# Soul Hunter (spoilers)



## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

Having just recently finished the book, there are some issues that i would like to discuss with everyone. Not bad issues, just parts of the story. And questions. Now, the thread is labeled with "spoilers" so feel free to talk openly about the book, no spoiler tags needed here.

Ok, first off, i loved the book. Talos of First Claw, Tenth Company, is an amazing character. Although i did have a hard time visualizing his appearance at first. I came up with a very milky white face, recessed with very black eyes, and you could easily see the blue veins in his face. Jet black hair? That was my guess. ADB gets a whole bunch of characters going in this one. Septimus and Eurydice or Octavia are just peachy. Cyrion makes me laugh, and i feel that Xarl is there just to balance Cyrion and Talos, however, i know he is closer to Talos as the section about Talos' mother death depicts. Uzas feels like your typical traitor marine. 

about the story. I did find the death of the "void-born" left me wanting more, however, i have to say that ADB did do a great job at subtly casting doubts amongst the ships mortals with that passage. 



> Her father held what remained of the ten-year-old girl, and yelled at the walls of the silent ship all around. "This vessel is cursed! It is damned! She has been taken from us!"
> 
> More humans gathered in the darkness, their eyes wide and wet with tears, each of them sharing the same thoughts and fears as the mourning father. (p. 412)


It really asks the question, can the mortals trust the legion any more? Legion Medallions were supposed to guarantee the protection of those who had them. With the void-born being as revered as she was by all the mortal crew, it really casts doubts on whether or not anyone is safe anymore within the Legion. The VIII Legion is truly falling apart.

Vandred, don't even get me started. The Exalted, as it likes to be known, is nothing more than a mutated shell of the man he once was. Having partially given his soul to (insert choas god here), he really doesn't hold the respect of all 10th company. And even some of those in the Atramentar do not respect him as they should i feel. I feel that Vandred really struggles with his wanting to appease the Warmaster, and keep his Legion from disappearing. The section at the end where he takes the _Covenant of Blood_ down over Seventeen-Seventeen to pick up the thunderhawks was what i expect to see from a Captain who values the members of his company. However, You see Vandreds other side most of the book, the side that doesn't care about his company, and just wants to make sweet sweet love to the Warmaster all...night...long! 

The Epilogue brings up another thing i want to talk about. Not only the death of the void-born, but also the section with Taisha of the Eldar craftworld Ulthwe. Now, i'm confused as to whether we are seeing the same Eldar that materialized on the ships of the Night Lords after the assassination of their primarch? or was that a completely random and separate instance? Would have liked to have heard more about that instance after the death of the Night Haunter, however, i understand there is only so much you can put in one novel. Is this a hint that the Soul Hunter will actually do battle on craftworld Ulthwe? or is it just that they will eventually be crossing paths?

Octavia finally getting to pilot the ship into the warp, and with the machine spirit actually cursing here no less! I liked the short conversation between the two of them. The Exalted really had a fit when he found out that Etrigius was dead. How she's sucessfully got them into the warp i have no clue, and if we will ever see them alive again i don't know either. I don't think she once paid attention to anything that Etrigius said. I think they just argued every time.

And i have to say right now, that my favorite bit from the entire book was this.


> With the link cut, Talos narrowed his eyes at the corpse of one dead Blood Angel. The warriors breastplate remained intact despite grievous damage to his thigh, leg and shoulder armour. An Imperial eagle spread its wings proudly across the chestpiece, forged from platinum, gleaming gold in the dim light.
> The prophet nodded weakly at the dead Blood Angel's beautiful armour.
> "That is mine," he said, and slid back down to the decking, too exhausted to move. (p.409)


that made me laugh for a couple of minutes. After all the death and dieing and fighting, he still points his finger and says "finders keepers!" hahaha :laugh: Although i never did read a section where Faroven died, or find out if Talos was able to replace that failing gauntlet of his. hmm...

I'm sure there is more that i want to talk about, however, i can't think of them right now. How do you all feel about this book? I think it was grand, and give it a 9/10.

Commissar Ploss


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

The characters in _Soul Hunter_ were all very good. My favourites are Talos, since he just has a innate badass quality, and surprisingly Uzas. At first I didn't care for Uzas much, especially when it looked like he would kill Cyrion, but after a while I softened up towards him. Xarl was mostly a plot exposition but he was still quite cool, and I feel bad for Cyrion, he is being corrupted against his will, I hope he can beat it back.

The death of the Void-Born was a sad moment in the book, shows the evil side of the Space Marines. The Blood Angels were willing to cut down even a ten year old girl. On an unrelated side-note the Salamanders would never have done that.

You are right Commissar. The Blood Angel that killed the Void-Born was killed eventually by a Night Lord but its too late, the damage is done. Now the question is, can the Night Lords rebuild the legion before its too late?.

I hated The Exalted at the beginning. Typical superior type who doesn't care for the opinions of those beneath him and gives grandiose orders just to inflate his own glory, I personally cannot stand characters like that, especially the ones who are also arrogant in addition. But near the end when he stopped trying for glory and worked *with* the other Night Lords to escape the battle I started to like him, a lot. He could go head to head with Huron Blackheart in piloting skills.



> "The Hunter of Souls Taisha, the one who will cross blades with the Void Stalker"


This is the interesting part. We know that Craftworld Ulthwé tried to attack the Night Lords at Tsagualsa, whether or not these are the same ones isn't really important. Whats important is.. what the hell is the Void Stalker?

My favourite part was after Malcharion's awakening, during the drop-pod descent.



> "Blood," Uzas was mumbling. "Blood and souls and skulls for the Red King."
> "Shut up," Adhemar growled. "Shut up or ill tear your head off, stuff it with frag grenades, and use it as the ugliest explosive ever made."
> "He can't hear you," said Cyrion. "Ignore him, he always does this."
> "Blood for the Blood God," Uzas's voice was thick and wet. He was salivating again, venomous drool coating his chin. "Skulls for the-"
> ...


This part had me laughing for quite a while. Its also when I started to like Uzas, most traitor marines would savage Talos for that. Uzas doesn't even notice :grin:.


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## World Eater XII (Dec 12, 2008)

Thinking about helmet crashes, they were alot of helmets being boshed into bulk heads, concrete, faces etc in that book!

It will be good to see were the next book goes in relation to the eldar!

I would think it was the same eldar that attacked the night lords when they went to stab up M'shen.

With Octavia and the warp didnt it hint that they follow the eye of terror instead?


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

I finished Soul Hunter not even an hour ago, and while I enjoyed it, it doesn't push it's way into my top five. The whole book had the feel of one long prologue, but if ADB does get to write the 6 books he wants to, that's not a bad thing. 



Lord of the Night said:


> At first I didn't care for Uzas much, especially when it looked like he would kill Cyrion, but after a while I softened up towards him.


I thought he added a bit of light relief, like the idiot step son that everyone ignores, who just sits in the corner muttering to himself.

The characters are well realised, with the banter back and forth quite realistic. It gets boring listening to marines, even chaos ones in other books, being aloof and high minded, even with comrades. There was genuine camaraderie between them,even if they didn't like each other.

What rankled with me was the sudden change in the Exalted, from being Abbadon's boot licker to actively hindering him, with no explanation. There was one bit where he looks around at what remained of the company and wonders "How did it come to this?", and this made me think, with the reawakening of the War Sage, did what remained of Vandred manage to reassert itself over the demon possessing him? But there was no real explanation otherwise.



Lord of the Night said:


> The death of the Void-Born was a sad moment in the book, shows the evil side of the Space Marines. The Blood Angels were willing to cut down even a ten year old girl. On an unrelated side-note the Salamanders would never have done that.


I think they would. You are talking about the crew of a Traitor Legion vessel, a ship that was at the siege of Terra. Everything on that ship is _Traitoris Extremis_, corrupted by exposure to Chaos, and deserve to die. Even the most humane of marines would think no different. Septimus even says so to Octavia.



Commissar Ploss said:


> It really asks the question, can the mortals trust the legion any more? Legion Medallions were supposed to guarantee the protection of those who had them. With the void-born being as revered as she was by all the mortal crew, it really casts doubts on whether or not anyone is safe anymore within the Legion.


The medallions were only meant to protect serfs from other Night Lords or crew on the ship. I don't think they can expect it to extend to boarding parties of BAs. I think their grief had more to do with the loss of all she represented. What it could do down the line is open a story line with the serfs plotting against the Night Lords in some way because of their disenchantment. They have lost all hope now, and have nothing else to lose, so why not? ADB did a good job of showing how the other half lived, and it would be nice to see that continue in subsequent instalments.


A couple of fluff questions were raised for me. I was always of the understanding that the Night Lords were one of the few traitor legions that didn't fragment into autonomous war bands after the Heresy, but that is plainly not the case in Soul Hunter, with bands only coming together when summoned by the likes of Abbaddon.

There was always the debate about the lightning on NL armour, and wether it was painted on or if the armour was actually writhed in lightning. I always liked the idea of real lightning, but I suppose this would nearly indicate an allegiance to one of the gods, or some sort of psychic side effect, which we know are both abhorrent ideas to them.

All in all I really enjoyed the book, and am looking forward to the series as a whole. Now, on to "Rynn's World":victory:


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## normtheunsavoury (Mar 20, 2008)

I think I'm pretty much with khornes Fist on this one, the book just seemed like one long prologue and the story didn't realy seem to go anywhere.
Not a bad read but not anywhere near what it could have and should have been.


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

On the topic of the Eldar. In _Lord of the Night_, the Eldar that were controlling the Inquisitor Kaustus, weren't they the same ones that ambushed the Night Lords/M'shen millenia ago? And I seem to remember them being of Alaitoc:

"...blue-gold armour..." (Page 200 _Lord of the Night_)

But apart from that I could find no indication of their craftworld. The Eldar mentioned at the end of _Soul Hunter_ though are of Ulthwe, therefore not the same Eldar that ambushed M'shen's ship.

Also on that note why did you think the Eldar ambushed M'shen? Its not known, but Sahaal presumed it was for the Corona Nox. Thoughts?



Khorne's Fist said:


> The characters are well realised, with the banter back and forth quite realistic. It gets boring listening to marines, even chaos ones in other books, being aloof and high minded, even with comrades. There was genuine camaraderie between them,even if they didn't like each other.


I agree. One thing ADB did very well was the portrayal of Traitor Astartes relationships. Much better than Grahman Mcneil (in _Storm of Iron_) or Antony Reynolds (in the _Word Bearers Series_) in my opinion. The bit that made me chuckle was:



> 'As am I,' Talos cursed. 'Cyrion? Mercutian?'
> 'Little...busy...' Mercutian replied.
> 'Too far,' breathed Cyrion. 'Can't see. Fighting.'
> 'Souls for the Soul Eater!' Uzas screamed. 'Skulls for the Skull Throne!'
> ...


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## World Eater XII (Dec 12, 2008)

lol "shut up and sit in the corner!"


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

The only quarrel or piece of deep intruigment with _Soul Hunter_ I had, was the naming of Abbadon`s capital ship - _The Vengeful Spirit._ Is this the same as Horus` battle barge during the Heresy, or at least during the former stages? Ive heard it mentioned many times in _Horus Rising _& _False Gods_.

As for the argument pointed about by several members as for the nature of the novel, I can to an extent agree. Soul Hunter didn`t really exploit its plot particularily well. For example, the besiegement and untimately, desire to capture a Forge World and its surronding planets should, in theory have made anyone salivate uncontrolabley, however we were denied those apocalyptic Titan versus Archenemy Titan battle`s and the massed Skitarii/Tech Guard versus Traitor Astartes & Penal miltia, with only a minimal battle upon the plains outside of 'Seventeen, Seventeen' if memory serves correctly.

Though, I would still rate the book as one of the best I have read by Black Library- the detail upon the Legion itself, its participance during the Heresy and overall fluff made it an interesting read, with the addition of some fantastic boarding actions and detailing of naval strategies.


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

I want to retouch on the issue with the medallion. The mortal crew of the ship felt that with the reverence they held for the void-born, coupled with the Legion medallion and the protection of one of the chapters astartes, she seemed invulnerable to them. Wrongly so, however. Case in point when Eurydice recieves her legion medallion from Talos during her second surgery to remove the metal band covering her third eye, she clearly turns down the servitor escorts that Etrigius offers her, and heads off on her own. Granted, she now has her third eye to kill anyone who sees it, but i think that, coupled with the Legion medallion gave her a feeling of invulnerability. 

And now with the void-born dead, the mortal crew has had their beliefs torn asunder. She is dead, and they blame the astartes. In their grief, not taking the time to realize that there was nothing that could have been done, and had been wrong in placing all faith in Talos to protect her. does that make sense? maybe ADB can elaborate on what he was trying to achieve with this passage.

CP


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## Dead.Blue.Clown (Nov 27, 2009)

Commissar Ploss said:


> about the story. I did find the death of the "void-born" left me wanting more...


Good. That's what a cliffhanger is for. I am sanguine.



Commissar Ploss said:


> The Epilogue brings up another thing i want to talk about. Not only the death of the void-born, but also the section with Taisha of the Eldar craftworld Ulthwe.


They're not the same eldar. The Covenant of Blood is running for the Eye, and what craftworld orbits the Eye? What huge craftworld of warlike eldar might be in the way, between the Night Lords and their destination? Those are the eldar in the epilogue.




Khorne's Fist said:


> What rankled with me was the sudden change in the Exalted, from being Abbadon's boot licker to actively hindering him, with no explanation. There was one bit where he looks around at what remained of the company and wonders "How did it come to this?", and this made me think, with the reawakening of the War Sage, did what remained of Vandred manage to reassert itself over the demon possessing him? But there was no real explanation otherwise.


That was supposed to come as something of a surprise, not just to the reader, but also to 10th Company. But ultimately, while it's not immediately obvious, there are pretty solid reasons with a little reflection.

The Exalted changes his mind with a resigned, defeated mindset. He doesn't want to; there's just no other choice. He does it because the rest of the Legion (his brothers, after all) are making a break for it (led by Malcharion and Halasker). He can either completely lose control over 10th Company in one moment, or he can comply with what they all want to do. A choice that, for a leader, is no choice at all.

Added to that, simply put, he'll die if he stays, with the Blood Angels inbound. The Chaos fleet isn't going to come out of that fight with a smile, with so many of their forces committed to the surface.

But also, note who is ordering him to stay and fight. It's not Abaddon. It's not even a member of the Black Legion that he respects. It's a traitorous ex-Night Lord, Ruven, who joined the Black Legion (abandoning his brothers to do so), and who insults the Night Lords for their current state, considering them failures. The Astartes of 10th Company know Ruven very well, that much is obvious, which implies that he may even have been their sorcerer/Librarian at one point. The Exalted has no desire to take an order from a traitor to the Legion - especially one that is so sneering and disrespectful to his former brothers.

Was a case of showing and not telling, and though it could've been showed more clearly, I think it's still fairly obvious with a little musing.

_*EDIT*: And look what happens when he does it. For the first time in countless years, the crew cheer for him, cheering for his tactics and their escape. That stunned him, and will naturally play across his mind in the future._


And now, coffee and Inbox clearing...


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## Dead.Blue.Clown (Nov 27, 2009)

Commissar Ploss said:


> And now with the void-born dead, the mortal crew has had their beliefs torn asunder. She is dead, and they blame the astartes. In their grief, not taking the time to realize that there was nothing that could have been done, and had been wrong in placing all faith in Talos to protect her. does that make sense? maybe ADB can elaborate on what he was trying to achieve with this passage.
> 
> CP


He could, but that's like asking them to elaborate on the flying car at the end of _Back to the Future_. The elaboration is in the sequel, because it's not really a part of the first one's storyline - it's just a solid hint of the themes that will follow.

The mortal crew's revered good luck charm is dead, and they think the vessel is damned. That's something with extremely dangerous, and hopefully interesting, consequences...


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## Dead.Blue.Clown (Nov 27, 2009)

bobss said:


> The only quarrel or piece of deep intruigment with _Soul Hunter_ I had, was the naming of Abbadon`s capital ship - _The Vengeful Spirit._ Is this the same as Horus` battle barge during the Heresy...


It is, yeah. (Or, at least, a ship bearing its name. In memorial, perhaps. Or in imitation. _If_ it's not the real one...)


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## Dead.Blue.Clown (Nov 27, 2009)

Khorne's Fist said:


> A couple of fluff questions were raised for me. I was always of the understanding that the Night Lords were one of the few traitor legions that didn't fragment into autonomous war bands after the Heresy, but that is plainly not the case in Soul Hunter, with bands only coming together when summoned by the likes of Abbaddon.


They didn't break up at first, nope. They remained united during the Scouring, kicking ass in Imperial territory. But 10,000 years is a long time, and current fluff (in fact, fluff from pretty much every edition) says the Traitor Legions are broken up into warbands that have varying degrees of loyalty and respect for one another. 

This was only a relatively small-scale battle in the grand scheme of things: the Legion will still gather in greater size for the real deal, definitely. I imagine the Night Lords being very unified when it comes to the crunch, moreso than most of the Traitor Legions.


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

Dead.Blue.Clown said:


> The elaboration is in the sequel, because it's not really a part of the first one's storyline - it's just a solid hint of the themes that will follow.
> 
> The mortal crew's revered good luck charm is dead, and they think the vessel is damned. That's something with extremely dangerous, and hopefully interesting, consequences...


 i had a feeling you would say that. Can't wait to get to the second book to figure these things out. Just another hook that is drawing me in. :biggrin:

CP


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

Dead.Blue.Clown said:


> It is, yeah. (Or, at least, a ship bearing its name. In memorial, perhaps. Or in imitation. _If_ it's not the real one...)


A nice touch I may add, I must confess I did enjoy the history of the Night Lord Legion around the period of the Heresy _alot_. Especially being since I am reluctantly confined within the cramped realms of only having read _Horus Rising & False Gods._

May I ask why the Covenant of Blood will - or may? - be intercepted or besieged by an Ulthwe strikeforce? I would of thought that the Eye of Terror would be home to a large degree of 'space traffic' regardless, so im somewhat interested in why the Night Lords ship has been specially targeted (Or do I need to re-read the epilogue of _Soul Hunter_?)


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

Dead.Blue.Clown said:


> That was supposed to come as something of a surprise, not just to the reader, but also to 10th Company. But ultimately, while it's not immediately obvious, there are pretty solid reasons with a little reflection.
> 
> The Exalted changes his mind with a resigned, defeated mindset. He doesn't want to; there's just no other choice. He does it because the rest of the Legion (his brothers, after all) are making a break for it (led by Malcharion and Halasker). He can either completely lose control over 10th Company in one moment, or he can comply with what they all want to do. A choice that, for a leader, is no choice at all.
> 
> ...


I think at the end The Exalted started to understand why his brothers dont like him anymore, and hopefully this will provide the fuel for Vandred to fight back against the Daemon.

Ive got a question as well, about this..



Dead.Blue.Clown said:


> This was only a relatively small-scale battle in the grand scheme of things: the Legion will still gather in greater size for the real deal, definitely. I imagine the Night Lords being very unified when it comes to the crunch, moreso than most of the Traitor Legions.


Do you think this is a possibility in your future books?. A Night Lords conclave, to discuss the future of the Legion perhaps?.


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## World Eater XII (Dec 12, 2008)

I cant really imagine the night lords having a coven such as the word bearers do...dunno maybe its just me?


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## RudeAwakening79 (Oct 20, 2008)

just finished soul hunter yesterday and I must say; It was awesome!

Really liked the atmosphere around the Legion...bitterness and frustration. Great characters, Talos and Malcharion are my favourites.

A job well done, you dead-blue-clown :good:

Can't wait for the next installment.


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

Well I just found this on the Black Library site. That is without a doubt one of the most epic covers I have ever seen. A Night Lords Raptor.

Two questions for ADB, firstly who designs the Night Lord series covers?. Because whoever it is, their a visionary. And secondly, will we be seeing a Night Lords Raptor in the future books, because the Night Lords do use quite a lot of Raptors, would be nice to see them in wings of flame. In fact that should be their motto, the regular Night Lords have In Midnight Clad, the Raptors could have In Wings of Fire.


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

Cool. What's the release date?

Shame it's an audio book. Means it won't be that long.


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## World Eater XII (Dec 12, 2008)

I think my avatar best describes that cover


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## Dead.Blue.Clown (Nov 27, 2009)

Lord of the Night said:


> Well I just found this on the Black Library site. That is without a doubt one of the most epic covers I have ever seen. A Night Lords Raptor.
> 
> Two questions for ADB, firstly who designs the Night Lord series covers?. Because whoever it is, their a visionary. And secondly, will we be seeing a Night Lords Raptor in the future books, because the Night Lords do use quite a lot of Raptors, would be nice to see them in wings of flame. In fact that should be their motto, the regular Night Lords have In Midnight Clad, the Raptors could have In Wings of Fire.


Jon Sullivan does my NL covers. I adore them to the point I've said I don't want to do any more in the series unless he does the covers for them.

And the Raptors show up in _Soul Hunter II: Your Navigator Really Sucks_, though their first appearance will be in the short story The Core, in _Fear the Alien. _ Just to fuck with people's heads, The Core is set a couple of months after _Soul Hunter II: Your Navigator Really Sucks_, acting as a teaser to see what happens in the second novel.

The Raptors' leader is Lucoryphus of the Bleeding Eyes, who is a fairly close ally to Talos.


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

Dead.Blue.Clown said:


> Jon Sullivan does my NL covers. I adore them to the point I've said I don't want to do any more in the series unless he does the covers for them.
> 
> And the Raptors show up in _Soul Hunter II: Your Navigator Really Sucks_, though their first appearance will be in the short story The Core, in _Legends of the Space Marines. _ Just to fuck with people's heads, The Core is set a couple of months after _Soul Hunter II: Your Navigator Really Sucks_, acting as a teaser to see what happens in the second novel.
> 
> The Raptors' leader is Lucoryphus of the Bleeding Eyes, who is a fairly close ally to Talos.


Very nice move, he does good work.

Ah sounds cool. I thought _The Core_ was in _Fear the Alien_ though.

Fitting name for a Raptor Warband. Looking forward to seeing them. And also rather then In Wings of Flame for a Raptor battlecry, it could be On Wings of Flame. Makes more grammatical sense.


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

Lord of the Night said:


> Very nice move, he does good work.
> 
> Ah sounds cool. I thought _The Core_ was in _Fear the Alien_ though.
> 
> Fitting name for a Raptor Warband. Looking forward to seeing them.


Yes, I agree about the covers, they truly are stunning, but also very different, if not vissionary and totally fitting to the Legion itself. For once the cover of an Audiobook is rather enticing, but also _original_ :grin:.

All of a sudden I want _Legends of the Space Marines_ alot more... (and I really wanted the Second Malus Darkblade Omnibus)


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

Now i know there is mention of lightning on their armor, however i thought that was just in the form of say...paint... however it looks as though it really is a manifestation of lightning around their beings. is that just stylized for the cover? or is that actually the accepted belief for the Night Lords. that they actually have "lightning" that wreaths them.

CP


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## Dead.Blue.Clown (Nov 27, 2009)

Lord of the Night said:


> Very nice move, he does good work.
> 
> Ah sounds cool. I thought _The Core_ was in _Fear the Alien_ though.


My bad. Fixed...


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## World Eater XII (Dec 12, 2008)

So are the raptors a part of/ex members 10th company? 

Are they coming to "help" talos because he asked or do they just want in on the fun?


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## GunneySarge (Mar 28, 2010)

Child-of-the-Emperor said:


> On the topic of the Eldar. In _Lord of the Night_, the Eldar that were controlling the Inquisitor Kaustus, weren't they the same ones that ambushed the Night Lords/M'shen millenia ago? And I seem to remember them being of Alaitoc:
> 
> "...blue-gold armour..." (Page 200 _Lord of the Night_)
> 
> ...


Yes they were. Zso Sahaal even says there the same ones to have attacked them the Night Lords and M'Shen. 

The Craftworld is mentioned to be Iyanden. They're mentioned at the end of the book. 

Simple really. If you read the After Action report at the end of "Lord of the Night" it mentions the Night Lords were about to make an assualt on the Iyanden Craftworlds until they recieved the message from Zso Sahaal. When they got the message they called off the attack and went straight for the Corona Nox. 
In short the Eldar had no real interest in the Night Crown. The Night Crown was simply a lure to get the Night Lords off there backs.

Someone also asked on the identity of the 'Void Stalker." my money is on it being Zso Sahaal.


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## Dead.Blue.Clown (Nov 27, 2009)

GunneySarge said:


> Someone also asked on the identity of the 'Void Stalker." my money is on it being Zso Sahaal.


It's not Sahaal. His storyline is done.


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

Dead.Blue.Clown said:


> It's not Sahaal. His storyline is done.


Is that science?


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Dead.Blue.Clown said:


> It's not Sahaal. His storyline is done.


And thats why I will forever weep at the though of the Talonmaster; his story shall forever be that one awesome book. Its also partly why I'll likely side with him over any other Night Lord in which one is most badass, that and the scene when the Night Lords make planetfall.

That being said though, made sure that Soul Hunter was the last in my slew of books to work through and almost could not put it down when I did get to it. The idea that one of the mighty traitor legions is running on fumes for the most part, or at least some of it is, and is still such a threat to the Imperium; it just speaks volumes about how much stronger and better they truly are.


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

darkreever said:


> And thats why I will forever weep at the though of the Talonmaster; his story shall forever be that one awesome book. Its also partly why I'll likely side with him over any other Night Lord in which one is most badass, that and the scene when the Night Lords make planetfall.


That is an epic scene. But for me the scene that best shows the strength of the Night Lords is in _Soul Hunter_ when Talos and First Claw ambush the Blood Angels in the dark. Talos dropping from the ceiling and killing a Blood Angel is one of the most badass scenes in 40k.


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Oh it is absolutely beautiful, as well as a very cool move to make; but the one for Sahaal doesn't show so much the strength of the Night Lords, more the determination of one to seek out justice of sorts.

I mean to stand there, your armour pitted and scarred, one of your arms all but torn off, your body racked with pain before a daemon prince and the horror that has become your legion and to still have enough in you to not only go on, but to not fail. Just such an epic show of how a space marine, regardless of his allegiance, is an unstoppable force.


Hell you can see that with Talos and 10th company:


Their numbers depleted so badly, but they fight on in the long war regardless. Their 'leader' so 'weak' but still they don't give up; faced against overwhelming odds and choices they refuse to give into. Talos himself refused to give in, even when so much was offered to him, things that it does seem like he secretly desires and that others did take note of.


On a similar note, best line in Soul Hunter to me would be from reformed first claw after saving seventh claw in what they had done. Honestly, how many other living souls get to make that fucking claim who are clad only in power armour at best?


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## Dead.Blue.Clown (Nov 27, 2009)

Commissar Ploss said:


> Is that science?


I know, right?


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

Dead.Blue.Clown said:


> I know, right?


these pro-grav sit-ups are doing wonders for my gaming physique! :laugh:


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## Boc (Mar 19, 2010)

Commissar Ploss said:


> these pro-grav sit-ups are doing wonders for my gaming physique! :laugh:


I normally just do keagle exercises with my thumbs


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## the.alleycat.uk (Jun 11, 2009)

Thought I'd share the first draft of my review of Soul Hunter. I've been compiling and editing reviews in order to start a blog so though this isn't as polised as I'd like, I do think it pretty well sums up my first impressions having finished the book.

-----

I’ll start out by being honest and stating that initially I had no interest in this book. I’ve read a few things by Black Library but only where I had a pre-existing interest in the subject matter. What caused me to read this was that I happened to stumble across Mr Dembski-Bowden [incidentally, did he never consider a nom de plume?] and his blog http://aarondembskibowden.wordpress.com/ which turned out to be sufficiently entertaining and misanthropic that I decided to check out his work.

The first thing I have to say is that Soul Hunter is well written; I mean that regardless of any views anyone may hold about genre fiction, this is a well written book. I’ll leave any discussion of genre fiction for another time as both sides of that debate do make valid points; what is relevant to this review is that I’ve found that other Black Library books tend to have fights seemingly [but then in the grimdark future there is only war] break out simply because there hasn’t been one in a while: In Soul Hunter every fight contributes to the narrative.

So instead of making sure there is a fight every few chapters, ADB gets to concentrate on building his characters and establishing the setting in which they exist and doing this very effectively. It really gives a feel to what it feels like to be part of a renegade [chaos] Space Marine force.

I was also pleased with the way ADB gives enough detail of practical things to make the story breath and feel more real, in particular the logistical difficulties faced by a force with no supply chain and dwindling resources and manpower. The only occasional jarring note is where detail is added that almost seems like the author showing off how well he knows the Warhammer 40k setting, rather than driving the narrative. That said it’s still interesting information and it only happens occasionally; really it just gives me a sense that ADB really is excited by the setting and wants to share this with the reader.

The dialogue in this book rings true to the well crafted characters and should frequently raise a smile or an outright laugh out loud moment. ADB also avoids the all too common pitfall of ‘exposition dumping’ and seems to have fully embraced the ‘show; don’t tell’ ethos. The downside of this is an occasional lack of clarity as to why something has happened. Charitably I could ascribe this being intentionally enigmatic but my gut feeling is that sometimes the author needed to either add a little more or better craft the moment.

Ultimately, I don’t hesitate in recommending this book to anyone who has an interest in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. This is a great story with well realised characters, a compelling plot and without doubt the best written space battles I’ve yet seen in this setting. I hesitate to call it a ‘page turner’ but it certainly had me doing the ‘just one more chapter’ thing to the point I read it in only a few sitting over the course of a day.


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## Dead.Blue.Clown (Nov 27, 2009)

the.alleycat.uk said:


> [incidentally, did he never consider a nom de plume?]


I like my name. 

And it's unique. That works.


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## the.alleycat.uk (Jun 11, 2009)

Dead.Blue.Clown said:


> I like my name.
> 
> And it's unique. That works.


Lol, that's true.

I guess living in the age of teh intrawebs it's less of a hassle, god help anyone who tries asking for one of your books in a bookstore though ;p

Out of interest, is the 'b' pronounced? IE, demB-ski or demski


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

Dead.Blue.Clown said:


> I like my name.
> 
> And it's unique. That works.


you should see him in person. When the light hits his skin jusssst right......the name almost fits. :grin:


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

Commissar Ploss said:


> you should see him in person. When the light hits his skin jusssst right......the name almost fits. :grin:


I think theres a long clinical word for when people say things like this...


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

ah, but that would involve science now wouldn't it! can't have that!

CP


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## Euphrati (May 24, 2009)

I finished up Soul Hunter a few days ago and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at the delicious intimacy of the story. 

Talos of First Claw holds the place of main character with a firm, yet gentle, touch that speaks of the depth of his personality. There is no need for him to rampage across the pages of text, declaring his might, though there are moments when we see his wrath come to the fore.

It really came down to the ‘minor’ details for me, the extras such as simple word choice that went into building the world of Soul Hunter. The banter between the astartes of first claw made me smirk and helped to define each of the personalities as unique (if somewhat insane at times). The supporting characters were captivating in their own rights, yet not so much that it overshadowed Talos’s saga.

The storyline itself to proceed well enough; there was only one instance that felt out of place to the over-all flow and that was the encounter with Talos’s ‘mother’ in his memory of when the Night Lords returned to Nostramo. That was a tidbit that just didn’t fit in my mind, though I can see where that could be the idea.

Unlike others, I found myself actually impressed with the lack of titan vs. titan in the battle of seventeen-seventeen. The fact that Dembski-Bowden kept the storyline tightly focused on the Night Lords showed a degree of restraint that was refreshing. Sometimes what an author leaves out of a text speaks louder than what he includes.

Perhaps it is his honesty, dare I say his _humanity_, that is the most intriguing aspect I found in the 10th company’s ‘prophet’ and fallen Apothecary. Soul Hunter left me hungry, wanting to know more about Talos and what the fates hold for him.


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