Legion of the Damned

[Aedes]

Just finished the book.
Its quite a good read, but still have some queries...
I had some real trouble understanding some of the story .
SPOILERS ahead!
(Where have the spoiler tags gone?)


1. How is it possible for a Marine chapter to have such low discipline? Squabbling in public with lowly mortals around? A very bad, shameful look!
2. The Emperor as the "God" emperor. I know in the old background Space Marines did not see the Emperor as a god and were looking down on
mortals who do...since when has this changed? And shouldnt there be a common ground in one chapter after they all get the same indoctrination?
3. The defense of the cemetery world- is it really believable that the Marines are going to defend this pretty useless rock? Or did come into account
that the Excoriators are Imperial Fists successors?
4. The support and understanding for the civilians- now after reading "Helsreach" I came to think this is very unusual for marines. Weren't the Salamanders
one of the only chapters close to normal mortals?
5. At the feast of blades- wasn't the Fire Lord cheating with his fire breath? I mean, the chaplain has to switch his rosarius off and nobody is allowed
to have more than a sword- and then the Fire Lord has his own flame thrower?
6. The tail of the comet- why were there many different demons there and not just Khornate ones? If the comet is attracting Khorne worshippers
because it has transformed into a Khornate omen in the Eye- where do the other demons come from?
7. The Dorns Blade. Did Kersh steal it? For what reason? And why didn' he get punished for that?
8. Kersh was made Chapter Master. After all the drama about everybody hating him, he finally gets respected enough to lead the chapter?

[shadowhawk2008]

Just finished the book.
Its quite a good read, but still have some queries...
I had some real trouble understanding some of the story .
SPOILERS ahead!
(Where have the spoiler tags gone?)


1. How is it possible for a Marine chapter to have such low discipline? Squabbling in public with lowly mortals around? A very bad, shameful look!
Those mortals are their own servants. Would YOU care if your launderers were around when you were having a tussle with your brother?
2. The Emperor as the "God" emperor. I know in the old background Space Marines did not see the Emperor as a god and were looking down on
mortals who do...since when has this changed? And shouldnt there be a common ground in one chapter after they all get the same indoctrination?
There is no single view on this. Some chapters consider him a god, some don't, some fall in the middle.
3. The defense of the cemetery world- is it really believable that the Marines are going to defend this pretty useless rock? Or did come into account
that the Excoriators are Imperial Fists successors?
Its not useless, or did you miss the thrust of the scene with the Ecclesiarchy?
4. The support and understanding for the civilians- now after reading "Helsreach" I came to think this is very unusual for marines. Weren't the Salamanders
one of the only chapters close to normal mortals?
They are noted as being more humane, more than is usual/normal for Space Marines. Nothing in the lore suggest that they are the only ones who can act like that.
5. At the feast of blades- wasn't the Fire Lord cheating with his fire breath? I mean, the chaplain has to switch his rosarius off and nobody is allowed
to have more than a sword- and then the Fire Lord has his own flame thrower?
I suppose.Not that it really matters though. Swords were still prominent in the fight.
6. The tail of the comet- why were there many different demons there and not just Khornate ones? If the comet is attracting Khorne worshippers
because it has transformed into a Khornate omen in the Eye- where do the other demons come from?
Shrug. Been a while since I read it, but they could simply be the detritus of the comet's manifestation in the warp. The warp isn't made of JUST the aligned gods after all.
7. The Dorns Blade. Did Kersh steal it? For what reason? And why didn' he get punished for that?
Santiarch explains all of it. And are you really going to punish a captain who just defended a vital Ecclesiarchy world and has become a hero to the world's people?
8. Kersh was made Chapter Master. After all the drama about everybody hating him, he finally gets respected enough to lead the chapter?

He is made Chapter Master years down the line. Presumably after the chapter has recovered the Stigmartyr.

[Aedes]

Thanks Shadowhawk!

As for point 1) with the low discipline- they do it right in front of the cemetery worlders they are supposed to protect. In addition, they also fight their duel in front of everyone. I just found this very unfitting.
But maybe it was the influence of the comet?
and the God Emperor- I just found it strange that 2 marines of the same chapter have different views here (the Scourge and the Librarian). They got the same indoctrination after all.

Sorry about my nit-picking...

[Wyrmwood]

But maybe it was the influence of the comet?

I took it be a mixture of Khorne's influence via the Keeler Comet and the severity of the long standing mistrust and hatred between the Scourge and Squad Whip.

and the God Emperor- I just found it strange that 2 marines of the same chapter have different views here (the Scourge and the Librarian). They got the same indoctrination after all.

The difference being that one is a Librarian, who is equipped to understand the workings of the Warp and how integral the power of faith, and the Emperor's protection, is - far more so than the Scourge.

[burad]

My only disappointment isn;t with the book. It's with how bad the LOTD are in the rules compared to the book. For what they cost in the rules, they oughta have hellfire rounds, for instance, which would make them more like the book.

[ManOfRust]

I agree, when the LotD appeared in the 5th Ed Space Marine Codex I was really thrilled...

but had to re-read the rules before I realised that they only fired regular bolt-rounds Rending on all attacks would be more to my mind for these spectral sons of the Emperor!

On topic, I am really enjoying Rob Sanders work. Both Legion of the Damned and Atlas Infernal are nicely written, well structured and utterly insane in their depiction of the grim-dark end of humanity. The balance of good quality english in the narrative and lack-of-common-sense in the setting is just right to my thinking of 40K. More of this please.

[johnmcl7]

6. The tail of the comet- why were there many different demons there and not just Khornate ones? If the comet is attracting Khorne worshippers
because it has transformed into a Khornate omen in the Eye- where do the other demons come from?

I can't remember the exact wording but it does explain this in the book, someone comments that the demons coming through the tail of the comet are just random ones spilling over uncontrolled from the warp.

I generally enjoyed the book, like others I wanted to know more of the Legion of the Damned but then again their mystery is what keeps them interesting I guess. I was left wondering what their weakness is, they come across as incredibly powerful being able to easily stop what we've been told is a massive Chaos crusade yet they don't seem to suffer at all, they seem to be invincible and have no problems maintaining their attack - why not park up at the eye of terror and obliterate anything that comes through? Also where did their base come from? The impression given is that it's far bigger than anything individual chapters were given although I may have misunderstood the scale.

John

[shadowhawk2008]

Their flagship IS an old relic and was supposed to be badass even back when they were still Fire Hawks. However, it also shares its name with a Word Bearers (?) ship from Know No Fear. That's.... quite odd.

[Rogue Star]

Loved it. Completely fit with my interpretation of the Legion of the Damned as Immaterium-ghosts, rather than simply Space Marines with warp-gangrene.

Also really enjoyed the Scourge. Bald, scarred and with a metal-ball jammed into his eye-socket! Sounds much more like a warrior who has endured decades or even centuries of brutal war than say, a certain Ultramarine Captain. :P

Rob Sanders is now firmly alongside ADB for my BL authors of choice.

[ironsons]

Very good book, I found it started a bit slowly but gained momentum. The ending was fantastically done in my opinion and I thought the Legion were portrayed brilliantly. I was upset to see no Sergeant Centrius though.

[shadowhawk2008]

You mean this? Page 215 on PC-Adobe Digital Editions:

Nestling the tip of his combat blade between lid and sarcophagus, Brother Omar twisted the weapon and broke the pressure seal. The object gave a loud moan of relief and the Scout proceeded to prise open the top half of the lid. Swinging open, the lid bounced on its chunky hinge, presenting a dark interior. An empty interior. Looking deep inside, Omar found nothing. No remains of the Adeptus Astartes battle-brother he expected to find within. On the inside of the lid the Scout discovered a simple plaque identifying a gene-code in symbol and number, a name, rank and company dictum. Brother-Sergeant Attica Centurius, Honoured First Company: In dedicato imperatum ultra articulo mortis. ‘For the Emperor beyond the point of death.’

[ironsons]

You mean this? Page 215 on PC-Adobe Digital Editions:

Yeah he was briefly mentioned however he didn't appear as a character just a brief reference.

[lovelessmerc]

I dont really know what you guys are talking about, but is it possible the legionare that shadows the scourge is this fellow?

[shadowhawk2008]

Could be. All we know is that his sarcophagus crashes on the planet alongside that of his other fellow Legionnaires. Since the Legion is a spectral, supernatural formation Centurius could have been Kersh's shadowy "tormentor" all along.

[Joewrightgm]

I have to say, I bought this book with some trepidation. I tried to read redemption corps, but I stopped as I felt it was awful tripe of the worse kind.

But the first scene where the legion appeared, this book had me hook line and sinker; it takes (I think) a lot to creep me out, but that scene was amazing.

I loved this book, very well worth it.

[Born Again]

++Warning, possible spoilers inbound!++

Just finished this last night and have to say it was excellent. I thought it started a bit slow at first, dealing with the Feast of Blades and so on (I was thinking "what does any of this have to do with the LotD and a Khornate invasion?") but the way that was all spun around in literally the last few pages to be so central to the Scourge's plan (sending that wrong blade to attract the rest of his chapter so the civilians could be freed in the event the 5th was overrun) was entirely unexpected and blew me away with awesome I also really liked the way the tension between the Astartes and Ecclesiarchy was shown throughout, and how space marines are not always best buddy battle brothers. The whole ending was so tense and dramatic with a fantastic twist it kept me reading enthusiastically despite the slow start. I thought the Legion were portrayed really well, I really liked the idea of this spectral marine haunting Kersh and him thinking he is going crazy... the first appearance, when he suddenly appeared on the hull of the ship, was great. The use of the Tarot cards was also nice and really well done, and though their battle appearance was very late, when they finally did turn up the were brutal, really showing off the fact they are spectral Warp entities fighting on the Imperium's side. I really liked the idea that rather than having flames painted on their armour, they actually burned with ghostly warp fire, and the nod to Centurius was a nice touch.

My only real criticism of the whole thing is that, amongst a giant, Khornate invasion, it mentions the presence of renegade marines from The Cleaved, a Nurgle-aligned warband. A minor mistake though, in an otherwise great book.

[blackcherry]

Another recommendation here. I read it over a weekend. Whilst it did at times descent into 'bolter porn' and I had a little trouble telling two of the characters apart during the last third of the book, it was well written, I cared for most of the characters and it was a good read.

Thats two books in a row now of his I have enjoyed. Keep it up please Mr Sanders!