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I really enjoyed this one a lot. It has a lot of Echoes of "American Sniper" if anyone ever read that book or saw that movie.

Also the first book I read with the Tau.

Very interesting, but did anyone think the Tau were presented as incredibly stupid?

Was it believable that the Tau have no sense of need to know information security on their battle plans?

Or maybe it was just the Ethereal being incredibly arrogant and trying to micromanage the fire caste (who do have basic military sensibilities). Ok, maybe that I can believe.

There is a budget for the number of pages allowed in the novel. Once it runs out, the author feels compelled to end the book by having the Tau destroyed without much explanation.

bibotot wrote:
There is a budget for the number of pages allowed in the novel. Once it runs out, the author feels compelled to end the book by having the Tau destroyed without much explanation.

Swap Tau for Chaos and you just described Titanicus.
Swap Tau for Baddie Inquisitor and you just described Malleus.

Remember, this is the same race who says:
"Pfft- Daemons! Those are mutants, nothing more!"
"No way the Imperium would make a giant robot that could level cities, that'd be way too much materials for one thing!"
"Hey, goth murder-elves- maybe they want to be friends!"
Hey Orks! Here, have some free guns!"

Tau are just terribly written in general (*cough* Phil Kelly *cough*). Which is incredibly sad because you could write some amazing stories about newcomer race trying to apply scientific method to 40K and failing hilariously from time to time (but getting it right often enough to make them think their way works). You could even have conflicts akin to Inquisitorial ones, 'puritan' scientists/soldiers/ethereals fresh from the academy and 'radicals' knowing this is not how the universe works, but being unable to spread the word for morale/state security reasons, but that would require really good writer and some planning. So, yeah, Tau being incompetent (then winning due to newest technobabble, or, like recently, due to literal deus ex machina problem solver) is par for the course...

Yeah, I the more I thought about it, the more the book made sense.

The Ethereal completely screwing up the Tau Battle plan was analogous to some terrible Generals the Imperial side had who were also issuing really bad orders.

I guess the difference was that the Imperials actually ignored or even disobeyed some of the bad orders (Or innovated around them) whereas the Tau Fire Caste were obligated to follow every dumb idea the Ethereal had.

So in a way the Imperium's flaws saved them from defeat whereas the Tau's arrogance and strict obedience ensured it.

Man it sucks being Tau Fire Caste. I'm definitely more sympathetic to them now!