# BL books you just couldn't slog through



## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Most recently for me: 

_Angel Exterminatus_ and _Outcast Dead _
It's hard for me to accept that the same authour who wrote _A Thousand Sons _also wrote these two turds. I got to the halfway marks of both books before quitting. 

_Deliverance Lost_ 
In the Emperor's name, someone rescue the Raven Guard from Gav Thorpe. I couldn't even get through 25% of it. 

Runners-up: Almost couldn't finish _Fear to Tread_, my love of the Blood Angels got me through it. Almost gave up on Promethean Sun. Managed to finish it because of its short length.


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## Lord of the Night (Nov 18, 2009)

_Ravenor Returned_ - Boring. Just really really boring. Abnett is a mostly hit but sometimes miss author for me.

_Honour Guard_ - Same deal. _Gaunt's Ghosts_ just doesn't interest me. May try again someday but not any day soon.

_Malekith_ - Just found it dull. Couldn't be bothered to keep going with it.


LotN


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## Cruxyh (Apr 22, 2012)

_Horus Rising_: The first half of the book was incredibly dull. I may try reading it again in a year or two.

_The Ultramarines Omnibus_: Reached page 127 before I put it down and found something more interesting to read. May try again sometime after I finish re-reading the Nagash series. 

_Curse of the Necrarch_: With this one it was difficult to get through the first half, in the second half it started to get better.

_Ancient Blood_: Put it down after 100 or so pages, is on the retry list though.

_The Sundering_: After practically flying through Malekith, The Bloody Handed and Shadowking, I had trouble getting into Caledor to the point that I have yet to finish it.


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

_The Outcast Dead_. I didn't dislike this book _per se_, and the reason I put it down was because I gradually lost interest in the hobby altogether. Buuut... it's sat, now, on my shelf wanting to be read... and I'm not particularly interested.

_Dark Apostle_. The Word Bearers felt cheesy and the pulpy bolter action was dry. Could've been a Space Marine Battle book. Shame, as it was highly recommended. Perhaps if I were younger.

That's about it. I've managed to plough myself through the first Imperial Guard omnibus, _Sons of Dorn_, a bunch of SMB books (minus _Helsreach_ which is also worth a reread), the first Blood Angels omnibus and _Ghostmaker_.


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## Barnster (Feb 11, 2010)

Nemesis - just couldn't stand it, two different stories murder mystery never suited me. If I wanted murder mystery I wouldn't be reading a HH book 

I would also say Architect of fate, I read it whilst on a work trip and if it wasn't for the time I spent at airports and on planes with no other book I would have never gotten through it


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## aerogems (May 16, 2013)

So far I've managed to make it through all of the books I've started, but Emperor's Mercy I only just barely made it through. By the time I got to about a quarter of the way through I'm thinking, "Where the hell are the Blood Gorgons? Isn't this series supposed to be about them?" Then a lone Blood Gorgon shows up for a few pages,so I keep going figuring maybe it was just a really long exposition. Half-way through I'm getting kind of annoyed, but there have been a couple of skirmishes that tease the idea that maybe some big fight is coming soon, so I keep going. Then the final climatic battle happens and it's difficult to keep track of what's happening. Almost seems like two or more authors are writing, because when the action is on the main character inquisitor, it's not too difficult to track, but when it skips over to following someone else, it seems like a jumbled mess. 

Normally I'm someone who likes to binge. If I start on a series, like say the Blood Angels series, I will read all of the books in the series in a series. With the Bastion Wars series, it was all I could do to finish the first book, there was no way I'd have the kind of mental discipline left to finish the second if it was anything like the first.

I also came close to not finishing Sons of Dorn, but probably only because I had just so recently read the Space Wolf series, and let's face it, Sons of Dorn is essentially the first Space Wolf book only with the Imperial Fists instead of Space Wolves. Huge chunks of the two books are basically identical.

There was also some absolutely horrid novella about Lysander in the Architect of Fate space marine battles collection. You couldn't follow the action, the plot skipped around all over the place, former tech priests and tech marines becoming part of the ship's machine spirit, which seems to be a self-aware AI. I'm far from a purist regarding lore and all that, but that novella was a mess in so many different ways, I think it's fair to say even the author didn't finish it, let alone the editor.


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## maelstrom48 (Sep 5, 2012)

_Deus Encarmine_ and _Deus Sanguinius_. Honestly I'm not sure why I bought the second. I guess because the first started off so auspiciously, and despite the fact that it started to suck, I just wanted some closure. After forcing myself through the series, I lost all desire to read anything more by James Swallow.


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## Khyzer (Dec 22, 2012)

Enforcer Omnibus - Matthew Farrer

Some on these forums swear by his writing style, but it is just TOO much for me... I need the story to move forwards, not 17 pages on the intricacies of the customs and practices of the local hiearchy. I am all for descriptive writing, but he takes it to a whole new level, like to the point that when we return to the events I have forgotten what was happening lol. I wanted to love this series, as I find the arbites a fun Judge Dredd type concept within the 40k. But his writing style is just not for me at all.


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## Znoz (Feb 9, 2013)

Legion (Dan Abnett) - maybe because it was one of my first "heresy" books, maybe because it was one of first English books... it was hard and slow :3
ADB's books are very easy to read, his writing style is awesome.


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## Sequere_me_in_Tenebras (Nov 11, 2012)

Nick Kyme's "Salamander" series was a chore I hope none of you experience.


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

I actually really liked _Salamander_. It's probably my favourite 40k Space Marines book (though I've just ordered _The Emperor's Gift_, so we'll see).

I didn't care for _Firedrake_ beyond its Black Dragons. Still got _Nocturne_ sitting on the shelf.


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## Zooey72 (Mar 25, 2008)

Anything Abnett writes. "Legion" is one of the worst books I have ever read, not just 40k or HH stuff - out of every book I have ever read. He writes like a 12 year old who has a paper due that has to be 400 pages more/less. Very little content, he just wants to get to the end.

I have to admit though, he created Loken... and he is one of my favorite Char. Since than the only good writing I have read from him was his Eldar thing when Calth got attacked.


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## aerogems (May 16, 2013)

I liked Legion, and I also like the short story for the Alpha Legion in that Primarchs book. IMO, it takes some skill to be able to pull off that kind of writing, though I can definitely see how it wouldn't be for everyone. I will grant that the first half or so of Horus Rising was a snore fest, and considering it was my first ever WH40K book, if I weren't reading it while stuck either on a plane or in an airport, I may never have gotten into 40K fiction. That whole section about 63-19 and that Remembrancer who gets his head kicked in after he gets away from the tour group. I felt like taking pages from the book and using them to make a noose for myself. Looking back I can see the necessity of it if you're trying to set up the Remembrancers, but good lord was it boring, and then after Fulgrim the Remebrancers basically disappear. So slogging through that part of the book becomes somewhat pointless.


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Barnster said:


> Nemesis


How could I forget this one. I got about a third of the way through it and then found something better to do. 

James Swallow should not be touching the HH series.


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## gothik (May 29, 2010)

Descent of Angels, Angel Exterminatus, Maleketh, Fear to tread

Had serious trouble slogging through these i may try again with Fear to tread but only when i am at a real loose end


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Nemesis I finished but hated. They just didn't feel like 40K assassins. Seriously, the lone mysterious sniper? The Eversor who went gaga over some differently shaped weapon? The nerd geek hacker? Go fuck yourself with your bank job.

Outcast Dead I couldn't finish. I couldn't finish Valkia and I started Sigvald about 18 months ago. I also hated the Orion books and took ages to finish that too. The Great Betrayal i actually put down after about 60 pages. It has charges of 20,000 DRAGONS. Guess who that is by.

Fantasy in general needs a massive shake up. I'd only really consider Gordon Rennies Zavant short and the CL Werner's Time of Legends to be the only decent Fantasy books released recently. The problem is that the new BL Policy of not getting ideas for full books any more (seriously, check the submissions policy), so anyone wanting to write for them cannot have complicated plots, which is a massive disappointment due to some of the complexity and breadth of vision in the Horus Heresy, or piggy backing off the Game of Thrones.


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Vaz said:


> Nemesis I finished but hated. They just didn't feel like 40K assassins. Seriously, the lone mysterious sniper? The Eversor who went gaga over some differently shaped weapon? The nerd geek hacker? Go fuck yourself with your bank job.


It was bad yes

James Swallow's characterisation is terrible 



> The Great Betrayal i actually put down after about 60 pages. It has charges of 20,000 DRAGONS. Guess who that is by


Same guy who gave us Promethean Sun, a puerile exercise in Dino-Riders vs. space marines 



> Gordon Rennies Zavant short and the CL Werner's Time of Legends to be the only decent Fantasy books released recently.


Heard Wraight's Swords of the Empire series is all right


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## Anakwanar (Sep 26, 2011)

Agreed Zavant short and Dead Winter were only awesome read for Warhammer Fantasy battles last year. It is so sad. At least we have Werners Blighted empire in 2 weeks (hussah for that).

To Vaz - you are sooo a kid - probably 12 years old. 
Nemesis never should have given you a 40k assassin, because its a 30k HH assassin and Eversor with Vindicator are exactly as they should be.

Nemesis was far far better when Fear to Tread, Prospero Burns and stupid vanilla Vulcan Lives from Kyme. 
To my regrets i had an opportunity to read several chapters and gonna say - its exactly THE SAME NICK KYME FROM NOCTURNE - sooooooo boooooriiiiiinnnnnnggggggggg:shok: Vulcan himself gonna shoot himself reading Vulcan Lives


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## DeathJester921 (Feb 15, 2009)

Anakwanar said:


> To Vaz - you are sooo a kid - probably 12 years old.
> Nemesis never should have given you a 40k assassin, because its a 30k HH assassin and Eversor with Vindicator are exactly as they should be.


You can now expect some inflammatory replies from Vaz for that insult. Seriously, could you not make that post without insulting him? 

As for books I couldn't slog through.... that is a tough one. I think i've slogged through every warhammer book that I have gotten except for, I believe, Fallen Angels. If I did, I can't even remember the ending, so probably a testament to how bad it was


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Anakwanar said:


> Nemesis never should have given you a 40k assassin, because its a 30k HH assassin


I believe what he means is that Swallow's assassins are so juvenile and silly, they don't feel "Warhammer 40K", which can refer to the entire franchise not just current 40K


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Nah. I'm all Namaste and shit now. I've gotten over being pissed off with cunts on the other side of the world for calling me a kid simply because I feel that an Eversor who has to be kept in stasis during transport so that his own body doesn't dissolve under the cocktail of hyperbolic chemicals that replaces his bodily fluids should be walking around, walking and talking like a new gangbanger picking up a gun he read about on wikipedia.

So in short, it's sweet. In the end, he's the one who got a little antsy over someone not liking his precious idea of how an assassin should be.


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## bigtax (Jun 2, 2010)

maelstrom48 said:


> _Deus Encarmine_ and _Deus Sanguinius_. Honestly I'm not sure why I bought the second. I guess because the first started off so auspiciously, and despite the fact that it started to suck, I just wanted some closure. After forcing myself through the series, I lost all desire to read anything more by James Swallow.


Same here.I lost my desire to read his work too.


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## Anakwanar (Sep 26, 2011)

Vaz if you think that Nemesis was bad (seems that except Horus Rising you didnt like any HH book at all) - wait till you get your hands on Vulcan Lives - you deserve Nick Kyme :laugh:


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Really? Know No Fear, Betrayer, and Prince of Crows are the best Black Library books EVER written.

As to deserving Nick Kyme? What exactly did I do? Is it for my consistent commitment to the human race, but not making it for a Nobel Peace Prize or something, and he's like my goodie bag instead? Do I get to play with him like I used to play with Stretch Armstrong? Tie him knots and then slip my dick in the hole between his neck and shoulder? You've lost me.


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Anakwanar said:


> Vaz if you think that Nemesis was bad (seems that except Horus Rising you didnt like any HH book at all) - wait till you get your hands on Vulcan Lives - you deserve Nick Kyme :laugh:


For liking Nemesis, you deserve a lobotomy.


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## Child-of-the-Emperor (Feb 22, 2009)

There are few BL books which aren't a slog to get through tbh. I started _Angel Exterminatus_ months ago and still haven't finished it, it's horrible. Similarly large parts of _Nemesis_, _Fear to Tread_ _Deliverance Lost_, _Promethean Sun_ and _The Outcast Dead_ stand out in memory as being difficult to finish. Pretty much everything written by Nick Kyme has been poor. So much potential has been quashed by the poor organisation and poor author selection of the Heresy series. 



Anakwanar said:


> Vaz if you think that Nemesis was bad (seems that except Horus Rising you didnt like any HH book at all) - wait till you get your hands on Vulcan Lives - you deserve Nick Kyme :laugh:


You've read _Vul*k*an Lives_? Fancy posting up plot spoilers etc?


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## Digg40k (Sep 7, 2008)

Angels of Darkness.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

The Gildar Rift, The Purging of Kadillus, The Fall of Damnos, The Hunt for Voldorius. All SM Battles novels. Just really poor writing.

Sons of Dorn. Crap, plain and simple.

Phalanx. This really disappointed me that I couldn't finish it because I'd read all the other Soul Drinker books and wanted to finish the series for completeness sake, but just couldn't manage it.


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## Stephen74 (Oct 1, 2010)

MontytheMighty said:


> I believe what he means is that Swallow's assassins are so juvenile and silly, they don't feel "Warhammer 40K", which can refer to the entire franchise not just current 40K


Interesting. I thought they were good. 
Have any of you excelled at something and been in competition with others in the same line but who do things differently or have different allegiances? Not to blow my own trumpet, but I have and that's very much how I've seen people behave. As a shooter myself, the vindicare was spot on.


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## Stephen74 (Oct 1, 2010)

Reading the books I struggled with False Gods, Fulgrim, Legion, The First Heretic (in fact ive not finished this yet)

Audio books i've struggled with Prospero Burns, Fear to Tread and the first half of A Thousand sons.

Interestingly as a book I couldn't remember a single thing about Fulgrim. I decided to get it on Audio and enjoyed it a lot.


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## maelstrom48 (Sep 5, 2012)

Stephen74 said:


> Reading the books I struggled with False Gods, Fulgrim, Legion, The First Heretic (in fact ive not finished this yet)
> 
> Audio books i've struggled with Prospero Burns, Fear to Tread and the first half of A Thousand sons.
> 
> Interestingly as a book I couldn't remember a single thing about Fulgrim. I decided to get it on Audio and enjoyed it a lot.


Same here with _False Gods_. I'll add _Galaxy in Flames_ to the list as well.

_Fulgrim _and _Angel Exterminatus _were difficult for me mostly because I despise Fulgrim as a character. It doesn't help that Graham McNeill's style is very cumbersome. He's big on over-elaborate description.

_Prospero Burns_ has such a bad rep that I never bothered to pick it up. I'd hate to read a book by Abnett that actually disappoints me. He's my favorite BL author (ADB almost has him tied, though).


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

_Battle for the Abyss
Rynn's World
The Purging of Kadillius
Descent of Angels
Fallen Angels
False Gods_

I haven't actually put down a BL book in the past, but these are my picks. It seems like I'm one of the few who have enjoyed some of the more recent BL HH output, _Fear to Tread, Angel Exterimantus_ & _Deliverance Lost_ probably being the biggest cases here, and _Prospero Burns_ actually remains in my Top 5 Favourite Heresy Novels (Alongside _The First Heretic_, _Know No Fear_, _A Thousand Sons_ & _Legion_/_Horus Rising_, although I haven't read _Betrayer _yet)


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

maelstrom48 said:


> Same here with _False Gods_. I'll add _Galaxy in Flames_ to the list as well.
> 
> _Fulgrim _and _Angel Exterminatus _were difficult for me mostly because I despise Fulgrim as a character. It doesn't help that Graham McNeill's style is very cumbersome. He's big on over-elaborate description.
> 
> _Prospero Burns_ has such a bad rep that I never bothered to pick it up. I'd hate to read a book by Abnett that actually disappoints me. He's my favorite BL author (ADB almost has him tied, though).


It might be overelaborate, but he still tells you nothing about the characters.


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Stephen74 said:


> Interesting. I thought they were good.
> Have any of you excelled at something and been in competition with others in the same line but who do things differently or have different allegiances? Not to blow my own trumpet, but I have and that's very much how I've seen people behave. As a shooter myself, the vindicare was spot on.


I'm a shooter. Vaz is a shooter. Nothing about Kell is spot on imo. The differing opinions and strategies of the team is generally not what people are complaining about, it's more the soap opera way they end up interacting, the massive cliches and in most peoples opinion, a pretty terrible portrayal of an Eversor.


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## Romanov77 (Jan 27, 2013)

Desert Raiders or whatever was called that book about Tallarn guardsmen. 

Man that was the baddest.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

maelstrom48 said:


> Prospero Burns has such a bad rep that I never bothered to pick it up. I'd hate to read a book by Abnett that actually disappoints me. He's my favorite BL author (ADB almost has him tied, though).


To be fair to Abnett, most of the criticism of PB comes from the fact that the title bore no relation to the story. When you put that aside, IMO it's actually one of the best HH novels so far. It gives an brand new take on the space vikings.


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## Mossy Toes (Jun 8, 2009)

Khorne's Fist said:


> To be fair to Abnett, most of the criticism of PB comes from the fact that the title bore no relation to the story. When you put that aside, IMO it's actually one of the best HH novels so far. It gives an brand new take on the space vikings.


This. It is one of the most cerebral, literary books in the Heresy--nay, published by BL--to date. Just don't go into it expecting bolter porn rewriting what McNeill covered in _A Thousand Sons_: instead, expect a psycho-thriller of manipulation and revelation through the eyes of a lone scribe/remembrancer, depicting the Space Wolves and the lead-up to Prospero in a whole new light.

All right, the first fifty pages should have been cut down to a third of their length and the last thirty pages should have been expanded by three times, but that minor structural flaw is more than compensated for by the strength of the rest of the narrative.


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## maelstrom48 (Sep 5, 2012)

Mossy Toes said:


> This. It is one of the most cerebral, literary books in the Heresy--nay, published by BL--to date. Just don't go into it expecting bolter porn rewriting what McNeill covered in _A Thousand Sons_: instead, expect a psycho-thriller of manipulation and revelation through the eyes of a lone scribe/remembrancer, depicting the Space Wolves and the lead-up to Prospero in a whole new light.
> 
> All right, the first fifty pages should have been cut down to a third of their length and the last thirty pages should have been expanded by three times, but that minor structural flaw is more than compensated for by the strength of the rest of the narrative.


That actually makes sense, especially given people's criticism of _Horus Rising_ on this thread. I thought that book was absolutely fantastic, easily my favorite BL book to date. _Angels of Darkness_ I loved as well. Neither book is action-packed, exactly, but they really deliver the philosophies of the 40k universe right into your hands--if you pay attention.


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## aerogems (May 16, 2013)

Stephen74 said:


> Reading the books I struggled with False Gods, Fulgrim, Legion, The First Heretic (in fact ive not finished this yet)
> 
> Audio books i've struggled with Prospero Burns, Fear to Tread and the first half of A Thousand sons.
> 
> Interestingly as a book I couldn't remember a single thing about Fulgrim. I decided to get it on Audio and enjoyed it a lot.


 Wow. I actually put off reading The First Heretic until I'd read every other HH book out at the time. I wasn't interested in a book about a bunch of religious zealots, but there was just something about ADB's storytelling ability that really won me over. Maybe it was how he managed to put a real "human" face on the Word Bearers and their fall from grace. It wasn't like False Gods where they never really detail Horus's fall the same way. He's shown a vision of a possible future and daddy Emperor doesn't recognize him, so he turns evil. At least with the Word Bearers they show how Lorgar is humiliated in front of his own legion by the emperor, plus the Ultramarines and even then it's not like he just instantly turns to Chaos, he sets off on his whole pilgrimage thing.


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Khorne's Fist said:


> To be fair to Abnett, most of the criticism of PB comes from the fact that the title bore no relation to the story. When you put that aside, IMO it's actually one of the best HH novels so far. It gives an brand new take on the space vikings.


It's terrible as "the Burning of Prospero from the SW perspective". It simply isn't. 

It's good as a character study of 30K SW.



Stephen74 said:


> Not to blow my own trumpet, but I have and that's very much how I've seen people behave. As a shooter myself, the vindicare was spot on.


You're an amateur sportsman. Not even elite professional sportsmen would be analogous to Imperial assassins. These are consummate professional killers. Altered physically and psychologically to the point of being even less human than space marines are. 

Swallow's team of assassins remind me of a rather juvenile band of D&D characters


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## Khyzer (Dec 22, 2012)

Mossy Toes said:


> the last thirty pages should have been expanded by three times


This is a rather annoying reoccurring theme of Mr. Abnett's writing style. Do you think its because he gets so wrapped up in thoughts of his next book that he goes from a solid paced jogger to a mad sprinter as he nears the finish line? I have never really understood the point (literary speaking) to wrapping up books at such a hurried pace(is he just bored? :laugh, when the entire rest of the book is so amazingly depicted and thoroughly investigated.


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## Roninman (Jul 23, 2010)

- Graham Mcneills last two Ultramarine books were beyond horrible.
- Nick Kyme´s Salamander books. Cant read nothing else from him. Still got Fall of Damnos on shelf, dont know if i can ever read it
- James Swallow Fear to Tread. Which i rank even worse than Battle for the Abyss. Nemesis was quite ok on storywise, except unprofessional and juvenile assassins
- Gav Thorpe Deliverance lost. Boring and horrible
- Ben Counter, almost all of his novels

About to start Angel Exterminatus in few days, really scared to start reading it after hearing all comments. I loved his Fulgrim novel and thats why im really interested in it, but also his last Ultramarine books have been total carbage.


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## aerogems (May 16, 2013)

I thought Angel Exterminatus did a pretty good job of giving some much needed attention to the Iron Warriors legion. It also did a pretty good job of humanizing the Iron Warriors in a way, going into how Perturabo had a passion for architecture and was responsible for building the hall where the Council of Nikea took place. It did a good job, IMO, of painting Perturabo and the Iron Warriors in a somewhat sympathetic way as a legion that is forever getting the grunt work tasks of knocking down enemy defenses just to have some other legion come swooping in afterwards to take all the credit for defeating the enemy.

I could have done without the story line involving the Eldar myself, but it doesn't really take center stage until about the last quarter or so of the book, and Lucius popping back up helped. I wouldn't worry about Angel Exterminatus. For a book primarily about a legion known for being masters of siege warfare, it was not light on action.


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Roninman said:


> Still got Fall of Damnos on shelf


It's Kyme's best work. I found it read-able. In fact, after only reading that one work by him, I thought he was a decent authour. His other stuff proved me wrong. 

Fall of Damnos: Kyme is sorta like A Thousand Sons: McNeill. Everything else by them sucks donkey balls


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## fatmantis (Jun 26, 2009)

Sequere_me_in_Tenebras said:


> Nick Kyme's "Salamander" series was a chore I hope none of you experience.


i quite like salamander it was a nice "bolter porn read" hehe no it was just a nice read, but i've really really struggled through the 2nd one. i have brought the 3rd 1 nocturne but im worried about reading that one though.


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

Roninman said:


> Ben Counter, almost all of his novels


I read the first Soul Drinkers book and I found it fucking awful, as was Battle for the Abysmal.....

However, I thoroughly enjoyed Galaxy In Flames.


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## Sequere_me_in_Tenebras (Nov 11, 2012)

I'll be honest. I've struggled with some authors but never put down a BL book. Personally I always have found it difficult to engage with (lately) characters that Graham McNeill has written (Outcast Dead, Angel Extermintus). Nick Kyme's prose style can be a chore - I was going to burn some of his books as heretically, but then realised I could sell them for a few beers!


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

I think there is only one BL book I never finished - the White Scars' Space Marine Battles entry. That having been said, there are a number of novels I had a hard time with.

'Descent of Angels', for instance, wasn't hard to read; it was just a disappointment. Much of what it tried to describe was generic. I never felt like the story was set on a _Death World,_ and the primary characters just weren't very engaging. Making matters worse, there was no real conflict (in terms of plot, drama, etc.), and the two halves of the novel don't really serve one another. It took me quite a while to get done with it because it couldn't keep my interest.

'Mark of Calth' is another one I'm having trouble with. I'm stuck on the second story. I just couldn't be bothered to finish that one up, and then 'The Fist of Demetrius' came up and along with it I gave a Cain novel a chance.

The 'Tome of Fire' series was just too predictable and dependent on the same repetitive themes. Fire, anvils, hammers, forges, etc. Its conflicts just seemed manufactured and forced. The ongoing (and unresolved) rivalry between Dak'ir and Tsu'Gan served practically zero purpose. It was just served up in lieu of an actual conflict with meaningful influence on the story. Instead of that, we got Tsu'Gan being a dick to Dak'ir for dozens of pages... and for what?

The Soul Drinkers... each of their novels beyond the first one was harder to read. By the time I got to 'Hellforged', I honestly felt like Ben Counter was just punching in to work. I didn't know how to connect the quality of those novels to the excellent 'Galaxy in Flames'. 'Daenyathos' started strong, but ended on such a massive stretch that I lost all hope for 'Phalanx'. As for that last entry, I think the only reason I was able to finish it was due to its serialized format. Some parts were quite good, others were just... there. The final battle was gripping, but the siege of Phalanx itself was quite unoriginal and disappointing.

'The Purging of Kadillus'... also bland and uninteresting to the point where reading it was a chore.

Truth be told, there haven't been any novels that I've given up on once I've actually started reading them (there is one Space Marines Battles book that I bought but haven't finished, but I never really gave it a chance). I find that, most of the novels I've been disappointed by lack detail, have plot holes or concepts that ruin my suspension of disbelief, or feature weak characters and conflicts. I can still finish off such a book... I just won't enjoy it.

Which might make me a masochistic. I'm not sure.


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## Chompy Bits (Jun 13, 2010)

Hmmm... well, I only got like halfway into _The Gildar Rift_ before I couldn't make myself go any further. I tried several times to read one of the Dark Heresy novels but kept giving up after a few pages. Never got far with _Hunt for Voldorius_ either.

That being said, I usually manage to push through to the end of a book. Books I struggled to get through though were _Fear to Tread_, _Nemesis_, _Purging of Kadillus_ and the last few Cain novels seemed to drag on for me a bit. 

I took ages finishing _Battle for the Abyss_, but that was more due to going back and chortling at the cartoony Word Bearers... seriously, Zadkiel just needed a twirly black moustache to be complete (I'm not even gonna comment on the truly horrible space wolf "I'm gonna hate on any TS just cuz I'm a Space Wolf and that's what we do" character).

And I personally didn't enjoy _Prospero Burns_... the book just took really long to get going for me. At times in the beginning I felt like I was reading _Things Fall Apart_ again, where the first 60 pages is about yam season. And that repetitive dream sequence Hawser has made me feel like I was watching _Groundhogs Day_ again.


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## Roninman (Jul 23, 2010)

MontytheMighty said:


> It's Kyme's best work. I found it read-able. In fact, after only reading that one work by him, I thought he was a decent authour. His other stuff proved me wrong.
> 
> Fall of Damnos: Kyme is sorta like A Thousand Sons: McNeill. Everything else by them sucks donkey balls


Ok maybe i add it to my reading list for future. But got Legion of Damned and Wrath of Iron too and from what i heard these are quite good.

Problem with Kyme has been that his stories really doesnt go anywhere, characters and their subplots are kinda forced and wont add anything meaningfull to overall story.

Graham on other hand, liked his first books, but he has been going downhill ever since. Thousand Sons was quite enjoyable, but still think Storm of Iron in overall his best work. Wasnt it the first book were reader saw things from Chaos side?

Some people say that Ben Counter´s Galaxy in Flames was his best work. And i agree. But he just carried over characters created by others and story was known to people (istvaan massacre), so to me it looked much easier job than what Abnett and Graham did before him.


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## andygorn (Apr 1, 2011)

I can't recall if I'd said earlier (if I did, then it's worth saying twice due to how horrible it is);
I got the Soul Drinkers Omnibus and it's the only book ever (let alone BL book) which I have been unable to finish.
I can stand people writing rubbish (M8tt W8rd, Werner, even Zhou) and repetitive bolter-porn (Kyme & Abnett sometimes).
However, at the start of the author's notes, Counter says words to the effect of "I am writing about a third way...not Imperial, not chaos, something else".
However, what he turns up with is so obviously chaos that it's unbelievable.

I know myself about authors who can't get the message across, or where you can't tell what they were getting at, or where they just wrap everything up in a few sentences and you're left wondering "where did that come from?" (which Counter does as well).

However, for me, if an author says "here is what I am writing about" and then manifestly _doesn't_ do it, then I think that's pretty much unforgivable for me as a reader.


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## d3m01iti0n (Jun 5, 2012)

Grey Knights omnibus. Oh god, why did I even buy that?!? 

As much as I enjoyed Cain, I couldnt finish the first omnibus. Just got too repetetive and predictable. I did laugh my way through half of it. Maybe I just got distracted with other books. Ill probably finish it down the road.


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## Loli (Mar 26, 2009)

I'm going to be the oddball here. But virtually anything by Abnett. I find him to be hugely overated and just find his writing to be dull and uninspired. The only books I've finished by him are his HH books simply because I feel I need to read and finish then incase I miss something so I force myself to finish. Oh and Brothers of the Snake, which I did enjoy. 

But I read the Eisenhorn omnibus. And I got to about halfway and just dropped it, it bored me silly. I also tried to read the first Gaunts Ghosts book 3 times and at no point have I been able to finish it. It just drives me to tears I'm that bored.


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Roninman said:


> Ok maybe i add it to my reading list for future. But got Legion of Damned and Wrath of Iron too and from what i heard these are quite good.


I liked Wrath of Iron much more than Legion of the Damned. Rob Sanders doesn't really do it for me. Wrath of Iron is bleak but the Iron Hands are a bleak chapter. Can't really blame Wraight for staying true to their spirit



> Problem with Kyme has been that his stories really doesnt go anywhere, characters and their subplots are kinda forced and wont add anything meaningfull to overall story.


I liked _Fall of Damnos_ because it sort of fleshes out the dynamic between the UM 1st and 2nd companies. It's an interesting take on the little information found in the codex


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

Finished _Deliverance Lost_.

I appreciate the ramifications on and titbits of fluff, but it was generally dry.

Got _Cadian Blood_ yesterday (already completely fucked up the backcover by removing a sticker). Dis gon b gud mirite?


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

bobss said:


> Finished _Deliverance Lost_.
> 
> I appreciate the ramifications on and titbits of fluff, but it was generally dry.
> 
> Got _Cadian Blood_ yesterday (already completely fucked up the backcover by removing a sticker). Dis gon b gud mirite?


Gav Thorpe is generally dry. I was reading his Cassius novella and some of his prose is just awful. The cardinal rule of fiction writing is show don't tell. Yet Gav simply drones out bland narrative without any effective use of imagery that engages the senses.


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

MontytheMighty said:


> Gav Thorpe is generally dry. I was reading his Cassius novella and some of his prose is just awful. *The cardinal rule of fiction writing is show don't tell.* Yet Gav simply drones out bland narrative without any effective use of imagery that engages the senses.


Very nicely put.

One good thing about DL is that it's made me itching to absorb some outstanding Legio Custodes action again. Y'know, those assassin-trained mini-primarchs. Not the golden police cohorts.


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## sadLor (Jan 18, 2012)

Sigvald: My first (and so far, only) attempt at reading something from Warhammer Fantasy. i couldn't get through the first third.

The first novel in the Word Bearers trilogy: I got maybe a third in.

Architect of Fate: I honestly don't remember anything from this book or how far I got.

Descent of Angels: The ONLY book/novella/audio book I have started on in the HH that I did not finish. I've started every book but only a few of the novella and audio books.


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## aaronspuler (Mar 10, 2010)

The only one that I was unable to finish was Eldar Prophecy by CS Goto.

I've read everything else printed in paperback in the 40k/heresy settings.


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

aaronspuler said:


> by CS Goto


That'll be why.....


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## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

bobss said:


> Got Cadian Blood yesterday (already completely fucked up the backcover by removing a sticker). Dis gon b gud mirite?


I love ADB to bits. I think _Cadian Blood_ is the weakest of anything I read by him. Nothing too exciting. The plot or situation isn't all that interesting. The characters are pretty plain and not very fleshed out.

I wouldn't be surprised if they just stamped ADB's name on someone else's work to get it to sell. That's why I bought it .


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

hailene said:


> I love ADB to bits. I think _Cadian Blood_ is the weakest of anything I read by him. Nothing too exciting. The plot or situation isn't all that interesting. The characters are pretty plain and not very fleshed out.
> 
> I wouldn't be surprised if they just stamped ADB's name on someone else's work to get it to sell. That's why I bought it .


Well, let's be honest. It's an _Imperial Guard series_ book (which are hardly stellar in my experience) and it's only ~350 pages long... aaand it involves a plethora of different characters, units and organisations. But you know what? After being scarred by the IG omnibus during my Black Library infancy, it's pretty solid. The prose is tight, vivid and complements its context nicely; the cast of characters and Cadian culture is brought to life as well as a ~350-page-with-really-big-font-sized book can, and it's likely my favourite Guard-related novel other than the mighty Gaunt's Ghosts, which has the unfair advantage of having A) Abnett B) a humongous space for development and C) Abnett.

ADB's worst book to date? ADB's least-good book to date? ADB's weakest book to date? Semantics can mean a lot. And besides, you're putting this petite French girl against BBW like _The First Heretic_, _The Emperor's Gift_ and _Void Stalker_. She isn't going to make it out alive.

:smoke:


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

hailene said:


> I love ADB to bits. I think _Cadian Blood_ is the weakest of anything I read by him. Nothing too exciting. The plot or situation isn't all that interesting. The characters are pretty plain and not very fleshed out.


I wasn't too impressed by his Crimson Fists short story either. His Flesh Tearers one was great. 



bobss said:


> One good thing about DL is that it's made me itching to absorb some outstanding Legio Custodes action again. Y'know, those assassin-trained mini-primarchs. Not the golden police cohorts.


They haven't been faring too well, especially in books like The Outcast Dead in which...


an elite custodes is killed by two junior World Eaters who also die and and a sub-par but power armoured and armed custodes is punched through the chest by an unarmed naked World Eater


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## Sacky (Jul 26, 2012)

I've tried to read the 2nd Blood Angels Omnibus - twice. Pushed through the first book of bickering and arguing before losing interest. It's weird, I liked Swallow's other BA work, especially the 'Enter Sanguinius' scene at the start of Fear to Tread. Horus: 'Me and my eight thousand Luna Wolves are the anvil, now look up and behold the hammer.' Epic. Seems theres a lot of hate for that book, but I thought it was great.

For some reason, I never finished either Ravenor or Eisenhorn. For both I'd get about three quarters through the last book of the omnibus, and then I'd just... fail to keep reading lol. Probably more due to real life events than anything.

Deliverance Lost was a hard trek and was a little disappointed that Corax didn't get much of a chance to do... well... anything. The whole time I was hoping there'd be a huge scene at the end of him laying waste to the Emperors Children outpost.... theres like one mention of his whip and thats about it. Sigh. I've steered clear of the more iffy HH books like Outcast Dead and Nemesis, they seem to be pretty widely considered to be weak.

At the moment I'm pushing through The Last Chancers. Picked up a copy ages ago and then it sat on my shelf collecting dust until a mate recommended it to me.


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

Sacky said:


> I've tried to read the 2nd Blood Angels Omnibus - twice. Pushed through the first book of bickering and arguing before losing interest. It's weird, I liked Swallow's other BA work, especially the 'Enter Sanguinius' scene at the start of Fear to Tread. Horus: 'Me and my eight thousand Luna Wolves are the anvil, now look up and behold the hammer.' Epic. Seems theres a lot of hate for that book, but I thought it was great.


The prologue of _Fear to Tread_ was glorious. In actual fact, a big chunk of the novel was stellar in my opinion, the last few hundred pages just dipped into mediocrity and never really surfaced.



Sacky said:


> Deliverance Lost was a hard trek and was a little disappointed that Corax didn't get much of a chance to do... well... anything. The whole time I was hoping there'd be a huge scene at the end of him laying waste to the Emperors Children outpost.... theres like one mention of his whip and thats about it. Sigh. I've steered clear of the more iffy HH books like Outcast Dead and Nemesis, they seem to be pretty widely considered to be weak.


_Deliverance Lost_ had a strong start in my opinion, but with 469 pages, I earnestly believe Thorpe could've wrapped up Corax's story perfectly well. The dip-then-rise-then-dip storyline would've been excellent. Y'know, one of those classic self-contained stories fits into the wider events of the Horus Heresy nice n' snugly.

The Shadow Crusade? Sign me up.
Imperium Secundus? Awww yis.
Perty-Fulgrim alliance into the Eye? Yep. I like.

Corax and his monstrosities/Army fodders taking the Perfect Fortress? Sadly not. It will be interesting to see how Corax will reach his moment of despair.


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## Lupe (Jan 3, 2011)

hailene said:


> I love ADB to bits. I think _Cadian Blood_ is the weakest of anything I read by him. Nothing too exciting. The plot or situation isn't all that interesting. The characters are pretty plain and not very fleshed out.
> 
> I wouldn't be surprised if they just stamped ADB's name on someone else's work to get it to sell. That's why I bought it .


I take it you're not aware that Cadian Blood was actually the first full novel written by ADB for Black Library, then. It was this, Soul Hunter and Helsreach (in that order) before The First Heretic. 

If I may speculate, it was probably based solely on Cadian Blood's positive reception that Aaron was invited to join the Heresy team (the other two novels weren't even released when The First Heretic was announced, if I'm not mistaken) 

At any rate, it's fairly certain that there is no conspiracy, and Cadian Blood wasn't actually written by someone else, in order to capitalize on his success

EDIT: I agree that every other book by ADB is better than Cadian Blood, but you can't blame him for that. First of all, he was probably constrained by editorial demands on his first book. Secondly, he was just starting, back then. It was probably a difficult stage. Trying to deliver results without taking too many risks. Gauging interest for deeper themes, as opposed to regular bolter porne... You know, the sort of things that plague every new beginning... Since then, he's been very in touch with the fan base, very quick to adapt to feedback, and you have to agree that every improvement is visible.


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

The blood ravens omnibus. CS Goto. Enough said.


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## hailene (Aug 28, 2009)

Lupe said:


> take it you're not aware that Cadian Blood was actually the first full novel written by ADB for Black Library, then.


I did not know that. Good to know.


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## Squire (Jan 15, 2013)

I gave up on Prospero Burns pretty quickly when I realised it was just going to be my least favourite first founding legion beating up my favourite. I didn't want to be reduced to tears on a daily basis to read a story I'd already read from the perspective of the good guys

edit: Of course, that says nothing about the quality of the book. It could be great for all I know, and there's a good chance I'll get round to reading it eventually

edit 2: Just read the whole thread, it seems my assumption of Prospero Burns was wrong. Maybe I'll give it a go, but it still doesn't change the fact I don't like the Space Wolves

Seeing Legion mentioned I remember almost giving up on it since the first half was a bit slow, but I really got into it in the second half. I had a very long bus journey where I plowed through the beginning but eventually I couldn't put it down. I was intrigued by the Alpha Legion and never came across any good AL fluff like that before


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## Thyr (Oct 25, 2010)

I'm usually a very fast reader but it took me forever to get trough the Eisenhorn Omnibus. It didn't have anything to do with the way it was written though (I really like Mr. Abnett as an author) but with the fact that I hate the Inquisition with a passion. Everytime the Inquisition shows up in a book I cringe. Hate those people!

Another book turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me. I wasn't interested in the Adeptus Mechanicus at all but bought Mechanicum anyway. I only started reading it after I had finished Prospero Burns because at that time it was the only HH novel I still hadn't read. And boy, I really enjoyed it!


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## aerogems (May 16, 2013)

Thyr said:


> Another book turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me. I wasn't interested in the Adeptus Mechanicus at all but bought Mechanicum anyway. I only started reading it after I had finished Prospero Burns because at that time it was the only HH novel I still hadn't read. And boy, I really enjoyed it!


While on the general topic of Mechanicum, anyone know if there's supposed to be a followup novel or something? The bit about the various forges on Mars wasn't bad, and the hints about the C'tan Void Dragon being imprisoned on Mars was also interesting, but I couldn't quite figure out how the Titan parts of the story were supposed to fit in. Especially when the book ends with two Titan legions set to square off if some Titan crosses a territory boundary and then basically the book ends when that Titan turns around and walks the other direction.


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Welcome to the world of Mcneilism's.


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## Barnster (Feb 11, 2010)

In a way, I quite like that about McNeil, None of the events happen in isolation. 

I admit sometimes It can be irritating to not have an ending, but hes been doing it since storm of iron where the Krueger character disapears and mcneil just said he would seee him again, there is tonnes of character development for the guardsman but we don't know what happens to him. If you read defenders of Ulthuan the book ends with a cavalry charge.

The one where this writing style works in "A thousand sons" not because of the way its written but because we the reader know what happens due to the rubric.

I think he needs to find better linking mechanisms though as some times it feels like "if this is popular I do a followup if not I wont bother"

But his books are generally readable compared to some of the train wrecks the BL has released


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## Captain_Daerys_Arrun (Jan 9, 2012)

Basically anything that says Gav Thorpe on the cover. Getting through Deliverance Lost was like pulling teeth, but I had to.


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## aerogems (May 16, 2013)

I just recently started in on the Ravenor omnibus and have been having a bit of a difficult time getting into it. It took like 160 pages of the first book to explain why they are on this particular planet. It's basically just that they are on this dumpy backwater planet for some reason to investigate something... Probably having to do with this drug they keep mentioning, but who really knows. I'm up to part 3 of the first book now and while it's picked up a bit, it's just not anywhere near as good as the first Eisenhorn book. Granted those kind of petered out as they went along, but the first one really kind of grabbed you right from the start. The only reason I really have kept with it is because I read some overview of the books so I have at least some general idea that they should get better. Maybe Ravenor is the opposite of Eisenhorn and starts out slow, picking up steam as it goes instead of gradually losing it.


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

aerogems said:


> Maybe Ravenor is the opposite of Eisenhorn and starts out slow, picking up steam as it goes instead of gradually losing it.


It could just be Abnett's style. He can be less...conventional. 

Some of his stories have heavy build up and he often purposefully withholds information from the reader. If you enjoy his prose, it's not a problem


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## Anakwanar (Sep 26, 2011)

Maybe Dan Abnett style is a little conventional. But it is much better then Gav Thorpism, Nick Kymis and McNeilism. Warmaster and Unremembered Empire i will definitely buy this winter - Vulkan Lives and Vengeful spirit - no thank you.


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