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Website design By BotEap.comRecently, I have been taking a break from the Warhammer 40k novels. Most of all, I’m looking forward to the next outing in the Horus Heresy series, which is available to pre-order now and will be out in November.
Website design By BotEap.comHowever, I decided to dive into the Warhammer 40k universe, just to keep my Waaargh juices flowing, so I bought a copy of “Titanicus” by Dan Abnett, who I generally consider one of my favorite 40k writers.
Website design By BotEap.comThe book focuses on a war between the legendary Warhammer 40k Titans, who are gigantic two-legged machines of uninhibited apocalyptic power.
A Titan is an incredibly rare thing in Warhammer 40k lore, and each one of them is considered a holy relic by the Mechanicus worshiping order of machines. Website design By BotEap.comIn Titanicus, the reader witnesses the extremely rare event of an Imperial Titan Legion taking on a Chaos Titan Legion, and the resulting destruction is appropriately insane, even if the whole experience perhaps feels a bit flat. Website design By BotEap.comThe plot sees the world of the forge of Orestes come under attack. The worlds of Forge are critical worlds for the Empire in the Warhammer 40k universe, as they are intended to produce incredible amounts of military hardware that is needed to fuel humanity’s constant struggle for survival. Website design By BotEap.comFortunately, the Titan Legion Invictus is stationed in the world and ready to assist in defense. However, it soon becomes apparent that the Chaos invaders have brought their own Titan war machines, thus inviting us to many pages of description of the tense god-machine tension over god-machine action. Website design By BotEap.comIn addition to the story about the actual war and the many battles, Titanicus actually spends a great deal of time trying to tell a story about political intrigue and attempts to build characters with whom you will feel emotionally connected. Website design By BotEap.comYou will notice that I use the words “try” and “tries” and, sadly, I must say that they are very appropriate. Website design By BotEap.comI don’t think Abnett really takes into account all the exotic culture you’d expect to find within a Titan Legion or within the inner workings of the Mechanicus. Instead, he was a bit irritated to find various attempts at light humor that seemed quite forced and uncharacteristic coming from the type of people who did. Website design By BotEap.comSo at least the Titan battles are awesome, right? Well … I have to say they didn’t do it for me either. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like the Titans have been built on the Warhammer 40k mythology to a point where having a couple of them together in the same place should be an incredibly epic experience and the battle between two of these guys. of the machines should be things to level the city. Website design By BotEap.comBut in Titanicus there are so many Titans that it almost reduces the combat between them to a mundane event.
The giant block-sized Warlord and Reaper-class Titans get eliminated multiple times throughout the book and frankly it cheapens the sense of wonder and awe I get from 40k Titans. Website design By BotEap.comI’m sorry if this review ends up sounding very negative, but after finishing Titanicus I feel like the massive battles between large groups of Titans is maybe something that sounds good on paper (or well, not on paper in this book, but whatever) but actually, it doesn’t work that well in practice. Website design By BotEap.comAlso, I feel like the non-battle sequences in the book left a lot to be desired, so I couldn’t even skip the battles and try to follow a gripping story of political maneuvering, which is actually something I generally enjoy as well. in the Warhammer 40k books. Website design By BotEap.comOverall, I can’t recommend Titanicus to you, unless you’re incredibly excited about the idea of Titan vs. Titan showdowns.
A Titan is an incredibly rare thing in Warhammer 40k lore, and each one of them is considered a holy relic by the Mechanicus worshiping order of machines. Website design By BotEap.comIn Titanicus, the reader witnesses the extremely rare event of an Imperial Titan Legion taking on a Chaos Titan Legion, and the resulting destruction is appropriately insane, even if the whole experience perhaps feels a bit flat. Website design By BotEap.comThe plot sees the world of the forge of Orestes come under attack. The worlds of Forge are critical worlds for the Empire in the Warhammer 40k universe, as they are intended to produce incredible amounts of military hardware that is needed to fuel humanity’s constant struggle for survival. Website design By BotEap.comFortunately, the Titan Legion Invictus is stationed in the world and ready to assist in defense. However, it soon becomes apparent that the Chaos invaders have brought their own Titan war machines, thus inviting us to many pages of description of the tense god-machine tension over god-machine action. Website design By BotEap.comIn addition to the story about the actual war and the many battles, Titanicus actually spends a great deal of time trying to tell a story about political intrigue and attempts to build characters with whom you will feel emotionally connected. Website design By BotEap.comYou will notice that I use the words “try” and “tries” and, sadly, I must say that they are very appropriate. Website design By BotEap.comI don’t think Abnett really takes into account all the exotic culture you’d expect to find within a Titan Legion or within the inner workings of the Mechanicus. Instead, he was a bit irritated to find various attempts at light humor that seemed quite forced and uncharacteristic coming from the type of people who did. Website design By BotEap.comSo at least the Titan battles are awesome, right? Well … I have to say they didn’t do it for me either. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like the Titans have been built on the Warhammer 40k mythology to a point where having a couple of them together in the same place should be an incredibly epic experience and the battle between two of these guys. of the machines should be things to level the city. Website design By BotEap.comBut in Titanicus there are so many Titans that it almost reduces the combat between them to a mundane event.
The giant block-sized Warlord and Reaper-class Titans get eliminated multiple times throughout the book and frankly it cheapens the sense of wonder and awe I get from 40k Titans. Website design By BotEap.comI’m sorry if this review ends up sounding very negative, but after finishing Titanicus I feel like the massive battles between large groups of Titans is maybe something that sounds good on paper (or well, not on paper in this book, but whatever) but actually, it doesn’t work that well in practice. Website design By BotEap.comAlso, I feel like the non-battle sequences in the book left a lot to be desired, so I couldn’t even skip the battles and try to follow a gripping story of political maneuvering, which is actually something I generally enjoy as well. in the Warhammer 40k books. Website design By BotEap.comOverall, I can’t recommend Titanicus to you, unless you’re incredibly excited about the idea of Titan vs. Titan showdowns.
