Talon, out in the wild.
People have started getting their First Edition copies of The Talon of Horus, and I’ve already been sent a couple of initial comments along with a surprising number of selfies for The Contest. And I was pretty damn happy to be sent some initial comments from first-day readers Lucien Eilam and Balthamal:
“It’s all juice. A veritable Chekhov’s arsenal of foreshadowing. There’s barely a chapter you’ll be able to make it through without going “hang on, he did what to who?!” or similar. A lot of people are going to be starting Black Legion armies this year. I’d advise against [getting spoilers]. Like Legion, I think it’s a story that’s better if you get the surprises and revelations in the right order.”
“Finished it. Want to crank my jaw off the floor and try to wrap my broken mind around it. In short this has been knocked so far out the park it’s gone intercontinental.”
And, with terrifying enthusiasm, this from Facebook:
That bodes well. And here are some pics of that bad boy getting unwrapped in the great wide world, on various people’s desks and carpets:
I’m saving the selfies for the actual contest, but some of them are absolutely adorable.
I think the most surprising aspect (on my end of things, at least) is how amazing it felt to actually see people with their copies. Outside of book signings (which are honestly too surreal and chaotic to really allow any focus) you rarely actually see people with your books in their hands. It was equal parts reassuring and weird, but mostly I’m glad everyone was so happy to get them, and commenting on the insane production values.
In other news, I said a while back that I had the internal artwork and the cover framed and on the wall of the Aaronorium, and they look awesome all up there together. This is indeed true. Behold the evidence:
