Now I feel like reading Rogue Star and Star of Damocles had a real purpose!

Wonder if he will ever finish that series?

Looking forward to some aspects of Rogue Trader (but not the price or wait).

Peacekeeper_b said:

Actually I believe being forced to read those books is a violation of the Geneva Convention against torture.

Agh, hadn't noticed the price until now.

The Andy Hoar novels Rogue Star and Star of Damocles are not bad novels at all. They are no Sandy Mitchel or Dan Abnett, but they have been better then any of the Space Marine novels Ive read.

Peacekeeper_b said:

Shrug. To each their own. Personally, I found Rogue Star to read like Hoare took the the background sections of a few 40K rulebooks and strung them together with a weak narrative and flat characters. Maybe Star of Damocles is better? I haven't read that one.

Now now, chaps, be nice...Andy has been known to frequent these forums...

Lightbringer said:

so what if he does? Every writer values reader feedback, even if it's criticism.

Well, I'll try to be nicer about it next time.

hmm, that reminds me ; I'll have to track down Gordon Rennie's 40k novels now

Personally, I felt Andy's books were pretty decent. Given he's a first (and second) time novellist, I wasn't expecting anything more than a studio bod who had free time to dabble in writing. It was a commendable result(s) which I heartily enjoyed. The refuelling scene in Star of Damocles is one of the most chilling I've ever read. I'd certainly be forced to subject my players to it at somepoint in my games!

Anyhow, as I say, not awesome books, but not terrible either. They're quite short though, so even if it violated the Geneva Convention...it wouldn't take too long!

(That the first one involved no inquisitors, commissars, astartes or similar 40k familiarities was a refreshing change)

Xisor said:

Mostly True, there is the Inquistor at the very end of the first book (Im nit picking).

I actually was dissappointed in the series as it seems to be 2 parts of a trilogy that never finished, so if Andy does lurk here, please, write the last part, even if it is only 200 pages and have Korvane kill his annoying sister and take control of the Oceanid!

I actually like the way he described things, from the boarding stations, to the reloading, to the command bridge operations, to warp events and all the way to the customs and cultures of the two different planets they visit.

There does seem to be a shortage of non Inquisition/Commissar/Space Marine novels. I need to get some of the Necromunda novels.

What would be interesting is to see someone write a short non traditional novel set in the 40K universe. A Harliquin Romance novel LOL or the Breakfast Club, but set at a Schola Progenium.

I've heard good things about the Necromunda series. Certainly, if you can get your mits on 'em, I'd also recommend Farrer's Shira Calpurnia series. Okay, so there's inquisitors and such. The first is an excellent 'what's going on here then?' Arbites novel with Sisters support. The second is a fantastic legal exploration of the Rogue Traders, one of the best novels I've read. The third is a fine murder-mystery with the obvious twist of being set on a psyker-populated space station. A **** fine series.

On Hoare's stuff, my central complaint is that the space battles, time- and distance-wise, felt far too small/fast. Far too...Star Trek. (Contrast 'em with the lengthier/ponderous feel of the battles in Execution hour or Relentless )

Anyone know where I can get hold of either of Andy's novels. They seem to have gone out of print.

As an aside, Gordon Rennies Execution Hour is very, very good. Shadowpoint (its sequel) a bit less so.

SJE

LuciusT said:

Star of Damocles wasn't quite as good in my opinion, but I still found it an enjoyable read. Andy is way better writer than say, Ben Counter whose writing I detest.

Anyone read that new Henry Zou book? He needs to keep more to canon and read up more on 40k history, but his style is snappy and there's no denying the boy has talent. I look forward to reading his next novel. Emperor's Mercy was pretty rough around the edges, but I think he'll be a top 40k writer after he gets more writing experience.

Peacekeeper_b said:

NOOOO!!! The chick is hawt. She should kill that snotty little Korvane and take HIS ship. She was firstborn so she deserves to inherit the Dynasty when Papa dies, not K-k-kornvein.

Emperors Mercy did have the wussiest Inquisitor in the the history of the game. It was embarassing when the Guard had to offer to die for the Emperor because he was so busy trying to spare them.

SJE

btw Relentless is also RT-related...

Thanks for the feedback guys! (even the less positive stuff, as stated, they were my first steps into novel writing, and the books were commissioned that length).

I've heard the complaint about the space combat many times before, so other that restating that I wrote it that way on purpose, there's not a lot of point going over it again. Maybe next time I'll just write 'close range', 'medium range' etc and just let people imagine those ranges however they like...

As for third book, it is indeed my intention to complete the story, so those who don't want me indicted for crimes against Humanity just hang in there :-)

Cheers!

Andy Hoare said:

Nice to see you here Andy, just keep up the good work and dont mind the the mud throwing greenskins that seems to get into the machinery from time to time. But yer geif more stories about rogue traders and their crew ^^

I enjoyed them, but Andy, third book? Isn't it an open ended series, what about the forth, the firth, seventh or eleventh book?

I picked up Star of Damocles last year on a whim not realising it was the second book. I thought it was very good and second the post that liked the refueling chapter.

Certainly not anywhere near the worst of the WH40K novels I have picked up.

i liked them looking foward to the next ones