Questions for Spear of the Emperor!
Added 2022-02-14 13:01:25 +0000 UTCMira and I will be recording our Spear of the Emperor episode tomorrow night - Tuesday 15th Feb. We finished this one REALLY fast!
If you've been reading along with us, then please post any questions, observations or thoughts about the book below and we'll make sure we cover them during the recording!
Comments
I enjoyed the book I just found it very heavy going in parts. The closer I find myself to space marines in the cannon the more bored I tend to get. Do you think the assassination was inquisitor sanctioned and if so what purpose do you think it served ? To me it seemed strange that it came just as major decisions were being made around how to deal with the chaos incursion, it could have been some sort of chaos false flag.
laurence m
2022-02-15 10:46:22 +0000 UTCHow did you like the choice of POV-character? How would these events have been recorded or retold from the perspective of a native of the Vail, I wonder. IMHO Anuradha is a well written character, and an excellent choice for the role. I feel Tyberia could have worked too, knowing what we know about her, but less interesting maybe. I felt this book was probably one of the grimdarkest I have read to date. Going from Cain 1-6 and to this was like channel-hopping from a Blackadder marathon to Schindler List. I wonder if Mira thought it was a bit much? (Having read a lot less of the Dark Library.) I know I felt claustrophobic darkness creeping in through the hopelessness of the loyalists struggle. It was wonderful. :)
Pål Røtnes
2022-02-14 16:12:39 +0000 UTCYeah Games Workshop audiobooks are usually pretty solid but the the accents can be iffy sometimes; I don't have much issue with the Celestial Lion's CMs voice at all, (it only has a single narrator after all, so there will be some limitations). I'm Mostly thinking of the White Scars in the Horus heresy, they do Yesugei dirty with that 1920's pulp serial villain voice... I just don't see how that would even be seen as remotely sufficient; not only is it pretty dodgy from a moral standpoint, it breaks immersion petty hard.
Gabriel Walton
2022-02-14 13:35:15 +0000 UTCReading the normal paper version. Also really enjoyed it like Ian. Question for me it that when the Spears took to saying the Emperor was dead, the Mentors main character seems quite passive about that heresy? Also the timelines were interesting - as implies that the ward has displaced time to an extent either side? Also if so hard to navigate either way, why send only one ship?
Tomas Rawlings
2022-02-14 13:30:42 +0000 UTCGeneral thoughts, I really enjoy the world the novel is set on, especially the intentional homage to the Roman colonies post the fall of Rome; which is actually a pretty interesting lens to view other, weirder (read:cooler) Ultramarine successors like the Libators and Mortifactors. Bonus question (very serious): Any ships or OTPs from the book? 😆
Gabriel Walton
2022-02-14 13:24:02 +0000 UTCI wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did.. and set up some really interesting (if unlikely) future plot strands for the 40k universe and the game.. the isolation of the Imperium Nihilus imperial factions and their well deserved anger and suspicion at how things have changed on the other side of the rift and how Bobby G is now just defacto in charge. Really hope that ADB carries on with this series soon as there's some cool stuff afoot! This book in particular highlights how a lot of Space Marines and The Imperium as a whole really aren't the good guys... The Mentors are pretty awful and have no issue with literally having slaves and the petulance of the Inquisition has some pretty clear consequences (although I did really like that bait and switch.. didn't see it coming at all!). On a final and more meta note.. how do you feel about audiobook voice actors doing accents.. the Lion's Chapter Master in this was given a clearly Black-African coded voice in the audiobook (read by a white woman) and whilst it was in keeping with how the character was presented and not done as a characature or offensive way.. it was just still a bit.. ick! Cheers guys!
Ian Dodds
2022-02-14 13:20:28 +0000 UTC
