# Pariah - Eisenhorn vs Ravenor



## Zinegata (Jan 25, 2012)

Okay, WTH, why aren't people talking about this book yet?

Anyway a no-spoiler review. Pariah is a very charming book, told from the first person like Eisenhorn, and that has a lot to do with the main character. The book really feels like it's a sort of diary written by a young woman, with the emphasis on _woman_ as she's not a bloody annoying girl who's always pining over men or her destiny or whatever (This is NOT Twilight!). She's actually calm and collected for the most part, and this is despite the huge amount of crap that gets thrown at her - as she has to deal not only with the GrimDark of 40K, but also of a vast conspiracy that already involves a minimum of four different factions and counting.

In fact, the novel does feel very much like a "girl meets 40K" story, or more specifcally "girl meets VAST INQUISITION CONSPIRACY". For people just getting started on the Eisenhorn series, the lead character serves as a sort of proxy, sharing the reader's confusion but nudging them along the right way. For the seasoned vets who've read their Eisenhorn and Ravenor, she gives little clues and hints to reintroduce you to some of the series' recurring characters.

That said, it IS an Abnett book. So expect the usual Abnett style - abrupt ending, no real closure, and "DAMN YOU WRITE THE NEXT BOOK ALREADY!". But hey, it's the first part of a trilogy. It's to be expected









TL;DR: Abnett shows he can write as a girl. It's good. 

If anyone wants more spoilery details I can give them, but come on guys does nobody really want to talk about this new book?


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## Loki1416 (Apr 20, 2010)

Havn't bought this one yet but am really looking forward to it. Loved both of their series of books.


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

What I want to know is



When and how did Eisenhorn recruit an Alpha Legionnaire? 


Also, how cool is Teke the smiling? I thought his character was fantastic. This trilogy is set to be a massive double/triple agent type deal with Beta playing both sides at once. It was great to see Abnett tying in big plots from the first 2 trilogy's 



The Glaw family - Eisenhorn, The Cognaite - Ravenor 
 

to really bring everything together in the first book of this trilogy. There was a fair few Easter eggs for people fluent in the first 2 trilogy's. Did anyone get them all? My fav was 'solian tea and nafar biscuits' made me laugh out loud seeing Abnett drop that one in there.


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## Zinegata (Jan 25, 2012)

Brother Subtle said:


> My fav was 'solian tea and nafar biscuits' made me laugh out loud seeing Abnett drop that one in there.


Remind me, but was that the stuff that the original Alizabeth ordered as a show of extravegance when they were going undercover in the first Eisenhorn novel?


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

Zinegata said:


> Remind me, but was that the stuff that the original Alizabeth ordered as a show of extravegance when they were going undercover in the first Eisenhorn novel?


Spot on. She was having fun pretending to be well off with Eisenhorn on Gundrun (spelling). It was her first assignment after he picked her up on Huberis (spelling).


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## Zinegata (Jan 25, 2012)

Brother Subtle said:


> Spot on. She was having fun pretending to be well off with Eisenhorn on Gundrun (spelling). It was her first assignment after he picked her up on Huberis (spelling).


Hah, my memory isn't failing me yet.

One of my favorite scenes though was when Bequin is shown a bunch of toys from M1 (our time) - a trio of rockets with the letters "CCCP" on them. With the classic Abnett touch where Bequin asks what it means, and getting the answer "No one remembers anymore."


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

It was funny. Absolutely unplausable however. Unless someone invented a stasis field in the 20th century and stored that singular toy in said stasis field for 38,000 more years.


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## NiceGuyEddy (Mar 6, 2010)

To be honest I thought the novel was slow and didn't give nearly enough face time to the major charachters. The trilogy may still deliver but I hope the next books are stronger.


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

NiceGuyEddy said:


> To be honest I thought the novel was slow and didn't give nearly enough face time to the major charachters. The trilogy may still deliver but I hope the next books are stronger.


I disagree. Ravenor and Eisenhorn are not really 'major' characters in this book. It's a first person Bequin book, so obviously she is the main character. Then probably The Curst and Judikah would be the next major characters, which were both in it heaps. For 3/4 of the book, she doesn't even know who Ravenor or Eisenhorn is!!! Feel free to discuss!

Also, the origins of beta were only briefly explained.



Eisenhorn said she was made from the original Alizabeth Bequin, but when she asked if she was a clone they said no, more of a daughter.

What do you think this means? I've got a feeling they may have taken some of the original Bequin's ovarian eggs, fertilized them and grew her, so she really is her daughter. Who's sperm I wonder? Maybe Eisenhorn? Which would make him Beta's father.

That's just a running theory


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## Zinegata (Jan 25, 2012)

Brother Subtle said:


> Eisenhorn said she was made from the original Alizabeth Bequin, but when she asked if she was a clone they said no, more of a daughter.
> 
> What do you think this means? I've got a feeling they may have taken some of the original Bequin's ovarian eggs, fertilized them and grew her, so she really is her daughter. Who's sperm I wonder? Maybe Eisenhorn? Which would make him Beta's father.
> 
> That's just a running theory




Nayl claims that Bequin's ship disappeared and was likely captured by the Cognitae, who produced Bequin as part of their breeding program. So she's unlikely to be the result of Eisenhorn sleeping with the original Alizabeth while she was comatose .

Personally, I'm guessing Bequin's dad is Moltoch, who's also a product of a Cognitae breeding program and would add much more angsting to the story. Just imagine:

<Ravenor> You're that bastard's daughter? BURN!

<Eisenhorn> NOOOOO! Alizabeth!

<Nayl> Boss, why couldn't you and Lizzie just done it during our centuries of working together again? -_-


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## NiceGuyEddy (Mar 6, 2010)

Brother Subtle said:


> I disagree. Ravenor and Eisenhorn are not really 'major' characters in this book. It's a first person Bequin book, so obviously she is the main character. Then probably The Curst and Judikah would be the next major characters, which were both in it heaps. For 3/4 of the book, she doesn't even know who Ravenor or Eisenhorn is!!! Feel free to discuss!


I know it's a Bequin book, I would have preferred another Eisenhorn and/or Ravenor book. They're still much bigger charachters in the overall "Inquisitor" arc of which this Bequin trilogy is a part of.


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## Zinegata (Jan 25, 2012)

NiceGuyEddy said:


> I know it's a Bequin book, I would have preferred another Eisenhorn and/or Ravenor book. They're still much bigger charachters in the overall "Inquisitor" arc of which this Bequin trilogy is a part of.


Bequin serves her purpose to reintroduce us to the series and the world, while having her own charms. It has been years since the last one you know.

Not to mention it lets people jump in even if they haven't read Eisenhorn or Ravenor.


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

Zinegata said:


> Not to mention it lets people jump in even if they haven't read Eisenhorn or Ravenor.


Great point. That alone makes it a standalone series for new readers. Which is very important.


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## Zinegata (Jan 25, 2012)

Brother Subtle said:


> Great point. That alone makes it a standalone series for new readers. Which is very important.


She's quite a tease, really. I particularly liked that scene where someone introduces herself as a Glaw and Bequin is disappointed to never have heard the name before.

If you're new to the series, you'll share her "WHO IS THIS?" moment, whereas the oldies will tend to giggle and go "YES! The Glaws are in this too!"


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## raider1987 (Dec 3, 2010)

I loved this book, brilliantly written and I loved seeing characters I loved returning. 

However.... It was far too short. I appreciate that it was the first of a trilogy, but the chapters were incredibly short and about a 5th of the book had blank or half filled pages.

I still loved it but it was almost a reader trailer to the rest of the trilogy.


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

So Ive finally finished the story. The first 200 pages were somewhat dreadful to get through. I have barely no idea when it took place in the timeline and as said, not sure if this was a pre-Eisenhorn story with Bequin growing up, or a after-story. Then we had someone mentioning a holy war taking place some centuries before this, dating it somewhere around 500 M.41. Finding out that Harlon Nayl was alive by this times shows that around the time Eisenhorn narrates his own trilogy, shows that it was prior to hearing when this takes place.

Then when the Word Bearers spoke out, I knew this wasn't the same Bequin. But when the first 200 pages were done, the last 117 compensated BY FAR. We had a short introduction that at least TWO Legions were after her (perhpas a third in form of Alpha Legion but that is uncertain). It also implies, and someone who had spoken to Dan said this also, that we will get to see Fulgrim later on in the series. Then we have the Yellow King which tries to enter the Black Library. Now which evil villain dressed in yellow has been doing this for several years? Yes, I think we will have some Thousand Sons and Ahriman (BUT this is only what I suspects).

I loved the tie-in to HH and pre-Terra unification, the connection to the earlier novels/trilogies and I can't even begin to comprehend how big this trilogy will be. I'm gonna start on The Emperor's Gift, as I understand it has connection to Ravenor as well. When Dan promised mystic webs of lies and uncharted territory and unseen things, he really wasn't kidding.

P.S: There were several worlds which might contain the Emperor's name, some I recognized. But those I didn't (I will list them), I would like to know if someone of you had heard of them before.


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## Zinegata (Jan 25, 2012)

Well, it's a little easier to figure out that Beta isn't the original Bequin if you noticed that 1) Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet and 2) The original Bequin was born on Bonaventure.


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## Vitarus (Apr 9, 2012)

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS



Extremely happy that this trilogy is being written, because Eisenhorn and Ravenor are my favorite BL books of all. (The First Heretic might be tied with them.)

forkmaster hit every point exactly as I would have. (Except I've already read Emperor's Gift. Hope you're already reading it!)

Nayl's first appearance rocked! He had to get cut before he got motivated. Lol!

Honestly, I wasn't sure it was Eisenhorn who killed that WB on the stairs. I forgot about his sword. (I am but an egg.) How incredible is it that he can take out one of those dudes!

Teke was excellent. I have not read Fulgrim, and know virtually nothing about the EC. No idea if he was recognizable to anyone before it was flat-out stated who he was. Anyway, just great.

Enuncia is one of my favorite aspects of the Ravenor Omnibus. So happy to see it used again. You'd think something like that wouldn't be ignored, eh? Interesting word they're looking for! Heh

I loved the last word of the book.


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## Stephen_Newman (Jul 14, 2009)

I know! Ever since Eisenhorn was seen I wondered where Cherubael was hiding.

I think that was probably my favourite part as someone who has read Eisenhorn and Ravenor. Guessing who's who in descriptions!


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Vitarus said:


> Honestly, I wasn't sure it was Eisenhorn who killed that WB on the stairs. I forgot about his sword. (I am but an egg.) How incredible is it that he can take out one of those dudes!


I remember that when Eisenhorn fought the EC (a champion called Mandragore IIRC), the best he could manage was to parry a few blows before being thoroughly outclassed. However IIRC Eisenhorn was wielding a regular powersword at the time (i.e. not Barbarisater)

I believe a sword with special properties (like Barbarisater) could allow Eisenhorn to beat a SM


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## Zinegata (Jan 25, 2012)

MontytheMighty said:


> I remember that when Eisenhorn fought the EC (a champion called Mandragore IIRC), the best he could manage was to parry a few blows before being thoroughly outclassed. However IIRC Eisenhorn was wielding a regular powersword at the time (i.e. not Barbarisater)
> 
> I believe a sword with special properties (like Barbarisater) could allow Eisenhorn to beat a SM


Mandragore was also supposedly extra special tough, to the point that the Space Marine Chapter Master wanted to ask Eisenhorn how he won, but was too shy to ask :so_happy:


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## Vitarus (Apr 9, 2012)

He sure seemed to be an equal this time. Even charging together, and both bouncing away from the impact. I think Eisenhorn has learned a few things since Mandragore. Or at least he knew this fight was coming, and had all the appropriate tricks ready. And yeah, Barbarisater sure helps! heh


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Yeah It's more, Eisenhorn and Barbarisater combined vs anyone he fights.


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## Lord of Ruin (Jul 22, 2012)

Beware Spoilers!!!

I for one don't think the yellow king is Ahriman as BL are doing a whole series based on him and would not want to over do it. I think it could be someone bigger, I dare say even a former Primarch; Lorgar maybe. Also the Alpha Legionarrie looked very familiar to the Emperors children Teke which by the way I really enjoyed reading about (it was the smile that got me ) maybe its Alpharius or Omegon.

Whoever they are, this book and series has my full attention and I cannot wait for the next one.

Cheers


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

I just don't see Abnett going so far as to include a Primarch as a primary antagonist or ally even. It would just up the scale to biblical and probably overkill proportions, where as we know Abnett is perfectly capable of writing engaging primary(and supporting antagonists for that matter), who most of the time are 'ordinary' humans, granted often augmented or with psychic powers, but humans none the less. Defeating a primarch or foiling his plots however, would just be a little bit much.


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

Maybe Ravenor is right? Maybe Eisenhorn is the yellow king and due to his slow corruption, he doesn't even know it? 

Remember in Malleus, the rogue inquisitor Quintus (spelling?). Even at the end when Eisenhorn was fighting him, Quintus still thought we was doing everything to help the Imperium.


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## Vitarus (Apr 9, 2012)

Lord of Ruin said:


> Beware Spoilers!!!
> 
> I for one don't think the yellow king is Ahriman as BL are doing a whole series based on him and would not want to over do it.


What's this? I hadn't heard of this series!


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## Sethis (Jun 4, 2009)

Haven't read this yet (waiting for price drop) but could the Yellow King be Inquisitor Czevak? The only human ever known to have accessed the Black Library?

Pure guess on my part, could easily be wrong.


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

Sethis said:


> Haven't read this yet (waiting for price drop) but could the Yellow King be Inquisitor Czevak? The only human ever known to have accessed the Black Library?
> 
> Pure guess on my part, could easily be wrong.


I'm pretty sure Czevak isn't one of Abnett's characters. Intellectual property and all.


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## Duke_Leto (Dec 11, 2010)

Czevak's adventures take place about 400 years after the events in Abnett's Inquisitor series.


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## Lord of Ruin (Jul 22, 2012)

Vitarus said:


> What's this? I hadn't heard of this series!


They annouced at the BL WEEKENDER that Arihman is getting a trilogy based on him, told in a style similar to the Eisenhorn and Ravenor series. They are going to release the first one this xmas as a xmas early special. They were really excited about this series written by JohnFrench, they really could not wait to let others read it


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## Brother Subtle (May 24, 2009)

Lord of Ruin said:


> They annouced at the BL WEEKENDER that Arihman is getting a trilogy based on him, told in a style similar to the Eisenhorn and Ravenor series. They are going to release the first one this xmas as a xmas early special. They were really excited about this series written by JohnFrench, they really could not wait to let others read it


That's awesome! And with ADB working on his first novel in the Black Legion trilogy we're getting some good chaos marine books heading our way!


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## Vitarus (Apr 9, 2012)

Thanks for the info, LoR! 

Of course, knowing BL these days, it'll be an audio drama...


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## Apfeljunge (May 1, 2011)

Nope : http://www.amazon.com/Ahriman-Exile-John-French/dp/1849704279/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1354035180&sr=8-2


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## Vitarus (Apr 9, 2012)

Yes!!! :d


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Well as I interpreted it, it was moe than one fraction looking for this girl and Fulgrim was a small time player (sending one of his minions). When the EC uttered his name, it sounded like he was on a quest from Fulgrim also as I said, someone wrote it somewhere else that he would appear. Perhaps as only a cameo.


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## Duke_Leto (Dec 11, 2010)

Some cool news for Eisenhorn/Ravenor fans - two ebooks short stories released today: Perihelion and Born To Us. Sweet!

http://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles/warhammer-40000


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## Vitarus (Apr 9, 2012)

Thanks for the heads-up, Leto! I just bought them, and read Perihelion. It's very cool, and a setup for Pariah.


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Vitarus said:


> Thanks for the heads-up, Leto! I just bought them, and read Perihelion. It's very cool, and a setup for Pariah.


I got it in the weekender and highly recommend it!


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## cheeto (Apr 1, 2011)

I enjoyed just reading this thread. Can't wait to get Pariah lol


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## Sethis (Jun 4, 2009)

Having now read it, the one thing that annoys me is the repeated mention of old-earth, both in lingual roots as well as placenames, artifacts and so on.

At this point, something that happened 10,000 years ago has taken on the aspect of *myth and legend*. There is no way that anyone in the 41st Millenium should know what "Old Franc" is. I think Abnett has unfortunately suffered some bleedthrough between what people knew during the Great Crusade and what they know currently - i.e. significantly less.


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## Zinegata (Jan 25, 2012)

Abnett and the other BL authors been establishing that elements of Old Earth did survive to at least M30 in Horus Heresy. 

Old Franc was mentioned for instance in a card game played by Mersadie in Horus Rising. Even individuals from the "present" era were also mentioned - e.g. Von Clauswitz was mentioned in Know No Fear, and a quote from William Sherman (and attributed to him) can be found on the opening page of Fear to Thread.

There's also a reference to Eisenhorn's theory regarding the Cognitae in Know No Fear.


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## Sethis (Jun 4, 2009)

Hence the last sentence - people knew a lot more in M30 than they do in M41 about Earth, pre-unification especially.

In M30 the Emperor was a superman, but still a man. The Primarchs were supermen. The Marines were genetically engineered warriors with roots in science. History from the old Earth nation divides was fresh since the Emperor had only recently consolidated them all into "Terra" per se.

In M41, the Emperor is a God, The Primarchs were Legendary Demi-Gods, and the Space Marines are Angels of Death - divine retribution. There are scientific processes that are no longer understood, and those that are, are treated like religion. The majority of history from that time has been lost, misinterpreted or exaggerated. The only unambiguous facts for most people are "Horus rebelled against the Emperor, half the Legions went with him, now the Emperor is on the Throne".

Characters in Pariah know far more than they should about history that is now 40,000 years old - half of that time spent with human knowledge contracting instead of expanding - even given that they are above-average in terms of knowledge and influence.


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## Zinegata (Jan 25, 2012)

Why would that be surprising? The characters in Pariah are either Inquisition (who know more about the realities of the Imperium, and Eisenhorn's clearly been digging into the far past) or Cognitae with access to ancient books.


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## cottrelli (Dec 1, 2012)

I don't known if anyone has mentioned this yet, but the King in Yellow is a Lovecraft reference.


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## MuSigma (Jul 8, 2010)

Was going write an observation from the book, I read a couple spoilers and thought, hmm. Not finished reading yet so won't read anymore spoilers.
Anyway, bequin is at a school its attacked, she bumps into a psycker in a chair, hmm.
Thinks to self, bequin meets eisenhorn later, on gudrun, before the cadian gate incident, the most famous psyker in a chair still had legs then.
Hmm, I'll leave it alone, might not be an error at all. Or could be another psyker in a pedalo.


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Keep reading, I'd long since guessed what was going on by that point though.


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