Shelfari Shelf

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Graham McNeill's "A Thousand Sons"

When i first started playing 40k back in '92, it was Chaos that ensnared me. This was before there was a Chaos Codex and the only army list was in the black dex and the only fluff was I had available to me was in the main rulebook and bestiary. I remember a single page at the back of one of those - or was it Dark Millennium, I'm sure someone with a better fluff recall than me knows - was a story about the Thousand Sons casting a ritual to bring Prospero into the warp. It was pretty cool and it enamored me of them. Fast forward to the present. I bought A Thousand Sons on Sunday, and have been reading it ever since. Those of you who know me, are thinking, "but Chris, why didn't you finish it on Sunday?" While I do read pretty fast, usually that entails me focusing everything on reading a novel to the exclusion of all else. Also, while I do speed read, I'm finding that some of the savor is disappearing when I don't take the time to enjoy a novel. So, here I am on Tuesday night and I've just finished my reading. This was a good novel, better than i could have hoped despite the fact that its twists were unsurprising. The story of the Wolves destroying Prospero is one of the more fleshed out tales within the Horus Heresy; and this novel covers a period from right before the Battle of Ullanor through the Council of Nikea and on to the Destruction of Prospero. It is only in the expanded detail of Prospero and the Thousand Sons that makes the novel worth reading and a read to thousand Sons fans.. It's a great read, and I'm only saddened by the fact that I will have to wait so long to read Prospero Burns.

On a side note, in writing these reviews, I'm doing my best to leave out any spoilers, but if anyone has any advice feel free to let fly.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, I didn't know that:

    "...story of the Wolves destroying Fenris is one of the more fleshed out tales..."

    You may want to go back and fix that. This is one time you are not allowed to spoil anything for me. I have picked up the book but will not be starting it til next week as it will distract me from finishing the Griffons for this weekend. Also I am already reading both Rynns World and Nagash.

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  2. Thanks for the catch. In fairness, I posted that at 1am as soon as I finished the book. I'm doing my best not to put in any spoilers in my reviews. Mainly saying what the book is about and whether or not its worth reading. Which Nagash book are you looking to read? The first? I haven't seen the new one on the shelves yet.

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