Warhammer Books

Heh, in that case I'll give it an 8 for it's awesome atmosphere and the fucked up stuff in it. I would give it more if it delved into the Tau as well (we got brief glimpses and they were fun but I wanted more on that front).

Garak a scris:Heh, in that case I'll give it an 8 for it's awesome atmosphere and the fucked up stuff in it. I would give it more if it delved into the Tau as well (we got brief glimpses and they were fun but I wanted more on that front).

Thanx you bastard! Just adding on the big pile of books are we? Deriving some sick pleasure from it aye?

In that case you'll love me when I tell you that ADB's Betrayer is fucking awesome. It continues nicely from First Heretic and Know No Fear.

Am terminat Omnibusul Ravenor. AWESOME stuff!
E acolo alaturi de Eisenhorn trilogy si Shira Calpurnia trilogy.
Este lectura obligatorie pt. oricine vrea sa afle mai multe despre Inchizitie, ruinous powers si viata in Imperiul omului .

Can't wait to read Eisenhorn vs. Ravenor!

P.S.: Desi si aici sunt evenimente dramatice (nobody escapes unscathed) si apar personaje noi bine dezvoltate, parca nu e asa de tragica ca si trilogia Eisenhorn. Good stuff anyway.

Edit: Merita un 4.5 din 5.

So Titan si Lone Wolves print on demand comics mi-au sosit de la Black Library. They are awesome dar ce ma surprins e marimea. Nu sunt formatul normal de comics, is format A4. Fucking huge.

Garak a scris:So Titan si Lone Wolves print on demand comics mi-au sosit de la Black Library. They are awesome dar ce ma surprins e marimea. Nu sunt formatul normal de comics, is format A4. Fucking huge.

U bring 4 us 2 see?

Yeah, I will.

Terminai de citit "The Death of Antagonis" de David Annandale.

Nu am de gand sa postez vreun synopsis ca e plin internetu' de ele.
In schimb vreau sa zic ca cartea este scrisa foarte bine, chiar excelenta pentru "bolter posn". As zice ca nea Annandale are ADB potential .

Cateva lucruri care mi-au placut in mod special:
- faptul ca "antagonistii" (get it?) principali sunt doua fatete ale aceleiasi monede doar ca loialistii sunt "evil" looking iar tradatorii sunt"good' looking
- mi se pare unul din cele mai bine scrise moduri iin care un loialist cade in mrejele haosului (credibil, nu fortat ca in multe alte carti)
- surprinde foarte bine cat de puternici si duri sint marinarii spatiali si modul lor de lupta
- cateva caractere foarte interesante (canonesa, cardinalul, Volos )
- decoruri grandioase
- cat si la ce trebuie sa se coboare Imperiul in a face pentru a stavili amenintarea haosului. Emperor's Monsters indeed.

Nota: 4 din 5. O sa fiu cu ochii in patru dupa carti scrise de nea Annandale.

Din series Space Marine battles, ce pot recomanda sunt:

-Helsreach: Black Templars, 3rd War for Armageddon and written by ADB so need I say more

-Death of Antagonis: for all the reasons you mentioned Adi.

-Battle of the Fang: the last battle of the Thousand Sons as a united force. This is revenge for Prospero and some of the most brutal fighting between the Thousand Sons and the Space Wolves (one company defending the Fang against the might of the Thousand Sons).

-Wrath of Iron: grim dark as grim dark can get. We get to see the Iron Hands in action and they are brutal and callous bastards. Toward the end we see they had good reason to be as callous as they were but since they keep their cards close to their chest no one else can see their logic and they just come ass as being assholes (which they were to be fair). Their obsession with the weakness of flesh is also disturbing as fuck. The end fight with the Emperor's Children just shows how much both Legions (well legion and chapter) have fallen in 10k years.

-Siege of Castellax: grim dark again and since it's with Chaos protagonists vs an ork waaagh you can guess how messy it gets (and sometimes funny because orks). Which makes all the scenes from the pov of the poor humans forced to work for the Iron Warriors even more horrifying. It makes an interesting contrast with Wrath of Iron - IW and IH are both just as fucked in the head. Still, the IW also have some sense of honor and the Obliterator character was scary and disturbing in all sorts of ways. Also soylent green is exactly what you think it is.

-Death of Integrity: Oh boy. This is both the name of the Space Hulk that two chapters are clearing out (btw awesome Space Hulk action in this) and the theme of the book. The Nova Marines are interesting and it's fun seeing how they deviated from the Ultramarines. The Blood Drinkers .... man, all the Blood Angel succesor chapters are fucking borderline insane. The Blood Drinkers have a dark secret (beyond the Red Thirst/Black Rage one) and once again things are worse then they appear to be (that said the Blood Drinker Chapter Master was an awesome dude and I respect him for how he dealt with the dark secret). The AdMech are their usual tech junky selves - putting everyone in danger just to get a damn screwdriver (ok it's actually a complete STC database they are after). The end (when they reach their objective - a human ship from before the Imperium) goes about as fucked up sideways as you'd imagine (there is a hilarious bit there however). Again, grim dark.

Ow maaaan, acu tre sa citesc si MAI MULTE CARTI ! De parca backlog-ul pe care il am nu e suficient! 

Thanx you heartless bast*rd !

Anytime.

Si ca sa vezi cate de mare este queue - ul meu de carti....deci astea toate le mai am de citit minus vreo 15 carti de acolo ce-s a lu' Miha.

.

Si mai am o lista cu carti de cumparatde 2 ori mai mare ! And I just keep adding stuff, si thx you sonovabich!

Se vede ca esti inginer cum le echilibrezi una sprijinita de alta.

Review la Lords of Mars si Death of Integrity:

http://www.fiftyshadesofgeek.org/2/post/2013/08/lords-of-mars-by-graham-mcneill-review-by-xhalax.html


http://www.fiftyshadesofgeek.org/2/post/2013/08/death-of-integrity-by-guy-haley-reviews-by-greg-and-pete.html

Senchiu, dude

Terminat de citit "The First Heretic" de ADB. Si ce tare a fost! Am citit-o in 2 zile cu pauze de musai (life stuff as usual) ca altfel o citeam intr-o zi.  

Word Bearerii nu au fost niciodata una din legiunile/chaosii care sa ma atraga. De fapt chiar imi displac. Cu toate astea increderea mea in ADB (Night Lords trilogy este AWESOME!) mi-a fost rasplatita pe deplin si pot spune ca Primul eretic este una dintre cele mai bune carti din seria The Horus Heresy. Acolo sus cu primele 3 carti, Fulgrim si Legion.

Scurta introducere de pe amazon.com si wiki ca nu am chef sa mai scriu, citez:

"Chastised by the Emperor, the Word Bearers set out on their own path - one that will eventually lead them to damnation and heresy…

  Distraught at the judgement of the Emperor, the Word Bearers cast their fury and fervour onto the battlefield. All the while they explore the old ways of Colchis, seeking their own path - one that can only lead to damnation and heresy…"

"The First Heretic details the fall to Chaos of Primarch Lorgar and the 17th Space Marine Legion, the "Word Bearers". Decades before the start of the rebellion they become heretics relative to the Imperial Truth by introducing religious worship. This results in public and humiliating censure of Lorgar and the entire assembled Legion, by the Emperor himself. The despairing Lorgar is subsequently swayed by two of his most trusted lieutenants, who are in secret allegiance with Chaos; eventually both Primarch and Legion covertly embrace (and promote) the Primordial Truth, many years before Horus' corruption. The story is largely told from the point of view of Argel Tal, a Captain of the Word Bearers, who becomes commander of a Chaos-possessed elite Legion unit. It spans several decades, starting 43 years before the events on Isstvan V (Book 5) and concluding around the time the Word Bearers are on their way to assault Calth (Book 19).^[57]"
Desi nu contine foarte multa actiune, proza este extrem de buna si te face sa intorci pagina dupa pagina. Seriile de flashback-uri prezinta deliciul celor atenti la detalii (details of the lost legions )

Nota 5 din 5 binemeritata!

Chiar si pentru neinitiati intr-ale 40k-ului mi se pare ca e o carte buna desi are mult de castigat in reading pelasure pentru cei care cunosc cat de cat lore-ul 40k.

Restul poate contine spoilere asa ca be forewarned:

Desi stim ce se va intampla, Word Bearerii devenind primii si cei mai mari dusmani ai Imperiului Omului,  DUUUUH!, modul cum se intampla este fascinant.

In primul si in primul rand, caracterul cpaitanului Argel Tal este foarte bine realizat. Ai crede ca este un Loken, Tarvitz sau Garro al legunii XVII. Si intr-un fel este...pana la urma ajunge unde ajunge in numele datoriei si credintei in primarch-ul sau, exemplu clasic de "done wrong for all the good reasons." 
Si desi Kor Phaeron si Erebus ar putea fi considerati primii eretici (sau Lorgar?) eu cred ca primul eretic cu adevarat, care a imbratisat haosul in toata gloria lui in numele datoriei si credintei (ce ironic), este Argel Tal. Pacat de el (inhabited by a demon   )

Apoi avem celalalt caracter principal, nimeni altul decat Lorgar. Vreau sa nu fiu de acord cu Pamps cand zice ca Lorgar e un wuss si ca de ce se tot plange ca el (Lorgar) nu e facut sa fie razboinic si ca vrea doar sa construiasca/creeze. Pana la urma ce e asa de gresit in asta? Si Imparatul, dupa ce pune cruciada pe calea cea buna se retrage sa lucreze/creeze la alte treburi pentru viitorul Imperiului.

Si ca sa-l parafrazez (nu chiar cu exactitate cuvintele lui Lorgar): " When he (the Emperor) came to Colchis we honored him as a GOD for weeks on end. I conquered and turned world after world into worship to him for 100 years. And NOW he tells me I was wrong? And humiliates me in front of that arrogant Guilliman and his precious Ultramarines? "

Pe langa asta aflam ca pod-ul lui Lorgar (pe cand era copil) a fost afectat de zeii haosului in timp ce se indrepta catre Colchis.Deci reteta pentru dezastru.

Al treilea caracter principal este Cyrene. Fain caracter. Un om simplu care a vazut first person distrugerea planetei ei de Ultramarines pentru ca il venerau pe Imparat. Nici nu ma mir ca a ajuns sa fie confessor-ul Word bearerilor timp de 50 de ani si ca a murit unrepentant. Ceea ce i s-a intamplat era suficient sa faca sa innebuneasca pe oricine.


Cartea este plina de ironii. Pana la urma Monarchia este ceea ce va deveni Terra si majoritatea imperiului in ciuda dorintei Imparatului. Si tarot-ul, interzis de Imparat, este exact mijlocul prin care in 40k se incearca aflarea viitorului de catre Imperial sanctioned psykers (lol). Russ se uita de sus la tarot-ul lui Lorgar in timp ce el foloseste knuckle bones and fetishes in order to guess the future.

Caracterele lui Kor Phaeron si Erebus sunt despicable as ever. Nu stiam ca Kor este human enhanced...si nu Astartes.
Apoi avem Custodienii. Niiiice seeing them on screen. Awesome fighters and nice dudes (pana la urma era normal sa fie intransigenti mai ales ca aveau ordine direct de la Imparat).
Moartea lui Vendatha a fost awesome (a omorat un chapter master, un chaplain si un alt dude inainte sa fie doborit). In 4 secunde.
Si moartea lu Syrthan cand a aruncat cu glaive-ul ca sa il omoare pe Xaphen (God how I hated this asshole) ca si a celorlalt custodes la sfarsit a fost suitably Epic.

Apoi avem intreaga legiune XVII ca si caracter reprezentata prin chapter-ul Serrated Sun. "Normal" space marines reacting normally to stress and humiliation....singurul flaw (si pana la urma cel fatal) este ca aveau nevoie sa creada in ceva.

Bit-urile despre legiunile si primarchii pierduti (unul a fost mutant lol) sunt delicioase.Si acum stim cum au ajuns Ultramariniii sa fie cea mai mare Legiune . Boy that Guilliman is an arrogant soulless asshole! Nici nu ma mir ca word Bearerii au razbunat Monarchia cand au atacat Calth.

Partea cu batalia de pe Istvaan V a fost la fel suitably impressive and EPIC. Boy did that Corax KICK ASS!
Si tradatorii impreuna (the 4 legions besides the ones already on Istvaan)...what a bunch of selfish, spiteful, cutthroats and misfits!

Pana la urma cred ca cartea ne invata ca credinta oarba va duce intotdeauna la tragedii.

All in all, Word Bearerii nu imi plac mai mult decat inainte , dar ii inteleg mai bine si cred sunt mult mai mult decat power hungry demon worshipper insane preachers for me (Although am sure some of them like Kor Phaeron and Erebus are exactly like that)

ADB strikes again !

P.S.: Would love to talk about it with Pamps (and a few others like Mihai and Cipi ).

Categoric. Sunt happy ca ai ajuns sa read this one.

Problema mea principala cu Lorgar e nevoia asta idiota de a se inchina la zei .... even when they are morally bankrupt as fuck, doar pentru ca sunt zei. I mean really, who thinks it's a good idea to follow those 4 fuckers?

Oricum partea cea mai faina e ironia masiva in ce priveste vitorul Imperium-ului. Catholic Space Nazis for Emperor's sake.

Garak a scris:
Problema mea principala cu Lorgar e nevoia asta idiota de a se inchina la zei .... even when they are morally bankrupt as fuck, doar pentru ca sunt zei. I mean really, who thinks it's a good idea to follow those 4 fuckers? .

Well they keep repeating that without faith there is no future or that man is nothing without it...or something to that effect. And there is an ideea there, think it's from Machiavelli, that all civilizations with religion/worship on decline in favor of rationalism are themselves on the decline/dying or somthin'. That coupled with the "need" to believe in something turns him/them to the worship of those 4 fucks...cause there's nothing else.
In the end the denial of Chaos is not an option (cause it leaves you unprepared). So rationalism is ineffective because it cannot explain Chaos.
The only option (apparently) is to create an effect that is contrary to Chaos : i.e. the blind belief in something anathema ;)to Chaos or as we see 10k years later it is the worhip of the God Emperor of mankind.

I'm sure that there are other options...but not enough time. That and the fact that humans will be humans and fuck things up all the time just for the lulz  

Garak a scris:
Oricum partea cea mai faina e ironia masiva in ce priveste vitorul Imperium-ului. Catholic Space Nazis for Emperor's sake.

As I was saying, fight fire with fire?

Am terminat de citit si "Emperor's Gift" de ADB. Si vreau sa zic WOW !

ADB imbina cu succes, ca de obicei, actiunea cu momentele de introspectie, dialoguri si descrieri. Nu am putut lasa cartea din mana pana la final, which took the better part of a day.

Grey Knights sunt pusi intr-o lumina noua, adica nu sunt space marines mai buni decat space marines, ci doar cu un set de skill-uri foarte specializate si care lupta foarte bine in grupuri unde se complementeaza foarte bine formand un intreg care e mai mult decat suma partilor lor.

Povestea este spusa aproape ca un jurnal,  din punctul de vedere a lui Hyperion, Grey Knight doar de cativa ani si intr-un fel calatoria lui inainte, in timpul si dupa evenimentele de pe Armageddon este aproape initiatica...devenind un adevarat veteran cu toate greutatile si suferintele care sunt indispensabile acestui statut.

Pe de alta parte ADB trateaza foarte bine diferentele dintre space marines (post-humans) si humans( problemele de comunicare, lipsa de empatie, modul de gandire diferit).

Si apoi diferentele dintre space marines in sine aici punand in antiteza Space Wolves si Grey Knights. Pt. ca da, desi povestea are legatura cu prima invaziea a lui Angron pe Armageddon la jumatatea lui M41, de fapt totul este despre Grey Knights si Space Wolves si Inchizitie. Nu voi dezvalui mai multe pt. ca povestea este foarte faina  si e mandatory reading pt. orice fan.

Nota: Un 5 din 5 bine meritat.  

P.S.: Nu uitati ca Space Wolves sunt numiti "The Emperor's Executioners" for a reason. Si ca au mai fost legiuni de psykeri care au simtit furia lor in trecut...

Spoiler:

Am decis sa mai fac un update aici la 40k.

Aocalypse Damocles

Two centuries ago, the Imperium of Man and the upstart Tau Empire fought to a standstill in the Damocles Gulf. Now, as the 41st millennium draws to a close, the tau have returned. As the world of Agrellan falls under attack, the White Scars and Raven Guard rush to its defence, but with the skilled Commander Shadowsun leading the alien forces, the Space Marines and their allies are hard pressed. Kor’sarro Khan, Huntmaster of the White Scars, swears that he will win the day in the most direct way possible – by taking Shadowsun’s head.

Cartea asta e de fapt 4 novellas in 1 book:

Blood Oath by Phil Kelly

Am vazut mult flak directionat catre aceasta poveste si inteleg partial dar nici nu cred ca e chiar atat de rau. Phil Kelly's prose is nothing to write home about si actiunea se petrece relativ repede dar it's a decent story si este din perspectiva Tau (Shadowsun mai specific). Singura parte care m-a deranjat a fost the epic montage of the Hive cities falling to some random "clever scheme", I mean even with crisis suits and wahtnot, how are Tau not bogged down in cityfighting in those massive things. Also Shadowsun only does this blitzkrieg because Aun'Va is being a dick and goes all "Te miste cam incet. Greater Good zice sa folosesti tactica de combat X. Da stiu ca Farsight o prefera si ca il urasti, nu ma intereseaza, o s-o faci pentru Greater Good and you will like it." Complete asshat.

The Riptide battle suit also makes an appearance and the Tau are in awe of it's might and drooling after it. Sadly for it the Imperial Knight is a newer kit and thus every time a Knight appears, the Suits get raped. Oh, and the planet they are fighting on was virus bombed to death some millennia ago because Chaos, so it's still mildly haunted. The Tau treat that as bullshit (seriously, when can we get a story where their precious Gue'la turns into a portal for daemons and one of their Sept worlds starts sprouting tentacles?) but one of their allied races (which are all psykers) refuse to set foot on the planet - the Tau just shrug, make the sign of "They be crazy" and move on. However Shadowsun is hearing things over the comm. during the entire story.

Btw, mi-a placut cum a fost prezentata in povestea asta, si man dar are o ura imensa pentru Farsight (ce naiba i-a facut asta de a enervat-o in halul asta?). Personal, eu cred ca Shadowsun e de fapt cam fanatica pentru Greater Good - it's like her religion. Nu pot sa zic ca mi-a placut de Kor’sarro Khan in schimb. A fost cam "Fuck plans, we use speed, bikes and chop stuff". Which is a bit meh. A si a fost si un cameo de la Staken who got away with mouthing off to Space Marines. Oh, and we get a comment that Chaos forces are attacking the White Scars homeworld/Chapter monastery (fucking End Times, right?)

Broken Sword by Guy Haley

Probably the best story in the book. I'd have bought just for this (yes I really liked it). Actiunea se petrece pe alta planet in sectorul cu pricina si avem doi naratori. Un Space Marine de la Raven Guard care avea misiunea de a captura un Water Caste ambassador (ca sa afle Inchizitia cum naiba tot reusesc astia sa faca planete sa treaca de partea lor - xenos filth) si un Gue'la soldier (fucking filthy race traitor, xenos loving scum, BURN THE HERETIC!) care este bodyguard la ambasador. Povestea este spusa ca si un after action report/debrief pentru Gue'la heretic scum, si un interogatoriu pentru Space Marine (yes the Tau capture him and are using the psyker race to mentally probe the Marine - it's very well done actually). Nu pot sa zic mare lucru fara sa fie spoiler (other than a Riptide appears again and get's owned by a Knight again) dar asta e poveste cu mai multe twists and turns, nothing is as it seems. Partea cea mai faina e ca ambasadorul Tau chiar se comporta nice cu bodyguarzii lui, incearca sa fie prieten witht the Gue'la character dar toata faza povestii e ca nothing is as it seems si lasa si aceasta incercare de a fi nice cu un semn al intrebari. Was it genuine or just a more subtle form of propaganda? Really, nice story si chiar merita.

Black Leviathan by Ben Counter

Yet another planet in the region and we follow two Space Marine forces trying to stop a planet from siding with the Tau. This was mostly Ben Counter bolter porn, really. One of the Marine groups goes off track and after something else because the Tau got intel they can use against them (these Marines will hunt the Leviathan wherever it shows itself ....also it's a sign that Chaos is nearby and doing it's thing ..... it ends badly). Daca ati mai citit Ben Counter bolter porn atunci stiti cum e. Singura faza care ma distrat a fost la sfarsit cand aflam ca the Tau water caste (parca water caste era) guy reveals ca el nu cred in Greater Good, si face ce face (Tau black ops) pentru ca ii place and he hates humans.

Hunter’s Snare by Josh Reynolds

Asta a lasat multa lume going Huh? pentru ca se intampla pe planeta din prima poveste (which falls to the Tau at story end) with the White Scars hunting for Shadowsun. Faza e ca povestea asta are loc unde va mijlocul primei povesti chiar daca acolo nu prea vad unde ar fi pauza ca asta sa aiba loc. Oh well, such is life. Kor’sarro Khan is much better done here, gandeste mai tactic si e mai atent, chiar daca Shadowsun tot ramane mai vicleana decat el. Si intre el si ea apare asa un respect for a worthy foe, e interesant de vazut. Space Marines au mai facut faze de worthy foe cu dusmanii si de fiecare data e un balans interesant intre ura lor fanatica pentru inamic + dorinta de a omora tot ce misca si nu arata Imperial si trasaturile de cavaleri medievali care mai apar uneri amid all the rage. White Scars pun mare pret pe onoarea lor si probabil de acea si au faza asta cu worthy foe (compare and contrast with say ....... the Black Templars .......... the Angry Marines wish they could summon as much raw rage and pure hatred as the Templars do .... vreau carte cu Nimbosa Crusade, Templars mashing up Tau).


Overall score: 3.5 Nu prea recomand sa o cumpere cineva, mai degraba just loan it from me.

Oooochei, will loan it. Ca m-ai convins. Again.