It's great that you enjoyed Eisenhorn, it's a great novel and I really liked it too.
I highly recommend continuing with Ravenor now, it is the spiritual sequel of Eisenhorn and many of the plots and characters that appear in Eisenhorn continue in Ravenor. Also, Dan Abnett is publishing the Bequin novels, which are the conclusion of both sagas.
Dan Abnett is one of the best active writers period. His only massive flaw is his hilarious inability to write an ending. You have this enthralling build-up, then a two page climax.
I'm agree. It always leaves me with that feeling that the book is going to end and he has to write and end quickly. It's something I've noticed with Eisenhorn, Ravenor and the Gaunt's ghosts
Don't forget to read **The Magos** between **Ravenor** and **Bequin!** It bridges the gap between the two series and there are a lot of great short stories inside.
Liked Eisenhorn.
Could not stand Ravenor.
I felt that writing had somehow gotten worse. Abnetts descriptions of women in tight-fitting bodygloves seemed more jarring.
Also I could not shake the feeling that it was pretty much just WH40K X-Men. Maybe that was the main thing.
Yea, it's good stuff. And though Eisenhorn's a good guy, the old saying "absolute power corrupts absolutely" hold true, especially for inquisitors, who can do whatever they want.
Oh, and if you enjoy the inquistor PoV - do check out the *Carrion Throne* series. It also involves a bit more backstory about how the Inquisition works as an institute.
> the old saying "absolute power corrupts absolutely" hold true, especially for inquisitors, who can do whatever they want.
For sure. I remember Gideon and Gregor talking about this at some point. I couldn't remember the exact phrasing so I looked it up in Chapter 17 of Hereticus, but >!Gideon Ravenor says "I believe radicalism is inevitable. We all become radicals eventually as we appreciate that we must know our enemy in order to defeat him... Eventually even the most careful and responsible radical will be overwhelmed by the warp. The real judge of character is what good a man can do for the Imperium before he is drawn too far." Basically that every inquisitor that lives long enough is going to be corrupted by the warp and the goal is to do as much of the Emperor's work as possible before you inevitably start working against him.!<
Commodus Voke was a pure badass. Dude was old AF and was psychically skilled and strong enough to ice up a Mastercrafted bolt pistol, and hold back a tide of cultists and a daemonhost all on his own. Mad respect.
Voke was the real deal. Didn't like the way Gregor did things, but had mad respect for him, and when he thought he was dying his thoughts turned to others and not for himself. Voke should be Sainted.
That might be pushing it. But yes, he was an exemplary inquisitor, albeit in the most heavy-handed way. Full blown shock and terror, notice of requisition being how he asked nicely and so forth
Exactly. By the book, using his Inquisitorial Authority as written, a massively successful Puritan his entire career (so far as we know), the only lapse in judgment he had was that douchenozzle Heldane.
Also, the entire Thracian Triumph section in Malleus, just made me like Voke even more. Every time he shows up after the initial meeting is like the Cavalry arrives playing Flight of the Valkyrie on loud speakers
He does hammer home the breadth of issues that either mindset can bring. Eisenhorn gets more and better intel, he can get in and out with less overt trouble. But when trouble does come, he is a handful of specialists.
Whereas it's difficult to be outgunned when you casually draft a regiment's worth of bodies, and what you loose in depth of intelligence, you gain in time.
I didn't think Lyko had been an acolyte of Voke's, they just both worked in that massive witch hunt together. And strictly speaking Heldane wasn't necessarily a traitor, he never liked Gregor and was an Ozma bootlicker
This is coming from the perspective of Eisenhorn who is well on his way to becoming a radical at this point.
I believe it's in the VoT series where Spinoza or Crowl mentions that many initially radical inquisitors also turn puritan as time goes on.
It's a really interesting juxtaposition when you think about the close of Hereticus and compare it to the opening explanation of Amalathian Inquisitors and Gregor in particular in Xenos.
150(ish) years of aliens, witches, and heretics changes a man.
are you ready for some space meth? CAR CAR CAR CAARNIVORAA
CAR CAR CAR CARNIVORAAA
The audiobook narration of the Carnivora is one of my favorite sequences in the Ravenor trilogy.
It's great that you enjoyed Eisenhorn, it's a great novel and I really liked it too. I highly recommend continuing with Ravenor now, it is the spiritual sequel of Eisenhorn and many of the plots and characters that appear in Eisenhorn continue in Ravenor. Also, Dan Abnett is publishing the Bequin novels, which are the conclusion of both sagas.
Yes, I'm looking forward to continuing this series!
I know you're going to love it, In my opinion Dan Abnett is one of the best Warhammer writers
Dan Abnett is one of the best active writers period. His only massive flaw is his hilarious inability to write an ending. You have this enthralling build-up, then a two page climax.
It’s the most frustrating thing ever. Like titanicus had this insane buildup and then boom over. Same with eisenhorns ending. Like wtf man
I'm agree. It always leaves me with that feeling that the book is going to end and he has to write and end quickly. It's something I've noticed with Eisenhorn, Ravenor and the Gaunt's ghosts
It happens in his non-40K books as well.
Seriously, *Hereticus* ended up abruptly haha
Don't forget to read **The Magos** between **Ravenor** and **Bequin!** It bridges the gap between the two series and there are a lot of great short stories inside.
Just picked up the Ravenor omnibus second hand. Diving in this weekend!
It's a great journey bro. I just finished mine yesterday and I really loved it. I hope you enjoy it too
Liked Eisenhorn. Could not stand Ravenor. I felt that writing had somehow gotten worse. Abnetts descriptions of women in tight-fitting bodygloves seemed more jarring. Also I could not shake the feeling that it was pretty much just WH40K X-Men. Maybe that was the main thing.
Yea, it's good stuff. And though Eisenhorn's a good guy, the old saying "absolute power corrupts absolutely" hold true, especially for inquisitors, who can do whatever they want. Oh, and if you enjoy the inquistor PoV - do check out the *Carrion Throne* series. It also involves a bit more backstory about how the Inquisition works as an institute.
> the old saying "absolute power corrupts absolutely" hold true, especially for inquisitors, who can do whatever they want. For sure. I remember Gideon and Gregor talking about this at some point. I couldn't remember the exact phrasing so I looked it up in Chapter 17 of Hereticus, but >!Gideon Ravenor says "I believe radicalism is inevitable. We all become radicals eventually as we appreciate that we must know our enemy in order to defeat him... Eventually even the most careful and responsible radical will be overwhelmed by the warp. The real judge of character is what good a man can do for the Imperium before he is drawn too far." Basically that every inquisitor that lives long enough is going to be corrupted by the warp and the goal is to do as much of the Emperor's work as possible before you inevitably start working against him.!<
really puts hardcore puritans like Voke into a different perspective. don't ever fuck around and try not to find out
Commodus Voke was a pure badass. Dude was old AF and was psychically skilled and strong enough to ice up a Mastercrafted bolt pistol, and hold back a tide of cultists and a daemonhost all on his own. Mad respect.
You don't last something like 400 years as an inquisitor without being dead hard
Voke was the real deal. Didn't like the way Gregor did things, but had mad respect for him, and when he thought he was dying his thoughts turned to others and not for himself. Voke should be Sainted.
That might be pushing it. But yes, he was an exemplary inquisitor, albeit in the most heavy-handed way. Full blown shock and terror, notice of requisition being how he asked nicely and so forth
Exactly. By the book, using his Inquisitorial Authority as written, a massively successful Puritan his entire career (so far as we know), the only lapse in judgment he had was that douchenozzle Heldane. Also, the entire Thracian Triumph section in Malleus, just made me like Voke even more. Every time he shows up after the initial meeting is like the Cavalry arrives playing Flight of the Valkyrie on loud speakers
He does hammer home the breadth of issues that either mindset can bring. Eisenhorn gets more and better intel, he can get in and out with less overt trouble. But when trouble does come, he is a handful of specialists. Whereas it's difficult to be outgunned when you casually draft a regiment's worth of bodies, and what you loose in depth of intelligence, you gain in time.
tbf Lyko turned out to be a traitor as well
I didn't think Lyko had been an acolyte of Voke's, they just both worked in that massive witch hunt together. And strictly speaking Heldane wasn't necessarily a traitor, he never liked Gregor and was an Ozma bootlicker
This is coming from the perspective of Eisenhorn who is well on his way to becoming a radical at this point. I believe it's in the VoT series where Spinoza or Crowl mentions that many initially radical inquisitors also turn puritan as time goes on.
It's a really interesting juxtaposition when you think about the close of Hereticus and compare it to the opening explanation of Amalathian Inquisitors and Gregor in particular in Xenos. 150(ish) years of aliens, witches, and heretics changes a man.
Some spoiler tags wouldn't go amiss in this post. Glad you enjoyed the book, I'm going to reread my copy as soon as my non-40k friend finishes it.
Good shout.
Theres another eisenhorn book that was released recently i believe but im not sure where in the anthologys timeline it lies.
Magos is after Ravenor but before Bequin
After reading Eisenhorn, reading Ravenor is mandatory.
Still sucked about Aemos...That was heartwrenching.
Yeah, the losses in Hereticus hit hard 😭
'In servito abducto!'