Bell of Lost Souls - Latest Comments in REVIEW: Titanicus

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Imperialsavant — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:24:10 -0000

This was a great look at a section of the Imperium that we dont get to read about often. I agree with all bigreds comments.
Dan makes you care about the lesser charactors as well as the major players.
A great read & one I could not put down.
Well worth the price of the Hard Cover.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

RSF_Angel — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:47:54 -0000

Question:

In Titanicus the princeps are in big tanks of fluid that plug in to the titan.
Gearhart served under Ervin hekate- from the titan graphic novel= and we clearly see that hekate and his princeps are not floating in tanks of fluid, and are not required to be in order to command a titan.

was the Dictatio a different class of titan in the same legion or from a different legion?

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

TwoHeartsButOnly1Wound — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:42:05 -0000

Its time we were all very clear about something. Titans are just about the greatest thing ever. Sure its a horrendously flawed design for a vehicle. I mean why not just make a big box with tracks and guns all over the place? Why would you put all the time and resources into a giant clumsy human shaped vehicle that's likely to trip over some poor citizen's house and face plant in the middle of battle? Because its sooooooo awesome looking you can't help but love a titan. As long as titans continue to look cooler than anything else on the table they'll maintain their hold on one of the most iconic positions in the 40k universe (second only to space marines if we're going to be honest here). I mean come on you can't really expect anyone to believe that you don't love titans and in turn this book about titans at war.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

CT — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:53:43 -0000

Another thing that sets Abnett apart from some of the other BL writers is that his stories would be compelling even if they were not 40k related. It's almost as if he writes the story then goes back and tweaks the terminology to fit the 40k universe.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Rygoth — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:47:58 -0000

I actually found it to be very middle of the road. As others mentioned, it was a typical Abnett ending. I also thought some of the hooks he used were unbelievable. Using a princeps from a different legion, I don't think so. This also in the end was really transparently leading into problems in any sequels done.

I do enjoy his characterization usually, but I thought this book could have done without having so many different characters wandering around in so many different places. To me, that is one of the strengths of the Ghosts and Inquisition books is that they stay centered on one particular group instead of doing so much jumping around.

Anyway, if I was forced to rate it on the star system it would have gotten 3 of 5 from me.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

TwoHeartsButOnly1Wound — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:33:44 -0000

Yes. Yes it does. You should probably go to the patent office with that formula of yours.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

TwoHeartsButOnly1Wound — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:28:25 -0000

Clearly you've never struggled your way through a "Last Chancers" novel if you don't understand why people who are into 40k love Abnett's work.

You make a valid point about the endings of his books but I've just come to expect that his writing style is about the story rather then the final event (although I'd love 100 pages more in every book).

As far as why his stories are so "fascinating," its his characters. His good characters are flawed his evil characters have qualities that make you feel pity or grudging respect for them and none of them are above being killed at any moment. I mean he'll just roll with a character for 7 books, build him up, make you love him to the point where you making a model so you can field him in your games and then "ZAP" las round to the head, its over. Even Guant probably won't live for ever. One of these days Abnett will just kill him and move on. That's what makes his stories great.

If heroes never die their heroics really aren't that impressive.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Khorneguy — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:32:05 -0000

I'm with Moooooo!. Everyone says abnett is an awesome writer, yet always seem to forget some of the really bad stuff he's done (armour of contempt springs to mind)

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Moooooo! — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:00:58 -0000

That is typical Abnett. His endings are always hurried in some fashion. Calling him the "best" is debatable. What is up with the gravy train surrounding one author? Just how many fanboys can one author have?

As to the review - why is the story fascinating? Including facets from co-workers equals three-dimensions? Describe more. I'm not knocking the review, but it needs less flowery adjectives (ok, we get it, you liked it, that's fine) and more use of constructive examination. A suggestion might be to look at a minor plot scene and perhaps explore it a bit, the characters, what they feel at that given moment and describe what the author does that turns that scene into a masterpiece.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Azrael — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:18:09 -0000

Tolkein is a fantastic storyteller, not a fantastic writer. you cannot compare him to Shakespeare either, they wrote very different works. Many authors have certain problems you overlook or don't, no author is perfect, just look at Lovecraft, he was horrifically racist. Furthermore, the idea that sex and death for immediate gratification is a modern development is flawed, look at the likes of Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, look at Homer or Virgil. Literary styles change sure, but flaws are the same whenever you write.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Azrael — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:08:37 -0000

it is not about contemporary interest, sex or death, he is simply very linear. It is the story that hooks people, not the writing style, Abnett is the same. Black Library books simply do not compare in most cases to wider fiction, it is the same with many game based books, whatever it may be.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

terr — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:18:40 -0000

I totally agree with you. The ending of Titanicus was weak...it needed anotehr hundred pages. I mean they skipped the final battle!

And the last one is from Only in Death or whatever (the one on Jericho)

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:38:22 -0000

If you haven't noticed by now, the only problem with Abnett's stories is that towards the end, there's a big, BIG <insert something="" climatic="" here=""> followed immediately by an abrupt end.

Always.

Consider the following examples:
- A desperate city defense ends suddenly with a mano-o-mano with a Daemon Prince. The fight doesn't even last longer than GETTING to the Prince.
- Another desperate holding action with a collapsing army ends with a sudden sacrifice of <army>, and by the next sentence, they're already out and bombarding the planet from orbit...
- A buildup of intrigue and character ends with a single person switching sides, turning almost on the space of a dime.
- What I would call the "Ball of Magic" scene?
- And lastly... Oh wait, the old Magick Weapons all work! And <insert bad="" things="" here=""> is <insert -spoiler-="" here="">

(Try guessing where each story comes from :D )

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

GarethUK — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:16:54 -0000

Im not giving any plot details away here but a question for anybody who has read the whole book, didn't you find that the end seems rather rushed and sounds like its missing something???

If you want extra details, email me @ beerisgreat69@hotmail.com

Dont get me wrong, this is certainly one of the best books ive read from BL (and considering i have pretty much read them all thats saying something) just seems a bit flat at the end.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Lord — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:00:35 -0000

I disagree about your comment about Tolkien. He is a fantastic writer, but these days, we are no longer interested in his style of writing. If you compare tolkien to shakespeare, then you realize he is a fantastic writer, but in this age, where we get bored if there is no sex or death for more then three pages, many people don't appreciate the literary geniui of the last hundred years.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Lord — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:54:49 -0000

Yup, and there is a lesson for you all: never post at two in the morning...you make stupid mistakes!

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Herald of Nurgle — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:40:35 -0000

Mechanicum + Titanicus = Best Ever?

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Slaw — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:37:20 -0000

There only good and very good reviews of this book. And there is no surprise about that - Dan Abnett is the best.

I'm not sure if you already red that, here is an interview with Dan Abnett http://www.subrosa.40k.pl/i....

=][= Slaw

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Nicholas_S — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 10:47:18 -0000

Did you mean to say "fallibilities"?

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Azrael — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 10:40:19 -0000

Abnett has a real talent for storytelling, he succeeds at creating characters with depth and meaning, where he is let down is in actual literary skill. Count for example the number of times the word 'ochre' is used in the first Gaunt's Ghosts trilogy. This is not a major problem when you can create a story as compelling as he does, look at The Lord of The Rings for example, that is atrociously written, but still one of the finest books you can read.

He is by far the best GW novelist, but in a wider scale of sci-fi, the Black Library novels are still sub par.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

SSG_Snuffy — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 09:48:08 -0000

Huh... you're right. I thought it sounded familiar. It looks like this was the longer version, and the one in Firebase was the edited-down-for-space edition. Many of the phrases are identical.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Matthew_Rider — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 08:10:16 -0000

lol I know- I was just wondering

And Yahtzee is hilarious!

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 07:52:17 -0000

Why include a star rating?

I'm with Yahtzee; how does an arbitrary number summarize a complex opinion?

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Gamers World — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 06:03:09 -0000

put your comments link thing at the bottom of each post not the top. I do also like the Titans but I have not read the book.

Re: REVIEW: Titanicus

Phil Bradley — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:55:08 -0000

I'm halfway through and agree completely there is so much more depth to Abnett's characters than any other BL writer I know. Its far removed fro the usual we came- we fought - we went home for tea and medals we tend to get with a number of BL authors. He's done the Guard, Mechanicus, Inquisition even SM's bought time Mr Abnett bought us something from the Imperial Navy (other than Double Eagle.
)
Titanicus - read it, if you enjoy Dan's other books you'll love this and it's depth of characters is something rarely seen in BL's other publications.

Now it you want me I'll be on my noosphere... Praise to the Omnissiah!

PhilB