AND YET.

he makes sure the reader also knows that "underneath all that grime he is beautiful" - this is mentioned multiple times, including how white and nicely even his teeth are.

me:

I wish other warhammer characters got the TLC Guy Haley gives his blorbos. I can't even show you my favorite excerpt because I'd post 95% of the book.

Look at this erotic fantasy:

Chapter Master Caedis worked in his chambers. He was stripped to the waist; baggy, blood-red trousers on his lower half, soft black boots on his feet and a black tabard hanging between his legs - the manner of dress all Blood Drinkers affected when out of their battle-plate.

Are you telling me all Blood Drinkers normally walk around their ships bare-chested, with oversized red sweatpants and comfy UGGs?? With their big naturals open for display??

What's more, according to the one and only Guy Haley, Blood Drinkers' battle ships are very warm like blood (so those big naturals might be glistening seductively), filled with incense and "gentle music, composed by a long-dead brother".

I am so done!

This book is less fanservicey than Genefather was by this point [halfway through]

If we don't get a necron lady's head in a box, as a relic weapon, then what's the point of these books?

The scifi conceits are much, much zanier than the previous title presented.

One of the POV characters is unusually Heresy-coded, being comissioned to faithfully document historic events. I am a little surprised that such figures don't get rolled into tabletop mission rules as extractible NPCs [for standard 2k games, I know that boarding action/kill team can have them]

Cawl would absolutely bamboozle the Emperor Undying if they crossed paths. Necrolord Prime would be amazed at the thanergy-free immortality of the Prime Conduit, while being impressed in turn by the institutional stability and comprehensive reach of the House crusades. Buuuuuut our techpriest-turned-metallic-dragon would catch onto the pettiness that underlies that whole project and thereby be fatally turned to disgust.

The Iron Warrior warsmith is not particularly charming thus far. He's certainly not the equal of Bile or a random Night Lord.