James Neal

Nice to see Ulrika again.

Revisado: 03-15-25

I'm a relative newcomer to Gotrek and Felix. This is probably my favorite of the series. It's well-rounded, fun, and engaging throughout. Also, as the title says, I'm glad to see more of Ulrika since she's one of my favorite heroes from Total War Warhammer 3, so it's nice to see her character fleshed out. Jonathan Keeble is fantastic as ever. Highly recommend.

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Story from Sigmar's POV & great narrator

Revisado: 01-16-25

The story is engaging and impactful, harkening back to the warhammer grittyness of old, with a venerable narrator who is top-notch. So why does this only get 2/5 stars? Because it is book 3 in a series of 3, and the other 2 are not available for purchase, except in German. Whose blame this is doesn't ultimately matter when there's apparently no way to resolve the issue.

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More flashbacks/cutaways than a family guy bit.

Revisado: 11-27-24

As someone not deeply invested in this particular flavor of Warhammer [I'm a 40k guy myself], the apparent canon conflicts didn't bother me since I have no frame of reference. But good lord, the flashbacks are practically never-ending. I'd dismissed it at first as simply poor/hasty writing (which I'm sure is also true), but the sheer frequency is so ludicrous that I think author just had a hard-on for the story-telling method. Maybe it was an experiment. Who can say? Whatever. Story itself was decent enough and the voice work was splendid, but I probably won't re-listen to this one. 3/5

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A bit of a mess but, maybe that's the point?

Revisado: 07-16-24

I'm a big fan of the Dark Angels, Cypher, the Assassins, and the Custodes, all of whom get lots of attention. Hell, we even get a message from Big-E himself. We get to see some compelling behind the lines developments during Khorne's incursion on Terra. There's LOTS of interesting interesting background information, much of which has real consequential implications for the wider lore. In theory there's a plethora of content to keep a lore nerd like me happy and provide a compelling story to a more casual listener. So why is this not resonating with me? I think it's a combination of a narrator who seems well-meaning but over his head and overwhelmed, like he's not familiar with 40k and feeling lost, as well as the pacing of the book itself feeling a bit scattered. Your mileage may vary, but I cannot overstate how vexed I feel in the aftermath of this audiobook, despite all the positives I've listed. I'd be curious to see if there was noticeable difference if the book had been narrated by Reid or Keeble.

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What a difference the right narrator makes

Revisado: 03-13-24

Having listened to both versions, as much as I love Jonathan Banks, I like narration from this new gentleman more, in this case. The performance took what had been a serviceable, if unremarkable story and raised it to enjoyable. I'd love to see him do the same with the Path of Heaven, but that's due to my own preferences for continuity.

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My favorite Siege of Terra book so far

Revisado: 02-05-23

I'm usually pretty wary of this particular Black Library author (especially when he writes about the loyalist side of the conflict), but he really delivered here. Loved it.

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Nice while it lasted, but won't re-listen.

Revisado: 12-24-18

Master of Mankind is to my mind, peak Aaron Demski-Bowden, with regards to strengths as an author and style of writing. There's a LOT of good in this book and a lot that's just fascinating, but be sure that you don't take anything that The Emperor says at face value, otherwise you might find yourself confused. Without wishing to spoil, suffice it to say that The Emperor's interactions are specifically crafted in such a way as to maximize His charismatic appeal to the person or party with whom He is speaking. As a rule of thumb, His statements throughout the Horus Heresy series should rarely be taken as a representation of His own opinions, but rather as a tool for Him to exercise His will; So far in the series, the only exceptions are in His interactions with Malcador, Constantin Valdor, and a very select few of His sons. If you are still a bit new to the lore, be sure to keep this in mind throughout the story, or you may well find yourself lost.

It should also be said that while ADB's strengths as a writer are evident, so too are his biases. It's difficult to pinpoint or provide any examples without giving spoilers, but for those who don't know, the author is well known for being something of a cheerleader for the Chaos faction, and his own personal daddy issues are a poorly kept secret within the 40K community. I mention this not as a jab at the author, but to provide context; If you find yourself scratching your head at moments in the story that just seem a bit off, knowing the above might be helpful. At least it was for me. I can only speak for myself here, so take this for what you will, but I can honestly say that my story experience would have been negatively impacted had I not been aware of some of the author's personal leanings beforehand, and I hope that this context might similarly help the experience of others, particularly those invested in the Horus Heresy series.

Overall, I'd ultimately really only recommend Master of Mankind to those invested in the Horus Heresy series or 40K as a whole. It's certainly no Horus Rising or Wolfsbane, but there's enough to keep your interest if you're waiting for other new releases in the series. For those who are still learning about the franchise, it's far from inaccessible, but bear in mind the points of context above. If you're freshly new to the lore however, steer clear, Master of Mankind requires a mild-to-moderate amount of background knowledge; If you're interested in the franchise and want to learn more, you'd probably find Horus Rising, Flight Of The Eisenstein, Legion, or The First Heretic more approachable.

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esto le resultó útil a 29 personas

Last chapter missing. Will change score if fixed.

Revisado: 06-19-18

As others have said, the final chapter and credits are both missing. I would really love to recommend this book and wish to rate it highly, but at time of writing, the product sold is currently incomplete.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona