GENERAL: Bi-monthly book update

Another big blog entry today, so grab yourself a cuppa before you read on.

I've posted another Imperial Guard after action report up on my battle reports blog. In this 1500 pointer I took on Gary's Eldar once again, using an Imperial Guard army that I can confidently say will never have been used before and will never be used again. When was the last time you saw a mortar squad, Ogryns and Cypher with a squad of Fallen in the same army? Read all about this strange game here.

Now then, here is the book update.

I read most of my novels on my lunch breaks at work. I also create the written versions of my battle reports in notebooks on my lunch break the day after the game. If I'm really enjoying a book I'll read it in my very limited spare time in an evening, but that time has largely been taken up with writing up my battle reports for my blog. I've also been playing a lot of games lately so my reading has been curtailed somewhat.

Still, I have finished some books.

Dead Sky, Black Sun is the third Uriel Ventris Ultramarines book by Graham McNeill. I was anxious to finish it so that I wouldn't have to carry it around with me anymore - those Games Workshop trilogies are heavy!

This book is bonkers! That is both a good and a bad thing. After the Ian Watson Inquisition War books Dead... is the most experimental piece I've read by a Black Library author. Graham really goes for it in terms of the plotting, characters, setting and even the writing itself. This is to be commended, as far too often GW publications are cliched and dull.

Ventris is banished from the Ultramarine Chapter following the events of Warriors of Ultramar and ends up in the Eye of Terror on the homeworld of the Iron Warriors. Through an increasingly bizarre set of characters and circumstances he ends up confronting Honsou, McNeill's anti-hero from Storm of Iron.

McNeill has a decent stab at recreating the feel of being on a Chaos-wracked planet and some of the descriptions are disturbingly gory and gruesome. The text even breaks down in places to reflect the impact the surroundings are having on our protagonist.

And yet...

For all the good points there are major problems with this novel. The plotting is very loose, an unusual thing in Graham's reads so far, and therefore necessarily contrived in places. He has to come up with some fantastical characters to shift the plot along and many times I felt my eyebrow raising and thinking to myself uh-huh.

I also have a very real problem with the way that the Marines are written- they are far too human. It's been a problem with all of the books so far and shows that Graham has under-imagined his characters.

More than once our Marines have been approached unawares to add dramatic impact to a scene, but what about all those auto-senses in their helmets? Speaking of helmets, there is a major continuity problem with helmets on/helmets off and other armour related shenanigans. Often the characters 'feel the sun on their skin' despite wearing their power armour in previous scenes, they shake hands with unarmoured humans, place caring hands on their shoulders and the marines sometimes manipulate delicate objects. In Dead... one of the characters sneaks around with a jump pack attached to his back!

These Marines leap and roll in combat and sit in regular chairs - how heavy is power armour anyway?

And don't get me started about the logistics of capturing Space Marines! Letting them keep their armour on is like locking up a tank commander with his Leman Russ.

I had noticed these little niggles in the previous books and largely dismissed them but in the third they are so noticeable that it actually jars you from the tale.

If you've already read the first two books in the trilogy and plan to keep with it you're going to have to read this book; indeed McNeill has not long released the fourth book in the series The Killing Ground.

Dead... is a flawed book with redeeming features.

Imperial Armour Model Masterclass Volume 1 (IAMM) is a great book. I'm probably exceedingly naive when it comes to modelling having approached it from entirely within the 'Games Workshop hobby' so some people may be surprised when I say that this book really taught me a lot. The book covers a lot of ground in its 130 pages.

The first section describes the tools and supplies which are used throughout the book, ranging from airbrushes to floor varnish.

The painting and modelling of a renegade Medusa takes up the next 20+ pages and introduces many of the tricks and tips that are used in the rest of the book. Some are very simple. Adding paint chips with a sponge is simple but extremely effective and I have already tried this on a number of my models. Others are more complex and require expensive kit and some practice, such as airbrushing camouflage patterns and weathering the model.

More examples follow then the focus switches to dioramas. I was blown away by Phil Stutcinskas' Death Korps of Krieg artillery diorama. It includes vehicles of course, but also shows you how to build up terrain too. More examples follow and then we move on to terrain pieces.

An Aeronautica Imperialis airbase is constructed and then regular 40k battlefields are put together to represent part of the Siege of Vraks. The are visually remarkable and would be an absolute joy to play a game upon, adding so much richness to the game.

The AI/40k tie in continues with 40k scale aircraft painted and modelling using techniques explained previously.

I thought that this was a superb book and would recommend it highly to anyone wanting to take their modelling and painting to the next level.

On to purchases.

I caved and bought a book, although I can still claim I haven't broken my New Year resolution because it is not a novel. I picked up a copy of Disciples of the Dark Gods, a Dark Heresy RPG supplement by Fantasy Flight Games. It's a meaty tome, almost 250 pages of dense text and gorgeous full colour art. I'm wading through it at the moment and might just have finished it for the next book update!

I've also added some more tomes to my books wanted list.


Books read.

• Dead Sky, Black Sun
• Imperial Armour Model Masterclass Volume 1
  

Books bought.

• Disciples of the Dark Gods

Books wanted.

• Red Fury
  
• Planetkill
  
• Titanicus
  
• Imperial Guard Omnibus Volume 1
  
• Creatures Anathema
  
• Horus Heresy Collected Visions
  
• Imperial Armour IV: The Anphelion Project
  
• Tales of Heresy
  
• The Killing Ground
  
• The Grey Knights Omnibus
  
• Heroes of the Space Marines
  
• Scourge the Heretic
  
• Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium
  
• Rogue Star
• Star of Damocles
  
• Lord of the Night

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

• 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
  
• Dark Apostle
  
• Cardinal Crimson
  
• 13th Legion
  
• Kill Team
  
• Annihilation Squad
  
• Space Wolf
  
• Ragnar's Claw
  
• Grey Hunter
  
• Soul Drinker
  
• The Bleeding Chalice
  
• Crimson Tears
  
• Soldier
  
• Codex: Space Marines
  
• Warriors of Chaos army book

See you again in two months.

REVIEW: New Year Resolutions

This blog post is the third in a series looking back at what I got up to in 2008 and what I have planned for 2009.

Six times a year
In 2008 I began a new feature which I called the bi-monthly book update. This wasn't meant to replace my full book reviews but to give a broader overview of my reading habits. It catalogues the books I've read in a two month period, the books I bought and the books released that are on my wishlist. It also includes mini-reviews; my initial thoughts on books I've just finished reading.

In 2009 I will continue my bi-monthly round ups but I will also make a bigger effort to complete full book reviews in my synopsis/opinion format. I stalled on this in 2008 because I was partway through several series of books (Gaunts Ghosts, Ravenor, the Ultramarines books) and I didn't want to start my reviews in the middle of a trilogy, for example. Of course I never followed through with my idea to go back to the earlier books and review them first.

So I'll just have to bite the bullet and post a review of every book I read, even if this means reviewing the books out of sequence. In the gaps between those new books I will return to the older ones when I can and review those too.

Goggle eyed
By my reckoning I read almost 20 Games Workshop novels and publications over the year, and that doesn't include 12 issues of White Dwarf. I also read lots of other non gaming books and novels. I'd like to make a sizeable dent in my reading pile in the coming year and this will only happen if I reduce the number of books I buy and read more of the ones I already own. So my pledge is to not buy any more Games Workshop novels in 2009. This is a tough ask for me, possibly the toughest resolution I'll make for the year. Gulp.

My other aim is to return to the spirit of my original reviews feature and look at more than just books. I'll try to review miniatures, paints, websites, podcasts and other publications too.

Cypher
Another day, another Imperial Guard battle report. This one was remarkable as I included Cypher in my force to take on Gary's Eldar.

REVIEW: Ravenor

Available from The Black Library
Written by Dan Abnett

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

Dan Abnett revisits the Inquisition in another trilogy of books. I gave his Eisenhorn books an excellent review and Ravenor compares favourably. Abnett re-uses some of the same characters from his earlier works; Ravenor himself was a pupil of Eisenhorn until he was crippled on Thracian Primaris. Despite being confined to a force chair he is a potent psyker and has made the rank of full Inquisitor. He is like a cross between Eldrad Ulthran and Stephen Hawking. Harlon Nayl also makes a welcome return.

We pick up the action in a grimy Hive city and this allows the author to flex his style muscles. He generates a dsytopian atmosphere that is so dark you can feel the grit under your fingernails. Dan writes in a hard-boiled, film noir way, reminiscent of Raymond Chandler or James Ellroy.

Away from the battlefields of Warhammer 40,000 Abnett can get at the motivations of his characters - and sex always seems like an option. There is a sexual tension between some of the Inquisitorial Agents, and Kara Swole and Patience Kys frequently use their sexuality to aid their schemes. I haven't read a Black Library book that felt as adult in a long while.

I got the feeling that Dan really enjoyed writing this book and the writing reflects that; it just flows off the page. His dialogue is excellent as usual, his settings are distinctive, the characters are well drawn and his scenes are memorable. He even finds the time to add bad puns 'Someone's going to have a really bad chair day!'

The book is very densely plotted despite being a standard detective story (everyone hunts down X, he gives them name Y, Y gives them name Z, etc). All the elements that have been carefully seeded throughout the book come together for a strong end - and that is one area I have criticised Abnett for in the past. Lots of threads are tied up while enough are left hanging for the second book.

If I had one complaint it would be that psychic powers in general, and Ravenor's powers in particular, are used too often as deus ex machina. It detracts from the predicament of the characters if we think that Ravenor will simply swoop in at the last moment to save the day. The range and power of the psychic abilities are immense and I'm not entirely sure if they hang together consistently with the 40k background.

These are small misgivings, though. This is a terrific book and comes highly recommended.

Summary
Ravenor is a rattling good walk on the wild side 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

REVIEW: Ravenor synopsis

Available from The Black Library
Written by Dan Abnett

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

Zenta Malhyde, 397.M41. Zygmunt Molotch is trying to excavate Enuncia carvings. As he makes the critical discovery he is attacked by Inquisitorial agents working for Ravenor; Harlon Nayl, Carl Thonius, Kara Swole and Patience Kys. Molotch tries to escape in a flier but is shot down.

Eustis Majoris, 401.M41. Ravenor is investigating the illegal Flect trade. Zael, a teenage Flect addict, is forced to reveal his dealer by Nayl. Meanwhile Kys and Thonius worm their way into Umberto Sonsal's confidence. Swole is attacked by gangers as she follows a lead. She is arrested.

Nayl and Zael fight their way through to Genevieve X, the dealer, but she has already been gruesomely murdered. Nayl and Thonius use their Inquisitorial authority to rescue Swole from Rickens and Plyton of the Magistratum. Kys gets the name of Sonsal's Flect dealer: Drase Bazarof. Sonsal overdoses on Flect.

Kys escapes Sonsal's residence. Inquisitor Ravenor uses his psychic powers to watch the Magistratum investigation. Mysterious men show up. One is Kinsky, a powerful psyker and another is Ahenobarb, his burly minder. Ravenor is chased away by Kinsky. The Inquisitor decides to make planetfall on Eustis Majoris. He brings two more agents; Mathuin and the psychic untouchable Frauka. Thonius takes a Flect from Zael.

The team capture Bazarof along with his friends Lunt and the insane Bergossian. Bazarof confesses that he was supplied with Flects by Duboe from the Carnivora circus.

Kys infiltrates the Carnivora with a group of gangers. Swole poses as an acrobat. Nayl and Mathuin sneak in with fake ID. The team capture Duboe but Kinsky arrives.

Ravenor and his team are taken back to Lord Governor Barazan's palace. Jader Trice, head of the Ministry of Sub-Sector Trade, Barazan's private enforcers, tells Ravenor that Duboe was in league with Feaver Skoh. Skoh is a Xeno hunter who operates with Kizary Thekla, a Rogue Trader. Trice believes that Skoh is using the Carnivora to smuggle Flects with Thekla.

Ravenor and his retinue are joined by Kinsky, Madsen and Ahenobarb. They head for Flint with Duboe in tow.

Kinsky uses his psychic powers to discover that Bartol Siskind knew that Thekla had cancelled his planned trip to Flint. Ravenor interrogates Duboe and gets the words contract 13, but he does not know what they mean. He also discovers that Kinsky has secretly been questioning Duboe.

The authorities on Flint discover Kinsky's use of psychic powers and raise the alert. Kinsky, Madsen and Ahenobarb flee leaving Thonius and Kys behind. Thonius is cornered and has an arm severed in a brutal fight. Ravenor and Kys combine to rescue Thonius.

Thonius has his arm re-attached. Zael starts having psychic nightmares. Ravenor, Kinsky and Madsen clash verbally. Nayl finds Siskind and Ravenor questions him. He discovers that Thekla had set up a meeting with Siskind on Bonners Reach. Siskind and Thekla are distant relatives whose grandparents were directly involved with the Cognitae; a training program for genius malcontents run by a disgraced Inquisitor.

Ravenor and his retinue travel to Lenk. Thonius secretly tries a Flect.

Everyone arrives at Bonners Reach. Swole sneaks onto the planet's surface. Zael's dreams worsen and warn him he is walking into a trap. The team, under ship mistress Preest's direction, meet a trader, Sholto Unwerth. He tells Preest that Thekla is here and that the Flect trade is controlled by Akunin. Madsen, Ahenobarb and Kinsky seize control of the Hinterlight, Preest's ship, which Ravenor and his team are using. Frauka is shot dead. Preest and the agents on the surface are taken prisoner by Skoh's brother.

Skoh boards the Hinterlight to hunt down Kys. Preest and the others are bundled onto a lifter. Swole sneaks aboard.

The lifter docks with the Hinterlight. Swole rescues Preest and the others. Mathuin kills Skoh's brother in the process. Mathuin and Preest head to the Enginarum to regain control of the ship.

Duboe is released. He attacks Ravenor who has been crippled by a psychic limiter. Kinsky attacks Preest. Kys removes the limiter from Ravenor's chair. Ravenor kills Duboe. Nayl fights his way toward the bridge. Thonius is too cowardly to join the fight.

Ravenor and Kinsky fight psychically. Skoh takes charge. Madsen and Ahenobarb leave the bridge to attack Preest. The Hinterlight is drifting toward Bonners Reach's star. The Oktober Country, with Thekla at the helm, starts shooting at the Hinterlight. He wants Ravenor dead even if it means killing his co-conspirators.

Kys kills Ahenobarb and Madsen. Nayl fights Skoh. Frauka comes back to life and snaps Kinsky's neck. Ravenor knocks Skoh unconscious. He also forces Thekla to lower his shields so that he can fire missiles at the bridge of the Oktober Country. Thekla dies.

Ravenor interrogates Skoh. He reveals that contract 13 is an arrangement between a consortium of Rogue Traders and the Ministry of Sub-Sector Trade to recover tech salvage from the Mergent Worlds. The Flect trade was a side enterprise. They lured Ravenor into a trap at Bonners Reach to kill him away from the power of the Imperium. The Flects are shards of broken glass from the ruined Hive cities of the Mergent Worlds, tainted with Chaos.

Thonius secretly recovers Flects from the Oktober Country. Ravenor approaches Unwerth to take his team back to Eustis Majoris as the Hinterlight is too badly damaged. They will go back secretly as everyone thinks they are dead and they do not know who they can trust.

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

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
  

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

REVIEW: Deus Sanguinius synopsis

• Available from The Black Library
• Written by James Swallow
• Cost £5.99 (just under $12)
  

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

Blood Angel Brother Rafen secretly worships the Emperor in a makeshift shrine on Shenlong. Arkio tells Rafen of his plan to reunite the Blood Angel successor chapters then launch a Blood Crusade into the Maelstrom.

Captain Gallio and Librarian Vode arrive to investigate Arkio on Chapter Master Dante's behalf. Inquisitor Stele uses his psychic powers to turn the confrontation into a battle; Gallio and Vode are slain. Rafen quizzes Inquisitor Stele but is driven off by psychically-induced suicidal impulses. He stumbles back to the shrine to kill himself but is saved at the last moment by a vision of Sanguinius.

Inquisitor Stele consults with Warmaster Garand of the Word Bearers and the Daemon Mallafax. They tell Stele to convert the Blood Angels to Chaos more quickly.

Sanguinary Priest Sachiel requests an audience with Dante on the shrine world of Sabien. Fearing a trap, Mephiston goes in his place.

Rafen tries and fails to overload the fusion core of the Ikari fortress. Arkio believes Rafen died in the attempt, but Rafen escapes. Sachiel reveals his doubts to Stele but his mind is wiped by the Inquisitor. Rafen sneaks aboard the starship Bellus and travels to Sabien with Arkio. Arkio is troubled by dark dreams and visions and his corruption by Chaos is only hidden by Inquisitor Stele.

Arkio and Mephiston meet on Sabien. Mephiston challenges Arkio to single combat. Rafen takes up the challenge. Rafen injures Arkio. His taint is realised by Sachiel who is psychically killed by Stele. The Inquisitor blames Mephiston and uses Sachiel's death as an excuse to launch an attack on the Blood Angels.

Warmaster Garand takes the opportunity to begin his own ambush of the Blood Angels. The Warmaster also orders his space ship, Misericorde, to attack the Bellus as well as Mephiston's Europae.

Rafen kills Arkio. Stele summons the Daemon Mallafax. Mallafax kills Stele, then the Chaplain Delos. Rafen wields the Spear of Telesto and the rebel Blood Angels renounce Arkio, fighting once more for their united chapter. Rafen destroys Malfallax. As the Daemon dies it forces the Blood Angels to succumb to the Black Rage. The Word Bearers retreat. Rafen and the Spear bring Mephiston and the Blood Angels back from the brink.

The Spear is taken back to Baal. Shenlong is destroyed by Exterminatus. Warmaster Garand must explain his failures to Abaddon the Despoiler. Rafen is offered Captaincy but refuses it, asking for forgiveness instead.

REVIEW: Deus Encarmine

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

As a long time Blood Angel player (from Rogue Trader days) I was looking forward to reading this book. In my view the Blood Angels have had a hard time of late due to a very dodgy third edition codex. This was overpowering rules-wise and left many Blood Angels players and their opponents with a negative view of the chapter. The slim mini-codex also had little space devoted to background material, so new players had no real insight into the motivations behind the chapter. With a set of broken rules and no context to place them in the Blood Angels got a very bad reputation on the tabletop battlefields of the 41st millennium. I hoped this book would remedy that.

Sadly it doesn't. Deus Encarmine doesn't really convey the full richness and depth of the Chapter. The Blood Angels have a lot of internal conflicts that could make for a great narrative but they aren't really developed or explored here. For example, the Blood Angels are created from shambling mutants on Baal and become superhuman Space Marines. Because they are so long lived they have the time to hone their artistic skills and have the most ornate armour and banners of any Chapter. At the same time they are susceptible to the Black Rage and can become homicidal maniacs. They are forever torn between the height of civilisation, art, and the depths of barbarism, murder. I got the feeling in reading Deus, that the Blood Angels could have been substituted for any other Chapter without much revision and without substantially changing the plot or characters.

I have another problem in Inquisitor Stele, who commands many Blood Angels. My understanding is that the Blood Angels are loathe to trust outsiders, especially Inquisitors, who may be exposed to their rage and therefore expose their failing geneseed. I just didn't buy his position of authority within the Chapter. He had to be there to make the plot work but I felt it ruined the internal consistency of the novel.

Another section of the book I struggled with was the flashback to Baal. That also felt tacked on and forced. It sketched out the relationships of the main characters in a very schematic way without conveying any real character. In the end I really didn't care much about the predicament of any of the protagonists.

In fact the whole book seemed very thin; on plot, on detail, on character.

There are some positive points, though. The action scenes are written well. They are pacy and very cinematic. In many scenes I could imagine a computer game version of the events running in my head as I read. And at least it is some focus and attention on the Blood Angels.

I should also note that this is the first of a two book series. In that light, this book is simply a prelude to the second in terms of introducing characters, exposing conflicts between them and setting the scene. If the pay-off is good in the next novel, then the first volume has done it's job.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Summary

Deus Encarmine is a wasted opportunity to explore the Blood Angels Chapter. The plotting, character and detail are lacking but the action scenes are involving.

Score 4/10

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: Deus Encarmine synopsis

When I switched the web address of this blog earlier in the year I neglected to delete the old blog content on my webspace. That meant that if anyone was to search for lone pilgrim through a search engine they'd have a good chance of finding the old blog which halted abruptly in August, and they'd have no idea that I had continued at this address. This point was made forcibly to me recently when a frustrated friend explained he couldn't find my blog at all!

So I've deleted the old blog files on my webspace and hopefully people should find their way here. A side issue, and the reason for this post, is my static HTML website. That is still sitting there on my old webspace with a fistful of content on it. I want to shut that down too, and make this blog my only web presence, but in order to do so I need to transfer the content over here. I don't want to just lose it.

The first things I want to bring over are my reviews. So I'm starting with my book reviews. First up is Deus Encarmine.

• Available from The Black Library
• Written by James Swallow
• Cost £5.99 (just under $12)

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

Cybele is a war-grave world in the Ultima Segmentum. The Blood Angels, including Brother Rafen, are trying to stop it's desecration by the traitorous Word Bearers. At the last moment, the beleaguered Blood Angels are reinforced by the returning members of the Bellus expedition, led by Inquisitor Stele. The mission lasted 10 years and successfully recovered the Spear of Telestus, an artifact dating back to the Horus Heresy and which was reportedly used by the Primarch Sanguinius himself. Brother Sachiel has moved quickly through the ranks while on the mission and is now a Sanguinary Priest. Rafen is reunited with his younger brother Arkio, who has matured remarkably.

Meanwhile, Iskavan, the Word Bearers Dark Apostle, has his Sorceror Tancred make a fortune telling. Tancred is too frightened to tell Iskavan of his forthcoming doom.

Arkio leads an attack on the starport and uses its gun batteries to destroy the orbiting Chaos space ship. Arkio saves Sachiel's life during the battle by killing a Daemon single-handedly. Sachiel declares that their Primarch Sanguinius has been reborn in Arkio.

Iskavan is commanded to retreat by warmaster Garand against the Word Bearers tradition. Iskavan flees to Shenlong and the captured Ikari fortress (a munition manufactory).

With Cybele saved, Inquisitor Stele presents the Spear to Arkio. In their bloodlust, the Blood Angels forget their duty to defend Cybele and set out for Shenlong. Veteran Sergeant Koris and Sachiel argue. Commander Dante, back on Baal, orders Stele to remain on Cybele. The Inquisitor kills the Astropath carrying the message.

Flashback to Baal, and Koris the Marine is selecting initiates to become Blood Angels. Arkio, Rafen and Sachiel are among the candidates. Koris takes Sachiel and Arkio but dismisses Rafen as he shows no humility. The Thunderhawk carrying the aspirants crashes. Rafen rallies the survivors against the flora and fauna. Koris reverses his decision and takes Rafen as an initiate.

Back to the present, and Koris and the other skeptics confront Stele. They think the attack on Shenlong is suicide. Stele lies and tells them that the Ikari fortress conceals an Eldar webway portal. Koris accepts the now vital mission, despite the odds. Stele shares a benediction with the Marines. They all succumb to the Black Rage before the attack on the fortress. Just before he dies, Koris tells Rafen of Stele's treachery and that Arkio could destroy the Blood Angels.

Rafen kills Tancred, and the Blood Angels take the fortress, largely thanks to Arkio, wielding the Spear of Telesto. Iskavan escapes.

Rafen secretly sends a message back to Dante on Baal, recounting the abandonment of Cybele and the attack on Shenlong. Stele finds out about the message and executes the Bellus' astropathic choir, so that he has sole control over communications.

Arkio and Sachiel begin the execution of civilians upon Shenlong for hiding the impure. Commander Dante dispatches a force to bring Arkio and the Spear back to Baal. Inquisitor Stele and Arkio reveal their plans to set aside the Codex Astartes and raise an army on Shenlong.

Garand tells Iskavan that his army was a sacrifice to try and corrupt the Blood Angels. In order to spoil Garand's plan, and gain vengeance upon the Blood Angels, Iskavan tries to release chemical weapons which would kill everyone upon Shenlong. He is delayed by Rafen and finally killed by Arkio. During the climactic battle Arkio sprouts wings, just like his Primarch.

When Rafen recovers he is made to pledge his allegiance to Arkio. Sachiel forces him to drink a benediction.

REVIEW: Tactica Aeronautica

Tactica Aeronautica. An expansion for Aeronautica Imperialis by Warwick Kinrade. Published by Forge World. £26.


I liked Aeronautica Imperialis and awarded it a rock dang solid 8 out of 10 score in my last review. I bought this expansion book at Games Day at the same time as I bought the first book and I've only just finished reading it a month later. In many ways there is more 'to get your teeth into' in this shorter book than in the initial longer tome.

So what exactly is in Tactica Aeronautica?

There are seven sections spread over 128 pages. The book opens on familiar ground (in familiar skies?) with new aircraft. They are presented in the usual format; a photoshopped picture of the model in action, some background on the aircraft, it's specifications, some technical drawings of the flyer and then several variant paint schemes. The Imperials (natch), Orks, Tau and Chaos get some love here. The Chaos addition, the Harbinger heavy bomber, is mind bending, especially compared to the existing Chaos craft. The model is as big as your hand! To give you some idea of the scale difference the wingspan of a Hellblade fighter is 5.6m while the Harbinger has a wingspan of 33.3m. It's huge!


The section ends with two pages of aircraft upgrades which allow wing commanders to add equipment to their machines such as chaff, star engines, daemonic possession and blacksun filters. They seem like an interesting way to individualise each aircraft.

New squadron lists
Next up are the new squadron lists. The lists are significantly longer than in the last volume as they now include all of the aircraft upgrades described earlier. Players are now able to buy aces and double aces to fly their planes for one-off games. The major change I noticed to the points values was to Eldar Vampire Hunters which have increased a whopping 10 points in value. I knew that Eldar aircraft were considered to be the best in the game - I guess now they're really paying for it.

The data sheets give rules for the new craft and also outline some new weapon fits for existing flyers such as Vultures and Valkyries.

Typha-IV campaign
One of the chunkiest sections, and the main reason why it took me so long to read the book, is the Typha-IV campaign. Readers of previous Forge World books will recognise the format. We start with a planetary survey of Typha-IV which is 80% water and entering a premature ice age due to extensive mining pollution. All of this work is carried out by indentured prisoners. Production has been stepped up to meet the threat from the Tau third expansion and extra Navy wings have been garrisoned there. The Navy also uses the planet for training exercises.


The Tau decide to launch a hit and run attack on Typha-IV to stop production and to show the Imperium that they can strike deep into Imperial territory. The Tau hope that by doing so the Imperium will have to defend it's assets and this will in turn give the Tau time to establish their empire on the newly acquired third sphere planets.

The forces of each faction are described in detail which at least gives us an inkling of higher level aerospace organisation in the Imperium. There are tons of graphics of planes that fought in the campaign, my personal favourite being the Thunderbolt of Ixan Muro. If and when I get some planes I want to paint them in a similar scheme.

The events of the campaign are told in less than compelling language and there seems to be no real narrative drive behind the story. This could be good or bad depending on your point of view. In theory it could be a deliberate attempt by the author to reject the dynamics of storytelling in favour of a more 'realistic' description of events. Real conflicts don't often fit into neat little narrative boxes or compact into discreet, fulfilling events; instead they are messy, inconclusive and ambiguous. On the other hand, and I think that this is the case having read this book and previous Forge World books, the author just isn't very good at telling stories and holding our attention. He says things over an entire page that could have been conveyed in two sentences while significant events are glossed over.

Examples in Tactica include the description of 'Black Week' when Tau fighters harried and attacked Imperial craft from a secret airbase. These events are painted in incredibly broad brush strokes and don't give us any real feeling for why it was such a 'Black Week' for the Imperial pilots. Later in the conflict the Imperium launch 'Operation Defiant Hate' in an attempt to stop the Tau. As far as I can tell this involves the Imperial commanders saying 'Righto lads, I think we should actually try and find this secret Tau base and bomb the hell out of the blighters.' The discovery of the Tau base does not seem to come from any cunning plan or individual display of bravery, it comes because we're getting to the end of the campaign description and things need to be wrapped up. It's ultimately not satisfying. Still, it is a rather cool backdrop to play your games against. It made me want to create a storm-tossed sea board to play my games on.

Which brings me to the campaign system. This is presented as a strategic target campaign, so although it is heavily tied into the Typha-IV specific conflict, it can be used to represent any campaign of this type. Many of the campaign rules from the first book are referenced and tweaked and new scenarios are introduced. It looks like it would be a lot of fun to play.

Other scenarios are added later in the book. The first is a tournament scenario, intended for competitive rather than narrative play, and the others include some of the new aircraft described earlier in the book.

Ground installations are re-imagined in far more detail than the previous tome and rules are provided which allow players to build their own custom buildings. There are even some sample photographs of buildings and two schematics of Imperial airbases (these tie in with the new terrain from Forge World). There is also a three page spread on how to build an ultra realistic airbase using their terrain. It looks absolutely stunning.

Battle report
Another major section of the book is given over to a battle report. Again this is Tau versus Imperials with the book's author Warwick Kinrade taking charge of the Imperials. The graphics are well drawn and convey the action quite well although the decision to show two turns on several of the maps can confuse the action somewhat. This section was a great read for me as I haven't bought any models or played a game yet and it gave me a real feel for how the game plays.


Hobby articles conclude the book. They include some basic tactics, a brief Q and A and the designer's notes (which are illuminating - I wish all Games Workshop books included these).

I think this book is pretty much essential reading for all Aeronautica enthusiasts. The new squadron lists and campaign system will be invaluable for those most interested in actually playing the game while rabid fluff-monkeys will love the campaign description and new aircraft. As it is slimmer than most Forge World volumes it is also a bit cheaper but I found it actually had more in it to read.

I give Tactica Aeronautica a solid 7/10.

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: Aeronautica Imperialis

Aeronautica Imperialis by Warwick Kinrade. Published by Forge World. £35. Aerial combat in the 41st millennium.


This book has 10 sections and is in the usual Forge World large, glossy format. The book is crammed with the same type of photoshopped model photography and vehicle diagrams and paint schemes found in the Imperial Armour books. This will either delight you or appall you, depending on your sensibilities. For me, the price is not such an issue, so I like that the book looks and feels expensive, kind of like an upmarket Games Workshop publication.

The book opens with the game rules. They are relatively short and simple, with a turn consisting of choosing manoeuvres, initiative, tailing fire, movement, firing and the end phase. Many players will be happy to learn that this isn't an I-go U-go system, players instead alternating their actions between planes in the same turn. The advanced rules are only two pages long and could easily have been incorporated into the regular rules. Squadron lists for all of the races in the game finish off this first section. The lists are small and basic, with little real choice - the Chaos list has only two options, for example.

Section two contains the aircraft data sheets. These include all the profiles of the aircraft (type, hits, manoeuvrability, speed, thrust, weapons, etc). This is where the differences between the aircraft start to emerge, where even a slight variation in an aircraft can have big consequences on playing style and tactics on the tabletop. By all accounts, the Eldar seem to have a very powerful set of flyers.

The following six sections detail each individual aircraft used by each of the factions in the game. There are flyers for Imperial forces (by far the largest section), Orks, Tau, Chaos, Eldar and Space Marines. For someone simply wanting to play a game, these sections are largely superfluous but for a fluff-junkie like me they are one of the best parts of the book. The format is usually a photoshopped picture of the model in action, some background on the aircraft, it's specifications, some technical drawings of the flyer and then several variant paint schemes. The only criticism I have, and it's a big one for me, is that there is no background on the higher organisations of any of the air forces. I'd love to know how fighter groups are organised, how many aircraft form a wing and a squadron and how aircraft fit into their faction's overall battle plan. It's not that there is little information on this, there is nothing at all!

Scenarios are outlined next, and they are presented as historical encounters. There is some background fluff, a note about choosing non-historical forces, set-up rules, special rules and the victory conditions are described. The scenarios cover pretty much every possible mission, from search and rescue to ground attacks and convoy escorts. They look like a lot of fun and will add to the game immensely, given that the number and types of aircraft themselves are limited.

The penultimate section contains rules for a campaign. It supposes that the air forces are battling for supremacy over a warzone. The rules look like they would add another dimension to the game without bogging it down in loads of extra rules. Forge World seem to think less is more in this regard and it is a sentiment I agree with. There is even a one page example of a campaign which illustrates the rules very well.

The final section contains quick reference sheets, combat record sheets and photos of models and boards.

I enjoyed reading this book. It seems to me that it will attract two separate types of audience; the inveterate fluff-monkey and the gamer looking for something new to play. There is something for both, but there are reservations for both.

It sheds some light on new background material in terms of individual aircraft but I think it could and should have gone even further with the bigger picture. Fluff-monkeys may be left wanting more.

Similarly, out and out gamers may find the force lists limited and the rules basic, but at it's core this could be a good little game to pick up and play once in a while. It's not a game for people who like 'chrome' as Jervis would put it.

These are relatively small quibbles, though, so I give Aeronautica Imperialis a solid 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