My Dream 40K Series

I want to write a really tedious novel series about a new Space Marine Chapter being founded, with all the difficult red tape that’d come with it. They’d be called something rad, like the Angels Numinous, or the Blood Eagles, or the Painful Dolphins (or whatever).

The first few novels would be about finding a worthy world to recruit from, and the initiates taken to begin training; deals sworn with Navigator Houses on Holy Terra to get the pilots they need; the veterans of other Chapters helping out to train and lead the recruits; the secret oaths Techmarines have to swear in order to get trained on Mars before returning to their Chapter; and the difficulties of training regulated Marine battle-psykers for a proper Librarium. Then it would go into their first crusade, and the harrowing attrition rate as they’re thrown into the maw of a subsector lost to open rebellion.

The main antagonist would be a pen-pushing office clerk high-up in the Adeptus Terra, who thwarts the new Chapter’s rise because he doesn’t like their colour scheme. He ultimately wins, when the Marine Lord of the Blood Eagles (or Painful Dolphins, remember) gets a memo on his data-slate ordering the immediate disbanding of his Chapter, despite the fact he’s in the middle of a war.

The second trilogy would cover the remaining members of the Chapter reacclimatising to Imperial life in various manufactories and offices, essentially working in 40K-style call centres. One of them might have a gambling problem, or something. Either way, it’d be super-deep.

Roll credits.

I eagerly await my Nebula Award, thanks.