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.

Postcards from the Edge

Time to check in with those of you still monitoring this channel for signs of life, letting you know that the Emperor's light still burns in my little corner of the Blogosphere albeit on minimal power setting.

My Hobby time has been on restricted duty since the birth of our daughter; compound that life changing event with a shift pattern that was custom designed to hinder the 40k hobbyist and a long term case of 'Slow Painter's Syndrome'. It all makes for poor reading I'm sorry to say.

Like many in our community (most will have read and some written similar posts) I'm still wrestling with the logistics of actually sitting back down at the painting table and getting a game in seems an insurmountable challenge at present; but I am determined to keep a firm grip on our beloved Hobby this time and not let it fall by the wayside as I did back in the middling years of Third Edition (a career enforced lapse that in the light of my current commitments appears quite trivial).

My Greatest Creation : A Collaborative Effort

For all those wondering where in the Realms of Chaos yours truly has been for the past month (I note none of you sent search parties...) let me tell you that for once I have, what is known in my line of work as, 'a Lawful Excuse'.

I had been busying myself with the final preparations for a very important arrival up until yesterday morning and at 09:41 Hrs GMT, after bravely battling through much adversity and enduring all the Apothecaries could throw at her; the Good Lady Bix brought our VIP safely into the world.

A Baby Girl, late by 8 days (gets that from her Dad) and absolutely beautiful (most definitely her Mum) weighing in at a none too shabby 8 lbs 6 ounces; we have named our little ray of light Inara Jade.

So I may be offline for a tad longer, I sure as sure need to find where my last three nights sleep have run off to (I know, 'Get used to it!', I hear all the parents amongst the readership shout). But the Forge still stands, acting as a refuge to flee back to the Hobby when nappy changes threaten to damage my calm; so with luck I'll be back here on The Edge soon.

As always, thanks to all of you who take the time to drop by.

Skies of Blood : Stormraven Build Pt I

Some modelling progress at last, my two Stormraven kits have made it onto the Forge workbench; construction motivated by a recent big game played up at Warhammer World with my fellow gaming buds from our League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (a report and some pics may follow if I can bear reliving the pain of such a total arse whooping).

War Paint : Blood Drinker Priest Markings

Staying on the subject of Guy Haley's writing for the moment, I mentioned in Decembers post that the author had described a prominent marking on the Sanguinary High Priest character in his Hammer and Bolter short story, The Rite of Holos and that he was then kind enough to share his ideas about the marking with me.

A Bigger Picture : The Death of Integrity

It would appear that my post back in early December featuring the cover for the upcoming Space Marines Battles book The Death of Integrity may have been a little hasty. 

The author Guy Haley has posted some new art for the book over on his Blog, he explains that what he thought was the cover was in fact just a place holder.

From the looks of it Jon Sullivan was just warming up, check out the full picture below.

Christmas Cards from the Edge

Well due to the vagaries of the Warp (read, Bix forgot to hit the scheduling button in his hurry to wrap presents and get the tree up in time), my festive post seems to have arrived a little after the event; but as the clock hasn't struck midnight on this year just yet (least not here in land land of Zulu Time) the festive season is still in play.

So with a quick edit I hope you all had a grand Candlemass and that the jolly fat bloke with a penchant for 'Go Faster Red' brought you a hefty haul of all you wished for. I'm currently sitting pretty with the Imperial Infantryman's Handbook (an updated and combined book of the Munitorum Manual and the Uplifting Primer), Dan Abnett's 'Pariah' and a fist full of GW vouchers which I'm sure I can burn through in next to no time.

Cover Art : The Death of Integrity

As mentioned in last months post 'Written in Blood', the author Guy Haley has penned a Black Library novel (now confirmed as part of the Space Marine Battles series) featuring the Blood Drinkers and Nova Marines Chapters as they fight to cleanse a Genestealer infested Space Hulk 'The Death of Integrity'.

Guy has today posted up the cover for the forthcoming book (due out September 2013, where's that DeLorean when you need it?) on his Blog Haley's Comment and he kindly gave permission for me to repost it here on The Veil's Edge.

New Life into Old Lead Pt III

As part of my current Death Company project, I had another opportunity to conduct a renovation on one of the old painted miniatures in my collection. A chance to right the wrongs as it were, of a heretical (as far as the Codex Astartes is concerned) colour scheme, with the added benefit of a few years improvement in my painting skills; how much improvement is debatable!

Written in Blood : The Blood Drinkers return to 40k

As regular readers of this Blog will be well aware, I'm a huge fan of 40k lore; the ever expanding stories and history that makes up the Hobbies setting being as, if not more important to me than the game itself.

One of my consuming passions is the constant hunt for canon material relating to my chosen Space Marine Chapter, The Blood Drinkers; they've been with me since the start of my 40k journey some 25 years ago and as such have defined much of my Hobby experience.