# Help me decide which book to buy



## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

Okay, so I'm thinking of getting a BL book with my money that I have at the moment. The question is, which one?

*False Gods, Horus Heresy Series*
Okay, I've read the first book and I want to read more of the HH series. 
*Space Marine Battles*
Is the first book any good (Rynn's world)? Should I get it or not?
*Space Wolf Onimbus*
I'm thinking of getting this, but yeah. SW player here, maybe an option.
*Flesh and Iron*
The next book in Bastion Wars series. Liked the First one, is this any good or not ?
*Blood Angels Codex*
I'd probably buy this because I like reading the fluff and yeah, I've been a fan of the BA's and I like making army lists.
*WotR: Battlehosts*
Again, I'm a fan of WotR and like making the army lists if I'm not collecting any models. (I know this and BA Codex aren't technichally BL books, but you get what I mean).

So, which book should I get? (Too lazy to post poll, sorry).

-Bane of Kings


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## Boc (Mar 19, 2010)

I'd go with False Gods -- shortly followed by Galaxy in Flames and *most* of the rest of the HH novels. It is the core of what everything is about, and I love them.

Rynn's World is also a good choice, though.


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

I'd recommend buying _Helsreach_ from the Space Marine Battles series, im reading it right now and its excellent. Wouldn't recommend _Flesh and Iron_ though, look at the _Blood Gorgons_ topic here to see why.


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## xClampy (Feb 6, 2010)

Space Wolf Omnibus. If you've never read it, and your a SW player its surely the ideal thing to read to get a better understanding of the SW.


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## dark angel (Jun 11, 2008)

I am going to say either Flesh and Iron or False Gods. The latter was brilliant, and I enjoyed reading it thoroughly when I did so. I have said Flesh and Iron because of the simple fact I am tired of everyone having a go at Henry Zou, I find it simply pathetic if I am honest. The fluff in the Blood Angel Codex was terrible in my opinion, I would go against buying that; it is your choice though.


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

Lord of the Night said:


> I'd recommend buying _Helsreach_ from the Space Marine Battles series, im reading it right now and its excellent. Wouldn't recommend _Flesh and Iron_ though, look at the _Blood Gorgons_ topic here to see why.


I don`t like that _at all_ to be bluntly honest. Whether the plagiarism debacle surronding the _Blood Gorgons _ thread is true or not, I am not pleased with you using that to stain Zou`s record. It is clear you haven`t read _Flesh and Iron_ and so in my opinion you cannot even begin to discuss it in such a manner, as you are not qualified to do so. If said book had major flaws, and was -- as a rule of thumb I like to use -- ''Not worth the paper it is printed upon'', then *from your experience*, I wouldn`t mind your stance upon this. Its your review. Its your opinion. But as you seem to be wholly basing your contempt if not disgust of this book, the Bastion Trilogy and even Zou himself, on nothing better than rumours and *others* opinions, I dont think it is fair to either Mr.Zou nor Bane_Of_Kings.

I *have read* _Rynn`s World_ and from the basis of action it contains most of the fundamental ingrediants you would wish for a novel detailing a major, planet-wide battle. The book does have mistakes, has a relatively weak plot and mediocre characters. But if you basically want a book brimming with Astartes cutting apart Orks, then it dosen`t get much better than this.

_False Gods_ I would certainly invest both time and money in. Although ironically I only rated it as a 3/5 (I am really cracking down on my reviews though). I rever anything penned by McNeil, as I love his style of writing over any other author, and there are some good fight-scenes really emphasising the Sons of Horus` grim nature. If you want to continue the Horus Heresy, it is vital, detailing Horus` downfall in rather good detail.

As for the others? I have not read them, though from various other novels, I am not keen on William King, nor would I rate Armybooks/Codicies over anything other than game mechanics. :victory:

Bobss


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

bobss said:


> I don`t like that _at all_ to be bluntly honest. Whether the plagiarism debacle surronding the _Blood Gorgons _ thread is true or not, I am not pleased with you using that to stain Zou`s record. It is clear you haven`t read _Flesh and Iron_ and so in my opinion you cannot even begin to discuss it in such a manner, as you are not qualified to do so. If said book had major flaws, and was -- as a rule of thumb I like to use -- ''Not worth the paper it is printed upon'', then *from your experience*, I wouldn`t mind your stance upon this. Its your review. Its your opinion. But as you seem to be wholly basing your contempt if not disgust of this book, the Bastion Trilogy and even Zou himself, on nothing better than rumours and *others* opinions, I dont think it is fair to either Mr.Zou nor Bane_Of_Kings.


To some people, accusations of obvious plagiarism are enough to deter them from reading books by the particular author completely. It may not be the case with you, but if the accusations are true it would put many people off reading Zou's books.

Just to sum up for _Bane_of_Kings_ - Henry Zou has been accused of plagirarism and it seems fairly likely that he is guilty (read more here). But that aside, although I havn't personally read any of his work, none of his novels have attracted particually good reviews - which is enough in itself to put me off buying any of his work.



bobss said:


> _False Gods_ I would certainly invest both time and money in. Although ironically I only rated it as a 3/5 (I am really cracking down on my reviews though). I rever anything penned by McNeil, as I love his style of writing over any other author, and there are some good fight-scenes really emphasising the Sons of Horus` grim nature. If you want to continue the Horus Heresy, it is vital, detailing Horus` downfall in rather good detail.


I second this. If you've read _Horus Rising_ and enjoyed it - I would crack on with the rest of the Heresy series, its BL's most famous and popular series and its best in my opinion. Tonnes of revelations are revealed, decent battle scenes and interesting characters - its not without its flaws, but its great fun nonetheless.


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

dark angel said:


> I have said Flesh and Iron because of the simple fact I am tired of everyone having a go at Henry Zou, I find it simply pathetic if I am honest.


It's amazing how someone can behave, and actually _gain_ respect and popularity for it. I know everyone likes an underdog. I know people are entitled to their opinions. But it's increasingly difficult for me to come here lately, when something that matters so much to me (as a writer, and a colleague of Zou), gets a reaction like dark angel's, there.

I certainly don't read that and think: "What a reasonable, thoughtful viewpoint. I sure want to come here and discuss things with someone who thinks that way".

Now, obviously, the full details aren't disclosed to the public in cases like this; they never, ever would be. I get that people are acting on a less-than-clear picture. 

I'm not on an anti-Zou crusade, and I don't want, or expect, everyone to suddenly hate the guy. But it's worst of all when people say that he acted reprehensibly, or aren't interested in his work on quality/moral grounds, and then get answered by something as facile as "Everyone is so mean to him and I'm sick of it, therefore he's amazing and let's buy his work". 

One set of reactions makes sense. The other is a knee-jerk defence that makes none.

Bobss objected to the mention of an author plagiarising being used to stain that author's record. That's not quite the same thing; it doesn't make me want to avoid the place like the plague. Obviously, some people think that every book should be taken on its own merit as a separate entity, and the benefits or sins of the others are to be forgiven or ignored. Others feel that an author is bound, to some degree, by all of his work - and the way he acts as an artist. 

I know which one I agree with, personally.


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

bobss said:


> I don`t like that _at all_ to be bluntly honest. Whether the plagiarism debacle surrounding the _Blood Gorgons_ thread is true or not, I am not pleased with you using that to stain Zou`s record. It is clear you haven`t read _Flesh and Iron_ and so in my opinion you cannot even begin to discuss it in such a manner, as you are not qualified to do so. If said book had major flaws, and was -- as a rule of thumb I like to use -- ''Not worth the paper it is printed upon'', then *from your experience*, I wouldn`t mind your stance upon this. Its your review. Its your opinion. But as you seem to be wholly basing your contempt if not disgust of this book, the Bastion Trilogy and even Zou himself, on nothing better than rumours and *others* opinions, I dont think it is fair to either Mr.Zou nor Bane_Of_Kings.


I never said I was decrying the _Bastion Wars_ series, I mean that there has been a lot of controversy surrounding _Flesh and Iron_ and I would not recommend it while better books, in my view at least, like _Helsreach_ and _Salamander_ are out.

Im sure that some have enjoyed _Flesh and Iron_ and if I ever get it I most likely will as well. However the accusations surrounding it are every day looking more and more accurate, but this is not the place to debate such things so I will leave it at this. It may be a good novel but there are others that i'd recommend above it every time.


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

To be honest I wouldn't suggest _Flesh and Iron_- not because of any rumours of plagarising, nor because I've read it and dislike it. It's because the first book inthe Bastion War series _Emperor's Mercy_ just wasn't up to the level of what I've come to expect from a non-Goto/Lightner BL author.


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

I'm probably going to go with False Gods and maybe the next HH novel and go on from there later.


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

Good choice. However in the HH series i'd recommend _A Thousand Sons_. Truly an excellent piece, one of the very best ive ever read.


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## deathbringer (Feb 19, 2009)

The space wolf omnibus is very much over rated. I struggled terribly to get through the last book the writing style was so atrocious.

The first of the three gives you a real insight into space wolf customs and practices but its just poor. Full stops riddle the pages like bullets making it jerky and hard to read, whilst the description in some parts is virtually non existent/

I'd go false gods, it continues well from the first book and is an excellent read. Plus its a steal at about 7 quid


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

deathbringer said:


> The space wolf omnibus is very much over rated. I struggled terribly to get through the last book the writing style was so atrocious.
> 
> The first of the three gives you a real insight into space wolf customs and practices but its just poor. Full stops riddle the pages like bullets making it jerky and hard to read, whilst the description in some parts is virtually non existent/
> 
> I'd go false gods, it continues well from the first book and is an excellent read. Plus its a steal at about 7 quid


I thought that the Space Wolf series was good until Lee Lightner took over. Maybe now that Bill King is back he will write a real ending to the series.


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## deathbringer (Feb 19, 2009)

Space wolf was great, the other two were worse and worse. I was really dissapointed that I shelled out so much on it, though it was worth it for the space wolf customs insight.


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

deathbringer said:


> Plus its a steal at about 7 quid


£7? Where do you shop?! - Its only £4 on Amazon.


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## deathbringer (Feb 19, 2009)

Well bully to the costshopper,

i go to GW but i could get a pizza at that saving, off to amazon i go.

Is it free postage though , that be the question?

Yes it is, and I've just bought soulhunter and robert jordans the gathering storm, fear the power of my debit card


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

An excellent choice on _Soul Hunter_, you wont regret it :grin:.

I get most of my books from Amazon, since I can get a lot more then I would normally.


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

deathbringer said:


> Well bully to the costshopper,
> 
> i go to GW but i could get a pizza at that saving, off to amazon i go.
> 
> ...


If your willing to wait 3-5 business days for your books to be delivered then the postage is free.


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

deathbringer said:


> I've just bought .... robert jordans the gathering storm,


Let me know if this is any good when you finish it. I'm currently working my way through the WoT again in anticipation of the end of the series, so it better be worth the effort.

As to which book, I'd go with either the SW omnibus, which is great value for money, and is actually quite good, (It is true that the Lightner books are pure gick, but King does a decent job.) or the second SM battles book, _Helsreach._ _Rynn's World_ is only ok IMO, but _Helsreach_ kicks serious ass.


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

I picked up both False Gods and Galaxy in Flames and loving it.


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