Darkness). Now he is given a full novel to 'stretch the wings' of this Legion.

Deliverance Lost is a solid addition to the Heresy series, whilst it doesn't soar to the heights of say A Thousand Sons it certainly doesn't nose dive like Descent of Angels.

The novel has a lot going for it, Gav has engineered a fitting feud between the Raven Guard and the Alpha Legion, the two most clandestine of the Space Marine Legions; providing a lot of information on the origins of the Ravens 'gorilla warfare' doctrine and expanding on the Alphas shadowy and ultra covert methods.

Books in Brief : The Outcast Dead by Graham McNeill

This latest outing to the 31st Millennium, under the guidance of veteran 40k writer Graham McNeill; takes another detour around the warring Legions and lands us smack bang at the heart of the Imperium, on Terra.

I found it disappointing and more than a little frustrating that Outcast Dead is another Heresy novel with no intention of moving the main storyline along, taking place in a period starting just prior to the Drop Site Massacre (I just can't say the 'I' word anymore) and leading up to the burning of Prospero.

But those feelings were soon pushed aside as McNeill's wonderfully descriptive narrative brought to life as yet unexplored environs of the Emperors Palace, including the eerie City of Sight, home of the Telepathica and the desperate squalor of the Petitioners City.

Books in Brief : Age of Darkness (Anthology)

The second anthology of the Heresy series features a collection of short stories, nine in total, that take place during a seven year period between the Drop Site Massacre and the Siege of Terra. The tales follow the now familiar pattern of being stand alone works, some with strands connecting to previous books in the series; all the while 'drip feeding' morsels of information about the wider history.

Books in Brief : The First Heretic by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

My first novel by ADB and oh my! What a way to start.

It is testament to the authors skill and rapid rise to high regard amongst other luminaries of the Black Library and it's readers, that his first Heresy assignment should be to chart the all important fall of the Word Bearers to the machination of Chaos.

As most will know, the XVII Legion are pivotal to the schemes of the Ruinous Powers; by turning them, the Chaos Gods create a lance to pierce the boil of jealousy, ambition and doubt that festers beneath the skin of the Imperial Truth, thus allowing the corruption to spread.

I'll confess to a bias for the Imperials that can be a hurdle for any author telling a story based around the traitor legions, I simply don't like Chaos. I think it coloured my view of Fulgrim by Graham McNeill, something he later overcame with the moving A Thousand Sons. In First Heretic ADB not only had to sell me a tale of a Primarch and his Astartes willingly turning from the Emperor, but one which included First Chaplain Erebus, probably the biggest villain of the Heresy and a character with no redeeming features.

And sell me it he did, with a gripping, well paced and deeply thought out novel, punctuated with visceral action (which I understand to be a signature of the author).

Books in Brief : Nemesis by James Swallow

If you've been following my Books in Brief series of posts for a while now, you'll be aware that I've been both hot and cold in my opinion of James Swallows writing. Lauding The Flight of the Eisenstein and bemoaning his Blood Angels novels. As a result I'd put off reading this his second Heresy novel for quite some time but was tempted back after his short story The Voice, in the Tales of Heresy anthology.

Nemesis is another side story to the main events of the Heresy and like the excellent Mechanicum it takes a refreshment break from the slugging match between Superhuman siblings; this time focusing on the shadow world of the Officio Assassinorum.

This novel is an uneven read, in places it shines, expanding on the different Assassin Clades, delivering some great action and death dealing scenes, utilising all the Assassins various skills and arsenals.

But Swallow has set himself a hard task with both his subject matter and plotline. To produce an engaging story with characters you are willing to invest in, he has to humanise what should be to all intents and purpose, remorseless fanatical killing machines and whilst he ably achieves this, it just doesn't feel quite right.

The choice of plotline (with my usual caution towards spoilers) rendered the journey fairly pointless for anyone with a passing knowledge of the Heresy. There are a few plot holes, some clunky devices and an interesting parallel story that sadly runs out of steam before being dumped into the main tale.

On the whole this is an ok read that would probably have fared much better if it had been reworked as a standalone 40k novel rather than struggling against much stronger works in the Heresy series.

As a final observation, am I the only one who detects a hint of a Firefly/Serenity nods in James Swallows writing style? Couldn't shake the impression that Iota the Culexus bore all the hallmarks of another young lady who could 'kill you with her brain'.

Books in Brief : Prospero Burns by Dan Abnett

Bold, original, unexpected and totally gripping; Dan Abnett produces another awesome piece of work. This novel of course follows the story arc of the opposing force in the fall of the Thousand Sons, the legendary Space Wolves and as such is a literary travelling companion with Graham McNeill's A Thousand Sons.

What struck me first was the very different tone given by Dan to his 'Saga' in direct opposition to Graham's; the bright, civilised quest for knowledge and understanding versus the cold hard darkness of brute survival. This is used to excellent effect by both authors; which banner would you place above Loyalist and Traitor?

The decision to tell the Wolves story through the eyes of an outsider was a risk that I thought paid dividends; it enables a questioning and analysis of the Son's of Russ which would be totally out of place if told from the point of view of one of their own and it brought to mind the film The 13th Warrior (although that production could have used a little Abnett magic).

The development of the story teller from Historian Remembrancer to 'Skald' is in total keeping with Dan's take on the Wolves; these Astartes are not the Viking caricatures (just lacking their comic book horned helmets) of past 40k novels. These are warriors who would not be out of place in Old Norse literature, the motivations and themes addressed would be immediately recognisable to a writer of that period such as Snorri Sturluson.

I've heard many balk at Dan's reinvention of the Space Wolves, but fail to understand why; he enriches them beyond measure. The Rout as we come to know them, are aptly named for they are the bloody executioners of the Emperor and this book ramps up their feral savagery and barbaric bluntness, but in turn reveals within them an intellectual awareness and a deep meaningful culture. There is delight in discovering these hidden qualities and I really appreciated the time devoted to the exploration.

One minor quibble is that Mr Abnett appears to have developed Mr McNeill's nasty habit of overusing a descriptive word and although 'Wet Leopard Growl' is wonderfully evocative, it is used to the point of tedium. I'm not even sure Wolves make that kind of noise...ah but of course, there are no Wolves on Fenris ;o)

That aside, this book is epic; from the trademark cinematic opening to the fan boy twist at the end that had me punching the air with glee, I half wish I had a Space Wolf army now!

Books in Brief : A Thousand Sons by Graham McNeill

This is without doubt a great book and goes into the favourites section of my Heresy collection alongside Horus Rising, Legion and Mechanicum. It's the first Heresy book in a while that actually moves the series forward despite its events remaining before Istvaan.

Graham McNeill really defines the 'Sorcerer Astartes', fleshing out these very different Marines and orchestrating the most believable and moving fall of a Legion to date; casting a shadow of doubt over my own staunch loyalist views *shudder* somebody call the Inquisition!

He makes a sterling effort to forge coherency amongst the broken and confusing cannon of the 40k verse (at one point openly questioning and including in the story arc one of it's contradictions) with many questions that have niggled me for years finally answered and some great hints dropped about others.

Some faults, McNeill still loses himself occasionally (although he is getting better) in overblown and unnecessary description, how many times we need to hear how totally awesome a Primarch is, or how the Son's control and balance their powers, we hear you we get it, please stop repeating yourself Graham. All this does is slow down the flow of what is a captivating story and fills up extra pages, are you trying to meet a certain word count?

Also I lost track of how many times he used the word Impossibly... something was Impossibly strong, Impossibly bright, Impossibly Impossible!!! Really grated and I found myself cursing out loud every time I bumped over one, there must be host of better words for describing an amazing power or technical feat.

Other than these minor quibbles (what do I know, I'm not a bestselling author) this is an awesome read and I highly recommend it.

Books in Brief : Fallen Angels by Mike Lee

Once again the Heresy clock is stuck in the hours before High Noon and the show down between the Emperor of Mankind and his wayward son the Warmaster Horus seems as far away as ever. I'll admit to growing frustration at the lack of forward momentum in this series, despite the wealth of great tales coming from the Black Library.

I'd happily read all the spin offs and side stories they can print; but pretty please, with sugar on top, give us some fethin progress!

Taking up the story of the Dark Angels again and following on from the series duff note Descent of Angels; Mike Lee had his work cut out to re-ignite my interest in the so far poorly served Chapter; returning to the main protagonists of the first book Zahariel and Nemiel as they continue their divergent paths towards the schism of the Great Betrayal.

The book is an improvement on its slow paced predecessor and benefits from being set in a more relevant period, between the events of Istvaan III and V; with some exciting combat on the Forge World of Diamat and some interesting developments on Caliban.

But it again seems to suffer from what is becoming the 'curse' of the Dark Angels in that the author appears confused and conflicted as to the motives of the characters or the plot as a whole. This in turn muddied the waters for me as the reader and I'm again left with the feeling that no one really knows what's going on with the 1st Legion.

So although I enjoyed this book for the most part, I came away with a yearning for clarity and tied up loose ends that it's somewhat hurried ending just didn't deliver.

Books in Brief : Tales of Heresy (Anthology)

Again the Black Library denies us any forward momentum of the main Heresy story arc and instead offers an anthology of short stories, most with little if anything to do with the actual 'far from' Civil War. But this can be forgiven when, for the most part, the stories are of such fine quality and provide new insight into ideas and institutions of the 31st Millennium, so often drowned out by the thunder of Bolters.

Blood Games by Dan Abnett

No one does openings quite like Dan Abnett, in a few brief lines he illuminates the surface of ancient Terra giving detail to various geographic regions and at the same time plunging the reader straight into a gripping piece of espionage and assassination where all is not as it seems. The story fleshes out the crème Del la crème of the Emperors forces, his personal security detail, the Adeptus Custodes and in 50 pages we are treated to information on them, the Throne Worlds preparations for war and the surprisingly diverse nature of culture and politics still in existence there.