Comments on: Ask TGN: Black Library books

By: evernevermore (John)

evernevermore (John) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:07:21 +0000

The Space Wolf series is great because its got such a space opera feel - the heroes are written as being amazing larger then life and the villians are either terrible foes or mooks

By: minipainters

minipainters — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:58:12 +0000

I’m currently reading the Space Wolf omnibus and loving it, being a long time Space Wolves player helps :)

By: Zac

Zac — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:55:29 +0000

You only need to get through five or six pages before you get to the good stuff :-)

By: evernevermore (John)

evernevermore (John) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:11:42 +0000

Its sad that a good novel can be ruined by one character the fans dont like

By: Zac

Zac — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:51:28 +0000

I had to start reading Double Eagle twice as I really disliked the first character we are introduced to but the rest of the book was quite well done and I am looking forward to the sequel.

By: evernevermore (John)

evernevermore (John) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:28:31 +0000

As far as books about fighter wings (non fiction and fiction) Double Eagle is actually well written - I just didnt like the characters much.

By: Benoit Lescarbeau

Benoit Lescarbeau — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:12:52 +0000

I also liked Gaunt’s Ghosts and most of Dan Abnett’s books. He is a cut above others, in the realm of game-linked novels.

The only one I really disliked was Double Eagle.

By: stonehorse

stonehorse — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:07:30 +0000

Black Library books are very hit and miss.

The Sci-Fi ones that I have enjoyed are;

Eisenhorn trilogy
Ravenor trilogy
Horus Heresy series.

The Fantasy ones that I have enjoyed are;

Gilead’s Blood
Riders of the Dead

Those that are good do provide a quick read, that is easy to get into. Beyond that I’d rather read Ian M Banks for ‘good’ Sci-Fi books.

By: Doc

Doc — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:51:00 +0000

I’ve read EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! I’m in the middle of “Hammer of Daemons” right now..
I’ve found that all the authors, and genres have their idiosyncrasies, and you learn to love or oath them.
Pretty much anything Dan Abnett writes is going to be excellent. Lost of Gav Thorpe’s writing, whilst amusing, is weak in literary ability.

“Storm of Iron” is one of the best books of the 40K Genre… the Ghosts books have weakened a little recently, though “Armour of Contempt” was stronger. The vampire books are good and dark… I find the RPG series a little annoying… the Deathwatch and Grey Knight books are pretty good.

By: Claes Horsmann

Claes Horsmann — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:20:39 +0000

Strong lean towards ScFi, here… :)
I’ll pitch in with fantasy: I’ve read the malus Darkblade series, and found it entertaining. Good material for visualising the Warhammer world and ist denizens, and a likable enough ‘Bruce Willis in fluted plate armour’ type hero, who keeps getting beat down, gets back up and gets drunk.
If we’re talking ‘literature’ here, as opposed to ‘entertaining read’, I’d leave it aside. It whiles away the hours, but it doesn’t give your brain anything to chew on.

By: Darkson

Darkson — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:53:12 +0000

Also anything by C.L Werner is a good read. :)

By: Osbad

Osbad — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:49:42 +0000

As long as you view them as genre sci-fi, rather than expecting “Great Literature”, then you are best, in my view, just plumping for a storyline that takes your fancy. Some of the older books may have some conflicts and inconsistencies with the way the game background went in later years, but that doesn’t really bother me.

My personal preference is for “Space Mareenz” stories over Chaos stuff and Imperial Guard stuff, but that is simple personal prefeence. On the other hand no one ever has a bad word to say about the Eisenhorn trilogy!

I go for the Omnibus editions as a rule as they are much better value at around £10 (sometimes discounted - I picked up Souldrinkers from WHW for £8 last week!) Otherwise GW charges the “normal” UK price for a new novel of £6.99.

By: Splat

Splat — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:05:42 +0000

As light, or fun reading - all the Black Library stuff is pretty decent. Dan Abnett does a great job, IMHO.

The Guants books and the Cain books are good, as are the Malus DarkBlade series (for those who enjoy fantasy) as well as some of the assorted other fantasy titles.

These are not going to get Pulitzer nominations. They are simply books to pick up, read on commutes, before bed, etc. Background for the games and usually fun & interesting withn their own means.

By: drew01833

drew01833 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:35:38 +0000

having never delved too deeply into the 40k univierse i think the horus heresy series, while inconsistent, is interesting and worth reading.

By: Gitteau

Gitteau — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:34:18 +0000

The first couple of short story collections were alright. Not sure if those are even still in print. I have to agree that the novels always felt like fan fiction.