# Ahriman: Unchanged (Paperback)



## forkmaster

*The Story*:
_It has taken many long years and countless sacrifices, but finally Ahriman, former Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons, now exile and sorcerer, is ready to attempt the most audacious and daring feat of his long life. His quest for knowledge and power has all been for one purpose, and he would now see that purpose fulfilled. His goal? Nothing less than undoing his greatest failure and reversing the Rubric that damned his Legion…_

So I'm divided on the frontcover as I like it in all apects with the exception Ahriman look way too thin. Also I like John French's work otherwise, but his Ahriman-stuff haven't been the best. _Exile_ was decent as it was the 1st in the trilogy, the 2nd book was awful IMO, so my hypes for this book is very low. What do you guys think about it?


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## piemelke

I will read it, I liked the first, second mweh,


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## Khorne's Fist

Love these books. Hopefully we see some more big cameos.


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## Nordicus

I can't wait for this one - The two first are big favorites of mine in the current library of ever-growing 40k lore!


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## Doelago

Loved the first two, so definitely looking forward to getting my hands on this one.


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## Brother Lucian

Im curious to if Ahriman actually will be able to truly progress the story of the thousand sons legion, or they will remain trapped by the rubric and stuck in status quo.


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## Thyr

I loved the first 2 Ahriman books so I'm very thrilled for "Unchanged". And Ahriman looks totally badass on every cover. He's without a doubt one of my favourite 40k characters.


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## Captain_Loken

Is this out yet?


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## Brother Lucian

Captain_Loken said:


> Is this out yet?


Slated for september.


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## Captain_Loken

Thanks a ton. 

By the way, I really have to thank you for telling me about the short story Luna Mendax. It was so amazing. Not to sound like a soft bastard, but it misted my eyes a bit. Hah


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## Brother Lucian

Captain_Loken said:


> Thanks a ton.
> 
> By the way, I really have to thank you for telling me about the short story Luna Mendax. It was so amazing. Not to sound like a soft bastard, but it misted my eyes a bit. Hah


No problem, its a must read for Vengeful Spirit.


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## Sev

Has this been delayed? I thought it was supposed to be out this month but the release date on amazon says December.


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## Brother Lucian

still says september on black library.
http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/ahriman-unchanged-paperback.html


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## Lord of the Night

Brother Lucian said:


> still says september on black library.
> http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/ahriman-unchanged-paperback.html












This week actually.


LotN


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## Brother Lucian

Lovely, and for once a properly sized novel.

I am noticing an Ahriman Exodus above, a 144 page hardback. Smells like another limited edition?


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## Lord of the Night

Brother Lucian said:


> Lovely, and for once a properly sized novel.
> 
> I am noticing an Ahriman Exodus above, a 144 page hardback. Smells like another limited edition?


It's priced at £12, so a normal novella. I might consider it, or I might just wait for the inevitable Ahriman omnibus that will be cheaper and contain the novella and all the Ahriman short stories that have been circulating.


LotN


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## Captain_Loken

I'm curious as to why they are so much cheaper in America. A normal sized novel may be like 40£, but in America a limited edition hardcover is like 20$....


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## Khorne's Fist

A 144 page hardback book for €5 more than a 416 page paperback? I dot know why this shit keeps surprising me. I am interested to see where Exodus fits in though.


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## Vitarus

Damn I want Unchanged!! I might call out of work for a couple days to read it. (Hey, I'm a slow reader!)


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## Sev

Nice to see that it hasn't been delayed, but I would prefer ordering from amazon.

Exodus cover:










_‘Ahriman: Exodus’ is set between the first two books in the trilogy and collects a series of Quick Reads from the perspective of Ctesias, servant to Ahriman and daemon summoner extraordinaire. They chart the deeds Ctesias performs in his master’s name, all of them driving towards the sorcerer lord’s ultimate goal of reuniting his Legion._


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## Captain_Loken

I wonder when it will be available to download as PDF.


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## Brother Lucian

Captain_Loken said:


> I wonder when it will be available to download as PDF.


Black Library only does epub and mobi. And amazon have their own azw format.

Edit: But if it follows trends for saturday releases, it will likely appear tomorrow around at 1800 gmt.


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## Captain_Loken

Brother Lucian said:


> Black Library only does epub and mobi. And amazon have their own azw format.


I know, that's why I don't get it from either of those places.


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## Brother Lucian

Captain_Loken said:


> I know, that's why I don't get it from either of those places.


Plenty of e-reader apps that can do both. I use mobipocket to read ebooks on pc. And I have a kindle as well.


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## Captain_Loken

Brother Lucian said:


> Plenty of e-reader apps that can do both. I use mobipocket to read ebooks on pc. And I have a kindle as well.


Awesome. Though, I'm happy getting them without paying the ungodly BL prices.


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## Brother Lucian

Lord of the Night said:


> This week actually.
> 
> 
> LotN



Had a second look at this page. Says released 12/09/15. Seems to be next week after after all. Bummer

Edit: Yep, from what im reading in other places, its the -preorder- thats going up here Saturday, for the following weekend. So no getting to read about ahriman this week.


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## Captain_Loken

What if the date is written the real way and that's December 9th 2015?

It does say pre order now... so I think the pre order has been up...


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## Brother Lucian

Captain_Loken said:


> What if the date is written the real way and that's December 9th 2015?
> 
> It does say pre order now... so I think the pre order has been up...


It says September on the page, nothing really to misintepret there.


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## Brother Lucian

Huh, unexpected! Unchanged is AVAILABLE as ebook!
http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/ahriman-unchanged-paperback.html

But the paperback is now preorder.


Edit: And DLed, time to bingeread this highly anticipiated book!


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## Lord of the Night

_Ahriman: Exodus_ is also available and is surprisingly worth the spend. There isn't a single part of it that has been available in a general physical release prior to this; the only partial exception being _Hounds of Wrath_ which was a part of the _Honour of the Space Marines_ LE anthology available at one of the BL Weekenders.



Black Library said:


> Ahriman: Exodus contains the following short stories, which have previously been available in other formats: The Dead Oracle, Fortune's Fool, Hounds of Wrath, The First Prince, Gates of Ruin, All is Dust, Hand of Dust & King of Ashes.


I'll be getting both, the novella because I want to own the ENTIRE Ahriman series. Yes there will likely be an omnibus in the future, and said omnibus _*could*_ contain all the Ahriman stories and *possibly* some new ones as the Salamanders omnibus did. However! With the recent trend in releases from BL and looking at previously released omnibuses in recent times, i.e the Dark Eldar omnibus, the Night Lords omnibus, etc; I do not believe that the inevitable Ahriman Omnibus will actually contain anything new, none of the recent omnibus releases have had anything new added to them whereas in years gone by, back when BL used to put out three new paperback novels a month (Minimum), each omnibus contained something new that added to the overall series it was a part of.

And since an omnibus will cost about £10-12 from Amazon, no way in gorram hell am I paying full retail price for a re-release of stuff I already own, and it would be taking up space that could be given to books that I don't already own, i'd rather just get the novella with the pretty boss artwork.


LotN


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## Captain_Loken

If I was loaded, I would probably do the same thing, however, I am not and I enjoy reading them on my tablet, so I will be downloading them from my favorite website. Which unchained happens to be on there now, so I will be reading it super fast and give my opinion!


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## Brother Lucian

Just finished Unchanged. Epic! It touches upon so many things and plots that its unbelievable. If i have to say something fitting for the book 'Nothing is as it seems'. Unchanged is a worthy finisher for the series and more than makes up for the mildly disappointing middle book, when compared to the stellar first one.

You get to see so many mindtwisting feats of psykery and sorcery, I daresay that no other warhammer book have had such much warp-bending.

I rate it as one of the best 40k novels in a quite long time, though you sure have to read the whole series for this explosive finale.


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## Captain_Loken

Brother Lucian said:


> Just finished Unchanged. Epic! It touches upon so many things and plots that its unbelievable. If i have to say something fitting for the book 'Nothing is as it seems'. Unchanged is a worthy finisher for the series and more than makes up for the mildly disappointing middle book, when compared to the stellar first one.
> 
> You get to see so many mindtwisting feats of psykery and sorcery, I daresay that no other warhammer book have had such much warp-bending.
> 
> I rate it as one of the best 40k novels in a quite long time, though you sure have to read the whole series for this explosive finale.


 
That's interesting that you say that. I happened to enjoy the second one more than the first


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## Brother Lucian

Captain_Loken said:


> That's interesting that you say that. I happened to enjoy the second one more than the first


Imho, the second book was more slowburning and slowcooking than the first book. Ahriman comming off as a very stereotypical moustache twirling villain in that book.

Edit: I find his portrayal in Unchanged to be far better and better suited for him, an Elemental force of change, sweeping everyone up in his wake.

Edit 2: A few teasers:


A view of the court of Tzeentch and the Changer itself. Iskandar Khayon makes an appearance. A lot of insight on Magnus the Red and the Planet of the Sorcerers. DOOMBREED! The ghosts of Prospero.


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## forkmaster

_Fortune's Fool_ and _Hounds of Wrath_ were new for me. I don't believe I have those or have read them yet.


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## piemelke

this is nice, 
people are discussing books again on the forum, 
Ahriman, MoM and Ragnar soon enough,


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## Brother Lucian

piemelke said:


> this is nice,
> people are discussing books again on the forum,
> Ahriman, MoM and Ragnar soon enough,


Clearly shows how people is starved for quality reads. We buy them if they just put them out in decent amounts as they used to, and not just overpriced and shortpaged LE books as theyve been doing of late.


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## Captain_Loken

Brother Lucian said:


> Imho, the second book was more slowburning and slowcooking than the first book. Ahriman comming off as a very stereotypical moustache twirling villain in that book.
> 
> Edit: I find his portrayal in Unchanged to be far better and better suited for him, an Elemental force of change, sweeping everyone up in his wake.
> 
> Edit 2: A few teasers:
> 
> 
> A view of the court of Tzeentch and the Changer itself. Iskandar Khayon makes an appearance. A lot of insight on Magnus the Red and the Planet of the Sorcerers. DOOMBREED! The ghosts of Prospero.


That's pretty awesome. I'm pretty anxious. I'm just about to finish the third part of the Word Bearers book Dark Creed, but when I'm done I will be on Unchanged.

EDIT: As I was just talking about my two favorite 40k characters being Ahriman and Khayon and their stories of being blood brothers, I just got to the sad part in Dark Creed... for those of you who have read it, you'll know what I am referring to.


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## Brother Lucian

http://www.blacklibrary.com/warhammer-40000/ahriman-complete-collection.html

And an bundle of everything Ahriman is now available.

Edit: I expect this will be the future omnibus.


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## Nordicus

Captain_Loken said:


> As I was just talking about my two favorite 40k characters being Ahriman and Khayon and their stories of being blood brothers, I just got to the sad part in Dark Creed... for those of you who have read it, you'll know what I am referring to.


Huh - I read the book but I remember no thing about these two. Care to elaborate in a "spoiler" tag? I might have missed something..


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## Captain_Loken

Nordicus said:


> Huh - I read the book but I remember no thing about these two. Care to elaborate in a "spoiler" tag? I might have missed something..


Well, I'm a derp. I went to double check and apparently they have the same or very close first names. I guess that got me confused.


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## Brother Lucian

Captain_Loken said:


> Well, I'm a derp. I went to double check and apparently they have the same or very close first names. I guess that got me confused.


Azhek Ahriman and Iskandar Khayon is not that close. Unless you are thinking of Ahriman's true brother?


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## Captain_Loken

Brother Lucian said:


> Azhek Ahriman and Iskandar Khayon is not that close. Unless you are thinking of Ahriman's true brother?


Nothing to do with Ahriman. If you read the previous post, it was the BL sorcerer from Dark Creed.

Also, Khayon is Ahriman's true brother.


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## Brother Lucian

Captain_Loken said:


> Nothing to do with Ahriman. If you read the previous post, it was the BL sorcerer from Dark Creed.
> 
> Also, Khayon is Ahriman's true brother.


Not true. Ahriman lost his true brother Ohrmudz to the flesh change, and why he is so determined to halt it.

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Ahriman
. Ahriman even lost his own twin brother Ohrmuzd to the effects of the mutations, which instilled within the young Astartes a terrible fear of mutation and a willingness to do anything to stop it from afflicting his remaining Battle-Brothers.

Minor spoiler


We even get to see the memmory of Ohrmudz in Ahriman's mind in Unchanged



http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Ahriman?file=Ahriman_holding_helm.jpg
Pre heresy Ahriman unhelmeted, seems to be the only sight of him without a helm on.


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## Captain_Loken

Brother Lucian said:


> Not true. Ahriman lost his true brother Ohrmudz to the flesh change, and why he is so determined to halt it.
> 
> http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Ahriman
> . Ahriman even lost his own twin brother Ohrmuzd to the effects of the mutations, which instilled within the young Astartes a terrible fear of mutation and a willingness to do anything to stop it from afflicting his remaining Battle-Brothers.
> 
> Minor spoiler
> 
> 
> We even get to see the memmory of Ohrmudz in Ahriman's mind in Unchanged
> 
> 
> 
> http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Ahriman?file=Ahriman_holding_helm.jpg
> Pre heresy Ahriman unhelmeted, seems to be the only sight of him without a helm on.



Curious. I wonder why Khayon calls Ahriman his true brother in the Talon of Horus. Sorry, just getting my info from a book, not Wikipedia.


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## Brother Lucian

Captain_Loken said:


> Curious. I wonder why Khayon calls Ahriman his true brother in the Talon of Horus. Sorry, just getting my info from a book, not Wikipedia.


Spoiler


Once you see the memmory of Ohrmudz, it should settle your doubts. Ahriman's memmories are quite cognizant, and can even speak with him. And at one point the voices in his head becomes something more.


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## Captain_Loken

Brother Lucian said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> Once you see the memmory of Ohrmudz, it should settle your doubts. Ahriman's memmories are quite cognizant, and can even speak with him. And at one point the voices in his head becomes something more.


Just a thought, a person can have more than one.


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## Brother Lucian

I know, but he have only made note of one brother. I figure Khayon was speaking figuratively, not literally.


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## Captain_Loken

Brother Lucian said:


> I figure.




But you don't know. I could spout a million reasons why I think Ahriman never mentioned him based on what I read in the Talon of Horus, but for now, I will take "Anriman" and "my true brother" to mean exactly that.


Oh yes, here's a little excerpt from Talon of Horus: 

Before I stood clad in black, when Ahriman and I were brothers in truth rather than merely linked by blood, I would attend his lectures on the nature of our species and the universe we claimed as our own


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## Brother Lucian

Captain_Loken said:


> But you don't know. I could spout a million reasons why I think Ahriman never mentioned him based on what I read in the Talon of Horus, but for now, I will take "Anriman" and "my true brother" to mean exactly that.
> 
> 
> Oh yes, here's a little excerpt from Talon of Horus:
> 
> Before I stood clad in black, when Ahriman and I were brothers in truth rather than merely linked by blood, I would attend his lectures on the nature of our species and the universe we claimed as our own



Hrm, I see. I guess they are relatives then. But not as close as Ahriman and his twin brother Ohrmudz.


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## Captain_Loken

Brother Lucian said:


> Hrm, I see. I guess they are relatives then. But not as close as Ahriman and his twin brother Ohrmudz.


Oh, that you are quite right about. I do believe Khayon hated Ahriman greatly.


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## Dead.Blue.Clown

You guys can be so literal.


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## Khorne's Fist

> Before I stood clad in black, when Ahriman and I were brothers in truth rather than merely linked by blood, I would attend his lectures on the nature of our species and the universe we claimed as our own


The "brothers in truth" bit means that they were once closer than brothers "merely linked by blood", they were bothers in arms, the closest of comrades. The blood relationship they have is only what all SMs of the same gene seed share. That quote puts more emphasis on the bond of battle brothers than those that came from the same womb. It can't be taken to mean they were actual brothers.


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## Brother Lucian

I just had a thought and looked it up. Iskandar Khayon is born on Prospero, not Terra like Ahriman and Ohrmudz. So they cannot be relatives.

Khayon's blood sister was hurt by a psyneuein attack, a bug native to Prospero. And why she was taken for the Anamesis project.

And Ahriman and his brother was born in the Achamenid empire on Terra.


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## Captain_Loken

Khorne's Fist said:


> The "brothers in truth" bit means that they were once closer than brothers "merely linked by blood", they were bothers in arms, the closest of comrades. The blood relationship they have is only what all SMs of the same gene seed share. That quote puts more emphasis on the bond of battle brothers than those that came from the same womb. It can't be taken to mean they were actual brothers.


Actually, it can. Its called interpretation. Seems pretty obvious to me. 

Now, lets put an end to this. I merely made an observation. And that's how I interpreted it, which is the point of these novels. Now if you have to go to your Wikipedia, which happens to be the least credible source on the internet, you go ahead and do that and that will be your interpretation. 

But, I took "brothers in truth" to mean "true brothers".

The end.


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## Khorne's Fist

Captain_Loken said:


> The end.


No, the end was when @Brother Lucian actually did a bit of research, and shot your interpretation out of the water in his previous post. Everything he says in that post is true. Khayon and his sister were born on Prospero, Ahriman and his brother were born on Terra.


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## Captain_Loken

But they were still part of the 1k sons. What was the home world of the 1k sons again? I forgot...

So they are much older then Khayon.... 

Like ADB said, you're far too literal. You and Lucian are the types of people that take the fun out of fantasy and scifi novels by trying to compare them to reality. They're not. Maybe you should try being a bit more open minded. Oh great and lonely all knowing one.

So I say again, I actually read and interpreted his meaning my way. It doesn't really matter one way or the other. So the both of your points are null and void. 

Once more, THE END.


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## Brother Lucian

Remember, the twenty space marine legions was founded on Terra and served in the reconquest of the solar system, from where they spread out over the galaxy and slowly recovered the primarchs. So Azhek Ahriman and Ohrmudz was part of the old guard, from before the discovery of Prospero and Magnus the Red, from where the legion shifted to recruit from their new homeworld. The terran contigent of the legions would slowly be phased out as they died off and their legion adopted a new world to draw from.


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## Captain_Loken

And yet, you still persist. 

Be a big boy and just drop it... like I said, weather or not they were brothers is irrelevant. So you're fighting to be right for no reason. 

Here, if it makes you happy I will concede and give you +2 internetz.


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## Dead.Blue.Clown

Captain_Loken said:


> Like ADB said, you're far too literal.


Well, mostly you, dude. You're insisting on a literal interpretation of something that isn't literal. Lucian and Khorne's Fist are just trying to explain that. I was actually pointed to this thread by another author with the phrase "Look how literally this is being taken."

But in all seriousness, this is a nonsensical and pointless argument, guys. Certainly not something to get hostile about. No, they're not sibling / brothers. Yes, the facts back that up. Yes, the novel reference was stating what Khorne's Fist explained. No, there's no need to scrap about it or throw insults.


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## Malus Darkblade

Captain Loken you are _special_, new to the forums and very aggressive. Stop acting like you have a handle on the lore. Everything K's Fist said is correct and to put it simply, Khayon is described as having dark skin while Ahriman is Persian AKA white.


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## Captain_Loken

Malus Darkblade said:


> Captain Loken you are _special_, new to the forums and very aggressive. Stop acting like you have a handle on the lore. Everything K's Fist said is correct and to put it simply, Khayon is described as having dark skin while Ahriman is Persian AKA white.


You're cute little guy.

I'm quite content with the way I am, bud.

Also, I was unaware Persians were white. I could have sworn they were from the middle east.... maybe lighter skinned, but not white like Europeans... haha.

but it is cute that you want to call me out like that after the event was resolved and done with. Way to go.


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## Khorne's Fist

Captain_Loken said:


> Also, I was unaware Persians were white. I could have sworn they were from the middle east.... maybe lighter skinned, but not white like Europeans... haha.


The Persians racial heritage is actually Aryan, not Arab. So yeah, they're well tanned white people.


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## scscofield

Stop with the bickering bullshit, all of you.


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## Brother Lucian

So does anyone beside me, actually have read Unchanged yet? Im curious to hear what you think of the revelations in the book.


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## Nordicus

Brother Lucian said:


> So does anyone beside me, actually have read Unchanged yet? Im curious to hear what you think of the revelations in the book.


Not yet, but I can't wait to get started!


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## Vitarus

Only half done. Loving it. French must be a millennia-old psyker to come up with these ways of using the Warp. Haven't run into any revelations yet, though.


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## Vitarus

Brother Lucian said:


> So does anyone beside me, actually have read Unchanged yet? Im curious to hear what you think of the revelations in the book.


OK, I'm done. Unfortunately, I'm not knowledgeable enough about anything 40K to be sure of what's revelation and what's not. :laugh: For example (This isn't a spoiler of any note, and would only be for Sorcerer anyway.), I have no idea whether or not French invented the Order of Ruin for this trilogy. But how about this:

How the heck did Magnus get shattered?? I've been fighting my apnea exhaustion more than usual lately, and reading is extremely difficult. If it was mentioned, I missed it entirely. And I don't see it in wiki or lexi.


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## Garrak

Out of curiosity when does this series take place in relation to Talon of Horus and Battle of the Fang?


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## bobss

So just to confirm, between _Ahriman: Exile_, _Sorcerer_, _Unchanged_ and _Exodus_, everything Thousand Sons related and written by John French is covered? There’s no exclusive limited chocolate-dipped digestive edition short story missing?

Collecting the shorts together in one hardback book is a pretty good idea. One of Black Library’s better moves lately, I’d say.

Adding these to my book stack.


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## Lord of the Night

bobss said:


> So just to confirm, between _Ahriman: Exile_, _Sorcerer_, _Unchanged_ and _Exodus_, everything Thousand Sons related and written by John French is covered? There’s no exclusive limited chocolate-dipped digestive edition short story missing?
> 
> Collecting the shorts together in one hardback book is a pretty good idea. One of Black Library’s better moves lately, I’d say.
> 
> Adding these to my book stack.


Yep, everything Ahriman related by John French is in that collection. In fact the short story Fortune's Fool featured in Ahriman: Exodus is brand new.


LotN


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## Brother Lucian

Thats everything Ahriman he have written, no LE there.


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## Brother Lucian

Sorry for the necro, but id really love to know what people thinks of Unchanged. Theres been litterally -NO- feedback on this absolutely excellent novel.


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## Dark Apostle Marduk

Brother Lucian said:


> Sorry for the necro, but id really love to know what people thinks of Unchanged. Theres been litterally -NO- feedback on this absolutely excellent novel.


I thought it was pretty good!

I think it was well described and makes your mind think.

The one gripe I have about it is that as the series concluded, the ending was kind of strange. 

I also thought that it was better than the second novel. I wasn't a huge fan of it because of the way it was drawn out. This book put it all together for me!


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## Kharn The Complainer

I remember being somewhat indifferent to the ending. As a whole, I liked the books, but the ending wasn't massively satisfying and to be honest, I can't quite remember what happens after the big battle. So...perhaps not as memorable as it could have been.


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## forkmaster

Brother Lucian said:


> Sorry for the necro, but id really love to know what people thinks of Unchanged. Theres been litterally -NO- feedback on this absolutely excellent novel.


I hope to get to read it this summer.


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