greater good goon

You know what they say of having too much of a good thing.

I started reading this book immediately after the Dante novel, which I quite enjoyed. When I reviewed it on facebook, a couple of people commented that they didn't like Guy Haley's style in that story. I think I understand them now.

Devastation of Baal left me fed up with the author's writing style. Although I did enjoy the elevated perspective in which the narrative analyzes large-scale movements of actors and factions, I feel that this novel really lacks characters, or personality. The novel suffers greatly from not having a singular point of view to ground all the events of the war on Baal. It becomes pitiful that no character receives a focus that addresses any kind of narrative arc.

My biggest problem with this book was the entire second half. I already knew it was going to be a feast of bolt-porn and plotless action, but I refused to believe it could be as forgettable as it actually was. Not only did I stop paying attention in all those chapters, but I feel like missed anything of consequence. It's written in such a way that you can understand each event without knowing what came before, which gives it the feeling that it's meant to be listened to in the background while you do something else... which is exactly what I ended up doing. It feels like it was written to be binged. And it certainly doesn't help that there weren't any tangible stakes placed on characters with significant conflicts. I feel like the entire Blood Knights storyline was meant to be momentous and moving, but they end up being very flat characters. I felt nothing for them.

Why is it so difficult to write good war scenes in Warhammer 40,000?

As is often the case with Haley, the positive aspect is that his novels have vibrant and complex worldbuilding where realistic factions with distinct perspectives can be found in every corner. The story shines through in the participation of all the different chapters of the Blood. The narrative manages to convey their sense of urgency, as well as the feeling that they are nourished by their similarities and differences. The highlight for me was the Red Council conference where hundreds of high-ranking officers debated their strategy for confronting the Tyranids.

It's worth noting that I also quite enjoyed all the scenes from the Tyranids' point of view. The narration imbues the nids with a sense of horror and a nature beyond human comprehension.

I give the novel a 5/10 because I literally only enjoyed half of it.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been playing an Age of Fantasy: Skirmish campaign, a agnostic tabletop skirmish game that's really simple to play. This coincided with me starting a collection of fantasy skeleton miniatures, bought from Temu and an old man who sells printed miniatures in the historic square of my city.

To my surprise, my opponent also collects skeletons (from another tabletop game), so we've played four games in this campaign, which will soon be over.

It's worth noting that in the first few games, we also went against with an orc player. I'm not sure if I enjoyed playing free-for-all with three people, since, in my opinion, it's inevitable that two players will fight only each other, while the third captures objectives freely.

After the last game, both warbands have the same number of army points (280) and victory points (6). Surprisingly, we're tied, and we've agreed that the final game will take place when both warbands reach a maximum of 300 army points.

It's been a pleasure painting my skeletons, which hasn't gone unnoticed by my opponent. While his skeletons are more robust, wield axes, and are covered in thick blue armor, mine are shorter and thinner, show their bones, and wield silver spears. He also plays using the rules of the Ossified Undead faction, which features slow-moving undead units that can regenerate while having defensive capabilities. My faction rules belong to the Mummified Undead (although my models aren't Ancient Egyptian-themed), which gives them great speed and range. So far, our games have consisted of me trying to kill his tough units, while he struggles to move towards the objectives.

The other half of the fun lies in the narrative aspect of the campaign. One of my favorite units has been my archers, very useful for harassing my lethargic opponent from a distance. Interestingly, these were the only units of mine that have leveled up, gaining a trait that allows them to roll an extra die when attacking. In contrast, my dragon died in our last game. Also one of my favorite units, its "toughness (3)" trait allowed it to withstand several wounds while dealing considerable damage; not to mention that its flight was very useful for leaping over mountains and buildings on the terrain.

To my disappointment, my opponent doesn't have a specific lore for his warband, unlike me. I came up with a solid narrative in my head for my skeletons based on Age of Sigmar lore. (Maybe someday I'll make a post dumping everything I have in mind). However, my rival named their warband "The Legion of the Ice King" based on a slight icy theme he used to decorate his skeletons. But he also mentioned that this name comes from the Ice King from Adventure Time. In addition, we had to play the last two games on a radioactive-industrial themed board because the fantasy tables were occupied. This got me thinking it would be fun to imagine our campaign taking place in the fantastical land of Ooo, where magic is actually forgotten technology, the aftermath of the apocalypse, and also… magic, sometimes.

I'm excited to keep playing. With the death of my dragon, I've planned to bring a different unit, which I want to represent with a dinosaur skeleton figure.

It's the first primarch novel I've read, and I know it's odd to start with the last primarch, but the Alpha Legion is my second favorite, and the audiobook was only $3.

It's a novella written in the first person where Alpharius recounts his origins. This means that almost the entire book consists of characterizing the primarch through dialogue, monologue, and his insider's perspective on the Great Crusade.

As a fan of the Alpha Legion, the story gave me everything I was looking for. Alpharius is cunning, detached, brilliant, and horrifyingly pragmatic. Reading the story is learning that his role in the Galaxy is important not only because he keeps secrets (as he claims) but because he is the epitome of the Imperium's cold logic.

It appeals to the edgy teenager that lives inside me.

The brilliance of the narrative lies in the subtle way Alpharius acquires other characteristics, which he himself denies possessing. Throughout the story, it's revealed that he has a sense of humor, empathy, a colossal ego, and a deep sense of camaraderie with his children and his (SPOILER) twin.

I just didn't quite like the beginning of the book, which shows the primarch infiltrating the Imperial Palace. I couldn't understand his intentions, and the drastic nature of his actions lacked reasonable justification. At least the fight with Constantin Valdor was cool, and I love that canonically he later chose the spear as his weapon of choice inspired by the Custodes.

Additionally, I wish his encounter with (SPOILER) Omegon at the end of the book had been structured differently. I think the way Omegon immediately connected with his twin, his background, and ideals, was a missed opportunity to explore any differences between the two identical twins. Aside from these two, the novella has several memorable sequences: Alpharius's discovery on Terra, his training with Malcador, his encounter with the Lion, and the entire action scene at that planetary school.

I truly enjoyed it from beginning to end, and I'm not sure whether to call it very good or just great.