Bleeding From Cold Sleep – Peter Fehervari

Available in the Sword & Planet anthology from Baen Books, Bleeding From Cold Sleep is Peter Fehervari’s first non-Warhammer short story, introducing a brand new setting that’s as rich and full of promise as you could imagine. Set in a bleak, distant future not entirely unlike (yet definitely not) the 40k universe, on the midwinter world of Iscarcha out in “the backwaters of human space”, a man calling himself Vikram is finally brought to heel by the hunters who have long been on his tail. Once an elite soldier for the Frontline, chosen and engineered to fight at the forefront of mankind’s pioneering exploration into space, over the long years of his flight he has taken many identities and lived many lives, accompanied only by his enigmatic shadow. Now, confronted by his hunters and tired of his long flight, Vikram faces the choice of whether to keep running, or stand and tell his side of the story.

While this may not be part of Fehervari’s Dark Coil series it has many of the hallmarks of his unique style, and will feel strangely familiar to fans of his work for Black Library. Told in his usual tight-focus third person, it’s packed full of classic Fehervari imagery and themes – a dark and ice-bound frontier world, a hidden taint lurking beneath the surface, a constant undercurrent of suspicion and doubt, and a main character made up of layers upon layers of accreted identities and beliefs. Despite this being an entirely new fictional setting Fehervari sticks to his stylistic guns, refusing to take the easy route of up-front exposition and instead slowly building up a picture of what’s going on through hints and allusions and a gradual unveiling of truths. It’s a style that won’t be for everyone, but which offers much for the reader who enjoys the journey as much as the destination.

And there’s a lot to enjoy here, so much so that – like most Fehervari stories – it really rewards multiple readings; a first run through to enjoy the plot and get a feel for the setting, and a second (or more) read through to try and pick up on all the subtle little details scattered throughout. However you choose to read it though, what’s clear is that this is just a taste of a dark and richly developed setting, with Vikram’s tale acting as a compelling introduction that only scratches the surface of this world and the mythos that underpins it. There’s a lot to take in here – who and what Vikram is (and was), what his shadow is, how he began his flight from the forces of the Frontline, and much more – and in true Fehervari fashion there are very few straight answers, but the answers that are provided make for fascinating reading.

While this does work as a standalone story, it’s deliberately ambiguous and open-ended, and clearly sets things up for further stories to come. Again, that might not be to everyone’s taste, but existing Fehervari fans are likely to find a lot to engage with here. Likewise, for anyone interested in dense, dark, thought-provoking science fiction this is an intriguing story in its own right and a beguiling jumping-off point ripe with potential. Fehervari’s 40k fiction is unquestionably brilliant, but on the evidence of this story it’s clear that the possibilities are truly endless for a setting which shares some of the Dark Coil’s style and sensibilities, but without the constraints of a shared universe. A whole series exploring Fehervari’s unadulterated vision makes for a tantalising prospect, so let’s hope this story is only the first step in a much longer journey.

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