Author Archives: Michael

Monthly Highlights – September 2018

Somehow we’ve reached the start of October, and the final quarter of the year – how did that happen? Before September completely fades from memory, I’m having a good look back at everything I read (or listened to) and reviewed last month in order to pick out a few highlights. Planning out what I wanted to write this month, I realised that these Monthly Highlights posts have got a little bloated of late, so I’ve trimmed things down for this one. Also, rather than picking one top highlight and two notable mentions, this month I’m going with three top picks as I simply couldn’t choose between them.

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QUICK REVIEW: Kill Shot – Ben Counter

An Officio Assassinorum short audio drama from Ben Counter, Kill Shot sees Vindicare agent Deliva engaged in a mission to assassinate a heretic noblewoman, Seleuca Markovan. As she keeps her distant handler up to date with the progress of her mission, it becomes clear that she won’t be able to deal with Markovan with a single, clean kill shot, but will instead have to find a way to complete her task up close. Time is pressing, however, and Deliva knows she can’t let Markovan escape.

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Legacy of Dorn – Mike Lee

A Crimson Fists novel set during the same campaign as Rynn’s World by Steve Parker, Legacy of Dorn is, incredibly, Mike Lee’s first full-length 40k novel. During the desperate defence of New Rynn City against the vast hordes of Waaagh! Snagrod, Veteran Sergeant Sandor Galleas and his Sternguard veterans find themselves cut off from the remaining Crimson Fists forces and trapped behind the orks’ lines. Forced into a campaign of guerilla warfare alongside a battered, ill-equipped group of human soldiers, the veterans take the fight to the orks, all the while knowing they may represent the last hope for their Chapter.

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The Return of Inferno! to Black Library

Way back in the mists of time (well, 1997 to be precise) the first publication for the newly-created Black Library was a bi-monthly magazine called Inferno!, which featured short stories, comic strips and artwork all bringing the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 to life. Inferno! ran to 46 issues over seven years, and introduced fans to a whole host of names who would go on to be regular Black Library authors. Dan Abnett, Gav Thorpe, William King, Ben Counter and a whole host of other authors published their first Black Library stories in the pages of Inferno! magazine.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Mutant Master – William King

One of several Gotrek & Felix short stories which were bundled together to form Trollslayer, the first in the LONG series of ‘nounslayer’ books, The Mutant Master was first published in issue one of Inferno! magazine all the way back in 1997. After having been waylaid by mutants on the route between Altdorf and Middenheim, Gotrek and Felix take their rest in an inn ominously called The Hanged Man. There they hear tell of an evil sorcerer who’s taken the locals’ children hostage, while talk of the sorcerer’s monster piques the doom-seeking slayer’s interest even further.

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The Geld – George Mann

George Man continues his exploration of the Raven Guard in 40k with The Geld, a 70-minute audio drama which sees a small group of elite Space Marines infiltrate the besieged fortress of Chaos warlord Mazik the Unfixed. Desperate to find a way to eliminate Mazik, Chapter Master Strike draws four Shadowmasters – rare genetic throwbacks to the Mor Deythan of the old Legion – away from their usual companies and tasks them with this vital mission. Putting their unusual gifts to the test, Shadow Captain Qeld and his brothers soon find themselves hard pressed to survive the trials before them.

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Assault on Black Reach – Nick Kyme

Released in 2008 to tie in with the Warhammer 40,000 starter set of the same name, Nick Kyme’s novella Assault on Black Reach tells the story of the epic conflict between the Ultramarines 2nd Company and the vast ork Waaagh! of warlord Zanzog on the ravaged world of Black Reach. Led by Captain Cato Sicarius, the Ultramarines launch a blistering drop assault to strike at the head of the ork horde, intending to kill Zanzag and cripple the orks in a single devastating blow. Some among the Ultramarines, however, fear that Sicarius risks too much in his thirst for glory.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Zheng Cipher – Josh Reynolds

A standalone short story, available as an e-short or within the Servants of the Machine God anthology, Josh Reynolds’ The Zheng Cipher tells the tale of a maniple of Vanguard skitarii sent to save a vital artefact from destruction at the talons of a tyranid invasion. Alpha 6-Friest directs her troops in battle against the xenos hordes as they race to reach the last remaining Mechanicus outpost before it’s overwhelmed, putting their rad-soaked weapons and bodies to good use. Despite appalling odds, 6-Friest and her warriors drive relentlessly towards their goal, laying down their lives in the Omnissiah’s name.

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Ciaphas Cain: Choose Your Enemies – Sandy Mitchell

The tenth novel in the Ciaphas Cain series, and first since The Greater Good back in 2013, Choose Your Enemies is a welcome return for Sandy Mitchell and the much-loved Commissar Cain. Set as usual at an indeterminate date (but definitely pre-Dark Imperium) it sees Cain and the Valhallan 597th deployed to the ice world Drechia, bolstering the defences against eldar pirates. In the depths of the mines beneath the surface Cain unexpectedly finds yet more enemies – Chaos cultists, whose appearance threatens the nearby forge world of Ironfound – but also find himself reacquainted with an old ally as well.

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