40k 6th Ed Rulebook Review: The book NOT the rules

Why is no one talking about the book itself? I know many us think when a new rulebook comes out the first thought that goes through many of our minds is, "Do I really need to spend the money on this book? Is it worth it?" I for one was skeptical. I saw the price and my initial reaction was one where I stopped breathing and felt like I coughed up blood. That all went away when I finally got it in my hands. It's big, heavy, and full color. When I say full color I mean it. Black and white pages are all gone. I know Games-Workshop has a reputation for recycling artwork and I was worried about how much they would with the new rulebook. Don't worry. The new eye candy in the book is going to keep you busy for a while including several fold out pages. The binding on the book is solid and comes with an attached silk bookmark. The cover is hardback and feels like it could take a bit of beating or give one out. If you don't give a shit about the pretty artwork, the background, or don't absolutely need the rules right now... ok then maybe wait for a pocket edition, epub, etc. Personally I don't think my money was wasted and am glad Games-Workshop stepped it up a notch. Now I'm going to spend a couple of weeks going through this book page by page and line by line.

From the first page as you open the book...

"For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the Master of Mankind by the will of the gods and the master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He us a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium, for whom a thousand souls die every day, for whom blood is drunk and flesh eaten. Human blood and human flesh - the stuff of which the Imperium is made. To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. This is the tale of those times.

It is a universe you can live today - if you dare - for this is a dark and terrible era where you will find little comfort or hope. If you want to take part in the adventure, then prepare yourself now. Forget the power of technology, science, and common humanity. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for there is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter and the laughter or thirsting gods.

But the universe is a big place and, whatever happens, you will not be missed..."