Double Eagle

Despite all the resistance by my gut feelings, I ignored the screams of agony by every sane brain cell I had and spent $13.50 to buy Double Eagle...

For those with a lack of RAM, Double Eagle is a Dan Abnett novel about fighter action over the Sabbat Worlds.
The reason why I'm writing is out of guilt (for spending money which equates to two pots of paint) and also I've had bad experiences with GW novels.

Maybe it's my reading habits, but the scary trend with reading GW novels is that I've gotten bored with several of them and I've even failed to complete a few... Like
Star of Erengrad - God! I don't think I finished 17 pages before it flew off my hands.
Execution Hour - Ah the battlefleet gothic book. I enjoyed this one, not thoroughly but it was a decent read. The plot was a little lame but the ship to ship battles were engaging and really made me want to play BFG.
Shadow Point - The sister BFG book. Now this was CRAP. Although the characters returned and the introduction of the Eldar, the plot was again lame (i can't even remember what a 'shadow point' was) but most importantly, the ship to ship battles (which saved the first book) was sadly downplayed, and I don't think i finished the book.
Draco - Then came the Draco series. About an inquisitor. I survived the first book, but never had the courage to read the other two... sad thing is I already own them.
Xenos/Malleus/Hereticus - I read xenos already, despite much acclaim from everyone, I remain unimpressed. I've heard Junx mention that I should stick it through and go on to read the second and third book. Maybe I should, sigh.

Well, I've started reading 3 pages last night, and the Double Eagle shows some promise. I'll have to keep you posted.

The reason for my gripes is that it is obvious that fluff is now mainly handled by the Black Library, but if they keep working on things that are insignificant, the stories in my opinion are losing direction.
It used to be the Games Designers who dictated what happened in the 40k and Warhammer universe. Andy Chambers would set a certain direction along with Gav Thorpe (Fantasy) like a Role Playing Game, coupled with the fact that they wrote the rules, the game developed at the same time as the fluff. But recently, nothing significant has happened and it's depressing.

Take for example, the Armageddon campaign that happened several years ago. Important things did happen that made the main story flow, Orks battered the Blood Angels to the point where they are in a recovery stage. Captain Tycho succumbed to the Black Rage and sacrificed himself. At least even Yarrick aged. I wasn't a 40K fanatic then but I was caught up with the stories, and made me want to collect Blood Angels. New units, like the Armageddon Steel Legion were created. Cadia on the other hand paled a lot in comparison. They introduced 13th Co, and Eldar strike forces, but fluffwise things didn't really matter. We've read about 13th Co, black guardians... nothing really new, just new rules to old fluff. But at least the setting was important, the 13th Black Crusade is fluffy. The only major loss was the relictors who got betrayed by a Daemon possessed Inquisitor. Relictors? Do you really care? Not me, it's not as if it was like Ultramarines (now that would be a story) who got beaten to pulp.

The heroes of the current age were spawned from Battle Reports from really old White Dwarfs. Ghazhkull, Yarrick, Tycho and several others like the Ulthwe Farseer (can't remember his name). were all from battle reports, and although it might have been rigged at least they built a name from themselves through battles.

It doesn't happen anymore. The characters from the current fluff aren't like major heroes. Maybe I don't read that much Black Library stuff to really know what's going on. But I just think the Warhammer universes have become just settings for games. True, they've delved into a lot more details, like the shapes of imperial canteens and how many teeth a skaven has, but suddenly, I felt that the big picture is lost.

Battle reports turn into Army Intros, it doesn't matter who wins or who loses, it's just a game. It seems that nothing has happened after Cadia fell. And it seems that the Storm of Chaos didn't blow... I mean, Archaon fought till Middenheim, but the old city held, who cares about the hamlets and villages, it's probably being rebuilt anyway. What next? nothing. No fluff in Dwarf or anywhere... everyone has gone to Lustria.
Cadia? Oh the imperials left the main planet, recamped themselves in a nearby moon. Meanwhile, with chaos capturing the pylons, what will happen? Will Chaos flow forth? Are the pylons of Necron origin? Nothing! It seems that Macragge is under attack again. (Oh, it's more new rules to old fluff... no? It's worse? It's old rules to old fluff but new miniatures...)

Arghh! It's frustrating!

Sorry! Rant over... *breathing regulates again*