Author Archives: Michael

QUICK REVIEW: The Armour of Fate – Guy Haley

Set between the events of the Rise of the Primarch background book and his novel Dark Imperium, Guy Haley’s short story The Armour of Fate is a rare action-free 40k story, but an absence of fighting allows for plenty of insight. When he was restored to life by the combined skills and knowledge of Belisarius Cawl and Yvraine, Roboute Guilliman was told that if he ever removed the life-giving Armour of Fate, he would die. After years of confinement within the armour, and long study of its workings, Guilliman is determined to remove it anyway, and reclaim his own fate.

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QUICK REVIEW: A Company of Shadows – Rachel Harrison

Following on from the fantastic Execution, Rachel Harrison’s short story A Company of Shadows sees the 11th Antari Rifles evacuating a city besieged by the forces of Chaos. When the Valkyrie carrying Commissar Severina Raine, a handful of troopers and an important military advisor is shot down before they can reach safety, it’s up to Raine and the decidedly untrustworthy Antari Sergeant Wyck to find a way to survive. With all of them carrying injuries, enemies all around, and Wyck twitchy at having cheated death for a second time, things look bleak for Raine and the Antari.

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QUICK REVIEW: Blacktalon: When Cornered – Andy Clark

The first Black Library appearance of Knight-Zephyros Neave Blacktalon, Andy Clark’s Age of Sigmar short story Blacktalon: When Cornered is a tale of Stormcast tenacity, duardin stubbornness and Chaotic deviousness. Having finally cornered the Chaos sorcerer Xelkyn Xerkanos after months of pursuit, only for a clan of duardin to capture him before she could strike the killing blow, Blacktalon cuts a frustrated figure as she accompanies the duardin on their slow march home. Xerkanos is to be tried and executed in front of the clan’s Grudgekeepers, but Blacktalon rankles at the delay, keeping a suspicious eye on the tricksy sorcerer.

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QUICK REVIEW: Two Metaphysical Blades – Chris Wraight

Chris Wraight’s Horus Heresy short story Two Metaphysical Blades is a strange beast, an episodic story about a matched pair of weapons and an unlikely pairing of characters, which spans the lifetime of the Imperium. From deep within the Earth prior to even the founding of the Imperium and then out across the galaxy, before returning to Terra for the Siege and its aftermath, this is the story of those two weapons and their wielders – “opposites…in some ways”. Wrapped in mystery and questions of destiny, it’s a tale whose complexity matches that of the two weapons’ creator.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Waaagh! Faker by Guy Haley

In The Waaagh! Faker by Guy Haley, the final instalment of the three-part Prophets of Waaagh! story, Uggrim and Bozgat are hard at work keeping Fat Mork walking so that they can join in with the Waaagh! as it gathers momentum. Snikgob and Talker, however, aren’t so sure it actually is a Waaagh! so decide take a closer look at just what’s causing a strange noise and weird ork behaviour. There they find a bunch of sneaky humies playing around with some strange technology, and realise that this isn’t a natural Waaagh! but an artificial one – it’s a humie trap!

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Black Library Weekly – W/C 13/08/18

Hello and welcome to the latest instalment of Black Library Weekly, my regular look at what’s been happening in the world of Black Library. It’s ended up being quite a busy week this time around, with some really exciting new releases alongside some fascinating news including some tantalising hints about the end of the Horus Heresy series. Let’s jump right in…

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RAPID FIRE: Chris Wraight Talks The Lords of Silence

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with Black Library authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

In this instalment I spoke to Chris Wraight about his new 40k novel The Lords of Silence, which sees him turn his attention to the Death Guard. You can order The Lords of Silence right now!

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QUICK REVIEW: Playing Patience – Dan Abnett

Set between Hereticus and Ravenor, Dan Abnett’s short story Playing Patience introduces us to the character of Patience Kys and shows how she came to be part of Ravenor’s entourage. On dismal Sameter, three sisters live austere lives in the Kindred Youth Scholam, and the eldest – Patience – has both a particular gift and a knack for getting in trouble. Meanwhile Ravenor and his companions, reeling from a desperate setback, are on the hunt for clues that might set them back on track. The trail leads to the Kindred Youth Scholam, some unwholesome practices, and an untrained, unlicensed psyker.

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QUICK REVIEW: Bozgat’s Big Adventure – Guy Haley

The second short audio of Guy Haley’s Prophets of Waaagh! collection, Bozgat’s Big Adventure follows on from The End of Daze and sees the titular Bozgat setting off in search of his madboy friend/pet Talker. Accompanied only by the grot Frikk, Bozgat rides out across the dunes and finds his way to a crashed ork ship, where the tracks of a single ork lead. While the cowardly Frikk waits for him outside, Bozgat explores the crashed ship which, upon further examination, appears to be surprisingly devoid of actual orks. Plenty of grots, though…

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QUICK REVIEW: The Curiosity – Dan Abnett

First published in 2003 in Inferno! magazine, Dan Abnett’s short story The Curiosity offers the first glimpse of Valentin Drusher, magos biologis. After seven years of determined study, Drusher’s work to create a complete taxonomy of Gershom’s indigent flora and fauna is almost complete. Dispatched to a bleak, distant province to investigate sightings of an unknown beast that’s left a trail of corpses behind it, it’s not long before he realises this is more than just an apex predator he somehow missed. Caught up in the hunt for the beast, Drusher is out of his league and in terrible danger.

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