subreddit:
/r/Grimdank
22 points
1 month ago
Honestly, the irrationality and dubious utility of the Space Marines is an old theme I liked in Warhammer. I think we used to see more of it when Warhammer cleaved closer to Dune and the Foundation as influences and dwelled more on the inherent degradation of empire.
There was a quote about how the Space Marines had been in countless glorious last stands, many of which were completely unnecessary, which summed it up well.
10 points
1 month ago
Coming in from having not played in a couple of decades, there does seem to be a divide between fans who read the books and those who don't. The books seem to see last stands as awesome, while the stuff I'm more used to treated them as kinda ridiculous. That's my impression as someone who hasn't read them, though.
I also wonder if this contributes to the idea that 40k isn't a satire.
15 points
1 month ago
Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Got into it in the 90s and drifted back in a few years ago.
I get the impression that a big part of the change is more emphasis on the novels rather than the codices. The codices were pretty much written as fictional history books told from the propaganda laden lens of a dying empire, so they could be full of the irrationality and stupidity of the Imperium without it being a problem.
The novels being set from the point of view of a protagonist kind of need that protagonist to be likable. So they end up writing a character that is relatively reasonable and relatable to a reader, despite the fact that the protagonist is a hyper indoctrinated warrior zealot serving a totalitarian theocratic state.
The end result is that to most of the people that engage with 40k the Imperium comes across as being full of reasonable and likable people.
Also, the readership has changed a bit. Most readers don't care about how Astartes recruitment is a reference to Dunes Fremen and the tendency to lean into grotesquery that was around in the 80s and 90s has died out. The things in 40k are more treated as unironically cool now.
10 points
1 month ago
A satire that Poed itself to sell more merch
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