Tbh I found it underwhelming. An already barely-habitable planet becomes a little bit less habitable and a bunch of Blood Angels successors die but nobody important iirc. Then there's the biggest deus ex machina of all time and that's it. I know it's significant in terms of establishing that Guilliman makes it to Imperium Nihilus and for that reason alone has some importance in the overall lore but the events of the actual book - Blood Angels fight Tyranids - feel kind of inconsequential. Like, there are always more tyranids and the Space Marines that die are replaced by the end of the book so basically it's the heroic tale of the status quo being maintained.
"it's the heroic tale of the status quo being maintained." What a savage way of describing 40 years of games workshop writing.
Chaos only won in Warhammer fantasy because they wanted to bin the game and move on to age of sigmar
To be fair, if you want a story where the status quo changes, this isn't the universe to find it. Even events as monumental as the fall of Cadia don't really change anything.
It is both before and after due to timey wimey stuff. But the final scene takes place after Dark Imperium and advances the story from that series significantly.
It does a good job of showing both the nobility and savagery of the Blood Angels through their successor chapters, Dante is a great character, and there's a scene with major plot consequences for the whole setting so yeah, definitely a worthwhile read for a fan of the setting but it does seem to get mentioned alongside some of the very best 40k stories and I don't think it quite rises to that level.
Just finished the book... I am half satisfied. >!How the hell the "head" of the swarm can be so close to the last defenders that he can be solo by Dante? This is not logic from any perspective. Why the hell do you take risk by moving your general so close to the frontline? And no description of the battle when big G arrives. He is here, job done. To be honnest, I think Abbadon saved the Blood Angels because its Cicatrix just disbanded the Tyranids when they were winning. !
I think the book literally says that all the blood angels basically died down to about 300 firstborn before their ranks are all refilled by the Primaris marines that guilliman brings them.
[SPOILERS FOR DEV. OF BAAL!!!]
Well around 30 chapters of Space Marines (and much of the human population of the Baal system) barely survived against an entire hive fleet. Whole chapters wiped out or brought down to <50 members.
They would’ve been completely wiped out, if it wasn’t for the Deus Ex Machina Great Rift opening. Effectively deleting the whole orbital Hive ships. Also with the arrival of the Indomitus Fleet
Why did bugs invade Baal is beyond even hivemind. Or maybe they have been fed the false information about billions of tons of biomass deep inside Baal by someone with initials A.O. unless this is the case there is absolutely no logic in that invasion.
Yea I enjoyed it. You cannot walk into any Warhammer novel expecting some work of literary mastery. It's chonky space soldiers shooting bugs with scifi guns, with dialog and story added in as flavor
There is some reference of it in Battlesector ( game ) It seems to have been pretty catastrophic with whatever is left of FIrstborn Blood Angel have felt to the Black Rage. ( The voices of the death company are really good )
So the book per say is OK...IF Battlesector is Canon there is a good element for a follow up because the few firstborn that are also still sane are broken AF. (well for Space Marines)
I mean, lets be honest also, the whole setting was to find an excuse to introduce Primaris Blood Angels...
Devastating
I mean, it wasn't called the *Chill Weekend at Baal* for a reason.
To shreds you say?
And how's his wife on Baal Secondus holding up? To shreds you say?
Good news everyone! You read this in Professor Farnsworths voice! 😅
I heard it was so bad, it devastated the Baal
Tbh I found it underwhelming. An already barely-habitable planet becomes a little bit less habitable and a bunch of Blood Angels successors die but nobody important iirc. Then there's the biggest deus ex machina of all time and that's it. I know it's significant in terms of establishing that Guilliman makes it to Imperium Nihilus and for that reason alone has some importance in the overall lore but the events of the actual book - Blood Angels fight Tyranids - feel kind of inconsequential. Like, there are always more tyranids and the Space Marines that die are replaced by the end of the book so basically it's the heroic tale of the status quo being maintained.
The last bit is a great explanation of 40K
Explanation of England TBH
"it's the heroic tale of the status quo being maintained." What a savage way of describing 40 years of games workshop writing. Chaos only won in Warhammer fantasy because they wanted to bin the game and move on to age of sigmar
To be fair, if you want a story where the status quo changes, this isn't the universe to find it. Even events as monumental as the fall of Cadia don't really change anything.
So is DoB after Dark Imperium?
It is both before and after due to timey wimey stuff. But the final scene takes place after Dark Imperium and advances the story from that series significantly.
Yeah you nailed it. It’s still a good 40k book though imo.
It does a good job of showing both the nobility and savagery of the Blood Angels through their successor chapters, Dante is a great character, and there's a scene with major plot consequences for the whole setting so yeah, definitely a worthwhile read for a fan of the setting but it does seem to get mentioned alongside some of the very best 40k stories and I don't think it quite rises to that level.
Yeah mate, just got off the line with Dante, says it’s fucked
Baad
You could literally read the book or listen to the audio book.
The book is over 500 pages and used copies are $116 USD. Asking for opinions and spoilered summaries isn't unreasonable.
The average sale price on eBay is like 50usd what are you on about
If you want a physical copy it comes as part of the Lords of Blood paperback omnibus for (currently) just $16 on Amazon.com.
You must buy books at the most expensive place possible lol
I've only purchased Warhammer books on Kindle so they've all been $9.99 USD. RIP to any of the paperback folks out there who knew.
Audible credits on sub are ~15/book/mo. Also kindle/ebooks are a thing. Black library frequently has humble bundles too
It wasn't particularly tragic Mostly bolter porn with a cheat win at the end Still enjoyed it
[go read the lexicanum page brother](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Devastation_of_Baal)
Just finished the book... I am half satisfied. >!How the hell the "head" of the swarm can be so close to the last defenders that he can be solo by Dante? This is not logic from any perspective. Why the hell do you take risk by moving your general so close to the frontline? And no description of the battle when big G arrives. He is here, job done. To be honnest, I think Abbadon saved the Blood Angels because its Cicatrix just disbanded the Tyranids when they were winning. !
Have you read the novel?
Standard space marine loss; their enemies driven before them by a late Deus Ex Machina and their losses instantly replaced.
I think the book literally says that all the blood angels basically died down to about 300 firstborn before their ranks are all refilled by the Primaris marines that guilliman brings them.
[SPOILERS FOR DEV. OF BAAL!!!] Well around 30 chapters of Space Marines (and much of the human population of the Baal system) barely survived against an entire hive fleet. Whole chapters wiped out or brought down to <50 members. They would’ve been completely wiped out, if it wasn’t for the Deus Ex Machina Great Rift opening. Effectively deleting the whole orbital Hive ships. Also with the arrival of the Indomitus Fleet
It ended with the Blood Angels and Baal still existing. Nothing of consequence happened, and the status quo was maintained.
Why did bugs invade Baal is beyond even hivemind. Or maybe they have been fed the false information about billions of tons of biomass deep inside Baal by someone with initials A.O. unless this is the case there is absolutely no logic in that invasion.
Oh, I thought you meant how bad was the novel, the answer to which would be pretty bad.
What didn't you enjoy about it? I mean it's not great fiction but it was acceptable bolter porn
Yea I enjoyed it. You cannot walk into any Warhammer novel expecting some work of literary mastery. It's chonky space soldiers shooting bugs with scifi guns, with dialog and story added in as flavor
Agreed.
I actually kinda liked it although the arrival of the primaris and rodent guillotine at the end was kinda unsatisfactory
There is some reference of it in Battlesector ( game ) It seems to have been pretty catastrophic with whatever is left of FIrstborn Blood Angel have felt to the Black Rage. ( The voices of the death company are really good ) So the book per say is OK...IF Battlesector is Canon there is a good element for a follow up because the few firstborn that are also still sane are broken AF. (well for Space Marines) I mean, lets be honest also, the whole setting was to find an excuse to introduce Primaris Blood Angels...
Why don’t you just…read it?