tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post6095196247084271600..comments2024-01-28T08:47:10.769+00:00Comments on Dan Abnett: The Joy of SeksDan Abnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08918522058848946086noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-89944349733346597362009-03-14T21:48:00.000+00:002009-03-14T21:48:00.000+00:00I doubt it.Rik Cooper did say which books would be...I doubt it.<BR/><BR/>Rik Cooper did say which books would be available for us to buy while we're there....and Blood Pact ain't one of them.<BR/><BR/>Thankfully, I have an understanding with my older sibling so I'll get to read his copy.Xhalaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01256396066362752889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-1200581289179901472009-03-14T20:53:00.000+00:002009-03-14T20:53:00.000+00:00Rob - I think it's only right and proper that the ...Rob - I think it's only right and proper that the Most-Self-Indulgent-Blog-Comment chain ever is copied and pasted. I was thinking of getting it engraved on my ivory... No! Must... stop... being... pretentious!<BR/><BR/>Xhalax - Maybe if we're lucky there'll be pre-release copies of Blood Pact at the Black Library Open Day? Looking forward to meeting people from the blog.<BR/><BR/>MAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-22358790092301572362009-03-14T19:54:00.000+00:002009-03-14T19:54:00.000+00:00Nik-In High School? I'm genuinely impressed, good...Nik-<BR/><BR/>In High School? I'm genuinely impressed, good for you both. That's a difficult thing to do, meet in high school and stay together. Not my experience at all. (I keep telling people I can't wait until the release of <I>High School Musical 5: This Long Distance Thing Isn't Really Working, Is It?</I>)Rob Rathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190321709283384722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-40255556695715307052009-03-14T16:29:00.000+00:002009-03-14T16:29:00.000+00:00Waaaaaaaaah! Finished rereading The Lost last nigh...Waaaaaaaaah! <BR/><BR/>Finished rereading The Lost last night and I find myself being quite bitter at having to wait til June for Blood Pact, simply because The Lost was just so so good.<BR/><BR/>Plus I just miss the Ghosts themselves.Xhalaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01256396066362752889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-26997251774623618382009-03-13T17:38:00.000+00:002009-03-13T17:38:00.000+00:00Rob - you got it spot on, except Dan wasn't fresh ...Rob - you got it spot on, except Dan wasn't fresh out of college... we were still in High School! I always hope that I've been more muse than distraction :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-84125047593458640912009-03-13T16:53:00.000+00:002009-03-13T16:53:00.000+00:00Thanks Big and Allandaros, I'm glad someone else l...Thanks Big and Allandaros, I'm glad someone else liked the Most-Self-Indulgent-Blog-Comment Chain to date. I hope it was half as fun to read as it was to write.<BR/><BR/>I still feel bad about making Nik the cause of Dan forgetting his Best Idea Ever, but "Love at First Sight etc." was the only device short of a comic head injury that would make someone forget an idea that good, and it's impolite to do violence to a man on his own blog. Gentleman's rules and all that. Even so, sorry Nik, no hard feelings.<BR/><BR/>Matt and Dan-<BR/><BR/>Would you mind if I copy/paste these exchanges for an entry on my own blog? I've been neglecting it lately in favor of other projects and this would make an easy post.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and Matt- I checked out the Four Yorkshiremen Sketch and had to stop the video at "eat a handful of hot gravel" because I was laughing too hard. I've always been a Python fan and don't know how I've managed to miss this one. Anyone with Depression-era relatives can relate...Rob Rathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190321709283384722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-39629179457152661082009-03-12T08:15:00.000+00:002009-03-12T08:15:00.000+00:00Rob and Matt: Kudos! Well done the both of you. *a...Rob and Matt: Kudos! Well done the both of you. <BR/><BR/>*applauds madly*Allandaroshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01046079318999891967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-21475568801168386882009-03-11T17:23:00.000+00:002009-03-11T17:23:00.000+00:00Matt -Rob i was gonna sign my postFrom Godto give ...Matt -Rob i was gonna sign my post<BR/><BR/>From God<BR/><BR/>to give u guys a chuckle,but then i thought nah im Big..lol<BR/><BR/>And on the 8th day God created Big<BR/>And he spake<BR/>"WOW i have really Excelledeth Myself"<BR/><BR/>He He HeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-84257300504404640672009-03-11T10:24:00.000+00:002009-03-11T10:24:00.000+00:00oh who's on facebook then? I recently broke down ...oh who's on facebook then? I recently broke down under social pressure and made an account, and so far I've just been using it to play scrabble and pirate games.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-27204988544524311012009-03-11T00:20:00.000+00:002009-03-11T00:20:00.000+00:00Dan - Got hold of issue 282 of the Megazine today....Dan - Got hold of issue 282 of the Megazine today. I was pleased to see from the letters page how many of us are enjoying Insurrection. Dredd hasn't been this explosive since the Apocalypse War. I want me a CATT!<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/>M<BR/><BR/>P.S. Glad we made you chuckle last night, Big Steve.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-16042865913506518532009-03-10T20:34:00.000+00:002009-03-10T20:34:00.000+00:00That's some potentially awesome Knights of Pendrag...That's some potentially awesome Knights of Pendragon news. Big fan of volume one, I've had all 18 issues of vol 1 bound into a hardcover. Keep hoping to catch you at a UK con so that I can add your signature next to Gary Erskine's!<BR/><BR/>A book that was way way ahead of its time.Dave Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11814884084102033005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-72980585272889648312009-03-10T12:46:00.000+00:002009-03-10T12:46:00.000+00:00Well u guys made my evening last night,that litera...Well u guys made my evening last night,that literary feast was fantastic.What great and interesting people we get on this blog.Just go's to Show abnett fans are best!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-70262538901814704222009-03-10T01:16:00.000+00:002009-03-10T01:16:00.000+00:00Thank you, your transcendental omnipotence. I was ...Thank you, your transcendental omnipotence. I was hoping to eat my supper too before we unravelled the nature of causality.<BR/><BR/>M<BR/><BR/>P.S. I actually checked my wrist!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-57431425167475393932009-03-10T01:11:00.000+00:002009-03-10T01:11:00.000+00:00Alright, seriously, I'm going to have to leave and...Alright, seriously, I'm going to have to leave and eat dinner. It's been fun.<BR/><BR/>Just remember whose name is on the Universe's lease-mine. I just let the rest of you stay here because I'm cool.Rob Rathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190321709283384722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-17465778830337927902009-03-10T01:04:00.000+00:002009-03-10T01:04:00.000+00:00I'm a transcendental being now, I see everything.B...I'm a transcendental being now, I see everything.<BR/><BR/>By the way, there's a new freckle on your left wrist. Probably nothing, but best to get it tested anyway.Rob Rathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190321709283384722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-18486356241394989742009-03-10T01:01:00.000+00:002009-03-10T01:01:00.000+00:00You were copying over my shoulder.MYou were copying over my shoulder.<BR/><BR/>MAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-44443235724640475022009-03-10T01:00:00.000+00:002009-03-10T01:00:00.000+00:00In the beginning there was the Word.And I wrote it...In the beginning there was the Word.<BR/><BR/>And I wrote it.<BR/><BR/>Burned.Rob Rathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190321709283384722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-3533683701895793802009-03-10T00:57:00.000+00:002009-03-10T00:57:00.000+00:00In the beginning was the Word.And I've read it.Bea...In the beginning was the Word.<BR/><BR/>And I've read it.<BR/><BR/>Beat that.<BR/><BR/>MAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-30227060749769680382009-03-10T00:42:00.000+00:002009-03-10T00:42:00.000+00:00Matthew Churchill-Psssh. Atlantis, you're still e...Matthew Churchill-<BR/><BR/>Psssh. Atlantis, you're still enraptured by that rat trap? There's a reason it sunk in the first place Churchill- the good set doesn't go there anymore. You might as well gaze in wonder at Coney Island.<BR/><BR/>I was once a servant to baubles and sensation as you are, but it was not to last. So keep your augers, velvet smoking jackets and Art Nouveau elevator- because they aren't worth a bent nickel. They're all very nice, but I've gone beyond them.<BR/><BR/>Yes Churchill, I have achieved transcendence.<BR/><BR/>Floating here in the ionosphere, the whole of Earth curves away beneath me, revealing all that was, is or ever will be. You can take it if you want- I have no need of it anymore. It's just taking up space. <BR/><BR/>I have a few worshippers now, just a handful, really, nothing to brag about. They have control of a few small countries and are looking to expand into Southeast Asia. Even so, I'm unsure if I want to make a career out of being a deity. I'll just string them along for awhile and see where it leads.<BR/><BR/>You may take a puerile delight in hearing your chambermaid recite stories that have not yet been written, but those are <I>nothing</I> compared to the books Dan never wrote, and never will write. <BR/><BR/>Oh Churchill, there are hundreds of books Dan never wrote, and they are wonderful. Most of them are just a seed of an idea, but here those ideas grow just the same as if they would have if he spent years writing them. After all, why waste a perfectly good idea just because no one bothered to write it? There is one particular book that stands above the rest.<BR/><BR/>When Dan was fresh out of college, he had an idea that was so devilishly clever that he knew that he had to write it immediately, write until his pen ran out of ink, until his notebook was full... but as he reached for his notebook, a woman named Nik walked into the room.<BR/><BR/>Woosh, went the idea. So long, Knighthood. Wave goodbye to the Pulitzer and the film adaptation. <BR/><BR/>Which is a shame, really, because it's quite delectable. Dan has no complaints, of course, but the rest of humanity really missed out. Most of us have read it several times now, Ernie Hemingway is particularly fond of it, and Chaucer was very complimentary. Willie Shakes says it's rubbish, but you know how jealous he gets. Gene Siskel adored the movie that was never made. In fact, I think that recent anomalous happenings at Dan's house can be chalked up to Mary Shelley taking her fandom a little too far. Slipping room keys to celebrities, I mean really, who does that?<BR/><BR/>So while you play with your elevator, I will be browsing the eternal bookshop of the Pure Land, paging through the Complete Unwritten Works of Raymond Chandler and chatting up the pretty girls in the aisles...<BR/><BR/>I have to be more careful with that, actually. Here's a tip: if you ever wind up dating Dorothy Parker, NEVER dump her by text message. (Well what was I to do? When Helen of Troy screams up to you in an astrally projected Ferrari, raises her Ray Bans and winks, there's really only one thing <I>to</I> do.) <BR/>*****<BR/><BR/>No I haven't seen the Four Yorkshiremen sketch, but if it's the opposite of this, I think I've lived it over Thanksgiving dinner.<BR/><BR/>It says something that I had to up the ante to "transcendental demigod" in order to top you, doesn't it?Rob Rathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190321709283384722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-49057030095566358552009-03-09T21:34:00.000+00:002009-03-09T21:34:00.000+00:00Tibetan Monks? Small beer indeed.When I really wan...Tibetan Monks? Small beer indeed.<BR/><BR/>When I really want to enjoy one of Dan’s books, I ease my languid form into a crushed-velvet smoking jacket and saunter to the elevator of my London garret. Idly caressing the cast iron curves of the elevator’s pleasing Art Nouveau design, I spend the few minutes of my downward journey designing an Emperor class battleship in the crenellated cathedrals of my mind*.<BR/><BR/>In the cellar I keep a deformed homunculus, retrieved from the sewers of Victorian London by the Grand Lodge of Freemasons and handed down to me by a moustachioed benefactor who always smelled faintly of parma violet sweets. The depraved chimera is the finest prognosticator in all Christendom, and through his spirit guides has the knowledge of all Dan’s books that have been written and all that will ever be written. However, his form is displeasing to my eye and his voice grates like asbestos on cheesewire so I employ a medium to translate his ramblings.<BR/><BR/>This diaphanous beauty is a direct descendant of Gypsy Rose Lee and Rudolf Valentino, and for our evening recitals I usually bedeck her in an azure blue robe of sumptuous opulence, inlaid with emerald dragonflies and purple orchids. I may listen to her melodic voice reading from Ravenor XII: Ravenor Regurgitated, or Gaunt’s Ghosts XXXIV: The Helmet of Disdain.<BR/><BR/>When I tire of this, I press the big red button on my ormolu chaise longue and the lost city of Atlantis rises from the deep, whereupon a thousand mermaids sing the Story of Martha to me as a lullaby, having reworked the original prose into a villanelle with seven-part harmonies and a big bass drum.<BR/><BR/>You can’t beat the Churchill when it comes to pretension!<BR/><BR/>(Have you ever seen the Four Yorkshiremen sketch? This is getting like that in reverse)<BR/><BR/>M<BR/><BR/>* All battleships in 40k are crenellated cathedrals. This is a fact.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-58691253092249924252009-03-09T20:05:00.000+00:002009-03-09T20:05:00.000+00:00Matt Churchill-Oh my dear man, no no no- I was par...Matt Churchill-<BR/><BR/>Oh my dear man, no no no- I was part of the whole Western Monasticism scene in the late nineties and I'm afraid the whole process has become a debased self-parody. The last time I commissioned a book from the Cistercians I saw a professor from Johns Hopkins there... I mean really, do they let in everyone nowadays? Besides, vellum is rather crass. A few years from now you'll flip though your collection and wonder what you were thinking. The Yale library system won't even take them as donations anymore.<BR/><BR/>The <I>real</I> books are to be found in Tibet. I'll refer you to a Vajrayana monastery I've frequented, they'll set you right. There they only use silk spun from the finest-bred worms- if you ask the lineage of a specific insect, a novice will gladly chant five hundred years of its ancestry, and note which pieces of art each generation contributed to. Blind men then take the silk to the monastery's stupa, where spinners who have never exited the room, form it into scrolls. The blind men then carry it to the Thangka painters, who sit in six hours of meditation for each hour spent putting paint to the silk. The blind messenger (who is blind so he cannot become jealous of the scroll and filch it) then delivers the scroll to you in an elaborate ceremony, where you are encouraged to beat him if the work is unsatisfactory. It's never necessary, but I usually give him a polite clouting anyway, just so he isn't disappointed.<BR/><BR/>It has its downsides, of course. It's a nuisance taking an expedition up the North Slope of the Himalayas. Use the West Slope Sherpa, they eat less and have stronger spines. I went cut-rate and got North Slope Sherpa last time, and they jolted my palanquin so much I nearly spilled my martini going through the Nathula Pass. Dreadful. Of course there aren't any girls there, it being a monastery, so you'll have to bring your own. Try to limit yourself to three of four though, travel visas get tricky with any more than that. My only other advice is not to take your whole liquor cabinet, only a few well-chosen bottles. We lost three Sherpa trying to get mine across the Cho Minh Gorge, and it really was a bother. The guides <I>insisted</I> we stop for a funeral, and we lost an hour of daylight as the rest of the trail hires made the most ghastly wailing. Thankfully one of them saved the Glenlivet, but I had to finish the trip without champagne. Oh well, I suppose there is a certain joy in "roughing it."<BR/><BR/>******<BR/><BR/>Yes, I'm a pretentious ass sometimes. Don't know why I said the bookshop thing at all, really, it was just on my mind. There's nothing wrong with buying books online, its usually cheaper and I certainly didn't mean to cast aspersions on it. The comment <I>does</I> seem pretty conceited in retrospect. Not my intention, I just really like bookshops and have a bad habit of not knowing when to shut up.<BR/><BR/>"Abomination" is really the collective noun? That's hella cool. I wonder how it evolved into the meaning we all know and love today? An anecdote waiting to happen, right there.Rob Rathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190321709283384722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-22318214110789408732009-03-09T13:41:00.000+00:002009-03-09T13:41:00.000+00:00Rob-I have an aversion to shopping in bookstores.I...Rob-<BR/><BR/>I have an aversion to shopping in bookstores.<BR/><BR/>I prefer popping down to my local abbey and getting an abomination* of Cistercian monks to illuminate each of Dan’s work’s for me, filigreeing each word with gold leaf on the finest quality vellum. After Vespers, a chapter of Gaunt’s Ghosts is read to me in Latin whilst a dozen eunuchs sing Sinister Dexter in Gregorian chant.<BR/><BR/>Besides, there aren’t any cute nuns to wink at in bookstores, nor fresh-faced Sisters of Charity kneeling down for Evening Mass to chat up. Where’s the fun in that?<BR/><BR/>M<BR/><BR/>* Apparently that is the collective noun!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-6903645176151206972009-03-08T21:35:00.000+00:002009-03-08T21:35:00.000+00:00Congratulations on the 8-spot Dan, well deserved.B...Congratulations on the 8-spot Dan, well deserved.<BR/><BR/>Big-<BR/><BR/>You beat me to declaring this the "Best Blog Title to Date," curse you!<BR/><BR/>Roderick H-<BR/><BR/>Yeah I saw Sinister Dexter on Amazon. When I eventually get to picking it up that's where I'll go, but only because I've never seen it in a store. I have this aversion to shopping for books online. I always think that part of the fun is going into a bookshop and physically looking for what I want, feeling the weight, flipping the pages, having a short chat with the people at the register, browsing the shelves when it isn't where I thought it would be, etc. I suppose it's the same reason that many people don't like to buy clothes online- trying them on is part of the process.<BR/><BR/>Besides, there aren't any cute checkout clerks to smile at on Amazon, nor girls shopping in the same book aisle to chat up. You never run in to anyone you know there- where's the fun in that?<BR/><BR/>I also find Amazon generally gets books to me a week late. Even pre-ordered ones. (Two weeks for Sabbat Martyr. Some idiot gave away the end before it arrived.) All in all, if it's going to take that long I'd rather order from a local small business.Rob Rathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190321709283384722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-46687812648586450392009-03-07T17:04:00.000+00:002009-03-07T17:04:00.000+00:00Many congratulations Dan on the top 5000 books lis...Many congratulations Dan on the top 5000 books list! It's about time the rest of the world caught up with the enlightened denizens of this blog. I'd love to keep hearing about all the other projects you've been done outside BL, although I think the sheer density of 40K joy will keep me babbling about it for a while.<BR/><BR/>Hey all you lovely Americans, am I just being thick or would this help?<BR/><BR/>http://www.amazon.com/Sinister-Dexter-Gunshark-Dan-Abnett/dp/1401203914/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236442617&sr=8-1<BR/>http://www.amazon.com/Sinister-Dexter-Murder-Dan-Abnett/dp/1401205755/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236442617&sr=8-3<BR/>http://www.amazon.com/Sinister-Dexter-Slay-Per-View/dp/1401205879/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236442617&sr=8-10<BR/>http://www.amazon.com/Sinister-Dexter-Eurocrash-Rebellion-2000ad/dp/1905437935/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236442617&sr=8-2<BR/><BR/>The Marketplaces seem quite well stocked. Amazon, bane of my life.<BR/><BR/>I've said it before and I'll say it again, I need to re-read His Last Command again, then Legion, then everything else I have.<BR/><BR/>I also agree on the whole Sek/Gaur thing, and it's nice that the 'feel' of the two different factions is already apparent. <BR/>The fact that Sek needed Sturm to create the Sons of Sek, and the very alien-ness of the enemies Sturm encounters makes me think of a Daemon-world population, like in Ian Watson's Inquisitor series. Certainly that would tally with them being more feudal and old-school Chaos, needing an Imperial traitor to bring their fighting forces up to Blood Pact/Imperial Guard level. Which is interesting, because that shows an impressive level of adaptability, and is a compliment to the warriors of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Also makes me wonder how the Blood Pact got to be that way? Maybe there'll be a bit in the forthcoming...er... Blood Pact. Just maybe.<BR/><BR/><BR/>It's wonderful to think about just how deadly Mkoll is. I'd like to put together a list, but as far as I can get is<BR/>Chaos Dreadnought<BR/>Las-shielded Chaos Lord in power armour<BR/><BR/>and then I leave the room to re-read Guns of Tanith.Roderick Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00652742747542028901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16623482.post-57430076414170100082009-03-06T15:33:00.000+00:002009-03-06T15:33:00.000+00:00So nearly cried at the ending of His Last Command....So nearly cried at the ending of His Last Command.....and probably would have if I hadn't been on public trasport at the time.<BR/><BR/>YAY for Only in Death.<BR/><BR/>Just need the right opportunity to use 'Dry skulls in a dusty valley, with all the tops sawn off' so that it fits.<BR/><BR/>It'll happen. One day, it'll happen.Xhalaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01256396066362752889noreply@blogger.com