GENERAL: Displacement activity

Now that I've re-posted all the reviews from my static HTML website on this blog I've closed my old website down and pulled all the content off the web. The only stuff that I haven't brought over are the model photographs but that is because I intend to build a separate blog to show them off and the old photos were not great quality anyway. I'll still show my work in progress on this blog.

Which brings me neatly to the title of this post; displacement activity. While I was sorting out my webspace issues I didn't have much time to paint this weekend. All I did was re-paint the black undercoat on the Blood Letters. I had earlier drybrushed their weapons a brass colour.

Perhaps I keep finding other things to do because I'm in a bit of a funk with my painting. I really need to knuckle down and get my 'to do' list completed. The irony is that I'm very close to getting my whole Chaos Space Marine army finished. I only have the Blood Letters, Greater Daemon and some Berzerkers to go, then I can move on to the prestige project of my Brass Scorpion. That's it; I'll not have a single model left to do. I'm also in the middle of a campaign with my Chaos army so I'll have the added bonus of being able to use them in games.

Still they gently weep while I find other things to do.

Maybe I need to revise my painting strategy for the coming week. Rather than sit down and finish an entire squad in one session I'll try and get in just 30 minutes every night. That way I can chip away at them and at least feel like I'm getting somewhere.

Here's hoping.

REVIEW: Chaos Warrior Regiment

• Made by Games Workshop
• Designed by Brian Nelson, Jes Goodwin, Alex Hedstrom, Colin Grayson
• Cost £18 (approximately $35)
  

Contents
The Regiment boxed set contains twelve plastic Warriors of Chaos, including enough parts to equip them with hand weapons and shields, or two hand weapons. You can also build a champion, standard bearer and musician.

Review
The new Chaos Warrior Regiment boxed set is a replacement for the ancient 'hunchback' Chaos plastics. That old plastic kit was revolutionary at the time because it launched the multi-pose models which now dominate the core units for most of the Warhammer range. Unfortunately it aged rather badly, while the new Chaos range developed around it. The old Warriors also had two major weaknesses; they took an age to assemble (because there were so many pieces to each individual model) and they were virtually impossible to rank up once constructed.

Games Workshop have addressed both of these issues on the new sprues. The main body of each Warrior is constructed from just two pieces, the legs and chest form one, and the back and cloak form the other. Each arm can then be added at the elbow, with a choice between two hand weapons, or a hand weapon and shield. The Warrior can then be completed with the addition of a head. Due to the uniformity of the body plastics, the unit now ranks up very easily.


Although these changes are largely welcome, they do introduce some problems. A completed unit will look very 'samey' as all of the models have an identical posture. This can be mitigated against to a certain degree by placing the champion, standard bearer and musician in the front rank (they have their own command sprue) but the unit will still look very uniform. I think this is especially problematic because the Warriors are, or should be, Chaotic. If any army should be a collection of disparate individuals, then Chaos should be it.

Converting the new kit will also be more difficult. The pose is stiff and rigid for every model, and impossible to alter because the legs and body are moulded together. The fur and cloaks are mandatory to complete the back section of the Warrior, leaving no wriggle room. Even the arms are difficult to convert as they only go up to the elbow, the upper arm being part of the body sprue. Again, this is especially relevant to the Chaos army, because it offers the most scope to individualise the army with the choice of patron God, mutations and gifts of the gods.

Converters needn't despair just yet though. The sprues contain lots of extra bits and pieces, beyond the basic necessities. Once I had completed my twelve man unit I had loads of heads, weapons, shields and other stuff left over. They will all go into my bits box for later.

The Warriors do look fantastic, though. Aesthetically, they take their cue from the Knights of Chaos, and they are light years ahead of the old kit in terms of looks. The posture is noticeably more upright and imposing than the previous models and I think most players won't keep the older models around for too long once they examine the new plastics. I'm sure no-one will mix the two sets of models in the same army.

With the new kit being simplified, I had assumed there would be less detail on the models. This isn't the case. There are a surprising amount of features and textures on the plastics, ranging from plate mail, to chainmail, to fur, to cloth, to bone, and many others. I found that it was best to leave the shield arms off the model and paint them separately, so that it was easier to get to the main body of the Warrior with my paint brush.

Summary
I think the Chaos Warrior Regiment boxed set is very good. It is visually stunning and straightforward to construct. It does not offer much opportunity for converting, however, and all of the models have a very similar pose. Nevertheless, I recommend this kit.

Score 8/10

Scores
All of my reviews end in a score out of ten for the product. The table below explains what that score means.

• 10/10 Perfect, absolutely nothing better
• 9/10 Excellent, highly recommended
• 8/10 Very good, recommended
• 7/10 Good
• 6/10 Above average, some problems
• 5/10 Average, some good points some bad points
• 4/10 Below average, some redeeming features
• 3/10 Poor, major flaws
• 2/10 Very poor, avoid if possible
• 1/10 Absolutely appalling

GENERAL: That's a wrap

That's me done for the day.

• DONE Create master campaign rosters for the Phoenix Campaign
• DONE Write up battle report 5 of the Phoenix Campaign
• DONE Add all unit names to Phoenix Campaign battle reports
  
• Paint Khorne Berzekers
• Paint Khorne Daemons
• DONE Update Chaos Space Marine Apocalypse list with new units
• DONE Update Ork Apocalypse list using new codex
• DONE Add formations using data sheets to all Apocalypse lists

I've done everything except pick up a paintbrush. I hope to crack on with my Khorne models over the weekend.

Ciao for now.

APOCALYPSE: Orks redux

With the release of the new Ork codex I needed to update my Ork Apocalypse list.

HQ

• Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka
• Warboss, slugga, choppa
• 6 Nobz 1 powerclaw with slugga, 4 choppa with slugga, 1 painboy, wartrukk with big shoota
• Warboss, big choppa

Troops

• 14 Shoota boyz, rokkit, nob with powerklaw
• 21 Slugga boyz, nob with powerklaw
• 13 Slugga boyz, nob
  
• 17 Shoota boyz, big shoota, nob with choppa
• 12 Shoota boyz, rokkit
• 30 Gretchin, runtherd
  
• 20 Gretchin, runtherd
• 12 Gretchin, runtherd
• 10 Gretchin, runtherd

Fast Attack

• 5 Warbikes
• 1 Wartrakk, twin linked big shoota

Heavy Support

• Dreadnought, rokkit launcha, big shoota

Points: 1625

Despite only dropping three models from the previous list (rokkit wielding boyz that had to be dropped from their units) the whole army now costs a whopping 273 points less!

The other changes were some wargear on the runtherds (previously slavers) and moving the Painboy into the Nobz mob. Everything else ports over easily. Whether the army would actually achieve anything on the tabletop is another matter.

Unfortunately, none of the Ork datasheets released so far are applicable to my army.

APOCALYPSE: Chaos Space Marines revised

I've painted up some new Chaos Space Marine units so my master Apocalypse list needs updating. I also need to add any applicable datasheets. There won't be many of these in any of my armies because I'm just using my existing models and not really adding anything new. I'll just use datasheets I happen to already have the models for.

HQ

• Daemon Prince
• Chaos Lord, bike, lightning claw
• Chaos Lord, mark of nurgle, daemon weapon
• Chaos Lord, mark of nurgle, palanquin of nurgle, daemon weapon
  
• Sorceror, mark of nurgle, nurgles rot
• Greater Daemon (Great Unclean One)
  

Elites

• 5 Possessed
• Dreadnought, twin linked lascannon

Troops

• 10 Chaos space marines, plasma gun, lascannon, aspiring champion with powerfist, icon of chaos glory
• 10 Chaos space marines, plasma gun, lascannon, aspiring champion with powerfist, icon of chaos glory
• 6 Chaos space marines, plasma gun, aspiring champion with plasma pistol, icon of chaos glory
• 9 Thousand sons, Sorceror with warptime
• 7 Plague marines, melta gun, flamer, aspiring champion with power weapon
  
• 7 Plague marines, plasma pistol
  
• 7 Plague marines, 2 plasma guns, aspiring champion with powerfist
• 7 Plague marines, plasma gun, flamer, aspiring champion with power weapon
• 6 Plague marines
• 6 Lesser daemons (daemonettes)
• 8 Lesser daemons (Furies)
• 9 Lesser daemons (plague bearers)
  

Fast Attack

• 8 Raptors, 2 flamers, aspiring champion with power weapon
• 2 Spawn

Heavy Support

• 3 Obliterators
• Predator, twin linked lascannon, heavy bolter sponsons
• 6 Havocs, 4 heavy bolters, icon of chaos glory
• 6 Havocs, 2 autocannon, missile launcher, icon of chaos glory
• 7 Havocs, 2 melta guns, flamer, aspiring champion with plasma pistol

Data Sheets

• Warp rift
  

Points: 4450

A unit of Plague Marines are new, as are the Plague Bearers, and I've added the warp rift data sheet.

So I've increased the total by about 400 points since I last checked. I also have a unit of KhorneBerzerkers, a unit of Blood Letters, another Greater Daemon and a mighty Brass Scorpion to come shortly. Once complete my Chaos Space Marine army will weigh in at well over 5000 points.

GENERAL: What's in a name?

I'm cooking with gas now.

• DONE Create master campaign rosters for the Phoenix Campaign
• DONE Write up battle report 5 of the Phoenix Campaign
• DONE Add all unit names to Phoenix Campaign battle reports
  
• Paint Khorne Berzekers
• Paint Khorne Daemons
• Update Chaos Space Marine Apocalypse list with new units
• Update Ork Apocalypse list using new codex
• Add formations using data sheets to all Apocalypse lists

That was a boring task, I'm glad it's over. All of the battle reports will now be consistent and it will be much easier for me to write the background stories behind the battles now that I've named all the protagonists.

Hmmm. What to do next?

GENERAL: This just in

Another one bites the dust.

• DONE Create master campaign rosters for the Phoenix Campaign
• DONE Write up battle report 5 of the Phoenix Campaign
• Add all unit names to Phoenix Campaign battle reports
  
• Paint Khorne Berzekers
• Paint Khorne Daemons
• Update Chaos Space Marine Apocalypse list with new units
• Update Ork Apocalypse list using new codex
• Add formations using data sheets to all Apocalypse lists

I've pulled together all the information from the five battle reports so far and presented them as master rosters for the campaign. Here it is.

GENERAL: Field Notary reporting in

• Create master campaign rosters for the Phoenix Campaign
• DONE Write up battle report 5 of the Phoenix Campaign
• Add all unit names to Phoenix Campaign battle reports
  
• Paint Khorne Berzekers
• Paint Khorne Daemons
• Update Chaos Space Marine Apocalypse list with new units
• Update Ork Apocalypse list using new codex
• Add formations using data sheets to all Apocalypse lists

It turned into a bit of a monster but the battle report is finished. Here's the proof.

GENERAL: Focus, focus, focus

Withnail: We'll have to work fast.
[to barman]
Withnail: A pair of quadruple whiskies and another pair of pints...

I have about six hours free and I want to make a big dent in my gaming 'to do' list. No messing about on the PSP or surfing random websites, I want to knuckle down and get some things done.

Here's the list:

• Create master campaign rosters for the Phoenix Campaign
• Write up battle report 5 of the Phoenix Campaign
• Add all unit names to Phoenix Campaign battle reports
  
• Paint Khorne Berzekers
• Paint Khorne Daemons
• Update Chaos Space Marine Apocalypse list with new units
• Update Ork Apocalypse list using new codex
• Add formations using data sheets to all Apocalypse lists

I'll report back during the day each time I finish something on the list.

GENERAL: Where is human nature so weak as in the bookshop?

Today's post is a 'bonus' because I was due to be out playing Gary in the sixth game of our Phoenix campaign. He is poorly (must be all those Nurgle units I've been using lately), so I thought I'd bring you all up to date with my reading habits.

The more observant of you may have spotted my Shelfari bookshelf on the bottom right of this blog. I've been going through my entire book collection (along with that of my girlfriend) and cataloging it on Shelfari. I'm still not finished yet, but I have managed to draw up a sub-list of the Games Workshop publications I am yet to read.

It's a big sub-list!

Here's what I own and still need to read:

• Inquisition sourcebook
• Imperial Armour Three: The Taros campaign
• Liber Chaotica
• Storm of Chaos
• Imperial Infantryman's Primer (Damocles Gulf edition)
• The Life of Sigmar
• Faith and Fire
• Storm of Iron
• Dark Apostle
• Cardinal Crimson
• Warriors of Ultramar
• Dead Sky, Black Sun
• 13th Legion
• Kill Team
• Annihilation Squad
• Ravenor Rogue
• Ork codex
  

I reckon I could go all year without buying a book and still not finish everything above. The bad news is that there are a lot of GW books due out this year that I want.

No, need.

So far I have spotted:

• Legion
• Brothers of the Snake (paperback)
• Killing Ground
• Battle for the Abyss
• Red Fury
• Only in Death (paperback)
• Titanicus
• Mechanicum
• The Imperial Guard Omnibus

And that is just the novels! There are also rumoured to be a shedload of 40k publications due, such as:

• Daemon codex
• Dark Eldar codex
• Space marine codex
• 40k 5th edition
• Planetstrike supplement

I know it is three weeks too late but my resolution on the reading front is to try and get through my unread list before I buy any more books. Any books I do buy I promise to read immediately so that they don't just get added to the unread pile. Of course I'll post up thorough reviews as I go and I'll periodically return to this list and let you know how I'm getting on.

Now, back to Ravenor Rogue...

REVIEW: Intersponge Hercules Sponge Transport 1.1

• Made by Intersponge

Contents
The transport consists of a nylon bag (including book pocket and shoulder strap) with four M-02 sponge pallets (2" deep, 25cm by 25cm cells) and one M-03 sponge pallet (3" deep, 25cm by 25cm cells). I came across this army transporter on the Internet as I cast about in desperation for an alternative to the Games Workshop version.

At the time I had been putting together an Imperial Guard army and I put a lot of work into the army, converting a lot of models and painting them to tournament standard, but all that effort was being ruined as I carried them from game to game. I had some infantry in the case, extra infantry in cardboard boxes and the tanks in a variety of tins, tubs and bubble wrap. My models were slowly being destroyed and I was getting a hernia trying to carry 3 bags of assorted containers.

What I really needed was a single bag to contain my entire army. So I ordered the Hercules from Intersponge.

Intersponge is based in Singapore, so I bought it via PayPal and it was posted out to my home. Despite being very close to Christmas it arrived within four days. So far so good.

My first impressions were good. The bag looked sleek and aesthetically pleasing. There was a carrying handle on the top and a shoulder strap (which attaches at the bottom of the case and passes through loops at the top) looks sturdy. One of the first things I noticed was the ID pocket on the top.

There is a small card in the pocket that you can write your name and address on; handy if you’re at a tournament and other people may have the same type of transport.


There is a zip pocket on the back. I slipped a codex in there but the pocket was too small to take it.


Fortunately there is a larger pocket at the front, underneath the flap, which will accommodate my rulebook and codex. There is also a dice bag, which attaches to the pocket with Velcro.


The dice pouch itself has an extra internal and external pocket. Externally the bag looked good, with plenty of features, but the most important part was inside, where the army would be carried.


The zips for the bag extend over the top of the case and diagonally down each side. It opens like a clam shell, revealing the foam pallets inside. The good thing about this is that the models are kept upright at all times, and you can access the individual pallets from the side without having to dig down from the top. Excellent!


The top pallet has an extra layer of foam which functions as a lid. The lower pallets effectively use the pallet above as their lid.


Each pallet consists of a layer of foam glued to a more rigid foam base. This actually gives the bag some rigidity as they are distributed among the five pallets at regular intervals. The foam is pre-cut; in my case I had ordered four M-02 sponge pallets (2" deep, 25cm by 25cm cells) and one M-03 sponge pallet (3" deep, 25cm by 25cm cells). The picture above is an M-02 pallet with ten sponge inserts removed from their cells.

The real test would be to fit my army in there.

The main reason I went for the Hercules was to transport my Imperial Guard army. It must be one of the toughest Warhammer 40,000 armies to carry as it has numerous infantry and many vehicles, so if the Hercules could carry them it could carry anything.

Before I even touched a model, the rulebook, codex army list and sundry other items went in the front pocket. There was plenty of space in there, and I could have put even more in the pocket if I had needed to. The downside to this is that it makes the bag heavier at one end, potentially unbalancing it. Another niggly thing I noticed was that it can look odd as the flap bulges over the full dice pouch. In the end I removed the dice pouch from its Velcro and put it inside the front pocket. This kept the bag looking slim and sleek.


The next easiest thing was to pull out the sponge inserts and place the infantry models in the cells. I could get 40 models into a single layer, meaning the bag could potentially hold 200 models. The good thing about these pallets is that the model is held vertically at all times, meaning less rattling around during transportation. They are also 2" deep, which meant none of my models had vertically protruding parts to be potentially snapped off. I thought I might have a problem with some of my Guardsmen armed with bayonets. Their weapons stuck out horizontally by quite a distance and the cells looked awfully narrow. In the end I had no difficulty squeezing them in by putting the weapon diagonally from corner to corner in the cell. I didn't have to trim a single piece of foam.


The vehicles were a different matter. The first I tried was the Leman Russ. I placed it on the 3" tray and removed the foam inserts from the cells underneath. Then, with a sharp knife, I cut away the foam walls between the cells.


I also trimmed a larger cell to the side of the Russ for its turret battle cannon. I got the Basilisk body into the same tray. A final addition was my company standard bearer who was too tall to fit in a 2" tray. He slotted into a single cell. I left the sponge inserts in the spare cells to help keep things rigid.


With a little bit of Krypton Factor type jiggery pokery I managed to fit three Sentinels, a Chimera and the Basilisk Earthshaker gun into a 2" tray. Some parts of the models protruded slightly so I put this tray on the top of the case with the sponge lid over it (which had a bit more give than the undersides of the other pallets). I would certainly recommend having a good test of your model configurations before you make any cuts. I didn't and I'm sure I could have packed my vehicles away more efficiently.


So that was it. I had managed to fit a 1000 point Guard army with all of its additional gaming paraphernalia into the Hercules with room to spare. I had used two pallets for vehicles and only one and a half for infantry, which meant I had one and a half pallets left over.

I had so much spare capacity I decided to fill the spaces with the rest of my army. In went my Stormtroopers, Heavy Weapons squads and Conscripts. Cool.

I tested the Hercules out on a trip to my local Gaming store. I was going straight to the store from work so I took the transport in with me. Usually if I have my Games Workshop case it looks so distinctive people will ask what I'm carrying. That usually leads to a lengthy description of the wargaming hobby, an examination of my models and lots of geeky jokes at my expense. Don't get me wrong, I'm an easy going guy and can have a laugh, but sometimes I don't want the hassle. No-one even took a second look at the Hercules. It looks pretty much like a regular satchel and that is a good thing in my opinion.

All of my models made it to the store intact. Getting at them was easy due to the clam shell opening and I didn't have to fumble around with bubble wrap and separate boxes for vehicles. The army went back into the transport so smoothly I actually had time for a second game. All in all a very successful trial.

Summary
The Hercules transport is a very good looking, practical army transporter. Despite being nylon the bag feels sturdy and rigid, and the models are very well protected in their foam cells. It holds a lot of models for its small size. Minor gripes include the rear pocket (it's not large or deep enough to put anything substantial into it) and the dice pouch (it produces an unsightly bulge). But they really are minor problems, and this case is light year ahead of the Games Workshop version. Highly recommended.

Score 9/10

Scores
All of my reviews end in a score out of ten for the product. The table below explains what that score means.

• 10/10 Perfect, absolutely nothing better
• 9/10 Excellent, highly recommended
• 8/10 Very good, recommended
• 7/10 Good
• 6/10 Above average, some problems
• 5/10 Average, some good points some bad points
• 4/10 Below average, some redeeming features
• 3/10 Poor, major flaws
• 2/10 Very poor, avoid if possible
• 1/10 Absolutely appalling

REVIEW: Malleus (book 2 of the Eisenhorn trilogy)

Review This bit doesn't give the plot of the book away

In Malleus, Dan Abnett follows up the accomplished Xenos with a worthy sequel. It expands and deepens the storyline begun in the first book and steers Gregor Eisenhorn away from the alien threat and toward the more insidious enemy which is Chaos. This subject matter allows Abnett to create one of the most complex and interesting Black Library books I have ever read. The thorny issue of Chaos goes right to the heart of the Inquisition and the inner workings of the Imperium itself, and the author guides us along the tricky path with a very sure footing.

Eisenhorn's own moral dilemmas are the main driving force as he tries to comes to terms with his own changing views on where the line is, and which other Inquisitors have crossed that line. Do the ends justify the means, or should you never use Chaos to fight Chaos? In the course of the novel, many complicated loyalties and factions are uncovered within the Inquisition, which often ends up fighting itself as much as its external enemies.

Dan's economy of prose, scene setting and dialogue are once again impeccable. The only complaint I have this time around is the ending. Everything feels a little rushed, as if the author has just realised he is almost out of space and has to tie up all the loose ends in half a dozen pages. Cherubael is used as a Deus ex Machina once too often and Eisenhorn's potential radicalism is explained away far too easily at the close.

These small problems are the only thing preventing me from giving Malleus a perfect ten, however, so don't let them put you off reading this fabulous book.

Summary
Malleus is essential reading for those who have completed Xenos, and anybody else wanting to delve a little more deeply into the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Score 9/10

Scores

All of my reviews end in a score out of ten for the product. The table below explains what that score means.

• 10/10 Perfect, absolutely nothing better
• 9/10 Excellent, highly recommended
• 8/10 Very good, recommended
• 7/10 Good
• 6/10 Above average, some problems
• 5/10 Average, some good points some bad points
• 4/10 Below average, some redeeming features
• 3/10 Poor, major flaws
• 2/10 Very poor, avoid if possible
• 1/10 Absolutely appalling

REVIEW: Malleus (book 2 of the Eisenhorn trilogy)

Available from The Black Library
Written by Dan Abnett

Synopsis [Spoiler alert] This bit tells you exactly what happens in the book!

338.M41, Lethe Eleven. Gregor Eisenhorn is hunting his poisoner, Beldane Sadia. Gregor is about to kill Sadia but Witchfinder Tantalid kills her first. Tantalid hates Eisenhorn because he is a psyker. Tantalid tries to kill Eisenhorn but he is saved by Meda Betancore, Midas' daughter. Midas has been killed 26 years earlier by Fayde Thuring.

Eisenhorn is summoned to Thracian Primaris to attend the victory parade to mark the end of the century long Ophidian campaign. Inquisitor Titus Endor warns Eisenhorn that Inquisitor Osma is investigating him. Eisenhorn visits Lord Inquisitor Rorken. Rorken tells him that Cherubael spared another Inquisitor's life, mistaking him for Eisenhorn and that is why he is being investigated.

Eisenhorn attends the great processional march. The victory parade is attacked. The Cardinal Palatine is killed. Ten powerful psykers escape. Ravenor, Eisenhorn’s best pupil, is crippled. Lord Commander Helican is killed. Eisenhorn tracks down one of the psykers, Esarhaddon, and Inquisitor Lyko kills him.

Eisenhorn discovers that the man Lyko killed wasn't Esarhaddon. Lyko lures Eisenhorn into a trap on Eechon, where Esarhaddon is being auctioned to the highest bidder. Eisenhorn tries to find out who Lyko is working for, but before the Inquisitor can answer he is killed by Cherubael. The daemonhost kidnaps Esarhaddon.

Eisenhorn meets up with Fischig on Cadia. He has discovered a Chaos cult worshipping Cherubael and measuring the mysterious, pre-Imperial pylons - thought to quiet the warp around Cadia. Eisenhorn discovers that the supposedly dead Inquisitor Quixos has been involved with the cult. Eisenhorn confronts the cult as they try to measure another pylon. He is attacked by another daemonhost called Prophanti. The daemonhost is destroyed but takes over the body of Husmann, one of Eisenhorn's retinue.

Inquisitor Osma arrests Eisenhorn for consorting with daemons. Eisenhorn is interrogated for three months and almost dies. With the help of his retinue, Eisenhorn escapes to Cinchare. Eisenhorn is now hunted as a fugitive by the Inquisition.

Posing as a research team, Eisenhorn and his followers discover that the skeleton crew on Cinchare are Chaos worshippers. Deep under the planet's crust, Eisenhorn hooks up with Magos Bure, an Adeptus Mechanicus Enginseer. Together they destroy the Lith, a sentient mineral suffused with the power of Chaos.

Bure has been looking after Pontius Glaw for a century. Eisenhorn promises to give Glaw a physical body in return for knowledge about daemonhosts. Bure creates unique weapons to help Eisenhorn combat the daemonhost.

Eisenhorn visits the Shrine world of Orbul Infanta to consecrate the weapons. He is attacked by Witchfinder Tantalid and is forced to kill him.

Eisenhorn tells Inquisitor Endor, Commodus Voke, Inquisitor Grumman and Inquisitor Ricci about Quixos. The Inquisitors attack Quixos on Farness Beta, supported by the Imperial Navy and the Imperial Guard. Eisenhorn destroys the body of Cherubael, unwittingly setting it's spirit free, back into the warp.

Prophanti, the second daemonhost, kills Voke. Eisenhorn obliterates Prophanti. Eisenhorn discovers Endor was forced to spy on him by Osma. Quixos kills Ricci and Grumman. Eisenhorn discovers that Quixos was trying to build copies of the Cadian pylons, amplified by powerful psykers. Eisenhorn kills Quixos.

Osma's allegations against Eisenhorn are dropped and he rejoins the Inquisition. Eisenhorn secretly creates a daemonhost to recapture the spirit of Cherubael.

REVIEW: Xenos (book 1 of the Eisenhorn trilogy)

Review This bit doesn't give the plot of the book away

Dan Abnett is the most prolific and popular Black Library author, and the Eisenhorn trilogy (of which Xenos is the first book) is his most highly regarded work. It's not hard to see why. Abnett uses the first person perspective of Inquisitor Eisenhorn to draw the readers into the book, and he is a confident and assured narrator. His authorial tone is consistent, smart and playful and he really makes you feel as if he is in total command of his creation.

The other characters in the book are very well drawn, in a very economic manner, with sharp dialogue, so that they all seem to have very different personalities (something that can't be said for many other Black Library books). He particularly manages to avoid the 'pantomime' stereotypical black and white heroes and villains of similar fiction, instead portraying them in shades of grey. The book gives a satisfying finale, while leaving a few loose ends for the next book.

Xenos is very well plotted, pacy and the book is rich with ideas and conflicts. It doesn't feel thin or stretched, like other 40k fiction I have reviewed. Nor is Xenos simply an extended battle report; it is not just a two hundred and fifty page fight scene. More than any other Warhammer 40,000 (40k) fiction it really gets under the one dimensional military veneer and into the inner workings of the Imperium. Abnett conveys the internal politics of the Inquisition superbly and sets it's personalities against each other in a credible manner, fleshing out the galaxy behind the battlefields described in the 40k rulebooks.

If I have a minor quibble with the book it is in some of the detail of the background and worlds. Although I have described Abnett as a writer in total command of his creation, his vision doesn't always match the one already established for the game setting. Dan jettisons some of the spiritual/fantasy/religious elements of the 40k universe in favour of a more science based approach. Characters don't regard their technology in a mystical way, praying for it's safe function, but have a more pragmatic, late 20th century, practical outlook. Everyone flies around in speeders, when gravitic devices are quite rare in the Imperium. And some of his ideas and descriptions of psykers and untouchables don't stack up over the course of the series.

Nevertheless, Xenos is a very accomplished work and I would have no hesitation as recommending it as an excellent place to begin one's exploration of the 40k galaxy.

Summary
Xenos is a well plotted, pacy read with good characterisations and offers a unique glimpse into the inner workings of the Imperium.

Score 9/10

Scores

All of my reviews end in a score out of ten for the product. The table below explains what that score means.

• 10/10 Perfect, absolutely nothing better
• 9/10 Excellent, highly recommended
• 8/10 Very good, recommended
• 7/10 Good
• 6/10 Above average, some problems
• 5/10 Average, some good points some bad points
• 4/10 Below average, some redeeming features
• 3/10 Poor, major flaws
• 2/10 Very poor, avoid if possible
• 1/10 Absolutely appalling
  

GENERAL: Post Christmas round-up

My posting has been a bit erratic during the holiday season but I'm hoping things will start to settle down now. I've been ill, as has my girlfriend's dad, work has been demanding and I'm back on the fitness trail following my Christmas indulgence, so there have been plenty of distractions. While real life will always intrude on my gaming life, I'm still excited to be running this blog and I hope 2008 will be a great gaming year!

Over the next few weeks I'll be porting more stuff over from my static HTML site - like the book reviews - but I'll also be adding lots of new content. Just to prove I have been doing something I thought I'd show you my works in progress. I didn't manage to paint all my Chaos models before the turn of the New Year. I completed the Plague Marines and Plague Bearers but my Khorne contingent are still on the painting table.


So far I have completed the bronze on both sets of models. Next I need to focus on the Khorne Berzerkers and get the red paint on their armour. That's the biggest job left; it'll just be the detailing to get them finished after that. Then I'll concentrate on the Daemons. They're similar to the Plague Bearers in that there are only two real areas to paint on the model; flesh and weapons. I painted the Plague Bearers in just six hours and with the Bloodletters weapons already done the Khorne daemons should be just as quick to do.

While I wasn't finishing off my Chaos models I was putting together this bad boy.


I didn't have the time or inclination to paint for a week or so, so I started to construct my Baneblade. I bought this at Games Day 2007 and it has been whispering to me from it's box ever since. It's a really nice model to put together. I used the guide in White Dwarf and hardly had to refer to the official instructions at all.


There's nothing really special about this Baneblade. I didn't magnetize it or make the weapons switchable, nor did I pick an unusual weapon configuration. I liked the basic weapon loadout anyway and wanted to keep things as easy as possible for myself during the construction and painting. Besides I wanted the tank to have its own history and 'personality' so I felt I had to have the courage of my convictions and simply build it, paint it and play it as is in my games.
The only thing I did was add a mix of sand, PVA glue and flock to the tank tracks to represent churned up mud. This will allow the Baneblade to match my other Cadian Imperial Guard tanks.

And yes, I have decided to build this as an Imperial Baneblade rather than a Chaos one as I had originally intended. That's because I dropped £55 on the Brass Scorpion kit. I felt it would balance things out to have a super heavy on each side rather than two in one force and none in the other. This is especially important because Gary doesn't seem to have gotten excited by Apocalypse at all. I don't even think he has taken the shrink wrap off his book yet! That means it's highly unlikely he will build a super heavy himself. Ho hum.

The rest of my gaming time has been taken up with playing games against Gary in our 40k campaign. I've posted up the latest battle report here if you'd like to check it out.

So that's where I am at the moment. I'll plod on with my Chaos troops and let you know when they're finished then I'll start on the Baneblade.

Over and out.

REVIEW: Xenos (book 1 of the Eisenhorn trilogy)

Available from The Black Library
Written by Dan Abnett

Synopsis [Spoiler alert] This bit tells you exactly what happens in the book!

The Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn and his retinue, including Midas Betancore (a pilot) and Uber Aemos (a savant), arrives on Hubris, hunting Murdin Eyclone.

The population of Hubris is hibernating, waiting for the planet to spin closer to it's sun. Eisenhorn discovers Eyclone has connected Hubris' cryogenerators to a casket, but it's contents are missing. Eisenhorn kills Eyclone.

The Governor of Hubris allows Eisenhorn to carry on his investigations on the condition that he is accompanied by Godwyn Fischig of the Adeptus Arbites. During his investigations, Eisenhorn encounters Alizebeth Bequin, a drifting prostitute. He offers her a place in his retinue because she is an untouchable - immune to psychic powers. Eisenhorn discovers a link between Eyclone and the noble Glaw family of Gudrun.

Eisenhorn commissions Tobius Maxilla, owner of the sprint trader Essene, to take him to Gudrun. The Essene is boarded for inspection upon arrival by a fake Navy detail. Eisenhorn foils the attack but, with the aid of Olm Madorthene of the real Imperial Navy, pretends the assassination attempt has been successful.

Eisenhorn joins forces with Commodus Voke, another Inquisitor investigating the Glaws. Posing as a grain merchant, Eisenhorn organises a meeting with the Glaws on their massive estate. He discovers that the contents of the casket - the Pontius - are of secondary importance compared to the 'true matter' which involves the Saruthi, a Xenos race.

Eisenhorn is discovered and then tortured by Gorgone Locke, a ship master in the pay of the Glaws. Eisenhorn escapes a pit fight and, with the help of Voke, destroys the Glaw household. Several key individuals escape, though, including the Ecclesiarch Dazzo, Locke and Oberon Glaw. More Inquisitors become involved in the investigation, including the radical Molitor.

Eisenhorn goes to the planet of Damask, where the Glaws have been mining Xenos artifacts, and finds they have been consorting with traitor Marines of the Emperor's Children Legion in the shape of Mandragore. Eisenhorn steals the Pontius, which fits into the casket from Hubris. The Pontius is the preserved intellect of Pontius Glaw, a noble from house Glaw who 'died' several centuries ago. Eisenhorn interrogates Pontius and discovers the 'true matter' is the Necroteuch, a powerful book revealing the secrets of Chaos. The Saruthi have a copy, and are willing to trade it for their recovered artifacts.

Eisenhorn follows the Glaws into the strange dimensions of Saruthi space. There, he allies with Gudrunite Guardsmen deserting the Glaws, and attacks as the exchange is taking place. Eisenhorn kills Mandragore and destroys the Necroteuch. Oberon Glaw is killed in the battle. Malahite (the Glaws archeoxenologist) is captured. Ecclesiarch Dazzo and Gorgone Locke escape again.

Eisenhorn reports back to the Inquisition. Malahite is tortured and killed by Molitor before Eisenhorn can question him. Eisenhorn and Voke perform an auto-seance to interrogate Malahite's soul in the warp. He tells them that the Saruthi made a copy of the Necroteuch.

Eisenhorn follows Locke and Dazzo back to the Saruthi homeworld at the head of an invasion force. Eisenhorn finds the dying Dazzo who has recovered a translation tool for the Saruthi version of the Necroteuch and passed it on to Locke. Eisenhorn kills Locke and takes the translation tool. Molitor attacks Eisenhorn for the tool. Eisenhorn kills Molitor. Cherubael, a daemonhost created by Molitor, demands Eisenhorn give him the translation tool. Eisenhorn destroys it.

The daemonhost and Eisenhorn escape the Saruthi planet before it and the Necroteuch is obliterated.

REVIEW: Deus Sanguinius

Review This bit doesn't give the plot of the book away

Deus Sanguinius is the second and final book in the Blood Angel saga that began with Deus Encarmine. I gave that book a poor review and I'm afraid things haven't improved at all for the next installment.

I was hoping that my difficulties with Encarmine lay with the fact it had to introduce lots of characters and the plot, and that once the characters were established the pace would quicken. If anything, it slowed.

We get page after page of dense blocks of text explaining the dull and earnest inner thoughts of the characters and yet still we don't care about them. For all the internal monologues the book feels very thin in terms of characterisation and none of the characters has any real story arc or significant emotional journey. It's all so predictable.

The writing is right on the nose, too, with no subtext at all. The bad guy you suspect in book one turns out to be the bad guy in book two. The goodies win. The baddies lose. There is no surprising 'twist' in the tale. Everything builds to a conclusion you already leapt to halfway through the first novel.

Just when you think the turgid prose will be jettisoned in favour of a decisive, pacy finale the descriptions lengthen. We get over 100 pages of the last climactic battle! The material in these two novels seems to have been stretched very thin indeed, in fact there is only enough plot for one book.

Very, very disappointing.

Summary Deus Sanguinius is as slow as an Obliterator moving through difficult terrain and as deep as an Ork who has taken a bolter shell to the brain.

Score 3/10

Scores

All of my reviews end in a score out of ten for the product. The table below explains what that score means.

• 10/10 Perfect, absolutely nothing better
• 9/10 Excellent, highly recommended
• 8/10 Very good, recommended
• 7/10 Good
• 6/10 Above average, some problems
• 5/10 Average, some good points some bad points
• 4/10 Below average, some redeeming features
• 3/10 Poor, major flaws
• 2/10 Very poor, avoid if possible
• 1/10 Absolutely appalling