# New York Times and the Heresy



## Cowlicker16 (Dec 7, 2010)

So Age of Darkness has been on the NYT Best Seller list now as well and made me wonder, is the heresy now just rolling on momentum or have they really gotten that much better? I love the series and glad it is getting attention but are they being bought now just cause they have recieved so much attention so it is dragging new people into the story? My personal favorites in the series and some of the best is Fulgrim,Legion and Galaxy in Flames yet only after 1K Sons hit the list did every book afterwards seem to get onto it now. 

Any opinions on the continued success of this great series or do I just sound jealous that my favorites didn't get the attention?


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## qotsa4life (Dec 31, 2009)

It's just one of Tzeentch's twisted plots, we couldn't possibly hope to make sense of it.


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## GregorEisenhorn (May 19, 2011)

It almost certainly is a momentum thing now, but that momentum is built on the fact that the last few books have been immense. ATS, TFH, PB and AOD have all been excellent, excellent reads.
I guess a concern would be that the momentum is lost. Not because that'd mean the books wouldn't get onto the NYT bestseller list- because fuck the NYT bestseller list- but because it could only really now be brought about by a dramatic drop in quality. The NYT bestseller status of any given book will, largely, be determined by the book just before it. Sure, that's not true of your average paperback, but in a series like this I think that is true. So, with no concerns IMO over AOD, one must look at the next few books planned.
There are question marks in some quarters over TOC (will it be another Nemesis? Could that cover be any shitter? etc, etc), but there are a couple of reasons that I think allay that first, genuine, fear. (The answer to the second question is a resounding no, without recourse! :grin Firstly: it's GM writing, and he will not bugger things up. Secondly: I read the extract he put on his blog, and it seems like a pretty intriguing read. I know, I know, you can't judge by that- but it's a first impression anyway. So that's uunlikely to buck the trend.
After that you're at DL and Gav Thorpe. Now this is his first full HH outing (I KNOW he's done short stories in both omnibi and RF Audio Drama), so it's a bit of an unknown quantity. I think, though, that on the basis of his work on The Sundering in the WHFB Time of Legends books, the story is probably in good hands. HOWEVER, the concern I have is that the characterisation of Corax may not be as great as it could be. Corax is a really interesting character, and there's scope to do a lot there. However, the weakest point, IMO, of The Sundering trilogy was characterisation of Malekith. I can't help but think that if they'd had ADB do DL and get a really good character piece (like, IMO, Lorgar in TFH) it would be closer to the high quality literature which has gotten the series into this strong position.
So, yeah, I potentially see the wheels coming off if it ends up being 'bolter porn'. That said, the one after that is Abnett (title escapes me) so even a poor DL could fail to have the knock on effect on the NYT bestseller list status of its follow up by being written by him.
That was a rambling answer, but I hope it in some way answers you!


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## Boc (Mar 19, 2010)

I'd agree with the momentum viewpoint, not so much as the books themselves but the reader base.

On the basic assumption that, as the heresy series continues, more people begin buying the books. It just makes sense that more readers, having discovered the series, have since caught up to the latest release, and are waiting to buy the newest the second it comes out.

If that sounds a bit convoluted, then think of it this way:
x number of people were originally interested in Horus Rising and bought it at once
over the years (T), y number of people in addition have discovered the series and have been buying it up

X + yT = more moneyz

Overly simplified math... yayyyyy


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## GregorEisenhorn (May 19, 2011)

Boc said:


> On the basic assumption that, as the heresy series continues, more people begin buying the books. It just makes sense that more readers, having discovered the series, have since caught up to the latest release, and are waiting to buy the newest the second it comes out.


Out of interest: how does the NYT bestseller list work? Is it books sold that month? Because, although I agree with you, Boc, it would seem that unless there was some kind of time restraint on it the earlier books would also now be bestsellers. Sure, you have to take into account people who've borrowed and not bought earlier books (a "- c" parameter in the formula, perhaps? :laugh, but they can't account for a massive amount, surely?


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## Boc (Mar 19, 2010)

I believe there is a time constraint, otherwise I'm sure Harry Potter books would still be topping the charts.


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

And so would the bible, for that matter.


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## brianizbrewtal (Jan 26, 2011)

Bane_of_Kings said:


> And so would the bible, for that matter.


Haha this just made me laugh so much. True indeed.


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## GregorEisenhorn (May 19, 2011)

Boc said:


> I believe there is a time constraint, otherwise I'm sure Harry Potter books would still be topping the charts.


Yeah, that figures.


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

I don't believe the series has gotten better. Earlier books like _Horus Rising_, _Flight of the Eisenstein_, _Fulgrim_ and_ Legion _were superb. But, so were_ A Thousand Sons_, _The First Here__tic_ and _Prospero Burns_. It's just the Horus Heresy releases books at a greater rate now. More authors and focus on the series. 

_A Thousand Sons_ and _The First Heretic _are the only novels that should be on the New York Times best-sellers list. Books like _Nemesis_, _Prospero Burns _and _Age of Darkness _cannot compete with more original, non-franchise fiction - As I've always said: Only the cream of Black Library can hold it's own in the 'real' world. Such said, many of us prefer Space Marines tearing Orks apart, than 700+ paged, twisting, enthralling romances. Because, well, they're more fun.

_Age of Darkness_? You're kiddin' me. The book is horrendous. Short stories, in my opinion, are horrendous. _Little Horus_, _Iron Within _and _Savage Weapons _saved the entire anthology. I quite enjoyed Chris Wright's short, more for his consistency to Abnett's and McNeill's works. But on that note, McNeill's short - _Rules of Engagement_, was so staccato, that even by short story standards it seemed dire. Maybe it's because I regard a 'short story' as around 200 pages?

I honestly couldn't give a shit about Horus Heresy books being on the list anymore. _A Thousand Sons _getting on was pretty damn impressive. But the momentum of it now, reduces the success of further novels somewhat.


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## Cowlicker16 (Dec 7, 2010)

Boc said:


> I believe there is a time constraint, otherwise I'm sure Harry Potter books would still be topping the charts.


Actually they had to create a whole new section in the NYT because it was number 1 for so long, Harry Potter invented the "Children's best sellers" list

the best-seller list reflects sales in a given week, not total sales. So one book may sell heavily in a given week, making the list, while another may sell at a slower pace, never making the list, but selling more copies over time. And they do annotate which ones on the list were bought in bulk


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