The Infinite and The Divine - Book Club & Review

[@thepoorhammerpodcast]

Again, a big "Thank you!" to our patrons for picking the topic and many of them for joining us in the book club reading. Please don't be afraid to share your thoughts on the book as well. (Spoilers are fine in the comments on this episode, since I'm assuming anyone reading these read the book or doesn't care.) Since we got this solidified after the episode was recorded, we have some merch available now if anyone is interested. You can read about it in our post here: www.patreon.com/posts/poorhammer-merch-84100689

[@nofuxgivens2797]

Broke-Back Monolith

[@nofuxgivens2797]

These two remind me of C3PO and R2D2

[@nofuxgivens2797]

Ya know..they also remind of Will Farrell and Mark wahlberg in a the movie 'the other guys'

[@minkernator]

Great episode! I got the audio book to listen along. I didn't expect much with it being Necrons but felt the author did a brilliant job at bringing the characters to life whilst keeping them Actually alien instead of robot humans. Thanks for getting me to give it a go!

[@tobiasrembrandt7635]

"'Trazyn. Our ships are without atmosphere, unpressurised.' Orikan said. 'Do orks... breathe?' A pause. 'They have lungs.'" I love the ork battle scene for many reasons, but this quote alone is what makes it my favorite part.

[@alistaroh]

You live for millions of years, belonging to the race that knows the materium inside and out, and Orks are still a mystery.

[@zeronatras]

There is a lady in my head which calls me Stud McMuffin. ~Orikan, probably.

[@notjustanother3191]

Jenny's voice coming from that Hive Tyrant picture is fucking incredible. Hivemind canon voice confirmed.

[@MrPooleish]

I'm listening to Devastation of Baal right now, and I would pay good money for Jenny to voice all the Tyranid parts.

[@MannonMartin]

I saw the avatar and realized they had a guest, and was genuinely surprised when it was his wife. Then I remembered she plays Tyranids... Jen is canonically Tyranid! That's hilarious and great! I love it.

[@MrMeme171]

@@MrPooleish for as long as I live I will never not think of Jenny's voice whenever I hear Tyranids in audiobooks... GOD WHY DOES THIS FIT SO PERFECTLY?!?!?!

[@DnBGolf]

Which part was that? I think I missed it somehow

[@discopete117]

Something I love about the ending fight: it’s basically Orikan and Trazyn playing a game of 40K against the Deceiver. They’re both commanding different armies that barely work together (including Trazyn’s horrific schizophrenic army list). Then Orikan gets so pissed he just fights the opponent across the table rather than army to army.

[@jarlathquinn2628]

If your list is schizophrenic enough it becomes good just because of all the bullshit the enemy can’t counter it without fucking themsevles esle where

[@minkernator]

Hahaha! Great point!

[@tomgeytenbeek2207]

Poor bloke was playing 40k at about a 10,000 point level across five consecutive games, several fights of aeronautica imperialis with tomb blades to can move instantly in any direction ignoring momentum, and playing digital surgeon simulator with his own army’s minds to keep them from turning to Flayers. Damn, that last battle really endeared Orikan to me after everything. He went down FIGHTING, and juggling about five final exams in the back of his mind while doing so.

[@vancodling4223]

The original thumbnail, "A better love story than Twilight" with a heart shaped planet in the background. Gone within 4 hours, but not forgotten 😢

[@thepoorhammerpodcast]

Unfortunately KZbin informed us nobody was clicking on that including subscribers... This one seems to be doing much better. You can actually watch the click-through rate spike on the back-end the hour after the change.

[@vancodling4223]

@@thepoorhammerpodcast cool to know! I love spotting them before they change

[@adamfisher173]

We pay our respects to the dead

[@WilhelmScreamer]

1). I love how Trayzan in the audiobook is just jim cummings Hondo voice 2). This book made me want to buy exodites, and thus ruined eldar for me when I learned dinotastic forces are not a valid option

[@tomgeytenbeek2207]

Not from the Jedi, they’re not…

[@andgodsaiduntoabraham]

Trazyn and Orikan are "best enemies". They don't call each other "friend," it's "dear colleague". A great dynamic.

[@stevenwalsh6179]

Trazyn save scumed harder than a 15-year-old in an elder scrolls game. Actually, the two fit very well into categories of the collector and the power gamer. Their ethics also mirror that of player towards an NPC world. ...BRB, gonna name a Skyrim character Trazyn, steal one of everything, and whack people with a stick.

[@AttilaDToth]

Orikan is the save scumming git.

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

I mean,Trazyn is clearly a GW customer stand in, they type who buy one of every model(multiplied by number of optional configurations). Hell, I know that I'm personally the kind of guy who's response to hearing that a kit is about to be replaced is to buy two copies of the current soon-to-be-retired kit: one to build as intended and one for kitbashing bits...

[@GusOmega]

​@@RipOffProductionsLLC I think Trayzn is more of a lore person. Someone who buys the books and finds the stories interesting, to the point he plays the game to show off his attention to detail and to see how the other player made their army. Learn from them and if they're cool, remember them.

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

@hudhouse99 well sure he's a lore nerd, that's what the dioramas are for.

[@tomgeytenbeek2207]

Also, Orikan LITERALLY save-scummed with time itself

[@josiahbartel6650]

I really like how much orikan and trazyn changed only to not change at all The genre? It’s a heist book!

[@TriptuneRadio]

There are many ways to interpret what this comment means

[@bramwiebe7361]

I enjoyed this book far more than I expected. The contrast between Trazyn's blind obsession for the past to the exclusion of the future and Orikan's complete disregard for the past for his vision of the future was rather well done and pleasingly nuanced. This may just be me enjoying the fan service elements too much, but I can't help but feel that Robert Rath just immortalized your average 40K Fan into Trazyn and I was all for it. The way he talked about the desire to collect all of the things, then to expand his collection and ultimately bring his collection of armies to battle really felt like something I could connect with! Trazyn's pile of shame must be monumental!

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

I think Trazyn as a 40K collector has always been somewhat part of him, he's the guy who has to have at least 1 of everything, needs to have it orderly displayed on his shelves, will go out of his way to get that rare long out of production thing just to make his latest diorama picture perfect, and so on.

[@Axquirix]

I did not read the Orikan and Vishani interaction as sexual at all and I'm degenerate as hell lmao. Loved this book, and it honestly makes me want to start a necron army... or a Primaris-only Silver Skulls chapter who think they're an attempt to rekindle a destroyed Firstborn chapter that they've been told basically nothing about.

[@caboose759]

Where can I donate to the cause? We need a Silver Skulls army STAT

[@discopete117]

@@caboose759 IIRC it’s also a “canon” chapter in the lore

[@tomgeytenbeek2207]

Might work well with the new marine release, by twenty reiver heads in bulk and have a solid start to a Primaris Silver Skulls company confusedly looking at their history and going ‘they did WHAT’ ‘Welp… ORKS IT IS THEN’

[@luke8169]

My personal favourite part of the book is just tryzen's main battle tactic of distract the guy and run up behind them and hit them on the head with the obliterator, it's so perfectly impish and fits his everything so well. (especially when what he is distracting them with is his "own" corpse)

[@zissoulander]

Tacticians they are not 😂

[@KS-ng6zg]

Although I do enjoy "Vishani" and Orikan 's interactions. . Yeah, the otp is absolutely Orikan and Trazyn.

[@chrismah6248]

When i think about it Trazyn probably is the last of the necrontyr archeologists. They have scholars in crypteks, but they focus on the sciences. Likely most of the other social sciences were all commoners and turned into Necron Warriors.

[@Kaldris]

One final thought - Trazyn mentioned without an obsession one cannot survive immortality. I think that's only partly true, you also need a curse. Something to contend with you during your obsession, to further drive you and push you past a point you may have simply given up on. Each one of these two is the others curse, and I think that's what they realize about one another as they continue on.

[@ChumblesMumbles]

You definitely get the feeling that the author had a lot of fun writing this one.

[@Dithyrambos-h5e]

I think the use of the Horus Heresy to date the events has a second fun little effect: early on, Trazyn references a human civil war that reshaped the galaxy. It's presumed this is the Horus Heresy. Then, thousands of years later, he specifically calls out the Horus Heresy. Meaning the human civil war he's talking about is probably the war against the Men of Iron.

[@Stonecold300]

Wait wtf I thought it was the heresy both times lmao

[@kazmark_gl8652]

​@Stonecold300 Trazen looting the Exodite jewel happens, I think sometime during the dark Age of technology, possibly the early Great Crusade

[@svaiskau]

"You don't spend the first 20 minutes of your buddy cop movie explaining your magic system." Jealous that you were able to forget 2017's Bright.

[@vinnythewebsurfer]

People can relate to Trayzn because he is a 40k player. He collects things, he reads up the lore of these things he collected even if he thinks alot of it sucks or is stupid. That monologue about humanity is basically how everyone thinks of space marines and the imperium side of 40k. It’s so in your face about it.

[@victoriabaltazar2824]

This book was a such a fun read. I felt like stopped after every chapter to tell my roommate the latest hi-jinx these immortal frienemies got up to. Laughed so much, but also thought it was so cool to see the story of the planet like Jenny said.

[@jaqssmith1666]

Twice Dead King made me understand why the old ones refused to help the Necrontyr, and why they were right to do so. Infinite and Devine was much more charitable to the Necrons.

[@Pazuzu4All]

Haven't read that one. What's their reasoning?

[@Adunapheth]

They are petty assholes

[@akumaking1]

@@Pazuzu4Allthe Necrontyr were highly spiteful and full of pride?

[@liefericson6496]

Something I don't see pointed out enough is that the genestealer prank probably saved everyone - when he was attacked, Orikan was communing with whatserface, and was about to open himself up to her, which would have been disastrous. After being interrupted, he doesn't do so again due to growing trust issues, so the exterminatus may have been a best-case scenario

[@alBoomer19]

Loved having Jenny on too! sounds like she needs to make more appearances on the podcast. Also, I loved hearing all of you talk about your experiences with the book. This was such a fun read for sure

[@joe_h_Redwire]

1. I didn't mind "deathmasks", but I did get tired of "ocular". 2. I overthought the prologue, and assumed the black shaped aliens were Old Ones about to uplift another species. 3. Even though the primary focus was on Necron culture, orc culture looked extremely badass. Every group of orcs is badass, and that one Stormboy with an active missile jetpack is my hero. 4. The genestealer attacking Orikan, and the flayed one attacking them both were written so similarly... I thought it was the genestealer back for a rematch. I was genuinely shocked it was metallurgist Quellkah, because a flayed one and a genestealer should act at least a little different. At least describe the claws as chitinous or metallic. 5. Necrons, orcs and genestealers all agree: attack the biggest one first.

[@basstedson]

I feel like the similarity was on purpose, to make you shocked by it being the chief metallurgist.

[@Kaldris]

As a Necron player, started in 5th edition I loved the concept of Necrons being the ultimate masters of technology and reality. They are able to mold and shape it in ways no other race can even fathom it seems. Crypteks really helped me get into the army due to that idea, with the different types of Mancers that existed. I loved seeing the different ones appear throughout the book, like the Void Mancer calculating the trajectory of all of the incoming Orc projectiles. I probably re-wound that scene 4 times (my phone kept losing bluetooth connection and killing my audio player, causing me to have to try to find where I was via car touch screen scroll bar on a 13 hour file) and enjoyed it every time. I don't think anyone would get that kind of enjoyment from seeing the Necron Mancers work, like the time Glyphs or general 'spellcasting' performed without that prior knowledge. Granted, I don't think that's a bad thing; it gives different reader levels enjoyment from things without wasting others time needlessly explaining something. I think that extends to the artifacts they use and carry, a Tesseract Labrynth is just a convenient storage device, or a much more interesting relation to something they may have once used in-game, or read about in other Necron lore. I'll admit I didn't finish the book in time, same phone issues eventually caused me to give up around the 8 or 9 hour mark and I had been too lazy to figure out where to restart. That being said listening to this on Patreon is definitely giving me the drive to finish it. That being said, favourite scene so far is Trazyn taking over the Deathmark. It was such a fun way of showing Trazyn's just complete ire at the loss of his galleries that he didn't care about the device anymore. He blew off some steam (A deathmask too) and just went back to his work. The next scene of Orikan basically going 'Here's the Key, it's on the floor, please don't blow my head off again, it really hurt. Ok, now that we've all agreed not to shoot me here's what I've got to say:' felt like such a nice kicker ontop of that part.

[@joelkurowski7129]

>Episode 69 >'love story' ...well done

[@tomgeytenbeek2207]

The fact that Vasharni really existed too, and was just lying there crumpled blinking out in Morse code was brilliant too

[@joelkurowski7129]

@@tomgeytenbeek2207 oh dear, I think I just spoiled the book for myself.

[@Walpurgisnackt]

thank you patrons for causing this fun episode. I appreciated the special guest

[@guptilgaither332]

I love how they represent bickering old men being bickering old men to their core. The sands of time cannot erode their Mediterranean agita

[@crashstarr6531]

46:45 excuse you, the *what?!?* in the... in the all necrons book? I was not prepared for this contingency

[@mutonfuton]

I’m glad I watched this video since there were some things I genuinely didn’t pick up on in my first reading, like the Orikan and Vishani “sex” scene, the lack of keeping up with time with the scribe scene, the Triarchs’ planet being overrun by daemons because Orikan didn’t want to lose an argument and the ship in the first scene being a doom scythe. I love the content you guys produce and would definitely watch a video on the Twice-Dead King Series

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

My favorite scene from the book was the "I miss music..." conversation, it sums up Trazyn and Orrikan's conflicting philosophies/mindsets and gives this great insight into Necron culture(or lack there of?) and the more spiritual repercussions of Biotransference.

[@JoshMC2000]

Jenny's Voice coming out of a Hive Tyrant is hilarious top tear pick for the sprite. Id actually really like for you guys to bring her on for this kind of thing in the future or when ya talking about the Nids

[@jacksonashworth150]

Finished reading the book on the 2nd of June after procrastinating for a year. Absolutely fantastic, one of the best books I've ever read to be quite frank and probably tied with Fulgrim the early heresy book for my favorite Warhammer book... Easy 9/10 maybe even a 9.5 or 10/10 if I hadn't already been spoiled for the book a while ago...

[@dnide4evr702]

I was not interested in Necrons for the longest time, but then I read Twice Dead King and went, alright they’re pretty neat, then I read The Infinite and the Divine and I was just completely sold, the story of both Orikan and Trazyn is so interesting to me and I do believe I like them both equally as it’s their relationship with each other that is the most entertaining to me. May favorite storyline however was most definitely the prank with the genestealer

[@averylosttenno]

You made those two look lovingly into each other's eyes and blush about it and I for one will never forget it

[@Forestxavier20]

This book is the exact reason I want to pick up Trazyn's model, I won't lie. I bought the 9e starter boxes, and whilst I fucking despise building Necron Warriors now, I wanna have a little Trazyn the Infinite that I can have at my work desk or put on display.

[@jonathancamp7292]

The ork battle scenes were great. I loved how trayson had to have a pneumonic Device for keeping track of all the different space marine chapter helmets that he had. 😂😂😂 Was this helmet from the firehawks no the fire lords no the fire eagles

[@joe_h_Redwire]

When he first said he was collecting Astartes gear, I wasn't impressed, how hard is it to get helmets from 18 legions? Then he implies he's collecting from EVERY SUCCESSOR CHAPTER EVER. Absolute madlad.

[@JoshabitheTogekiss]

Oh, all Necrons are constantly suffering from Dysmorphia unless they're totally loopy, this explains so much.

[@merrja]

Talking about callouts in the museum, the entire frozen ork display is one massive reference to an old GW specialist game called Gorkamorka. There are lots of little things like that so trust me, nearly everything Trazyn has in his collection is something already in the lore, though some of it is quite old and obscure.

[@originalname8887]

I love the part in the book where Orikan and Trayzn team up to fight off the ork waagh i laughed when Orikan didn’t know if orks have lungs and Trayzn couldn’t explain them to Orikan

[@thepoorhammerpodcast]

Also thoroughly enjoyed the question on if orks have lungs. It implies such a simple assumption that the answer matters for survival in the vacuum of space. A very bold assumption for orks.

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

​@Poorhammer I thought it was "do Orks need to breathe?" "Well... they do have lungs..."

[@josephpolk9660]

​@@RipOffProductionsLLCthat's more accurate, yes

[@hgrim2773]

I appreciate the hive tyrant as an avatar for jen

[@MannonMartin]

I've never really been interested in reading the books all that much so I didn't mind the spoilers. But I didn't expect this book to turn out so damn funny. I think it may be more fun to listen to you guys tell it than actually read it, but it did make me think about actually reading the book. This is great!

[@tomgeytenbeek2207]

Trust me, there’s so many details in the telling of the book that it’d only be accentuated by listening to it yourself after their recap, I would 100% recommend.

[@curator6971]

Having read The Twice-Dead King and about a third of the Horus Heresy, this is still my favorite Warhammer book. Thanks for talking about it in such detail.

[@YellowHornet42]

My favorite part of the book was definitely when they're cloaked and watching the humans. Trayzn explaining what a coffee shop is. And then them watching the play. When everything goes to hell and Orikan gets so pissed about Trayzn sending the genestealer after him and causing all this. Just hella funny and engaging.

[@inquishoth]

I loved the book. I have not read anything since salvation for 40k books, and now I am pulled back in. Audiobooks on my way to work are the best idea ever when you have an unavoidable commute. I also love the twist that the patriarch is the same genestealer as the one that attacks Oryikan.

[@lazywargaming6752]

My thought for Necron magic is that they're essentially stacking video game glitches on top of video game glitches. So this spell is actually you using these specific hand movements to spawn in dark matter which then this glitch gives it a certain speed, and this one puts bullet physics on it, ect

[@3Xero3]

I believed Trazyn at first when he claimed that he hadn't released the genestealer on Orikan, then kinda died laughing when the truth came out years later with a full on GSC takeover. I like this book club format, it really pushed me to pick this book up and read it instead of just leave it lingering on some wishlist of things to do.

[@lordeng1ish]

Before reading this, I wasn't sold on dino eldar. Then I "saw" them in action and thought "okay, that's kind of cool. But dinos can't survive necrons being thrown through them. They're not going to survive heavy bolter fire or lascannons either." And then the eldar dino-rider used a psychic shield to block the c'tan and I am SOLD on dinodari. I may or may not write homebrew army rules for myself.

[@Z0mgXenu1]

I think my favorite moment of the book is from the final battle where orikan has that moment of understanding with the c'tan right before consuming the shard where being so powerful made nothing matter to him. It is frightening. Truly frighting and it's made better by the scene after the battle Jen said was her favorite. MORE BOOK EPISODES PLEASE

[@theangrylizard2711]

When Trazyn said that they have to have an obession or else they go mad.. In a way that might be they hate each other and do so many wacky pranks. Its kind of sad. Other than that great episode and looking forward to the next one!!

[@whatsmoothbeast5177]

If you enjoy The Infinite & The Divine, especially as a comedy, you really owe it to yourself to read The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem. It's about the comedic rivalry between two eccentric robots in a weirdly medieval sci-fi setting, They scheme and compete over hundreds of years, using surreal inventions and destroying civilizations, mostly by accident. A lot of quite similar stuff, just written by the same guy who did Solaris. If it wasn't a direct inspiration I'd be kind of surprised.

[@techpriestc5833]

I read the Cyberiad about six years before the Infinite and the Divine, and was reminded of it while reading, loved them both

[@Amberpawn]

Oh shit! I forgot Jenny was here as the Hive Tyrant!

[@startingfromlevelone9510]

I loved this book, and part of it is because it reminds me of Hot Fuzz, both make excellent use of Chekov’s gun, misdirection, and humor both gallows and slapstick.

[@tonlito22]

I think the vibe of the book is best summed up when Trazin stares at the camera and says "Of course you know, this means war." Warhammer 40K really lends itself well to black comedy, when every main character is doing shenanigans and millions/billions of humans and aliens are dying because of it.

[@hades67618]

very late to the party but i just finished the book last night and i gotta say i was not disappointed. the last third started to kinda lose me because i was really enjoying the back and forth fucking with eachother that Trazyn and orikan had going for the first bits of the book. favorite scene/spot was easily the note to orikan from trazyn explaining the bugs and how "guess what fucker? you have termites now, good luck!". book aside i loved the episode and hearing yalls take on the book.

[@abayal5814]

Honestly my favorite scene is them comparing memories and specifically the momentary shared care for eachother as Trazyn apologizes just in case he did end up dragging orikin into the furnaces of biotransferrence. Where orikin tries to see if he is lying and sees that trazyn "at least appears to not be decieving him". It was my first 40k book, and by god I think I may love the series.

[@josephnewis]

Read this and assassinorum kingmaker on your recommendation and loved them both - happy to add prophet of the waaagh to my list too now. Jenny was great, will definitely need to try and get my missus into warhammer one day

[@toxinvenomcarnage2]

I'm obviously very biased, but I'm surprised no one in this group enjoyed the reveal scene of the deceiver. The sheer holy shit factor that Trayzin exhibits was almost chilling the first time hearing it.

[@xtrameat]

This was my first 40k book, and has easily been one of the best I have read. Great review guys! Always look forward to this channels uploads!

[@randomname2250]

This made me buy the audiobook and binge it in under 40 hours. Well worth the time

[@fireinacan]

Thank you so much for doing this episode! I had been bitten by the Necron bug when you released it, and it encouraged me to use my audible credit on this. Overall, I really enjoyed the book! I got a bit bored mid way through, though I still enjoyed the occasional scene, line, or theme. But by the end I was fully invested again, and truly enjoyed the finale and epilogue! I actually think I might pick up a physical copy someday and do a re-read. The episode was a great reward to listen to after finishing! Really fun to hear the discussion with the story relatively fresh in my mind. I think this story really did blend adventure with sci-fi scale and questions of vast time periods together quite well. I'll have to check out either that ork book or other necron book mentioned in this episode. Probably the ork one, just to have something fresh.

[@wamspride]

This has easily been the best episode so far Please do more book club episodes

[@berilsevvalbekret772]

lets admit it we all came out of this book absolutely shipping Orikan and Trazyn. Vishani was a 'friend' to Orikan someone who can understand his cryptek side. And considering we have Obyron and nemesor it is safe to say maybe MAYBE we'll see a sneaky love/hate story again XD

[@leothewhiteranger]

So, I remember when you announced this, and how it would have spoilers. I ducked out, and only listened to the audiobook earlier this year. Holy shit, HOLY SHIT did I love it. Trazyn I already liked, but this made me ADORE Orikon, and turned Trazyn into a favorite character for me.

[@Paradukes]

I very much enjoyed reading through this one on the recommendation from your lore video. Really hoping you do Assassinorum Kingmaker for your next Book Club - Robert Rath is by far and away my favourite Black Library author at the moment. My favourite moment of the Necron perspective on time is when three of them are discussing plans, and they all pause for a moment to consider. Then when one of them speaks, it turns out his voice had seized up during the _three years_ they spent thinking.

[@Ironfrenzy217]

It was the first 40k book I went through. Fantastic book. Absolutely loved it.

[@Cyfaeras]

I love this episode so much. I would give my opinions but pretty much all of them were echoed by at least one of you - although I will admit the ending felt a little *too* murderous for my taste. Like yeah, it'd be weird if after 10 millenia of hatred they were just like bros, but there was not even a sliver of respect that I could read into the ending, it felt just like pure hatred.

[@Cyfaeras]

Oh, and I read the book purely for the book club.

[@Pallyk426]

got finished righr before this came out. The coup scene with three armed king was amazing. when I heard of a third arm in the first cafe scene was like "OH THIS IS WHERE WERE GOING THEN" also you bought us box seats to a coup will live in my mind rent free

[@tomgeytenbeek2207]

Yeah, that three-armed street performer was a brilliant touch of culture and foreshadowing

[@BentJacket]

Jen was a great addition, more jen! Thanks for this guys, I really enjoyed this book and made me like necrons in a way I didnt before.

[@bootpocalypse6434]

On the subject of trazyn being just an archivist and someone who just wants to document the past/present, the gathering storm books had trazyn becoming very angry with other necrons because they used to supernova-causing-magic-map to just look at the Galaxy and they didn't warn everyone else about the great rift forming. This might just be the necrons anti-chaos attitudes tho

[@SeekerOf7ruth]

Absolutely adore this book and the Twice-Dead King series, and I really enjoyed listening to this special. It's not hard to latch onto the xenos oriented books that are good after all. In spite of how grimdark the Necrons can be, all three books show great depth in their necrontyrity (humanity) and character development as well as insight into their culture and society. As far as the grumpy old men though, I really appreciate how Trazyn and Orikan's interactions are written and how it brings out the humor of the setting. It's nothing like the satire I've been told used to be more prevalent, but I do feel as though we get a sense of the delight Robert Rath had while writing this book. I also appreciated that, as mentioned in the podcast, that anything that could be fanservice wasn't disruptive to the story itself. Considering Trazyn's occupation it could've been quite the pitfall to stumble in to. And there is so much that is quotable and *so many* great scenes. As an Ork player and fan I was loving every moment of the Ork invasion (sorry Brad) and just how much there was to go through to reach the gate. Another great one that my gf and I really like is when Trazyn and Orikan are observing a square with a cafe and some performers and such. They have their discussions, Trazyn is making his observations and enjoying the now, Orikan is making his complaints known. We then have this moment where Trazyn watches the little lizard-like pigeons that are about the area, and he comes to a moment of realization (or perhaps it was reflection) that these birds are the ancestors of the Exodite's dinosaurs from so many millennia ago. There is so much to unpack in a rather mundane scene that is from the point of view of two crochety, robotic demi-gods.

[@tomgeytenbeek2207]

There’s also the ‘three armed jester king’, a character who stands up for the poor and mocks the rich, who’s ‘third mechanical arm’ is often used for pickpocketing. Such a unique genestealer cult and version of the method they spread came out of just the Patriarch having its arm cut off when it was young. And all of the signs were there that the three-armed jester, than the three-armed dancer might be connected to the three-armed monster Orikan left alive, but I never really clicked until the dancer scene fully got into swing… fantastic little details.

[@SeekerOf7ruth]

Yeah... That caught me off guard in a way that shouldn't have considering my gf is a big nerd for that faction and its star gods.

[@krimsonmessiah]

This was a great book and i, personally love the idea of a 40k book club, and hope you do another one of these some time.

[@tomeff7424]

Finished the book yesterday and loved it. It was such an unexpectedly hilarious read with so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. The Genestealer uprising was my favorite - that opera scene gave me shivers. Thanks for recommending this! 😊

[@lastnamefirstname3353]

as someone new to reading 40k books I absolutely loved this book and it got me started to read the other books, as someone new I do wish there was a glossary in the back to reference the war hammer terms as it was confusing to understand certain phrases or words like "doom scythe" but using the internet brought me up to speed pretty easily, other than that it was wonderful 10/10

[@franpschorr3646]

Enjoyed all the fight scenes but did think the last one dragged on a little. Serenade was my favorite sci-fi on planet. Loved how Orikan got catfished and had “relations” with a dude. After I finish the eisenhorn series I’m gonna read about orcs. Make sure you announce the next book. You guys got me hooked on audio books! Ty

[@vvalmartgreeter8772]

managed to finish the book just in time for the book club. great work again everyone!

[@adamfisher173]

I'm sorry but "a romance better than twighlight" was a so much funnier title card for the video

[@thepoorhammerpodcast]

I know, that's why we went with it too... It's proof the denizens of the internet have no taste.

[@lordviddax9748]

I’ve just realised that that it is on the same sort of level of Looney Tunes Bugs (Trazyn) and Daffy (Orikan) rivalry!

[@DouglasCarter69]

This was an amazing episode thank you so much!

[@pear-head]

Had to not watch this video for a week so I could finish up The Infinite and the Divine first. I enjoyed it quite a lot. Indiana Jones, old man fights, and what would be cosmic horror if the main characters weren't 65 million year old immortal robots. Pokemaster Tazyn and SSJ Orakin were fun characters. Was my 2nd 40k book and blew Plague War out if the water (although Plague War was very solid too, would recommend if u like those basic baby ultramarines or the deathguard). My issue now is that it's a fairly unique book, if not for setting, then tone. They need more xenos books, especially necrons. I love the lighter look at the "grimdark". Sure orks are so simpleminded that they become the only source of consistent levity, but necrons bring a different style of lightheartedness. Like I mentioned earlier, this book has cosmic horror elements, with the flayer, soul devouring star god, & genestealer cult, but all of that from the perspective of a necron ends up being easily digestible good fun not that I dislike cosmic horror, I actually love it.

[@6packproductions710]

Hey still can’t watch this one yet because my copy arrived yesterday. Looking forward to watching in a week!

[@olly123451]

So the general consensus is that Orikhan and Trazyn are lovers, question is. Who’s the top?

[@Mag_ladroth]

Trazyn he's the overlord while Orikan is a cryptek

[@hgrim2773]

Trazyn most definitely

[@Jaycielantern]

Trazyn tops but Orikhan is such a bratty bottom and Trazyn cannot tame him

[@thepoorhammerpodcast]

@@Jaycielantern It would cost you nothing to have kept that thought in your head. Thank you for that mental image...

[@Jaycielantern]

@@thepoorhammerpodcast you're welcome and thank you so much for the show! :)

[@keox1405]

That brandon sanderson roast and compliment is so good.

[@Snowman_Style]

loved the book club! I think that the recent Necron books are fantastic additions to the 40k verse you get a lot more interesting reflections and emotions than you would find in most of the emotionally brutalized imperium/marine books. The courtroom scenes in i&d are by far my favorites. Maybe it's my Star Trek fandom shining through, but damn do I love a good scene where people are adversarially forced to reflect on their actions and also explain them to the audience. Also it's a shame how badass and cool this book makes the Triarch sound as this incredible order keeping group somehow trying to keep all the necron kingdoms from warring with each other. Too bad in 9th they were totally forgotten by the rules. Fingers crossed for 10th!

[@atomickrispies]

I have listened to ~40 WH40k books, and this was bar none the most unexpectedly funny story (even more than the Cain series) I have heard in the universe. The characters are written SO good. It's hard to recommend to anyone just getting into the lore, but for people who have a grounding of the factions and current state of the galaxy, I highly recommend.

[@skippythewonderchicken7511]

This might get me to actually sit down and read a 40k book. I've tried in the past but I only seem to find the ones written for teenagers like Brad's said in the past. This one sounded really fun. Great job, folks! Great episode!

[@thepoorhammerpodcast]

The audiobook is well done, so a good listen while doing house chores or whatever

[@elicrosby1551]

9 months old, here we go! Brad, how dare you say something so controversial yet so true about Brandon Sanderson! I love your guys' show and kind of sad I listened to this while doing decals on my units. I never would have believed that there was a 40k comedy book. About Necrons no less. I'll have to pick up this book in a few months after Ive forgotten what yall talked about!

[@stryke-jn3kv]

When you were listing the refferences I'd say the biggest one that was missed was the display that was basically an extended tribute to the old game that was the Ork version of Necromunda/Mordheim that was GorkaMorka.

[@lamicrobio...engros5427]

It is funny that, reading this book, I had a big Good Omens vibes all along ^^ thanks for the review ! Now I want to read it again 😂

[@darko-man8549]

@1:18:00 - not just laser dinosaurs; laser mammoths, laser beasts of alien design

[@GenralG7]

Loved the book, not a fan of Necrons tabletop wise but I've considered building a Necron army based on Trazyns requisition force, using the allied rules for a small group of Mechanicus (500 points or less in a 2k point army). This book and the Twice Dead King series made me think there was a whole set of Necron books I hadn't heard or missed out on, imagine my disappointment when it's literally just these two

[@saheilaanarzee5552]

infinite and the divine was one of the first books i listened to with warhammer and i absolutely loved it

[@zackbob6]

A callout you guys (and myself) missed cause I'm not old enough is that apparently the orks Trazyn has in his desert scene are from the old discontinued game from the 90s of Gorka-Morka. Saw that brought up in an interview with Robert Rath and thought it was a fun tidbit

[@jakebooth9433]

I know I'm late to the party but I listened to this audiobook just so I can listen to this episode. Loved the book and loved your guys take on it🤙🤙🤙

[@project4061]

Personally I really enjoyed the book and after listening to it off and on for a couple weeks to finish it, I will say that some aspects did make me feel like "Oh, what's that so I can get a good image of it in my head," and the only time it got annoying was the ships since the wiki didn't have a thing for fleets or ships. But stuff like the Immortals, Lich Guards, and the Deceiver were easy to imagine. (By the way Trazyn unleashed Catachan Devils into Orikan's place, the key was that Trazyn mentioned how the Imperium had a force named after the creatures.) The Genestealer foreshadowing was great, but you'd begin to wonder how little interaction Trazyn had with Tyranids to mistake a Genestealer for a Termigaunt, but I can kind of see how he made the mistake. The Mischief King or whatever it was having three arms, the union crackdown, and the murder patterns (which could have also been in reference to the former judge), I ate all of that like candy! For the aftermath of the final battle, you kind of have to wonder if Orikan caught a glimpse of Khain or he was still recovering from seeing his god-like shadow. Even though this was a flop for your experimenting (as stated in the 96 questions video), I would happily join a pattern of listening to books with you guys!

[@Markus9343]

You mentioned the lack of Grimdark but IMO the end is the perfect Warhammer 40K Grimdark moment. Trazyn going back to feed the Deceiver shards in payment for knowledge and suspecting that its really already gone way beyond his ability to keep the thing locked up. Its that stuipid, self destructive, self inflicted, inevitable doom which really characterizes the best of 40K to me. Perfect grimdark ending.

[@YouWinAFREEiPOD]

Though it's obviously played for laughs, when you think about it, it's pretty horrific how the planet and it's people was destroyed in futility not once not twice but three times in a single story. 💀

[@Markus9343]

@@YouWinAFREEiPOD Yeah, but its overall theme is still quite lighthearted for 40k. But concludes with some nice Grimdark. Most of the book shows Necrons as being above all the horrors of the universe, whereas the end shows that even the old shiny bone xenos are potentially dooming themselves.

[@YouWinAFREEiPOD]

@@Markus9343 Oh yeah totally I get what you mean I think that it's because of that very same unaffected behavior and character that they have that actually makes it so funny. The attitude they exhibited was what made setups so interesting to see play out. And it was pretty on point with the ending showing that even millennia in the future they're still no less fatally susceptible to falling prey to doom of their own making. The Old Ones were totally justified. 😂💀

[@RingStudios]

Definitely liked Tyranid Mo-Wife being here for that extra perspective. Very similar reactions from my own wife when I try to explain the complex lore of the plastic toys in our basement I spent too much money on as she nods along.

[@speaktome4778]

Finally watching this because I read books at the same speed that Eric paints models. It was hilarious with all of the collateral damage that occurs because of a dispute between two Necrons. Being my first 40k book I'm also worried that I won't get this kind of delicious satire again anytime soon, but I'll give one of the Orc novels a shot. Trazyn started out as my favorite but Orikan became a lot more relatable and sympathetic at the end because at least he was trying to accomplish something whereas Trazyn is more of a greedy asshole than a responsible museum curator. And the only real issue I had with the book is that there was always some kind of device or Necron magic to get out of any given situation but it didn't get in the way of my enjoyment and I suspect other 40k books will have a lot of the same. Also the moment I read there were dinosaur riders I knew why Brad didn't mind reading it a third time. Anyway thanks for recommending TIATD!

[@myneighborsnorlax3780]

I know im listening to this really late but i feel it bears mentioning that trazyn releasing rmthe genestealer actually caused the exterminatus to happen several hundred years SOONER than predicted. Which just makes it funnier.