Quote Originally Posted by Xisor View Post
I don't disagree - but I also think I perhaps didn't convey myself rightly.

I'm more worried about the placing of Babu & Oll, their inclusion in TOD & KNF. I understand their relevancy and, to tell the truth, I really do like the notion of them, but they seem...shoehorned into events. Their stories, in my humble opinion, the very ideas of them merit more than being side-notes and (almost) afterthoughts as part of the backdrop of something far greater.

I distinctly remember (though with no clue as to where the mention is for verification) that the Ordo Malleus is said to predate the Imperium. We should start to see them. By rights, they ought to be out there, in the background. But it'd be silly to have a section of a chapter in Horus Rising dedicated to an OM agent simply because they happened to be present at one of the briefings.

Similarly, I think Oll's story and Babu's story would have worked better if they were done...Kasper-style in Prospero Burns, or in the style of Legion. That is: dedicated to that story, adding a new angle on other things.

With the way it's done in KNF and TOD I don't think it's executed so...skillfully. There's an edge of dissatisfaction about it that I can't quite put my finger on other than saying 'they seem out of place'. They're more than cameos, and it's both stealing the limelight from the rest of the book and diminishing the worth that's given to them; too...diluted. (The examples I gave - Dorn, Loken/Tarvitz/Garro/Fabius are much more...agreeable.)

Having said all that, it could be a question of balance. The earlier cameos & 'special guest star appearances' were perhaps not quite enough, I'm confident a more pleasing equilibrium can be reached!
I think you're commenting on what is going to be a fundamentla problem of any 'shared' universe collaboration like 40K or Star Wars even when you get a cooperative arc like the HH series going. There are always going to be different ideas and methods and approaches that the authors want to take or explore, and that is going to cause problems no matter how thorough or well meaning they are. They have to work on a timetable, and things can change over time (ideas, the authors participating, teh direction they take, etc.) and that can lead to the sorts of things like 'late introductions' of characters. And yes, it is shoehorned, I won't deny that. What you're describing basically describes the entire pre-NJO Star Wars novel continuity (which I assume you have read - that was all over the place lol) and it gets messy and looks awkward, but its not that bad. Some TV series like Babylon 5 had similar problems (things had to be changed, or shoehorned in or altered at a later date and it changes how things that came along previously went.)

The main advantage the novel series like the HH will have is that they can go back (at a later point) and develop those characters if they want and how we get to the point they are introduced. There's actually been parts like that in the HH series already - the HH series is doing a greatl deal of that 'point of view' type stuff, where one novel presents events from the viewpoint of one faction or force, and then in a latter novel we may get a different perspective (the differing POVs on the Dropsite massacre for example, or the devastation of Prospero. Contrast how the Space Wolves look in ATS to how they're portrayed in Prospero burns. Alone they seem odd, but there's a sort of complementary aspect when you put them together.)

In any case, its' not something you can do away with without changing the universe and the way its developed dramatically, which probably isnt going to happen (but hey maybe they'll give Mat Ward creative control over BL and FFG too. lol)

(As for the Necromunda stories - I'm eager to get my hands on TKJ Omni & NO2. NO1 is now one of my most treasured purchases, such an unexpected gem.)
I bought them all and read them individually. I think the Kal Jerico stuff was the best, although it was better whne Gordon REnnie was writing it (he only wrote one novel sadly, but I think he was more involved in the comics. Execution Hour and Shadow point were the first 40K novels I ever read and I still have a fond place for them in my heart.)