Comrade Emcha

While doing research for my Emchas, I stumbled across the above image. Whoa! A book about Russian Shermans? The book contains color plates? Sign me up! I first noticed the image in October and it's release date was supposed to be December, so I thought I had one item for a X-mas list.

Bring on the Bad Guys...

I've been on a Black Library tear lately. I find myself drawn to stories that give more detail and background about the villains in the 40K universe. i want to know about their motivations. I want to see that they are more than cardboard characters who curse and rage at the world and only serve to show how awesome and righteous the "good guys" are in the story.

This isn't a book review post. I'm not going to talk about the plots in any of the books. I want to talk about the villains.



I just finished Blood Pact by the best Black Library author, Dan Abnett. It's the first book in Abnett's new story arc about Kommisar Ibrahim Gaunt and his Ghosts. Interestingly enough, I found the latest installment to be boring. The book is really a deadly game of hide-and-seek with a tinge of intrigue thrown in. Forget the intrigue. Anytime a person is revealed to be a bad guy - BLAM! Oh ho, that character is working for his own purposes - BLAM!

I wished the Blood Pact could be "fleshed" out more. I wanted to know more about their command structure, their training, how they are chosen, and what life is like serving the Arch Enemy. I know they are an elite squad and the equivalent of the Ghosts.

The story was over before their background story. I urge Abnett to forsake the Imperium and write a story about the "other side". He created and added to the 40K universe with his Sabbat World series. He can and could do the same for villains.



Okay, I'm about 100 pages into the Omnibus. Thus far the Word Bearers scream and shout and kill. Standard Chaos Space Marine modus operandi. I'm hoping I learn more about their motivations that goes beyond screaming, shouting and killing.

Marduk, the Dark Alcolyte, is boring. I like the Dreadnought, the Warmonger. A philosophical dreadnought? Sign me up!

There's another 700+ pages left in the omnibus so we'll see how things develop.




This book started s-l-o-w-l-y. I have 200+ pages left and it's the best part of the book. Wanna know why? The bad guys!

The bad guys just broke out of that big, prison mountain beneath the palace or near the palace or whatever, I don't know. The Crusader Host - the champions of the various legions. Who do they lock up because Horus went bad? The 1000 Son guy, the 3 Worldeaters (they're crazy and I'd lock them up out of principal too), the Sons of Horus, the Emperor's Children and the guy with the Primarch that begins with M and isn't Magnus.

The most interesting of these gents is the 1000 Sons. He's called a warrior-scholar. How cool is that? The escape wouldn't succeed without him. He uses what the miliary would call the "indirect method" to get things done. The raw power of the Worldeaters is important too, but this 1000 Sons character is just great. If a new Chaos SM book is out, I may have to get a look at these guys because of this one character.

I know they are all likely to die horrible deaths. Here is to hoping they look cool doing stuff while dying.

Until next time...

Book Review: Dmitriy Loza's book

I went back and forth before purchasing this book from Amazon. The price of $33+ for a book that is less than 200 pages put me off. The text is 157 pages long actually, with the rest filled with Footnote explanations and an Index. Another thing to consider the battles against the Germans fill the first 101 pages and then the remaining 50 pages focus on Loza's transfer to Manchuria to disarm the Japanese. Aside from the long road marches, the Japanese Front portion of the book will hold little interest.

Yet I couldn't resist the draw of reading about Lend Lease Shermans in Russian service. There's also the fact that I'm building a 76mm Emcha Batallion from the Stalin's Europe book and the author of the book is Dmitriy Loza, one of the Warriors in SE.

There are only 2 maps in the book - one for the Western front and the other is for the Far east front. Loza does a good job of describing the operational situation before he delves more into what his unit is doing. The pictures in the book can be found on the Internet. You won't find any new Emcha pics.

You'd think after the negatives I'm posting, I wouldn't have liked the book.

But I did.

Loza tells anecdotes about the Emcha in service. He talks about the use of Forward Detachments and Infiltrations to outmaneuver strong defensive positions. There's talk of radios inside the Shermans (something T-34's didn't always have) and how Loza's Batallion maneuvered as a whole to accomplish a mission (cough, no Hen & Chicks). Loza is Deputy Batallion Commander (basically the 2iC), which is mirrored in his ability to take over as CiC if the CiC gets whacked. This is why I wanted the book, to hear these stories and see how they can be recreated in FOW.

However, if you aren't interested in Lend Lease Shermans in Russia, don't buy the book. The cost versus the number of pages is too high. You have to be a Lend Lease nut like me to get any value out of it. Find a Lend Lease friend and borrow their copy.

Imperial Armour 10: The Artwork

Other sites have reviewed the series of Badab War, namely the Independent Characters in Episode 21 and Collegia Titanic. Both have great reviews, positive and negative, to base a decision to plop $75+ on Part I or Part II.

I don't play 40K. Don't play to. I'm well invested in FoW. Yet, I still own an Ork army that I built and painted back in the early days of 40K and Adeptus Titanticus. They are buried at a friend's workshop. Maybe one day I'll dig them out and post a few pics. There's still one thing I enjoy about 40K and it's the fluff. The grim and dark future resonates with me. Humanity fighting enemies from within and outside the Imperium.

So I bought IA10 (I resisted for several months) after listening to IC Episode 21. Thanks Carl and Geoff (though my wallet curses you both lol). I enjoyed the read. I think the battles should have been more detailed. I liked the history of the chapters presented at the end of the book.

I was also struck by the graphic design and it reminded me of the work of Claes Sundin. Claes is a world famous aviation artist, focusing mostly on the Luftwaffe and VVS (Russian airforce).

IA10 (and I'll assume the other IA books) have great profiles of the Marine chapters and vehicles. To compare....

IA10 - Space Sharks


Claes's work


The profiles of the Land Raiders, Rhinios, Drop Pods, Dreadnoughts, etc are just as high quality as the work Claes put in his airplane profiles. To me that shows tha Forgeworld is spending $$ and time to make a high quality product.

I have zero interest in the Eldar. I don't like Space Wolves. Having made such a declaration, it's possible I'll buy IA11 based on the fluff and graphic art.

Well done Forgeworld.

In other news, I have a game with P tomorrow. He's bringing a nasty Tankovy for me to playtest the 11th Panzer Division against. I'm also on vacation, so expect posts to be more sporadic than usual. I plan to get more games in besides tomorrows and lots of painting.

All for now. Thanks for visiting.

Another Black Library novel review..

Santa dropped a Borders gift card into the stocking back in December. A couple of weeks ago I finally went to Borders and I picked up three Black Library novels, one of which was The First Heretic by Aaron Demski-Bowden.

Now, I have my reservations about ADB due to his Night Lord's novel, Silent Hunter. Oiy, did I struggle to get through the book. I remember skimming through the last 30+ pages, just wanting to get to the end.

So, it was with some trepidation that I chose The First Heretic because of its cool looking cover. I'm also happy to say that I was glad I picked it up.

I was hooked from the beginning. I hated the Ultramarines. Those bastards. You have to be a pretty arrogant Space Marine Legion to make a future Chaos Marine Legion look good. Good job, Ultras!

The Word Bearers are True Believers. I found the Legion, as a character, to be worthy of sympathy. If I ever did a CSM army, I pick the Word Bearers.

Logar, the Primarch of the Word Bearers = p***y. Yeah, he came across as easily manipulated by his most trusted advisors, especialy that maniac Kor Phareon. I found Logar to be ancillary to the story.

The lead character, Argel Tal, is an average one, but you can follow the events through his eyes and that's what counts.

I think the book, while not quite Dan Abnett'ish in a sweeping scope, is very good. I'd pick up another ADB novel (Grey Knights due in 2012). I think he's a young guy, learning and getting better at his trade as he goes. We can only expect good things from him in the future.

If you like CSM, hate the Ultramarines, and want to know more about the Eye of Terror at the very beginning of its discovery, this is a book to pick up.

Book Review: Dan Abnett's The Lost Omnibus

Work is ramping up and again the school bus known as "Dad" starts making the rounds anew tomorrow. I wanted to get a post in before the busy week sets in.

I'm an unabashed new found fan of Dan Abnett's writings, in case I haven't mentioned it before -- and I have. I needed more reading material last month and picked up the Omnibus collection of The Lost, which is the newer of the Gaunt's Ghosts novels. The Omnibus contains the latest books 8-12 (we're talking 900+ pages). Normally I don't start reading the last books in a series. However, I liked the titles of the Omnibus: Traitor General, His Last Command, Armor of Contempt and wanted to jump ahead in the mythology of Tanith's First-and-Only.

Even though I'm introduced to characters, already well established in the first 7 books, I had no trouble growing attached to them and figuring out their individual quirks and idiosyncrasies that Abnett uses to bring the characters to life. Any references to dead characters wasn't completely lost on me because the characters still have a sense of terrible loss that their companions and friends are gone from earlier books.

In the Omnibus, you get varied flavors of military sci-fi. Traitor General is a special ops story with most of the major characters. His Last Command adds a little intrigue to what happened in the first book before the big battles start. Finally, Armor of Contempt centers on one of the newer members of the Tanith First and we see epic scale battles through his eyes.

I think the strength of Dan Abnett's writings is his imagery. The opening few pages describing the assault on Gereon, in Armor of Contempt, is amazing. I pictured everything that was described and at times my head hurt thinking about the noise, confusion, the smells, and the fear the men and women of the Imperial Guard were experiencing at that moment.

I've read recently that the Gaunt's Ghost series of novels is very similar to the HBO Band of Brothers. I agree 100%. In Band of Brothers, you follow the exploits of E Company and the men of there is continuity with the men who make up that unit. It's the same thing that Abnett achieves.

Abnett writes some of the best military sci-fiction. He's now right up there with David Drake's Hammer's Slammers. Good stuff. Great stuff. Incredible stuff.

If you have never read Dan Abnett, pick up a novel about the Tanith 1st. You'll be hooked.

Mr. Abnett has a blog. You can find an excerpt to his next book, Propsero Burns, in the July 2010 archive.

Book Review: Eisenhorn

Hello readers. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer. I certainly am. She Who Must Be Obeyed and I are going on evening walks for exercise and because it's the time of year when the weather is great and the neighborhood kids are outside playing and friends and neighbors are BBQ'ing, walking dogs or simply enjoying themselves. A wise person once offered this advice: "Take a turtle for a walk."

I'm making a more concerted effort to do more reading this summer as well and cut down on the time I spend on the computer (non-work related) or staring at the TV screen. By the time I'm home from work, my mind needs the time to wind down and relax. Reading is very relaxing to me. I picked up Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn Omnibus on Memorial Day weekend for some reading material that I can chew on an hour or so an evening.

The Eisenhorn omnibus clockes in at 700+ pages and tells the story of Imperial Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn in three volumes, Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus. I chose the Eisenhorn series over the Gaunt's Ghost novels (I picked up an Ghost omnibus this weekend because I finished Eisenhorn), because I was intrigued by the story of an Inquisitor rooting out threats to Mankind on the various systems rather than on the battlefield.

I learned why Abnett is my favorite Black Library author. Abnett's descriptions leap off the pages of the book and set the tone for each dramatic encounter. I know an author is good if he can paint a picture in my mind; Abnett does that for me. I was really struck by his description of the Emperor's Children Chaos Space Marine who appears in the first volume. We all know Space Marines and their Traitor brethren are larger than life. They are demi-gods in their own right and can unleash unholy terror and bring death and destruction. Yet, we as gamers see them mostly as small 28mm plastic and metal play pieces to move on the board only to remove them when we fail to make an armor saving throw. Dan Abnett always brings his Space Marine characters to life with how he describes them. I think he spent a page or a page and a half describing the monster and its effect on Gregor and his companions. It's one of the highlights of the book for me.

The first volume is good and sets the stage for the second volume. Sadly, I think the third volume is very anti-climatic and deserved more pages. There was plenty more story that should have been told before the Final Battle. I know I'm done with a book when I'm skimming over paragraphs to get to the conclusion. Xenos and Malleus I did no skimming. Hereticus I was waiting for it to end. Maybe even Abnett got tired and wanted it to end too.

Despite Hereticus shortcomings, Eisenhorn Omnibus is a great book to pick up. It offers great insight into Inquisitors and the various orders. There are great characters who Gregor uses. Yes, I do say "uses". Gregor's not a pillar holy virtue. I like flawed characters and Gregor has many flaws. Eisenhorn is an outright moron at times in the book. I regret Abnett not exploring the Gregor-Bequin relationship. I think he missed a grand opportunity of star-crossed lover storytelling.

Like I mentioned earlier, I picked up another Abnett omnibus at the LGS. It's back to the battlefield with Gaunts Ghosts. I'm sure it'll be just as good as the Horus Heresey, Legion and the Eisenhorn Omnibus.

One last thing, if you live in Spain, or a fan of the team, congratulations on your World Cup 2010 victory. The Netherlands nearly mugged, grabbed, held and kicked way to a win, but Espana held true in their belief that is soccer is a beautiful game when players of talent, like what we saw on the field yesterday, are allowed to work their magic. Plus, Spain earned a few yellows of their own, so maybe skillfull ball movement backed up with physical play is the new template for soccer.

Thanks for stopping by.

WH40K: Dan Abnett's "Legion"

I just finished reading Dan Abnett's Legion book of the Horus Heresy series. I feel it isn't as good as his Horus Rising effort. Legion is still excellent and a very good read, however, I think it suffers from having too many central characters. Throughout the books the focus shifts from two Imperial Guard het's (NCO's), a human agent for a xeno race called The Cabal, to a member of the Lucifer Legion. The subject of the book title are seen through their eyes. Abnett intended this so that last Space Marine legion created by the Emperor, Alpha Legion, would remain mysterious and the reader is never sure of the legion's goals and objectives.

In fact, the end of the book is anti-climatic. The first three-quarters of the book leads up to the meeting with the Cabal and Alpha Legion. It happens and concludes in a manner that left me feeling slightly let down. Perhaps it is my own taste for climatic, huge battles where everything is decided and black and white. Black and white is NOT the Alpha Legion. They live and work in the shadows. It is no wonder they are shunned by their fellow Space Marine brethren for their unorthodox ways. Legion is best summed up as a mystery story about the Alpha Legion.

Dan Abnett is one of my favorite military sci-fi authors. I look forward to his next release in March 2010.

Warhammer 40K fiction

The other day at the LGS I saw a tables of Warhammer 40K being played. This brought back memories of 20 years ago, when I first ventured into table top wargaming with WH40K. Even more of a coincidence, I was at my friend's shop and saw the stacks of miniature cases containing my Ork army. My friends and I haven't played in years. We migrated to other games, Magic the Gathering being one such game, sucking up a bulk of our playing time and $$$.

While shopping for Christmas presents at Borders, I saw a series of WH40K novels and picked up Horus Rising by Dan Abnett. It's the first science fiction book I've bought in years.



I read the book in a few days, when time allowed.

I admit I had a bias against fiction based on popular games. My opinion was colored by the volume of work I saw at bookstores. I thought the authors were hacks and just churning out product while the popularity of the game was at its height. This view changed when Cook lent me a copy of a Battletech book. I forget the name now, but it was good and I went out and bought my own copy.

Dan Abnett is not a hack and a very good author. His descriptions of large scale battles and up-close-and-personal fights are excellent. He paints a dark and vivid picture of combat: chaotic, harrowing, deadly.

Yet, what drew me into the pages of Horus Rising are the characters themselves. When you look at a Space Marine, it's a giant of a man, encased in armor and wielding weapons that level buildings. Yet, Abnett's characters are still human with a wide variety of emotions.

Garviel Loken is the main character. The Emperor is uniting mankind in a Great Crusade with The Truth. Worlds are brought into "compliance" and into the Light of the Truth. The Truth will Set You Free. Yet, Garviel is confronted with events that make him question the Truth. His journey lays the foundation for the rest of the Horus Heresy series of books.

If you like military fiction or military science fiction, I highly recommend this book.

I bought Legion, another book in the Heresy series by Abnett and look forward to opening its pages.