Star Dads Interview - Guy Haley

We all know Guy Haley as one of Black Library's star authors. From his first novel, Baneblade, to his latest works including Perturabo, the quality of his writing has always been high and us all over at the four dads have always enjoyed his work.


Guy kindly agreed to be interviewed for the Four Dads of the Apocalypse and are we glad he did as he was super friendly, really interesting and has also kindly sent some photos of his miniatures which are fantastic!



Therefore we are pleased to present writer, veteran hobbyist and dad - Guy Haley...

Star Dads Interview - Gav Thorpe

Recently Dave met up with the mighty Gav Thorpe at Warhammer World to get an insight into Gav's gaming, designing and writing world and how that fits in with being a father.

You can catch up with Gav on his website at http://gavthorpe.co.uk/ or on twitter: @DennisHampster

We hope that you enjoy the interview as much as Dave did.

If you have any questions that you might want to ask Gav then let us know in the comments and we'll try to oblige.

Hi Gav, thanks again for letting us interview you. It’s a real honour to meet one of the legends of Games Workshop.

So, what sort of games are you playing with your kids at the moment?

“We’re playing kids games at the moment really, memory games. Games like ‘Pizza Pizza’, where you’re trying to match bits of pizza. He got that for his birthday, it’s quite good. He likes games, and we’ve got a lot of them in the house so he’ll quite often just get the pieces out and look at them or be making up his own games with them and ask us to join in. There’s a few components that get found later under the sofa but we never want to tell him not to play with them, we don’t want any negative association with doing that. It’s the same with books really.

I recently dug out some older games, like ‘Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs’, which I played when I was younger, so hopefully when he’s older he might like them. Basically we’re throwing everything at him! Sometimes we’ll take him to The Dice Cup in town too where there’s lots of games for him to take a look at.”

First Captain Sigismund - Character and Rules Review

I have had an Imperial Fist army for about a year now and quickly grew to love this guy. I am giving you a bit of fluff on this chap and my thoughts on his rules and playing him in games...

A history of Death's Champion

Sigismund is known as Death's Champion after he was given the title of being the first Emperor's Champion. However, Sanguinius remarked that he seemed '...less my brother Dorn's champion and more Death's himself'. Always thought this was a strange comment to make by a Primarch who was supposed to be espousing the Imperial Truth (pre-heresy comment), but it sounds cool so who cares - eh?!

He is considered within the lore as being first among warriors after the Primarch's themselves; I suspect there are a few other main characters who would like to challenge this view, but he is certainly considered one of the finest loyalist warriors (and has the rules to back this up).

He has hasn't featured much in the Heresy so far but has been one of its most insightful characters. Early on in the novels remarking to Loken "We will spend our lives fighting to secure this Imperium, and then I fear we will spend the rest of our days fighting to keep it intact.....In the far future, there will be only war" - thats got to rank him as one of the most thoughtful Heresy characters I think. I like also his critical insight into the nature of the Imperium at this stage 'space is limitless, and so is our appetite to master it.' He is one of those characters who stand out like Garro, Loken and the Sigillite as truly seeing the Imperium's flaws and finding something in humanity that they still wish to protect.

Sigismund in M.13

No thats not a typo....I am often curious to see what I can find out about a characters name-sake and see if there may be clues as to the 31st Millennium version. There was a warrior-king called Sigismund in 14th Century Europe so I took a look at his life for similarities or clues as to what might be in store for Sigi. This guy raises several armies, uniting parts of Europe against the Turks and Poles with varying success and is portrayed as leading these large (up to 80,000 strong forces) from the front mounted on horseback and waving a jolly big sword about!

In that sense there is a little similarity although there is none of the 'perfect warrior' element really although it will be interesting to see if our Sigismund will do more to unite others against a common enemy. The Hungarian Sigismund's life was beset by feuding, political games and intrigue, which he played his own part in too. Our Sigismund may be getting some more of this coming his way too then.

Two things that are common are that his life was one long struggle, the 14th Century version was always having to guard his throne from rivals within and battle rivals without too - he would often think his way out of these problems as well as occasionally send out an army. I think this rings true of our Sigismund too who is thus far in turmoil over his early faith in the Emperor, reliance on visions from Euphrati Keeler etc and the idea of him riding at the head of huge armies could give us clues as to the course of events in M.31. The Second thing and this may be what GW latched onto is that he creates his own order of Knights - who get the very cool name The Order of the Dragon, I think when I paint up my Templar Brethren i will try and incorporate some of this into their heraldry somehow.

Anyway back to M.31

Thus far in the HH novels we have seen Sigismund in:

The Flight of the Eisenstein - here we see him take on the visions of Keeler who tells him he must make a choice about the part he will play in the Heresy, neither of which are particularly appealing.
The Crimson Fist - here we see him confess to his father the motivations that lead him to stay on Terra and not lead out the Retribution Fleet.
Templar - here we see him attack a Word Bearer outpost in the Sol System.

He has not got his own book yet like his brother Alexis Pollux so what we know about him must be gleaned from these short appearances.

Sigismund's toughest moment comes not in battle but instead on Terra as he stands before his father and admits to the visions that guided his request to remain on Terra rather than lead the retribution fleet as he had been ordered. Dorn's fury at his sons belief in 'superstition' and the Primarch's blindness to the foresight and reasoned approach that Sigismund takes does much to warm him to me also. Like Garro speaking his ming to Dorn and getting knocked out, I think this guys honourable sacrifice is what makes him hugely appealing.

The duelist Sigismund
Of course its not only charm, intellect and looking good in a tabard that make this guy great. He is a monster in terms of combat - we don't see so much generalship from him so far (unlike Pollux who is demonstrably a leader who can get the most out of those around him and the situation he is in) - but what we do see is a single combat beast!

If you read Templar, by John French, we can see Sigismund on a mission to quiet a Word Bearer station within the Sol system. The story cuts in and out of this assault and takes him back to some happy time...taking out the greatest swordsman the White Scars can offer (he also reuses to ill the guy after beating him) .... beating down his best mate (?) Kharn who he regularly thrashes with apparent ease.... and of course we discover that when a daemon possessed Word Bearer who is seemingly unstoppable comes up against this son of Dorn, it turns out the are very stoppable in fact.

There is a nice link with the model and the history of Sigismund in this short story as we find out about why he has his weapons chained to him, which actually comes in handy in the end. A nice physical representation of how this great warrior is bound to his duty.

And on to M.32
Sigismund is described in Templar as having never lost a duel (we don't count the underhand cheating of Sevetar) and by the end of the heresy this is still true. I think he will get his own book, probably by John French who seems to be curating this character, about his actions at the battle of Terra at least. The lore has it currently that he defeats every enemy he meets there - the guy is a legend! Shame he wasn't there when Horus was fighting Dad at the end.

After stalking the battlefield at the Siege of Terra and defeating every enemy champion he could find he found no real slake to his thirst for revenge. He was looking for Abandon who he wanted to share a few points with on the battlefield. Fast forward 500 years and Sigi catches up with Abaddon on the first Black Crusade - the two meet in single combat and only Abaddon walks away from it. I've not been able to find the actual reference (Talon of Horus I think) for this in the collated lore, and given how much I like Sigi I am kind of avoiding it a little. We will see how the lore develops in a few years, maybe he's still out there...somewhere!


Immediately after the Heresy Sigismund is sent forth to found the Black Templars and he is given the most zealous Asrtartes to pursue an eternal crusade against the traitors, all dressed in his personal heraldry (black and white of course!) that he has worn since the Siege of Terra.


Best books to find out more about this hero...
Flight of the Eisenstein - James Swallow
The Crimson Fist - John French
Templar - John French

His rules in the game
Alan Bligh has done a nice job of matching rules to character in this case and (as an IF player) I am delighted with the result.

Sigismund doesn't offer much to the rest of the army in terms of force multipliers (other than allowing Templar Brethren to be taken as troops), but he does make his squad and absolute hammer in close combat.

He confers the chance to re-roll charges, the unit gains +1 to I in the first round of combat and they can re-roll sweeping advance rolls.

Like all ICs in the VIIth legion he must initiate challenges where he can, when he does this his wounds are Instant Death and he forces re-rolls of successful Invul Saves from his AP2 weapon. And if that isn't enough the Black Sword gives +2 to strength too!

When using him in challenges don't forget that if he is fighting a unit with two ICs and one refuses a challenge the other must accept - this can be really handy for working your way through units that have apothecaries or chaplains that confer benefits to the unit that can tarpit him.

Oh and how best to use him? Don't go mad, do the math-hammer and pick units he will destroy and be able to get onto the next thing. Go for their Warlord (extra VP for killing him), go for their high value units (not really vehicles if you can help it) and make sure he gets the charge. To do this, put him in a Spartan (or some other Landraider variant to get him into the charge).

I have lost him a couple of times - once to tarpits and another time because the enemy kept throwing decent units at him and I lost the initiative. Try and take on units you can isolate, as early as possible in the game and keep ferrying him around to put the hurt on your enemy.

I have run him with 5 THSS Terminators and also with a 20 man Breacher Squad (in a Spartan). Both are good in different ways and I am still tinkering to decide what is best.

The verdict
In summary, I think this guy is building a great back-story (thanks John French), the model (as i described in an earlier post)is stunning and the rules make him one of, if not the, best IC's in combat below the Primarchs. He is a permanent feature in my army.

There you have it - one of 30k & 40ks biggest figures - I hope you enjoy playing with/against him as much as me!

Happy hobbying!

The Primarch Deathmatch - Introduction & List of Primarchs

We all love Primarchs in Warhammer. They are the demi-gods that the game and history of the universe is centred around. Finally over the last couple of years we are learning more about them and are having the opportunity to play with them on the tabletop.

 

With the Primarchs being released and more of their history developed by the Black Library and the Horus Heresy books, I thought that it would be fun to have a Twitter Primarch Deathmatch tournament and find out what everyone thinks about the 18 (?) characters that we know and love in Warhammer.

 

This is how it is going to go down....
I will put the 18 known Primarchs in a hat and draw them out one by one to fight it out in a knockout competition.
I will draw them in pairs to compete against each other in a Twitter death match poll.
The first 4 drawn are unlucky as they are the qualifiers and fight against each other to leave 2 winners who go into the 1st round of 16.
The 16 then get drawn in pairs and brought before Twitter for people to vote.
The winners go into the Quarter finals and then Semi finals before we end up with 2 Primarchs fighting it out in the Grand Finale.

 

Each Twitter Poll will last for 1 week and anyone can vote for any reason. It could be that you think the miniature looks amazing, they are fantastic on the tabletop, he is the leader of your favourite legion or just because you hate the other Primarch so much. The point of all of this is that I am interested in what other people think of the Primarchs in Warhammer - Do you love or hate them? Why?

 

After each Twitter deathmatch is decided one of us four dads will write a post about the defeated Primarch regarding their history, tabletop quality, miniature quality etc.

 

To remind you of the Primarchs here they are (thanks to 1D4Chan and Lexicanum):

 

Primarchs and Legions

 

1. Lion El'Jonson Caliban Dark Angels
Loyal?
Alive, imprisoned next to Luther asleep within a chamber on The Rock. The Lion will awaken once The Emperor tells him to do so.

 

2. +++Records expunged+++

 

3. Fulgrim Chemos Emperor's Children
Traitor
Daemon Prince of Slaanesh, ruler of the Pleasure World. Fulgrim's actual consciousness however, may or may not also be still imprisoned within his own body by the daemon who possessed him in the first place.

 

4. Perturabo Olympia Iron Warriors Traitor
Daemon Prince, ruler of Mendregard.

 

5. Jaghatai Khan Chogoris/Mundus Planus White Scars
Loyal
Unknown, disappeared into the Webway while hunting Dark Eldar.

 

6. Leman Russ Fenris Space Wolves
Loyal
Unknown, disappeared into the Eye of Terror with the 13th company but promised to return one day. Magnus supposedly knows where he is, but he isn't telling.

 

7. Rogal Dorn Inwit Imperial Fists
Loyal
Assumed deceased, disappeared while boarding a Chaos cruiser during a Black Crusade.
His skeletal hands were recovered and placed in shrines. Rumored to still be alive.

 

8. Konrad Curze Nostramo Night Lords
Traitor
Deceased, willingly assassinated by a Callidus assassin. His body was never found.

 

9. Sanguinius Baal Blood Angels
Loyal
Deceased, slain by Horus. May or may not be the Sanguinor.

 

10. Ferrus Manus Medusa Iron Hands
Loyal
Deceased, slain by Fulgrim and his head offered to Horus as a gift. Fulgrim still has the body.
Some claim he is still alive on Mars, though it may be not actually be him.

 

11. +++Records expunged (Possibly Malal?)+++

 

12. Angron Nuceria World Eaters
Traitor
Daemon Prince of Khorne. Banished to the Warp for a hundred or so years after Imperium responds to his blood crusades.

 

13. Roboute Guilliman Macragge Ultramarines
Loyal
In a stasis chamber after his throat was sliced by Fulgrim with a poisoned sword, so he is perpetually on the verge of death but technically still alive. Rumored to somehow be regenerating his mortal wound, despite being in a stasis field.

 

14. Mortarion Barbarus Death Guard
Traitor
Daemon Prince of Nurgle, ruler of Plague Planet. Banished by Grey Knights.

 

15. Magnus the Red Prospero Thousand Sons
Traitor
Daemon Prince of Tzeentch, ruler of the Planet of Sorcerers. Wrecked the Space Wolves' homeworld and most of their upper command structure.

 

16. Horus Lupercal Cthonia Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus/Black Legion
Traitor
Deceased. Killed by the Emperor after being wounded by Sanguinius.

 

17. Lorgar Aurelian Colchis Word Bearers
Traitor
Daemon Prince, ruler of Sicarius. Is spending all his time meditating in the warp, so Lorgar rarely appears in person anymore.

 

18. Vulkan Nocturne Salamanders Loyal
Dead(Can he die? Curze tried his hardest!) - disappeared.

 

19. Corvus Corax Deliverance Raven Guard
Loyal
Missing, last seen heading for the Eye of Terror to atone for his sin of using a legion of mutants he accidentally created to supplement his forces, only to euthanize them after the Horus Heresy. Some believe he will return.

 

20. Alpharius/Omegon Alpha Legion
Traitor/Loyal?
One may be dead, slain by Roboute Guilliman. (It is not known which of the twins was killed. The reliability of this information is disputed, therefore it is possible that both Alpharius and Omegon are still alive.)

So with the Primarchs identified, let battle commence! The draw will follow......

Horus Heresy Book Review - Scars by Chris Wraight (No spoilers)

I am slowly getting through the Black Library Horus Heresy series and thoroughly enjoying my trip through Warhammer history. I find it incredibly interesting to read each author's interpretation of the legions and the events that have taken place in the Warhammer universe. In truth some of the books have been brilliant - Horus Rising, Flight of the Eisenstein, Outcast Dead, Deliverance Lost & Fear to Tread to name just a couple - and some have been pretty boring - Descent of Angels, Battle for the Abyss, Nemesis, Mechanicum, Legion. I would say that on average though you can't go too wrong with this series of books as there is always something in these novels that is enjoyable and worth finding out about.

When it came to reading Scars I have to say that I was definitely NOT looking forward to this book. I generally have no interest in the White Scars and before the book had no idea about the chapter, their Primarch or their history in the Horus Heresy. Also I hadn't read a lot of Chris Wraight's novels previously although the one I had read (Battle for the fang) I thoroughly enjoyed. So with this slightly negative view off I went to join the Khan...

In the novel we are treated to many different legionsof Space Marines - From the White Scars & Space Wolves to the Alpha Legion, Word Bearers and Death Guard. We also get to meet 4 Primarchs - Khan & Mortarian in the main and Russ and Magnus chipping in with bit parts. With the meeting of these primarchs and legions we are treated to some interesting reveals and backstory of the Horus Heresy that has not been covered before and the characters in the book are extremely compelling which made me want to keep reading to find out more.

The story has a number of sub-plots and distinctly follows two storylines which can be a little disjointed but are both important to the story and the Horus Heresy as a whole with a great reveal about the workings of the Word Bearers and how they are controlling things.

The most enjoyable parts of the story for me were the interactions between the primarchs which just make me want to know what would happen if.....(once you've read it you'll understand!) and the decision that the Khan must make whether to be loyal to the Emperor or Horus. Chris Wraight did a magnificent job of getting the feeling of confusion across to the reader as bits of information, messages and rumours about the wider galaxy reached the White Scars creating division and corruption amongst the legion.

The poorer parts of the book in my opinion were the pace - I thought that at times it slowed down when things had just started to get going - which is probably due to this book being originally released as a series ebook in parts. Also I thought that some of the fighting and battle scenes weren't as engaging as they should have been. I'm not sure why but it just didn't feel like I was in the battle with shells and swords clattering around me.

As a whole I really enjoyed the book and I think it is well worth a read. It compliments and extends the Horus Heresy background, tells the story of the White Scars chapter of which little has been written before and is an interesting standalone story with some great characters.

I give this book an 8/10

Let me know what you think

James

Games Workshop Freelance Authors - Part 1

Hey there everyone, happy Monday!

Us Dads wanted to share something special with you, so as to ensure our hard work fulfils its destiny. A while back GW were advertising for free lance authors (I'm not sure if they are still advertising, I couldn't find the advert). Us Dads all fancy ourselves as the author-type so had a go at submitting some stories.

All of us eventually got rejected, but we all at least got a response, which is great. Having submitted stories to other publishers and agents in the past myself, I know how heart breaking it is to spend 12 to 18 months pouring your heart and soul in to a novel only to hear absolutely nothing for your trouble. Not even a 'thanks for your submission' letter. But after 5 years of doing that I gave up and concentrated on the day job (which thankfully I also love).

I never thought I'd write fiction again but Dads James and Rich persuaded me to give it a go. And the rules of these submissions mean that the entries take only 7 days to write (which is a challenge in itself), so what did I have to lose? As I say, the fact that GW/BL actually bothered to respond with some feedback is a really refreshing experience, so fair play to them. One thing I have always respected about Black Library is that they support new talent. The internet can bitch about how little GW pay their staff and writers but getting paid at all to do something you love, or even just having the chance to get your work read by the masses, is a dream come true to many.

Dads James and Rich will post theirs up separately at a later date I am sure. The submission test requires two 250 word stories based around stipulated situations. Anyway, without further ado, here are my entries:

Test 1 – Space Marine Vs Ork

It was as big as a bull grox.

A solid wall of taught muscle, feral grin turning to a snarl as it charged, makeshift blade in one hand, crude gun in the other. A head taller, half again as broad.

In the two seconds it took Maun to take in these details the Ork was upon him, his crackling power sword parrying three arm-numbing blows before he ducked the fourth and went in low, his blade taking a chunk out of his opponent’s midriff. The beast roared with rage, momentarily drowning the din of battle, and tried to grab Maun in a bear hug.

Ferrus Manus had preached that the flesh was weak. Ork flesh was proving to be no different.

Maun span out of range, then back again, bringing his blade in high for a decapitating blow. The Ork ducked, snarled and lunged at him once more, clubbing the side of his helm with its gun, swinging its blade wildly.

The Iron Hand kicked out, pushing the Ork back, then stepped in, sinking his own crackling blade into the Ork’s chest. Maun grinned.

The Ork grinned back, pulling the blade in deeper, smashing its skull into Maun’s helm, cracking both lenses. The Ork sank its own blade into Maun’s chest, then pushed him away into the mud.

Rage filled Maun, but the sudden shock to his secondary heart enfeebled him, his life blood turning the parchment of his purity seals crimson as it leaked out of his gashed armour.

Test 2 – Ultramarine Sergeant briefing his squad V02

The Thunderhawk shivered as enemy flak filled the air.

Sergeant Laelius stalked the red-lit crew compartment inspecting the scout squad. Proud Sons of Guilliman every one of them. Legiones Astartes knew no fear but he saw trepidation and nervousness in spades. Square shoulders. Straight backs. Wide eyes.

“Practical,” Laelius growled, “the enemy have overwhelming numbers and are well entrenched. What theoreticals do we have?”

“Our ground forces are fully engaged at the north muster field,” Scout Gaius responded, “we should insert in the southern quarter, furthest from the main front.”

“Any alternatives?”

“The main Word Bearers force may be fully engaged in the north but their cultist whelps will be guarding the flanks and supporting the front. What the cultists lack in arms and armour they make up for in numbers.”
“Good,” they had listened, thought Laelius, “that is highly likely. Cultists will slow us down, give the enemy Legionnaires time to react. Our practical then?”

“Select a non-military insertion point. Sewer outfall, private landing pad…” Scout Nero suggested.

“Or an overtly military target, the enemy may not expect that.” Gaius again.

“Which is it to be?” Laelius asked with a smile. 

Gaius checked the map on his VDU. “There’s a private landing pad 2 kilometers from the target. A Stormbird would be too big, but it might just support a Thunderhawk.”

“Good, we’ll insert there.” The Sergeant blink-clicked, sending the coordinates to the pilot as he took his seat. The squad felt the Thunderhawk roll as it changed course.


My Test 1 piece was accepted without comment (so I guess they must have liked it), but I was asked to re-write the Test 2 piece twice (I've included my final effort here). I don't know why I couldn't seem to meet their requirements. Maybe it's the fact I just don't like scouts in the game? Maybe because to try and create atmosphere, background and write a predominantly speech-driven narrative in only 250 words is extremely hard, and if I was that good an author I would have got myself a writing contract before now!

Now that we have out own blog we can share these stories with you and we'd love to know what you think.

Well done to anyone who did get through, good luck. I'm not jealous... At all... honest!

Dave

Is the Heresy nearing it's final stages?

So this year has been a big year for Horus Heresy fans, and it's only March! My theory is that we are headed in to the End Game, and here's why...

Black Library
Already in 2016 we have had two great books that push the series along at a significant pace, in the forms of Pharos (Book 34) and War Without End (Book 33), and then this week we had another 4 books revealed to us in the Black Library news letter which will be published throughout the year.











6 proper Horus Heresy books in a year is arguably unprecedented, and this only takes us up to June!! i.e. there could be more to come.

So what does the immediate future hold? I suspect that Black Library are aiming for a 50 book series. I can't remember if that has ever been said by them but I imagine that's where we're headed. If they are ramping up the titles to get us there quicker I just hope the quality is maintained.

I'm not sure how many 'big events' we need covering between now and the end but I'd expect at least 5 books to over the Siege of Terra. You'll need that many to cover all the relevant view points (traitor, loyalist, Shadow War, Mars, etc), and to tie all the loose ends up (at least those that need tying up).

Not to mention the White Scars and Blood Angels still need to arrive at Terra and the Dark Angels still need to make that long overdue Christmas visit to the family home world. Plus Russ' plans need to play out... ok, there's a few events!

Forge World
We know that FW are planning a 10 book series and this year should hopefully bring us Book 7. What else is there to cover in the last three? We know that Blood Angels and Dark Angels are coming in a combined book, so that leave two for the Siege of Terra possibly? I'm hoping that the White Scars fans don't have to wait that long for proper rules though...

Games Workshop
This is the most telling evidence that GW have finally stopped stalling and have accepted that the curtains must come down at some point.

At the Horus Heresy weekender, FW revealed that the Scouring would be covered once the HH is over. Now that GW have a Plan B (the Scouring) they seem happier for Plan A (the HH) to reach it's inevitable conclusion. And that's no bad thing for GW. They essentially already have all the models the need for the Scouring, which was the period that formed the transition between 30k and 40k, from Legions to Chapters. And the fluff is infinite compared to the Horus Heresy, so where the HH must end eventually, any Scouring series would never have to really end. They just need to get writing the novels and rules to make it as big a success as the HH has been.

All in all, I predict we're looking at another 2 to 3 years of Horus Heresy output from BL and Forge World, based on the rate at which they have been producing things to date. That's an 7 year life span (roughly the length of time it took Horus to reach Terra! coincidence?)

Are you excited for the end? I've been waiting for this since the series began, and not in a bad way. I've been reading about the Horus Heresy since I was 14 (nearly 20 years ago now!), we all know the conclusion and I think we're all impatient to get there.

Forge World Friday:
don't forget to enter the 'win a titan' competition launched today:
https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-ES/blog/blog.jsp?_requestid=11354301

Is the 40k fluff going anywhere?

Three years ago I couldn’t care less about the direction of the 40k fluff. As long as favourites of mine like Uriel Ventris and Gaunt survived to tell another tale I was happy. More than that I was content to let the fluff behind the galaxy remain ambiguous and for my favourite characters to interact in events that were isolated and discrete.

That was until the Horus Heresy landed! From the moment I started reading Horus Rising I started thinking in terms of the end game. I loved that the stories were working toward the battle on Terra and would depict the defeat of Horus and the near-death of the Emperor. It was going to fill in so many unanswered questions of ‘lore’ for me I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. Now its gonna take a long time to get there, maybe another 5 years at this rate but I am loving the journey and have learned to live with my impatience.

What is important is that all of the books are a part of a wider journey, they all connect and are moving a bigger, overarching story arc forward (with a few exceptions, you know who we are talking about Damnation of Pythos!).

Now I am not saying that the 40k fluff doesn’t have this at all; Gaunts Ghosts are part of the Sabbat worlds crusade, Uriel Ventris is battling against Warsmith Honsou and the Macharius books chart the Macharius campaign. But none of this feels as significant as the Heresy Era and they are all individual actions that seem important but not necessarily on a galactic scale or in a way that is going to significantly influence the history of mankind.

So now when I return to the books from that era they feel like they are missing something, like they should be part of a grander story arc that charts the course of humanity in the 41^st millennia. Sure I get the concept of grimdark never-ending war. But I think this could be hugely improved by connecting this all to the wider course of the imperium. It sort of reminds me of the TV series I watched as a kid, each episode being a story in its own right, but lacking connetion to the other episodes and not really moving characters or wider events along. This TV was episodic with an underlying theme - a hybrid like the x-files or Star Trek Next Generation. This is what we get in 40k. 

One of the things that I love about GW is that the lore is getting developed and being made more sophisticated. I wonder if the Black Library is looking at the success of the Horus Heresy and thinking 'let's make 40k a bit more like Game of Thrones' in that the longer, broader story arcs become more significant in the individual novels. There would still be plenty of room for some good old bolter porn but how about some longer more significant arcs about the future of mankind? I think that would be great - let's head toward the end times! 

I think we've got at least 5-10 more years of the Heresy and Scouring. Then why not take on the end times? This would really hook me into 40k for 10-15 years, I think I am a much happier customer when I feel like the overall plot is going somewhere. 

So what do you think? Should 40k be heading toward the return of the Primarchs, maybe even the Big E himself as they battle at the End Times? Or should we just be content with the endless wars of the Grimdark?

Book Review: Horus Heresy Pharos

Ok so I am gonna start with the warning that this is 'hands down' my favourite Horus Heresy book in a while so expect a gushing review here....

This is Guy Haley's first full Horus Heresy book and he takes us to the beginning of the end for the Imperium Secundus. By the end of the book the cracks have been well and truly pried open by a Konrad Curze shaped crowbar! Although to be fair to him it's as much the relationship between the Lion, Guilliman and Sanguinius as anything he does. 

And really this galactic-shaping event is just the back story to the gripping attack on the world of Sotha and the Pharos by the best (or worst) baddies in 30k...The Nightlords. 

The book has some great characters that I was really into and Guy Haley does a great job of making the Nightlords relatable and 'human' whilst remaining the biggest psychos around.
Dantioch and Pollux are there and have always been favourites of mine, and there are also major appearances from Curze, Sanguinius and Roboute. Pollux kicks power-armoured arse as always and even elicits the comment "someone in there knows what they are doing" from a thwarted Night Lord captain which I loved.

For the Nightlords we get the two rivals Skraivok (Clawmaster) and Krukresh Lord of Kyroptera. 

These two are great characters, being as back stabbing, scheming and generally evil as you can be and also showing us the Nightlords are not so impervious to the temptations of the warp. 

But by far the most interesting NL characters are the brothers Kellendvar and Kellenkir, who along with their gene-father explore the question of pre-determinism and Haley confronts the idea that the NL leapt 'from their mothers arms intent on torture and death'. Along with the Primarch, Haley injects some sympathy into us for these characters who are reaching for redemption (Curze to a degree) at times only to fall short. 

The best character in the book though is Sgt Mericus Giraldus - a human joker turned hero who cracks jokes with and at the expense of the stoney faced Ultramarines and Pollux throughout the story in a way we haven't seen before. He does not suffer from the awe of trans-humans and his wit is always walking a line of insubordination only to be saved from rebuke by his great martial prowess and leadership. Without doing Haley any discredit, he reminds me of some of the great characters from the Gaunt's Ghosts series and if I ever build a Solar Auxilia army you can bet there will be a squad lead by Giraldus. 

There is plenty of action in the book without feeling like the tired bolter porn that this can become. It's got so many kinds of combat; sneak attacks by the filthy nightlords, Primarchs fighting each other, ship combat, assault on a fortified location, guerilla warfare, humans v Astartes, Astartes v humans, Astartes v Astartes v humans! As you can tell I love the battle scenes, partly because I was so invested in the heroes but also because they are so well paced and great fun to read. 

The verdict: great action, we learn some more about the fall of Imperium Secundus, engaging characters - it's got it all. Well done Guy Haley. Now stop reading this and go buy it 10/10. 

Book Review: Cybernetica

This Horus Heresy novella was published in July 2015 by long time Black Library contributor Rob Sanders who has written fairly broadly across 40k and 30k in his time. Interestingly Rob is an English Teacher at a secondary school in addition to writing for the Black Library - very cool to have as your teacher!

The book is set around the issue of what Dorn, Malcador and the Fabricator General of Terra think should be done about Mars. As you would expect the lead character convinces Dorn ("just give me 48hours chief") to let him try a clandestine mission to bring about victory over the traitors on Mars and the bulk of the story tracks his progress.

The lead character is a very cool Raven Guard known as the 'Carrion' who was badly injured, 'repaired' with extensive cybernetics and as a result began training to be a Techmarine on Mars prior to the outbreak of the civil war. He is an appealing character who takes us along the way in an engaging way starting off as a tortured soul following his extensive injuries which prevent him returning to the ranks of stealthy Ravens. He has some very cool in-built weaponry which uses power drained from enemies and friends alike. His main weapon is a grav-gun that he wields like a shotgun - very cool. He would make a great model with some awesome rules.

There are some interesting insights into Dorns thinking, Malcadors' relationship with the Primarch and the state of civil war on Mars but to be honest it's not revealing a great deal more than we already know. As a VIIth Legion fan I was happy just to see a bit more of Dorn and in some ways that's what these peripheral stories can offer most of.

If you like fight scenes you won't be disappointed - there are plenty of epic battles with leaps from collapsing buildings to conveyor belt fights against swarming Skitari.

I think you have to read these novellas knowing that they probably won't make a big impact on the overall story line but they can give you a look 'behind the scenes' of the bigger stuff or even develop a Heresy character further by filling in the blanks. Rob Sanders goes some way to doing this but this book is more about filling in the backstory than revealing much about any of our favourite characters.

The verdict: 6/10

I enjoyed the read but at times found the fights scenes to be a little repetitive. The character of the Carrion was interesting in the first half but became a little static thereafter. I think if you are interested in the war on Mars and Mechanicus related stuff then it's worth a read, if you love a good fight scene and like the sound of some cool weaponry not used much elsewhere you'll also not be disappointed.

If you are like me, and simply have to know what's going on in the Heresy then just get it!