# "Master of the First/The Long Night" Audio Drama Cover!



## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Well the title says most of it all. It's an upcoming double audio, much like _The Dark King/The Lightning Tower_ and _Thief of Revelation/Hunter's Moon_. Thoughts on it?


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Hate audios, but sounds like it could have some good fluff in there. So, thoughts on who we're looking at there? That's never Curze, and going from that, and the scale, i'd day that isn't the Lion. So Corswain perhaps? Or even Luther somehow? They're the only two who could arguably given the title 'Master of the First' seeing as they are both in control of large elements of the Legion. Still, it sounds like a title for the Lion more than anyone.


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## Valrak (Jul 23, 2011)

Looks fantastic, first day buy for me


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

Angel of Blood said:


> Hate audios, but sounds like it could have some good fluff in there. So, thoughts on who we're looking at there? That's never Curze, and going from that, and the scale, i'd day that isn't the Lion. So Corswain perhaps? Or even Luther somehow? They're the only two who could arguably given the title 'Master of the First' seeing as they are both in control of large elements of the Legion. Still, it sounds like a title for the Lion more than anyone.


It's probably just a generic DA and NL. There's only one Master of the First. 

Then again, just looking at the dagger the NL is holding makes me speculate wildly that it could be one of the splinters of the Athame, so it could be a named NL trying to stick it in the Lion. It just seems too stylised and central to the image for it not to have some significance.


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

Looks good. Do we have a release date?


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## March of Time (Dec 4, 2009)

Child-of-the-Emperor said:


> Looks good. Do we have a release date?


March 2015,but they will probably be released earlier has an MP3 down load.


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

I think _The Long Night_ is about Sev being incarcerated onboard the _Invicible Reason _and talking to a dead warp ghost girl. I also want to think _Master of the First_ is about Luther and the Fallen, but I could be wrong so dont quote me on that one.

*Edit*: From Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Master-First-Night-Horus-Heresy/dp/1849708630



> The Dark Angels and the Night Lords fought one another to a bloody stalemate during the Thramas Crusade and, though the Lion eventually claimed victory, it left both Legions scattered and under-strength. Back on Caliban, those Dark Angels loyal to Luther begin to grow impatient for a return to past glories, allowing the corruption at the world's heart to spread. Meanwhile Jago Sevatarion, First Captain of the Night Lords, languishes in a gaol cell in the heart of Ultramar. Far from a spent force, both Legions must consider where their own personal loyalties lie, and what path they will take in the days and months to come.


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

How odd.



> “We are one of the last loyal Legions left at full strength in the Imperium, ...”
> 
> Excerpt From: Christian Dunn. “Age of Darkness.” iBooks.


That's Lion El'Jonson speaking, circa "Savage Weapons". What he says makes sense, given the fact that the Night Haunter and the Night Lords weren't so much fighting the Dark Angels over the past 26 months as they were drawing them into a interstellar game of Whack-A-Mole.

A scant time later, the Dark Angels use Tuchulcha to ambush the Night Lords. They destroy roughly thirty percent of their enemies, who in turn scatter to the four corners of the galaxy.

I want to re-emphasize this. It took practically everything going the Dark Angels' way for them to destroy a third of a Legion. Given this, I sincerely hope that the person responsible for the intro descriptions is taking massive liberties. Why? Because the idea that the Dark Angels are somehow all of a sudden understrength completely contradicts the events described in _The Lion_ and the decisions El'Jonson made in that story and in subsequent events. That is, if he's not operating with a roughly full-strength legion, his already bizarre call to let Typhon and a Death Guard fleet go free becomes ridiculous. His notion that he'll be a force to be reckoned with precisely because of the intact state of his legion makes no sense.

Again, I hope I'm overreacting and this is nothing more than a poorly-written blurb. If that's not the case, though, it's going to be rather frustrating going from this point on. Gav Thorpe's been apparently given the helm since _The Lion_ (he also wrote "By the Lion's Hand", in the Imperial Truth anthology), so it's not like it can even be said that different authors went in different directions!


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Phoebus said:


> How odd.
> 
> 
> That's Lion El'Jonson speaking, circa "Savage Weapons". What he says makes sense, given the fact that the Night Haunter and the Night Lords weren't so much fighting the Dark Angels over the past 26 months as they were drawing them into a interstellar game of Whack-A-Mole.
> ...


Could also mean that they have the men, but are without weapons and materials to still conduct the war. Or slightly prior to _Prince of Crows_, that they took a heavier blow as well when they destroyed 30% of the Night Lords forces.


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

Sorry, *forkmaster*, but it's very hard to reconcile your first idea with "full strength". 

Where the second idea is concerned... it's never mentioned. And if such a blow _was_ somehow struck, it just robs the impact of the whole Tuchulcha angle.


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Phoebus said:


> Sorry, *forkmaster*, but it's very hard to reconcile your first idea with "full strength".
> 
> Where the second idea is concerned... it's never mentioned. And if such a blow _was_ somehow struck, it just robs the impact of the whole Tuchulcha angle.


Just wild speculation then on my behalf regarding that. Hopefully it's bad choice of words for the synopsis and nothing that will come up in the actual audio.


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

I hear you. I hope I didn't come off too over-the-top with my last response!


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## Stephen74 (Oct 1, 2010)

Aarrrrgggh who the bloody hell let Gav Thorpe loose on the Dark Angels again? wasn't his first abomination enough to put people off reading him for life? was for me.


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## Anakwanar (Sep 26, 2011)

Actually Thorpe's DA was quite good, and his 'Lion' novella was ok. But the follow up and his second W40K DA book are meh


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

I dunno, I don't think I'll ever be forgiving him for killing Nemeil off like he did. Not because I really like Nemeil or anything, just because it was an appaling decision and just plain retarded.


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

It's not a Night Lord, it's a Word Bearer, I think - Red Shoulder Pad. The other option for Red Armour is Blood Angel, Thousand Son, or at a push, one of the Vlka Fenryka brotherhoods.

In regards to the "full strength" legion, they were split up, with Corswain taking on Typhon of the Death Guard while the Lion came to Ultramar - as I understood it, on the orders of the Lion himself. With Sevatar in prison on Ultramar (someone completely forgotten about during TUE), it makes sense it's after, but still...

yeh, that's bad writing.


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

Vaz said:


> It's not a Night Lord, it's a Word Bearer, I think - Red Shoulder Pad. The other option for Red Armour is Blood Angel, Thousand Son, or at a push, one of the Vlka Fenryka brotherhoods.


You mean in the picture? No, it's definitely a Night Lord. He has dark blue armour with red on his shoulder pad (eg. like these models). 

I've just listened to _Master of the First_ - not bad, not great either though. If anyone wants to know the plot:



On Caliban, Astelan is seemingly disillusioned with Luther's command (Luther is focussed on removing Imperial authority from Caliban) and is plotting against him. He is drawing together other like-minded Captains and officials to attempt a coup d'etat. In the middle of the insurrection Astelan betrays the rebels and instead aids Luther and stops the coup in its tracks. He reveals that he was being groomed for command of the First Legion prior to Caliban's discovery and believes the Lion has tainted the Legion. Astelan is willing to accept Luther's authority for now but implies that he intends to take up his rightful place as 'Master of the First' at some point.

Astelan also suggests that Luther dig down into the rock of Caliban to create new holding cells for all the prisoners taken in the failed coup - these cells obviously being where both Luther and Astelan ultimately end up. 


Also, just an FYI - there doesn't seem to be any direct link between _Master of the First_ and _Long Night_.


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Child-of-the-Emperor said:


> You mean in the picture? No, it's definitely a Night Lord. He has dark blue armour with red on his shoulder pad (eg. like these models).
> 
> I've just listened to _Master of the First_ - not bad, not great either though. If anyone wants to know the plot:
> 
> ...


Any chance of the spoilers for the Long Night mate?


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## Stephen74 (Oct 1, 2010)

Anakwanar said:


> Actually Thorpe's DA was quite good, and his 'Lion' novella was ok. But the follow up and his second W40K DA book are meh


:shok: A two year old with a crayon and the back of a mcdonalds colouring poster could have done a better job. It was, without any contest, the worst thing anyone has written. ever. Forget the storyline, in fact, I have. All I have is the trauma of the worst writing style imaginable. I can still feel the pain in my skull as my brain tried to process what was in front of it. It should be taught in university as an example of what is achievable if you face mash a keyboard long enough and have a tame publisher. 

Reading Gav Thorpe is like listening to George Bush Jnr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKgPY1adc0A


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

Thorpe isn't really a bad writer.

His ideas and fluff abuse is what makes his books horrible.


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## Stephen74 (Oct 1, 2010)

Maybe he's improved but I'm not even prepared to risk that level of literary abuse to find out.


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

Angel of Blood said:


> Any chance of the spoilers for the Long Night mate?


I've only got _Master of the First_, _Long Night_ isn't available yet.


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

I'm assuming ADB wrote LN?


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Malus Darkblade said:


> I'm assuming ADB wrote LN?


Ja.


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## revilo44 (Sep 17, 2010)

I Love there audio dramas And I love night lords, so will be picking this one up For sure


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Phoebus said:


> I hear you. I hope I didn't come off too over-the-top with my last response!


Nothing to worry about! 



Angel of Blood said:


> I dunno, I don't think I'll ever be forgiving him for killing Nemeil off like he did. Not because I really like Nemeil or anything, just because it was an appaling decision and just plain retarded.


I do agree! Killing of one of the few fleshed out loyalist characters for no apparent reason other than he spoke up against the Primarch in a way that didn't fit in with the previous established character-traits. It came out of nowhere and served little to no purpose.


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

Agreed. While I wasn't necessarily a fan of the story and characters of _Descent of Angels_ and _Fallen Angels,_ Nemiel's death seemed like a case of author's fiat - and went contrary to the character of the Lion as shown thus far. If the intent was to show that there is a dark side to the Lion... well, there probably should have been some build-up to that.


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## ckcrawford (Feb 4, 2009)

Phoebus said:


> How odd.
> 
> 
> That's Lion El'Jonson speaking, circa "Savage Weapons". What he says makes sense, given the fact that the Night Haunter and the Night Lords weren't so much fighting the Dark Angels over the past 26 months as they were drawing them into a interstellar game of Whack-A-Mole.
> ...


Agreed. I think its a bit too bad, but maybe there is some unwanted reaction to that lore. I assume in this eventuality the Night Lords are even worse off and the Dark Angels are a bit scathed just trying to hunt them down. 



Phoebus said:


> Agreed. While I wasn't necessarily a fan of the story and characters of _Descent of Angels_ and _Fallen Angels,_ Nemiel's death seemed like a case of author's fiat - and went contrary to the character of the Lion as shown thus far. If the intent was to show that there is a dark side to the Lion... well, there probably should have been some build-up to that.


Also agree with this. I actually think the Lion had a descent push with those two first novels to develop his character. Not sure how you actually felt about the death of Nemiel. But I don't feel Nemiel's development or death contributed to the Heresy. I feel it was just wasted. Perhaps it was meant to kind of go against the flow of characters being built up between each legion. Like in a sense place, the importance on the events rather than the characters. Still... can't help but feel bad about his disappearance. Its too bad, but I'd still like to read a novel which would make sense of the thing, obviously one with a different plot than the Lion chasing Curze around. 

If I think hard enough, the series with Lion El Johnson and the Ultramarines series have a commonality in the sense that they are both legions with their own events. But it only shows because of the amount of material being portrayed about them rather than the quality. The Lion's fluff is really jumbled and makes little sense compared to Guilliman's.

As far as the audio goes, I'm pleased to hear a bit about Astellan's history. It creates a bridge in which _Angels of Darkness_ makes more sense and also contributes to the concept of different Fallen with different motives.


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

I was never attached to the character of Nemiel, but that's not to say I was calling for his head. Rather, I wanted both him and Zahariel to become more fleshed out and interesting.

I agree that the Lion's fluff is out there. Practically every story he's been in thus far has shown him in a radically different light. In _Descent of Angels,_ he would appear gregarious and well-meaning one scene, only to be ruthless and secretive in another. In _Fallen Angels_ we get very little insight on his character and have to instead rely on Nemiel's bizarre observations. In "Savage Weapons", we get a taciturn knight-primarch who balances nobility with pragmatism. In _The Lion_ we see a potentially psychotic killer who may or may not be talking to himself and makes highly questionably decisions. In _The Unremembered Empire_ the Lion combines his decision-making from _The Lion_ with his personality from "Savage Weapons" - though Guilliman is able to overcome his barriers and gets his brother to finally express some of his worries.

I expressed my thoughts about "Master of the First" in another forum already:

I can't say I was really a fan of this particular work. It's satisfying in that it provides an update on the doings in Caliban, and provides some light in the actions of Luther and Astelan specifically, but much of it struck me as the product of author's fiat. The conclusion wasn't that great, in my opinion.

The voice acting is quite good, with one glaring exception:



Melian, one of Astelan's subordinates (last seen in "Call of the Lion", from the ​Tales of Heresy anthology) sounds utterly unlike what one would expect of a Space Marine Captain. His voice actor seems to ape a caricature of a Dickensian working-class Londoner, which ruined my suspension of disbelief.

The general plot more or less connects with what we "knew" from Angels of Darkness:



Melian seeks out Astelan on behalf of a group of Terran Dark Angels - including other Chapter Masters who were basically "exiled" by the Lion - who are concerned about the changes Luther has brought about since the events of Fallen Angels. Specifically, they are against the shift of the Legion to the tenets of the Order and they point to the fact that Luther suspended vows of fealty to the Emperor as a sign of his impending treason. The rumors delivered by transports from some years back (implied to refer to the Heresy kicking off) are what is fueling this discontent.

We know that Astelan took Luther's side despite him basically announcing he was rebelling against the Emperor at the end of Fallen Angels, but his subordinates clearly didn't know this (which makes sense; you don't exactly advertise that sort of thing). Astelan thus plays along and convinces the Terrans to lead a revolt against Luther and take him prisoner. His bait involves the Astropathic Choir that remains at the Northwilds Arcology, which is controlled by the Jaegers - whose commander is loyal to Astelan. He proposes to the traitors that they legitimize their revolt by sending out messages to Terra and the Lion requesting orders in light of Luther's transgressions.

The Terrans agree, rally their loyal warriors, and march to their target. They go without their Chapter Masters and Captains, who have joined Astelan to arrest Luther. At the Grand Master's chambers, Astelan reveals the double-cross and helps Luther subdue them.

Astelan closes off the story by revealing that his loyalty to the Emperor was cynical at best: when his people were attacked by the Thunder Warriors, he decided it was foolish to resist an overwhelming force. This philosophy informs his current course of action, which sees him swearing fealty to Luther only as a means to take on the Lion. He has no intent of remaining loyal to Luther once that is no longer a problem. One can now feel safe assuming that the "I was always loyal to the Emperor and simply hated the Lion" line that he fed to Boreas was basically a bag of lies.

Neat little tidbit of info:



Luther has "more than 30,000 Dark Angels" as of this release. One must assume that he accelerated the Space Marine creation process beyond the "optimal" rate shown in Fallen Angels. This makes sense; we know that quite a few of the Traitor Legions did this (with apparently disastrous results), so this may have aided in the corruption of the Fallen.

The low point of this audio drama:



When the double-cross is revealed, the Dark Angels who marched against the Northwilds Arcology simply surrender. Granted, they are facing the armored divisions of the Jaegers and aircraft flown by the Calibanites loyal to Luther, but it struck me as utterly ridiculous that these Space Marines - who were rebelling because they believed Luther stood against the Emperor - would simply throw down their arms and be taken captive. This is doubly disappointing, given that Gav had Corswain turn tail and run from daemons in The Lion.

"Master of the First" is 35 minutes long. It adds valuable insight to Astelan's mindset. Other than that, though, I wouldn't recommend it unless someone was driven to be a completionist where the lore of the Dark Angels or the Horus Heresy are concerned.


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Phoebus said:


> it struck me as utterly ridiculous that these Space Marines - who were rebelling because they believed Luther stood against the Emperor - would simply throw down their arms and be taken captive. This is doubly disappointing, given that Gav had Corswain turn tail and run from daemons in The Lion.[/spoiler]


What do expect...it's Gav Thorpe. The man is only marginally better than the likes of Andy Hoare. 

I'm sure both are fine blokes but they can't write (well...their writing is serviceable for codex entries)


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## ckcrawford (Feb 4, 2009)

Sounds good. I prefer collecting the audios when they are transferred to novel form. Had terrible luck with keeping expensive CD's in good condition with my moving around.


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Phoebus said:


> I was never attached to the character of Nemiel, but that's not to say I was calling for his head. Rather, I wanted both him and Zahariel to become more fleshed out and interesting.
> 
> I agree that the Lion's fluff is out there. Practically every story he's been in thus far has shown him in a radically different light. In _Descent of Angels,_ he would appear gregarious and well-meaning one scene, only to be ruthless and secretive in another. In _Fallen Angels_ we get very little insight on his character and have to instead rely on Nemiel's bizarre observations. In "Savage Weapons", we get a taciturn knight-primarch who balances nobility with pragmatism. In _The Lion_ we see a potentially psychotic killer who may or may not be talking to himself and makes highly questionably decisions. In _The Unremembered Empire_ the Lion combines his decision-making from _The Lion_ with his personality from "Savage Weapons" - though Guilliman is able to overcome his barriers and gets his brother to finally express some of his worries.
> 
> ...


Thanks for this review. Sounds like just a longer version on _Call of the Lion_, but yeah not the exact same one. I think I might get the CD so I get this and _Long Night_ all in one. Or I just buy _Long Night_ and "borrow" this CD on the Internet. I'll wait for BL to make their move.


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