Dark Future novels any good?

[Slave to Darkness]

I just remembered back in the day there were some novels released, the only GW novels I read back then were the Ian Watson ones, oh and Drachenfels.

Were the Dark Future novels actually any good? I don't know anyone that's actually seen one let alone read them.

 

[Fimm McCool]

I started White Line Fever, much as I started Drachenfels. Didn't take long for me to lose interest, garbage writing.

 

[dieselmonkey]

Honestly, in my opinion they were some of the best novels GW ever put out, but then I loved the alternate USA background it was based in. The Demon Download trilogy (Demon Download/Krokodil Tears/Comeback Tour) were written by Kim Newman, so on a par with Drachenfels, which I also loved.

 

[ManicMan]

nice covers though ^_^

 

[Slave to Darkness]

Drachenfels actually gets better lol, I had a hard time getting into that book but glad I stuck it out.

 

[Slave to Darkness]

Was Elvis around in the books, or did the guy on the cover just look like the Burger King of Rock n Roll?

 

[dieselmonkey]

Was Elvis around in the books, or did the guy on the cover just look like the Burger King of Rock n Roll?

No, it was Elvis. It's a long time since I read it, but it's based around the fact that Elvis never left the army, and so didn't have a music career and when he came out he became a sanctioned Operative.

 

[Eric]

And to think I was just gearing up to start a book thread. We'l maybe I'll do some merging! Anyhow these are all the Dark Future books I think were written:



Yes they are different Route 666s. Of that lot Ghost Dancers was probably the hardest to get hold of at a reasonable price. I quite enjoyed them. Bit trashy in places, but reasonable fun!

 

[Slave to Darkness]

I might give them a try, can't be any worse than some of the stuff they are putting out now.

 

[Raedwald]

Trawling the memory, as it was 30+ years ago, but I only read Krokodil Tears and Comeback Tour, somehow never got hold of Demon Download, which was the first in that trilogy.

Like most of the Jack Yeovil books, they took scenes from popular culture at the time and just dropped in Yeovil's characters. For example, I remember a whole chapter in Krokodil Tears where the main heroine experiences the storyline of Psycho.

At the time I thought they were truly amazing, and got fully submerged in the trashiness. However, i'm certain that today I'd find them unbearable. I remember rereading Redwall in my twenties, which as a child I thought to be the greatest book ever written, but as an adult I was devastated to find it then seemed pretty rubbish.

 

[Fimm McCool]

I still have a soft spot for Redwall, but some are definitely better than others. I think with both those and the GW novels you can see clearly their target readership, which isn't me now. The only GW books I have ever enjoyed are the Ian Watson Inquisitor series.

 

[Raedwald]

I still have a soft spot for Redwall, but some are definitely better than others. I think with both those and the GW novels you can see clearly their target readership, which isn't me now. The only GW books I have ever enjoyed are the Ian Watson Inquisitor series.

I do still have a soft spot for Redwall too, despite the disappointing reread, given how much it fired young Raedwald's imagination.
I read all of the GW fantasy novels in the early '90s but none of the 40k ones, so missed out on the Inquisitor series. A lot of people seem to have been influenced by those.

 

[Slave to Darkness]

Redwall as in the 'furry' monastery? Saw the cartoon, loved it, watched the series where his son got kidnapped and had his own adventure, didn't like that as much (his son was a bit of a plank).
Not read the books, although I have one I got from a charity shop somewhere for 25p.

 

[Brother Meredith]

I think the first Redwall is still considered a good children’s book (still got my copy back in the old folk’s home), but get the impression the series failed to develop with its audience and became repetitive? If you like that anthropomorphic mouse fantasy, David Petersen’s Mouse Guard comics and RPGs has managed to develop the genre in a relatively more mature direction?

Ian Watson’s work for GW is borderline crackers, I love it! Only had Inquisitor, but re-read the Space Marine extract from WD#165 the other day and had to stop sniggering at the descriptions of Tyranid bioship innards…

 

[Slave to Darkness]

I still can't believe Watson had buildings humping on a Daemon world in Inquisitor, can't see GW letting that slide now.

 

[Brother Meredith]

They had Space Marine as print on demand 7 years ago and all his books are still available as ebooks https://www.blacklibrary.com/authors/ian-watson

 

[Slave to Darkness]

I did have space marine but someone borrowed it and I can't remember who, mght be the same guy who has my RoC books.

Now I gotta hunt down someone I've not seen in 20 years.

I do know who has my ltd ed 'Harlequin' hardback though, that's up in Southport in my mate's garage with 3 incomplete Hero Quests.

 

[Brother Meredith]

Good luck hunting!

 

[Raedwald]

I think the first Redwall is still considered a good children’s book (still got my copy back in the old folk’s home), but get the impression the series failed to develop with its audience and became repetitive? If you like that anthropomorphic mouse fantasy, David Petersen’s Mouse Guard comics and RPGs has managed to develop the genre in a relatively more mature direction?

Ian Watson’s work for GW is borderline crackers, I love it! Only had Inquisitor, but re-read the Space Marine extract from WD#165 the other day and had to stop sniggering at the descriptions of Tyranid bioship innards…

Wow! I bought Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 when it was first out, and many years ago had a totally unsuccessful hunt for Winter... plus had no idea there were others. Will have to look for UK stockists. Thanks for the link!

I'd also forgotten about that extract in WD165... so I have read some Watson. Urgh... how could I have forgotten.

 

[Eric]

Now I gotta hunt down someone I've not seen in 20 years.

Sounds loosely like the plot of a pulp GW novel

I've got the Mouseguard RPG in my collection, although it's alas never been played - lovely book however!

Redwall was one I missed as a youth, I've wondered from time to time about reading them. The whole developing with the readers is an interesting aspect of books - especially when coming to a series after publication when you are likely to be reading them in a much shorter timespan. Of course I aged a lifetime on Martin waiting for him to publish more of Games of Thrones I remember re-reading the first few a couple of times ahead of a imminent publication of the "next book", which never came. I rather gave up in the end - to be fair I felt the series had started to wander a bit and magic was starting to play too stronger role in some of the story arcs.

Ian Watson's GW stuff is great fun, still probably some of my favourite stuff. Although I am presently dipping into Ignorant Armies whilst re-reading the first three Jason Bourne books.

I did part with a lot of books during one house move, but GW wise I kept the Gaunt's Ghosts books which I rather liked and the first five or so of the Heresy series which I felt were much stronger than the later books. Eisenhorn and Ravenor inquisitor books were others I held onto. Otherwise it's all the older stuff. That said I do have quite a few as audio books.

Well it seems this thread might have become the book thread we wanted ... let it go forth and spread it's printed corruption among the masses... shall I add a postfix title?